Amsterdam
Submitted by Copylation on Wed, 08/04/2004 - 19:18.
Than I*m not gonna help you. I am a Amsterdam writer myself razz
Send me your email address and I*ll send you a list of all Amsterdam agencies worth visiting.
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Hmm, I am thinking about moving to Amsterdam. Which agencies would you contact for work there?
I have six years experience and have won a fair amount of international awards. I of course know of all the usual suspects, 180, W&K, Cayenne, KesselsKramer and some others, but I would appreciate any inside info. Which agencies are good now, and take on non-dutch creatives?
And also. Do you know of any good agents in Amsterdam or London?
I*ve never had to have an agent before, but I think I*m old enough now...
wink
Don*t forget StrawberryFrog. Not that they*re that good, but they do hire foreigners. Spinger & Jacobi have moved here and are looking for a junior copy and a senior art.
What*s the name of your game copy or art?
I could send you a list of all the Amsterdam agencies, headhunters, representatives and bars worth visiting...
Thanks, any help would be great. I*m a writer.
Hi Hygge!
Hi everyone!
I am thinking about moving to Amsterdam.
I have 3 years experience as a planner.
Which agencies would you contact to work there, in a good planning department - and who take non-ducth planners?
I would appreciate any inside info.
And also, do you know of any good job agents in Amsterdam or London? Is it easier to get a job through them? Thanks in advance!!! LaMaga
All the big agencies with international clients use international planners. DDB has Philips to take care off, JWT works for Mazda, TBWA for ABN Amro and so on.
So besides the obvious (mentioned above), go for the big boys: DDB, TBWA, BBDO, JWT, Saatchi's, Ogilvy, McCann, Publicis, ADK, Euro RSCG, Grey... If you are not afraid of online or brand activation: Lemz, Woedend, Achtung...
I wouldn't know which headhunter to recommend for a planner. Perhaps Aquent (www.aquent.com) or Flexfirm (www.flexfirm.nl)? But with your experience (3 years) I think it's better to go to the agencies directly. Or do both.
Hi Hygge!
Thanks a lot for your post! (I´ve just seen it NOW)
I´ll have a look
Cheers!
Hiya
This may be a bit tricky but hopefully someone can help. I am an account manager with 3 years experience and hope to move to netherlands and get a job there in ad agency. Does anyone know which ad agency accept non-dutch employees, apart from strawberry frog which seems that hardly any position is open.
It will be great if someone can give me some advice or agencies to look for.
Also, is it necessary to understand dutch language to work in netherlands ad agencies?
Really appreciate any help. Cheers!
1) You should learn Dutch. You can do this after you are hired. Many import-employees are hired not knowing Dutch and then learn it, some become good at it, some not. Either way it's less insulting to the Dutch if you give their language a shot and at the very least learn the every-day greetings, how to order a beer, that sort of thing.
2) Lots of agencies in Amsterdam hire non-dutch folks, but it all depends on department. It might be easier to have crazy french team tucked away in the creative department than in the account department, that said here are the Amsterdam agencies I've seen foreign folk hired at.
Publicis
FHV/BBDO
180
w+k
Springer & Jacoby
Result DDB
International clients play in here as well, of course. For example a french account assist was at Publicis because of L´oreal.
Also, I forgot TBWA/Campaign company - there was a french planner there when I was there for example.
You don't say where you are from horizon.
disclaimer: my Dutch sucketh greatly, but I did finally come around to understanding it and being able to read it. Norwegian colleagues of mine picked it up in six months flat. English mates, never. At least try though.
Hi Horizon,
Like Dabitch already said, practically all the international network agencies have their international account people to handle their international accounts (How many times can you say 'international' in one sentence?)
For instance, DDB do Philips worldwide. That's a huge client, forcing them to hire dozens of English people.
(KoenseSeverein do the Philips BTL stuff worldwide).
JWT has their share of global clients.
EuroRSCG 4D is a very internationally minded online agency.
Woedend have the Acics worldwide account.
Saatchi, McCann, Grey, Publicis, TBWA, BBDO, you name it...
And then there are the obvious: 180, Wieden, Strawberry, Cayenne, ADK, Springer...
I think it would be best to start mailing, then calling and then dropping by. If you are any good I am sure it would be easy to find work here, good account people are scarce.
Hi everyone! I am from Singapore so here, English is my first language. Learning Dutch when I'm there is definitely one concrete plan I have.
It seems that I may have to move there for a month to start dropping by. It just makes it harder not being an EU citizen. Dayum!
I am pretty sure I can get reference letter from my ex-boss no problem at all. It's always easier for creatives to get hired on international basis, i think!
Where are you from, Hygge?
Thanks for any advice! Appreciate it!
I am as Dutch as they get. But I do know the English community here quite well.
We have loads of international creatives - so probably account people as well.
And yes, not being from the EU doesn't help, but there should be ways around that, shouldn't there?
Basically, if a Dutch agency wants to hire someone from outside the EU, they have to prove that they can't find someone inside. It is quite hard to find skilled account people who can handle the really big international accounts, so that's a good excuse to hire you.
Try sending an email to KoenseSeverein (www. koenseseverein.nl), they just won the Philips account. My guess is they will be needing a lot of staff very soon...
I worked with Australian, British, Scottish, Norwiegan and Dutch writers while in Holland - and once with a lovely french planner who did awesome work for Nissan. So yeah, plenty of non-dutch folk around.
thank you for your help and insight! Has DDB lost the worldwide account or that koenseSeverein won the regional or local? I'm doing Mitsubishi car account now which i believe used to belong to strawberry frog.
Yeah, if english is the forte that they are looking for, it will be ace! Again, gonna start crafting my updated resume. one of my mates (though he is in IT) did his resume in powerpoint format and got the job overseas pretty fast. i may give that a shot. have to think about it!
DDB has the above the line Philips account.
KoenseSeverein does the below the line part.
Mitsubishi has left StrawberryFrog quite some time ago and the account is now shattered amongst various agencies: Etcetera just did a commercial, ADK does a bit, Lukkien has got some work from them.
For some reason car accounts seem to shop from agency to agency with every model release. And then they spread every single media to multiple agencies - I really find this silly, inconsiderid to the involved agencies and very bad for a strong brand image.
Nobody cares about the brand* anymore, certainly not the brand owners.
* I do actually. I been told I care too much abut the brand.
I agree with Dabitch that brand owners do not care about the brands. Sometimes, its quite worrying when clients just tell me not to worry or that I worry too much and think too much when I can see that the branding is something that I should care. My art director and I just thought 'cos we genuinely care!'
I think everywhere, at least for here, is so budget stricken that whichever agency can offer a more competitive quote, taking up my jobs, then they are worth a try.
I'm not sure it's the brand owners that don't care - it's a certain level of marketing-manager suits working for brand X that I've run into far too often that don't care. They don't care because their business has changed a lot since those days in the past where one would get a gold watch after serving a company up until retirement, They need to grab a job, show with lots of charts and pretty graphs that "sales went up X amount during my tenure as brand marketing manager at company X" which they can show company Y so that they may hop jobs every two years moving up on the pay scale so that they can afford to buy their own gold watch.
This fast-track career way of moving about that our generation (that's anyone from 45 down to 20+) is doing doesn't exactly foster long term thinking about brands, especially not when long term advertising for brands does not have immediate results which they can slap onto their resume. In a world where people don't stay at one corporation or position for very long (a brand manager at Unilever may hop between Axe and Dove within a year for example) - who is going to sign off on a campaign that can run for 35 years?
Anyway, that discussion belongs in another part of the forum.
Let's get back to business: finding a job for Horizon. And I've found one!
DDB Amsterdam is looking for 2 international account managers right now!
This is the link to the job ad, but it's completely in Dutch. Don't let that stop you, just send an email to the email address on the bottom of the ad...
oh my god, thanks! Going to ask my friend to translate for me. at least to have an idea what the ad is about. Thanks for your help, Hygge!!
If you get the job, make sure you hire me as a freelance copywriter! ;-)
if i get the job or any job you have helped me, you are hired! and a huge dinner wherever u want! Serious!!
In that case:
Etcetera is looking for an International Account Manager for Mitsubishi.
VBAT is looking for a Retail Account Manager. The ad is even in English.
Gielissen is looking for an International Account Manager. Although I think they want a Dutch guy witch international experience. But you can always try.
And then there's Cayenne who have a few account positions to be filled. Just navigate through their website ( -> Contact -> Jobs). And you'll see. All the ads are in English.
The things I do for a free meal!
Geez, you are going to love me:
The Community is looking for several Account People.
Now where's a good place to eat?
Ever thought of becoming a headhunter, Hygge?
Hygge, you should become an international headhunter!!!! the mitsubishi one sounds like a perfect fit since i know their cars so well now! ok, have to ask my mate to translate for me again! I need this weekend to put my resume and portfolio all together! hope they can wait!
now, if i get any job, any! you work hard in thinking where to have the finest meal!
Yep. Now who's gonna headhunt me?
hehe, interested in swopping countries, Hygge?
For a gig of a month or two, I would be very interested!
For a permanent job, I think I'll stick to Amsterdam...
just crafted my resume and will send to etcetera today. hopefully they have not found someone yet.
Something tells me i may have to spend a couple of months in the dam if i really want to get a job there.... more savings to do now! urghh....
And both the euro as the property prices are going up every single day. Hurry!
PS Don't forget about Cayenne, personally I think your chances are higher there.
got you! will send the cv out for Cayenne this weekend. Just sent the cv to etcetera!
DDB are still looking, this time for an Account Director. Native English, but with 10 years of experience. It wouldn't hurt to send them an email though, they might be looking for more than senior people...
I may jolly well do that. Sent to etcetera but they reverted that they need someone who can speak dutch too. Boo... oh well, next! Cayenne! Thanks Hygge for the update!
Oh, look another job for an international account guy. This time it's for BSUR in Amsterdam.
I should be an international account guy, dammit.
No wait, I forgot, I don't like living in Amsterdam. :))
WTF? After Amsterdam has been so kind to you!
Well then, I am not going to live in Malmø. Ha!
Fine fine, I'll admit to this: Amsterdam has (had?) the best nightlife ever. I could pop out and see a world famous or obscure band easily any night of the week, for a very agreeable sum to boot. I'll admit that I am still to this day jonesing like hell for that. It was cool. Anywhere else, lines, lines, ages, waiting and ticket sharks. Ugh. Oh I forgot to mention "horrible sterile venues" and "boringly drunk audience" bringing the performance down as well. Dang, if you're gonna see a band, see 'em in Amsterdam. :)
Malmö though, I have ten minutes walk to a fine-white-sandy beach with lukewarm water. Nyah. And I have to say plus one for the building code around here as well, it never rains in through the ceiling nor does the tiled shower wall ever carry electricity after some 'Dutch electrician' has 'fixed' the sad lack of power in the kitchen by wrapping a copper wire around the water pipes. That would be, like, illegal around here. We're so safe, it's sad. (though I'm glad I'll never die by electrocution in the shower *knock on wood*)
So yaknow, I'll always miss Amsterdam,probably every night of my life. In the day on the other hand, I really like where I'm at. I don't think you'd like Malmö Hygge, you need kids to 'get it'.*
* also, I'm kinda known for growing tired of where I live four years later so lets just leave me happy right now as you never know when I might get restless. You've seen me in Copenhagen. You know.
I haven't seen you in Malmö, but I did believe you looked pretty happy in Copenhagen.
Might have something to do with Goldenboy though. ;-)
Yeah but ugh, what a dirty city. I got tired of people pissing on my stoop every Saturday night. ;)
I thought it was a lot cleaner than Amsterdam. But then again, I just walked around as a tourist and went to all the nice agencies to meet nice people.
That was really fun!
Ah, those good old days...
It is cleaner than Amsterdam, I'm moving on up - Amsterdam cleanish, Copenhagen, cleaner, Malmö - bloody sparkling. ;)
Next stop: Helsinki?
You can't get much cleaner than that...
Already hunted for work there a few years back (all Hasan & Partners people HOLLA!) and the language drives me nuts. Food is good though. :)
Hygge, thanks for looking out for me. That is an AD position which is a bit too far off... Sent a couple so far and i think despite the fact that it is an international account, they expect some dutch language knowledge. Still, I'm not gonna give up!!!! keep the tips coming please. been going to cayenne site too but so far, nothing....
wow!!!! you both seem to have experience loads! Envious!!!! sometimes, i really wish i was more gifted in creative team but i can't draw to save my life. creative writing... not going down well too.
I thought copenhagen is clean?
Dabitch, from what i can see (through the windows), it seems that amsterdam has a whole lot more nicer apartment than london! London's or in general, england, has houses fit for rats... really!
No, that's true. You can buy very decent living in Amsterdam central city, interesting apartments from very old to basically brand new. For renting it's a little trickier. You have to get lucky. I had one very decent apartment but that was a rent controlled thing meant for 'real Amsterdanians' (I understood that you had to be in some sort of line to get one of those contracts), and as luck would have it the guy who really had the contract wanted to try living with his girlfriend for a while, so me and a friend lived in his for six months. Moral: when looking for a place to live tell everyone you know and you might be able to sublet something nice like that one was. It was great, open plan kitchen, balcony, etc. I slept in the kids room - in a childrens bed. ;)
it is not the 'squad' system whereby the rent is only 75 euros a month, yeah? My mate has been doing that for a couple of years which I can't cos you never know when you are gonna have to move! I hope renting is not as tricky as in London which is still a shock in my opinion.
That's called the anti-kraak (squatting in Dutch is kraak). Apply for one of those here: anti kraak weoningzoek if you fulfill the criteria. And no, it wasn't one of those. It was the newly built rentals right across the canal from the Artis. Louise Wentstraat - the banana shaped building
Compared to London or Paris, renting a decent place in Amsterdam is as easy as falling off a log.
Rough guideline: what you would pay in London for a week's rent, you pay in Amsterdam for a month’s.
If you have a thousand euros to spend, you would find a very nice place pretty quickly, in the center, 70 m2. And from there you start looking for something cheaper.
Also, the quality of living is much higher in places such as Amsterdam, Antwerp, Copenhagen than in London or Paris. The pace is much nicer and prices are reasonable. A beer in Amsterdam will cost you 2.2 euros. No idea what it is in London these days. (Dabitch?)
£1.66-£2.50.
How did you know that I would know? Hmm? ;)
Over here a caipirinha or a mojito will run you 110 SEK. Ouchie.
Of course, here in Manchester a pint will cost you £2.20 max (unless you're in a wine bar). Cheapest pint is around £1.30 for Sam Smiths.
Everybody, lets move to MANCHESTER!
Well, it's about time the world caught up.