Janneke Schmidt visits – New York – These Lights Will Inspire You
When I first found out that I was chosen to travel to another Maxus office anywhere across the globe as well as hosting someone coming to the NYC office, I sat back and thought that I was just as excited to explore Manhattan as I was to go to my future destination (Italy). The reason for this is because living in the tristate area (NJ/NY) all my life and never having visited the typical tourist attractions, you sometimes take advantage of what this city has to offer and the beauty it possesses.
When Janneke arrived from Amsterdam, I have to admit there were some wifi communication barriers and a bit of jetlag (6 hours difference), but both were quickly resolved and we were off and ready to explore this journey together, but first….some shopping.
The upcoming two weeks were a blend of what it’s like to work, live and be a tourist in NYC. The first day in the office Janneke had an orientation which highlighted everything from the GroupM landscape to who we are as an agency and how we differ from all others. Later that night we stopped by the Empire State Building to see the views of the city.
The next day Janneke was welcomed with open arms to the team with a group lunch and later that evening we went to swerve (spinning) and explored the Highline in Chelsea.
The next few days were packed with meetings, lunches (one with Jodi Neuhauser – Head of Brand and Business Development of the Americas) and other evening events including Top of the Rock, Escape the Room (we didn’t escape in time!) and rooftop happy hours.
Over the weekend, we visited the Botanical Garden, Bronx Zoo, Arthur Avenue (where another Maxus NY exchange winner, Antonio Alston, met us for a great Italian dinner)
And of course on Sunday we were ready for some football where we saw The Giants beat The Saints in the last 2 seconds of the game!
The first week went by extremely fast, we were both surprised it went so quickly, but we still had so much more to do and so little time! With only 5 days left we managed to include more sightseeing, dinners and even a very early morning (7AM) dance party called Daybreaker on Lord & Taylor’s roof. Since this was way too early for my blood, Janneke and a coworker went and danced the morning away before work. We even fit a goodbye party on Janneke’s last day with cake, drinks and some NYC pride to take back with her to Amsterdam.
All in all, it has been such a whirlwind of an experience. Getting to know Janneke these last two weeks I have not only met a new coworker, but made a new friend. In the beginning of this journey, she has said she could fall in love with New York City and I hope that I helped to make this come true, because
I arrived in Manila on a very warm evening after a 14 hour flight and got an Uber through the buzzing streets to my apartment. It reminded me of my time travelling in SE Asia years ago and I had a twinge of nostalgia - all the people and stalls and motorbikes and crazy little tricycles (which are like side cars on motorbikes but way more decorative). I take sharp inhales as I watched people walk confidently through the speeding cars and bikes and marvelled at how everything works smoothly in this seemingly chaotic city, just like in a hive of bees.
My host Bea met me at my apartment the first morning, in a fancy area called Bonifacio Global City which is also where the Maxus office is. A cityscape of skyscrapers, wide roads and walkable green spaces, a real oasis amongst a very busy city of almost 13m people. I have everything I could wish for right on my doorstep – gyms, supermarkets and a deliciously wide selection of places to eat. I had a mango shake every day! Bea was immediately sweet and attentive. It was a novelty walking out into the hot, humid street where I only had to cross the road to get to work.
Maxus Philippines is an office of around thirty people which is such a contrast to our London office of two floors and three hundred and fifty faces. There are moments where I feel like I’m amongst siblings rather than co-workers, with the way everyone laughs and plays and works very hard side by side, at times late into the night. I learnt that media behaviour is very much shaped by the geography of the country (there are over seven thousand islands) and mobile data is expensive and not reliant, as we found a couple of times trying to take taxis being directed by Waze. It hit home how lucky we are in London with our mobiles glued to our hips.
In the evenings I was able to take short walks to bright and shiny shopping areas where everyone was out amongst the lights and Christmas decorations and lovely warm weather. I noticed how many children and families there were, and I learned that the median age in the Philippines is 21! What a young country and it shows in the energy. Bea made sure I was staying near a beautiful yoga studio with views over a glistening city scape which I was really happy about.
Bea did a great job entertaining me, taking me on day trips which some of the team joined in on. There was an inner city walking tour in the old centre where there is a vibrant artsy market and also China Town where we had some yum dumplings. We took a drive to Tagaytay City where there are spectacular views and the most delicious food of the trip – tamarind flavoured veg stew and beef soup.
Maxus Philippines have such a close relationship with their radio partners that we ended up on two different radio talk shows one evening, at drive time with over half a million listeners! Definitely a first for me. They hosts were really funny and light hearted, and spoke about the unique and awesome initiative by Maxus to send people round the globe.
I definitely came at a good time as there was a new office floor to move into and celebrate, and also the Group M Christmas party. The new office celebration kicked off with an acoustic band and ton of food. There was a DJ set up amongst the desks and everyone was very well behaved until darkness fell when they went for the decks and were lining up some banging party tunes. And the Group M Christmas party was such fun, groups from the various agencies rehearsed dance sequences and had a dance off. I’ve never seen so much energy and elation at a Christmas party, needless to say I danced into the night, at one point ending up on the stage holding a sign saying ‘BOOZE’. I made some good friends that night, a few Maxus and Movent people ended up watching the sunrise over the city whilst we were being made a breakfast of egg fried rise and cheese toasties.
Thank you Maxus PH for a great time, I love the work you are doing and I’m definitely going to talk about it here. I think we can learn a thing or two from you all.
I’m now coming to the end of my second week in Bangkok and I can’t believe how quickly it has gone. After waiting almost a year to do my exchange, it was beginning to feel like I was never going to make it here!
I arrived on a Sunday night to toasty 30 degree heat; a stark contrast to the cold grey winter weather in Dublin! I met Sue, the Thai Exchange Champion, the following morning (after getting a little bit lost) and we made our way to the office. What struck me was how modern this part of Bangkok is – the last time I visited Bangkok in 2013 was only for 2 days and we mainly just saw the tourist hotspots – so I think my opinion of Bangkok was slightly skewed. Stepping out of the BTS station straight onto a busy street a few minutes’ walk from the office, I was met with a blast of heat and a lot of new smells – some good, some not so good!
The team here have been really welcoming and got me involved in their work straight away. I’ve worked with Bee on a few new business pitches which have been really interesting. He moved to Bangkok from the UK last September and worked with one of the guys from my office in Mediacom Manchester a few years back – small world! From working with Bee, I’ve learned a lot about creative strategy development and how all the teams feed into it which is something I had little exposure to previously. I’ve also had an opportunity to learn about one of our biggest global clients and share my local market knowledge with them. It’s been great to get an insight into how the brand operates in Thailand and it’s something I can share with my team when I get back.
I also got to meet a lot of Thai TV stars along the way – no idea who they are but I’ve been informed they’re a big deal!
GroupM hosted their NextM event during my first week here – it’s a 2 day conference for GroupM clients where they showcase 2017 trends and opportunities. Even though the seminars were in Thai I could get a grasp of what they were talking with the help of Bee as my translator and some English stats on screen. One of the most interesting platforms in Thailand is Line – think a super enhanced Whatsapp where you can chat to friends, watch exclusive VOD content and TV reruns (2 hours after they appear on live TV), play games and a place for brands to engage consumers. Almost 90% of mobile users in Thailand use this platform which is staggering. It’ll be interesting to see if it makes its way to Europe in the near future.
Everything is bigger and brighter in Bangkok in terms of OOH. It’s everywhere! From a metro station that was completely taken over by an e-commerce site – from the steps in the stairwells, metro tickets, all inventory in the station and announcements in the train itself – to giant digital screens outside shopping centres and lining the roadsides.
P’Noo did a great job of showing me the sights during my first weekend here. We had an amazing lunch by the river with a view of Wat Arun, wandered around the notorious Khao San Road (a totally different place by day!) and got a totally relaxing foot massage that nearly sent me off to sleep! As the King passed away last year the country is still in an official mourning period – it was an experience to see thousands of people dressed in black queuing up to pay their respects outside the Grand Palace when we passed by.
The exchange programme has been a great opportunity to experience what it’s like to work in a different market. The more we share the more we learn from each other – there may be challenges we’ve yet to face but that other markets have overcome. The strong Maxus culture is evident here and that comes down to the people who have made this a memorable experience for me.
Someone just asked me “So tomorrow is your last day with us?” and that was when it hit me: My time in Mexico has all but come to an end. While it dawns on me that it won´t be long until I´m going to have to leave this fascinating city and part from my talented Mexican colleagues, I´d like to take some time to reflect a little bit upon the last couple of weeks and what all of this has meant.
My Global Exchange adventure started with a 15 hour flight taking me from Stockholm to Mexico City. When I reached my destination, my host Paulina came to pick me up at the airport and took me to my Airbnb. I was greeted with amazing hospitality right from the start and that same hospitality would later come to be the theme throughout my time in Mexico.
All of the superstars at the Mexico office really went out of their way to make my time in their country as rewarding and as memorable as possible. For that I am truly grateful. During my time here I have been fortunate enough to stand beneath starry skies in the Estadio Azteca and hear the roar of 100 000 fans during a soccer derby, I have been given the privilege of ascending the mythical pyramids of Teotihuacan and every single day I´ve had absolutely incredible food in restaurants that tourists probably wouldn´t be able to find on their own. I could keep listing great things I´ve experienced here but my instructions are to keep it short and punchy J
I obviously spent most of my time here working with the Maxus team and their clients. I found it helpful to apply some of the strategies that I use for my clients back home on a new market because it forced me look at things in new ways and I feel like the team and I learned a lot from each other. There are a lot more similarities between the Swedish- and the Mexican media landscape than I expected and for example, I was surprised to learn that the Swedish music service Spotify is the most downloaded app in Mexico.
One thing that stood out to me was the way in which my Mexican friends eat lunch. In Sweden we never spend a lot of time having lunch; people like to eat fairly quickly, talk about what´s on the agenda and then get back to work. That´s not the case in Mexico. Lunch is a big deal here and it is evident that it is a meal that is cherished and prioritized. The food is amazing (often more than one dish), the discussions are lively and most importantly, they let it take time.
To sum it all up, I would like to say that this exchange has been incredibly rewarding both on a professional and personal level. The time has come for me to leave this country and go back home to tell my colleagues all about my time here but on my way back to Stockholm I´m going to swing by the Maxus office in New York City to say hello (and have a few days’ vacation in the city that never sleeps).
Sure why not chuck some fried chicken on top of a cup of coke and call it #ColaChicken I'm sold! 🐷 #MoreFood #FoodGenius #16stonesandcounting #MaxusGlobalExchange (at Pasar Malam Taman Connaught 康乐夜市)
