PARIS, FRANCE: From 8am until 23.30pm, 30 consultants from all over the world visited and met with six agency groups throughout day two of the 2012 AdForum Worldwide Summit in Paris.
Starting with Full Six, one of the largest agencies in Europe - independent, fully integrated - and then a visit to a small island in the Bois de Boulogne, where we were met by Saatchi & Saatchi EMEA head Robert Senior, who laid out the picture of Saatchi in the here and now. Fascinating reinvention of the agency.
We met with two independent agencies in the afternoon, Fred & Farid, and then Buzzman.
FF is a fully integrated agency, born from digital, with a stellar range of clients and exceptional creative work, plus a new office in Shanghai as well as offices in Europe.
Buzzman, a digital specialist which outsources all of its technology and thus can choose from the very best, was another interestingly independent French agency, with an office in Paris and the intention of opening in the Middle East.
Superb campaigns for Bic and Durex gave the consultants fun and laughter before we headed off to the Havas Group meeting with Euro RSCG and BETC. Judging the Creative Business Idea Awards for Euro is one of the tasks that the consultants complete each year at the summit.
BETC – a newly formed division of Havas – spent a lot of time telling us about its growth and plans before steering us to more wine-tasting and cheeses than we could ever manage. The views across Paris from its agency building are just superb.
Thirty tired consultants arrived back at the hotel just before midnight, having spent 14 hours on the road, without a break, but all ready for day three of the summit and an opening meeting with Publicis Groupe head Maurice Levy at breakfast.
