JOOST
MaKES IT MATTER

Wie: Joost van Iperen

Wat: Managing Director

WHAT IS YOUR ROLE?

My task at SowiesoHelder is managing it financially and guiding the direction we want to take with our agency. As soon as we make progress, I’m also the spokesperson giving interviews, press reports or making promos. But first and foremost, I’m a cooperating foreman. I try my best to contact potential clients in order to discuss how we can join forces in a new cooperation’s. All in all, I have a very diverse role with a lot of insights into the various challenges companies and institutions are facing.

And then Covid-19 came along… It brought a big change in communication needs. Everything has to be more digital, faster and more cost-efficient without having to compromise on impact and result. This has triggered us tremendously. We immediately decided to put our efforts into these changing market needs by developing propositions that can easily be implemented as a solution. Whether this is a brand accelerator that generates concepts in co-creation or the virtual events, that are taking the place of real-life events, they all seem to fit the current market communication needs. But that is not the only thing we have done. In the meantime, we developed a how-to-video format and a Web Booster proposition which enables us to help clients with increasing their online results.

I once learned: never waste a good crisis. And that we did! Thanks to the new propositions, we receive multiple requests every day and follow up on great new assignments that will eventually allow us to emerge many times stronger from this crisis than we already were before it started.

HOW DO YOU MAKE IT MATTER?

By listening carefully! Not only to customers, but also to colleagues, suppliers and other partners. Recognizing trends, determining emotions, discovering latent needs and connecting them. Bringing together the right people with the right qualities in order to get the client the best possible results. They often call me the 'fixer'. Sounds a bit tacky, but I find it an honouring nickname.

WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON AT THE MOMENT?

We are at the beginning of a virtual event project with a ministry and a software company. But we are also in the process of finalizing two Brand Accelerators for Feenstra and Vattenfall. In addition, I am busy working with our content team to market the next proposition and to strengthen our own communication. A grateful job!

Next time:
ANNEMARIE
MAKES IT MATTER
Her story about managing projects