What we have maintained throughout is our passion for creativity, our strategic thinking, and our belief that the best ideas are born not out of chaos, but within a well-functioning framework. We are both free-spirited and structured, creative and precise. It is this duality that makes us truly Progressive.
1. Not (just) an advertising agency, but…
Most of our clients realise sooner or later that they don’t need to liaise with separate creative and production companies, because we are both in one. From the brief to the post-production of a campaign film, from major events to online platform development, we have in-house solutions for everything. What’s more, we operate within a system where creative ideas don’t get lost in the grid of Excel spreadsheets, but come to fruition exactly as they were conceived in our imaginations.
We work with our own team of digital developers, and in our innovation workshop, Progressive LAB, solutions are developed even before standard market responses have emerged. One of our favourite examples of this is when a partner in the pharmaceutical sector was struggling with the production of promotional materials. They found the process of putting them together to be a monotonous, fiddly and thankless task. So we developed a system that generates the promotional leaflet at the touch of a button. (Yes, really.) This saved our client countless hours wasted on open windows and quite a few nerve cells. No wonder they’re delighted with it.
2. We think in terms of systems, but we believe in people
The advertising industry is a fast-paced, rapidly changing world. The fact that a management team with over 15 years’ experience still works here is no coincidence. What’s the secret? The human touch. Progressive’s original slogan, ‘Creatively precise’, encompasses for us a level of care that goes beyond the workflow.
We have an in-house coach working with us, we operate a 360-degree performance appraisal system, and when we select a new colleague, we look at the person as well. It’s important that we don’t just fit them in, but that we integrate them. Because for us, there’s always a person behind the ‘project’.
I’m not claiming that finding common ground between Gen Z and older generations is always a piece of cake, nor am I saying that staff turnover is unheard of here. But one thing is certain: those who are here feel part of a community and enjoy working towards our shared goals day in, day out. And when they go on to pursue their careers elsewhere, they often get in touch to say they’ve noticed the order and well-established processes we had in place – things they haven’t found elsewhere.
Our clients can sense that we’re doing well internally. But we don’t view them as clients either; we see them as members of our community. That’s what Borsuli is all about, for example.
Borsuli? What’s that, and how does it relate to our working lives? Let me explain.
3. We’re building a culture
What makes someone loyal to a workplace? Beyond the salary (and sometimes in spite of it), it’s the feeling that they belong somewhere. Here, that feeling has become part of our everyday practice.
Borsuli outwards
Borsuli – which is my personal labour of love – started as an in-house wine community programme, but now our external partners are joining in too. It’s an educational wine-tasting session, but it’s more than that: it’s a great way for us to build relationships. We get to see who’s working behind the brands, whilst our clients get to put a face to the graphic designer, the operator and the account manager. All accompanied by interesting talks, delicious canapés and fine wines.
Befelé Lazac, the jewel in the crown of our workplace culture
The name of our simple yet brilliant incentive scheme is a multi-layered reference: on the one hand, it stems from ‘chill chaps’ – evoking the playful, cool yet performance-oriented world of the advertising industry. On the other hand, the salmon that gives it its name swims against the current, just like us. It doesn’t follow the beaten track, but chooses its own course. The central elements of the system are the ‘eggs’ – these little ‘thank-you’ tokens that colleagues can give to one another when someone has helped out, surprised them with something, performed well or simply lifted the team’s spirits.
The culture of ‘thank-you discs’ isn’t a formal requirement here, but a sincere gesture. Colleagues give them of their own accord, because it feels good to give. And that’s precisely why it works. It simply cannot be done out of a sense of duty or under duress. Word gets round about good practices and successful systems. That’s how it came about that several of our partners have adopted the idea: today, for example, Danone also has a similar internal HR motivation programme, inspired by our Lazac.
This series of articles is just getting started. Our aim is to show what it means to be ‘Progressive’ today – both professionally and personally. And if a client, a colleague, or even a junior project manager says, “Finally, a place where they understand that it’s not just the deadline that matters,” then it will have been worth launching.
Follow the series! The next instalment is coming soon – it’ll be worth checking back!