Doch in diesem Jahr spielte sich die eigentliche Action nicht auf der Hauptbühne ab, sondern in persönlichen Gesprächen, spontanen Brainstormings und coolen Off-Locations, wie zum Beispiel im DEPT® Secret Garden.
Abseits der sonnenverwöhnten Palais-Bühnen und des Rosé-befeuerten Networkings drang eine klare Botschaft durch: Enterprise Marketing wird radikal neu definiert. Angetrieben von Technologie, neu geformt durch KI und gezwungen, sich an ein volatiles Media Ökosystem anzupassen.
Jahrzehntelang war Cannes gleichbedeutend mit einer singulären Vision von Kreativität: Die große Idee. Doch die Vision des Storytelling-Meisterwerks hat sich weiterentwickelt.
Die diesjährigen Cannes Lions bestätigten, dass Marketing Exzellenz heute an der Schnittstelle von What, Where und How angesiedelt ist – eine Überzeugung, die wir bei DEPT® seit langem vertreten. Mit anderen Worten: Es geht nicht mehr ausschließlich um reine Kreativität, sondern umfasst nun gleichermaßen Media, Technologie und KI.
Eine kreative Idee ist nur so gut wie ihre Fähigkeit, Zielgruppen zu erreichen und intelligent zu skalieren, und Cannes 2025 spiegelte dies wider. Große Tech-Unternehmen dominierten Panels, Teilnehmer:innen neigten zu intimen Diskussionen, und Shantanu Narayen wurde mit dem Creative Champion of the Year Award ausgezeichnet.
Es mag kontraintuitiv klingen, aber Asher Wren, DEPT® SVP of Growth, formulierte es so: „Der Aufstieg von Influencer:innen und Content Creators ist symbiotisch mit KI. Je mehr GenAI ’Stuff‘ es gibt, das als robotergesteuert erkannt wird, desto größer ist das Bedürfnis nach Menschlichkeit und von Menschen generierten Inhalten in unseren Feeds.“
Da (schneller, effizienter, aber oft generischer) GenAI Content immer populärer und normaler wird, wird die menschliche Note exponentiell wertvoller. Authentizität, einzigartige Stimmen und echte Verbindungen sind keine Fähigkeiten, die KI replizieren kann (zumindest noch nicht). In einer Welt voller algorithmisch erzeugten Rauschens ist die Fähigkeit eines menschlichen Content Creators, Vertrauen aufzubauen, mächtiger denn je.
“Der Aufstieg von Influencer:innen und Creators ist symbiotisch mit KI. Je mehr GenAI-Inhalte es gibt, die als von Robotern gemacht erkennbar sind, desto größer wird das Bedürfnis nach Menschlichkeit und von Menschen erstelltem Inhalt in unseren Feeds.
”Asher Wren, SVP of Growth at DEPT®
Marken und Agenturen betrachten Influencer:innen und Content Creator weniger als Megafone und zunehmend als strategische Partner:innen und Ideengeber:innen. In diesem neuen Modell sind Content Creator nicht nur die Boten; sie sind die Medien. Und Plattformen passen sich ebenfalls an.
YouTube startete Open Call, das es Marken ermöglicht, Briefings an über 3 Millionen Creator zu senden, um Ideen vorzuschlagen, während TikTok seine Symphony Suite aus generativen KI-Tools erweiterte, um Content Creator und Agenturen dabei zu helfen, native Anzeigen schneller zu produzieren.
LLM Ads kommen: Meta kam mit einer großen KI-Story nach Cannes und pries offen eine vollständig automatisierte Zukunft der Werbung an.
Während Mark Zuckerbergs Vision, dass kleine Werbetreibende einfach „Ziel und Bankkonto eingeben”, und “keine Kreativität oder Targeting“ benötigen, Albträume verursacht haben mag, ist die Realität, dass KI nun unbestreitbar das Herzstück von Meta’s (und bald auch aller anderen) Werbegeschäft ist.
Marken müssen über theoretische Diskussionen hinausgehen und aktiv Strategien entwickeln, wie sie diese automatisierten Engines für optimale Leistung nutzen können, während sie gleichzeitig sicherstellen, dass ihre zentrales Marken Narrativ in der Automatisierung nicht verloren geht. Dies erfordert eine proaktive Umgestaltung der Mediaplanung, nicht nur eine passive Akzeptanz.
Wie Isabel Perry, Global SVP Emerging Tech bei DEPT®, feststellte: „Es öffnet die Tür für Hyper-Relevanz, führt aber auch zu echter Komplexität für Brand Safety Teams. Wer genehmigt was, wenn ein Modell 1.000 Versionen pro Sekunde ausliefert?“
In Cannes erfuhren wir, dass Qualcomm’s KI-Schreibassistent dem Unternehmen rund 2.400 Stunden pro Monat spart, und Havas 400 Millionen Euro für „KI-Teammitglieder“ bereitgestellt hat, ohne menschliche Arbeitsplätze abzubauen.
Doch jenseits der Team-Augmentierung ist KI ein Störfaktor für traditionelle Teamstrukturen.
Wie unser Global CEO, Dimi Albers, sagte: „CMOs investieren in Technologie, Proof of Concepts und Weiterbildung, aber ihre Teams sind oft strukturiert wie in 2015. Was sie unterschätzen, ist die Chance für eine echte Team Transformation. Sie brauchen KI-native Marketing Expert:innen. Denken Sie an Architekt:innen, Künstler:innen, sogar Komiker:innen, die in Prompts denken und ohne traditionellen Marketing-Ballast agieren.“
Während der beste Weg zum Aufbau dieser Teams noch nicht perfektioniert wurde, sollten Führungskräfte jetzt darüber nachdenken, wie sie junge Talente fördern können, die an der Schnittstelle von Kultur und Technologie platziert sind.
“Sie brauchen KI-native Marketer:innen. Denken Sie an Ingenieur:innen, Künstler:innen, ja sogar Komiker:innen, die in Prompts denken und ohne traditionellen Marketing-Ballast agieren.
”Dimi Albers, CEO at DEPT®
KI-Tools wie Firefly und Pencil beschleunigen die Produktion, und es ist leicht, sich auf die Automatisierung zur Ssteigerung der Geschwindigkeit zu konzentrieren. Doch Cannes erinnerte uns daran, dass der wahre Vorteil nicht durch schnellere Automatisierung entsteht; sondern er wird von denen kommen, die das Why neu überdenken.
Jon Judah, SVP Technology bei DEPT®, sagte: „Das erinnert an den Boom um mobile Apps vor Jahren. Die Gewinner:innen waren nicht diejenigen, die um die Entwicklung wetteiferten, sondern diejenigen, die Mobile nutzten, um echte Probleme zu lösen und sich abzuheben (wie z.B. Uber). Marken, die in eine bessere kreative Strategie investieren und Risiken mit provokanterem Storytelling eingehen, werden weiterhin gewinnen – wie sie es schon immer getan haben.“
Wie Sir John Hegarty in seiner Keynote festhielt: „Giganten können nicht tanzen. Echter Impact entsteht durch Mut, nicht nur durch Optimierung auf globale Skalierbarkeit.“
Dieser Drang nach einer kreativen KI-Strategie ist es, was Isabel Perry und Alice Anson, Director of Digital Media bei Nectar360 (Teil der Sainsbury’s Group), in Cannes diskutierten. Anstatt mit KI als Lösung zu beginnen, sollten Marken zunächst zuerst ihre bewährten Entscheidungsprozesse in eine klare, strukturierte Form bringen.
Neben dem KI-Rauschen und der generellen Unsicherheit in der Branche entstand in Cannes eine weitere Diskussion. Und zwar über die Neudefinition von Agentur Geschäftsmodellen.
Die Zeiten, in denen man sich ausschließlich auf traditionelle Agency-of-Record Verträge verlassen hat, sind zu Ende. Marken entscheiden sich jetzt explizit für Agenturpartner, die moderne, flexible Arbeitsweisen anbieten und echtes kommerzielles Gespür sowie ROI in ihrem Ansatz verankert haben. Eine Procurement Führungskraft stellte offen fest, dass „Agenturen, die dies nicht bieten (und nicht nur große Rabatte auf die alte Vorgehensweise),werden schlicht undeinfach nicht berücksichtigt, insbesondere wenn es um das Pitchen neuer Technologien und Methoden geht.“
Dieser Shift erfordert einen strategischen Kurswechsel für Agenturen, um über traditionelle Dienstleistungsstrukturen hinaus klaren Wert und Anpassungsfähigkeit zu demonstrieren.
Wie jedes Jahr bei den Cannes Lions erscheinen die diskutierten Trends und Verschiebungen zunächst klein. Doch sie entwickeln sich schnell zu strategischen Schritten und beeinflussen die Kampagnen des Folgejahres.
Marken, die in dieser Ära erfolgreich sein werden, erkennen: diese neue Zeit verlangt den mutigen Einsatz von Technologie, einen tiefen Respekt für die menschliche Verbindung und die Bereitschaft, alles neu zu erfinden, was sie bisher über Wachstum zu wissen glaubten.
Building brand love with a social-first docuseries
Just Eat Takeaway.com (JET) is a leading multinational, online food and convenience ordering and delivery company that connects hungry customers with thousands of delicious restaurants.
From fast-casual chains to unique holes in the wall, JET is the ultimate platform to find favourite comfort dishes and discover new culinary delights. But not everyone knows about its vast range of locally-loved offerings.
To address this, we launched a social-first, branded content docuseries that garnered more than 11 million views of its first three episodes, a 4% favourability increase and a 136% order boost.
As lead digital agency, we have helped JET launch several iconic campaigns showcasing its delicious offerings and prominent cultural influence.
But while JET is famed for its celeb-fronted campaigns, cementing the brand as the food delivery service to satisfy all cravings takes more than a famous face.
It’s the range and quality of food available that customers keep coming back for, and in the face of fierce competition; JET had a perception problem.
The brand was largely seen as a ‘traditional’ weekend takeaway option, and needed to open people up to new ordering moments throughout the week.
JET needed a strategy to showcase and celebrate the breadth of foodie hotspots available on the marketplace; the ‘local heroes’ that the company was built on, that are the backbone of its business to this day.
These small, typical independently run restaurants have major influence in their communities, and it was our belief that elevating these stories would drive local order volume, helping to fight off competition, as well as help position JET as the food ordering service to satisfy any craving.
Together, we set off on a culinary journey to reconnect the brand with its audience of restaurants and consumers in an authentic and endearing way.
When we were looking at what made these ‘local heroes’ special, one thing became clear and one insight we worked off is this idea that: food made with love and passion hits differently.
Because food is deeply personal… it’s not simply what you put on the end of your fork. It’s the emotion, energy and people that surround it. We wanted to capture that essence in our campaign.
Inspired by popular food-centric shows like The Bear, this short-form series reveals the stories behind the sizzle, spotlighting incredible chefs, bakers, baristas, and more cooking up a storm across the UK.
Each episode of Home of the Hotspots celebrates the culinary creations that make various restaurants unique.
With a neuroscience-led food strategy at its core and fronted by known foodies, the campaign features delicious close-ups of textures and ingredients, digs into the inspiration behind the dishes, and, of course, pays homage to the moment of pure bliss after the first bite.
11.2M
unique users reached in five weeks
69%
YouTube skippable completion rate (benchmark 65%)
60s
average watch time
(benchmark 10s)
Even with just three of several episodes rolled out so far, Home of the Hotspots has captured the attention (and appetite) of the UK’s food lovers.
The celebratory storytelling and docu-style cinematography, infused with the joy of Just Eat, has seen particular success on YouTube. Episode one got more than one million views in its first few days of launching, and the series (so far) has surpassed 11 million views.
We also achieved a 60” watch time of a 90” ad, where YouTube typically sees a 10-15” range. While a Meta brand lift study has shown an initial four-point uplift in favourability.
All of which has contributed to a 136% order increase for the restaurants featured.
With at least six more episodes to come, we and JET will continue to take a bite out of the UK’s food scene—one hotspot at a time.
Global digital agency DEPT® is boosting its creative leadership in EMEA by appointing Rod Henriques as Executive Creative Director.
Henriques will oversee the creative, design, and production teams in the Benelux and Nordics region, and will liaise closely with international creative peers. Henriques will bring 20 years of experience to unlock pioneering work and set the standard for the next era of creativity for clients such as Foot Locker, Netflix, Lotus Biscoff, ING, and bol, among others.
A product of some of the most iconic advertising agencies, Henriques honed his skills at TBWA/Chiat/Day, Jung von Matt, Saatchi&Saatchi, McCann, and BBDO. Most recently, he led Leo Burnett’s team in Dubai, developing campaigns for brands like Head & Shoulders, Pantene, Always, and Pampers. He’s created award-winning work for international clients such as P&G, Coca-Cola, DHL, Audi, Nivea, Porsche, and Mastercard and has over 120+ awards from prestigious advertising festivals including Cannes Lions, Clio, LIA, Eurobest, D&AD, Art Directors Club, and One Show. A true globetrotter, Rod Henriques will be based in Amsterdam, after previously working in Brazil, England, Germany, the U.S.A, and U.A.E.
“We’re in the midst of one of the largest (r)evolutions our industry has seen, and we were looking for someone who believes in the power of combining creativity with media and tech – Rod is as excited as we are about redefining what creativity can mean in the world of today and tomorrow”, said Erwin Bossers, VP of Creative & Media, DEPT®. “Also, it’s rare to find someone so experienced who is humble and a die-hard team player – those are true superpowers and we can’t wait to see the impact Rod will have on our people and our work”.
“Joining a company that provides creatives with a vast canvas of cutting-edge technology is both thrilling and inspiring. As a tech enthusiast, I’ve always flirted with the idea of working in a place that has tech, media, and data at its core to keep pace with how consumers engage with the brands and make decisions today. So, joining DEPT® felt like a natural step in my career, and I am really glad to be part of the team
”Rod Henriques, Executive Creative Director, DEPT®
Besides creating inspiring work that challenges us daily, working at DEPT® also comes with many employee benefits. Check out some of our benefits that are offered to our team in Switzerland.
You will have the opportunity to work in a dynamic environment with creative minds for a variety of large, global and regional clients and drive innovative projects forward.
We are committed to diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We love teamwork, flat hierarchies and respectful cooperation in our team.
We are committed to help you become better on a personal and professional level. It is up to you to map your own career path – vertical or horizontal growth – with boundless enthusiasm for your job. In the development cycle talks with your line manager, you set goals together and discuss how you can achieve them on a regular basis. You will also receive an annual development budget including development days that you can use for this purpose.
Good work is not defined by location. We offer the flexibility to work where you want, whenever you want. Working from home? No problem! We try to provide our employees with the best possible accommodation, taking into account legal restrictions and business requirements.
Despite this flexibility, we also believe that working on site contributes to a positive working culture. In Zurich, we have a spacious and barrier-free office; in Bern, you can expect a small but well-equipped office where you can work in peace and quiet.
We don’t have a strict 9 to 5 mentality; what is most important is that you are available when your clients and colleagues need you, and that you can finish your projects during your work day. Business-related overtime can be compensated.
In addition to the 25 vacation days that are made available to you (FTE 100%), you can even buy additional vacation as icing on the cake – one unpaid week per year or a sabbatical (after the 2nd year at DEPT®) – also known as unpaid leave.
New parents get two weeks on top of the legal maternity and paternity leave to enjoy their newborn daze. We understand it can be a challenge to combine parenthood with your career and try to facilitate this as much as possible with the option to take additional parental leave.
DEPT® strives to be the best digital agency in the world by pioneering in tech and marketing. We not only aim this for our people and clients, but society as a whole. As a B Corp certified company we protect the climate, create impactful work and build towards a more diverse, equal and inclusive organisation.
As soon as you join DEPT®, you automatically participate in our flexible pension scheme. Higher disability pensions in case of illness and an additional lump-sum death benefit depending on the annual salary. DEPT® pays 65% instead of 50% of the premiums. This results in more benefits and at the same time lower deductions for the employees.
In addition, there is the option to switch to Plan B. This is voluntary and means that an additional 2% is deducted from your insured salary, which is credited in full to the retirement capital. It can be used later, for example, for home ownership promotion or early retirement.
Sometimes our body cries out for sugar, or we need some brain food? The way to a person’s heart is through their stomach, isn’t it? Anyway, we have everything your stomach desires as long as it’s sustainable, organic and vegetarian/vegan. And of course, there should be no lack of a fun drink.
Regular participation in sports promotes overall well-being, enhances personal growth, and fosters a sense of community. In our beautiful park next to the Zurich office, we sweat it out together during boot camp, playing football, jogging or cooling off in the outdoor pool in the summer.
We celebrate successes and also enjoy having a fresh drink together on the spur of the moment. Our annual trip to the DEPT® Festival, summer and winter events have cult status.
With our Mental Health Tool, we offer a platform for mental and physical well-being that provides a wide range of content, courses and life coaching services. You and your family have free access to all features, including unlimited consultations with psychologists and lifestyle experts. Confidentiality is guaranteed as professionals adhere to ethical standards.
In addition to the Flexible Working Hours, Special Leave and Mental Health Tool, we offer an Annual Well Being Budget and Personal Day that you can use as you please.
Who has their own fully sustainable clothing brand? We do! A monthly drop so you can go through life fully Deptified!
Great people know great people. That’s why we want to hear from you who you have in your network that we should definitely talk to! If we hire your friend, family member or former colleague you can earn up to CHF 1’000.- on top of your salary.
The following insight is a feature from the DEPT® Trends Forecast 2024. To see all the 2024 predictions, download the 2024 digital trends report.
The world is preparing for the most exciting and innovative year in digital ever, thanks to the possibilities of generative AI. Over the last several months, we’ve quickly progressed from reveling at the human-like responses from chatbots to experimenting with greater, more complex capabilities of large language models (LLMs).
In 2024, as tech giants and industry disruptors compete for GenAI dominance, brands’ creative and exploratory uses of AI will fundamentally change how we work, learn, shop, create, communicate, search, and, overall, interact with the digital world.
Rather than being valued solely for its content generation capabilities, GenAI’s growing ability to understand concepts and context stands to fuel an entirely new digital architecture. This idea is the “conceptual web,” which marks the potential of GenAI and will power user experiences of the future.
Technology leaders have been developing machine learning and artificial intelligence tech since the 1950s, but the steep strides that GenAI has taken since Google’s conception of the transformer model in 2017 are unlike anything society has ever experienced. Today, we see new iterations of LLMs like OpenAI’s ChatGPT released several times per month.
In 2023, the world saw GenAI become widely accepted as an increasing number of digital users leaned on large language models to create everything from text and images to audio, video, and code. Nearly 80% of McKinsey survey respondents claim they’ve used GenAI in or outside of work through tools like ChatGPT, Midjourney, or Stable AI. The technology’s rapid integration into everything from business operations to our individual lives means the race for the next big breakthrough is underway.
From startups to the major GenAI players, tech firms are diligently charging forward to define the next frontier of LLMs’ capabilities. And, according to The Economist, three critical constraints will help to level (and likely shake up) the playing field:
The tools from AI hyperscalers—like Microsoft, NVIDIA, and OpenAI—will continue to get smarter, more accurate, and up-to-date. They will also better understand increasingly long and nuanced instructions and generally be more human-like. We can also expect to see an explosion of niched-down applications and tools that address specific industries and use cases, where many argue GenAI’s true value lies.
To many people, generative AI is simply about mimicking human interaction, disrupting workflows, and driving productivity and growth. But its potential is far bigger and more impactful than that. This technology allows us to perform complex tasks that traditionally demand multiple models, extensive training, and numerous examples.
This begs the question: Can brands harness the power of GenAI to go beyond generating outputs and develop systems that actually comprehend and interact with digital content?
The answer lies in the emergence of what we’re calling the conceptual web, a new digital architecture that taps into generative AI to revolutionize the way we explore and engage with the web.
To understand the significance of this AI-driven development, let’s first discuss data.
Historically, we’ve categorized data into two types: structured and unstructured.
However, this “ignored” unstructured data carries a wealth of information and structure. Human communication, spanning tens of thousands of years, has effectively conveyed ideas through language, writing, and images. Until now, the complexity of these structures was beyond the comprehension of computers.
This is where GenAI and large language models come into play, fundamentally altering the landscape of digital information. The ability of these technologies to understand context enables us to process, understand, and extract concepts from varied forms of human expression.
Many industry experts have been focusing on the generative capabilities of AI, but it’s more than just generating content. It’s about unlocking forms of expression and knowledge where the full spectrum of human experience can be integrated with the power of computing.
This is the essence of the conceptual web – a revolutionary approach to digital architecture that aims to make ideas more accessible, searchable, and understandable at scale.
Think of it this way: Envision your business’s online presence as a brain that reflects the intricate and interconnected nature of our own minds. It’s a network where, rather than connecting related static web pages through hyperlinks, navigation is fluid and users are seamlessly served up relevant information based on connections between even the most complex concepts.
As we stand at the threshold of this generative AI-driven era, the conceptual web promises to redefine our interaction with the digital world, making it more intuitive, inclusive, and insightful. For brands that want to pioneer this digital future, it’s up to technology and marketing leaders to think beyond the most obvious uses of GenAI—like spitting out pages of content—and look toward AI to streamline and personalize their user experience.
For more insights into the AI, digital, search, and technology trends that will shape individuals, brands, and society in 2024, download the DEPT® Trends Forecast 2024.
Explore the most defining trends within technology, marketing, and society as a whole. Using case studies, real-world examples, and documented research, we offer strategic insight for your brand to join us in pioneering this interconnected, culture-driven digital age.
CTO at DEPT®/AI
The international beauty brand essence was founded in 2001 by Cosnova, one of Germany’s largest cosmetics companies. Ever since, the company has demonstrated innovation, zeitgeist and a deep commitment to engaging young, digital-savvy consumers. With the aim of authentically appealing to the emerging Gen Z and Gen Alpha, the brand embarked on a journey with DEPT® on the gaming platform Roblox.
In response to changing consumer preferences and the associated transformation of the beauty industry, essence has ventured beyond traditional ‘make-up’ channels and immersed itself in the vibrant and ever-evolving world of Roblox. This shift is based on the brand’s mission: make beauty fun.
With the support of global digital agency DEPT®, essence has decided to blur the boundaries between beauty, play and self-expression by developing the adventurous Roblox Experience “essence FUN PARK”.
“We want to strategically establish Roblox as another brand touchpoint. We believe that our target group will continue to develop on this platform, which is why we decided on it. And with DEPT® as a strong partner at our side, we are confident that we will continue to grow beyond the boundaries of the beauty industry.” – Thorsten Mühl, Chief Digital Marketing & Experience Officer, cosnova
Trends are constantly evolving in the cosmetics industry, and essence was faced with the major challenge that the industry is in a state of upheaval, driven by the dynamic preferences of tech-savvy Gen Z and Alpha consumers. The challenge was clear: how can the essence brand authentically connect with the young target group and build a close relationship?
Given the constantly changing beauty industry, essence has set itself the overarching goal of being relevant to Gen Z and Alpha in the long term. To achieve this, it is not enough for the target group to love the products – the brand must share and exemplify the values of the target group.
Therefore, the challenge was not just to sell essence products, but to be a catalyst for positive change and motivate a generation to change the world for the better – both virtually and in the real world. This was also to be combined with the brand mission ‘make beauty fun’.
In response to these challenges and objectives, essence was searching for an innovative solution and called in the expertise of the global digital agency DEPT®. After the kick-off workshop, followed by an intensive ideation phase, the idea of developing a Roblox experience was born and the foundation was laid for the ‘essence FUN PARK’ – an imaginative, immersive, adventurous and colourful world on Roblox. In this way, the brand’s young target group was to be addressed exactly where they spend a large part of their time: on gaming platforms.
If you ask Gen Alpha about their favourite leisure activity, gaming is in first place, with 22%. For Gen Z, gaming is in first place with 19% together with the use of social media. 87% of Gen Z specifically state that they use video games at least once a week. And while they are doing this, they are not only playing, but also socialising.
This results in enormous potential for brands to connect with the young target group authentically.
The platform’s user statistics speak for themselves:
Two aspects were pivotal for the successful launch of ‘essence FUN PARK’:
At the heart of the ‘essence FUN PARK’, players can expect a world full of joy and harmony, a real safe space that stands out from the hectic and aggressive nature of typical game worlds. Players start their journey of discovery from the floating, castle-like essence space. Various islands such as Pink Beach, Turtle Island, Gray City, and the new underwater world “Ocean Detox” await them.
All locations and their designs have been strongly influenced by the products and core values of the essence brand. Colorful and diverse, without microplastic particles and completely vegan, the ‘essence FUN PARK’ underlines its commitment to sustainability and beauty.
We also created an environment in which the use of real currency (Robux) is not necessary. By collecting ‘essence coins’, players can acquire everything they need, such as paint tools or stylish avatar items from the ‘Chic Chamber’.
The experience is characterized by popular game mechanics, environmentally conscious mini-games and exciting quests. Instead of the usual competitive dynamics, we rely exclusively on cooperative game mechanics. With friendly house painting tools instead of aggressive shooter elements as well as cute ‘Pick up & Delivery’ and ‘Plant & Grow’ quests, the game offers entertaining tasks for younger kids and teens. And if you just want to hang out with friends, you can use our chill zones with a Ferris wheel, tree house or sun loungers.
The result is an immersive, colorful world that radiates diversity and peace. The essence brand’s mission ‘Make beauty fun‘ has been brought to life.
Play essence FUN PARK here!
Director Strategy & Consulting / Emerging Technologies
The international beauty brand essence was founded in 2001 by Cosnova, one of Germany’s largest cosmetics companies. Ever since, the company has demonstrated innovation, zeitgeist and a deep commitment to engaging young, digital-savvy consumers. With the aim of authentically appealing to the emerging Gen Z and Gen Alpha, the brand embarked on a journey with DEPT® on the gaming platform Roblox.
In response to changing consumer preferences and the associated transformation of the beauty industry, essence has ventured beyond traditional ‘make-up’ channels and immersed itself in the vibrant and ever-evolving world of Roblox. This shift is based on the brand’s mission: make beauty fun.
With the support of global digital agency DEPT®, essence has decided to blur the boundaries between beauty, play and self-expression by developing the adventurous Roblox Experience “essence FUN PARK”.
“We want to strategically establish Roblox as another brand touchpoint. We believe that our target group will continue to develop on this platform, which is why we decided on it. And with DEPT® as a strong partner at our side, we are confident that we will continue to grow beyond the boundaries of the beauty industry.” – Thorsten Mühl, Chief Digital Marketing & Experience Officer, cosnova
Trends are constantly evolving in the cosmetics industry, and essence was faced with the major challenge that the industry is in a state of upheaval, driven by the dynamic preferences of tech-savvy Gen Z and Alpha consumers. The challenge was clear: how can the essence brand authentically connect with the young target group and build a close relationship?
Given the constantly changing beauty industry, essence has set itself the overarching goal of being relevant to Gen Z and Alpha in the long term. To achieve this, it is not enough for the target group to love the products – the brand must share and exemplify the values of the target group.
Therefore, the challenge was not just to sell essence products, but to be a catalyst for positive change and motivate a generation to change the world for the better – both virtually and in the real world. This was also to be combined with the brand mission ‘make beauty fun’.
In response to these challenges and objectives, essence was searching for an innovative solution and called in the expertise of the global digital agency DEPT®. After the kick-off workshop, followed by an intensive ideation phase, the idea of developing a Roblox experience was born and the foundation was laid for the ‘essence FUN PARK’ – an imaginative, immersive, adventurous and colourful world on Roblox. In this way, the brand’s young target group was to be addressed exactly where they spend a large part of their time: on gaming platforms.
If you ask Gen Alpha about their favourite leisure activity, gaming is in first place, with 22%. For Gen Z, gaming is in first place with 19% together with the use of social media. 87% of Gen Z specifically state that they use video games at least once a week. And while they are doing this, they are not only playing, but also socialising.
This results in enormous potential for brands to connect with the young target group authentically.
The platform’s user statistics speak for themselves:
Two aspects were pivotal for the successful launch of ‘essence FUN PARK’:
At the heart of the ‘essence FUN PARK’, players can expect a world full of joy and harmony, a real safe space that stands out from the hectic and aggressive nature of typical game worlds. Players start their journey of discovery from the floating, castle-like essence space. Various islands such as Pink Beach, Turtle Island, Gray City, and the new underwater world “Ocean Detox” await them.
All locations and their designs have been strongly influenced by the products and core values of the essence brand. Colorful and diverse, without microplastic particles and completely vegan, the ‘essence FUN PARK’ underlines its commitment to sustainability and beauty.
We also created an environment in which the use of real currency (Robux) is not necessary. By collecting ‘essence coins’, players can acquire everything they need, such as paint tools or stylish avatar items from the ‘Chic Chamber’.
The experience is characterized by popular game mechanics, environmentally conscious mini-games and exciting quests. Instead of the usual competitive dynamics, we rely exclusively on cooperative game mechanics. With friendly house painting tools instead of aggressive shooter elements as well as cute ‘Pick up & Delivery’ and ‘Plant & Grow’ quests, the game offers entertaining tasks for younger kids and teens. And if you just want to hang out with friends, you can use our chill zones with a Ferris wheel, tree house or sun loungers.
The result is an immersive, colorful world that radiates diversity and peace. The essence brand’s mission ‘Make beauty fun‘ has been brought to life.
Play essence FUN PARK here!
Director Strategy & Consulting / Emerging Technologies
The international beauty brand essence was founded in 2001 by Cosnova, one of Germany’s largest cosmetics companies. Ever since, the company has demonstrated innovation, zeitgeist and a deep commitment to engaging young, digital-savvy consumers. With the aim of authentically appealing to the emerging Gen Z and Gen Alpha, the brand embarked on a journey with DEPT® on the gaming platform Roblox.
In response to changing consumer preferences and the associated transformation of the beauty industry, essence has ventured beyond traditional ‘make-up’ channels and immersed itself in the vibrant and ever-evolving world of Roblox. This shift is based on the brand’s mission: make beauty fun.
With the support of global digital agency DEPT®, essence has decided to blur the boundaries between beauty, play and self-expression by developing the adventurous Roblox Experience “essence FUN PARK”.
“We want to strategically establish Roblox as another brand touchpoint. We believe that our target group will continue to develop on this platform, which is why we decided on it. And with DEPT® as a strong partner at our side, we are confident that we will continue to grow beyond the boundaries of the beauty industry.” – Thorsten Mühl, Chief Digital Marketing & Experience Officer, cosnova
Trends are constantly evolving in the cosmetics industry, and essence was faced with the major challenge that the industry is in a state of upheaval, driven by the dynamic preferences of tech-savvy Gen Z and Alpha consumers. The challenge was clear: how can the essence brand authentically connect with the young target group and build a close relationship?
Given the constantly changing beauty industry, essence has set itself the overarching goal of being relevant to Gen Z and Alpha in the long term. To achieve this, it is not enough for the target group to love the products – the brand must share and exemplify the values of the target group.
Therefore, the challenge was not just to sell essence products, but to be a catalyst for positive change and motivate a generation to change the world for the better – both virtually and in the real world. This was also to be combined with the brand mission ‘make beauty fun’.
In response to these challenges and objectives, essence was searching for an innovative solution and called in the expertise of the global digital agency DEPT®. After the kick-off workshop, followed by an intensive ideation phase, the idea of developing a Roblox experience was born and the foundation was laid for the ‘essence FUN PARK’ – an imaginative, immersive, adventurous and colourful world on Roblox. In this way, the brand’s young target group was to be addressed exactly where they spend a large part of their time: on gaming platforms.
If you ask Gen Alpha about their favourite leisure activity, gaming is in first place, with 22%. For Gen Z, gaming is in first place with 19% together with the use of social media. 87% of Gen Z specifically state that they use video games at least once a week. And while they are doing this, they are not only playing, but also socialising.
This results in enormous potential for brands to connect with the young target group authentically.
The platform’s user statistics speak for themselves:
Two aspects were pivotal for the successful launch of ‘essence FUN PARK’:
At the heart of the ‘essence FUN PARK’, players can expect a world full of joy and harmony, a real safe space that stands out from the hectic and aggressive nature of typical game worlds. Players start their journey of discovery from the floating, castle-like essence space. Various islands such as Pink Beach, Turtle Island, Gray City, and the new underwater world “Ocean Detox” await them.
All locations and their designs have been strongly influenced by the products and core values of the essence brand. Colorful and diverse, without microplastic particles and completely vegan, the ‘essence FUN PARK’ underlines its commitment to sustainability and beauty.
We also created an environment in which the use of real currency (Robux) is not necessary. By collecting ‘essence coins’, players can acquire everything they need, such as paint tools or stylish avatar items from the ‘Chic Chamber’.
The experience is characterized by popular game mechanics, environmentally conscious mini-games and exciting quests. Instead of the usual competitive dynamics, we rely exclusively on cooperative game mechanics. With friendly house painting tools instead of aggressive shooter elements as well as cute ‘Pick up & Delivery’ and ‘Plant & Grow’ quests, the game offers entertaining tasks for younger kids and teens. And if you just want to hang out with friends, you can use our chill zones with a Ferris wheel, tree house or sun loungers.
The result is an immersive, colorful world that radiates diversity and peace. The essence brand’s mission ‘Make beauty fun‘ has been brought to life.
Play essence FUN PARK here!
Director Strategy & Consulting / Emerging Technologies
The international beauty brand essence was founded in 2001 by Cosnova, one of Germany’s largest cosmetics companies. Ever since, the company has demonstrated innovation, zeitgeist and a deep commitment to engaging young, digital-savvy consumers. With the aim of authentically appealing to the emerging Gen Z and Gen Alpha, the brand embarked on a journey with DEPT® on the gaming platform Roblox.
In response to changing consumer preferences and the associated transformation of the beauty industry, essence has ventured beyond traditional ‘make-up’ channels and immersed itself in the vibrant and ever-evolving world of Roblox. This shift is based on the brand’s mission: make beauty fun.
With the support of global digital agency DEPT®, essence has decided to blur the boundaries between beauty, play and self-expression by developing the adventurous Roblox Experience “essence FUN PARK”.
“We want to strategically establish Roblox as another brand touchpoint. We believe that our target group will continue to develop on this platform, which is why we decided on it. And with DEPT® as a strong partner at our side, we are confident that we will continue to grow beyond the boundaries of the beauty industry.” – Thorsten Mühl, Chief Digital Marketing & Experience Officer, cosnova
Trends are constantly evolving in the cosmetics industry, and essence was faced with the major challenge that the industry is in a state of upheaval, driven by the dynamic preferences of tech-savvy Gen Z and Alpha consumers. The challenge was clear: how can the essence brand authentically connect with the young target group and build a close relationship?
Given the constantly changing beauty industry, essence has set itself the overarching goal of being relevant to Gen Z and Alpha in the long term. To achieve this, it is not enough for the target group to love the products – the brand must share and exemplify the values of the target group.
Therefore, the challenge was not just to sell essence products, but to be a catalyst for positive change and motivate a generation to change the world for the better – both virtually and in the real world. This was also to be combined with the brand mission ‘make beauty fun’.
In response to these challenges and objectives, essence was searching for an innovative solution and called in the expertise of the global digital agency DEPT®. After the kick-off workshop, followed by an intensive ideation phase, the idea of developing a Roblox experience was born and the foundation was laid for the ‘essence FUN PARK’ – an imaginative, immersive, adventurous and colourful world on Roblox. In this way, the brand’s young target group was to be addressed exactly where they spend a large part of their time: on gaming platforms.
If you ask Gen Alpha about their favourite leisure activity, gaming is in first place, with 22%. For Gen Z, gaming is in first place with 19% together with the use of social media. 87% of Gen Z specifically state that they use video games at least once a week. And while they are doing this, they are not only playing, but also socialising.
This results in enormous potential for brands to connect with the young target group authentically.
The platform’s user statistics speak for themselves:
Two aspects were pivotal for the successful launch of ‘essence FUN PARK’:
At the heart of the ‘essence FUN PARK’, players can expect a world full of joy and harmony, a real safe space that stands out from the hectic and aggressive nature of typical game worlds. Players start their journey of discovery from the floating, castle-like essence space. Various islands such as Pink Beach, Turtle Island, Gray City, and the new underwater world “Ocean Detox” await them.
All locations and their designs have been strongly influenced by the products and core values of the essence brand. Colorful and diverse, without microplastic particles and completely vegan, the ‘essence FUN PARK’ underlines its commitment to sustainability and beauty.
We also created an environment in which the use of real currency (Robux) is not necessary. By collecting ‘essence coins’, players can acquire everything they need, such as paint tools or stylish avatar items from the ‘Chic Chamber’.
The experience is characterized by popular game mechanics, environmentally conscious mini-games and exciting quests. Instead of the usual competitive dynamics, we rely exclusively on cooperative game mechanics. With friendly house painting tools instead of aggressive shooter elements as well as cute ‘Pick up & Delivery’ and ‘Plant & Grow’ quests, the game offers entertaining tasks for younger kids and teens. And if you just want to hang out with friends, you can use our chill zones with a Ferris wheel, tree house or sun loungers.
The result is an immersive, colorful world that radiates diversity and peace. The essence brand’s mission ‘Make beauty fun‘ has been brought to life.
Play essence FUN PARK here!
Director Strategy & Consulting / Emerging Technologies
Just Eat first launched its now famous tagline ‘Did somebody say…’ back in 2019, with a widely applauded brand campaign targeted across Europe. It raised the game a year later, collaborating with Snoop Dogg to put the brand firmly on the cultural map and secured the brand sonic a place in everyday language.
Fast forward to 2022, following a merger to become Just Eat Takeaway.com (JET), the leading online food delivery marketplace had the opportunity to take ‘Did somebody say’ global for the first. time. ever.
Enlisting pop sensation Katy Perry as the new face of the campaign, it wanted to spread joy across 17 markets in 21 different languages.
DEPT® was appointed as the lead digital agency to extend its iconic TV commercial into online and social channels, helping to cement ‘Did somebody say…’ as a ubiquitous slogan around the world.
Spreading joy sits at the heart of the refreshed campaign, which celebrates the excitement and anticipation that’s felt when the idea of ordering food is suggested, while highlighting JET’s capability to supply food that satisfies every craving.
The music video-inspired TV commercial (TVC), created by McCann London, introduced Katy Perry’s fantastical food world, emphasizing the huge range of cuisines and meals available on the food delivery app.
It was DEPT®’s job to translate and extend the “feeling of joy” and “doorbell moments” of Katy’s world into online and social channels, with overarching objectives to:
01 Increase top of mind awareness (TOMA) globally
02 Increase positive brand sentiment by spreading joy
To deliver on the brief, we recognized that digital executions of the campaign had to not just match, but build upon the world created within the TVC, while retaining all of its original joy.
So, we defined three core things our strategy needed to do…
THE WHAT – DELIVER JOY
Joy is a feeling, not an identity
In the very first ‘Did somebody say…’ TV ad, the thought of ordering takeaway is triggered by watching television. But that’s only one of many possible triggers to order take out. It can be when something good happens, when something bad happens, or simply when nothing happens. Our strategy needed to lean into the myriad of ways to evoke that “doorbell feeling”, and make JET the synonymous solution for ordering in when those cravings strike.
THE HOW – A GLOBAL SOLUTION TO LOCAL CHALLENGES
17 markets, each with their own challenges
Taking the ‘Did somebody say…’ campaign global for the first time ever presented a series of new challenges. Creating thousands of assets in 21 different languages, for use across multiple platforms, meant we needed a flexible mechanic that could be tailored to local market priorities, in order to efficiently build creative that was platform-first, easily translatable and distinctively JET.
THE WHO – FOR ALL
If you eat, then you could be a JET customer
The broad awareness-focused campaign objectives meant that we needed universally relevant creative that appealed to a large majority of the category to help build TOMA, drive positive brand sentiment and, ultimately, spread joy.
We unpacked the TVC world into different, distinctive brand elements that we could leverage and weave throughout our digital-first creative to maintain consistency:
01 Put the talent, Katy Perry, front and centre
02 Utilise the power of the track, especially for ‘sound on’ environments
03 Dial up the brand sonic ‘Did somebody say…’ to drive recall and fame
04 All situated in an entertaining, ownable world that is distinctive to JET
Knowing we had limited time to capture social content in and around the main TVC recording, we were prepared to react fast, be adaptable, and work to what we knew Katy Perry fans and JET audiences would positively respond to.
We defined the key creative and production elements that would fuel our ways of working on set in LA, and ensure our content and assets were hyper-relevant to the platforms being utilized:
01 Minimal narrative, maximum impact
02 Fully immersive point of view and transitions
03 Hypnotizing editing techniques
04 Simple messaging, unique platform-first shots
05 Nostalgic and culturally relevant references
Our campaign ideas were structured into three core phases: tease; launch; sustain.
The aim of the tease phase was to drive hype and mystery around Katy Perry’s upcoming collaboration with JET.
We wanted to keep our audience on their toes and the edge of their seats. We utilized Katy Perry’s fan army to fuel the fire of speculation by leaking a mysterious sneak peek into the collaboration, without giving away too much of the track and TVC.
For the launch phase, where we amplified the TVC across all digital channels to drive users to discover the track, we understood that audiences are super savvy. They can tell straight away if they’re being sold to, often within the first second, forcing them to tap or scroll away.
So our aim was to capture attention first, then share our message. This is where our predefined creative and production elements shone, ensuring distinctiveness and consistency to help increase positive brand sentiment.
We put the talent front and centre as planned, capturing 10 unique, social-first edits on set; facilitating a clear connection between the TVC and the first phase of the digital and social launch, while bringing JET’s audience closer to the action at Katy’s ‘home’.
Our aim in sustaining the momentum of the launch was to drive talkability of Katy Perry and the ‘Did somebody say…’ platform, beyond the TVC.
To further amplify the feeling of joy, we extended the campaign by creating 12 globally relatable, social-first scenarios across a five-day shoot.
The scenarios depicted more of the everyday possibilities to create “doorbell moments” and drive home the message that JET is the answer to any ordering-in situation; from having too much washing up, to moving house, or simply running out of snacks.
We also leveraged JET’s AR lens that helped bring the TVC to social in a fun and engaging way, using it to help fuel TikTok remakes of the ad and bringing it to the top of consumers’ minds in an entertaining way.
We rolled out thousands of motion and static performance assets and accompanying copy for the global campaign, hero-ing Katy as well as the wide range of cuisines and meals available from JET’s app.
And we delivered a series of broader digital assets including social headers, GIFs for inclusion in CRM, and on-site assets.
To effectively and efficiently create these in 21 different languages for 17 markets, we leveraged Lightspeed, our proprietary creative automation tool.
Lightspeed combines a data feed containing all content (footage, images, copy, translations, logos), with a library of AfterEffects and HTML templates built based on the needs of different JET markets. The assets are delivered to our proprietary front end tool, allowing JET’s internal teams across each market to review, feedback on or approve each individual asset.
Once signed off, Lightspeed plugs into various ad manager APIs, allowing assets to be set up based on the business needs of that market, all in all streamlining the process and enabling us to produce, deliver and launch thousands of creative assets in hours rather than weeks.
‘Did somebody say…’ featuring Katy Perry achieved incredible results across digital channels, driving 1.2 billion impressions globally and achieving above benchmark results across multiple brand lift studies, social listening and in-flight metrics for measures like ad recall, view through rate and message association.
Twitter dominated mentions throughout the whole campaign, accounting for 75% of the total. Sentiment was predominantly positive (59%) with only 13% negative mentions.
Our purpose-built, social-first creative drove conversation and global TOMA on TikTok’s ‘sound on’ environment, gaining an average (and higher than benchmarks) 7.5% uplift in ad recall across all markets, as well as an average 5.6% increase in brand association.
Brand awareness shifted in most markets, with the Netherlands seeing a particularly high increase of 6.9% and 2.2% in Germany. We also secured an average view through rate of 24.8% across all markets.
Richard Burgess, Global Principal for Brand Digital and Social Media at Just Eat Takeaway
