Inspired by the designation of its host city as the European Capital of Culture for 2018, the ICOM network of independent advertising and marketing communication agencies is making the juxtaposition of "culture" and "capital" the centerpiece of its 2018 EMEA regional meeting here Oct. 17-19.
Hosted by ICOM member Switch, a digital and brand agency based in Valletta, the meeting incorporates sessions that explore how a company’s capital depends on its people, and therefore company culture is essential for businesses to keep in mind. The meeting is an opportunity for ICOM members to come together to meet and share experiences, successful initiatives, and ideas for enrichment in order to stay at the top of their game.
"Since our city was honored as the European Capital of Culture for 2018, we felt compelled to host this important meeting for ICOM and equally important to focus on 'Culture' as our theme," said Richard Muscat Azzopardi, Switch CEO. "A great company culture is the one factor that helps make companies and agencies more attractive to top talent. It's very pertinent to us as an agency because we help our clients work on company culture as part of our brand consultancy."
As further indication of ICOM’s belief in nurturing its unique cross-border culture as well as the commitment of agency members to invest in its rising stars, the network is also sponsoring a two-day digital marketing boot camp for "under 30" staffers.
For the boot camp, ICOM engaged Martin Henley, Owner, The Effective Marketing Company, Sussex, UK, to concurrently conduct a separate two-day digital marketing workshop entitled "Creative Future Thinking." Participants have the opportunity to collaborate on solving a real business issue, which will be delivered to the ICOM agency leaders at the closing of both of the meetings in a series of presentations that can also be taken back and presented to their respective agencies.
The meeting is being preceded by a press conference and panel discussions with ICOM members from across the EMEA region talking about how to improve company culture and what agencies themselves are doing within their own organizations to do just that. Journalists from Malta's business and industry media as well as representatives from local businesses have been invited.
One of the participants, David Longden, ICOM Europe Regional Director - International Operations and Group CEO, Golley Slater London, advises, "Look out for culture killers. A strong company brand that has real appeal and ownership works best when all employees understand and buy into the three key drivers of culture. First, why their company exists, its beliefs and purposes. This is hard to define, but the most motivating, so it's worth the effort to clearly identify it. Then understand how we make our 'why' happen. Finally, what our company does becomes relatively straightforward. Once we have worked out how, every member of our team is guided by and conducts themself in keeping with our Golley culture. The key words are 'every member' - all of us must walk the walk, all the time, every time. Any time one of us lets this slip, our culture becomes weaker."
The three-day event is filled with panel debates and guest speakers. Participants include Ed Muscat Azzopardi, Switch Director of Brand, who will talk about the importance of brand for company culture, and David Darmanin, Founder-CEO, Hotjar, who will tell attendees how Hotjar manages to foster company culture in an organization that works exclusively with remote employees.
Another panelist Christophe Levyfve, ICOM Europe Regional Director-Internal Operations and Owner-CEO, Netco Group, outlined the challenges in fostering a consistent culture when working with staff in three sister companies offering different services, all with offices in three different cities - Lille, Paris, and Brussels. As part of that in an effort for Netco to achieve its 2025 vision, Levyfve last year hired a new head of human resources now implementing an inventive initiative, which establishes a profile of each employee and creates a customized career road-map to help each one achieve their goals. "Although in early stages, the program is reaping benefits. We have received excellent feedback from staff. I am not aware of agencies that have taken this as far as we have," Levyfve said.