“A Great Strategy Is Like the Perfect Pick-up Line”
Nina Jünemann started working in advertising at 16 and has never looked back. What attracted Nina were “the people, the vibe, and the work” with these motivators remaining unchanged to this day.
As GGH MullenLowe’s chief strategy officer, Nina doesn’t think that the perfect strategy can ever exist without feeling, saying in that way it’s “like a perfect pick-up line.” Nina’s background in communication science and advertising psychology gives her a unique insight into what makes people tick when it comes to purchasing decisions which – even amid all the change – remains steady through the years.
With expertise in analysis, classic branding, and market research, Nina has worked on a number of global and local brands across different retail categories including giants like Martini, BMW, L’Oréal, and NIVEA. Currently, Nina is helping to transform the 185-year-old German brand Knorr with a mix of local and global creatives all working together to “take a leap” for the brand.
LBB caught up with Nina to find out more about her intuitive approach to strategy, the evolution of the beauty category over the last few years, and the essential quality every strategist needs to have.
LBB> Tell us a little bit about yourself - did you always know that you wanted to work in advertising?
Nina> Actually yes, I did – I started in the industry when I was 16 years old, still in high school, earning a little money by helping out at Heye DDB on the McDonald’s account by making booklets for presentations (still a thing back then), sending out couriers and stuff like that. I loved the people, the vibe, and the work. I then went to university after school to study communications sciences and advertising psychology, so never really thought about doing anything else.
LBB> Your educational background is as a communication scientist and advertising psychologist. What kind of perspective does this context bring to the role you’re in today?
Nina> I really love the fact that even though the world of advertising has so massively changed, at the heart of it, it’s still the same game: how can we help people discover that we can solve a problem they have, or feed a need they feel, or make them fall in love with our brands and products?
LBB> You’ve worked with a lot of global beauty brands. How is the landscape of beauty advertising changing and what challenges are beauty brands facing today?
Nina> Beauty advertising has become more authentic over the years. The definition of beauty has broadened, is becoming less of a stereotype and feels so much more as if it is really talking to people on eye-level, rather than from a distanced pedestal which used to be the case. I also really like how some beauty brands are either massively leading in tech like L’Oréal, or leading in authentic conversations, like many of the smaller, DTC brands like Trinny London. For sure, some of the challenges include shaping a new ideal of beauty that includes every aspect and expression of beauty – and at the same time, is still aspirational and delivers a promise that will excite people. And again, also here, we need to stay clear from stereotypes and be real. It's a really fine line.
LBB> What’s essential to a great strategy? Or, what differentiates a great strategy from a mediocre one?
Nina> Ha. I could repeat all the points that we all know – needs to be rooted in an actual truth, needs not to be artificially constructed, needs to authentically place the brand in a resonating context, blah blah. But honestly: I will always believe a strategy is not about a perfect analysis and a right brained deduction of logic. The beauty of strategy, in my opinion, lies in leaving the trodden path, being surprising and yet a 100% logical answer to what people are feeling. Not thinking. For me, strategy is creative work. We could leave our job to the consulting firms if it weren’t. A great strategy is like the perfect pick-up line: smart, underused or never used before, goes straight to the heart and lands in a yearning that people may never even have consciously felt.
LBB> Do you think that strategy and strategists get enough credit in our industry? Why / why not?
Nina> I’m not so much of a credits person so I don’t really care. I want to work with my friends at the agency and in the network and our clients, to create amazing work that moves people. Sure, it’s fun to get on stage and receive an Effie, but I want work out there that we can all be proud of together.
LBB> Are there any current trends that you’re either implementing in your work or steering clear of?
Nina> Purpose marketing probably isn’t a trend anymore. It has always felt questionable for me. Artificially constructed in many parts or confused with ESG. I really relate to how corporations are changing their viewpoint on that, e.g. Unilever which left its “Every brand needs a purpose” dogma to a new understanding of carefully analysing which brand does have a true purpose (e.g. Dove) and which may not. Be cautious when someone tells you their brand needs a purpose. Either it’s engraved in its DNA – or please leave your fingers off…
Nina> Of all the projects / campaigns etc. that you have worked on over the course of your career, which ones are you particularly proud of and why?
Nina> I am proud of probably 90% of the stuff that we do, be it a huge brand activation for UPS or a web tool developed for IKEA. I am proud of our team, of our agency, of the quality of the work we produce, of the brightness and the passion of the people I work with. If I weren’t I couldn’t do this job, honestly.
LBB> Thinking specifically about your work at GGH MullenLowe, what stands out as a great success?
Nina> I think we’re just at the beginning, but the transformation of the 185 years old brand Knorr in its home country Germany is for sure one of the most exciting tasks I’ve ever worked on. And the team is great – local and global clients, local and global agency. A wild bunch of people really wanting to take a leap for this brand. We’re starting to see that our boldness is paying off, and I am crazy excited about what is yet to come.
LBB> In your opinion, what are the qualities and skills that all great strategists need to have?
Nina> There’s a single quality I look for when hiring people for my team, and to be honest I believe that this extends to any role in a creative agency: you need to love people. The worst characteristic a person in the industry can have is arrogance. Advertising is never about selling, it’s about understanding needs and finding ways of fulfilling them. We’re here as an industry to make people happy.
LBB> Finally, how do you see the role of the strategist change and evolve over the coming years?
Nina> I have no clue. One thing though is sure: there will be change. Which is good because it keeps our job exciting.
