Max Lederer: “We’re Going To Need More Soft-Skill Leaders In Advertising”
REKORDER, Berlin-based film and photography creative production studio is proud to support LBB. Over the upcoming months, as part of the sponsorship of the German Edition, we will celebrate creativity and introduce some of the most innovative and creative minds in the industry.
In this conversation, we talk with Max Lederer, managing creative director at Jung von Matt in Hamburg. Over the course of his career, Max has built up a set of unparalleled knowledge and experience regarding German creativity. Here, he reflects on Hamburg’s unique creative culture, his interpretation of Jung von Matt’s iconic trojan horse imagery, and how he’s been staying creatively inspired amidst turbulent times…
LBB> Hi, Max! To start, let’s dial the clock back. What kind of a kid were you growing up, and when did you first realise you were ‘a creative’?
Max> Ha, well nobody has ever asked me that before! I was the youngest kid of four in a relatively middle class family. I was always brought up in a creativity-friendly environment, so I guess you could say it was always inside me, and a career as a creative was predetermined.
However, there is one experience that especially stands out. Near where my family lived, there was a field where the local kids loved to play football. I got involved too, but I was absolutely terrible at it. I mean, truly truly bad. So rather than persist in playing football, I decided to become a fan. Not just any fan, though, the best and loudest fan! So I spent my free time designing placards and writing songs to sing about the teams and their players. Eventually, other kids joined in and there was a whole crowd attending the games filled with kids from the neighborhood.
So that showed me the power of creativity from a really young age - as well as the importance of being a great cheerleader for your team. That’s an attitude I’m still bringing with me every day into my role here at Jung von Matt, whether it’s internally being a fan of our work, or having the passion to pitch ideas to clients.
LBB> For most of your career, you've been based in Hamburg. What can you tell us about the city's creative culture?
Max> Yeah, so I grew up in the south of Germany, in a place where there were mostly just cows. So, when I eventually had a taste of city life it blew my mind. In Germany, we have two key cities with Berlin and Hamburg - not like in the UK, where you see almost everything pulled into London. So it is interesting to contrast the creative culture of the two places.
In Hamburg, one of the first things anyone would likely notice is the influence of the harbour on the city. It’s still a huge port for international trade, and in fact that’s where you can find our office here. There’s a rich creative history, particularly when it comes to music. Not far from the docks, you can find clubs where The Beatles played back in the day. You’ll hear many of them claim that theirs was the gig that made The Beatles huge - though I’m sure there are a few places across the world making a similar claim!
It’s a city of contrasts. There are an awful lot of millionaires who live here, due to the financial sector and also the presence of ‘old money’ which can be seen all over the place. But against that backdrop you have this incredible counter-culture of punk rock and anarchy.
Finally, there’s a proud tradition of activism in Hamburg which also adds to its political vibrancy. Where I live in St Pauli, there’s pretty much a demonstration every weekend. From a creative point of view, it’s inspiring and provides constant fuel.
LBB> More broadly, what's your impression of where German creativity is at right now? What's exciting you?
Max> We’re living through a fascinating period in the history of our industry. The big challenge is how we can truly integrate all of the most important creative disciplines and handle the complexity that comes along with that. You see a lot of big networks currently on a shopping spree to try and achieve that, which is certainly one way to address that challenge. However, I think there’s also a lot of truth in what Martin Sorrell says about it not really amounting to much more than a collection of logos, rather than a consistent creative culture.
So at Jung von Matt, part of our answer to this enormous question is our customised agency TheGame GmbH for BMW. It’s a multi-disciplinary agency which is breaking down silos, and working across corporate communications, marketing, experiential, and PR. These would previously have been separate departments - perhaps even separate companies - but now they all need to collaborate. So that’s the direction we’re going in at the moment, and I’m excited to see where it takes us.
LBB> While we’re on the topic of Jung von Matt - as managing creative director, do you have a responsibility for setting that creative culture yourself? And how do you go about doing so?
Max> I think this also comes back to that point of interdisciplinary collaboration. There’s this idea, quite an old one I must say, of a leader who has total control over their teams and exudes authority. That’s fine, and I’m sure there are plenty of creative leaders in history who could be described similarly. But I don’t think that is the kind of leadership which we need to face the challenges of today.
I think we are going to need more soft-skill leaders in advertising. It’s virtually impossible to lead by example, because you would need to simultaneously be an expert in fields which take whole careers to master. Instead, a modern leader needs to inspire their colleagues and facilitate collaboration across teams who might have spent most of their careers so far in distinctive silos. Equally important is showing your younger talent that they have the space to grow and evolve.
That doesn’t mean it’s all flowers and rainbows - I still believe that there is a great creative role for tension and passionate debate. But it has to be in service of a collaborative environment. That’s what I’m trying to build at Jung von Matt right now.
LBB> I have to ask - what in your view is the significance of the trojan horse, which Jung von Matt has adopted as its logo? Is there a creative philosophy behind that which inspires you?
Max> Good question! I think it’s open to personal interpretation, right? Different people in the agency might give you a different response. Mine is that it symbolises how every idea needs to appear as a gift. It’s a testament to the power of both form and function - the function is the most important thing, but it wouldn’t be possible without the beautiful form. There’s a lesson in that for all creatives, I believe.
It’s a particularly pertinent lesson in today’s world, I think. Ad space is vanishing to a certain extent, with ad-free platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime becoming the expectation for many. So you need creativity to provide beauty which cuts through that and makes your communication relevant. That, I think, is the modern interpretation of the trojan horse.
LBB> Looking back at your own career, are there any projects or pieces of work which stand out as especially significant for you?
Max> You know, that’s a tricky question. One answer that comes to my mind is a project we worked on for BMW. We built an incredibly fast automotive marketing platform, bmw.com.
We used the website as a platform on which to build our own media audience, because this was at a time where social media sites were changing their algorithms and clients were finding they needed to pay double to reach their actual fans. So brands like BMW were finding that they were hugely dependent on these walled gardens like Facebook and Instagram. So we built a solution to that.
Again, that comes back to the little boy building an audience for the football game in his local park. We made our own platform, and used it to promote amazing creative work. So that’s one which I’m really proud of to this day.
Above: A case study video highlighting Jung von Matt's automotive marketing platform for BMW.
LBB> Finally, the past year has been a difficult one for many. How have you stayed creatively inspired throughout it all?
Max> First of all, I thought the whole experience was incredibly fascinating and terrifying at the same time. From the start, it was inspiring to see our whole team switch so seamlessly to a remote way of working. Within the first half year, we actually asked our people how they were finding it and almost everyone said ‘yeah, we love it’.
Then, six months later, we asked the question again and the answer was completely different! People wanted their team back, to see them and to have a drink with them. So, it has been a challenge, for sure.
How we stayed inspired throughout that time was by making a very conscious effort to ensure no-one was left behind, having opportunities to socialise digitally, and maintaining very clear and open lines of communication. I think the result is that the future will be a balance, which is more flexible for everyone.
Through all the hardship that this crisis has inflicted on the world, you can’t deny that it has also rocket-fuelled change. Perhaps I’m a romantic, but I can’t help but feel that a lot of that has been much-needed change. So I’m very optimistic and inspired for the future – and I can’t wait to be with my team again.
