Hello!
My name is Roman Pivovarov, I’m the cofounder & managing partner of ADCONSULT, a networking consultancy for the advertising, media, digital & commucations agencies.
One of our key recurring projects for the past 12 years have been the International Networking Journeys that we organize for the CEOs of advertising & marketing agencies worldwide.
And that’s exactly why we’re coming to South Africa this June 10th-14th with an international team of 10 agency CEOs for a week of meetings with South Africa’s prominent creative & ad agencies.
ADCONSULT at Ogilvy, Sao Paulo, 2016
I'd like to propose a meeting with you & your team for a group of ~10 CEOs and owners of independent creative, digital, marketing, and advertising agencies from Serbia, Argentina, Dubai, Russia and Azerbaijan.
We'll be visiting South Africa on the week of June 10th-14th for agency visits / coffee / beers to connect with colleagues from advertising and creative industry.
— Johannesburg: June 10th and 11th.
— Cape Town: June 13th and 14th
Nothing formal or official, we’re not a “delegation” or anything, just a group of colleagues and friends from different agencies (please see list below). Think of us as an informal club of agency owners.
Also, please note that this networking event involves no costs for you as our hosts. We are not asking for any payment for this meeting, nor are we offering a fee for it. Our aim is purely for mutual exchange and connection.
ADCONSULT at Asiaray Outdoor, Hong Kong, 2019
Our primary objective is simple get-to-know-you and networking to explore new business opportunities and collaborations with colleagues across the world.
And we’d like to meet with likewise open-minded creative and marketing agencies, their leadership and founders.
So, perhaps, it would be possible to arrange a brief 1-2 hour visit to your office to meet with you and your creative & leadership team?
Let me know if you're open to that.
I will appreciate your prompt response.
ADCONSULT at R/GA, Buenos Aires, 2019
We believe that agency's growth is fueled by new connections, new insights, new markets and meeting new people in the industry (and beyond it, of course).
This is exactly why every few months we gather together a group of agency owners (each time it’s a different group) to go on a journey to some new country and new market to meet and connect with fellow creative agencies and their best minds.
During each of our one-week trips we usually have about 10-15 meetings with different local agencies, creative associations, marketing & research companies, etc.
We learn from each other, share tools, client work, discuss potential collaboration & joint projects, engage in external expertise, explore opportunities, etc.
Here are a few examples of potential business opportunities that could emerge from such meetings:
Objectives and opportunities
First of all, many of the clients that our agencies represent are interested in entering and investing in African markets.
Especially the ones in edutech, retail, real estate, banking / fintech and FMCG sectors.
They encourage our participating agencies to actively seek advertising and marketing partners, which could potentially make your agency a valuable choice for them.
That is one of the reasons for us choosing South Africa as a one of the destinations for this year's networking journeys.
Secondly, numerous adtech, martech, and e-commerce products that we work and partner with on our local markets are now expanding globally.
These products are also in search of partners and vendors in the region.
Thirdly, agencies in our group with existing international clients are looking for reliable partners, suppliers, and professionals who can assist them with various aspects of their work, such as outsourcing creative work, for example.
Finally, perhaps, your clients as well might be interested in expanding into the regions covered by the agencies in our group.
Of course, there are no guarantees that we will strike immediate business deals the very next day. :)
Nevertheless, our experience of over a decade with similar networking projects in other countries speaks for itself.
Concrete business opportunities often arise from such meetings, where our members find partners, exchange clients, or become vendors for each other's projects.
We strongly believe that such networking meetings are very valuable both, to the participanting agencies and to our hosts.
Two final important things need to be said to clarify our objectives:
First, our goal is not to sell services or seek employment opportunities. Our international networking journey is not about junior agencies or freelancers looking for work.
Quite the opposite, we often bring clients along to these meetings, emphasizing the mutual exchange of insights and experiences rather than transactional relationships.
Secondly, please note, this networking event involves no costs for you as our hosts. We are not asking for any payment for this meeting, nor are we offering a fee for it. Our aim is purely for collaborative interaction and building connections.
ADCONSULT at Bandeirantes, Rio De Janeiro, 2013
As I mentioned earlier, we are a group of a group of ~10+ CEOs and owners of independent digital, media, marketing, and advertising agencies from Serbia, Argentina, Dubai, Russia and Azerbaijan.
Here is a list of participants for you to review and assess the caliber of the members:
List of participants
Roman Pivovarov
Managing Partner, ADCONSULT
Buenos Aires
Argentina
Denis Batalin
CEO, QB Agency
Subotica
Serbia
Jeyhun Imanov
Founder & CEO, JIS
Baku
Azerbaijan
Aleksandr Sysoev
CEO, 2GIS
Novosibirsk
Russia
Andrei Chuprov
Founder & CEO, Reklamist
Ukhta
Russia
Kirill Khrulev
Co-Founder, Reklamist
Ukhta
Russia
Julia Volik
General Director, Exedrive
Manila
Philippines
Boris Molodov
CEO, General Counselor
Moscow
Russia
We are not an official delegation, we are simply marketing and advertising professionals, very much like you, seeking new partnerships, exploring new markets for our clients, and looking for innovative solutions.
You could think of us as something akin to an informal club or an association of agency owners.
ADCONSULT at Heads, Stockholm, 2018
Since 2012 we’ve organized 30+ similar international networking events for the advertising community in over 20 countries.
Agency networking journeys 2012—2024
Over these 12 years we've met and collaborated with 400+ agencies worldwide, big and small, local and multinationals.
Our hosts and partners across the globe
Initially, ADCONSULT was a networking project for the advertising, media, and digital industry in Russophone (Russian-speaking) markets, including Russia, ex-USSR countries, Eastern Europe, and other regions with a significant Russian-speaking presence.
We brought together approximately 1200 agencies for networking, collaboration, and joint projects.
In 2020 we’ve moved our offices to Subotica (Serbia) and Buenos Aires (Argentina) to broaden the scope of participating agencies that join us on these journeys.
ADCONSULT networking projects, 2012—2024
We would greatly appreciate the opportunity to visit you at your office.
Usually, our networking meetings last for 1-2 hours.
Here's a suggested simple & straightforward agenda for our gatherings:
Simple get-to-know-you agenda
1. Quick Round of Mutual Introductions
We can start with brief introductions, allowing everyone to get to know each other.
A concise self-presentation is encouraged, including details about each participating agency's specialization, key activities, and future interests.
2. Brief Agency Presentation
We appreciate it when our hosts provide a brief and informal presentation of their agency.
This serves as an excellent opportunity to cover the essentials, such as showcasing your work, philosophy, and approach to clients' tasks.
3. Sharing Ideas and Proposals
We encourage our participants to share their thoughts and proposals regarding potential joint projects.
This can encompass clients interested in market expansion, digital and marketing tools for sharing or launching, and feedback on these ideas.
4. Exploring Cooperation Opportunities
At this stage, we delve into the grounds for potential cooperation and make notes for future discussions.
5. Interactive Q&A Session
The bulk of our meeting time is dedicated to a lively Q&A session.
We address various topics, including market dynamics, tools, technology, and potential clients.
The group typically has numerous questions, and we rely on our moderator, the head of the group, to ensure a mutually beneficial discussion.
6. Informal Networking
We conclude with informal private chats, allowing for future contacts and connections.
So, nothing strict, actually.
Usually, it’s just a basic intro / quick credentials, sharing of some work with each other, some insights on the market and mutual opportunities, simple networking and discovering how we can useful to each other.
Basically, just very informal gatherting with lots of Q&As both ways over coffee or beers.
Or we could run our meeting in a more “organized” and issue-focused way.
Here are a few other options:
Examples of a more dedicated agendas
Sometimes, when we do agency visits and the hosting agency teams join us for a couple of hours, we can have a brief workshop session to facilitate experience exchange and make it more structured and fun.
1. Joint Work on a Sample Client Brief
For instance, we may jointly work in mixed teams on a client’s brief, and offer our hosting agency some international insight and new ideas from our side on how to handle it, while gaining insights about local approaches from our hosts as well.
That’s a good learning opportunity for both of us.
2. Toolkit Exchange
Another example is a session of “tools exchange”, where we share with our hosts the toolkits that we use for our agency management tasks, handling clients, analytics, digital platforms that we employ, etc.
And then our hosts show us their tech stack as well.
This is often very insightful, because we all enrich ourselves with new instruments.
3. Structure & Processes
Or this can be a session of a “structure and process discovery” where we share with each other how (and why) are our teams functioning, what we’ve tried, what works, what doesn’t.
For example, how we handle talent management and growth, how we track performance and efficiency, etc.
Since we are all from different markets and don’t really compete, almost never meet in client pitches, thus, we can be very open and sincere with each other during these meetings.
Eventually it is up to our hosts to choose the format that they find interesting and suitable for them.
In any case, all these meetings are very-very informal and friendly gatherings.
In the words of one of our hosts:
Guys, you won’t believe it, but this has been highly fruitful for our team, because you have asked us questions that we would have never asked ourselves.
These meetings are incredibly beneficial for all participants and definitely are an enjoyable and enlightening experiences for the hosting agency as well.
ADCONSULT at GWA, Berlin, 2017
We truly believe that our clients may benefit from our partnerships with South African agencies and their approach to creative communication.
And, perhaps, we can bring something to the table for you as well.
So if you and/or your team have a few free hours during the week of June 10th-14th, we'd be thrilled to meet with you.
This is why I'm proposing this brief meeting to explore the opportunities that are currently unfolding for potential partnerships.
Let's meet up and research these possibilities together.
Please let me know if you are open to that.
We’ll discuss the preferred format of the meeting and set up the exact date & time.
I look forward to connecting with you soon.
ADCONSULT at DDB, Seoul, 2015
Feel free to email me or message me at your earliest convenience:
Email:
roman@adconsult.agency
WhatsApp:
https://wa.me/+5491126807568
Telegram:
https://t.me/romanpivovarov
Facebook:
https://fb.com/pivovarov
I look forward to connecting with you soon.
👍 Thanks!
Global Networking and Consultancy for Advertising Agencies and Media Companies
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