Insight

Cross-Border Thinking

Joost Renson - Founder & Inspirator

In September 2017, our Plant a Flag crew travelled to Vancouver, Canada, to start a second agency on the other side of the world. What should a marketing agency from Brussels be looking for in Canada? Especially since we prefer to focus on local businesses and social profits… Well, we have very good reasons for doing so.

Ann-Sophie De Steur
Illustration: Ann-Sophie De Steur

It has always been a dream of mine to cross borders with Plant a Flag. I am a global citizen—and Plant a Flag is an international company. I firmly believe that you need an international mindset to make a difference on the local level. Why?

To become one of the best agencies around, you always have to look at marketing from new angles. By being part of an international community, we simply become better marketers. We get in touch with other cultures, immerse ourselves in new markets and encourage diversity.

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"As a creative agency, it is our duty to open up opportunities for our creatives to develop their full potential"

Furthermore, there is no better way to attract young, talented creatives. With them, we build a strong team to serve our clients even better. Finding the right people has always been paramount and we want to be a great employer, a breeding ground for talent. International experience is an added value for everybody involved.

The advantage of working in a global context? With an agency on the other side of the ocean, we stay in touch with people and companies and can see things through different pairs of glasses. We find these encounters incredibly valuable because they teach us, quite simply, to tackle greater challenges.

Pieter Van Leuven en ikzelf in een meeting met het team in Brussel tijdens ons bezoek aan Vancouver.
Pieter Van Leuven and I video call the Brussels team during our stay in Vancouver.

 

Due to the time difference, our team is available 24/7. This allows us to work with clients from all over the world. To make this run, you have to be 100% transparent of course. That happens to be one of Plant a Flag's core values, both towards our people and our customers.

Teams on different continents accelerate (long-term) projects. When the Belgian team's working day ends, team Canada starts off. This way, we stand stronger to win the battle against big companies, because speed is crucial in a good marketing strategy.

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"We want to be the better creative agency for SMEs and social profits. We are ready for the adventure."

Finally, we think Vancouver is the perfect place for our first overseas adventure. Vancouver is one of the top international cities with powerful vitality. There is good food, creative talent, a thriving SME culture, an incredible outdoor life and a climate similar to... that of Belgium.

A working experience that transcends continents and cultures gives our team an edge over the competition. Result: our clients make an even bigger difference locally.

 

SMEs benefit from cross-border thinking. Marketing that is based on values and principles helps companies and organisations to stay ahead of time. Wondering how we can help your business or organisation? Come along for a free brainstorm.

Start today

 

Pieterjan Schoupe
Tim De Sutter
Sam Verhaert
Nils Vanden Berghe
Thibaud Streignart
Thijs Vervloessem
Joost Renson
Els Gillisjans
Margo Cockmartin