New York ad agency KBS+ opened its Chinese outpost in Shanghai in 2015. The agency was part of MDC, a global holding company that also owned Forsman & Bodenfors, the renknown creative Swedish agency. Besides being in the USA and China, KBS+ was also in Canada, while F&B was in Sweden and Singapore. In September 2018, both firms joined forces to create a global agency under F&B’s name. The match was motivated by affinities in their working styles and company cultures, both already prone to collaboration.
2015年，纽约广告公司KBS+在上海开设了中国分部。该广告公司隶属于MDC，而MDC则是一家全球性的控股公司，旗下还有著名的瑞典创意广告公司Forsman & Bodenfors。除了在美国与中国市场经营，KBS+在加拿大有分部，而F&B在瑞典和新加坡均设有办公室。这两家企业的工作方式和公司文化很相似，志趣相投也都有想要结伴而行的意愿，于是2018年9月，两家公司一拍即合，联手以F&B的名义成立了一家全球代理公司。
SHP+ had a conversation with Douglas Lin, Planner | Partner & CEO, and Sherry Shi, Writer | Executive Creative Director of F&B Shanghai, on what sets them apart from other advertising players in China.
SHP+有幸采访到了合伙人兼首席执行官Douglas Lin和F&B上海作家兼执行创意总监Sherry Shi，并就他们与中国其他广告公司的异同进行了交流。
Douglas Lin
Sherry Shi
“Perhaps the most significant difference between us and the other networks is that we don’t consider ourselves a network. We consider ourselves a “Collective”. Each of office runs independently, our own decision-making authority,” Lin says. He adds that not having someone dictating directions is a desirable difference from a corporate culture perspective.
Douglas Lin告诉我们：“或许我们与同行最显著的区别就是我们不认为自己的企业架构是网状的。我们更像是一个‘集体’。每个分部都是独立运营的，也有自己的决策权”。他补充说，从企业文化的角度来看，没有人发号施令是一种可取的差异。
Douglas Lin (planning) Yangwei Wu (creative) on set
Another sought-after characteristic of a collective culture is the creation of a support system. In F&B’s case, it allows them to play on each offices strengths to leverage the international arena. “Our Häagen-Dazs campaign is the perfect example,” says Shi. “The clients global office is in London; their number one market is China, and they’re also powerful across Europe. They wanted a creative solution that worked globally. Hence, our Shanghai and Stockholm offices worked on globally co-creating ideas and concepts versus translating or trasncreating ideas accross different markets.”
集体文化的另一个广受欢迎的特点是拥有支持系统。对F&B来说，这让他们能够利用每个办事处的优势，在国际舞台上发挥影响力。“我们的哈根达斯广告就是最好的例子，”Sherry Shi说。“客户的全球办事处设在伦敦；他们的最大的市场是中国，他们在欧洲也很有分量。他们想要一个能在全球范围内发挥作用的创造性解决方案。因此，我们的上海和斯德哥尔摩办事处致力于在全球范围内共同创造创意和概念，而不是面对不同的市场进行相应翻译或创意转换。”
HÄAGEN DAZS – Don’t Hold Back 不要退缩
The strong bond between the Chinese and Swedish teams begun before the merger, during the shooting of Marriage Market Takeover a much-awarded campaign for the Japanese skin-care brand SK-II. Lead by Bodenfors Sweden, the documentary-style film throws light on the “leftover women.” The unflattering label describes women that haven’t been married off yet—to their parent’s great disappointment. Particularly in the end, with the take over of Shanghai’s infamous “marriage market,” the film sends a powerful message of empathy, not just to woman in China but across the world.
两家公司合并之前，中国和瑞典两个团队早就已经处得非常融洽了，在为日本护肤品牌SK-II拍摄《她最后去了相亲角》期间双方团队就曾有过合作。这部由Bodenfors Sweden主导摄制的纪录片式的短片聚焦在“剩女”这个话题上。“剩女”这个不受欢迎的标签是指那些到了适婚年龄却还未婚的女性 —— 这让她们的父母非常失望。而在影片的最后，随着上海饱受争议的“相亲角”被占领，这部电影不仅向中国女性，也向全世界的女性传递了强大的正能量。
In traditional agencies, highly international projects can be problematic because the different units involved get very protective. However, F&B is happy to share the workload with whatever office makes more sense, no matter who the client contacts first.
在传统的机构中，高度国际化的项目可能会产生问题，因为涉及到的不同单位都有各自的利益所在自然也会有所保留。然而，在F&B不论客户先联系的是谁，大家却都很乐意与任何更适合的办公室分享项目资源。
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Lin insists his team had an international mindset from the beginning. They were never essentially American while under KBS+, nor Swedish after the merger. Composed mainly by young Chinese professionals, the team is representative of modern China with a global oriention. Still, the synchrony with their Swedish counterparts emerged as a surprise: what could Shanghai have in common with Gothenburg and Stockholm? That’s what everybody kept thinking.
林坚信他的团队从一开始就具备国际化的思维。在KBS+时期他们就不是全员美籍，合并后也不是清一色的瑞典成员。这个团队主要由中国青年专业人士组成，是现代中国的代表，且具有全球视野。尽管如此，上海与瑞典同行的意外同步还是令人不禁要问: 上海与哥德堡和斯德哥尔摩有什么共同点呢? 这是萦绕在大家心头的疑惑。
“At first, we were astonished that our offices worked in similar ways. With time, we realized that most of us in leadership positions came from large 4A networks—but were left unsatisfied with the weakness, especially in regards to creative cultures,” Lin says.
“起初，我们惊讶于双方的办公室运作方式的相似。随着时间的推移，我们意识到，双方大多数领导职位都来自于大型4A公司网，但却对这些企业的痛点，尤其是在创造性文化方面，感到不满，”Douglas Lin告诉我们。
Shuo Zhou (client service) and Ona Wu (creative) preparing talent on set
Such feelings of dissatisfaction paved the way for new progressive ways of working, more comparable to a startup than a multinational. A flat organization culture is perhaps the most obvious. “In most agencies, you go into a meeting to find thirteen or fifteen people sitting around a table, but only two people talking. All the others are just sitting there, taking notes, or fetching drinks. In our culture, everyone shares the responsibility – members with less experience are empowered and confident enough to present to C-level clients,” Lin says.
而这种不满的情绪，却为更新更先进的工作方式铺平了道路，类似的工作方式更常见于初创公司，而非跨国大企业。扁平化的组织文化可能是最明显的特征。“在大多数机构中，你去参加一个会议，会发现有13或15个人围坐在一张桌子旁，但只有两个人在说话。其他人就坐在那里，做笔记，或者端饮料。在我们的文化中，每个人都有职责，经验较少的成员也有足够的能力和信心向C级客户展示自己，”Douglas Lin说到。
“We also have a process called ‘The Floor,'” Shi says, referring to a method they created across global offices to boost creativity. “You throw your ideas on the floor and everyone can add to it and give feedback. Literally, everybody from our senior creatives to receptionists can contribute and add to an idea.”
Sherry Shi表示:“我们有个叫做‘地板’的流程。”他指的是公司在全球办公室为了提高创造力而创造的一种工作方式。“你可以把你的创意丢在“地板”上公开，每个人都可以添加更多的创意并给出反馈。实际上，从我们的高级创意人员到接待员，每个人都有机会贡献或添加创意。”
Such as in a startup, Lin kept his team from growing too quickly. They currently are twenty-five people in Shanghai, with plans to hire approximately five more in 2021. Their philosophy is that within a smaller agency, everyone is essential and potentially disruptive. Besides, the relatively small size allows for their much-valued autonomy and flexibility, which ultimately leads them to outperform the competition.
和很多初创公司一样，Douglas Lin也会控制自己的团队人数，避免发展过快。目前他们在上海有25名员工，并计划在2021年再招聘约5名员工。他们的理念是，在较小的机构中，每个人都是必不可少的，也都有潜在的破坏性。此外，相对较小的规模为他们宝贵的自主性和灵活性提供了条件，更能进一步帮助他们在竞争中拔得头筹。
2020 Staff Photo
F&B Shanghai rarely advertises open positions. But that’s not to say that they don’t welcome new talent. “If you’re the type of person who we want, we’ll shift things around and find a place for you” Lin says. To him, “fit” is just as critical component as skills and experience in the hiring process and makes a substantial difference in job performance.
F&B上海很少公开招新。但这并不是说他们不欢迎新人才。“如果你是我们想找的那种人，我们会尽量安排配合，为你找到合适的岗位。”对他来说，在招聘过程中，“适合”与技能和经验一样重要，都对工作表现有着重大的影响。”
In the film realm, before travel restrictions, F&B worked with several foreign production houses spanning from South Africa to Thailand. Like most agencies in the industry, they’re limited to the Chinese offering for the time being. Either way, their choice of whom to work with always has inspiration as a driving force. “It’s hard to describe this feeling. It’s totally intangible. There’s just chemistry when somebody understands your creative vision. After you present the concept, you feel connected with the director, the team, and the cast they offer. It’s a “wow” type of feeling,” says Shi.
而在电影领域，疫情旅行限制之前，从南非到泰国F&B与不少外国制片公司都有过合作。目前与业内大多数机构一样，他们仅在中国市场活动。但不管怎样，不论他们选择与谁合作，灵感总是第一驱动力。Sherry Shi分享说：“这种感觉很难形容。完全是看不见摸不着的。当有人能理解你的创意时，你会产生一种化学反应。在展示了创意概念之后，你会觉得自己与导演、团队以及他们提供的演员心意相通。这是一种让人惊叹的感觉。”
Yangwei Wu and Sherry Shi (creatives) on set
The collective also shares a common goal: to make the world more sustainable and diverse. F&B firmly believes that creativity can be part of the solution. They go as far as actively reaching out to specific industries and companies that they think can positively impact the world.
这支团队还有一个共同的目标: 帮助世界的可持续性发展与多样化。F&B坚信创意是这些问题的解决方案之一。他们甚至会为此更积极地去接触他们认为可以对世界产生积极影响的特定行业与公司。
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Furthermore, the offices of Shanghai and Singapore were the first in Asia to be certified by The 3% Movement. That means that they encourage industries to promote gender equality. F&B as a whole was the first multinational company in the world to have every office certified.
此外，F&B上海和新加坡的分部是亚洲第一个通过3%运动认证的。这意味着他们鼓励企业与行业促进性别平等。作为整体，F&B是世界上第一家所有办公室均有认证的跨国公司。
“Most people think that advertising is a bad thing. But when it’s done the right way, it can make the world a better place. If you look at a lot of our clients and the work we are doing, it’s about inclusion, empowerment, diversity—It’s also about bringing China into the global stage in a positive way,” says Lin.
“大多数人都不认为广告有什么正能量。但如果我们采取合适的方式，它是可以让世界变得更美好的。如果你看看我们的大部分客户和我们正在做的工作，你就会发现，广告是关于包容、赋权与多样性的，它同时还可能以一种积极的方式带中国登上世界的舞台。”
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