Zagreb, March 14th, 2022

Degordian is an award-winning, strategic-creative digital agency founded in Croatia, with offices in New York City (US), Zagreb (Croatia), Belgrade (Serbia), and Mostar (Bosnia & Herzegovina). Its full package of digital marketing services is tuned to work together under an overarching business methodology.

Daniel Ackermann is the CEO of Degordian. In an interview with TIA, he remembered his background playing computer games, which then drove him to programming and a career in the digital sector. He listed the attributes that make Degordian unique and highlighted the importance of a diverse work place.

To kick things off please can you describe to us a little bit about your city and why it is a great place to work?

Zagreb is an amazing city! It’s not too big and not too small, and it’s only a 2-hour drive from the beautiful Adriatic coast and a 2-hour drive from the beautiful Alps.

How did you first become interested in digital experiences?

A long, long time ago. I loved to play computer games. The greatest switch happened when I tried to create a website, I realized it’s fun — like playing games, but you are doing something useful. That was a thing for me.

Working with the right agency can be a valuable partnership. What attributes do you want people to associate your Degordian with?

• Top talent.
• Top culture.
• Top expertise.
• Top value generation.
• Always striving to do more and better.

How can leadership create and then cultivate an inclusive workplace?

An inclusive workplace has always been the base for me. From the beginning, we tried to offer the same possibilities to everyone. You can see it by our multinational leadership team, which consists of a woman majority. I am not entirely sure which exact activity helped, but I think it’s mostly about mindset and positive examples from our leadership team, and me personally. Also, we were always striving for the best talent because, in Degordian, it’s not important how and where you come from, it’s only important to be the best in what you do.

Tell us about a recent project you’ve worked on that you’re proud of. What particularly brought out the best in you?

I would say implementing a flexible workplace. We implemented a Fix model (work in the office), a Flexi model (you choose where you work) & Remote (you can work from anywhere). I am very proud because we made a great model, a model which other successful companies also started to use later (e.g., HubSpot). We were the first, or one of the first, companies in Croatia to commit to this long term. We created something beautiful and super modern for our team – and that value is important to me.

The perfect client brief: does it exist? What recommendations would you give to clients to help streamline the process between their vision and your process?

The business segment of the project is still often neglected. Marketing is just a tool, but every project has its goal: revenue growth, market share growth, margin increase, the launch of a new product or new market, etc. The better we understand the real goal, the better solutions we can offer.

We are living through the most important pandemic in recent world history. What’s the most stimulating part of working in digital at the moment?

Digitalization all-in. Most of the companies are putting 200% on digitalization and transformation. That is beautiful and very stimulating. Traditional companies are launching new products and digital efforts; IT companies are exploding, new ways of work and cooperation are developing. The world is changing and evolving at the biggest pace ever, and it’s super exciting to be part of it.

With shopper behaviour changing, what impact do you believe machine learning and big data will have on the world of creative production?

Traditionally, marketing was much more about creative and creative people. The Mad Man show was the best example. As digital develops, marketing and creative production are more likely data-driven than only creative. Top creatives must read data literature, analyze customer journeys, heat maps, activities, reactions, test, calculate and iterate. Sometimes, the team has to have even more engineers than creative.

Three top tools you can’t live without?

Google workspace. Calendar, Slack/Facebook workplace.

Ambition or talent: which matters more to success?

Both. Without ambition, you won’t utilize talent. Without talent, it will be much more challenging.

Which unusual skill do you pride yourself in having?

I always thought I would be a good designer.

Thanks Daniel!

Follow Daniel on social media:

LinkedIn

Follow Degordian on social media:

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