Buenos Aires, December 29th, 2022

Pol Fabbri is the Founder and General Manager at !PAF Collective. In an interview with TIA, he described the challenges in building his own agency and the things that make !PAF Collective succeed in a competitive environment. He also highlighted the importance of spending time with clients and predicted hybrid work is here to stay.

To kick things off, could you tell us your favorite thing about living in your city?

I live in Buenos Aires my entire life so far, in the San Isidro neighborhood (2 km away from the agency’s main office), I am quite used to the city dynamics, also my family and closest friends are near this area. It’s beautiful being on the banks of the Río de la Plata with a lot of watersports (I’m into Kitesurfing) and of course, fútbol, playing at least twice a week. A place with a lot of history but relatively young. Social life is incredible, you can’t miss Sunday`s family “asados” or any other day with friends. Buenos Aires is unique, a mix of imposing culture and global city.

As a Founder, which have been up until now, the key challenges in building the agency?

I think that when you’re starting out, time is your most critical resource. At an agency level, the game is using that time to identify businesses, people and challenges that you enjoy spending your time on. I think it’s somewhat of a myth that you should “know your calling” and it’s more of a process of discovery and elimination. You can’t make better decisions until you have more information, so I think that varied, real, and clear inputs are the main challenges to gain experience and constant honest evaluation and adjust accordingly.

I also believe that the most important thing is to understand that you will always, but always, have a new challenge to overcome. That is why being annoyingly resilient is the key to success. Now as we keep growing, the main challenge we have is to build a people-focused agency, and maintaining a professional, trained, creative and happy team is key to adding differential value to agency life as well. I also believe that creativity is subjective and constantly evolving, which is why having a network of contacts is essential.

What do you want !PAF to be associated with?

We make businesses growth with Data-Driven Creativity and digital experiences that people love. I like to think that we are an agency with “common sense”, that understands that digital efficiency empowers humans. Also, I would like to be associated as a thinking company focused on people, because of the team we are building is the value we share, we can give our essence to brands and leave our mark.

Not everything is revenue, we also have to be aware of the world we live in and the society we live with, that is why as individuals we can also help from the place of knowledge we have, this initiative is called !PAF For None Profit (!P4NP) in which we donate our hours twice a year (and if we can more) to an NGO in need.

What skills and experiences would make an ideal candidate?

We are looking for people who are original, with diverse backgrounds and believe that technology can be used to offer better services and creative experiences to our brands. We encourage the freedom to do important things (and not so much), working with a team that respects you, values entrepreneurship and embraces constant change.

It is essential that all new collaborators understand and share our values, because BEING REAL and not being afraid to say what you think, generates super interesting debates that improve the results. But we don’t have to stop there, we must always challenge, even though we know that the future is uncertain, so that we can be prepared for that. Listening to others and saving your energy for what is really worth is part of an ideal candidate, the one who brings ideas, not egos. But where there is a challenge, we must have the faith to go forward in what we believe is the best thing to focus on.

Of all the recent projects your agency has produced, which one are you most proud of?

The Factory King. An amazing story-based free game full of surprises, based on the SIDE PROJECT movie by our client Puppeteer Productions.

OBJECTIVES

Graphic Novel-style artwork with stunning graphics.
Based on the hit movie ‘SIDE PROJECT’, a group of young programmers find abandoned technology that can detect paranormal presence. With this finding they create an application on their cell phones that allows them to see real ghosts. Their ambition to see the dead will make them transgress the ethical limits of technology, endangering their own lives.

MOBILE GAME
It all depends on your choices.
Every choice you make will change your story. Each small choice will change your relationships with comrades and change your fate and that of your comrades at critical moments. You can be the new ghost king or queen or be killed by other ghosts.

EXECUTION
What choice will you make next?
“SIDE PROJECT: The Factory King” is an amazing mystery visual novel story game based on the horror movie ‘SIDE PROJECT’. It is a unique decision-based storytelling game where the user can create their unique story based on the choices they make. Follow this story on App Store or Google Play.

How much time do you spend with customers?

As much as possible. As an agency process, we believe that the client is a fundamental part of the creative efficiency of our campaign and actions. You must be involved in the entire decision-making process, guidelines and past business experiences that helps us improve day by day. In numbers, according to our record of hours, in the last 6 months we dedicated to current clients: 43 hours per month approx. This may be subject to acquiring new accounts, which requires more attention from my own time.

If you could change or improve anything about the interactive industry, what would it be?

Break the paradigm of the old traditional agencies, those that could do everything with the same resources. Those who had an extremely high income and their employees in many cases did not have the best benefits. It is important that we, as an industry, generate an evolution towards responsible business, where the entire value chain wins accordingly. From the industry’s point of view, the development of Web 3 and collaboration between platforms can give us many more tools to communicate better.

What are the essential elements to bear in mind to have a super brand identity?

First of all, working with !PAF.

Integration is not just a word, is a belief that is actively reinforced and amplified in our approach to digital marketing. In addition to developing holistic strategies for omnichannel campaigns, a collaborative team embraces digital creative thinking within its own specialty, combining the worlds of brand planning, content, development, and metrics to best solve digital branding objectives.

Have a conversation with your community and not a one-way conversation from the brand. Patience and perseverance in the execution of the strategies and above all things, a constant challenge strategy. Today we can measure everything, what works and what doesn’t.

What is the impact of social media on the marketing industry?

I believe that, like everything in the digital environment, it is constantly evolving. Today, independent content generators make a difference, but they force us to always be innovating, a campaign that used to run for three months, now, lasts a week. This can be counterproductive with the quality of the content that is generated, since many influencers seek reach or relevance over quality. It is also important to analyze the behavior of the main social media, which in many cases seems to seek profitability for their own business by absorbing the functionalities of new technologies. Is Instagram’s new 2022 algorithm seeking to be more like TikTok, losing the original essence of Instagram engagement? Maybe.

Is hybrid working here to stay?

Totally. I firmly believe that the balance between personal life and work is essential for the people and the agency. The best way to handle it is by having a people-centric approach. Our collective strategy has always given us a work vision by objectives. It does not matter if you are on the beach, in the bathroom or in your office. Of course, it is important to maintain human contact to encourage creativity, after all, “screens” (as we already know in digital marketing) are a barrier to the person. Hybrid work gives us freedom, but we must not abuse it.

Do you focus more on problem-solving or opportunity creation?

I am one of those who likes to think that every problem gives us an opportunity to create or adapt. So, whenever I come across a problem I like to  as an opportunity to create a solution. It’s never one or the other, we must create opportunities and that probably puts us in a problem-solving mode, like an infinite loop.

How would you describe the interactive industry in Buenos Aires?

Constantly growing and with a lot to offer but limited by the political and economic situation. We have a great human capacity, professionals, developers, and creatives, many of them prefer to work abroad even though it may cost them more to start their professional career. As a country we have a tremendous loss of talent that does not benefit the industry at all.

What are your favorite ways to decompress outside of work?

Fútbol. Quality time with my family friends. Read, at this moment open books: Mark Manson: The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck. Michael Townsend Williams: Do Breathe: Calm your mind. Find focus. Get stuff done. Ed Catmull: Creativity S.A.

Can you name the global issue you are most passionate about and why?

Inequality. We need to socially promote a general welfare based on meritocracy but with same opportunities for all. Ecological, economic, and social sustainability.

Please share a fun-fact that not many people know about you

It’s funny, I’m a serial stuff hoarder. It’s not funny to laugh, it’s funny to be weird, as my wife says…

Thanks Pol!

• Learn more about !PAF Collective at https://paf.ag/
• Follow Pol on social media:

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