• The 18th Innovation Day focused on brands in the digital age in the new House of Communication
• Serviceplan Group presented the new House of Communication to the public for the first time
• After inspiring presentations, 750 guests from business, media and the arts celebrated the opening of the new House together

Munich, September 28, 2022 – Today, at the yearly Innovation Day, the who’s who of the German communications scene discussed how brands can succeed in not losing touch in times of increasingly rapid change. The Innovation Day is held by Serviceplan Group and its partners REPUBLIC, AdAlliance and SAP. Approximately 750 board members, managing directors, brand managers and top speakers from the realms of business, research, media and the arts were given exciting insights into digital transformation, the metaverse, real-time marketing and the ever-changing needs of consumers. In the evening, guests were given a first glimpse of Serviceplan Group's newly opened House of Communication, which sets new standards in the field of innovative work culture and new work in Munich's trendy Werksviertel district.

The House of Communication – probably the most exciting agency building in the world

For the Serviceplan Group, 2022 is the year of change – after 22 years at Munich's Königsplatz, Europe's largest partner-led agency group has moved to the new House of Communication in Munich's trendy Werksviertel district. Between the Innovation Day and the evening event, guests had the opportunity to get to know this innovative meeting place of modern work culture and communication and to personally experience the architecture, art and New Work elements.

One of the outstanding elements in the new House of Communication is the iTrack, which was presented to the public for the first time today. On the second floor, this corridor connects all three buildings like a main artery to form the House of Communication. A 130-meter-long and six-meter-wide carpet of light is part of the new orientation system and the innovative lighting concept. The large LED walls along the iTrack invite visitors to discover campaigns, animations and interactions virtually.

Together with special guest stunt pilot Dario Costa, Florian Haller, CEO Serviceplan Group, discussed the importance of speed and presented the joint campaign "Tunnel Pass Project" –  which was honored with five entries in the Guinness Book of Records – to the numerous guests.

"Some steps you don't take often in life. They change the way we live, the way we think – or the way we work. By moving into our new House of Communication, we are all taking just such a step together: into a light-filled, groundbreaking building that opens up not only to the inside, but also to the outside. That celebrates and strengthens what makes us successful. That will play its part in a vibrant part of Munich, the Werksviertel. And which, like no other, stands for ÜberCreativity, i.e. creative awakening beyond all categories," says Florian Haller, CEO Serviceplan Group

Voices of the day

"Adapting to new situations and making decisions quickly – these factors are not only very relevant for the economy at the moment, but more than ever for politics as well."

In his lecture #Speed & Economy, Prof. Clemens Fuest, Chairman of the ifo Institute, outlined current challenges and opportunities for the economy and requirements for politics.

"The metaverse is a product created by many: Developers, creatives, politicians, many young start-ups and other key players. [...] As an ecosystem with many different players, everyone has to cooperate. [...] This is a challenge, but I strongly believe that the Metaverse [...] will come."

Angelika Gifford, Vice President EMEA at Meta, introduced the new communication universe and presents first cases in her presentation #Gamechanger Metaverse.

"Automation means simplifying and accelerating processes of action. But we still have a hard time with this, because we are afraid of losing control. [...] We therefore have to see our entire marketing as a permanent test and scale it quickly. [...] Inspiration is good, measurability is key."

In the #Realtime-Marketing slot, Philipp Justus, Managing Director Google Germany and Vice President Central Europe, explained how flexible, data-driven real-time solutions dynamise brand success in the long term.

"I would like to correct a mistake that has been made very often, also by me: it's not technologies that change the world, but the way we use them."

How social media is changing the world and what that means for advertising and television was presented by blogger and internet pioneer Sascha Lobo in his talk #Speed of Media.

"How you engage with your customers digitally, needs to be a bold-lettered conversation."

Alex Timlin, Head of Solution GTM at SAP Customer Experience, showed how brands can keep up with the fast pace in the #Speed of CX Transformation talk.

"We want to achieve a holistic shopping experience for our customers – 'channel doesn't matter' is our omnichannel strategy. [...] But as long as you can't smell the fragrance online or 'feel' the cream on your skin digitally, [...] the in-store business will remain the foundation."

Nicole Nitschke, CEO DACH Douglas, presented the strategy behind the success story of market leader Douglas in her #Speed of Commerce talk.

"Digitalisation is all well and good, but we need to keep in mind were it all started. [...] For me, digital media are tools. [...] And if I'm honest, I'm very happy that my hammer doesn't need a password."

Stephan Balkenhol, artist showed the counter-design to the digitalised hyper-acceleration on the Innovation Day stage under the motto #Creativity & anti-speed.

“Fear can guide you before and after action, but when the action starts, the fear has to leave. Or the action won’t happen.”

Stunt pilot Dario Costa impressively explains that his performance as an extreme athlete would not be possible without being scared and how he deals with fears and pressure during his extraordinary stunts.

"Speed is the decisive competitive factor, especially for us as a leading communications agency."

Florian Haller, CEO Serviceplan Group, classified the importance of the factor speed in data-driven communication in his speech at the opening of the house.

#itag2022

#HoCWarming

Photos of the Innovation Day can be downloaded here: https://sp-url.com/itag-fotos2022

(Pictures will be uploaded successively during the course of the evening).

Further information about the Innovation Day 2022 can be found at https://www.innovationstag.de/en.html

Further information about the new House of Communication can be found here: https://www.serviceplan.com/en/news/muc-newhoc.html