smartweek 2022: The knowledge-sharing event returns in a new form

After two years of countless video calls and virtual events; we were finally able to reunite in person for the first-ever hybrid smartweek event. From the 13th through the 15th of September, smartclippers tuned in online and in person — at our Hamburg office — to participate in the annual knowledge-sharing event. As in previous years (see here and here), the three days allowed our in-house experts to take the stage and share their expertise with the rest of the company on various business and interdisciplinary topics, such as learning strategies, developments in the programmatic ecosystem, and presentation techniques. 

Continuing the knowledge-sharing tradition

In light of recent partnerships, we decided to extend the invitation to some of our close collaborators. We invited members from G+J iMS, RTL Ad Connect, and our subsidiary, Realytics, to join in on the event. After a warm virtual welcome from Co-CEOs Thomas Servatius and Dr Oliver Vesper, we jumped straight into the programme. Despite the switch-up in structure, something that didn’t change was our focus on knowledge sharing and learning from our peers. This year, smartclippers were able to choose from 35 sessions throughout the course of the week.  

An entirely virtual first day didn’t stop us from providing a full schedule of engaging workshops. smartclippers were able to dive deep into various industry, internal organisational, and professional development topics. 

For example, during “People and Culture – Understanding Generations X, Y, Z, and Alpha”, Christian Osterhues, ​​Executive Director Human Resources, discussed the differences between each of the generations and provided suggestions to optimise the multigenerational work environment. In the session “Rediscovering Outstream” — hosted by Nicole Gallegos, Commercial Product Manager, and David Broich, Head of Commercial Product Development — attendees were able to brush up on their in-stream and out-stream knowledge while learning about why out-stream advertising is essential to business success.

Day two offered smartclippers the opportunity to continue the process of shaping our company culture during “Cultural Bootcamp”. During the session hosted by Sonja Schuster, Head of Learning, Development & Culture, Tobias Wolff, VP Engineering, and Rene Wagner, Chief Innovation Officer, we were able to continue the culture-defining discussion that we started on our retreat in Boltenhagen, and further identify principles that we would like to carry into the future of the company. 

Ensuring that all sessions were insightful and educational didn’t mean we couldn’t have some fun along the way…. “The Smart and Sustainable Pub Quiz” hosted by Karen Knüppel, Marketing Design Manager Europe, and Miriam Blockhaus, Human Resources Intern, turned coworkers into competitors and challenged our knowledge on various sustainability topics while also providing ideas of how we could make our company “greener”. 

Not only did our sessions allow us to learn more about the industry, our company, and ourselves but also our new partners. During “Realytics – Our Team & Range of Research” led by Valerie Teboul, Head of Account Managing, Research and Media Studies at Realytics, and Victor Daigneau, Data Analyst at Realytics, we received a crash course on our subsidiary’s offerings, strengths, and USPs. 

smartclippers get sporty

At this point, it’s become a tradition to integrate some form of sports into the programme. We think it’s important that every event we host comes with the opportunity to get up from our seats and move our bodies. As a way to unwind after a full first day of in-person workshops, we decided to organise three different sports sessions. smartclippers could choose from relaxing yoga, an intense HIIT session, or learning how to dance salsa. Since the sports sessions were completely voluntary, this time was also used to take a personal break, catch up with colleagues, or finish up on last-minute work-related tasks. 

Work hard, play hard

You may or may not already know, but here at smartclip, we appreciate a good celebration — and did we have some reasons to celebrate. As a closer to smartweek, we held our summer party at the scenic Clouds — Heaven’s Bar & Kitchen restaurant. The night provided the perfect opportunity to celebrate the success of the week, finally reunite with colleagues, and acknowledge our company’s achievements and development over the past few years. Not only were we able to spend some quality time with each other, but we were treated to a night full of great food, drinks, and music. Between mingling and enjoying the beautiful view of the city, some people even put their newfound salsa skills to the test on the dance floor. 

We feel very fortunate to have had such a successful smartweek. After such a long time away from each other, it was truly special reuniting with everyone. Gathering in one place really highlighted how much the company has grown over the past few years. A huge thank you to the organisational team for putting together such a great event. We can’t wait for the next one!