Werkmeister Media's New CI Reflects Its Values and Plans for Growth

On its 15th anniversary, Werkmeister & Company becomes Werkmeister Media. The new CI represents the values of the agency, with which founder and CEO Lars Werkmeister is aiming for further internationalisation and growth. In this interview, he looks back on 15 years of Werkmeister Media, talks about the development of the new CI and how the advertising market has changed, especially in games and entertainment.

Werkmeister is celebrating its 15th anniversary. How did you come up with the idea of founding your own company back and how did things progress until the company was actually founded?
Lars Werkmeister: I had the idea of founding a company during my training as an advertising manager (that's what the profession was called back then). We had a motivational trainer, and I drew the first logo for my potential company. Actually, implementing this idea was due to several circumstances at the end. After working in print sales at Computec Media, I wanted to switch to online marketing because it was clear to me that this was a growing future market. Due to the outsourcing of online sales at Computec at that time, I moved to the game search engine start-up 'Wazap' as Sales Director. Although my clients remained loyal and the product was good, the traffic was lacking. After six months, this exciting phase ended, and the startup unfortunately ceased operations. I then faced the decision of what to do next. Since I was already connected with Eurogamer and Oliver Menne, the opportunity arose to start my own media agency; today’s Werkmeister Media. Thanks to our loyal customers and continually growing partners, we are still here.

Looking back over the past 15 years, what have been your personal highlights and what situations, clients, campaigns or market conditions would you have liked to have missed?
Looking back, you're always wiser, but I'm not sure if there's anything I would have wanted to do without. We're happy about the positive developments with our customers and partners, who, together with our team, are the basis of our success. Without partners, we wouldn't have had any offers, and without clients, we wouldn't have had any business. We started with 12 customers back then, and to date we can look back on over 250 customers from different industries. I would have hated to have done without that (laughs). Without it, our journey simply wouldn't have been possible. Of course, there have been challenges and even less good years in the past 15 years, but that's just part of the business. Personally, I value the close cooperation with our partners and clients, particularly when we meet once a year at our industry meeting in Erlangen. In the end, positive highlights but also challenges in the industry over the last 15 years have brought us here today. A valuable journey that has not only brought us many great collaborations and campaigns with great clients and partners, but also many experiences that we as a team have always tried to apply successfully and which in the end has enabled us to achieve 15 years of stability in an always very dynamic industry.

"It was important to us to involve clients, partners and especially all employees in the team because they are a fundamental part of our success and in the end, it is about us all being able to identify with the new CI." - Lars Werkmeister

The media market and therefore (digital) advertising has changed massively. How have you experienced this change and how does Wermeister Media manage to keep up with this rapid development?
The advertising landscape has changed over the years and is increasingly data-driven and technology-centric due to digitalization. What used to be circulation is now followers, engagement rate, CTRs and CPUs, for example. I experienced this change first hand at Computec, when advertising sales were exclusively about print media and then moved more and more towards digitalization. When it comes to advertising campaigns, my goal has always been to offer innovative options and to be "on the pulse of the times", which is why we at Werkmeister Media have also continuously expanded and updated our strategies, portfolio and offers and invested in the latest tools and technologies. I think we have been one of the first who always offered creative on-site campaigns and stretched the technical possibilities to a maximum. Whether internationally known websites, influencers or streams, in order to keep up, we value continuous learning and adaptability. Our team is constantly evolving, whether through specific training or by communicating with our partners such as Eurogamer, to stay one step ahead of trends. This proactive approach is designed to ensure that we can continue to offer our customers cutting-edge solutions.

Werkmeister is reinventing itself for its anniversary, for example with a new CI. Why did you decide to open a new chapter in the company's history now?
Lars Werkmeister: I had been thinking about changing things up again for a while. The games and entertainment industry are constantly changing and we wanted our brand to be fresher, more dynamic and, above all, more international. It should also reflect our values ​​of personal customer orientation, innovation and passion. In my opinion, the 15th anniversary was the perfect time to put this idea into action, to refresh our current brand and reflect our future ambitions. Funnily enough, it all started with a wish for an updated presentation. I wanted to tackle this with Stephan Schmidt, but soon questions came up such as, why Werkmeister & Company? Who is the '& company'? That entity ceased to exist about a year after its founding, and since then, I have been the sole proprietor. So, why keep explaining when I could simply change it? We quickly realized that we wanted to do more and do it bigger. Our goal was to involve all employees and implement a rebranding from the ground up throughout the company. I am glad and grateful that I was able to secure 'the concierge of the games industry' - as you put it (smiles) - to lead the rebranding. With Schmidt Concierge, I had someone who had not only successfully implemented such projects worldwide in the past but also covered all perspectives from brand, marketing, communications, client, and publisher sides, both nationally and internationally, in one person. The fresh corporate identity is more than just a new logo and a visual update; it tells our story, where we come from, while at the same time expressing our commitment to continually adapt to a dynamic market and move forward. It is a renewed promise to our clients and partners that we are ready to tackle the challenges of the next decade with the same passion and drive. I would like to thank Schmidt Concierge and my team at Werkmeister Media, who have worked hard towards today and I am proud of the great result!

How did you approach the new positioning and what are your concrete goals?
We sat down for an hour or two and then everything was ready (laughs). Not completely, of course. Our approach to the new positioning included market analysis, client and partner feedback and internal brainstorming sessions and workshops. It was important to us to involve clients, partners and especially all employees in the team because they are a fundamental part of our success and in the end, it is about us all being able to identify with the new CI. The company was turned upside down because we wanted to ensure that our new brand identity was in line with our core values, the evolving needs of our customers and the changes in the market. Our specific goals include constantly expanding our service offering, improving our digital capabilities and, above all, strengthening our international presence. We want to continue to offer our customers exceptional added value and fast and flexible solutions while staying at the forefront of industry developments.

"The games and entertainment industry are constantly changing and we wanted our brand to be fresher, more dynamic and, above all, more international. It should also reflect our values ​​of personal customer orientation, innovation and passion." - Lars Werkmeister

Do you plan to change or expand your portfolio with the new image?
With our renaming to Werkmeister Media, we initially plan to market our already large portfolio more internationally. What many may not yet know is that in addition to campaigns on our well-known websites in the DACH region, we are already implementing comprehensive internationally controlled campaigns on sites such as the Eurogamer network. In the area of ​​streams and influencer marketing, we can also reach international target groups with loots and selected influencers. In addition, we intend to offer our creative services, strategic advice and tailor-made media planning outside of our portfolio. We continue to offer the latest analysis tools and evaluations for all areas so that our team can always optimize campaigns if necessary and our customers can always keep an eye on their campaigns. This expansion will enable us to offer a more holistic approach to our customers' marketing and media requirements. And of course, we are always looking for new meaningful partnerships to expand our portfolio and client base and who knows what the future holds for us.

Digitalisation has made the games industry more global than almost any other entertainment industry. What role does internationalisation play for you?
Internationalisation is a crucial part of our strategy. The global reach of the gaming industry means that our customers need simple solutions that are scalable and adaptable to different markets. We have a network of international partners to ensure that we can run effective campaigns worldwide. Our team already successfully implements such international campaigns. Our new brand identity is intended to help us further expand our international presence in order to better meet the needs of our customers in the rapidly growing and evolving gaming industry.

Werkmeister Media...

... is a media agency specialized in the games and entertainment industry offering online ad sales, streams, influencer and media marketing services worldwide. Its portfolio includes websites such as Eurogamer.de, Play3.de, spilgames, nintendolife, GamersGlobal, VG24/7 and Kidoz. Clients include Nintendo, Sony Interactive Entertainment, Microsoft, Activision Blizzard, Bandai Namco, Capcom, Lego, Red Bull and Sky.