Meet Rainer Plank, the Head of Operations at Zooom

Meet Rainer Plank, the Head of Operations at Zooom

MIKE O'DONNELL / EDITOR

We recently caught up with WNW Member Rainer Plank, the Head of Operations at Zooom in Los Angeles, who opens up about his career path, the relationship between Zooom's two offices in Los Angeles and Fuschl am See, and how Zooom's unique origins inform its trajectory. Founded by Ulrich Grill, who used to be a professional hang-gliding pilot sponsored by Red Bull, Zooom "attracts a lot of outdoor enthusiasts who typically use the products we promote for their own adventures," as Rainer tells us. "This is probably why we are able to promote our clients’ products with authenticity and passion."

We also ask Rainer how he caters his own creative leadership approach to allow his left brain and right brain to coexist. "I fear they don’t coexist at all. Managing the agency mostly requires my left side and the talented creative directors, art directors, and designers we hire make my right side completely redundant. Naturally, I put part of the blame on WNW for making it far too easy to find talented creatives. MEAN."

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Tell us a little bit about your background. How did your path lead you to Head of Operations at Zooom in Los Angeles?

This literally happened by accident. Sometime in 2005, when I had just finished my degree in Film Production Management in Cologne I was moving back to Vienna. After a long night of packing all my belongings and an eight-hour drive on the Autobahn I stopped by in Fuschl* for a job interview with zooom. At that point, I felt pretty sleep-deprived and it didn’t help that I arrived too late either. At any rate, things (somehow) worked out smoothly and I started working for zooom Austria soon afterward. Half a year later I relocated to Los Angeles to open our US office. I’ve appreciated living in California ever since :-).

*small village in Austria near Salzburg and main office of zooom.

We run an event series called Overshare, where we interview successful creatives and entrepreneurs about their career challenges. What were a few definitive moments or turning points that had an impact on who you are today?

Our first few years in business were smooth sailing. We had a stable customer base, cool projects to work on, and fixed retainers. Spoiled as we were I got ‘comfortably numb’ until we unexpectedly lost two large accounts despite highly successful campaign rollouts. This, in turn, taught me an important lesson never to take things for granted and to better balance project management & business development. 

Another challenge for us was to determine the scope of our agency services. In the beginning, our strategy was mostly driven by our biggest clients, to be honest. They had ever-expanding needs and we tried to cater to all of them. Today, we are more narrowly focused on branding, campaign development, and content production and collaborate with specialized partners in other areas.

Describe Zooom in a couple words.

Dream responsibly.

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What separates Zooom from other agencies? What about the culture of zooom makes it an ideal place for potential hires to work?

Our founder Ulrich Grill used to be a professional hang-gliding pilot sponsored by Red Bull. Being an avid photographer, he later started his own photo service agency in Austria. In essence, he managed Red Bull’s International athlete & event shoots and organized the content distribution through redbullphotofiles.com*. Over the years, our shop grew into a legitimate advertising agency offering branding & positioning, campaign development, and photo/video production services as well as content distribution to outdoor brands. As a consequence, we attract a lot of outdoor enthusiasts who typically use the products we promote for their own adventures. This is probably why we are able to promote our clients’ products with authenticity and passion.

*Now known as “Red Bull Content Pool.”

You’ve been at Zooom for a little over 10 years. How have you seen the identity of zooom evolve over the years?

In the early years, we offered the same services in the US as in Europe and spread ourselves too thin with a much smaller team. Over time, we focused our services on branding & campaign development and photo/video production while collaborating with specialized partners in other areas. Apart from that, we became more consistent in targeting clients in our main verticals, which are the outdoor & photography industry as well as selected Fast-Moving Consumer Good Brands (Red Bull, Bundaberg, …). 

As for the latter, we partnered up with the consulting firm Entity X and offer branding & marketing services to the Medical and Recreational Cannabis markets in the US. This is an exciting, new industry and we recently succeeded in winning one of the few medical grower & processing licenses in the State of Pennsylvania. Sports & drugs … who would have thought ;-).

Which campaigns are you most proud of?

Probably the launch of “Red Bull Illume”, an international photo contest for action & adventure sports photography in which the winning images tour the world in stunning outdoor exhibits. Over the past 10 years, this event grew into a huge contest with +35,000 image submissions from over 120 countries. It shines the spotlight on the people behind the lens and has helped kick start the careers of previously unknown photographers. This event, in turn, attracted large sponsors such as Sony, Leica Camera, etc.

Being in a leadership position, how do you cater your approach to allow your left brain and right brain to coexist?

I fear they don’t coexist at all. Managing the agency mostly requires my left side and the talented creative directors, art directors and designers we hire make my right side completely redundant. Naturally, I put part of the blame on WNW for making it far too easy to find talented creatives. MEAN.

For someone entering the field of advertising today, what do they need to succeed? What would it take to succeed at Zooom specifically?

Advertising now encompasses so many different fields of expertise that it helps to specialize early on and aim to become an expert in an area you are passionate about. That’s not to say that you should focus yourself too narrowly. Areas such as branding, content creation or digital media marketing or even verticals such as sports & photography are broad enough to give you ample room to grow. 

Is there a lot of communication between the Fuschl am See and Los Angeles offices? 

Yes, as far as our larger international clients are concerned. We also brainstorm and pitch for selected accounts together. The majority of the projects are handled independently by the local teams though.

What do you see as the similarities and differences between the creative scenes of Fuschl am See and Los Angeles?

The creative is mainly driven by the differences in design aesthetics between Europe and the US. In general, the European brands we deal with tend to have more of a product focus and present themselves as leaders in technology & product quality. US brands – on the other hand - tend to be more lifestyle-focused and aspirational. This, in turn, calls for a very different copy & design aesthetic. Of course, you’ll find a lot of examples that contradict what I just said …. just think of Red Bull Energy Drinks, which is a client of ours that originates from Austria.

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Zooom is offering co-working space within its office on Abbot Kinney in Venice. What can you tell us about the space, location, and atmosphere? 

We have a beautiful office space right at the corner of Abbot Kinney & Venice Blvd and are offering work spaces to talented freelancers (designers, art directors, creative directors programmers, illustrators, you name it) for $800/month. The idea is to bring like-minded people together in a feel-good work space, inspire each other and hopefully also collaborate on upcoming projects. Freelancers can rent a space on a month-to-month basis or for longer term. Whatever fits their needs. If that sounds of interest to anyone reading this, just drop us a line at office@zooomcreative.com and we’ll show you around.  

Who's your most significant creative or entrepreneurial inspiration?

Maybe Yvon Chouinard, the founder of Patagonia. His book “Let my people go surfing” is a real inspiration for how to build a thriving brand based on authentic values and caring for the environment. He’s probably one of the most reluctant business men ever and driven by an ecocentric approach of doing business.

What do you do when “Not Working”?

Riding my old 1972 Peugeot road bike until one of us breaks down (we tend to take turns), cooking for/with friends, and playing piano when no one listens.

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INSIDE THE STUDIO: BRUCE MAU DESIGN

INSIDE THE STUDIO: BRUCE MAU DESIGN

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WNW recently spoke to Andrew Clark, director of the new Bruce Mau Design office in Los Angeles. After working in BMD's Chicago and Toronto offices, Andrew's now tasked with transporting BMD's exceptional culture to Southern California. But Andrew sees LA as a vibrant and inspiring environment that can only benefit the new office.  Currently, he and the design team are driving the brand design and touch-points for Sonos.

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Describe Bruce Mau Design in 3 words.

Diverse, Collaborative, Immersive

You've just moved to LA. What are your impressions of LA's design/creative landscape so far?

LA is awesome. This is a city with a legacy of combining design, creativity and entertainment. You can see it everywhere you go: fly postings, nostalgic store signage, galleries, architecture, street art, music and movies. Everywhere you go there’s creative inspiration.

What's the vibe of the LA office? How does it compare to being in BMD's New York and Toronto offices?

We’re figuring our vibe out right now. Everyone in the studio has the responsibility to shape the studio’s culture. Our team is mostly transplants, who bring with them a real diversity of experience, skill and culture. BMD in general has a long history of bringing together people from all over the world with diverse backgrounds, and in our experience, that diversity leads to really interesting creative outputs. We also hope to infuse a little bit of the Canadian spirit here, which I think fits nicely with a laid-back California attitude. I also hope our LA office has an envious work-life balance; I’d love if our designers were out surfing before they come into the office. And obviously we’re all really nice.

What aspects of BMD's culture do you hope to infuse in the LA office?

The ones that create great work and an irresistible studio environment, those I’m importing in bulk. Listening is important. We believe in team-based work. Everyone has their own ‘superpower’ if you will, but it’s the mash-ups that create the really interesting results, and we often get there by really listening to eachother and our clients. We’re highly collaborative. We’re radically visual. We’re constantly surrounded by the work. We pin up the work everywhere so it surrounds us. We think through problems with sticky notes and sharpies. We’ve incorporated all of that in LA.

Also, BMD Toronto has an extensive library, and we’re building our LA library quickly. I’ve asked Alec Donovan, a senior designer who came from Toronto, to be our cultural attaché and he’s taking this very seriously. 

What is it like working with teams on the east coast? What does that collaboration process look like?

I see more sunrises than I expected being on EST calls! While the process of collaboration is ultimately the same, we’re finding new ways to communicate in real-time. Technology is key. Skype replaces looking over a teammate’s screen. Box.com replaces a traditional server system to share working files. I know when a deadline approaches, we appreciate the extra 3 hours in the day from coast to coast. 

What qualities are most important in a prospective freelancer?

Perspective, Passion, Professionalism

If you were stranded on a desert island, with your computer, what 3 websites would you take with you?

I’ve used Feedly too long, so I tend to forget their names. Let’s say Forgotten Nobility, Laist (or Chicagoist), Rdio.

Any tips or advice for freelancers?

Seth Godin recently wrote not to send your resume, and I somewhat agree. Instead, send me a well crafted two paragraph or less cover letter why we both could learn something new together.

What's your favorite thing on the internet this week? 

Oregon Manifest – Annual bike competition that my former studio - MNML - is gonna win with Chicago Blackline.

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WORK

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WORKSPACE

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