Niklas Lindström, known for his production acumen yielding breakthrough work, is a partner in the just launched CALLEN, an independent creative agency in Austin, Texas. Founded by former Wieden+Kennedy (W+K) group creative director Craig Allen with partners Lindström and business entrepreneur Holly Petitjean, CALLEN is being backed by W+K as a minority investor. CALLEN enjoys complete autonomy. The only condition W+K placed on its investment is that CALLEN can never be sold and must remain independent.
“Craig and his partners represent a bright future for this business,” W+K president Dave Luhr said. “When you give great talent the confidence and room to experiment, and the permission to even fail, great work follows. Independence has allowed us to do this for 35 years. We not only believe in independence, we practice it. By backing CALLEN, we are doubling down on an agency model and talent that we know leads to great work.”
The investment in CALLEN is a first for W+K. Colleen DeCourcy, co-chief creative officer for W+K, said, “Craig is a unique voice. He’s willing to pull himself up on the work and do it for the long term. Our contribution is to believe in Craig, Niklas and Holly, provide some starter cash, and get out of the way. Craig will pay us back, we’re not worried about that. The only thing we ask is that he never sell.”
DeCourcy continued, “We see this as an alternative to the start-it-and-sell-it mentality we think is damaging to creative people and creative agencies. The advertising industry is feeling the squeeze right now. We’re lucky to have a simple and focused business model that works.”
W+K witnessed Allen’s creative prowess and resulting body of work first-hand. He had been with W+K since 2008 and put his imprint on brands including Old Spice, Nike, Coca-Cola, CareerBuilder.com, Electronic Arts, Oreo and Samsung. Perhaps most notably, he led the Old Spice team responsible for the “Smell Like A Man, Man” campaign, which transformed the brand into the category’s definitive leader. Prior to W+K, Allen worked on the also groundbreaking crowd favorite “Taste the Rainbow” campaign while at TBWA/Chiat/Day, New York.
Meanwhile Lindström is known for culture-defining work at several notable industry roosts, most recently as director of interactive production at Droga5 New York, where he created immersive experiences for clients including Under Armour, MailChimp and Hennessy. Prior to Droga5, Lindström headed up digital at Forsman & Bodenfors, where he was involved in the production of the widely celebrated “Live Test Series” for Volvo Trucks. Before Forsman & Bodenfors, Lindström led digital projects for BBDO New York, with experience on accounts like AT&T, FedEx, General Electric, Mars and HBO. Prior to that, he spent six years at B-Reel. In addition to helping establish that company’s New York office, he produced award-winning ads for Axe, Doritos and Google.
“Innovative production is one of CALLEN’s foundational strengths; we understand the business reality for brands that need to produce a lot more for less. We are focused on applying non- traditional thinking to big ideas to make things that reach people through storytelling, experiences and products,” said Lindström who serves as head of production at CALLEN.
SHOOT connected with Lindström to discuss CALLEN and his take on the evolving production landscape.
SHOOT: What drew you to CALLEN and what will this new venture enable you to do that you might not have been able to accomplish at an already established shop?
Lindström: First and foremost the people—Craig and Holly and our shared vision of creating a different type of creative company.
This is also the first time in my career I am joining a company from scratch and where I am able to influence organization, talent, and culture. I co-founded Leo Burnett Interactive in Sweden back in 1999 but that was within an existing agency culture and I also opened the first international office in New York for B-Reel in 2007, also an already existing company and culture so this feels more exciting and pure. And last but not least the great backing and support from Wieden+Kennedy.
SHOOT: What are your priorities in terms of initiatives and goals at CALLEN?
Lindström: To figure out a more fluid and more adaptable organization with a more multi-talented staff that can transform and adapt to different client needs. Tighter and smaller teams that are more empowered and accountable and that closely collaborate with our clients. Break down the barrier between different roles and categories internally, make creativity flow throughout the whole company. Have a more agile approach to making where creation and production are more integrated. Most companies traditionally have a separation between creatives, producers, and your in-house production capabilities. What if these capabilities exist within the same team? My goal is to help build a company that is hard to categorize and define and that have a rich and unexpected output of storytelling, experiences, and products that truly make a difference.
SHOOT: You’ve been at Forsman & Bodenfors as well as on the production company side at B-Reel. What does your overseas ad agency and production house experience enable you to bring to CALLEN as you shape and develop a production operation?
Lindström: Organizations overseas are generally smaller and individuals have more trust and accountability to solve the tasks at hand. I think that creates a culture where people are better informed, more active and engaged throughout a project lifecycle which yields better end result and more fulfilled team members. The Swedish way of doing things is also built around a strong collective spirit that I hope to bring to our organization – We are always stronger and better than I.
SHOOT: What’s the state of production today and as a result, what are the biggest creative challenges facing you and your counterparts at other agencies as you seek to stay effective and relevant?
Lindström: The state of production today is still focused a lot on video production with different purposes but we also have a continually growing need for non-traditional executions which can span anything from experiential to building actual physical products. The ever-changing digital and social landscape requires us to produce a more diverse output for the same or less money as earlier. The challenge is to navigate this and use the money where it really makes a difference and balance and protect the creative integrity.
SHOOT: And what’s your take on agency in-house production which has become more prevalent today—and how do you balance it with your ongoing need to work with the high-caliber talent in the production/post community at large?
Lindström: The creative idea guides the choice of production solution and if you need to partner with someone externally. In-house production is normally created for financial reasons and covers the simpler types of production where the expectations are lower. But there are other benefits working closely with people with hands-on skills—it makes the ideas and the work better. That is why CALLEN is striving to build teams with various production skills built in and to be able to deliver a range of output from simpler to executions with higher production value. There will always be a need to work and collaborate with external partners for specific skills and talent.
