INTRODUCTION

AME’s Grand Jury is the powerhouse behind the prestigious AME Awards, their high standard of excellence insures that AME’s 25-year legacy is upheld and respected globally both by winners and industry reports measuring creative distinction. Their dedication results in truly award-worthy work being recognized

AME Grand Jury member, Tim Keller is Executive Director Strategy & Innovation for
Kolle Rebbe, Germany. Tim brings more than 15 years of experience in developing digital products and brand strategies for leading German agencies to the 2019 Grand Jury. Throughout his career, he has developed a commercially effective and award-winning work for some of the world's leading brands such as Google, Netflix, Apple, o2, Beck’s and Audi.

As Executive Director Strategy & Innovation at Kolle Rebbe, he is responsible for developing strategies for the digitalized world. His particular interest is to continuously improve the agency's working methods: agile, cross-functional, fast and capable of learning. In the end, Tim wants to create creative work that non-Advertising people talk about.

Keep reading to learn more about Tim and his thoughts on what great ads have in common, what work he’s most proud of, his advice for entrants and so much more.

INTERVIEW

AME Awards: AME’s winners and entrants are behind some of the most innovative leading-edge creative work on the planet that delivers the most impactful result. Tell us about your process of creating and delivering creative and effective results. Are your ideas inspired or do they come together as the result of a collective brainstorming session with your team?

Tim Keller: We all (planners & creatives) have to understand the target group and the problem. Then good ideas come almost by themselves.

AME Awards: As a strategic creative, what stand-out attributes do you recognize in award-winning creative and effective advertising…what do ads that have taken the brief and turned it into campaign that transforms opinions, evokes action and raises the bar for the brand have in common?

Tim Keller: Great ideas seem to be so simple, that they could have been from a strategy guy like me. The case should live up to this: short and easy to understand.

AME Awards: Why are effectiveness competitions like the AME Awards important?

Tim Keller: Campaigns without business effects are a waste of money and talent. We need AME, Effie and IPA to emphasize the worth of our work.

AME Awards: Why did you agree to participate on this year’s AME Grand Jury and What do you hope to learn by viewing entries into this competition?

Tim Keller: It is a great opportunity to be inspired by the best work. I was impressed by the intelligent thinking in Saudi Arabia campaigns last year. And I learned a lot from the jury work for writing our own cases. 

AME Awards: What is your all time, favorite most creative and effective ad and/or ads (share the link or a visual) and why in your opinion did they triumph?

Tim Keller: My spontaneous choice is “the best job in the world” by the tourism office of Queensland. It’s smart on so many levels.

AME Awards: In your personal work what are the hallmarks of creative and strategic success? What campaign or campaigns are you most proud of?

Tim Keller: Whenever we solved a business problem with more than a campaign. We did so with “Go global” for Google. Instead of promoting different Google tools we programmed a meta tool to use them at once. We did so again for the Federal Employment Agency in Germany when we “hacked” WhatsApp to help teenagers find their strength. It’s amazing what you can achieve with the right technology.

(Google: https://www.coloribus.com/adsarchive/online/google-go-global-20775855/ )

AME Awards: What advice or guidelines would you give to potential entrants on earning an AME Award?
 
Tim Keller: Life is short. Great cases, too.

AME Awards: AME’s Grand Jury, emanating from 5 regions around the globe provides the opportunity to earn trophies within a region and on the global stage.  Why in your opinion is the idea of AME’s Grand Jury judging both regional and then the entire Grand Jury judging all the Gold winning work to select Platinum winners and Best in Show important to both entrants and to jurors?

Tim Keller: Cultural diversity is inspiring and prevents us to judge dependent only on prior knowledge

AME Awards: What is one secret of your success that no one knows about you (till now)?

Tim Keller: I had the best ideas in the shower. I'm only good to use when water runs over my head for minutes. 

AME Awards: What philosophy or iconic individual inspires you in both your career and life?

Tim Keller: Atticus Finch. If we ever build human-like robots with AI, they should bring him to life.