hello, we’re next wave europe what we are services clients meet the team learning & training open library exhibitions contact us

hello, we’re next wave europe


We are in the business of developing meaningful relationships between people, concepts, products and brands. Headquartered in Budapest, Hungary with business activities across the Central European region we are a fast expanding boutique brand and strategy agency focused on the social experience.

Next Wave Europe was founded in 2008 by Brunó Bitter to offer creative and strategy services in new business areas where "markets are conversations". Today we service brands like UPC, Nike, L'Oréal Paris, Jägermeister and Telenor and operate in several markets in the region, including Budapest, Prague, Bucharest and Berlin.

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what we are


We are part strategy consultancy, part creative agency and part communications company. We are a multidisciplinary team of strategic, analytic and creative talents of many backgrounds. We are a new breed of agency - that is dedicated to the challenge of creating connected brands and connected organizations.

creative strategy-
served fresh daily


We strive to create fresh solutions for our clients marketing and organizational needs using flexible tools and many ideas. We are platform neutral. We are also committed to solution independence so we never fall into the trap of “being the man with a hammer everything looking like a nail.” (Mark Twain).

Our core services include:


  • Brand strategy (b2b and b2c)
  • Content curation and content marketing
  • Creative productions (film, video, animation, apps)
  • Social media and social business solutions
  • Research (qualitative, ethnography, online)

clients

Small, medium or large, we find inspiration in clients.

We work regionally for top-tier clients - multinational brands like UPC, Nike, Bunge or L’Oréal Paris, local lovemarks like Béres and OTP Bank, and innovative ventures like Stringbike and The Forest Stewardship Council.

click here or on the arrows for case studies

case study: upc

Our overall strategy aim for this client was to re-strengthen the brand around the notion of “entertainment”. We didn’t see UPC as a cable-infrastructure company: we saw it as a media superhighway for great content. We also wanted to show that TV is not dull at all: it is full of surprises, fresh talent and fantastic programs. 

To bring our concept of “entertainment” to life we created a branded online video show with alternative celebrity TV-blogger, “Sixx” (Attila Varga). Every week we produce an original new episode of the show we named “TV is rockn’roll”. The show takes a behind-the-scenes look at how popular programs and genres are made. Sixx talks with the movers and shakers of television programming, producers, casting directors of reality shows, media psychologists and even detectives and stuntmen with his wry humor and deep insights about television. The show is seeded online and featured on UPC’s Facebook Page we set up at the beginning. On Facebook our branded video content is also complemented with daily content curation, games and TV-related interactive applications - all produced by Next Wave Europe. 

Results: the show has become a quick hit in online video programming with an ever growing audience watching each new episode. UPC has become the second largest TV-broadband brand on Hungarian Facebook in just 4 months. The “TV is rockn’roll” creative concept has won a bronze medal at the coveted “Social Media Best Practice 2011” competition organized by industry-leader Kreativ Magazine.

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case study: l’oréal paris

We worked out an integrated strategy for L’Oréal Paris that infused social traits into the heart of the brand: friendly, accessible, good listener and agile. We developed a new offline and online space called ‘L’Oréal Budoir” where women can engage with the brand in creative and highly interactive ways. On Facebook we put together a team of beauty advisors who are available for chat and Q&A every week on various beauty topics. Offline, L’Oréal Budoir is an ongoing series of events at upscale venues around town where women can meet our advisors and enjoy beauty transformations. Professional quality photographs are taken at the events that can be later accessed exclusively on Facebook. We also aid the social enhancement of the brand through creative and fun applications built for Facebook and mobile.

Results: L’Oréal Paris Hungary has become to no.1 cosmetics brand on Facebook in just six months. We won a silver medal in the highly coveted "Social Media Best Practice" competition organized by Kreativ magazine in the most competitive "Integrated Category". We successfully engage over 60.000 women every day and our strategy is about to go regional in 2012.

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case study: otp bank & next wave animations

OTP Bank is Hungary’s biggest commercial bank and also a key player in the region. In 2011 the bank wanted to reach out to a young (13-23) consumer segment with an educational message about the relevance and importance of finances. 

We suggested the popular style of infographics and the genre of animation as our medium for communication. So far, we have produced six episodes with topics ranging from mortgages to savings to credit cards. Our roles include copywriting, art direction, creative direction, character design, animation as well as casting actors for voice-overs, special effects and digital seeding. 

In this production, so far, we have employed two distinct styles in animation and character design: vintage world of early 1980s video games and mixed-technique style using both vector-based and collage-like characters. 

In 2011 we also produced an infographic-style video for local pharma-lovemark Béres.

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case study: subculture mapping

Bols is a market leader company in the business of production, distribution, sales and marketing of alcoholic beverages. Their marketing strategy heavily builds on sponsorship activities as well as on various on-site promotions in clubs and bars in urban hotspots. For a company like Bols it is essential to keep a finger on the pulse of nightlife that is why we decided to develop a very special methodology for charting subcultures. Our research of Budapest nightspots mapped the essential subcultures providing insights, awareness and information on places, people, trends, fashion and consumption patters. 

The research utilized various ethnographic techniques and had a very visual output that included photographs, videos, notes and Google Map mashups.

At Next Wave we deeply believe that ethnography is the best research format to uncover insights that inspire great creative work. We also think that ethnography is the most “social” form of research that builds on communities, interactions, observations and dialogue.

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case study: instantart

At Next Wave Europe we are avid fans of Instagram, the free photo sharing application that allows users to take a photo, apply a wacky digital filter, then share it all over on social networks. We were also thrilled to see how Instagram users captured the spirit and essence of Budapest so we decided to build an application and an event around this pop-cultural phenomenon. 

First, we created a Facebook application which automatically aggregated Instagram photos tagged with the #instantart tag into an interactive album of photos (there was no need to manual uploads). Second, we asked the Instagram community to vote on the photos they like the best. Third, we made high quality prints out of the 250 most voted Instagrams and created a beautiful Instagram Wall in our HQ in Budapest. Last but not least, we invited everyone taking part in this fun competition as well as friends, colleagues and clients to join us for an opening night where everything was “instant”: we served instant photographs, instant cocktails, instant food and instant fun all around For the opening night we also built another application which created a live slideshow out of the most recent Instagram photos made tagged with #instantart #nwe or #nextwave. The live photos were beamed on the largest wall in the office. 

Results: over 1700 submitted Instagram photos; over 1000 submitted votes; over 1600 new "fans" on Next Wave europe's Facebook Page; over 5000 people "Talking About" our activity; over 200 people coming to the opening night.

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meet the team

We are a highly multidisciplinary team of strategists, planners, consultants and creative producers.

Our core team at Budapest HQ is currently 15 professionals which extends into a larger network of over two dozen creative, analytic and strategic talent across the CEE region. We call this talent pool and fluid network “Next Wave Liquid” - a model for creative output and collaboration.

Click to meet the team on Facebook! »

learning & training

"Learning never exhausts the mind" - Leonardo da Vinci

We offer a variety of workshops and in-house learning opportunities for our clients. We also provide executive briefing and coaching sessions. Our recent offerings include the following high-rated learning&training opportunities:

  • Social Media Masterclass
  • Social Business Masterclass
  • Brandployment: Branding Employer Experiences
  • Social Recruitment and iRecruitment
  • Branding in non-glamorous industries
  • Innovation Strategies: Culture & Process


Our workshops and trainings are half, single or double day events.

open library

"Always read something that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it."  ~P.J. O'Rourke

In late 2011 we have made a commitment to create and operate an open library focused on the subject of brands and culture. How and in which ways do brands reflect on culture and society? How and in which ways does culture and society shape the world brands? This library another step in the direction of creating a knowledge and innovation hub around Next Wave Europe.

Our Open Library is located within the Next Wave HQ in Budapest (1122 Csaba u. 24a). For questions about titles, research, visiting the library, accessing books and documents, please email us at library@nwe.hu or call us at +36 1 202 1174

exhibitions

Our workspace is a space for art and inspiration

Our beautiful and inspiring office in a 1930s Bauhaus-style villa on a Buda hillside calls for exhibitions. We’ve made a commitment to organise two art events annually focusing on contemporary photography.


Our open house events in 2011:
February: Erdei Krisztina exhibition opening
October: InstantArt exhibition opening

contact

Budapest: Csaba utca 24a, 1124 Budapest

Prague: Drtinova 10 150 00 Praha 5

+36 1 202 1174 / +36 1 998 0657









Bruno Bitter, CEO: bruno.bitter@nwe.hu