Breakfast, brainstorms and beer with Rene Fischer!

Posted on November 13th, 2015 Tags :

Workshops are one of the best parts of advertising. It often means meeting experienced, highly eccentric advertising veterans, learning a few tricks of the trade and in the case of this particular workshop, breakfast and beer! Props to whoever decided on this combination.

We set out to the gorgeous Citrus Hotel in Hikkaduwa in a bus full of loud, young, enterprising admen (and women) and once we had refreshed ourselves with a hearty breakfast, we settled in a room and awaited the start of this much anticipated workshop.

Rene Fischer, the host of the workshop, brought a plethora of experience to the table. His background consisted of Creative work, Strategic Planning and even Account Management, and it came as no surprise that this individual had a few interesting things to say. Amidst silence and murmurs of admiration, we soaked in the brilliance and the sheer strategic intricacies of some of the campaigns that he, along with his team in Lithuania, had succeeded at pulling off.

As his first session drew to a conclusion, it was time for Rene to assess us on our presentation skills. In teams of 3, we made our way forward, some more confidently than others, and presented the most unconventional topics that had been handed to us two days prior to the event. These topics included “Why every office must have a raccoon”, “Why everyone should go naked all the time” and “It’s good to get really drunk at least once a week”. Perhaps, the word “unconventional” is an understatement. This was downright bizarre but totally entertaining.

Rene’s next session touched on more serious creative activities. His methods, although unusual at first, seemed quite effective and very soon he had all the creatives in the room nodding in agreement as he brought a whole new definition to the term ‘brainstorming’. As he concluded the workshop, we made our way down to the pool for food, drinks and one to one chats with the man himself. As we left the hotel in a rather drunk, bleary-eyed state, it was clear that every creative had one thought running in their minds; to apply this new found knowledge at work!