Update from us, to you.
Ever since the establishment of Coebergh Communications & PR, we have been working for frontrunners and trendsetters. All of them are optimists. They suit us. When carpet manufacturer Desso decided to embrace the cradle to cradle philosophy, we were ready to explain that decision to the press. And when Regus introduced flexible working in the Netherlands, we were there to inform the media. The same goes for Louis Vuitton’s quest for sustainable production. It was all years ago, but just like our clients, we have not stood still.
Today, it is innovators, explorers and designers such as Auping, Forteiland Pampus, Tetra Pak, Lecture, IKEA, Wesselink, Jólan van der Wiel and Isaac Monté who know where to find us. In the past year, we have had the opportunity to contribute in thought, writing and conversation to many exciting, innovative projects. Fortunately, the coming year also has plenty in store for us and our clients.
The future is greener
Despite our current limited traveling, our information sources are increasingly international. Bringing with it a growing understanding that with every new experience, our view of the past and our hopes for the future may change. And that future is green and just. Both on a collective and individual level.
Let’s do it, also in 2021!
Team Coebergh
*Drawing by our very own Nadine Kooijman and painting (l.) by Jan Sluijters, courtesy of Kunsthandel Studio 2000 via PAN Amsterdam.
The PR profession is evolving, and our clients are adapting along.
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More Coebergh…
We’re delighted to welcome Sammy Moonen who joins our team as Social Media Manager. A proven professional, she earned her stripes at Rituals, where she was Global Senior Coordinator Social Media for over two years. She also gained experience at Hudson’s Bay and Hearst. Sammy’s arrival is part of the further expansion of our social media and online PR practice.
Traditionally, we are an agency where colleagues find each other outside of work hours. In fact, many (former) colleagues have become lifelong friends. The practical challenges of Covid ensure that get-togethers and boat trips are momentarily ‘on hold’. But we’re creative; we also have online drinks and go for joint walks these days.
The Coebergh team participated in Wassila Hachchi‘s online workshop ‘Be Extraordinary‘, which she runs for Mindvalley: a group session with mindset and connectedness at its heart. Ideal in these times of virtual communication.
Our last batch of interns was a massive help in recent months. We are impressed by the work ethic and commitment of these budding communications pros. And luckily, the talented Stan Kropman will continue to strengthen our team as a colleague.
We’re thrilled: Coebergh is nominated for the Amsterdam Communications Award for her work for the fort island of Pampus. In particular for the campaign to make Pampus fully sustainable and self-sufficient within two years.
More inspiration…
According to NASA, 2020 was the hottest year on record. Next to our own health, the planet’s wellbeing is higher on the agenda than ever. And new priorities bring opportunities, in industries close to us. Post-Covid travel, for instance, focuses on reviving but also revising the industry. Ethical eco-tourism comes in many forms: from local tourism (think of Drenthe, here a picture of one of the nature cabins of Voscheheugte, the natural camping terrain owned by our founder Gervaise Coebergh) or travel bubbles with partnering countries, to regenerative travel…
Sustainability is also ever present in art, design, and fashion. We are proud of VOUW, an Amsterdam-based design studio pioneering in slowtech, a movement leveraging a new potential for tech to bring people closer together. In the wise words of ArchitecturalDigest: the future is both green and just.
Did you know that the highly sustainable yellow mealworms are now considered safe for human consumption according to EU-food standards? Or that a tree mortgage system is leading an Indian town to a carbon neutral future? That urban planners worldwide are using sneckdown, movement traces appearing after snowfall, to design healthier, better cities?
In the Netherlands, there are more CEO’s called Peter than female directors. A small step forward on the global scale: Fortune 500 corporations count more women at their helm this year than ever. In Q1 2021, 42 of the list’s companies are run by women. Only 8% of the total, let’s admit, but an improvement nonetheless. In 2019, it was a mere 33 women leading the companies and just twenty years ago, only 2 of the 500 listed organisations had a female CEO.
Other developments equally catch our eye, such as a recent WEF report on the future of work. 3000 CEO’s define agility, technology and regulation as key priorities. They identify essential factors that set ‘outperformers‘ apart from ‘underperformers’ (such as leadership and open innovation). But also leave us wondering… what does a future workforce with more than 8% female leaders look like?
Finally, we are grateful for podcasts like Rethink by the BBC – for the behind-the-scenes people who shed light on leading thoughts, by leading individuals. From Pope Francis (Rethinking Poverty) to Netflix-CEO Reed Hastings (Rethinking Togetherness) or Mohammed Hanif (Rethinking Intimacy).
After Greta, who else’s previously-untold story will feature on a nation’s stamps?
It is not without reason that the text ‘It is possible‘ adorns a wall of our office on the Leidsegracht. And Virgil’s ‘Mens agitat Molem‘ (the mind moves the matter) graces the façade of the same building. We genuinely believe in this, and on a daily basis, we’re lucky to work alongside others who do too. Despite these particular and challenging times, we also see glimmers of light. We see possibilities to uplift society together, at an accelerated pace. Perhaps this pandemic is also a wake-up call. Let us hope so, then it wasn’t all for nothing.
We hope to see you soon, stay happy and healthy!
Gervaise Coebergh & Kiki Hirschfeldt
