Philipp Barth, Freelance Copywriter in Berlin, Germany
Looking for a Freelance Copywriter in Germany?
Hey,
thanks for stopping by. I work as a Freelance Copywriter / Creative Director for agencies and companies in Berlin and around the globe. Previously, I was employed as a Copywriter and Creative Director at Jung von Matt for 13 years, Germany’s most creative Agency. Here I have worked with global brands such as BMW, MINI, Mercedes-Benz, DHL, Bosch and TUI. Want to find out more? Please feel free to send me an e-mail.
Best,
Philipp
MY STORY SO FAR
Since 2016 Freelance Copywriter in Berlin
2015 Chief Creative Officer at Ressourcenmangel
2012 – 2014 Creative Director/Member of the Board at Jung von Matt
2007 – 2012 Creative Director at Jung von Matt
2001 – 2006 Copywriter at Jung von Matt
2000 – 2001 Copywriter at Rempen & Partner
Member of Art Directors Club Germany and D&AD, UK.
AWARDS
CANNES LIONS 2 x Gold, 3 x Silver, 1 x Bronze, 8 x Shortlist
CLIO AWARDS 2 x Silver, 4 x Bronze, 3 x Finalist
D&AD 1 x Pencil, 3 x Book
THE ONE SHOW 1 x Silver, 1 x Merit Award, 1 x Finalist
NY FESTIVALS 1 x Gold, 3 x Silver, 4 x Bronze, 25 x Finalist
ADC OF EUROPE 1 x Gold, 4 x Nomination
ADC GERMANY 3 x Silver, 15 x Bronze, 27 x Merit
AME 1 x Best of Show, Grand Award, 1 x Platinum Trophy, 3 x Gold, 1 x Shortlist
EFFIE GERMANY 1 x Gold, 1 x Silver, 2 x Bronze
LEADAWARDS 2 x Gold (Advertising text of the year for IWC “Fish”), 2 x Merit
EUROBEST 3 x Silver, 2 x Bronze, 5 x Finalist
INTERNATIONAL BMW AWARD 2 x Gold
LIA Silver, 2 x Finalist
DMMA ONLINESTAR 1 x Bronze, 1 x Nomination
GERMAN AWARD FOR ONLINE COMMUNICATIONS Winner
CREATIVITY IS INTELLIGENCE HAVING FUN.
– Albert Einstein
ACCOUNTS
I enjoy working as a Freelance Copywriter in Berlin for corporations, small and medium-sized enterprises, public authorities, institutions, agencies, small companies and individuals. In Berlin and around the globe.
AUTOMOTIVE
BMW, BMWi
MINI
Mercedes-Benz, Mercedes-Benz Rent,
Mercedes-Benz Trucks, Mercedes AMG
Smart
Audi
Hyundai
Sixt Rent A Car
Bosch Automotive
ACE, Automotive Club Europe
CONSULTING/MANAGEMENT
Platinion (Boston Consulting Group),
STAUFEN AG – International Lean Management Consulting,
Tiba Management Consulting
ENERGY
ENBW, innogy, N-ERGY
ENTERTAINMENT
Nintendo
FASHION, ACCESSORIES & PERFUME
Breuninger department store, C&A,
IWC International Watch Company,
Ludwig Beck department store, Mey Lingerie,
Sandro Paris Fashion, Schiesser underwear,
Zalando
FINANCE
Sparkasse/Savings Bank, L-Bank – State Bank for Baden-Württemberg,
LBBW, Mercedes-Benz Bank, Mercedes-Benz Financial Services
FOOD/BEVERAGE
Unilever (Rama Original, Rama Cremefine),
Edeka Supermarket, Bit Sun Beer, Bitburger Beer,
Alpha Pan Vital Food, Campari, Glenfiddich
TRADE
METRO, Media Markt, Saturn, Depot, Edeka Supermarket,
BMW Trade Marketing, Mercedes-Benz Trade Marketing
LOGISTICS
DHL, Meyer & Meyer
MEDIA
FAZ Newspaper, NZZ Newspaper, n-tv, Antenne Bayern Radio Station,
Amica Magazin, GU Publishing House, BigFM Radio, BILD Newspaper,
ComputerBILD Magazine, Bavaria Stock Photo Agency
MINISTRIES, UNIONS, ASSOCIATIONS
Ministry of Health, Police Union
DETERGENT
Vileda
TRAVEL
AIDA Cruises, TUI, TUI Premium,
ITS, Jahn Reisen, Tjaereborg
SOCIAL
Amnesty, IGFM, WWF
TECHNOLOGY
Samsung, Grundig, Grundig Household Appliances,
Siemens, Bosch Household Appliances,
Bosch Consumer Electronics, Toshiba,
NEC, NEC-Mitsubishi, Saturn, Media Markt
TELECOMMUNICATION
BASE, E-Plus, Samsung, Viag Interkom
SIMPLICITY IS THE ULTIMATE SOPHISTICATION.
– Leonardo da Vinci
FREELANCE COPYWRITER IN GERMANY: WORK EXAMPLES
Here are some examples of my work as a Freelance Copywriter in Berlin. Enjoy.
“DHL IS FASTER”-VIRAL. UPS, TNT AND DPD ADVERTISE FOR DHL.
We sent with the competitor’s of DHL cooled, black parcels with thermo-active foil. In the vans, the parcels changed. Now they said:”DHL is faster”. The delivery addresses were located in the city centre and were not so easy to find. So the couriers wandered around – advertising for DHL. The video was clicked more than 5 million times in the first 5 days alone, was shown on television and was picked up by the media worldwide.
CREDITS – Agency: Jung von Matt/Neckar. Team: Holger Oehrlich, Kai Schmelzle, Jan-Erik Scheibner, Raphaela Sigg, Tom Lupo, Tim Steffan, Simone Müller, Susanne Barthel, Philipp Barth
“THE ACTROS TAXI”-VIRAL. VOLVO AND MAN DRIVE MERCEDES.
The new Mercedes-Benz Actros truck really convinces everyone. Even the competition. We turned the truck into a taxi and picked up VOLVO and MAN employees who had just ordered a taxi. That’s how they got a test drive that they won’t forget so quickly. The video of the campaign quickly became a hit in the trucker community.
CREDITS – Agentur: Jung von Matt/Neckar. Team: Armin Jochum, Holger Oehrlich, Michael Zoelch, Alexander Seifritz, Thomas Zeller, Sven Kratzsch, Marisa Brüser, Judith Pfitzer, Susanne Vanselow, Denise Winter, Chris Wessner-Griesemann, Maik Ssyckor, Anja Geib, Simone Abel, Philipp Barth
MERCEDES-BENZ INTEGRATED WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP CAMPAIGN “#READYASNEVERBEFORE”
CREDITS – Agency: Jung von Matt/Neckar. Team: Peter Waibel, Holger Oehrlich, Michael Zoelch, Robert Herter, Sven Kratzsch, Nico Baumann, Michael Mack, Raphaela Sigg, Jonas Müller, Moritz Haenschen, Richard Pietsch, Matthias Hess, Lucas Rocha-Osis, Joao dos Santos aka Mr Santos, Mark Wilms, Martin Wenk, Julia Koerte, Yasemin Tekne, Jeanette Brauer, Manuel Colloseus, Darek Stoehr, Martina Raach, Tim Gutekunst, Alexandliane (Alexander Larsch & Liane Summers), Philipp Barth
GLOBAL BRAND CAMPAIGN: CLAIM AND CORE IDEA FOR MERCEDES-BENZ.
CRM, TRADE MARKETING, TVC, RADIO, PRINT, OUTDOOR, ONLINE AND EVENT.
MERCEDES-AMG
BMW
BMW TVC “DYNAMIC DRIVE”, US-VERSION
SOCIAL MEDIA: JOSEPH TWITTERS
CREDITS – Ageny: Jung von Matt/Neckar. Team: Holger Oehrlich, Holger Diesinger, Gert Schilling, Nadine Glasbrenner, Robert Jedam, Boris Noll, Philipp Barth
GERMAN FREELANCE COPYWRITER: CONTACT
Drop me a mail at info@philippbarth.com.
Let’s connect. My LinkedIn Profile.
FREELANCE COPYWRITER IN BERLIN, GERMANY
Recently a friend who does not work in advertising or marketing asked me: Well, I was looking at your website. Great ideas, but what does a Freelance Copywriter actually do? In this post I try to give an answer.
I admit the question surprised me. I always thought that the term “Freelance Copywriter” was more or less self-explanatory. But obviously he’s not. So let’s start from the beginning.
THE PRINCIPLE OF ADVERTISING.
Companies want to sell products or services, so they advertise them. In the past, people used to go to the market where the farmer offered his crops. “Fresh apples!” he shouted, for example. Or:”Cherries! Big, juicy red cherries!” This was and is the original form of the market and the basic principle of advertising. Here you can find out what’s going on.
FREELANCE COPYWRITER IN GERMANY: MAKING THE PRODUCT STAND OUT
Today there are still marketplaces, but they have become much fuller, louder and more confusing. In the real and digital world there are countless companies that want to attract attention. The volume is increasing, there is a lot of confusion and consumers can choose from an oversupply.
If I may say so, a Bosch washing machine does not differ as dramatically from a Miele machine as the manufacturers would like it to. The products are converging worldwide. This makes it all the more important for marketing and advertising to highlight the differences. The task of advertising is to make the product stand out from the mass of uniformity. The soul of advertising is selling products and services. And to create strong relationships between brands and people.
The task of advertising is to make the product stand out from the mass of uniformity and to convince the consumer to buy it.
THE ROLE OF THE ADVERTISING AGENCY
When I did not yet work as a copywriter and later on as a freelance copywriter in Berlin, I thought that companies would come up with their own advertising. But very few do. Most companies have an external agency that they hire to develop advertising. The reason why: When you work in a company for a long time, there is a certain inner view. The perspective from the outside is lost. You just don’t see some things anymore, you’re just too close.
Agencies, however, are independent and have an external view. It is easier for them to analyse the situation and recognize the necessary steps. An advertising agency is therefore also a consultant and not only an agent for colourful and pretty pictures.
For many years I worked as an employed copywriter and creative director in advertising agencies, 13 years of which alone at Jung von Matt. This was exciting and fun. We formed teams that were tailored to the respective task and tried to find an excellent solution for the client’s problem. In an agency there are different specialists. Here are some examples.
COPYWRITER
Sure: The copywriter is writing. He writes advertising texts of all kinds. But the copywriter not only writes, he also comes up with ideas and concepts for all media. TV spots, online banners, posters, smartphone apps and so on. He does not have to design these media, but he must find the idea for it. So the copywriter is the agency’s brain. In an industry where everything revolves around ideas, copywriters are of central importance.
Good copywriters are in great demand. For example, they are trained at Miami Ad School. Before training centres like this existed, copywriters were simply thrown into the cold water and trained in the agency. That’s still a good way to go if the environment is right.
WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE PROFESSION OF A COPYWRITER?
In short: If you can think, you can also write texts. An equally important characteristic is the will to find an excellent solution. The ideal copywriter is persistent. He bites himself into a problem and only then lets go of it when he has a first-class idea. In addition, it is helpful to have: a broad general education, diverse interests, curiosity and enjoyment of good advertising. A certain capacity for suffering is not bad either. At the end of the day, 95 percent of all ideas are not seen on the street, but in the wastebasket.
EDITOR/EDITOR
The editor usually has a journalistic background and writes articles for websites and customer magazines. He develops concepts and drafts editorial plans for social media channels. In short: The editor can be of use in many ways and delivers valuable content.
The difference to the copywriter? It’s not easy to say. Like the editor, the copywriter can create editorial and social media plans. I would say: the work-fields of the copywriter are much broader than the ones of the editor.
COMMUNITY MANAGER
For example, he supervises the Facebook page of a brand, writes posts according to an editorial plan and answers questions from the community. In addition, he advises clients in social media channels and brings new impulses and ideas. He also monitors trends and developments and continuously measures success.
STRATEGIC PLANNER/PLANNER
For the first time the profession of a planner appeared in England. The original idea was that someone should take the consumer’s perspective. Today, this task has been somewhat forgotten. The Strategic Planner collects data, observations and facts. Leo Burnett has coined the pretty term “Product Investigation” for this.
The planner analyzes all information, draws conclusions from it and derives possible strategies. This can be compared with a journalist during the research. The journalist is also rummaging through mountains of information. He asks himself:”Where is the story? Where is the interesting story that everyone wants to read? The planner must also ask himself this question. Every brand has an exciting history. We have to find it and tell it in a fresh and original way.
GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Junior copywriters and graphic designers form a creative team in many agencies. They’re making things up together. The graphic designer then visualizes the proposals. Graphic designers are trained at graphic design schools.
ARTDIRECTOR (AD)
The AD is responsible for the look of a campaign. In most cases, he and a copywriter form a creative team. If they are experienced, they can also lead a junior team, i. e. a junior copywriter and a graphic designer.
CREATIVE DIRECTOR (CD)
CD Copy and CD Art often work together and lead a group of creative teams. They have to show their teams where they are heading. You determine who is working on which task and by when and what steps are to be taken.
Perhaps the most important task of the Creative Director is to find the big, central idea. He doesn’t necessarily have to have it himself, but he has to recognize it. When the creative teams present their ideas, the CD has to decide within seconds whether the idea has potential or not. This may sound difficult, but over time you develop a feeling for good ideas and can usually form an opinion quickly.
WHEN DOES A FREELANCE COPYWRITER COME INTO PLAY?
We looked at some jobs in an advertising agency. An agency therefore relies on specialists. Everyone has their own area. In a project, the specialists form a team and try to solve the task together. Sometimes, however, the copywriters don’t have time for a new project. In order to understand this better, it is important to know that most agencies are constantly working on acquiring new orders. There are even New Business Managers who care about finding new clients and orders for the agency.
The reason for this is that existing customers sometimes break up. Because if things don’t go so smoothly with the company’s success, then the marketing budget is a position where you can quickly and easily cut costs. This does not make sense, because if you don’t sell enough, you should do more advertising. But it is practical and is therefore often done in this way.
That’s why agencies must constantly take precautions and find new customers. However, as the potential new customers have not yet placed an order, the agency is not yet able to hire new copywriters, as they have to be paid for.
Companies often invite several agencies to a competition presentation in order to find the best advertising ideas. Such competition presentations are called pitch. Most of them are very complex and challenge the agency to present itself in creative top form. The idea must be great! So great that it inspires the client and he wants to engage the agency.
But what if the copywriters are all busy for existing customers and don’t have time for the pitch? In such a case, a freelance copywriter will help you.
Your book makes or beaks you.
HOW CAN YOU TELL IF A FREELANCE COPYWRITER IS A GOOD ONE?
The professional title “freelance copywriter” is not protected. Anyone can call themselves that. So the question is, how do you know if the freelance copywriter is good or not? There are several ways to get to the bottom of a freelance copywriter. The fundamental question is: has the freelance copywriter ever made advertising that convinces and inspires me? A good freelance copywriter can provide concrete examples of his work. If you like it, chances are that the freelance copywriter will continue to work at this level. If the freelance copywriter, on the other hand, has no examples in his portfolio, this does not make the best impression. It is best if a freelance copywriter demonstrates with his work that he can develop good advertising.
In addition to working examples in the portfolio, there are other indicators that help to assess a freelance copywriter. Thus, a freelance copywriter who has worked for a long time at a well-known, excellent agency as an employee will generally reflect this level. Industry awards such as Cannes Lions or D&AD pencils are also a clear sign that the freelance copywriter delivers quality. Anyone who has won prizes over the years can also become a member of ADC or D&AD Club, which is also a seal of approval.
If the job is about a specific industry in which a certain know-how is important, you can ask the freelance copywriter about it. Many freelance copywriters have a list of their previous clients on their website, which you can look up.
INDICATIONS FOR A FOOD FREELANCE COPYWRITER
- Does the freelance copywriter have concrete examples of work that are convincing and inspiring?
- Does he have sufficient experience and industry know-how?
- Has the freelance copywriter worked in good agencies?
- Did the freelancer win more than just a flowerpot?
By the way: Is it possible to be a good freelance copywriter without ever having been in a great creative agency, without winning an award and without having worked on a major account? Sure, absolutely! But if you can answer some of the points in the checklist above with “yes”, this is certainly not wrong.
HOW CAN YOU TELL IF A FREELANCE COPYWRITER FITS WELL INTO THE TEAM?
It’s best to ask people who have worked with the freelancer before. If you hear from several people that the freelancer is an unpleasant type, you might want to reconsider the cooperation. Who wants to work with someone who has made a name for himself as a disgust? It is also advisable not to book a freelance copywriter for three months if you don’t know him at all, but to get to know him for a few days before making such a long booking. What’s the point of hiring the best freelancer if he’s a disgust that no one wants to work with?
WHERE DOES A FREELANCE COPYWRITER WORK?
Whether a freelance copywriter should work in the advertising agency or in the company, in his office or in his home office is a question that needs to be clarified individually. Sometimes a freelance copywriter simply has to be on site with the team, because the work process is complex and the quickest way to get things moving is to shout something out.
In the last few years, however, the place has no longer played an important role. A freelance copywriter can sit in Berlin and work with agencies and companies all over the world via Skype, Slack, Wetransfer and E-Mail. No matter whether the team is based in London, New York or Dew Deli.
Thanks to the technology, the boundaries disappear and distances shrink. Nowadays it doesn’t matter if you sit 100 meters away or at the other end of the world. In both cases, an e-mail arrives in no time at all. So, if you need help from a Freelance Copywriter in Berlin, just drop me a line.
Philipp Barth, Freelance Copywriter in Berlin, Germany. Thanks for stopping by.