Hey, how was your 2025 up to here? Yes, I don't really want to talk about it either. But we must. Because let's leave the usual phrases aside: The economic reality in Germany and Europe has really shaken us up. We feel this: in budgets, in the caution of SMEs and, painfully, also in the jobs that have been lost in recent months. You think the party is over.

But it is precisely this sobriety that is inherent in clarity. When resources are scarce, “Nice to have” is no longer an option. We simply can't afford arbitrariness anymore. The instincts of many communication departments are understandable. Move your head in, minimize risks and soften everything. The result is often fear-driven communication that is so smooth that you slip when you read. This is where I see the biggest area of tension. Anyone who only manages now becomes invisible. In times of crisis, it is not the brand that best hides itself that wins, but the brand that shows a stance despite everything.

In doing so, we urgently need to redefine what efficiency means. It's not about making creatives run even faster, but about sending them off in the right direction. Dora Osinde has made a point here that has sharpened my view of processes: True streamlining doesn't happen in the tenth correction loop, but in the briefing. A vague “Do something cool” is no longer creative freedom today, it is active money burning. A good briefing is the foundation. It forces us to clarify the “why” before we get lost in the “how.”

But in addition to all the streamlining and automation, I realized something — completely analog, offline, real. I stood in front of a customer's trainee in a creative workshop. No prompt engineering, no AI tools, but interactive exchange on equal footing. We had a clear goal and really worked together. The result? Damn good ideas, noticeable cohesion and an empathy in space that no algorithm in the world can simulate. Humanity works. Real collaboration beats synthetic perfection. Eat this, machine.

And you know what? That is exactly why I continue to believe in it. The fact that well-thought-out communication makes the difference. That we don't have to bunker what we learn every day, whether through AI or in a team, but rather pass it on. The knowledge we acquire during this time should be shared. Let us learn from each other and show that more awaits us in the future than resignation and generic drugs.