In the dynamic world of creative studios, SLAAAAASH stands out as a beacon of innovation and excellence.
Founded by Franco-Swiss partners Valentin and Hadrien, this Singapore-based company has redefined the standards for small and medium creative studios across the APAC region. Driven by a passion for high-quality craft and inspired by the unique flair of Japanese advertisements, SLAAAAASH has successfully navigated the challenges of the industry to create impactful and memorable brand experiences.
In this exclusive interview, Valentin, Co-Founder and Lead Producer, shares insights into the journey, challenges, and triumphs of SLAAAAASH, offering a glimpse into the creative processes and future aspirations that fuel their success.
How was your company born and where are you based?
SLAAAAASH is a Singapore-based creative studio composed of two Franco-Swiss Founders and countless talents. Our company was born out of a need to raise the bar for small and medium creative studios in APAC.
The ads and creative stuff around us just didn't match up to what we were used to in Switzerland, so we decided to step in and bring a higher standard of quality to the region. Japanese ads were always a big inspiration for us, with crazy WTF moments mixed with super high quality craft.
What was the biggest challenge to the growth of your company?
The biggest challenge was to find the right target audience for our services. We always agreed with my partner, Hadrien, that we don’t want to get into marketing, so we needed to find companies that excel in that field before doing any pitches.
For if a company doesn’t do their marketing well, a lot of the work we do will not be measured properly and the ROI on our work will not be justified. The most difficult thing is to prove to SMEs with bad marketing in place that investing into upping the quality and uniqueness of their company’s branding assets will increase customer trust, retention and significantly impact their conversions.
We’ve learned that the hard way, and now that we know our audience better things are running more smoothly.
Which was the first huge success that you can remember?
The first huge success we achieved so far was with a project for a real estate company called Botanica Luxury Villas.
They hired us to make a live production with a dream-like storyline including some one of a kind technology never before used in any real-estate production in Thailand. It was a hard project full of challenges but very fun and successful in the end, as they raised 6.6M USD in property investment with our assets in just one day.
What’s the biggest opportunity for you and your company in the next year?
Given the sheer number of companies that do not know how to market themselves, we actually decided to partner up with a successful marketer to start our own marketing funnel agency and put some hard numbers behind the type of ROI that these companies can get by working with us.
Can you explain your team’s creative process? What makes it unique?
We actually created our proprietary creative process called ORBIT, which stands for: Observe, Research, Build, Iterate and Transform.
My partner, Hadrien, has been a Creative Director for over 20 years and has standardised the creative process as much as possible while allowing for ultimate flexibility and creativity.
Not only do we always strive for excellence for each project we deliver, but we anticipate what future needs may arise for the company and potential innovation possibilities to take advantage of future opportunities.
How does your team remain inspired and motivated?
We are both extremely passionate about our craft and we love what we do. We look for inspiration everywhere and we always like to find opportunities in every field that we encounter, even in industries that we are very unfamiliar with.
We want to make the world a better, more convenient place to live in and we’re always looking for people to collaborate with who will help us do just that.
How has COVID-19 affected your company?
To be honest, we benefited from COVID as we first specialised in creating animated brand videos, which can be done from home and remotely.
And since no one was able to do live productions during that time, a lot of their business came flocking to us.
Which agencies do you gain inspiration from? Do you have any heroes in the industry?
There are tons of agencies that we love, mostly smaller ones that have the same drive for excellence and creativity that we strive to achieve. Alt-C inc. and Zajno just to name a few.
What is one tip that you would give to other agencies looking to grow?
Be different. Don’t copy what anyone else is doing. Get inspiration from the best, but always do it in your own unique way. And make sure that it resonates with at least one type of client/industry.
How do you go about finding new clients/business? (Pitching, work with retainers, etc.)
That’s always a tough one. Most of our clients come from referrals or people that I meet in real life. I’m a very sociable guy and I love to simply be helpful to whomever I meet because that’s the best way to be memorable. Plus, it feels good to do good, even if nothing comes out of it.
There’s so many scammers, assholes and people trying to screw you out there and I’d rather live in a place where we help lift each other up instead. And I’m sure that’s a big differentiating factor for us and our clients.
What’s your one big hope for the future of the industry?
That’s probably a long shot, but I hope that more companies will wake up and realise that high quality and innovative creative assets will pay off in the long run. Because it always does.
It’s sometimes difficult to compete with the sheer number of new cheaper competitors in the industry, especially when a lot of our leads only look at price. For all the potential clients out there, don’t just look at the price. You only get one impression and you better make it count.
Can you share a defining moment in your company's journey that shaped its identity or direction?
After giving quotes for animations to all and every potential interested parties, only to find out they’re only ready to pay peanuts, we decided to target a different type of audience and do more upscale innovative ideas for clients that understand the power of good design. So we rebranded, changed our DNA and added some services to reflect this.
How do you foster a culture of innovation and experimentation within your team?
We encourage innovation and experimentation by making sure our team feels comfortable sharing their ideas, no matter how crazy they might seem.
We set aside time and resources for trying out new techniques and technologies, and we see both successes and failures as chances to learn. By creating a supportive environment where creativity is valued and taking risks is encouraged, we keep pushing the boundaries of what we can do.
What measures do you take to ensure diversity and inclusion are prioritised within your company?
We don’t really believe in “ensuring” diversity and inclusion. Instead, we will hire whoever seems best for the job according to their skills, experience, professionalism and reliability, whichever gender and race package they come in.
Can you describe a project that challenged your team creatively and how you overcame any obstacles?
One of the most creatively challenging projects we tackled was for Botanica Luxury Villas. They hired us to produce a video with a dream-like storyline and a strict budget. In order to cope with those conditions, we incorporated a unique technology that had never been used in real estate production in Thailand.
The project was full of obstacles, from integrating new tech to crafting a compelling narrative. However, our team overcame these challenges by collaborating closely, staying flexible, and continuously experimenting until we got it right.
How do you balance maintaining your company's unique creative voice while meeting the diverse needs of clients?
Simply by sticking to our core values - that have been designed to ensure flexibility and a bit of room for experimentation.
We make sure to really understand what each client wants and who their audience is. Then we come up with creative solutions that fit both their needs and our style. This way, our work stays authentic and innovative, and the clients get what they need to succeed.
That’s what our “pathfinder” motto stands for. Know where you want to go and we’ll find the best route to get you there.
What strategies do you employ to adapt to changes and trends in the industry while staying true to your company's values?
We stay on top of industry changes and trends by constantly scouting out for emerging tech as and style, while avoiding ephemeral buzz and forced trends. The mindset is always the same, be open to new ideas and tools but do not fall for fake BS.
We keep an eye on what’s happening in the market, attend industry events, and encourage our team to explore new techniques and technologies. At the same time, we stay true to our company values by always putting quality and creativity first. This way, we can adapt to what’s new without losing sight of what makes us unique.
Can you share a memorable client success story that exemplifies your company's approach and impact?
In what ways do you invest in the professional development and growth of your team members? No matter what one's specialisation is, we always encourage our team to learn new things that they’re interested in and may be valuable to our company.
We will be happy to invest in whatever education, online courses, as long as it’s relevant to our craft and vision.
Can you discuss a time when your company had to pivot or innovate in response to unforeseen challenges, and what lessons did you learn from that experience?
I’ve discussed this a little bit about this already when speaking about choosing our target audience and rebranding to attract the right people instead of wasting our time.
The standard sales approach doesn’t make sense to us, therefore we started to reimagine the way we could sell: no BS, more direct, clear pricing, bold message. It acts as a filter, or some sort of deterrent, keeping us away from complicated unclear budgets and toxic clients.
Do you have any websites, books or resources that you would recommend?
To be honest, most of our inspiration comes from all of the things around us. Ads we see in the wild, patterns in nature, movies we watch, video games we play, Instagram, Behance, Pinterest, festivals etc.
There’s art all around, you just need to spot it and always stay curious.
Foundations are always the same, understand why the classics are so important, pay attention to details, symbolism, and never believe the hype.
Hadrien, Creative Director at SLAAAAASH, recommends:
- Point and Line to Plane (w. Kandinsky)
- The Design of Everyday Things (D. Norman)
