2 Minutes With ... Anouk Zink, Managing Director at TBWANEBOKO

Anouk Zink was named managing director at TBWANEBOKO in January, after joining the agency as business director in 2020. After receiving her M.S. in International Business at the Lund University in Sweden, she began her 20+ years of experience in the advertising industry. Anouk works closely with teams and clients to develop disruptive strategies, campaigns, activations, content and social media initiatives across the entire customer experience. She loves bringing business challenges and creative excellence together.

We spent two minutes with Anouk to learn more about her background, her creative inspirations and recent work she’s admired.

Anouk, tell us…

Where you grew up, and where you live now.

 I grew up in the Dutch town of Nijmegen and ended up in Amsterdam via Sweden (where I did my Masters) and France ( I did my internship in Paris). For the past 15 years I have lived in Haarlem with my husband and three children.

How you first realized you were creative. 

As account people, we provide a lot for creativity. The trinity of business, strategy and creation paves the way for creative work. Over my career, I have come to understand better how the role of those who are responsible for the business side of things, is crucial to paving the way for creativity to flourish properly.

A person you idolized creatively early on. 

I come from a creative nest. My grandfather was a stage director, painter and poet in his spare time and had a full-time job as an accountant. My grandmother had her own store, something that was not conventional for women at that time. So, both entrepreneurial and creative are a combination of what my family is. 

A moment from high school or college that changed your life.

When I was interning in Paris at Essilor I met a woman in the elevator. She was a very well-dressed French businesswoman and was carrying a board with drawings. I was intrigued by these “comics” (remember I had never seen a storyboard before in my life) so I followed her to ask her what her profession was. She answered she was working for the marketing department and explained the storyboard was going to be used to make a TV commercial for the Essilor brand for the European market. At that point I knew that was what I wanted to do, even though I had no clue yet what that particular job or working in the world of marketing was about.

A book, movie, TV show or podcast you recently found inspiring. 

I recently watched and loved Triangle of Sadness, a wonderful black comedy and modern tragedy about the super wealthy. 

Your favorite fictional character. 

Alexis Colby from Dynasty, Adrian Mole and his growing pains and the mouse’s imaginary character “The Gruffalo” from the famous children’s book by Julia Donaldson.

Someone or something worth following on social media. 

Kasper Van Der Laan, a Dutch comedian did a great show called “De Weg naar SuccesGeluk,” which translates to “The Way to SuccessHappiness.” Kasper makes fun of self-help books that he’s addicted to. It is great comedy therapy for professionals.  

How Covid-19 changed your life, personally or professionally.

I was surprised and impressed by how much we still could get done remotely. Creativity cannot be stopped. I also felt that work and personal life got mixed up a lot. But I don’t think Covid has had a lasting impact on me personally or professionally. It’s basically back to the way it was. It also shows we are at our best when we are together.

One of your favorite creative projects you’ve ever worked on. 

In 2018 we created “Evert-45” for KPN. This was one of those projects where we fought really hard for, together with the client, to make happen. But you also feel as a team that you are working towards something so great together. That’s magical!

A recent project you’re proud of. 

“Let’s Love Louder” for Tele2. From a strategy point of view, this one is interesting. We used the insight that so much hate is shared online on socials and we wanted to turn negativity into positivity with this campaign. One of the activations was the “Let’s Rap Louder” rap battle, in which we invited six Dutch rappers to battle by spreading positivity. 

Someone else’s work that inspired you years ago.

My grandmother, also in the context of female empowerment. She was a business woman and creative in one, but she was also one of the few women of her time to have her own store (and raised 9 children).

Someone else’s work you admired lately. 

My name is Peter campaign. 

Your main strength as a creative person. 

I’m learning to listen to my intuition and trust my gut feeling more because it doesn’t let me down. 

Your biggest weakness. 

Impatience. 

One thing that always makes you happy. 

My family. 

One thing that always makes you sad. 

Mansplaining.

What you’d be doing if you weren’t in advertising. 

Being a hairdresser or a documentary filmmaker (making a documentary about hairdressers). But I’d definitely be creating something.