In December, we welcomed Mikael Bertuk into Vapa’s expert team. Strengthening strategic planning, Mikael brings a unique combination of creative design and technical expertise. As a Senior Strategist, Mikael will focus particularly on developing the possibilities of social media and artificial intelligence as part of Vapa’s service offerings.
“The fundamentals of marketing don’t change – we still need to be able to serve our clients and present things in an interesting way. However, the way we utilize new tools to do this is undergoing a transformation,” Mikael says.
Mikael’s diverse background, award-winning creative skills, and experience in the more technical side of digital marketing significantly enhance Vapa’s ability to respond to clients’ evolving needs
Ennen Vapalle siirtymistään Mikael toimi Lead Creativena Generolla, jossa hän oli kehittämässä toimiston luovaa palvelutarjontaa erityisesti digitaalisissa kanavissa.
AI Awakening and Creative Reinvention
“The launch of ChatGPT made my team and me think deeply about what the future of agency value creation will look like. The nature of creativity, of course, inherently involves constant reinvention. You can learn from yesterday, but it doesn’t tell you what tomorrow will bring,” Mikael shares.
According to Mikael, social media and artificial intelligence are valuable tools, but perhaps in a different way than commonly thought.
“Social media can, at its best, serve as a lab for brand product development and real conversations with customers. AI, on the other hand, is currently mostly a tool for enhancing and replicating work,” Mikael analyzes.
“However, it’s important to remember that the role of marketing communication is to evoke emotions and create meaningful experiences. At the core is influencing people. The rest is just tools and techniques.”
Curiosity Without the Pressure of Appearing ‘Adult’
We asked Mikael what helps him stay ahead of the curve and creatively combine different perspectives:
“I’m an insatiable learner and I don’t feel the pressure to be ‘the adult’ in the room. I’m not ashamed to ask dumb questions. It helps me find combinations and solutions that I might not otherwise discover.”
Mikael found Vapa to be an interesting player, one that has been a pioneer in content marketing and dares to try new things. Shared discussions led to a mutual understanding of where the industry is heading.
“At Vapa, there’s no fear of changing or experimenting with things. I’ve had the chance to be part of exciting projects and develop new tools and methods. What used to be a digital-tech utopia for a creative soul is now, at best, a few hours of work,” Mikael concludes.