Mid-September, 98 people from 45 partner agencies across 26 markets arrived in Copenhagen for the Worldwide Partners IGNITE 26 Global Summit.
Across three days, conversations moved from creativity and AI to growth, leadership and the future of independent agencies, with just as much exchanged between sessions as on stage.
And while every WPI summit brings new inspiration to Advance, this one felt particularly special. We welcomed the network to our hometown in the same year we celebrate our 50th anniversary, giving us the chance to bring the network into our world and share more of Advance in return.
Bringing the network home
Advance has been part of Worldwide Partners, a global network of independent agencies, since 2018. Today, our involvement runs even deeper, with Co-CEO Ann-Louise Rosen serving as Chair of the Board.
“Advance is deeply rooted in Copenhagen, but we have always had an international outlook,” Ann-Louise says. “Being part of Worldwide Partners gives us the best of both worlds: the closeness, agility and independence of a local agency, combined with access to perspectives, capabilities and talent from across the world.”
“Being part of Worldwide Partners gives us the best of both worlds: the closeness, agility and independence of a local agency, combined with access to perspectives, capabilities and talent from across the world.”
– Ann-Louise Rosen, Co-CEO
As hosts of the biannual global summit, we had the chance to bring the network into our home city and share more of Advance along the way. “There’s a mix of heritage, design and openness to new ideas here that feels familiar to us,” says Camilla Grove-Pelle, Co-CEO. “Hosting gave us the chance to share the city, but also a little more of who we are and how we work.”
Conversations quickly moved beyond the formal programme, with old friends reconnecting and ideas carrying on between sessions and over dinner. “That openness really stood out to me,” Ann-Louise reflects. “There was a genuine willingness to share knowledge, challenge one another and help each other grow. That’s what is so special about this network.”
Advancers on and off the stage
Hosting IGNITE gave our teams the chance to step into the network by contributing their own perspectives, joining conversations and learning from peers across markets.
Creative Director Trudy Follwell took the stage to share five learnings from our longstanding collaboration with The LEGO Group, particularly our work helping to grow its adult audience. Drawing on more than 15 years of working with the brand, she explored how deep client knowledge and cultural curiosity can keep both the relationship and the work relevant and fresh.
“Long-term client relationships should never mean standing still,” Camilla shares. “Trudy’s session showed how the strongest relationships give you the trust and shared understanding to keep evolving, exploring new audiences and finding new opportunities together.”
“The strongest relationships give you the trust and shared understanding to keep evolving, exploring new audiences and finding new opportunities together.”
– Camilla Grove Pelle, Co-CEO
As Chair of the Board, Ann-Louise opened the summit and later facilitated an IGNITION session on Women in Executive Leadership, while Camilla led a session on new business. Advancers also joined various workshops on growth, creativity and AI, including a session with Ravid Kuperberg hosted at the Advance office.
What will stay with us
Beyond the ideas shared on stage, some of the best takeaways came from informal exchanges and comparing notes with peers.
“The face-to-face conversations are such an important part of these summits,” Camilla says. “You get to compare notes with people wrestling with many of the same questions in completely different markets. That outside perspective is one of the most valuable things we bring back from these summits.”
“The face-to-face conversations are such an important part of these summits. You get to compare notes with people wrestling with many of the same questions in completely different markets.”
– Camilla Grove Pelle, Co-CEO
For Advance, that is where much of the value of Worldwide Partners becomes tangible: staying close to our clients and market while continuing to look outward, learn from others and bring new perspectives back into the agency.
As Ann-Louise puts it, “We got to show our network a little of who we are, and they left us with new perspectives on who we can become.”
“We got to show our network a little of who we are, and they left us with new perspectives on who we can become.”
– Ann-Louise Rosen, Co-CEO
A big thank you to the Worldwide Partners team, especially John Harris, Angie Pascale and Eve Riley, and to everyone who helped make IGNITE 26 such a memorable few days in Copenhagen.
