Being at STURM und DRANG

"For me, STURM und DRANG is a place where love for detail and the idea of a big picture merge as sense and sensibility. Every time anew it is exciting to perform pattern recognition and extrapolation in the most diverse areas: to illuminate the phenomena of now to project strategies and vision for tomorrow."

Inga Nandzik was always driven by the idea of changing perspectives to be able to get a holistic and coherent picture. Thereby she deemed that opposites attract and even complement each other in creating something bigger and better: like cheese and marmalade, philosophy and math classes, blue dresses and orange sneakers... With studying Applied Cultural Sciences she got the interdisciplinary tools in theory and practice to transfer this principle to professional life. Inga managed to combine art and commerce as coordinator of marketing for the world art exhibition documenta 12 and now reflects culture and consumption in research and development. Here, she can indulge in tying insights and foresights, strategy and design for the sake of great scenario planning and service design. With working for Triumph International lingerie, Procter & Gamble professional hair care, Audi automobiles and Allianz insurances she feels happily engaged in diversity.

"Working at STURM und DRANG means to me being inspired anew. By challenging projects, clients from most diverse industries and a creative team of unconventional thinkers.“

Dorothea Stanjek studied psychology and business in Marburg and Mannheim. She specialized in market and consumer psychology as well as brand images. As a freelancer at the Spiegel Institut Mannheim, she engaged in market and usability research. In 2009, she decided to take a closer look behind the scenes of consumer culture and therefore moved to Hamburg to join STURM und DRANG. Dorothea devotes herself to qualitative insight research – focusing on FMCG, food, beauty, and media. As a real digital native she also conducts exciting online projects with the lead user community dieNEONauten.de.

"To me, focusing the human with its sense and sensuality does not only reflect the zeitgeist of today – it is truly fascinating, blurring the boundaries of traditionally separated disciplines."

Already during her studies of Communication in Social and Economic Contexts at the Berlin University of Arts, it were the design theories and modern aesthetics that sparked Sonja's fascination. Having been a consultant with the global branding and design agency Interbrand for several years, where she helped clients such as Beiersdorf, Unilever, Symrise or Wrigley develop and implement brand strategies and design, in 2009, Sonja arrived at STURM und DRANG. She develops innovations and brand visions in collaborative processes – always following the idea of Design Thinking. With this, she supports clients to discover and to implement new business opportunities in a tangible way.

"Working at STURM und DRANG means to me: creating, innovating, staying curious."

Gunar Splanemann has an extensive background in Strategic Market Research and Strategic Brand Marketing. He has worked internationally in agencies and organizations in the US, UK and in Germany. Before joining Sturm and Drang he was responsible for establishing Consumer Insights within the Beiersdorf headquaters in Hamburg. He led the global consumer segmentation project and was in charge of steering and implementing several holistic Insight topics – e.g. Natural Cosmetics, Men and grooming, the global concepts of Beauty, 50+ and cosmetics. In the last 3 years he was in charge of positioning and marketing the NIVEA Hair Care Business as a Senior int. Brand Manager. He loves Music, Movies, Motorcycles and travelling.

"How do people tick? Which adventures and solutions do I find off the beaten path? Sturm und Drang as a unique playground for my curiosity merges interdisciplinary personalities into a strong team. It's a hub of sparkling inspiration, ready to change paradigms. Each approach is people-centric, be it consumers or clients: how can we change their world?"

Having lived abroad already during her studies of business administration, Nicole Menke soon realized that insights and market understanding only come to life with cross-cultural competence. Hence she ventured for Kellogg as Marketing Manager each for several years into Germany, South Africa and France. Furthermore, her experience in brand- and innovation management was expanded in the industry of entertainment (Twentieth Century Fox Hoe Entertainment), outdoor (Coleman) as well as a freelance strategic consultant. The intense work with so many different consumer groups and internal stakeholders helped her develop a fine sense of systemic contexts and psychological processes. Over and above her semiotic work with cultural codes her focus is on open innovation facilitation, innovation management and -processes and portfolio strategy.

"To me, working at STURM und DRANG means to explore new markets within an interdisciplinary team and international network. That means to search and find fresh and inspired humans in different cultures to think and develop new and different perspectives."

Anne Barbara Schubring finished her apprenticeship in advertising management and graduated as sociologist and economist before she joined STURM und DRANG. She coordinates the internal and external resources of all global research projects. Her mission is to insure the methodological background as well as to integrate field services and the STURM und DRANG Network into the project workflow. Fascinated by the work and the dialogue with humans from different markets and cultures she is driven to extend and develop the STURM und DRANG Network including partners, suppliers, freelancers, experts and lead users as well as the internal quality management.

"To design, to develop further, to change, to get to the heart of things, to work with the power of mind - and never to stand still - that is Sturm und Drang for me.“

As one of the original members of staff, Andrea Prantner works as Director of Administration alongside the management board and is in charge of Accounting, Human Resources and Office Management. After completing her training in advertising management at BBDO in Duesseldorf, Andrea Prantner was initially employed by Hamburg agencies before crossing the line to work for the actual companies. After launching a Mexican beer brand in Germany, she was also deeply involved in assisting a publisher in setting up a contemporary art and fashion magazine.

"Working at STURM und DRANG is about exploring the mechanisms of cultural processes behind brands and consumption.“

As editorial director of STURM und DRANG’s innovation monitor „Debut“, Till Huber browses through markets and consumer worlds. In his role as Corporate Communications Manager, he is also the contact person for communication both internally and externally. Educated in literary studies and semiotics, he is trained to interpret complex systems of signs – including brands and consumer worlds – and to illustrate these kinds of content across different media and audiences. After gaining a master's degree in German and American Studies, Till Huber published numerous papers, essays and feature articles in the areas of pop culture, aesthetics and economics. He ist he co-editor of „Poetik der Oberfläche“ (Poetics of the Surface), published by De Gruyter in 2011, which deals with the literature and (media-)culture of the 1990s. He worked as an author for magazines such as de:bug, der Freitag and Business Punk.

“Staying curious, discovering new things, changing perspectives, challenging assumptions, putting people in the centre of the process, not being satisfied with the status quo, but always looking for the best solution serving people’s and business needs – that’s exactly what STURM und DRANG means to me and inspires me anew every day.”

Through her experience completing a Bachelor of Arts in Visual Communication Design, Melanie applied her knowledge of the design thinking process in several design projects focusing on functional and human-centered designs. While receiving her Master degree in Design Development in the US, she gained skills in qualitative, human-centered research methods in order to inform the design process and at the same time taught design courses in the undergraduate level. When working for the global architecture, planning and design firm nbbj, she applied design research methods to identify and analyze patients’, doctors’ and nurses’ needs to create an ideal hospital experience to be built by nbbj. At STURM und DRANG, Melanie Dreser devotes herself to qualitative and design research with a focus on intercultural consumers. Over and above her semiotic work with cultural codes, her interest lies in innovation processes and service design.

"It was during the era of Sturm und Drang when people learned to feel - unrestrained individualism and expressive power became characteristic traits of that time. Along these lines, STURM und DRANG stands for the fruitful skepticism towards the tempting belief that ‚numbers and figures are key to all creatures‘ (quoted from a poem by Novalis - admittedly a work of romanticism, but nonetheless congenial). We place people at the center of our work. Buzzword required? Here you go: Human-Centered Innovation is what we do."

Falk Busse reinforces the STURM und DRANG-team in his capacity as a 't-shaped in between specialist'. Prior to this, he dealt with innovation-driven business models at a Berlin-based think tank and explored possibilities for major corporations to adapt to a fast-moving world. He did this by developing innovative event formats and by editing four issues of "REVUE für postheroisches Management" covering topics such as "interfaces", "design thinking", "sustainability" and "systemic risks". Beforehand, commissioned by the Goethe-Institut Bangladesh, he organized cultural events in the city of Chittagong, such as a theatre play called "Sun Alley“ – a Bengali adaption of Thomas Brussig's novel "Am kürzeren Ende der Sonnenallee“ as a play. Falk Busse studied Communication and Cultural Management at Zeppelin University. There, at the Chair of Dirk Baecker, he took part in the project „Next City“ exploring perspectives on the city of the digital age.

"Working at STURM und DRANG means to always be at the cutting edge and have the opportunity to help shape the world of tomorrow."

If there is one thing that is always exciting for Tatje Schaper, it would be to understand what drives people. While studying psychology in Hamburg and New York City, Tatje Schaper was especially dedicated to basic research in the field of motivational psychology. At STURM und DRANG, she remains true to her spirit of research and supports the team in qualitative insight research and takes care of exciting online research communities.

STURM und DRANG means making bold claims about the future and to question the world permanently, to rethink and change it.

The trend- and innovation strategist's focus lies in the areas of digitalization, Web of Things and e-commerce. At STURM und DRANG, Katharina Kiéck works in the fields of foresight and trends – particularly on the transfer of latest innovations and trends into customer contexts. Based on this, she developes internal and external systems for collaborative trend management. In addition, Katharina Kiéck reports the latest developments and microtrends from all around the world to international agencies such as Springwise and Trendwatching.com. She teaches trend scouting at the Universities of Hamburg and Zurich and conducts workshops for "digital Enabling" in various companies. In her search for trends, Katharina Kiéck developed the first sub-Saharan trend agency in Nairobi (Kenya) in cooperation with the Nailab Incubation Lab.

"Networking with people all over the world. Being open to learn something new all the time and to be on track with changes in society and lifestyle. Having insights in new research methods - especially the vast field of possibilities that online research hast to offer is extremely interesting to me!"

Julia Valentin studied Applied Cultural Studies with a focus on fashion, art and sociology. Always interested in changes concerning aesthetics and lifestyle - fashion and consumer culture offer a fascinating and broad field for her, in which these changes manifest themselves. Besides these seemingly "superficial" interests, the most important part for Julia in her work is communication and interaction with most different characters. She loves working with her versatile colleagues and the collaboration with interesting experts of different cultural backgrounds and professions.

„Working at STURM und DRANG means to me matching the seriousness of economics and the changeability and dynamics of consumers and thus to be able to go new paths."

Naomi Wolf is studying economics and psychology at University of applied management in Berlin. As part of this dual course of studies she works at STURM und DRANG . Her central motivation for choosing this field of study was to understand our consumer culture. Working, at STURM und DRANG, Naomi Wolf has the possibility to combine aspects of classical economic and psychological aspects to explore new working areas.

“Sturm und Drang’s unique and customized approach to each and every new project is so refreshing. I love being part of such a compassionate team of experts that always delivers more than what is expected.”

Claudia Stephens has an international Bachelors Degree in Business. She was born and raised in Germany, has lived and worked in Paris and London and now lives in LA. She spent 15 years in key Marketing positions for Global Health&Beauty companies working on such well-known brands as Chanel, Oil of Olaz, Wella and Sebastian. After leaving the corporate world in 2005, Claudia started consulting for a vast array of beauty companies from start-ups to multi-nationals. In 2009 Claudia joined the STURM und DRANG team. Her well rounded knowledge in Beauty and Professional Hair Care, fashion and luxury goods markets together with her expertise in Global Consumer Insights, Global Trend Research, Innovation Management, and Brand Visions make her a great asset to the team. As Managing Director for North America she is also charged with introducing STURM und DRANG's unique, consumer-centric innovation approach to more US based companies.

“Entering exciting new unknown territory, understanding, discovering, thinking further ahead. That's what working at STURM und DRANG is about.“

Tina Spießmacher is interested in a variety of topics concering branding and society. During her undergraduate studies in Communication Science at the University of Munich, she specialized in methods of qualitative social research. In Stuttgart, she then acquired a Master of Electronic Media with a thesis on postmodern theories of identity and their links to current trends in dynamic corporate design. For „Atelier Klangerfinder“ she participated in holistic corporate sound projects and sound installations. With her scientific research knowledge and enthusiasm for trends and innovation she now contributes to the STURM und DRANG team as innovation strategist.