What made Allegro return to PYD? What is the brand expecting out of the contestants? What is Allegro afraid of in the context of PYD? Check out our conversation with Adam Szałamacha, Allegro's Brand Manager.
After a short break, you have returned to PYD for a third time as one of the sponsor brands. Welcome in the 6th edition! What made you come back?
Adam Szałamacha: We used 2018 on remodeling our thinking about the brand and its communication. We have done enormous strategic work and we will be seeing its effects in 2019. We are returning to PYD because we know what we want.
Usually, your communication is in the hands of an advertising agency, this time you are handing your brand to young filmmakers. What are your expectations? Do you have any fears?
AS: We are handing our communication in the hands of young artists, who have a fresh way of looking at the world and about the brands they care about. We want to reach various groups and we have seen that PYD was always a valuable experience for us and every single time brought something new to the table. We are very close to our brand every single day, so it is difficult to look at it from a distance and mark out a new direction. Let me use a metaphor from the world of music: PYD helps us write new arrangements to old songs. My only fear is that we will get a Rebecca Black's "Friday", but I know that the risk is pretty low, considering that the contestants are being mentored by the most prominent figures of the Polish advertising world.
The contest showcases young artists and their response to the philosophy of Allegro. How do you treat this type of perspective on your brand?
AS: With great excitement. The best thing in the competition is that the Client gets the final product and that he or she has little to say in the creative process, which is completely different from our day-to-day situation. Our philosophy in Allegro is that communication should most of all be straightforward and clear, which can be seen in the films that were made for us during previous editions of the competition - they were surprisingly close to what we had created ourselves as a part of the "What are you looking for?" platform. We treat the films that get made during PYD the same as we treat the films we make ourselves - they are assessed and verified like our own copies.
What is the most important message of your brand right now?
AS: For the last few years, Allegro has been about making people smile. Allegro is about the moment (which can be short or a bit longer) of joy caused by a product bought on Allegro.
