Where things start to work

Progressive is a full-service, integrated communication agency. From the three owners our magazine interviewed creative director Dr Bence Buzási.

dr. Bence Buzási

T.M.: – What are the basic principles of Progressive’s philosophy?

– My brother and I established the agency in 2000, when we were still university students. Today we have more than 50 employees. One of our basic principles is maximalism in our work. We work hard every day to make ourselves and our environment better, with the help of our expertise and creativity. Another key value of Progressive is the supportive workplace atmosphere: all for one and one for is our philosophy.

T.M.: – What differentiates progressive from other agencies?

– Progressive is a full-service, integrated communication agency, with the best experts on the team. Our biggest strength is that we understand the brand and we are able to come up with high-level marketing strategies, and to put them into practice in the form of campaigns and marketing tools. One of Progressive’s biggest advantages is that we didn’t go digital, we started out as a specialist of digital. At the same time we also have great professional experience in the field of in-store. Later these competences were expanded with the fields of ATL and marketing communication consultancy. One of the milestone periods for Progressive was in 2008-2009, when due to the recession partners started to cut back on their marketing budgets. As a reaction to this, we offered them relevant solutions, managing the full project ourselves. For instance Carlsberg Hungary commissions us with jobs like this. Progressive is the BTL agency of Magyar Telekom, while for GSK we develop innovative POS tools, international campaign creatives and television commercials.

T.M.: – How do you cope with today’s great problem, the workforce shortage?

– As a member of the management who is responsible for HR matter I can say that throughout the years we consciously developed a well-working HR system. This involves a multi-stage selection procedure because we only recruit the best experts. We also manage to keep our workers – this is indicated by the fact that the fluctuation rate is very low at Progressive. We have a special motivation system called Salmon. I must also mention that it is really motivating to work for brands such as Somersby, Kinley, Voltaren or Richter Gedeon.

T.M.: – Who do you recommend Progressive to?

– Based on our size, we are an ideal choice for partners with a large, professional marketing department. Progressive is a communication agency that is able to think in an integrated fashion, solving complex problems in a short period of time. We can work together the best with those partners who are receptive to our open and innovative approach, and want creative solutions.

T.M.: – How do you get inspiration for your work?

– We are inspired by the dynamism of our young colleagues, the daily changing needs of our customers and the experience of our senior colleagues. As a creative director I am involved in many projects and I am very much inspired by new tasks.

T.M.: – Could you mention successful FMCG projects that you have done recently?

– We started working with Coca-Cola last year and we are really proud of the Kinley campaign we did for them. It was also us who implemented the integrated communication campaign for the Somersby brand. Last summer’s nationwide outdoor campaign for them was a big project. One of our most successful projects was the Voltaren Emulgel Forte Travelling Senior Dance Programme: we won several prizes for this (Lollipop and Prizma PR awards in 2016, Content+Marketing Award in 2017).