Women are powerful, but we are even more powerful when we stand together and work to empower each other; and that is exactly what German account director Amelie Harich is doing through her participation in the organization SheSays.
Harich, 29, began her career in advertising at Serviceplan, Europe’s largest owner-managed advertising agency group, and has since climbed the ranks and become a leading female figure in the industry.
In addition to working at antoni, a prestigious creative agency in Berlin founded solely for the client Mercedes-Benz, Harich is an active member at SheSays. SheSays is an award-winning global network focused on the engagement, education and advancement of women in the creative industries with presence in 40 cities around the world.
As a successful millennial woman in the field of advertising, an industry that has been dominated by men since the beginning, Amelie Harich has used her position to empower other women in creative industries. Upon entering the world of advertising at the age of 23, Harich quickly contributed to a number of award-winning campaigns such as Lego’s ‘Blind Art Project,’ which earned a Silver and Bronze Lion Award at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity and Mercedes-Benz’ ‘Grow-Up’ campaign, which won a Cannes Lion in 2017.
After creating a strong reputation for herself as a diplomatic leader, Harich tries to support other women in the industry: „We’re in the middle of a huge transition in terms of our rights and equality. The current climate is not easy for women in any business context, but it’s worth the struggle if we don’t give up and empower each other.“
Since 2017, Harich is successfully leading the account team at antoni jellyhouse, another exclusive one-client agency, which is focusing on shaping the candy brand Katjes and their future campaigns. Harich has played a critical role in founding the agency and executing the first campaigns. „Picking the right staff is the hardest part when opening a new agency“ she says. “I wanted to surround myself with other exceptional women, that’s why I focussed on interviewing female talent. This industry needs more smart women to be bold and brave and have their voices heard.“ The first campaign Harich and her team produced for Katjes was shot by an exclusively female team: all key players (such as the director, photographer and producer) were female. As for what’s next on the agenda for SheSays Berlin, Harich adds, “We’re currently in the final stages of planning the next SheSays event in Berlin. It will be happening in late February and the whole production team is coming.”
