Avantgarde Group launches storytelling studio CAYA in Amsterdam

Global brand experience expert Avantgarde Group today announces the launch of a new Amsterdam-based studio, CAYA (Come As You Are), focusing on global creative and strategic brand experiences, built around modern culture and storytelling.

As a cultural, strategic, and creative specialist, CAYA is perfectly positioned to complement Avantgarde’s existing agency offerings, to the benefit of both new and existing clients. Based on decades of experience in supporting brands that seek to elevate their cultural relevance, it was decided to launch CAYA in Amsterdam, a multi-cultural city that attracts minds from all over the world.

Coming fresh off a six-year stint at Avantgarde, the agency will be led by Co-Founder and Executive Creative Director Alexis Mardapittas. He will be supported by Co-Founder and Avantgarde London MD, Stuart Bradbury, alongside two key recruits – Laurianne Spaargaren-Ruhe, Global Growth & Partnerships Director, and Lotte van Uum, Design Director. The team will focus on supporting global marketing teams that are ready to make a change.

CAYA’s mission is to act as the leading creative studio for brands seeking to devise culturally relevant and immersive experiences based on in-depth strategic insights. The agency will focus on bringing culturally forward and inclusive stories to life by connecting with Gen Y and Gen Z on their terms.

Using Avantgarde’s extensive experience in transforming brands that aim to drive change, CAYA will craft stories that authentically engage with consumers. The agency refers to these inspiring environments as “Magnetic Spaces”, experiences that attract and stick with people.

Executive Creative Director Alexis Mardapittas says: “Brands that live in the now are curious, they are always exploring their own space inside modern culture. We engage with that space to create drama and invite people into experiences that will become part of their own storytelling. After all, who talks about any ads they saw in life? Advertising people. Who speaks about the experiences they lived? Everyone. Our vision is to tell stories through immersive experiences that add value to culture instead of appropriating it, and that’s one of the reasons we set up shop in Amsterdam, one of the most culturally diverse cities in Europe.”