Reclamebureau THEY is failliet

Het faillissement zou onvermijdelijk zijn geworden na het vertrek van de grote opdrachtgevers Vodafone en Lidl, zo meldt Adformatie. Mede-oprichter Patrick van der Gronde bevestigt het faillissement, maar wil er vanwege de verdere afwikkeling geen nadere toelichting op geven. 

They werd in 2005 opgericht door Van der Gronde, Sander Bakker, Roland van der Vorst en Kim Dingler. Die laatste twee verlieten het bedrijf de afgelopen twee jaar. They won prijzen met werk voor klanten als KPN, Vodafone, Coffee Company en Aegon. 

Aegon werkte liefst zeven jaar samen met They en is direct een zoektocht gestart naar een nieuwe creatieve partner. Ook de sportorganisaties KNVB, Eredivisie N.V. en NOC*NSF werkten afgelopen zomer nog samen met They.

Op de eigen website meldt They: 

"Yup, that’s it, the end of the road.
They are no more. They have ceased to be. They have kicked the bucket.
They are bankrupt. They are an ex-agency.

It is said that a company is only three phone calls away from bankruptcy. They can tell you it might be four or five.
It all happened somewhere in the crisis aftermath: the departure of some clients, some money and energy burned in pitches and yes, maybe one or two Zarb Champagne parties too many.

They thank all their clients who They have worked with over the years. Thank you for the often long-term commitments and the patience to work with a stubborn but always honest agency.

Thank you to all those passionate people They have created their ideas with. The sound freaks, directors, photographers, online builders, designers and illustrators… you know who you are.

It has been a great ride.
They hope the court appointed curator is a nice guy.
For now, however, They fold their hands together and say “Namaste”.
But the good thing is, They are not lost forever.
They have spread around the industry and will keep taking root.
They started out with nothing and got most of it left."