In the beginning there was music
Summer 1998: We - the music manager Uwe Schmidt, comic artist [Schwarwel] (http://www.schwarwel.de/) and Bauhaus Weimar graduate Thomas Hankel - establish torpedo leipzig. We start as a music-oriented agency and form one of the task forces for the [Polygram] (https://www.universalmusic.com/label/polygram-enertainment/), for [Motor Music] (https://de.wikipedia.org / wiki / Motor_Music) and later [Tim Renner] (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Renner). As one of our first projects we are organizing the sales conference for artists and employees of the Polygram label. For this we are extensively renovating the Renaissance Hotel Leipzig. This is followed by artwork, campaigns and websites for many bands from Motor Music and Deutschrock Entertainment. We look after “Die Ärzte”, “Rammstein”, “Scycs” and the Leipzig based band “Think About Mutation”.
Music without borders
Web 1.0 takes our work with music to extremes. On a daily basis we and Y2k create concepts for any new platform that should bring music to the fans or to their favorite band. One of the best creations of this time is the "Motorcity". A community of over 50,000 users comes together - at least 5% are online constantly. They meet to talk about their favorite bands, work out in the gym, collect activity points during interactions - for Motrocity-Coins and the associated fame in the community. The awards are real of course: exclusive concerts, backstage passes, special editions of your favorite artists and much more ...
Pioneers in the market
The A&R's in the industry are going nuts with the flood of new music. Napster does what it wants and the German answer under the leadership of Tim Renner is "Popfile". "Popfile" is a synergy project between Universal Music and Telekom. Under the leadership of Tim Renner, we are commissioned to develop a buying platform for MP3 songs. We provide this for the full Universal back catalog as an MP3 for demo. The platform called “zsst.de” with the claim “Zsst and get out of the net” is ready after only twelve weeks. Considerable investments are flowing into the project, but unfortunately never sees the light of day. But it is enough to establish “Popfile”. Tim Renner is doing pioneering work in the German music market.
Music is dead because MP3 wants it to be
Then the downside of digitization roars its ugly head. CD writers are cheap, CDs are made in-house and the first iTunes runs on our Macs. The alarm bells are ringing in the corporations. To skimp on something is key. Selling new CDs and establishing new artists is becoming more and more difficult. We develop concepts for new compositions of music, new types of compilation formats and new, more valuable products. Even new audio formats are entering the market - such as [SACD] (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Audio_Compact_Disc), a high-end 5.1 format in full resolution. To no avail. The user is only interested in speed. Quality doesn't matter at all in the early 2000s. The flood of caller tunes advertising on MTV and VIVA did not surprise us. The new trend degrades music and design to useless accessories. We are also affected by this wave and we are also feeling the consolidation in the music industry. Scharwel and torpedo leipzig parted ways, he found a new existence in art and is now very successful in producing comics and animated films.
Film is like music, only with pictures
Uwe Schmidt and Thomas Hankel are reestablishing and realigning the agency. We know about artists, we know what needs they have and we know the codes of the industry. When it comes to design and marketing, we work at an international level. We reinvent ourselves and our vast experience is benefitial for the film industry. Our skills are in demand. Film was and is a growth market. In the following years we support our customers in the film business, such as Studiocanal, Kinowelt, X-Films or DCM, with their campaigns.
Web 2.0 - what's next?
Saying goodbye to the music business is hard - letting go is even harder. The market is rearranging itself in Web 2.0. iTunes boosts MP3 sales, the 2nd iPod is on the market. As always, it is Tim Renner who dares to take the next step in the German music landscape. He founded Radio100,6 MotorFM in Berlin, breaking new ground with it and putting an end to the doodle stuff. It is the first real alternative radio in Germany. We are hired to build the online platform and community. Our editorial team creates [motor.de] (http://motor.de/) a recognized alternative and indie online magazine in German-speaking countries. The desired effects are slowly taking hold: bands like Polarkreis 18, Super700 or Los Colorados are finding their way to major labels.
Emotions work everywhere and especially well where they rarely occur
Mid/end of the 2000s we left our "teenage days" in agency life behind. But even during "adulthood" we work for our customers with fun and ease in order to create favor for their brands. From our ten years of experience in the entertainment market, we know how to convert visual stimuli into clear messages, how likeability is created. We apply this knowledge for our customers from industry and trade. Sports brands such as Smith Optics, Sinisalo, Husqvarna Motorrad or the [Gumpert] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTIpBBEBIgM) sports car manufacturer are our customers.
Digital identity is better
We work on every topic intensively and in detail. In particular, our understanding of artist management and dealing with personality topics helps us with large projects for the [Museum of Fine Arts] (https://mdbk.de/), Neo Rauch, Marvin Kirchhöfer, Marius Müller Westenhagen or [Sven Gabor Janszky ] (https://www.trendforscher.eu/). Our way of working also bears fruit in the corporate world when our customers win awards with their products. Digital identity is key in the communication world. Because even if the last flyer has faded, the last business card has been handed out and the last advertisement has been printed, the internet will forget nothing.
Turning Point
The film industry now slowly met the same fate as the music industry before. More and more films were released, the cycles got shorter and the margins shrank. Ultimately, producing movies got easier too. What remained were the blockbusters with their numerous sequels and here, too, the cost pressure was enormous and therefore something for enthusiasts only. A time in which the torpedo divisions entertainment and corporate / brand design could not exist in the same sphere anymore. Time for a separation with no regrets. This business area went as "[Creatives] (https://druckundwerte-creatives.de/)" service expansion to our former subsidiary [Druck und Werte] (https://www.druckundwerte.de/) GmbH. Whats happening in the future? We will know tomorrow.
torpedo becomes torpedo motor
The company's history is in its 18th year and we're starting all over again. Well not quite. With 18 years of agency experience, with our history, friends, colleagues and partners, the agency has literally grown up. So the whole thing goes pretty well pretty quickly. Our highly professional level ignites our performance and is recognized with several awards in the first year of torpedo 3.0 already. The know-how from the entertainment industry is being applied in the tenth year in the otherwise engineering-heavy industry and this way of working is bearing fruit. The agency model is extremely flexible and is strongly oriented towards the needs of the employees, so that maximum performance is guaranteed for the customer. Having fun at work, which everyone at torpedo has, becomes a success factor for the client and the results, peppered with ever new awards, are impressive. Combining forces of our passion moto, automotive and exclusive brands is reflected in our 2019 claim. torpedo motor is a pioneer in the age of electromobility and heavely accelerating.