Expanding Opportunities for Global Creative Community

• The European network of 22 creative clubs (ADCE) will be The One Club for Creativity‘s gateway to Europe.
• The One Club will add another creative organization under their worldwide structure, following successful past mergers with the Art Directors Club (ADC) Global and Type Directors Club.
• ADCE Award winners will be integrated into The One Club’s Global Creative Rankings.
• Both non-profit organizations will maintain teams and pool resources to promote creativity to a new combined creative community of 9,100 individual and corporate members in 74 countries around the world.

NEW YORK and BARCELONA, June 15, 2023 — The ADC Europe (ADCE) has reached an agreement with The One Club for Creativity (TOCC) to merge and become part of its structure, and thus be able to grow and promote European creativity beyond the continent.

The merger also enables The One Club to make its programs accessible to the old continent thanks to the ADCE network that unites 22 clubs and associations from 20 countries, with more than 6,000 top leading creatives from the graphic design and the visual communication sector.

The 22 ADCE member advertising and graphic design clubs and associations are based in Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Georgia, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Ukraine, and United Kingdom.

Based in Barcelona at the Design Hub (DHUB), the city’s center of creativity, design and innovation, ADCE will become The One Club branch in Europe, and boost The One Club programs such as the Executive Creative Summit, the groundbreaking ONE School free portfolio program for Black creatives, and expansion of Portfolio Night in Europe.

At the same time, ADCE will expand the reach of some of its successful programs, such as Creative Express and Agency Exchange, by taking them to the US, Asia Pacific, and other regions.

Participation in The One Club Global Creative Rankings

One of the first benefits for ADCE will be the incorporation of ADCE Award winners into The One Club Global Creative Rankings, making it the industry’s foremost global ranking of agencies, brands, work, and creative professionals.

The Global Creative Rankings will now combine points from The One Show, global ADC Annual Awards, ADCE Awards, ONE Asia Creative Awards, The One Club US chapter awards, and Type Directors Club TDC competitions.

Points accrued by ADCE Awards winners will gain them visibility and prestige around the world, and also now count towards global totals for network and holding company rankings

“This partnership drives a more vibrant, diverse, and impactful global creative community,” said Glenn Cole, The One Club Chairman, and Founder, Creative Chairman, 72andSunny. “For ADCE and The One Club members, it offers new opportunities, audiences, and perspectives. For the world, it expands access to creative careers through programs like Creative Boot Camps, ONE Creator Lab, and ONE School. Unexpected collisions are at the heart of creativity. I can’t wait to see what we create together.”

“As a strong believer in the power of togetherness and diversity – which is embedded in the DNA of Europe – I am more than excited about giving European creativity an even more prominent global stage through this amazing new partnership with The One Club,” said Alexander Schill, ADCE president, and Global CCO, Serviceplan Group. “It has never been more important to consolidate our creative forces in order to drive change and celebrate our differences.”

Membership and Programs

The membership structure and programs of the two organizations will remain as they are, and new benefits will be incorporated as new programs are jointly developed.

The agreement represents an expansion of resources for the two organizations as the two structures — ADCE’s team in Europe and The One Club teams based in New York and Shanghai — will work together, each providing regional know-how and expertise in different areas.

The two non-profit clubs are uniting efforts to promote the value of creativity, move the industry forward, and increase the reach and impact of their multiple programs sustained by revenue from their awards’ competitions.

Common goals, one community

ADCE and The One Club are both non-profit organizations with the same goal, and this integration will increase their impact and better achieve their objectives.

The One Club for Creativity, producer of The One Show, ADC Annual Awards, ONE Asia Creative Awards, Type Directors Club competition, Young Ones Student Awards, Young Guns, One Screen Short Film Festival, Creative Week and more, is one of the world’s foremost organizations whose mission is to support the global creative community. Revenue from those awards shows is put back into the industry to fund programs under four pillars: Education, Inclusion & Diversity, Gender Equality, and Creative Development.

The ADCE is the club of clubs, the only one in Europe that unites 22 local professional clubs in 20 countries under one single organization. ADCE works to celebrate and promote creativity as a multi-solution approach and raises the quality of European creative communication by pushing the potential of its community at all career levels.

ADCE does it through the annual ADCE Awards and Festival, and the Educational Programs for both young talents and senior creatives.

ADCE, a network of 22 national clubs

Founded in 1990, the Art Directors Club of Europe (ADCE) is a non-profit association headquartered in Barcelona that comprises 22 professional clubs and associations of graphic design and advertising from 20 European countries: Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Georgia, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Ukraine, and United Kingdom.

The ADCE strives to foster excellence in graphic design and advertising creativity at a European scale. The association represents more than 6,000 professionals from the field and gives visibility to the best works accomplished locally.

The One Club for Creativity

Established in 1979, The One Club for Creativity is a non-profit organization that exists to support and celebrate the success of the global creative community, serving a diverse community of thinkers and doers who believe creativity is the most powerful element to business success, and celebrate world-changing ideas.

Revenue generated from its prestigious global awards shows – The One Show, ADC Annual Awards, Type Directors Club (TDC) competitions, Young Ones Student Awards, and others – is directed back into the industry to fund programming under its four pillars: Education, Inclusion & Diversity, Gender Equality, and Creative Development. Programming is designed to nurture a more vibrant, inspired, and successful global creative community.