The economic downturn last year triggered radical cuts in spending on the media and advertising, causing the entire market to decrease in value. Struggling to stay afloat during a difficult period, most companies in the advertising sector hunkered down and focused on reducing costs. Meanwhile, Polish advertising agency Change Integrated chose to adopt an aggressive strategy and started working with businesses outside Poland.

"The days when geography confined independent agencies to a specific location are over," said Marek Żołędziowski, president of Change Integrated. "The decisive factor in a company's expansion is its intellectual potential, which is far more significant than an extensive international network. Ever since Change Integrated was founded, our goal has been to build a company strong enough to reach beyond Poland with its products and services. We started turning this goal into reality in 2009."

Last year, Change Integrated oversaw the introduction of a new GlaxoSmithKline product to 11 markets in Central Europe and also started working for Thermocool, one of the largest African household appliance brands, owned by international corporation PZ Cussons. This was the first such project in the history of advertising in Poland.

"The past year was definitely a successful one," Żołędziowski said. "Our revenues grew 46 percent and we increased employment from 88 to 97 people. I can't think of any other company the size of ours in the advertising sector that could boast comparable results."

The creative potential of Change Integrated was recognized last year by fellow professionals. In a competition organized by Klub Tworców Reklamy, a Polish association for marketing and advertising experts, Change Integrated received nine awards and was named Advertising Agency of the Year.

The competition is the most important of its kind in Poland.

Media Marketing Polska, the top trade magazine in Poland, named Change Integrated Advertising Group of the Year 2009.

Change Integrated also featured in a report published under the auspices of Britain's Campaign magazine on the world's best independent advertising agencies.