"Consciously balancing local and global is key to successful branding."

Alexander Haldemann, new Chairman of MetaDesign (Photo: zVg).

MetaDesign is setting the course for the future with its new organization. Alexander Haldemann becomes the new Chairman of the branding agency with offices in Europe, Asia and North America (Werbewoche.ch reported). In this role, he is responsible for the global business development and profiling of MetaDesign.

Alexander Haldemann has been CEO of MetaDesign in Switzerland since 2001. In addition to the successful development work in Switzerland, he took over the San Francisco location as owner and was responsible for the development of MetaDesign in the USA. Starting in 2016, he gradually sold his stake to Publicis Groupe and led the integration of the branding agency into the global network. This process has been completed since last year.

Werbewoche.ch: Alexander Haldemann - let's take a look back before we look ahead. You have been working for MetaDesign for a good two decades. How did your career with the company begin?

Alexander Haldemann: I joined MetaDesign in 2001 from the digital agency Kabel New Media - now Pixelpark. I started as Managing Director and I have to be honest: I didn't know much about brands and branding. I still had a lot to learn. MetaDesign was an excellent school with its knowledge, its well-established processes and, above all, its experienced colleagues.

But that wasn't the only challenge: you were entering a national market where competition was fierce, right?

That's right. We started with two major mandates: the new brand identity of the Swisscom subsidiary Bluewin and the redesign of the Novartis corporate website. That gave us a tailwind. Nevertheless, we very quickly realized that the Swiss market for branding agencies is extremely well-stocked. Nobody had really been waiting for us (laughs). So we had to work out our position step by step.

Nevertheless, you were brave enough to take over the company as owner in 2003.

These were economically challenging times. The move was a turning point - for me, my business partners and my colleagues. But it was always my wish to get involved in business. We then succeeded in building up our reputation on the Swiss market step by step, project by project. There were tasks that I am still happy about today: for example, when I go on a ski vacation to Zermatt, I am reminded that we designed the merger of the Matterhorn-Gotthard Railway back then. The brand has now been around for almost 20 years. Or the rebranding of Rentenanstalt to Swiss Life. That brought us together as a team, but also gave us a face in the Swiss market.

How did the development continue?

In our business, we are characterized by the projects we have completed and the references we have gained. That is the only relevant currency. Successful work makes a brand agency attractive to new clients and helps to attract and retain the best talent on the market. Over time, we have succeeded in implementing more and more mandates with high visibility: Raiffeisen, Alpiq, Bucherer, Jaeger LeCoultre, Mobiliar, Vontobel, ABB, Lucerne Festival and NZZ - All of these companies have taken a substantial step into the future with MetaDesign. And we have grown and developed with these customers.

And now, two decades after you started, MetaDesign has secured this position. Competitors that were much bigger than your agency at the beginning of the millennium have shrunk or disappeared. Does that give you personal satisfaction?

It doesn't give me any satisfaction. It's more of a warning to me, which I approach with a certain amount of humility. The fact is: Nothing in our business lasts forever. Great competitors with great teams who have done excellent work have come and gone during this time. That shows me that you can't stand still, you have to keep questioning yourself. And you have to consciously strive for change in your own company in order to be successful in the long term.

When you say that, it's like a storybook transition to what now follows for you: You are relinquishing your post as CEO of MetaDesign Switzerland and taking on international responsibility for MetaDesign as Chairman. What specifically will change in your work?

My new role is all about strengthening MetaDesign's positioning and international growth. And that in both existing and new markets. We keep getting signals that the MetaDesign brand has a strong international reputation. Now it's about working together with the locations in Europe, North America and Asia to exploit this potential, strengthen cooperation and further expand our position globally.

Does that mean expansion is planned?

That is the claim, absolutely. But there is a second task that is at least as important: the integration of MetaDesign into the Publicis Group was completed this year. It is now crucial to anchor MetaDesign even more firmly in this global network. The Publicis Group deliberately chose MetaDesign as a specialist in brand management. We now have the opportunity to contribute to this network with 84,000 employees in over 100 countries. This requires concentrated activity.

In 2019, the Advertising Week the founder of WPP, Martin Sorrell. He said at the time that smaller agencies sometimes "dissolve" into the big networks when they are acquired by them. Could this also happen to MetaDesign?

That's a good question, and one that I am repeatedly asked by customers and colleagues. Martin Sorrell is of course right here: it takes an active effort to maintain your position. And it takes even more if you want to expand your position. Of course, our identity in such a network is also exposed to risks. You can imagine the balance of power at play here just by looking at the size. As I said, the Publicis Group has around 84,000 employees and MetaDesign has 300.

If you believe the Publicis claim of the "Power of One", the advantages still outweigh the disadvantages.

I would have come to that now. Let me talk about the opportunities: The Publicis Group is excellently positioned in many areas - from communication to media to technology. MetaDesign contributes its specialization in brand management. This combination of different competencies opens up great opportunities for all of us. At the same time, we can only be successful in the Group if we maintain and further expand our culture and our position as a brand expert.

Many people would place branding where you can "see" it - i.e. in the redesign of logos, changed image or color worlds or a fresh online presence. But there is also a content-related, almost philosophical component: the search for the brand essence. Which part do you think is more important?

Branding is the entrepreneurial strategy for influencing one's own perception. And this requires two things: Content and form. Neither of these two aspects is more important or works on its own. The decisive factor is that good branding is always created from the inside out. You must first clarify the normative questions of identity: Who am I? What makes me different from my competitors? And how does this benefit the customer? These are really challenging issues that require substantial work. Once you have clarified this - once you have defined your identity - you have to think about it: How do I communicate this self-image to the outside world? We like to say: "Without strategy, brand communication is aimless. Without brand communication, strategy is useless."

If you want to create brand experiences today, you have more channels at your disposal than ever before. What does this mean for branding?

This means that you have to think about your brand as a whole. We experience time and again that there are breaks between the individual customer interactions. This is also due to the fine-grained specialization of communication departments and service providers. Branding is the common thread between the disciplines and channels. It takes a lot of patience when it comes to implementation: all the adjusting screws have to be coordinated again and again. All too often, only individual points of interaction are addressed. For example, a great idea is communicated in advertising, but the approach to customer service remains unchanged. Or you work intensively on your social media presence, but neglect the development of your products. The customer sees through this. A brand experience that only fits together in fragments is not convincing.

Which brands will survive the coronavirus crisis best - and why?

Financial analysts would now say the platform companies à la Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon. From a brand perspective, I believe they are companies that have a clear compass. And that brings us back to the normative questions I mentioned earlier - "what do I believe in", "what beliefs guide my actions", etc. A concrete example: I have been observing AirBnB for many years. The company is going its own way and has built up a really strong brand. The corona crisis has shaken AirBnB to its core with the virtual standstill of travel activities. This resulted in mass redundancies - almost 2,000 out of a total of 7,500 employees. However, the way CEO Brian Chesky communicated this in an open letter to the AirBnB community shows that the company is standing firm even in its most difficult times: Even at its most difficult moment, the company is standing up for its stance of putting people's connections first. This consistency will point the way back to success. I am convinced of that.

Now that you can speak even more for the company as a whole: Which brands would you like to rebrand with MetaDesign?

I don't want to answer this question with a specific brand, but rather define a subject area. I am fundamentally fascinated by complex issues. Organizations that are realigning themselves, that operate in many countries and markets with different requirements. I am convinced that a conscious balance between local and global is a key to successful brand work. And this is where we at MetaDesign see our expertise. And because you obviously won't let up now: Of course, there are also your personal favorite brands that you would like to work for one day. For me, Arsenal Football Club is at the top of the list. My son and I share this passion.

You are handing over your role as CEO of MetaDesign Switzerland to Lukas Eiselin. What does this mean for MetaDesign Switzerland?

I am delighted that Lukas Eiselin is taking over the Swiss business together with the well-established management team. He knows MetaDesign very well and has also been on the "other side": At Ricola, he was responsible for communication and branding and initiated the repositioning of Ricola. He is exactly the right person for us, both professionally and above all personally. Lukas and I are sure that we will build on the success of recent years and further expand our position. At the same time, Lukas will also set new accents and drive the company forward with new ideas. He will do things a little differently to me - and that's a good thing.