Head of the week: The loner
After ten years, Christoph Stähli continues to run the Boxx agency on his own and is looking forward to even more of his own style.
After ten years, Christoph Stähli continues to run the Boxx agency on his own and is looking forward to even more of his own style.
It would have been the ideal moment to give up everything, find a new partner, do something completely different, merge or even move to Bern with the agency. "It was quite a special situation when Gaudenz Zemp sat in front of me and said that he wanted to accept a newly created position as marketing manager for the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts," muses Christoph Stähli. They spent ten years together building up their Boxx. Many more years they were friends. And now? "I was immediately able to accept that Gaudenz wants to give his life another turn. After all, he has been talking about leaving advertising for some time. We will continue to be friends," says Stähli. But the agency? Everything went through Stähli's mind. But then it only took a few hours for the newly crowned sole owner to turn the new burden of responsibility into a new desire. No more compromises. Bringing his own signature to play even more clearly in the work. Discussing the future only with himself. "I felt full of enthusiasm, like starting a new company," Stähli reveals. And the longer he thought like that, the more certain he became: nothing will change in the direction and structure of Boxx.
In terms of personnel, a few percentage positions will be increased. Graphics and consulting will be strengthened. A new team is being built up. And with a young specialist for the web, Boxx also wants to be prepared for the future in this area. The new sole owner envisions this with ideally six people. Currently there are four. The administration is completely outsourced. "We work like on a chessboard. The Boxx has no pawns. Instead, it has bishops, knights and rooks," says Stähli, describing his owner-managed company.
In this, the boss often answers the phone himself. Customers appreciate this - because even in these the owner usually negotiates directly with the agency. Boxx has been and continues to be specialized as a service provider for advertising and communication in the SME sector.
Stähli and Zemp started their self-employment ten years ago without a single client. Before that, the duo led a team at Zurich-based Euro RSCG. They wanted to bring the professionalism they could deliver there to large companies to the market for small and medium-sized enterprises as well. One of the first customers to show interest was the Zurich airport restaurants. They were soon followed by the Hotel Montana in Lucerne with its affiliated hotel management school, Intertime and Krebsliga. Mobitare became a groundbreaking customer, as the furniture fair subsequently opened up the entire sector of more beautiful living to Boxx. The general contractor Peikert, a wood trading company, Belcolor, Piatti Kitchens and early on also the magazine Ideales Heim - "because we were able to place many advertisements there". For the curtain fabrics of Création Baumann in Langenthal, Boxx is still allowed to advertise for the whole world. For linoleum, Stähli looked after the whole of Europe and South America.
The former graphic designer has a very special relationship with Glas Trösch. Even when he was young, Stähli was able to design the logo for this market leader "while still an employee." 20 years later, as an independent, he won the pitch for the redesign. Boxx developed a new corporate design and identity, which are now binding for Trösch manuals all over the world.
Stähli is also proud of his new client Swissolar. It excites him to design forward-looking public relations work for this working group that promotes the use of solar energy.
Design and furniture are a grateful niche for Boxx. Another important branch, however, are regional partial mandates for product launches of international corporations. Sony was served in Switzerland in the early days. Likewise Bally, Ciba Vision and now DHL. Such global companies appreciate having a competent partner at Boxx, who knows the regional market, but also has experience with international brands. "We can quickly feel comfortable within a brand," Stähli is convinced. Another argument for international clients: "With us, the boss himself takes over the work on such partial mandates. At a large agency, this is shunted off to the assistant."
If Boxx also needs such assistants at some point, the freelancers prefer to be employed at the agency's premises for longer periods of time. "The daily exchange within a team is very important for me," says Stähli.
He prefers to formulate his suggestions, ideas and assignments on the train during his daily commutes to Bern. "By hand. But in the meantime, everyone in the Boxx can read my writing without any problems," he laughs. The fact that he could also move the agency away from the advertising mecca to the federal capital after the structural change "was only an issue for a short time." Stähli feels "very comfortable" in the loft on Zurich's Grubenstrasse. That's why he'd rather freshen up the agency with new furniture "on its tenth anniversary" than start all over again in Bern. He also finds it enriching to be able to live in two worlds at the same time - in his own home in Bern with his wife and twins and plenty of home decor and garden, and as a contrast to the barren gray of Zurich's industrial district.
Christoph Stähli experienced his youth in Bern. After finishing school for design, he did an apprenticeship as a graphic designer in an advertising agency. After years of travel in various "smaller and larger" agencies, the first move to Zurich followed in 1990. First Benker and Steiner, before the merger with Matter. Then a shorter period with Hermann Strittmatter. Once again back to Atelier Jaquet in Bern. Then Zurich again, where Stähli worked at Euro RSCG for just over two years before going independent in 1998.
Andreas Panzeri
It would have been the ideal moment to give up everything, find a new partner, do something completely different, merge or even move to Bern with the agency. "It was quite a special situation when Gaudenz Zemp sat in front of me and said that he wanted to accept a newly created position as marketing manager for the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts," muses Christoph Stähli. They spent ten years together building up their Boxx. Many more years they were friends. And now? "I was immediately able to accept that Gaudenz wants to give his life another turn. After all, he has been talking about leaving advertising for some time. We will continue to be friends," says Stähli. But the agency? Everything went through Stähli's mind. But then it only took a few hours for the newly crowned sole owner to turn the new burden of responsibility into a new desire. No more compromises. Bringing his own signature to play even more clearly in the work. Discussing the future only with himself. "I felt full of enthusiasm, like starting a new company," Stähli reveals. And the longer he thought like that, the more certain he became: nothing will change in the direction and structure of Boxx.
In terms of personnel, a few percentage positions will be increased. Graphics and consulting will be strengthened. A new team is being built up. And with a young specialist for the web, Boxx also wants to be prepared for the future in this area. The new sole owner envisions this with ideally six people. Currently there are four. The administration is completely outsourced. "We work like on a chessboard. The Boxx has no pawns. Instead, it has bishops, knights and rooks," says Stähli, describing his owner-managed company.
In this, the boss often answers the phone himself. Customers appreciate this - because even in these the owner usually negotiates directly with the agency. Boxx has been and continues to be specialized as a service provider for advertising and communication in the SME sector.
Stähli and Zemp started their self-employment ten years ago without a single client. Before that, the duo led a team at Zurich-based Euro RSCG. They wanted to bring the professionalism they could deliver there to large companies to the market for small and medium-sized enterprises as well. One of the first customers to show interest was the Zurich airport restaurants. They were soon followed by the Hotel Montana in Lucerne with its affiliated hotel management school, Intertime and Krebsliga. Mobitare became a groundbreaking customer, as the furniture fair subsequently opened up the entire sector of more beautiful living to Boxx. The general contractor Peikert, a wood trading company, Belcolor, Piatti Kitchens and early on also the magazine Ideales Heim - "because we were able to place many advertisements there". For the curtain fabrics of Création Baumann in Langenthal, Boxx is still allowed to advertise for the whole world. For linoleum, Stähli looked after the whole of Europe and South America.
The former graphic designer has a very special relationship with Glas Trösch. Even when he was young, Stähli was able to design the logo for this market leader "while still an employee." 20 years later, as an independent, he won the pitch for the redesign. Boxx developed a new corporate design and identity, which are now binding for Trösch manuals all over the world.
Stähli is also proud of his new client Swissolar. It excites him to design forward-looking public relations work for this working group that promotes the use of solar energy.
Design and furniture are a grateful niche for Boxx. Another important branch, however, are regional partial mandates for product launches of international corporations. Sony was served in Switzerland in the early days. Likewise Bally, Ciba Vision and now DHL. Such global companies appreciate having a competent partner at Boxx, who knows the regional market, but also has experience with international brands. "We can quickly feel comfortable within a brand," Stähli is convinced. Another argument for international clients: "With us, the boss himself takes over the work on such partial mandates. At a large agency, this is shunted off to the assistant."
If Boxx also needs such assistants at some point, the freelancers prefer to be employed at the agency's premises for longer periods of time. "The daily exchange within a team is very important for me," says Stähli.
He prefers to formulate his suggestions, ideas and assignments on the train during his daily commutes to Bern. "By hand. But in the meantime, everyone in the Boxx can read my writing without any problems," he laughs. The fact that he could also move the agency away from the advertising mecca to the federal capital after the structural change "was only an issue for a short time." Stähli feels "very comfortable" in the loft on Zurich's Grubenstrasse. That's why he'd rather freshen up the agency with new furniture "on its tenth anniversary" than start all over again in Bern. He also finds it enriching to be able to live in two worlds at the same time - in his own home in Bern with his wife and twins and plenty of home decor and garden, and as a contrast to the barren gray of Zurich's industrial district.
Christoph Stähli experienced his youth in Bern. After finishing school for design, he did an apprenticeship as a graphic designer in an advertising agency. After years of travel in various "smaller and larger" agencies, the first move to Zurich followed in 1990. First Benker and Steiner, before the merger with Matter. Then a shorter period with Hermann Strittmatter. Once again back to Atelier Jaquet in Bern. Then Zurich again, where Stähli worked at Euro RSCG for just over two years before going independent in 1998.
Andreas Panzeri
