The bandage maker
Christian Wick has enthusiastically taken on the role of president of the Zurich Public Relations Association.
Christian Wick is fired up to be the new president of the Zurich Public Relations Society. "C'est le choc!" - That was Christian Wick's reaction at the last Christmas dinner of the Zurich Public Relations Society. There he now had the gift. It was only in the fall of 2006 that the founder of Wickpr was asked if he would be interested in "joining in a bit" with the association of Zurich PR specialists. Why not? The association is a good platform. Especially for a small agency, it makes sense to get in touch with other professionals. "My sparring partners are otherwise often just customers or suppliers," Wick reflected on the situation. As chance would have it, during his first "guest visit" to an association meeting, the previous president announced his resignation. Wick sensed that other board members were also "eager to meet new people with new impulses". He offered to organize the Christmas dinner for the time being ... Now he became president at the AGM on April 2. The 44-year-old was not only shocked, but also flattered. "You don't usually become president until you retire," he said.
One of the young president's tasks is to organize as exciting an event as possible for the industry ten times a year. The bar is set high. One example was the Communication Summit last February, which the PR Society launched together with the Zurich Press Association. Alexander Niemetz, the former head of the "heute Journal," spoke on the topic of "All image or what?" and how he coached Angela Merkel for the last speech battle on TV against Gerhard Schröder. 150 PR professionals and journalists were attracted by the topic.
In order to be able to organize such highlights for the industry in the future, Wick plans to integrate the office of the Zurich Public Relations Society into his agency Wickpr on Zurich's Weinbergstrasse in the near future, "in the sense of an expansion".
Communication scholar Peter Watzlawick said, "You can't not communicate." Wick says, "You have to communicate." With this in mind, the new president is convinced that "it is important for his association to also do PR on its own behalf." The industry still has "a bad image" in many places, he says.
When a somewhat offbeat news story makes it into the media, the popular term is "PR gag." According to Wick, the correct term should be "media gag. Conversely, many people don't know that such media work is "only a small aspect of PR. The consultant is particularly amused when new clients ask him, "Do you have media contacts?" - That's when he always asks back, "Do you have a story?" Because for hot stories, it has never been a problem to be able to mobilize a Sunday press or even the daily news for a client. So the work of public relations has become more complex. The association can demonstrate that with its work.
At the same time, Wick appreciates the fact that his work on this board "keeps him more alert to new trends. The board has to consider which speakers are in demand at the next specialist meeting and which topics are on the agenda. The association is not suitable for people who want to get a job quickly through new relationships.
Christian Wick learned his trade for five years with Karl F. Schneider. Before that, he studied Phil I at the University of Zurich. At first without a goal, "because language simply fascinated him". That was already the case in high school in Schwyz, where Wick had fun cramming Latin as a free subject, to the horror of his colleagues.
When the Matura student moved from Goldau to a lodge in Zurich's Kreis 4 and was suddenly confronted with much freer structures at university as well, it was not always easy to see a clear career path. Wick worked as a student trainee at the Sihlpost and later became "editor" for a ragion book published by Orell Füssli. However, the possibility of continuing to indulge in science as an assistant after graduating from university did not arouse his interest. So after three months of adventuring in Argentina, Wick went to see a resume consultant. "And that was a real epiphany." The woman sent him to public relations.
Wick bought non-fiction books, registered with Sawi and immediately made his "first mailing on his own behalf. He wrote to all PR agencies in Zurich that he was looking for a job as an assistant. The then Farnerei and Karl F. Schneider responded to the application. With Schneider, it finally worked out.
Already after his first job, he started his own business. Before that, at the age of 29, he was the youngest graduate in Switzerland to obtain a diploma as a PR consultant. During the course, he met Marco Lehner and then joined Metzger, Lehner, Briccola in 1994 as "Head of the PR Unit". He puts the title in quotation marks because at that time he was simply allowed to use an office for free. The agency could also offer PR in return. Wick worked independently, without pay, but also without fixed costs.
After one year, he already had eight clients in his portfolio. Wick subsequently wanted to look after these independently with a sole proprietorship under the name Inhalt & Form. This later became a larger agency before co-owner Wick moved to Weber, Hodel, Schmid in 2001. He was head of the PR unit here until the end of WHS. Then, in 2004, he "finally went into business for himself and no longer wanted to work under other labels.
Shrewd by the last experience Wickpr is to grow only carefully. Depending on the task and the client, the sole owner puts together the right crew. Installed is the agency in the same building as Lesch + Frei. This is very practical for print work such as annual reports or employee magazines, because Wick can also use direct access to the graphic infrastructure here. Such proximity is less important for work for the Internet. Here, Wick can also find its specialists in Germany.
For Christian Wick, it is part of the concept that, in addition to commercial clients from a wide range of industries, he can also regularly handle mandates in the nonprofit sector. The PR consultant does important work here for Professor Ruedi Lüthy and his Swiss Aids Care International. The founder of the Zurich Lighthouse was also named "European of the Year" this year. So it was naturally a proud event for Wickpr that the new President of the Swiss Confederation, Micheline Calmy-Rey, came to ETH Zurich for the laudation just two weeks after taking office. Together with Werd-Verlag, Wickpr has now also "pushed" a book "Geschenktes Leben" about Lüthy's work in Zimbabwe.
Wickpr has a second NPO client, the cancer foundation Swissbridge. "Such mandates make sense because they have a public relevance," the new president of the Zurich PR Society is convinced.
One of the young president's tasks is to organize as exciting an event as possible for the industry ten times a year. The bar is set high. One example was the Communication Summit last February, which the PR Society launched together with the Zurich Press Association. Alexander Niemetz, the former head of the "heute Journal," spoke on the topic of "All image or what?" and how he coached Angela Merkel for the last speech battle on TV against Gerhard Schröder. 150 PR professionals and journalists were attracted by the topic.
In order to be able to organize such highlights for the industry in the future, Wick plans to integrate the office of the Zurich Public Relations Society into his agency Wickpr on Zurich's Weinbergstrasse in the near future, "in the sense of an expansion".
Communication scholar Peter Watzlawick said, "You can't not communicate." Wick says, "You have to communicate." With this in mind, the new president is convinced that "it is important for his association to also do PR on its own behalf." The industry still has "a bad image" in many places, he says.
When a somewhat offbeat news story makes it into the media, the popular term is "PR gag." According to Wick, the correct term should be "media gag. Conversely, many people don't know that such media work is "only a small aspect of PR. The consultant is particularly amused when new clients ask him, "Do you have media contacts?" - That's when he always asks back, "Do you have a story?" Because for hot stories, it has never been a problem to be able to mobilize a Sunday press or even the daily news for a client. So the work of public relations has become more complex. The association can demonstrate that with its work.
At the same time, Wick appreciates the fact that his work on this board "keeps him more alert to new trends. The board has to consider which speakers are in demand at the next specialist meeting and which topics are on the agenda. The association is not suitable for people who want to get a job quickly through new relationships.
Christian Wick learned his trade for five years with Karl F. Schneider. Before that, he studied Phil I at the University of Zurich. At first without a goal, "because language simply fascinated him". That was already the case in high school in Schwyz, where Wick had fun cramming Latin as a free subject, to the horror of his colleagues.
When the Matura student moved from Goldau to a lodge in Zurich's Kreis 4 and was suddenly confronted with much freer structures at university as well, it was not always easy to see a clear career path. Wick worked as a student trainee at the Sihlpost and later became "editor" for a ragion book published by Orell Füssli. However, the possibility of continuing to indulge in science as an assistant after graduating from university did not arouse his interest. So after three months of adventuring in Argentina, Wick went to see a resume consultant. "And that was a real epiphany." The woman sent him to public relations.
Wick bought non-fiction books, registered with Sawi and immediately made his "first mailing on his own behalf. He wrote to all PR agencies in Zurich that he was looking for a job as an assistant. The then Farnerei and Karl F. Schneider responded to the application. With Schneider, it finally worked out.
Already after his first job, he started his own business. Before that, at the age of 29, he was the youngest graduate in Switzerland to obtain a diploma as a PR consultant. During the course, he met Marco Lehner and then joined Metzger, Lehner, Briccola in 1994 as "Head of the PR Unit". He puts the title in quotation marks because at that time he was simply allowed to use an office for free. The agency could also offer PR in return. Wick worked independently, without pay, but also without fixed costs.
After one year, he already had eight clients in his portfolio. Wick subsequently wanted to look after these independently with a sole proprietorship under the name Inhalt & Form. This later became a larger agency before co-owner Wick moved to Weber, Hodel, Schmid in 2001. He was head of the PR unit here until the end of WHS. Then, in 2004, he "finally went into business for himself and no longer wanted to work under other labels.
Shrewd by the last experience Wickpr is to grow only carefully. Depending on the task and the client, the sole owner puts together the right crew. Installed is the agency in the same building as Lesch + Frei. This is very practical for print work such as annual reports or employee magazines, because Wick can also use direct access to the graphic infrastructure here. Such proximity is less important for work for the Internet. Here, Wick can also find its specialists in Germany.
For Christian Wick, it is part of the concept that, in addition to commercial clients from a wide range of industries, he can also regularly handle mandates in the nonprofit sector. The PR consultant does important work here for Professor Ruedi Lüthy and his Swiss Aids Care International. The founder of the Zurich Lighthouse was also named "European of the Year" this year. So it was naturally a proud event for Wickpr that the new President of the Swiss Confederation, Micheline Calmy-Rey, came to ETH Zurich for the laudation just two weeks after taking office. Together with Werd-Verlag, Wickpr has now also "pushed" a book "Geschenktes Leben" about Lüthy's work in Zimbabwe.
Wickpr has a second NPO client, the cancer foundation Swissbridge. "Such mandates make sense because they have a public relevance," the new president of the Zurich PR Society is convinced.
Andreas Panzeri
