Please do not flush immediately
The Face Agency is making a splash in the restroom
The Face agency is making its voice heard in the quiet little placeBrun Bruno Amstutz Sales in traditional advertising have been slumping for months, but advertising in toilets does not seem to be affected: Toilet communication is flourishing despite the crisis.
"Does she belong to a cult?" was the first thought of the newly crowned Advertiser of the Year Dominique von Matt when a stranger congratulated him after the award ceremony and explicitly emphasized that she had washed her hands beforehand. Two encounters with an unusually intense emphasis on personal hygiene later, the mystery was solved: Von Matt owed the clean handshake not to ritual washing, but to the Face agency, which had identified the vicinity of the toilet bowl as the ideal place for advertising. "Please wash your hands before you congratulate me" demanded a speech bubble next to von Matt's head on small posters above urinals and bowls in Zurich's Xtra Limmathaus.
Klommunication is the name given to this form of below-the-line advertising by the eastern Swiss agency Face. It has even had the term trademarked. With its concept of using unusual advertising media in unusual places, Face is enjoying success from Klowand to Klowand. Sales Manager Thomas Back is already enjoying full order books at the start of the year, and the agency is expanded from 18 to 23 employees. New customers include Novartis, Nokia, Coca-Cola and other renowned companies.
Face does not appear to be affected by the crisis in traditional advertising. "We are constantly developing new ideas and responding specifically to customer needs," says Back, explaining the promising situation. Face's advertising media have now spread from the wet rooms and are now also populating elevators and rental cars.
"People enjoy good advertising in original places," Back is convinced, "and our products should always make people smile." They undoubtedly achieved this goal at the Advertiser of the Year. "In terms of communication performance, it was a success," acknowledges Dominique von Matt, "communication is a medium that works well, but it depends on the product. For my head, for example, I can imagine other places than a urinal."
"Does she belong to a cult?" was the first thought of the newly crowned Advertiser of the Year Dominique von Matt when a stranger congratulated him after the award ceremony and explicitly emphasized that she had washed her hands beforehand. Two encounters with an unusually intense emphasis on personal hygiene later, the mystery was solved: Von Matt owed the clean handshake not to ritual washing, but to the Face agency, which had identified the vicinity of the toilet bowl as the ideal place for advertising. "Please wash your hands before you congratulate me" demanded a speech bubble next to von Matt's head on small posters above urinals and bowls in Zurich's Xtra Limmathaus.
Klommunication is the name given to this form of below-the-line advertising by the eastern Swiss agency Face. It has even had the term trademarked. With its concept of using unusual advertising media in unusual places, Face is enjoying success from Klowand to Klowand. Sales Manager Thomas Back is already enjoying full order books at the start of the year, and the agency is expanded from 18 to 23 employees. New customers include Novartis, Nokia, Coca-Cola and other renowned companies.
Face does not appear to be affected by the crisis in traditional advertising. "We are constantly developing new ideas and responding specifically to customer needs," says Back, explaining the promising situation. Face's advertising media have now spread from the wet rooms and are now also populating elevators and rental cars.
"People enjoy good advertising in original places," Back is convinced, "and our products should always make people smile." They undoubtedly achieved this goal at the Advertiser of the Year. "In terms of communication performance, it was a success," acknowledges Dominique von Matt, "communication is a medium that works well, but it depends on the product. For my head, for example, I can imagine other places than a urinal."
