"Quality comes from agony"
Dominique von Matt, co-owner of Honegger von Matt, was named runner-up for Advertiser of the Year
Dominique von Matt, co-owner of Honegger von Matt, is the second-place advertiser of the yearBy Carole Koch "Don't look back" is one of Dominique von Matt's credos. Combined with the ambition to keep up with the pulse of time
and an enormous will to provide good advertising, it has helped him become what he is today: one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the Swiss advertising industry.
This man knows exactly what he wants: After all, Dominique von Matt dreamed of becoming self-employed in the marketing field when he was still young. Back then, he quenched his thirst for knowledge by reading countless publications by the motivational researcher Ernest Dichter.
Fascinated by the subject, he never lost sight of this early goal. The youthful reverie became reality. What's more, with his fellow student and business partner David Honegger, he turned the joint Honegger von Matt agency into one of the most renowned addresses in the Swiss advertising market.
Experience gained on both fronts
Neither this fact nor his nomination as Advertiser of the Year are reasons for him to rest on his laurels: "You've lost if you think you've made it," says von Matt. He is convinced that every strategy must be questioned again and again, even if it has proven itself.
The fact that the industry is honoring his entrepreneurial spirit is something von Matt is very happy to accept. "For me, the nomination is praise for the courage to start an agency in the recession that has established itself as a brand for quality."
Before taking this pioneering step, Dominique von Matt gained experience not only in practice. In order to acquire the necessary marketing know-how, the Zurich native began studying business administration at the University of Zurich. A good decision, as it turned out for the self-confessed analyst and strategist.
After all, as a product manager at Unilever in Zurich, he was dependent on a sound knowledge base after graduation - the first attempt to go into practice quickly turned out to be a jump into the deep end. "From one day to the next, I found myself in a bone-chilling brand displacement battle," the advertiser recalls, adding, "But I still benefit from those apprenticeship years today." Here, he says, he found access to advertising and located agency disadvantages from the customer's perspective. After a year in practice, he returned to university, where he deepened his knowledge of brand policy in a doctoral thesis.
After that, von Matt made the switch to the agency side by accepting a consulting job at Wirz Werbeberatung. Here, too, his ambition and thirst for knowledge were quenched. He saw it as a challenge to optimize his presentation technique by looking after large mandates such as Kuoni or Hero and learned what top consulting requires.
Finally, he completed his curriculum vitae with a stint in London as an Account Executive at DMB&B, followed by a position as Consulting Group Leader and Member of the Executive Board at Wirz.
A shaken measure
of dissatisfaction
Soon after, the Honegger von Matt era took off: "I felt ready for self-employment and ventured into the unknown with David Honegger," says von Matt. The start in January 1993 was tough: In a gloomy basement, without fancy furniture, employees or clients, the first chapters of the agency's history were written.
Nevertheless, the rise of consultant von Matt and creative partner Honegger came faster than expected. Today, their clientele includes companies such as Panasonic, Cablecom, Ikea and ABB. The secret of their success? The agency philosophy "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee" - advertising should be as attractive as a butterfly and as efficient as a bee.
However, Von Matt does not see this principle as a static manifesto, but rather as the guiding principle of an ongoing process. Every strategy, he emphasizes, must always be adapted to new circumstances. "That's why it's good to have a certain amount of dissatisfaction, it's the engine of quality," philosophizes the entrepreneur, because quality ultimately comes from agony. Obviously, he loves to analyze structures, forms and processes of advertising. As does the task of developing creativity and quality in advertising.
Von Matt also tries to inspire this enthusiasm in his employees: "Antoine de Saint-Exupéry once said that you shouldn't give your team the tools to build a ship, but rather awaken in them a longing for the sea. This spirit also lives in HvM."
Even if David Honegger parts ways with HvM and the agency becomes "Jung von Matt an der Limmat," this identity is not to be lost. "Our claim is still quality, not size," Dominique von Matt emphasizes.
Despite a touch of melancholy, he is very much looking forward to the new beginning. In this respect, he is no different from any other advertiser. However, he is less able to identify with the creative species: "I don't fit the stereotype advertiser, I'm quieter and more reserved," says von Matt about von Matt.
In the cities the pulse
of life feel
As a result, he says, he has "no extraordinary hobbies to show for it" and prefers to spend his free time with his family. When time permits, his scientific roots draw him out of the closet - that's when von Matt publishes the results of private studies. He needs this quiet pole just as much as the inspiration he finds on short trips to European cities. "Only on the pulse of a city can you anticipate trends and feel the changing times, and this is ultimately what makes advertising so fascinating."
and an enormous will to provide good advertising, it has helped him become what he is today: one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the Swiss advertising industry.
This man knows exactly what he wants: After all, Dominique von Matt dreamed of becoming self-employed in the marketing field when he was still young. Back then, he quenched his thirst for knowledge by reading countless publications by the motivational researcher Ernest Dichter.
Fascinated by the subject, he never lost sight of this early goal. The youthful reverie became reality. What's more, with his fellow student and business partner David Honegger, he turned the joint Honegger von Matt agency into one of the most renowned addresses in the Swiss advertising market.
Experience gained on both fronts
Neither this fact nor his nomination as Advertiser of the Year are reasons for him to rest on his laurels: "You've lost if you think you've made it," says von Matt. He is convinced that every strategy must be questioned again and again, even if it has proven itself.
The fact that the industry is honoring his entrepreneurial spirit is something von Matt is very happy to accept. "For me, the nomination is praise for the courage to start an agency in the recession that has established itself as a brand for quality."
Before taking this pioneering step, Dominique von Matt gained experience not only in practice. In order to acquire the necessary marketing know-how, the Zurich native began studying business administration at the University of Zurich. A good decision, as it turned out for the self-confessed analyst and strategist.
After all, as a product manager at Unilever in Zurich, he was dependent on a sound knowledge base after graduation - the first attempt to go into practice quickly turned out to be a jump into the deep end. "From one day to the next, I found myself in a bone-chilling brand displacement battle," the advertiser recalls, adding, "But I still benefit from those apprenticeship years today." Here, he says, he found access to advertising and located agency disadvantages from the customer's perspective. After a year in practice, he returned to university, where he deepened his knowledge of brand policy in a doctoral thesis.
After that, von Matt made the switch to the agency side by accepting a consulting job at Wirz Werbeberatung. Here, too, his ambition and thirst for knowledge were quenched. He saw it as a challenge to optimize his presentation technique by looking after large mandates such as Kuoni or Hero and learned what top consulting requires.
Finally, he completed his curriculum vitae with a stint in London as an Account Executive at DMB&B, followed by a position as Consulting Group Leader and Member of the Executive Board at Wirz.
A shaken measure
of dissatisfaction
Soon after, the Honegger von Matt era took off: "I felt ready for self-employment and ventured into the unknown with David Honegger," says von Matt. The start in January 1993 was tough: In a gloomy basement, without fancy furniture, employees or clients, the first chapters of the agency's history were written.
Nevertheless, the rise of consultant von Matt and creative partner Honegger came faster than expected. Today, their clientele includes companies such as Panasonic, Cablecom, Ikea and ABB. The secret of their success? The agency philosophy "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee" - advertising should be as attractive as a butterfly and as efficient as a bee.
However, Von Matt does not see this principle as a static manifesto, but rather as the guiding principle of an ongoing process. Every strategy, he emphasizes, must always be adapted to new circumstances. "That's why it's good to have a certain amount of dissatisfaction, it's the engine of quality," philosophizes the entrepreneur, because quality ultimately comes from agony. Obviously, he loves to analyze structures, forms and processes of advertising. As does the task of developing creativity and quality in advertising.
Von Matt also tries to inspire this enthusiasm in his employees: "Antoine de Saint-Exupéry once said that you shouldn't give your team the tools to build a ship, but rather awaken in them a longing for the sea. This spirit also lives in HvM."
Even if David Honegger parts ways with HvM and the agency becomes "Jung von Matt an der Limmat," this identity is not to be lost. "Our claim is still quality, not size," Dominique von Matt emphasizes.
Despite a touch of melancholy, he is very much looking forward to the new beginning. In this respect, he is no different from any other advertiser. However, he is less able to identify with the creative species: "I don't fit the stereotype advertiser, I'm quieter and more reserved," says von Matt about von Matt.
In the cities the pulse
of life feel
As a result, he says, he has "no extraordinary hobbies to show for it" and prefers to spend his free time with his family. When time permits, his scientific roots draw him out of the closet - that's when von Matt publishes the results of private studies. He needs this quiet pole just as much as the inspiration he finds on short trips to European cities. "Only on the pulse of a city can you anticipate trends and feel the changing times, and this is ultimately what makes advertising so fascinating."
