"My profession is my vocation"

A relaxed mood strikes the visitor upon entering. Large windows and glass walls give the agency in the old industrial rooms directly at the train station an open, modern look. The managing director's realm lies in the farthest corner. It is not clear whether this is where he can best indulge his love of detail with passion and leisure, or whether he would rather have the employees work unobserved and out of voluntary motivation. Or both. In any case, one thing is clear: Sandro Walder is not an easy boss, for him "good enough" is not good enough and he is only satisfied when everything fits perfectly. If it's not convincing, it doesn't go out. Sandro Walder took over the agency seven years ago as a family business and runs it in the second generation without an additional partner. And he wants to keep it that way, he says. "Of course, we also have stress and pressure, but the quality of the ideas and implementations must not suffer under any circumstances," Walder says as he continues to stroll through the thoroughly styled rooms. The fluctuation in his agency is small. Despite a few changes, some of his employees have been with him for years. "Which is rather untypical for an agency, especially when you work with rather young people," Sandro Walder says of his "luck," as he calls it. Compared to Zurich agencies of the same size, he says, this area is a little more rural, a little more loyal. Is that why the employees are more willing to work the usual overtime? Walder certainly does - regularly and consciously, but also with pleasure.

Modern - traditional at its core

"The agency has always been a part of my life from diapers to now," Walder says. So why not visit a gravel pit on the weekend? Or a concrete company, a few wallpaper stores or design fairs at home and abroad. With his wife and child, of course - after all, it's the weekend. Even if Sandro Walder and his family don't always organize their free time in this way, it is often the case. "But at the same time, that's the exciting thing," Walder finds. Because free time and work are one for him, his job is his calling. "And if nothing is going on, then I get antsy," he interjects. He can't sit around. So on weekends there are often customer events, which are often organized and staged by walder,werber. Even apart from his leisure time planning, Sandro Walder, as a Zurich Oberland employer, relies on his own values. A modern implementation of orders as well as a good portion of radical reorientation go hand in hand with a flat hierarchy and a lot of independence, slam poetry and positive honesty. Although he took over a family business, at the same time he always fought against being the "Oberland agency from Uster," Walder confirms this impression.

You're no less creative just because the office isn't in Zurich. "Uster is the third-largest city in the canton of Zurich, and you can be at Stadelhofen in 13 minutes by S-Bahn from the agency door." So it was Walder's goal to move away from the "country and meadow" image to become a serious medium-sized communications agency. Today, Sandro Walder also no longer looks after many clients that his father still represented. That changed quickly, he says. More and more clients have come from his environment or from his past. The tall young man with the beaming smile is generally a good salesman.

It is not for nothing that he praises the 44th anniversary of walder,werber with terms like "puffery". And that's exactly what he means. But it doesn't just take big and loud words. He is also actually the friendly type who greets everyone on the street and prefers personal contact to an exchange via Facebook, Twitter or WhatsApp. The human touch is extremely important, he says. Sandro Walder also consciously points this out in the agency philosophy: "walder,werber doesn't have a single client." Because the agency sees its customers as partners for whom one gives one's best every day. And these customers should preferably not be particularly numerous, but above all extremely satisfied. Does that sound a bit like blatant marketing? And too easily flattered to be true? But that is indeed the case, says Sandro Walder, convincingly pragmatic. It's also how his agency would rarely have participated in awards ceremonies. After all, his agency doesn't boast about creative awards and "see-and-be-seen apéros." Of course, it is important for agencies to be appreciated. But according to Sandro Walder, it's not in the awards on the shelf. Appreciation is gained in a close personal client relationship that goes far beyond traditional communications tasks, he says. "We respond to customers' needs individually because we know our customers. In every respect," Walder emphasizes. And the client thus also knows the agency. "We want to know the story of the company and the people behind it. And tell it."

The storyteller

He prefers to work anywhere but in his office in the far corner of the agency, says Sandro Walder. That's why he built a relatively large and inviting modern café on the agency's second floor and decorated it with various objects and exhibits. There are, for example, three white dwarfs standing on a column in the meeting room, in reference to the three monkeys - hear nothing, see nothing, say nothing. "The environment plays an important role, especially in the brainstorming process," he says. You have to be able to feel comfortable and be inspired by various little things, he says. Otherwise, Walder likes to sit in a small restaurant or somewhere outside. He gets the best inspiration from watching people pass by or reading books on subjects that don't have much to do with the customer. Ideas can't be forced, and certainly not in front of a flickering screen. On the other hand, Sandro Walder is inspired by customer visits. He is particularly interested in the background - and the entire history of the company: "Every industry is interesting, and I'm lucky enough to get to know some of them in their entire range and historical development." Once Sandro Walder knows the company, he and his team tell their story. But in a way that is neither historically dusty nor chummily emotional. Instead of presenting dry incidents or making exaggerated promises, Walder wants to "offer a brand experience" with his agency. And not just in an image campaign or any other medium. "Selling in advertising means inspiring. In all dimensions. From 2-D to 3-D, from physical to digital," he says. Sometimes clients' topics are dry, technical and somewhat sober. But then you simply have to emotionalize them. Tell emotional stories. Stories that life writes.

Ursina mason

A family business

Reini Walder founded a small advertising studio 44 years ago. After Sandro Walder joined the company, it not only rebranded as walder,werber werbeagentur ag, but also grew into a medium-sized agency. But still with a boutique character. "The agency thinks like a big one, but acts like a small one," says managing director Sandro Walder. In concrete terms, he says, this means that "if you can't - and don't want to - repeat your message out loud ten thousand times, it's best to resort to surprising advertising." In addition, according to Sandro Walder, walder, werber has a fairly flat hierarchy. There are no assistants, junior or senior, and everyone gets a say in brainstorming. That was very important to him, says Walder. After all, as a family agency, they don't want to treat employees as "servants," but as independent professionals. From 6 employees in 2005, the agency has grown to 18 employees already. "A continuous, good growth," Walder says about it. Today, the agency could be described as "mid-sized," with many nationally active clients. "The client diversity is large - deliberately large - which makes the work all the more exciting and allows many insights into different industries." The portfolio ranges, for example, from Amplifon (Swiss market leader for hearing aid acoustics) to nationally and internationally active banks such as Liechtensteinische Landesbank (LLB), Bank Linth and Bank BSU, to many clients from the design and architecture/interior design sector such as Neuco AG (Swiss market leader for architectural lighting design). Especially the latter shows up as another focus of the agency. Because Sandro Walder is an enthusiastic design lover. In all disciplines. The fascination for extraordinary architecture, design and spatial design has been an integral part of his life since childhood. Which is also impressively shown in many creative realizations for "communication in space". The enthusiasm for exciting projects is also clearly noticeable in the agency. At walder, werber, they have never paid attention to the size of the client, Walder emphasizes, the focus is always on the client's need - that is the heart of the idea and Walder's task. It doesn't matter whether it's a showroom design, an image campaign or a small mailing. "I'd rather do it continuously and maybe bake slightly smaller rolls for it, but do it with joy."

From decorator to advertiser

Sandro Walder (33) joined his father's agency ten years ago and took over seven years ago. He originally learned to be a 3-D polydesigner (former decorator) at the Dübendorf design company Hauser & Partner. After graduating from high school, he worked for Jung von Matt as a graphic designer for two years and, quite untypically for a graphic designer, completed a further training course in marketing communications at SAWI. From there, he went back to Hauser & Partner - after a completely unexpected job offer - where he built up the event area together with the owner Andi Hauser as a member of the management team. "As a cadre member, I had a great job and, despite being only 23 years old, I was able to make a lot of new things happen and manage up to 60 people at corporate events for major clients," Walder says. But then one day, in September 2004, there was a rapid change. His father, who until then had been running his own agency, became ill overnight and had to take about 6 months off. Thereupon Sandro Walder decided to run the then 6-man agency until his father returned. He ran the agency "on the side" and continued to work at Hauser & Partner, "a 24/7 job," says Walder, "great, but at the same time, of course, an extreme strain ". But he realized during this time that the agency excited him, and in early 2005 he made the decision to join walder,werber. Only three years later - in 2008 - he took over the agency completely.