Bridge builder with esprit
As Chief Creative Officer at TBWA Switzerland, Alphonse Garcia aims to contribute to the international success of the world's most creative group.
Officer at TBWA Switzerland on the international success of the most creative
contribute to the world. He does not work in advertising. The
Advertising is his life. This is evident in his constant curiosity.
Alphonse Garcia does not distinguish between working hours and
Leisure time. And he wants to share this «passion for advertising» through his
See the works in a different setting. «Advertising is like a spectacle.”
In the theater. You address an audience, and the audience is supposed to
»feel that you're doing it with enthusiasm and want to give him pleasure."
However, it should also feel that it is respected. «That’s where
Many advertisers—to me, they often come across as too arrogant. They make a nice
Creation—they want an award for it, and the rest is none of their business
»," Garcia reflects.
For the creative professional, every aspect of life revolves around advertising
organized. Even when he's relaxing, he wants to immerse himself in culture at the same time
find inspiration in a wide variety of fields. Now Garcia has
has expanded its range to both banks, because for the past few days
In addition to serving as CEO of Rive Gauche on Lake Geneva, Alphonse Garcia also serves as
Chief Creative Officer at the agency on Lake Zurich for the entire group
TBWA Switzerland is responsible.
Alphonse Garcia co-founded Rive Gauche in Geneva three and a half years ago
founded as a spin-off of TBWA with Pierre Yves Brandt. The idea was to,
a second brand for the network in Switzerland with
to create a slightly different concept. In the midst of the recession of the
That's when the company got its start in the industry. As a result, its ambitious plans had to
needs to be corrected slightly. With «quite spectacular campaigns and
»a somewhat different creation" and, above all, through the use of
Strategy—which was even less well known back then in French-speaking Switzerland
– The small agency quickly made a name for itself.
Rive Gauche has already been named «Agency of the Year» in French-speaking Switzerland twice.
Garcia attributes this to a way of working that is «absolument différent»
compared to other agencies. He sees the difference in the strategic
An approach and a vision that are «more focused and closer to the customer»
. These include, for example, Médecins sans Frontières, Swiss Lotto, or
Media outlets such as SSR Radio espace deux, Le Temps, and L’Hebdo.
Rive Gauche employs eight people. Garcia worked there until he moved to
Zurich, serving as both CD and Managing Director. That worked out in
this small organization, because Rive Gauche, with Pierre Yves Brandt, is a
has a second CD. In addition, a CD in management could also give him more
provide a creative vision «with a deep understanding of the work of the
»Design." Garcia can now apply such ideas throughout Switzerland
take over after replacing Hans-Joachim Timm as CCO, who is taking on a new
was looking for a challenge.
TBWA in Küsnacht employs 50 people. Garcia will start on
He'll be here most of the time in January for the first phase. He served as deputy for the agency in Geneva, with
Sébastien Fabbi has been appointed as the new Managing Director. He previously served as Marketing Director at Citroën Suisse.
And his German? «No problem»—he understands enough to attend a meeting
to be able to follow along, and in this job, the true language is the language
in the creative department. In addition, TBWA has a fairly multicultural staff made up of people
who speak English, French, or Spanish. «You had to
»I've always been able to find it somewhere."
The idea of working with CCO Switzerland came about pretty spontaneously. «I’ll let
»I let challenges guide me and don't follow long-term plans." So
Garcia didn't think twice about whether he wanted to live in the French-speaking part of Switzerland
might miss. «I’ve liked Zurich for a long time. I like the energy
»Here, and I have a lot of friends in various agencies in Zurich."
Alphonse Garcia is a citizen of the world. He was born in Spain and grew up in the
At the age of seven months, he moved to Switzerland with his parents
...had come. «A second-generation immigrant» who had attended all the schools in Lausanne
all the way to art and design school. He had always wanted to become a graphic designer because
in his parents' house, someone like that worked on the same floor—and
It was in his studio that Alphonse spent much of his free time as a boy
spent.
After graduating from the École des Beaux-Arts, he completed internships at several agencies
added. «Right after I graduated, advertising was my world and my goal.»
In addition, he has also taken supplementary courses at the university in subjects
such as sociology and economics.
His career at the Swiss agencies also took him to a position as, for three years,
CD at Publicis Lausanne. When that office closed,
Co-founded Garcia Rive Gauche.
Garcia is also expected to act as a sort of «bridge-builder» at TBWA. That is
In fact, that's the essence of the advertising profession: building bridges between
Customers and brands, products and consumers, and now French-speaking Switzerland and
German-speaking Switzerland. Garcia hopes to find a more «Latin” atmosphere in Zurich
to be able to introduce »Esprit.".
His personal motivation for taking the job in Zurich was to be a
an established agency like TBWA to bring a fresh perspective and a new
help build their image. TBWA International is considered one of the top ten
one of the world's fastest-growing agency networks. The Gunn Report
The agency chain was named the world's most creative network of 2005
chosen. «My ambition is to, from here in Switzerland,
to make a contribution. We want to build a new TBWA out of Zurich
– »an agency with a certain standard."
Andreas Panzeri
