"My two daughters manage to wrap me around their fingers every single day."

1. what does not come to your office under any circumstances?

Lack of imagination! Ideas, no matter how stupid, are our elixir of life.

2. what do you think about influencer marketing?

It will become more and more influential - no matter what we think of it. Interestingly, it is a form of advertising that has developed independently of advertising agencies, but is now becoming more and more important for agencies. The best thing we can do is to work with it consciously. That way we can perhaps help shape it.

3. the best testimonial ever?

"Think different" from Apple. From Alfred Hitchcock, Pablo Picasso, Mahatma Gandhi to Yoko Ono/John Lennon.

4. Do you fall for advertising? When?

My two daughters manage to wrap me around their fingers every day. This is influencer marketing in its infancy!

5. a buzz word that gets on your nerves?

Digital Native.

6. which award would you like to win?

Daddy of the year.

7 What distinguishes the advertising and communications industry from other industries?

We know how to sell ourselves. Externally, this is a great advantage - internally, it is sometimes difficult. Because an agency is its own most difficult customer.

8. what qualities make you a good advertiser?

I am a good listener. Attention is the be-all and end-all in advertising. With customers, you have to hear what they really want. With employees, you have to feel what they really need. And with good advertising, your own or someone else's, you have to realize what it really does.

9. which professional colleague would you take with you to a desert island?

If I could switch off on a desert island, I certainly wouldn't take a colleague with me. Otherwise we'd just talk about work.

10. where do you currently see the biggest challenge for the advertising industry?

In the speed and relevance of the messages. It is becoming increasingly difficult to get the audience's attention and then keep it. Nowadays, advertising is quickly clicked away or faded out, you have to get to the point faster and faster while remaining credible and likeable - no easy task.

11. the best Swiss campaign of all time?

Dear Furniture ...

12. what goes through your mind when you see a campaign on the street or on TV that you wrote?

"I hope you like it!"

13. which movie title best describes your career to date?

The Pursuit of Happiness

Tommy shilling started out as a graphic designer at the Basel agency Valencia Kommunikation in 1998, fresh out of design school. There he made his way up through all career stages from junior to senior art director to creative director. Since 2010, the father of two has been Creative Director and Partner at Valencia. The Valencia Group employs over 80 people and serves clients such as Coop, Feldschlösschen, FC Basel, Adidas, Caritas Switzerland, Gruner, SBB RailAway, Neue Aargauer Bank, Canton Basel-Stadt, Pick-e-Bike, Panini Switzerland and Sympany.