"THEGUYS" show how they want to make cult out of brands

Nowadays, not only marketing budgets but also people's attention spans are getting smaller and smaller. With their agency, the three founders want to offer their customers bigger ideas that achieve a broader reach through "shareability. And relieve their budgets with earned media. THEGUYS" is led by Gianni Peng as Managing Director and the established creative duo Johnny Grubenmann and Gaston Filippo as Creative Directors.

Peng has already been self-employed for several years as the owner and managing director of "Pengworks" and as a freelance photographer. Most recently, he was able to implement projects for Wincasa, PH Graubünden and Economiesuisse. At TheGuys, the native of Graubünden with a background in business administration wants to focus on the agency's "customers and coal". Grubenmann and Filippo have been an established creative duo for almost six years. In recent years, they have worked for brands such as McDonald's, Nissan, Mobiliar, Samsung, Credit Suisse, Swisscom and SRF Virus at renowned agencies in Zurich and Dubai. And have been honored several times by top juries of national as well as international awards. "But as co-managing directors of creation at TheGuys, we are now our own toughest jury," says Filippo. The two have also been part-time creative directors at Publicis since September (Werbewoche.ch reported).

Next-Gen in focus

With their agency, the three guys want to "dust off the Swiss advertising scene once and for all. That's why they are increasingly focusing on "next-generation" ideas for their clients - instead of "old-fashioned boomer formats" such as TV and radio: "In this way, we want to create a buzz among the most important generations of the future: Y, Z and now even Alpha," explains Grubenmann.

The agency's services range from strategic brand management and consulting to digital storytelling and 360-degree campaigns to PR stunts and virals. But the top priority is always creative excellence according to their "impactivity" approach. With this, TheGuys want to create added value for the target groups of their clients that gets around. Whether it's entertainment, inspiration or knowledge transfer, the agency operates according to the motto "We turn brands into cult".

Brave customers welcome

Since the end of summer, the agency has been working at full speed on its first customer projects. And it is happy to welcome new clients who "finally want - or need - to be pushed out of their comfort zone. Because there is never a lack of big and forward-looking ideas at the agency, says Managing Director Peng: "As a client, you simply have to be brave enough to stand out.

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INTERVIEW

"We saw an ideal condition for our own path".

The trio recently launched their own agency. Johnny Grubenmann, Gaston Filippo and Gianni Peng (from left to right) talked to Werbewoche.ch about "TheGuys".

Werbewoche.ch: What made you decide to set up your own agency?

Gianni Peng: At our first meeting, we talked about various projects and experiences in the advertising industry. Even then, we realized that we could achieve a lot together - and, above all, have fun doing it. I've already been self-employed for five years and have therefore often dealt with the areas of consulting and strategy. Gaston and Johnny, on the other hand, have been a successful creative duo for almost six years. We saw this as the ideal prerequisite for our own path.

Johnny Grubenmann: Furthermore, over the years Gaston and I were able to acquire valuable knowledge at various top agencies at home and abroad and develop it further with a holistic perspective. This eventually led to a shared vision of a new kind of creative agency, one that increasingly focuses on unconventional "next-gen" ideas alongside traditional approaches. Something we're big on at TheGuys.

 

What do you want to do differently with your agency?

Gaston Filippo: Because nowadays not only marketing budgets but also people's attention spans are getting smaller and smaller, we, unlike other agencies, offer our clients more unconventional ideas that achieve a broader reach thanks to "shareability". In this way, we address the problem of the ever-shrinking attention spans of the target groups. And with earned media, we relieve the pressure on marketing budgets.

 

You want to "dust off" the Swiss creative scene. Where are the biggest dust collectors?

Grubenmann: In Switzerland, a large proportion of all advertising campaigns run loosely along the lines of "It's always been done that way, so let's not change anything about it." So the biggest dust has settled on the desire for new and fresh ideas. And that's what we're allergic to at TheGuys.

 

Can you reveal more about the "impactivity" approach?

Bang: The word combination "Impactivity" combines the greatest possible "Impact" with excellent "Creativity". We use our high creativity standards to create a real added value for the target groups of our clients, which gets around and thus becomes "unskippable" in the best case. Be it with entertainment, inspiration or knowledge transfer. In short: This is how we turn brands into cult.

 

What makes your ideas more "shareable" than those of other agencies?

Filippo: Our position in the agency landscape. We are young and far from the laurels, but we would never rest on them. Our top priority is to go beyond the limits in every project and to challenge our clients at all times.

 

Gianni Peng, you have been an independent entrepreneur for several years. How will TheGuys affect your work for Pengworks?

Bang: In the beginning, it will certainly be intense in terms of time, because there is no lack of work on any of the fronts. But since I'm now completely committed to a freelance business model, we can work very efficiently with Pengworks. This is not only great for our clients, but also means that I can be relatively flexible with my time. Nevertheless, Pengworks is already in initial talks with people for a potential co-management.

 

Johnny Grubenmann and Gaston Filippo, you recently started working part-time as creative directors at Publicis Zurich. How does the agency feel about you running your own agency on the side?

Grubenmann: Since our first talks with Rob Hartmann and Matthias Koller, it was always clear that we would come out with TheGuys. In fact, it was one of the main reasons Publicis Zurich wanted to bring us on board. Because very quickly we realized that we could mutually benefit from each other and that our unconventional way of thinking also complemented Publicis' future plans well.

 

Do you offer everything for this from a single source? Or is there a network?

Bang: For the beginning, we are very happy that we have a strong network of partners for each discipline. Of course, we want to grow sustainably in order to be able to offer as much as possible from a single source in the future.

 

So there are plans in place to grow the team?

Grubenmann: We clearly want to expand. But we don't yet know exactly when we will hire the first employees. But in our industry, as we all know, things can move quickly if we can win one or two new mandates. We are currently in talks with various creatives, (media) strategists, consultants and other experts from different professions who could support us in the future.

 

So you want - despite agency name [engl. the boys, editor's note]. - Know people of any gender on board.

Filippo: Absolutely! Our agency may be called "the guys" in German, but interested parties should not be misled by that. The name came about because Johnny and I were always and everywhere referred to as the "Guys". In Dubai we were even the "Swiss Guys". And anyway, the term is used in English in a gender-neutral way and can refer to people of any gender. If we already take it so exactly (laughs with a wink).

 

How do you divide up responsibilities in your current constellation?

Bang: Basically, we try to divide our work as sensibly as possible. That is, Johnny and Gaston take care of the creation and I can be found more in the areas of consulting and strategy.

Filippo: Nevertheless, there are many interfaces where all our opinions and expertise come into their own. Because at TheGuys, we believe in the power of diversity. Even though there are currently only three of us and we are jointly responsible for building and managing the agency.