Professionalize the chain of experiences
René Allemann and his agency Branders develop the basis for further communication tasks and look for the right profile for the brands.
Brands and market shares require more and more specialists for their proper care. These do neither PR nor advertising. "Branding from A to Z" is the core competence of such CI agencies. One of the younger but already leading ones in Switzerland is called Branders. A strong name, which is complemented in the claim with the perfect subline: "identity works".
The branders, with offices right next to Zurich's Bellevue, develop the foundations for all disciplines of brand communication that follow later. "We position our clients' brands in the competitive environment," summarizes CEO René Allemann. What is unique about a brand? Where are differentiation factors? Which of these factors are relevant? Which brand should survive when two companies merge? How can advertising sharpen the brand? Branders aims to find answers to such questions on behalf of its clients, and thus also messages for a wide variety of media.
Communication and media have been a passion of René Allemann's since a young age. He sought publicity as early as middle school, for example by organizing charity events for development aid. During such a sponsored run for Bangladesh under the patronage of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, Allemann gained his first experience with PR. In addition, he was able to supplement his pocket money as a freelance journalist.
Later, the current CEO of Branders studied business administration in Zurich with a focus on marketing and communications. To broaden his horizons even further, Allemann added psychology, sociology and art history. Because writing was the best way for him to express himself creatively at that time, a first job in the PR industry naturally followed.
At Loepfe & Partner, an office that later merged with Büttikofer, Allemann found the ideal start in a small team. "I was thrown in at the deep end fresh out of school." On one of his very first days, he had to coach the then head of Sat.1 for an interview with the "Tagesschau." Later, he was entrusted with Unilever and other big brands. "In a small agency, the tasks are not so split, and you can quickly take on responsibility," says Allemann, looking back on his first five years as "a super learning experience." He was allowed to build up the corporate identity within the PR agency. The first CI projects were for public institutions. "In the 1980s, municipalities wanted to give themselves a professional image for the first time."
Allemann's specialized experience led him to Interbrand Zintzmeyer & Lux. At the then trendsetter for corporate identity, he worked for six years in various functions until he became head of a unit. In addition to the interesting clients and international contacts, Allemann now thinks back fondly on his personal collaboration with Jörg Zintzmeyer. "A charismatic personality from whom I was able to learn a great deal."
In the course of his multifaceted work, René Allemann developed more and more of his own ideas, which in turn awakened his very own understanding of branding. He wanted to approach the topic of consulting in an even more personal and, in addition, more "holistic" way. After five years in a steadily growing agency, he was convinced that the best way to bring his ideas to maturity and effect was again in a small but independent agency. So he founded the Branders Group. An office in Zurich's Seefeld. With five workstations, but still without employees and, above all, without clients. But the alternative of seeking his new path as an individual consultant never interested the young entrepreneur. "For good brand design and comprehensive strategic consulting, you need an interdisciplinary team. Much better solutions can grow out of a discussion."
The courage to think generously paid off. After two weeks, the first customer in the construction sector was acquired. Shortly thereafter, Novartis came forward. The pharmaceutical group is still an important pillar in the Branders portfolio today. Other well-known clients soon followed, such as Swiss Post, Bernische Kraftwerke, Basellandschaftliche Kantonalbank, Energie Wasser Bern, NZZ, Frutiger, PostAuto and PostFinance or the Danish-German Nycomed.
Soon, the Branders had to move from Seefeld to larger offices on Rämistrasse. Today, 15 employees work here, a strikingly large number of whom are female. "Women simply very often had the better qualifications," says the CEO. With a 50 percent share, Branders also employs strikingly more consultants than classic advertising and CI agencies. Some of them have already gained experience in international agencies, for example in New York. Others, like Allemann, come from the field of corporate communications or from psychology or art studies.
The agency's offices are spread over three floors in the building complex of the legendary "Kronenhalle. Nevertheless, the regular restaurant has not become the in-house "canteen" for many advertisers. The Branders have not had the time for lavish lunch breaks, because they have to be able to serve their international clients at different times. For Novartis, for example, with branches in 140 countries, the Branders look after a hotline where inquiries about the brand appearance as well as the design and strategy of the brand are answered around the clock. "As a lead agency, we take care of all branding issues together with our clients." Thus, Branders not only develops strategic brand concepts for most of its clients, but also new brand presences, guidelines and templates for print media, illustrations, imagery and more.
However, Branders does not only work for big brands. Many clients belong to the SME category. But here, too, it can take on international dimensions. A small watch brand from Grenchen has achieved cult status in China, perhaps also because Branders from Zurich redesigned the comprehensive visual image with logo, POS and - for once - an entire campaign.
For the Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Branders analyzed the positioning of the umbrella brand during the redesign of the newspaper together with a partner agency and the management. What should the NZZ brand stand for in the future? Which products from the publisher's broad portfolio should be linked to the ¬brand NZZ? In this assignment, Bran¬ders developed the claim "Joy of Quality" and created the strategy and the idea for a new -brand "NZZ Mediengruppe".
Branding must have an effect both internally and externally. Employer branding stands for the effect of the brand on potential employees. Here, Branders has implemented a comprehensive concept for Swiss Post, for example. This is intended to lead Switzerland's second-largest employer away from its somewhat "dusty image as a monopolist" and reposition it in the labor market. At the same time, the mandate includes internal communication. How can the brand content be experienced internally? René Allemann sees a lot of potential for this topic in many brands. "It has been realized that many companies still have far too little understanding of what a company and thus the brand actually stand for."
And what does Branders want to stand for in the future? René Allemann plans primarily qualitative rather than quantitative growth. "We want to remain a boutique." To this end, however, new areas such as social media and communication with moving images are to be expanded. "Branders wants to professionalize the entire experience chain." To this end, it is self-explanatory with the successes to date that Branders also wants to be on the road a bit more internationally in the future.
Andreas Panzeri
The branders, with offices right next to Zurich's Bellevue, develop the foundations for all disciplines of brand communication that follow later. "We position our clients' brands in the competitive environment," summarizes CEO René Allemann. What is unique about a brand? Where are differentiation factors? Which of these factors are relevant? Which brand should survive when two companies merge? How can advertising sharpen the brand? Branders aims to find answers to such questions on behalf of its clients, and thus also messages for a wide variety of media.
Communication and media have been a passion of René Allemann's since a young age. He sought publicity as early as middle school, for example by organizing charity events for development aid. During such a sponsored run for Bangladesh under the patronage of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, Allemann gained his first experience with PR. In addition, he was able to supplement his pocket money as a freelance journalist.
Later, the current CEO of Branders studied business administration in Zurich with a focus on marketing and communications. To broaden his horizons even further, Allemann added psychology, sociology and art history. Because writing was the best way for him to express himself creatively at that time, a first job in the PR industry naturally followed.
At Loepfe & Partner, an office that later merged with Büttikofer, Allemann found the ideal start in a small team. "I was thrown in at the deep end fresh out of school." On one of his very first days, he had to coach the then head of Sat.1 for an interview with the "Tagesschau." Later, he was entrusted with Unilever and other big brands. "In a small agency, the tasks are not so split, and you can quickly take on responsibility," says Allemann, looking back on his first five years as "a super learning experience." He was allowed to build up the corporate identity within the PR agency. The first CI projects were for public institutions. "In the 1980s, municipalities wanted to give themselves a professional image for the first time."
Allemann's specialized experience led him to Interbrand Zintzmeyer & Lux. At the then trendsetter for corporate identity, he worked for six years in various functions until he became head of a unit. In addition to the interesting clients and international contacts, Allemann now thinks back fondly on his personal collaboration with Jörg Zintzmeyer. "A charismatic personality from whom I was able to learn a great deal."
In the course of his multifaceted work, René Allemann developed more and more of his own ideas, which in turn awakened his very own understanding of branding. He wanted to approach the topic of consulting in an even more personal and, in addition, more "holistic" way. After five years in a steadily growing agency, he was convinced that the best way to bring his ideas to maturity and effect was again in a small but independent agency. So he founded the Branders Group. An office in Zurich's Seefeld. With five workstations, but still without employees and, above all, without clients. But the alternative of seeking his new path as an individual consultant never interested the young entrepreneur. "For good brand design and comprehensive strategic consulting, you need an interdisciplinary team. Much better solutions can grow out of a discussion."
The courage to think generously paid off. After two weeks, the first customer in the construction sector was acquired. Shortly thereafter, Novartis came forward. The pharmaceutical group is still an important pillar in the Branders portfolio today. Other well-known clients soon followed, such as Swiss Post, Bernische Kraftwerke, Basellandschaftliche Kantonalbank, Energie Wasser Bern, NZZ, Frutiger, PostAuto and PostFinance or the Danish-German Nycomed.
Soon, the Branders had to move from Seefeld to larger offices on Rämistrasse. Today, 15 employees work here, a strikingly large number of whom are female. "Women simply very often had the better qualifications," says the CEO. With a 50 percent share, Branders also employs strikingly more consultants than classic advertising and CI agencies. Some of them have already gained experience in international agencies, for example in New York. Others, like Allemann, come from the field of corporate communications or from psychology or art studies.
The agency's offices are spread over three floors in the building complex of the legendary "Kronenhalle. Nevertheless, the regular restaurant has not become the in-house "canteen" for many advertisers. The Branders have not had the time for lavish lunch breaks, because they have to be able to serve their international clients at different times. For Novartis, for example, with branches in 140 countries, the Branders look after a hotline where inquiries about the brand appearance as well as the design and strategy of the brand are answered around the clock. "As a lead agency, we take care of all branding issues together with our clients." Thus, Branders not only develops strategic brand concepts for most of its clients, but also new brand presences, guidelines and templates for print media, illustrations, imagery and more.
However, Branders does not only work for big brands. Many clients belong to the SME category. But here, too, it can take on international dimensions. A small watch brand from Grenchen has achieved cult status in China, perhaps also because Branders from Zurich redesigned the comprehensive visual image with logo, POS and - for once - an entire campaign.
For the Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Branders analyzed the positioning of the umbrella brand during the redesign of the newspaper together with a partner agency and the management. What should the NZZ brand stand for in the future? Which products from the publisher's broad portfolio should be linked to the ¬brand NZZ? In this assignment, Bran¬ders developed the claim "Joy of Quality" and created the strategy and the idea for a new -brand "NZZ Mediengruppe".
Branding must have an effect both internally and externally. Employer branding stands for the effect of the brand on potential employees. Here, Branders has implemented a comprehensive concept for Swiss Post, for example. This is intended to lead Switzerland's second-largest employer away from its somewhat "dusty image as a monopolist" and reposition it in the labor market. At the same time, the mandate includes internal communication. How can the brand content be experienced internally? René Allemann sees a lot of potential for this topic in many brands. "It has been realized that many companies still have far too little understanding of what a company and thus the brand actually stand for."
And what does Branders want to stand for in the future? René Allemann plans primarily qualitative rather than quantitative growth. "We want to remain a boutique." To this end, however, new areas such as social media and communication with moving images are to be expanded. "Branders wants to professionalize the entire experience chain." To this end, it is self-explanatory with the successes to date that Branders also wants to be on the road a bit more internationally in the future.
Andreas Panzeri
