A tree-filled start to the year
Advertising Industry: Saatchi & Saatchi Simko, Geneva, Wins a Global Budget Worth Millions. Reactions to a Major Success.
Advertising industry Saatchi & Saatchi Simko, Geneva, wins a global multi-million dollar account. Voices on a major success: "Saatchi Picks Up $150 Mil. in Novartis Work", announced the US industry magazine Adweek before the end of the year. At the time, however, only insiders who were suspicious of the job offers knew that the big fish had been landed on Lake Geneva. It has now been official for a few days: following an agency evaluation by the Novartis Consumer Health Division in New Jersey, the Geneva-based agency Saatchi & Saatchi Simko has been appointed global communications lead for the two strategic brands Voltaren and Otrivin. The portfolio for Europe also includes the OTC drug Néocitran. This means that advertising will soon be managed from Geneva in over 20 countries in which these products are advertised - they are sold in 120.
Multicultural staffAs extraordinary as the budget gain is, CEO Pedro Simko is convinced that Swiss network agencies with the contribution of foreign branches definitely have a chance on the international stage: "Such brands can only be managed with a global network because the insights and support must remain local. But Switzerland has the locational advantage over centers like London, New York or Paris in that the staff is multicultural and works much more efficiently, i.e. more cheaply. I know that now." Even his national clients have noticed that the resources are significantly stronger thanks to the connection to the international network, Simko continues. Accordingly, he sees better growth opportunities for large and small agencies.
BSW Vice President Kurt Schmid, CEO of Lowe, does not yet recognize a trend reversal in Simko's pitch win, although his agency itself brought the Credit Suisse advertising budget back to Switzerland last summer or Publicis the global budget of Zurich Financial Services a few months ago. "You hear the thesis that domestic budgets are emigrating and the one that sees everything diametrically differently. For me, the question is to what extent do the fears of many advertisers correspond to reality?" It is much more important to maintain international expertise and standards in order to show that diversity is understood and available here too. Smaller agency sizes and pools of expertise must be compensated for with dynamism and flexibility. But: "As long as the Swiss corporate scene is geared towards defense and not attack, budgets will not increase," he says.
Dominique von Matt, co-owner of JvM/Limmat, also does not want to speak of a dam breaking, but rather of a good sign. What can be said is that the industry bottomed out last summer and the competitiveness of Switzerland as an advertising location has clearly improved. "Because more and more qualified people have entered the industry and Switzerland is opening up to foreign specialists, which is essential for international budgets," says von Matt optimistically.
Characterized by the long crisis, optimism among the Swiss Leading Agencies / BSW is more restrained than Farner PR's communication index would suggest. The index announced a week ago that 87% of the companies surveyed intend to increase their communications budget this year or at least leave it unchanged. The proportion of companies planning to reduce their expenditure halved to eleven percent.
In a winning mood: the Saatchi & Saatchi Simko team.
Luca Aloisi
Multicultural staffAs extraordinary as the budget gain is, CEO Pedro Simko is convinced that Swiss network agencies with the contribution of foreign branches definitely have a chance on the international stage: "Such brands can only be managed with a global network because the insights and support must remain local. But Switzerland has the locational advantage over centers like London, New York or Paris in that the staff is multicultural and works much more efficiently, i.e. more cheaply. I know that now." Even his national clients have noticed that the resources are significantly stronger thanks to the connection to the international network, Simko continues. Accordingly, he sees better growth opportunities for large and small agencies.
BSW Vice President Kurt Schmid, CEO of Lowe, does not yet recognize a trend reversal in Simko's pitch win, although his agency itself brought the Credit Suisse advertising budget back to Switzerland last summer or Publicis the global budget of Zurich Financial Services a few months ago. "You hear the thesis that domestic budgets are emigrating and the one that sees everything diametrically differently. For me, the question is to what extent do the fears of many advertisers correspond to reality?" It is much more important to maintain international expertise and standards in order to show that diversity is understood and available here too. Smaller agency sizes and pools of expertise must be compensated for with dynamism and flexibility. But: "As long as the Swiss corporate scene is geared towards defense and not attack, budgets will not increase," he says.
Dominique von Matt, co-owner of JvM/Limmat, also does not want to speak of a dam breaking, but rather of a good sign. What can be said is that the industry bottomed out last summer and the competitiveness of Switzerland as an advertising location has clearly improved. "Because more and more qualified people have entered the industry and Switzerland is opening up to foreign specialists, which is essential for international budgets," says von Matt optimistically.
Characterized by the long crisis, optimism among the Swiss Leading Agencies / BSW is more restrained than Farner PR's communication index would suggest. The index announced a week ago that 87% of the companies surveyed intend to increase their communications budget this year or at least leave it unchanged. The proportion of companies planning to reduce their expenditure halved to eleven percent.
In a winning mood: the Saatchi & Saatchi Simko team.
Luca Aloisi
