Freestyler with clear line

When snowboarding emerged in the mid-eighties, they thought one day you would rule the world. They were convinced: snowboarding is so cool that soon nobody will ski anymore. They were rebellious. They had to fight their way into the ski lift. There was class warfare with the skiers.
 
The rebels of yesteryear have become seasoned businessmen. Today, around 40 years old and wearing shirts, Oliver Brunschwiler and Johannes Eisenhut sit at the large wooden table in the meeting room of their agency. It is located between two bars on Zurich's Langstrasse. The insurgent is hardly recognizable at first glance. Perhaps in the small pirate flag waving above the screen. Or in the erected action hero dolls that the agency troupe had made by themselves for their clients. Or in the portfolio, where at /Department interdisciplinary poaching and conventions are challenged. Friends and acquaintances say they knew early on that the two professional snowboarders, who traveled the world with the freestyle circus, would one day join forces. Ollie, the practical man, who had completed an apprenticeship as a graphic designer and then worked at various agencies such as Weber, Hodel, Schmid. Johne, who had studied German and communications and was responsible for eleven countries as Marketing Director Europe at Burton Snowboards.
 
In 2000, the time had come. The Internet fashion project Skim.com, which Johne had built up together with the Freitag brothers and led as marketing manager, was suddenly a thing of the past after the Internet bubble burst and an investor went bankrupt. Ollie was working as a freelancer. Both were in Zurich and the moment had come. "If we really start an agency, it won't be a classic one," Ollie said. That wouldn't have fit in with the freestylers. It should be a creation and strategy agency, specialized in branding and international communication. After all, they both knew their way around the international arena.

At home in action sports

The three of us started at full throttle. The contacts from the sports scene proved to be valuable. Many of the colleagues from the past had meanwhile landed in a creative corner or in marketing. And the insight into the product and brand world that both had gained as snowboard professionals was also an advantage. Even as teenagers, the athletes were in direct contact with their sponsors, developing boards, bindings, clothes - and the advertising for them. No federation or manager was around to do the marketing. "We were self-marketers."
 
With two or three clients in its portfolio, /Department was already in the black after just a few months. Even in the first year, several international corporate design projects were implemented - in sports, in youth marketing, and, Langstrasse sends its regards, in the "milieu". For example, the corporate design for Erotic Media, a Beate-Uhse company that wanted to take advantage of the hype surrounding the Kirch Group's IPO to go public itself. In addition, digital projects were a major focus in the early days, which explains the slash in the agency's name. For the mobile phone provider T-Mobile, the agency realized as one of its first projects a digital platform for the sports engagement of the telecom giant. Since the beginning /Department cared for so many international enterprises as well as customers from the sport corner. Among the first were also the Swiss shoe manufacturer Raichle or the then newly founded company Head Snowboards, which /Department positioned in the market. And even today, many customers from the freestyle sector count on the creative. "We know how the action sports industry works."

This was also trusted by the jeans manufacturer Levis, which wanted to position itself among skaters and BMXers with its streetwear collection. /Department let the entire appearance of the jeans brand go into black. Analogous to the asphalt, to make it clear that the collection is made for the street. The worldwide hype around action sports gave /Department a boost at the beginning. Freestyle became culturally dominant and spilled over into fashion and gastronomy. "It was a very fertile corner," Johne recalls. And /Department set out to capitalize on that momentum. Over time, however, the range of services became broader and the agency larger. With 15 employees and an international network of 50 people, /Department today sees itself as a 360-degree agency that covers everything from branding and communication, corporate design, and positioning to advertising and event conception. The freestylers have stopped the class war with the skiers. Whether skiing or snowboarding is no longer important. Today, /Department is passionate about advertising Head Skis and recently created a nine spot for the brand that features ski stars like Lindsey Vonn, Ted Ligety and Bode Miller. The creatives seem to have retained the daredevil, the explorer and the "cool". They show this in spots in which world-class skiers play "scissors, stone, paper" against each other. Or with an après-ski party at which someone moonwalks in his ski boots.

Two freestylers and one carver

In addition to clients from the sports sector, /Department now serves many companies that come from other corners. The Graubündner Kantonalbank has been one of them for seven years. The portfolio also includes a number of clients from the Grisons region. Winter sports resorts like Davos Klosters or Lenzerheide or the Hockey Club Davos. In 2013, Ollie and Johne want to make /Department even stronger and broader and have brought in reinforcements for this purpose. Long-time /Department senior art director Toma Perret is back on board as co-owner and creative director. In addition, the creative team is expanding its management team with a consulting partner and managing director. As of January 2013, Jan Maurer joins the agency from Wirz Wietlisbach as co-owner and CEO. Maurer will bring consulting expertise and classic agency craft. He is the carver the freestylers have been missing. "One who drives the straight line," as the two put it. "With Unikat, Jan has built up an agency of comparable size and successfully managed it for over seven years," says Johne. The creatives want to profit from this experience. And Maurer, too, hopes to find the right place at /Department after a turbulent time with several job changes - first at Ikea as marketing manager, then an attempt to build up his own agency, and finally at Wirz Wietlisbach Dialog.
 
Being broadly positioned will pay off for the creatives in the coming months. If only because of the "Graubünden 2022" Olympic bid, for which /Department is responsible for branding, brand image and communication. "In the next two months it will be hot," says Ollie. The appearance of the Winter Olympics with the Graubünden buck on a Swiss cross is already in place. The next step is to convince the people of Graubünden of their commitment with a classic campaign. Because before the bid can be waved through federally, the locals first have to give the green light. "You're working on a brand that is extremely present in the public eye. That's what makes it so exciting," Johne said. "Any Sunday reading, you can tell you're going to have an issue on Monday. It's real-time communication." In the past, they would have boycotted the Olympics. They were hosted by the skiers, after all. But even, the fight is over. Johne now conquers the slopes with telemark skis. "In snowboarding, I only got worse. I wanted something I could get better at," says Johne, "and something that would make you stand out," smiles Ollie.

Isabel Imper

In a nutshell

Johannes Eisenhut, Strategy and Partner, former professional snowboarder, grew up in Switzerland and the USA, studied German Studies/ Communication Sciences at the University of Fribourg and graduated with a PhD in Literary Studies/ Linguistics in Fribourg in 2008. From 1995 to 1998, he was Marketing Director Europe for Burton Snowboards, responsible for eleven countries. Later, together with Daniel and Markus Freitag, he founded the Web 1.0 community Skim.com, for which he was responsible for marketing. He was also publisher and editor of the trade journal "European Snowboard Business Magazine".

Oliver Brunschwiler, Executive Creative Director and Partner, after graphic apprenticeship and commercial diploma he went through the classic agency way. After his career as a snowboard pro and the launch of his own clothing label "Fuse" together with Rod co-owner Oliver Fennel, he joined the brand agency Külling (today: Schneiter Meier). After that, he moved to Weber, Hodel, Schmid, (W,H,S,) in addition to various stations such as Metzgerlehner, and finally worked as a freelance AD beyond the country's borders.