Together towards number one
Agencies: Advico Young & Rubicam Strengthens Its Creative Team—Urs Schrepfer Joins the Executive Board as Creative Director.
Agencies Advico Young & Rubicam strengthens its creative team: Urs Schrepfer joins the management team as CD. At the end of 2004, the advertising agencies Guye Benker and Advico Young & Rubicam will merge. Today, Edgar C. Britschgi, as Chairman, can already present a new line-up for his management team. AY&R, one of Switzerland's leading creative agencies, is strengthening its creative team. From October 2004, Urs Schrepfer will head the creative teams in Zurich Gockhausen as CD and member of the Executive Board together with Daniel Comte. Both CDs have their own clients, but want to benefit from discussing ideas together. Daniel Comte has been with AY&R since June 2002 and has been solely responsible as CD on an interim basis since July 2004. He is an ADC member and on the jury of "The Best of Best" of the Y&R network. Urs Schrepfer has been an ADC member since 1995 and was already with Y&R from 1992 to mid-2002
first as a concept developer/ copywriter, then as CD. For the last few years, he was responsible for the creative turnaround as managing CD at Jung von Matt/Limmat.
Why the comeback now? Urs Schrepfer: "After ten years at Advico, I came into contact with Dominik von Matt at the same time as Spillmann Felser was being formed." It was extremely valuable to see how other agencies work and to incorporate this experience into AY&R. Urs Schrepfer is now certain that "something incredibly exciting is forming in Gockhausen". So: "Not a return, but an entry into a new type of agency." The new management team at AY&R means that an important structural change is entering its final phase.
Opportunities for new talent
What has changed compared to Advico in the past? Back then, we had a large team of very good people. They all worked together for a very long time and always "developed very good stories". This made AY&R the number 1. "However, this also had the disadvantage that a certain sluggishness set in," says Schrepfer. "Now new talents should be given opportunities and deployed in the right place," reveals Comte.
The collaboration with David Allemann, Head of Strategy, and Thomas Städeli, Head of Consulting, is also new for both of them. Both are young and very talented. "We realize in the management that we are all pulling in the same direction. We have committed to various changes for the future." There are also plans to recruit new people for the creation department in the near future.
The goal for a good agency must always be number 1. As an interim goal, you can perhaps still specify number 3 in the creative ranking. It is also currently the case that creatives in the industry no longer rate just one or two agencies as the best. "This has expanded dramatically compared to just three years ago," says Comte. Today, a top creative can imagine working in five or six agencies. "There is no clear leader and there is a new generation of people spread across the agencies," says Schrepfer. "The top has broadened, but the level has dropped," confirms Comte. "Raising this level again is the big challenge."
Strong creative duo: Daniel Comte (left) and Urs Schrepfer.
Time for something newThe sale of Guye Benker to the international agency network of Young & Rubicam already took place in February 2003. This also closes a circle. Before Christophe Guye founded Guye & Partner in 1990, he was a senior consultant at AY&R. Now his new company is returning to the parent company, so to speak. Guye Benker developed well in the 15 years in between and grew to over 20 employees with fee income of CHF 4.5 million. Christophe Guye announced his departure as Managing Director of Guye Benker with the words: "Now it's time for new challenges". He will only be involved in the merger for a short time and will then act as a "business incubator" for the development and expansion of other companies. He has already accepted initial mandates in the clothing, food and cosmetics sectors, explains Guye.
Andreas Panzeri
first as a concept developer/ copywriter, then as CD. For the last few years, he was responsible for the creative turnaround as managing CD at Jung von Matt/Limmat.
Why the comeback now? Urs Schrepfer: "After ten years at Advico, I came into contact with Dominik von Matt at the same time as Spillmann Felser was being formed." It was extremely valuable to see how other agencies work and to incorporate this experience into AY&R. Urs Schrepfer is now certain that "something incredibly exciting is forming in Gockhausen". So: "Not a return, but an entry into a new type of agency." The new management team at AY&R means that an important structural change is entering its final phase.
Opportunities for new talent
What has changed compared to Advico in the past? Back then, we had a large team of very good people. They all worked together for a very long time and always "developed very good stories". This made AY&R the number 1. "However, this also had the disadvantage that a certain sluggishness set in," says Schrepfer. "Now new talents should be given opportunities and deployed in the right place," reveals Comte.
The collaboration with David Allemann, Head of Strategy, and Thomas Städeli, Head of Consulting, is also new for both of them. Both are young and very talented. "We realize in the management that we are all pulling in the same direction. We have committed to various changes for the future." There are also plans to recruit new people for the creation department in the near future.
The goal for a good agency must always be number 1. As an interim goal, you can perhaps still specify number 3 in the creative ranking. It is also currently the case that creatives in the industry no longer rate just one or two agencies as the best. "This has expanded dramatically compared to just three years ago," says Comte. Today, a top creative can imagine working in five or six agencies. "There is no clear leader and there is a new generation of people spread across the agencies," says Schrepfer. "The top has broadened, but the level has dropped," confirms Comte. "Raising this level again is the big challenge."
Strong creative duo: Daniel Comte (left) and Urs Schrepfer.
Time for something newThe sale of Guye Benker to the international agency network of Young & Rubicam already took place in February 2003. This also closes a circle. Before Christophe Guye founded Guye & Partner in 1990, he was a senior consultant at AY&R. Now his new company is returning to the parent company, so to speak. Guye Benker developed well in the 15 years in between and grew to over 20 employees with fee income of CHF 4.5 million. Christophe Guye announced his departure as Managing Director of Guye Benker with the words: "Now it's time for new challenges". He will only be involved in the merger for a short time and will then act as a "business incubator" for the development and expansion of other companies. He has already accepted initial mandates in the clothing, food and cosmetics sectors, explains Guye.
Andreas Panzeri
