"Pushing ideas further and following through"

Congratulations on receiving the Newcomer Agency of the Year 2016 award! How did you react when you heard about the award?
Pascal Deville: Thank you very much! We found out on a Friday morning, during a planning meeting the call came from Berlin. There were only a few of us in the agency and we could hardly believe what we were being told. After the phone call, we had to ask again if it was really true or if we had just ended up on a shortlist. But after two or three e-mails it was clear: Yes, we really are the newcomer agency of the year!
Samuel Textor: The joy was enormous. The award has great charisma, not only in Germany, but also in Switzerland - and you can become a newcomer agency exactly once.
Patrick Biner: The special thing is that everyone understands what Newcomer Agency of the Year means, even a person from outside the industry. When you talk about ADC or Edi, usually only the experts know exactly what you're talking about. With Newcomer Agency of the Year, everyone really understands that it's something great.

How did you come up with the idea of submitting your dossier to the "Year of Advertising"?
Res Matthys: I've lived in Berlin for a long time and knew the award; Walker and Rod were last on the podium there as Swiss Newcomer Agency of the Year ...

... yes, but in 2006 and 2008 they both had a German agency standing next to them on the podium, which also received the award. In 2017, after nine years without a Swiss award winner, they are standing up there all alone.
Res Matthys: Yes, it's sensational, we are delighted. I just had the feeling that we could have a good chance at the award, because we've had good success with very creative, new work in a relatively short time, also economically. Nevertheless, I was surprised that we have now actually managed to become Newcomer Agency of the Year, and on top of that can take home an award for our Stop DSI campaign for the SP. A very special award for us.

Where does the award have more charisma, here in Switzerland or in Berlin?
Pascal Deville: I think the impact varies from country to country. In Germany, there will perhaps be more inquiries because the award makes us stand out from the abundance of agency offerings and draws attention to us. In Switzerland, people know us by now and the award acts more like a seal of approval for our work.

"The people in charge at Freundliche Grüsse listen very well and work their way into a subject with a depth and passion that is rare these days. Freundliche Grüsse is less a classic agency and more a business creative partner."

Renato Di Rubbo, Chief Marketing Officer Franke Group and Kitchen Systems, Aarburg

You have known each other directly, crosswise, over and through each other for quite a long time and quite well and obviously still like each other - you, Mr. Deville and Mr. Textor, for 15 years now. Now I am interested in what you really think about each other and have perhaps never said to each other directly. Who is Mr. Deville, Mr. Textor?
Samuel Textor: Pascal is very enthusiastic, he knows very well what he wants, what he likes and what he doesn't like, and he can express that very clearly. But that doesn't mean that you can't convince him of something.

Who is Mr. Textor, Mr. Matthys?
Res Matthys: Samuel has a good intuition for people, for talents, for creation, for strategies. He's good at bringing the right people together and before he discusses everything a hundred times, he grabs hold and just tries.

Who is Mr. Biner, Mr. Deville?
Pascal Deville: What I particularly appreciate about Patrick is his honesty and down-to-earthness. Patrick is technology-driven and can take customers along very well with his expertise.

Who is Mr. Matthys, Mr. Biner?
Patrick Biner: Res always comes up with surprising ideas, fresh approaches. He is very well networked, especially in Berlin, and always knows who you should ideally ask for which job. Moreover, Res is not only creative, but also a good entrepreneur.

You are very different people with very different backgrounds. What connects you with each other?
Pascal Deville: In addition to the personal good connection to each other, above all, how we approach projects professionally. We are all very hands-on, without blinkers and without a code, i.e. without stringent guidelines on how a creative process must work. We are all open and like to try things out.
Samuel Textor: We especially like to try ourselves in areas where we don't have that huge experience. We are all diverse: Res can do a concept but also consult and organize a film production, Patrick is creative with technology and can build websites and complete CMS, Pascal brings creative and digital together and I can contribute knowledge from music and film. It is important for all of us to work closely with our clients. We function very similarly and therefore the collaboration works very well.

What do you do when you disagree on a concept?
Pascal Deville: Then we try not to find a compromise. The friction between the four of us and then working out a joint result is exactly what makes our work. It rarely happens that we are of the same opinion from the outset.

How would you describe the atmosphere in the agency?
Res Matthys: In principle, there is a great openness to unconventional solutions and also a great willingness to implement them consistently and to leave well-trodden paths to do so.

In Germany, Grüße is spelled with ß - does the different spelling cause irritation? Or are you deliberately flirting with this undercover Swiss label?
Res Matthys: Some people think it's a spelling mistake (laughs), but we're a Swiss agency by origin and wanted to have a uniform word and image brand.

"Public Eye worked with Freundliche Grüsse on the Dirty Diesel campaign. They are very accurate and efficient in their work, so even though the campaign was in three languages, there were only a few rounds of improvements. The commitment to the project was especially nice: our campaign became their campaign."

Susanne Rudolf, Marketing & Fundraising Public Eye, Bern

Before you, Mr. Textor and Mr. Deville, founded Friendly Greetings in 2014, you built up the creative department of Serranetga together. How did the step into self-employment go?
Pascal Deville: We had wanted to build something of our own for some time. And suddenly they were there, the right time, the right people and some potential customers. I think you take such a step once in a lifetime, when a certain, secure basis and risk appetite balance each other out. Now the time was right and we took advantage of it.
Samuel Textor: Then there was a problem with the notary's office, which found our name Friendly Greetings misleading (laughs). The suggestion was "Yours sincerely," but we declined. And finally the name went through and we could get started.

How did you come up with the name?
Pascal Deville: That was the result of a brainstorming session Samuel and I had at the Italian restaurant, we wrote our ideas on a napkin. We had the name in mind for a while, it was based on a former employee who always wrote very friendly emails (grins). We then looked to see if there was a better name and found: no.

What happened next?
Samuel Textor: We rented a garage in Zurich's Luisenstrasse 27 and handled the first orders with friends and freelancers. Soon after, we hired our own employees until we moved to Bäckerstrasse 26 in June 2016 with 15 people. Mainly because we didn't have a dishwasher at the other location (laughs).

Freundliche Grüsse was founded just three years ago, you already have a branch office in Berlin, and you've already received quite a few awards. Would you have thought that you would be successful so quickly with your own agency?
Samuel Textor: No, we had wished for success, of course. But we didn't have a guarantee that it would go well. And we also didn't have the customers under contract when we launched. I'm still surprised at how well and smoothly everything worked.

"Textor and Deville think networked and far outside the box and also have the talent to cast creative ideas into feasible concepts. Both don't just work for a brand, they live the brand."

David Resch, Vice President of Marketing AudioNova, Sonova AG, Stäfa

Now it will be a matter of consolidating the success. What measures do you have planned to ensure that things continue as well as they started?
Patrick Biner: Of course, we have a new-biz pipeline. We want to make it even clearer to the outside world what services we offer. Of course, our presence in trade media, our placement in the creative rankings of Werbewoche and similar measures that get us on the shortlist of potential clients and invited to pitches are also important.

There are currently fifteen of you - are you planning to grow in terms of staff?
Patrick Biner: That is not the primary goal. We are more interested in thematic growth, which is more important to us. We want to further expand our social media area and cover web and digitization topics even better. For example, measurability and analytics are key needs for our customers; they want to know when they can expect which ROI if they invest a certain amount. We can get even better at this and provide even better support for our customers. If we were to receive a large new mandate, an expansion of the agency might also be on the table. But that is not the focus at the moment. We don't measure our success by the number of employees.

Why the branch in Berlin? Can you offer Swiss ideas more cheaply this way?
Res Matthys: That is not the reason for the branch in Berlin. Of course we could act like that. But one reason for the Berlin location is that we have access to a lot of creative potential there, to talent that you don't necessarily find in the agency environment. Incidentally, the people there are not that much cheaper than here, especially not at the top level. And really good creatives are in short supply in Germany, too.

Mr. Textor and Mr. Deville, you were previously at Y & R, among others. Do you do everything differently now than you did there, or do many processes run the same or similarly?
Pascal Deville: A lot of things work differently. Back then, we weren't yet in a position to present our idea 1:1 in the pitch. And at the crucial point, someone often said "no" or "we'll do it differently". Now we can implement ideas from start to finish, but we also bear full responsibility for them. That's a challenge, of course. And we can only do that if we develop employees alongside us who push the ideas further and see them through.
Samuel Textor: We are still very much involved in the concept phase, both of us. It's very rare for us that only one of the two of us sees a project through; we always try to look at everything together. That's important to us. I'm convinced that we have to maintain this in the future as well. Because that's what ultimately makes the quality of our work. But it's a challenge for us to want to stay so deep in the business.

What is your common signature, what makes Friendly Greetings stand out from the crowd of agencies?
Samuel Textor: When we believe in an idea, we go quite far to be able to implement it. That's what sets us apart, I think. We often have to get problems out of the way and not lose faith in the fact that we can do it. We combine a conventional, creative way of thinking with a great understanding of digital - and that is an important feature of Freundliche Grüsse.
Pascal Deville: In addition, we don't just do campaigns that we think will meet with a broad response and that implementation will be accepted in the industry, but we also get involved in projects that are close to our hearts. This was the case, for example, with the "Stop DSI" campaign, in which we supported the SP in mobilizing voters against the enforcement initiative. Or also with the "Return to sender" campaign for Public Eye. When we have the opportunity to help with our work, to get involved, to do something for society, we do it.

They are also committed to helping refugees. In collaboration with the Swiss Workers' Relief Agency in Zurich, Friendly Greetings has launched the "Integrated" pilot project. What's behind it?
Pascal Deville: Instead of making a campaign on the subject of "refugees as a workforce," we decided to set a good example ourselves. We want to open up new fields of work for refugees. Refugees in Switzerland are often well qualified and capable of much more than physical labor. That's why we want to offer them internships in the creative sector. We have already trained the first refugees, and more will follow.
Samuel Textor: This personal commitment is very important to Pascal and me. We also appear at podiums and talk about the project. Of course, this casts a good light on Friendly Greetings. But that is not the reason why we are doing this. It's not a quick case for us, but a long-term social project with which we want to make a difference.

Your Internet presence is pretty spartan. Is that "reduce to the max", or do you not have time to tell more about yourself?
Pascal Deville: We had to decide whether we wanted to spread everything we can and do online, or try to stand out from the rest by reducing it to the essentials. We decided on the latter, even if that takes a bit more courage and risk-taking than presenting everything.
Samuel Textor: We already had a finished website with videos, employee portraits and everything. We turned it down. Because when people write about us, we much prefer that to having to write about ourselves.

Please complete: Advertising is ...
Pascal Deville: Advertising is an opportunity to make a difference and change society - if you do it well.
Samuel Textor: For me, advertising is a way to be able to implement fresh ideas quickly.
Patrick Biner: Advertising is a constantly changing form of communication, which is constantly reinventing itself and adapting to social realities.
Res Matthys: Advertising is always the same at its core. It's about understanding people, culture and good insights. That won't change much, despite technology and digitization.

Advertising is not ...
Pascal Deville: Advertising is not just what you see on the street or on TV.
Samuel Textor: Advertising is not just a collection of tools and methods to bring to bear, but a playground to try new things.
Patrick Biner: Advertising is not the little annoying brother.
Res Matthys: Advertising is not often so good that it makes good advertising for itself.

What is Web Brutalism, Mr. Deville?
Pascal Deville: This is a hobby of mine, which is now slowly becoming professional, because I get a lot of requests on this topic. Web Brutalism is a trend I've noticed on the Internet: Website creators are cutting themselves off from the thousands of options you have on the Internet and limiting themselves to the simplest of means. What's interesting here is that the visual is very much in the foreground. I've collected websites that exemplify this trend and brought them together on their own website (Brutalistwebsites.com). I also invented the term Web Brutalism for this trend. I then posted some stuff on the topic and it spread virally pretty quickly. The Washington Post has also picked up on the trend in the meantime.

Which advertising medium would still have to be invented?
Pascal Deville: I don't think there's a good one online yet. In the meantime, we've been on the same level for 15 years, and it's about time for a brilliant idea.
Patrick Biner: Technological progress ensures that there will always be room for new forms of advertising in the future. Today, technologies such as cloud computing, marketing automation software, or concepts such as self-learning algorithms are among those that want to be used intelligently in advertising. We do not want to focus on or commit to a single technology, but rather make the paradigm of constant change our maxim.

Interview and photos: Anne-Friederike Heinrich, Editor-in-Chief of Werbewoche and member of the "Year of Advertising" jury