Head of the week: The returnee
As the new Client Service Director and member of the Executive Board at Euro RSCG Zurich, Walter Tagliaferri is convinced of the "Power of One".
As the new Client Service Director and member of the Executive Board at Euro RSCG Zurich, Walter Tagliaferri is convinced of the "Power of One".
He has only been working in-house for a few weeks and already has three competitive presentations under his belt. "Things are running at full steam at the moment," says the new Client Service Director at Euro RSCG Zurich happily. "Exactly the right agency" Walter Tagliaferri has found, according to the report, to move from the client side as communications director at Manor back into advertising. A happy ending after a lengthy maturing process. But let's take it one step at a time. "What convinced me about Euro RSCG were the discussions with Frank Bodin, then the views of the people I had the opportunity to get to know in the course of the lengthy evaluation, the competent, broad-based management team, and finally the unique agency model," says Tagliaferri, explaining why he has now landed in the right chair after more than 20 years in the communications industry.
At Euro RSCG, he likes "what this agency embodies and how this is carried both internally and externally. We are talking about an agency model with a new system of cooperation. Following the concept of "The Power of One" (Po1), there are integrated units for Dialog & Digital, Media and Production in house, which collaborate across all work processes right from the start. "A guiding idea is declined to all communication disciplines," the new man at Euro RSCG enthuses about this concept. In implementation, there is a so-called product group for each customer. This consists of an account manager, a creative team, a planner and a specialist who brings the ideas "through the line.
As Client Service Director, Tagliaferri has overall responsibility for consulting - which means customer contacts, organizational, personnel and budget responsibility. In addition, he manages a consulting group with the two key accounts Swiss and SBB. His third task is to share responsibility for new business. Here, the new man in the management has been able to convince thanks to his many years of experience in the industry as well as many contacts. In the past, he was involved in the admission committee of the BSW and was also involved in the jury of the Crossmedia Award again these days.
Euro RSCG Dialog & Digital handles all below-the-line activities for Swiss. Currently, a few classic tasks are pending until the pitch for the classic mandate is decided.
Tagliaferri is also particularly looking forward to his future involvement with Hyatt International Hotels. Together with Euro RSCG New York, Euro RSCG Zurich is responsible for this client worldwide.
Doing this kind of advertising was his dream from an early age. Tagliaferri started at the cantonal commercial school in Zurich. But after 13 years of school, the first thing that came to his mind was practical experience. At a trading company that imported shoes, he was allowed to complete a training program through all departments. The goal was to become a sales representative. But when the change came after two years, the barely twenty-year-old still felt "too young" for such a career. He wanted to get to know other industries and took on temporary jobs. As "casual, uncomplicated and certainly more relaxed than a bank," he also discovered the world of advertising.
His entry into the communications industry opened up at the Israelitisches Wochenblatt. After the publishing house, a real advertising agency followed with J. Walter Thompson. Tagliaferri was trained in media by Ronny Schmid. When his mentor left the agency on Zurich's Weinplatz after two years, Tagliaferri also wanted to broaden his horizons. He switched to Wirz and thus to consulting.
Over the next five years, he looked after clients such as Eurocard (Switzerland) SA, Toyota and the Association of Swiss Cantonal Banks. He continued his training as an advertising assistant and, one year after graduation, added the marketing planner qualification. This was followed by an intensive seminar in communications management at the University of St.Gallen. In the last two years, Walter Tagliaferri has also completed a postgraduate course in Executive MBA Marketing, which he successfully completed in 2007 with his thesis "Integrated Communication for the UBS KeyClub".
Prior to this time, Tagliaferri worked for Lesch+Frei for a total of eleven years, interrupted by one year at Weber, Hodel, Schmid. This "exciting detour" was a "career decision" because WHS was looking for a consulting group leader. When the opportunities for advancement suddenly became more open at Lesch+Frei as well, Tagliaferri let Peter Lesch bring him back and spent the second half of his time at this agency as Managing Director Consulting. Bucherer, Panalpina or Eichhof were a few of his clients. During this phase, Tagliaferri also started his postgraduate studies. "At the age of 40, the feeling comes that you should try something new again." He wanted to update his knowledge, meet new people and test his ability to "do a classroom once again." Today, Tagliaferri is proud of his discipline, because it was indeed not always easy to find time for the exams in addition to his job and family.
The "change of scenery" he envisaged with his studies first led him to the creative boutique of Ruf Lanz, before "a particularly attractive opportunity" beckoned as Head of Marketing Communications at Manor.
Walter Tagliaferri, who as an Italian "has always had a great affinity for fashion," had the privilege of overseeing the recent brand relaunch, with which the department store intends to position itself increasingly in the fashion sector. The branding for the new Manor was created by a branding agency in London. Tagliaferri's task was to implement these new ideas and to find a fashion-savvy lead agency to do so. In an international pitch, Wirz finally won the budget in 2007. "It was an exciting starting position, because until then, high-end fashion advertising had been designed mainly abroad."
Tagliaferri, however, wanted to let the continuation of this story out of his hands. "I underestimated the daily three-hour commute from Zurich to Manor to Basel and back again." After an already grueling time with the MBA, he didn't want to make his family life suffer even more. His wife is also passionate about still working 40 percent in the marketing department for a social institution. And watching his two children grow up means a lot to the secondo.
Since the mother is also a seconda, Italian is spoken with the little ones at home for the time being. Unlike Mamma, Papà has not applied for a Swiss passport. "But that came about more by chance than anything else, and the marriage has taken care of that in the meantime anyway," says Tagliaferri in his broad Zurich dialect. And he adds with a smile that it is more of an advertiser's lifestyle gag than convinced patriotism when, after this interview, he will now drive in style on a Vespa to the Zucchero concert in Oerlikon.
Andreas Panzeri
He has only been working in-house for a few weeks and already has three competitive presentations under his belt. "Things are running at full steam at the moment," says the new Client Service Director at Euro RSCG Zurich happily. "Exactly the right agency" Walter Tagliaferri has found, according to the report, to move from the client side as communications director at Manor back into advertising. A happy ending after a lengthy maturing process. But let's take it one step at a time. "What convinced me about Euro RSCG were the discussions with Frank Bodin, then the views of the people I had the opportunity to get to know in the course of the lengthy evaluation, the competent, broad-based management team, and finally the unique agency model," says Tagliaferri, explaining why he has now landed in the right chair after more than 20 years in the communications industry.
At Euro RSCG, he likes "what this agency embodies and how this is carried both internally and externally. We are talking about an agency model with a new system of cooperation. Following the concept of "The Power of One" (Po1), there are integrated units for Dialog & Digital, Media and Production in house, which collaborate across all work processes right from the start. "A guiding idea is declined to all communication disciplines," the new man at Euro RSCG enthuses about this concept. In implementation, there is a so-called product group for each customer. This consists of an account manager, a creative team, a planner and a specialist who brings the ideas "through the line.
As Client Service Director, Tagliaferri has overall responsibility for consulting - which means customer contacts, organizational, personnel and budget responsibility. In addition, he manages a consulting group with the two key accounts Swiss and SBB. His third task is to share responsibility for new business. Here, the new man in the management has been able to convince thanks to his many years of experience in the industry as well as many contacts. In the past, he was involved in the admission committee of the BSW and was also involved in the jury of the Crossmedia Award again these days.
Euro RSCG Dialog & Digital handles all below-the-line activities for Swiss. Currently, a few classic tasks are pending until the pitch for the classic mandate is decided.
Tagliaferri is also particularly looking forward to his future involvement with Hyatt International Hotels. Together with Euro RSCG New York, Euro RSCG Zurich is responsible for this client worldwide.
Doing this kind of advertising was his dream from an early age. Tagliaferri started at the cantonal commercial school in Zurich. But after 13 years of school, the first thing that came to his mind was practical experience. At a trading company that imported shoes, he was allowed to complete a training program through all departments. The goal was to become a sales representative. But when the change came after two years, the barely twenty-year-old still felt "too young" for such a career. He wanted to get to know other industries and took on temporary jobs. As "casual, uncomplicated and certainly more relaxed than a bank," he also discovered the world of advertising.
His entry into the communications industry opened up at the Israelitisches Wochenblatt. After the publishing house, a real advertising agency followed with J. Walter Thompson. Tagliaferri was trained in media by Ronny Schmid. When his mentor left the agency on Zurich's Weinplatz after two years, Tagliaferri also wanted to broaden his horizons. He switched to Wirz and thus to consulting.
Over the next five years, he looked after clients such as Eurocard (Switzerland) SA, Toyota and the Association of Swiss Cantonal Banks. He continued his training as an advertising assistant and, one year after graduation, added the marketing planner qualification. This was followed by an intensive seminar in communications management at the University of St.Gallen. In the last two years, Walter Tagliaferri has also completed a postgraduate course in Executive MBA Marketing, which he successfully completed in 2007 with his thesis "Integrated Communication for the UBS KeyClub".
Prior to this time, Tagliaferri worked for Lesch+Frei for a total of eleven years, interrupted by one year at Weber, Hodel, Schmid. This "exciting detour" was a "career decision" because WHS was looking for a consulting group leader. When the opportunities for advancement suddenly became more open at Lesch+Frei as well, Tagliaferri let Peter Lesch bring him back and spent the second half of his time at this agency as Managing Director Consulting. Bucherer, Panalpina or Eichhof were a few of his clients. During this phase, Tagliaferri also started his postgraduate studies. "At the age of 40, the feeling comes that you should try something new again." He wanted to update his knowledge, meet new people and test his ability to "do a classroom once again." Today, Tagliaferri is proud of his discipline, because it was indeed not always easy to find time for the exams in addition to his job and family.
The "change of scenery" he envisaged with his studies first led him to the creative boutique of Ruf Lanz, before "a particularly attractive opportunity" beckoned as Head of Marketing Communications at Manor.
Walter Tagliaferri, who as an Italian "has always had a great affinity for fashion," had the privilege of overseeing the recent brand relaunch, with which the department store intends to position itself increasingly in the fashion sector. The branding for the new Manor was created by a branding agency in London. Tagliaferri's task was to implement these new ideas and to find a fashion-savvy lead agency to do so. In an international pitch, Wirz finally won the budget in 2007. "It was an exciting starting position, because until then, high-end fashion advertising had been designed mainly abroad."
Tagliaferri, however, wanted to let the continuation of this story out of his hands. "I underestimated the daily three-hour commute from Zurich to Manor to Basel and back again." After an already grueling time with the MBA, he didn't want to make his family life suffer even more. His wife is also passionate about still working 40 percent in the marketing department for a social institution. And watching his two children grow up means a lot to the secondo.
Since the mother is also a seconda, Italian is spoken with the little ones at home for the time being. Unlike Mamma, Papà has not applied for a Swiss passport. "But that came about more by chance than anything else, and the marriage has taken care of that in the meantime anyway," says Tagliaferri in his broad Zurich dialect. And he adds with a smile that it is more of an advertiser's lifestyle gag than convinced patriotism when, after this interview, he will now drive in style on a Vespa to the Zucchero concert in Oerlikon.
Andreas Panzeri
