Head of the week: "I won't take off the customer glasses on the agency side either".
Ralph Hermann, Head of Communications at the Tages-Anzeiger, will become Head of Consulting and Managing Director at WHS in Zurich.
Ralph Hermann, Head of Communications Tages-Anzeiger, becomes Head of Consulting and Managing Director at WHS, Zurich.I won't take off my client glasses on the agency side either / RALPH HERMANN, Head of Communications Tages-Anzeiger, becomes Head of Consulting and Managing Director at WHS, Zurich.In June, Ralph Hermann takes over as Managing Director of WHS, Zurich. This will be the first time that he will take on outside (agency)
He wants to get a breath of fresh air. Until then, Tamedia AG had been his second home: As a teenager, he completed a commercial apprenticeship at the Tages-Anzeiger. Hermann then moved to the PR department, where he worked as an assistant on various projects.
He faced his first new challenge at the age of 25. At the time, he took up his position as head of marketing for the video division at Warner Brothers. But after just two years, the then TA-Media AG had him back - Hermann became Head of PR for the Tages-Anzeiger as well as the magazine. From 1998, he was also responsible for the advertising management of both products. Because WHS was already in charge of the Tagi budget, he had regular and intensive dealings with the agency.
In June, the Zurich native will change fronts and take over the management of consulting as well as the management of WHS. He thus replaces Urs Läubli, who is moving to a communications consulting firm as a partner. Reinhold Weber will also transfer his management duties to Hermann and will primarily take care of creation.
What draws the Zurich native from the client side to the agency side? "Reini Weber's offer was very tempting and came just at the right time. In the summer, I will have completed my MBA and will be ready for something new," says Hermann. And he emphasizes: "The fact that conditions in the newspaper market have become tougher was not the reason for my decision. On the contrary. Positioning the Tagi more sharply in this environment is an exciting task that's fun."
Even greater, however, was the appeal of mobilizing the potential of WHS. Hermann wants to actively contribute "to WHS being perceived even more strongly as a creative agency for surprising and apt advertising. The agency can still grow, I'm sure of that." He knows its strengths and weaknesses all too well as a long-standing customer. "I won't take off these customer glasses either," Hermann promises. He sees the greatest need for action in strengthening consulting: "The high turnover of recent times is causing too much loss of know-how.
Whether on the client or agency side, Ralph Hermann is guided by the motto "You can't bore people into buying." Or to put it another way: boring advertising doesn't get anyone into a buying frenzy. Top performance demands 100 percent commitment. So Hermann enjoys the limited time he has in his private life with his wife Ana, their son Lucas and "a few good friends. Quality before quantity is therefore his motto in his private life as well.
Carole Koch
He wants to get a breath of fresh air. Until then, Tamedia AG had been his second home: As a teenager, he completed a commercial apprenticeship at the Tages-Anzeiger. Hermann then moved to the PR department, where he worked as an assistant on various projects.
He faced his first new challenge at the age of 25. At the time, he took up his position as head of marketing for the video division at Warner Brothers. But after just two years, the then TA-Media AG had him back - Hermann became Head of PR for the Tages-Anzeiger as well as the magazine. From 1998, he was also responsible for the advertising management of both products. Because WHS was already in charge of the Tagi budget, he had regular and intensive dealings with the agency.
In June, the Zurich native will change fronts and take over the management of consulting as well as the management of WHS. He thus replaces Urs Läubli, who is moving to a communications consulting firm as a partner. Reinhold Weber will also transfer his management duties to Hermann and will primarily take care of creation.
What draws the Zurich native from the client side to the agency side? "Reini Weber's offer was very tempting and came just at the right time. In the summer, I will have completed my MBA and will be ready for something new," says Hermann. And he emphasizes: "The fact that conditions in the newspaper market have become tougher was not the reason for my decision. On the contrary. Positioning the Tagi more sharply in this environment is an exciting task that's fun."
Even greater, however, was the appeal of mobilizing the potential of WHS. Hermann wants to actively contribute "to WHS being perceived even more strongly as a creative agency for surprising and apt advertising. The agency can still grow, I'm sure of that." He knows its strengths and weaknesses all too well as a long-standing customer. "I won't take off these customer glasses either," Hermann promises. He sees the greatest need for action in strengthening consulting: "The high turnover of recent times is causing too much loss of know-how.
Whether on the client or agency side, Ralph Hermann is guided by the motto "You can't bore people into buying." Or to put it another way: boring advertising doesn't get anyone into a buying frenzy. Top performance demands 100 percent commitment. So Hermann enjoys the limited time he has in his private life with his wife Ana, their son Lucas and "a few good friends. Quality before quantity is therefore his motto in his private life as well.
Carole Koch
