Marketing Talks: "Meet the Speakers" with Petra Dreyfus

The next MK and Werbewoche Marketing Talk will take place on June 25 at KOSMOS Zurich (all details you can find here). We introduce you to the four top-class speakers in individual portraits - this week it's the turn of Petra Dreyfus, Co-CEO of Wirz and current Advertiser of the Year.

We asked Dreyfus a few questions about the evening's theme - "Man? Brand! Brand? Human! With authentic (self-)marketing to success". We provide you with the answers in line with the event: honest and unfiltered.

MK: Petra Dreyfus, we will now ask you four "either-or" questions. Please answer them as briefly and concisely as possible. Are you...

...consensus fan or agent provocateur?

Petra Dreyfus: Communication has to be pointed, we have to take a clear position. People have to know what a brand stands for. And this message has to stand out in order to be seen at all. Provocation as an end in itself, however, does no one any good.

...creative or analytical?

Analytical.

...country lover or city romantic?

Fortunately, when you live in Switzerland, you don't have to make a decision in this regard. That's one reason why I like it so much here.

...career planner or content with (professional) coincidences?

My professional stations often came about by chance. However, it became clear to me quite quickly that I like to work with the best and be proud of our work.

Matching the content of the marketing conversation: What do you associate with the term "authenticity"?

If you see it situated in a communicative context, then it's important to extract from a brand what makes it stand out. Instead of inventing something and sticking it to the brand.

What role does authenticity play in your daily work? 

A big one in two respects - we don't invent insights, but look for them and thus communicate from the core of the brand and not past it. And secondly, authenticity is also important in our collaboration. Our customers should know where they stand with us.

How much honesty can a (personal) brand take - and where should you rather rely on standardized formulas?

I think honesty is important. Be it with a brand or with a person. I think it's legitimate to exaggerate a person's merits or, to put it another way, to exaggerate advertising. In the animal world, this is called courtship behavior. With us humans this is probably a lot of things, from advantageous clothing, the make-up or the dyeing of graying hair. What of it is honest and what is no longer? Philosophers would almost have to deal with this, don't you think?

If you are now interested in our event, you can find here the Xing login tool. In the coming weeks, we will also present the other speakers - the clothing maker Gerold Brenner and the self-branding expert Petra Wüst - in short portraits. So it's worth staying tuned.