S Rumpelstilzli from Basel
»Advertising should be creative, but it must always be subordinate to marketing goals."
Advertising should be creative, but it must always be subordinate to the marketing objectives." With this sentence, Andres Gruner, co-owner of Gruner & Brenneisen (G&B), revealed the success strategy of his own agency to the BaZ. Andres Gruner and Peter Brenneisen and their team in Basel have been holding their own against the competition on the Limmat for 20 years. Reason enough for Brenneisen to publicize the event in the lion's den. As a full-service agency, the company offers all communication measures. With the founding of G&B Corporate Identity AG in 1997, a competence center for CI projects was also created.
Although the client portfolio of both G&B units includes prestigious names such as Roche, Swatch Group and Zurich Re, the company is hardly known outside the humanist city. Copywriter/concept developer Philipp Gafner attributes this to the fact that G&B does little classic advertising with a broad impact. Despite the clouds in the advertising sky, this "niche strategy" brought G&B 4 million francs in fee income last year and is keeping income stable for the current year. Although Zurich is still "the promised land" for agencies, the founders have remained true to Basel and their own principles since 1982. "Advertising doesn't have to be slick," says Gafner. The team therefore advises its clients "to go their own way instead of copying popular hits". When you're 20, you like to swim against the tide (sk).
Although the client portfolio of both G&B units includes prestigious names such as Roche, Swatch Group and Zurich Re, the company is hardly known outside the humanist city. Copywriter/concept developer Philipp Gafner attributes this to the fact that G&B does little classic advertising with a broad impact. Despite the clouds in the advertising sky, this "niche strategy" brought G&B 4 million francs in fee income last year and is keeping income stable for the current year. Although Zurich is still "the promised land" for agencies, the founders have remained true to Basel and their own principles since 1982. "Advertising doesn't have to be slick," says Gafner. The team therefore advises its clients "to go their own way instead of copying popular hits". When you're 20, you like to swim against the tide (sk).
