Strategic creations

Branders is a specialized consulting company for branding. "We are dedicated to the creation and maintenance of brands. We create brands that create trust, arouse emotions and generate value. Brands that make identities tangible and convey a sense of life," is the agency's credo. Since its foundation in 2005, the company at Zurich Bellevue has grown to over 20 employees in record time. All of them are highly trained specialists from a wide range of fields, from marketing and design to business administration and psychology.

New weight for the creation

It is the strategic direction of Branders "to see the creation of brands as a strategic as well as a creative task", explains René Allemann. The CEO of Branders and his longstanding Strategy Director Pascal Geissbühler have therefore long been tossing around the idea that his consultancy, which specializes in branding, should also work with a Creative Director with a strategic background. "We see the integration of brand strategy and brand experience as a key success factor for Branders," says Allemann. This self-image is now to be communicated to the outside world with the official new appointment. Allemann and Geissbühler have held many talks with interesting candidates in advance - both with backgrounds in communication and advertising as well as in classic brand design. "However, we found the idea of better linking brand strategy and brand experience as disciplines captivating. And I am convinced that Pascal Geissbühler has the ideal combination for this: his many years of experience in strategic and conceptual brand development combined with his background in journalism and advertising. Plus his training in design and art theory at the Zurich University of the Arts," Allemann explains. "The title of Creative Director won't change much about my work," says Pascal Geissbühler, analyzing his new role. However, he finds the idea of developing brands directly with the consulting teams and the design team particularly appealing. The combination of conceptual content development and bringing brands to life. "I will continue to promote the further development of strategic topics, especially around our focus on brands and employees."

Overlap between branding and advertising

Branding and advertising have many overlaps and dependencies. However, the core business and the customers are different. Branding always involves a lot of consulting work. "It's often about change processes in companies," summarizes Geissbühler. Employees are therefore a decisive factor in branding processes. In this process, the CD must lead the brand creation, which begins in the strategy phase, as a consultant. "In a branding agency, he is a kind of identity developer. In advertising, he is rather the top boss of the advertising idea, as this is the core product and center of activities for advertising agencies," says Geissbühler, noting the difference between his tasks and those of a CD in a traditional advertising agency.

Training between art and marketing

Pascal Geissbühler joined Branders in summer 2008 and, together with René Allemann, is also responsible for the strategic direction and operational management of the agency. The Strategy Director and current CD "in dual function" has already developed various methodological tools for the consulting process and brand strategy. Geissbühler's tasks also include representation in new client business. As a moderator, he regularly leads workshops with clients at Branders. These include AXA Winterthur (for employer branding), Novartis, NZZ Media Group (brand strategy), Swiss Post and PostFinance (employer branding), Basellandschaftliche Kantonalbank (rebranding) and Thurgauer Kantonalbank (rebranding). Before joining Branders, Geissbühler gained several years of experience as a concept developer and senior brand consultant at Interbrand Zintzmeyer & Lux. It was at this agency that Geissbühler also met René Allemann. Pascal Geissbühler entered the world of brands via advertising. As a freelancer at Wirz, he was already developing ideas and concepts during his studies. He was in charge of press and exhibition coordination for his father's Studio Geissbühler, and during his time at the Zurich Academy of Art and Design he got a taste of the stage as a freelancer in the dramaturgy department at the Zurich Opera House and produced articles and interviews for various media. Pascal Geissbühler completed his degree in design and art theory at what is now the Zurich University of the Arts.

Andreas Panzeri