Gone with the wind
Katrin Seegers wants to turn the new Scholz & Friends Zurich office into a premier location within the international network.
Katrin Seegers wants to make the new Scholz & Friends Zurich a top address in the international network.
"There's a horizon out there that wants to be discovered." Katrin Seegers entered the media industry with this seductive idea. The newly appointed Managing Director of Scholz & Friends Zurich has been working in advertising for 17 years. She started out by training as an advertising saleswoman. That was in a medium-sized agency in her home town of Hanover. After an internship in an agency at the age of 16, she already knew that she wanted to work in this sector. This enthusiasm was later joined by the realization: More knowledge is needed. So Katrin Seegers also studied the necessary theory with languages and culture, initially in Siena, Italy. "Leaving and being a stranger" is a consistent theme in her biography. Even as a child, Katrin completed part of her schooling in the USA because her father worked there as a German specialist in the automotive industry. After Siena, she moved back to the USA once again. In New York, the student spent six months working for the German-American Chamber of Commerce on a project about the image of German companies in the USA. "So I dealt with the issue of German image very early on. I unconsciously reflected on it as a child and later examined it professionally," says Seegers with a smile, referring to her new Swiss customer Blick. But first things first.
Back from the States, Seegers studied media science and communication research in Hanover. At the same time, she set up a small agency. "Three friends started their own business and needed another woman," she jokes about that time. In order to convey the necessary agency size to clients, friends and fellow students were sometimes put in the empty seats for an afternoon as extras. After just three years, the young company had 25 real employees.
Despite her status as a "woman of the first hour", Seegers wanted to continue discovering the world. She had "set her mind on" working for Scholz & Friends in Berlin. And explicitly for the budget of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. She had already researched daily newspapers during her media studies and wrote a thesis on "Correspondents of international daily newspapers in Brussels". This background knowledge, coupled with a strong will, convinced her: she has been with Scholz & Friends Berlin for seven years and is not only responsible for the FAZ.
As "Family Director" for four years, "together with two wonderful creatives", she has also been able to lead the watch brand A. Lange und Söhne to the number 1 position in the German luxury ranking with a clever strategy "and a playful approach to ideas".
The current top advertiser has not undergone any further training in strategy. "You need very good analytical skills," Seegers believes. She learned this in communication science. This requires you to question and uncover causalities. "But you can also study biology, because the mechanisms of thought are the same." Seegers also has "a high capacity for empathy, affection for people and a love of invention".
The new Managing Director of Scholz & Friends Zurich derives professional satisfaction from challenging and encouraging each other to grow. Some of her team have been with her for six years and came to Zurich with Seegers. "It's fun to see how someone grows with the job - and can also grow beyond themselves if you know how to strengthen the right qualities." In her day-to-day work, she tries to provide a good springboard for ideas to take off. "We are not just an advertising agency, we also see ourselves as strategic consultants."
The first Blick campaign showed what this can mean. The advertisers from Germany suggested to the editorial team on Zurich's Dufourstrasse that they launch a journalistic campaign on the topic of "How many Germans can Switzerland take?". "The reactions show that there was a strong need to bring the topic to the surface. You get the feeling that an outlet has been opened here," analyzes Seegers. Further such topics are now to be proposed. "In order to strengthen Blick as the leading medium in Switzerland, the newspaper needs to cover topics. To do this, we work closely with the editorial team. Advertising alone is not enough."
Scholz & Friends Zurich made a strong start by winning the Blick budget. Otherwise, however, no red carpet has been rolled out for the newly founded agency. The address is already established - just one floor below the BSW association office on Zurich's Konradstrasse. Nevertheless, Seegers still sees a lot of work to be done. But: "Being able to build something from scratch is a great opportunity."
Scholz & Friends Zurich already employs 15 people. In addition to Swiss people, who "find a platform for their ideas here", the team also includes Germans, Austrians and Italians. "We want to become one of the most interesting offices in the global Scholz & Friends network," says Seegers, formulating the goal. In Germany, the network has just become number 1.
They don't want to be modest in Switzerland either. "We didn't come here to be a wallflower." In addition to Blick, the new Zurich team is currently also working for Honda, Siemens Hausgeräte and Masterfoods. Zurich designed a campaign for Ebly, which was also adapted in Germany.
Seegers has high hopes for an exchange. "Berliners come to Zurich and our people go to Germany. We are not the remote-controlled arm from Berlin, but have a very high level of trust at Group level and have a completely free hand here in how we organize the whole thing."
Personally, Seegers has also found the right mix of Berlin air and Zurich sea breeze. As she still has a suitcase with a partner in Berlin, she commutes almost every weekend. Many people ask her if it's not too stressful. But more than stress, the internationally raised advertiser sees this way of life as an opportunity to live in two cities at the same time.
Andreas Panzeri
"There's a horizon out there that wants to be discovered." Katrin Seegers entered the media industry with this seductive idea. The newly appointed Managing Director of Scholz & Friends Zurich has been working in advertising for 17 years. She started out by training as an advertising saleswoman. That was in a medium-sized agency in her home town of Hanover. After an internship in an agency at the age of 16, she already knew that she wanted to work in this sector. This enthusiasm was later joined by the realization: More knowledge is needed. So Katrin Seegers also studied the necessary theory with languages and culture, initially in Siena, Italy. "Leaving and being a stranger" is a consistent theme in her biography. Even as a child, Katrin completed part of her schooling in the USA because her father worked there as a German specialist in the automotive industry. After Siena, she moved back to the USA once again. In New York, the student spent six months working for the German-American Chamber of Commerce on a project about the image of German companies in the USA. "So I dealt with the issue of German image very early on. I unconsciously reflected on it as a child and later examined it professionally," says Seegers with a smile, referring to her new Swiss customer Blick. But first things first.
Back from the States, Seegers studied media science and communication research in Hanover. At the same time, she set up a small agency. "Three friends started their own business and needed another woman," she jokes about that time. In order to convey the necessary agency size to clients, friends and fellow students were sometimes put in the empty seats for an afternoon as extras. After just three years, the young company had 25 real employees.
Despite her status as a "woman of the first hour", Seegers wanted to continue discovering the world. She had "set her mind on" working for Scholz & Friends in Berlin. And explicitly for the budget of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. She had already researched daily newspapers during her media studies and wrote a thesis on "Correspondents of international daily newspapers in Brussels". This background knowledge, coupled with a strong will, convinced her: she has been with Scholz & Friends Berlin for seven years and is not only responsible for the FAZ.
As "Family Director" for four years, "together with two wonderful creatives", she has also been able to lead the watch brand A. Lange und Söhne to the number 1 position in the German luxury ranking with a clever strategy "and a playful approach to ideas".
The current top advertiser has not undergone any further training in strategy. "You need very good analytical skills," Seegers believes. She learned this in communication science. This requires you to question and uncover causalities. "But you can also study biology, because the mechanisms of thought are the same." Seegers also has "a high capacity for empathy, affection for people and a love of invention".
The new Managing Director of Scholz & Friends Zurich derives professional satisfaction from challenging and encouraging each other to grow. Some of her team have been with her for six years and came to Zurich with Seegers. "It's fun to see how someone grows with the job - and can also grow beyond themselves if you know how to strengthen the right qualities." In her day-to-day work, she tries to provide a good springboard for ideas to take off. "We are not just an advertising agency, we also see ourselves as strategic consultants."
The first Blick campaign showed what this can mean. The advertisers from Germany suggested to the editorial team on Zurich's Dufourstrasse that they launch a journalistic campaign on the topic of "How many Germans can Switzerland take?". "The reactions show that there was a strong need to bring the topic to the surface. You get the feeling that an outlet has been opened here," analyzes Seegers. Further such topics are now to be proposed. "In order to strengthen Blick as the leading medium in Switzerland, the newspaper needs to cover topics. To do this, we work closely with the editorial team. Advertising alone is not enough."
Scholz & Friends Zurich made a strong start by winning the Blick budget. Otherwise, however, no red carpet has been rolled out for the newly founded agency. The address is already established - just one floor below the BSW association office on Zurich's Konradstrasse. Nevertheless, Seegers still sees a lot of work to be done. But: "Being able to build something from scratch is a great opportunity."
Scholz & Friends Zurich already employs 15 people. In addition to Swiss people, who "find a platform for their ideas here", the team also includes Germans, Austrians and Italians. "We want to become one of the most interesting offices in the global Scholz & Friends network," says Seegers, formulating the goal. In Germany, the network has just become number 1.
They don't want to be modest in Switzerland either. "We didn't come here to be a wallflower." In addition to Blick, the new Zurich team is currently also working for Honda, Siemens Hausgeräte and Masterfoods. Zurich designed a campaign for Ebly, which was also adapted in Germany.
Seegers has high hopes for an exchange. "Berliners come to Zurich and our people go to Germany. We are not the remote-controlled arm from Berlin, but have a very high level of trust at Group level and have a completely free hand here in how we organize the whole thing."
Personally, Seegers has also found the right mix of Berlin air and Zurich sea breeze. As she still has a suitcase with a partner in Berlin, she commutes almost every weekend. Many people ask her if it's not too stressful. But more than stress, the internationally raised advertiser sees this way of life as an opportunity to live in two cities at the same time.
Andreas Panzeri
