"We have done everything possible to keep the Lausanne site".
Cornelia Harder, Managing Director of Publicis in Lausanne, on the agency's closure
Cornelia Harder, Managing Director of Publicis, Lausanne, on the closure of the agencyAfter almost 50 years of existence, the eventful agency history of Publicis, Lausanne, will come to an end at the beginning of next year. Publicis Director Cornelia Harder has been trying to keep the location in French-speaking Switzerland until the very end. A good six years ago, you took over the management of Publicis, Lausanne, then still BEP Publicis FCB. What is your assessment today?
Cornelia Harder: I took on this new role with a lot of expectations and relatively little experience. I soon realized that the situation here in the French-speaking Swiss market was not easy. I soon had to put the brakes on costs because Publicis Lausanne was in danger of going into the red. This difficult initial phase was then followed by an upturn, not least thanks to a major customer. With Swisslotto, we were able to manage another national budget. This was followed by the acquisition of Alphonse Garcia's agency and the move to larger premises. I am also convinced that we did everything we could to keep this location. Unfortunately, however, the signs for the future do not point to growth.
Before you took up your post, the management in Paris assured you that the Lausanne site was important to them. Why has that changed now?
Harder: The decisive factors are certainly the concentration of major brands in German-speaking Switzerland at a national level and increasing globalization. It's no secret that most Swiss companies make around 80 percent of their advertising investments in German-speaking Switzerland.
Was the loss of the Nestlé budget the decisive factor?
Harder: (hesitates) Not only.
Your job was also to get the agency up to scratch. What went wrong?
Harder: Nothing has gone wrong. The situation in the market has changed, the Publicis Group is thus completing a consistent restructuring in Switzerland and laying the foundations for a strong offering in integrated communication. There have been changes within the Group itself. The agency in Zurich has been operating successfully for years, then the dialog marketing agency Fisch Meier Direkt was added. Optimedia in its new composition allowed the group to grow once again. The group also acquired Saatchi & Saatchi. The network now has another agency in French-speaking Switzerland, something that was not planned six years ago.
The fact that agencies such as Saatchi & Saatchi, McCann-Erickson and Euro RSCG have offices in French-speaking Switzerland also shows that the market in French-speaking Switzerland has not dried up, doesn't it?
Harder: The structure and organizational form of an agency play a major role. Publicis, Lausanne, was an independent public limited company with all the associated costs. For an agency like Publicis, with the corresponding demands of the network, survival is only possible with a healthy mix of network and local clients. However, these large companies are focused on Zurich.
But Publicis, Lausanne, counted among its clients such important companies as Swisslotto, Nestlé, Expo.02 and the insurance company La Suisse.
Harder: That actually shows that we did a good job. But the fact is that we lost the Nestlé chocolate budget and the Expo.02 budget expires next year. It's also true that, as a network agency, we tended to have larger clients and the cluster risk was correspondingly high.
Is Publicis profiting from the current rather morose economic situation to justify the closure?
Harder: Rather, we took a tough decision, but at a time when we were still able to bear the consequences, i.e. the costs associated with this closure.
How many employees are affected by the closure?
Harder: 15, of which solutions have already been found for 10 people. We are negotiating with every single employee and are also in talks with Saatchi & Saatchi here in French-speaking Switzerland to place them.
And what does the appointment as Managing Director of Publicis, Zurich, mean for you?
Harder: Of course I'm delighted about this nomination and the challenge. But at the moment I am still fully committed to my employees. Interview: Anita Vaucher
Cornelia Harder: I took on this new role with a lot of expectations and relatively little experience. I soon realized that the situation here in the French-speaking Swiss market was not easy. I soon had to put the brakes on costs because Publicis Lausanne was in danger of going into the red. This difficult initial phase was then followed by an upturn, not least thanks to a major customer. With Swisslotto, we were able to manage another national budget. This was followed by the acquisition of Alphonse Garcia's agency and the move to larger premises. I am also convinced that we did everything we could to keep this location. Unfortunately, however, the signs for the future do not point to growth.
Before you took up your post, the management in Paris assured you that the Lausanne site was important to them. Why has that changed now?
Harder: The decisive factors are certainly the concentration of major brands in German-speaking Switzerland at a national level and increasing globalization. It's no secret that most Swiss companies make around 80 percent of their advertising investments in German-speaking Switzerland.
Was the loss of the Nestlé budget the decisive factor?
Harder: (hesitates) Not only.
Your job was also to get the agency up to scratch. What went wrong?
Harder: Nothing has gone wrong. The situation in the market has changed, the Publicis Group is thus completing a consistent restructuring in Switzerland and laying the foundations for a strong offering in integrated communication. There have been changes within the Group itself. The agency in Zurich has been operating successfully for years, then the dialog marketing agency Fisch Meier Direkt was added. Optimedia in its new composition allowed the group to grow once again. The group also acquired Saatchi & Saatchi. The network now has another agency in French-speaking Switzerland, something that was not planned six years ago.
The fact that agencies such as Saatchi & Saatchi, McCann-Erickson and Euro RSCG have offices in French-speaking Switzerland also shows that the market in French-speaking Switzerland has not dried up, doesn't it?
Harder: The structure and organizational form of an agency play a major role. Publicis, Lausanne, was an independent public limited company with all the associated costs. For an agency like Publicis, with the corresponding demands of the network, survival is only possible with a healthy mix of network and local clients. However, these large companies are focused on Zurich.
But Publicis, Lausanne, counted among its clients such important companies as Swisslotto, Nestlé, Expo.02 and the insurance company La Suisse.
Harder: That actually shows that we did a good job. But the fact is that we lost the Nestlé chocolate budget and the Expo.02 budget expires next year. It's also true that, as a network agency, we tended to have larger clients and the cluster risk was correspondingly high.
Is Publicis profiting from the current rather morose economic situation to justify the closure?
Harder: Rather, we took a tough decision, but at a time when we were still able to bear the consequences, i.e. the costs associated with this closure.
How many employees are affected by the closure?
Harder: 15, of which solutions have already been found for 10 people. We are negotiating with every single employee and are also in talks with Saatchi & Saatchi here in French-speaking Switzerland to place them.
And what does the appointment as Managing Director of Publicis, Zurich, mean for you?
Harder: Of course I'm delighted about this nomination and the challenge. But at the moment I am still fully committed to my employees. Interview: Anita Vaucher
