Y&R: Zurich and Geneva join forces

As of November 4, 2013, Young & Rubicam Group Geneva, a WPP Group company, is joining forces with its sister agency Young & Rubicam Group Switzerland in Zurich. The strategic collaboration strengthens Young & Rubicam Group Geneva's offering, particularly in the areas of digital marketing, direct marketing and CRM, as detailed in a press release. The new arrangement also means that Andreas Widmer, who currently heads the activities of Young & Rubicam Group Switzerland in Zurich (which is made up of the agencies Advico Y&R, Wunderman, Futurecom, Allaccess, Exxtra and Y&R Consulting), will become President of Y&R Switzerland and also take over the management of the Geneva office.

Widmer, said of the collaboration: "Clients are demanding an increasingly holistic approach to all their marketing communication needs. It therefore makes sense for our Zurich and Geneva offices to work more closely together. Young & Rubicam Group Switzerland in Zurich will continue to focus primarily on Swiss business, while Young & Rubicam Group Geneva will serve international clients who communicate with specific target groups. This will give the company two dynamic offices with different objectives. The multilingual, integrated team in Geneva complements its portfolio by working in partnership with Wunderman (CRM/demand generation/sales expertise) and Futurecom Zurich (digital production), while Zurich benefits from the in-house public relations/social media expertise (Cohn & Wolfe) and media investments of the Geneva office."

One of the impetuses for the changes was the decision by Marcus Brown, the current CEO, to take a sabbatical next year. David Sable, Global CEO of Y&R, said, "When I think of what Marcus has left us, what comes to mind first and foremost is his tireless drive to continue to enhance our creative reputation and also his exceptional ability to win new business. His contribution to winning international customers for the Group is widely recognized. This includes the initiation of the global relationship with Microsoft for Wunderman, which we worked on together.

Marc Goehring joins the company as Managing Director on November 4. He reports directly to Andreas Widmer and heads the Y&R Advertising, Y&R Business Consultants and Media Investments divisions. Goehring enriches the integrated, international agency group with his extensive expertise in digital marketing. He ran his own interactive agency in French-speaking Switzerland for eight years and worked with clients such as Swisscom and Nespresso. Goehring takes up his new role with enthusiasm: "I am thrilled to be joining an internationally recognized, award-winning creative agency group and look forward to driving the agencies' business forward. My aim is to turn the Geneva office into THE integrated agency for international clients focusing on specific target groups. With its integrated offering spanning all disciplines of marketing communications, its international heritage in B2B and its multilingual consultants, Young & Rubicam Group Geneva is ideally placed to help shape the future of relationship-driven tailored communications in a leading position."

Former CEO Marcus Brown, who is leaving the agency at the end of 2013, added: "I am very proud of the work we have done as a team over the last seven years and am delighted to be handing over the reins at this time. Our Geneva office has become an internationally recognized, award-winning creative agency that has weathered the economic storms with flying colors. Just in the last few months, Young & Rubicam Group Geneva received its first Euro Effie from the European Association of Agencies (EACA) for its "Dilemmas" campaign for the UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency, as well as the EACA Care Award and two "Grands" at the Grand Prix Romand de la Création in September 2013."