"It would have been difficult to feed my family with swing and bebop"

1. what inspired you to enter the advertising/communications industry?

At the end-of-year drama at secondary school, I was given the break-time advertising block instead of an acting role. The audience thought the commercial sketches were funny and I discovered my calling.

2. if you had not become an advertiser - what then?

Jazz trumpeter. But it would have been difficult to feed my family with swing and bebop.

3. does the advertising industry receive enough appreciation for its work?

Advertising is not "Düdeldidüü". The time-consuming search for ideas to make a complex task look super simple is very often underestimated.

4. what do you see as the biggest challenge for advertising at the moment?

To use the new channels and technical possibilities as skillfully as possible without forgetting the convincing core idea.

5 Does the classic agency model have a long-term future?

I think that agencies will be smaller, more agile and more specialized in the future. A team of different knowledge people will be put together for each assignment, temporarily and internationally.

6. is the opinion true that you can't grow old in agencies, or is that a prejudice?

We have already seen a number of employees retire in the more than 60 years of our agency's existence.

7. which advertising medium do you find disgusting?

The STOP advertising stickers on the letterboxes.

8. name a campaign that has recently caught your attention in a positive way - but was not created by you.

The Hiltl campaign "Ultimately, there's a vegetarian in everyone" convinced me. The idea is simple, surprising and quick. The implementation is independent and striking. Congratulations!

9. Do you fall for advertising? When?

Falling in is the wrong word. Nobody wants to fall into an (advertising) trap. I'd rather be seduced by advertising. Three weeks ago, I bought a new car. The image brochure with its emotional imagery had a major influence on my decision to buy.

10. which five records (albums) would you take with you to a desert island?

"Kind of blue" (Miles Davis)
"Berlin Chronicles" ("Fur Coat")
"Stronger than time" (Udo Lindeberg)
"On a Sunday in April" ("Element of Crime")
and Spotify

11. what is your private TV consumption behavior like?

iPad bed Netflix.

12. which movie title best describes your career to date?

"Never say never"

13. what was the best thing you did in the last five years?

The reduction of the agency to a small, agile core team and close collaboration with a dozen select Friends.

Reto Steiner is co-owner and Managing Director of Hofer Kommunikation. Hofer was the first advertising agency in Bern in 1950. In addition to traditional advertising, the agency specializes in virtual reality, augmented reality and 3D renderings. Hoferkom.ch