Zack! to the point!

Martin Rutishauser sits at the table by the window in the Trollhauser office. There used to be a cabinetmaker's store here, later a flower store, then a graphic design studio. "I like the idea that craftsmanship and beauty were at home here before us." Beautiful craftsmanship, he says, suits Trollhauser. Copywriting, after all, is essentially just that: craft mixed with a few good ideas to create something as beautiful as possible. The copywriting craft is practiced in different facets at the Luzerner Textwerkstatt. From detailed to concentrated, from dry to lively, from advertisements to websites to reports. The clients are as diverse as the types of texts: hotels, winegrowers, architects, hospitals - from individuals to large companies. "We actually write copy for everything. Especially for SMEs, which are somehow close to our hearts.
"At the moment, I have a report on Swiss rabbit meat, a hospital brochure, website texts and an instruction manual for a sonic toothbrush waiting for me ..." He appreciates this variety in his job. What does he like best about copywriting? "Advertisements. I think ads are cool, they are very limited in space, which forces me to write extremely tightly. Concise, but with a good shot of tonality plus an image idea - I just love doing that." But he also likes texts that are less compressed. Even book texts. For example, for "50 Years of the Women's Center Lucerne" or "Engelberg," both of which won the Federal Office of Culture's "Most Beautiful Books in Switzerland" award. Or for "Der Wandel baut mit. Umbau-Geschichten zum Hauptsitz der Zürcher Kantonalbank". Or, just published, the hiking book "Thank you for going the distance". Rutishauser edited the texts of author Jürg Schaffhuser from the Velvet agency: "You can't hike 12,000 kilometers and photograph and write at the same time.

"I sometimes get half giddy when floods of adjectives come rushing at me."

He even approaches the operating instructions for a sonic toothbrush sympathetically: "I just have to get involved, writing a good manual is also a challenge, we all know bad ones." So, anything but boring, thanks to the attitude.
Martin Rutishauser is less fond of editing work. "I sometimes get half giddy when floods of adjectives come rushing at me." Less is more. Even with filler words. "I therefore run my texts through bullshit detectors such as the Blablameter or filler word filter from time to time, for self-control rarely, rather to see an uneasy feeling about a text confirmed." When it comes to hackneyed catchphrases, the hairs on the back of the neck also stand up for the native of Ilanz. "On the other hand, I find long sentences cool, even if they always say: as concise as possible, one statement per sentence. Long sentences, if they're nicely constructed - great!"
In addition to writing, consulting occupies an important position in the copywriter's daily routine. "The ideal situation is when we are involved right from the start. That means less rescue work, but more designing."

Rutishauser, Troller and the Armadillo
Martin Rutishauser and Matthias Troller have been writing copy together as Trollhauser for five years. After years at agencies and in communications, the time had come for something of their own. What they knew was too hectic, too unfree.
Martin Rutishauser was already writing while studying in Basel (philosophy, business administration and sociology). First assignment: texts for a catalog for Völkl snowboards. "Our accordionist - the band still exists, 'Jolly and the Flytrap', and still unknown - had graduated from the School of Arts and Crafts, and in his company they were looking for a lyricist, so why not ask the guy who already wrote the lyrics for the band." He liked the lyricism beyond the song boundary. After a foray into management consulting at the Malik Management Zentrum in St. Gallen, he came to the Velvet agency via a freelance assignment. He worked with the Velvet crew for a week, and the result was the instant magazine "La Brévine," which received an award from the ADC. Freelance became permanent, and Rutishauser joined the agency as a consultant. "It then became clear that I was more suited to copywriting after all."

In addition to 60 percent of his time at Trollhauser, Rutishauser has been working part-time as a copywriter and "communicator" at the Heilpraktikerschule Luzern for almost ten years. Switching completely to self-employment was too uncertain for him at the beginning. "I have a family, so I need security, and I simply enjoy doing this job.

Rutishauser's partner Matthias Troller also took a different path after graduating and was a cantonal school teacher. The two copywriters met at the advertising agency Ottiger & Partner BSW. "When I was laid off there - it was probably already very luxurious to employ two copywriters - we continued to drink beer together and watch Champions League." At some point, Troller came to one such meeting with a concept for his own copywriting business. "Matthias' concept was neatly written on the computer. What was funny was that I had exactly the same idea. However, I had written it down on a few Post-it notes." A short time later, they had found an office. "It really happened very quickly," Rutishauser recalls. One of the first assignments was a winning pitch: "Putting the story of a chocolate manufacturer into words, interestingly enough for the Chinese market ..."

That was 2012. Trollhauser is celebrating its fifth birthday this year. The Texterei has gained a new member: Luzia Popp, freelancer, is currently completing the CAS Corporate Writer at the Swiss Text Academy. Otherwise, it's still the same people: Troller, Rutishauser and the armadillo. "The armadillo just came to us, just as an idea, but it stuck. It's our mascot."

The close collaboration has proven its worth in recent years, and for Rutishauser and Troller it offers predominant advantages over going it alone, but also over working in a large team. "Because we are so small, our daily routine is unbureaucratic, without rigid rules. We give each other feedback and support each other. We resolve conflicts immediately." Management meetings are held every two weeks - in the restaurant. "For me, that's true," says Martin Rutishauser. In the background, from his workstation at the standing desk, Troller confirms his partner's words. "It just fits the way it is." The two not only agree on the size of their agency, but also on the quality of their work: "Our texts should be 100 percent Trollhauser, and we never fall short of that standard. Trollhauser, that means: Zack! to the point!". (Text and lead story: Nora Dämpfle)

The Trollhauser story in eight pictures, created by Solange Ehrler: