"I see Berlin as the future headquarters of the WHS Group".
Reinhold Weber about WHS Zurich and International
Reinhold Weber on WHS Zurich and InternationalThe Zurich office of the international agency group Weber Hodel Schmid is facing budget losses of considerable proportions. After the departure of Zurich Insurance, the whereabouts of the Smart budget are now also seriously in question. Just at this time, the head of the agency group, Reinhold Weber, takes the helm of his Berlin branch.Mr. Weber, since the beginning of May you have been living in Berlin, where you head the WHS Group and the Berlin branch as creative director. Are you on the run from WHS's problems in Switzerland?
Reinhold Weber: No, no, I haven't fled to Berlin. Maybe once in a while I don't sleep quite as peacefully as usual. But as soon as I switch on the shareholder's head and the creative's gut, I know that it's basically no problem to master this situation.
And how are you going to manage this situation?
Weber: That's quite simple: First, we drive down costs. To do this, we may use the Smart Factory predetermined breaking point. And secondly, we are stepping on the new business gas pedal. Of course, the situation as it is at the moment is new. But we don't feel that much different in the current situation than when we founded WHS ten years ago or when we installed and removed our digital computers about five years ago. Both times, as you know, stepping on the gas worked pretty well.
That sounds like badass business power.
Weber: We simply said to ourselves: 'We're not making a loss, so we're already restructuring preventively.' It follows that the two agencies are being merged, that we are cutting staff, infrastructure and costs. Basically, it would have been necessary a long time ago to bring Switzerland back to a size that is fun, harmonious and normal. WHS am See and the Smart Factory could have been merged earlier. After all, the Smart jobs no longer required the same amount of manpower as they had at the beginning of the campaign. Some time ago, we wanted to open up the Smart Factory to other customers. Now we are doing so.
How many people will you have to lay off?
Weber: I don't know exactly yet. Not exactly any jobs will be lost, but it certainly won't be a mass story. We'll probably cut about ten jobs. A few people will move to Berlin. After that, we'll have about 55 employees in Switzerland.
What did it look like before the crisis?
Weber: At Smart, there were about 35 employees in the old days, and at the lake we employed another 40 or so people. Of course, the whole thing plagues me. But on the other hand, I'm also rid of a "lump. What do I want with two half infrastructures where the mood is half good? Two or three weeks ago, I really didn't find the situation very funny, but in the meantime I'm relatively confident. WHS am See will still be able to play a dominant role in the Swiss market.
Are there capacity bottlenecks?
Weber: We even have to artificially destroy work and income in Switzerland. Mandates such as the leisure time database Viviti, Media-Markt and Derendinger Autoersatzteile, which we previously managed from Switzerland, we are now taking with us to Berlin.
How are the management tasks distributed?
Weber: Yvonne Hodel is responsible for Switzerland, Vienna is going so well that it's best we don't get involved at all, and I'm just fishing in the big pond now instead of the small one, that's the story. Apart from that, there is 43 percent economic development in Berlin. I see Berlin as the future headquarters of the WHS Group.
What happens to the smart factory?
Weber: If I want, we can get out of the Smart Factory by the end of the year. There is a contract that guarantees us any closure costs. But it's unlikely to come to that. First, the central Smart pitch won't be decided until August, and if all else fails, our media agency Bemberg und Gedenk will move into the Smart Factory. The agency is totally hot and is looking for offices for 25 people.
Is the alliance with RØSA at risk?
Weber: The press release clearly states that WHS and RØSA will be moving even closer together in the future. And it goes without saying that we have to make common cause, especially in Berlin. Berlin is teeming with multimedia companies. The awareness for integrated communication is much more pronounced here than in any other city.
When did you decide to go to Berlin?
Weber: At the beginning of the year, but I should have moved to Berlin a year ago. In the meantime, I would have to run naked with Mr. Hayek across Bellevue to even be worth a note on the "mixed news" page of the Swiss media. If I did that in Berlin with Ambassador Borer, there would be a front page in Blick. And Borer would probably be out of a job.
Interview: Ernst Weber
Reinhold Weber: No, no, I haven't fled to Berlin. Maybe once in a while I don't sleep quite as peacefully as usual. But as soon as I switch on the shareholder's head and the creative's gut, I know that it's basically no problem to master this situation.
And how are you going to manage this situation?
Weber: That's quite simple: First, we drive down costs. To do this, we may use the Smart Factory predetermined breaking point. And secondly, we are stepping on the new business gas pedal. Of course, the situation as it is at the moment is new. But we don't feel that much different in the current situation than when we founded WHS ten years ago or when we installed and removed our digital computers about five years ago. Both times, as you know, stepping on the gas worked pretty well.
That sounds like badass business power.
Weber: We simply said to ourselves: 'We're not making a loss, so we're already restructuring preventively.' It follows that the two agencies are being merged, that we are cutting staff, infrastructure and costs. Basically, it would have been necessary a long time ago to bring Switzerland back to a size that is fun, harmonious and normal. WHS am See and the Smart Factory could have been merged earlier. After all, the Smart jobs no longer required the same amount of manpower as they had at the beginning of the campaign. Some time ago, we wanted to open up the Smart Factory to other customers. Now we are doing so.
How many people will you have to lay off?
Weber: I don't know exactly yet. Not exactly any jobs will be lost, but it certainly won't be a mass story. We'll probably cut about ten jobs. A few people will move to Berlin. After that, we'll have about 55 employees in Switzerland.
What did it look like before the crisis?
Weber: At Smart, there were about 35 employees in the old days, and at the lake we employed another 40 or so people. Of course, the whole thing plagues me. But on the other hand, I'm also rid of a "lump. What do I want with two half infrastructures where the mood is half good? Two or three weeks ago, I really didn't find the situation very funny, but in the meantime I'm relatively confident. WHS am See will still be able to play a dominant role in the Swiss market.
Are there capacity bottlenecks?
Weber: We even have to artificially destroy work and income in Switzerland. Mandates such as the leisure time database Viviti, Media-Markt and Derendinger Autoersatzteile, which we previously managed from Switzerland, we are now taking with us to Berlin.
How are the management tasks distributed?
Weber: Yvonne Hodel is responsible for Switzerland, Vienna is going so well that it's best we don't get involved at all, and I'm just fishing in the big pond now instead of the small one, that's the story. Apart from that, there is 43 percent economic development in Berlin. I see Berlin as the future headquarters of the WHS Group.
What happens to the smart factory?
Weber: If I want, we can get out of the Smart Factory by the end of the year. There is a contract that guarantees us any closure costs. But it's unlikely to come to that. First, the central Smart pitch won't be decided until August, and if all else fails, our media agency Bemberg und Gedenk will move into the Smart Factory. The agency is totally hot and is looking for offices for 25 people.
Is the alliance with RØSA at risk?
Weber: The press release clearly states that WHS and RØSA will be moving even closer together in the future. And it goes without saying that we have to make common cause, especially in Berlin. Berlin is teeming with multimedia companies. The awareness for integrated communication is much more pronounced here than in any other city.
When did you decide to go to Berlin?
Weber: At the beginning of the year, but I should have moved to Berlin a year ago. In the meantime, I would have to run naked with Mr. Hayek across Bellevue to even be worth a note on the "mixed news" page of the Swiss media. If I did that in Berlin with Ambassador Borer, there would be a front page in Blick. And Borer would probably be out of a job.
Interview: Ernst Weber
