"We know we are stronger together".

Advertisingweek.chAlexander Haldemann - congratulations! Ad Age has named Publicis Groupe "Holding Company of the Year. As CEO of Publicis Groupe Zurich, what does the award mean to you?

Alexander Haldemann: We were very pleased to receive the award. It confirms that we have taken the right path and are continuing to do so. We need to take a brief look back: A few years ago, we deliberately initiated changes and invested substantially in digital transformation and data. In particular, the global acquisitions of Sapient and Epsilon have brought us forward.

What were the challenges here?

The central challenge was to combine the new range of services with our core competencies of creation and media. Today, we can say that we succeeded. Looking back, that may sound simple. But in fact, it was a matter of bringing together more than 80,000 employees and combining them into an integrated offering for our customers. The latter is our great achievement as a Group.

Publicis Groupe celebrates the honor with a video directed at critics of the agency's past course (see below). Do you feel a certain satisfaction within the group towards those who, for example, could not understand acquisitions of the past years?

Anyone who breaks new ground accepts risks - and has to deal with criticism. What is really important to us is that we continue to develop as a Group and shape the future of our industry. We are also consciously breaking new ground in our own communications. We expose ourselves - here with a pinch of humor and also a bit of mischievousness. We don't take ourselves too seriously. I like that.

What are the strengths of Publicis Groupe in Switzerland? What qualities distinguish it?

For me, it's the diversity and the interplay. Unlike any other group in Switzerland, we succeed in combining an enormous variety of skills: big names from advertising come together with digital specialists, media agencies, production specialists and a branding agency. We live this diversity in Switzerland with around 350 employees*. With Geneva, Lausanne and Zurich, we are present in three major economic centers in Switzerland. At the same time, we are closely connected with locations in over 100 countries. This interaction with colleagues all over the world is a matter of course for us and a great inspiration. This position is unique in the Swiss market.

Large holding companies are not without controversy in the industry. Some people - including the WPP founder quoted in the above video - even say that holding companies are no longer necessarily fertile ground for creativity and agility. How do you respond?

I think that falls short. The form of organization is not decisive for creativity and agility. I managed an agency for many years as its owner and know both sides. The real achievement is to develop creativity and dynamism in a large, globally active organization.

What does that mean in your case?

Each of our agencies is positioned independently, can use freedom, live its culture and thus exploit the full potential. In addition, we take responsibility for each other. Because we know that we are stronger together.

The Publicis Groupe is represented in over 100 countries and employs over 80,000 people. In Switzerland, Publicis Groupe was founded in 1950. It has offices in Geneva, Lausanne and Zurich and, with 350 specialists from a wide range of disciplines, is the largest Swiss communications group. In addition to the creative agencies Publicis, Leo Burnett, and Saatchi & Saatchi, it includes the media agencies Publicis Media, Starcom, and Zenith, the branding agency MetaDesign, the digital agencies Notch and Publicis Sapient, and the production specialists Prodigous.