"We don't want to let it affect our work".

Werbewoche.ch: Marty-Trezzini as individuals - and as an agency - receive the recognition of the most important business medium in the world: Congratulations, Gianluca Trezzini and Yves Marty, for your placement in the Forbes "30 under 30" of 2022, how did you find out about your ranking?

Yves Marty: A few months ago, Forbes told us that we were on the shortlist for the 30 Under 30 nomination and that the jury would select the listmakers by November. After that, however, we trembled until the very end.

Gianluca Trezzini: It wasn't until midnight, on the list's publication date, that we finally received a congratulatory email from Forbes. That saved us from a sleepless night. Of course, we didn't sleep much after that.

How did you celebrate?

Marty: As soon as we entered our office in the morning, our team welcomed us with mimosas in their hands. The joint toast was a wonderful moment: to see how proud our employees are of us, but also of themselves. So, in our eyes, this nomination is a merit of the whole team.

Trezzini: In the evening, we continued to celebrate in the Kronenhalle and in the Odeon at Bellevue. So we also came a little bit full circle, because our idea to found Marty-Trezzini came at a lunch at the Odeon almost five years ago.

What does this "award" mean to you personally - and what does it mean for the future work of the agency?

The award makes me proud and is a wonderful recognition of our commitment and the drive we have shown over the last few years. Building up a company in a very competitive sector alongside our studies has definitely presented us with challenges. For me, this award is an appreciation that the hard work has paid off.

Marty: I'm also pleased that our nomination means we can represent the creative industry on the Forbes Under30 list. The award can certainly open one or two doors for us, but it should not influence our work as such - because quality has always been at the center of our projects since the beginning. I do hope, however, that this additional resonance will bring us to the attention of other creative minds who might want to join our team in the future.

Your agency has been around since 2018, and it was clear from the start that you do both creation and strategy as well as production - an unusual concept for the industry. What experience have you gained with this approach in recent years?

Since the beginning, we have noticed that our business model is very well received by our customers - especially in today's digitalized world, where everything has to move faster. Over the past four years, we have been able to steadily strengthen and expand our two pillars of "agency" and "production" with new skills. Of course, we also meet critical voices from the industry again and again, who tell us that we will have to choose sides at some point. However, we see this differently. We don't want to be a classic advertising agency or production company. But simply Marty-Trezzini.

Trezzini: For us as a service provider, but also for our customers, our hybrid approach primarily results in more efficient and clearer communication, shorter decision-making paths, and ultimately more coherent results. One challenge certainly lies in the fact that two different work cultures meet here, which function differently. That's why we've placed a lot of emphasis on our own corporate culture since the beginning, which harmonizes wonderfully and, in my opinion, is one of our greatest strengths.

What were the biggest challenges you had to overcome as a young entrepreneur?

One of the biggest challenges for us was certainly to build up the company alongside our studies and without external financing. At the time of our founding, we decided to finance our company from our own funds - primarily in order to strive for organic growth and to maintain our independence.

Marty: However, from this challenge we have learned to set priorities and deal with a lot of stress. You sometimes just have to forgo certain things to keep the company's interest in focus. I think for every person who starts a company, personal and work life become more and more mixed over time. This is not to say that we don't have a work-life balance. We see our work as a hobby at the same time, but have also learned to switch off when necessary.

Which projects make you particularly proud?

Trezzini: We are particularly proud of a pro bono project we implemented a few years ago for Michael from Germany, who was one year old at the time. The little boy suffered from the severe hereditary disease SMA, for which the only chance of survival was a one-time infusion of a drug for 2.1 million euros. In order to raise funds, we were allowed to launch the video campaign "Muscles for Michael", which quickly went viral, led to articles in the largest German media and ultimately turned into a political issue: with media impact, the health insurance company finally covered Michael's treatment costs, so that our collected donations could be used for another child.

Marty: This story had a strong impact on both of us, showed us the potential of our work and still drives us today. There are many other works we are proud of. In particular, we are always happy to work with clients who have relied on us since the start of Marty- Trezzini. For example, we just recently had the pleasure of producing the launch spot for the Swiss electric vehicle Microlino. Funnily enough, the first spot we did with Marty-Trezzini over four years ago was also for the Microlino. This loyalty and trust gives us a lot of pleasure.

"30 under 30" mentions also mean that in the coming years people will be looking closely at what kind of work you do - such praise is always a mortgage. How do you react to this?

Being on the "30 under 30" list does not make us nervous. We don't want our work to be influenced by it, because our striving for high quality has nothing to do with the list. Of course, the nomination spurs us on to achieve our next goals.

Trezzini: We are very much looking forward to everything that is yet to come and we have big plans for the future, which we would like to achieve with our team. So we will certainly not be bored.

From your perspective: Where is the communications industry in Switzerland heading? What must the "agency of the future" be able to offer in order to be successful?

Marty: The communications industry in Switzerland is changing, just like everywhere else in the world. We notice how customers' requirements are constantly changing. If you stand still as a service provider, you run the amazing risk of missing the train and becoming irrelevant. In the creative industry, however, we actually have probably the best prerequisites for innovation and "thinking differently" - we have to take advantage of this opportunity. I can imagine that creativity will become even more important in the future in order to successfully master the battle for consumers' attention. My wish for the future is that there will be more collaboration in the Swiss advertising industry, also between different agencies.

Trezzini: The "agency of the future" must have its finger on the pulse, be able to react to trends at lightning speed, and offer its clientele a very flexible and adaptable range of services. With its innovative strength and high economic level, the Swiss communications industry must once again be able to play at the top of the global league table. It can't be that we came away empty-handed at Cannes Lions last year. Yves, when are we going to get our lion?

Gianluca Trezzini Gianluca discovered his passion for entrepreneurship early on. In high school, he ran a placement agency for people who wanted to relieve seniors in the neighborhood in their daily lives. While studying law at the University of Zurich, he then co-founded Creative House Marty-Trezzini with Yves Marty. In addition to managing the company, he now heads its production department. On the side, he runs a management agency that mentors young talents from the film and music industries.

Yves Marty grew up in Zurich, studied business administration at the HSG and also completed a master's degree in business innovation there. Through a side course at the university, he finally stumbled upon his passion for filmmaking and was able to produce a web series for SRF shortly after. Subsequently, during his studies, he founded the company Marty-Trezzini together with his childhood friend Gianluca Trezzini. Today, as part of the management team, he is primarily responsible for the strategic development of the company as well as for various client mandates in the creative and production fields.

Marty-Trezzini combines strategy, creation and production under one roof. Founded in Zurich in 2018, the agency realizes campaigns and marketing strategies as well as film, photo and content productions for every format and every screen. The agency serves clients such as Amazon, Rivella, Twint or Switzerland Tourism implement.