20 January 2003
Switching Sides

Arne Brekenfeld, 36, has moved from the advertising agency .start to MetaDesign AG, an agency specializing in branding and corporate identity.

Since 1 January 2003, Brekenfeld has been in charge of the field of strategic brand consulting and client care on the management team grouped around CEO Stefan Kirsche, 37, Chief Design Officer Uli Mayer-Johanssen, 44, and Chief Operating Manager Margit Scheller-Wegener, 48.

MetaDesign looked long and hard for a brand strategist with experience in the automotive industry for its management team. In his career as consultant and strategic planner, Brekenfeld has worked for Springer & Jacoby, BBDO and .start AG (Munich and Berlin), where he served on the management board.
Brekenfeld has been entrusted with many clients from the automotive industry, including Volkswagen and Nissan. He was thus an ideal choice for MetaDesign, which has worked closely with Volkswagen for many years (in addition to Audi). Brekenfeld's expertise will be important for MetaDesign as it attempts to meet the growing demand for integrated branding and corporate identity services. "Clients increasingly require their brands to be viewed comprehensively. They are looking for agencies whose primary interest is not the implementation of one specific communication discipline," says Brekenfeld, aware of such business constraints after his seven-year stint in the advertising industry. In September Brekenfeld started working for MetaDesign on a freelance basis; recently the successful collaboration led to a permanent staff position.

With the new addition to the management team, MetaDesign intends to increase order volume in 2003. In particular, it wants to make brand management the focal point of enduring partnerships with clients, convincing them of the added valued created by long-term collaboration. Volkswagen and Audi have already benefited from this approach.

The restructuring measures implemented in early 2002, including the introduction of a "business unit" system, have proved successful. The agency experienced no decline in revenues last year and was even able to expand significantly its traditional corporate identity and design operations, despite the difficult economic conditions. MetaDesign currently employs 160 people.

MetaDesign has been Germany's leading corporate design/identity agency (Horizont ranking) for six years. MetaDesign develops brand identities and manages implementation processes in companies and in the public sphere.