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PRESSE-Interview with Mariusz Jan Demner:” I would never advertise cigarettes’
Advertiser Mariusz Jan Demner tells “Presse” how he founded his agency, why he enjoys working by himself at night and why he doesn’t have time to spend money.
Die Presse: How many hours did you sleep tonight?
Mariusz Jan Demner: Approximately five.
We ask, because you often stated in previous interviews that you work best between midnight and three AM, but still have to get up early.
MD: I said that I catch up on sleep on the weekend. During the week I usually sleep between four and six hours, otherwise ten.
Is it true that the advertising industry is a very arduous one, filled with long hours? Or is that part of the myth that needs to be kept maintained?
MD: I do not believe in these kinds of myths. I don’t think we get larger accounts because I stay up late. I’m simply not a morning person and it takes me quite a while to get going.
That means that your most productive time is when you are actually alone and not part of a team, as it is common in the creative industry?
MD: I think it is important to have time to reflect. And at night I am by myself for a few hours. I really need that.
For decades, you have been part of the advertising industry. Did you ever want to do something else?
MD: I come from a family of jewelers. I surely did not want to follow in those footsteps.
Why?
MD: That has to do with my relationship to my father. There were numerous reasons why he was not a role model to me. I wanted to do something of my own. I did not know what I should study. So I started with Law and I quit after two or three semesters. Then I studied Journalism and Art History. I found Journalism pretty useless – except the lecture on advertising. That sparked my curiosity for the profession.
You basically founded the agency DEMNER, MERLICEK & BERGMANN from the get-go. How did that come to be?
MD: While I was a student I encountered Oscar Bronner through a colleague of mine. He has already worked as a journalist, but wanted to do something else. Somehow we decided to start an agency. We somehow actually managed to set up an appointment with a client. Before that we ended up fighting and decided to let it be. I then got a job in an agency, but after five weeks they sacked me.
Why?
MD: I annoyed the Executives, because there wasn’t enough for me to do. The company should have fired me at the quarter, but missed to do just that. So, I could study for three more months while getting paid. Then I met a friend of my fathers’ on the street who asked “Aren’t you in advertising?” I half-heartedly said yes and he said he urgently needs an agency because he is producing a name-brand shirt and needs to spend a portion of sales on advertising. Some kind of madness made me say: ”Oh, how convenient, I just founded an agency.” I had a client before I had an agency. That was a good way to get started.
Where did the money for establishing the agency come from?
MD: That was manageable. Back then there were other hurdles. One needed a business license, for which I was too young. I somehow managed to get an “Exemption of Legal Age” at the Chamber.
And how did you place your first ad?
MD: I went to the Head of Marketing of a newspaper to introduce myself as a new agency and I told him I want to place an ad. That however was only possible after prepayment. I didn’t have that kind of money. So I went to my client and rather persistently asked him for the money. In the end he actually gave it to me.
How much was it at the time?
MD: It must have been some ten thousands of Schillings. I later went to the Head of a Creditanstalt-branch (bank) and sought out a loan. He wanted securities that I did not have. My only customer was too little for them, they wanted to see guarantees. I then claimed that I collected offers elsewhere, without guarantees. I got a mild smile, but also a loan of 30.000 Schillings. After one year I repaid it. I have since never taken out another loan. The agency is self-funded. We largely invest the earnings and don’t waste it on silly stuff.
Is that how you do it in your private life as well? No splurges?
MD: Honestly, I don’t have time for that.
What do you spend money on?
MD: I might get a new suit or new shoes made for me once in a blue moon. I spend money on travelling, quite a sum for my sons’ education and for art. With the latter however, I started very early.
As an investment?
MD: No. My circle of friends included numerous artists, who represent the classic modernism in Austria today. Back then though, they all had to fight.
So you got lucky with some of them?
MD: I got lucky with all of them.
How?
MD: I have pieces by Walter Pichler, early Attersee, Arnulf Rainer, Kocherscheidt, Max Peintner and many others. Those pieces of work were still affordable back then.
Do you also sell pieces?
MD: No. I’ve never sold a piece of art.
That means you never had really rough years?
MD: No, I had a client, my student-flat and I could live from my work. When Merlicek joined a little later on, he was still living with his parents.
Where did you acquire your business skills?
MD: Being a schoolboy I spent every afternoon in my parents’ business, doing my homework there. I listened to my parents interacting with customers and themselves. They were incredible sellers. That’s probably where I got those skills.
Is selling more important that calculating?
MD: Both need to fit. If you sell something that is poorly calculated, you will go broke. But selling is important too. It basically is nothing else than making the customer understand what he gets out of the offer.
How often does advertising lie to the end consumer?
MD: That indeed, you can judge for yourself. I don’t think one needs to lie. And if one must lie, then lie with the truth. But I don’t think that it is necessary.
Does a company even need advertising if it has good products?
MD: Well, if someone finds a reliable cure for AIDS or cancer, no, there is no need for advertising. But everywhere where there is competition, you need advertising to differentiate.
Are there any clients for whom you would not advertise?
MD: Yes, I would never advertise for cigarettes, because I think smoking is an extremely harmful habit. And I wouldn’t advertise for casinos – my father was a player.
ABOUT
Mariusz Jan Demner (*1945) is Viennese and studied Law, Journalism and Art History. In 1969 Demner spontaneously decided to found an advertising agency. Today the father of one son is Managing Partner of DEMNER, MERLICEK & BERGMANN. The company employs nearly 140 people.
(c) Bild: Katharina Roßboth