What began as a side business is becoming a brand in its own right: in early June, international PR agency PR/TICULAR — founded in 2012 by Lucy Tallo and known for mandates in the luxury, lifestyle, and hospitality segments — launched sister agency TRANSP/RENCY. The new unit focuses exclusively on strategic corporate and crisis communications.
Katja Grauwiler heads the unit from Zurich as managing partner, while remaining chief executive for Switzerland at PR/TICULAR. Joining as senior partner in Lausanne is Nicolas Rossé, who spent decades as a business journalist at RTS, the Swiss French-language public broadcaster, covering the country's biggest corporate upheavals — from Kuoni to Swissair to Credit Suisse.
From Side Business to Flagship
Speaking with finews, Grauwiler and Rossé describe the launch as a response to demand from their own clients. «Existing mandates kept asking us whether we could cover this part of communications too,» Grauwiler says. «It kept growing — and even though we come from the luxury and lifestyle segment, the cases increasingly leaned toward crisis, strategy, and corporate work.»
Until now, this business ran on the side through Grauwiler's own desk — for major hotel clients, for instance, preparing multimillion-franc investments communications-wise and setting up crisis scenarios as a precaution. «Many clients spend heavily on communications and marketing but neglect crisis planning. When an emergency hits, they are unprepared as a result,» Grauwiler says.
