FOCUS, a major German weekly news magazine – we worked alongside Helmut Markwort to create the first signature launch at the World Economic Forum, Davos, Switzerland – to 300 global leaders, including Microsoft’s Bill Gates
The official consensus of the German public was “this guy Markwort must be mad”: 54 attempts and 54 failures had been made to challenge Der Spiegel’s long standing monopoly to create a second German weekly news magazine .
Only his publisher Hubert Burda had the belief in this dream. We worked alongside Helmut Markwort, founder and editor in chief of FOCUS, to effectively position the magazine at signature events in New York City at the Metropolitan Museum and in Davos at the prestigious World Economic Forum – to establish contact with more than 300 global leaders, including Microsoft’s Bill Gates, WPP’s Sir Martin Sorrell and Dell’s Michael Dell. Two hours after its launch, FOCUS sold out on the newsstands! It was considered one of the most successful launches ever.