As is well known, the dead live longer

Vichy cosmetics advertisement in the ladies' toilet.20 years ago, a smart marketing manager predicted the imminent end of ambient media, remembers Dan Furrer. But the CEO of Face AG für Kommunikationsdesign did not let this put him off. Fortunately, because once the initial hurdles had been overcome, his company became a pioneer in the field of ambient media. This is why Furrer looks back on more than just the company's success at its anniversary in May. The courageous founder also played a decisive role in shaping the Swiss market for ambient media.From Smart to FaceThe success story actually began even before the new form of advertising in the out-of-home sector was given its current name: "We were wild and hungry," says Furrer, "and dreamed of being creative". Without further ado, they founded their own advertising agency in the early 1990s. At the time, Smart CSA Communication Services AG still offered traditional advertising. And it was there in Kloten, in a very special place, that Furrer had the brilliant idea: "Whenever I received a customer briefing, I would write the information on a piece of paper and hang it on the toilet door." The idiosyncratic way of giving free rein to thoughts in the quiet little place proved to be a source of inspiration that Furrer persistently followed: "I was totally convinced that the toilet was an ideal advertising space that would become important in the future," he says, as it was there that they would have the full attention of the target group. He aptly named the innovative offer "Klommunikation" - a name that generated a lot of media attention, but also great resistance. The story is well known, as Furrer had already caused a sensation with his WC communication, and the ambient media pioneer cannot be accused of lacking business acumen or a willingness to take risks: in 1995, he founded his own company in order to be able to concentrate fully on his new core business. Around the same time, the debate about the new form of advertising "non-traditional out-of-home media", which gave ambient media its name, broke out in the UK. But Furrer was already one step ahead with his Face Action Marketing GmbH.Original advertising campaign for Ford. The idea is reminiscent of the well-known movie comedy with Julia Roberts "The bride who doesn't dare".From taboo product to Swiss Marketing TrophyIn the beginning, the presentation of the unorthodox business idea was seen as an affront, Furrer admits. However, this did not dampen his enthusiasm. On the other hand, it increased his motivation to convince the management of the first potential customer with a free test: an information poster about Bioforce AG's drug Prostasan, hung up in restaurant and service station toilets near pharmacies, brought recall values and sales increases that traditional advertisers could only dream of - and Furrer his first enthusiastic customer.Dan Furrer explains that the breakthrough was thanks to the then Bioforce marketing manager Felix Häfliger - now a famous cookbook author - and adds in retrospect that it was always very courageous, forward-thinking people who recognized the potential of "clommunication". With them came success: Bayer discovered the unconventional point of interest for Alka Seltzer, Migros for anti-pimple ointment and the press for attractive headlines, while a 10vor10 report in 1998 and the Swiss Marketing Trophy for the Bioforce campaign in 1999 gave "Klommunikation" a definite boost. "After that, the taboo was continually broken," says Furrer, adding proudly that you can say what you like about toilet advertising, "one thing is clear, it works." While the most effective advertising medium in the world, as he calls it, was only just getting started in the UK, but then quickly took off, Swiss companies were rather slow to overcome the taboo that the new medium brought with it. However, acceptance increased, which Furrer explains with the difference to traditional media: "In this super-hectic fast lane life with billions of sensory overloads, providers can no longer reach their target groups, whereas with us they have their full attention for 30 seconds to two minutes and can play with them."From acceptance to expansionFurrer and his 50-strong team of creative arsonists, passionate co-thinkers and circling pilots also like to play - with surprising effects: He developed the "Shower-Power" offer from Migros advertising in fitness centers, implemented the first major sampling campaign in Switzerland for Carefree and, along the way, kept an eye out for a larger domicile to cope with the exploding flood of orders.The once ridiculed, then hotly debated innovation of ambient media had made its breakthrough. To take advantage of it, the model entrepreneur with a penchant for old factories left the self-renovated weaving mill in the Töss Valley, woke the abandoned Walzmühle in Frauenfeld from its slumber at the end of 2000 and has been trading as Face AG für Kommunikationsdesign ever since. In order to be able to guarantee high quality, we took merchandising into our own hands, acquired our own fleet of 32 vehicles and opened branches and warehouse locations in Lugano, Lausanne and Bern-Hindelbank," explains Furrer. The expansion was necessary because Face AG had won the visual merchandising account from Novartis and set a record by decorating 1600 pharmacies and drugstores in five days every month, attracting a number of new customers such as Swisscom and Mercedes - and making the industry sit up and take notice.The first takeover offers from big players in the media industry followed, but Hotshot Furrer turned them down. As acceptance of ambient media increased, so did demand, a sign of market concentration.

Dan Furrer, founder and owner of Face AG für Kommunikation.From the niche to the massesThe business-minded entrepreneur was prepared for this and gradually expanded the product range: he designed the "Beauty Net" for the Rivella drink Beauty Colada, a campaign that also landed on the Swiss Marketing Trophy winner's podium; Coca-Cola took a liking to the newly developed "Lifestyle Net" for its light version; and Cardinal Eve delighted new target groups in the sampling sector.Face AG is currently launching its latest product: "Simple Sampling". It promises to bring new products into the direct environment of the target group very easily and without wastage for 15 centimes per sample. The pet food manufacturer Mars immediately took the bait, Lactacyd followed suit and other consumer goods multinationals are already showing keen interest. In addition to all these activities, Face AG found time to set up its own telemarketing team and last year went live with its self-developed reporting system i-POS.The company's activities show that the boundaries of ambient media are increasingly shifting - in all directions. In addition to increasingly sophisticated smartphones, which have enabled ambient advertising to go viral, Face AG has been able to capitalize on two other trends: Firstly, classic advertising needs new formats, says Furrer, and puts his finger in the wound: "Now that TV advertising is struggling to find viewers in the age of YouTube, Netflix & Co, print is suffering from dwindling readership and online advertising is also failing to deliver what was promised, the entire repertoire of our ambient media solutions is enjoying unprecedented demand." On the other hand, providers of ambient media are recombining the marketing mix and extending traditional measures to the point of sale. "We were lucky," says the Face boss, delighted that the POS has become so important. And of course he is well prepared for the growing demand for services from a single source for visual merchandising projects, which are "becoming increasingly complex and quality-oriented". The fact that ambient media is merging with traditional marketing disciplines - and social media - shows its maturity: ambient media has come of age. It is well known that the dead live longer.This article appeared in the February issue of "Marketing & Kommunikation". There is more exciting information on the topic here.Author: Doris Gottstein