Swiss Marketing wants to grow again

The Board of Directors of Swiss Marketing (from left to right): Jon Turnes, Dr. Walter Steiner, Stéphane Meier, President Uwe Tännler, Vice President Dr. Peter Petrin, Dietger Löffler and André Mettler.Last Friday, this year's delegates' meeting of Switzerland's largest marketing association took place on Bern's local mountain, the Gurten. Swiss Marketing took place. The entire Board of Directors and Uwe Tännler, who has been President of the Association for nine years, were re-elected. Tännler is making history with his re-election: it is the longest term of office of an association president to date. Stéphane Meier was also unanimously elected to the Central Board. As the new representative of French-speaking Switzerland, Meier wants to make the association better known in the French-speaking cantons.New working group for exam organizationAs part of the simplification of the organizational structure, Nicole Beck-Taubenest relinquished her responsibilities as Managing Director on 31 May 2015. From now on, she will focus on her work on the already well-advanced occupational field analysis, which will result in a comprehensive examination reform in 2017, as well as on the management of professional examinations. As part of the commitment to the dual education pathway, Uwe Tännler announced the founding of a company that will renew the entire examination organization. The Kaufmännische Verband will hold a 60% stake in the limited company and Swiss Marketing 40%.Ambitious growth targetsThe association has been faced with slightly declining membership figures for the past three years, which prompted the President to present a new approach to recruiting members by recruiting students who are preparing for the federal professional examinations. In this way, the ambitious but realistic goal of increasing membership to around 6,000 in the medium term is to be achieved. Despite the merger of the Lausanne and Lémand clubs to form the Vaud club and the dissolution of the Thurgau regional club, the association can look back on over 250 interesting events, all of which were very well received.Young team in new business premisesThe past financial year 2014 was characterized by major changes. The relocation from Olten to Zurich on August 1, 2014 was a challenge, as 90 percent of the staff had to be replaced due to the move. The new, young team quickly settled in and knew how to use the new beginning to its advantage. The smaller office space allows team members to work closely together at a rent equivalent to that of Olten. The central location in Kaufleuten Zurich in the heart of the city helps Swiss Marketing to establish numerous cooperations and enables the use of attractive synergies.