Review: Brand and Marketing Day 2015
BRANDING The 17th BMT Brand and Marketing Day took place on October 21 at the Tissot Arena in Biel/Bienne. Under the motto "Love me. Hate me. Buy me." various personalities such as future consultant Gerd Leonhard gave presentations about their marketing lives. In addition, the BMT AWARD in Sponsorship was presented for the first time this year."Love me. Hate me. Buy me." How do entrepreneurs deal with the love-hate relationship between people and brands? How can customers be tied to a brand in the long term? And what role do emotions play in this? At the BMT, an illustrious panel of eight speakers in the new TissotArena provided practical and inspiring insights into the central theme. Around 500 entrepreneurs, managers and experts used the largest specialist event for marketing, advertising and communication in the Espace Mittelland region as a unique platform for cultivating and deepening customer contacts and for networking. The day was hosted by SRF presenter Steffi Buchli and TeleBielingue presenter Dominique Antenen.Love me. The heart decidesThe round of speakers was opened by EHC Biel coach Kevin Schläpfer, who has domiciliary rights in the TissotArena. "Go with it. Take offense. Stay real" - that's how the emotional man was announced. And he owed the audience nothing. After a turbulent week in which Schläpfer was traded as the new national team coach, it got to the audience when he said, "When everything goes wrong, the heart decides." The coaching legend gave entertaining insights into his everyday life on the sidelines, drawing parallels between the work of a coach and manager. The field hockey expert was followed by brand sociologists Dr. Arnd Zschiesche and Dr. Oliver Errichiello. For the founders of the Hamburg-based Büro für Markenentwicklung (Office for Brand Development), the focus of a brand is not on emotions, but on performance: "A brand is created when a positive judgment has been formed about a company."Hate me. Unvarnished truth and future perspectivesThis year's BMT brought together different generations. Longinges patron Walter von Känel, who gave BMT participants an in-depth insight into his work in the watch industry at the end of the morning, was followed after the lunch break by YouTube star Julia Graf. The political science graduate, who reaches an audience of millions on the Internet with her lifestyle tutorials, described her experiences in dealing with her online fan base and what it's like to be a brand yourself. Then the floor went to future consultant Gerd Leonhard, who has already captivated more than 250,000 people with his presentations. He took the stage to talk about how business models and market scenarios could develop in the next 5 to 10 years. In doing so, he predicted a science fiction scenario for the year 2020: "We will be radically networked. Humans and computers will merge."Buy me. Retaining customers in the online ageDominik Rief, Country Manager Switzerland at Zalando, then spoke about the increasing expectations of online customers. "Love me. Hate me. Buy me." The motto of the BMT was deliberately chosen to be striking. Former music manager Thomas M. Stein, known to the general public primarily as a judge on casting shows, was deliberately provocative in his rousing and resonant presentation: "50 percent of the marketing budget is always thrown out the window," he claimed. And advised to always choose your own path: "You have to believe in your idea." In addition to plenty of inspiration, there was also something for the audience's laughing muscles this year: Comedian Michael Elsener provided much hilarity with his interludes.Mobiliar wins BMT Award in SponsorshipThe newly launched BMT AWARD in Sponsorship was presented for the first time in Biel. This is awarded to companies and institutions that stand for special achievements in the field of sponsorship. Out of 25 entries, six sponsorships made it into the final round. The jury, chaired by Prof. Dr. Lucia Malär, finally chose the "Mobiliar Indoor Sports" platform as the winner. Mobiliar thus supports the fringe sports of handball, basketball, volleyball and floorball, their clubs and members, and the promotion of young talent throughout Switzerland.
