MK The motto of this year's SWA Annual Meeting is "Always On". How can a company manage successful brand communication in today's digitalized world?MIKE SCHWEDE Today, people go online via different channels. Mastering this complexity is a major challenge. It is important to identify relevant new platforms at an early stage. Or to put it another way: you should fish where there are lots of fish, but not yet many fishermen. If a company only relies on channels such as Facebook or Google, which are already established, it often becomes expensive. If, on the other hand, you identify new, booming platforms and manage to use them quickly, you can save costs.MK More and more people are surfing the Internet via smartphone. What does this mean for online advertising?SCHWEDE Online advertising banners were already hardly clicked on the desktop. The trend is even increasing on mobile. You can no longer reach people with traditional online advertising. Today, it is important to place relevant topics in appropriate places and thus convey the desired message to the target groups. Of course, this can also be done in appealing formats, such as videos, but ultimately the quality of the product is crucial. In the past, you could stage average offers with cool advertising - that is much more difficult today. If the product isn't right, you can't get much out of it with advertising.MK Thanks to digital data, it is now possible to target users precisely. Where is the limit here?SCHWEDE You always have to ask yourself the question: What effect does the advertising have on the user? And in what context is the advertising placed? Just because someone has looked at sex toys on Amorana.ch, they probably don't want to see ads for them on the Internet for a month (laughs). Targeting has to be helpful for the user, not frighteningly personalized.MK How does a company successfully manage content marketing and storytelling?SCHWEDE You need people who can create such content. These people need to know which topics are relevant. When choosing topics, you should focus on the users - and then link this content to your own products or events. Unfortunately, many companies today are far too inflexible when it comes to setting topics and are rigidly guided by their annual planning. However, this is often not in the interests of the users - agility is required. For example, why not simply test ten different advertising slogans and then develop a TV commercial based on the data obtained? The focus should always be on the consumer. The classic approach of briefing, campaign and subsequent analysis is outdated.MK But many companies are struggling with this new type of communication.SCHWEDE That's true. If you've always done the same thing for several years, it's difficult to rethink. One example: companies are now discovering that it is also possible to place video advertising on YouTube. But they use the same spots as for TV advertising - and that simply doesn't work. it takes an openness to new things and an acceptance that things work differently. This is not a question of education - younger people often have a better sense of where things are heading. If a company has a hierarchical structure, it becomes difficult to react quickly to changes. What is needed is a decentralized, agile organization. You have to try out new things - it's dangerous to always be the "second mover".MK Which Swiss companies are mastering digitalization particularly well?SWEDE Swisscom used to be exemplary, but now the air has gone out of it. Migros also impresses with its digital strategy - especially in comparison to Coop, which only recently woke up from its slumber. Among the banks, UBS and Raiffeisen are setting a fast pace. Finally, there are also innovative SMEs such as Mammut. In general, however, there is no company in Switzerland that is setting new international standards.MK How fit are Swiss companies in the digital sector compared to other countries?SCHWEDE There are studies that show that we are not doing badly. But Switzerland lacks an affinity for the digital. In order to keep pace with digitalization, it's important to try out new things and then decide quickly whether it's good for business. In Switzerland, people tend to take a wait-and-see approach and later regret that they didn't step on the gas more: there are companies that take a "school trip" to Sillicon Valley and then implement innovative lighthouse projects. But the most trivial things don't work on the website. You have to get the basic tasks right first. There are enough people who can advise a company competently on this.MK Which countries are digital leaders?SWEDEN Estonia, for example, is several steps ahead of us. The "electronic citizen" exists here, it is very easy to set up a company and e-voting is used across the board. In Finland, programming is part of basic education and is not limited to computer science. Programming means nothing more than breaking down a complex problem into simple steps and solving it. It is a way of thinking, a methodology that shapes everything. We in Switzerland, on the other hand, still learn the "Schnüerlischrift" ...MK You have already helped a number of companies to find the right social media strategy. What should they bear in mind?SCHWEDE I am a numbers person. Of course, a company must first define what it wants to achieve and which target group it wants to address. Then, however, it is important to select the right channels based on figures and reach. The growth rate should not be ignored. In general, less is more. This means selecting specific platforms and using them efficiently.MK How is social media communication perceived by the target group?SCHWEDE Content is crucial. The social media strategy should be based on the content that a company wants to communicate. The big challenge is to find out what content is relevant. Whether I then communicate this via a brochure, event or Facebook is of secondary importance.MK How important is social media monitoring? And how consistently is it implemented by Swiss companies?SCHWEDE Monitoring is often a sideline activity and only a few companies have a structured approach. This is often a budget issue because the financial resources for social media marketing are limited. When I see how much money is spent on classic media monitoring, an increase in funding for social media monitoring would be appropriate. This must of course be linked to other areas such as product development, market research, crisis monitoring, customer services and so on.MK Which social media platforms will become more relevant for companies in the future?SWEDEN Everything is developing very quickly. Messaging apps such as Whatsapp, Facebook Messenger and WeChat are currently all the rage. It's no coincidence that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg paid so much for Whatsapp. Customer service can be automated thanks to communication with chatbots via messaging apps. For example, I was recently advised by a chatbot when buying a flight ticket from the airline KLM. Rigid input masks do not correspond to human nature. Dialogue via chatbots is much more promising.MK What is crucial for chatbots to be used efficiently?SCHWEDE You need enough data to be able to automate processes. Technically, it's not a big challenge. A chatbot is constantly learning thanks to machine learning. That's why it's important to start collecting data now. Otherwise you might regret it in three years' time. Most websites and online stores do not yet have a chat function built in, so to avoid becoming too dependent on big players like Facebook or Google when collecting data, a company should use its own platforms to generate data.MK The Handelszeitung newspaper recently described you as a "veteran of the Swiss digital scene". What fascinates you about the digital world?SCHWEDE I've always been fascinated by new things. I quickly find existing things boring. I grew up with computers and was already programming things for companies at secondary school. I quickly realized the importance of digitalization - and also that you can earn money with it.
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MK The motto of this year's SWA Annual Meeting is "Always On". How can a company manage successful brand communication in today's digitalized world?MIKE SCHWEDE Today, people go online via different channels. Mastering this complexity is a major challenge. It is important to identify relevant new platforms at an early stage. Or to put it another way: you should fish where there are lots of fish, but not yet many fishermen. If a company only relies on channels such as Facebook or Google, which are already established, it often becomes expensive. If, on the other hand, you identify new, booming platforms and manage to use them quickly, you can save costs.MK More and more people are surfing the Internet via smartphone. What does this mean for online advertising?SCHWEDE Online advertising banners were already hardly clicked on the desktop. The trend is even increasing on mobile. You can no longer reach people with traditional online advertising. Today, it is important to place relevant topics in appropriate places and thus convey the desired message to the target groups. Of course, this can also be done in appealing formats, such as videos, but ultimately the quality of the product is crucial. In the past, you could stage average offers with cool advertising - that is much more difficult today. If the product isn't right, you can't get much out of it with advertising.MK Thanks to digital data, it is now possible to target users precisely. Where is the limit here?SCHWEDE You always have to ask yourself the question: What effect does the advertising have on the user? And in what context is the advertising placed? Just because someone has looked at sex toys on Amorana.ch, they probably don't want to see ads for them on the Internet for a month (laughs). Targeting has to be helpful for the user, not frighteningly personalized.MK How does a company successfully manage content marketing and storytelling?SCHWEDE You need people who can create such content. These people need to know which topics are relevant. When choosing topics, you should focus on the users - and then link this content to your own products or events. Unfortunately, many companies today are far too inflexible when it comes to setting topics and are rigidly guided by their annual planning. However, this is often not in the interests of the users - agility is required. For example, why not simply test ten different advertising slogans and then develop a TV commercial based on the data obtained? The focus should always be on the consumer. The classic approach of briefing, campaign and subsequent analysis is outdated.MK But many companies are struggling with this new type of communication.SCHWEDE That's true. If you've always done the same thing for several years, it's difficult to rethink. One example: companies are now discovering that it is also possible to place video advertising on YouTube. But they use the same spots as for TV advertising - and that simply doesn't work. it takes an openness to new things and an acceptance that things work differently. This is not a question of education - younger people often have a better sense of where things are heading. If a company has a hierarchical structure, it becomes difficult to react quickly to changes. What is needed is a decentralized, agile organization. You have to try out new things - it's dangerous to always be the "second mover".MK Which Swiss companies are mastering digitalization particularly well?SWEDE Swisscom used to be exemplary, but now the air has gone out of it. Migros also impresses with its digital strategy - especially in comparison to Coop, which only recently woke up from its slumber. Among the banks, UBS and Raiffeisen are setting a fast pace. Finally, there are also innovative SMEs such as Mammut. In general, however, there is no company in Switzerland that is setting new international standards.MK How fit are Swiss companies in the digital sector compared to other countries?SCHWEDE There are studies that show that we are not doing badly. But Switzerland lacks an affinity for the digital. In order to keep pace with digitalization, it's important to try out new things and then decide quickly whether it's good for business. In Switzerland, people tend to take a wait-and-see approach and later regret that they didn't step on the gas more: there are companies that take a "school trip" to Sillicon Valley and then implement innovative lighthouse projects. But the most trivial things don't work on the website. You have to get the basic tasks right first. There are enough people who can advise a company competently on this.MK Which countries are digital leaders?SWEDEN Estonia, for example, is several steps ahead of us. The "electronic citizen" exists here, it is very easy to set up a company and e-voting is used across the board. In Finland, programming is part of basic education and is not limited to computer science. Programming means nothing more than breaking down a complex problem into simple steps and solving it. It is a way of thinking, a methodology that shapes everything. We in Switzerland, on the other hand, still learn the "Schnüerlischrift" ...MK You have already helped a number of companies to find the right social media strategy. What should they bear in mind?SCHWEDE I am a numbers person. Of course, a company must first define what it wants to achieve and which target group it wants to address. Then, however, it is important to select the right channels based on figures and reach. The growth rate should not be ignored. In general, less is more. This means selecting specific platforms and using them efficiently.MK How is social media communication perceived by the target group?SCHWEDE Content is crucial. The social media strategy should be based on the content that a company wants to communicate. The big challenge is to find out what content is relevant. Whether I then communicate this via a brochure, event or Facebook is of secondary importance.MK How important is social media monitoring? And how consistently is it implemented by Swiss companies?SCHWEDE Monitoring is often a sideline activity and only a few companies have a structured approach. This is often a budget issue because the financial resources for social media marketing are limited. When I see how much money is spent on classic media monitoring, an increase in funding for social media monitoring would be appropriate. This must of course be linked to other areas such as product development, market research, crisis monitoring, customer services and so on.MK Which social media platforms will become more relevant for companies in the future?SWEDEN Everything is developing very quickly. Messaging apps such as Whatsapp, Facebook Messenger and WeChat are currently all the rage. It's no coincidence that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg paid so much for Whatsapp. Customer service can be automated thanks to communication with chatbots via messaging apps. For example, I was recently advised by a chatbot when buying a flight ticket from the airline KLM. Rigid input masks do not correspond to human nature. Dialogue via chatbots is much more promising.MK What is crucial for chatbots to be used efficiently?SCHWEDE You need enough data to be able to automate processes. Technically, it's not a big challenge. A chatbot is constantly learning thanks to machine learning. That's why it's important to start collecting data now. Otherwise you might regret it in three years' time. Most websites and online stores do not yet have a chat function built in, so to avoid becoming too dependent on big players like Facebook or Google when collecting data, a company should use its own platforms to generate data.MK The Handelszeitung newspaper recently described you as a "veteran of the Swiss digital scene". What fascinates you about the digital world?SCHWEDE I've always been fascinated by new things. I quickly find existing things boring. I grew up with computers and was already programming things for companies at secondary school. I quickly realized the importance of digitalization - and also that you can earn money with it.
