Thomas Schwetje: The Wholesale Distributor

m&k: Thomas Schwetje, you work for one of the most popular Swiss brands of all time. Does that make your job as Head of Marketing at Coop a dream job?

Thomas Schwetje: Yes, absolutely. But not just because of the Coop brand’s popularity: What’s really great about my job is that you get immediate feedback on what you do. Thanks to our prominence in Switzerland, there isn’t a single campaign where we don’t receive immediate feedback from the public. There are always people who say, «I think your campaign is great»—or, «I think it’s ridiculous!» Food is an area that everyone can relate to; it plays a role in everyone’s life. At the same time, we’re able to measure the success of our activities very effectively; we can determine which marketing measures generate how much revenue. That can be sobering at times, but most of the time I think it’s great (laughs).

 

As a marketer, what's more important to you? The numbers—or your customers' emotions?

To be completely honest: I get paid to optimize the numbers. But outsiders often judge you based on «what people say.» Of course, I see my primary job as bringing people into our store every day… and ultimately, that’s more important than whether someone thinks we ran a cute Christmas campaign. Of course, that’s nice too—it’s good for the soul—but the impact on sales from emotionally appealing TV commercials is much smaller than the impact we can generate every week through a great promotional magazine.

 

So you're advocating for data-driven marketing—even beyond your industry?

In my opinion, marketing focuses too often solely on communication. The metrics are sometimes a bit strange. How do you measure the success of advertising? What exactly makes a good TV commercial? Often, people only look at whether a commercial is funny, likable, or memorable—but not whether it actually drives people to the car dealership, the supermarket, or wherever else. Even though, at the end of the day, that’s the goal.

 

So, how important is creativity in marketing to you?

By creativity, I don’t just mean the typical advertising creativity. Creativity is also essential if you want to successfully personalize digital channels. Or when you want to increase market share among young families and set up a family club to do so. Price differentiation, special offers, content strategy—all of these are expressions of the kind of business creativity that marketers absolutely must demonstrate.

 

Keyword: «data-driven creativity»?

Yes, data-driven creativity, but also analytical creativity—that is, creativity that goes beyond market observations. You know, people often act as if creative people can’t be analytical, and vice versa. I don’t believe that.

 

What conditions must large companies put in place to enable marketers like you to do your jobs successfully?

I thrive on having a great deal of freedom because it motivates me immensely. The ability to put my own ideas into practice is absolutely essential to me. That said, you also have to be able to explain yourself and set benchmarks for your own goals that you need to meet.

 

So, does that mean marketers need trust above all else, a priori?

Well, of course you don’t have that level of freedom right from day one. You have to earn that trust. The people around you—the team, management—have to say, «Schwetje isn’t just messing around; he really knows what he’s doing!» And of course, you also need financial resources for successful marketing. That said, a higher budget rightly comes with higher expectations. If I have opportunities that others don’t have, but still do a worse job with marketing… then my seat would probably start to wobble very, very quickly (laughs).

During our preliminary conversation, you described yourself as a «competitive type.» What do you think: How many «Migros kids» have you and your team turned into «Coop kids» so far?

I think it’s very difficult to turn a «Migros kid» into a «Coop kid.» But you can take a customer who tends to spend 70 out of every 100 Swiss francs at Migros and 30 at Coop, and turn them into someone who spends only 64 francs at Migros and 36 with us. That person is still a «Migros kid,» but we’ve increased our sales with that customer by 20 percent. It’s definitely possible. I believe, in any case, that we need to move away from bipolar thinking. In retail, it’s not about «either… or,» but about «share of wallet.» And that’s where we come in.

 

In your opinion, what do you think is the biggest difference between Coop and Migros?

Of course, the brands have become a bit more similar in recent years, as our competitor has increasingly added major brands to its lineup, expanded its organic selection, and has even started selling alcohol in its online store. At the same time, we’ve slightly expanded our share of private-label brands. However, it’s very important to us to maintain the Coop brand identity—which includes clear market leadership in organic products and branded goods, as well as, of course, our expertise in wine and sustainability.

 

And what are you and your team doing to highlight the differences between the providers?

There are various strategies we employ. In our promotional communications, we highlight the major brands in our product lineup, partly because they’re the easiest to recognize in advertising. However, we also regularly promote organic products because we’re clearly perceived as the organic market leader in Switzerland. And of course, we promote alcoholic beverages as well, since this is where we differentiate ourselves from our main competitor. In our image advertising, we’ll increasingly focus on the themes of barbecuing and sustainability. We’ve successfully positioned ourselves around both of these themes in our communications over the past few years. And within our product range, we’ll continue to significantly expand our vegetarian and vegan private label, Karma, in particular.

 

You mentioned advertising: According to Mediafocus, no one in Switzerland spends as much of their budget on advertising as Coop. That makes them practically a pillar of media diversity, doesn't it?

Yes, we’re aware of that, too. Of course: My greatest responsibility is to our company, our employees, and our cooperative members. That means we must use the resources at our disposal in the best possible way for Coop. I must fulfill this responsibility first and foremost. But at the same time, I also have a responsibility toward the media landscape in Switzerland. And I fulfill that responsibility in accordance with certain principles.

 

For example?

If we need to reallocate funds—toward digital media, for example, and away from print—because our business success depends on it, then that’s what we have to do. But we’re not forced to do it overnight. I don’t have to flip a switch. Because—leaving the pandemic aside for a moment—there’s no situation that justifies going from 100 to zero. We’re aware of our responsibility, and we take it seriously. That’s why I’ve sought open dialogue with many media representatives in the past: I’ve explained what we’ll be doing over the next two or three years and given them the opportunity to adapt their offerings accordingly. When it comes to our media budget, responsibility also means providing our partners with planning certainty.

 

And do you conduct these conversations yourself? Surely that could easily be delegated …

There are two reasons for this. First: No one is more credible when it comes to matters involving the marketing budget than my staff and I. I can vouch that what is discussed during negotiations is accurate and will be honored. But I can also explain why things are the way they are. On top of that, I don’t shy away from responsibility, even if it can be difficult at times. That’s my job, and I simply think it’s wrong to outsource that to a media agency. You know—in Switzerland, you run into each other a hundred times in your life. I want the people I’ve worked with to be able to say at any time: «Schwetje may have negotiated hard, but he was always transparent. Always fair.»

«I don't shy away from responsibility, even if it can be difficult at times. That's just part of the job.»

 

Apart from the pandemic, what challenges are currently keeping you and your team the busiest?

I could give you a whole range of examples right now. Let me single out one: We’re working hard to further enhance the relevance of our communications. After all, we launch several hundred promotions every week; when a retiree sees a Coop ad online, they obviously shouldn’t be shown promotions for inexpensive baby food (laughs). Instead, perhaps a discount on that great Spanish red wine. That means we have to conduct smart data analysis, apply the insights from that analysis to automated email newsletters or apps, and deliver personalized messages. The real challenge is doing this in a timely manner in ads on third-party digital platforms like «20Minuten» or «Blick.ch»—which sounds pretty simple to laypeople but proves to be enormously complex in practice. I’m so grateful that our IT team is such a reliable partner here and, above all, generously turns a blind eye to the fact that we marketers are always coming up with new ideas and want to implement everything as quickly as possible (laughs). And I love challenges anyway; I’m sure we’ll pull this off.

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Thomas Schwetje is Head of Marketing and Digital Services at Coop. He has been with the company for nearly thirteen years; prior to that, he held management positions at the consulting firm BBDO and at Apollis AG, among other roles. Thomas Schwetje is married and lives with his wife and children between Basel and Düsseldorf.