Swiss Marketing leaves the Sawi
A bombshell at the Swiss Marketing Association (SMC) and Sawi: On April 4, the SMC announced its withdrawal to Sawi’s leadership. The association is stepping down because it no longer considers its role as an exam organizer to be compatible with its involvement in a school.
A major blow for the Swiss Marketing Association (SMC) and Sawi: SMC announced its resignation to the Sawi management on April 4. According to a press release, the SMC board had been considering for some time to what extent its membership of the Sawi school board was compatible with the association's purpose and educational activities. In recent years, the association has developed into Switzerland's largest examination organization in higher vocational education and training. The MarKom admission examination, the professional examinations for marketing and sales specialists and the higher professional examinations for sales and marketing managers are supervised by SMC. In 2007, more than 2,650 candidates were supervised. In 2008, the number of candidates will rise again, and with the growing importance of the examination system for SMC, its direct involvement on the board of a school has become questionable. An examination organizer must adopt a neutral position towards all education providers. Taking sides in favor of any one school is problematic. It cannot be objectively justified that the association that conducts examinations is only involved in one school that prepares for these examinations. There is a suspicion in the market that this one school has an information advantage with regard to the examinations.
SMC Central President Uwe Tännler told Werbewoche that only the changing education market and the increasing number of candidates were decisive factors: "There was no conflict with the Sawi. We simply find it cleaner if we, as an industry association that conducts examinations, are not involved in a school. The Sawi is not entirely happy about it at the moment. But I think it's better for the training center in the medium term: the circumstances are more transparent if we are no longer involved." Of course, as a co-founder of Sawi, SMC has a long tradition with the training institute, which was not dissolved lightly. Tännler believes it is possible that other institutions in the same position as SMC will now also come under pressure. He emphasizes that the solution from Sawi was amicable: SMC discussed the decision in detail with Sawi President Hans-Peter Rohner and Director Pia Kasper.
What does the SMC decision mean for Sawi? "SMC was one of the 14 supporting associations of Sawi. Until now, it has had a dual role: as an industry-wide examination organizer and as a co-sponsor of Sawi. It has now relinquished this role, which I fundamentally welcome," explained Sawi President Hans-Peter Rohner when asked by Werbewoche. It is an "act of common sense". The withdrawal of the SMC would hardly have any financial disadvantages for Sawi. Sawi Director Pia Kasper would have welcomed it if SMC had remained as a kind of "associate member". In the coming weeks and months, the SAWI will in any case have to conduct a fundamental structural discussion at sponsor level in order to give the SAWI management structures that are better adapted to today's market conditions. According to Rohner, this is his priority goal before he approaches the issue of a successor to the SAWI presidency. The umbrella organization Schweizer Werbung will also put its position within SAWI up for discussion, as it also performs a similar (but not directly comparable) dual function as audit organizer and supporting association.
SMC Central President Uwe Tännler told Werbewoche that only the changing education market and the increasing number of candidates were decisive factors: "There was no conflict with the Sawi. We simply find it cleaner if we, as an industry association that conducts examinations, are not involved in a school. The Sawi is not entirely happy about it at the moment. But I think it's better for the training center in the medium term: the circumstances are more transparent if we are no longer involved." Of course, as a co-founder of Sawi, SMC has a long tradition with the training institute, which was not dissolved lightly. Tännler believes it is possible that other institutions in the same position as SMC will now also come under pressure. He emphasizes that the solution from Sawi was amicable: SMC discussed the decision in detail with Sawi President Hans-Peter Rohner and Director Pia Kasper.
What does the SMC decision mean for Sawi? "SMC was one of the 14 supporting associations of Sawi. Until now, it has had a dual role: as an industry-wide examination organizer and as a co-sponsor of Sawi. It has now relinquished this role, which I fundamentally welcome," explained Sawi President Hans-Peter Rohner when asked by Werbewoche. It is an "act of common sense". The withdrawal of the SMC would hardly have any financial disadvantages for Sawi. Sawi Director Pia Kasper would have welcomed it if SMC had remained as a kind of "associate member". In the coming weeks and months, the SAWI will in any case have to conduct a fundamental structural discussion at sponsor level in order to give the SAWI management structures that are better adapted to today's market conditions. According to Rohner, this is his priority goal before he approaches the issue of a successor to the SAWI presidency. The umbrella organization Schweizer Werbung will also put its position within SAWI up for discussion, as it also performs a similar (but not directly comparable) dual function as audit organizer and supporting association.
Rohner himself had publicly stated on the day of the advertisement that the role of the Sawi sponsoring associations needed to be reconsidered. At the time, he was aware of the SMC's deliberations regarding a possible withdrawal, he told Werbewoche.
