PubliGroupe breaks with Oetterli
Marketing Specialist Many had expected Bruno Oetterli to leave Radiotele soon. But not «effective immediately.».
Marketers Many had expected Bruno Oetterli to leave Radiotele soon. But not "with immediate effect", as the PubliGroupe communiqué of June 5 suggests. But one contradiction makes you wonder. Bruno Oetterli's resignation has been "planned for a year", it says. Nevertheless, a successor is still being sought. Christian Gartmann, responsible for electronic, digital and interactive media on the PubliGroup Executive Board, is only taking over the management of Radiotele "ad interim", indicating a conflict between the veteran Oetterli and his younger superior Gartmann. Behind closed doors, this is confirmed internally at PubliGroup. Oetterli himself cannot be reached. And Gartmann denies it: "We have always been able to talk constructively together." The fact that the succession has not yet been settled has to do with the upheaval in the media industry and the hectic day-to-day business. "However, I will now take a proactive approach to succession planning," he says.
But what's next for Radiotele? Since the takeover by PubliGroupe and at the latest when the Swiss Radio Pool (SRP) and Tele Romandie Combi transferred the marketing mandate to the SRG marketer Publisuisse, frustration has been spreading in the Radiotele team. After Oetterli's departure, the mood barometer is likely to drop even further. Gartmann disagrees: "That's speculation. Our crew is highly motivated. I see the people every day and have enough management experience to be able to judge this."
Something else is depressing the mood: radio advertising is declining overall, but competitor IP Multimedia has reported steadily rising sales in the last six months. And Radiotele? Gartmann does not want to give any half-year trends out of consideration for PubliGroupe, which is listed on the stock exchange. But he does say one thing: "The advertising market has been unsettled since Publisuisse was chosen as SRP marketer. Some customers have cut their radio budgets or switched to other media."
And there is a further threat: Tele News Combi (TNC), which Radiotele and Publisuisse market jointly, could be terminated at the end of the year and Publisuisse could then be given the mandate alone - similar to SRP and Tele Romandie Combi. This scenario was previously considered possible in the industry, but is now considered likely following Oetterli's departure. Gartmann takes a different view: "Bruno Oetterli was undeniably an integrative figure, but it was our outstanding TV crew that has generated two thirds of TNC's turnover to date. Publisuisse only generated five percent." TNC members are well aware of this. "I therefore do not believe there is an increased risk of dismissal." However, he will soon be meeting with the TNC partners.
Markus Knöpfli
But what's next for Radiotele? Since the takeover by PubliGroupe and at the latest when the Swiss Radio Pool (SRP) and Tele Romandie Combi transferred the marketing mandate to the SRG marketer Publisuisse, frustration has been spreading in the Radiotele team. After Oetterli's departure, the mood barometer is likely to drop even further. Gartmann disagrees: "That's speculation. Our crew is highly motivated. I see the people every day and have enough management experience to be able to judge this."
Something else is depressing the mood: radio advertising is declining overall, but competitor IP Multimedia has reported steadily rising sales in the last six months. And Radiotele? Gartmann does not want to give any half-year trends out of consideration for PubliGroupe, which is listed on the stock exchange. But he does say one thing: "The advertising market has been unsettled since Publisuisse was chosen as SRP marketer. Some customers have cut their radio budgets or switched to other media."
And there is a further threat: Tele News Combi (TNC), which Radiotele and Publisuisse market jointly, could be terminated at the end of the year and Publisuisse could then be given the mandate alone - similar to SRP and Tele Romandie Combi. This scenario was previously considered possible in the industry, but is now considered likely following Oetterli's departure. Gartmann takes a different view: "Bruno Oetterli was undeniably an integrative figure, but it was our outstanding TV crew that has generated two thirds of TNC's turnover to date. Publisuisse only generated five percent." TNC members are well aware of this. "I therefore do not believe there is an increased risk of dismissal." However, he will soon be meeting with the TNC partners.
Markus Knöpfli
