At the pinnacle of brand management
Tourism: While other vacation destinations are struggling, the Jungfrau promoters remain optimistic. Their secret: They have established the region as a brand.
Tourism While other vacation regions are complaining, the Jungfrau promoters are in good spirits. Their recipe: they have established the region as a brand. "Strong brands have one thing in common: they have been built up continuously over years or decades," says Urs Kessler, Head of Marketing & Operations at Jungfrau Railways. "And they have a clear brand essence, a brand promise that they stand by regardless of external influences." The Jungfrau Railway and the Jungfrau Massif are a brand, not only in Switzerland, but also in India and the Far East. Only the Matterhorn and the Jungfrau are truly internationally renowned Swiss mountains. The Matterhorn has become the symbol of Switzerland par excellence, and the Jungfrau massif with its spectacular cogwheel railroad built a hundred years ago also combines all the elements of a noble and valuable brand. All railroads under one roof
Around ten years ago, the management of Jungfrau Railways decided to create a uniform label. In contrast to the blue glacier world, the in-house graphic designers created a rising yellow-orange bar with the integrated term "Jungfrau Railways".
The color scheme is open to debate, as is whether the matter-of-fact font is appropriate for the majestic mountain. However, with the label and the associated image system, Jungfrau Railways has managed to position the entire mountain region with several railroads (Wengernalp Railway, Lauterbrunnen-Mürren Mountain Railway, Grindelwald-First Railway and others) as a whole.
Showing the international flag
Where other tourist regions look like patchwork quilts, the Jungfrau region - with Interlaken, Grindelwald and Wengen as its most important centers - presents itself as a cohesive vacation region. The logo has now been gently refreshed, the bar is now red instead of orange, which is reminiscent of the color of the Jungfrau Railway trains.
With an annual advertising and marketing budget of around CHF 3 million - just under three percent of last year's turnover of CHF 125 million - the company is able to fly the flag internationally, with a joint presence in the markets with Switzerland Tourism. However, Jungfrau Railways does not work with a fixed budget, but first plans the campaigns and then secures the financing. The communication repertoire has recently also included pop concerts on Kleine Scheidegg, which are attended by thousands of people.
The Nivea brand is one of his role models, says Head of Marketing Kessler, whose logo is unmistakable, although it has been subtly adapted time and again. New care products are constantly being brought onto the market under the traditional cosmetics label, and all are clearly recognizable as members of the Nivea family. A similar approach is taken by Jungfrau Railways, where partner railroads and place names in the Jungfrau region are marked with the yellow and red bar.
Brand management also includes a careful selection of photos submitted to the press, which show the Bernese Oberland's natural wonder and its railroads in the best light at all times of the year. Jungfrau Railways positions itself as a "product of high interest" in the international tourism market and adds further glamour to the traditional label with the addition of "Top of Europe".
Conquering the Asian market
Back in the 1970s, a Jungfrau Railways delegation flew to Japan with Swissair and other top performers on a promotional tour, laying the foundations for today's popularity earlier than others. In 1989, Urs Kessler traveled to Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea for the first time, where only Lucerne and the Titlis were known. "That was a wake-up call for us," recalls Kessler. Those responsible at Jungfrau Railways began to develop the market in Southeast Asia through consistent marketing with intensive contacts to tour operators and targeted advertising in catalogs, travel guides and later also on the Internet. Today choose
80 percent of Korean tourists who "climb" a Swiss mountain do so on the Jungfrau Railway. "The breakthrough in Korea has clearly shown how important brands are," summarizes Kessler. "We would never have achieved this success as 'Mountain XY'."
Whenever possible, customers are addressed in their native language and the advertising material is differentiated from country to country. A poster that is a hit in Asia may appear staid in Switzerland or Germany. Market research has shown that Asians prefer pictures with the Jungfrau Railway, while Europeans prefer the view of the Aletsch Glacier with the mountain panorama.
The company headquarters in Interlaken now supplies smaller posters to Asia, where offices and salesrooms are becoming increasingly cramped for cost reasons. The glossy calendars are still popular, with 2500 of them alone advertising the Jungfrau in Asian travel agencies and other strategically important locations. In Japan, the "Mr. and Mrs. Virgo Contest" is now underway, where travel agencies are looking for the five most beautiful and smartest women and men among their staff. The winning prize is presented on the Jungfraujoch - naturally under a flurry of flashbulbs from the Japanese media.
Saris and turbans have recently become ubiquitous on the 3,500-metre-high Jungfraujoch; scenes from "The Hero", India's most expensive film production to date, have been shot on the Kleine Scheidegg, just like other box office hits in the Indian film industry. Indian journalists flown in by Jungfrau Railways report on the stars and the mighty mountains in Switzerland for an audience of millions.
Every year, 40,000 Indians travel to the Jungfraujoch, where the Indian restaurant Bollywood, decorated with photos of Indian film stars, was opened.
Successful breakthrough in ChinaNow the marketing strategists have their sights set on China, as Chinese tourists no longer need a visa for Switzerland. Jungfrau Railways achieved a remarkable coup in 2002 with the sistering of the famous Chinese Hungshan mountain, which, like the Jungfrau, is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Jungfrau was top news in the TV program about the two mountains, which was seen by 300 million Chinese viewers.
In 2003, 5000 Chinese tourists came to the Jungfraujoch, and the trend is rising. Because most Chinese groups, who travel to Europe as if they were on a continuous flow heater, currently only have an all-inclusive budget of around 50 dollars a day, the Jungfraujoch often exceeds the budget. Kessler: "The same applies here: we only have a chance if we are perceived as a brand."
85 percent of guests only travel to the Jungfrau once in their lives, which is why the company has to acquire at least 400,000 new customers every year. The majority of visitors from the EU are individual tourists, who can hardly be targeted by advertising without major wastage. In Germany, the Jungfrau region benefits from the myth of the Eiger North Face, which the German Heinrich Harrer conquered for the first time in the 1930s.
Image as an expensive destinationIn Switzerland, Unesco status is highlighted in large advertising campaigns and on posters in strategically important locations such as train stations and shopping centers. The advertising is necessary because only 70,000 Swiss travel to the Jungfraujoch every year, which is considered expensive here in Switzerland.
The "Jungfrau Marketing Cooperation" brings together all service providers from the cable cars to the resorts and hotels. The cooperation does have areas of friction, as each destination wants to put itself in the spotlight of the triumvirate. However, the small players on the tourism chessboard of the Jungfrau region are almost at the mercy of the big player.
The aim is to ensure that the use of the available resources brings the greatest possible added value to all those involved. "The Jungfrau Region marketing cooperation brings together all service providers from the railroads to the new Mystery Park in Interlaken and the hotels," explains Urs Kessler. "A strong Jungfrau Region is the be-all and end-all for us, but it is important that the 'Jungfrau' label stands out."
Visitors from all over the worldIn 2003, half a million tourists visited the Jungfraujoch. There were 10,500 from the EU, 127,000 from Japan, 40,000 from India, 5,000 from China and 9,000 from the rest of Asia. 36,000 visitors came from the USA and 15,000 from Australia. 70,000 came from Switzerland. The remaining visitors came from Africa and the Middle East. (wc)
Solid foundationJungfraubahn Holding AG is an organically grown conglomerate with 15 holdings, ranging from Jungfraubahn AG, Interlaken (100%), Bergbahn Lauterbrunnen-Mürren (77%) and Skilift Bumps, Wengen (23%), to Parkhaus Lauterbrunnen AG (68%). On Maundy Thursday 2004, the shareholders of Jungfrau Railway and Bergbahnen Grindelwald First approved a merger of the two companies. With a turnover of CHF 125 million and a workforce of around 500 full-time employees, the holding company generated a cash flow of 28 percent in 2003, with a self-financing ratio of almost 70 percent. (wc)
The mountain is calling: the Jungfrau attracts crowds of tourists in both winter and summer. Behind this success is a communication strategy that encompasses the entire region.
"We only have a chance if we are perceived as a brand." Urs Kessler, Head of Marketing and Operations at Jungfrau Railways.
Werner Catrina
Around ten years ago, the management of Jungfrau Railways decided to create a uniform label. In contrast to the blue glacier world, the in-house graphic designers created a rising yellow-orange bar with the integrated term "Jungfrau Railways".
The color scheme is open to debate, as is whether the matter-of-fact font is appropriate for the majestic mountain. However, with the label and the associated image system, Jungfrau Railways has managed to position the entire mountain region with several railroads (Wengernalp Railway, Lauterbrunnen-Mürren Mountain Railway, Grindelwald-First Railway and others) as a whole.
Showing the international flag
Where other tourist regions look like patchwork quilts, the Jungfrau region - with Interlaken, Grindelwald and Wengen as its most important centers - presents itself as a cohesive vacation region. The logo has now been gently refreshed, the bar is now red instead of orange, which is reminiscent of the color of the Jungfrau Railway trains.
With an annual advertising and marketing budget of around CHF 3 million - just under three percent of last year's turnover of CHF 125 million - the company is able to fly the flag internationally, with a joint presence in the markets with Switzerland Tourism. However, Jungfrau Railways does not work with a fixed budget, but first plans the campaigns and then secures the financing. The communication repertoire has recently also included pop concerts on Kleine Scheidegg, which are attended by thousands of people.
The Nivea brand is one of his role models, says Head of Marketing Kessler, whose logo is unmistakable, although it has been subtly adapted time and again. New care products are constantly being brought onto the market under the traditional cosmetics label, and all are clearly recognizable as members of the Nivea family. A similar approach is taken by Jungfrau Railways, where partner railroads and place names in the Jungfrau region are marked with the yellow and red bar.
Brand management also includes a careful selection of photos submitted to the press, which show the Bernese Oberland's natural wonder and its railroads in the best light at all times of the year. Jungfrau Railways positions itself as a "product of high interest" in the international tourism market and adds further glamour to the traditional label with the addition of "Top of Europe".
Conquering the Asian market
Back in the 1970s, a Jungfrau Railways delegation flew to Japan with Swissair and other top performers on a promotional tour, laying the foundations for today's popularity earlier than others. In 1989, Urs Kessler traveled to Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea for the first time, where only Lucerne and the Titlis were known. "That was a wake-up call for us," recalls Kessler. Those responsible at Jungfrau Railways began to develop the market in Southeast Asia through consistent marketing with intensive contacts to tour operators and targeted advertising in catalogs, travel guides and later also on the Internet. Today choose
80 percent of Korean tourists who "climb" a Swiss mountain do so on the Jungfrau Railway. "The breakthrough in Korea has clearly shown how important brands are," summarizes Kessler. "We would never have achieved this success as 'Mountain XY'."
Whenever possible, customers are addressed in their native language and the advertising material is differentiated from country to country. A poster that is a hit in Asia may appear staid in Switzerland or Germany. Market research has shown that Asians prefer pictures with the Jungfrau Railway, while Europeans prefer the view of the Aletsch Glacier with the mountain panorama.
The company headquarters in Interlaken now supplies smaller posters to Asia, where offices and salesrooms are becoming increasingly cramped for cost reasons. The glossy calendars are still popular, with 2500 of them alone advertising the Jungfrau in Asian travel agencies and other strategically important locations. In Japan, the "Mr. and Mrs. Virgo Contest" is now underway, where travel agencies are looking for the five most beautiful and smartest women and men among their staff. The winning prize is presented on the Jungfraujoch - naturally under a flurry of flashbulbs from the Japanese media.
Saris and turbans have recently become ubiquitous on the 3,500-metre-high Jungfraujoch; scenes from "The Hero", India's most expensive film production to date, have been shot on the Kleine Scheidegg, just like other box office hits in the Indian film industry. Indian journalists flown in by Jungfrau Railways report on the stars and the mighty mountains in Switzerland for an audience of millions.
Every year, 40,000 Indians travel to the Jungfraujoch, where the Indian restaurant Bollywood, decorated with photos of Indian film stars, was opened.
Successful breakthrough in ChinaNow the marketing strategists have their sights set on China, as Chinese tourists no longer need a visa for Switzerland. Jungfrau Railways achieved a remarkable coup in 2002 with the sistering of the famous Chinese Hungshan mountain, which, like the Jungfrau, is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Jungfrau was top news in the TV program about the two mountains, which was seen by 300 million Chinese viewers.
In 2003, 5000 Chinese tourists came to the Jungfraujoch, and the trend is rising. Because most Chinese groups, who travel to Europe as if they were on a continuous flow heater, currently only have an all-inclusive budget of around 50 dollars a day, the Jungfraujoch often exceeds the budget. Kessler: "The same applies here: we only have a chance if we are perceived as a brand."
85 percent of guests only travel to the Jungfrau once in their lives, which is why the company has to acquire at least 400,000 new customers every year. The majority of visitors from the EU are individual tourists, who can hardly be targeted by advertising without major wastage. In Germany, the Jungfrau region benefits from the myth of the Eiger North Face, which the German Heinrich Harrer conquered for the first time in the 1930s.
Image as an expensive destinationIn Switzerland, Unesco status is highlighted in large advertising campaigns and on posters in strategically important locations such as train stations and shopping centers. The advertising is necessary because only 70,000 Swiss travel to the Jungfraujoch every year, which is considered expensive here in Switzerland.
The "Jungfrau Marketing Cooperation" brings together all service providers from the cable cars to the resorts and hotels. The cooperation does have areas of friction, as each destination wants to put itself in the spotlight of the triumvirate. However, the small players on the tourism chessboard of the Jungfrau region are almost at the mercy of the big player.
The aim is to ensure that the use of the available resources brings the greatest possible added value to all those involved. "The Jungfrau Region marketing cooperation brings together all service providers from the railroads to the new Mystery Park in Interlaken and the hotels," explains Urs Kessler. "A strong Jungfrau Region is the be-all and end-all for us, but it is important that the 'Jungfrau' label stands out."
Visitors from all over the worldIn 2003, half a million tourists visited the Jungfraujoch. There were 10,500 from the EU, 127,000 from Japan, 40,000 from India, 5,000 from China and 9,000 from the rest of Asia. 36,000 visitors came from the USA and 15,000 from Australia. 70,000 came from Switzerland. The remaining visitors came from Africa and the Middle East. (wc)
Solid foundationJungfraubahn Holding AG is an organically grown conglomerate with 15 holdings, ranging from Jungfraubahn AG, Interlaken (100%), Bergbahn Lauterbrunnen-Mürren (77%) and Skilift Bumps, Wengen (23%), to Parkhaus Lauterbrunnen AG (68%). On Maundy Thursday 2004, the shareholders of Jungfrau Railway and Bergbahnen Grindelwald First approved a merger of the two companies. With a turnover of CHF 125 million and a workforce of around 500 full-time employees, the holding company generated a cash flow of 28 percent in 2003, with a self-financing ratio of almost 70 percent. (wc)
The mountain is calling: the Jungfrau attracts crowds of tourists in both winter and summer. Behind this success is a communication strategy that encompasses the entire region.
"We only have a chance if we are perceived as a brand." Urs Kessler, Head of Marketing and Operations at Jungfrau Railways.
Werner Catrina
