Listen and renovate
As advertising director at Jean Frey, Christophe Waeber oversees both *Weltwoche* and *Bilanz*.
As Head of Advertising at Jean Frey, Christophe Waeber is in charge of both Weltwoche and Bilanz at the same time. The new Head of Advertising for Bilanz and Weltwoche does not see himself as an administrator, but as someone who wants to "build something". Christophe Waeber has already proved this once - in Portugal. Waeber arrived on the Atlantic coast with a last-minute ticket. He stayed for more than two years. His vacation was already over on the second day. He discovered a house in the Algarve that he really wanted to renovate. It was a ruin. But the property had potential. The profitable sale of the renovated house gave him a taste for it. Waeber renovated other ruins and discovered a gap in the market. The vacation trip developed into a consulting firm that also helped foreigners in the south of Portugal to set up SMEs. Thanks to Waeber's good advice, one of his clients even founded a small newspaper in Portugal, which was a twist of fate. The hard-working dropout returned to Switzerland in 1995 and was hired by Publicitas. For almost four years, he worked in marketing in a staff unit of the general management. He later built up marketing support at the business newspaper Cash and managed various publishing projects before moving on to the agency side: At DDB in Zollikerberg, Waeber initially worked in the creative agency on strategic planning, and later did the same at its media offshoot OMD. Following the restructuring of the OMD Group, he became head of the Zurich City operating unit before returning "back to the roots" on the publishing side.
It is valuable that he knows both sides, says Waeber. The first thing he did at Jean Frey was to write the presentations for the titles himself, "short and sweet", because he knows "what agencies and customers want and what they don't have time for".
Saving time both in-house and at the customer's premises is one of its new dual functions. Time is money. And if you can present two titles to a major customer in one appointment, for Waeber this results in "operational synergies that we naturally want to exploit".
Around 40 percent of advertisers - around 30 key accounts - are the same for Weltwoche and Bilanz. The positioning of the two titles is different, but complementary: "With Bilanz and Weltwoche, we cover the northern fields of the media radar with above-average quality and tap into exclusive readership circles." With Waeber's job at Jean Frey, nothing will change in the sales structure at the level of area sales managers: they will remain with their traditional titles. The restructuring only affects the publishing management and advertising management.
First of all, the "marketing person" analyzed the situation. What is the mood of the titles and the people? Then it was a matter of working out a strategy for the two titles. And then to implement it. His goal and that of Jean Frey Verlag: to continue on the successful path of Weltwoche and, with small corrections and a focused presence, to ensure that "Bilanz is increasingly the talk of the town again". Waeber is convinced: "We have top people, structures and products." He wants to communicate this accordingly: "Now we're getting down to business."
The new mindset has already been rewarded with the Media Trend Award. For Waeber, this is official recognition that he has "found a good team". Waeber also believes he has his own qualities. Among other things, he is said to have great empathy, meaning that he is a good listener - and equally good at giving advice.
As advertising manager, Christophe Waeber is helping to make the balance sheet the talk of the town again.
Andreas Panzeri
It is valuable that he knows both sides, says Waeber. The first thing he did at Jean Frey was to write the presentations for the titles himself, "short and sweet", because he knows "what agencies and customers want and what they don't have time for".
Saving time both in-house and at the customer's premises is one of its new dual functions. Time is money. And if you can present two titles to a major customer in one appointment, for Waeber this results in "operational synergies that we naturally want to exploit".
Around 40 percent of advertisers - around 30 key accounts - are the same for Weltwoche and Bilanz. The positioning of the two titles is different, but complementary: "With Bilanz and Weltwoche, we cover the northern fields of the media radar with above-average quality and tap into exclusive readership circles." With Waeber's job at Jean Frey, nothing will change in the sales structure at the level of area sales managers: they will remain with their traditional titles. The restructuring only affects the publishing management and advertising management.
First of all, the "marketing person" analyzed the situation. What is the mood of the titles and the people? Then it was a matter of working out a strategy for the two titles. And then to implement it. His goal and that of Jean Frey Verlag: to continue on the successful path of Weltwoche and, with small corrections and a focused presence, to ensure that "Bilanz is increasingly the talk of the town again". Waeber is convinced: "We have top people, structures and products." He wants to communicate this accordingly: "Now we're getting down to business."
The new mindset has already been rewarded with the Media Trend Award. For Waeber, this is official recognition that he has "found a good team". Waeber also believes he has his own qualities. Among other things, he is said to have great empathy, meaning that he is a good listener - and equally good at giving advice.
As advertising manager, Christophe Waeber is helping to make the balance sheet the talk of the town again.
Andreas Panzeri
