Schizophrenia common in the industry
Comment: There is a certain irony in the fact that private individuals who refuse to accept advertising professionally complain about the decline in advertising. The same applies to publishers who officially scoff at direct marketing but are increasingly using it to further their own goals.
Comment Private advertising detractors who complain professionally about the advertising slump are not without a certain irony. This also applies to publishers, who officially smile at direct marketing but are increasingly using it to achieve their own goals. This saying should not always be taken at its word. Nevertheless, it is astonishing to find the infamous little star behind a number of prominent names from the publishing industry in Twixtel, which quickly mutates into a stop sticker on letterboxes. But how are the starving Swiss newspaper barons and their managers supposed to fare any better if they even have it written in the electronic telephone directory that they don't want any advertising? The Swisscom list of official advertising detractors, researched at the touch of a button, is long and ranges from Charles von Graffenried (Espace Media) and Matthias Hagemann (Basler Mediengruppe) to Martin Kall (Tamedia), Tobias Trevisan (NZZ) and Ueli Eckstein (AZ Medien Gruppe) to Publicitas boss Hans-Peter Rohner. And the Jean Frey management team - headed by Filippo Leutenegger and Uli Rubner - apparently had their addresses blocked in corpore. Only in Ringier's executive suite are there no asterisk (banner) bearers - although since the Borer affair, the landlord himself no longer has a public telephone number that he could have marked accordingly.
Well, thinks the unsuspecting observer, perhaps the entries date back to the boom years, when overly euphoric advertising departments occasionally took the liberty of simply rejecting less attractive customer orders. But no such luck - after all, the digital information is constantly updated. Ultimately, the only remaining explanation is the very comforting fact that the print patrons' advertising phobia is directed against the arch-enemy of direct marketing and not against the traditional advertising on which they themselves live (or have lived) for two thirds of their existence.
But wait, isn't the next common industry schizophrenia already lurking here? Aren't publishers themselves increasingly relying on mailings, call centers and other direct advertising methods aimed at quick sales success - and thus paying homage to the very short-term thinking that they repeatedly and eloquently complain about with their advertising customers? Of course, the rulers of the fourth estate are also subject to the laws of the market; and it is well known that these do not require business leaders to speak and act consistently or consistently, but only profitably.
Speaking of consistency: the argumentation of this commentary is of course not entirely watertight. Otherwise, for example, there would also have to be an asterisk above the name of the former publishing director of the Tages-Anzeiger. But Dietrich Berg has never opposed advertising in his private life either - and yet he still failed "on the job". The fact that Berg's successor Maili Wolf is already exercising her "right to refuse acceptance" two months before taking office does not bode well for Switzerland's largest subscription newspaper.
But perhaps she is taking a leaf out of Peter Hartmeier's book. As the former head of the association and company spokesman, the current editor-in-chief of the Tagi newspaper knows that he cannot ignore the wishes and techniques of the advertising industry in such difficult times, even within his own four walls.
> Oliver Classen, Editor
Well, thinks the unsuspecting observer, perhaps the entries date back to the boom years, when overly euphoric advertising departments occasionally took the liberty of simply rejecting less attractive customer orders. But no such luck - after all, the digital information is constantly updated. Ultimately, the only remaining explanation is the very comforting fact that the print patrons' advertising phobia is directed against the arch-enemy of direct marketing and not against the traditional advertising on which they themselves live (or have lived) for two thirds of their existence.
But wait, isn't the next common industry schizophrenia already lurking here? Aren't publishers themselves increasingly relying on mailings, call centers and other direct advertising methods aimed at quick sales success - and thus paying homage to the very short-term thinking that they repeatedly and eloquently complain about with their advertising customers? Of course, the rulers of the fourth estate are also subject to the laws of the market; and it is well known that these do not require business leaders to speak and act consistently or consistently, but only profitably.
Speaking of consistency: the argumentation of this commentary is of course not entirely watertight. Otherwise, for example, there would also have to be an asterisk above the name of the former publishing director of the Tages-Anzeiger. But Dietrich Berg has never opposed advertising in his private life either - and yet he still failed "on the job". The fact that Berg's successor Maili Wolf is already exercising her "right to refuse acceptance" two months before taking office does not bode well for Switzerland's largest subscription newspaper.
But perhaps she is taking a leaf out of Peter Hartmeier's book. As the former head of the association and company spokesman, the current editor-in-chief of the Tagi newspaper knows that he cannot ignore the wishes and techniques of the advertising industry in such difficult times, even within his own four walls.
> Oliver Classen, Editor
