Head of the week: "I love doing pioneering work and being a little provocative in the process"
Raoul Gerber will become Managing Director of IP Multimedia in Western Switzerland on May 1
Raoul Gerber will become Managing Director of IP Multimedia in French-speaking Switzerland on May 1Raoul Gerber doesn't like to let anyone look at his cards. As the future Managing Director for French-speaking Switzerland of advertising time marketer IP Multimedia, but currently still in the pay of Force Promotion, the marketing company for private television stations in French-speaking Switzerland, he is very cautious when it comes to making statements about the development of the French-speaking Swiss TV market. Even if he doesn't say so explicitly, you can sense his desire to shake up this market and really shake up the entrenched TSR monopoly. That is why he is also quite happy that M6 has ventured into French-speaking Switzerland with its advertising window and hopes that other providers such as TF 1 will follow suit. This is actually a little surprising, as the two local television stations Léman bleu and TVRL, marketed by Force Promotion, are among the channel operators that do not show the M6 advertising window out of solidarity with Télévision Suisse Romande.
The 38-year-old began his professional career far away from the media business. After studying humanities in German, French and philosophy, he taught for a short time.
However, despite the four-month vacation and guaranteed employment for life, he found teaching too monotonous. He is convinced that his desire to impart knowledge was not overly appreciated by the pupils.
As a translator at the Journal du Jura in Biel, the son of an Aargau native and an Austrian got his first taste of newspaper work. And when he was asked to help set up the first private local radio station in French-speaking Switzerland, Raoul Gerber didn't have to think twice before seizing the opportunity.
Later, it was the Geneva local TV station Léman bleu that he helped launch. Yes, he loves doing pioneering work and being a little provocative, he admits. Back then, electronic media was still uncharted territory for advertisers in French-speaking Switzerland, Gerber recalls. He is a passionate advocate of local television, which is becoming increasingly professionalized. The strength of local television is the local news, which offers real added value. However, Gerber is convinced that the programs of the various stations should be aligned in terms of subject matter and content. The appeal of local television is its proximity. And the attractiveness of IP Multimedia will lie in even greater customer proximity in the future, argues Raoul Gerber and, as a shrewd marketer, places another commercial on his own behalf. Anita Vaucher
The 38-year-old began his professional career far away from the media business. After studying humanities in German, French and philosophy, he taught for a short time.
However, despite the four-month vacation and guaranteed employment for life, he found teaching too monotonous. He is convinced that his desire to impart knowledge was not overly appreciated by the pupils.
As a translator at the Journal du Jura in Biel, the son of an Aargau native and an Austrian got his first taste of newspaper work. And when he was asked to help set up the first private local radio station in French-speaking Switzerland, Raoul Gerber didn't have to think twice before seizing the opportunity.
Later, it was the Geneva local TV station Léman bleu that he helped launch. Yes, he loves doing pioneering work and being a little provocative, he admits. Back then, electronic media was still uncharted territory for advertisers in French-speaking Switzerland, Gerber recalls. He is a passionate advocate of local television, which is becoming increasingly professionalized. The strength of local television is the local news, which offers real added value. However, Gerber is convinced that the programs of the various stations should be aligned in terms of subject matter and content. The appeal of local television is its proximity. And the attractiveness of IP Multimedia will lie in even greater customer proximity in the future, argues Raoul Gerber and, as a shrewd marketer, places another commercial on his own behalf. Anita Vaucher
