"Unfortunately, too many media outlets are still quietly plodding along"
Gérard Geiger, Director of Ringier Romandie, becomes head of all Ringier magazines
Gérard Geiger, director of Ringier Romandie, becomes head of all Ringier magazinesRingier Romandie is not to lose any autonomy with the election of its director to the parent company in Zurich. But with Gérard Geiger, the French-speaking Swiss subsidiary will have a direct line to the Group's management for the first time.Barely a year after your appointment as director of Ringier Romandie, you will become head of Ringier's magazines division on April 1. So you'll probably be more likely to be found in Zurich in the future?
Gérard Geiger: That's probably the case. I'm also a new member of the Ringier Executive Board. So I'll probably be commuting between Lausanne and Zurich more often. But since I'm now responsible for the entire Magazines division, I'll still spend a lot of time in Lausanne, of course, because Ringier Romandie has more magazines than Ringier in German-speaking Switzerland.
How do you plan to balance the two full-time jobs?
Geiger: Compared to managers who split their time between Geneva and Hong Kong, the division of work between Zurich and Lausanne is actually quite modest.
What affinity do you have for German-speaking Switzerland?
Geiger: A very big one. After all, I once worked as editor-in-chief of Optima. But of course, for me personally, the new job at Ringier Zurich is a great challenge and at the same time a broadening of professional horizons.
What will be your priorities in your new job?
Geiger: It's important to me to continue developing the existing titles. But I also see a very important task in integrating the magazines from Jean Frey Verlag once the whole deal has gone through.
Will Ringier Romandie lose its independence with your appointment to the parent company?
Geiger: That's not the case at all, and no one here in Lausanne fears that. On the contrary, everyone is delighted that Ringier Romandie will now be directly represented on the Group Executive Board in Zurich. That was never the case before. This also shows publisher Michael Ringier's interest in the media market in western Switzerland and in the subsidiary itself.
But you will appoint a kind of governor in Lausanne to relieve yourself?
Geiger: That's right. But I will retain overall supervision for Ringier Romandie and will only delegate individual areas of responsibility. And to ensure continuity, I will look for my deputy from within my own ranks. We have very capable people here who are quite capable of doing that.
What's coming up that you'd like to be in good hands?
Geiger: L'Hebdo will start cooperating with the French magazine Express in the travel sector as of January 31. In collaboration with Cash, L'Hebdo will also launch the Value business supplement once a month. But we are not reproducing Cash. After all, we are addressing a different readership than Cash does as a business magazine. With Value, we want to offer a service to L'Hebdo readers who, for example, are interested in financial investments but don't necessarily consult specialist literature. Incidentally, this is a good example of how synergies can be exploited. It is precisely in this area that I would like to be active in my new role. Unfortunately, too many media are still working away quietly, like the small watchmaker in his day who painstakingly made a watch from A to Z himself instead of benefiting from the know-how of his colleagues.
But there are other Ringier Romandie products that give you more of a headache, such as dimanche.ch and Edelweiss?
Geiger: Since its launch three years ago, the women's magazine Edelweiss has always been able to increase its certified circulation, and the same applies to the number of readers. We have now reached a figure of 65,000 female readers. In terms of the advertising market, all international advertising clients for luxury goods are represented. So the positioning we are aiming for is correct. However, we still have to improve in the editorial area.
And that's why the second editor-in-chief in three years recently had to vacate her chair?
Geiger: I would like to emphasize that the separation was by mutual agreement because Marie-France Vigor declared on her own initiative that she was not in a position to follow the ideas for an editorial relaunch. By the way, on January 22, the new chief editor will be elected. We haven't had any departures among journalists at Edelweiss since Marie-France Vigor left, which proves that we don't have a crisis at the magazine. But it is true that we have not yet been able to "sell" Edelweiss properly, to make it stand out from the competition. This requires efforts not only on the editorial level, but also on the marketing side.
Perhaps the difficulty lies in the name Edelweiss; it is rather unusual for a women's magazine.
Geiger: For me, this name is indeed a mystery. After all, I wasn't involved in the launch of the magazine. However, market studies have shown that readers really like this name and project everything that constitutes a women's magazine into it.
And what did the change of editor-in-chief bring to dimanche.ch?
Geiger: You can talk about a true Pillard effect. Because since Daniel Pillard took over the management of the Sunday newspaper last fall, sales figures have increased steadily. We will also be launching a new advertising campaign next spring and doubling the number of sales boxes.
And if you could personally and completely independently launch a new magazine, what would it be?
Geiger: I would probably publish a business magazine. Interview: Anita Vaucher
Gérard Geiger: That's probably the case. I'm also a new member of the Ringier Executive Board. So I'll probably be commuting between Lausanne and Zurich more often. But since I'm now responsible for the entire Magazines division, I'll still spend a lot of time in Lausanne, of course, because Ringier Romandie has more magazines than Ringier in German-speaking Switzerland.
How do you plan to balance the two full-time jobs?
Geiger: Compared to managers who split their time between Geneva and Hong Kong, the division of work between Zurich and Lausanne is actually quite modest.
What affinity do you have for German-speaking Switzerland?
Geiger: A very big one. After all, I once worked as editor-in-chief of Optima. But of course, for me personally, the new job at Ringier Zurich is a great challenge and at the same time a broadening of professional horizons.
What will be your priorities in your new job?
Geiger: It's important to me to continue developing the existing titles. But I also see a very important task in integrating the magazines from Jean Frey Verlag once the whole deal has gone through.
Will Ringier Romandie lose its independence with your appointment to the parent company?
Geiger: That's not the case at all, and no one here in Lausanne fears that. On the contrary, everyone is delighted that Ringier Romandie will now be directly represented on the Group Executive Board in Zurich. That was never the case before. This also shows publisher Michael Ringier's interest in the media market in western Switzerland and in the subsidiary itself.
But you will appoint a kind of governor in Lausanne to relieve yourself?
Geiger: That's right. But I will retain overall supervision for Ringier Romandie and will only delegate individual areas of responsibility. And to ensure continuity, I will look for my deputy from within my own ranks. We have very capable people here who are quite capable of doing that.
What's coming up that you'd like to be in good hands?
Geiger: L'Hebdo will start cooperating with the French magazine Express in the travel sector as of January 31. In collaboration with Cash, L'Hebdo will also launch the Value business supplement once a month. But we are not reproducing Cash. After all, we are addressing a different readership than Cash does as a business magazine. With Value, we want to offer a service to L'Hebdo readers who, for example, are interested in financial investments but don't necessarily consult specialist literature. Incidentally, this is a good example of how synergies can be exploited. It is precisely in this area that I would like to be active in my new role. Unfortunately, too many media are still working away quietly, like the small watchmaker in his day who painstakingly made a watch from A to Z himself instead of benefiting from the know-how of his colleagues.
But there are other Ringier Romandie products that give you more of a headache, such as dimanche.ch and Edelweiss?
Geiger: Since its launch three years ago, the women's magazine Edelweiss has always been able to increase its certified circulation, and the same applies to the number of readers. We have now reached a figure of 65,000 female readers. In terms of the advertising market, all international advertising clients for luxury goods are represented. So the positioning we are aiming for is correct. However, we still have to improve in the editorial area.
And that's why the second editor-in-chief in three years recently had to vacate her chair?
Geiger: I would like to emphasize that the separation was by mutual agreement because Marie-France Vigor declared on her own initiative that she was not in a position to follow the ideas for an editorial relaunch. By the way, on January 22, the new chief editor will be elected. We haven't had any departures among journalists at Edelweiss since Marie-France Vigor left, which proves that we don't have a crisis at the magazine. But it is true that we have not yet been able to "sell" Edelweiss properly, to make it stand out from the competition. This requires efforts not only on the editorial level, but also on the marketing side.
Perhaps the difficulty lies in the name Edelweiss; it is rather unusual for a women's magazine.
Geiger: For me, this name is indeed a mystery. After all, I wasn't involved in the launch of the magazine. However, market studies have shown that readers really like this name and project everything that constitutes a women's magazine into it.
And what did the change of editor-in-chief bring to dimanche.ch?
Geiger: You can talk about a true Pillard effect. Because since Daniel Pillard took over the management of the Sunday newspaper last fall, sales figures have increased steadily. We will also be launching a new advertising campaign next spring and doubling the number of sales boxes.
And if you could personally and completely independently launch a new magazine, what would it be?
Geiger: I would probably publish a business magazine. Interview: Anita Vaucher
