Among the top three in two years
After a long period of preparation, the T-Online.ch portal is now due to go online at the end of March
After long preparations, the T-Online.ch portal is now due to go online at the end of MarchBy Alessandro MonachesiThe German telecom provider
T-Online is pursuing ambitious goals in Switzerland: in 24 months, the company wants to become the leader in the local portal market. The Swiss Managing Director Günter Nierlich is convinced that this can be achieved even without Access customers.
There is no way around it on the Internet: whether horizontal or vertical, orange, blue or yellow, every player in e-business wants a portal. The spoiled Swiss user is spoiled for choice between comprehensive nationwide offerings such as Bluewin, SwissOnline or Yellowworld and local sites such as Züri Online, Espace Mittelland or Basel Online. In addition, there are the portal sites of the telecom providers. Is there still room for another portal?
Yes, says T-Online. Preparations are currently underway at the Deutsche Telekom subsidiary for the launch of T-Online.ch. On the sixth floor of an industrial building in Uster ZH
T-Online Switzerland with 25 employees. With a wonderful view of the Alps, the employees are working towards the launch of the test phase in a few days. The Swiss T-Online portal is scheduled to go public at the end of March.
Establishing a new portal in such a saturated market is not easy, one might think. Günter Nierlich, Managing Director of T-Online Switzerland, is self-confident. "In 24 months, we want to be among the top three in Switzerland," he says, explaining the Germans' ambitious plans. Unlike the established Swiss portals, however, T-Online.ch will not offer its own Internet access. How does the portal intend to penetrate Bluewin's traffic areas without its own "access customers"?
For Nierlich, success depends on three factors: Added value, convenience and trust. He does not believe that Internet access is absolutely necessary. Content and services will count in the future: "The other portals are too focused on their access services," explains Nierlich. "But the access customer currency has had its day!" T-Online wants to shine with attractive services. However, Nierlich does not want to reveal his instrument, his "secret weapon", which is intended to provide considerable added value, before the official launch.
According to Nierlich, the opportunities for the new portal in the Swiss market are definitely intact. Thanks to T-Online's international orientation - the company is active in France, Austria, Spain and Portugal as well as Germany - the best content from the sister portals could be mirrored. Nierlich's declared aim is to avoid embarrassing mishaps such as those in Austria, where portal content had obviously referred to Germany.
Vertical in the horizontal with classified partners
T-Online.ch attempts a balancing act in terms of topic coverage:
On the one hand, the portal aims to provide broad horizontal coverage, while on the other, it will also go into greater depth in a number of selected areas. Nierlich is focusing on the topics of travel and leisure as well as finance and business.
T-Online has developed a three-level partnership program to meet the demand for verticality. The first level comprises an unspecified number of "Selected Partners" for standard advertising contracts. On a second level, there are six to twelve "Premium Partners" for co-marketing with longer-term cooperation agreements. Finally, at the top of the pyramid are one to two "Favorite Partners". Here, the cooperation can extend to financial participation or the establishment of joint companies.
A large number of these partnerships have already been forged. In the travel sector, T-Online.ch has chosen Kuoni as its "Favorite Partner", while Imholz and Hotelplan are the "Premium Partners". "We only want good brands," says Nierlich. "This allows us to retain customers, which also benefits the other partnerships."
Despite all the optimism, Nierlich is also aware that the goal he has set himself will not be easy to achieve. But the parent company is not letting itself down: the T-Online.ch project is worth tens of millions. Nierlich expects to break even in three years at the latest.
T-Online Switzerland benefits in Switzerland from the presence of its sister company on German television. Nierlich: "We were surprised at how well known the brand already is. In a supported survey of Internet customers, we achieved fourth place."
T-Online Switzerland can therefore save itself an expensive branding campaign and instead advertise its services directly, using traditional media as well as the Internet. It has not yet been decided who will get a slice of the lucrative cake: The distribution of the advertising budget has only just begun.
T-Online is pursuing ambitious goals in Switzerland: in 24 months, the company wants to become the leader in the local portal market. The Swiss Managing Director Günter Nierlich is convinced that this can be achieved even without Access customers.
There is no way around it on the Internet: whether horizontal or vertical, orange, blue or yellow, every player in e-business wants a portal. The spoiled Swiss user is spoiled for choice between comprehensive nationwide offerings such as Bluewin, SwissOnline or Yellowworld and local sites such as Züri Online, Espace Mittelland or Basel Online. In addition, there are the portal sites of the telecom providers. Is there still room for another portal?
Yes, says T-Online. Preparations are currently underway at the Deutsche Telekom subsidiary for the launch of T-Online.ch. On the sixth floor of an industrial building in Uster ZH
T-Online Switzerland with 25 employees. With a wonderful view of the Alps, the employees are working towards the launch of the test phase in a few days. The Swiss T-Online portal is scheduled to go public at the end of March.
Establishing a new portal in such a saturated market is not easy, one might think. Günter Nierlich, Managing Director of T-Online Switzerland, is self-confident. "In 24 months, we want to be among the top three in Switzerland," he says, explaining the Germans' ambitious plans. Unlike the established Swiss portals, however, T-Online.ch will not offer its own Internet access. How does the portal intend to penetrate Bluewin's traffic areas without its own "access customers"?
For Nierlich, success depends on three factors: Added value, convenience and trust. He does not believe that Internet access is absolutely necessary. Content and services will count in the future: "The other portals are too focused on their access services," explains Nierlich. "But the access customer currency has had its day!" T-Online wants to shine with attractive services. However, Nierlich does not want to reveal his instrument, his "secret weapon", which is intended to provide considerable added value, before the official launch.
According to Nierlich, the opportunities for the new portal in the Swiss market are definitely intact. Thanks to T-Online's international orientation - the company is active in France, Austria, Spain and Portugal as well as Germany - the best content from the sister portals could be mirrored. Nierlich's declared aim is to avoid embarrassing mishaps such as those in Austria, where portal content had obviously referred to Germany.
Vertical in the horizontal with classified partners
T-Online.ch attempts a balancing act in terms of topic coverage:
On the one hand, the portal aims to provide broad horizontal coverage, while on the other, it will also go into greater depth in a number of selected areas. Nierlich is focusing on the topics of travel and leisure as well as finance and business.
T-Online has developed a three-level partnership program to meet the demand for verticality. The first level comprises an unspecified number of "Selected Partners" for standard advertising contracts. On a second level, there are six to twelve "Premium Partners" for co-marketing with longer-term cooperation agreements. Finally, at the top of the pyramid are one to two "Favorite Partners". Here, the cooperation can extend to financial participation or the establishment of joint companies.
A large number of these partnerships have already been forged. In the travel sector, T-Online.ch has chosen Kuoni as its "Favorite Partner", while Imholz and Hotelplan are the "Premium Partners". "We only want good brands," says Nierlich. "This allows us to retain customers, which also benefits the other partnerships."
Despite all the optimism, Nierlich is also aware that the goal he has set himself will not be easy to achieve. But the parent company is not letting itself down: the T-Online.ch project is worth tens of millions. Nierlich expects to break even in three years at the latest.
T-Online Switzerland benefits in Switzerland from the presence of its sister company on German television. Nierlich: "We were surprised at how well known the brand already is. In a supported survey of Internet customers, we achieved fourth place."
T-Online Switzerland can therefore save itself an expensive branding campaign and instead advertise its services directly, using traditional media as well as the Internet. It has not yet been decided who will get a slice of the lucrative cake: The distribution of the advertising budget has only just begun.
