Staged like a blockbuster movie
My goodness, what a day—Thursday, January 15, 2015, in Zurich. All of a sudden, the 120 Swiss francs in cash in my left pants pocket were worth 20 euros more when I returned to Hamburg that evening. Of course, my first thought was: If only I’d exchanged a little more euros for Swiss francs before leaving Germany!
But what price would this gain have ultimately come at? That same evening, there was a New Year’s reception hosted by a renowned private bank in Hamburg, and there, too—to put it mildly—there was great astonishment at the Swiss National Bank’s move. Five years ago, the euro was still worth 147 rappen; now it’s barely 100. Even the discussions over the following days shed little light on what the future actually holds for Switzerland. It doesn’t take a crystal ball to predict that the effects on tourism and the export sector will be «bleak.» And we, as cinema marketers, naturally ask ourselves: What impact will the franc’s decoupling have on Switzerland’s domestic market? Will the demand for advertising time in Swiss media—which had developed so clearly and positively for us in the cinema sector in 2014—now take a hit? Will there be shifts in customer segments? What about the traditionally very strong regional business in Switzerland? It’s clear that all media—not just in Switzerland—are facing a truly exciting 2015 as a result of the ongoing digital transformation. But we certainly hadn’t expected the Swiss National Bank to top things off in this way.
Blockbusters All at Once
«Great cinema,» one might say, to put it euphemistically… Which brings me to the actual topic—the one I want to discuss here: a truly eventful year for cinema in 2015, with a wealth of promising, major films the likes of which we haven’t seen in theaters for many years. A real blockbuster year. It all kicks off in just a few days: «Fifty Shades of Grey» opens in German-speaking Switzerland on February 12. We’ve heard from theater operators that advance ticket sales for the first few days of this film are eclipsing everything that’s been shown so far. Yet just under three years ago, I had simply forbidden my then-13-year-old daughter from reading the book—without, however, knowing exactly what it was I was so adamantly trying to ban. This led to lengthy family discussions, the outcome of which I won’t go into here. In any case, I had taken a clear stand against it. And now this: the first showings sold out just minutes after advance ticket sales opened, accompanied by slightly smirking comments from my daughter. I’ll only admit here, among fellow professionals, that our media outlet is also benefiting from this and that we do, in fact, expect this film to perform very well—and will combine that with some excellent advertising placements. Never at home. It’s much easier for me to make public references to the new *The Avengers* in April, or even more so to *Minions* in July, the new James Bond—*Spectre – 007*—in October, and *Star Wars: Episode 7* in December 2015. A better lineup is almost unimaginable, and we are therefore particularly optimistic that 2015 will be an exceptionally good year for cinema advertising. I also think that we and the movie theaters deserve this: Strong attendance figures promise high reach, and moviegoers« great anticipation for these films boosts interest and, with it, the impact of the films and their supporting programs. More attention is always good—that’s a proven fact.
It is difficult for us to verify whether the Swiss National Bank has actually taken this to heart in its actions. However, we know of a very effective medium through which necessary image adjustments can be made with good prospects of success—especially when it comes to compelling stories!
Florian Weischer, Managing Director of Werbeweischer
