Admeira gets going
Admeira, the advertising joint venture between Swisscom, SRG, and Ringier, began operations on Monday. At a media breakfast, the management team revealed its ambitious goals.
Despite criticism and resistance from publishers, Admeira began operations on Monday. The management team led by CEO Martin Schneider presented itself to media representatives at the Au Premier restaurant in Zurich's main train station.
The aim is to "keep as much money as possible in Switzerland," is how the former ex-Publisuisse and now Admeira CEO sums up the goals of the new marketing company. They are ambitious, even if COO Marc Sier has to and wants to refrain from giving concrete details of the targeted business goals for reasons of stock exchange law. However, the company aims to be in the black in its first year and is pursuing a growth strategy. The starting point for this is not only the advertising revenue of around CHF 600 million generated annually by the publishers united in Admeira, but also the 280 employees, who together have "2,000 years of marketing experience," according to Schneider.
Searched for location with high pressure
For 200 of the employees - currently still working in four different offices - a location in the Zurich area is currently being sought at full speed. The original 15 options have now been "condensed into a top three," Sier reveals. CEO Schneider attaches particular importance to uniting the employees at the various locations throughout Switzerland under one roof as soon as possible. Only in this way, he says, can a culture emerge. "Video conferences are all well and good, but drinking coffee together is better."
No job cuts are planned. On the contrary - the keyword is growth strategy. Sier says the company wants to be efficient. Efficiency can be achieved by reducing costs or increasing performance - Admeira is focusing on the latter. Chief Sales Officer Arne Bergmann emphasizes that the company wants to be much closer to its customers in the future, so it has no interest in reducing its sales team.
Much remains the same
So now business is up and running. But not much will change for the time being. The contact persons remain the same, only the company is called something else. On the cost side, there should be savings for the time being, especially for agency customers, since there is now only one contact person, says Bergmann. And Beatrice Kniel, Managing Director Broadcast, expressly emphasizes that there are no plans to interfere in the business of media and creative agencies. "But we do try to offer efficiency and thus make their lives a little easier." Exactly what the conditions will look like - for example, in the case of overlaps when customers have previously booked individually with the joint venture companies - is not yet known. "We will be looking into that in the near future. The goal is for customers to pay no more, but no less either," says Kniel.
In the "merging phase" - as Marc Sier calls the current state - much remains the same. Technically, too. For the time being, the focus is on pure reach; in the course of the year, the company plans to offer targeting, which Swisscom has already been using for ten years. For the time being, the much-discussed target group-specific advertising is only legally possible on stations without a license. That means TF1 and S1. However, according to the COO, the company is working to ensure that all stations can benefit from this type of advertising as soon as possible by changing their licenses. For the time being, the only remaining option for the remaining stations is interactive TV spots, where a link to further information can be opened by pressing the OK button on the Swisscom remote control.
But even then, the goal will never be to establish a 1:1 relationship with the individual household, Schneider explains. The focus will always be on clusters. And Marc Sier explains: "Our business model is to offer target groups. But these will always be so large that it is not possible to draw conclusions about individuals."
The political question remains. Admeira has many critics and enemies. First and foremost, the Swiss Media Association under President Hanspeter Lebrument and Tamedia publisher Pietro Supino, who want to prevent the joint venture in this constellation. The fact that Ringier is a direct - and purely private - competitor of the fee-financed SRG and the state-owned Swisscom is not only annoying for the competing publishers. They actually assumed that their appeal to the Federal Administrative Court would have a suspensive effect (Werbewoche.ch reported).
Nevertheless, Admeira has started on schedule. And "not with the handbrake on," as CEO Schneider confidently emphasizes. Because it is not assumed that a negative decision will follow. For all questions concerning the political aspects of Admeira, however, he refers to the individual joint venture participants. And personally? He has a "simple attitude" to the subject and, with his Publisuisse background, sees the new company first and foremost as a great opportunity to be able to generate advertising market funds in the future. "We're not losing any more money and thus securing SRG's future. We're defending what it takes to continue to fulfill SRG's mission."
Thomas Häusermann
Despite criticism and resistance from publishers, Admeira began operations on Monday. The management team led by CEO Martin Schneider presented itself to media representatives at the Au Premier restaurant in Zurich's main train station.
Meeting the powerful foreign competition with a level playing field: CEO Martin Schneider explains the goals.
The aim is to "keep as much money as possible in Switzerland," is how the former ex-Publisuisse and now Admeira CEO sums up the goals of the new marketing company. They are ambitious, even if COO Marc Sier has to and wants to refrain from giving concrete details of the targeted business goals for reasons of stock exchange law. However, the company aims to be in the black in its first year and is pursuing a growth strategy. The starting point for this is not only the advertising revenue of around CHF 600 million generated annually by the publishers united in Admeira, but also the 280 employees, who together have "2,000 years of marketing experience," according to Schneider.
The publishers marketed by Admeira
Searched for location with high pressure
For 200 of the employees - currently still working in four different offices - a location in the Zurich area is currently being sought at full speed. The original 15 options have now been "condensed into a top three," Sier reveals. CEO Schneider attaches particular importance to uniting the employees at the various locations throughout Switzerland under one roof as soon as possible. Only in this way, he says, can a culture emerge. "Video conferences are all well and good, but drinking coffee together is better." No job cuts are planned. On the contrary - keyword growth strategy. Sier says the company wants to be efficient. Efficiency can be achieved by reducing costs or increasing performance - Admeira is focusing on the latter. Chief Sales Officer Arne Bergmann emphasizes that the company wants to be much closer to its customers in the future, so it has no interest in reducing its sales team.
Much remains the same
So now business is up and running. But not much will change for the time being. The contact persons remain the same, only the company is called something else. On the cost side, there should be savings for the time being, especially for agency customers, since there is now only one contact person, says Bergmann. And Beatrice Kniel, Managing Director Broadcast, expressly emphasizes that there are no plans to interfere in the business of media and creative agencies. "But we are trying to offer efficiency and thus make their lives a little easier."
It is not yet known exactly what the conditions will be - for example, in the case of overlaps when customers have previously booked individually with the joint venture companies. "We will be looking into that in the near future. The goal is for customers to pay no more, but no less either," says Kniel.
In the "merging phase" - as Marc Sier calls the current state - much remains the same. Technically, too. For the time being, the focus is on pure reach; in the course of the year, the company plans to offer targeting, which Swisscom has already been using for ten years. For the time being, the much-discussed target group-specific advertising is only legally possible on stations without a license. That means TF1 and S1. However, according to the COO, the company is working to ensure that all stations can benefit from this type of advertising as soon as possible by changing their licenses. For the time being, the only remaining option for the remaining stations is interactive TV spots, where a link to further information can be opened by pressing the OK button on the Swisscom remote control.
Example of an interactive TV commercial: A product sample can be requested at the touch of a button.
But even then, the goal will never be to establish a 1:1 relationship with the individual household, Schneider explains. The focus will always be on clusters. And Marc Sier explains: "Our business model is to offer target groups. But these will always be so large that it is not possible to draw conclusions about individuals."
The goal: families, young people and retirees watch the same program, but receive different advertising blocks.
The political question remains. Admeira has many critics and enemies. First and foremost, the Swiss Media Association under President Hanspeter Lebrument and Tamedia publisher Pietro Supino, who want to prevent the joint venture in this constellation. The fact that Ringier is a direct - and purely private - competitor of the fee-financed SRG and the state-owned Swisscom is not only annoying for the competing publishers. They actually assumed that their appeal to the Federal Administrative Court would have a suspensive effect (Werbewoche.ch reported).
Nevertheless, Admeira has started on schedule. And "not with the handbrake on," as CEO Schneider confidently emphasizes. Because it is not assumed that a negative decision will follow. For all questions concerning the political aspects of Admeira, however, he refers to the individual joint venture participants. And personally? He has a "simple attitude" to the subject and, with his Publisuisse background, sees the new company first and foremost as a great opportunity to be able to generate advertising market funds in the future. "We're not losing any more money and thus securing SRG's future. We're defending what it takes to continue to fulfill SRG's mission."
