"We really feel like attacking".

m&k: I came across Sunrise UPC’s «Together, More Wow» campaign several times this morning. How does it actually feel for you to see these ads everywhere now?

Stefan Fuchs: It actually feels really good, because we've been working toward this moment for a very long time. The merger process began last summer, but now people out there can see what we're doing. It's as if our journey together has finally begun in earnest.

Andreas Caluori: It’s also a nice source of encouragement for the employees on our teams. Things have been a bit challenging over the past few weeks; some have been working together on projects since the merger but haven’t yet had the chance to meet in person. The fact that we’ve still managed to carry out a national campaign «remotely» in collaboration with an agency really makes us proud.

«It's as if our journey together has finally begun, officially.»

 

You mentioned the merger—how did you experience it?

Fuchs: That was really… exciting. (laughs) Just imagine: We had to start developing ideas together when we didn’t even know yet who would get which job in the new structures! So the teams at Sunrise and UPC were also pushed to their limits on a personal level; they had to remain dynamic and open to change in order to fully realize the merger’s potential for customers.

Caluori: For me personally, the situation was unique in that I had been with Sunrise for just 13 days when the merger was announced. I knew that «my» company and UPC were market competitors, and I could sense just how strongly the employees identified with their respective brands. Perhaps a sports metaphor will help here: First, we had to figure out who the captain was, who the goalie was, and who would lead the offense. But once that was settled, it was really just a matter of optimizing processes.

Since we’re already using sports metaphors: Does having a strong, common opponent in Swisscom help you find a sense of purpose? After all, you’re hardly competing just to be number two …

Fuchs: It’s not like we have a dartboard with the Swisscom logo hanging in our office. (laughs) But one thing is clear: We want to be number one for our customers. In communications, entertainment, networking, and service, we want people to realize that we offer the gold standard. And if we have to push aside a competitor who stands in our way—then we’re ready to do so. We’re really eager to take the offensive; however, we’ll always keep our customers’ needs as our guiding principle.

Caluori: I myself was involved in developing the Swisscom brand for Telekom PTT, and I can say this: The brand naturally has the wonderful advantage of its name—the catchy combination of «Switzerland» and «communication» was, after all, the goal of the positioning back then. But I think there are many areas where we can be the national leader with Sunrise UPC. I don’t want to reveal exactly what that means just yet. But the goal will certainly be to create something so great that the competition will have a hard time keeping up.

Is that particularly difficult in Switzerland? What customers here get in the telecommunications sector is already significantly better than in many other countries—so, as a layperson, I imagine it would be difficult to be innovative.

Fuchs: You’re right: Switzerland is a pioneer in the telecommunications market. With Sunrise, we have one of the most extensively developed 5G networks in the world. We were among the first to offer completely unlimited data to mobile users; the network quality is very high. And as for UPC: If you look at the customer satisfaction surveys within the Liberty Group alone, UPC now ranks number one. The quality of service is extremely high—which, to come back to your question, also leads to extremely high customer expectations. It’s a challenge, after all. (laughs)

Caluori: I totally agree. In Switzerland, the quality of service and quality of life are so high that expectations are naturally very high as well.

 

And the pressure to stand out among various high-quality offerings is also increasing.

Fuchs: That’s why your brand has to trigger something in the customer. Make an impact. Either you have to address problems—ones that people actually perceive as such—better than the competition, or you have to offer something new that sparks such intense desire that it creates that famous «trigger moment» for the customer.

The merger of your companies attracted a great deal of public attention. Did that affect your work?

Fuchs: Good question. The story behind the merger is a long one: Sunrise and UPC were supposed to merge as early as 2019, but in a different direction than the one that was ultimately taken in 2020. As I mentioned, this creates uncertainty for employees; so as a leader, you have to try to mitigate that uncertainty. That affects day-to-day work. As for the public discourse, however—the questions in the media about whether the merger will happen and whether it’s a good thing—we left those to the PR department. From the marketing side, we hardly had any time for that. The past few months were certainly the most work-intensive period in Andreas’s and my careers; our focus was simply elsewhere than on the background noise that may have accompanied our projects.

Caluori: In a situation like that, you go full throttle. You have to—otherwise, the train will leave without you. Of course, as a marketer, you can’t completely ignore the social and media context, but dwelling on it too much would probably have been counterproductive.

«We're no longer just the salespeople trying to sell Internet service.»

 

For a long time, reliable telecommunications were taken for granted. Has the technology provided by Sunrise UPC taken on greater emotional significance since the start of the pandemic?

Fuchs: I’d totally agree with that. Back when I used to get invited to parties and tell people I worked in telecommunications, they’d go on and on about their problems with their internet providers. (laughs) These days, I hear a lot of positive things when I tell people what I do for a living—like how happy families are that video chats are working. Telecommunications has kept society running during times of social distancing. That’s also great for us in marketing: We’re no longer just the promotional folks trying to sell internet connections—we’re actually helping to connect the country.

A few months ago, I read something on Twitter along the lines of: «Imagine if the pandemic had hit us in 1995—without Netflix and broadband internet»…

Caluori: In that case, we would have had to make do with a phone and a fax machine.

Fuchs: During this crisis, our technology is our window to the world. I have the perfect testing environment at home for the stability of internet connections: We have five children, four of whom were taking online classes at times. When I was also working from home, there was a lot going on. But everything worked out smoothly. That includes the live interaction between my kids and their friends via chat and video. They would have missed that even more otherwise.

Caluori: My kids live in London, right in the heart of the city. You can’t just go out to the park on your own there when you’re ten or twelve years old. That’s why we meet up online. By the way, that also applies to the conversations I’m currently having with them. At least we have video calls, even if I can’t travel.

 

You've had a few months of hard work under your belt now that the «Together, More Wow» campaign is underway. What's next?

Caluori: I’m really looking forward to the challenge of bringing two teams together to build an even stronger, fantastic team—one with a great attitude, full of passion, and a shared vision for where Sunrise UPC is headed. Once we’re all vaccinated and can meet in person, I’m sure it’ll be a lot of fun.

 

For now, you're still showcasing both brands in their own unique ways. Is this a preliminary step toward a joint brand, perhaps under a new name?

Fuchs: The campaign currently says that we're bringing together the best of both worlds. And exactly how we'll continue to develop that with the brand is truly an exciting journey.

 

So you're not going to reveal anything here? Too bad.
Fuchs: No. But nice try.

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Dr. Stefan Fuchs is the Chief Marketing Officer of Sunrise UPC. Previously, he served as CCO and CMO of UPC Switzerland; other stops in his career included Liberty Global, Virgin Media, and Unitymedia. Andreas C. Caluori is Director of Brand Management & Communications for Consumer Customers at Sunrise UPC. Previously, he founded and led various companies and worked in brand development on both the client and agency sides.