The medium of dialog is becoming increasingly important

WW: How satisfied is the association with the submissions?

Erik Neumann: Very satisfied in quantitative terms. We have 25 percent more submissions than last year and even 45 percent more than two years ago. That speaks for itself. And so does the quality. We were therefore able to present slightly more awards this year than last year with a shortlist of almost the same size. This proves that the quality of the work has improved. A good development. We can be proud, also when you look at our study, which examines the importance of dialog marketing today. What's more, the commitment of the entire agency scene in Switzerland has now clearly relegated the international submissions to the back of the list - a result of continuous good work over the last three years with the new team!

The event as such should also be strengthened. Does that work?

The event is just one part of the award, the crowning finale, where the winners and their work are in the spotlight. It should be the flagship of Swiss dialog marketing. The event is also important for us from a networking perspective. This is where the "who's who" of the industry meet and exchange ideas. The event is the best opportunity to present the award-winning work, i.e. the figureheads, to a wider public. We offer a good balance between a gala event and entertainment.

The works can be seen in an exhibition. How much interest was there?

The exhibition was very well attended, as were the evenings surrounding it, which we made available to our partners. All three events were fully booked. It's an important part of our job in the association to make our work accessible to the public. This is done via the Award Night and the exhibition with the shortlist, which was also booked as a traveling exhibition at ten different locations last year.

The Internet is playing a growing role in dialog marketing. Is it being used correctly?

Based on the work, we can see that digital networks are being used in a more intelligent, sophisticated, creative and witty way. Things that used to win awards are now standard. It's great to see how these new media are becoming much more integrated into entire campaigns.

Is there a visible trend?

There are no new trends, as could be said with the advent of the internet. Mobile is certainly a very important topic, the use and implementation of mobile advices. But when it comes to the Dialog Marketing Award, people tend to forget one major achievement: the number of submissions in the form of traditional mailings has dominated by far. 64 percent of submissions are still classic mailings, addressed and unaddressed. This is still the category with the strongest growth.

The Award Night coincided with the match between Germany and Greece. The impact?

Corinne Harder: The European Football Championship was our biggest concern when we were planning the event. But who knew that Germany versus Greece would be so politically and sportingly explosive? So we are all the more pleased that almost 400 people came. There is also a "small" side event tonight in Cannes ...

How is the contact with these creatives, for example with the ADC?

The approach has been successful. In the composition of the jury, for example, we have tried to use this creative potential and integrate it into the jury's work in order to increase the value of the assessment. We know that the works are and must become much more integrated. We want to take this into account. The feedback we get is that the award, but also a lot of work within the association, has raised our profile among traditional advertisers. That makes us proud. And that's how it should be.

You were a member of the jury. How far has dialog marketing developed in Switzerland?

Ralf Doller: My impression is that the Swiss are still about a year behind developments in Germany when it comes to the use of social media. What is dialog? The word comes from the Greek and means dialog: one person talks to the other and the other talks back. The Germans are more advanced in that they say that a dialog must be goal-oriented, something must come back, you want to achieve a goal. The goal can be different, a consultation, in fundraising a donation. We in Switzerland have not yet defined dialog so precisely. We have still been able to win work that is not really a dialog, but rather many people talking to many people. Especially in social media, there are such promotional campaigns where people can do something on a Facebook page. But that is not yet a dialog. The goal of someone contacting me or even being introduced to a purchasing process has not yet been achieved. Many of the campaigns submitted had such a promotional character that you don't even know what happens to the addresses of these "fans" afterwards. You just have them. Targeted, however, means that you really do find these interested parties afterwards, with whom you can continue the dialog, which should ultimately culminate in a purchase decision process.

Does the hype sometimes lead to premature ideas?

If you want to be present on Facebook, give away a car every day. Then you have lots of fans every day. But they only come because of the competition. They are far from being customers. You have to offer them content. Large companies like Mars Bars don't have direct customer contact, that goes through retailers. That's why fans on Facebook are a possibility here. But small companies that already know their customers don't need to take the detour via Facebook, they just need to maintain their database and make proper use of it. We still need to hone this in the award.

Has dialogue marketing become more recognized?

Alexander Jaggy: Dialog marketing has become more relevant and faster. Especially with the technical possibilities available today. Some people are concerned about this tectonic shift: Away from the pure print product, towards electronic media. I can understand this concern. I can't say for sure whether it is justified. What is certain is that there are certainly creative solutions and new ways of engaging with the public in this area, as we saw at this year's DM Award.

What are the benefits of dialog marketing?

Milo Stössel: Many budgets go into dialog marketing because people want to measure success. Only dialog marketing can do that. That's why this trend is also noticeable in our award. I can see this in the many traditional agencies that are now submitting more entries to us. We are seeing a trend of traditional agencies slipping far up the rankings in our competition. Of course, their participation also has to do with the fact that our award is rightly included in Werbewoche's creative ranking again.

The "trench" disappears?

Peter Leutenegger: There used to be more fear of contact between traditional advertisers and direct marketing. But then it became clear that good creation is also worthwhile in the direct marketing sector. In recent years, very good creations have won awards, which has also made the industry more attractive for creative people. You can win prizes, which means more people are taking part in this competition. Cannes has also discovered this for itself. But actually, all other disciplines have been upgraded compared to purely traditional advertising.

Peter Grob: The ASW also used to have reservations. But we have long since overcome these. We said they are equal agencies, they are simply not full-service agencies. Survey: Andreas Panzeri

Article about the SDV Awards.