The motorcyclist

Florian Walz wants to drive forward Swiss Poster Research as the new project manager at Affichage without delay.
He loves riding motorcycles for life. "I have
already tried out many machines, from the image-enhancing heavy
from a racing car to a motorcycle that I can ride to work every day",
says Florian Walz. A bit of pass riding on Sunday is not his thing
thing. "But it makes me happy when, after a relaxed
Problem at a meeting on my motorcycle the daily stress
can escape. All the hustle and bustle is then gone for me."

Florian Walz has been cultivating his passion since he passed his driving test at the age of 18.
has made. But what type of "motorcyclist" is he? "There is no
the motorcyclist as a type," says the media specialist, "even though today
wants to assign all people to a certain type". Walz in any case
doesn't fit into any of the images people have of motorcyclists. "The
shows how necessary our work is for media research. It
but also illustrates that sometimes it's not easy ..."

As of September 1, Florian Walz has been working within Affichage Holding
from E-Advertising in Winterthur to the Department of Corporate
Development of the Affichage Group's Executive Board. In
his new role in Zurich as Chief Researcher Innovation and
Technology, he is to focus on the technological developments of the
the entire out-of-home market. This also includes the
Project management of Swiss Poster Research SPR, after Affichage decided to complete this joint basic research alone following the withdrawal of Clear Channel.

This long-awaited development in the industry began with the
Poster research with a pilot project in Winterthur. "It was important,
that someone from the media agency side also participates in the working group
could," explains Walz. During his time at the SPR in Winterthur, he was
involved from the very beginning and was responsible for the
Planning instrument area.

How did he become a specialist in this field? After dropping out of his studies in German and journalism at the
University of Zurich, he later studied environmental and natural sciences.
at the ETH. He wanted a profession "where you can do something with ideas
can do". German studies was disappointing because he had to deal with
Old High German did not necessarily continue its linguistic development
saw promoted. "Environment" was a completely new field of study at the time:
"Comprehensive. It included everything from mathematics to computer science to
Geography. A kind of logical continuation of the Matura." At the end
did not materialize in the end, despite advanced testing,
because Florian Walz, as a young father, suddenly found himself responsible for a
family. After working in the
or has even worked in the circus before, it now seemed to him
the time was ripe for something more tangible in advertising. Walz was looking for the
He started as a copywriter and finally joined Bemberg in 1996,
Gedenk, Media came. "They simply had confidence and interest in
a career changer." This "small and combative" media agency
had only four employees at the time. Walz had all the work processes
from the ground up. When the agency founded Optimedia in 2002
merged, there were already 35 people. This whole development
In retrospect, Walz finds being able to experience this very valuable. He
himself has developed during this time from media assistant to
Consulting Group Manager developed. At the end at Optimedia you have
asked him whether he could set up a new unit for out-of-home advertising.
and set new standards with it for the time
wants. Walz has accepted the challenge and, with five
employees within two years to create a renowned unit
presented. Then it was time to do something new again. He saw
but there is no point in leaving this agency just to work in a
others to do the same thing again. "After eight years of media, it had to be
be something completely new."

In the course of this transition phase, contact was made with e-advertising in
Winterhur was the perfect choice. Someone from the agency wanted the affichage.
Walz was also attracted by the fact that it was once again a small, combative operation,
which he was able to build up right from the start. The e-advertising company
consisted of only two technicians, a salesman, the managing director
and a small administration. The E-Board product interested
him. "I was able to stand behind it, but I knew that my commitment to
will be limited to two years."

The possibilities that Walz can now offer in the
Affichage as part of the management of the entire research area
can discover. "Out-of-home advertising has a promising future,
that we cannot yet define precisely," he says.

Out-of-home advertising has huge potential for Walz, because the poster
cannot be avoided. The poster is also very popular.
For Walz, it is either an information carrier, for example for culture
or a completely honest advertising medium. "This honesty creates almost
no other medium. Others mix between purpose, information and
Entertainment. The advertising is hidden inside," Walz believes.
This boundary between advertising and honesty can sometimes cause problems.
create. With posters, on the other hand, advertising is clearly identified as such.
declared. "When advertising is communicated so honestly, it is also
acceptance is there. Nothing is being played to me."

At Affichage in the Corporate Development division, he can see the change
from a traditional poster company to a modern
Accompanying media companies. What are future forms of advertising? Where are
new fields for outdoor advertising? How is the static
medium into a dynamic one? What does the market want?

Walz will certainly be addressing these questions once again for more than just two
years if the next steps in the SPR are to be taken.
are completed. After the realization of the poster tool and the
market launch, the subsequent further development of the research
transferred to a neutral sponsorship on the basis of SPR.

Andreas Panzeri