The promoters of the online industry

The shortlist for the "Digital Marketer of the Year" includes illustrious companies such as Admazing, AXA Winterthur, Dein Deal, Media Markt, Post Finance and SBB. Swiss Federal Railways finally made the running. The jury's reasoning: "In no other country in the world is rail travel more frequent than in Switzerland. 951,000 people use SBB every day. In order to be able to further develop its services in line with customer needs, it is dependent on permanent dialog with its customers. Both off- and online. Particularly in the entire online segment, SBB plays all disciplines off against each other in an outstanding manner."

Samy Liechti has been honored with a Digital Lifetime Award. He invented the "sockscription" in 1999. For e-commerce pioneer Blacksocks, 2010 was the best-selling year ever. Although Switzerland remains the most important market, more and more men on the North American continent are subscribing to Blacksocks for their socks. The success overseas is impressive: In Q4 2010 alone, sales doubled compared to the same quarter last year. The increasing mobility of customers is also increasingly reflected in orders placed via mobile devices such as smartphones. The more than 50'000 customers in over 75 countries receive three pairs of socks by mail several times a year.

Roger Baur started marketing online media 15 years ago. Now he has been named "Digital Pioneer of the Year.

WW: Roger Baur has been named Digital Pioneer of the Year. When did the pioneer first come into contact with the Internet?
Roger Baur: My first contact with the Internet was in 1994, when I wanted to make a website for a company in which I was managing director and partner. We then decided to build a simple site that showed the most important information like opening hours or telephone. The respective start-up of the computer and then the browser (Mosaic) was accompanied by the "hissing and scratching" of the Internet access, unthinkable today ... But we were very proud to have an Internet presence: www.vitatop.ch.

What were the important stations and jobs in Roger Baur's career that led him to become the specialist he is today?
In 1996, I was responsible for selling advertisements at the then Sport. One day, someone came to a meeting with the idea of selling banners. He was looking for a victim to do it first and foremost. My colleagues turned aside. But I didn't, instead I held up my hand: I want to do this. Two weeks later, I sold the first banner (which was not clickable) to Swisscom. A cool experience and also a motivation to sell more of them. After that I did the same for Weltwoche and went to Qualiclick in 2000. Soon I was also responsible for marketing and sales there. That was one of the coolest Internet times I've experienced. Everything was possible and we were growing by 10-20 percent every month. Until, unfortunately, this so-called dot.com bubble "burst." This forced us to forget about going public, reduce our staff from 120 to 20, and fight every day for the next one. Suddenly, online wasn't so cool anymore ... But no matter. I kept going. We were acquired by Adlink (two friends of mine and I) and then made that company even more successful with our "speed ". After that I had a detour to the adscreens and soon I was again infected by the online market. This time, however, as an independent consultant for publishers, websites, advertising and media agencies that needed help with their digital strategy. I still do that every day with a lot of fun and commitment.

What are Netprofit's core competencies?
In a nutshell, I am a specialist for media sales strategies, of course with a focus on digital. I specialize in analyzing the value creation for my clients and then defining the necessary measures to establish a successful sales strategy. What is special about my service is that I accompany my clients in the implementation and thus also ensure that it is really done. It is important to me that my clients are really successful with my advice. This also allows corrections to be implemented quickly.

What were the biggest sticking points in setting up marketing for online media in Switzerland?
Difficult to say. The biggest sticking points are not building or expanding digital media marketing. The sticking point is the people. Those who want the marketing on the one hand, and those who are supposed to implement it on the other. Not everyone is aware that the whole thing has to be done "top-down" and takes the necessary time. Even in the new media, it takes time to get the whole thing up and running. I'm fortunate in that I always discuss this with my clients right from the start and keep the ball low so as to dampen exaggerated expectations. Not every website you find on the web can be successfully marketed. For that, you have to know the market very well and also understand it.

What do you think tipped the scales in favor of Roger Baur as the winner? What achievement is he particularly proud of?
Yes, I ask myself that too. I think I've just always been very committed over the last few years and, through my large network, I've always brought the right people together to make something happen in the market. I am an entrepreneur and it bothers me when something is not going well in the market. Especially when I see that it could be done if people would tackle it. So then I just get the "right" people around the table and motivate them to pull together! I pride myself on never giving up and being persistent.

What is Roger Baur looking forward to in future developments?
I look forward to everything that comes along, I always take time to look at what developments there are, and then I also try to understand them and recognize their potential for our market. In the meantime, I am always in contact with exciting people abroad as well. When I discovered a "super idea" a few years ago, I had to call the founders of this company immediately and arrange to meet them. At the first meeting we already talked about a possible cooperation and an expansion to Switzerland. That's actually what drives me: to keep discovering new things and meeting people who are like me. People who want to make a difference, who want to change something. I'm very grateful that I know so many great people and that together we can make a difference in the digital world. Interview Andreas Panzeri