Head of the week: "Being able to manage a brand holistically convinced me".
ELKE ZAPPE, a former advertising executive, has been the head of WM Wirtschaftsmedien AG since January 1, 2001
ELKE ZAPPE, a former advertiser, has headed WM Wirtschaftsmedien AG since January 1, 2001Head of the week "Being able to manage a brand holistically has convinced me".
Elke Zappe has been at the helm of WM Wirtschaftsmedien AG, publisher of the business magazine Bilanz, since the beginning of January. Despite this position, the former advertiser does not see herself as a career woman: "Egoistic goal orientation has never influenced my career," she says. The 43-year-old attributes the secret of her success to her fascination and enthusiasm for her work. She sees her move to the publishing side more as a logical progression in her professional development process than as a career leap.
Nevertheless, Elke Zappe's curriculum resembles a storybook career: After completing a degree in economics in Duisburg, she took her first practical steps as an account manager at the Düsseldorf advertising agency Ernst & Partner. "The move into advertising gave me the chance to come into contact with different customers, products and markets," says Zappe.
After working for several years in German agencies, she moved to Switzerland for private reasons. At Aebi, Suter, Gisler, Studer/BBDO, the Düsseldorf native continued on her chosen path as Account Director. For around ten years, she worked in Swiss agencies, most recently as co-owner of the Studer & Zappe agency in Zurich.
The collaboration lasted three years. The desire grew in Elke Zappe to also work independently in the areas of marketing and management consulting. For the time being, a trip around the globe was to create the necessary mental space for the reorientation.
Back in Switzerland, she managed projects at home and abroad as an independent marketing and communications consultant. The offer to manage WM Wirtschaftsmedien AG and develop new multimedia products came "out of the blue" for Elke Zappe. But the possibility of exercising comprehensive responsibility and thus being able to manage a brand holistically finally convinced her.
Now Zappe wants to "inject new oxygen into the Bilanz brand. The way forward is to expand the Bilanz multimedia platform with new product ideas. In the first two months, she focused on bilanz.ch. "With content syndication, we are trying to make our online strategy affordable," she continues.
The next step will be to target television and radio: "These media are predestined for economic topics," the managing director is convinced, and emphasizes that "partnerships in this framework create good conditions for putting together high-quality broadcasts.
Carole Koch
Elke Zappe has been at the helm of WM Wirtschaftsmedien AG, publisher of the business magazine Bilanz, since the beginning of January. Despite this position, the former advertiser does not see herself as a career woman: "Egoistic goal orientation has never influenced my career," she says. The 43-year-old attributes the secret of her success to her fascination and enthusiasm for her work. She sees her move to the publishing side more as a logical progression in her professional development process than as a career leap.
Nevertheless, Elke Zappe's curriculum resembles a storybook career: After completing a degree in economics in Duisburg, she took her first practical steps as an account manager at the Düsseldorf advertising agency Ernst & Partner. "The move into advertising gave me the chance to come into contact with different customers, products and markets," says Zappe.
After working for several years in German agencies, she moved to Switzerland for private reasons. At Aebi, Suter, Gisler, Studer/BBDO, the Düsseldorf native continued on her chosen path as Account Director. For around ten years, she worked in Swiss agencies, most recently as co-owner of the Studer & Zappe agency in Zurich.
The collaboration lasted three years. The desire grew in Elke Zappe to also work independently in the areas of marketing and management consulting. For the time being, a trip around the globe was to create the necessary mental space for the reorientation.
Back in Switzerland, she managed projects at home and abroad as an independent marketing and communications consultant. The offer to manage WM Wirtschaftsmedien AG and develop new multimedia products came "out of the blue" for Elke Zappe. But the possibility of exercising comprehensive responsibility and thus being able to manage a brand holistically finally convinced her.
Now Zappe wants to "inject new oxygen into the Bilanz brand. The way forward is to expand the Bilanz multimedia platform with new product ideas. In the first two months, she focused on bilanz.ch. "With content syndication, we are trying to make our online strategy affordable," she continues.
The next step will be to target television and radio: "These media are predestined for economic topics," the managing director is convinced, and emphasizes that "partnerships in this framework create good conditions for putting together high-quality broadcasts.
Carole Koch
