Head of the week: Mister President

 
Carlo Steiner is the new president of the Zurich Advertising Club and wants to set benchmarks with its events. 
The "hot seat" with Sacha Wigdorovits left no one cold at the last club evening of the Zurich advertisers. The Alinghi event also sailed under full wind. A club meeting on the construction site of the new Letzigrund Stadium became a home victory for Carlo Steiner. This week, a talk with Roger Schawinski about his new Radio 1 project is currently taking place, for which "many media celebrities" who have never attended a Zurich advertising club event before have also registered. "We want to set new accents in order to position the club even more strongly," explains the new President in his preview of the 2008 season. The aim of the new Board is to concentrate all activities on just a few. The President describes it as "setting a benchmark in the greater Zurich area". The advertising club is to become the first address as a meeting place for efficient specialist events and social industry get-togethers.
Anyone who talks to Carlo Steiner is quickly convinced that this is not someone who has taken on the dignities and burdens associated with the "office" of president for the sake of "club bureaucracy". "My main motivation is the fun factor," explains Steiner. He has been a member of the club for twelve years. Two years ago, he was asked to join the board. "I quickly accepted. You never stop learning," he says. In the club, you can exchange ideas, keep your finger on the pulse of the news and "hear what's going on in the market".
Of course, he was also a little flattered to be offered the honor of President after two years on the Board. "The presidency and the work on the Board take time. We work unpaid in the militia system. But of course this also gives me additional perspectives, both personally and professionally, to come into contact with new and interesting people." Steiner also describes his understanding of the club's activities as "educational entertainment where you can network at the same time".
The Zurich Advertising Club has been in existence for over 60 years. It is the largest such club in Switzerland with 300 paying members, 15 percent of whom are corporate members. The club has "a very good name". Steiner sensed this when he wanted to organize the meeting around the ground-breaking ceremony on the Letzigrund construction site and "immediately got a commitment" on his first phone call to the city manager. Despite its good image, the club does not want to be elitist. The new president makes no secret of the fact that he has made it his program to recruit additional members from younger generations. "At the moment, people from the creative scene are still in the minority. Almost all the important media people are with us." Steiner naturally wants to cultivate and retain these members. But the hope for the future is also to attract more people from the traditional creative scene. "With Andy Hostettler, CEO of TBWA Switzerland, we now have a thoroughbred advertiser on the board and have deliberately set an example."
In order to tailor its program optimally to the needs of its members, the Executive Board of the advertising club conducted an online survey in the spring. They wanted to know what the expectations were. "Our members are our shareholders. They pay contributions and if they no longer come to our events, we are doing something wrong." The report they gave the Board of Directors was very positive and was also confirmation "that we are on the right track". The ranking of the topics on offer showed a clear trend towards positioning ourselves even more strongly in future and differentiating ourselves more strongly from other competitors. "We have to set new accents, especially in competition with the entire range of leisure activities on offer in Zurich, because nowadays people only attend a club event if we offer exclusivity and good quality. That's why we are concentrating our activities on a few top events. Less is more!"
In addition to actively recruiting members in the coming winter, Steiner also wants to enter into a cooperation with the Sawi. The aim is to make the club attractive to students with discounted membership fees during their studies.
Carlo Steiner also comes from the media business. He took his first steps in the world of communication and advertising by training as a typographer at the then renowned Conzett und Huber AG. However, he soon became more interested in the people involved in this business than in printing technology. Steiner switched to sales at Publicitas. There he got to know the publishing business "from the ground up" before moving to Ringier for eight years. He was responsible as area sales manager for Blick and SonntagsBlick. "That was in the era when these newspapers, with Peter Übersax and Rolf Balsiger, were two brands that nobody could beat in the advertising and reader market." Steiner was later able to work on the founding and development of Cash as sales manager. After a detour to Curti Medien, he was once again tempted by a new opportunity at SRG SSR idée suisse: in 1999, he was responsible for key sales at the market leader Publisuisse.
Account management in German-speaking countries and partly also abroad. "Marketing SRG SSR idée suisse TV stations was a completely different discipline, although it's the same craft as advertising marketing," says Steiner, who eventually switched back to the print business.
After six years of Swiss television, he wanted to "give his life a new direction". TV is a mass medium, "very exciting. But in terms of quality, never as rewarding as the title Finanz und Wirtschaft." Steiner has been responsible for the luxury market at this "indispensable financial title" for two years. "An exciting clientele in a premium target group," he says happily. With the title Finanz und Wirtschaft, you can find your way in anywhere, because Switzerland's leading financial newspaper is a "first-class brand". The world of finance is also "an exciting subject", which also fascinates Steiner himself more and more, because he can learn something completely new here: Why does the stock market rise or fall? Which key figures are decisive for which companies? Why does a share fall or rise? "It's very interesting, I can follow the reasons at close quarters at the editorial meetings."
As a "movement person", he has also bought a few shares himself in the meantime. Carlo Steiner trains regularly and has already run six marathons, including the legendary ones in Berlin and New York as well as Zurich. "A fantastic and lasting experience in this setting," he enthuses. Beautiful cars also make him rave. The Geneva Motor Show is not just a must for the luxury ad salesman. He also loves this place because he is fundamentally interested in the optimization of products and a cultivated lifestyle. "Such an aesthetic and sophisticated car looks like a suit and is also an expression of lifestyle," he is convinced. A creative world view that Steiner can certainly use as a valuable guide when programming upcoming events at the Zurich Advertising Club.   
Andreas Panzeri