Marketing Science Award for Herbert Bolliger

The two awards were presented for the fourth time this year at the sold-out Swiss Brand Congress in Zurich. The "Swiss Academy of Marketing Science Award" honors a practitioner who strengthens the idea of marketing in practice and promotes marketing education and research at Swiss universities. The jury of professors, headed by Prof. Dr. Torsten Tomczak, found that the former president of the Migros Genossenschafts Bund Herbert Bolliger was a worthy winner. "With the topic of Big Data, we are still at the beginning. Ultimately, the scientific analyses must also be implemented in practice. The data pots are full, but they still need to be linked," said Bolliger about the next steps in the collaboration between research and practice in the marketing environment.

Charismatic leader of the Swiss economy

Herbert Bolliger is known as a charismatic leader of the Swiss economy. He steered Migros through economically difficult times. For example, the market entry of Aldi and Lidl in Switzerland, the shopping tourism of the Swiss in nearby foreign countries, and the increasing digitization of retail. The acquisitions of Denner and Digitec Galaxus also fell under his aegis. Herbert Bolliger was also able to exert a lasting influence on the scientific landscape. This was particularly the case through the intensive cooperation between Migros and the University of St. Gallen.

Young scientist researches gamification

The "Rigour & Relevance Research Award" was presented for research work that met with the highest recognition in the scientific community and made a significant contribution to solving current and relevant problems in practice. The award was decided by a ten-member jury of marketing managers. This year, the award went to Dr. Jessica Müller-Stewens, University of St. Gallen, for her research paper "Gamified Information Presentation and Consumer Adoption of Product Innovations". She was delighted to receive the honor and summarized her findings: "When you integrate information about innovations into games, it's easier for people to see the benefits." The first step, she said, is tracking software to measure success. Only if fun is created in the game and a match to the product can the innovation be successfully communicated, she said.