Remember November: The month of talent
Swiss Marketing had three reasons to celebrate in Interlaken and Zurich. In the Bernese Oberland, marketing and sales managers received their diplomas; in Zurich, the very first class of marketing managers was honored. Swiss Marketing brightened up this gloomy month.
We usually only hear good things about May: awakening spring fever, summer sunshine. Shareholders collect their dividends the month before. July and August shine as vacation months, September often brings an extension of the warm season. November has a harder time of it: month eleven is usually associated with fog, pre-winter gloom, difficult wage and budget negotiations. And the thirteenth month's salary is already owed to the cantonal treasurer. Yet November has a truly unique selling point in the Swiss education landscape. At least as far as the activities of Swiss Marketing are concerned: sales and marketing talents are honored at three new diploma ceremonies.
235 Talents for the real economy
At the end of November, there is always a double accolade: first the marketing managers and then the sales managers, usually just a few days apart. This year, the two events were also held very close to each other in terms of location: on Friday, November 25, 80 marketing managers were given their brevet, while 136 new sales managers were welcomed the following day. Both events took place at the five-star Victoria-Jungfrau Palace in Interlaken. Also in the supposedly gloomy month, on November 24, there was a premiere in Zurich: the first 19 marketing managers were graduated in Zurich. All in all, a total of 235 new talents from the Swiss Marketing kitchen that the real economy can only look forward to.
Marketing manager: Celebration with sax appeal
When 80 talented people have successfully completed the royal road of marketing, a first-class location is of course a must for the celebration. The Victoria Jungfrau in Interlaken was one of the most radiant gems in the Swiss haute hotel industry for the marketing managers' graduation ceremony. 107 candidates took the demanding marketing manager exam; 80 or 75 percent passed. "Certified marketing managers prove that they are masters of their trade and have many years of extensive practical experience," praised examination director Peter Gilli in Interlaken. The event was accompanied by music from Zurich saxophonist Roland Graf, aka G-Sax, who had brought guitarist Felix Utzinger along to the ceremony. A graduation ceremony with a real sax appeal. And one that proves that the royal road of marketing is a real road to success: the number of candidates in 2011, 107, was considerably higher than in 2010, when 93 candidates took part in the selection process.
Sales Manager: Aeschbi rules
Just as G-Sax always hits the right notes with the marketing managers, there is a constant companion at the sales managers' graduation ceremony who knows: C'est le ton qui fait la musique. TV personality Kurt Aeschbacher hosted the sales managers' ceremony after the marketing managers' event. At the same venue, the Victoria-Jungfrau Interlaken. A total of 192 people took the exam, 136 or 71 percent passed. "The future belongs to those who are active in the present," Jean-Paul Zürcher, Chairman of the Examination Board, told the young talents. Aeschbi once again managed the feat of conducting an event with many prizewinners in a way that was both confident and entertaining. Not for a second did the TV professional feel like he was reeling off a commissioned piece of work. On the contrary: Aeschbacher understood perfectly how to pick up each award winner exactly where he or she was. And to turn it into perfect infotainment. Here someone sells the core messages (and himself) close to the optimum.
Marketing Manager: Premiere at the Grossmünster in Zurich
On November 24, in the heart of Switzerland's number one business metropolis, the first ever diploma in marketing management HF was awarded. After six challenging semesters at the SIB (Swiss Institute of Business Administration), 19 of the original 24 talented students were awarded their diplomas. This first generation of marketing managers received their diplomas in Zurich's Grossmünster church, after which they moved to the Zunfthaus zur Meisen for an aperitif riche. The graduates of this brand new management training program combine marketing expertise with leadership and management skills. In the European EQF levels, graduates of the new course are classified at level 5 (Marketing Manager, Master). Graduate sales managers are ranked at level 6 (Sales Director, Bachelor) and graduate marketing managers at level 7 (Marketing Director).
The dovetailing of theory and practice is a very important asset for the HF Marketing Management degree: as the culmination of their studies, graduates write a thesis that bridges the gap between theory and practice and must offer a concrete practical benefit for a company. A practice partner, usually the client from this company, is involved in the assessment and invited to the final presentation. Dr. Peter Petrin, Director of the SIB and Swiss Marketing Vice President, emphasized the key quality of the diploma students: "They don't just know what marketing could be, but how it should be managed in order to be successful."
With this in mind, Swiss Marketing President Uwe Tännler also addressed the first generation of marketing managers: "Success depends not only on knowledge, but also and above all on action, on doing. It will therefore be crucial how you put your acquired knowledge into practice."
Martin Huber, Frank Lang, Audit Chairman Marc Heim (from left to right).
