"I don't see a breakthrough"
TV Advertising: Gabriela Böcker-Flamm, Deputy Managing Director at Mediacom, on the mistakes made by commercial TV broadcasters and talk of a crisis.
TV advertising Gabriela Böcker-Flamm, Deputy Managing Director at Mediacom, on the mistakes made by private TV broadcasters and on crisis talk.WW Do you consider the TeleNewsCombi (TNC) or Infopool for your TV campaigns?Gabriela Böcker-Flamm The local and regional TV stations have developed very well. Therefore, they are certainly recommendable for support in individual regions. However, this attractiveness is somewhat clouded by the fact that local TV stations tend to have older viewers. So if one is looking for a supplement of younger people, which is often the point, the regional stations are less suitable. The exception is Tele Züri, which successfully reaches out to young people with a number of channels.
That is, you don't think of the TeleNewsCombi as a whole, but of individual regions that you pick out.
Exactly. If so, then it's about amplifying individual regions, then we look at the individual station.
Viewer figures for regional TV are rising across the board. The broadcasters say that acceptance in the advertising industry is now on the verge of a breakthrough. Is that how you see it?
Rising viewer numbers definitely help, because they are an expression of an increase in the attractiveness of the offerings. However, I don't think local TV has been sold below its value so far. It is already being used for local support where it makes sense. So I don't think there's a huge breakthrough coming now.
Where does the offer of the regionals make most sense?It would certainly make no sense to want to plan full coverage with local and regional stations. It can only be a question of where reinforcement in individual areas would make a difference. Regions like Zurich with great potential are certainly a good place to start. And if I can efficiently buy additional pressure in my target group with a regional station, then that's certainly attractive.
Do you rate Tele Züri higher than the other regional stations because its audience is somewhat younger?
My point is not to pit the individual stations against each other. Each program has its own justification in its own region. We mustn't forget that the regions and their audiences each have different characteristics and needs. Of course, the local and regional stations have to take this fact into account. Tele Züri has the advantage of broadcasting in Switzerland's most populous conurbation. With its quite high viewer numbers, it offers the possibility to additionally penetrate the audience in this important area.
What advice would you give to regional TVs: Where should they focus their offerings even more?
You must continue to work hard on quality. Our customers consistently expect professionally made environments. Accordingly, they have the same high expectations in the local and regional area. Of course, progress has already been made there, especially with those that have been in the market for six or seven years. But for many stations, quality is still an issue that needs to be carefully monitored.
Do you consider the announced fee-splitting for regional TV stations to be a sensible instrument for further improving the quality of the programs?No, I don't believe in it. In my opinion, fee-splitting is not the right way to go. One should have the necessary means or leave it alone. Subsidies without a public mandate, as in the case of public TV, are the wrong approach from an entrepreneurial point of view.
Can the various local and regional stations expect a breakthrough when the current crisis is over and advertising spending picks up again?
I don't expect to see a marked movement of advertising dollars toward regional and local TV stations, even after the crisis ends. It will be a slow development. The better the stations get and the more viewers they attract, the more they will be called upon to reinforce media plans in the individual regions. But I really don't see an imminent dramatic breakthrough.
And in the case of TV advertising in Switzerland in general: Is the current crisis now signaling the shift towards TV advertising that has long been invoked but has still not materialized?TV can clearly hold its own better than other media such as newspapers, which are suffering particularly badly. In such times, advertising money is most likely to stay invested in efficient media. And for international customers in particular, that is television. Unabated advertising pressure in mass media is very important, especially in times of crisis. That's why we tend to see somewhat less of a decline in TV. But shifts in the media mix are still a very slow development. In the long term, advertising spending in the traditional media will continue to move toward TV in Switzerland as well. But that's taking longer than anyone thought.
Regional TV broadcasters: Second choice for spot placements.
That is, you don't think of the TeleNewsCombi as a whole, but of individual regions that you pick out.
Exactly. If so, then it's about amplifying individual regions, then we look at the individual station.
Viewer figures for regional TV are rising across the board. The broadcasters say that acceptance in the advertising industry is now on the verge of a breakthrough. Is that how you see it?
Rising viewer numbers definitely help, because they are an expression of an increase in the attractiveness of the offerings. However, I don't think local TV has been sold below its value so far. It is already being used for local support where it makes sense. So I don't think there's a huge breakthrough coming now.
Where does the offer of the regionals make most sense?It would certainly make no sense to want to plan full coverage with local and regional stations. It can only be a question of where reinforcement in individual areas would make a difference. Regions like Zurich with great potential are certainly a good place to start. And if I can efficiently buy additional pressure in my target group with a regional station, then that's certainly attractive.
Do you rate Tele Züri higher than the other regional stations because its audience is somewhat younger?
My point is not to pit the individual stations against each other. Each program has its own justification in its own region. We mustn't forget that the regions and their audiences each have different characteristics and needs. Of course, the local and regional stations have to take this fact into account. Tele Züri has the advantage of broadcasting in Switzerland's most populous conurbation. With its quite high viewer numbers, it offers the possibility to additionally penetrate the audience in this important area.
What advice would you give to regional TVs: Where should they focus their offerings even more?
You must continue to work hard on quality. Our customers consistently expect professionally made environments. Accordingly, they have the same high expectations in the local and regional area. Of course, progress has already been made there, especially with those that have been in the market for six or seven years. But for many stations, quality is still an issue that needs to be carefully monitored.
Do you consider the announced fee-splitting for regional TV stations to be a sensible instrument for further improving the quality of the programs?No, I don't believe in it. In my opinion, fee-splitting is not the right way to go. One should have the necessary means or leave it alone. Subsidies without a public mandate, as in the case of public TV, are the wrong approach from an entrepreneurial point of view.
Can the various local and regional stations expect a breakthrough when the current crisis is over and advertising spending picks up again?
I don't expect to see a marked movement of advertising dollars toward regional and local TV stations, even after the crisis ends. It will be a slow development. The better the stations get and the more viewers they attract, the more they will be called upon to reinforce media plans in the individual regions. But I really don't see an imminent dramatic breakthrough.
And in the case of TV advertising in Switzerland in general: Is the current crisis now signaling the shift towards TV advertising that has long been invoked but has still not materialized?TV can clearly hold its own better than other media such as newspapers, which are suffering particularly badly. In such times, advertising money is most likely to stay invested in efficient media. And for international customers in particular, that is television. Unabated advertising pressure in mass media is very important, especially in times of crisis. That's why we tend to see somewhat less of a decline in TV. But shifts in the media mix are still a very slow development. In the long term, advertising spending in the traditional media will continue to move toward TV in Switzerland as well. But that's taking longer than anyone thought.
Regional TV broadcasters: Second choice for spot placements.
Interview: Daniel Schifferle
