A Consistent Response to Market Changes

Digital distribution channels, the podcast boom, and programmatic advertising solutions have permanently transformed the Swiss audio landscape in recent years. With the rebranding to Goldbach Audio The Goldbach subsidiary is now formally taking this step and sharpening its profile as a comprehensive specialist covering the entire spectrum of audio advertising. At the same time, the company is aligning itself even more closely—both visually and strategically—with the overarching Goldbach Group AG umbrella.

Managing Director Ralf Brachat had already hinted that the course for the future had been set on the sidelines of this year's Radio Night at the Carlton in Zurich. Now the official announcement has been made.

«The transformation from Swiss Radioworld to Goldbach Audio is a logical next step for us. With our many years of experience, our dedicated team, and our innovative strength, we are ideally positioned to proactively meet the needs of our customers and offer future-proof solutions for radio and digital audio.»

- Ralf Brachat, Managing Director of Goldbach Audio

Focus on Technology, Programmatic Advertising, and Podcasts

The growing diversity of distribution and consumption channels demands greater technological expertise and cross-media consulting in the advertising market. In recent years, the former Swiss Radioworld has systematically built up expertise to offer advertisers not only traditional radio but also innovative products such as its in-house podcast network and forward-looking programmatic radio. The company intends to further advance this path of innovation under the new Goldbach Audio label.

Continuity for Partners and Customers

For our market partners—including media agencies, clients, and radio stations—nothing will change in their day-to-day operations: the well-coordinated team, the familiar points of contact, and all processes and services will remain the same.

Musical Highlights and New Mobility

Partner Volvo took advantage of Swiss Radioworld's Radio Night to make a prominent appearance and unveiled a real highlight: the new EX60.

Swiss soul singer and Volvo brand ambassador Marc Sway provided the perfect musical highlight, delighting guests with an intimate unplugged session after the main course.

Mid-Term Review and Outlook: Where Is the Audio Market Headed?

On the sidelines of the festivities, Ralf Brachat, Managing Director of Swiss Radioworld, offered a nuanced assessment of the advertising year so far. A dynamic start in the first quarter was followed by an industry-wide slump in early summer. «Like many others, we had to go through a brief »valley of tears,’” Brachat explained, referring to the summer lull. But just in time for the start of fall, the marketing agency is feeling a noticeable upswing again: Advertisers are becoming more active, and booking inquiries are picking up significantly.

During the interview, Brachat also hinted that there are some internal changes afoot. A rebranding and a new company name are in the works to reflect changes in media usage—but the company plans to make an official announcement about the details when the new initiative launches in September.

At the same time, the market is changing rapidly. While linear radio continues to form the stable backbone, podcasts and streaming formats in particular are generating consistently high growth. To take full advantage of this momentum, the company is driving key innovations—most notably, the expansion of programmatic booking for linear radio.

This is also the key to a segment in which Brachat sees significant, as yet untapped potential: Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG). Large international corporations such as Ferrero, P&G, and Reckitt Benckiser typically manage their budgets in a highly centralized manner through global hubs.

«It is precisely for these corporations that we are now paving the way through programmatic booking, because these companies in particular are often managed centrally from London or on an international basis.»

- Ralf Brachat, Managing Director of Swiss Radioworld

In the future, automated interfaces are intended to ensure that global brand budgets flow into Swiss audio environments much more easily and in a more targeted manner.

Radio Night 2026 once again demonstrated its relevance as a key barometer of industry sentiment. Amid the joy of reunions, music, and new strategic directions, one thing became clear: the audio industry is looking ahead to the upcoming year-end sales season with great confidence.

The streams are "Shake Me enabled". With this interactive function, users can trigger reactions in the stream through various actions, such as shaking the device. It is often used to offer personalized advertising and interactive audio content.

"The integration of our digital audio inventory into the Swiss Radioworld network offers us the opportunity to further increase the visibility of our content. We see great potential in the expanded collaboration and are convinced that this partnership will offer national advertising customers clear added value," says Kevin Gander, CEO at Energy.
"The extended partnership with Energy enables us to significantly expand the portfolio for our customers," adds Ralf Brachat, Managing Director at Swiss Radioworld. "By integrating the digital audio inventory, we can address the needs of our customers in an even more targeted manner while further strengthening our competitiveness in the cross-media advertising market."

The switch-off of FM transmission for SRF radio stations on December 31, 2024 has affected the radio market in Switzerland. According to Mediapulse data, SRG stations lost around 450,000 listeners in the first quarter of 2025, which corresponds to a 15% decline in daily reach. At the same time, private radio stations were able to increase their reach by an average of 17%, as many former FM listeners switched to providers that continue to broadcast in analog format.

Private broadcasters and the advertising market benefit

This development opens up new opportunities for the advertising market: Despite the increased audience, private radio stations have not yet adjusted their advertising rates. Advertisers are therefore reaching a larger audience for the same price, which increases the efficiency of their campaigns. Hans Lackner, Director Operations at Swiss Radioworld, explains: "The market data points to a temporary structural shift that opens up additional potential, especially for private providers."

Swiss Radioworld also sees opportunities for digital audio advertising and streaming services such as SoundCloud and TuneIn. The Goldbach Group subsidiary supports advertisers in reaching their target groups via various channels and benefiting from changing listening habits.

SRG focuses on digitalization and long-term stabilization

SRG considers the current figures to be in line with expectations. With a market share of 53%, it remains the leader ahead of the private broadcasters with a combined 41%. The decline is an expected transitional movement, as changeover and conversion take time. "The vast majority of radio listeners in Switzerland already listen digitally," emphasizes the SRG in its statement. Over 80 percent of radio minutes listened to today are via the internet or DAB+.

According to SRG, the early switch-off was also for economic reasons: Analog FM technology is inefficient and expensive. In addition, the aim is to pave the way for the digitalization of the entire market, as all broadcasters will switch off FM by the end of 2026 at the latest. SRG assumes that its usage figures will recover as the digital migration progresses.

The audio advertising broker Swiss Radioworld is now adding podcasts from Seven.One's marketing portfolio to its advertising inventory. This means that over 50 German formats will become part of Swiss Radioworld's podcast network.

With this exclusive marketing mandate for Switzerland, the audio mediator is strengthening its position in the field of digital audio advertising, Swiss Radioworld writes in a press release. According to the statement, the podcast network now generates over 35 million ad impressions per month and covers 74 percent of German-speaking Switzerland and 24 percent of French-speaking Switzerland. The formats on offer are pre-rolls and selected host reads. Bookings can be made in the traditional way as well as programmatically.

Price adjustment in the offer

In addition to the expansion of the offering, there will also be a price reduction in the pre-roll inventory of the Swiss Radioworld podcast network - a strategic step in line with market conditions in Switzerland. The aim is to enable advertising in the podcast environment at better conditions with immediate effect.

Peter Scheurer from the VSP opened and hosted the event, which was jointly organized by Swiss Radioworld, Igem and the VSP. He traced the arc from 100 years of radio to today's audio offerings.

Siri Fischer from IGEM introduced the topic and showed the importance of audio as a combination of radio, music streaming and podcasts. The latest Digimonitor 2024 study shows that 99% of the population aged 15 to 75 consume audio at least occasionally - over 80% even do so on a daily basis. This means that audio is firmly anchored in everyday life, and radio can be well complemented by streaming and podcasts.

Nicolas Peggs from Swiss Radioworld used customer cases to show that advertising recall and impact increase with increasing budgets for digital audio. This is due to the rapid build-up of reach, which means that the young target group is also easily reached.

Sven Ruppert and Florian Walz from Splicky gave an insight into how programmatic advertising as a form of advertising booking, which originally comes from online advertising, is now also becoming an issue in linear radio. This development opens up new opportunities for radio, such as more flexibility and the cross-media integration of advertising.

An interactive AI quiz also demonstrated how difficult it has become to distinguish between human and AI-generated voices. An audio spot can be produced in two minutes, as Nicolas Peggs demonstrated using a live demo with Goldbach's audio generator.

Claudio Catrambone from Family Agency presented the fresh advertising subjects for the Radiobuchen.ch generic campaign.

At the end of the event, Peter Scheurer from VSP summarized: "Today, the great potential of radio and audio advertising was demonstrated. We look forward to advertising clients making even better use of the advantages of digital audio advertising in the future".

"The figures from both the IGEM Digimonitor study and the study conducted by Swiss Radioworld show that the combination of radio and digital audio has an evident effect on ad recognition and the overall advertising impact of a campaign," adds Nicolas Peggs from Swiss Radioworld.

Siri Fischer from IGEM drew a positive conclusion: "The well-attended event shows the increasing relevance of audio in Switzerland. The individual areas of radio, streaming and podcasts have long been present at many of our member companies and we are delighted to be able to accompany the combination of these as audio into the future".

The high reach, credibility and positive advertising impact of radio are regularly demonstrated in studies. Case studies like Ikeawhich show a 66% increase in visitors and a 33% increase in sales due to radio advertising, demonstrate the enormous potential of this advertising medium. Nevertheless, radio is still given too little consideration in many media plans.

This is precisely where the new campaign by Swiss Radioworld, CH Media, the Association of Swiss Private Radio Stations VSP and Radios Régionales Romandes RRR comes in: "For many advertisers, radio does not yet have the status it deserves. Yet radio offers excellent value for money, particularly as a sales medium, and reaches a wide range of target groups. We want to raise awareness of this potential again," explains Ralf Brachat, Managing Director of Swiss Radioworld.

What radio has to offer

The "Real Talk" campaign developed by the Family agency aims to emphasize the benefits of radio and position the medium as an effective sales promotion tool for marketing decision-makers. The humorous multi-channel campaign makes clear statements and speaks directly to the target group.

"We deliberately opted for a somewhat cheekier style of communication, as the medium of radio can present itself confidently with all its advantages - even in direct comparison with other advertising media," comments Peter Scheurer, Managing Director of VSP.

Landing page conveys knowledge

The advertising media used lead to the new bilingual landing page Radiobuchen.ch respectively Publicite-radio.chwhich gives advertisers access to around 50 Swiss private radio stations and marketers to book radio advertising directly. The website also shows the most important USPs, offers current study results, cases and practical tips on radio advertising. "Many advertisers don't know, for example, that radio commercials can be produced very quickly and cost-effectively - and easily via the radio stations. We want to counteract these knowledge gaps in the market," explains Nicola Bomio, VSP President and Head of Radio at CH Media.

The campaign will now run for several weeks via online ads, print ads, posters and radio spots in German-speaking and French-speaking Switzerland. The campaign subjects are available on Radiobuchen.ch available for download to all interested parties.

Responsible at Swiss Radioworld/Goldbach: Ralf Brachat (Managing Director Swiss Radioworld), Guido Trevisan (CMO Goldbach Group AG), Jessica Wonneberger (Head of Digital Marketing), Nadia Vitale (Senior Content Marketing Manager). Responsible at CH Media: Nicole Fuchs (Head of Corporate Marketing and Branding), Nicola Bomio (Head of Radio). Responsible at the Swiss Private Radio Association (VSP): Peter Scheurer (Managing Director). Responsible at Radios Régionales Romandes (RRR): Matthieu Baumgartner (member of the Association). Responsible at Family: Tabea Mader (Account Manager), Jan Walser (Creative Director), Florian Weitzel (Creative Director), Severin Binkert (Graphic Designer), Marc Ambühl (Head of Postproduction), Claudio Catrambone (CCO / CEO).

The joint goal of CH Media and Swiss Radioworld is to offer further communication solutions and thus increase radio's share of the overall advertising market. To this end, the existing agency agreement was extended and the existing Swiss Radioworld team expanded.

Swiss Radioworld will develop content marketing concepts together with CH Media's Commercial Content department. These concepts are developed in co-creation with clients and complement the core medium of radio with a comprehensive all-media approach. The concepts are then produced in-house by CH Media. In addition to the CH Media stations, other radio stations and media marketed by Swiss Radioworld or Goldbach can also be used.

"Partnership is logical"

"A partnership with long-standing professionals from the fields of content marketing and traditional radio marketing with us as a media company with a strong public service in the regions is logical and we are extremely pleased. Our declared aim is to further strengthen the radio genre in Switzerland together. To this end, we have introduced new offerings, more best practice and more research into the collaboration. Swiss Radioworld thus has the right power to address marketing, advertising and media managers in a more targeted way," says Tarkan Özküp, CCO of CH Media.

Ralf Brachat, Managing Director of Swiss Radioworld, adds: "The extension of the partnership and intensification of the collaboration with CH Media opens up new and customized opportunities with radio as the lead medium for advertisers and is a pioneering step into the future for the entire radio industry."

Werbewoche.ch: How did you discover your passion for audio marketing and what prompted you to become active in this field?

Ralf Brachat: Yes, it really is a kind of love story. I previously worked at Warner Music for 15 years in the music label division. There, we sent the latest singles to the radios every week. As a result, I had already built up a close relationship with radio stations. The hope was always that the radio stations would play our singles and thus get good promotion for the new albums. Then, by chance, the opportunity arose to take on the position of Managing Director at Swiss Radioworld. I didn't have to think about it for long.

Do you remember a campaign from your early days?

Yes, not necessarily the very first one, but one that was a long time ago. It was a campaign for the Zurich Transport Association. The idea was to inform tourists on the streetcar that the streetcar was two minutes late. The Americans could hardly believe that such a minimal delay was being pointed out and laughed their heads off. This was a playful way for the ZVV to point out how punctual our public transport is. And that is indeed the case compared to other countries. The campaign was creative and well executed, but unfortunately it was not repeated.

A lot has changed in the constantly evolving media landscape. What changes in audio marketing do you think have had the biggest impact?

There have been many changes. Ten years ago, when I started here, we were selling 15- or 20-second radio spots. In the meantime, there has been an enormous digitalization. People now often listen to music or radio with headphones. We no longer just sell radio spots, but also offer extensions into the digital audio sector. Radio stations also have web channels, and there are platforms such as Spotify or Tunein. And we have also aggregated an audio network and podcast network, which we can advertise. Depending on the target group and advertising objective, we can make different offers or complement one with the other.

Swiss Radioworld is part of the Goldbach marketing universe. How does the integration work at campaign level and what advantages do your customers gain from it?

Yes, we are indeed. We can benefit from shared resources and are present at various Goldbach locations. Swiss Radioworld is now also based at Goldbach's premises. The exchange and cooperation with the other independent units is very positive. We have joint marketing days where we invite agencies and present all media at the same time. . This enables the agencies to benefit from comprehensive know-how at short notice.

Are there particularly successful combinations of audio with other media forms in advertising?

Studies show that audio works particularly well with images. Especially in combination with TV, during peak times in the evening, audio achieves a high impact in the morning during "drive time", i.e. when people are sitting in the car listening to the radio. When the commercial is heard via the audio signal, the image that was seen the previous evening appears in the mind. The combination of audio and image significantly increases the impact of the message.

Which product categories are considered classics in the field of audio and audio advertising because they are particularly suitable for this media form?

In addition to branding, radio can be used particularly well as a traffic tool. We traditionally have customers in the furniture sector, but also in the retail sector for promotions and in the automotive sector. The availability of cars has returned to normal after a brief interruption in radio advertising. Radio is ideal for classic sales. It is not uncommon for campaigns to have to be stopped because the offer is sold out.

And in the image area?

Audio is also very effective in the image sector. Various components play a role here, especially recognition value. Brands can effectively implement both promotional and branding advertising with an audio logo, a consistent voice and creative approaches.

Although your brand "Swiss Radioworld" refers to radio, the offer seems to go beyond that. Can you explain which components make up your offering?

Our audio business comprises various components. The traditional radio business is still the main driver. But we also have a Spotify platform in the digital sector, an audio network, a podcast network and, more recently, an in-game business where audio advertising can be placed on mobile games, with the advantage that the game is not interrupted.

In-game advertising sounds interesting. Can you explain this in more detail?

When people use their cell phones and play games on the train, on the streetcar or at home, for example, we can now address them with audio spots. So if someone is playing a game on their cell phone, they can listen to audio spots without their game being interrupted.

The latest figures from the IGM Digimonitor show that the popularity of classic audio continues to grow. How do you see the future of this form of media?

We are delighted with these figures. Over 6 million Swiss listen to the radio regularly, and in the last measurement we even gained 100,000 new listeners. Audio is consumed via a wide variety of distribution channels, be it via TV, DAB, Internet, CarPlay and more. The appeal of audio and radio remains strong and we believe that the boom in this area will continue.

At our last meeting in August, during your party on Lake Zurich, you were optimistic about the second half of the year. Has that proved to be the case?

It was a complicated year, not just for us at Swiss Radiworld, but for everyone. But our hopes, especially for the last quarter, have actually been fulfilled. Among other things, the automotive industry returned to radio and supply bottlenecks have been overcome, to name just one positive example. There are many positive signs that characterize the start of the new year.

Are there new industries entering audio advertising?

Yes, and I'm particularly pleased about that. At the moment, we are talking to many customers from different sectors about the possibilities of radio who have not been radio customers for a long time. We are therefore delighted to have a number of new customers who have discovered the power of radio.

According to Digimonitor, the average age structure of audio listeners is 51 years old, but many young people also listen to audio. What strategies are you pursuing to reach the younger target group?

The radio stations are responsible for this, but we integrate it with social media, the internet and other platforms. Radio is not just a medium, but also a brand. We appeal to different age groups via various channels, including Spotify and in-game advertising.

Your study shows that digital audio is used for activation purposes. Why is radio particularly effective here?

In addition to radio, digital audio is also extremely activating. Our study with "Activ Fitness" shows that digital audio increases awareness and successfully sells subscriptions. The classic audio spot before the stream demonstrably achieves a strong effect and enjoys incredible attention.

How important is the creation of audio advertising?

The audio logo or audio design is crucial. Advertisers should plan for the long term to develop effective audio logos. The selection of voice actors also plays a role, as Ikea shows with its instantly recognizable voice with a Swedish accent.

Are there any particularly bad examples?

A client from the automotive industry was an example of audio advertising that is better left alone. Each spot was designed differently, with no recognition value: one time in High German, the next time in Swiss German, then a woman and the next time a man. This means that the great potential of recurring radio campaigns is not being exploited.

Is there a benchmark for successful advertising?

Ikea with its Swedish accent and Hornbach with its catchy slogan are strong examples. A few words can have a powerful effect.

Finally, what's next on the Swiss Radioworld program?

We are investing heavily in technology. Following the programmatic bookability of digital audio, the next step is to make linear radio programmatically bookable.

Digital audio advertising is part of our everyday lives and is being noticed - this is shown by the latest study results from Swiss Radioworld. As part of a representative advertising impact study, the radio mediator analyzed the use of digital audio in general and the effectiveness of audio advertising based on a real campaign.

Digital audio is used in a variety of ways and generates attention
59% of all respondents stated that they tend to use digital audio several times a week to daily, most frequently via smartphone (73%). The use of headphones is 30% across Switzerland and even reaches 47% among 15 to 34-year-olds. The most popular channels include web radios, music streaming platforms and podcasts. These are most frequently listened to at home, in the car, on the move on foot, at work or at the place of education or on public transport. Audio advertising enjoys a high level of attention: two thirds of respondents state that they pay attention to digital audio advertising and rate it as credible and informative.

Activating effect of audio advertising using the example of Activ Fitness
A three-week audio campaign was played for the Activ Fitness fitness chain in May 2023 and its effectiveness was then analyzed. Although the brand is already well known in Switzerland, top-of-mind awareness was increased, particularly among 18 to 44-year-olds (+23%). There was also a positive impact on brand preference (+17%). Digital audio advertising also had a clear activating effect on follow-up communication, recommendation, subsequent purchase considerations and the actual purchase decision. These effects were again more pronounced among 18 to 44-year-olds.

Digital Audio Study 2022 - ADVERTISING NOTICE

Charles Zürcher, owner of the media agency Zürchermarketing responsible for Activ Fitness, comments on the use of digital audio as an advertising medium: "In our online strategy for Activ Fitness, digital audio is an important addition to the media mix, primarily because of the diverse targeting options and the meaningful campaign reports. In addition, digital audio campaigns can always be implemented quickly and flexibly."

In addition to networking, the Swiss Radioworld team also scored with a musical highlight! The Swiss rapper EAZ, known from the TV show "Sing meinen Song", created a good atmosphere in the audience with his chart hit "Juicy", among others.

Ralf Brachat, Managing Director of Swiss Radioworld AG, is pleased: "With this industry event, we were once again able to show what radio and audio actually stand for in today's fragmented media landscape: Information, entertainment, diversity and of course pure emotion!"

Opposite Advertisingweek.ch Brachat was also very pleased in the video interview about radio's performance in the IGEM Digitmonitor presented on Tuesday. According to this, radio recorded 6.1 million regular listeners, which represents an increase. This success was also celebrated during the Radio Night.

Lara Jelinski, CEO of Media Dentsu Switzerland, also reveals to the Advertisingweek.ch as a fan of Radio Night, "I really never skip it." Asked about the use of radio, the top media executive says she's especially excited about the programmatic buying that's now possible. See what else Jelinski and Brachat said in the video.

The specific example of the radio campaign for financial services provider Yuh also shows that radio advertising can significantly increase brand awareness, remains in the memory and has an activating effect.

Radio advertising is well received - this is shown by the latest study results from Swiss Radioworld. The radio mediator has conducted a representative advertising impact study the perception of radio in general and analyzed the effectiveness of audio advertising by means of pre- and post-tests based on a real campaign for the finance app Yuh.

Around half of the respondents rate radio advertising as credible (46 percent). Among the younger age group of 15 to 34-year-olds, this figure is as high as 57 percent. Another 39 percent and 41 percent respectively consider radio advertising to be informative. Looking at the design aspects of radio advertising, spot length (38 percent), originality and creativity (32 percent) and entertaining nature (32 percent) are the most important criteria for the respondents.

David Foser, Senior Project Manager Market Research at TX Group, on the study: "The results of the population-representative study show that radio advertising is well received by listeners. Interesting details emerged when differentiating by socio-demographics. For example, the under-35s are much more favorable to radio advertising than the population as a whole.

Analysis of campaign impact for advertising client Yuh

For the financial app Yuh, developed by PostFinance and Swissquote and launched in 2021, a two-week audio campaign with accompanying advertising measures in online and out-of-home media was run in May 2022 and then examined for its effectiveness.

As the results show, awareness of Yuh among the target audience of 20- to 35-year-olds was increased both aided and unaided. In addition, every fifth person surveyed was able to remember the audio spot.

The spots used had an activating effect, especially in terms of follow-up communication and information seeking. For example, 12 percent of respondents in each case said they had talked about Yuh and sought further information. The spots also showed a favoring effect: While 13 percent of respondents favored Yuh's financial app before the campaign, Yuh's favorability increased by 51 percent to 19 percent of respondents.

Sonia Milici, Head of Marketing & Sales, on the analyzed campaign: "We are satisfied with the results of the campaign, especially with the activation potential of the radio spot as well as the significantly increased preference of Yuh in the post-test. Considering that we are targeting a specific audience with our finance app that is already familiar with the various offerings, the results are pleasing. We will certainly consider radio and audio again for our future campaigns."