First digitally printed daily newspaper in the world

Harald Burgener is CEOO of the Mengis Group and VSGZ member.The Mengis Group publishes, among other things, the daily newspaper "Walliser Bote" and the weekly "Rhone-Zeitung", the latter distributed free of charge to all 39,000 households in the German-speaking Upper Valais. The existing newspaper printing press was to be replaced and outside printing was out of the question.By taking on suitable commercial printing jobs, a basic capacity utilization of 50 to 60 percent is achieved, says Mengis boss Harald Burgener. And laughs when asked whether the investment was made out of courage or desperation. He sees this as clearly anti-cyclical behavior, and in comparison to his competitors, he is demonstrating courage with this decision. He stands out from all the other competitors, but is now also under pressure to make the most of the position he has gained.Personalized, cross-media campaignsWhile other print shops are closing, Mengis is expanding: What does such a business plan look like? Harald Burgener refers to the ongoing market clarifications. To this end, those responsible spoke primarily with existing and potential customers. The key question was: What solutions can we offer our existing and potential customers? The focus is on "personalized, cross-media campaigns" with which the Upper Valais-based company wants to become active; in this context, print is used in its role as an ideal traffic bringer for websites. Digital production is also linked to data management, an area with a future. According to Harald Burgener, the business plan is therefore designed for the medium to long term.Finally, the question arises as to what the now digitally positioned Mengis Group can do differently, better, additionally? For example, the advertising space can be better utilized, explains the head of the Valais Messenger and the Rhone newspaper, by selling the same advertising space to other advertisers depending on the region. However, this would mean a noticeable additional effort for the sales team, which cannot be managed at the moment. Or they could congratulate their subscribers on their birthdays; in all other newspapers, there would be something different at this point.Smooth printing has priorityHowever, both possibilities outlined here do not have the highest priority at the moment. First and foremost, Harald Burgener now wants to use the new equipment to ensure smooth, high-quality printing and to exploit the new potential for commercial printing. Here, the Upper Valais company can immediately offer many new solutions, such as personalization, coupled with new technologies such as augmented reality. "Ultimately, we aim to offer our customers cross-media campaigns that have strong added value," concludes the Mengis CEO.Text: Hannes Zaugg