Swiss Radioworld: A Medium on the Move

At Radio Day, industry experts addressed topics such as "Digital radio won't come on its own," "What do young people want to listen to?" and "What comes after Media Watch?" One program highlight was the presentation by Christoph Stuehn, Director of Memoriav. Using historical documents of the time, he reaffirmed the importance of radio as a mediator of information - not only in difficult times. Among the other speakers were international radio producers such as Laura-May Coope of BBC Radio 1, who addressed the assembled Swiss radio community. The conclusion in unison: The environment is getting tougher, but radio is holding its own.

Since its inception, the medium of radio has provided information in real time and independently of time and place. Memoriav is committed to ensuring that Swiss radio heritage is preserved for posterity. Thus, Director Christoph Stuehn also spoke about the history of radio at Swiss Radio Day. He reinforced his speech with a selection of historically important radio broadcasts of our time, such as about the swearing-in of General Guison, the federal referendum on women's suffrage, or the first reports on the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy and the attack on the World Trade Center.

"Radio - more versatile than ever before"

The Radio Night attracted numerous guests to Zurich's Kaufleuten last night. The organizer Swiss Radioworld, a subsidiary of the Goldbach Group, presented an exciting program under the motto "Radio - as versatile as never before". The guests followed discussions and presentations and took the opportunity to cultivate existing contacts and make new ones in the relaxed club atmosphere. Ralf Brachat, Managing Director of swiss Radioworld: "As I walked through the hall I met many agency managers, planners, radio producers and customers. I'm really pleased about that."

This year's event kicked off for the second time with the so-called Radiocampus in the Kaufleuten Lounge, which was aimed primarily at planners and consultants. Under the motto "Radio - more versatile than ever", Martin Baumgartner, Head of Business Development at Swiss Radioworld, moderated a lively panel discussion. The insight: the fixed, old-fashioned 20-second spots are increasingly being supplemented with creative, customized solutions. Jan Müller, presenter and program manager at Radio 105, and Stephan Küng, owner of TWMedia, presented successful practical examples. Michael Gassler, Managing Director at Leo Burnett Switzerland, representing the creative agencies, called on radio producers to provide even more appropriate formats and said: "We would like to realize more radio campaigns". There was agreement in the round that radio advertising has a creative future ahead of it.

For the actual Radio Night in the club hall, Radio 24 host Nick Laederach welcomed two eloquent, exciting speakers. Martin de Munnik, founder and COO of Neurensics Amsterdam, explained the effects of campaigns based on the processes that take place in the brain. From a research perspective, he said, radio advertising has two key advantages: As a single-sense medium that appeals only to the sense of hearing, it has an all the more lasting effect in our subconscious. In addition, melodies can activate those areas of the brain that are relevant for purchase decisions. Geoff Linsell, the second speaker and Managing Director of Moving Brands Zurich, introduced the audience to the fascinating world of "sonic logos". Using various examples, he showed how firmly we associate certain sounds with logos and, increasingly, products. You thought a Harley-Davidson sounded like that purely by chance? Far from it. In the meantime, a lot of money is flowing into the development of the right sounds. And the developments and possibilities, especially for radio advertising, are far from over: Audio branding will become increasingly important in the coming years.

The evening ended outside, on the terrace and in the courtyard - with bratwurst from the star grill and the live program from Radio 105.