"Owned media is a huge opportunity for businesses - if you're brave and honest"
Fabian Zürcher, Head of Brand Studio at Ringier, takes on our "13 Questions".
1. what inspired you to enter the advertising and communications industry?
Nine discontinued studies.
2. which advertising campaign from your childhood left a lasting impression on you?
"Me het de Wernli eifach gernli". My grandmother, a spirited woman, had even complained to Wernli about language slurring.
3. which campaign has annoyed you lately?
Those campaigns of gratitude and solidarity during the Corona crisis that were nothing more than empty words.
4. when you have an idea, how do you know it is good?
If I have to get up immediately after the idea and mope around the office.
5 Does the classic agency model have a long-term future?
It has certainly been rosier. This is also due to new players like us that have emerged in media companies.
6. what do you think about owned media?
A huge opportunity for companies - if you're brave and honest. Consulting and production for these channels is our fastest growing area.
7. a buzz word that gets on your nerves?
Content. Because it is too often used synonymously with PR or simple advertising copy - it is not. Content is about depth, service, information.
8. what do you think about influencer marketing?
As Theodore Sturgeon said, "90 percent of everything is crap." In influencer marketing, the percentage feels a little higher. But the genre is young. No reason to smile at it.
9. the best testimonial ever?
Any that takes itself for a ride. Our colleagues in America do this very well. I found Kevin Durant for Google Assistant funny. Different and not American, but great: Jean-Claude van Damme for Volvo Trucks.
10. what does your private TV consumption behavior look like?
I zap for about 30 minutes until I'm sure nothing interests me.
11. who was your most fun lunch partner and why?
Vujo Gavric, because it's very easy to have a good time with him. And Hausi Leutenegger, because he's a terrific storyteller.
12. which five records would you take with you to the desert island?
"Fear of a Black Planet" by Public Enemy, "Key Markets" by Sleaford Mods, "Floor Show" by Baxter Dury, "Animals" by Pink Floyd and "RTJ4" by Run the Jewels.
13. which film title best describes your career so far?
As a journalist: "Extrablatt. Now somewhere between "Do the Right Thing" and "The Devil's Advocate.
Fabian Zürcher ...
... is Head of Brand Studio at Ringier, which creates campaigns and content for clients. Before setting it up at the end of 2016, he was deputy editor-in-chief of Blick.ch and Blick am Abend at the Blick Group. Before that, the 42-year-old was deputy head of entertainment and editor-in-chief of Blick ad interim at Ringier.
