Ticino, vino, pubblicità
Ticino advertising agencies fight for SMEs, major customers and against the arrogance of the German-speaking part of Switzerland
Ticino advertising agencies fight for SMEs, major customers and against the arrogance of the German-speaking SwissBy Carlo Bernasconi Enclosed to the south by the national border, to the north by the Gotthard massif: Ticino advertising agencies operate in a small-scale market. And they mainly serve SMEs with creative solutions. Mostly in poster form. That's where the desire of the Latin man to see his product as larger than life as possible comes to the fore. A visit to three agencies, in Chiasso, Lugano, Bellinzona.
Admittedly, the address is not exactly noble. Grancia, near Lugano, who knows that place? After all, it is the headquarters of the largest agency in Ticino, Publigoods SA. And of such an internationally active company as BIC. But although it is within shouting distance of the agency, it advertises its stationery elsewhere. A circumstance Rolando Wetter would like to change. "Certain large budgets have migrated in recent years (Fernet-Branca, Alfa Romeo Campari). We would like to bring them back through quality," says the agency manager, who has been in the job since the beginning of the year.
Wetter previously worked for APG for twelve years as a sales manager and was a member of the management team in Zurich. Now he is the director in Grancia, and when asked what is typical about advertising in Ticino, he says: "It is perhaps a bit more cynical and playful. There is more play. It's looser, in dealing with the image, for example. It's also very emotional."
Poster business - the
Core business of the Ticino
Publigoods was founded ten years ago. One of the co-founders was Paolo Spalluto, who left the agency in 1998 and is now picking up where he left off with Spalluto & De Bernardi in Chiasso. And if he's looking more for international clients, there's a reason for that. Spalluto, a dazzling figure on the Ticino advertising scene with an Italian passport, is currently mainly looking after Banca di Sondrio with a national budget and sees his agency as a portal to the north. "Switzerland," he stresses, "is too expensive for advertising."
Not that Publigoods limits itself to business with SMEs in Ticino. Admittedly, the size of the agency, with 14 employees and gross operating revenues of seven million francs, is not a disadvantage for Wetter: "The customer always has a direct line to the agency manager.
And we are eager to travel. It doesn't matter to us whether we have to go to Venice, Zurich or Geneva to see the customer," he adds. After all, as a full-service agency, Publigoods offers all areas of communication and a little more besides: The agency is affiliated with Globalcom for trade shows and events, Theorema, strategic marketing based on Prof. Sperry's method, C.I.B, Corporate Intelligence Bureau, and, with the company Gateway, International Media Planning.
Certainly, Wetter points out that Publigoods is a poster-friendly agency, but still advertises print-heavy. "The poster has a good spread in Ticino and is the fastest in terms of communication," says the former APG sales manager. "You could even take the poster as a basic medium, which suits the mentality of the Latino."
Syntesi, the new
Full service agency in Ticino
Admittedly, the preference for the poster as a means of communication also has other reasons: "With five percent BK for print ads in the three big newspapers Giornale del Popolo, Corriere del Ticino and La Regione Ticino, we are just missing out on begging," says Wetter. No wonder, since the three papers have leased their ads to the "P".
Even though the Ticino market, with a population of around 200,000 people, provides a sufficient livelihood for just a few agencies, last year saw the establishment of another full-service agency in Ticino, this time in Bellinzona. Syntesi Sagl is run by Mario Carnevale, PR specialist, Fulvio Roth, CD, and Ivano D'Andrea, consulting.
The three men still each own their own company (Carnevale & Partner, Roth & Partner, Multifiduciaria SA), meet once a week on Via San Gottardo and act as a general contractor to clients, as Mario Carnevale says. And he immediately points out that they have taken over the APE opinion research institute in Lugano. "One contact for all needs: We are the only agency in Ticino that can offer that," says Carnevale proudly.
For Roth, Carnevale and D'Andrea, too, the maxim that small flocks make a mess has applied up to now. But the three partners of Syntesi - and to this end they have placed this umbrella over their three companies - want to expand, to the north and to Italy. "We can be nationwide," says Carnevale, who works in German-speaking Switzerland with Frei & Partner, Zurich, which is affiliated with the Porter Novelli International network, and in French-speaking Switzerland with CCC, Communication, Contact, Conseil. "Everyone brings their know-how to the partnership," says the agency's creative head, Fulvio Roth. And he sums up what he means by that in one sentence: "We sell communication concepts, not billboards."
Like Publigoods, Syntesi lists a number of national and cantonal clients for whom the agency handles communications in Ticino, from Ospedale San Giovanni in Bellinzona to HC Ambri-Piotta, while Publigoods handles the budget for HC Lugano, which comes as no surprise to anyone in Ticino, since Publigoods co-owner Mario Mantegazza is also the main sponsor of this year's ice hockey runners-up. But Swisscom, Migros and Credit Suisse are also on Syntesi's client list.
When Fulvio Roth is asked what distinguishes the Ticino advertisers from the others, he says: "We perhaps go one step further in creation - in terms of flexibility, we offer added value." On the other hand, he - in this the same as Wetter - by no means hides the Latin mentality: "We don't feel trapped in a scheme X," says the creative. Which prompts Mario Carnevale to add, "that you can also work seriously and professionally in Ticino," only to remark self-critically, "We also made up the clichés about Ticino ourselves."
There is no question that Syntesi does not want to be touched by this. At present, the focus in Bellinzona is on building up the department for Internet solutions - here, according to Roth, the southern canton still has some catching up to do. At the same time, the CD can imagine being considered as a partner for large Swiss agencies. Carnevale is less concerned with the aesthetic-visual problem than with the linguistic-aesthetic problem: "The translations of slogans that we sometimes have to read and see sometimes make us nauseous," he says.
Spalluto's advantage: in 48 minutes he is in Milan
Having worked as an advertiser in Ticino for ten years, Paolo Spalluto and his partner Tecla De Bernardi "don't want to win prizes, they want to increase sales for the customer," he explains. He feels closer to Italian advertising not only because of his origins - especially since his father had already successfully built up the Italian branch of McCann-Erickson in Milan and he was fed advertising with his mother's milk, so to speak. "Italian advertising is closer to the market," says Spalluto.
His client list is already considerably long for an agency that is two years old, but the current Publigoods director Rolando Wetter puts it into perspective that these are clients for whom Spalluto still worked during the Publigoods times. Spalluto is not too concerned about this, because he currently spends one or two days a week in Zurich and is thinking of opening an accounting office in Zurich next year, "because we are closer to the customers and suppliers there and also to combat the arrogance of Zurich advertisers," emphasizes Paolo Spalluto.
Zurich and Milan are the next destinations for the ambitious Spalluto. What he likes about Chiasso is that he can be in Milan in 48 minutes - although, as an Italian, he wouldn't want to move his agency to the Italian advertising metropolis. "There, we would be one of many agencies," he says, preferring to take advantage of Switzerland's service benefits.
Syntesi is also striving to cross the Gotthard. For Mario Carnevale, it is a matter of refuting the prejudice of the German-speaking Swiss who think that "no substantial work can come out of Ticino agencies," and after all, all three of Syntesi's partners are multilingual, says Carnevale in genuine Bernese German. Admittedly, he is realistic about Syntesi's role: "We can't compete with Wirz Werbeberatung, but we can with medium-sized agencies in Lucerne, Basel and Zurich."
Graphic artists like tourists on Lugano's waterfront promenades
In fact, a look at the work of the three agencies proves that substantial creative solutions are also found in Ticino. Which is not surprising, because in Ticino, Wetter says, there are numerous graphic designers vying for commissions. "Every year, 30 to 35 graphic designers enter the market, and they can't be absorbed by that." So there are a lot of graphic designers who communicate, the agency manager says, putting a question mark behind the professionalism of their work. "They're hurting the agencies because they're dumping prices."
Admittedly, the address is not exactly noble. Grancia, near Lugano, who knows that place? After all, it is the headquarters of the largest agency in Ticino, Publigoods SA. And of such an internationally active company as BIC. But although it is within shouting distance of the agency, it advertises its stationery elsewhere. A circumstance Rolando Wetter would like to change. "Certain large budgets have migrated in recent years (Fernet-Branca, Alfa Romeo Campari). We would like to bring them back through quality," says the agency manager, who has been in the job since the beginning of the year.
Wetter previously worked for APG for twelve years as a sales manager and was a member of the management team in Zurich. Now he is the director in Grancia, and when asked what is typical about advertising in Ticino, he says: "It is perhaps a bit more cynical and playful. There is more play. It's looser, in dealing with the image, for example. It's also very emotional."
Poster business - the
Core business of the Ticino
Publigoods was founded ten years ago. One of the co-founders was Paolo Spalluto, who left the agency in 1998 and is now picking up where he left off with Spalluto & De Bernardi in Chiasso. And if he's looking more for international clients, there's a reason for that. Spalluto, a dazzling figure on the Ticino advertising scene with an Italian passport, is currently mainly looking after Banca di Sondrio with a national budget and sees his agency as a portal to the north. "Switzerland," he stresses, "is too expensive for advertising."
Not that Publigoods limits itself to business with SMEs in Ticino. Admittedly, the size of the agency, with 14 employees and gross operating revenues of seven million francs, is not a disadvantage for Wetter: "The customer always has a direct line to the agency manager.
And we are eager to travel. It doesn't matter to us whether we have to go to Venice, Zurich or Geneva to see the customer," he adds. After all, as a full-service agency, Publigoods offers all areas of communication and a little more besides: The agency is affiliated with Globalcom for trade shows and events, Theorema, strategic marketing based on Prof. Sperry's method, C.I.B, Corporate Intelligence Bureau, and, with the company Gateway, International Media Planning.
Certainly, Wetter points out that Publigoods is a poster-friendly agency, but still advertises print-heavy. "The poster has a good spread in Ticino and is the fastest in terms of communication," says the former APG sales manager. "You could even take the poster as a basic medium, which suits the mentality of the Latino."
Syntesi, the new
Full service agency in Ticino
Admittedly, the preference for the poster as a means of communication also has other reasons: "With five percent BK for print ads in the three big newspapers Giornale del Popolo, Corriere del Ticino and La Regione Ticino, we are just missing out on begging," says Wetter. No wonder, since the three papers have leased their ads to the "P".
Even though the Ticino market, with a population of around 200,000 people, provides a sufficient livelihood for just a few agencies, last year saw the establishment of another full-service agency in Ticino, this time in Bellinzona. Syntesi Sagl is run by Mario Carnevale, PR specialist, Fulvio Roth, CD, and Ivano D'Andrea, consulting.
The three men still each own their own company (Carnevale & Partner, Roth & Partner, Multifiduciaria SA), meet once a week on Via San Gottardo and act as a general contractor to clients, as Mario Carnevale says. And he immediately points out that they have taken over the APE opinion research institute in Lugano. "One contact for all needs: We are the only agency in Ticino that can offer that," says Carnevale proudly.
For Roth, Carnevale and D'Andrea, too, the maxim that small flocks make a mess has applied up to now. But the three partners of Syntesi - and to this end they have placed this umbrella over their three companies - want to expand, to the north and to Italy. "We can be nationwide," says Carnevale, who works in German-speaking Switzerland with Frei & Partner, Zurich, which is affiliated with the Porter Novelli International network, and in French-speaking Switzerland with CCC, Communication, Contact, Conseil. "Everyone brings their know-how to the partnership," says the agency's creative head, Fulvio Roth. And he sums up what he means by that in one sentence: "We sell communication concepts, not billboards."
Like Publigoods, Syntesi lists a number of national and cantonal clients for whom the agency handles communications in Ticino, from Ospedale San Giovanni in Bellinzona to HC Ambri-Piotta, while Publigoods handles the budget for HC Lugano, which comes as no surprise to anyone in Ticino, since Publigoods co-owner Mario Mantegazza is also the main sponsor of this year's ice hockey runners-up. But Swisscom, Migros and Credit Suisse are also on Syntesi's client list.
When Fulvio Roth is asked what distinguishes the Ticino advertisers from the others, he says: "We perhaps go one step further in creation - in terms of flexibility, we offer added value." On the other hand, he - in this the same as Wetter - by no means hides the Latin mentality: "We don't feel trapped in a scheme X," says the creative. Which prompts Mario Carnevale to add, "that you can also work seriously and professionally in Ticino," only to remark self-critically, "We also made up the clichés about Ticino ourselves."
There is no question that Syntesi does not want to be touched by this. At present, the focus in Bellinzona is on building up the department for Internet solutions - here, according to Roth, the southern canton still has some catching up to do. At the same time, the CD can imagine being considered as a partner for large Swiss agencies. Carnevale is less concerned with the aesthetic-visual problem than with the linguistic-aesthetic problem: "The translations of slogans that we sometimes have to read and see sometimes make us nauseous," he says.
Spalluto's advantage: in 48 minutes he is in Milan
Having worked as an advertiser in Ticino for ten years, Paolo Spalluto and his partner Tecla De Bernardi "don't want to win prizes, they want to increase sales for the customer," he explains. He feels closer to Italian advertising not only because of his origins - especially since his father had already successfully built up the Italian branch of McCann-Erickson in Milan and he was fed advertising with his mother's milk, so to speak. "Italian advertising is closer to the market," says Spalluto.
His client list is already considerably long for an agency that is two years old, but the current Publigoods director Rolando Wetter puts it into perspective that these are clients for whom Spalluto still worked during the Publigoods times. Spalluto is not too concerned about this, because he currently spends one or two days a week in Zurich and is thinking of opening an accounting office in Zurich next year, "because we are closer to the customers and suppliers there and also to combat the arrogance of Zurich advertisers," emphasizes Paolo Spalluto.
Zurich and Milan are the next destinations for the ambitious Spalluto. What he likes about Chiasso is that he can be in Milan in 48 minutes - although, as an Italian, he wouldn't want to move his agency to the Italian advertising metropolis. "There, we would be one of many agencies," he says, preferring to take advantage of Switzerland's service benefits.
Syntesi is also striving to cross the Gotthard. For Mario Carnevale, it is a matter of refuting the prejudice of the German-speaking Swiss who think that "no substantial work can come out of Ticino agencies," and after all, all three of Syntesi's partners are multilingual, says Carnevale in genuine Bernese German. Admittedly, he is realistic about Syntesi's role: "We can't compete with Wirz Werbeberatung, but we can with medium-sized agencies in Lucerne, Basel and Zurich."
Graphic artists like tourists on Lugano's waterfront promenades
In fact, a look at the work of the three agencies proves that substantial creative solutions are also found in Ticino. Which is not surprising, because in Ticino, Wetter says, there are numerous graphic designers vying for commissions. "Every year, 30 to 35 graphic designers enter the market, and they can't be absorbed by that." So there are a lot of graphic designers who communicate, the agency manager says, putting a question mark behind the professionalism of their work. "They're hurting the agencies because they're dumping prices."
