"I prefer to help shape things rather than wait and see."

 
WW: What are the current concerns of the SWA? Roland Ehrler:
There is a long list. First and foremost, there are certainly favorable conditions, fair offers from the media and agencies, and transparency in the advertising market. In this context, our main concerns at the moment are online advertising, the impact of the new TV panel, and the rapid transformation in the print market.
 
Towards the agencies?
Transparency is also the top priority here. There is a lot of light, shadow and gray areas in the agency - customer relationship. It is also important that agencies take a genuine customer view and that media agencies in particular function as trustees for their customers.
 
Towards your members?
What counts for members is that they can contact the SWA office at any time with their wishes and concerns. On the one hand, our members are our customers - and we work for their interests every day. On the other hand, they are irreplaceable employees who support their association with a great deal of know-how.
 
You make a lot of material available to your members, such as draft contracts, guidelines, etc. Is this used?
You bet. The documents are very actively used and appreciated. The members appreciate having a "neutral" body that provides them with advice and support.
 
Transparency is one thing, but there are perhaps more burning issues at the moment. Our media landscape is in a state of upheaval. In some cases, this is leading to special price offers. We are under increasing political pressure in the area of advertising bans. The EU is also blowing a harder wind with regard to advertising bans or restrictions. There is a danger that Switzerland will implement these in anticipatory obedience. What specifically is the SWA doing in this area?
Let's take it one step at a time: Upheaval in the media landscape and advertising bans have in common that they are not Swiss problems, but international ones. Nationally, we represent the interests of our members through our networking in all commissions across all media. It goes without saying that this cannot and does not always take place in public. It is also clear that small Switzerland cannot swim against a global current, but must adapt to this change. However, it remains our primary goal that the market plays as well as possible and does not become even more regulated, but more liberal again. Where there are senseless bans and restrictions, we want to fight against them and certainly not introduce any new bans that threaten the very existence of individual industries and market participants. As far as the upheaval in the media landscape is concerned, I can only state that the willingness to change is unfortunately not equally great among all market participants. However, the SWA has recognized the signs of the times. It is no coincidence that the motto of our annual meeting is: "The future of communication has begun. What does that mean for advertising clients?"
 
And in the international arena? The SWA is a member of the WFA, the World Federation of Advertisers, which is domiciled in Brussels and is particularly active in Europe. My predecessor, Jürg Siegrist, was even on the board there. We have a very good connection and always find out early on what we can expect or are threatened with from the EU.
 
Somehow I have the feeling that in Switzerland there is a lobby for everything...
... and against everything (laughs).
 
And the communications industry kind of falls between the chair and the bench here. ...
... I sometimes have this feeling too.
 
There is a SWA, a BSW, an ASW, a SW, but I can't shake the feeling that everyone is being listened to except the advertising.
The SWA is well listened to, because its members pay for about 75 percent of the advertising. Our association also has the opportunity to express a crystal-clear opinion on many issues relating to the advertising market. This has perhaps not been made clear enough in the past. Swiss Advertising (SW) has its hands tied on many issues because, as the umbrella organization for communications, it has to represent different interests in some cases. It is only on training and advertising bans that there is unanimity.
 
How close is the cooperation with BSW? It represents the same interests in many areas.
We exchange information on a regular basis, and meetings are scheduled every few months. I have already had several opportunities to talk to BSW exponents. The next meetings will be about discussing the upcoming topics and mutual wishes.
 
Do BSW and SWA also act together?
This has not yet happened, but there is nothing to be said against it in principle.
 
Wouldn't it be desirable to be able to better represent interests in certain areas with a joint presence?
If it is expedient, such a joint appearance could very well be a sign. But it is not absolutely necessary. The advertising clients alone, with their 150 members, have a sufficiently strong position in the market to express themselves. So I could imagine that the SWA could also communicate its opinion on the topic of "SRGOnline advertising" in due course. This is also possible without BSW, but it would be even better, of course, if the entire industry had a unified opinion on this.
 
This is likely to be more difficult...
That's exactly the problem (laughs).
 
We talked about the changing media landscape. How involved is the SWA in digital media? That there are new opportunities for purchasing, let's just think of Real Time Bidding.
The new SWA Annual Report will be published at the end of February. If you read the articles, you'll know how important we take online media and how close we stay. Something is still moving in these areas every day. Unlike print, where the wheel is not being reinvented at the moment. In addition, online is multi-layered, because we don't just want to discuss display, but also all the other possibilities, right up to mobile use. In my first hundred days, for example, I have already held talks with Internet providers and associations. I'm not completely unfamiliar with the issues at hand from my time at Swisscom. So I will be tackling current topics such as real time bidding or transparency in online advertising statistics.
 
I often have the feeling that very many market partners, whether customers, agencies or the media, don't actually understand what it's all about today. RTB, for example, is simply viewed from the perspective of "it's getting cheaper," but what's actually behind it and what opportunities it offers are forgotten.
Let's put it this way: It hasn't gotten any easier (laughs). That's why companies also have to invest a lot in training their employees.
 
The SWA has fought for years for transparency in prices. For years, there were disputes with the media agencies about reimbursements, kickbacks, and so on. Has that faded into the background a bit, or has something improved there?
Some things have improved. But there is still a lot of educational work to be done. There are agencies that do exemplary work, but there are also others. We have to keep repeating: Clients must look at how the media agency finances itself, so that the advertiser always knows what is happening with his money. It is still his money that flows to the agencies and media. When I see that in industry principles for media agencies of the BSW it says that the DBE (direct booking fee) belongs to the agency, then I have to say clearly that the SWA sees it differently. So does the legislature, by the way. The DBE and all other rebates, whatever they are called, belong to the advertiser. If the agency retains the money, it must have agreed this with the advertising client beforehand. Preferably in the agency-client contract.
 
The "evil" agencies try to polish up their low fee income by means of such things. If you look at the fee recommendations of the SWA, they are very modest. How much influence can the SWA have on the fee levels of its members?
We can only make recommendations in this regard. But whenever we have spoken on the subject of transparency, we have added that it can only be demanded and achieved if the agencies are also fairly rewarded for their work. This is the only way to create long-lasting, successful partnerships, as I have also experienced with agencies.
 
How have these fee rates moved in recent years? Have they fallen even further?
I don't really believe that. And as I said, if you work with an agency and pay it a decent fee, the agency doesn't have to try to finance itself in any other way. On the other hand, it has to be said that no media agencies have gone bankrupt in recent years either. So people like to complain, the majority work well - and also earn good money in the process.
 
Back to online: The SWA is very well organized in the case of traditional media, with corresponding teams of experts. With online, everything is in flux; what is decided today may be outdated tomorrow by developments. The commission members are not all specialists either, because they often sit in a different place. Not necessarily in the media houses or with the marketers or their members, but somewhere in specialized companies. How can you tap into this know-how?
No problem, because one of our four expert teams deals explicitly with online. We are also in the process of providing each of these working groups with an advisory board. In the process, we are seeking contact with universities and
universities of applied sciences. With this measure, we want to draw additional inspiration from neutral experts. We also want to work closely with the IAB in the online area. That makes sense. After all, we even have members who are already with the IAB. And yes - the president of the IAB Switzerland has also written a contribution for the new SWA annual report.
 
On another subject. Together with Publicitas, the SWA launched the Advertising Barometer Switzerland. How many members are now on this panel?
At the moment it is a standing panel of 40 members. It's important that the biggest advertisers are on it. So it's a good quality panel. With the Advertising Barometer, we work with net figures, unlike Mediafocus, which operates with gross figures and thus only measures advertising pressure and not actual spending. With the Advertising Barometer, we therefore have a new tool at our disposal and can give advertising clients and the SWA a voice. And, of course, we hope to be able to use it to benefit the advertising market.
 
For years, the SWA was against publishing net values. All attempts in this direction were blocked. Why this sudden change of heart?
It didn't come so suddenly. For many members, the net figures are still a problem. That's why we "only" have 40 who are on the panel. I have just now received another unsubscribe from a member who does not want to participate because he fears internal compliance problems. By working with an external market research institute that collects the figures, we ensure that nothing gets out. Neither Publicitas nor we have insight into the individual data, only the consolidated data. We have also decided that no industry figures will be published. That makes it easier to show a barometer across the entire industry.
 
Too bad...
Yes, but there is no other way at the moment. First, the panel is still a tender plant, and second, many members would object if industry figures were published. I was also against it in my time at Swisscom, because you would show the telecoms market, for example, but everyone would know it was largely Swisscom (laughs). The fact that no figures for individual industries are published was certainly a strong argument for the skeptical members to join in at all.
 
Where did the initiative for the advertising barometer come from?
This came from Jürg Siegrist, his legacy, so to speak.
 
What is the publication rhythm?
The first figures were published this week with an outlook for the first half of the year. The second survey will follow in June. Then a picture will emerge for the second half of the year.
 
How detailed are the media accounted for?
The media groups are reported individually. For online, we record display, search and classified, but only the total is published. This is the first time that online has been given its proper place in the media mix in the Advertising Barometer. For many advertisers, online already ranks third in the media mix, right after print and TV.
 
Switzerland still lags behind many other countries when it comes to online advertising spending. Why?
This could be due to the typically Swiss reticence of customers and agencies. But partly also because of the lack of transparency in the market and in research data. Swiss entrepreneurs always want to know exactly what they are getting for their money. But either way, the world is becoming more and more digital, whether we like it or not. That's why I'd rather help shape it than wait and see.
 
Interview: Pierre C. Meier