"Superstars help achieve set marketing goals faster"

Werbewoche.ch: Fabian Habisreutinger, dhe Switzerland–Tourism clip to the "Grand Tour of Switzerland" with Anne Hathaway and Roger Federer has cracked the 100 million views mark on YouTubet. Did you expect such success?

Fabian Habisreutinger: We didn't necessarily expect it - after all, the hundred million mark is unique, and not just for a commercial. However, it became clear in the first few days that we would achieve an extremely good performance with these values. Our assessment was supported by our AI forecasting widget, with which we at Sir Mary can calculate the campaign success from various parameters with a high degree of accuracy and predict it relatively early on. But we were still overwhelmed when it really happened. However, the campaign does not only consist of the clip. The other measures, especially through Switzerland Tourism's markets worldwide, which lead to engagements on Myswitzerland.com and even downloads of the new Grand Tour app, are also running very successfully.

The Wirz agency drew atm Clip for creation, Sir Mary responsible for media distribution. What strategy did you and your colleagues:inside proceeded thereby?

Vanessa Habisreutinger: We focused on a digital-first strategy, with all measures fully paying off on this clip. Together with Switzerland Tourism, we decided on a full-screen sound-on experience with Roger Federer and Anne Hathaway for users all over the world and from everywhere. This way, people didn't necessarily feel like they were watching commercials, but rather taking part in a special moment. The distribution strategy focused on YouTube, Twitter and LinkedIn. This created a triad between reach, custom audiences and opinion leader segments. In addition, the campaign was strengthened with global visibility thanks to Switzerland Tourism's market activities. In addition to the digital sphere, the "real" world was also played - in shop windows such as New York's Times Square or at airports in Indian mega-metropolises.

Would also be a clip like thathe with Hathaway and Federer - tDespite mega-celebrities as testimonials and Switzerland as the theme - without a media strategy at some point "Organic boundaries" encountered?

Fabian H: Definitely. To achieve this kind of penetration with a commercial message - and on a global scale - it takes more than just "the good idea" today. When I mention factors like information overload and fragmented user behavior, I'm not telling anything new. But what can be said for sure is that superstars like Roger Federer and Anne Hathaway, and of course Switzerland with the backdrop of the Grand Tour of Switzerland, help to achieve the marketing goals set faster.

What is more important for communication to succeed - a creative message or the way that message is played out?

You could argue for both sides, but in the end both are firmly linked and conditional on each other. It should be noted that such success is not possible without close collaboration at eye level between creation and media. All the creative minds, both at the client Switzerland Tourism and in the agencies involved, must constantly work closely together in all phases; that is indispensable.

You have forr Switzerland Tourism already in the past successful campaigns played out - for instance in the context of the Corona pandemic, where you have worked with complex personas. Can you tell us a bit more about this process?

Vanessa H: The recovery campaign of Switzerland Tourism, which started after the first pandemic year, was particularly formative. At that time, we had to adapt the distribution very sensitively to the circumstances and do a lot of plug-and-play work. With eight different personas, we mainly made the multi-layered offer more tangible. From a media perspective, the personas serve as a basis for defining segments. The latter provide us with the information to choose the right targeting and channels for the respective offer.

How can clients make their distribution particularly efficient? What media mix and what approach would you use to keep costs low and impact high?

In fact, this depends strongly on the question and the starting position. The most important step is a clear definition and focus on qualitative and quantitative goals. When it comes to hard sales targets, it often helps to do "reverse planning" to first see what data is available and how it can be used in a targeted way. In other cases, it makes sense to start on the other side and work something out together with the media. That's how you get this very special experience that is very tailored to the user base and doesn't necessarily feel like advertising. Simple ads can't create that at all. In the end, it always remains the case that the users are at the center of all measures and set the direction.