"We try to convey the richness of contrasts in Graubünden".

Werbewoche.ch: Mr. Spescha, can you first tell us the aim of the new Graubünden campaign that brought us to Flims today?

Gieri Spescha: Graubünden is known as a popular vacation region. However, it is less well known that it is also a place where people can live and work and combine the benefits of tourism with living space. Therefore, we are working to change this perception.

Mrs. Swiss and Mr. Swiss know Gian and Giachen in particular, but less the man behind the two Graubünden advertising figures, Gieri. Could you tell us more about Gieri?

I am the managing director of the Graubünden brand, but I don't see myself as that important. More important are the messages that the brand carries to the outside world. These include the fact that Graubünden is an attractive place to work and that it combines the diversity and contrasts of this region.

You have been committed to Graubünden since 1996. What motivates you?

I grew up in Graubünden and got to know and love the region from an early age. This fantastic region always drives me to make it known to others - how good you can live, spend your free time and relax here.

What is your role in connection with this campaign?

The office Marke Graubünden is the client of this campaign. In cooperation with Wirz and the commissioned production company Navada, I represent the client side in the conception and implementation. Ultimately, we are responsible for the campaign.

What is your daily routine like at Quant?

Everyday life at Quant and the Graubünden brand office is very varied. We are in constant contact with our partners and the agencies we work with, especially Wirz as the lead agency for brand communication and our brand agency MetaDesign. There are a large number of campaigns and projects that run in parallel and have to be coordinated. It never gets boring here.

What talents and disciplines are represented on your team?

Our team includes a wide variety of talents and disciplines, from business administration to scientific backgrounds to communications. It is an interdisciplinary mix of know-how and competencies that ultimately benefits our customers.

For almost ten years, you have been working to raise the profile of Graubünden as a location brand with the Enavant communications offensive. How does the work you've done so far now help you to continue?

Brand management is a long-term process. Enavant is a platform where partners from different economic sectors, culture and tourism come together to promote their assets to an audience outside Graubünden. Continuity and consistency are key success factors to steer perceptions in the desired direction.

Graubünden is advertised as a "nature metropolis". Could you explain this positioning in more detail?

The designation "natural metropolis" sums up the wealth of contrasts in Graubünden and stands for the winning combination of nature, culture and progress. In doing so, we always have the future in mind and strive for a development that benefits the people who live, work and spend their leisure time here.

Any ideas on how this positioning could possibly be changed or expanded?

At present, we are concentrating on consolidating the positioning "nature metropolis". This is less about the term itself and more about the images associated with it. We want to highlight both nature and high-quality services and products from technology and healthcare in order to sharpen and establish the image of the nature metropolis.

In the current campaign, what is your focus?

People want to be entertained, and we want to convey a message at the same time. Stories are the best way to do that. Our story in this campaign revolves around the question of whether you are already living your best life or whether you could perhaps live it even better in Graubünden. We try to convey the richness of contrasts in Graubünden as a leisure, work and cultural area in an entertaining way.

How did the idea for this campaign come about?

We had the idea to present the natural metropolis in a short cinematic story. This was the assignment to Wirz, who selected the one we wanted to implement from various ideas.

How is the cooperation with the Zurich agency Wirz?

We have already been working with Wirz for six years and are now a well-established team. Our contacts are still the same people who understand Graubünden and share our orientation.

The campaign has just been launched. What are your expectations?

We have a process of several months behind us, and now the campaign has been launched. We are excited to see how the message of Graubünden as a place to live, work and relax is received and whether people enjoy this fresh, cheeky, modern short film as much as we do.

How do you evaluate the effectiveness of your campaign?

We usually conduct annual advertising impact measurements for most of our campaigns. In doing so, we want to find out how well the message is understood, whether it generates sympathy and how it is received by our audience. Our goal is to have accurate tracking for these campaigns so we can learn from them.

What measures are you taking to get this message and the film out to the public?

The film is an integral part of our campaign, covering the image level. We use it on TV, digital channels and streaming services. In addition to this, many other campaigns are running in collaboration with partners from business, culture, education and research. These help provide the "proof of concept" for what we want to communicate at a higher level.

Gieri Spescha (*1964) has been part of the Graubünden brand team since its founding in 2000 and has been its managing director since 2017. He shares this office with his business partners Ivo Haldner and Andreas Bärtsch from Quant AG in Flims, who were selected by the canton of Graubünden. Spescha was significantly involved in the creation and development of the advertising campaign with the talking ibexes Gian & Giachen, already during his previous activities at Graubünden Tourism.

Originally, Spescha began his career as a radio producer at the first Graubünden private radio station "Grischa" in 1988 and worked there until 1995, most recently as program manager. His experience in the tourism sector stems from his long-standing position as Head of Communications at Graubünden Ferien. In addition to his work for the Graubünden brand, he is also involved in other projects at the innovation workshop for strategy and project development, management consulting and destination design at Quant AG.

In his private life, Gieri Spescha is married and has two grown-up children. In his free time, he is a passionate endurance athlete and enjoys mountain biking and cross-country skiing.