Swiss advertisers address the “always on” consumer

Before the conference, SWA held their 68^th Annual General Meeting. Marc-André Heller, Country Director at L'Oréal, was welcomed as a new member of the board. He is joined by Tarkan Özküp, Head of Marketing at Credit Suisse, and Werner Bärtschi, Marketing Director at Subaru Switzerland, who were both re-elected to the board.



At the SWA conference, presentations and discussions focused on the "always on" generation.

"Media consumption has changed dramatically. Today’s consumers no longer have only one device with them at all times, but two or more. Does that mean advertisers should simply invest in reaching consumers through all these devices? This requires convincing creativity; this is the only way consumers don’t go offline." said Roger Harlacher, SWA President and CEO of Zweifel, during his opening speech.

Speakers included Michael Willeke, Director Integrated Marketing Communications Western Europe at Coca-Cola, and Matt Elek, CEO EMEA at VICE Media, who shared insights on how brand marketers should engage with digital natives as well as “digital immigrants”.

During his presentation, Willeke said: "Each target group has its own dynamic. You have to reinvent yourself all the time. You have to think globally and act locally. Personalisation is very important.”

On marketing to millennials, Elek emphasised that investing in new content, and not simply shifting media budgets, is key to reaching out to millennials.

For more information, read the event blog or contact SWA.