In the spotlight: Slovak Branded Goods Association’s Ľubomír Tuchscher

I was born and raised in… Bratislava, Czechoslovakia. Yes, there was a time when Slovakia was part of Czechoslovakia. Now we Slovaks are back together with the Czechs in the European Union.

I studied… coding but did not become a coder. I then studied theology but did not become a priest. I obtained a degree in philosophy with a focus on ethics. As ethics and responsibility are key values for brands, I believe I have found the perfect application of what I studied as the Executive Director of the Slovak Branded Goods Association (SZZV).

When I started in the marketing industry… everyone was talking about personalisation, but mostly from a hard-sell approach. Personalisation has since evolved, with brands having more respect for people’s choices.

One industry initiative we are focused on… It is SZZV’s 25^th anniversary. Instead of spending time and money on a one-off campaign, we have launched a series of lectures on responsible marketing with the Faculty of Marketing Communication of Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Trnava, a nest of future Slovak marketers. The positive feedback we have received for the lectures has led to a long-term cooperation with the university.

If I could change one thing about the marketing industry in 2021… I respect brilliant marketing strategies by the big brands that are focused on big markets. But global marketers and brand managers should also take care of the smaller markets e.g. Slovakia, otherwise they lose share of voice and having an impact on their local champions. Unfortunately, not every local champion has a mission that is incorporated with responsibility. Therefore, big brands’ marketing presence in smaller markets is also an issue of responsible marketing.

One thing Covid-19 has taught us… not only myself, but also my daughter Tabita who had to be home-schooled for months, is that we were somehow more productive than before. Yes we saved a lot of time by not commuting or attending in-person meetings/classes, but we still needed to maintain a healthy work/study-life balance. I worked hard but also put more focus on being physically active. Thanks to this, I have lost some weight and caught up on my reading.😊

One thing most people don't know about me is… besides my great job at SZZV, I am also a member of the village council of Kráľová pri Senci, which is 25 kilometers from Bratislava, and an owner of a website focused on streaming services. I led a successful petition that changed Netflix’s consumer policy in Slovakia and inspired a similar petition in Kosovo. It feels great when one of our members introduces me at a business meeting like: “This is Ľubomír, thanks to him we have language support for Netflix.”

One fun fact most people don't know about my country is… Slovakia gave the world the inventor of the parachute in the 19th century, Štefan Banič, and in modern times the creator of two promising flying car projects Aeromobil and AirCar, Stefan Klein. Coincidence? I don’t think so. Slovaks always think “safety first”.

Find out more about SZZV and get in touch with Ľubomír here.

This is part of a series of monthly interviews with heads of national advertiser associations in WFA membership.