Inspire Talk: Two CEOs on the topic of brand management

Advertising Week: How is your travel business going?

Nicole Pfammatter, CEO of Hotelplan Switzerland: Business is very good. The Swiss people are having fun and are looking forward to going on vacation again.

How do the new market players like Booking.com influence Hotelplan?

They are our competitors. They challenge us and motivate us to constantly improve. We work on this every day, whether on our website, in our call centers or in our 82 stores.

Hotelplan also enables trips to the Metaverse. Could you tell us more about this?

Yes, we have a Metaverse world in Spatial where we hold customer events. But mainly we also use it for training our employees. Currently we offer Greece, southern Africa and London as city trips in these virtual worlds.

What is your advertising focus and what media do you use?

Our focus at the moment is actually on online advertising. Search Engine Advertising is an important topic, as is SEO. At the same time, it's extremely important for us to combine this with offline media. A large proportion of our ads appear in the Sunday newspaper, as this is the day when people are most concerned with vacation planning.

What role does creativity play in your marketing strategy?

Creativity is gaining in importance again. In recent years, we have focused strongly on sales. But we are thinking about how we can also reach younger target groups in order to build long-term customer relationships.

As a CEO and former CMO, what do you consider to be the most important characteristic of a CMO?

The most important characteristic of a CMO is an understanding of our customers' needs and the ability to connect this to our brand in a creative and appealing way. But especially in the travel sector, it is also crucial to offer attractive prices and products.

Today's panel is called "Inspire". Where do you get your inspiration and ideas?

I have a large network from which I draw a lot of inspiration. I travel a lot, also abroad, to meet partners, talk to hoteliers and airlines and find out what's happening in the world and get inspired.

Thank you for your insights, and we look forward to seeing where your journey with Hotelplan takes you.

Mr. Gläser, you were appointed CEO of Stöckli in 2014. Why did they choose you?

Marc Gläser, CEO of Stöckli Ski: I am a brand management expert with international sales, production and product development experience. These qualities were probably the deciding factor.

You also shared your vision with Stöckli Ski today?

Yes, our vision is to become the best ski brand in the world.

What attributes distinguish the Stöckli brand?

I think they are very powerful, versatile and precise skis.

What do people communicate when they wear Stöckli skis?

That is a good question. I think they are expressing that they are experts and lovers of skiing and that skiing is of great importance to them.

Stöckli is a premium brand. What is the biggest danger that a premium brand should avoid?

The biggest danger is to devalue the brand through discounts and rebates.

Demand for Stöckli products exceeds supply. How does that influence your marketing?

This means that we have to be very strategic, as it is not necessary in the short term when we are sold out. Our efforts are focused on high-quality marketing. Of course, we continue to carry out promotional activities, especially at retail and in our own stores. But we also want to prepare ourselves to be better equipped for the future when demand declines or when we can expand our capacities.

Which brand do you consider a role model for Stöckli?

Rolex, Apple and Porsche are definitely role model brands. They do almost everything right. Thank you very much for the interview, and I hope you have a great ski season with lots of snow.

Thanks for the insights and have a good season, with hopefully lots of snow soon.

That would be great, thank you.