"Flying still exudes magic"

m&k: Mr. Vasic, I'd like to start with a personal question: you have had an impressive career at Swiss - what do you think? We have already written about this. When we last spoke, the pandemic was "raging" and the airline had to suspend a large part of its marketing activities. All its communication was focused on "safety". How did you experience the months - the years - of the pandemic as a former flight attendant and current SWISS Head of Marketing; what do you remember in particular?

Stefan Vasic: Looking back, this was an extremely challenging and, in many respects, emotionally stressful time. As a globally operating airline, we were forced to constantly adapt our communications to the ever-changing conditions. During this phase, our marketing was completely focused on providing information to our customers. Instead of large campaigns, social media activities and events, the focus was on dealing with the various requirements of health authorities around the world. Our primary goal was to ensure that our guests always receive the information relevant to them and feel safe and in good hands on board our aircraft. As the pandemic subsided and we gradually returned to normality, our core business in marketing was able to return to center stage, which was a source of great joy for my employees. The emotional strain resulted in particular from the uncertainty of how things would continue. Even though I personally didn't know exactly how the situation would develop, I always believed that things would continue. I tried to pass on this confidence and positive attitude to my team. After the initial downsizing of the marketing department, we gradually began to rebuild it in small steps. This process required a high level of motivation, leadership skills, clear communication and, last but not least, a lot of energy. Looking back, I would say that we have succeeded impressively in rebuilding the department, as we are performing better than ever in terms of both quality and quantity. I am extremely proud to lead such a dedicated team and would like to take this opportunity to thank all Swiss Marketing employees for their tireless efforts and enormous commitment. Without them, we would not be where we are today.

Now people are traveling again, you have a new agency - you have switched from Publicis to Thjnk Zurich - and while "safety" is and remains important, new narratives are taking hold: What were the strategic considerations behind the decision to choose the new claim "Swiss all the way"?

In recent years, people have changed the way they look at many things in life. This affects areas such as work and leisure, nutrition, but also travel. More is expected. Not only on board, but also in everything before and after. "Swiss all the way" takes this development into account by extending our quality promise to the entire customer journey - from booking in the app, to the warm welcome at check-in, the Swiss Schöggeli, the extra mile of our cabin crews, to the "Uf Wiederluege" at the destination - our guests can expect superior Swiss service quality at every point of the journey.

What were the key factors that led to establishing this slogan as an expression of Swiss' brand identity - was the pandemic one of them?

Of course, the pandemic was ultimately a turning point for the entire airline industry. In addition to the aforementioned considerations, we have used this time as an opportunity in terms of corporate strategy to sharpen our brand identity and highlight a differentiating factor that is deeply rooted in our DNA: our role as a host that wants to offer all passengers a comfortable and high-quality travel experience - attentive to detail, warm in our dealings and authentic in our appearance. This emphasis on interpersonal relationships is certainly a factor influenced by the pandemic. After all, we have all sharpened our senses in recent years for what is really important.

The spelling of "Swiss all the way" is special - the distances are of course intentional, symbolizing for me as an outsider the path, the stations along which the "Swiss-ness" becomes tangible. But aren't you worried that you've built in a "reading brake"? 

No, quite the opposite! This is a brake on over-reading and underpins our claim to do one or two things differently from our competitors.

The campaign relies heavily on emotional and cinematic imagery. Which target group is it aimed at in particular, and what reactions are you hoping for from customers?

With our campaign, we want to inspire people, remind them of the magic that flying still exudes and appeal to all those who know that good travel is not just defined by the number of films in the entertainment system or gold applications in the cabin interior. It is the countless little moments between crew and guests, the warmth, the feeling of being at home above the clouds - or in our lounges, for example. And that in all travel classes, from Swiss Economy to Swiss First.