Our recently launched report, Innovators in Specialist Media Europe (Consumer Media Edition) dives deep into twenty hugely innovative, and successful, European media companies. In this extract we look at how Blick (part of Ringier) engages its hiking and mountaineering enthusiasts. P.S. Our free-to-download report is available now. You can also download the first edition (B2B media) here.
Established in 1959, Blick (View) is a Swiss German-language daily newspaper and website covering current affairs, entertainment, sports and lifestyle. Headquartered in Zurich with 350 staff, it is the largest newspaper in Switzerland both in print and online, and belongs to the wider Ringier Group of companies.
In a bid to increase its engagement with Swiss hikers, mountaineers and skiers, it developed two verticals to target new audiences, acquire registered members and grow sponsorship revenues:
Hiking campaign (consumer): 26 summits – this initiative guided people to discover Switzerland across hikes on 26 peaks in 26 different regions. On each mountain peak a QR code was placed for enthusiasts to collect points as well as vouchers for partner stores. Participants could also track personal stats and their ranking on the website, introducing a subtle element of friendly competition. The campaign has now been running for four years, and is promoted in print and online, social media and display ads.
***A quick Mx3 HQ Update: Bettina Widmer, Head of Vertical Hub at Blick Gruppe, Ringier will be one of several speakers at Mx3 Barcelona, a summit focused on innovation in and across media verticals on 12-13 March in the Spanish coastal city. See the speakers so far confirmed and take a peek at the draft agenda. Our pre-agenda discount offer ends today, 7 December. Sign up now if you’d like to save on tickets.***
Blick Winter Awards (B2B): These awards celebrate the best ski resorts in Switzerland. People register online to vote for their 19 favourites across 6 categories. Winners are announced in a B2B award show in Zurich and receive an ad package on Blick worth CHF85k (£75k/$96k). 76 ski resorts participate and promote the awards scheme with stickers and posters.
Business Impact
The 26 Summits initiative grew Blick’s registrations by over 30,000 across four years. It also built a very active, highly engaged community on social media – 74% of registered individuals visit blick.ch more than once a day. Overall, 2.3M individuals have visited the campaign’s website, 26Summits, and strong sponsorship revenues have resulted.
Blick Winter Awards added 19k new user registrations, as well as 240k users on winterawards.ch. It also increased Blick’s brand visibility in Swiss ski resorts and generated solid sponsorship revenue.
To build on the above success, Blick is now creating an all-year-round outdoor platform to expand summer and winter projects for other activities.
Lessons for other publishers
- Know your audience and their passions
- Collaborate with sponsors and commercial partners to create value and engagement
The above case study is one of twenty featured in our latest report, Innovators in Specialist Media Europe (Consumer Media Edition). Other examples include Berlingske Media, De Groene Amsterdammer, DECO PROTeste, Exponential View, Freeda Media, Giallozafferano (Mondadori), and many others. Written by Carolyn Morgan, the free-to-download report is available now. You can also download the first edition (B2B media) here.
