"Credibility works better": Focus on the new Swiss media campaign

Budgets are moving to Meta, Google and TikTok, while consumers consider traditional media to be more credible. This is precisely where the VSM campaign "Credibility works better" comes in. It aims to show why quality in the media environment is also crucial for the advertising industry.

The initial situation: advertising money is flowing out - a wake-up call for the industry

Andrea Masüger, President of the VSM, describes the drastic development in the Swiss advertising market: advertising revenue in the print sector, which was still at CHF 3 billion in 2000, has fallen to around CHF 650 million - less than a quarter of the value at that time. Although some of these amounts have shifted to the online segment, another problem is emerging here: up to 75% of online advertising budgets from Switzerland now flow abroad, particularly to tech giants in Silicon Valley or China.

This development is of great concern to the VSM. The motivation behind the campaign is clear: the association wants to counteract the trend and bring a certain amount of advertising money back to Switzerland. Masüger emphasizes that a strong, domestically based media system with trained, professional journalists can offer a better environment for the advertising industry than obscure platforms or social media channels. He is convinced that advertising is more effective and resounding in a credible environment, which benefits advertisers as well as the media landscape and democratic structures in Switzerland.

Masüger explains that the campaign deliberately chooses an economic focus, even though the role of the media is undeniably important for democracy. In the current situation, in which marketing managers are under great pressure to perform, the message of the economic added value of credible advertising environments is particularly effective.

The advertising client's dilemma: performance vs. brand strength

Gustav Baldinger from PwC Switzerland sheds light on the core problem from the perspective of advertising clients (CMOs): They find themselves in a Dilemma between short-term performance goals and the long-term development of their brand. Short-term performance goals such as conversion rates and click-through rates are currently steering budgets heavily towards social media, as these platforms seem to offer measurable key figures and reporting.

At the same time, however, the importance of "Brand Safety". 82% of the companies surveyed stated that the topic is becoming increasingly important as they want to place their advertising exclusively in secure environments. Baldinger notes that many marketers criticize the lack of transparency in advertising reporting on social media platforms and question the accuracy of the measurement data. According to forecasts, over 170 billion dollars in advertising expenditure could be wasted by 2028 due to ad fraud, such as click fraud, which calls into question the actual advertising impact on digital platforms.

Baldinger emphasizes that a credible advertising environment is becoming increasingly important for 81% advertisers, especially when it comes to image and brand awareness. The PwC study therefore recommends Swiss media companies to move and Simpler booking platforms (like a One-stop solution or "One ID") that create a better user experience for CMOs. They should also sensitize advertisers to the short, medium and long-term nature of marketing budgets and "realign the compass for advertising decisions". Reaching younger, digitally savvy target groups through attractive offers in journalistic media is also seen as an opportunity.

The voice of the consumer: Trust in facts

Dr. Andrea Umbricht from gfs-zürich presented the consumer perspective that underpins the results of the PwC study. The population of German-speaking Switzerland pays significantly more attention to traditional media, which includes print media and online news portals. Trust and credibility than social media. On a scale of 1 to 5, consumers rate print media with an average trust score of 3.6 and online news portals with 3.3, while social media only scores 2.1. The situation is similar for credibility (print: 3.8; online news portals: 3.4; social media: 2.1).

The Fake News-The problem of fake news is omnipresent for consumers: 96% of respondents state that they have been confronted with fake news more frequently in the last two years, and 95% expect a further increase in the future. An overwhelming majority of 85% see social media as the main source of fake news, while only 2% share this assessment for traditional media. The respondents expect the consequences of the increase in fake news on social media to include a growing social divide, the influencing of political decisions and uncertainty among the population. Two thirds of the population are also aware that independent fact checks on platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and X were largely discontinued at the start of 2025.

What the Advertising impact two thirds of the population (65%) consider advertising in traditional media to be more credible than on social media (3%). The willingness to buy is also positively influenced: 70% state that they are more likely to buy a product if the advertising appears in a fact-checked environment. Advertising in traditional media is also perceived as less annoying (22%) compared to social media (69%).

An experimental test in which advertising videos for fictitious products were shown either in social media formats (Instagram, TikTok) or in journalistic online media (NZZ, Tages-Anzeiger) confirmed these findings: advertising in traditional media was perceived significantly more (82% vs. 68%), remembered better and the advertised brands were named correctly more often. The evaluation of advertising was also more positive in traditional media, particularly with regard to Professionalism (3.4 vs. 3.0) and Credibility (3.2 vs. 2.8).

"Brands must avoid fake news environments like the devil avoids holy water: the current gfs study and several international studies clearly show that they have a direct negative impact on the brand." - Prof. Dr. Dominique von Matt, von Matt/second opinion

The "Credibility works better" campaign: a clear message

Ladina Heimgartner, CEO of Ringier Media Switzerland and initiator of the campaign, emphasizes that the figures underpin the media industry's previous "gut feeling": media have so far undersold their advertising environments. The campaign with the claim "Credibility works better" is aimed simultaneously at decision-makers in the advertising industry and the general public from August 28. The advertising measures include a multi-channel strategy with print and online advertisements, posters, radio and TV spots.

A deliberate statement of the campaign is the decision not to invest in social media. Heimgartner explains that the media are convinced that brands benefit from the environment and that a serious, professional, credible and fake-news-free environment has a positive effect on the brand itself. The campaign is intended to show that investments in media are not only worthwhile for the media, but also for the economy itself, as this represents added value for advertising customers and at the same time demonstrates responsibility for Switzerland as a media center.

The campaign's radio spots, as presented in the sources, introduce scrolling behavior on cell phones and the absurdity of Fake News at Social media ad absurdum. Examples of this are posts about creative charging methods that lead people to believe they can charge cell phones in the microwave. Or posts about hollow earths and reptiloids that control the world as heads of government. Another example is the misconception that craft glue is the perfect face mask. Each of these commercials ends with a clear message: "The algorithm doesn't distinguish between fake news and facts. We do. Swiss media.".

Heimgartner also sees this campaign as a possible Blueprint for other countries facing similar challenges in the global advertising market.

The creative handwriting behind the campaign

Marco Meroni, Managing Director of June Corporate Communications (Jung von Matt Group), which is responsible for the implementation, emphasizes that the campaign with the Unique selling point: credibility works. "That is the central argument, supported by the gfs-zürich and PwC studies. That's why we designed a multichannel campaign on all relevant channels," he explains.

The objective is clear: Part of the online advertising volume should flow back into journalistic media. "You need strong arguments for this, and credibility is precisely this argument."

Meroni describes the playout as staggered rolloutThe campaign will start with advertisements in the print media, followed by out-of-home measures and radio and TV commercials that will continue into October. Personally, he likes the "Smartness" of the headline campaignwhich remains stylistically close to journalistic reality and at the same time focuses on scientific findings support.

Conclusion and outlook: How suitable is the campaign for achieving the objectives?

The campaign "Credibility works better" is built on a solid foundation of scientific knowledge. It directly addresses CMOs' dilemma between short-term performance and long-term brand building, as well as consumers' growing need for trustworthy information and advertising environments. The explicit focus on the economic benefits for advertisers, rather than solely on the role of media for democracy, is a strategic decision that is considered expedient in the current market situation.

The campaign is based on convincing figures: the higher Willingness to buy in fact-checked environments, the better perception and recall of advertising in journalistic media and their significantly higher Credibility compared to Social media. The spots that show the absurdity of Fake News on social media are designed to provoke thought and draw attention to the role of serious media.

Can current events contribute to the emotional charge?
The VSM campaign is broadly designed to address the fundamental issues of fake news and credibility. Although it cannot be modified for current events, the general framework of the "Algorithms don't distinguish between fake news and facts. We do." highly relevant to current discussions, such as the "Trump debate" or the decisions of large tech companies regarding fact-checking. The fact that 65% of the population know that independent fact-checking on social media platforms has been largely discontinued adds urgency and relevance to the campaign message.

These findings, coupled with the emphasis on the Brand Safety and the demand for more Transparency in advertising reporting, provide a strong basis for argumentation. It remains to be seen how quickly the advertising industry will "realign its compass" and whether the media industry will manage to implement the desired technical simplifications for advertising bookings (e.g. through a one-stop store) in order to recoup the lost budgets in the long term. The campaign is a bold step towards repositioning the value of quality and credibility in an increasingly fragmented and often disinformed media landscape.