Tag: SVSM

Change of baton at the SVSM

For eight years, Beny Ruhstaller shaped the umbrella organisation of Swiss location and business development agencies as president, and he had already been a member of the board since 2013. But he had his first contact with the SVSM much earlier: “In 2007, I received the first SVSM award for my mandate as managing director of the Glattpark area marketing Ruhstaller is not a classic location promoter. Rather, he has represented the real estate industry’s point of view in the association by sitting on the SVSM board and, from 2015, as president. It has always been important to him to bring the real estate industry and location promotion closer together. Ruhstaller will be succeeded as president of the association by Remo Daguati, owner of LOC AG, and Stefan Otziger, managing director of the Thun economic region, will take over as vice-president.

As president of the SVSM, Beny Ruhstaller benefited from a large network that he built up during his decades of activity in the real estate industry. He became particularly well known as “Mister Glattpark”: as Managing Director of the Glattpark Area Marketing – now IGG Glattpark – 21 years ago, he built up an organisation that was unique in Switzerland at the time. The association of several property owners aimed at the overall marketing of the area, which was then still called Oberhauserriet. In the following 21 years, Ruhstaller not only acted as a mediator between landowners, representatives of the city of Opfikon, media representatives and the public, but also sat on juries for individual building projects, set up a showroom with a large model and visualisations of the new district or founded the IG Boulevard. Ruhstaller took a lot of time for lectures and guided tours of the new district: he gave about 1,000 of them. Ruhstaller also recently gave up his mandate as managing director of IGG Glattpark.

Furthermore, Beny Ruhstaller made a name for himself in the field of real estate marketing – at a time when this discipline did not actually exist in Switzerland: Together with Roman H. Bolliger, he wrote the non-fiction book “Immobilienmarketing: Mehrwert für Liegenschaften” (Real Estate Marketing: Added Value for Real Estate), which has become a standard work and textbook and has sold over 10,000 copies to date. Ruhstaller was active as a consultant and marketer in numerous real estate projects with his company acasa Immobilienmarketing and was involved as a lecturer and speaker on the subject.

June 2023
Beny Ruhstaller steps down as President of the SVSM – Remo Daguati becomes his successor

Beny Ruhstaller had been planning his resignation for a long time: “It was important to me not to leave at the drop of a hat, but to prepare my succession well,” explained the outgoing president at the SVSM’s general assembly, which took place in the atmospheric garden room of Villa Boveri in Baden. Ruhstaller shaped the umbrella organisation of Swiss location and business development agencies as president for eight years, and he had already been a member of the board since 2013. But he had his first contact with the SVSM much earlier, as he recalled in his review at the general assembly: “I was able to accept the first SVSM award for innovative projects in location management in 2007: for my mandate as managing director of the Glattpark area marketing.” As luck would have it, he also resigned from this very mandate these days after 21 years as managing director.

Linking real estate and locations
Beny Ruhstaller is not a classic location promoter. Rather, he has represented the viewpoint of the real estate industry in the association by sitting on the board of the SVSM and, from 2015, as president. It has always been his concern to bring the real estate industry and location promotion closer together. He has succeeded in this in various ways, for example in the area of membership structure or within the framework of a cooperation with the magazine “immo!nvest”. Furthermore, under Ruhstaller’s presidency, a guided visit day to Expo Real, Europe’s largest trade fair for real estate and locations in Munich, took place several times and at the beginning of this year the SVSM participated for the first time in Immo23, the Swiss trade fair for real estate investments. Ruhstaller also always placed a lot of emphasis on the “Swiss” in the association’s name, for example with a balanced regional representation on the board or events at changing locations. The professionalisation of the sector in the sense of a well-founded education and training offer was another concern of Ruhstaller’s: he was not only active himself as a speaker in various courses, but also active in the development of new offers. During the Corona pandemic, he also succeeded in developing new event formats together with a committed board team and making the association fit for the future.

Remo Daguati elected new President
The General Assembly in Baden unanimously elected Remo Daguati, a member of the SVSM Board since 2021 and Vice-President since 2022, as the new President of the SVSM. Remo Daguati is the owner of LOC AG in Zurich and looks after location promotion organisations and site developments throughout the DACH region. Before becoming self-employed, he was in charge of national location promotion (Invest in Switzerland) as a member of the management board of Switzerland Global Enterprise (S-GE) until the beginning of 2016. Stefan Otziger, SVSM board member since 2018 and managing director of the Thun economic region, was elected as vice president. During the general assembly, the outgoing president Ruhstaller was also able to introduce a new sponsor: Mettler2Invest, an owner-managed, independent real estate development company, supports the SVSM in addition to the previous sponsors Sunrise and EKZ. Without the valuable support of its sponsors, the SVSM would not be able to maintain its current range of services – so a big thank you at this point.

Input presentations on site development and vacancy management
Following the general meeting, the participants were treated to two practical input presentations on the topics of site development and vacancy management as part of the hybrid specialist event “SVSM Dialogue on Site Management”: Verena Rohrer, Head of Aargau Services Location Promotion, addressed the question of whether large-scale settlements such as that of the pharmaceutical supplier Bachem on the Sisslerfeld are a consequence of cantonal site development – and came to an “indirect yes” as an answer. Majid Parente, managing director and founder of collektiv AG, showed other ways of dealing with vacant commercial properties in city centres: by including and understanding the location and the property, carrying out an in-depth analysis and pursuing a participatory approach.

March 2023
SVSM Awards 2022 awarded

The Swiss Association for Location Management SVSM has been presenting the SVSM Awards since 2007. These are awards for particularly innovative projects in the fields of location marketing, location development and economic promotion. For the 2022 awards, 14 applications were received – from municipalities, cities and organisations from Lake Constance to the Upper Valais. A jury evaluated them on the basis of defined criteria and nominated six projects for the 2022 Awards. The nominees then had the opportunity to present their project to the jury. The presentation of the coveted awards finally took place at the beginning of November at the Capitol in Olten as part of the “SVSM Dialogue on Economic Promotion” conference. The SVSM Award 2022 went to the Upper Valais Regional and Economic Centre for the “valais4you” project, which aims to promote the immigration of skilled workers. According to Katharina Hopp, jury president of the SVSM Awards and SVSM board member, the regional cooperation and exemplary collaboration between the private and public sectors were the deciding factors in the jury’s decision: “The various contact points and services cooperate across sectors and thus cover the various needs of newcomers. In addition, the jury found the agile organisational form, which can react flexibly to requirements, to be particularly innovative,” said Hopp in her laudation.

The jury president was also able to award a second prize on the stage of the Capitol: a special SVSM recognition prize. This went to the Stadtufer cooperative, which is promoting the conversion of the old spinning mill in Lichtensteig, Toggenburg. According to Katharina Hopp, the young, fresh organisation has defied a difficult environment and adverse circumstances: “The jury would like to appreciate the commitment of the cooperative, which has given the project charisma at local and regional level and created an example of innovative location promotion in rural areas, with the recognition award.” The jury president also paid tribute to all the other nominees who received a nomination certificate.

As part of the SVSM Awards, the SVSM also honours a deserving personality as location manager of the year. in 2022, Christoph Lang, CEO of the Zurich Airport Region FRZ, received the award from Sonja Wollkopf Walt, CEO Greater Zurich Area and jury member of the SVSM Awards. In her laudation, Wollkopf Walt noted that Christoph Lang was not only an undisputedly deserving location manager, but had also played a significant role in shaping the SVSM, as he had been a member of the board since the association was founded in 1998 until 2008.

January 2023
SVSM Award 2022: projects are nominated

The Swiss Association for Location Management SVSM has been presenting the SVSM Awards annually since 2007. These are awards for particularly innovative projects in the areas of location marketing, location development and business promotion. 14 applications were received for this year's awards – from municipalities, cities and organizations from Lake Constance to Upper Valais. A jury evaluated these based on defined criteria and nominated the following six projects for the 2022 awards:
• “Big Air Chur” city event – submitted by the city of Chur's business contact point
• Conversion of the old spinning mill in Lichtensteig – submitted by the Stadtufer cooperative
• "valais4you" project to promote the immigration of skilled workers –
submitted by the regional and economic center of Upper Valais
• Joint project "BIGNIK" to strengthen identification –
submitted by REGIO Appenzell AR-St.Gallen-Bodensee
• “Werkstadt Zürisee” to develop the Rütihof workplace area –
submitted by the city of Wädenswil
• Launch of the integrated location promotion for the Zurich Oberland –
Submitted by the Zurich Oberland Promotion Association
With the nomination, however, the applicants are not yet guaranteed an award: At the end of August, all nominees have the opportunity to present their projects to the jury. The jury consists of the following experts: Katharina Hopp, jury president and board member SVSM; ambassador dr Eric Jakob, Head of the Directorate for Business Promotion SECO; Pascal Jenny, President of Arosa Tourism; Karin Jung, Head of Office for Economy and Labor Canton of St.Gallen; Prof. Dr. Markus Schmidiger, Head of the Real Estate Competence Center
University of Lucerne; Sonja Wollkopf-Walt, CEO Greater Zurich Area.
The awards will be presented on Wednesday, November 2, 2022, as part of the hybrid conference "SVSM Dialogue Economic Promotion" in the Capitol cinema in Olten. Incidentally, the location manager of the year is also honored at this event.

August 2022
SVSM visits the Glattpark

During a tour of the Glattpark development area in Opfikon on June 15, the board of directors of the Swiss Association for Site Management ( SVSM ) and leading members and consultants inspected the development . The meeting organized by Schlierem location promoter Albert Schweizer was part of the site development initiative – the supreme discipline of location promotion. It is about the interaction between the public sector, investors, architects, area management, users and associations of different interests in the development of a common vision and strategy.

The two-hour tour was led by Beny Ruhstaller, Glattpark Area Manager and SVSM President. He edited the publication ” Glattpark – a city is created “. The participants visited the different neighborhoods, looked at the inner courtyards, appraised the architecture and visited the lake and park.

Arun Banovi, publisher of Immoinvest and media partner of the SVSM, also took part in the visit. Likewise the former SVSM board member Beat Ritschard and Alexandra Vogel, the managing director of the SVSM in Winterthur, as well as Jasmina Ritz, managing director of the Limmatstadt AG location promotion.

For the purpose of the event, the initiators said that the SVSM board actively cultivates relationships with its senior members and experienced experts. It is about preserving the great wealth of knowledge and network of these personalities. And with such invitations, it is also about the appreciation of their merits for the benefit of the association and the entire industry. The SVSM sponsors are also invited to events such as those in the Glattpark.

After the visit in the afternoon, an aperitif and dinner was scheduled for 5 p.m. in the Casa Cosi restaurant.

June 2022
Location promotion in Switzerland – hybrid conference and awards

With the “SVSM Dialogue” series of events, the Swiss Association for Location Management SVSM imparts specialist knowledge and connects location managers, business developers, real estate experts, spatial planners and other interested parties. At the upcoming spring event, which will take place on March 31, 2022 from 3 p.m. to 6.30 p.m., practical presentations from Upper Valais, the city of Baden and the Wil region will provide valuable technical input for day-to-day work. At the “SVSM Dialogue on Location Management”, three exciting speakers will use case studies to show practical solutions and strategies and discuss current challenges: Thomas Lütolf, Head of Location Promotion City of Baden, will present the regional economic vision of the Baden North district. Anne Rombach-Jung, managing director of REGIO WIL, talks about the future of WILWEST and Esther Schlumpf, project manager at the Upper Valais regional and economic center, deals with the question of whether governance can be a success factor for regional development.

Be there – on site or via live streaming
The “SVSM Dialogue Site Management” is held as a hybrid event: The participants either attend the event on site in the unique ambience of the garden hall of the Villa Boveri in Baden or join the event virtually – the entire event is streamed live and offers thanks to a special Event platform also gives virtual participants the opportunity to interact. After registering online, all participants will receive a personal participation link with which they can log into the event via a browser. The event is free for members of the SVSM. Non-members pay a fee of CHF 50. If a membership is registered during or after the event, this amount will be refunded.

Registration and detailed program:
https://svsm-standortmanagement.ch/anlaesse

SVSM Awards for innovative projects
In addition to the hybrid specialist conferences, the “SVSM Awards” are another focus of the SVSM. These will be awarded again in 2022 after a two-year break due to the pandemic. The awards are aimed at small and large projects – from local to national. The “SVSM Awards” want to make the variety and quality as well as the innovative strength of projects from all over the country visible and thus strengthen the position of the corresponding organizations and initiatives. The “SVSM Awards” are both an incentive and a reward for those involved in the area of location and business development. Projects with a particularly high degree of innovative strength are awarded. Possible examples are location strategies, area developments and corresponding positioning, projects to promote innovation and business clusters, projects to establish or strengthen location brands, promotional activities and campaigns, events that strengthen a location, or organizational development and cooperation models. Applications for the awards are made using an online form. A jury of experts selects the nominated projects from all submissions. The nominees then have the opportunity to present their project to the jury in a virtual session. The announcement of the winning projects and the presentation of the awards will take place as part of the “SVSM Dialogue Economic Promotion” on November 2, 2022.

Further information and online application:
https://svsm-standortmanagement.ch/awards

The umbrella organization for location promotions
The Swiss Association for Location Management SVSM is a professional association founded in 1998. It enables the interdisciplinary exchange of information and experience, links teaching, research and practice, promotes professionalization in site management and is the contact for questions about site management. The SVSM currently has around 80 members from the areas of location and business development, c, real estate as well as training and further education. Twice a year, the SVSM organizes the hybrid conference “SVSM Dialog”; in spring with a focus on topics related to location promotion, in autumn with a focus on economic development. After a break due to the pandemic, the trade association is again presenting the “SVSM Awards” this year for innovative projects in the area of location management and business development. At the beginning of October, the SVSM – also after a two-year break – once again organizes the popular guided visit to Europe’s largest trade fair for locations and real estate, the Expo Real in Munich.

Further information on the SVSM:
https://svsm-standortmanagement.ch

March 2022
SVSM invites to dialogue about site management on March 31st

The Swiss Association for Location Management ( SVSM ) invites you to a specialist conference on Thursday, March 31, as part of the SVSM Dialog event series. According to the media release , the event from 3.30 p.m. to 6 p.m. will take place on site in the Villa Boveri in Baden or virtually via the Veertly platform. At the spring event of the SVSM there are practical presentations from Upper Valais, the city of Baden and the Wil region. Case studies would be used to show practical solutions and strategies and then discuss current challenges. Those who are connected virtually can join the discussion via the interactive platform. The event is free for members of the SVSM, non-members pay a fee of 50 francs.

In addition to the dialogue event, the ordinary general assembly of the SVSM also takes place in the Villa Boveri. Non-members participating in the dialogue are also welcome, according to the association’s statement.

Regarding the program, it is said that the head of location promotion for the city of Baden, Thomas Lütolf, will present the regional economic vision of the Baden Nord city district. Anne Rombach-Jung, Managing Director REGIO WIL, talks about the future of WILWEST. Esther Schlumpf, project manager at the Upper Valais regional and economic center, will address the question of whether governance can be a success factor for regional development.

February 2022
Successful conference on business promotion

Due to the corona situation, the first SVSM dialogue for business development did not take place as a hybrid event as planned, but as a purely virtual event. The event conveyed specialist knowledge and networked location managers, business developers, real estate experts, room planners and other interested parties. The speakers presented impressive practical examples from a wide variety of regions – from Montreux to Uri to St. Gallen – and also reported on challenges, organizational issues and experiences in the spirit of best practice. The participants received valuable input for their daily work. Thanks to dedicated question and answer sessions and a panel discussion, professionally moderated by SVSM board member Markus Müller, the professional exchange of experience and networking were not neglected.
Interaction between economy and tourism
Stefan Büeler, Head of the Office for Economic Affairs and Public Transport in the Canton of Uri, demonstrated the approaches to economic development in Uri based on current projects such as tourism development in Andermatt, the Gotthard base tunnel or educational and research institutes. He also discussed which procedures and organizational forms have proven themselves in practice and which challenges need to be mastered in everyday life. Samuel Zuberbühler, head of location promotion for the city of St. Gallen, gave an insight into the "Sankt ohne Senf" campaign, with which the city in eastern Switzerland is marketing itself and residents, homesick St. Gallen and “newcomers” in a target group-oriented way. He impressively demonstrated how closely business, location promotion and tourism are related. This was also confirmed by Bernard Schmid, Managing Director of Promove. Schmid provided a glimpse of the working methods, structure and current issues of an economic development organization in French-speaking Switzerland: The Promove association aims to promote the economy in the Riviera-Lavaux region on the Swiss shore of Lake Geneva and connects authorities, business and tourism. The cooperation between the various areas, some of which are also organizationally linked, is correspondingly close. Schmid showed how this works in practice using the "Dolce Riviera" project, which was launched in 2020 and aims to integrate the entire tourism value chain in the Montreux Riviera destination.
The start of the new series of events was a success: The consistently positive feedback from the participants on the presentations shows that the SVSM is on the right track with the new event format. The next SVSM dialogue is already being planned, this time with a focus on location management. Make a note of the date – more information will follow:
SVSM dialogue location management: Thursday, March 31, 2022, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m
Further information:
Swiss association
for site management SVSM
office
Ricketwilerstrasse 135
8352 Ricketwil (Winterthur)
Telephone 058 255 08 88
info@svsm-standortmanagement.ch www.svsm-standortmanagement.ch

February 2022
SVSM Dialogue Business Development

For many years, the SVSM has organized the site management day every spring. On this all-day event, experts from location management, business development and the real estate industry as well as representatives from municipalities, cities and cantons met to listen to case studies, discuss industry-specific topics, exchange experiences and maintain their network. Due to the corona pandemic, the event in 2020 and 2021 could not be held. The board of the SVSM used this “compulsory break” to fundamentally rethink and redesign the event. The result is the new series of events «SVSM Dialog»: From autumn 2021, the SVSM will be organizing two half-day events every year – in autumn with a focus on business development issues, in spring on location management issues. In keeping with the spirit of the times, the events will be hybrid: interested parties can participate physically, on site, or thanks to live streaming virtually from their desks.

Practice-related presentations and exchange of experience
The first SVSM Dialog Wirtschaftsförderung will take place on Wednesday, November 17, 2021, from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Capitol cinema in Olten. The event conveys specialist knowledge and connects location managers, business developers, real estate specialists, spatial planners and other interested parties. Three practical presentations with a focus on business development offer the participants valuable technical input for their daily work and use case studies to show possible solutions and strategies for current challenges. Stefan Büeler, Head of the Office for Economy and Public Transport of the Canton of Uri, uses current projects such as tourism development in Andermatt, the Gotthard Base Tunnel or educational and research institutes to demonstrate the approaches of Uri Economic Development. He also goes into which procedure and which organizational forms have proven themselves in practice. Samuel Zuberbühler, Head of Location Promotion City of St. Gallen, gives an insight into the marketing of the city in eastern Switzerland under the provocative title “Sankt ohne Senf” and shows how current issues – such as the revitalization of the inner city – are being addressed there. He also takes up critical points in order to enable a practical exchange of experiences. Bernard Schmid, Managing Director of Promove, provides a look at the working methods, structure and current issues of an economic development organization in French-speaking Switzerland: The Promove association aims to promote the economy in the Riviera-Lavaux region on the Swiss shores of Lake Geneva and connects authorities, Business and other important partners. An extensive aperitif at the end of the event – this part is also streamed live – offers the opportunity to maintain and expand your personal network.

With them – on site or via live streaming
The event is carried out as a hybrid event: the participants either visit the event on site at the Capitol cinema in Olten or join the event virtually – the entire event is streamed live and, thanks to a special event platform, also offers virtual participants the opportunity to Interaction. After registering online, all participants will receive a personal participation link with which they can log into the event via a browser. The event is free of charge for members of the SVSM. Non-members pay a contribution towards expenses of CHF 50. If you register for membership during or after the event, this amount will be refunded.

October 2021
Unused potential in the cooperation between location promotion and the real estate industry

At first glance, business promotion and the real estate sector differ significantly. While location subsidies are usually borne by the public sector – federal government, cantons, cities, municipalities – real estate service providers are in the vast majority of cases private companies. This means that the former are non-profit organizations and the latter are for-profit companies. Location promoters want to win companies over to their sphere of activity and keep them for as long as possible; they are therefore interested in a long-term relationship. Real estate actors, on the other hand, are usually deal-oriented, which leads to comparatively short customer relationships. What is at the center of the activities is only clear from the naming: locations on the one hand, real estate on the other.
More similarities than differences
At second glance, however, there are important similarities. First and foremost, there are the customers, who are often the same, since a company looking for a new location is always looking for a new property. In the opposite case, the same is not always true, but in most cases. Because when a company needs a new property, for example because the existing one has become too small, the evaluation process usually also gives thought to the advantages and disadvantages of a change of location. The second thing in common is the property itself: no company can do without the four classic production factors of labor, capital, knowledge and land. Both location promoters and real estate players support their customers in optimizing the land or property factor. In doing so, they make an important contribution to their customers and support them in meeting their goals.
Benefit from each other
Due to the common ground there is great potential to benefit from each other. For example, both sides can gain advantages in marketing: The real estate industry can serve as a potent multiplier of the message of a location promoter, because real estate service providers are in direct contact with companies looking for new properties. This channel is still underutilized by location promoters. Conversely, real estate professionals are very interested in knowing the real estate needs of those looking for a location as precisely as possible in order to be able to provide a competitive offer. This information can in turn be provided by the location promotion.
to create transparency
In order to be able to create synergies, transparency is first and foremost necessary: Instead of staying among each other, the promotion of the location and the real estate industry have to merge, establish common platforms and exchange information. Both physical and digital platforms are available to them for this purpose. Real estate fairs are a good opportunity to meet face-to-face, maintain existing contacts and make new ones. At the international level, the MIPIM in Cannes in March and the EXPO REAL in Munich in October each year. For more than 20 years, there has been a Swiss joint stand at both trade fairs, which allows Swiss companies and locations to present themselves at a reasonable budget. The IMMO'Messe in Zurich, which is held in January each year, has established itself in Switzerland. This is where real estate investors present themselves and meet market participants of all kinds. Although the IMMO 'has long since established itself as a meeting point for the industry, locations and their representatives are still seldom to be found there. In addition to the trade fairs, there is a wide range of congresses that offer opportunities to maintain contacts around lectures and expert discussions. In addition, location promoters and real estate players can choose from a large number of network events. They are offered by associations, interest groups, locations and private companies.
Online is catching up
In today's pandemic-ruled times, online platforms have gained in importance. On the one hand, industry experts can make themselves heard by appearing at webinars and ensure broad awareness. Examples include the Real Estate Brains or Metropole Insights discussion platforms. On the other hand, online databases have become established that can be used by location promoters and real estate professionals alike. For example, companies can contact swisscircle-member.ch
present. Realestate-experts.ch is ideal for individuals and top-projekte.ch for larger real estate projects. In addition to these offers, every market player is called upon to use social media tools such as LinkedIn or Xing for themselves.
Networking
There are hardly any projects that can be carried out on your own – be it as a location promoter or as a real estate professional. As a rule, every actor depends on useful information, benevolent market participants, efficient suppliers and / or cooperative partners. That is why a good network is essential. This requires personal commitment and a wise choice of platforms for maintaining and expanding one's contacts. Such networks are providers of such networks as SVSM, Swiss Circle, SVIT, RISC, ULI and Fiabci.
Ideas to improve collaboration
There are already numerous opportunities to intensify the cooperation between location promotion and the real estate industry. At the same time, however, there is also potential that is still largely unused. In this way, locations could present themselves on the major real estate portals and get in touch there with companies looking for a new property. Or more congresses or events could be organized that are aimed at both location promoters and real estate service providers. Ultimately, those offers will prevail which strengthen the participants' perception in the market, allow the exchange of experiences and support the maintenance of the personal network.

April 2021
Annual review 2020 of the SVSM

You, our members, are much more directly and substantially affected by the corona pandemic. Numerous location and economic promotions have had to experience that years of development work can become practically meaningless within a few weeks because of the lockdown or because of regional easing. Suddenly completely different factors were decisive for shopping, leisure and travel behavior, primarily the question: What is still allowed where? In such a situation – in which, in my view, federalism is reaching its limits – location and economic development can hardly exert any influence. To make matters worse: where the industry is struggling to survive, there is neither time nor energy, let alone money, left over to secure and promote regional location advantages. But right now it is important to think long-term, invest and expand on what has been achieved.

In these special times, we would like to thank you all the more for your loyalty to our association – even if you could not benefit from all the services to which you are entitled as part of your membership in 2020. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank our sponsors, UPC Switzerland and the electricity works of the Canton of Zurich EKZ, for their commitment. We very much hope that we can hold a half-day event as a new format in autumn 2021. Our general assembly in spring will also take place virtually this year. We will send you all relevant information and documents in the next few weeks. Of course, we will also keep you up to date on our annual program, including with our newsletter.

January 2021
Who is or what is a location manager?
It often happens that members of the Governing Council of the Swiss Association of Locations are asked what exactly a location promoter is and what its business is. The answer, which is not entirely satisfactory, is always: it depends. Since there is no recognized professional qualification for the approximately 300 people working as real estate developers in Switzerland, much less uniform training or a qualification profile. There are a variety of professional names and roles: location promoter, business promoter, location manager, marketing by location, regional marketing, regional development, to name a few, but the list is not exhaustive. In fact, it does not include the myriad of colleagues in the areas with which the site manager works closely: tourism, real estate, architecture, construction, research, administration and the public sector, culture, gastronomy, etc. At the theoretical level, there seems to be a clear distinction which actually disappears in practice.
Realize the potential and then implement it
And it is precisely in this interface between the most diverse sectors that the promoter or promoter of locations is located and in most cases – yes, women are gaining ground – often with diverse skills in other sectors such as sociology, economics, architecture, marketing or real estate sales. The modern event organizer combines these and other skills and fulfills the task that is often assigned to him by politics – at the local or international level. You, who read this magazine, are most likely active in one of the areas mentioned, so that you can best assess the many qualities and knowledge that a site promoter should possess. Everyone agrees on one point: There is a common denominator for all project sponsors, everyone wants to know the potential of their field of action in order to then develop and realize it. And this is a somewhat straightforward answer to the question originally asked.
Promote professionalism
The ASLM, the umbrella organization that brings together location and business promoters in Switzerland, is not satisfied. The association, founded in 1998, now has around 90 members. It tries to find answers to the questions mentioned above and for this purpose promotes the interdisciplinary exchange of information and experience as well as the connection between teaching, research and practice. The ASLM is fully committed to promoting professionalism in the area of location management. In cooperation with various higher education institutions, the association organizes courses and training modules on this topic, and several members are also speakers in the various training and refresher courses. The ASLM is also at the political level in the service of professionalism in order to achieve a recognized professional personality, the figure of the "location manager". The tasks of the ASLM include answering questions about location management.
The network of contacts is essential
However, the main role of the ASLM is the liaison between its members. Location development, location marketing, business development, real estate projects, spatial planning: As already mentioned, these and other topics are part of the daily activities of location promoters. Complex sectors that overlap and for which it is not always easy to keep an overview and to have the connections and contexts
feels right. This is precisely why the exchange of experience, the professional network and close cooperation between the various industries are becoming increasingly important. The ASLM offers its members the opportunity to expand their network, to take care of the interdisciplinary exchange and to use the synergies between location promotion, economic development, spatial planning and real estate development. In addition, ASLM members can take advantage of short free consultations on aspects of site management and site development offered by members of the ASLM Board of Directors.
Awards for innovative projects
Every year in spring, the ASLM organizes the location management day, on which location managers, business promoters, experts from the real estate sector and representatives of municipalities, cities and cantons meet to listen to interventions on reference cases and to discuss industry-specific topics, exchange experiences and expand them Your network of contacts. ASLM has been giving the coveted ASLM Awards to innovative projects in the field of location development, location marketing and business promotion since 2007. The awards are intended to reward the diversity and quality as well as the innovative strength of projects in the field of location development, location marketing and business promotion. Since 2017, ASLM has also been organizing a visit to the Expo Real in Monaco, which will take place at the beginning of October. With around 42,000 visitors and 2,000 exhibitors, Expo Real is the largest European exhibition for the real estate and location sector. The initiative includes a return trip by bus, a visit to the exhibition with selected meetings, an aperitif and an exclusive network at the Swiss stand “Swiss Circle”. ■
- André Gassmann is a member of
  Managing Director of ASLM and Head of Communication and Marketing for the municipality of Emmen; Alexandra Vogel heads the office of the Swiss branch association ASLM.
contacts
Swiss Association
for location management SVSM
Office
Ricketwilerstrasse 135
8352 Ricketwil (Winterthur)
T: 058 255 08 88
info@svsm-standortmanagement.ch
www.svsm-standortmanagement.ch
December 2020
Target group-oriented planning and marketing made easy

Most location promoters and real estate experts have probably heard of the Sinus-Milieus ®: Based on more than 30 years of social science research, they group people who are similar in their outlook and way of life into ten different milieus. Fundamental value orientations are included in the analysis as well as everyday attitudes towards work, family, leisure time, money and consumption. The Sinus-Milieus ® offer the user information and decision-making aids by providing the “central theme” for product development, strategy, positioning, communication, advertising and media planning as well as CRM.
Practical preparation
Up to now, the Sinus-Milieus ®, which have also been specifically researched for Switzerland since 2007, have only been of limited use for location and economic development as well as for the real estate industry, as housing needs have largely not been taken into account. That is now changing: For the new "Sinus-Milieus ® Living and Living Worlds Switzerland" offer, additional criteria such as demands on architecture, interior fittings and the location of the primary residence were analyzed and evaluated. Areas such as architecture, furnishings, communication and neighborhood behavior as well as decision-making and financing aspects are presented in a practical manner and applicable in day-to-day business for every milieu. The texts, tables and graphics are supplemented with meaningful photos of people, architecture and interior design. The offer is therefore a credible and very easy to use basis for numerous questions about the development and planning of locations, areas or quarters as well as for the planning, product development and positioning of real estate.
The «sinusoidal
Milieus ® Living and Living Worlds Switzerland »for example …
… in the real estate market (e.g. location and market analyzes, infrastructure planning, district planning)
… in urban planning (e.g. development areas, neighborhood development)
… in product development (e.g.
Architecture, living space, equipment, parking spaces)
… in the price mix and financing (e.g. rent and property price ranges)
… in social behavior and leisure activities (e.g. neighborhood, service offers)
… in communication and marketing (e.g. brand building and positioning, … marketing measures)
11 brochures and an online tool
"Sinus-Milieus ® Living and Living Worlds Switzerland", published by acasa Immobilien-Marketing GmbH and SVIT Switzerland, comprises the two modules Milieus Basis (printed work) and
Milieus Analyzer (online tool). Milieus Basis offers in-depth information on each of the ten Sinus-Milieus ® in a separate booklet as well as a booklet with basic information and explanations. The Milieus Analyzer is a password-protected online analysis tool with which users can identify suitable milieus for real estate projects, for example, with just a few clicks. Milieus Basis and Milieus Analyzer form a unit and are only offered as a package. The printed work (Milieus Basis) comprises a total of 256 pages in 11 notebooks in A4 format across in a cardboard folder. The package with the printed work and access to the online tool costs CHF 580 (SVIT members 10% discount).
Micro-geographic evaluations
Which milieus live in a certain place in Switzerland? Does my real estate project suit the location? Is my target group represented at a certain location? The Sinus Geo Milieus ® provide answers to these and other questions – the ideal extension and specification of the "Sinus-Milieus ® Living and Living Worlds Switzerland". Sinus Geo Milieus ® provides graphically prepared information and detailed data on the occurrence and distribution of the individual milieus and purchasing power classes for every postal code in Switzerland. ■
Swiss Association for Location Management SVSM

October 2020
Closed meeting of the SVSM board

The SVSM was founded in 1998 as an umbrella organization for location and business promoters in Switzerland.
While the focus was initially on city marketing, the fields of activity have expanded significantly since then: According to the approach of integrated location promotion, the SVSM is one of their around 90
Today, members not only include location and economic development agencies, but also tourism regions, real estate specialists, event agencies and educational institutions. To this changed framework
To take this into account, the board of the SVSM met for a closed conference. The focus was on sharpening the association's profile, the services offered and the benefits for the members. In intensive discussions, focal points emerged and new tasks emerged. The main goals of the SVSM – enable the interdisciplinary exchange of experiences, promote professionalization and link teaching and practice – remain the same. However, members will be able to benefit from more services and improved networking opportunities in the future. The board members will now tackle the challenges of the association with a lot of motivation and commitment
to develop further; Because everyone agreed: The SVSM is an important point of contact for all questions about location management.

September 2020