Swiss OOH Media Companies Facing Existential Threat From Local Government Bans
July 30, 2024 by Dave Haynes
Filling the screen inventory with enough ads to pay their way is normally the biggest challenge for digital out of home media companies, but in Switzerland, the challenge is becoming existential – as the highest court in that country has cleared the way for municipalities to banish commercial advertising in public spaces.
The ruling this month in Switzerland’s Supreme Court involved the local government of a suburb of Geneva, but as Bloomberg reports, it “creates a blueprint for similar bans in larger cities across the country.”
Vernier, a town of 38,000 people, has won its efforts to “combat visual pollution” and give its citizens the “opportunity to opt out of unwanted advertising.”
“We didn’t recognize any public interest in having billboards,” Vernier town councilor Mathias Buschbeck said in an interview. Proponents argued the advertisements merely promoted unnecessary spending and consumer debt. “We want to battle unnecessary consumption with this measure,” Green Party member Buschbeck said, adding that the billboards had usually been booked by “large corporations and not local businesses.”
The ruling means most of the 172 billboards in the town need to be removed, with a few left in place to promote culture and sport. The ban applies to all advertising that’s visible from public land, including those mounted on private property.
Both Bern and Zurich have bans in the works, with Bern wanting to block most commercial advertising, while Zurich is going after digital screens because of energy consumption and (probably/perhaps) light pollution.
However, in Geneva (next door to Vernier) a city ban was actually blocked by local citizens in a referendum.
The Swiss media firm Goldbach Neo is, as you might expect, pushing back with arguments for why OOH and DOOH is important and should not be subject to bans or restrictions …
The regulatory wind has been blowing more strongly against outdoor advertising for some time now and is expected to continue to intensify. Together with KS/CS Communication Switzerland, we are working against a dozen cantonal and municipal initiatives that would like to ban commercial poster advertising in particular, either partially or entirely. Outdoor advertising bans are being discussed in Zurich, Bern, Lausanne, Delsberg, Lancy and Vernier, among others. However, the following facts show how important advertising is for all Swiss cities:
The little ones do billboard advertising: opponents of advertising argue that when looking at advertising turnover, it is mostly large corporations that place billboard advertising. However, if we take a closer look at the number of companies that book billboard advertising, Swiss SMEs make up 63% of the customer base for outdoor advertising. Should local shops and companies in your neighbourhood no longer be allowed to advertise their products and services with posters?
Culture and politics benefit: The cultural and political aspect of outdoor advertising is lost in the discussion far too often. Many municipal advertising regulations stipulate that poster companies often have to offer cultural and political advertising free of charge or at a reduced rate. So if there is a ban, will politicians stick and place their election posters themselves? And where if the poster sites no longer exist? Would there even be a budget left to support cultural posters to the same extent?
Advertisement is part of the economic freedom: According to prevailing doctrine and case law, the freedom to advertise is part of the economic freedom guaranteed in the constitution. Consequently, the legislator does not envisage a world without advertising. A general ban on poster advertising would be disproportionate and would violate economic freedom.
Posters are IN! Even though digital advertising channels are increasingly being used and offer themselves as alternatives, outdoor advertising is still the most popular advertising medium according to the consumer study by WEMF AG für Werbemedienforschung, which is appreciated by 70% of the Swiss population. In addition, 63% of respondents are against a ban.
The financial factor: In addition to the economic added value, outdoor advertising generates a substantial influx of financial resources for Swiss municipalities. In the city of Bern, outdoor advertising generates annual income of more than five million francs in the form of licence fees. Public transport, for example, also benefits greatly from these concessions.
This is scary. Quite possibly contagious culture which could travel to other countries. I would be interested in knowing if the OOH companies have all the threatened signs under permit and are they paying taxes on them? Those two items make it tough to be legislated out of existence. Good story Dave thanks for the share! Bill Board