AWS 2025 Annual General Meeting: New Vice Chairman and fresh outlook for Outdoor Advertising Switzerland’s activities
At the Annual General Meeting of Outdoor Advertising Switzerland (AWS), held in Zurich on 28 January 2025, important decisions were made and the strategic direction was set for the association’s joint activities in 2025.
Tom Gibbings (Goldbach Neo OOH) was elected to the AWS Board of Directors as the new Vice Chairman. Christoph Marty (Goldbach Group) is stepping down from his position as a member of the Board and Vice Chairman, but will continue offering his assistance in an advisory capacity going forward. All current members of the AWS Board of Directors – Markus Ehrle (Chairman, APG|SGA), Beat Holenstein (APG|SGA), Robert Furger (Goldbach Neo OOH) and Gregor Zimmerli (Aktiv Werbung) – stood for re-election and were voted in unanimously.
Activities and industry event
Together, the nine Out of Home advertising companies that make up the AWS association are committed to providing high-quality and efficient advertising solutions in public spaces. In 2025, AWS will continue to fight against the senseless bans and restrictions on Out of Home Media and is confident that, by liaising with all stakeholders involved, it will be able to prevent further regulatory restrictions. There will also be emphasis on further developing transparent and independent media research and on getting actively involved in sustainability issues in collaboration with other associations. AWS is also planning to step up its activities relating to genre marketing, which includes the now established WOOHW! industry event. This will be held for the third time on 4 September 2025 in Zurich and will feature a specialist conference along with the presentation of the Swiss Out of Home Awards. AWS is also involved in the international trade magazine OOH!, which is published four times a year and keeps advertisers and agencies updated on developments in Out of Home Media in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Outlook and key areas of focus
AWS can look back on a successful year in Out of Home Media with moderate growth. According to Media Focus, Out of Home Media performed positively in 2024 compared to other media overall and proved resilient in an extremely challenging market environment – a trend that is likely to continue in 2025. After all, Out of Home Media – whether analogue or digital – is seen as trustworthy by the general public, has an exceptionally wide reach and enables quick engagement with active and mobile sections of the population. This positive outlook is further backed by the high level of public acceptance of Out of Home Media and the fact it boasts the most favourable carbon footprint of all advertising media. More and more advertisers and providers of (D)OOH advertising space are opting for sustainable solutions, in terms of both materials and energy supply. This is part of an overarching trend towards greater environmental awareness which is also finding its way into Out of Home Media.
Further information
About AWS and its members: www.aussenwerbung-schweiz.ch
About the industry event: www.woohw.ch
About the trade magazine: www.ooh-magazin.de