Geneva, its symbols… Among the must-sees, the Jet d’Eau, the flower clock, and, ever-present, this crowd of advertising signs around the lake. At night, they light up and, when the lake is calm, they reflect upon it.
Inextricable from the DNA of the City of Calvin, they are part of the landscape and brighten up the nightlife in multicolor. Quickly, among the globally renowned brands, the most prestigious watchmakers have appropriated them. Because they anchor a name and its aura in the popular unconscious, both of Genevans and Swiss and international tourists. From the palaces and lakefront sidewalks, they are visible, photographed, and sometimes subliminally, invited into the heart of delegations, participants in multiple trade shows, and conferences. Passing through, there is neither a powerful figure, monarch, or oligarch, nor a passerby, ordinary or indigenous, who has not been exposed to them. Hard to escape, they are visible 24/7, 365 days a year.
Their logos embrace the global index of notoriety, offering footholds that flirt with the timeless Rolex, Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin, Zenith, Richard Mille, Audemars Piguet, Chopard, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Tudor, Hublot, Cartier, TAG Heuer, Tissot, Hermès, Piaget… Institutional presences, support for the luxury around Rue du Rhône or Les Bergues, here they are, propelling their illuminated names to the gates of the stars…

This article was originally published in the JSH (Swiss Watchmaking Journal) in December 2023, see the link below

A market towering high

They shine and illuminate the Geneva skyline every evening for nearly 100 years now. Indissoluble visual signatures of the Lake Geneva waterfront, the illuminated signs resist, endlessly arousing desires…

Their historical brilliance is a contemporary challenge, their attractiveness is far from obsolete. This medium, the signs around the lake, resists rather well against the current flows of a communication in full mutation which has shifted part of its means towards social networks, but which persists in dreaming of the Holy Grail.

A prestige without price.

Since the 1930s, these communication flagships have flourished like trophies on the rooftops adjacent to one of the most beautiful landscapes in Switzerland. Spaces are rare, and the waiting list is long.

Indeed, once acquired, the location is jealously renewed more than it is freed up. If only to prevent an undesirable or a competitor from nesting there. Thus, mostly reserved for several years by luxury brands, watchmaking and banking sectors in the lead, these illuminated signs inscribe themselves in the tradition of a city which, apart from its major houses already owning wall or rooftop signs, played the top student in terms of urban electrification, thanks to its hydraulic network and its dams.

Ego boosts?

What drives brands to invest annually rather substantial amounts to place their illuminated signs on the roofs of the Rade? Ego certainly, but above all the desire to anchor a name in the DNA of watchmaking Geneva, a fundamental terroir and undisputed world capital of excellence in watchmaking. Certainly, brands have historically always been there, but today there are also the repercussions generated by Watches & Wonders, Time to Watches, Geneva Watch Days, EPHJ, auctions as well as the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève which feeds on the glitter of the entire sector. So, in this conducive setting, it is only natural to stand out as privileged.

Tangible anchors

In terms of impact performance – marketing pros speak of CPM, cost per 1000 views – the “illuminated sign” medium provides a better return on investment than many so-called traditional campaigns. There is above all the emotional aspect which, generating widespread sympathies day and night, anchors a brand in its environment and in its original birthplace. Can one measure the number of times this global landscape is photographed, then disseminated on networks and promoted deep into private spheres? Obviously, the die-hard discontented, having trouble waving the specter of intrusiveness since the signs blend so well into the panorama, brandish the specter of carbon irresponsibility! Here again, they are jumping the gun as responsible technologies, between the latest LED technologies and recyclable nature of materials, have caught them off guard. Not to mention that Geneva’s electricity is 100% sustainable and that awareness is increasingly growing regarding the particularly energy-intensive nature of the digital world… “

Express interview

Founded over 60 years ago by a prominent figure in Geneva’s economic life and real estate circles, the M.P. Berthoud Agency is now led by Norbert Nicolau.

‘We perpetuate the quality of services that she had put in place…’

Aren’t these signs a bit outdated today?

It’s more about a different dynamic. That of the long term, which allows the collective unconscious. With digital and networks, we are in immediate consumption whereas with signs, brands are embedded in the DNA of watchmaking Geneva or the financial district. And then you just have to ask the people of Geneva and tourists what they would think of a waterfront without signs…

Isn’t the ‘Geneva Waterfront’ a bit limited?

There aren’t enough buildings for everyone. But it’s also this exclusivity that makes this market so interesting: you have to think outside the box to meet demands, step out of your comfort zone. We are also expanding our activities to other cities in Switzerland… And we accompany our prestigious clients abroad, in China for example, where the Agency now offers gigantic LCD panels in the heart of business centers in Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou.