For over 15 years, Raiffeisen has been a committed partner of Switzerland Tourism. During that time, the Swiss bank has contributed to added value from tourism with attractive customer offers in selected regions. In signing a new partnership agreement with Switzerland Tourism ST as of April 2018, Raiffeisen has reaffirmed and stepped up its commitment to tourism, expanding it from the regional to the nationwide level. The agreement is initially for a period of three years.

First joint campaign in autumn

Both organisations believe in a strong Switzerland, so they build on shared values that make Switzerland unique. The cooperation opens up new target groups and communication channels. The new partnership began with a cable car and mountain railway promotion as part of ST’s national autumn campaign.

Between 25 August and 25 November 2018, Raiffeisen customers were given a 30% discount on tickets for 43 cable cars and mountain railways throughout Switzerland. To advertise the promotion, the bank ran an intensive campaign through its own channels, both online and offline: at 900 branches, in newsletters, on the eBanking and customer portal, using video clips on social media and generally on its website (German). This generated over 1 million contacts. ST and the cable car and mountain railway operators themselves communicated via their websites and social media.

The cable car and mountain railway promotion was a complete success: 33,000 Raiffeisen customers took up the offer and used their discounted tickets to enjoy the glorious autumn weather in the mountains. Non-customers were also allowed to take advantage of the discount on a one-off basis, so in total 40,000 tickets were sold thanks to the promotion. “With the cable car and mountain railway promotion, we were able to offer customers an additional benefit. Customers showed their appreciation with excellent take-up. What’s more, we were able to help convey ST’s attractive, emotionally appealing autumn campaign through our own channels,” said Marcel Büsser, who is in charge of tourism marketing at Raiffeisen Switzerland. Martin Pally, Head Strategic Partnerships at ST, was equally delighted: “The cable car and mountain railway promotion had a positive effect on the image of both partners, brought added value to the Alpine region from tourism and made a key contribution to the success of the Switzerland Tourism autumn campaign.”