In the heart of Zürich in 1833, Peter Jelmoli-Ciolina founded Jelmoli department store, which quickly became one of the most successful establishments in town. Today, with its claim “The House of Brands,” Jelmoli is the largest department store in Switzerland. 

In June 2012, the store wanted to rejuvenate its image and attract a younger, more fashion-oriented audience. 

With this aim in mind, Jelmoli’s head of marketing approached Ringier, the largest internationally operating Swiss media company. In addition to producing the biggest paid newspaper in Switzerland, Ringier holds a strong position in the fields of women’s, lifestyle, and fashion magazines. 

This strong market presence seemed the perfect match to help Jelmoli achieve its positioning targets. 

Jelmoli approached Ringier with clear and specific aims for the mutual campaign: 

• Strengthen Jelmoli’s market position in its core business (fashion).

• Raise the department store’s market share within a fashion- oriented and young target group.


• Raise awareness of Jelmoli’s fresh, modern positioning.


• Convince and activate existing customers (customer retention).


• Help Jelmoli position itself even more strongly as the regional expert in style and fashion.

Guided by these targets, the Jelmoli marketing team, the marketing specialists of Ringier, and Ringier’s SI Style editor-in-chief put the pedal to the metal.

In just eight weeks, a unique tailor-made, cross-media campaign was launched, which included a 64-page special magazine, created and produced in-house by the editorial department of SI Style, the market leader for lifestyle and fashion magazines in Switzerland. 

The magazine’s content mainly focused on the products and people of Jelmoli, combined with interviews and background information about fashion, beauty, and design trends. This unique magazine was then distributed as a supplement of the monthly fashion magazine SI Style, reaching 396,000 readers nationwide. 

The campaign also included four days of special events in the department store:

• Day 1: Starting with a fashion show (“The Night of the Brands”), the event offered free drinks and extended business hours. 


• Day 2: Dedicating this day exclusively to women and their styling needs, the SI Style editorial team helped interested customers with styling and beauty tips, offering practical suggestions for their everyday beauty needs. 


• Day 3: Holding many different events focused on contemporary and fashionable men.


• Day 4: Offering events designed around family needs (and taking place on a Saturday), including a family breakfast, a fashion academy for children, and a photo shoot for the whole family.

Articles on the Ringier’s SI Style, the magazine’s online presence, covered all of the events.

BoleroMen, Ringier’s magazine focusing on men’s fashion and lifestyle, also promoted the event. Readers could win tickets for the exclusive men’s night, which included a panel discussion led by BoleroMen’s editor-in-chief. 

Articles, reports, and advertising campaigns in Ringier’s tabloid newspapers and radio stations covered all events, and the cross-media campaign was a huge success. Overall, the campaign reached a total audience of about 1.1 million people. 

Jelmoli was highly satisfied with the outcome of the marketing campaign. Hundreds of customers visited the story during the fashion days’ special events, and the campaign generated thousands of potential leads. Customer feedback was positive, and brand awareness within the targeted segments of younger and fashionable target groups has been increased effectively.

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