Swiss Out of Home Awards 2025 – Behind the scenes
The WOOHW! event in Zurich, launched by Outdoor Advertising Switzerland (AWS), brings together creative minds, agencies and advertisers from all over Switzerland every year. Since its launch in 2023 as the successor to APG|SGA Poster Night, the event has established itself as a highlight of the out-of-home industry – with the presentation of the «Swiss Out of Home Awards» , an inspiring conference and an atmospheric dinner party.
Christian Brändle, Director of the Museum für Gestaltung Zürich and jury president of the Swiss Out of Home Awards since 2023, in an interview about this year's edition:
Which outdoor advertising campaign impressed you so much this year that you briefly considered hanging it up in your flat?
Christian Brändle: As jury president, I am of course bound to discretion. But I can reveal this much: we do indeed have a few posters hanging in our home, including one from the current competition.
What three criteria must a campaign fulfil to guarantee that it will not win a Swiss Out of Home Award?
Christian Brändle: Oh, there are a few cardinal sins: boring, clumsy, sexist, poorly copied, unattractively executed or simply lacking in ideas. Visual arbitrariness and meaningless messages are also sure-fire ways to miss out on the award.
Be honest: how often have you thought while judging, ‘What on earth was the idea here?’
Christian Brändle: Let's put it this way: the idea is usually recognisable, at least in its basic form. Unfortunately, however, it is sometimes not particularly good, not surprising, or simply something we have seen a hundred times before.
How is a decision made if the jury cannot agree?
Christian Brändle: Then there is discussion, debate, voting – and, if necessary, we start all over again. In the end, it is usually the most convincing arguments that prevail. What is exciting is that the closer we get to the main prizes, the more unanimous the jury becomes.
You are the director of the Museum für Gestaltung Zürich. How much design must be incorporated into a good poster?
Christian Brändle: A good poster combines a surprising idea with good design. It is striking in both content and execution. Only when both elements work together harmoniously does it achieve its full effect.
Christian Brändle, director of the Museum für Gestaltung Zürich
Catia Natazzi, event organiser at APG|SGA and the heart of the WOOHW! event since 2023 (previously eight years for APG|SGA Poster Night), provides a glimpse behind the scenes:
How many litres of drinks, kilos of food and hours of work does it take to keep the out-of-home industry satisfied and content?
Catia Natazzi: More than you might think – and not just in culinary terms. What really makes our guests happy is the combination of good conversation, an atmospheric ambience, attentive service, fine food and a well-filled glass in their hands. To ensure that everything runs smoothly, the OK team puts around 1,000 hours of work into the preparations. And that starts long before the first admission tickets are distributed.
Was there a moment during this year's organisation or on the evening of the event when you thought, "I hope no one notices"?
Catia Natazzi: Oh yes – my nervousness. I am often needed in several places at once, and I try to remain calm inside. Of course, I want to appear confident on the outside.
What do you secretly wish for from guests every year? And what should visitors refrain from doing?
Catia Natazzi: I would like to see fewer guests staying away without giving notice. A brief cancellation is perfectly sufficient and helps us enormously with our planning.
Is there a little secret about the event team that you would be willing to share with us, just this once?
Catia Natazzi: We come from different companies and are even direct competitors in some cases. Nevertheless, every year we pull together as a well-coordinated team. Our ‘coopetition’ not only works, it makes the event possible in the first place. After all, we have a common goal: a successful WOOHW! event.
Do you have a favourite moment that makes you think every year, "This is exactly why I do all this"?
Catia Natazzi: The moment immediately after the official part. The event hall slowly empties, I hold a glass of wine in my hand, take a deep breath and let everything sink in. Then it's time to continue dismantling the venue until late into the night. This moment is priceless every year.
Catia Natazzi, event organiser at APG|SGA
Find out who took home a Swiss Out of Home Award in 2025 in the press release by Outdoor Advertising Switzerland (AWS) .