Companies that nearshore operations, but offshore communications create an expensive mismatch. Without local presence, communications quickly loses relevance, speed and credibility.

Recent crises have made one thing clear: global supply chains are fragile, dependencies are risky, and offshoring often delivers little more than the illusion of efficiency. As a result, many companies are bringing production closer to their markets and customers for greater control, resilience and impact.

And yet, paradoxically, while businesses localise their core operations, their communications drifts further away from the market. Global teams in New York, London or Frankfurt believe they can manage Switzerland remotely and consistently fail. Media relations cannot be centralised, because communications is not a scalable export product.

The Limits of Centralised PR

Switzerland is not a “mini-DACH” market. It is small, highly fragmented, and shaped by regional specificities, cultural nuance and a rapidly evolving media landscape. Editorial desks disappear, newsrooms shift, new specialist platforms emerge, and local media form new alliances. Anyone who does not experience this dynamic firsthand will inevitably misread the market.

In Switzerland, public relations are, above all, personal relations. Impact cannot be delegated. Relationships are built through presence, not through Zoom calls from London. Swiss journalists immediately recognise whether someone truly understands the market or is simply repeating global corporate messaging. Poorly targeted emails are deleted; translated marketing copy is ignored. The issue is not language; it is the lack of local instinct.

Centralised communication models create three predictable losses: Loss of relevance, because messages follow corporate logic rather than media logic. Loss of speed, because every statement is caught in global approval loops. And loss of credibility, because distance can never replace proximity

Communications Belongs Where the Market Is

The solution is simple but requires commitment: companies that localise their core business must also localise their communications. Local expertise instead of global templates. Local agencies with direct access to decision-makers instead of global lead structures. Real relationships instead of centralised pseudo-efficiency.

The key question is not operational, but strategic: would a company manage its production from New York? If not, why manage its media relations from afar?

Successful communications follow the same principles as successful business: proximity, understanding, relationships. It may require more effort—but it delivers far greater impact. Companies that prioritise proximity in their operations should not accept distance in their communication.

In Switzerland, impact depends on one thing above all: local presence.