A laboratory launches a national POS campaign: same kit, same timing, same distribution network. A few weeks later, results by region are highly uneven. German‑speaking Switzerland performs well, Ticino lags behind, the Lake Geneva area sits around average. The temptation is to conclude that “some regions are less dynamic”. The reality is more nuanced, and above all more actionable.

Here are the main reasons behind these gaps, and what a laboratory can do about them.

1. The pharmacy network structure is not the same everywhere

Switzerland is a small country, but its pharmacy and drugstore network is structurally different depending on the region.

What varies:

• The share of independent pharmacies versus large chains (Amavita, Sun Store, Coop Vitality, Zur Rose, etc.) differs by canton.
• Chains often have centralised procedures to validate POS material installation, which can slow down or block activation in regions where they are dominant.
• Some regions have a higher concentration of small pharmacies with limited staff, where unaccompanied installation is less likely to succeed.

For a laboratory, this means a campaign “sent by post” will not achieve the same real activation rate in a chain‑dominated region as in one with a high density of independent pharmacies.

2. Purchasing behaviours and counselling habits vary across regional cultures

Switzerland is a multicultural country, and this translates concretely into pharmacy practice.

A few field realities:

• In German‑speaking Switzerland, the relationship with pharmacy counselling tends to be direct and efficiency‑oriented. Well‑documented OTC and phyto products find their place at the counter relatively easily.
• In French‑speaking Switzerland, proximity to French habits sometimes influences expectations around counselling and visual presentation. The patient‑pharmacist relationship can be longer and more conversational.
• In Ticino, Italian influences are real: pharmacy teams may have different display reflexes, and patients different visual expectations.

A message or visual designed for a German‑speaking audience can feel too cold or too direct in Romandy, and vice versa.

3. Seasons and epidemics do not hit all regions at the same time

For seasonal campaigns (cold, allergy, immunity, sun, vein), the timing of shelf activation is critical. In Switzerland, seasons do not progress uniformly:

• Average altitude varies strongly: a sun or allergy campaign relevant in lowland areas in March may be premature in mountain cantons.
• Winter epidemic periods (flu, cold) start and end at different times depending on the region and the year.
• Holiday habits (ski weeks, school holidays staggered by canton) influence pharmacy traffic and therefore POS visibility.

A kit perfectly timed for the season in Geneva may arrive too early or too late in Davos or Lugano.

4. Field coverage density and quality differ by region

In most pharmaceutical organisations, field coverage is not homogeneous across the Swiss territory.

What creates gaps:

• Some regions benefit from more frequent sales rep visits, which supports installation, restocking, and active recommendation.
• Other areas, often rural or peripheral, receive less coverage: material sent by post is less often correctly installed without someone to support it.
• The quality of the relationship between the rep and the pharmacy has a direct impact on how readily a device is accepted and how long it stays in place.

An “identical” campaign therefore does not benefit from the same activation level depending on whether the region is well covered by the field or not.

5. Assortments and product availability vary by wholesaler and canton

In Switzerland, pharmacy supply runs primarily through a few regional wholesalers (Voigt, Galexis, Amedis), whose logistics and lead times are not identical everywhere.

What this changes:

• A product may be available at D+1 in German‑speaking Switzerland and at D+4 or D+5 in parts of Ticino or Romandy.
• Localised out‑of‑stocks, invisible from headquarters, can neutralise the effect of a POS campaign that is otherwise well installed.
• Some regional assortments exclude references that are central to the campaign concept.

A regional performance gap may therefore simply reflect an availability issue, not an execution or message receptivity problem.

6. Cantonal authorisations and regulations can vary

Although Switzerland is a unified market, some health and commercial regulations remain under cantonal jurisdiction.

Concrete examples:

• Rules around window display and product promotion can be interpreted differently depending on the canton.
• Certain product categories (phyto, food supplements with health claims) are subject to variable scrutiny depending on cantonal inspections.
• Large chains sometimes adapt their POS material acceptance guidelines depending on the regions where they operate.

This is not the most frequent factor, but it can explain blockages in certain cantons that have nothing to do with the quality of the campaign itself.

What laboratories can do

Observing performance gaps between regions is normal. The trap is to explain them solely through local commercial performance, when they often reflect differences in execution, timing, field coverage, or product availability.

A few concrete actions:

• Analyse regional gaps using execution indicators (installation rate, product availability, exposure duration) before drawing conclusions about the concept’s effectiveness.
• Adapt the deployment timing to the seasonal and cultural realities of each region, rather than imposing a single national launch date.
• Strengthen field support in low‑coverage areas, or entrust installation to a specialised partner capable of operating consistently across the entire territory.
• Design kits that account for the diversity of regional pharmacy fixtures, particularly in cantons where large chains impose their own standards.

A national POS campaign is not a uniform campaign. It is a campaign that must be able to adapt to the realities of a country more diverse than it appears.