Manfred Pfiffner was confirmed in office at the Audience Council meeting on August 23, 2012, according to a statement. Pfiffner has been a member of the Audience Council for twelve years as a representative of SRG Ostschweiz. He took over as chairman in January 2009. His second term of office will last until the end of 2016.

The 49-year-old, who holds a post-doctoral degree in education, works full-time as a course director for general education and as a lecturer in education science and didactics at secondary level II at the University of Teacher Education St. Gallen.

The new bag can be transformed into a picnic blanket in just a few steps, the agency writes in a press release. To do this, you untie the knots of the cord handles and unfold the bag. Then you can sit down comfortably anywhere. After the picnic, the blanket becomes a bag again in no time.

The bag was on display for the first time at the reopening of the Tibits restaurant in Winterthur. 2,000 picnic blanket bags were handed out, the statement continued. Production of a further 13,000 is already underway for restaurants in Bern, Basel, Zurich and London. In the meantime, the picnic blanket bag is also legally protected.

Responsible at Tibits: Anna M. Di Maio (advertising management), Reto Frei, Daniel Frei (overall responsibility). Responsible at Wirz Advertising: Philipp Skrabal (CD), Barbara Hartmann (Art Direction), Andi Portmann (Text), Giovanni Bucca, Marcel Bertschi (Production), Urs Hirschi, Patricia Holend (Consulting).

The Bern-based agency Komet will implement all communication materials in the new look for the two locations, as detailed in a press release. The design manual defines the design of printed materials such as advertisements, flyers, brochures and the annual report. The hospital's online presence and digital measures such as the newsletter will also be adapted accordingly.

The Online game takes participants on a virtual journey. A somewhat quirky trailblazer travels up Mount Pilatus in an attempt to find the mysterious Dragon Stone - and he's always in need of help along the way. Several riddles are woven into the short film, which showcases the mountain's assets. To complete the search and hold the dragon stone in your hands, each puzzle must be successfully solved.

A night on the Pilatus

The online game is supplemented by a scavenger hunt on site. The trackers decipher a solution word and try to uncover the hiding place of the dragon stone. Whoever finds the dragon stone in the online game or on site wins an instant prize and, with a bit of luck, an exclusive weekend on Mount Pilatus: For one night, all 30 rooms of the Hotel Pilatus-Kulm will be reserved for the winner of the raffle and up to 59 of his friends.

Responsible at Pilatus: Beat Wälti (Head of Marketing & Sales). Responsible at Contexta: Nadine Borter (overall responsibility), Moritz Staehelin (creative direction), Christian Stocker (interactive concept), Merlin Wälti (programming), Daniel Rödel, Claudio Parente (art direction), Annette Häcki, Raphael Gammenthaler (text), Michèle Borter, Delia Zeiter (consulting). Production: Swissfilmmaker, Tobias Straka (manager), Chris Blaser (camera), Sophie Blöchlinger, Beni Fueter, Tobias Straka (editing), Dexmusic, Dänu Extrem (sound design), Raphael Sommer (music), Tobias van Schneider (screen design).

At 152.3 million francs, net sales remained practically at the same level as in the first half of 2011 (153 million francs). The operating result amounted to CHF 2.3 million after CHF 4.1 million in the same period of the previous year. As in the previous year, Publigroupe benefited from non-operating factors in the first half of the year. The company generated one-off extraordinary income of CHF 15.4 million from the sale of the online advertising specialist Namics and other disposals.

Ad sales lag behind

Business with advertising sales (media sales) was once again poor. The market saw a double-digit decline. The significant decline was offset by good results in Search & Find. Media Sales posted an operating loss of CHF 8.2 million, compared with an operating loss of CHF 1.7 million in the previous year. The net loss in the segment is reported at CHF 5.5 million due to one-off proceeds from the sale of the shares in Südostschweiz Publicitas. This underlines the urgency of cost reduction, the company announced. Further savings "in the clear double-digit million range" are necessary, said CFO Andreas Schmidt of SNB. Overall, the number of jobs in advertising sales has fallen by 100 to 1128 full-time jobs since mid-2011. In March, the company assumed that it would have to cut further jobs after hundreds had already been lost in recent years.

Stock exchange does not approve new statement

Publigroupe is reporting in accordance with Swiss GAAP FER accounting standards for the first time in its 2012 half-year financial statements. One reason for the changeover was to be able to better present its own performance in the online sector thanks to the proportional consolidation of its holdings in Zanox and Local.ch. However, the Swiss stock exchange SIX did not allow this until now. As a result, the shareholdings are still consolidated in the income statement prepared in accordance with Swiss GAAP FER. Talks with the stock exchange regulators are continuing, explained CFO Schmidt. However, Publigroupe also publishes a pro-forma statement with corresponding proportionate consolidation for the two segments Search & Find and Digital & Marketing Services (DMS). According to this, sales in the online sector account for 52 percent of total business.

Proceeds from property sale for shareholders

The sale of four properties was successfully completed in August. The sale will result in a book profit of CHF 39 million in the 2012 annual financial statements. As already announced, the majority of this will flow to shareholders via a share buyback program.

In September, online marketing specialist Arndt Groth will take over as CEO of Publigroupe. The German will be responsible for driving forward the overall digital offering. Hans-Peter Rohner will relinquish his dual mandate at this time and concentrate on the chairmanship of the Board of Directors. (SDA)
 

Under the title "Berlin collects Berlin", B.Z., Berlin's largest daily newspaper, is presenting Justkickit a Panini album that lets Messi and Ronaldo stumble offside: Instead of footballers, the stickers are dedicated solely to the German capital. According to the press release, the 44-page booklet contains 276 motifs depicting the city's eventful history, Berlin originals and legends, famous buildings and neighborhoods as well as current stars from the worlds of sport, entertainment and culture. Typical Berlin items such as currywurst and traffic light men complete the scrapbook. To celebrate the day, the newspaper gave its readers a gift on Monday and included six collector's pictures with each issue.

However, the idea is not celebrating its premiere in Berlin. Justkickit, the project of two German journalists, launched the city Panini back in 2010 and published the first collector's album in Hamburg. Numerous German cities have so far enjoyed their own Panini album. Whether the collector's fun will also delight Swiss collectors in the future remains to be seen. The idea that the Böög can soon be exchanged for a racing bike hipster for the Zurich album at least gives us hope. Or: Who will offer a football stadium for the Letzigrund? (th)

As the largest member company, SBB is using its own visual language for the first time in addition to the Login umbrella campaign. In this way, it wants to position itself more strongly as a training company, according to a statement. Hofer Kommunikation has been creating and implementing ideas for Login for more than ten years. Since the beginning of August, the training association now appears under the motto "cinematic moments". The new appearance is intended to show, with somewhat exaggerated advertising situations, the unforgettable - potentially cinematic - moments that can be experienced during an apprenticeship in public transport, the statement continues.

SBB will now have a stronger presence as the largest member company in order to position itself more strongly as a training company. Hofer has therefore produced a campaign with two different visual languages. The login imagery was newly developed, while the SBB imagery is based on their new corporate design. The campaign is being launched immediately throughout Switzerland. The media mix includes posters and panels in or near train stations, public transport advertising (streetcar and bus trailers) and a digital campaign. Login's existing communication tools have been adapted to suit the campaign.

Responsible at SBB: Margot Stupf (responsible for the market presence of apprentices), Competence Center Human Resources Marketing.Responsible at Login Berufsbildung: Marlies Hürlimann (Head of Corporate Communications), Mirjam Staudenmann (Campaign Realization, Advertising and Media Planning), Richard Bachmann (Digital Campaign), Sara Riesen (Corporate Publishing, PR), Karin della Torre (Website, Internal Communications).Responsible at Hofer Communication: Reto Steiner/Daniel Scheuzger (consulting, creation), Philippe Oesch (text), Christoph Perner, Amanda Barba (graphics).

According to a statement from the agency, the basic attitude of the Basel-based asset managers, namely to be different from others, is reflected in the structure and menu navigation of the Website reflect.

To ensure that the relevant topics and needs of the target group were met, interviews were conducted with selected customers, the press release continued. They found themselves so well reflected in the address that they made themselves available as ambassadors with personal quotes.

Responsible at Kaufmann, Wunderlin & Partner: Urs F. Kaufmann (Chairman of the Board of Directors), Rolf Wunderlin (Delegate of the Board of Directors). Responsible at Sulzer Partner: Daniel Sulzer (overall responsibility, positioning), Raymond Inauen (design), Hans Peter Brugger (text).

Starting kindergarten and school marks the beginning of a new era for families. The Swiss Parents' Club's back-to-school campaign focuses on this transitional phase and aims to make parents aware that they are not alone with their questions and concerns and can ask for support. "With our campaign, we show parents where they can find this support - and that they are not alone with their concerns," says Yvonne Morant, advisor at Eltern Club Schweiz. Parents, especially mothers, often feel they have to do everything on their own.
 
The nationwide campaign is being conducted with advertisements as well as online and via Facebook and Twitter.
 

The National Council's Telecommunications Committee should have been informed of the Federal Council's decision in the dispute between the publishers and the SRG on Monday. However, the agenda item has now been removed from the meeting plan. There is nothing new to report in the dispute over SRG online advertising, says Martin Dumermuth, Director of the Federal Office of Communications, when asked by the Sonntagszeitung. This means that the decision is still pending with the Federal Council.

Dispute over online advertising
SRG wants to be allowed to advertise on its internet platforms in future. This plan is being opposed by the private media companies. They had until the end of June to reach a compromise with SRG, but failed to do so by the deadline (Werbewoche.ch reported).
 

For the "Sasso San Gottardo" theme world in the middle of the Swiss Gotthard mountain, designed by Holzer/Kobler, Apps with love developed a new type of audio guide on behalf of the operators and partner Swisscom: It guides visitors through the impressive tunnels and rock caverns inside the mountain. For the exhibition, it was important that the "Smart Guide" was child's play to use and that it did not disrupt the experience but positively supported it, Apps with love said in a statement.

The concept is based on an Android smartphone with Near Field Communication (NFC). This technology allows visitors to "catch" the spoken content at the respective info points with a single movement, without having to press a button or enter a number, the statement continues. Once visitors arrive at an info point, they can hold their guide up to a guide icon and actively get the additional content if they want it. When visitors hold the guide in their hand, the text can be read, and as soon as they hold the guide to their ear, as they would when making a phone call, the audio plays automatically. The guide uses the smartphone's various sensors to detect when the visitor has the device to their ear. If the guide is moved away from the ear, playback stops. This allows visitors to pause at any time, read up on the text, or talk to friends without having to press a button or miss any of the audio. The visitors get the additional information where they want it and are not otherwise disturbed by the guide, because they are not cut off from the other people by headphones.

The screen design is very reduced and contrasty white on black. This is to ensure that other visitors are not disturbed by the luminous displays and can find their way around intuitively. And the reduction of the operating concept to natural movements with a familiar device should make it easy to use for all age groups and nationalities.