As a result, the number of complaints about content on these sites more than tripled between 2008 and 2011. This is the finding of a study presented Wednesday in Berlin by the German Center for Political Education, the Online Counseling Service Against Right-Wing Extremism, and the organization Jugendschutz.net. According to the data, the activities of far-right extremists on the microblogging service Twitter grew particularly rapidly: there, the number of channels run by neo-Nazis doubled within a year, from 73 to 141.

As the annual report by Jugendschutz.net further revealed, the series of murders attributed to the Zwickau neo-Nazi trio led to a large number of online posts. Within three weeks of the start of media coverage of the ten murders, there were more than 1,500 posts on the Thiazi forum—run by right-wing extremists—alone. Among other things, these posts cast doubt on the far-right nature of the terror, condoned the acts of violence, and mocked the victims. The president of the Center for Political Education, Thomas Krüger, described this as a «breeding ground» for far-right violence and terrorism.

According to the study, approximately 3,700 videos, profiles, and comments with far-right content were identified in 2011. Far-right extremists are becoming increasingly cunning and aggressive in their efforts to recruit new members, said Stefan Glaser, an expert on far-right extremism at jugendschutz.net. (sda)

If you want to reach the finish line after 24 hours, you cannot afford to compromise on your commitment. According to the agency, the Reyl Group, which is based in Geneva and has branches in Zurich, Paris, Luxembourg, Singapore and Hong Kong, is also committed to this unconditional dedication to its clients. It cultivates a somewhat different kind of banking based on commitment, fairness and innovation.

The advertising campaign realized by HDK for German-speaking Switzerland focuses on the private bank's commitment - "around the clock", so to speak - with three consecutive image subjects that will be launched in June and July 2012. The campaign literally starts with a shot of the Le Mans starting procedure introduced in 1925, in which the drivers had to sprint across the track to their cars. The following subjects take up further aspects of the Swiss Reyl Group.

Responsible at Reyl & Cie Zurich: Thomas H. Dürmüller (Chief Executive Officer Zurich), Renate Waldner (Deputy Director). Responsible at HDK: Thomas Hauser (strategy), Romana Hauser-Bonelli (text/concept), Raphael Baumann (creative direction), Rachel Wicki (consulting).
 

Andrea Haemmerli joins from Belcom, where she was responsible for managing the marketing organization of Tele Züri, Radio 24 and the association of regional TV stations in Switzerland from 2008. Prior to that, Haemmerli spent more than 12 years in various management positions at Eurosport / Eurosales, most recently as Director Central Europe. In this role, she was responsible for the development of cross-media marketing concepts, among other things.

In the future, Hardy Lussi will spend a few months with his family and embark on further education before taking on a new challenge outside the Pro Sieben Sat.1 Group after his time off. Lussi joined Seven One in 2000 as head of marketing. Five and a half years ago, he took over as executive director and was responsible for marketing the Swiss advertising and programming windows on Sat.1, Pro Sieben and Kabel eins. He also built up the station group's online platforms.
 

The Board of Directors, management, and employees of Tamedia mourn the loss of Charles von Graffenried and extend their condolences to his family. Tamedia announced this in a press release on Tuesday evening.
 
Born in 1925, von Graffenried, a lawyer and notary, was the founder and chairman of the board of directors of the Bern-based media company Espace Media and publisher of the Berner Zeitung and the newspaper Der Bund. With the sale of Espace Media to Tamedia in 2007, von Graffenried also became a member of the board of directors of the Zurich-based media company. Von Graffenried also owned the Von Graffenried Group (GR), which included the private bank Von Graffenried, a real estate company, a trust office, and a legal division. In 2010, the business magazine *Bilanz* estimated his net worth at between 300 and 400 million Swiss francs.

«I don't want to be the one to bring down the government»

Von Graffenried, a member of one of Bern’s most prominent families, laid the foundation for his career in publishing when, as an entrepreneur, he formed the Berner Zeitung (BZ) in 1979 through the merger of the Berner Nachrichten and the Berner Tagblatt. In 2001, Espace Media emerged from the BZ publishing division responsible for the Berner Tagblatt via Berner Tagblatt Medien. Thus, for many years in Bern, it was von Graffenried, of all people —the Bernese patrician—served as the publisher of the BZ and thus acted as the counterpart to the traditional Bernese newspaper *Der Bund*, which remained independent until 1995 and was much more a bourgeois-liberal daily in the style of von Graffenried than the *Berner Zeitung* itself.
 
Ultimately, however, it was von Graffenried who saved *Der Bund*—which was deeply in the red at the time—in 2003 by acquiring a portion of the NZZ’s shares in *Der Bund* and bringing the newspaper under the umbrella of Espace Media in accordance with the so-called «Bern Model.» “I’ve always said that I don’t want to be the Bund-killer,” von Graffenried said at the time.
 
From then on, the *Bund* and the *Berner Zeitung* continued to operate as editorially independent newspapers, side by side and in collaboration with one another. This remains the case today, even after Tamedia and Espace Media merged in 2007. Von Graffenried played a part in ensuring that two daily newspapers are still published in Bern today—both of which he read year in and year out.
 

Commitment Beyond Death
 
Von Graffenried also made a significant contribution to the press through the Local Journalism Award, which was presented under the title «BZ Local Journalism Award» until 2010 and, starting in 2011, under the name «Reinhardt von Graffenried Foundation Media Award.» With this award, the commitment of Bern’s most famous publisher to the press will thus continue even after his death. (SDA)

(Image: Keystone)

The Swiss Insurance Association SIA has been operating an extranet platform for its members for several years. The platform offers tools and services for association work, comprehensive issue management and other applications for virtual collaboration. In June, the SIA made the final decision to reengineer the portal and position it as an efficient and collaborative communication platform in the insurance industry for the coming years. The main requirement is to integrate collaborative elements - familiar from social media networks - into the platform, the agency said in a press release on Wednesday. The focus is on interaction between users as well as the individualization and personalization of information.

Existing and successful components of the current solution will be adopted and integrated. Previon develops the innovative and modular extranet concept together with the SVV and is responsible for the design and technical implementation.
 

Origami folding instructions are used to illustrate the long process that accompanies withdrawal for every addict. The white A4 sheet at the beginning of the annual report stands for helplessness, for the lack of perspective. With every step, however, new forms emerge and hope returns, according to the agency. The result is a skillfully folded origami bird. It sits in the hands of its caregivers - ready to spread its wings and take the plunge into a self-determined, drug-free life.

Responsible at Stiftung Sozialtherapie, Egliswil: Kurt Roth, Marianne Stocker (project management). Responsible at Renzen Communications, Aarau: Hanno Lietz (CD), Achim Kaufmann (AD), Stefanie Berchtold (graphics), Marc Prell (image editing), Desirée Agostino (consulting). Photography: Michael Koritschan.
 

The campaign is primarily used in areas close to the Swiss border.

Responsible at Volkswagen Switzerland: Sandra Grau (Head of Marketing), Nathalie Mösch (Project Management). Responsible at KSB war Schlupp Bürge: Uwe Schlupp (creative direction), Samuel Knaus (text/concept), Charles Blunier (art direction), Yves Kellenberger (graphics), Christoph Bürge (consulting management), Rémy Müller, Franziska Saxer (consulting), Sven Germann (photo).
 

The aim of the event was for as many people as possible (couples, friends, acquaintances, strangers) to meet at the same time in a central location in Zurich and give each other a moment of happiness and love with a kiss. Even if the flash mob does not yet have the same appeal in Switzerland as in the USA, some people were motivated via social media and radio to meet, kiss and hug in the hall of the main station in Zurich on July 6, 2012 at 1 p.m. sharp, according to a press release from Perfectfor2.com. The ladies present were given a rose.

Responsible at Perfectfor2.com: Tobias Lang (Owner, Managing Partner). Film: Joy Oelen. Idea & concept: Ceccato Brandpower.

The Zurich-based design and communications agency TBS Identity was responsible for the rebranding and the entire trade fair communication. With the realization of the CP trade fair stand, the core message of the pump manufacturer was to be made visible at a glance using creative means. The company claim "cleaner pumps, cleaner planet" is brought to the point in a comprehensible way on brightly lit panels that combine technology and nature in an atmospheric way. According to the agency, the pump manufacturer's logo, redesigned by TBS, is a perfect match. In addition to the factsheets, which provide a concise overview of the current product portfolio, the stationery, which can be used immediately, and the new website will also make a significant contribution to communicating the company's key brand elements even more credibly in future.

Responsible at CP Pump Systems: Thomas Würsch (CEO CP Pumpen), Caroline Hug (Marketing Manager CP Pumpen). Responsible at TBS Identity: Jürg Neuenschwander (communication consulting), Matthias Schnüriger (online media consulting), Marlen Gassler and Olivier Mentha (project management), Michael Schädelin (conception), Christian Tobler (AD), Danny Rafaniello (design), Franziska Binz (screen design), Käthy Meier and Andreas Gloor (polygraphy).
 

Quade & Zurfluh announces a new client. On behalf of Migros Bank, the agency is designing an event tool with communication measures for the Migros Bank branches. Initial work will be implemented in fall 2012.

Concordia Insurance's "Badi Tour" is also starting again just in time for the start of the school vacations. With the "Safety in and around water" campaign, Concordia is continuing the campaign in over 50 bathing establishments. In cooperation with the SLRG, children and parents will be introduced to the rules of swimming in a playful way. On the newly created Online platform The website also contains information about the Badi-Tour, comics and the online game "Conci-Boccia", which is also used in an offline version in the local Badis. Polaroid children's sunglasses will be handed out as a reward for taking part. New this year is the partnership between Concordia and Nickelodeon. For this reason, Spongebob will now be on site at the Badis alongside Conci.

Quade & Zurfluh is responsible for the overall appearance with all graphic implementations, media partnerships and on-site appearance.

Responsible at Concordia: Mark Glutz (Head of Marketing, Member of the Executive Board), Marc Winterhalder (Head of Advertising). Responsible at QuZ: Elmar Schäfer (Managing Partner), Conrad Eigenmann (Consulting), Patricia Schmidt (Project Management), Céline Stemmer (Graphics), Illustrations: Amadeus Waltenspühl. Creation & implementation online: Allink.

 

The football star was photographed during a press conference for his new club Atlético Mineiro - with two Pepsi cans in the foreground. No wonder Coca-Cola was anything but enthusiastic about the prominent placement of the rival product in the vicinity of its testimonial. The result: Coca-Cola mercilessly gave its figurehead the boot. And this after the two advertising partners had only signed their contract in November - which, according to Wuv.de which should have run until the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and was endowed with the equivalent of 600,000 euros per year...and all because of two tin cans with the wrong label. Mean!