What a lion from Cannes is for international masterpieces in conventional advertising, a bee from San Francisco is for top performance in the marketing use of social media: the Bees Awards, the first international social media marketing awards, were presented at the end of May for the third year in a row, with agencies and brands from 40 countries taking part this year. We present this year's award winners with the greatest potential for imitation.

Best use of micro-blogging platforms:
In South Africa, thousands of people die of Aids every day. Although there are constantly countless calls to draw attention to the dangers of HIV, the NGO Brothers for Life wanted to launch a special campaign to mark World Aids Day 2011. "Our aim was to start a conversation with people and we realized that the best way to do this was through social media, especially Twitter," explained Xolisa Dyeshana, Creative Director of Joe Public, the Johannesburg agency in charge of the campaign. So at midnight on November 30, a thousand Twitter accounts were created and named from HIV+0001 to HIV+1000. All were used to report from the perspective of an HIV-positive person for the next 24 hours and to encourage others not to make the same mistakes. To make it easy for the Twitter community to follow the campaign, each message was tagged with the hashtag #HIVarmy. At midnight, each account was shut down and the avatar was replaced with the word "deceased", highlighting the sheer number of people who are losing the fight against AIDS every day. Within 24 hours, the hashtag #HIVarmy spread rapidly. Not only were there re-tweets, but people often added their own feelings on the subject. The tweets were soon picked up by celebrities and mentioned on the radio. At 11 a.m., the campaign appeared in the world's trending topics on Twitter and remained there for the rest of the day. "Essentially, we launched a global discourse without spending a single penny," Xolisa said happily.

Advertising Week says: Unlike in English-speaking countries, Twitter has only just begun to gain a larger audience here. This award-winning example from South Africa shows how this channel can be used for campaigns.

Best use of social media platforms:
Anthon Berg is a well-known Danish chocolatier. To associate his brand with generosity and inspire people to appreciate the positive impact of chocolate, "The Generous Store" was launched in the city center of Copenhagen. In this one-day boutique, you could not pay with cash or credit cards, but only with the promise of good deeds. There were thirty different price options to choose from for the boxes of chocolates. The most popular was the promise to help a friend clean the house, while others involved serving breakfast in bed or not commenting on a friend's driving for a week. Once the choice had been made, it was continued on Facebook: Instead of cash registers, iPads were used so that buyers could kKund their promise. And the fulfillment of the promise was also documented there. This enabled the brand to achieve a wave of enthusiasm and public awareness that went far beyond its normal reach.

Werbewoche says: "The concept can be adopted almost one-to-one and, with a few additions, can easily be presented as new.

Best crisis management:
The well-known American actor Alec Baldwin was sitting on an American Airlines plane ready for take-off on December 6, 2011, and it didn't suit him at all that all passengers were asked to leave the plane for an additional security check. This was because a threat had been made against the plane shortly before take-off. The fact that Baldwin was behaving quite badly and shouting at flight attendants was no reason for the airline to assume a communication crisis. The fact that Baldwin has 870,000 followers on Twitter, however, was. He soon vented there too, and after less than an hour the incident had already become a trending topic on Twitter. The airline reacted quickly and disseminated its view of the matter calmly and objectively via Facebook and Twitter, referring to the various legal regulations that Baldwin had violated in part. The "Alec Baldwin Incident" is therefore considered by many communication professionals to be a prime example of the successful use of social media in crisis communication, which, according to Jonathan Pierce, Director of Social Media at American Airlines, can be summed up as follows: "Fight social media fire with social media water."

Werbewoche says: "Companies would do well to empower their social media managers to take immediate and independent action in the event of a crisis.

Best customer dialog:
In November 2011, Volkswagen launched "Quicar" in Hanover, a short-term rental program for which 200 cars are available. Social media was also used as part of the promotion so that actual and future users could share their experiences and questions. So far, so banal - there was a prize for extending this social media communication into the public space: selected entries were displayed on large screens throughout the city (for which the authors' consent was obtained). Although this is innovative, it does not guarantee resounding success: the campaign currently has 5325 likes on Facebook and only 168 followers on Twitter.

Werbewoche says: "We also have enough digital outdoor advertising panels that are waiting to be enlivened with (at least selective) interactivity.

Best use of mobile:
Football fans in South Africa were increasingly frustrated with the foreign coaches of their football teams, who showed no connection to the country's typical football life. The country's biggest beer brand, Carling Black Label, therefore launched a special tournament and launched the "Be the Coach" campaign. Using their cell phones, fans were first able to put together teams from the two biggest clubs, the Kaizer Chiefs and the Orlando Pirates, and during the game the public could decide on player changes in the same way. Over seven weeks, 10.5 million votes were cast, the number of fans on the beer brand's Facebook page rose by 450 percent and the increase on Twitter was as high as 600 percent. And the attendance figures for the match in the stadium and on the screens reached new records. The campaign generated PR worth 85 million rand (CHF 9.5 million) for Carling Black Label.

Werbewoche says: "In Switzerland, as a model country of grassroots democracy, public participation should be a matter of course - for example in the selection of the national soccer team?

Christoph J. Walther

In his speech entitled "Embracing Our Common Humanity", Clinton discussed the challenges of globalization and pointed out a path to a common future based on shared goals and values.

"There is a growing realization that while tough conflict resolution is part of the essence of good politics, creative networks of cooperation are what matter in everyday life. As far as the 21st century citizen is concerned, the stability and vitality of societies depend on people's networks," he said.

The former US president emphasized that the common characteristics of successful countries include a commitment to a sustainable economy, good business practices and a vibrant civil society.

"There is a gap between what the private sector can produce and what the government can provide, and a variety of NGOs are working to fill that gap faster, cheaper and better," he said.

In a comprehensive analysis of the global situation, Bill Clinton urged the audience not to be discouraged by the current bad news and uncertainties. "It would be a big mistake for individuals and businesses to use the current climate as an excuse to become indifferent, give up and retreat. You need a strategy and you need to execute it," he said.

He pointed out that the challenge for advocates of a sustainable economy, especially in these difficult times, is to show that sustainability is a more productive economic path than the paths taken so far. In his introduction, IMD Executive Director Jim Pulcrano described Bill Clinton's speech as "one of the highlights of IMD's history". Tanja Levine, President and Founder of the Inspire for Excellence Forum and member of the Board of Swiss Marketing, said she hoped that everyone in the audience would "take away at least one idea or inspiration for what they want to do to make this world a better place".
In addition to IMD and Swiss Marketing, the

Hult International Business School and Accenture sponsored the forum. The other partners included Le Temps, Do! L'agence SA, Kai Zen and Drappier.
 

The film was not only made in New York, but also in Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne, Vienna, Zurich, Paris, Rome, Amsterdam, Tokyo and Davos. Freitag's friends from each metropolis tied F60 Joan to their bicycle handlebars and visited illustrious locations, pretentious neighborhoods, street canyons and concrete landscapes with her. The result is a clip with global urban flair and F60 Joan in the leading role - and the Freitag Bros. in a supporting role. This film will never be seen on TV or in the cinema. But it is here to find.

The content of the short statements is supported by a voiceover by three-time Oscar winner Meryl Streep and a musical composition by Hans Zimmer, who won an Academy Award for the film "The Lion King," among others. Produced by the Citizen Group in San Francisco, the video was realized in collaboration with the International Quorum of Motion Picture Producers, a global organization to which Zurich Seefeld-based Playground Media Productions has belonged for ten years.
 

Eye-catching features of the new appearance are the show window on the home page and the navigation concept, which provide a better overview and convey the highlights of AZ Medien's range of products and services with just a few clicks. Another new addition is the careers section. In addition, the offering for media professionals has been expanded - and enriched with videos, publications and documentation material for download.

The Zurich agency Update is responsible for the design and implementation of the new AZ Medien homepage.
 

This article comes from the current print edition the advertising week.

There's no question that Ringier had to contend with economic difficulties - in Germany, especially in the printing sector, and abroad, the euro crisis had a negative impact. In this light, it is not surprising that the media group announced last week that it intends to withdraw from the publisher's television station Presse TV at the end of the year - after 17 years of leading involvement. This withdrawal was made because the programs produced for PTV, "cash TV," "Gesundheit Sprechstunde," "Motor Show" and "SonntagsBlick Standpunkte," had been "loss-making for some time" and therefore had to be cross-subsidized, according to the press release. The future is open for 35 employees. And wherever inquiries were made, people in the industry were convinced that Ringier is in a bad way and that the PTV exit is being made to save money. But what is astonishing is that Ringier itself terminated the cooperation with PTV's partners at very short notice and is apparently in a hurry with the exit: Although the contract between PTV and SRG expires at the end of 2013, Ringier is making off a year before the official end.

Ringier terminates contracts with SRG

This is fueling speculation. Last Sunday, the newspaper Sonntag reported that Ringier's Schweizer Illustrierte had also terminated its media partnership with the SF program "Glanz und Gloria. Ringier spokesman Edi Estermann corrected this to Werbewoche: The contract was not terminated, but expired at the end of April - the cooperation had brought both sides less than hoped. Regardless, Sonntag interpreted the departure from PTV and the end of the partnership between SI and "g & g" as an indication that Ringier was cutting all contracts with SRF in order to be able to set up a TV station competing with SRF on a regional-language basis in the future with complete legal freedom. Accordingly, Ringier's motive would not be to save money, but to emancipate itself from SRG. All the more so since Ringier has been cooperating with SRF competitors for a long time: The Group has a stake in the advertising window of Sat.1 Switzerland, and last year it took over the marketing of TF1.

But Sonntag's speculations went even further: Ringier could be involved in the second channel 4plus planned by 3+ founder Dominik Kaiser. Kaiser, however, wants nothing to do with that. To Werbewoche, he updated a statement he has repeated mantra-like before: "We have never negotiated with Ringier and are not doing so at the moment." However, he confirmed his interest in a second channel. "That's why we had made an offer for TeleZüri last summer." In vain, admittedly; the contract was awarded to AZ Medien. There is therefore nothing new on this topic, Kaiser continued. As for 4plus.tv, he said only this much: he had already registered this name six years ago - even before the launch of 3+.

More television means more money

Back to Ringier: The exit from the regional language PTV is somewhat at odds with Ringier's repeatedly expressed intention to expand its German-speaking Swiss TV activities and even to be interested in a (regional language) TV channel. But Estermann counters that "the interest in a TV channel of our own and the production of formats for a window on SF's channels are not directly related." In any case, the closure of the formats produced for PTV is - as reported - due to business considerations. Nevertheless, he clarifies: "Television remains a topic of strategic importance for Ringier. "

The only question is how. Because it would require more investment and would result in larger deficits than at PTV, at least at the beginning. This is also known internally at Ringier. "I still believe that in Switzerland, a full regional language program in competition with SRG cannot be financed by advertising alone; it also needs niches and cooperations," says Hans Jürg Deutsch, Managing Director of PTV. In addition, the old TV hand also points to the rule of thumb according to which a station must achieve at least a 5 percent market share in order to break even. "But each percentage point requires an investment of 10 million francs," warns Deutsch.

German remains with PTV

By the way: Despite Ringier's imminent departure, Ringier man Hans Jürg Deutsch has been appointed by PTV to manage the company until the end of 2013. Deutsch says that Ringier CEO Marc Walder has also given his consent. His task now is to find a solution with SRG for the Ringier broadcasts that will be eliminated from 2013. However, the PTV board of directors has yet to decide whether to seek a contract extension with SRG after that. "What is clear is that things can't go on as they are, PTV would need new broadcasting slots and more money," says Deutsch. Some kind of bonus for those programs that reach more than the previously defined audience figures would also have to be considered in a binding manner.

So for the time being, only Ringier's resignation at the end of the year is certain. "Legally, the termination has no problems at all; Ringier has met all contractual deadlines," says Wolfgang Frei, Head of New Media at the NZZ and Chairman of the Board of PTV. Frei expresses understanding for Ringier's cost-cutting measures, but is surprised "that Ringier threw in the towel right away" and that no discussions about alternative models took place.

Roland Wahrenberger, who represents Axel Springer Switzerland on the PTV Board of Directors, also greatly regrets Ringier's move. He understands that Ringier is scaling back its TV activities as part of a cost-cutting program. "But the fact that they are pulling out of PTV altogether is a great pity." In any case, the remaining partners are determined to continue, he said. "We're thinking hard about which brands we could produce which formats with at a reasonable cost in order to take advantage of the available broadcast slots." It is also possible that new partners will be added.

Other publishers sense an opportunity

The latter is not entirely out of the air. In any case, several publishers approached by Werbewoche are cautiously interested in PTV membership. "We are currently examining this question internally. It is therefore too early to make a concrete statement," said Andrea Masüger, CEO of Südostschweiz Medien. And Claudia Bossert, Managing Director of the TV station family TeleZüri, Tele M1 and TeleBärn at AZ Medien, stated: "We are basically open to meaningful cooperations. However, we have not yet received a request to participate in the national PTV. "

Even for the Mengis media house in the Valais (Walliser Bote), membership of PTV is not considered completely out of the question. "TV is certainly a (future) topic for Mengis," writes Managing Director Kurt Hasen. He adds that they are always discussing whether to take an active role in this area. "Here I expect a strategic direction from the BoD still in the first half of 2012." In his view, however, involvement in PTV would only make sense if Valais Tourism, the Matterhorn Gotthard Railway or the Valais business associations were also involved. In any case, such a cooperation would offer Valais a "very good opportunity" to make itself better known in the urban centers of German-speaking Switzerland. Only Tamedia, which has just sold its electronic media, showed no interest in PTV. And no reactions were available from Biel-based Gassmann AG (Tele Bielingue) and Ticino-based Timedia (Tele Ticino). Markus Knöpfli

Compared to the previous year, an increase of 19 percent was achieved in the number of submissions in the 15 categories. Philip Thomas, Chief Executive of the festival, says: "The high number of entries in the "Mobile" and "Branded Content & Entertainment" categories are further proof of the dynamism of the industry. But it is also interesting to see the consistency of the more traditional media genres such as "Radio", "Film" and "Press". I am convinced that the Cannes Lions winners will once again excite and inspire the industry with the possibilities of creative brand communication." Due to this unexpected development, additional jury members, in addition to the previously announced extra judges for the "Branded Content & Entertainment" and "Mobile" categories, have been appointed. 287 judges will evaluate the works at the Festival of Creativity, which will take place in Cannes from June 17-23, 2012. Cannes Lions welcomes the following additional jury members:

Design Lions
Ricardo Saint-Clair, Founder/ Creative Director, Dialogo Design, Brazil
Katrin Oeding, Creative Director, Studio Oeding, Germany
Gesina Roters, Creative Partner, DAY, Netherlands
Chris Moody, Creative Director, Wolff Olins, United Kingdom
Richard Bates, Chief Creative Officer North America, The Brand Union, USA

Promo & Activation Lions
John J. Steere, Regional Managing Director APAC, Momentum, Asia Pacific
Ove Gley, Creative Director, Home, Germany
Hiroko Uchigaki, Account Planning Director/Communications Planner, ADK Japan
Hector Fernandez, Co-Managing Director/Chief Creative Officer, Publicis, Mexico
Gonzalo Figari, President & Creative Director, D6, Spain

Radio Lions
Sara Haag, Director/Founder, Sarah Haag AB, Sweden
Publicitas Cinecom is the Swiss representative of the "International Festival of Creativity" in Cannes and supports, among other things, the festival participants during the preparations and the organizers in the implementation. This year's festival will take place from June 17 to 23, 2012 in Cannes. Applications for participation in the 59th Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity are available at Canneslions.com possible.

There's no question that Ringier had to contend with economic difficulties - in Germany, especially in the printing sector, and abroad, the euro crisis had a negative impact. In this light, it is not surprising that the media group announced last week that it intends to withdraw from the publisher's television station Presse TV at the end of the year - after 17 years of leading involvement. This withdrawal was made because the programs produced for PTV, "cash TV," "Gesundheit Sprechstunde," "Motor Show" and "SonntagsBlick Standpunkte," had been "loss-making for some time" and therefore had to be cross-subsidized, according to the press release. The future is open for 35 employees. And wherever inquiries were made, people in the industry were convinced that Ringier is in a bad way and that the PTV exit is being made to save money. But what is astonishing is that Ringier itself terminated the cooperation with PTV's partners at very short notice and is apparently in a hurry with the exit: Although the contract between PTV and SRG expires at the end of 2013, Ringier is making off a year before the official end.

You can read more about this in the current print edition of Werbewoche.
 

It all starts with the new 'Rainbow Collection', which is now available in a limited edition. This is the classic Sigg bottle in new, fresh colors. Other products will follow in the course of the year. "SIGG bottles are true design classics and at the same time have been a popular everyday item for many decades. With the new graphic concept, we have therefore focused on the products," says Art Director Marcus Kraft.

Responsible at Sigg: Patric Zingg (CEO), Günther Schoberth-Schwingenstein (Head of Marketing and Communications). Concept, Art Direction & Design: Studio Marcus Kraft.
 

The number of university degrees has increased enormously. Their advantage is that they are called Bachelor's and Master's degrees worldwide. The titles of Swiss degrees have to be explained abroad or to foreigners. There is a big difference in favor of higher vocational education and training, especially if graduates want to prove themselves as generalists in everyday working life: It is practice-oriented. "Higher vocational education places less emphasis on science, but the practical relevance and practicability of what is learned play a much greater role," explains Peter Petrin, Vice President and Head of Department/Education Expert on the Central Board of Swiss Marketing. In higher vocational training, employers and students benefit from existing professional practice and the fact that they are still fully employed during their training. In full-time training courses, on the other hand, laboratory situations have to be created. However, these do not come close to reality.

Bruno Zanella, Head of Human Resources at Flughafen Zürich AG, takes a similar view: "Graduates of higher vocational training courses have practical experience and are already familiar with the professional world. This is an advantage, as these graduates are better able to assess the expectations placed on them in working life." Candidates without practical experience would certainly have a good education, but only know the world of work from theory. In practice, job profiles are defined on the basis of requirements. If job candidates are required to have professional experience, preference is given to graduates of higher vocational training. "As a rule, they are also somewhat more 'persistent' in terms of their willingness to work," Zanella cautiously notes.

A look inside the classroom

Let's take a look at the practical side, or to be more precise, the popular "Graduate Marketing Manager HF" course. Students on this course must have at least two years of professional experience in marketing and sales or in marketing and sales-related professions since completing their apprenticeship. On the other hand, graduates must work at least 50 percent during the course. The framework curriculum developed by Swiss Marketing and approved by the Federal Office for Professional Education and Technology OPET favors innovative and very action-oriented learning and testing. "This means that the main focus can be placed on application rather than knowledge," explains Peter Petrin. And since solving exams is not relevant to the profession, it is reduced to a necessary minimum. "What's much more important is that the focus is on the transfer to the real world of work. It is more exciting, more instructive and also more useful if students are given the task of writing a marketing concept for a real company in a few days, for example, than if they have to write such a concept in one or a few hours based on a case study," Petrin continues. In addition to the core subjects of marketing, sales and communication, qualified marketing managers enjoy a broad education: they are familiar with corporate management, HR and quality management, IT, production, procurement and logistics, etc. This makes them ideal contacts within the company. "What at first glance appears to be a marketing problem is often, at second glance, a problem for the company as a whole with links to many other functions and areas," says the education expert.

Performance counts

And what does the future of higher vocational education look like? Peter Petrin ventures a prognosis: "If the analysis of other countries shows anything, it is this: countries with high rates of academics have significantly higher unemployment rates, much lower innovative strength and lower competitiveness. The 'Bachelor's hysteria' in our country will subside as this qualification depreciates." Higher vocational education and training qualifications would retain a secure position due to their intrinsic strength. In professional life, it is not the beauty of the title that prevails in the long term, but the performance of the professionals. The famous French poet, philosopher and essayist Paul Valéry noted over 75 years ago: "The more important diplomas have become, the more the usefulness of the education system has been weakened."
 

By means of an editor, content can be filled in quickly and easily, just like in a Word document. The FB24 CMS offers additional applications such as the competition tool or the e-mail address generator. It has already been used for the fan sites of Restaurant & Bar Sensi, BSC YB and Inobike, the Bern-based agency said in a statement on Wednesday. In addition, the FB24 competition tool was launched for BSC YB. The Bernese football club has already held a competition using the competition tool and, according to the Bernese agency, was able to record an increase in fans of almost 30 percent.
 

The full-service agency for alternative forms of advertising supports Wander's brand with its expertise. In addition, the agency implements the online measures. The first work of the Webguerillas will be online next fall.