The project involves communicative support for the implementation of the amended Water Protection Act, which has been in force since January 1, 2011. This stipulates that watercourses and lakes in Switzerland must be made more natural and sets out defined measures. Komet supports the Bafu in the dialog with all involved bodies such as cantons, municipalities, environmental protection organizations and associations. In doing so, the implementing bodies are to be provided with material to create transparency and understanding for the planned steps.
 

This year, Beat Schmid, former professor of information management at the University of St. Gallen HSG, will receive the honorary award. "He has shaped the Swiss Internet industry like no other. He recognized the future importance of the new infrastructure early on and placed the areas of knowledge management, electronic markets, e-business and new media at the center of his research activities," reads the jury's statement.

Beat Schmid was appointed Professor of Information Management at the HSG in 1987. For 20 years, he left his mark on the renowned University of St. Gallen, primarily as an Internet pioneer. Even as CERN's Tim Berners-Lee was laying the theoretical foundation of today's Internet through the concept of "hyperlinks," Schmid recognized the revolutionary significance of this idea and founded the Institute for Information Systems in 1989. Earlier than most, Schmid was convinced of the importance of the Internet as the supporting infrastructure of the future. He conducted intensive research in the field of knowledge representation and knowledge and communication management. Currently, the scientist is writing a book on the influence of the Internet as an information carrier: "The question is what will happen when this new type of information becomes the determining raw material in society. You can compare this with the situation when metals became the new raw material. That had an impact on the technological, cultural and many other levels of the social system," Schmid says.
Last year, Swissquote founders Marc Bürki and Paolo Buzzi were recognized with the Honorary Award. In 2010, Cern employee and Internet pioneer Robert Cailliau received this award. Another year earlier, Christian Wanner had the pleasure of receiving the honorary award. As co-founder and CEO of LeShop, he is one of the great pioneers of Swiss e-commerce.

The Best of Swiss Web Award Night 2012 will take place on March 29, 2012 at the Kongresshaus Zurich.
 

If you send us an e-mail to [email protected] writes, you will be entered into a prize draw to win a Yearbook of Advertising. The closing date for entries is April 13.

The 49th volume of the Yearbook of Advertising takes a close look at the course of the 2011 advertising year in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, as well as the campaigns that we can expect to see in 2012. Numerous infographics show the advertising investments and sales of the past five years for comparison, as well as the most important creative rankings for 2011. Another focus is on the portraits of the Newcomer Agency (Brawand Rieken) and the Agency of the Year (Kolle Rebbe) as well as an interview with Euro RSCG boss Andreas Geyr.
 

Habegger specializes in media events, media architecture, film/TV and venue services. The new location near Vienna can draw on the expertise of over 40 different professions from Habegger Regensdorf at any time. "This allows me to offer my existing customers an additional range of services," reports Tibor Fehle, Managing Director of Habegger, based in Mödling.
 

Sometimes his tall figure would appear outside our window, and then we knew: Our neighbor, the professor, was refueling again. He accepted the invitation to tea a few times. Prof. Dr. Werner Weber, professor of literary criticism at the University of Zurich and former head of the features section of the Neue Zürcher Zeitung, owned a modest country estate in our distant neighborhood. It was his childhood home, as he was proud to point out, because Werner Weber came from a modest background. When we hunted deer in the fall, we always hired a shooter "bi de Frau Wäber obe", which is still the main exchange today; the cottage is so remote. Thanks to Werner Weber, Hermann Hesse and Paul Celan also found out where Schottikon was.

When I think of him, I think of the huge distance the journalism industry has come, not only technically, from lead typesetting culture to digitized text management, but also intellectually. The two paths must have gone in opposite directions. Technology has become more and more complex as it has advanced into the editorial offices: the successors of Werner Weber not only have to deal with content, but also with form. Journalistic job profiles, on the other hand, have become so differentiated that a journalistic authority like Weber would no longer be conceivable today.

This difference becomes apparent in the letters that Weber wrote and received. Thomas Feitknecht has compiled, organized and annotated them with endless patience (Werner Weber. Briefwechsel des Literaturkritikers aus sechs Jahrzehnten, Verlag NZZ). The book is a single, unnostalgically sober reflection on the changing times and values and a reminder of the years between 1939 and 2000. Weber - always with a fountain pen, in his delicate handwriting and sometimes on small cards, which suited his careful choice of words so well - corresponded with Hermann Hesse, Thomas Mann, Nelly Sachs, Paul Celan and again and again with Max Frisch; the two rubbed shoulders. In those days, the feature editor still sent separate copies of the book reviews to the authors; no one left Weber's editorial office without a respectful, individual greeting. When Hermann Hesse once ordered 250 separate copies of an article dedicated to him, Werner Weber was so embarrassed that he asked back whether it was really the right thing to do.

Weber's pen pals were also authors such as Otto F. Walter, Ludwig Hohl, Walter Matthias Diggelmann, Hans Boesch, Hermann Burger, Gertrud Leutenegger, Adolf Muschg... all young people at the time who needed dialog and encouragement. The fact that he liked some of them and didn't trust others was one thing. The other, however, was the caring curiosity with which he repeatedly inquired about the progress of their work. He gave advice in response to questions and was almost always the first reader. His response had an inimitably elegant form: a mixture of honest openness and polite condescension. The authors, even those on the left who didn't really like the NZZ, experienced this affectionate, inquiring interest as a blessing in their lonely business of writing.

At the time, they were touchingly clumsy when it came to pagination. One of the authors, who was to prepare his great work for publication in installments, wrote: "What I would like to know is whether you think these chapters en block (!) are suitable, how many installments that would mean, or how many MS pages would make a sequel." Weber didn't care, he had his metteur for that. In return, he replied to the author: "On rereading it, my admiration has not only been strengthened, but increased. Science - intuition - design with you in one, as if it were nature - and yet it is the highest achievement of conscience...." The letter was sent to Golo Mann, the preprint concerned "Wallenstein".

Feitknecht's extremely carefully edited volume of letters is part of an imaginary library about the changing journalistic culture in this country: a powerful reminder of wonderfully old-fashioned personalities and working styles, when there was no A and B mail and the editors' letters were not deleted from the mail server but archived because they were so enchanting that they are still worth keeping and rereading today.

Operating earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) fell to 233 million euros. In the previous year, EBIT amounted to 260 million. This was announced by the publishing house in Hamburg on Thursday, according to SDA. The result was also impacted by investments in the digital strategy and the launch of new titles in Germany and abroad. Net profit for the year remained at the previous year's level of 160 million euros.

In addition to China, the publishing house has also focused on India. It holds a majority stake in one of the leading digital marketers there, Networkplay Media. The entry into what the publisher describes as a "strategic growth market" was successful with the majority takeover of the publishing house Maxposure in August 2011. A decline in earnings was recorded in Spain. Group CEO Bernd Buchholz was very satisfied with business in Germany after the media crisis. Advertising and circulation revenues increased slightly by 1.7 percent.
 

It is therefore surprising that mobile recruitment has not yet caught on, even though the electronic application process is now commonplace in almost all companies. Employers do use social media platforms to place their job advertisements and actively engage in employer branding, but a mobile revolution is still a long way off. In Switzerland, around 2.5 million people surf the internet on mobile devices. It is undisputed that these user numbers will continue to rise in the future.

Initial approaches can usually be seen in the form of QR codes that redirect to a website with the job advertisement. Some apps also exist, but these offer hardly any added value, just a link to the company's website. Employers such as Pepsico, Sodexo, Autodesk and Deutsche Telekom offer more than these rather unsatisfactory solutions. They have all launched their own app for potential employees and, in addition to job advertisements, some also offer interactive options. Unfortunately, it is not yet possible for everyone to apply for a job directly via the app, but there are great efforts to integrate this.

At Deutsche Telekom, you can link to your personal Xing profile and send an application from a mobile device in a relatively short time. For companies, having their own recruitment app is clearly also a sign of innovation and has a corresponding impact on employer branding. In the battle for "top talent" in particular, an app can reach young graduates with an affinity for technology. Intel uses a mobile solution internally for the recruitment process. To make the whole process more efficient, HR employees are out and about at trade fairs and conferences with an iPad and enter all data directly into the mobile device together with the applicants. This avoids the usual paperwork, candidates receive a response 25 times faster and Intel saves over 500 working hours a year. A mobile app, which applicants can use to enter their details themselves, is currently being developed.

In Switzerland, Verkehrsbetriebe Zürich, together with Prospective, was one of the first companies in Switzerland to venture into mobile recruiting. You can apply directly for an advertised position via a mobile-optimized page. In addition to personal details and three reasons for applying, you can also enter your LinkedIn and Xing profile and apply for a job in a relatively uncomplicated way.

But the Dutch advertising agency Muse goes even further. They have applicants take an assessment to see whether they are really suitable for the job. The app used is the widely used and well-known "Drawsome". The structure is very playful; the aim is to draw a picture for each word that appears on the screen. The agency then looks at the drawings and offers the internship to the most creative person.

Mobile recruiting will certainly gain in importance in the future. However, in order to be equally useful for employees and employers, it still needs a few optimizations. The ability to apply directly from a mobile device will be essential for success. The entire process must be possible from a device and be user-friendly. It is essential for companies that the recruitment process works seamlessly with all systems and devices, as this is the only way to increase efficiency. Muse sets a good example and shows what is still possible in the area of interaction. Assessments that are integrated into the application process and can be carried out directly from a mobile device have the potential to become an integral part of the recruitment process.

At the moment, the idea of sending an application via a smartphone still seems a little strange. But just a few years ago, it was unthinkable to send a formal application to an employer via email. Today, most HR departments prefer electronic applications. So it will be interesting to see how mobile recruitment develops.
 

With the further developed corporate design and the communication platform "on the road at home", SBB wants to make the claim tangible that customers are in good hands and arrive well. The "unterwegs zuhause" campaign is intended to address both the trend towards increased mobility and the need for safety and security, the agency said in a statement. SBB chose this concept in a multi-stage pitch. "Unterwegs zuhause" now accompanies SBB's communication in all divisions.

The corporate design was further developed by the Basel agency New ID. The
The corporate color red is given greater weight. A train window as a new graphic element, together with the new SBB imagery showing people in the railroad environment, provides more dynamism. This corporate design is now being made visible with the "at home on the road" campaign developed by Rod Kommunikation. This will be launched in the coming days and will be used in all areas of SBB in the medium term.

The print subjects (photo: Jonathan Heyer) are intended to show what SBB is really about: namely, not just moving customers from A to B, but having space for time out or space for valuable encounters. The TV spot (director: Marco Lutz, camera: Markus Hürsch, production: Shining Pictures) accompanies a protagonist with visually spectacular match cuts on a journey through places and encounters that define SBB. "With the campaign, we want to convey an authentic image of SBB and not a polished advertising world" explains Stefan Nünlist, Head of Communications & Public Affairs at SBB. In developing the campaign, emphasis was placed on showing SBB as it really is - for example, that at rush hour it can happen that not all passengers find a seat, but also that it is a place where encounters and everyday rituals take place.

Almost without exception, employees appear as extras in every print ad and TV commercial. And for the campaign song "Welcome Home" (composition: Roman Camenzind), 22-year-old clerk Selina Beyeler and 53-year-old train driver Hanspeter Zweifel lent their voices after an internal casting. The song will now also be released as a single - on Friday, March 30, this will be available under the artist title "Selina & Hanspeter" at the usual download portals.

The campaign was preceded by a major internal launch to sensitize employees to the focus on customer and service orientation. A specially produced short film (directed by Humbi Entress), for example, was intended to demonstrate the contribution made by the company's employees to the "at home on the road" feeling of its customers. Sequences from the TV commercial are intercut with scenes from everyday work in numerous areas of SBB - from dispatching and shunting to station police.

Responsible at SBB: Stefan Nünlist (Head of Communications & Public Affairs), Jan-Hendrik Völker-Albert (Head of Strategy & Steering, Communications), Reto Meissner (Head of Marketing Communications, Passenger Traffic), Eliane Tschudi (Project Manager Marketing Communications, Passenger Traffic), Andreas Niederhauser (Head of Marketing, Real Estate), Franziska Pasqua (Media Planning), Ruedi Blankschön (Head of Brand Management & Brand Experience), Lukas Staudenmann (Head of Corporate Identity), Peter Zürcher (Project Manager CD). Responsible at Rod: Sandro Breu, Regula Fecker, Oliver Fennel, Michael Kathe, Pablo Koerfer, Andrea Lacher, David Schärer, Jasmin Schmid, Vanesssa Zwinselman, Tom Zürcher. Directed by: Marco Lutz. Directed by staff film: Humbi Entress. Film production: Shining Pictures. Photography: Jonathan Heyer. Music: Roman Camenzind (HitMill). Web agency: Maxomedia. Responsible at New ID: Heiko Klemme (Managing Director), Christian Bannholzer (Creative Director), Michael Diebold, Kai Pitschmann, Robert Wesseler (Senior Designer).
 

Langer Public Relations, based in Freiburg/Germany, will focus on companies and financial institutions in German-speaking Switzerland and Baden-Württemberg. In addition, human resources communication - i.e. external communication of personnel issues, internal communication with employees and personnel marketing - is Langer Public Relations' third area of activity.

Before his time at the major bank, Langer was press spokesman for the Association of the Metal and Electrical Industry in Baden-Württemberg. Langer left UBS during the financial crisis in 2008 to take a sabbatical.
 

The argument is always the same: the death of newspapers and thus the endangered diversity of the media. For the members of the National Council, the matter seems to be clear. The motion of the State Policy Committee, which calls on the Federal Council to quickly introduce new models for state press subsidies, was passed with 51 percent in favor, 44 percent against and 5 percent abstaining.

It was to be expected that this attitude would not coincide with that of our readers. Their verdict was clearer than ever before. 93 percent said that direct payments to the media would always result in an encroachment on journalistic freedom and should therefore be rejected. Only 7 percent were of the opinion that direct payments were a good measure, since the industry could not solve its own problems.

Why this discrepancy? It would be cheap to say that our politicians make decisions detached from the people. It is much worse. Some simply do not know what is at stake. Others know very well, but they don't let it ruin their intentions. The state should please take the media by the scruff of the neck, control them and thus protect the citizen from himself. So to speak, prevention of opinion. And all this under the guise of quality assurance.

Something is always forgotten: Certain politicians and media critics always talk about a threat to media diversity. But things are not that simple. There has been a decline in so-called independent newspapers in recent years, but at the same time there has been a proliferation of new media. And the diversity has also never been so great. Today, media such as radio, local television, Internet news portals, blogs, Twitter, etc. also contribute to the formation of political opinion. That only the classic daily newspaper can fulfill this task is a backward-looking view of people who have not understood that the information behavior of citizens has simply changed, whether they like it or not. Today's media users decide for themselves which media they want to use to form their opinions. The daily press is one of them. It only needs support through better framework conditions, not through direct press subsidies.

Pierre C. Meier, Editor-in-Chief
[email protected]
 

The category and main winners will be presented at the awards ceremony. All nominated entries will be presented to the audience with short animated clips. A total of 64 projects were submitted to the competition.

At the jury meeting on March 13, 2012, it was decided to award the "Office and Commercial Buildings" category separately from the "Industrial and Commercial Buildings" category. In addition, the jury merged the category "Public buildings, hospitals, railroad stations, school buildings, parks, port facilities" with the category "Cultural buildings, museums, cinemas, theaters, operas, art houses".

The 8 competition categories
1. office and commercial buildings
2. industrial and commercial premises
3. department stores, stores, customer centers, flagship stores
4. hotels, restaurants, bars, residences
5. trade fair construction, prototypes, showrooms, temporary buildings, pavilions, etc.
6. public buildings, hospitals, railroad stations, school buildings, parks, port facilities, cultural buildings, museums, cinemas, theaters, operas, art houses
7. sports and wellness facilities, mountain railroads
8th special prize "Best team performance"

All nominees here

Swiss Radio and Television SRF also had reason to celebrate: Their web documentary "360° Langstrasse" won two gold awards and one bronze. As Master of Swiss Web, SBB together with the commissioned agencies Unic, Namics and Maxomedia celebrate their success at the twelfth Best of Swiss Web Awards. Their website Sbb.ch beat out 11 other candidates for the Master title and also won 6 category awards (4x silver, 2x bronze). The clarity and user-orientation of the website were particularly highlighted by the jury and the voting users.

A total of eight projects win gold

In addition to SRF, which was awarded two gold medals for "360° Langstrasse" (realized by Hinderling Volkart), six other projects were also awarded one gold medal in their respective categories.

In the Technology category, which focuses on the technical quality and performance of projects, Joiz won gold for Joiz.ch. This website was implemented by the Liip agency. The Migros subsidiary Ex Libris won together with the agencies Acommit and Neolution in the Business Efficiency category for the special contribution to corporate value creation.

Date Nina" was named the best digital performance campaign. The project was realized by the Road Cross Foundation in collaboration with Ogilvy Interactive. In the Digital Branding Campaigns category, Graubünden Ferien and Jung von Matt / Limmat won for their campaign "Graubünden: Einbündnerung" as the winner. Gold in the Public Affairs category was won by Myswitzerland.com from Switzerland Tourism and implemented by Eyekon and Pixeltex. Mountain Vision's Laax & Flims Mobile project was awarded Gold in the Usability category. The mobile application was implemented by Unic.

Special category "Silver Surfer: Ctrl, Alt, Delete?"

The special prize in the special category "Silver Surfer: Ctrl, Alt, Delete?" was won by Sonova Holding for "Sonova: Life Sounds Good". This project was managed by Notch Interactive.

The laudations of the juries for the individual gold winners as well as the names of the silver and bronze winners can be found on the website Bestofswissweb.ch to find.