In addition to classics such as "Perfect Day", "Walk on the Wild Side" and "Heroin", anecdotes from former companions, band colleagues, roadies, journalists and friends are also recounted. For the program theme, Draftfcb/Lowe Group created a homage to Andy Warhol's cult cover of The Velvet Underground. As a small promotion, 500 bananas with Lou Reed stickers and the theater program were also distributed in the city.

Responsible at Theater Rigiblick: Daniel Rohr (theater manager), Brigitta Stahel (deputy theater manager). Responsible at Draftfcb/Lowe Group: Dennis Lück (ECD), Frédéric Nogier (AD), Tizian Walti (Text).

Verdi's music is captivating, the melodies are passionate and his music was created under the radiant Italian sun, the agency said in a press release. The design of the word mark and the graphic design for the Viva Verdi communication are based on these criteria: powerful, intense and touching. The logo design was based on clear lines and the choice of colors on warm, fiery tones that match Verdi's music.

Carrying out the media work for a show that had never been performed anywhere before proved to be a particular challenge. Compared to established guest performances, unambiguous communication with the exact content is of great importance.

Responsible at Mobile Productions: Heinrich Nüssli (Executive Producer). Responsible at Rent a Show: Angelo Stamera (Managing Director), Susanne Notter (Marketing). Responsible at FBM Communications: Carmen Schiltknecht (overall responsibility), Marianne Kieser (Graphic Designer), Lana Lamesic (Junior Graphic Designer), Marcel Theiler (Public Relations), Nathalie Blumer (Public Relations).

This is in response to the sharp decline in advertising revenues and the poor prospects in the B-to-B market of the travel industry, the media company wrote in a press release on Friday. Despite various restructuring measures, it has not been possible to successfully maintain the property in the market and continue to operate it.

The discontinuation of Schweizer Touristik has resulted in seven jobs being made redundant, according to the statement. Those affected have been offered support so that hardship cases can be avoided.
 

The entertainment show «Benissimo» will come to an end on December 1, 2012, with its 103rd episode. SRF announced this on Friday. The lottery, in which holders of a «Benissimo» ticket have a chance to win one million Swiss francs, will be integrated into the show «Happy Day» starting in 2013. SRF and Swisslos have jointly agreed on this.

Christoph Gebel, Head of Entertainment: «'Benissimo' has made Swiss TV history over the course of 20 years and in more than 100 episodes. For SRF, the priority now was to secure the strategic partnership with Swisslos for the future. That’s why we jointly decided to integrate the million-franc drawing into 'Happy Day,' which is a perfect fit for the lottery in terms of content. With the programming slots that have become available, SRF can further strengthen its existing events strategy.»

«Benissimo,» hosted by Beni Thurnheer, is one of SRF’s most successful regularly broadcast programs and has been watched by over 100 million viewers since 1992. Beni Thurnheer: «Every host is disappointed when their show comes to an end. Of course, that’s true for me as well. Over the past 33 years, with 'Tell-Star' and 'Benissimo,' I’ve had the privilege of hosting 335 entertainment shows with an audience of millions. That makes me proud and happy.»

«Happy Day» will be adapted to reflect its partnership with Swisslos and, starting in 2013, will air five times a year. The stories of people whose dreams come true will remain a key element of the show. Röbi Koller: «'Happy Day' will continue to fulfill people’s heart’s desires, surprise them, and create unforgettable moments for them. The fact that we’ll also be giving away one million in every show fits perfectly with the program and will generate even more excitement.»

Swisslos is selling «Happy Day» tickets

«Benissimo» tickets will remain on sale as usual until shortly before the final «Benissimo» episode on December 1, 2012. Any unsold tickets will then be immediately replaced with new ones, which viewers can use to play for the million in «Happy Day.» Just like with «Benissimo,» the tickets for the million-franc game on «Happy Day» cost ten francs and, in addition to the top prize of one million francs, offer many attractive instant wins.

Additional broadcast slots for events

Why is Swiss television canceling a show as successful as «Benissimo»? Christoph Gebel, head of entertainment at SF, commented on the matter to Blick.ch: Ratings are not the most important factor in making such decisions. With the end of Beni’s shows, SF will gain five additional time slots for events. In the future, the network will focus more on events and event series anyway, and less on show series and regular programs. «We also want to let »Benissimo’ run its course while the show is still successful and popular, rather than waiting until it has passed its peak,” Gebel explained to the website.

 

Dirk Ruschmann took up his new post on March 1, Ringier wrote in a statement on Friday. Ruschmann studied political science, law and modern German literature at the University of Hamburg. After his studies, he worked for the North German Broadcasting Corporation NDR, as an editor at Wirtschaftswoche and then as a freelance journalist for Süddeutsche Zeitung, Stern and Die Zeit, among others.

From 2002, the German worked as a business editor for NDR radio, then as a correspondent for ARD's capital city studio in Berlin, focusing on financial and economic policy. Since June 2005, Ruschmann has worked as an editor at the business magazine Bilanz.
 

By the end of last year, 19 percent of the population aged 15 and older had already cited the iPhone as their most-used cell phone. That is 3.5 times more than two years earlier. The gap between the iPhone and Nokia—which remains the market leader—has more than halved during this period, from 42 to 19 percent (see chart «Most-Used Cell Phone»), as Nokia is heading in the opposite direction. But Sony Ericsson is also on the decline. While it was still in second place in 2010, it was overtaken by Samsung in 2012. Among the target group of digital natives (ages 15 to 24), the iPhone—at 32 percent—actually has twice the share of the third-place brand and is 12 percentage points ahead of the second-place brand. The future looks particularly bleak for the Nokia brand, which is now the most-used phone by just under 15 percent of young people (see chart «Most-Used Cell Phone by Age»). Two years ago, that figure was more than double. It remains to be seen whether the new Lumia 800 can reverse this trend.

> To the article (PDF)

«Mummenschanz with Its Many Faces—An Art Project for You and Me» is the name of a project by Mummenschanz that is now launching alongside their theater tour. Starting now, visitors to 27 shopping centers can create their own faces—happy, sad, contrite, old, and young. The artwork can be digitally captured, and participants can have their contribution emailed to their home. The dates and the schedule of the event can be tracked on a website set up specifically for this purpose.

Click here for the Impact Check and for the detailed Results Report.
 

For the creative advertising agency Neutral, collaborating with artists is part of its concept. In addition to David Shrigley for Pringle of Scotland, examples include Ryan McGinley for Puma and the New York-based Swiss artist Olaf Breunig for Bally. Breunig has left his mark on the current «Bally Love 2» collection with his bold use of red, green, and yellow.

«Brands need stories and images to be—or to become—desirable. That’s why we work with the world’s best visual creators,» explains Creative Director Rudolph Schürmann. In addition, Neutral develops ideas and brand stories «that are not just communication, but intelligent models that drive business growth,» says Michelle Nicol. The art expert has already creatively blurred the lines between art, lifestyle, and marketing in various projects, transforming brand content into branded entertainment. In addition to Switzerland’s only gold award at ADC Europe, Neutral was also honored this past January with one silver and two bronze ADC Cubes for its work with Pringle and Bally in the categories of Overall Campaign, Photography, and Design.

Neutral was founded in 2001 and is owner-managed by Rudolph Schürmann and Michelle Nicol. Schürmann, a creative director and marketing strategist, earned a degree in graphic design from Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts before studying painting at the State Academy of Fine Arts in Düsseldorf and becoming a conceptual artist. After transitioning to advertising as a copywriter, he worked for WHS, Scotti, Advido Y&R, Saatchi & Saatchi, and Euro RSCG, and on the client side as Executive Creative Director at Media Markt International. Michelle Nicol studied art history and film at the University of Zurich, worked as a fashion critic, and made a name for herself as a curator for various renowned collections of contemporary art. She worked for the Berlin Biennale and the Museum Ludwig in Cologne and wrote texts for the Kunsthaus Zürich, among others.

As a sign of a fresh start, Neutral moved into new offices in Zurich’s Langstrasse neighborhood a few months ago. The full-service agency employs twelve full-time staff members. «To maximize the impact of paid advertising,» Neutral launched its own PR department in the summer of 2012 in collaboration with international partners.

Andreas Panzeri

 

Until now, mobile Facebook has been free of advertising - and thus generates practically no money. However, 425 million users - around half of all Facebook fans - keep up to date with what's happening in their online circle of friends via their smartphones. This is a huge source of revenue for Facebook.

Just the day before, the short message service Twitter announced its plans for advertising on mobile devices. Smartphones are booming worldwide, and with them the opportunities for Facebook and others to earn money here. According to US media, however, there will be no graphic ads on mobile Facebook for the time being.

Facebook is under pressure to attract enough investors for its IPO. According to previous plans, the company wants to raise $5 billion with the share placement. Together with the shares that will remain with the old owners such as Zuckerberg, the total company value is estimated at 100 billion dollars. (SDA/DPA)

 

Scaph is a networking platform for hospital communication professionals, as detailed in a press release. Scaph serves as a platform for the personal exchange of experiences and is intended to promote informal contacts between professional colleagues. The aim is to further professionalize the communications function in hospitals, compare quality and raise the profile of the corporate communications function.

Following its foundation by the heads of communications of six hospitals (Nidwalden Cantonal Hospital, Winterthur Cantonal Hospital, Solothurn Hospitals, Waid City Hospital, Zug Cantonal Hospital and Forel Clinic), the association is open to other interested parties from the corporate communications departments of hospitals on request. Scaph is organized as an association.
 

While Adscreen and Internet were among the biggest losers in December 2011, falling by 19 and 14 index points respectively, they were among the real winners in January 2012. Although the two media continued to suffer losses, they were far less than in the previous month. Adscreen lost only 2 index points at 415 (417), while Internet was down 7 index points at 661 (668). TV gained one index point with 593 (592) and radio even increased its advertising pressure by 3 index points with 344 (341). Teletext lost 2 points and, as in the previous month, was down at 103 (105) index points. The overall market and the electronic media as a whole are stable: in contrast to the overall market, which lost one point with 223 (224) index points, the electronic media gained one point with 584 (583) index points.