In 2015, voters approved an amendment to the constitution that allows the introduction of genetic testing of embryos (pre-implantation genetic diagnosis) in principle. However, because the new Reproductive Medicine Act (FMedG) was deemed extreme, dangerous and uncontrollable by over 50 members of parliament from the BDP, CVP, EDU, EVP, Greens, SP and SVP, a non-partisan committee launched a referendum.

On behalf of the committee, Spina's Civil Voices designed a voting poster that alludes to genetically modified maize seeds from the agricultural company Monsanto. It gets to the heart of the issue quickly and surprisingly. The motif has already made its first major appearance on the news (see below), and from May 16 it will also be on display as a street poster in at least 1,000 locations in Switzerland. The referendum will take place on June 5, 2016.

Responsible at the committee "No to this FMedG": Samuel Kullmann (Campaign Manager). Responsible at Spina's Civil Voices: Conny Geibel (consulting), Wanda Michel (AD), Matthias Freuler (copywriter), Hannes Aeschlimann (graphics).
 

The relaunch of the website aims to bring this claim to life, in word, image and technologically. The visual world of the website shows self-confident women and men, sexy and with high aesthetic standards. It reflects the self-image and the desire of the customers. Sibylle Cosmetic is about high-tech cosmetics, aesthetic medicine, permanent make-up - in short, about the highest demands, top skincare brands and technological products at the so-called gold standard. This is how Sibylle Mathis likes to put it herself.

At the center of Sibylle Cosmetic is Sibylle Mathis. She is the person who, with her openness, charm, experience and passion, takes people and their wishes seriously and together establishes realistic prospects for success. Sybille Mathis promises nothing that she can not keep and is fully committed to the individual beauty of your customers.

People with aesthetic awareness. People who like to emphasize their natural charisma and thus expressively underline personal qualities - in a professional and private environment. At Sibylle-cosmetic.ch future clients will find a preview of everything that awaits them in the beauty institute.

The commitment that Sibylle Mathis shows for her clients is also what she expects from her agency. The focus is on developing individual solutions with vision and honesty. With the new website, Sibylle Cosmetic is positioning itself unerringly among the leading cosmetic institutes in Switzerland. The next step will be to set up and establish an online store. (pd)

Responsible at Glaswerk: Tobias Gläser (Consulting), Clovis Wieske (Creative Direction), Alexander Gyger (Design), Ralph Müller (Text), Moritz Schuler (Digital Production), Daniel de Souza (Digital Production), Anastasia Ruckelshausen (Assistant Digital Production).

 

The online marketplace Siroop has received a prominent addition. The company has announced that Brack.ch's product range can now be purchased via the platform.

Siroop describes itself as "Switzerland's first open online marketplace". The company is a joint venture between the Coop Group and Swisscom. The project is still in a beta phase. The portal is not due to be launched until the second quarter of this year with a large-scale advertising campaign.

Brack.ch is not worried about the competition

The Brack.ch range available on Siroop comprises a total of 80,000 items, according to the company. The collaboration is a win-win situation for both sides. Siroop benefits from the addition of a major Swiss provider. In return, Brack.ch increases its reach.

Brack.ch decided to collaborate with Siroop in the early stages, as the marketplace could become "one of the primary points of contact for Swiss consumers when it comes to searching for products", the company writes.

According to Markus Maler, CEO of Brack.ch, it is also not a problem that Coop, as the owner of competitor Microspot.ch, is also involved in Siroop. Siroop acts independently and treats all players on the platform equally, Maler continued.

Financing via commissions

In principle, any retailer can join the Siroop marketplace. Joining is free of charge, the company announced on request. Siroop itself is financed by commissions. The amount depends on the product category. The size of a retailer is irrelevant, the company emphasizes.

The commission rate for electronics retailers is 6 percent. All other categories are charged 9.9 percent. Payment costs are included in the commission. Siroop has provided further information on participation on its website. There are currently 63 retailers registered on the marketplace. The product range extends from cosmetics to books and electronics.

Competition not a problem so far

Siroop sees itself as a "pioneer" in Switzerland. There is still no online marketplace "that is completely open to all market participants". Siroop is extending a hand to all interested companies. In addition to large online players such as Brack.ch, small "stores around the corner" are also addressed, Siroop continues. Not even a website is necessary.

As the platform is open, direct competitors also meet here. The operators are well aware of this - it is an essential part of the concept. Ultimately, it is up to the retailers to decide whether this is the right approach for them. Siroop wants to offer all companies, regardless of size and importance, an equally attractive platform.

So far, there have been no problems between retailers with the same product range. "For example, many of our small retailers have created a niche in which they specialize. Or they offer products that large retailers don't have on offer," say the operators.

Improvements to the website

Since the start of the test phase, Siroop has continuously developed the online marketplace. Feedback from around 1500 customers has been incorporated into this process. According to Siroop, the customer experience has been improved thanks to these suggestions. Furthermore, the range of functions has been successively expanded in order to increase the added value for customers and retailers.

Siroop worked closely with external partners from Switzerland and abroad to develop the website. For the design and web development, Siroop relied on the Swiss agencies Ginetta and Liip, according to the company.

In addition, the company currently employs 20 in-house developers at its site in Zurich. In March 2015, there were only 2 developers. Siroop is currently looking for additional developers to join its team. These are primarily specialists in back and front-end development, as well as search specialists. According to the company, 100 people currently work for the company. (Web Week)

Roman Boutellier is the former Vice President for Personnel and Resources at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich, where he was also a full professor of innovation and technology management. Professor Boutellier also holds numerous board memberships, including at Georg Fischer.

The newly constituted Board of Directors of CIM: (from left to right) Markus Diggelmann, Roman Boutellier, Michael Weibel (Managing Director), Christian Belz

Markus Diggelmann is a lawyer and partner at Schoch, Auer & Partner, one of the largest law firms in Eastern Switzerland in St. Gallen and arbitrator for contract law, corporate law and banking contract law under the St. Gallen Arbitration Rules SGSO. Among other things, he specializes in the purchase and sale of companies, succession planning and due diligence audits.

The Center for Industrial Marketing St. Gallen was founded in 2014 by Michael Weibel and Christian Belz as an offshoot of the Institute of Marketing at the University of St. Gallen. The consultancy supports major national and international industrial and service companies as well as public institutions in many areas of business-to-business marketing and sales management.
 

Noth moved from Joiz to PHD as of September 1, 2013 (Werbewoche.ch reported). Stefan Burgass, CEO Omnicom Media Group Switzerland, in a statement : "I regret Nicolas Noth's decision to leave the agency. In the almost three years of his responsibility as Executive Managing Director PHD Switzerland, he played a key role in shaping the agency and building it up in the Swiss market." Until a successor for the resigning Executive Managing Director Nicolas Noth is found, Stefan Burgass will take over the interim management of PHD Switzerland.

 

Some figures are food for thought: in 2015, 40 percent of northern Spain's forests were destroyed by forest fires. On average, almost one forest fire breaks out every week. The fires not only threaten (and destroy) flora and fauna, but also the people who live near the forests. Ogilvy Madrid set about solving the problem for its client Generali and developed a surprisingly simple - but effective - solution: The Birdhouse Alarm. This is a solar-powered smoke detector in the shape of a birdhouse. If smoke is detected within a radius of 20 meters, the birdhouse sends a signal to the fire department via 3G - including GPS data for localization. More about the house at Generalibirdhousealarm.com. It is not entirely clear whether the birdhouse concept is just decoration or whether - in addition to all the technology - a bird can also nest in it. Presumably, however, it will be helped if its entire habitat does not burn down. (hae)

The approximately 200 members of the Swiss fiber optic network industry with a combined 2.5 million customers have formed a consortium for this purpose, as Suissedigital announced on Monday. The joint approach is also supported in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, the statement said. In addition to the large providers UPC Cablecom, Quickline, net+ and Lausanne, smaller providers such as Rii-Seez-Net and GGA Maur are also involved. The sports associations' current contracts with Swisscom expire after the 2016/17 season, according to Matthias Lüscher of Suissedigital. In the last tender, the association of the industry association, then still called Swisscable, and SRG lost out to industry competitor Swisscom. However, Suissedigital no longer wants to join forces with SRG in the upcoming award. In 2012, telecom market leader Swisscom had acquired the broadcasting and marketing rights for the top two leagues of the Swiss soccer championships for at least 140 million francs. It also holds the rights for the ice hockey championship matches. This meant that Swisscom, which broadcasts the games via its Teleclub subsidiary, had significantly expanded its position in direct sports broadcasting. (SDA)

In 2016, Interbrand and the Swiss business magazine Bilanz once again published the ranking of the 50 most valuable brands in Switzerland, highlighting developments in the world of brands. LafargeHolcim and Audemars Piguet are the only brands to record double-digit growth: LafargeHolcim grows by 13 percent and climbs two places to 21st place, while Audemars Piguet enjoys an eleven percent plus and rises from 29th to 26th place.

Nescafé improved its brand value by a further seven percent, as did its parent company Nestlé, which rose to second place this year. Both brands are very well positioned globally. Nescafé is the largest coffee brand in the world and is constantly managing to inspire customers with new touchpoints, such as flagship coffee shops in Japan and South Korea or new social media channels. The online campaign #DatingDesaster was also well received by the young target group.

The second-placed Nestlé brand, which is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year, uses authentic storytelling to create a personal relationship with customers, thereby increasing both trust and brand value to CHF 7.974 billion - an excellent result overall for the Nestlé Group, which is once again represented in the 2016 ranking with three brands (Nescafé, Nestlé and Nespresso). This is also due to the Group's strategy of focusing on successful brands and spinning off less successful brands from the portfolio.

Rolex secured third place in the ranking with a brand value of 7.387 billion Swiss francs. Despite the threat of competition from Apple and the Apple Watch, the Swiss luxury watch manufacturer can score points with watch lovers thanks to its status, reliability, lasting value and timelessness. With a slight increase of two percent, the brand value remains stable.

The biggest climbers

LafargeHolcim recorded the highest growth in brand value this year. Following the merger, the brand value increased by 13% compared to the previous year. This is due to the increased sales volume resulting from the merger, the increased visibility in the market and the growth opportunities of the billion-euro group. However, a decision must first be made on the general continuation of the brand, which is now worth CHF 1.308 billion.
Audemars Piguet also increased its brand value: the value grew by eleven percent to CHF 961 million. This is mainly due to the strategy of bucking the industry trend, e.g. raising prices to be even more exclusive and desirable. Successful partnerships with Art Basel Hong Kong and the popular Royal Oak, the watch brand's core model, are helping to increase brand value.

The newcomers

This year's newcomers can also be regarded as the big winners in the ranking. Asset manager Pictet, flavor and fragrance manufacturer Givaudan, private bank Lombard Odier and Kaba, a security technology and access solutions company, were ranked 18th, 29th, 35th and 49th respectively this year.

With assets under management of CHF 437 billion and investment activities in more than 80 countries, Pictet is one of Europe's leading independent asset managers. Its core values of independence, continuity and adaptability win over clients and employees - creating a brand value of CHF 1.561 billion.

Givaudan, the world's largest manufacturer of flavors and fragrances, also occupies one of the coveted 50 places in the Swiss brand ranking this year with a brand value of CHF 841 million. This success was supported by last year's rebranding, which won numerous design and branding awards as well as public attention.

The private bank Lombard Odier was able to expand all three business areas last year and thus generate high earnings. With CHF 673 million, the brand is one of the Best Swiss Brands 2016.

The Kaba brand was the fourth new entry. The high brand value of CHF 230 million is the result of continuous investment in the brand, a consistent umbrella brand strategy and a new brand design. In addition, the merger with Dorma was managed well and ensures a strong balance sheet.

"The total value of all brands in the top 50 has risen proportionally despite the current difficult economic conditions. Many brands suffered from high fines or large one-off expenses," says Calin Hertioga, Brand Valuation Director at Interbrand in Zurich. "To summarize, the past year can be described as a year of waiting."

Further information can be found at Bestswissbrands.com and in the current issue of Bilanz from April 22, 2016. You can find the Top 50 as a PDF under this link.
 

According to Schweiz am Sonntag, Fluri, who saved the Miss Switzerland pageant four years ago with private money, has had enough of the "superficial" live broadcasts. The Zug real estate multimillionaire wants to invest the approximately CHF 800,000 production costs for the election show more sensibly in the future. There will continue to be several TV shows in which Miss is selected - but the grand finale, which once generated ratings in the millions and has fallen out of favor in recent years, will be dropped.

Fluri's first show of 2014 on Bern's Bundesplatz managed to lift ratings slightly from last year's all-time low (Werbewoche.ch reported), but was marked by mishaps and criticism in the public perception. In 2015, the Miss Switzerland organization rejected a significant quota increase However, this was due to a different survey method (net reach) compared with previous years.

Even more social, even more charitable: Miss Switzerland - here the reigning titleholder Lauriane Sallin - is to collect even more donations for good causes (photo: Miss.ch).

Unsurprisingly, Fluri now seems to have had enough and is saying goodbye to the traditional Miss procedure altogether. The pageant remains a beauty contest - the jury criteria are half appearance and half personality. However, the finalists and the title holder are now expected to be even more self-sacrificing and media-effective in their efforts on behalf of less privileged people. The winner receives a fixed salary and donates her earnings to charity.

Fluri's vision - the transformation of Miss from glamour starlet to ambassador with a heart - seems to be working despite headwinds. Even though the two previous titleholders were repeatedly accused in the media of being too lazy in their charitable commitment, the organization has evidently been able to save the lives of numerous children in the past two years through donation-financed heart operations. For example, Corelina, the Foundation for the Children's Heart, and Terre des Hommes, with the support of the Miss Switzerland organization, have been involved for a year in the construction of a children's heart center in Morocco. A project that is now being implemented, as shown on Miss.ch can be read. The ambassador of Corelina is Miss Switzerland Lauriane Sallin, the face of Terre des Hommes ex-Miss Laetitia Guarino. (hae)
 

Markus Somm has set off an avalanche. In the Radio 1 program "Roger vs. Follow-up of "Roger against Roger" - has Somm in favor of the SVP strategy of punishing the offending media with ad boycotts (Werbewoche.ch reported), showed a lot of understanding. His credo was that anyone who helped to finance the editorial team did not have to be taken to task by it. Somm, however, expressed himself in a somewhat more differentiated manner than he was subsequently accused of in some of the public discussions, which reached as far as Germany. The BaZ editor-in-chief explicitly said that the editorial team should also report critically on advertisers. However, he showed understanding for the fact that advertisers turn away when the editorial section one-sidedly and systematically relativizes - "stupidly belittles" - the content of paid advertisements.

After this position was supported by publisher president Lebrument, Dengler is the first representative of a major publisher to oppose Somm. This is reported by Schweiz am Sonntag in its current issue. Journalistic independence is the most valuable asset of a newspaper, according to Dengler. If an attitude like Somm's were to gain majority support, this would have dramatically negative consequences for democracy.

However, Dengler also sees something positive in Somm's comments: they have - intentionally or unintentionally - triggered a debate about the value of journalistic independence. This debate should be conducted within the Swiss Media Association, whose statutes call for the protection of entrepreneurial and journalistic independence.

Ringier: "It's always been like that".

In an interview with Schweiz am Sonntag, publisher Michael Ringier also comments on the discussion. He said that Somm and Lebrument's comments strengthened his conviction that it was "high time to leave". The statements are nothing new after all; there has always been tension between editorial staff and advertisers, Ringier said. "Sometimes we made mistakes, then we corrected them. Sometimes you forbid yourself attempts to influence and no longer receive ads. That's always been the case." The Blick newspaper would continue to criticize the Swisscom CEO's salary - despite Admeira - as long as the criticism was justified. Unjustified criticism means, for example, if the salary is compared with that of a federal councilor, because the Swisscom CEO can earn more money everywhere.

Incidentally, Somm - unsurprisingly - received backing from his Radio 1 talk predecessor, Weltwoche publisher and SVP National Councilor Roger Köppel in the "Arena" program on the revision of the asylum law. Somm was "absolutely right" - it could not be that one regularly read "in the editorial section the denial of the advertising section". (hae)

Köppel in the "Arena" on the subject:
 

In a detailed interview with Christof Moser and Patrik Müller, Ringier partially sidesteps the accusation that it is working with two state-owned companies as part of the joint advertising marketing company Admeira. Swisscom is a listed company and it remains to be seen whether it will be majority-owned by the Confederation for a long time to come. However, Ringier once again emphasized the much-heard foreign argument: 55 percent of the digital advertising pie goes abroad, and some of this must be taken back. He does not rule out the possibility that other media companies could also participate. "But we can't involve all publishers," the publisher adds. It's not about putting each other at a disadvantage - but about the fact that data is the only way to generate advertising. If we don't succeed in penetrating this business, we could "close up store".

Ringier takes sharp aim at the Swiss Media Association: it has no right to exist as long as part of the media reality is excluded. "We have to get the new players on board. Nobody needs a "Täubeli" association".

As far as the future and succession planning are concerned, the publisher is not letting his cards close to his chest. He emphasizes that he has successors. Ringier leaves it open as to whether CEO Marc Walder could one day follow in his footsteps. But he is clear: "It is clear that Ringier must remain the only company Marc has ever worked for".

"Should we only organize fashion nights?"

Michael Ringier is "fundamentally concerned" about journalism and its position in democracy. He wonders how elaborate journalism, which is "absolutely essential for a democratic society", will be financed in the future. Display advertising on smartphones could be forgotten and journalism financed by foundations would lose its roots in society. Ringier is also less than enthusiastic about the model of cross-financing newspapers via classified ads as in the past. It is also about the company's image: "Should we only finance classified ads? Organize fashion nights?" Without journalism, Ringier would become a different company.

But the publisher is not only concerned about Ringier itself - he is also worried about the competition. It is important that journalism remains in the right hands. If, for example, the NZZ were to fall into the wrong hands ("a wonderful prey"), Switzerland would lose an important voice and the country would miss something. (hae/Schweiz am Sonntag)

Photo: Ringier.ch