The NZZ Media Group combines journalistic standards and market orientation with great success. Now it is also uniting internally what belongs together: with a new publication published three times a year for the approximately 2,000 employees of Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Tagblatt Medien and LZ Medien, as well as the approximately 1,000 retired employees. The new Diagonal brings together the previous employee magazines NZZforum, LZ Journal and Infomedia, which were previously published by the companies themselves. And it does so without sacrificing any of the special features: The "regional" supplement in the center of the paper appears separately for each of the three regions.

With Diagonal, the NZZ Media Group not only bridges spatial distances, it also brings employees from different working worlds closer together. For example, with the "Encounters" series, in which employees from opposing professional fields discover differences and similarities in a joint conversation.

Festland supported the concept development, designed the layout and gave the latest medium of the NZZ media group its sonorous name.

Responsible at the NZZ Media Group: Bettina Schibli (Head of Corporate Communications) and Aylin Tutel (Corporate Communications employee)
 

Christian Loosli worked in brand management and marketing for leading cosmetics companies for over 15 years after his initial years of training in advertising agencies. Due to the highly emotional nature of brand management in the industry, he discovered the topic of neuromarketing early on and has developed into an expert in this field in recent years. His original comment on the move to the agency side: "I am delighted to be back on the agency side. This allows me to put the knowledge I have acquired with international brand providers at the service of SMEs".

Clients of the Basel agency, which has offices in Zurich and Bern, include the FIS World Ski Federation, the Swiss Football Association, ASAG, Novartis and the Baloise Group. Since 2011, the 11-strong team of consultants, project managers and designers has also been looking after Haix, the world's leading manufacturer of functional footwear for firefighters, police and emergency services.

Pascal D. Staub, owner and former Managing Director of M.a.d. Brand Care, is concentrating on additional entrepreneurial functions. As Chairman of the Board of Directors, he will continue to be available to the agency as a strategic consultant and key account manager.
 

The Theater an der Winkelwiese is kicking off the 2012 spring theater season with the successful play "Orphans" by British author Dennis Kelly. This will be followed by further productions, readings and political theme evenings. The Theater an der Winkelwiese, which has been one of the avant-garde theaters for German-language authors for years, will once again provide theatrical surprises this spring.

The new season is staged by Vizner Borel with the season magazine "Winkel", advertisements and F4 posters.

Responsible at Theater Winkelwiese: Stephan Roppel (overall responsibility) and Andrea Schmied (dramaturgy). Responsible at ViznerBorel: Lajos Vizner and Guillaume Borel (overall responsibility), Florian Steiner (art direction), Andrea Vizzarro (consulting), Friederike Brandenburg (photography) and Jonas Kuhnr (poster).
 

After more than ten years of agency experience, during which they have mainly designed and implemented cross-media campaigns as a team of two, they are now ready to take on new clients and new communication tasks under their own label, they write in a statement. Crossfive wants to address clients who are looking for consulting, conception and realization for advertising and communication and who want to reach their target group via print, online, social media, film and promotion.

Ehrat said that the concept for a seventh edition of the Tagblatt was being worked on at full speed. The financial consequences are also still being examined. The Board of Directors of Tagblatt Medien is expected to make a decision at the end of March. St. Gallen is one of the few regions that does not yet have its own regional Sunday newspaper. The current project is the third attempt by the St. Galler Tagblatt to launch a Sunday edition. (SDA)
 

Marketing is innovation, according to a press release. That's why Swiss Marketing is relying on the QR code for the communication campaign of the Swiss Marketing Day this year, in addition to internationally renowned speakers. The world record attempt in Arosa will be projected onto the Weisshorn flank in Arosa using a high-performance projector. The projection distance is 500m, the projection angle 35°. The record attempt will be accompanied by official inspectors and is expected to find its way into the Guinness Book of Records. Arosa Tourism, cooperation partner of the Marketing Day, is responsible for making the spectacular action possible.

The QR code is scanned with a cell phone app. Print products such as brochures, advertisements or posters can be supplemented with a QR code and lead to further information or directly to the order form. The code was developed in 1994 by the Japanese company Denso for production logistics.

Various QR codes have been developed for all information about the Swiss Marketing Day. The Marketing Day will take place on March 6, 2012 at the KKL Lucerne. Internationally renowned speakers such as Lord Sebastian Coe, Prof. Nirmalya Kumar and Dr. Richard David Precht will provide answers, suggestions and concrete recommendations for action on the topic of "Makers, Power and Markets" at the Swiss Marketing Day.

The cooperation between Rubmedia and Ast & Fischer consistently exploits synergy potential in production and enables both companies to expand their range of services in the areas of new media, premedia, printing and logistics, according to a statement issued on Thursday.

As part of this cooperation, the structures of Rubmedia and Ast & Fischer will be adapted, according to the statement. It is planned that the production staff of Rubmedia will be taken over by Ast & Fischer. This will also involve some retraining. All apprenticeships will continue unchanged. An expansion of the infrastructure was not possible for Rubmedia at the old location for reasons of space. Part of the previous premises at the Murtenstrasse location will continue to serve as a sales and service office in the future.

In the course of the year, Rubmedia will move production to Ast & Fischer in the Grünau Business Park in Wabern. The Grünau Business Park is a building oriented towards the graphic arts industry, close to the city, with excellent access for both private and public transport.

The two media companies will continue to operate independently in the market.

Ast & Fischer in Wabern employs around 70 staff and apprentices. Rubmedia (Rub Graf-Lehmann AG), previously based in Bern, employs around 50 people and apprentices. The core competencies of both companies are services in the areas of marketing and publishing services, new media, and premedia, as well as the production of printed publications.

In Appenzell dialect - optionally also in German, French or English - the iPad guide "Chläus" introduces visitors to the art of cheese-making. Simple, informative and sprinkled with a pinch of Appenzell humor, the personal guide reveals in about 40 minutes what it takes to turn a cheese into a real Appenzell cheese. In the Appenzell Folklore Museum, everything revolves around the alpine journey, embroidery and weaving as well as Appenzell painting for just under an hour. In addition, films, photos and further information can be called up. Directly from the iPad, you can also send your loved ones greetings from Stein by e-mail or send cheese recipes home.

"With the iPad guide, we have succeeded in adding value for guests," says a delighted Monika Storchenegger, Head of Marketing and Communication at the Appenzeller Käse Variety Organization. The Appenzell Show Dairy and the Folklore Museum have long offered guided tours. But these are too expensive for individual guests and, with the booking deadlines, are not suitable for spontaneous visitors. It was precisely these guests that the company wanted to address more specifically. Feedback from testers has been positive, and even older guests are getting along surprisingly well with the iPad, Storchenegger adds. "We are sure that with the iPad we have found a device that is easy to use and can always be further developed."

Responsible at SO Appenzeller cheese: Monika Storchenegger and Christian Gatsas. At the Appenzell show dairy: Simone Zuberbühler. At the Appenzell Folklore Museum: Sandra Nater and Sabine August. Responsible at Dreipol, Zurich: Nino Cometti (layout, programming and realization).

According to Blick.ch, TV satirist Mike Müller plays an ex-policeman disappointed by life in the crime thriller, who hunts down crooks together with a female inspector, played by Isabella Schmid. SF was able to win over "Tatort" director Markus Fischer to produce the series. As soon as the pilot episode is ready, SF management will decide whether to produce the series. Initially, six episodes are planned, to be broadcast weekly in the main evening program on SF 1.
 

To find out what mood the user is currently in, the test cell phone does not use sophisticated sensor technology, but a clever algorithm. This observes how the phone is being used. For example, it monitors the typing speed or how often the user enters certain characters and commands. The device also registers how often it is exposed to shocks. This should make it possible to recognize whether the person in front of the display is happy, sad, angry, anxious, surprised or disgusted. According to Hosub Lee from the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology, the individual inputs have little to do with emotions. However, there are certain correlations between their sequences and the mental state.

Lee sees numerous possible applications. For example, an automatically dialed ringtone could signal to the person on the other end of the line in advance what mood the caller is in. Or the phone could select pieces of music to calm its own owner, or show them funny pictures when they are sad ... Only time will tell whether the empathic cell phone will prove its worth. It is conceivable that it will soon become annoying and one or other of its owners will throw it angrily on the floor. Perhaps that is the actual purpose. After all, a new device will then be bought - hopefully another one from Samsung.

As a first measure, two TV commercials show in a tongue-in-cheek way that Ovomaltine gives energy that does good - but doesn't work miracles. In the first spot, a highly motivated kite-surfing beginner struggles with the pitfalls of the wind. In the second spot, travel preparations for the family almost drive an eager father to despair. Ovaltine, of course, provides the energy to keep going in both spots.

The TV commercials have just been launched in Germany and Austria. In Switzerland, the "Kite" spot can be seen on TV from January 16, while the "Holiday" spot will run on TV in a second wave from spring. Many other measures around the popular slogan will appear in the coming months.

Responsible at Ovomaltine: Beatrice Frei (Head of Marketing, overall responsibility), Bettina Marthaler (Marketing Manager Snack & Beverage), Sandra Stirnemann (Brand Manager Ovomaltine), Christina Kieni Römer (Head of Sales and Export), Stefan Kummer (Marketing & Sales Manager Export Markets). Responsible at SFLB: Martin Spillmann (ECD), Pablo Schencke, Johannes Raggio (CD), Andy Stäheli, Michael Gassler, Fiona Gottwald (Consulting), Anna Colby (Art Buying). Production Company: Pumpkin/Egg. Director: Martin Werner. Sound: Hastings.

The accuser's allegations date back to October 2008. At that time, the now 58-year-old Ueli Haldimann was still editor-in-chief of Swiss Television and had fallen out with a long-time cameraman. According to the indictment, Haldimann had called the employee a scumbag and a liar to a third party. Three weeks later, the cadre had an e-mail published within the editorial team. In it, Haldimann accused the plaintiff of having written down too much overtime.

The cameraman sued for defamation and demanded compensation of CHF 24,361 from the district court in addition to compensation for pain and suffering of CHF 5,000. He spoke of a fight for honor, as one cannot put up with everything. His reputation had been damaged by Haldimann.

Haldimann rejected the allegations, in particular the insults claimed by the plaintiff. These were not part of his "active vocabulary". His defense lawyer demanded a full acquittal and classified the e-mail as factually justified criticism in the context of a protracted work dispute.

Haldimann's statement "cheeky, but justifiable"

The court agreed with the defense and acquitted Haldimann. The first charge of defamation was not even considered due to a late criminal complaint. In the case of the e-mail, the court considered defamation to be objectively fulfilled. But not from a subjective point of view, as Haldimann could not be proven to have acted with intent. The court described Haldimann's wording as unfortunate and even cheeky, but justifiable in the overall context of the dispute. As a result of the acquittal, the costs of the investigation were borne by the state. (SDA)

(Image: Keystone)