Swiss ski racer Lara Gut is now officially showing her love for Ragusa, writes By Heart in a statement. As a new brand ambassador, she gives the traditional chocolate specialty from Camille Bloch a young face and brings momentum to the new advertising presence.

By Heart has now created a completely new brand identity for Ragusa and with Lara Gut. The centerpiece of this appearance is a series of short TV spots that will go "on air" from mid-October. In these films, the skiing talent shows her most spontaneous side. In each film, Lara Gut is asked a new question, which she answers with improvisational enthusiasm and usually not just seriously. In the process, Lara Gut parlays in all three national languages herself, which fits in with the popular chocolate bar that has always united the whole of Switzerland. Next year, Ragusa will be 70 years old. These films are a charming tribute to a cult brand that has always remained young.

Responsible at Chocolats Camille Bloch: Heinz Reber (Director Marketing and Sales), David Sommerhalder (Product Manager). Responsible at By Heart: Hans Siegwart (CD), Markus Bircher (Strategy/Planning), Martin Kurzbein (AD), Nonda Coutsikos (Graphic Design), Domenico Bless (Text), Natascha Breu (Realization), Misha Gambetta, Cécile Schurtenberger (Consulting). Production TVC By Heart + Mackat: Ariane de Siron (Producer), Alberto Meroni (Director), Niccolo Castelli (1st Assistant Director/Coach), Pietro Zuercher (Camera), Romeo Mori (Photography Lara Gut), Ruth Küng (Photography Food), Detail (Lithography). Post production Encore Pictures: Jürg Steudler (Producer). Animation & Trick: Le Mob; Music/Composition & Sound Design: Jingle Jungle. Media: Mediatonic (Marco Rose).

Twice a year, the Muotathal weathermen make forecasts for the coming six months. They make their predictions based on observations in nature - and each has their own specialty. One predicts the weather based on pine cones, another examines mouse holes. Martin Horat, on the other hand, predicts the weather using ants, among other things. Horat, also known as the "weather missionary", is also a walking weather encyclopaedia and knows his way around winter and snow data right back to the Middle Ages. Accordingly, Horat has already won the award for best weather missionary over 10 times.

Horat is now making his forecasting skills available to the whole world - in the latest commercial for Switzerland Tourism, he predicts a snowy and sunny winter. And he does so on the basis of ants, or more precisely: on the basis of the ants' thighs. If they have thicker thighs than usual, this is a sign that a snowy winter is imminent, says Horat. In the commercial, the ants also have "thighs like a ski racer". Horat also discovers ants from other countries in the commercial - another clear sign for the weather prophet.

Responsible at Switzerland Tourism: Jürg Schmid (overall responsibility/CEO), Nicole Diermeier (Head of Product Marketing Leisure), Karl Langensand (PM Winter). Responsible at Spillmann/Felser/Leo Burnett: Peter Brönnimann, Martin Spillmann, Dana Wirz (Creation), Rebecca Krausse, Sylvia Kohler, Heike Rindfleisch (Consulting), Suzana Kovacevic (TV Production). Production: Plan B. Directed by: Xavier Koller.

The new concert agency wants to focus somewhat away from the big acts on staging niche concerts in a wide variety of styles, as well as promoting and positioning up-and-coming artists in the market, Ringier wrote in a statement Monday.

Ringier and Deag will operate Starclick Entertainment AG as an independent concert agency. Both owners also own Good News Productions. In addition, the companies are also cooperating with The Classical Company in the classical music market. Good News Productions and Starclick Entertainment will be run as independent companies, operating on the market with a clearly different focus.
 

Tassi drew the best scenes. Even though he can't actually draw, as he says himself. On Tagesanzeiger.ch the drawings can be seen in a series of pictures. It's worth taking a look - even though, or perhaps precisely because, the man can't draw. In the "Comments" section, Tagesanzeiger.ch readers can describe other scenes that life absolutely never writes, but which regularly appear in films - also an amusing read.

The international jury of the Eurobest Festival, the European offshoot of the International Advertising Festival in Cannes, is once again receiving reinforcement from Switzerland this year. Diana Rossi, Creative Director at Spillmann/Felser/Leo Burnett, Alexander Jaggy, Creative Director at Jung von Matt/Limmat, Simone Döhring, Managing Director of Vizeum Switzerland in Zurich and Vérène Gaillard Christen, Managing Director of cR Kommunikation, will travel to Lisbon for this year's event and help evaluate the campaigns submitted from 37 countries.

The Eurobest Festival is taking place for the fourth time in the Portuguese metropolis of Lisbon, after Stockholm, Amsterdam and Hamburg. Entries can be submitted in the 13 categories "Film", "PR", "Print", "Outdoor", "Direct", "Promo & Activation", "Media", "Interactive", "Mobile", "Radio", "Design", "Craft" and "Integrated". Registrations and submissions are still possible until October 28, 2011 at www.eurobest.com.

The KMU Pool offers its members exclusive wholesale conditions and a versatile network, according to a statement. At the moment, it comprises around 2,300 members and 120 shareholders. Strategic partners include Migrol, Lavazza, IBA, Axel Springer Verlag and now Lackland Communications.

The first works will be on display towards the end of the year.
 

The 383 marketing decision-makers surveyed believe that the key factors for successful product management are an understanding of customer needs and behavior (80.7 percent), the ability to innovate (47.8 percent), cross-departmental collaboration within the company and strategic anchoring (43.1 percent each). The customer is also considered the most important source of inspiration for product innovations: "Customer service/sales" is seen as the most important source of information for internal company drivers, while "personal customer contact" is seen as the most important source of information for external company drivers.

Customer focus and sustainability as key trends

The analysis of trends in this field of work also shows a strong focus on the customer: In first place is the trend "focus on customer needs", followed by "sustainability and environmental compatibility" as well as "innovation" and "shorter product life cycles/shorter time to market". Due to the great importance of the "sustainability and environmental compatibility" trend, it is in the interest of product management to see it in a larger, strategic context, as it contributes to the economical use of resources and thus to reducing costs.

Increasing internationalization

A good two thirds of respondents operate internationally (70.1%). They see the advantage of serving different national markets primarily in improving their competitive position (77.4 percent) and achieving economies of scale (49.0 percent). Product adaptations to cultural differences are only made with restraint, mainly in terms of services and pricing. Managing the balancing act between global economies of scale and local adaptations is a strategic challenge that future product management will have to meet.

About the study
The "International Product Management" study will be conducted both in Switzerland (Part 1) and abroad (Part 2, planned for 2012). The study provides in-depth insights into the success factors, challenges and trends in international product management. A total of 383 randomly selected decision-makers from the marketing departments of medium-sized and large Swiss companies were surveyed.

The study can here be ordered.
 

With the new online style guide "Check your style" the Zurich animal protection wants to warm up young people for fur-free fashion, as it says in a message. Fashion expert Yannick Aellen was invited to help create the guide. Aellen, among other things casting director for Heidi Klum and fashion show producer in Europe's metropolises, selects with a team of fashion scouts the best that Zurich has to offer in terms of fur-free style. The Advertising clip for "Check your style" runs on e-panels, e-boards and adscreens in Zurich HB, Sihlcity, Letzipark and Coop-Pronto (ZH) until mid-December.

The Zurich Animal Protection thus continued to focus on dialogue with the target group "Twenty Plus" in matters of fur, it continues. "We want to convince by offering something concrete and informing about it without polemics," says managing director Bernhard Trachsel. The style guide has been used in previous years as a Print version distributed on the street. "With the online version and social media, we are closer to the people, faster and more sustainable." The campaign with the style tips will run until the beginning of 2012.

As Apple also announced on Monday, more than 25 million customers are already using the iOS 5 mobile operating system in the first five days since its release, and more than 20 million customers have signed up for iCloud.

iPhone 4S is currently available in the USA, Australia, Germany, France, the UK, Japan and Canada. It will be available in 22 other countries from October 28 and in more than 70 countries by the end of the year.
 

On the Facebook page of Melectronics, there is now something for bargain hunters to grab, according to a statement on Monday. From October to December 2011, Facebook fans of the Migros electronics store will be offered weekly promotions. At the start of the "Melelectronics Deal" there is 20 percent off all navigation devices in the range. The limited discount coupons for Facebook fans can be redeemed in all larger Melectronics stores or in the online store.

"In the future, we would like to offer our more than 250,000 Facebook fans and the Migipedia community more exclusive services. With this pilot project, we will gain important experience in the area of social commerce in order to be prepared for future projects. We are convinced that social commerce is more than just a trend," explains Kevin Lancashire, Head of Operations Online Services at Migros.
 

One of the aims of the new subjects is to highlight the fact that Lienhardt & Partner provides long-term investors with access to shares in unlisted Swiss companies with strong substance, such as Swiss mountain railroads or Swiss breweries.

The advertisements appear exclusively in the NZZ.

Responsible at Lienhardt & Partner Privatbank Zurich: Markus Graf (CEO, Director Private Banking), Christian Lienhardt (Managing Partner, Director Risk Management & Finance), Patrick Besenfelder (Head Business Development). Responsible at Ruf Lanz, Zurich: Markus Ruf, Danielle Lanz (CD), Maren Beck, Andreas Hornung, Markus Ruf (text), Isabelle Hauser (art direction), Heike Rindfleisch, Doelkar Monkhar (consulting).
 

October 16 will be dedicated to Jobs in honor of his life and work. This was announced by California Governor Jerry Brown on Saturday. Steve Jobs embodied the Californian dream, the statement said, according to SDA. His innovations transformed an entire industry and the products he designed and brought to market changed the way the world communicates.

A private memorial service for the former Apple boss was also planned for Sunday at Stanford University. Jobs, who had been suffering from cancer for years, died on October 5 at the age of 56.