What it's about: Actually, I don't know what it's about. Perhaps Swiss wants to make it clear to us that it is an airline and not a sac knife.

My thesis: New CEO, new CI. It was a necessary change and also a graphically perfect solution to have Karl Gerstner modernize the old, aerodynamic, original Swissair lettering - the tail fin with the cross designed with the two enlarged i-dots parallel to the W. The new logo was also a necessity after the belly landing. The need for a new name and a new logo after the belly landing was also a necessity. It was unnecessary even then that the foreigner Tyler Brule had to design it, as if the Swiss graphic designers had been incapable of doing so. Nevertheless, the solution was perfect.

But now this nouveauté. An unnecessity par excellence. What current reasons have made it necessary to invent a new logo, the CEO Harry Hohmeister has not communicated. I could not imagine any current reason, unless business is good, one is underemployed, and something has to happen. Dear Walter Bosch, you are sitting there as Vice Chairman of the Board. If you had asked me for my opinion, I would have advised you not to change anything for a fraction of this budget. I doubt whether 9 million is enough at all. It's not just the two squares on the engines, but also the lettering on the nose that needs to be changed. In addition, tickets, travel agencies, luggage stickers, the Internet and many other details have to be changed and old things have to be destroyed. A total unnecessity. Let's take a closer look at the new monstrosity.

Gerstner's parallel tail fin has now become a more or less realistic fin, a decapitated, crooked pyramid. Was this intended to make it clear that this is an airline? The "Swiss" lettering has lost its i-dot to make it uppercase. This also did away with the dot on the "i". The whole design has not been created with much nose or has been discussed down to a miserable solution by a 10-member committee. A missed opportunity that should never have been commissioned in the first place. In an earlier Motz, I outlined that Coca Cola's marketing director was later fired because of a logo change. I wouldn't be surprised to see the whole thing corrected back to Gerstner's Swissair logo in three years. With two i-dots. I'm sorry if - after so many people have already been upset about this crap - I'm also adding my two cents. But the deadline for my Motz is a week before publication, and I still couldn't leave the topic as a found food for this reason. The set-up is that the first and business class magazine "Universe" of Swiss (old CI) has printed a 5-page article about Inges and my small winery in Tuscany.

Never change a winning campaign. Following the relaunch of the Modissa brand a year ago, Cavegnwerbung's strategy and its implementation proved to be extremely successful. For this reason, the positioning of the Modissa brand will be continued in the spirit of continuity. In order to continue to set itself apart from the world of fast-moving trends, Modissa is once again building on the motto "fashion instead of lifestyle" this season. The target audience of women in their mid-thirties does not change its tastes with every trend, but seeks the style of great fashion. The campaign continues to express this through large-scale, striking motifs. The images stage the journey of classic fashion from the design sketch to the dress that outlasts the season. Markus Cavegn works with "key visuals without much advertising text". Just one claim: "I know what I want." pan

 

Spanning 264 pages full of inspiration and information, the 2012 Pfister catalog shows «how to improve your quality of life within your own four walls,» as CD Max Weber and consultant Thomas Harbeke explain. This main catalog was created for the second time at the Weber Harbeke Partners creative studio in Zurich. Of these, 17 pages were designed by Studio Achermann. This section showcases the latest from the Swiss design collection Atelier Pfister.

The theme of quality of life is unmistakably present throughout the entire catalog, including in the evocative portraits by photographer Andrea Disglas and stylist Marianne Kohler. These images feature people who have created their very own special favorite spots using furniture and accessories from Pfister. The catalog is supplemented with information on Pfister’s many services, ranging from in-home consultations to delivery and assembly, all the way to a custom-made service accurate to the centimeter. Pfister also operates its own «Sleep Competence Center.» The main catalog is distributed specifically to over one million households in all three of Switzerland’s national languages.

Largest Online Store Pfister has 21 stores across Switzerland. In addition, this long-established company now operates the industry’s largest Swiss online store, featuring thousands of pieces of furniture, rugs, curtains, and accessories. Carlos Friedrich has been the new Head of Marketing Communications at Pfister in Suhr since January 2010; he previously held the same position at IKEA Switzerland, where he was responsible for many innovative ideas. Andreas Panzeri

 

The reason for this is our great Radio and Television Act (RTVG), according to which a broadcaster or the company that owns it can acquire a maximum of two television licenses and two radio licenses. The issue of more than two television licenses was not a problem when AZ Medien took over, because TeleZüri does not have a license at all. In retrospect, Tamedia can therefore only be glad that TeleZüri did not receive a license; that certainly made the sale to an established publisher easier. The sale of the radio stations is now more difficult. Selling both radios in a package to one person or to a company is only possible if the company does not yet own a licensed radio station. And whether this is really a good prerequisite for the successful continuation of the two stations may be doubted. Even if some people from outside the industry would probably still find it exciting to own two radio stations.

Radio 24 alone should have no problem finding a buyer. All those who today only have a radio license and are interested in a successful radio station in an economically strong region could be interested. This goes from Hagemann, Heeb, Gut to Schawinski. The neo-SF talk show host would surely be only too happy to buy back his old station. Then he would have a second mainstay in addition to his radio for adults. The only question is what price he wants to pay for it. At the time, Schawinski paid a lot of money for radio and Tele 24. Connoisseurs think too much money, so Tamedia's willingness for a favorable selling price for Schawinski should be rather low.

Finding a buyer for Radio FM will not be that easy. On the one hand, radio and television are closely linked structurally and technically in the Espace media house in Bern (nota bene with the newspaper as well!). And then Radio FM is the number 2 in Bern and therefore not necessarily so attractive for a buyer outside the greater Bern area. On the other hand, it could be interesting for the Bernese Oberland, Emme or Canal3 radios. The only question is who is willing and able to pay a decent price. RadioBeo, with its enterprising and active boss Mürner, is the most likely to do so.

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

For a long time, there were only two Sunday titles in German-speaking Switzerland, Tamedia's SonntagsZeitung and Ringier's SonntagsBlick - until 2002, when the NZZ Group launched its NZZ am Sonntag. Four years later, some regional publishers also sensed a Sunday goldmine: Südostschweiz am Sonntag was launched in 2006, followed by AZ Medien's Sonntag in 2007 and Zentralschweiz am Sonntag, the seventh edition of the Neue Luzerner Zeitung, in 2008. Then came the crisis years, which meant that Sundays became quiet again. No wonder, as most Sunday titles also lost advertising volume: while the Sunday press (Switzerland as a whole) still generated advertising revenue of CHF 210.5 million in 2008, this fell to just CHF 154 million in 2010 (-26%). Some titles, such as SonntagsZeitung (SoZ) and NZZ am Sonntag (NZZaS), even lost 30 percent of their advertising volume (only commercial advertisements, excluding classified ads). As a result, staff and quality were cut everywhere. In any case, readership figures also began to fall with the crisis. Only Südostschweiz am Sonntag (SOSo), which steadily expanded its early delivery area, and Zentralschweiz am Sonntag (ZaS), the youngest Sonntagsblatt, made marginal gains.

> Read more about this in the current print edition of Werbewoche.
 

Are there any similarities between the Ehec virus, the third stock market crash in just a few years, the ever-inflating rescue packages for Greece, Italy and other countries that are actually bankrupt, the U-turn in nuclear policy and presumably also the rampage of a madman who terrorized Norway? At first glance, very little, except that these are events that have absorbed all our attention in recent weeks and months. At second glance, quite a lot. After all, there are good reasons to put forward the bold thesis that these events would not have happened at all or would have happened very differently if the media and journalism had played their role as they should in the much-vaunted public interest.

This "public interest" is, of course, criminally neglected in day-to-day business. If journalists had done their research before trumpeting alarms, the Ehec circus would not have happened. If the watchdogs had really paid attention, there would have been no need for the bailouts or the last stock market crash. It would simply never have gotten to the point where the political elites around Europe believe they can make laws that others should obey, but not themselves. Perhaps the euro would never have existed, but at least journalists would have warned us in good time that the bankruptcy vulture was circling over several countries. If the media had not kept looking the other way, sometimes for years, the energy transition in Switzerland and Germany would have been initiated less abruptly and with less absurd results - but much earlier. Because then it would not have been triggered by Fukushima, but by the question of how to dispose of and store nuclear waste, which has always remained unresolved. Conversely, if the media in France and the Czech Republic did less court reporting, hardly any nuclear power plants there would be able to continue producing electricity after Fukushima, which they have been feeding into the grids of neighboring countries ever since. And the terrorist attack in Norway is also difficult to imagine if other attackers had not previously sought and - quite predictably - received worldwide media attention. Is it an exaggeration to assume that the media, instead of informing us, often contributes to our individual and collective loss of reality?

We are all overwhelmed by the reality constructed by the media. We can confidently assume that a growing proportion of the population is dreaming of simple solutions - and probably also secretly dreaming of the strong man. This is a highly explosive situation that endangers democracy. The end of the world seems imminent - once again and actually every day. On the one hand, there is the staccato with which the media and journalism take our breath away. But television also distracts us from reality with its soaps and allows us to escape into virtual worlds. It "infantilizes" us, as the semiotician Umberto Eco noted years ago. The same could probably be said of free newspapers or YouTube. Even if media impact researchers rightly warn against overly simple

Explanatory models warn that the effects of stultification and neglect can hardly be denied when television, with its orgies of violence and self-exposure talk shows, is in constant use not only as a baby sitter, but also as a sitter for small children, adolescents, the unemployed and the elderly.

Certainly, we should not fall into the mistake of the ancient Greeks of punishing the bearers of bad news. However, in view of the desolate situation and the increasing amount of bad news, it is time to publicly address the collateral damage caused by the media on a daily basis - precisely because they not only carry out neutral news transport work, but often sensationalize news, and because the media wind machines repeatedly scare us. The following connection cannot be proven with absolute certainty - but there is much to suggest that political populism, which has begun its march through the institutions in Western democracies and is either already in power or threatens to become a majority, would have far less chance of success without the populist background music of many media outlets. The damage that tycoons like Berlusconi and Murdoch - but also many media entrepreneurs who avoid the limelight like the devil avoids holy water - have done to our societies is certainly considerable. It is probably far greater than what the media themselves have made visible when they occasionally scandalize media moguls.

And: The loss of reality already begins at school - when teachers fail to explain such connections because neither economics nor media studies are sufficiently anchored in the curriculum.
 

Steve Jobs submitted his resignation to the Board of Directors today and strongly recommended that the Board implement his succession plan and appoint Tim Cook as CEO. As Jobs wrote in a short letter to the Board of Directors, he can no longer fulfill the tasks and expectations at the top of the company. Apple wrote this in a media communiqué on Thursday.

As COO, Cook was responsible for the company's worldwide sales and operational processes, including the management of Apple's entire supply chain, sales operations, service and support in all markets and countries. He also led Apple's Mac division and played a key role in further developing relationships with strategic resellers and suppliers to ensure flexibility in increasingly demanding markets.

Apple founder Steve Jobs had to leave the company in the 1980s at the insistence of shareholders at the time. When he returned in 1997, Apple was a "virtually bankrupt company with no ideas", as Handelsblatt.com described it. Jobs turned Apple around. Steve's extraordinary vision and leadership saved Apple and made it the most innovative and valuable technology company in the world, says Art Levinson, Chairman of Genentech, on behalf of Apple's Board of Directors. Jobs has made countless contributions to Apple's success and his style has captivated and inspired the company's employees and leadership team. Steve will continue to serve Apple in his new role as Chairman of the Board.

The Supervisory Board has full confidence that Tim is the right person to be the next CEO, adds Levinson. He has already been with Apple for 13 years.

Letter from Steve Jobs

To the Apple Supervisory Board and the Apple community:

I have always said that if the day ever came when I could no longer fulfill my duties and expectations as CEO of Apple, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come.

I hereby resign as CEO of Apple. I would like to serve, if the Board deems it possible, as Chairman of the Board, a member of the Board and an employee of Apple.

As for my successor, I strongly recommend that we fulfill our succession plan and appoint Tim Cook as CEO of Apple.

I believe that Apple's best and most innovative days are yet to come. And I look forward to seeing and contributing to Apple's success in a new role.

I have made some of the best friends in my life at Apple and I thank you all for the many years I have been able to work alongside you.

Steve
 

Jasmin Ouertani has a Master's degree in organizational and business psychology. She has also gained professional experience in an international Swiss bank and has a broad knowledge of banking. In her new role as Junior Consultant, she will support projects in the core areas of compensation and performance management as well as long-term remuneration studies.

As an application developer, Clemens Schweizer has acquired very broad specialist knowledge and valuable experience in the database environment. Most recently, he worked as an IT trainer in an innovative, international technology group. He supports the team in the technical area, especially in analyzing, organizing and visualizing business-related data.
 

She didn't actually want to go. After all, Silvana E.S. Leasi had only just returned from Rome, where she had celebrated her 30th birthday, the night before the marketing diploma ceremony. And she didn't have the feeling that she had done exceptionally well in the exam. But then came the call from Lex Ambühl. The principal of Simakom in Lucerne, where Leasi had prepared for the exam, knew that one of his 34 students had scored quite impressively in the marketing specialist exam. So Ambühl called Leasi: "You're coming to the graduation ceremony in Interlaken too, aren't you?" Leasi couldn't say no. She was not to regret it.

Unusual path

On June 25 of this year, Leasi was the big winner. She won the Swiss Marketing Award as the best of all 683 successful graduates. And with an average grade of 5.5, which had never been achieved before. On top of this, Leasi also won the award in the oral marketing category. This concentration of achievements is unusual. Even more unusual, however, is Leasi's career: before her triumph as a budding marketing specialist, the Lucerne native had already achieved success as an academic, completing a five-year degree in psychology at the University of Bern. The path from a diploma to a federal certificate is completely new, even for Head of School Ambühl: "In the history of our school, which dates back to 1999, I've never seen anything like it." He certainly thinks it's a clever move: "I'm fascinated by the way Silvana Leasi has followed up her highly theoretical studies with further training in a practical environment. A highly intelligent move!" What prompted Leasi to add a federal FA to her lic. phil. degree? A new work situation, a recommendation, an experience - and her innate urge to expose herself to new situations and benefit from them: that's probably how you could summarize it in telegram style.

Communicating at eye level

Leasi knows first-hand what a federal certificate is worth: "My brother has a federal certificate as an accountant, so I knew what it meant." And even if the academic herself had not initially planned to obtain such a certificate, it became an issue after her studies when she was employed as a consultant at the Hergiswil-based market research company GfK: "My switch there from quantitative to qualitative market research brought me into increased contact with marketing managers and CEOs from all kinds of industries - from construction to pharmaceuticals. "I increasingly realized that I lacked a marketing background." Leasi began to look around for further training that could help her here. A postgraduate degree, which would have led to a Master's degree, would have been appropriate. Within the company, however, she was advised to obtain a marketing specialist certificate. This was advice that she took - also in view of her brother's good experiences.

Her impression today: "It was the right choice. The postgraduate course would have been pure theory again, whereas the specialist certificate is much more 'down to earth'. It's pure practice." Of course, there were also critical voices here and there about her unconventional decision to continue her education: "Are you really going to sit in a classroom with the assistants now?" Leasi heard, for example. Gossip that doesn't bother her. Because now, with this specialist certificate in my backpack, "I can really communicate with our contacts at eye level - that's worth a lot in my day-to-day work." An everyday tool such as customer relationship management, or CRM for short, is something Leasi can now talk about off the cuff. Product life cycle? A familiar thing, let's talk about it.

Doctor's hat or marketing manager?

It is rare for someone to choose a practice-oriented course after their academic education. It is therefore all the more interesting to find out first-hand from such a person what the differences are between university and preparation for the marketing specialist certificate. One difference, says Leasi, lies in the workload: "I continued to work 100% alongside the preparation time at Simakom - that was already a burden alongside school." Although she also worked during university, her study work was clearly her "main job". Leasi does know how to juggle different tasks. After all, she prepared for the Markom entrance exam herself. However, the double burden - a job at GfK in the world of practice, alongside her time at marketing school in a practice-oriented environment - was a real challenge: "I basically had two main jobs." And yet Leasi would also recommend this path to others who come from university and want to acquire the practical skills afterwards: "It's a good thing in terms of time and money, it's a recognized and valuable degree, and it gives you new perspectives." If she were to lead a team herself one day, says Leasi, "and if I had people from university in that team, then I would advise them to do a marketing specialist course. You understand the customer even better afterwards and speak their language." Or to put it more succinctly: "Beforehand, you understand what people are talking about. But with the specialist certificate, you really get it." The only question that remains is whether Leasi would rather bet on academic or practical training. This is where quick-thinker Leasi, who is otherwise always on the spot with a well-formulated answer, becomes a little thoughtful for the first time: "No paths have been prepared yet," she says, "but if marketing remains my main direction, then the case should be clear. Then the head of marketing is certainly closer to me than the doctorate."

Take it leasi

What can you learn from a newly qualified marketing specialist who passed the exam with such flying colors? Silvana Leasi can help with a few tips. But she doesn't have any miracle cures up her sleeve: "Doing nothing definitely doesn't work."

As a neuropsychologist, Silvana Leasi naturally approaches the topic of knowledge transfer and internalization with a profound background knowledge: "Learning can be trained," says the Lucerne native, "anyone can learn well. It's simply always about anchoring the material with a good amount of repetition." This, says Leasi, strengthens the synapses, making the brain's convolutions glow so that the information read or heard fits together and networks. Of course, this requires the discipline to sit down to learn and repeat even when you don't feel like it. Of course, there is a somewhat bland element to repetition. You have to put up with it and take the positives out of the process with all its redundancies - the constant qualitative deepening of the material. Which leads to the second general tip: "Never lose the fun. The fun of continuing education, but also the fun of life alongside continuing education. If you want to put the whole thing into a claim, you could come up with this, for example: Good learning is like a cocktail. A mixture of equal parts repetition, discipline and fun. Because unfortunately no one has ever become a master without work, here are three tips on how to achieve top performance à la Leasi:
- Solve case studies. But not just one. But another one. And another one. And another one. Case studies are the be-all and end-all of exams. Anyone who recognizes the methodology in particular has already taken a big step forward.

- Show presence. Theoretical knowledge is not only acquired by cramming at home, but above all at school. Clever students can even save themselves a lot of study time at home by concentrating on their work at school.

- Be disciplined. Even if your head is buzzing after a night of debauchery, if you've decided to sit down for three hours on a Sunday afternoon, then you really should do it.

Power in practice: Headmaster Lex Ambühl and Silvana Leasi.

Cleared at the Marketing Specialist Diploma
celebration: Swiss Marketing President Uwe Tännler
with award winner Silvana Leasi.

As of now decide under Pr-bild-award.ch/categories PR professionals, media spokespersons and journalists, which company will win the industry award. The public vote will run until October 09. The winner will then be announced in November.

There are six categories to choose from for the award: Corporate Communications, Product Photo, Events and Campaigns, Portrait and NGO Photo. Companies could additionally apply for the special category Tourism. This year, the PR Image Award received more than 1,500 entries. This is the sixth time the industry award has been presented. It is open to entries in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Swiss motifs in the shortlist:

Category: Events and campaigns
By the way

Category: Product photo
KWT Refrigeration and heat engineering

Category: Product photo
Atlas Copco (Switzerland)

Category: Portrait
Sebanex.com

Category: Portrait
Federation of Migros Cooperatives

Category: Portrait
Mocoffee

Category: Portrait
Swiss Radio and Television SRF

Category: Tourism
Tourist enterprise Grächen

Category: Tourism
Sebanex.com

Category: Tourism
Switzerland tourism

Category: Tourism
Syn for design

 

WW: What led to Andy Hostettler now running a hotel?
Andy Hostettler: First of all and very importantly, I don't run a hotel, it's my wife Marie-Anne who runs the hotel as Directrice. I simply help her with the things she doesn't have time or energy for. The 110-liter garbage bag in the breakfast kitchen can get pretty heavy. Seriously, of course, we talk about the everyday madness of her new job. People generally think that managing such a small hotel is an easy job. But even with 16 rooms, she has a lot on her plate. Especially because she has high standards when it comes to hospitality and quality.

What led the CEO of TBWA to this "side job"?
It may sound a bit cheesy, but my wife and I were already talking on our second date about the fact that we want to have a pension at some point when we're old. I think the basic motivation is that we both really like having people around us. Preferably our friends, of course, but also new acquaintances. We started the project a good two years ago, accompanied by the song "Das Haus am See" by Peter Fox. In one passage it says: "People come by, I don't need to go out." Anyone who listens to this song in full knows why we do it. It's a feeling.

And how does a feeling become concrete?
A good two years ago, after we realized that our apartment was getting a little too small. We had a little daughter - something we wanted, but hadn't calculated in square meters. This gave us the idea to start the dream a little earlier. But in such a way that I could continue to work in Zurich.

What is the concept of the Ermatingerhof and which target group is addressed?
Coming home, warmth and joy. We have given the Ermatingerhof an additional designation. La Belle Epoque on Lake Constance. Both the interior design with floors and wallpaper and the interior furnishings hark back to the period between 1895 and 1914 - albeit in a mixture borrowed from the east coast of America. A journalist used the term Atlantic Style, which we wouldn't have guessed, but "it's just right"! The previous owner had run the hotel purely as a business hotel. It is close to the Wolfsberg and Lilienberg training centers and receives some guests from these institutions. Local industry - from Kreuzlingen to Frauenfeld and Winterthur - also regularly have their visitors stay with us. Our aim, and it seems to be working, is to turn these business people into spa vacation guests and to build up a new clientele who also come to us at weekends and on vacation.

There are various supporting programs on your website. What new paths are you planning to take here?
These are not fundamentally new paths, but Marie-Anne runs the hotel like a travel agency. It's amazing how many people know very little about what there is to do on Lake Constance. Marie-Anne helps them with this and everyone is usually happy. She organizes group programmes, especially for seminar guests, and knows the best places and restaurants, as well as nice pubs and shopping experiences.

Who does the advertising for the hotel?
The client is my wife. My daughter Reana is the creative director. She did a great job, from the corporate design to the website, all the brochures, event brochures, advertisements, but she also designed the wallpaper herself. She is a graphic designer and works in the creative department at Megura in Baden/Wettingen.

And Andy Hostettler? Will he still have some time left as CEO of TBWA?
A little, a lot actually. It's very exciting at the agency at the moment, we're involved in a lot of pitches and we're constantly expanding our strengths in the digital and media sectors. Interview: Andreas Panzeri Use the observer's expertise for your company -

"You solve problems when they're there. Not before." So far, this motto has kept Melanie Schneider from thinking barriers. In her free time, the PR expert likes to travel, because that also broadens one's horizons. Her destinations don't necessarily have to be far away: For several years, Schneider has been discovering Switzerland on ever new tours through all the cantons. Water has a special attraction for her: "If there's a stream, a river or a lake somewhere, I can spend hours there and just enjoy it."

Melanie Schneider (39) actually wanted to become a dragon catcher. She was inspired to pursue this career by her father, a geologist who had discovered dinosaur tracks. But that's the way life goes: There is no job available in the dragon catching industry at the moment. That's why Schneider decides to go to business school first - the start of an impressively straightforward and diverse communications career. "I was eager to get a hands-on education, to dive right into the job," Schneider says. "That's why I decided against going to college." She finds her first job in 1990 at AWI Aussenwerbung Intensiv in Zurich. There she gains insight into marketing, advertising and the human resources department and eventually becomes assistant to the managing director. During this time, Schneider devotes herself to advertising in a particularly hands-on way: "I accompanied the billposters for a while and tried to stick posters myself," she says. "But unfortunately, I failed completely. The posters stuck everywhere but on the billboard. Nevertheless, it was exciting not only to look behind the commercial scenes of the company, but also to work 'outside'. I just like to grab and go."

In 1992, after two and a half years at AWI, Schneider felt the urge to go abroad. She spent a year in Paris learning "the most beautiful language in the world," as she put it. After her return, she joined the Zurich-based Telekurs, now Six Group, in the "Services and Personnel" department. The company handled financial information and payment transactions for the banking and finance industry in Switzerland. There, Schneider gained experience in human resources. She is fascinated by contact with people and their stories. "At the beginning, I thought: Hmmm, finance and IT, no idea," she recalls. "But then I got to know very different personalities who didn't fit the classic image of a banker or programmer at all and couldn't be pigeonholed. It was very exciting to find out from each individual what their vision of life was and to accompany them on their journey.

In 1994, the lure of foreign countries returned: together with a friend, Schneider went on a world tour. The two spent two years touring India, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, the South Pacific and the USA. Schneider gains insight into different cultures and ways of life, repeatedly pushes herself to her limits and practices making decisions in every situation. This world trip is one of Schneider's most valuable experiences - and she dreams of repeating the tour again before she turns 70: "I have the desire, 40, 50 years later, to see what the places I've been to look like. That's my dream, maybe even a plan, I don't really know yet."

Do a campaign

After her trip around the world, Schneider is welcomed back to Telekurs with open arms. For a short time, she works on an international IT project, until the head of HR approaches her and suggests she switch completely to communications. "I've known you for some time now: communications is your thing," he says. "PR was still a foreign word to me at that time," Schneider says. "Only with advertising had I had a little contact. But learning what exactly was behind the term interested me, so I joined Telekurs' PR department." Schneider produces giveaways and annual reports, organizes employee events, annual press conferences and press appointments, and gets to know PR in all its facets. While working, she completed her PR assistant and PR consultant degrees and added a coaching course on top. "When I did the coaching training, I didn't have it in mind to earn a living," Schneider explains. "Rather, I wanted to learn tools that would enable me to listen even more specifically and focus on the solution. Because listening is very important in our profession and as inspiration for developing a communication solution."

After a good two years in the Telekurs PR department, Schneider is looking for a new challenge. A friend tells her about the Internet start-up The Blue Window, which will become Bluewin in 2002. It's the time when the Internet is very gradually making a name for itself, and Schneider wants to know what's behind it. Is the Internet really the window to the world? She joins the advertising department of the small company and initially takes care of PR. But after a short time, advertising and marketing are also among her responsibilities. "Suddenly, the CEO said to me, 'Do a campaign, Melanie,'" Schneider recounts. "Above all, the CEO wanted to know how much the campaign would cost. And it should be ready yesterday if possible. I didn't think that was the right approach and wanted to know what the goal of the campaign was. Finally, within three weeks, together with the advertising agency at the time, I created a campaign that represented the simplicity of the Internet. Our symbol for it was water that just flows. But until we got there - that was hard work." Schneider has found success with her first advertising effort and can savor the beautiful feeling that her campaign's message was understood. Still, she feels more at home in PR than in advertising: "The foray into advertising was very exciting and educational for me, but PR suits me more. Compared to mass communication, PR is closer to the content and, even if it sounds hackneyed by now, content is king. In addition, the dialog with the target group and with the media that report on a company, a product or a service is closer in PR than in advertising. That makes targeting easier."

In 2002, the Internet hype begins: "The Blue Window" becomes Bluewin, and Schneider accompanies the company's planned IPO - as Head of Corporate Communications and media spokesperson. In 2004, when the Internet service provider merged with Swisscom's fixed-network division, Swisscom Fixnet, she was also closely involved. She positio¬ns the brand and takes care of brand management. In addition, Schneider assumes responsibility for sponsoring and events. "A particularly nice moment for me was when Tom Lüthi became world champion in 2005, sponsored by Bluewin," she enthuses.

In 2008, after almost ten years in ever-changing positions at Bluewin and Swisscom, Schneider felt it was time for something new again. The only question is what - after all, she had already made it to Head of Communications at Swisscom Fixnet/Bluewin. And moving to an agency? Usually, you move from the agency side to the corporate side, not the other way around. "What do I care what people usually do?" Schneider thinks to herself, and takes over as head of the PR unit at Jung von Matt/Limmat. She and Dominique von Matt have known each other for some time through mandates Jung von Matt handles for Swisscom. "I had survived the pace of the Internet and trusted myself to also handle the speediness that is required in an agency well," says Schneider. "The five-person team I took over had already put together a lot of great stuff. I was able to bring two of my greatest strengths to the table in a complementary way: structured thinking and working, and a focus on the long-term impact of PR efforts." Combined with the speed and inventiveness of the Jung-von-Matt people, it's the perfect mix: the team is enjoying success with strategic corporate communications, cross-media campaigns and media relations for the service, consumer goods, healthcare, tourism and non-profit industries. Business is good. That's why Schneider didn't react immediately when she was asked at the end of 2010 whether she wanted to join Open up as a partner.

"I knew the agency, after all, I've been walking past it every day for ten years," says Schneider. "I found the client portfolio exciting, but saw no reason to change jobs." But the agency persists. A short time later, Schneider met the two owners of Open up, Kilian Borter and Urs Thaler, at an event. The chemistry is right, the goals of the three coincide, and their qualifications complement each other perfectly. "I felt very comfortable at Jung von Matt," says Schneider. "But Open up's impressive mandates, specialization in PR and the option to help shape the agency as a partner really appealed to me. Moreover, the agency has been in existence for ten years. A good sign." In short: Schneider informs her employer about her ambitions and holds talks with Borter and Thaler. In July, she becomes a partner at Open up.

Open for new things

Open up is committed to strategic communications consulting, media relations, corporate publishing and internal communications for the IT/telecommunications, health, education, finance, transport/tourism and lifestyle sectors. For example, the eleven-strong agency has been serving Orange for eight years, as well as Health Promotion Switzerland, Fernfachhochschule Schweiz, Votobel, the Gotthard Railway and the Glacier Express, and 20 Century Fox. Schneider will bring her experience from the financial, lifestyle and telecommunications industries to bear on existing mandates, and she also plans to win new clients and expand the portfolio. She plans to focus on brand positioning, media relations in the digital age and internal communications. "What's special about my work at Open up is that, as an equal partner of Borter and Thaler, I can bring my own signature to the table," says Schneider. "I'm really looking forward to that." Her plans coincide with those of Borter, who expects "many new impulses" from Schneider's involvement in the agency.

Anyone who knows Schneider a little, however, knows that this does not mean that she immediately turns everything upside down, that she does everything new and different. For as full of ideas as she is, she also takes a considered approach when it comes to fitting into existing structures: "At Open up, there is enough room to dare to do something new," she says. But I first observe before I develop a strategy and change something. I do the same with clients. Because every client is different, and I have to get a feel for them before I get started. After that, it's crucial for good consulting to ask the right questions. Because that's the only way I can find out the issues that really concern my client and his target group."

Communication in the blood

When talking to Schneider, it's clear that she doesn't just think as far as her client, but already takes a decisive step further: When it comes to a magazine for a construction company, she doesn't focus primarily on the company in terms of content and design, but rather on its target group, the home builders. A product for an educational company is tailored to people who are hungry for education and does not court the institution. After all, the communication measure is not aimed at the agency's client, but at its target group - a simple truth that is all too often forgotten in practice. For Schneider, on the other hand, it is a credo: "When I work on a new communication content, I embark on a mental journey," she describes her working method. "I walk around the content at hand in my mind and look at it from all sides. Then I walk around my customer and finally around their target group. I do this three times, and each time a new dimension opens up for me." In this way, the PR expert manages not to lose sight of any facet that is important for communication. Only then does she develop her communications strategy.

Even in her spare time, the PR specialist knows how to communicate skillfully and purposefully: Schneider is a native of Zurich with citizenship in Zurich and Basel. She grew up on the right bank of Lake Zurich, later moved to Wollishofen "near the city" and fully identifies with her birthplace. Sometimes, however, she still tries to suppress her clear Züritüütsch: When she attends a soccer match in Basel. "I have noticed that the reactions are not necessarily pleasant when I speak Züritüütsch in Basel. That's why I try to speak with as little accent as possible in that context." A true communications professional always has his target group in mind.
Anne-Friederike Heinrich