WW: Why a new name for the well-known event agency.ch?
Elmar Schäfer: Over the years, you grow up, you mature with the projects. We have long since ceased to be a pure event agency, but a boutique agency in the field of communication. To make this visible to new clients, we are freeing ourselves from the "event" pigeonhole in our branding. We already realized several projects with classic advertising based on an idea. The event was always just the last consequence. We were always looking for new ways. What we are implementing now is a logical further development.

A reaction to new trends?
Everyone is talking about media convergence. New technologies, new media and new ideas demand more and more cross-media approaches. There's a development going on. It's not just us who are feeling it, but the entire industry. Things are changing: Where do you put the focus?

Can this be demonstrated with specific tasks from your portfolio?
For the Zurich-based Jacobs Foundation, a foundation in the field of child and youth development, we organize not only the scenic aspect of the award ceremony, but also the external impact around this very high-profile prize of 1.2 million Swiss francs. For Swisscom, we regularly work in the area of live communication and, among other things, we also look after the "Jeder Rappen zählt" project. There, we not only organize the sponsoring appearance on site, but also let our ideas flow into the campaign with PR and advertising. We also provided comprehensive communications support for the "Body Worlds" exhibition. With all these orders we have matured. We know how classical advertising works, we know the mechanisms of PR and we also feel at home in the online area. That is why we are now repositioning ourselves.

Does this mean that you will be competing with the traditional agencies for which you were previously responsible for events?
Not at all. With large projects, only experience counts and then it quickly reduces to a few names. That's why people will continue to work with us for events. Conversely, we don't take away any big classic campaigns from these leading agencies. You come to us when a client wants to communicate something based on an idea and perhaps doesn't even know yet which channels he wants to use for this campaign.

How big is Quade & Zurfluh?
We are eight employees. Most of them in consulting and project management. For graphics, depending on the required style, we have been working with an external pool for a long time. This is also true for other specializations. But the knowledge for consulting is available in-house in all disciplines. And we are also convinced that we can grow this year. We have been pitching for a long time and have already won several times, even against classic agencies.

Where does the new name actually come from?
Schäfer & Hediger would not have been a commitment to anything new. We have been known by our customers under this name for a long time. We did not want a fantasy name. Quade & Zurfluh are the maiden names of our mothers. We will keep the previous name Eventagentur.ch in the subtitle. But we work for comprehensive communication projects under Quade & Zurfluh.

You celebrated the new development with the slogan "Quiet was yesterday. What does that mean?
In recent years, the entire industry has gone through turbulent times. Now most of them are doing better again. "Quiet was yesterday" is in any case a motto we hear more and more every day on our jobs. At our anniversary party together with PUNKTmagazin, we celebrated this at the Seefeld Razzia. Although we have to say goodbye to the Razzia, where we have now presented culture for two years, as the location is now definitely being converted into a restaurant. Nevertheless, we wanted to celebrate, because we are convinced that things are still looking up, although we all know wilder years. We now have to find the right style for the future. At Razzia, we decided on champagne with bratwurst for this purpose.

Interview: Andreas Panzeri
 

Jean Bernard Münsch was president of SRG for a good nine years. This was announced by SRG on Thursday. The four-year term of the SRG Board of Directors also expires at the end of 2011. The renewal elections for the period 2012 to 2015 will take place at an extraordinary delegates' meeting in the fall. Of the total of nine members of the Board of Directors, three are to be elected, including the President. Lucy Küng is standing for re-election.

The Presidents of the four SRG Regional Companies are ex officio members of the Board of Directors. The Presidents are Duri Bezzola for Romansh-speaking Switzerland, Claudio Generali for Italian-speaking Switzerland, Jean-François Roth for French-speaking Switzerland and Viktor Baumeler for German-speaking Switzerland.

Two members of the SRG Board of Directors are appointed by the Federal Council. At present, these are Hans Lauri and Ulrich Gygi.
 

The call was backed with everything that goes with it: casting, model selection, shooting and of course a fashion party. With Dan Cermak, Joëlle Lehmann, Luca Christen and Tabea Reusser, four renowned photographers were at work for the pictures. The first subjects are now available for viewing, and a dedicated magazine for the campaign will follow shortly.

Responsible at Coiff your Success: Pino Zinna (Owner). Responsible at Komet: Thom Pfister (CD), Kasper Kobel (AD), Tamara Janes, Natalia Funariu (graphics), Isabella Jungo, Antonia Bekiaris (text), Simon Schatzmann (head of consulting), Emma Isolini (consulting).
 

The next morning, the news spread in a rush via Twitter and Facebook. In addition, the campaign was supported by a billboard. The background to the message can be found on the website Free-giacobbo.ch. Not Giacobbo, but his Burmese professional colleague Zarganar is behind bars for decades for making jokes about his government. The campaign website calls for signatures on the petition for the release of the Burmese comedian.

As early as midday on Monday, numerous bloggs and news portals such as 20 Minuten, Blick, Tagesanzeiger Newsnetz and SI online are reporting on the campaign. Every 6 seconds the website counts a new petition signature, every 20 seconds there is a new post on Facebook. The viral spot is the most viewed video on Youtube in Switzerland, according to a statement from the agency.

The aim of the campaign is, on the one hand, to make the violation of human rights in Switzerland perceptible. On the other hand, 10,000 online signatures are to be collected for the petition for the release of the Burmese comedian Zarganar. After the first week, there were already 80'000 visitors to the website - 50 percent of whom came via Facebook or Twitter. Over 4'000 new Facebook fans came together - and over 20'000 signatures. A nice success that will hopefully lead to Zarganar's release.

Responsible at Amnesty International: Paul Tschurtschenthaler (Head of Marketing & Fundraising), Kevin Luximon (Fundraising/Marketing). Responsible at Spina's Civil Voices: Lorenz Spinas (CD), Miriam Fischer (concept/AD), Susi Kammergruber (concept/text), Corinne Bucher (consulting), Christoph Schott (consulting new media), Alexander Meier, meierproduction (direction and production).
 

A special brochure with the top 100 experiences has been published in a large print run and is available in all UBS branches, Coop stores and SBB train stations. Switzerland Tourism's current print campaign is also designed to whet people's appetite for vacations in their own country. The advertisements show spectacular pictures of nature from various Swiss regions. Various text elements also show that you can not only discover mountains, meadows and lakes there, but also yourself: Your senses, your courage, your will, your inner peace.

The "Discover your values" ads can currently be seen on both sides of the Sunday newspapers.

Responsible at Switzerland Tourism: Jürg Schmid (overall responsibility), Nicole Diermeier (Head of Product Marketing Leisure). Responsible at Spillmann/Felser/Leo Burnett: Peter Brönnimann, Martin Spillmann (CD) Dana Wirz, Simon Staub (AD) Simon Smit (text), Heike Rindfleisch, Rolf Zimmermann (consulting).
 

Quiz fever has broken out. To mark the 50th anniversary of the WWF, Migros has developed a special edition of Trivial Pursuit together with the environmental organization. According to CD Philipp Skrabal and Hanspeter Schweizer, Wirz was responsible for the design of the game as well as all communication measures surrounding Quizmania. Barbara Hartmann was responsible for the AD. Long-lasting fun and the expansion of the knowledge horizon within the family is ensured. With every normal purchase of 20 Swiss francs, Migros customers will receive a pack of five quiz cards until June 20, each containing six exciting questions and answers on the categories "Forest and Meadow", "Mountain", "Climate", "Sea", "Nutrition" and "Man". In total, the game consists of 200 cards. Of these, 100 are geared to children in their level of difficulty, and 100 are geared to adults. The compact game with game board, game pieces, dice and a starter set of 20 quiz cards is on sale in Migros stores for 9.80 Swiss francs. For every game sold, one franc goes to the WWF climate fund. The game can also be played online at www.quizmania.ch and even on the go with the Quizmania app. With the new campaign, Migros is trying to lure more exchange shoppers into its stores. A concept that worked very well with the recently concluded "Nanomania," as the agency knows. pan

The agency was commissioned by the Credit Suisse Real Estate Fund Living Plus real estate fund. The particular challenge was to market apartments in the Webermühle in a target group-oriented manner ahead of the upcoming renovation, the agency writes in a press release. It developed the communication presence for the first phase with "smart-flats", the internet platform of the same name Smart-flats.ch, the visual identity for the umbrella brand, posters, advertisements in commuter newspapers, small posters and postcards, flyers and social media activities.

Responsible at Ergo Communication ASW, Zurich: Claude Hitz, Anna Preisig. Responsible at Real Estate Asset Management, Credit Suisse: Petra Knecht.

This category was lost during the presentation of the shortlist and winners in the last Advertising Week. We show the six nominees from the shortlist in this addendum. The winner in the "Branding" category was "M-Budget WG" from the Jung von Matt/Limmat creative agency. A total of 23 campaigns were submitted for the Social Media Award.

> To the six nominees (PDF)

"Everyone wants to get involved, but very few people know how," says Ueli Weber, President of IAB Switzerland. According to Weber, a lot of important data and recommendations are missing. For example, the advertising impact of social media marketing has hardly been researched. Companies obviously see themselves under pressure to make a move, but without knowing the path and destination of the adventure. Although there are some top-class social media experts in Switzerland, they only have data and information on individual aspects. In future, the knowledge and experience will be pooled in the IAB task force. Mike Schwede, Florian Wieser, Remo Prinz, Manuel P. Nappo, Markus Popp and Thomas Hutter will provide the relevant know-how. The project is headed by Stefan Obwegeser. The findings are primarily available to IAB members, but the entire online and marketing industry should also benefit from specialist articles and events.

Advertising is just a scam anyway, many people think. Big money is made with half-truths and false promises. That's not true across the board. In 1999, the Bavarians advertised with the slogan "We can do anything. Except High German. And the fact that Bavarians can't speak High German has been empirically confirmed. Nor can any serious objections be raised against Volkswagen's "Das Auto": Chassis, tires, turn signals, windshield wipers: indeed, that is a car. The Migros slogan from 2004, "So or so," is more debatable. But at least this sentence doesn't raise anything. Nor does it raise false hopes. One M better" is more captious. Because have you ever thought about what the M could mean? But let's not get too hung up on this creative gimmickry. After all, the awarding of the golden cream puff has shown that advertising can be even more perfidious in not quite telling the truth. Underpinned by scientific pseudo-results, presented by gentlemen in lab coats, super-successful singles or bio-mothers with model masses and conspicuously happy children. What do you think, for example, of "Danone Activia. Naturally effective. Naturally packaged."? Activia, that's this yogurt that "has been proven to reduce a bloated belly." Because it's so natural. Just like its plastic packaging. Hello, wake up!

Or "Nimm2. Vitamins and snacking". Do you take two, because the vitamins are in one candy and the sugar in the other? Or the milk slice. Of course, my grandmother also believed that this slice was healthy. "Milk" always sounds good. Plus: "Tastes light. Doesn't weigh you down. Ideal for in-between meals." Those are good arguments. But have you ever noticed that a normal child never likes to eat anything healthy? So shouldn't awake consumers themselves get the idea that the "light snack" is worse than a slice of cream pie? You might as well eat chips because potatoes are so healthy. Still, I'm glad my grandma believed Ferrero's advertising lie. We had milk slices in great quantities. And I loved them!

All this cheating is not so tragic after all. After all, advertising has never wanted to sell the truth, but a good feeling. Anyone who actually believes that all this is true deserves a little punishment. Besides, we don't die from a little too much salt, a little too much sugar or a little too little effect. Nevertheless, Ronald McDonald is now going down the tubes. Not because someone has finally noticed that the 47-year-old puppet is annoying, but because, according to "Corporate Accountability International ", he seduces children into eating unhealthy food. The bad guy! That's what he does! I always suspected that Ronald was the best buddy of Pennywise, the "It" clown.

The bottom of the barrel, however, is the papal - no, not bull - glasses. At the beginning of May, the Munich optician Suchy took out a full-page ad in the Süddeutsche Zeitung to promote his custom-made, non-plus-ultra popular glasses. He had made the masterpiece especially for the Pope and would present it to him during his visit to Germany in September. The eager optician invokes the support of the German Bishops' Conference and the Archbishop's Ordinariate in Munich and even hopes for the Holy Father's blessing for the double pince-nez. The Archbishop's Office is incensed: the bishops have no contact with "the person". By which they do not mean the Pope, but Mr. Suchy. A pity, actually. After all, who could tell the owner of the opticsParadise (sic!) be seriously angry? After all, he is not the only one who wishes the Holy Father a little more perspective. And a "people's glasses" gives hope.
 

Jerry Seinfeld, one of my great heroes, once joked in front of a large audience that most people fear public speaking more than death. I found that particularly funny, because I definitely don't belong to the group of people who fear speaking. I like to talk about things that excite me, especially on big stages. What could be more inspiring than inspiring people with your own enthusiasm?

While until recently I could have imagined little worse than living near a meltdown nuclear reactor, after a month Tokyo felt almost normal. Cooking spaghetti with imported mineral water, not going out in the rain, spinach from Mexico, frozen seafood from last year, milk from Hokkaido. It's hard to believe, but as a Tokyoite, I got used to hell just as quickly as the Western media forgot about it. The only thing I couldn't get used to was the fear that drives you to take all the precautions for your child.

I only really became aware of the awfulness of our personal habituation and media oblivion processes when I took to the stage at an event in Berlin last week on the subject of data love. As usual, my predecessors had raved about the internet, how it was changing everything and making it better. Data love, DUDE! I had prepared a twenty-minute presentation, but when I looked at the cover sheet of my presentation, suddenly everything seemed wrong. "This is not the right presentation!" It wasn't the usual flutter of nerves, something was wrong with me. Nothing seemed to make sense anymore. Since I have little fear of speaking, I decided to give my presentation extemporaneously.

Instead of opening by thanking them for the invitation, as usual, and explaining how important the conference was for me, us and the world, I said that love of data was actually nonsense, and if not, then certainly nonsense. "Love of wisdom, yes, love of data, no." And, I continued, it was a long way from data to wisdom. Understanding, I claimed, turns data into information, reason turns information into knowledge, and love perhaps turns knowledge into wisdom. As if that wasn't enough darkness and spoilsport, I then moved on to talk about the data and information and knowledge situation in Japan. The atmosphere in the audience was comparable to that in Dürrenmatt's tunnel. And then I suddenly lost my tongue. My speech lasted five minutes. Ten minutes had been planned. What was wrong with me? Fortunately, I had the opportunity to give another speech that evening, where I was able to iron out the wrinkles a little.

Two days later at TypoBerlin, the incident almost repeated itself. I had prepared a presentation in two parts. After the first part, where I also spoke briefly about Fukushima, I suddenly ran out of words and left the stage without saying thank you. The speech lasted 30 minutes. 45 minutes was planned. People looked at me strangely. Twitter also said: Good speech so far, but why is he just running off in the middle?

A few days ago, I was invited to give another speech, this time at a design school in Milan. I decided to give the same presentation again and this time watch myself a little more closely while speaking (which I usually try to avoid because thinking while speaking leads to stuttering). In the introduction to the topic, I warned my audience that I might suddenly disappear, as I had done days before, and instructed them to bring me back if I ran off again. In fact, after the first part, the same desire to escape arose. I said: "Actually, I want to run away again now. But I'll try it for a few more sentences." The laughter that followed helped me through the second part of the speech.

I only became strange again at the following dinner. The topic was Fukushima. And I don't feel much different now. It's not that I have nothing to say. It's just that the subject of Fukushima leaves me speechless and I can't always think of a self-deceiving joke to find the cheerful words to take away my fear of death.