On September 15, 2010, Ringier launched the sales promotion platform Vanilla.ch was launched. Ringier's management has now decided to end the project, according to a press release issued on Thursday. According to the media company, the results did not meet the expectations formulated in the business plan. In particular, the extensive and complex bonus, promotions and points collection program had not developed as expected. In contrast, the cashless payment method using smartphones has met with increasing acceptance.

The Vanilla.ch site will remain online as a service platform for the time being, but will no longer be updated. Much of the know-how gained from Vanilla.ch will be incorporated into a new project currently being developed at Ringier.
 

It's easy to break a resolution if nobody knows about it. However, it is much more difficult if you have told friends and acquaintances about your plans. This is exactly where Reebok's social media campaign comes in. Once you have bought the new running shoe from Reebok, the "Promise Keeper" ensures that you stick to your training plan. The online character informs the respective contacts in social networks about running goals and successes. Praise is due to the diligent. The "Promise Keeper" is merciless to the lazy. Ingenious, but pretty nasty.

Reebokthepromisekeeper.com

The Swedish agency Forsman & Bodenfors is responsible for the project: Fb.se.

More information about the campaign: Wuv.de.
 

On Tuesday, the Xaver.11 award ceremony took place in the Arena Film City. The jury, headed by Hans-Jürg Rufener, Chief Creative Offiver MCH-Group, determined the winners in advance and answered questions from the audience for the decision, according to a statement. Quality, creativity and professionalism were the most important criteria. There were two winners in the "Best Expo Project" category - Bellprat Associates and Messerli. Both project implementers received a silver Xaver Award. Marbet Marion & Bettina Würth was honored for the best event project. Rufener Events realized the best livecom campaign together with PRfact. In the "Best Supplier Project" category, Habegger won for its client Art on Ice. The audience award went to Daniel Christen: The prize went to his interactive film panorama of the canton of Zug on the occasion of Luga 2010, while Claude Nobs was awarded the Xaver of the Year for his life's work. According to the jury, his humor, generosity and liveliness have left their mark not only on his environment, but also on the Swiss live communication industry.

The winners at a glance

> The most successful projects of the Swiss live communication industry are nominated
 

The Schönenwald-based company has been building blinds that protect against the sun for 130 years. Today, Schenker Storen relies on the power of the sun and uses it to drive blinds. According to the press release, this is the message conveyed by the current TV commercial, which is currently being broadcast on national channels.

Responsible at Schaerer and Partner: Andi Schaerer (overall management), Patrick Crivellari (art director), Stefania Nicolini (project management). Responsible at Schenker Blinds: Simon Lerch. Direction/Production: Wirz Fraefel Paal Productions; Cello Schnyder and Stefan Fraefel.

He will continue to be assisted by long-time Chief Technology Officer Mark Thielen, according to a statement. Neumann has been with the company since 2001 and has held the position of COO since 2006. With his appointment as Chief Executive Officer (CEO), he succeeds Dirk Freytag, who has stepped down as CEO and will leave the company after a transition period.
 

This was announced by the company on Tuesday after the close of the US stock exchange. Fascinatingly, Yahoo thus exceeded even worse analyst expectations. Quarterly revenue also plummeted 24 percent to $1.21 billion. However, Yahoo emphasized that this was due to one-time revenues in the prior-year quarter and a change in accounting in connection with the search engine partnership with Microsoft. The two companies had joined forces in the search engine business to better compete with market leader Google. Yahoo relies on the technology of Microsoft's search engine Bing. Yahoo boss Carol Bartz spoke in a telephone conference of technical problems with the large partner. Microsoft will need longer to achieve the set goals.

Yahoo is the leading provider of online advertising banners in the USA. The group faces increasingly fierce competition from networks such as Facebook and the industry leader in search engines, Google. (SDA)
 

The investigative and satirical newspaper has publicized numerous abuses in France, the publisher announced on Wednesday, according to SDA. Founded in 1915, the Newspaperwhose name means "the chained duck", has been completely independent from the outset, does not rely on advertising revenue and has always resisted all offers from business and politics.

The Henri Nannen Prize, endowed with a total of 35,000 euros, honors the best journalistic work of the past year in German-language media in addition to special commitment to freedom of the press and a journalistic life's work. The prizes will be awarded on May 6 in Hamburg.
 

Communicator of this happy news is the Swiss advertising agency Wirz. On Thursday at 7:45 p.m. in "Die Werbewoche" on Star TV: A look behind the scenes of the "Camping" and "Wedding" spots.

In addition to Roman Elsener, the network now also includes correspondents and photographers from the cities of Buenos Aires, Paris, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Bali and London. "The Brander currently has the largest readership in Germany, with the USA in second place, closely followed by Switzerland. We are therefore very pleased to be working with these renowned journalists and hope that The Brander will portray brands from all over the world in this way and thus reach an even more international audience," Brander's Editorial Manager Olivia El Sayed is quoted as saying in a press release.

The correspondents:

Kai Jünemann, Paris
Paris-based photographer Kai Jünemann works for international print media, including the magazines Exit, Figaro, Stern, Spiegel and the French Elle. He works as a photographer in Paris for The Brander. Kai Jünemann also teaches at the University of Art and Design in Dortmund.

Hanspeter Küenzler, London
Hanspeter Küenzler, born in Zurich, studied English language and literature in Zurich and intellectual history in
London, where he still lives today. As a journalist, he writes about music, culture and football for the Neue Zürcher Zeitung, NZZ am Sonntag, Folio, Annabelle, Bolero and Watch International. He is a correspondent for Radio DRS and author of the biography "Michael Jackson - Black Or White".

Barbara Markert, Paris
Barbara Markert works in France for well-known magazines such as VOGUE, Grazia and Myself. She works as a correspondent for the trade magazine Sportswear International and for The Brander. The business graduate is co-founder of the fashion blog "Modepilot" and the German-language correspondent network "Weltreporter".

Karen Naundorf, Buenos Aires
A graduate of the Henri Nannen School of Journalism in Hamburg, Karen Naundorf reports from South America for German-language media. Her texts have appeared in Spiegel, Zeit, Geo Special, SZMagazin, Dummy, Neon and Merian, among others; radio and television reports for BR, WDR, Deutschlandfunk, Arte and ZDF. Karen Naundorf works as a correspondent in Buenos Aires for The Brander.

Lisa von Ortenberg, Hong Kong
Lisa von Ortenberg attended the German School of Journalism DJS, first worked as a reporter for Die Welt, as an editor at Glamour and later as chief reporter for Jolie. She went freelance in 2005. She moved to Asia at the beginning of 2009 as an employee of Süddeutsche Zeitung and Neue Zürcher Zeitung am Sonntag and has been writing reports and portraits from the APAC region ever since - including for The Brander.

Simone Ott, Los Angeles
Simone Ott is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles and Switzerland. She writes for publications such as Architectural Digest, NZZ am Sonntag, Annabelle and the Tages-Anzeiger. She is also a columnist for the online music magazine The Comet. She works as a correspondent in Los Angeles for The Brander.

Claudius Wirz, Bali
After training as a bookseller, Claudius Wirz worked for various book and newspaper publishers. He has been writing as a freelance travel journalist for various media for five years. Claudius Wirz has lived in Bali, Indonesia, since 2008 and also writes from there for The Brander.

For the first time, a special prize was awarded in the TV/film and radio reportage category. "We received around 20 reports and features from radio and television. The topics were as varied as Valais itself," said jury president Urs Zenhäusern, delighted with the diversity and quality of the work submitted. This also applies to the 60 articles that were published in newspapers, magazines or on the Internet last year. According to the press release, the New Monte Rose Hut in Zermatt and the reopening of the Furka steam railroad from Gletsch to Oberwald were repeatedly featured. Many journalists reported on Valais customs and traditions, culinary delights and the bisses that are typical of Valais.

The winners of the individual categories are:

German-language works:
Oliver D. Fischer, Hamburg, for his article "Grand Cru on Granite" in the June issue of Merian.

French-language works:
Adeline Quéraux for her article "Derrière les masques du Lötschental" in the Alpes Magazine from February/March.

Italian-language works:
Sonia Anselmo & Claudia di Meo for their series of articles "Speciale Vallese" in July on the internet portal Latitudine X.

English-language works:
Michael Church for his article "Valais Service" in the May issue of Food & Travel.

Special prize TV/film or radio reportage:
Volker Heise & Caterina Woj for their "Culinary Journey through the Alps - Valais", broadcast on Arte on April 23, 2010.

The independent jury, chaired by Urs Zenhäusern, President of the Valais Information Office, was made up of the following personalities: State Councillor Jean-Michel Cina, State Councillor Jacques Melly, Thomas Rieder (Editor-in-Chief Walliser Bote) and Jean-François Fournier (Editor-in-Chief Le Nouvelliste) as well as Roger Brunner (Deputy Editor-in-Chief Canal 9/Channel 9) and Yves Balmer (Editor-in-Chief Canal 9/Channel 9) for the special prize.

With the prize for journalists working and publishing worldwide, the Valais Information Office aims to raise public awareness of tourism, the economy and nature in the Alpine canton. The journalists will receive the first prize of CHF 5,000 each for articles and reports in German, French, Italian and English at the award ceremony in Valais in June.
 

The fourteenth edition of the Lucerne Bar Guide is now in circulation, according to a press release issued on Wednesday. The free pocket-sized guide is available in bars, hotels and tourist information offices in Lucerne and the surrounding area.

Responsible at Ideart Design & Advertising Lucerne: Ludek Martschini (concept/creation), Peter Martschini (layout/typesetting/DTP). Responsible at Insider Verlag: Irina Rey. Responsible at Feldschlösschen: Markus Furrer.

The 46-year-old studied business administration at the University of Bern. After more than ten years in senior marketing positions - including at Visana, Selecta and SBB - Alfredo Trasatti switched to the communications industry. He has been a partner at Neue Lgk Kommunikations AG, based in Zurich and Bern, since 2005.