Anyone who has ever experienced a long layover in an airport knows that it is anything but fun. In most cases, it's boring and a waste of time. KLM is now launching an interesting experiment to remedy the situation. At least in Amsterdam. And (for the time being) only for passengers from the USA, Canada and Italy. Anyone with a layover of at least six hours in Amsterdam can use the "Layover With a Local" app to be assigned a local, based on age and interests. After landing, the passenger receives instructions via the app and a free train ticket to get to the city center. There they can meet "their" local, have them show them around the city or go straight to one of the many participating bars for a free drink.

When it's time to return to the airport, the app gets in touch. As if the exchange with sociable strangers wasn't exciting enough, the local guide can also win flights to the country of their protégé. The friendly win-win project will be launched in March. The app was developed by the agency Achtung Amsterdam. Whether "Layover With a Local" feels as good in practice as it sounds in theory remains to be seen. The participating Americans, Canadians and Italians will let the world know. (hae)

Today's leading Swiss medium in the gay lifestyle emerged from the predecessor title "Kontakt," which was founded in the 1970s. The magazine therefore has a long tradition and was launched at a time when there was still no talk of the emancipation of the gay community, according to a statement.

Display is committed to equal rights and fights for gay rights. The magazine is thus a mouthpiece for the Rainbow Family. In addition to political topics, Display also focuses on culture and the gay lifestyle. The editorial team shows this with portraits and interviews of well-known and less well-known gays, who are role models for gays in their own way. Display also offers them guidance with reports on everyday problems and a guide to life issues. Display's trademarks include large, self-produced photo spreads - especially in the areas of fashion and travel.

Display is launching a brand-new homepage to complement its print offering: From Thursday, February 25, you will discover on Display-magazine.ch a wide range of information, including news and information from and for the community, agenda, gallery, excerpts from the print edition and benefits such as raffles or reader promotions.

Overall, sales grew by 0.6 percent to CHF 313 million, as APG (Allgemeine Plakatgesellschaft) announced in a press release on Thursday. While business in the home market of Switzerland increased, the company suffered a severe setback in its only foreign market, Serbia, due to the strength of the Swiss franc. Operating profit (EBIT) climbed by 2.8 percent to CHF 68.1 million. Below the line, APG earned a net profit of 53.3 million francs. This is 3 percent more than in the previous year.

"We can be proud and report a great annual result," said APG CEO Markus Ehrle at the annual media conference in Zurich. In Switzerland in particular, sales grew by 1.3 percent to 302.3 million Swiss francs. Competition had an impact here. This is because the contract for poster advertising at Geneva Airport was lost to a local competitor on July 1. "If we had had these sales in the second half of the year, we would have had growth of just over 3 percent," said Ehrle. Even the federal elections in the fall could not make up for the shortfall caused by the lost contract, as the previous semester had been very good.

Further orders lost

Elsewhere, main competitor Clear Channel outbid APG with higher offers. This is the case, for example, with the Zurich public transport company (VBZ), where Clear Channel will be allowed to market most of the 1,200 poster spaces at bus and streetcar stops as well as at depots and garages in the city of Zurich from January 1. APG previously held the contract. The concession contract in Lucerne will also be lost on July 1. Nevertheless, APG remains the market leader in both cities, said Ehrle. This is because APG has won other contracts. For example, the company continues to organize the advertising for the buses of the Zurich Transport Association (ZVV) and was also able to conclude a new contract for advertising in Zurich's ShopVille. APG also prevailed over its competitors in the battle for the billboard advertising concession in Lausanne. In addition, APG has supplemented the SBB display screens in 17 Swiss railroad stations with digital displays. Overall, APG is likely to have fared better than the Swiss advertising market as a whole if the discounts are taken into account, said Ehrle.

Slump due to Serbian currency

In Serbia, the weakness of the local currency, the dinar, had a negative impact on APG's result, as Chief Financial Officer Beat Hermann explained. Sales fell by 15.6 percent to 10.8 million Swiss francs. In local currency terms, sales only fell by 1.4 percent. The reason for the decline was the elections in the previous year, for which many posters were put up. In view of the difficult economic situation in Serbia, the figures are excellent, said Ehrle. There are no plans to sell the business. APG responded to the pressure on the business with cost-cutting measures. Among other things, ten full-time positions were cut. The company still has 570 full-time positions, shared by 628 employees. APG also announced the takeover of Alpenplakat with 6 employees. Ehrle did not disclose the purchase price. As usual, APG was very vague when looking to the future. Ehrle refrained from making a concrete forecast on business development in the coming months. (SDA)

Felder has been working for SRF for eight years. In addition to cycling races, he also comments on Moto GP and alpine skiing. The 35-year-old from Solothurn comments on his new role: "I'm looking forward to this challenge and to all the exciting stories and interesting characters that cycling has to offer."

Marco Felder will be heard for the first time on April 24, 2016 at the Liège-Bastogne-Liège classic. SRF will be broadcasting the race live from 14:30 to 17:00. Felder will be supported at the premiere by former cyclist and SRF expert David Loosli. Barbara Colpi is the new French-speaking Switzerland correspondent for SRF radio. She has been commentating on the cycling races for the past two years.

Swatch is planning five watch and jewelry stores for its 18 watch brands on 670 square meters at the 500-million resort, which is scheduled to open in mid-2017. In addition to 37 showcases with exhibits, Swatch is providing the resort with artworks from its own artist residency in Shanghai, China. The collaboration also includes the Hotel Royal Savoy Lausanne. Swatch also plans to display selected watch brands in 26 showcases in the latter. The partners did not disclose any financial details of the deal. For Swatch CEO Nick Hayek, the cooperation between tourism and the luxury goods industry is a commitment to Switzerland as a business location, as he explained at a media conference on Thursday at Bürgenstock. Switzerland, he said, must cultivate its heritage and brands, not least in view of the strong franc, and offer guests an emotional experience. Mountains and tunnels alone are no longer enough.

Hayek: "Lucerne at the capacity limit".

The tourist resort of Lucerne, which is popular for watch and jewelry stores and is about 30 minutes away from Bürgenstock, has reached its capacity limit, said Hayek. This is one of the reasons why the industry is interested in gaining a foothold on the Bürgenstock. The cooperation between the resort and Swatch is open. According to the partners, joint events or advertising campaigns in Swatch stores abroad are possible. It is also conceivable that guests will be able to pay for their stay at the resort with a Swatch watch on their arm, for example. Cooperation between tourism and the luxury goods industry on Bürgenstock is not new. The industries already worked hand in hand in the 1950s. The name of Swatch's competitor Gübelin, after which a house on the panoramic mountain is named, is now to disappear from the resort.

Pictures: Buergenstock.ch

Resort with three hotels and a dozen restaurants

The car-free Bürgenstock Resort is scheduled to open in mid-2017. The tourism complex comprises 30 buildings and sports facilities. These include three hotels with almost 400 rooms and 800 beds, as well as a dozen restaurants. A wellness complex, a conference center and a shopping mall are also scheduled to open. The total investment amounts to around 500 million Swiss francs. Katara Hospitality Switzerland AG, based in Zug, is behind the resort. It is the operating company for Swiss hotels of a Qatari sovereign wealth fund. In addition to the Bürgenstock Resort, Katara Hospitality also owns the Schweizerhof in Bern and the Royal Savoy in Lausanne.

The operators are optimistic despite the current difficulties in the tourism industry. They expect 100,000 day visitors per year and 150,000 overnight stays, according to Bruno H. Schöpfer, Managing Director of Katara Hospitality Switzerland. In addition to the hotel business, the operators are counting on health tourists who can receive treatment at the resort, as well as conferences, residential guests and excursionists from the region. According to Bruno H. Schöper, work on the traffic development is on track. The concession for the construction of a funicular railroad from Kehrsiten NW to Bürgenstock has recently been granted. The construction costs for the new funicular are estimated at 15 million Swiss francs. In addition, a boat connection from Lucerne to Kehrsiten is to be created. (SDA)

The magazine, which is published in German and French, was created in 2011 from the merger of the two former association and trade magazines. For the sake of a clearer brand and sharper profile, the Klartext will now disappear from the name, as Edito announced on Thursday - making the former title history after 35 years. The Edito print circulation remains at 10'000 copies, and online reaches around 20'000 readers per month. In addition to the appearance, the content is to be sharpened with a changed publishing partnership. Bachmann Medien in Basel remains publisher, but takes on more responsibility and risk, and in return gets more autonomy from the associations. Edito is currently in the black, according to information received on request. The media magazine has also been affected by the widespread slump in advertising. However, the magazine is debt-free - the associations have now written off the initial investments of the merged magazine. (SDA)

Obersee Nachrichten has been conducting a "massive campaign" against the Linth Child and Adult Protection Authority (Kesb) and its president Walter Grob for over a year, the town of Rapperswil-Jona announced on Thursday. The extent and aggressiveness of the campaign could not be justified by public interest or media freedom. Kesb Linth has therefore initiated legal proceedings against the weekly newspaper for violation of personality rights. The first step will now be arbitration proceedings.

Described as a "secret authority

According to the communiqué, the city wants to restore the good reputation of an impeccably functioning authority. The Obersee Nachrichten had described the Kesb as a "secret authority" that works against the interests of the citizens. The president of the Kesb was portrayed as "a leader with no integrity, obsessed with power, incompetent and therefore completely unsuitable". Last year, the cantonal supervisory authority reviewed both the cases criticized by Obersee Nachrichten and the way Kesb Linth operates. The result was that the Kesb had acted correctly and proportionately.

Allegations rejected

In a press release published on Thursday afternoon, Obersee Nachrichten rejected the accusations: the newspaper had "reported on incomprehensible, contradictory and legally questionable Kesb activities and decisions". It should not be the case that the President of the Kesb and his authority acted outside of media monitoring. It is important to report on the activities of the child and adult protection authority. "The victims of questionable Kesb measures usually only have the opportunity to defend themselves through the press," writes publisher Bruno Hug in the press release. Obersee Nachrichten belongs to Somedia and covers the upper Lake Zurich region and the Linth area in the cantons of St. Gallen and Schwyz. It has a circulation of just under 70,000 copies. The editorial office is based in Rapperswil-Jona. (SDA)

Alpenplakat has a similar portfolio of over 550 poster sites in Central Switzerland and the cantons of Zurich, Aargau and Solothurn. According to the press release, APGISGA does not intend to integrate the successful business operations of Alpenplakat into the existing organization, but to continue with an unchanged strategy and the same workforce. The current CEO and member of the Board of Directors, Christian Zimmermann, will remain with the company and will act as Delegate of the Board of Directors of Alpenplakat after a transitional phase.

 

"I am of the opinion that the criminal standard on racism is being violated," Müller explains, according to Aargauer newspaper on Facebook about the move. He subsequently filed a criminal complaint against Sheik Fareed with the public prosecutor's office of the canton of Zurich on Thursday. "My grandfather stood on the Swiss border during the Second World War, so when I see someone using the swastika to campaign against the enforcement initiative, it's unacceptable to me," said Müller. As reported by the Aargauer Zeitung, Müller has registered the advertisement by email and intends to submit it in writing next week. Müller also wants to check whether the swastika poster constitutes further offenses such as defamation or insult. (hae)

On the subject: SBB bans swastika poster
 

With this reinforcement, H+H Management intends to take the next big step towards becoming a comprehensive project management and communications agency and benefit from Marco Canonica's expertise and extensive network, as well as building up the Aargau location. H+H Management is currently organizing the Fed Cup semi-final between Switzerland and defending champions the Czech Republic on behalf of Swiss Tennis. The duel for a place in the final will take place on April 16/17, 2016 in Hall 1 of the Lucerne Exhibition Center.

 

With around 4'500 interviews, Mediabrands is thus the largest qualitative media study in Switzerland, Publicom writes in a statement. The representative survey using the single-source method examines the qualitative perception of language-regional and regional media brands in German-speaking Switzerland, French-speaking Switzerland and five economic regions (northwestern Switzerland, Bern, Zurich, eastern Switzerland, central Switzerland). In addition to qualitative characteristics such as credibility, entertainment value and brand loyalty, MediaBrands also examines the use of the media brands on the various channels (total audience). Initial results will be available to participating brands from July 2016.

The Milchbar was previously run temporarily by successful restaurateurs Michel Péclard and Florian Weber. It has now become a veritable culinary delight for connoisseurs: with the most exciting coffee in the city, healthy smoothies, a delicatessen and a wine shop, where you can buy almost everything over the counter and take it with you.

Strebel Juon therefore set itself the task of creating a special corporate design - which is then also conveyed in particular via the packaging concept - to give this special place a similar external appearance that differs from the usual take-away designs. A look was created that takes the individual fingerprint as a basis and adapts this visual to a wide range of advertising materials and packaging: From carrier bags, coffee and juice cups, wrapping paper, napkins and bread bags to water bottles and matches.

Milchbar am Paradeplatz combines a restaurant, coffee bar, wine bar and a hotel room under one roof. It goes without saying that this diverse offer should also be taken into account online. Especially as the hotel room can be purchased at auction. Strebel Juon therefore created a website that also includes an order store for wines and gift vouchers as well as a platform for bidding for the hotel room. All of this is embedded in a screen design that follows the corporate design and arouses culinary desire and curiosity with atmospheric images and short video sequences.

Responsible at Pumpstation Gastro: Michel Péclard, Florian Weber. Responsible at Strebel Juon: Gian Marco Juon, Esther Kümin (consulting), Robin Strebel, Jörg Agostini (creation), Thomas Ammann (website texts), Xandra M. Linsin (photos), Serge Hardmeier/Code Division, Diego Brauchbar/ Ebro (web publishing).