The topic of Swiss brands is of interest to a broad public. The sale of traditional Swiss brands into foreign hands in particular is always a hot topic of discussion. The communications agency Evoq Communications in Zurich and the marketing consultancy HTP St.Gallen are providing an overview of the Swiss brand world with the Swiss brand poster and the accompanying website as a reference work.
The Swiss brand poster arranges all relevant brands with Swiss origins in a fictitious landscape and supplements them with important additional information. This makes it possible to see at a glance how much "Switzerland" there still is in traditional Swiss brands. The web version of the brand poster continuously reports on the latest developments relating to Swiss brands. With the website and the feedback function, Evoq and HTP St.Gallen want to create a discussion platform for Swiss brands.
In the landscape with mountains, lakes, mountain railroads and settlements, which thus has all the typical attributes, the initiators place the brands around invented field names with a certain wink. Banks, for example, are located in the coal mine and insurance companies around Bannholz. Labels that have passed away in recent years lie in the Märkli cemetery.
The brand poster does not pursue any commercial objectives. It is therefore not another business directory. Listing on the brand poster is free of charge for brands. Brand owners can register on the website www.markenplakat.ch submit an application for inclusion or deletion. The project is supported exclusively by sponsors and the initiators. The poster can be ordered in the size of 70 x 100 cm via the website for CHF 49.

Parallel to Art 09, the vegetarian restaurant Tibits has launched a small art campaign on its own behalf. At selected locations in Zurich and Basel, Tibits has attached huge forks to numerous trees, which at first glance look like art on a tree. In reality, however, they advertise the restaurant's fresh offerings in a tongue-in-cheek way. The agency responsible is Wirz Werbung.
Responsible at Tibits: Reto Frei, Daniel Frei. Responsible at Wirz Werbung AG, Zurich:
Priscilla Kämpfer (AD), Matthias Freuler (CD), Mikael Haak, Jennifer Meier (consulting). Production: Andrea Mahler.

Franziska Weber is the new publishing director of Klaxon, the music magazine for children. After completing a basic commercial apprenticeship and the adult baccalaureate, Weber studied piano at the Zurich Conservatory. She graduated with a teaching diploma and went on to study cultural management and communication, worked as an editor at Radio DRS2 and founded her own office for cultural projects and music education. In addition to her work as co-editor of Klaxon, she is also a producer of music theater projects and cultural events.
Klaxon is published three to four times a year and can also be subscribed to. The current issue 4 focuses on the topic of "Open Air".

The cable and communications technology specialist Huber + Suhner is planning to cut jobs for the second time this year due to the weak economic situation. Around 70 jobs are to be cut in Switzerland and a further 80 worldwide, as Huber-Suhner announced on Thursday. The reason given for the cutbacks is the continuing weak economic development. In Switzerland, the cutbacks will primarily affect the company's headquarters in Herisau in the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden, where 20 jobs were already lost last spring.

The Art Directors Club of Switzerland will be showing Leo Burnett's Cannes Predictions reel on Monday, June 15, from 12.15 pm. This will show the 50 hottest contenders for a Lion. This year, there are fewer favorites from the film category, but all the more integrated advertising campaigns, online campaigns and other great ideas. According to Peter Brönnimann from Spillmann/Felser/Leo Burnett, even new product ideas and political campaigns can be seen on the current Predcitions reel.
The role will be shown on Monday, June 15 at 12:15 p.m. at Cabaret Voltaire (Spiegelgasse 1 in Zurich.) The event is free and registration is possible via [email protected].

Consumers should be able to freely choose their digital cable television receiver on reasonable terms. Parliament is calling on the Federal Council to draw up the legal basis for this. On Thursday, the Council of States tacitly approved a motion amended by the National Council. With this motion, both Councils want to force cable network providers such as Cablecom and Naxoo to change their business practices.

The Green Switzerland Award will be presented for the first time this year. Entries will be judged in the two categories "Best Green Campaign" and "Best Green Company". According to the press release, an expert jury from the fields of communication, science and environmental protection will be responsible for the evaluation. The competition is open to the public and all agencies, companies and research institutes based in Switzerland are eligible to take part. The closing date for entries is Friday, July 31, 2009. In addition to the award itself, the winners will receive a service package consisting of various communication services from partners and sponsors worth around CHF 30,000. The award ceremony will take place on Wednesday, August 26.
The prize is presented by the internet portal Greenswitzerland.com in cooperation with the Suisse Emex trade fair for marketing, communication, events and promotion.

Anyone who hears an unfamiliar rattling noise coming from the street these days should take the time to look out of the window. You will see a rickety and rusty Trabi on its way to claim a two thousand franc scrap bonus. If you have no idea which make of car is behind it, you can find out via the Internet. On Myschrott.ch Renault Suisse is showing exactly how much you can save when buying a new Renault model if you hand in your car that is at least eight years old. The unusual spectacle could be experienced on the afternoon of June 9 in Zurich and will subsequently - if the decrepit engine is willing - delight the cities of Bern, Basel, Winterthur, St. Gallen and Lucerne. The campaign was developed by the Zurich agency Publicis. The Trabi will be driven by Patrice Meister, Vice President of the Trabant Club.
Responsible at Renault Suisse SA: Florian Huettl (Marketing Director), Anne Thorens (Advertising Manager), Cristina Ravalli (Advertising Assistant). Responsible at Publicis: Ralph Halder (CD), Daniel Kobi (AD), Jan Krohn (text), Muriel Asté, Martin Schlatter, Jacqueline Lima, Ingrid Zumkehr, Jessica Küng (consulting), Isabelle Hettel (strategy).

The still-wife of Italian head of government Silvio Berlusconi has complained about a "smear" campaign in the press. For weeks, she said, she had endured in silence the fact that her person, her dignity and her marital history had been "brutally smeared".
According to SDA, Veronica Lario wrote this in a statement for the newspaper Corriere della Sera. Neither the "truth about the relationship" with her husband nor the reasons why she communicated with him via the press were touched upon, according to the statement, which the newspaper printed on the front page on Thursday. She had always loved Berlusconi and focused her life on her marriage and her family, the 52-year-old wrote, alluding to accusations in the conservative press that she was having an extramarital affair.
Lario recently announced that she wanted to file for divorce due to her 72-year-old husband's persistent weakness for young women. The focus is on the unclear relationship between the head of government and an 18-year-old girl. Berlusconi responded with a counter-attack in the media.

There will be knitting on June 13. In public and for a good cause. This year's Global Public Knitting Day is all about helping children. Under the motto "A hat full of life", the Handarbeit initiative, Save the Children and Wolle Schweiz/BWT have jointly set themselves the goal of knitting 30,000 hats for newborns in countries such as Afghanistan, Rwanda and Bangladesh. Here is written where knitting is taking place everywhere, and in many places coffee and cake are also offered - so forget the dusty grandmother image of the knitting needle, practise a few strokes at home so that the embarrassment is limited, and then let's have fun...after all, it's for a good cause.

The Swiss advertising agency is upgrading: Oli Bergmann from Cablecom will join the agency as Account Director on August 1, 2009. According to a press release, Bergmann has over 18 years of experience in communications. He worked for nine years on the client side and nine years on the agency side. Oli Bergmann has been Head of Marcom & Brand at Cablecom for four years.
The advertising agency and Oli Bergmann already know each other quite well: until last year, the advertising agency worked as a communications agency for Cablecom.

The Sud Express fashion store has a new look and a new name: Anouk. Startbahnwest was commissioned with the entire brand change for Switzerland and the relaunch in Germany. According to the agency's statement, the brand change includes the naming, the corporate design, the development of the brand world, posters, shop window signage, POS measures, radio spots and promotions at openings. Further measures to build and strengthen the new Anouk brand in Switzerland and the EU are to follow in the future.
In Germany, the opening of six stores is planned for 2009; Anouk stores have already opened in Heidelberg, Cologne and Freiburg. There are currently 22 stores in Switzerland. More will follow.
Responsible at Sud Express: François Rueff, Mario Faé. Responsible at Runway West: Hartmut Vetter (Strategic Planning), Nicole Schnell (Consulting), Rüdiger Flothmann (CD), Rüdiger Flothmann, Natasa Maricic (Text), Gesine Dittrich, Yolanda Lopez (AD), Joely Tafanalo (DTP), Alex Colle (Photography), Frank Wirnsberger (Hair & Make-up), Petra Pfäffli (Styling).