The Canadian media entrepreneur reads the riot act to local hoteliers. Brûlé is bothered by the fact that the Swiss are trying too hard to adapt to international standards. This is wrong: "The world's travelers don't come to Switzerland to enjoy a Thai spa experience. Generally speaking, our foreign guests come to experience the mountains, the nature, the weather, the coziness, the people. And, of course, our cities, precisely because they are Swiss cities, cozy and atmospheric," Brûlé is quoted as saying in Thursday's Handelszeitung. Tyler Brûlé has been preaching the values of Swissness for over ten years. After the grounding of Swissair in 2001, he created the logo and corporate design of the new airline Swiss.

Photo: Monocle/Suki Dhanda

With the new A-Class and its wide range of configuration possibilities and design options, Mercedes-Benz is going all out for individuality and is thus targeting young people between 25 and 35 in particular. Fittingly, the motto: "Ready for a car that suits you?". The car is as individual as the test drive. On this basis, Wirz has launched the Mystery Test Drive: When you get in, you don't know where the journey will take you. Only the pre-programmed navigation system knows the way and guides the driver to a surprise destination: an exclusive event that suits the personal lifestyle.

To win the personal thrill, participants gave up on Mystery-test-drive.ch their interests. In the event of a win, these were used to select an individual experience for them that money can't buy. The promotion, which went on air at the beginning of October with an online clip and various banners, was a complete success. The sign-up rate for a test drive in the new A-Class was five times higher than expected. What exciting things the drivers experienced during the Mystery Test Drives were captured by camera teams and can still be followed on the website. Jeff is responsible for organizing and documenting the Mystery Test Drives.

Responsible at Mercedes-Benz: Oscar Ferrer (Head of Marketing Mercedes-Benz Cars), Christina Jaldón-Koch (Head of Advertising & Brand Manager Mercedes-Benz Passenger Cars), Danijel Sljivo (Project Manager Marketing/Communication), Myriam Dünnenberger (Project Manager Marketing/Communication). Responsible at Wirz: Livio Dainese, Fernando Perez (ECD), Wolfgang Bark, Sarah Ming (text), Dominique Magnusson, Julien de Preux (AD), Gaël Tran (Digital AD), Ben Staudenmann (graphics), Yves Rückert, Tina Mons, Antonia Sturzeis (consulting), Vincenzo Tremonte, Johannes Schulmeister, Aline Herzog (digital). Live communication: Jeff Communications; Linus Eidenbenz (Managing Partner), Valentin Hagedorn (Project Assistant), Matthias Klöti (Project Assistant). Media: Fuel@VivaKi.
 

The SRG Deutschschweiz association is tasked with promoting public discussion about the audiovisual public service in Switzerland. To achieve this among the young target group, the online platform "SRG Insider" was launched in 2013. SRG Insider provides information about what's going on around SRG SSR for young people.

The goal of the campaign created by Ogilvy One is to show that SRF has experts at work who make their broad knowledge available to everyone on a daily basis as part of the public service. But who are these experts? And what distinguishes them? OgilvyOne provides the answers with "Which SRF expert are you?", an interactive test that creates proximity between the experts and the target group. The test - advertised exclusively on social media - was quickly very well received. In the first week, around 4'500 users had already found out whether they were more like Steffi Buchli, Thomas Bucheli or another SRF expert in terms of character. Following the test, each expert recommends his or her favorite articles on SRG Insider and lets the user dive directly into the world of the platform.

The results, shared on social media, got SRG Insider talking and encouraged more people to take the test. The experts themselves, such as Andi Rohrer, Nik Hartmann and Steffi Buchli, also tested themselves - some even discovered their second personality in the process.

To the test Srginsider.ch/expert-test

Responsible at SRG Deutschschweiz: Laura Verbeke (Project Manager SRG Insider), Viviane Aubert (Project Manager Social Media). Responsible at Ogilvy One: Benjamin Franken (CD), Frank Engelhaupt (Text), Karl Badde (Art Director Digital), Maximilian Börke (Consulting), Nadine Wolf (Social Media).

Social media use has decreased among young people. According to the study, the proportion of people using Facebook has fallen by ten percentage points in the space of a year. If young people are therefore watching more TV with friends and communicating less via social networks, the question arises as to whether personal contact - even if it takes place in front of the TV set - is about to make a comeback at the expense of digital communication, according to a press release on the study on Wednesday. It is still too early to give a clear answer. Studies over the next few years could provide clarity.

Smartphone has the same importance as TV set

The trend in smartphone use is already clear. In the population as a whole, the smartphone has now become as important as the television set. There are very few young people who do not use a smartphone every day. Two thirds of the population in German- and French-speaking Switzerland already use their smartphone at home. Among young people, the figure is as high as 95 percent. Smartphones are also used significantly more at work and at school as well as on public transport than they were a year ago. Young people in particular are using the internet on their smartphones more and more often. At least a quarter watch live television programs on their device at least occasionally.

The IGEM-digiMonitor was developed by the Interessengemeinschaft elektronische Medien IGEM together with the AG für Werbemedienforschung WEMF. The Lucerne Link Institute collected this year's data by telephone between the beginning of August and the beginning of September. (SDA)

Specifically, the industry is concerned that the price of a landline subscription in the basic service should include all calls made from 2018 onwards - regardless of how often and for how long someone makes calls. The maximum subscription price should be CHF 29.35 per month. This is provided for in the revision of the Ordinance on Telecommunications Services, the consultation on which ended on Tuesday. It is necessary because the current universal service license is expiring. Swisscom still has the license until the end of 2017. However, it is likely that it will retain the license and could be forced to offer the flat rate from 2018.

Distortions of competition

However, anchoring the flat rate in the basic service would lead to distortions of competition, criticized the Association of Telecommunications (asut) in a statement. A fixed network connection without a flat rate already costs around CHF 25 per month with Swisscom and Sunrise. In future, users will be able to make unlimited calls to all Swiss networks for around four francs per month. According to asut, the new price cap cannot be justified. The universal service guarantees a basic offering at affordable prices across the country. However, it should not be interpreted as an "entitlement to everything you want". Telecom provider Salt also warns against "regulation for the sake of regulation".

No standard market price

For the cost calculation, OFCOM used the current price charged by Swisscom for the "last mile". This is currently CHF 13.30. For the flat rate, the Federal Office added the additional monthly amount of the current Vivo offers from Swisscom. This calculation is met with incomprehension in the industry. Swisscom is not aware of any market offer that could compete with the proposed price caps, the company writes. Instead of the standard market price, Bakom has used the cost-oriented price.

The future is flat rate

The Confederation justifies the switch to a flat rate with the trend over the next few years. In all likelihood, a flat rate for calls will become the norm, according to the explanatory report. For Swisscom, it is undisputed that flat rates are becoming increasingly popular. However, a clear majority of customers still make calls on the basis of minute-based billing, the company argues. (SDA)

82 artists from 19 countries took part and designed subjects on the subject of climate change. All posters are available in the gallery of Brandalism to see. The focus of many works: Large corporations acting as sponsors at the summit. "Air polluters like Air France or GDF-Suez-Engie can present themselves as part of the solution through sponsorship - but they are part of the problem," denounces Joe Elan from Brandalism in a Communication to. It also accuses the advertising industry of actively promoting the need for products made from petroleum and thus climate change. "We are taking back their spaces because we want to question the role that advertising plays in promoting unsustainable consumption". Incidentally, the posters were placed behind the glass panes of the billboards by Brandalism activists dressed as JCDecaux employees. (hae)

The NZZ.at magazine is initially intended as a one-off test run, as NZZ.at Editor-in-Chief Michael Fleischhacker said in an interview with the Austrian news agency APA. In terms of design and paper, the product, which will start with a circulation of 20,000 to 25,000 copies, is to resemble monthly magazines such as Brand eins or Datum. Former Datum editor-in-chief Stefan Kaltenbrunner has also been involved in the past few weeks as an "obstetrician" for NZZ.at and has helped with the conception and production of the magazine. The first issue will be about 90 pages long and will contain reports, interviews and topics that are important to the NZZ.at editorial team, as Fleischhacker explained. The focus should be on the main topic "We two - me and the state," he said. There will be no second or re-use of already published online content.

Fleischhacker is not sure whether NZZ.at will continue after the first issue and become a regular monthly magazine. That would depend on its success. "I know that the printed daily newspaper has a finite lifespan. But at the same time, I believe that one of the most likely media futures is a combination of online media and print magazines, published with low frequency and organized by focus topics. And because some others at our company also believe this, we are now exploring this possible avenue," said the editor-in-chief. (SDA)

The survey of 7,000 consumers from ten countries conducted as part of the "Generation Hashtag ascendant: Think native digital first" study shows that half of all media consumers already favor content that is designed and offered exclusively digitally - and preferably via mobile devices. However, most media companies still need to adapt better to the wishes and needs of these digital natives. "Whether media companies benefit from this new wave of demand depends on how they can satisfy changing customer needs," explains Imeyen Ebong, Partner at Bain & Company and Head of the Technology, Media, Telecommunications practice group in Germany.

The regional and age-related differences are large:

- The hashtag generation includes up to 47% of respondents from the industrialized nations of the USA, the UK, France, Sweden and Germany. In the growth countries of Russia, China, India, Brazil and South Africa, the figure is 37%.

- In Germany, only 38% of the 2183 respondents are digital natives. This is significantly less than in other industrialized nations and only slightly more than in the growth regions.

- The 15 to 25-year-olds dominate. Almost one in three consume music and print media primarily in digital formats. The 55-plus generation only accounts for six and eleven percent respectively. In the case of services such as real estate information, 32% of over 55s already use purely digital offerings.

- The acceptance of paying for digital content is particularly high in industrialized nations. Here, between 24% and 32% use a credit card for music, videos and online games. The willingness to pay is particularly high among Germans, at up to 37%. They justify this with better access to content and more convenient usage options.

- Data protection is an alarming trend for providers. Fewer and fewer consumers in industrialized nations are disclosing personal information. Their share has fallen from 34% in 2013 to 24% recently. The trend in Germany is even more dramatic. Here, the willingness to disclose personal data rose to 37% in 2014, only to plummet to 27% in 2015.

Earning money with digital content

The biggest challenge for media companies remains earning money with the elaborately produced digital content. Bain expert Ebong advises greater experimentation: "Those who have more valuable offerings and develop new payment structures are well equipped to compete for the hashtag generation."

According to Bain & Company, content providers should follow five guidelines:

1. completely redesign digital content. Media groups can no longer simply adapt the products of the past to the Internet age. Successful content is influenced, if not determined, by end users.

2. secure the distribution channels. The formula for success, according to which good content always sells, no longer applies. Too many Internet offerings are fighting for the attention of consumers. Success only comes to those who address their precisely defined target group in the right channel at the right time with truly desirable content.

3. internalize the new rules of advertising and marketing. The development of individual customer profiles and the strict measurement of the return on investment have replaced the previous definition of reach and rough customer segmentation. Advertising forms that can hardly be distinguished from editorial texts are becoming the new drivers for direct marketing and classic brand campaigns.

4. individualize and optimally evaluate consumer data. Knowing customers and their preferred buying environment is more important than ever. Media groups must create incentives for potential buyers to provide them with their data. Trusted brands of large media companies in particular are likely to benefit from the increased global demands on data security.

5. growing with the stars of the digital world. The takeover of a start-up requires a particularly sensitive approach. How can the value of this beacon of hope be measured? How closely should the freedom-loving founders be integrated? And how can the demanding young talent be retained?

Bain partner Ebong emphasizes: "No matter how complex and challenging the future becomes: Media groups must adapt to the concept of 'digital native first'."
 

After all, sexting these days usually doesn’t happen with words anymore, but with pictures. Since there aren’t any «built-in» risqué emojis, fruits, donuts, or fingers are repurposed as symbols of a more intimate nature. And whenever sex is involved—even casually—condoms should be part of the conversation. Unfortunately, there’s no condom emoji. Even though most people probably feel a more urgent need for a vomiting emoji: Durex wants a condom—and has therefore recently launched the ##CondomEmoji campaign. The idea behind the campaign, created by Havas London, is for people to use the hashtag as often as possible, thereby encouraging the emoji creators to introduce a condom emoji.

The MTV Staying Alive Foundation, which fights the HIV virus worldwide, is taking a similar approach. To mark World AIDS Day, the foundation—with the help of the agency Y&R New York—launched an explicit ad featuring human emojis, produced by Oscar-winning Hollywood editor Angus Wall.

The advertisement is for a free-to-install Condom Emoji Keyboard, which was developed in collaboration with Snaps (more on this). Among other things, Snaps creates customized emojis and chat icons for companies. The keyboards can be manually added to messaging apps, and the icons can be used. While these aren't official emojis that come pre-installed on every system, they can be used just like them. Either way, the rule is: at least one emoji. (hae)

"I very much regret that we have to part ways with colleagues," explained Managing Director Thomas Hass. The shareholders of the company, which is majority-owned by its own employees, have now approved the savings and growth program, with which the management and editorial team aim to permanently reduce costs by around 16 million euros by the end of 2017. The editorial department is to save 6.4 million euros, the documentation department 1.5 million euros and the publishing house 8.2 million euros. Minority shareholders are the Bertelsmann subsidiary Gruner + Jahr and the heirs of the magazine's founder Rudolf Augstein. In order to cushion the decline in revenue from the printed magazine, the publisher intends to strengthen its digital offering and expand the existing free Spiegel Online offering to include paid-for articles. There are also plans for a paid service called "Der Spiegel international", a daily news service and an improvement to the app, with which the printed magazine can already be read for a fee as an e-paper. The printed Spiegel is to be given a regional section for North Rhine-Westphalia on a trial basis. (SDA)

In addition to Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, McDonald's Switzerland has also been using Instagram as a platform for community management for some time. McDonald's works with the social media team at Goldbach Interactive (GBI) on strategy development, editorial planning, content production, monitoring and active dialog management.

As Instagram is becoming increasingly important and has also been available as an advertising platform in Switzerland since October 2015, the aim is to activate the community on the image network and gain more followers for the McDonald's Switzerland profile. McDonald's and GBI are using the pre-Christmas period for this purpose and have designed an Advent calendar for Instagram. For 24 days, users can win gifts from McDonald's every day or give gifts to their friends. McDonald's products are wrapped up in Christmas packaging and hidden behind the doors. Every day a new picture is posted on Instagram.com/mcdonalds_switzerland under the hashtag #McXmas. Behind each picture is a small task, such as tagging a friend or posting a Christmas verse. The winning mechanism varies and makes use of various interaction options, such as following, tagging, giving likes, mentioning or commenting, which increases the reach within Instagram.

GBI's campaign is accompanied by cross-postings and dialog management on Facebook and Twitter. Carousel ads and link ads on Facebook and Instagram are also used to activate users via ads with multiple images and links.

Responsible at McDonald's Switzerland: AglaëStrachwitz (Communications & Public Affairs Manager), Christel Stadelmann (Communications Consultant). Responsible at Goldbach Interactive: Stephanie Wörmann (overall responsibility/consulting group manager), Frederike Coninx (senior art director), Torsten Schallmeier (senior copywriter/concept developer), Claudia Dörr (community manager).
 

The 44-year-old native of Hanseatic, began his professional career at the first German television (ARD). During this time, he supervised various studio and live productions as well as well-known series such as "Tatort". Subsequently, he worked in well-known theaters in Dortmund and Bern, until he moved to the KKL Luzern in 2010 as head of technology. As the project manager responsible for corporate events, he also planned and coordinated special constructions and permanent installations. Another task at the KKL Luzern was the reorganization of the company focused on process optimization and profitability of the event technology division.