Change in the communications department at Schwyzer Kantonalbank: Damian Hallenbarter is leaving his post at the end of the year after seven years. The new media spokesman will be the lawyer Peter Geisser.
Hallenbarter is moving to the Executive Board of SZKB. He will also be responsible for the Processing and Infrastructure division from next year.

The Swiss love the man with the license to kill: Switzerland remains the number one Bond country this year. "Quantum of Solace", the 22nd Bond adventure directed by Marc Forster from Davos, is the most successful film in the 2008 Swiss cinema charts with over 750,000 admissions. As Disney Pictures wrote in a press release on Thursday, a few more visitors are expected over the holidays.

On December 1, Manuel Küffer took over as head of the online department of the Neue Luzerner Zeitung. The 40-year-old is responsible for marketing, sales and technical development as well as for the further development of the regional platform Zisch.ch and collaboration with the online editorial team.
According to a press release issued on Thursday, Küffer previously worked in marketing and product management at Swisstxt and Swissinfo (SRG) as well as Orange Switzerland and France Télécom. Most recently, he worked as a manager at the media and telecoms consultancy Greenwich Consulting. At Neue Luzerner Zeitung, he reports to Bruno Hegglin, Head of Advertising Market and member of the Executive Board.

Family conflicts often escalate at Christmas. Young people can find emotional and practical support in the form of telephone and personal advice or concrete shelter options at Schlupfhuus. The Sulzer, Sutter agency has developed a pre-Christmas poster for the Schlupfhuus: Christmas tree baubles burning towards their explosion like little bombs - before the festive season comes to a crashing halt, the Schlupfhuus is there, according to the message.
The poster can now be seen everywhere in the city of Zurich where young people come together, i.e. in youth centers and similar institutions.
Responsible at Schlupfhuus: Bea Leuppi (Manager). Responsible at Sulzer, Sutter: Michael Kathe (CD), Sebastian Krayer (AD), Katja Wölfel (text), Remo Christen (consulting).

The SRG Board of Directors has approved a further savings package of CHF 20 million per year until 2010 in addition to the savings programs already underway totalling CHF 100 million per year. Savings are to be made in upcoming building renovations and in the Director General's strategic reserve budget. SRG also wants to save money on contracts with its partners. As a second measure, the number of jobs in the coming year will be capped at the level of the 2008 budget.
Since 2000, the company has not received any additional funds from fee income after adjusting for inflation, SRG announced on Thursday according to SDA. SRG's accounts are therefore burdened with a structural deficit in the medium term.
The global financial crisis has now led to additional risks: Advertising revenues are declining in 2008 and will be lower than forecast, SRG writes further. At the same time, personnel costs have risen more sharply than originally planned. As a result of the unexpectedly high inflation at the end of October, SRG's payroll will increase by 2.8 percent in the coming year.
The Board of Directors also decided on measures to restructure the SRG pension fund (PKS). As a result of the slump on the stock market, this fund has a shortfall of CHF 170 million. The coverage ratio is currently around 90 percent. The SRG Board of Directors wants to restructure the PKS with a lower interest rate and an increase in contributions. As the employer, SRG intends to make a disproportionate contribution to the restructuring measures.

The Oswald Siegfried advertising agency (OSW) has designed a large poster for the Chevrolet Center Reinach, a branch of its client Grosspeter. According to the press release, the poster dramatizes the fact that, contrary to popular belief, a Chevrolet doesn't cost the earth. Repainted in an unusual piggy bank pink, the Basel agency proved that advertising for cars does not necessarily have to be colorless, the press release continues.
Responsible at Grosspeter: Jasmine Gasser (Head of Communications). Responsible at OSW: Michael Oswald (AD), Nadine Siegfried (consulting), René Fisch (text).

The French National Assembly has approved the planned reform of public broadcasting. According to the draft law, there will be no more advertising on state television after 8 p.m. from January 5.
The loss of advertising revenue is to be offset by new taxes for private broadcasters and internet providers, among others. In addition, the head of the public broadcasters is to be appointed personally by the president in future. The opposition criticized the text as a step backwards to the time when the content of news broadcasts was approved by the government.
The planned abolition of television advertising had triggered fierce protests. Among other things, the government wants to raise the standard of state television. Critics pointed out that the private broadcasters would be the winners of the reform, as they could expect significantly more advertising revenue. President Nicolas Sarkozy is close friends with the head of the largest private broadcaster TF1, Martin Bouygues. For the President, the parliament's decision is a major domestic political victory.
The government had urged Patrick de Carolis, head of the state television station France Télévisions, to announce the abolition of advertising on his own. Against this backdrop, the discussion of the bill in the second chamber of parliament, the Senate, is considered a mere formality. Advertising is to be completely abolished from the end of 2011.

Angelink Yourposition has won several new accounts in the fourth quarter of this year. The Zurich-based search engine marketing agency manages Fujifilm Switzerland’s AdWords campaign, advises the Zurich Cantonal Power Company (EKZ) on search engine optimization, and organizes the international Google campaigns for Freitag lab, the manufacturer of «Freitag bags.» In mid-December, the team led by Lukas Stuber—which had previously been based on Elias-Canetti-Strasse—also moved into larger office space at Tramstrasse 10 in Zurich-Oerlikon.

The new, first program director of Tele Top is Stefan Nägeli. As of March 1, the experienced Zurich television personality will assume responsibility for the entire Tele Top program.
With the concession granted on October 31, 2008 for the Zurich - north-eastern Switzerland coverage area, Tele Top regional television is now gradually setting the course for the future. In addition to the existing positions of editor-in-chief, sales manager, promotions manager and technical manager, the newly created position of program manager has now been filled.
43-year-old Stefan Nägeli began his media career in 1986 as a presenter at the former Radio Eulach in Winterthur, before working as a presenter and editor at Radio Z from 1989 to 1995. After 2 years as a video journalist at Tele Züri, he began his career as a producer in 1997 at Moor and Nightmoor on SF2. He then gained further editorial and production experience at Cash-TV, Sat. 1, Blick-Sport and Konsum.tv. Since 2006, Stefan Nägeli has been in charge of the development and editorial team for ice hockey at Ringier-TV's sports unit and, following the takeover of the Ringier sports unit by Teleclub, he took over as head of sports productions at Teleclub.
The organization of the programme windows and their management will be determined in the first quarter of 2009. The procedures for filling further management positions at Radio Top and Tele Top are nearing completion and will be communicated as soon as possible, the broadcaster announced on Wednesday.

In addition to the headache remedy Algifor-L forte from Vifor, the agency Matter&Gretener is now also promoting its syrup Algifor Dolo Junior. The agency is using an advertising campaign to draw attention to the antipyretic and anti-inflammatory effect of the syrup. Various subjects of the campaign will be in use from the end of the year.
Responsible at Vifor (Galenica Group): Stefan Wälti (Brand Manager). Responsible at Matter & Gretener: Daniel Matter (Creative Direction), Dominik Imseng (Text), Karin Beerli (AD), Simone Frei (Consulting).