Social media with web services and platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, blogs and podcasts have long since outgrown the phase of mere time distribution and are increasingly changing the world of corporate communication. Entrepreneurs who know how to use such media for their own benefit inform and react faster, more successfully and also more creatively. The experts who will meet on October 31 at the Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute in Zurich for the first Somesso Corporate Social Media Conference agree on this. International speakers want to introduce a select group to the multitude of new communication forms and the trends of today and tomorrow. Together with experts, they will familiarize themselves with the opportunities and possibilities of web services and specialized platforms at Somesso. Independent Advisor Susan Kish (First Tuesday, Xing) will moderate the program. Keynote speakers are Julie Meyer (founder First Tuesday) and Frans van der Reep (KPN, InHolland Digital World). They will be joined by representatives from IBM, MySpace, GoViral and Kaspar Loeb from Saatchi & Saatchi Simko.
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The next but one Somesso conference will take place in London in March.

On Monday, November 24, the American rock band Guns'n'Roses will release their new album "Chinese Democracy". It is their first in 17 years and has been announced so often that many people no longer expected it to actually see the light of day. Take soft drink manufacturer Dr. Pepper, for example: in March of this year, the company announced that, with the exception of former guitarists Slash and Buckethead, it would give every American a free can of its sweet drink if the men around lead singer Axel Rose managed to release their sixth studio album this year. Now that the date has been set, the gentlemen on the executive floor of the drinks manufacturer must be shaking in their boots. Perhaps they are currently mixing their soft drink with high-proof spirits. Because if they want to keep their word, this means that they theoretically have to distribute 304,482,524 cans on November 24. Marketing manager Tony Jacobs said: "We never thought this day would come. All we can say now is: Dr. Pepper is on us!" The drinks manufacturer now wants to protect itself against excessively high costs with a coupon system via the company's own website. If every American were to exercise their right, Dr. Pepper would be faced with costs of almost 170 million dollars. Perhaps it's little consolation for Dr. Pepper and his followers, but if the first voices on the Internet are to be believed, the album by the old rockers should be pretty good. (ads)

As of November 1, 2008, Marc Landis will take over as Editor-in-Chief of the new B2B platform Home-Electronic Inside at p.a. Media in Baden-Dättwil. In this function, he will be responsible for the print edition, the website and the newsletter.
The 35-year-old gained his media experience at Salz & Pfeffer and Handelszeitung. He was also final editor and deputy editor-in-chief at CE Markt Schweiz for three years. Since 2006, he has worked for the home appliance and networking magazine El Mag.

The debate about quality on German television has claimed a prominent victim: ZDF is parting ways with its presenter Elke Heidenreich with immediate effect. As program director Thomas Bellut explained on Thursday, the renowned author and literary critic had left the level of objective debate with her public statements and had publicly disparaged ZDF in a way that was no longer acceptable. The relationship of trust between ZDF and Heidenreich had been so permanently destroyed that "a prosperous and meaningful cooperation is no longer possible".
Heidenreich had attacked her station after literary critic Marcel Reich-Ranicki declined the honorary award for his life's work at the German Television Awards ceremony on October 11. "I thought what an imposition this pathetic, stupid event must be for him." Most of the nominated films and series were "pathetic", Heidenreich told the press. "You're ashamed to even work for a channel like this. As far as I'm concerned, kick me out now, I'm tired of fighting anyway."
Reich-Ranicki himself was able to understand the broadcaster's decision. He emphasized that his speech had referred solely to the ceremony. The interpretation that he had meant the German television programs as a whole in his scolding was "great nonsense": "I did not want to go to war with the broadcasters." ZDF announced that there will still be a literary program on ZDF after Heidenreich's departure. A follow-up concept is being worked on for 2009. Instead of the planned "Lesen!" programs, the cultural magazine "Aspekte" will be broadcast.

Blick am Abend is doubling the number of boxes in Bern from 40 to 80 with immediate effect. "I am very happy that we can now serve the people of Bern twice as well as before," Blick am Abend editor-in-chief Peter Röthlisberger was quoted as saying in a press release on Thursday. Bottlenecks had previously occurred in the area around the main station in particular.
The distribution boxes are part of a special construction developed by Ringier with which all four free newspapers are distributed. "Representatives of the city of Bern sat down together to find an ideal solution," says Ringier distribution coordinator Pascal Müller. "It is in the interest of the authorities not to affect the cityscape. And of course we want to be able to serve our readers in the best possible way."
The solution to the problem is called "Multirack". Both sides are satisfied with the redesign: "We are delighted with the additional 40 locations and hope to now guarantee seamless coverage," Müller is quoted as saying.

The 7th Biel Communication Days focused on the future of television. The speakers discussed new technologies and the strategic orientation of television stations. A total of over 750 participants attended the presentations.
According to SDA, the topic of the presentation by Marco Wanders, Senior Director at Microsoft Mediarooms, was the transformation of television through new technologies. IPTV will fundamentally change television. Jean-Paul de Weck, CEO of Swisscom Broadcast, spoke about his experiences with mobile TV. Catherine Mühlemann, partner at Andmann Media Holding, spoke about the future of linear television. She emphasized the importance of convergence. Linear TV is coming under pressure and will become one option among many.
Karlheinz Kögel, owner of Thomson Media Control, and Publicis Chairman Fredy Collioud spoke about the reach and necessity of advertising. They explained that advertising sets a spiral in motion that provokes competitors to react more strongly. Collioud explained that television advertising is still the best way to change attitudes and feelings for a brand on an emotional level through the combination of image and sound.
"Licensing is a complex matter and takes time"
The panel on radio and television regulation in the run-up to the new licensing process concluded the Biel/Bienne Communication Days. The discussion with media entrepreneur Roger Schawinski, Günter Heuberger (Managing Director of Top Medien), Jürg Bachmann (President of the Association of Swiss Private Radio Stations) and Martin Dumermuth (Director of Bakom) was chaired by Hans Peter Trütsch (Head of the Federal Parliament Editorial Department of Swiss Television).
Schawinski emphasized that the radio landscape in Switzerland is impoverished. "I want to make a contribution to greater diversity." Having to wait so long for a license to be awarded is unpleasant. Jürg Bachmann also describes the current situation as a difficult time. "The uncertainty as to whether we will be able to broadcast at all next year is stressful." Martin Dumermuth replied that it would be wrong to be put under pressure now. "Licensing is a complex matter and takes time. We want to justify the decisions well in legal terms". Günter Heuberger hopes that the new concessions will lead to more depth in the programs.
It was not possible to find out on Thursday exactly when the licenses will be awarded. The announcement is expected sometime between now and the start of the winter session at the beginning of December, Bakom told Werbewoche.

For the eleventh time, Ewz.selection and the Association of Photographic Designers VFG are offering the Swiss Photo Award and are looking for the best works of 2008. The photo award is endowed with the Ewz.selection Award in the amount of 15,000 Swiss francs as well as four category prizes in the amount of 5,000 Swiss francs each and an audience prize of 1,000 Swiss francs.
Published work by photographers residing in Switzerland or with Swiss citizenship will be entered in the Advertising, Editorial Photography and Fine Arts categories, while unpublished work will be entered in the Free category.
The 18 selected works will be published in the exhibition catalog Swiss Photo Selection as well as in the image database Swiss Photo Collection and presented in the exhibition Swiss Photography. The Opening Night opens the exhibition at the Ewz Unterwerk Selnau in Zurich with a celebration on May 8, 2009.
The participation forms, the regulations and further information are available online at www.ewzselection.ch.

Not too long ago, Microsoft took its 300 million US dollar advertising campaign into its second phase and responded directly to Apple's "Get a Mac" series with the "I'm a PC" commercials. Apple has now followed this up with two commercials: "Bean Counter" makes fun of Microsoft's expensive advertising campaign - instead of spending money on improving Windows Vista, the company is investing in advertising, according to the message. In the "V Word" commercial, Mac mocks the fact that Microsoft is concealing the name of the Vista product in its own campaign.
Once again, Justin Long and John Hodgman play the roles of the Mac and the PC.
Spot "Bean Counter"
V Word" spot

The Foundation for Applied Arts and Design has awarded Adrian Frutiger the Bern Design Prize 2008. The Foundation's expert committee honored the type designer for his life's work. The award ceremony took place on October 21 in Bern's town hall in front of around 200 guests from the art, design, architecture and advertising scene.
Frutiger designed the sans serif Univers, for example, which was launched in 1957. In 1972, it was chosen by Otl Aicher for the appearance of the Olympic Games in Munich. Frutiger's OCR-B, which was optimized for machine readability, became the ISO standard in 1973 and is now used on all credit cards worldwide. In 1976, he also designed a font for Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris that is also easy to read from a distance - Frutiger. The further development of Astra-Frutiger can be seen on today's street signs in Switzerland. The entire corporate design of Swiss Post was also created by Frutiger.

The car brand Volvo is a sponsor of the toughest sailing regatta in the world. Since October 4, 2008, a number of international sailing teams have been battling for victory in the nine-month Volvo Ocean Race under the most extreme conditions. In honor of this regatta, Volvo has launched three special models - the Ocean Race Edition. The XC70, XC90 and V70 models are now available in a special version. According to the Zurich agency Spillmann/Felser/Leo Burnett, these three models have one thing in common with the sailing regatta: they are always ready for adventure.
Under the motto "Welcome aboard", Spillmann/Felser/Leo Burnett has created a campaign that can now be heard on posters, on the Internet and on the radio.
Responsible at Volvo: Peter Rask (CEO), Dr. Andreas Block (Director of Marketing and PR), Eveline Bauert (Communication Manager). Responsible at Spillmann/Felser/Leo Burnett: Simon Staub, Patrick Suter, Martin Spillmann (CD), Simon Staub (AD), Patrick Suter, Cyrill Wirz (text), Moritz Stillhart, Aurelio Burgdorfer (graphics), Audrey Isaak, Dominik Laubscher (consulting), Suzana Kovacevic (art buying). Photo: Uwe Düttmann. Image editing: Peter Ruebenian.

Star TV is reorganizing. As of February 1, 2009, ex-Cinecom man Jean-Claude Bruhin is to take up the post of Chief Operating Officer. In this role, he will complement owner and CEO Paul Grau and strengthen the areas of sales and communication.
CEO and owner Paul Grau explains the change in the company structure with the desire for a stronger market presence. "We have continuously improved our offering and now produce a wide range of professional programs under the multimedia, lifestyle, cinema and entertainment labels. We want to communicate and market this content even better," Grau was quoted as saying in a statement on Thursday. They also want to surprise viewers and advertising clients with new ideas next year.
Jean-Claude Bruhin will be entrusted with the development of these ideas from February 2009. Now 46 years old, he was Head of Sales and Marketing during the early days of commercial private television at regional broadcaster Tele M1. Over the past ten years, he has held various positions at the cinema and TV marketing company Cinecom, most recently as overall head of the cinema division.
Star TV went on air in 1995. According to the broadcaster, the daily net reach is up to 580,000 people.

Following an agency evaluation, Euro RSCG Zurich has been awarded the communications mandate by Pro Patria. With a national campaign, the agency on Zurich's Gutstrasse aims to bring the protection of cultural assets closer to the Swiss population, as detailed in a press release issued on Thursday. The communication measures will focus on the diverse projects that Pro Patria has been supporting for 100 years. The first works will be on display in spring 2009.