The Flowcube Communications agency, based in Zurich and with a branch office in Milan, was commissioned with the PR activities relating to the marketing of the office and service space in the Stadtraum HB planning area. The core of this design plan, which is supported by SBB and Swiss Post, is the "New Zurich City Center". The aim of the new district is to create an innovative place to work, shop and live, according to a press release. The focus is on office and service areas designed with internationally active companies in mind.

 The Zug-based communications agency Giger Com has successfully won a pitch against two competitors and won the mandate from Daiichi-Sankyo/Eli Lilly to launch the anti-platelet drug Prasugrel on the Swiss market. The agency will be responsible for overall communications with immediate effect, as detailed in a press release issued on Thursday. With this mandate, Giger Com is further expanding its client base in the pharmaceutical industry.

 
The search engine operator Yahoo is giving software developers access to its search technology so that they can build their own search engines. The work platform called Boss (Build Your Own Search Service) is intended to open up the search engine market, which is currently dominated by the three big players Google, Microsoft and Yahoo, to other players. At the same time, Yahoo wants to make its search technology available to companies so that they can implement their own search solutions on their websites. The decidedly open strategy of the company, which is under massive takeover pressure from Microsoft, is intended to improve Yahoo's search technology and at the same time generate more traffic and thus additional advertising revenue. The sale of the technology is also intended to generate additional income for the financial consolidation of the company. The profits will be shared with future partners. Yahoo has also entered into partnerships with a number of universities, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Stanford University, to further develop its search technology.
 

 
The Zurich agency Spillmann/Felser/Leo Burnett has developed a campaign for the Goldbach subsidiary IP Multimedia that features a lemur calling for trees to be saved. Previously, media planners and consultants would have had to fight their way through mountains of paper to plan a TV campaign. According to the agency's press release, this was a waste of paper, as the mountains of paper can now be put aside and many trees can be saved from being felled - all the data for a TV campaign is now available online at Tvmediatool.ch, provided by IP Multimedia Switzerland (see ).Responsible at IP Multimedia:
Franca Mathes (project management), Marcel Bosshard (overall responsibility). Responsible at Spillmann/Felser/Leo Burnett: Patrick Suter (CD), Diana Rossi (text), Karin Estermann (AD), Andrea Staub, Stefanie Brauchli (consulting), Suzana Kovacevic (art buying). Image editing: Rohner Retouche.

 
Empa is also jumping on the iPhone bandwagon and on Thursday announced the launch of its new podcast channel "EmpaTV" on July 11. The Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology wants to provide insights into its laboratories by means of regularly updated video podcasts. The aim is to appeal to people interested in innovation and technology. There will be contributions about the latest developments (Innovation Channel) and Empa events (Events@Empa). These will also include reports on experiments, for example on the bionic blimp, an airship that floats through the air like a fish. Or about a gigantic road destroyer that ages road surfaces in fast motion. All contributions can be downloaded to a computer, smartphone, iPod or the new iPhone. The new Empa service can be subscribed to free of charge on iTunes.

 In future, the media conferences of the Zurich cantonal government can be followed on the Internet. Video transmission will be introduced next fall or winter, it was announced to the media on Thursday. Every Thursday, the government spokesperson or a member of the government informs the media about decisions made by the cantonal government on Wednesday. This information is now to be made directly accessible to the public. The media conferences will be broadcast - with a slight time delay - on the cantonal government's media platform on the Internet.
The Federal Council's media conferences have been available online for almost five years, as Thomas Abegglen, Deputy Head of the Information Section at the Federal Chancellery, told SDA on request. Since November 2003, all appearances after the weekly Federal Council meetings have been broadcast and archived.

 
The ageing man represents a real challenge for marketing. According to Horizont.net, this is the result of the study "Maturing instead of ageing" by the market research company Séissmo in Mannheim. According to the results, consumer goods manufacturers should focus their advertising and marketing strategy on four points in particular. Firstly, men want support in the positive aspects of ageing. Secondly, men want performance. Thirdly, men want to maintain their range of movement. And fourthly, men want technology-heavy and "masculine" packaging - such as cold materials and color effects or fluid instead of creamy content. And in general, men like advertising that signals self-confidence and advertising that deals with their weaknesses in a humorous way. But don't worry, he's not that complicated, our ageing gentleman: since the successes of George Cloony or Sean Connery at the latest, he no longer has any problems with grey hair and wrinkles - on the contrary: with silver hair on his head and a wrinkled face, he feels somehow mature and wise. That's just how he ticks, the ageing man.

 Communications and marketing specialist Ursula Gamper joined the Cityguide TV hotel television team at the beginning of July. As deputy managing director, she supports CEO Silvia Affolter in all matters, according to a press release issued on Thursday. In addition, Cityguide TV wants to gain more weight on the Internet and in other media from now on, as well as announcing a new partner for luxury hotel television: from fall 2008, Cityguide TV will also be shown in the newly opened The Dolder Grand.
Cityguide TV is broadcast in over 60 Swiss hotels and provides information about the respective region. The program is supported by advertising partners from the luxury segment.

 
Contract Media has announced a new addition to its team: Nicolle Ming has joined the Zurich-based agency as a partner. As a communications consultant, she will be responsible in particular for mandates in the consumer goods and lifestyle sectors, as detailed in a press release issued on Thursday. The 29-year-old political science graduate previously worked as an editor for the business magazine Eco and the Swiss television political program Arena. As former Head of Public Relations/Public Affairs at Swiss export promotion agency Osec, she also has experience in the
Corporate Communications.

 
The new people magazine from Tamedia, which 20 Minuten is launching together with Annabelle and Tilllate.com at the end of October 2008 (see ), is gaining a new member of staff. Thomas Speich is to become page maker/production manager. The 42-year-old has been head of the Züritipp editorial team since 2006. He previously worked at the Tages-Anzeiger, where he helped to redesign the Zurich and region section. From 2000 to 2003, he was deputy head of production at the Sonntagszeitung.
Martina Loepfe joins the free magazine as fashion editor. The 32-year-old from Aargau has been a fashion assistant at Annabelle since 2006. She previously worked as a designer at Packaging Design Studio Rutelli in Bassersdorf.
People magazine is bringing Martin Fischer on board as an additional editor. The 26-year-old from Lucerne completed an internship at 20 Minuten. He studied sociology, media studies and English literature and is a guitarist in the bands Huck Finn and Neviss.

 
The Zofingen-based publishing house Ringier has launched the online advice platform "Entertainment 360" on the subject of consumer electronics. E360.ch offers advice on mobile telephony, photography, video, television, games and PCs. An editorial team and a group of over twelve experts have been set up for this service. According to a press release on Thursday, the platform is intended to offer an alternative to the countless forums that often only cover certain areas. With the E360 project, Ringier is continuing to pursue its strategy of expanding digital services. The publisher has secured Microsoft, Sony-Ericsson and Digitec as partners and sponsors for E360. 

 
Peter Studhalter is the new Head of Television Film at Schweizer Fernsehen. He will take over from Madeleine Hirsiger on January 1, 2009. Hirsiger has headed the editorial team for four years and will retire at the end of January 2009.Studhalter now works as a screenwriter and freelance consultant for production companies. He is also a guest lecturer for series formats at the Baden-Württemberg Film Academy. He was already working as a freelance screenwriter and script editor in the 1990s. He then joined RTL, where he was initially responsible for the development and production of TV films, film series, cinema co-productions and event productions as a senior TV movie editor. In a second phase as head of the TV-Movie department, he also took over the positioning and promotion of the formats. Peter Studhalter studied German philology and art history at the University of Zurich.