For all fans, here’s the most important news first: The «Asterix» comic series just keeps getting better. The new volume, which comes out today, Thursday, comes quite close to the masterpieces the series achieved in its heyday before the death of writer René Goscinny in 1977. «Caesar’s Papyrus» is beautifully drawn, hilarious, and seamless. It’s current, yet timeless.

The guest star is Julian Assange as the fair-haired whistleblower Polemix. The comic takes on the internet through a grand metaphor, going so far as to have clapping sounds named not only «Paff,» «Piff,» and «Pock,» but also «Wi-Fi». It is wireless networks, in fact, that repeatedly drive the plot forward in this 36th adventure of the brave Gaul: In 50 B.C., the Romans discovered the carrier pigeon as a means of communication. Of course, the messages attached to the legs of these nimble birds suffer the same fate as emails do today: they are copied, decrypted, manipulated, traced, and sometimes intercepted.

Thanks to Bigdatha!

Polemix is the linchpin of the news network. The whistleblower—whose ancient profession is known as a «kolporteur»—has stumbled upon an explosive story in Rome: «If this gets out, it will cause a scandal that will shake the entire empire.» What happened? Caesar, on the advice of his spin doctor and publisher Rufus Syndicus, had his memoirs, *The Gallic War*, censored. All uncomfortable accounts of his encounters with Asterix and Obelix are to be removed. «That way, the Senate will believe you’ve conquered all of Gaul and will gladly approve funds for further campaigns,» the advisor urges the emperor. Caesar agrees and has the work whitewashed. But Bigdatha the Numidian, a brave man from the writing workshop, smuggles the “Caesar Leaks” out.

Obelix Should Stop Fighting

Meanwhile, the Gauls have their own worries: A newspaper horoscope has advised Obelix: «Avoid conflicts. More self-criticism, less wild boar.» So no more beating up Romans—could they have imposed something worse on him? Meanwhile, Methusalix is haunted by his past as a young hooligan. And of course, the pirates can’t be left out—one of the pigeons promptly lands right on them. It’s just too bad that none of them can read. At least the old, precocious corsair is reminded of a saying by Juvenal: «Dat veniam corvis, vexat censura columbas» («Forgive the ravens; criticism plagues the doves.») I suppose that means something like: «Hang the little ones, let the big ones go.» Which brings us full circle back to WikiLeaks, Assange, and his whistleblowers.

Mitterrand's advisor is involved

«Caesar's Papyrus» is the second volume by the current creative team of Jean-Yves Ferri (script) and Didier Conrad (art). Visually, the volume continues to draw heavily on the classic volumes of the series. Two years ago, the new duo’s first collaborative work, «Asterix and the Picts,» was published—the first volume without Asterix’s creator, Albert Uderzo. After the release of *Asterix and the Picts*, many fans praised the new duo’s artwork but criticized the story for being disjointed. Overall, the praise outweighed the criticism. «The success of the first issue put everyone at ease,» said Conrad. In the run-up to the new issue, headlines in France focused on the fact that Caesar’s spin doctor is modeled after the French PR professional Jacques Séguéla, who once helped President François Mitterrand get elected. (Christof Bock/DPA/SDA)

After the launch in the U.S., Youtube is working on bringing the service to other countries, it explained in a blog entry on Thursday night, without naming a specific timetable. In addition, the new Youtube Music app for music videos will soon be available, containing new features such as an artist archive. This will display all of an artist's music videos. In addition, songs can also be played as audio only and in the background.

The company also combines YouTube Red with a subscription to its streaming music service Google Play Music - if you pay for one of the services, you also get the other. From the beginning of next year, "Red" customers will also be able to watch exclusively available content from YouTube channels. As before, people will still be able to use the service free of charge with promotional videos. Youtube is by far the most popular video platform on the Internet with around one billion users. The imminent launch of a subscription service has been reported for months. (SDA)

 

As Switzerland's largest telecoms provider, Swisscom has set itself the task of exceeding expectations in terms of service, according to a press release issued on Thursday: "Customers should be supported around the clock and via many different channels - be it via the hotline, on the Internet, via social media, via app, at the customer's home or in one of the 122 Swisscom stores."

Employees and CEO energize smartphone batteries

Swisscom showcased its service today: At Zurich main station, almost 70 Swisscom employees, together with CEO Urs Schaeppi, literally pedaled away in the service of customers. Customers were able to charge their smartphone batteries directly on site thanks to the power-generating bicycles.

"We want to differentiate ourselves from other providers with our service. Customers appreciate our efforts and reward this with top marks in surveys. This motivates all employees at Swisscom," says CEO Urs Schaeppi.

According to the "European Trusted Brands" survey by Reader's Digest, customers rate Swisscom's service for mobile, fixed network and TV as the best in the industry, and it also occupies a top position for Internet.

Surprise with at least one service innovation every year

Swisscom has set itself the goal of continuously expanding the service experience and offering it wherever customers are. In urban areas, for example, this means that a Swisscom store can be reached within a maximum walking distance of 30 minutes. The "MyService" service launched in 2015, which allows customers to receive IT support services by telephone, in the store or directly at home, already has 8,500 subscribers. Online, the Swisscom Community, with over 53,000 registered users and more than 30 super users, deals with questions about telephone, TV and Internet around the clock, and Swisscom customer advisors on the hotline take 900,000 calls a month. Urs Schaeppi: "The fact that customers rate Swisscom better after a conversation with the hotline than before is a great compliment. We have set ourselves the goal of launching at least one service innovation every year that will set us apart from the competition in the market. This year, this is Swisscom with the "Swisscom Friends" and "MyService" successful."

With such campaigns and the new "Stories" platform, Swisscom is committed to corporate storytelling. Werbewoche visited the telecoms provider in Bern to find out how and why the company relies on storytelling. Our subscribers can read more about the telecom provider's content marketing strategy in the current print edition of Werbewoche. (pd/Photos: Werbewoche, uma)
 

Of course, it's not about professional articles, but about PR texts, wrapped tightly in the cloak of the editorial, protected with the cap of the honest, so that no one notices what it's really about: Native Advertising. One of the inquirers made a special effort and offered "topic-relevant guest article publications for a one-time payment", for which "no reference to advertising is allowed". Rejected.

Journalism still packs a punch. When advertising is no longer appreciated and is blocked hard, packaging it in ostensibly un-zoned reporting seems to be an attractive way to place messages. Whether and how such contaminated text material actually leads to sales of anything remains to be seen. It destroys the reputation of established media in no time at all. And the brazen attempts to undermine the perception barrier of readers (and media makers!) are increasing, also in impudence.

PR and advertising are under pressure: How to place messages and sell goods of all kinds when advertising is explicitly not wanted? Journalism is under pressure: How to produce and sell well-researched articles when advertising is explicitly not wanted? Readers don't want online advertising. But they also don't want to pay for high-quality, in-depth information. Print advertising is becoming too expensive for most advertisers. Crowdfunding or sponsoring only work in individual cases. So where should and where can the journey go?

In the past, readers read the part of a newspaper or magazine that interested them - and were not bothered by unread articles. Today, readers have the claim that everything they buy with a newspaper or magazine is of the highest interest to them. If it isn't, the subscription is canceled and the magazine is no longer purchased. Too little utility value. People want individual articles that really make a difference, rather than an entire issue. The idea of a customizable medium that everyone can put together themselves could have helped here. But that didn't really work either. Readers have to invest work in selecting their own reading material, and a print version of such an individualized edition is simply not feasible. Perhaps the model of the Toggenburger Tagblatt is viable: next year, subscribers will be able to choose between two newspapers, either for the complete edition with the cover section and Ostschweiz-Bund or just for the regional section - at a lower price.

For years, the question has been the same everywhere: How can we retain our readers with increasing quality and service? And with fewer staff, shrinking budgets and shrinking margins? Ad blockers and bans are certainly the wrong way to achieve more quality for the reader. A "pay barrier" also falls down ungraciously between text and reader like a guillotine.

Media makers should ask themselves: How is it that a customer goes to Migros and pays for goods at the checkout as a matter of course - and that the same customer goes to our websites, consumes an article and quietly disappears again? We have bred this self-evidently free mentality for ourselves. But that doesn't mean we have to live with it forever, like an incurable disease. Publishers, media companies, and journalists must therefore make the clear decision to no longer sequester monetary value in the consumer orbit of their recipients, but to once again create a market for journalistic products, with value and countervalue.

Clearly declared advertising also has its place in this market; it is the basis for financing journalistic services. Readers must once again become aware that it takes a lot of brains and commitment, money and energy to produce high-quality content that informs, classifies, questions, explains and links facts together.

Of course, every Por tal today provides news from all over the world, from Bluewin to Xing. But that's just regurgitated standard gruel, not the basis for clear, sharpened thinking. If media companies do not succeed in winning back the trust and affection of their customers and convince them of the high value of fact classification, Amazon, Apple, Google or Facebook will take over news distribution. "Small talk in the operating room leads to more wound infections," a recent study by the Inselspital in Bern found. And the eternally same news salad on the Internet leads to intellectual indigestion.

If advertising is no longer allowed to do what advertising can do - namely, (re)finance - in the future there will only be department stores a la Blendle, where all the media houses of a country (or even the world) hawk their products, from text to infographics to film. Here, readers will find everything they want: perishable goods for quick consumption and the timeless classic, budget articles and journalistic gems. Producers and readers don't know each other. And payment is made at the checkout. In cash.

Anne-Friederike Heinrich, Editor in Chief
[email protected]

 

The referee is often the bogeyman of a football match. Everyone would have decided better. "Scheiss Schiri!" The Swiss Referee Association (SSV), the Zurich Region Football Association (FVRZ) and the Aargau Football Association (AFV) now want to counteract this bad reputation. Together with Frame eleven, they have developed a concept that turns the spectators themselves into referees. True to the motto: See for yourself and do it better!

In short video sequences, summarized on the specially developed website Werdeschiri.ch, five game situations are reenacted. Always filmed from the referee's point of view. And always with the same question at the end: "What is your decision?" Whether correctly or incorrectly tipped, if desired, everyone can immediately educate themselves with the slow-motion resolution and the Fifa rules.

The campaign was not based on a claim or advertising slogan, but rather on the desire to put the viewer in the referee's shoes. And this with a clear goal: to strengthen respect for the performance of referees. For SSV President Luigi Ponte, this was absolutely the right way to go: "Previous classic poster campaigns have had little effect. I am convinced that with this idea from Frame eleven, we are promoting a mentality where decisions can be made without finger-pointing. If the referee becomes a hero rather than a bogeyman, we will be able to inspire more people to become referees themselves." The authentic imagery supports this endeavor. No professional football world, but the broad base of football players is addressed. The design is fresh and young and above all self-explanatory. Only as much text as necessary, the referee has no manual on the pitch either. See, test, share. That is the motto.

The clients are the Swiss Referees Association (SSV), the Zurich Region Football Association (FVRZ), the Aargau Football Association (AFV) and SuvaLiv. Frame eleven was responsible for the concept and overall production, while the website was technically implemented by Kollektiv.

Oliver Aemisegger was the creative director of the project at Frame eleven. We spoke to him about the recently launched video campaign.

WW: How did the cooperation with the referee association and the football associations come about?
Oliver Aemisegger: The campaign came about through Luigi Ponte, the president of the Swiss Referees Association. In the past, the association had relied exclusively on poster advertising and was dissatisfied with the coverage. The posters hardly elicited any feedback and the association is in urgent need of new blood. That's why those responsible decided on an online campaign.

Were two real soccer teams used for the film scenes, or where did the footage come from?
Two real teams of referees were called in (laughs). We had initially planned to play the scenes with a soccer team. But then we had to change our plans at short notice and the referees from the association took over the task. Since they are not professional football players, we had to shoot the scenes several times until they looked somewhat credible. It was quite challenging because we were filming at night and had limited time on the pitch. But it was also pretty fun.

The videos make it clear how difficult it is to make a decision as a referee on the pitch. But can the associations also win referees in this way?
We have deliberately staged the topic as a game. In this playful way, we want to encourage people to dare to make decisions and to have fun making them. For the same reason, we did without an audience in the videos. A stadium with raging fans is a deterrent. Nobody likes to be the bogeyman. Last but not least, the humor between the lines was important to us. The video campaign should show that the associations were open to a pinch of self-irony.

How is it ensured that the campaign reaches those it affects - for example, those who insult and threaten the referees?
The campaign is disseminated primarily through the associations. They are also the central channel as far as young talent is concerned. Experience shows that most referees are recruited from footballers. Some measures are still open. But a social media campaign is certainly planned. With this, we want to address young target groups and hope that the videos will be shared.

Interview: Simone Isliker 

Music students from the Zurich University of the Arts ZHDK played pieces from Bach to Mozart to Wagner. And all of this on instruments made of trash and junk. Visually, the quintet was more reminiscent of well-dressed Guggenmusik. Acoustically, however, the high quality of the performances was astonishing. The brass violins, the aluminum viola and the oil barrel bass did not tarnish the classics of the old masters in any way. Quite the contrary - and so countless passers-by listened spellbound to the lovely sounds.

About a year ago, SBB introduced waste separation boxes at the five largest stations with the aim of recycling recyclable materials to a high standard. After one year, SBB considers the results to be a complete success: the goal of achieving a separation rate of 25 percent has been clearly exceeded. By the end of 2015, the separation rate will have leveled off at around 42 percent. In absolute terms, this means 855 tons of residual waste (58 percent), 171 tons of PET (12 percent), 75 tons of aluminum (5 percent) and 373 tons of paper (25 percent) across all major train stations in Switzerland.

The classical concert was the preliminary highlight of SBB's anti-litter campaign. Planned and implemented by Rod Kommunikation. Jan-Hendrik Völker-Albert, Head of Marketing & Sustainability at SBB, is delighted with the success of the campaign: "With this concert, we wanted to thank our customers for their commitment to keeping trains and stations clean. On the other hand, we wanted to draw attention to the fact that separated waste is a valuable material. In fact, it is so valuable that it can even be used to create something as valuable as classical music. We were very pleased with the many positive reactions."

Responsible at SBB: Dr. Jan-Hendrik Völker-Albert (Head of Strategy, Marketing and Sustainability), Myriam Siksou (Head of Group Marketing), Monica Cabano (Communications Manager Passenger Traffic); Social Media: Christina Schmid, Sarah Georg, Livio Stöckli.
 

How many blockers can we handle?

Ad blockers are spreading rapidly online—how long can this trend be tolerated without countermeasures?

 

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Creativity as an Economic Factor

If you want creativity, you have to learn to appreciate differences. And you can’t calculate based on time and effort. ­ We have to think, explore, experiment, fail, and get back up again—and do so on a grand scale. Says Roger Spindler, Head of Advanced Vocational Education and Continuing Education at the School of Design Bern and Biel

 

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Tracking of the future

As digitalization advances, online marketing is seeing not only an expansion of the possibilities offered by programmatic advertising but also increasing demands on market research. This is giving rise to new methods for analyzing data in real time—and advertising effectiveness research is becoming increasingly comprehensive. Statements by Christoph Spengler, Managing Director of Accelerom; Rolf Schmitz, CEO of NET-Metrix; Felix Bernet, Head of Online/Media at Link Institut; and Sandor Laczko, Country Manager of Adello Switzerland; interview with Alexander Horn, Research Consultant at Media Insights GfK Switzerland

 

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Blind Fury

Lukas Bärfuss has written a remarkable piece in a fit of anger. Now he’d better brace himself. Critics are questioning his integrity. Column by Hans Stutz

 

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From Blocher in Swimsuits to Lettuce Without a Head

«I don’t know much about politics, but as a voter, I could have been persuaded by clear and smart communication. They could have. But they didn’t!» says Theophil Butz, a critic in *Werbewoche*.

 

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The Hamburger Menu

Beat Hürlimann presents a series on deceptive and genuine solutions.

 

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DOOH: Finally, Reliable Data on Reach Measurement

The first study on digital out-of-home advertising in Switzerland—Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) Audience Measurement—was presented during the IGEM Insider Lunch at Goldbach Media in Küsnacht. The goal of the study was to use reliable and verified data to provide a planning foundation and planning certainty for agencies and clients who are using this emerging medium or plan to use it in the future.

 

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How Not to Lose Your Cool

Manuel C. Nappo on Instagram Advertising

 

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Reliance on Google is a dead end

Being independent of Google increases visibility in search results. Article by Imre Sinka

 

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The ravioli campaign

Streuplan brought “Hero Eier Ravioli” into the election campaign—and caused quite a stir among the usual crowd of pundits. Reason enough to take another look back at the campaign.

 

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Edi.15 Shortlist

The Swiss Prize for Advertising, Industrial, and Corporate Films is being held for the sixteenth time this year. Four jury teams, comprising a total of 42 jurors, spent five days screening and evaluating approximately 300 films across three categories. The shortlist.

 

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The right package for every customer - even at the weekend

Over the course of eight weekends, they brand over 550 DPD vehicles at 10 locations across Switzerland; they stage an overnight guerrilla campaign at 100 Denner stores in Zurich, Lucerne, Bern, and Basel, accompany every new Nespresso coffee capsule and machine all the way to the point of sale, and design the atmosphere when Radio 24 throws a party: the Dreiplus advertising architects.

 

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Using Stories to Spark Conversation

With its new online platform «Storys» and various campaigns, Swisscom is embracing corporate storytelling. *Werbewoche* visited the telecom provider in Bern to learn how and why the company is focusing on storytelling.

 

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Frame eleven makes the spectator the referee

With an interactive video campaign, Frame eleven is inviting soccer fans to try their hand at making referees« calls. On Werdeschiri.ch, it lets viewers see things »through the eyes” of the referee.

 

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Person of the Week: A Physicist in a Sea of Data

Michael Prim has been the Data Science Team Leader at Adello since the beginning of the year. His day-to-day work shows remarkable parallels to his previous work in particle physics.
 

Transforming ever-increasing volumes of data into intelligent insights is a challenge. The digital transformation has given rise to new approaches and algorithms in market research, and data science has made its way into the field of physics. Digital tools and technologies promise an efficient marketing communications mix, comprehensive tracking, real-time reporting, and all metrics combined on a single dashboard.

To name just a few:
The Link Institute, in collaboration with Adwebster, has launched a programmatic integration of market research data and is now collecting sociodemographic profile data in real time. This is made possible by integrating the data into Adwebster’s online booking system, «Programmatic Media System.» This allows the data to be cross-referenced in real time and advertising campaigns to be optimized based on the insights presented in the real-time report. «The future of market research lies in the intelligent linking of survey data with behavioral data,» says Stefan Oglesby, CEO of Link Institut.
GfK shares this view. The company has been offering real-time evaluation of programmatic real-time reports and target-audience-specific data for several years now, as Alexander Horn, Research Consultant for Media Insights at GfK, points out. Viewability is also set to become part of a comprehensive report. Although the two data pools have not yet been combined into a comprehensive report, Horn says a tool for this purpose is currently in development, with programming expected to be completed next year. The comprehensive tracking tool will then be launched in 2016.
Accelerom also relies on comprehensive tracking. After several years of development, the company unveiled a 360-degree touchpoint algorithm earlier this year that calculates the optimal multichannel marketing mix. Intelligent algorithms from the fields of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and metaheuristics calculate standardized metrics for millions of combinations and compare their effectiveness—for example, across different target audiences, product categories, or countries. Here, too, the analysis goes beyond simply measuring ad impressions and clicks; it tracks what the target audience does throughout the customer journey across all offline and online touchpoints—that is, owned, paid, and earned. The analysis can incorporate up to 100 marketing and sales initiatives.
Adello also takes a comprehensive approach, combining data analysis with algorithms from the field of elementary particle physics. Just recently, the company was recognized by the «Silicon Valley Technology Innovation & Entrepreneurship Forum» (SVIEF) for a proprietary technology that advances mobile advertising through data science. The Swiss mobile technology company focuses on increasing the efficiency of mobile ads by using machine learning to identify the right customers for the highest ROI. This results in a win-win situation: Users see fewer ads, and advertisers gain more customers while maintaining the same advertising budget.

Christoph Spengler, Managing Director of Accelerom:
«There are plenty of tools for operational online campaign management, and this is already a global market today. The tools are constantly improving, and the market dynamics are enormous. In my opinion, research and analytics in this area will be heavily influenced by the major players, such as Google. The problem with advertising effectiveness research, however, is that in the dynamic multichannel world, it represents only a small slice of the pie and is generally limited to paid media. Furthermore, even at the media type level, comparisons cannot be made. How much is an online contact worth compared to TV? It’s clear that a significant potential for success is being overlooked by advertisers. This is exactly where the 360° touchpoint concept comes in.»

Felix Bernet, Head of Online/Media at the Link Institute:
«The LINK Institute offers cookie tracking for advertising effectiveness research in the digital sector, linking measured ad impressions with representative survey data from the actively recruited, high-quality LINK Internet Panel. The current profile data of real people reflects the sociodemographic structure of the individuals actually reached. By conducting a follow-up survey of individuals who did and did not come into contact with the campaign, the impact of a campaign on the relevant KPIs can be determined.»

Rolf Schmitz, CEO of NET-Metrix:
«Research into advertising effectiveness in the digital sector is becoming increasingly important in Switzerland as well, since the goal is to invest every franc spent on advertising as effectively as possible—especially when compared to other media formats. For this reason, the three research organizations—WEMF, Mediapulse, and NET-Metrix—have jointly launched a project to measure the reach generated by a digital campaign and its target audience structure across desktop and mobile platforms as a key component of a campaign’s success. Tests are currently underway with the goal of having such a system widely established on the market by early 2017. Other areas of advertising effectiveness research, such as measuring brand awareness or acceptance, are not the focus at this time but could be a step toward further expansion.»

Sandor Laczko, Country Manager, Adello Switzerland:
«There is currently a clear need in the Swiss market for studies that examine the impact of digital advertising activities. At the level of individual campaigns, we have long been measuring all technical KPIs in real time—such as viewability, view time, interaction rates, and conversion rates—and can optimize based on them. However, to be able to compare these results with other media formats, additional metrics must be collected, such as (aided) brand awareness, message association, brand favorability, and purchase intent. This involves using survey methods that, in some cases, automatically aggregate data. It’s clear that the costs for this are particularly high in a small market. That’s why we’re also working on solutions in Switzerland through various organizations such as the IAB and NET-Metrix. In addition, we’re developing a proprietary, empirical research solution with a partner.»

Comprehensive Approach to Managing Online Campaigns

Advertising effectiveness research is becoming more comprehensive, presenting all data at a glance in real time and calculating the most effective marketing communications mix from the pool of touchpoints. Announcements of new tracking methods and effectiveness research tools are becoming more frequent. WerbeWoche spoke with Alexander Horn, Research Consultant for Media Insights at GfK, about the current state of advertising effectiveness research and the specific areas of focus.

Werbewoche: There is still a great deal of untapped potential in online advertising. Can the new tracking methods and efficiency research tools live up to this potential?
Alexander Horn: The measurement results have so far clearly shown that online advertising has significant potential for optimization. And this potential is, in fact, still greatly underestimated—both in terms of increasing reach and cost-efficiency. Clients who reallocate a portion of their current media mix to online marketing can reach a larger target audience more cost-effectively and efficiently. Ultimately, the goal is to achieve a better distribution across the various media channels, generating maximum performance with minimal budget expenditure.

However, this also means that as many channels as possible should be taken into account.
The data can now be tracked across multiple devices (PC, smartphone, tablet), both in the browser and in the respective advertiser apps. In addition, we have a partnership with Facebook that, while it has been in place for some time, has now been further expanded. This is a clear indication that we are very active in this area and are also bringing additional partners on board to expand our comprehensive approach.

What is the current state of advertising effectiveness research in the digital sector in Switzerland?
We are currently devoting all our energy and time to consolidating the products in highest demand in order to develop a comprehensive product offering. This is currently one of our main priorities: a comprehensive approach to managing online campaigns. Essentially, this approach displays all relevant KPIs from the measured usage data and links them to stored structural data. The usage data includes, on the one hand, viewability measurement—that is, the visibility and duration of online advertising on the user’s active screen—and, on the other hand, the measurement of actual campaign contacts per person that occurred within the GfK cookie pool. This pool contains all structural data for over 21,000 individuals. This includes basic demographic information such as gender, age, region, household size, and employment status, as well as additional information relevant to planning, such as consumption data and media usage. For every contact with online advertising, we can identify the underlying demographic data. We bring these two elements—visibility measurement and contact and demographic data—together for our clients in a single dashboard. This provides, so to speak, a comprehensive overview at a glance, allowing users to immediately understand everything. This also makes it possible to compare multiple campaigns with one another.
And on top of that, you can also evaluate the campaign’s advertising impact. Our measurement technology makes it possible to identify which individuals were exposed to the campaign. These individuals are surveyed after the campaign period ends. This allows us to further determine how the campaign performed across various branding metrics. We use this classic test-and-control-group approach as an additional option to optimally combine the three impact parameters: target audience reach, optimal exposure and visibility, and creative evaluation.

The Link Institute, in collaboration with Adwebster, also takes this comprehensive approach, providing real-time sociodemographic data.
That’s right; apparently, a major innovation is being celebrated here. But we’ve actually had this product on the market for three years now. For us, it’s already a standard product that GfK has sold over 70 times. The key factor for the validity of the data is that the campaign is measured on both desktop PCs and mobile devices (smartphones and tablets)—something GfK has been able to do for quite some time. This distinction should always be taken into account when comparing offerings.

However, the announced real-time report includes one feature that sets it apart from your product: an intelligent integration of survey and behavioral data.
To analyze advertising effectiveness, it is essential to link measurement data with survey data, as the campaign’s impact cannot otherwise be analyzed at the level of actual contacts. The analysis of effectiveness is based on various contact classes. In our view, survey data is a useful but not truly relevant addition to a real-time report, since the measurement is already complete before the survey data is available. Instead, we place much greater emphasis on the integration of viewability reporting, which, starting in 2016, will be presented alongside contact and structural data within a single dashboard.

How does GfK measure viewability?
We work exclusively with Meetrics for viewability data—the only MRC-certified company in Europe. The American nonprofit organization Media Rating Council (MRC) has established a definition of when an ad format is officially considered viewable. Meetrics therefore measures the viewability of video and display ads in accordance with these standards.
Currently, a campaign’s viewability metrics are still reported based on GfK reports, but this will be integrated into GfK’s own dashboard in 2016. Although customers can book these measurements together, the figures are currently reported only in separate reports. With the new technical solution, all figures will then be visible at a glance.

Ursina mason

CEO Urs Schaeppi pedaled hard for Swisscom on Thursday. At the booth in Zurich’s main train station, he gave it his all on an electricity-generating bike to recharge customers’ smartphone batteries. He wasn’t alone there. More than 60 of his most athletic employees pedaled alongside him. The Swisscom employees generated all the energy needed by passersby themselves—a symbol of how the telecom provider works tirelessly for its customers every day.

For Tim Alexander, Head of Marketing and Communications at Swisscom, this is the «future of marketing»: Instead of relying on traditional advertising campaigns, the company plans to focus more on creating experiences in the future. The campaign at the main train station is one of a whole series of initiatives and part of the telecom provider’s comprehensive content marketing strategy: Through storytelling, the goal is not simply to bombard customers, prospects, and partners with advertising messages, but to engage them.

The new communication platform, Storys, plays a central role in Swisscom’s content marketing strategy. It features articles on digital life, technology, sustainability, and modern work. Here, too, the focus is not on advertising messages but on topics related to the company. A 15-member editorial team is responsible for the content on the platform. Ten external contributors—including Newsnet blogger Reda el Arbi—and five internal staff members write for Storys on a part-time basis. The team also curates content that has been published on other platforms.

The articles generally take an optimistic view, in line with the slogan «Land of Opportunities.» However, as Alexander points out, there are also articles that take a critical look at digitalization. «That’s exactly where the opportunity for storytelling lies. It’s not about just sugarcoating products.» As an example, he points to el Arbi’s latest column, in which the blogger criticizes Facebook’s nipple censorship. The editorial team has the freedom to choose such topics on their own initiative. «There are no briefings for the editors. They go out in search of stories and have the freedom to publish them on our platform.»

Reach is not the main focus

Storys« primary goal is not to reach as many people as possible, but to deliver content that sparks interaction. »Times have changed. Reach without depth of quality won’t help us in the long run. We’re aiming for a slow, steady growth in reach that’s high-quality,« Alexander emphasizes. During the beta phase, what matters is that the people on the platform are truly engaging with the content. We measure how long visitors stay on Storys, how many and which articles they read, and how often they share or interact with them. »Only once this is working well—once we’ve learned from our readers—will we set goals regarding reach.”

Create Your Own Events

Swisscom also creates its own stories for «Stories.» «In the future, we’ll regularly organize events like the one at the main train station and then report on them on the platform.» Another example of this campaign-driven communication is the recently launched «Shot By Bryan Adams» campaign. Swisscom enlisted musician and photographer Bryan Adams and had him photograph Switzerland from his perspective online this October. “This way, a company can generate its own talking points,” explains Alexander.

Why focus on storytelling?

By shifting its focus to storytelling, Swisscom is responding to two key changes in communication that are closely intertwined: the shift from sales-oriented communication to relationship building, and the increasing fragmentation of the media landscape.

«In the past, the goal was for a brand to come across as likable and to influence consumer preferences in order to trigger a purchase intent. Today, it’s more important to support customers even after the purchase and build a deep relationship with them,» says Alexander. Since social media turns everyone into a media outlet, we need people who’ve had a good experience more than ever. The big challenge here is getting customers to share their positive experiences with others when they like a brand. On the other hand, the fragmentation of the media landscape—and online channels in particular—is constantly increasing. «The complexity of reaching each individual is increasing. Perception has become more selective because everyone is engaging with different media. It’s no longer enough to package the message in a TV commercial, an ad, or a billboard. You have a wide range of options at your disposal that you must use if you want to reach a broad audience, and you need relevant and engaging stories that are so interesting they find their audience on their own.»

EA field of experimentation with an open outcomeg

These developments are leading to new approaches in marketing. «Content marketing is on everyone’s lips. For us, too, the question arises as to the possibilities of marketing when our customers enter into a relationship with us and can become the medium that recommends us,» says Alexander. With its latest measures, Swisscom has found some initial answers. How will the story unfold?

Simone Isliker

Petra Feigl-Fässler will take over as Head of Human Resources at the NZZ Media Group at the beginning of March 2016. Until then, the proven leader will have global responsibility for HR at the medical technology company Nobel Biocare, where she has headed various HR areas since 2010. Prior to that, she worked at Syngenta as Head of the Global Competence Center for Recruitment and as HR Business Partner. Feigl-Fässler studied economics at the University of St. Gallen (HSG) and after graduation worked as a senior manager in HR consulting at Accenture. She is married, has two children and lives with her family near Zurich.

Felix Peter was Head of Human Resources at Neue Zürcher Zeitung AG from 2003 to 2008. From 2008, he was responsible for merging the HR departments of the various companies as part of the Group strategy at the time. He introduced uniform systems and processes across the Group and managed the regional teams as a central unit from that point on. As former Managing Director and current member of the Board of Trustees of the NZZ Media Group Pension Fund, he also played a key role in shaping the sustainable structure of the pension plans. Veit Dengler, CEO of the NZZ Media Group, said in a statement: "Felix Peter accompanied acquisitions and divestments of human resources just as confidently as the daily HR services. I would like to thank him for his valuable commitment to the NZZ Media Group. I extend a warm welcome to Petra Feigl-Fässler and wish her every success in her new role."

Together, Viert and Jacquier will manage the strategic and creative publisher, media and agency services of the Zurich site. Their team is to be expanded from the current ten employees to 30 members within a year.

Patrick Viert and Florian Jacquier (Photo: Florian Kalotay, Kalotay.ch)

Patrick Viert and Florian Jacquier have extensive experience in marketing, media and communications. Both previously worked for groups such as L'Oréal, Seven One Media, Belcom, but also Vice Germany. Most recently, Viert was in charge of business development at Joiz TV as a member of the management board. Jacquier founded and successfully operated the communications agency BAM in Berlin before joining VICE.

In addition to expanding the publishing offering, the new managing directors want to focus on creative agency services and the rollout of TV formats in the coming year. Vice Switzerland can thus offer the production and distribution of branded content solutions from a single source. In the past, the Swiss location has already successfully developed and implemented comprehensive creative strategies for brands such as Adidas, Coca-Cola, Nestlé, Philips, Sony and VBZ.

"Vice is the world's largest youth media brand with relevance to issue-driven and social discourse - we want to continue to focus on this strategy here in Switzerland," Patrick Viert said in a statement. "With our agency brand Virtue, we are also asserting ourselves worldwide more and more as a strategic production agency, we focus on the right interplay of content creation and distribution. With our expertise and our international network, we would also like to reach the global players based here in the future," adds Florian Jacquier.

As heads of the Swiss office of the transnational media and agency group Vice Cee, the two will report directly to Stefan Häckel, Vice Cee CEO in Vienna. "Vice has grown rapidly in the last two years and I am glad to have found the right two people in Patrick and Florian to establish the current media & agency portfolio in Switzerland as well and to take Vice to the next level," says Stefan Häckel about the new management. "I would also like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank former Managing Director Evangelos Kleiman-Kontopoulos for his work and am pleased that he will remain with the company in the role of Creative & Experiential Consultant."