The new Audi Matrix LED technology also thinks of the most vulnerable road users: As soon as a pedestrian is in a critical area in front of the vehicle, individual LEDs flash briefly at him three times in succession as a warning. This makes him clearly visible to the driver. DDB demonstrated this increase in safety for pedestrians, who are exposed to a higher risk in the dark, for Audi in Brussels: a poster with headlights lit the way for people. Whether the passers-by were really pleased about the cones of light? Maybe. But certainly more visible in evening traffic. (hae)

The Board of Directors of Mediapulse appoints Franz Bürgi to manage the company. The graduate electrical engineer ETH with Executive MBA from the University of St. Gallen will join the company on November 01, 2015. Until he takes up his position, Franziska von Weissenfluh Stäheli, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Mediapulse AG, will lead the Executive Board as Delegate of the Board of Directors.

Franz Bürgi has a broad range of management experience in the IT, telecommunications, media and energy sectors, according to the statement. The Berne native from Oppligen in the Aare Valley has held positions at Swisscom (Multinational Corporations division), Espace Media Groupe (CIO, member of the Executive Board) and BKW, where Bürgi was a member of the Energy Switzerland division management and managing director of BKW's subsidiary for new renewable energies, Sol-E Suisse. Currently, the passionate sailor and hobby musician heads the Energy business unit of Schneider Electric Switzerland.

Franziska von Weissenfluh Stäheli, Chairman of the Board of Directors, has high expectations of Bürgi's commitment: "Mediapulse must now face the challenges of the digital transformation and the increased demands of our clientele. To this end, we have revised and optimized our strategy as well as our structures and processes in recent months. In Franz Bürgi, we have chosen a proven leader as Managing Director of Mediapulse, who will represent our company to the outside world as a strong communicator and drive the necessary innovation processes internally with prudence and foresight."

von Weissenfluh Stäheli does not see the fact that Franz Bürgi has only limited experience in the TV and radio industry as a disadvantage: "Mediapulse does not need an industry intimate, but rather an analytical and technology-savvy team leader with entrepreneurial skills and extensive experience in managing complex projects. With Franz Bürgi, we are strengthening the basis of trust with our numerous stakeholders and clients and thus also underlining our independence in the field of modern usage research!"
 

Roaming charges are a regular topic in parliament. Most recently, however, the Council of States rejected two motions in March with which the National Council wanted to cap rates for cell phone use abroad. The members of the Council of States argued that the industry had already reduced rates significantly in recent years. This year, too, the major providers in Switzerland have adjusted their roaming charges. "It's the same every time," laments Florence Bettschart, who is in charge of the policy and law section of the Fédération romande des consommateurs (FRC), a consumer organization in French-speaking Switzerland. When there is a debate in parliament, the providers move a little. But that is window dressing, he said. Regulation of roaming costs is still necessary, even if the providers want to lower the fees, the Foundation for Consumer Protection (SKS) also said after the decision of the Council of States.

Lucrative service

The Swiss travel a lot and are a high-spending clientele for providers, Bettschart notes. According to the latest available figures from the Federal Office of Communications (Bakom), the three major telecom providers Swissom, Salt (formerly Orange) and Sunrise took in around CHF 790 million in roaming charges in 2013. In a November 2014 report, Bakom acknowledged that prices for calls and SMS were still higher than usual in the EU. According to estimates, a Swiss person pays on average three times as much for outgoing calls as a European pays at most. For incoming calls, it is even six times as much.

Revision of the law from 2016

According to Zurich SVP National Councilor Natalie Rickli, who submitted one of the two motions to parliament, the main thing lacking is transparency about the margins achieved by providers. In her view, the telecom providers should disclose all figures and data on roaming, as should Bakom. The National Councilor wants to take up the issue again in the next revision of the law. At an earlier stage, however, such an attempt has little chance in parliament, she says. The desired revision of the Telecommunications Act is expected to be on the table in 2016. The Federal Council's project is to enter the consultation phase at the end of 2015. The topic of roaming is also to play a role in the new law. For its part, the FRC hopes that this will herald the end, or at least a ceiling, of tariffs. The paradigm shift in the EU should bring some movement to the issue. But the question is whether the change in Switzerland will come in five, ten or twenty years, says Bettschart.

No solution with EU in sight

Doris Leuthard's Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications expects Swiss providers to follow the trend in EU countries and continuously offer more attractive conditions. Therefore, price regulation is not necessary. Moreover, Switzerland is not a member of the EU, so providers have to negotiate prices, Leuthard said during the debate in the Council of States on the subject. This problem could be solved with a new bilateral agreement. But because of the unanswered institutional questions, such an agreement is politically out of reach. The big providers make the same argument. Swiss companies do not benefit from regulated purchase prices and would have to negotiate these individually with each foreign provider, explains Swisscom. Sunrise asserts that a price comparison between its roaming services and those from the EU makes little sense, as prices have been lowered by lawmakers. On the contrary, European providers in Switzerland compensated for losses in other markets. (SDA)

Mobiliar new at Mediaschneider as of 2016

In a three-month selection process, Die Mobiliar tested various agencies in terms of buying, strategy and mutual chemistry and decided to work with Mediaschneider. Manfred Strobl, CEO Mediaschneider: "The joy at Mediaschneider is huge and this customer win is a great success for us. Mobiliar is a great partner among Swiss advertising clients and we look forward to a long-term, performance-oriented and transparent cooperation."

Cult business Sibler advertises new with reputation Lanz

Sibler am Münsterhof belongs to Zurich like the Grossmünster and Lake Zurich. In its 180-year history, Sibler has always kept its finger on the pulse. Around 7,000 articles invite you to discover and browse with relish: from household goods and home furnishings to design objects. Around 1'500 articles are added to the range every year. After a comprehensive presentation, Sibler chose Ruf Lanz as its new advertising agency. According to Managing Director Manuel Wiesendanger, the creative agency "convinced Sibler with a concept that puts our range of products in the spotlight in a very surprising and stylish way." The new campaign will be seen later this year.

Open Up informed for ECDL Switzerland

As part of an agency evaluation, ECDL Switzerland has chosen Open Up. The Zurich-based communications agency advises and supports the Basel-based company in its public relations work around a recent study on the computer user skills of the Swiss population. ECDL Switzerland implements the internationally recognized certificate for computer users - the ECDL (European Computer Driving Licence) - in Switzerland. This year, for the first time, the company conducted a representative study on the level of user skills of PC users in Switzerland. In order to present the results of the study, Open Up was commissioned with media relations. The Zurich-based communications and PR agency is responsible for communications with the general and specialist media as well as for arranging interviews and specialist articles.

"Storytelling with Google Cardboards" - this is the motto under which the NZZ is organizing "Virtual Reality Hackdays" at Zurich's Falkenstrasse from 6 to 8 November 2015. The "Virtual Reality Hackdays" will focus on the question of how virtual reality can be used to tell journalistic stories.

The event is supported by Google, with Google developers on site to help the hackers with conceptualization and programming. Participants will have 48 hours to develop app prototypes in teams of two to four people.

The aim of the event is to promote young talent, jointly develop ideas for the digital future of journalism and learn more about storytelling using virtual reality, according to a press release issued on Tuesday. At the end, a jury of experts, including Anita Zielina, NZZ Editor-in-Chief of New Products, will award prizes to the most innovative and promising app prototypes.

Those interested in technology and journalism as well as media professionals can still register until November 5 at Hackdays.nzz.ch for the "Virtual Reality Hackdays" - either as an individual or as a team of two to four people. Anyone who has not already registered as a team can form a team on site. Participation as well as food and drinks during the Hackdays are free of charge. 

Broadcasting from the new editorial offices began at five in the morning. The first production to go on the air at the new location was the morning show. According to the station in central Switzerland, the launch went off without any major problems.

Pilatus' new studios are located on the second floor at Maihofstrasse 76. The editorial offices of the Neue Luzerner Zeitung and the regional TV station Tele 1 are already located under the roof of the LZ Medienhaus on the outskirts of the city. The three media are subsidiaries of LZ Medien Holding, which belongs to the NZZ Group.

After the move, the radio station is to exploit synergies with the other LZ media titles in the editorial area, as Radio Pilatus CEO Joachim Freiberg told SDA in response to an inquiry. What the closer cooperation will look like in concrete terms will be determined in the course of 2016.

The strategic move had already been planned for some time, Freiberg said. There was already close cooperation within the NZZ Group in the areas of human resources, IT and controlling. More than 40 employees had to move. No jobs were cut. According to Freiberg, 2.5 million Swiss francs were invested in the new editorial offices. Among other things, these include three new production studios. (SDA)
 

Anyone who still wants to see the normally freely accessible, ad-financed reports and videos without ads will have to take out a separate subscription. Anyone who did not switch off the adblocker or did not pay would no longer be able to use content on Bild.de with immediate effect, the media group explained on Tuesday.

The price for this part of the online presence is 2.99 euros per month. Independently of this, the publisher has already been offering users extended online access for a good two years at prices starting at 4.99 per month.

"On the web, too, journalistic offerings must be financed via the two familiar revenue pillars, namely advertising and circulation revenues, in order to continue to offer independent journalism," explained Bild Managing Director Donata Hopfen.

Media industry fights back

Numerous online media are up in arms against ad blockers because they see their most important source of revenue at risk. The argument goes that if readers and viewers systematically block out ads and commercials on their computers and smartphones, advertisers will no longer be willing to pay.

Most online media are financed largely or even exclusively by advertising. According to Axel Springer, 23 percent of Bild.de users use ad blockers. In previous years, the figure had always been around 20 percent or just above.

In Germany, the ad blocker provider Eyeo in particular has drawn the ire of the industry. But in several lawsuits, media groups such as Springer, ProSiebenSat.1 and RTL failed for the time being in their attempt to have Eyeo banned from doing business. In the first instance, the courts did not recognize any illegal activity.

Springer has already announced that it will continue its legal battle against the Cologne-based startup. But according to those involved, it will probably be years before a final decision is made by the Federal Court of Justice. (SDA)
 

Schmid wants to change career direction, and Dürrenberger wants to take on new challenges after 15 years at MCH, MCH said with regret. The search for successors is now beginning. In addition to Muba, which takes place at the beginning of each year, both departures also affect the smaller Basel Autumn Goods Fair.

The next Muba, which is scheduled for April 15 to 24, 2016, will be the 100th edition. According to the trade fair media office, Schmid will probably be replaced before the opening, while Dürrenberger will take over after the big anniversary. The exact handover modalities are still to be arranged.

Incidentally, a study is currently underway into the future of Muba as a large public exhibition, as was also reported. The environment for such events has changed considerably - not least because of the Internet - compared to the early years, both in terms of exhibitors and visitors. (SDA)

Vizner Borel's campaign for Denner wine, which has been running since 2013 (Werbewoche.ch reported) will continue in the fall of 2015. The centerpiece is an online promotion in which Denner wine customers are asked to post a selfie with their favorite wine and a comment to the website Denner selfie post.

Posters, banners and POS measures are used to publicize the promotion. Two existing TV/cinema commercials are also being used again for Denner wines.

Responsible at Denner: Petra Gayko (Head of Marketing Communications), Sabine Gassmann (Project Management Marketing Communications). Responsible at Vizner Borel: Lajos Vizner, Guillaume Borel (overall responsibility), Hanna Zimmermann (CD), Jürg Waeber (text), Irene Stutz (consulting), Michael à Porta (wetalkwithyou), Nina Rolle (JBW Media). 

The two companies will continue to operate under their current names, as announced in a press release on Tuesday. Customers will benefit from an expanded range of services. The group's headquarters will be in Baden. 

Continuity and growth prospects

The existing company management will continue to be responsible for strategic and operational management. With Markus Buser, now CEO of Tempobrain, as CEO and Derek Bollag, now CEO of Callpoint, as Chairman of the Group's Board of Directors, continuity is assured.

Founded in 2007 Callpoint for sales-oriented dialog marketing and 7/24 customer care services as well as digital solutions. With over 270 employees at its headquarters in Baden and branches in Basel and Geneva, the company serves around 350 customers.

Tempobrain started in 1998 and today employs around 240 specialists. The company, which is now headquartered in Zurich, offers customer service and call center staff for hire, its own call center with 130 workstations in Niederwangen near Bern and 60 "work at home" workstations, as well as sales and promotional support for point-of-sale assignments.

Extensive renovation work has restored the traditional Hotel Rotary Geneva to its former glory. Accor Hotels Switzerland celebrated the reopening with invited guests at a gala evening on October 8.

As the centerpiece of the event, Jung von Matt developed a storytelling tour through the new premises. Four actors slipped into the roles and costumes of illustrious personalities from three centuries: a tavern owner and a courtesan from the 19th century, a receptionist from the 1970s and a food critic from the present. In emotional monologues, they playfully mixed history, drama as well as comedy with brand communication and brought the fire to life in the guests' minds.

At the beginning of 2015, Jung von Matt was commissioned for corporate communications, brand PR and influencer marketing measures.

Responsible at Accor Hotels Services Switzerland: Steeve Chatelain (Brand Marketing Manager). Responsible at Jung von Matt: Cyrill Hauser (Executive PR Director), Joël Frey and Daniela Chiani (Concept, Consulting, Media & Influencer Relations).