The Zurich agency By Heart has won the mandate from the Swiss Heritage Society SHS following an agency evaluation. With immediate effect, the agency will be working for the Swiss non-profit organization in the field of building culture, particularly in the areas of identity, product development and strategic consulting. The association has a total of 17,000 members and is committed to architectural monuments from various eras and to good architecture in new buildings.

Orange Communications has won the International Sponsoring Award (FASPO Award) in the Media Sponsoring category with its "Orange Cinema" project. In the same category, the Swiss insurance company Die Mobiliar and the supporting agency, Kultur Engagement Hans and Marlene Tschanz, also received an award for their project "My name is Eugen".  
"Orange's sustained commitment and the successful, professional implementation of its sponsorship were convincing, as were the resulting performance values in terms of brand awareness and image as well as customer acquisition and loyalty. Mobiliar impressed not only with the successful integration of the brand into the film project and its use in the context of market communication, but also with the wonderful self-irony expressed by this insurance company's sponsorship of a 'rascal film'," said jury member Christine Angenendt.
 
Last year's outstanding sponsoring projects were honored with the 14th International Sponsoring Award on January 16, 2007 by the FASPO sponsoring association in Hamburg. A jury of experts from business and science evaluated sponsoring concepts from Germany, Austria and Switzerland according to their creative implementation, planning and realization.

Andreas Bernet is taking over the management of the creative unit of the web service provider Namics. He succeeds Stephan Siegwart, who is leaving Namicsrotweiss to pursue new professional challenges. Siegwart has headed the unit for brand management on the Internet since its launch at the beginning of 2006. Bernet is very familiar with Namics and the online business. From 1997 to 2002, he was Business Unit Manager and partner of the Swiss Internet pioneer. He realized numerous branding projects and online campaigns for clients such as Compaq, Ericsson, HSBC, Microsoft and Nestlé. After five years as head of stationary sales at Raiffeisen Switzerland, Bernet is moving back to his former place of work. Together with Creative Director Nathalie Strobl, Bernet intends to continue the expansion of the unit.

"After the health and morally motivated advertising bans, the hunt against advertising continues with qualitatively argued bans," says the umbrella organization of Swiss advertising SW, defending itself against the demand of an interest group to halve the number of Swiss poster sites. The IG justifies its demand by claiming that Switzerland has the highest poster density in the world. "Posters are part of the classic media and have a long and great tradition in Switzerland," countered SW. In this country, the formats are better standardized than elsewhere and - apart from construction projects - there are no oversized advertising spaces. "The majority are small formats, which are also used to a considerable extent for cultural and political advertising. And in various Swiss cities, the overall concept 92 has led to an amicable solution between the municipality and poster companies that takes aesthetic and quality concerns into account. The initiators have obviously never heard of this GK 92," the SW statement continues. Swiss Advertising fundamentally rejects such personal attacks on the freedom of advertising, especially when it is already subject to state supervision.

On the occasion of a competitive presentation, Microsoft Switzerland chose the Blue Spirit agency to support Microsoft Windows Vista and Microsoft Office 2007 - in addition to the international McCann Erickson advertising campaign - with a major event. The event will take place on January 30 in Bern.

Following an agency evaluation within the international Wunderman network, Microsoft EMEA has entrusted the Swiss Wunderman office in Zurich with the mandate for the Designertopia conference in London. Designertopia, which takes place in London on February 1-2, 2007, is one of the first Microsoft events for designers and creative managers in interactive and advertising agencies. Wunderman Zurich and its sister agency Futurecom are responsible for the event concept, agenda and advertising. The major event is being organized together with the network agencies PCI Fitch and Harrison Troughton Wunderman London.

SwissregioTV has expanded its territory to include Thurgau. The internet television station offers reports, reports, lectures, interviews and amateur videos in infotainment format. "We don't have any news," explains SwissregioTV Managing Director Claudio De Cataldo. Anyone watching the videos cannot tell whether they are watching a non-commercial or a paid advertising contribution from a sponsor, reports SDA. According to De Cataldo, they are not subject to the Bakom regulations for labeling advertising contributions.  
SwissregioTV is financed by advertising and sponsorship contributions. In Thurgau, the cantonal bank is currently the main contributor. According to Head of Marketing Martin Briner, it invests 12,000 francs a year. Internet television began its activities in Eastern Switzerland in 2005. It now also covers the cantons of Aargau, Zurich and Ticino. According to De Cataldo, up to half a million videos per month are accessed by around 5,000 viewers every day, and this figure is rising sharply. He expects the number of hits to rise to one million per month by the middle of the current year, as reported by SDA.

Once again, the agency at the airport in Altenrhein has made it to the final of the international direct marketing competition, the John Caples International Award in New York. The creative minds from Altenrhein have been nominated for the three-stage mailing campaign "Toni Kempf wants to talk - from boss to boss" for TS Tor & Service. The Zurich agency Futurecom has also been nominated for the "Sunrise Telephone Posters" project and the agency Fisch.Meier.Direct has also made it to the final with its work "Start of Winter Season" for the White Arena Group.  
The Caples Awards will be presented on March 8, 2007 in New York. The John Caples International Award was founded in 1978 and is considered one of the most prestigious awards for creative direct marketing alongside Cannes Direct. This year, the John Caples International Award received around 1000 entries from all over the world. Last year, Agentur am Flughafen was the only Swiss agency to enter two entries in the final and was subsequently able to take home an award.

How boring: Bohlen, Soost and Kilchsperger are once again causing a stir. The new DSDS season is being investigated for youth protection violations because of music producer Dieter Bohlen's abusive comments, Kilchsperger is being reprimanded by his client SF for his incredibly bad jokes, which literally hit below the belt, and Soost infuriates the Roadcross road victims' association when he praises Muhammed with the words "You were the only one to drive 250 on the highway - that was awesome, Mumi".  
The Commission for the Protection of Minors in the Media (KJM) initiated a review procedure due to the "insulting and embarrassing nature of the candidates as well as the lowest level of language" in Bohlen's comments, as the Commission announced. "Anti-social behavior is presented here by an identification figure like Bohlen as cool and promising," explained a KJM chairman.
 
Identification figure? Who wants to voluntarily identify with Bohlen, with Soost or even with Kilchsperger? Nobody. In fact, these ratings men basically have the same function as the people who reveal their supposedly dreary private lives to the public in a talk show. The viewer can enjoy watching these jurors make a fool of themselves with glee and malicious pleasure. Where have the really good TV producers gone with whom we would like to identify? Where are the people who don't need to let their pants down in front of the camera so that they can marvel at themselves in the media the next day?

Nicole Himmelreich (41) is moving to the Bernese regional radio station Capital FM in March 2007. The Bernese radio and television journalist will work in the editorial department, as a presenter and in various program projects. With her move to Capital FM, Nicole Himmelreich is returning to the place where she started her career as a journalist after 14 years in Zurich. Himmelreich began working for Swiss television in 1993 as a presenter on "Tagesfernsehen", then worked as an editor and presenter for "Quer", "SF Spezial", "Mittagsmagazin" and "Bsuech in" and has presented her own program "himmelreichSchweiz" since 2002. She previously worked in the editorial offices of Berner Bär, Radio Extra Bern and Berner Tagwacht.

The Zurich agency TBWA has implemented various communication measures for the McDonald's restaurant in Rümlang, inviting guests to a special event. Posters and flyers advertise candlelight dinners, which take place from January to March. However, it is not only these that are a novelty for McDonald's, but also the fact that you can only attend one of these member dinners if you book in advance. On this extraordinary evening, guests will be spoiled with a free aperitif, service, candlelight and much more.

The Zurich Marriott Hotel has commissioned the Zurich communications agency Flowcube Communications with communications consulting, public relations and the management of the press office. In addition to providing advice on all communications issues and acting as press office, the contract also includes communications support for the planned refurbishment. The Marriott Hotel wants to secure its attractiveness as one of Zurich's top business hotel addresses.