In a ruling published on Wednesday, the highest Swiss court ruled in favor of an employee of the Federal Finance Administration. The complainant had refused to pay the reduced VAT rate of 2.5 percent on radio and TV reception fees. According to his own statements, he did this as a private individual. There was no connection between the complaint and his work at the federal government. The complainant's success has direct consequences: The radio and TV reception fee will no longer be subject to VAT from May 1, as announced by the Federal Office of Communications (Bakom) and Billag. As a result, both private households and companies will have to dig less deep into their pockets in future. The elimination of the 2.5 percent VAT rate means a reduction in expenditure of CHF 11.30 per year for each household. The amount to be paid will fall from CHF 462.40 to CHF 451.10 per year. Depending on the category, companies will pay between CHF 14.90 and CHF 34.40 less. "We are thus implementing the ruling of the Federal Supreme Court with immediate effect," wrote Bakom.

Fee without consideration

According to the Lausanne judges, the change in practice is appropriate for various reasons. For example, the fee payer does not receive a direct service from the Confederation. The latter does not accept the fee in order to provide a radio or television program in return. However, such an exchange relationship forms the basis for the levying of VAT. The federal government also does not purchase any programs from the SRG or other providers. Rather, Billag collects the reception fee on behalf of the Confederation in order to subsidize the SRG and other programme providers. These providers therefore receive services from the federal government in order to fulfill a purpose considered worthy of support by law. However, subsidies are not subject to VAT because no specific consideration is expected in return.

Furthermore, the right to receive radio and television programs is part of the freedom of information and is therefore a fundamental right, argues the Federal Supreme Court. For this reason, this right cannot be granted by the federal government in return for the payment of a fee. The Federal Supreme Court compares the reception fee with a tourist tax: the local authority levies the tax on a certain group of people. The revenue is passed on to the spa or tourist associations so that they can provide services that are in the public interest. The taxpayers can use these services, but are not obliged to do so.

VAT again in the future?

The current ruling assesses the current legal situation. In just over six weeks' time, the Swiss people will vote on the revision of the Radio and Television Act (RTVA) passed by Parliament. This should lead to an additional reduction in the reception fee for households to around CHF 400. In addition, companies with an annual turnover of less than CHF 500,000 would be exempt from paying the fee. The revision also provides for an amendment to the Value Added Tax Act, which would allow the levying of value added tax on radio and television reception fees.
television reception fees. It literally states: "[The] levy charged for radio and television is deemed to be taxable remuneration." For this reason, Bakom is of the opinion that the Federal Supreme Court ruling has no influence on the vote on June 14. According to Federal Council spokesperson André Simonazzi, the voting booklet does not need to be changed either. Speaking to the media at the Federal Palace, he reminded them that the ruling was based on current law. However, he also said that the effects of the decision had not yet been clarified in detail.

No decision on reimbursement

In the current ruling, the Federal Supreme Court has not ruled on the issue of refunds. It therefore remains to be seen whether consumers will be refunded the amounts they have paid in excess in recent years. This is precisely what the Swiss Trade Association (sgv), which is fighting against the device-independent reception fee for radio and television, is demanding. The umbrella organization of Swiss SMEs wrote in a communiqué that a total of over CHF 30 million has been collected in excess from around 2.8 million private households since 2011. The liberal Consumer Forum is also demanding a direct refund to consumers. In response to this question, Bakom stated that "any other effects of this ruling" would now be examined in detail together with the Federal Tax Administration. "At the moment we cannot provide any figures" This also applies to the amount of the expected tax losses following the Federal Supreme Court ruling.

SV Group has chosen Made Identity in an agency evaluation to implement its new branding. The brand brushup for the group and the new brand for the core business "SV Restaurant", will be officially rolled out in June this year.

As the first harbinger of the new identity, the SV Group presents its 2014 annual report, which was also realized under the direction of Made. The new concept is more generous, richer in images and puts storytelling at the center - a fitting stage for the 100th anniversary. Over 60 pages, readers are offered an attractive insight into the activities of the SV Group. The main topics in this year's report are the new positioning, the new branding of SV Restaurant. and activities from all business areas.

Responsible at SV Group: Manuela Stockmeyer (Group Communications Manager SV Group). Responsible at Made Identity: Georg Gadient (concept, editing, consulting), Nathalie Blaser (project management), Alexander Weis and Adrian Glatthorn (concept, creative direction); external: Serge Rossinski (text).
 

But instead of passion, there is tedium: moans and dirty talk are heard in extremely bored tones. High time for Amorana.ch: The sex toys of the extremely successful start-up provide variety and a breath of fresh air between the sheets. And elsewhere. The spot can be seen on TV and has been used online for some time.

Responsible at Amorana.ch: Lukas Speiser (CEO), Alan Frei (COO). Responsible at Advico Y&R (Member of Y&R Group Switzerland): Markus Gut (CCO), Martin Stulz (CD), Sarah Paul (AD), Parvez Sheik Fareed, Martin Stulz (text), Benjamin Brettschneider (director), Markenfilm/Florian Studer (production), Selmi Tonstudio (audio).

Whether at home or in a business, it is extremely unpleasant to be visited by burglars. Helvetia Insurance wanted to use a door-opener mailing to raise awareness of the issue among potential new B2B customers and try to get an appointment based on its comprehensive services.

 

The agency at the airport designed a non-criminal door opener mailing. However, the mailing was not entirely burglary-free, as the window envelope had already been smashed. When the recipient opened the envelope, they found a letter with broken glass inside, inviting them to seek preventive advice from Helvetia Insurance.

 

The revision of the Radio and Television Act (RTVA) approved by parliament includes an additional reduction in the reception fee for households to around CHF 400. In addition, companies with an annual turnover of less than CHF 500,000 are to be exempted from the fee. The revision also provides for an amendment to the Value Added Tax Act, which will determine the levying of value added taxes on radio and television reception fees, as the Federal Office of Communications (Bakom) announced on Wednesday. "If the people approve the revision, the new system will be applied from 2018 or 2019."

According to SRG, the Federal Court's ruling creates clarity and relieves many fee payers. The company will now analyze all aspects and consequences of the ruling and its implementation by Billag and the federal government, the Swiss Radio and Television Company wrote in a communiqué. The Federal Court came to the conclusion that the reception fee regulated in the current law is not a consideration for a service provided by the federal government, but a sovereignly levied tax. Thus the characteristic for a subordination under the value added tax would fall away. (SDA)

The aim: to raise awareness among the population about sanitary products with energy label A, which are a sensible choice for consumers when buying new products. In addition to TV spots, advertisements and a huge POS display at the partners, a promotion brigade - equipped with bathrobes and fins - launched the campaign in the main stations of Switzerland, accompanied by the famous A's of the energy label in the form of flying logos: to discover here in the video.

Responsible at Federal Office of Energy - Energy Switzerland: Chantal Purro (Communications Manager at Energy Switzerland), Planair, Martin Kernen (ass. Director) and Aurélia Vaucher (CAS Energy City). Responsible at Franz & René: Valérie Pecalvel (Strategic Direction); Luciano Gerber (Client Service Direction); Vincent Eichenberger (Campaign Manager); Marco De Albuquerque (AD); Barbara Müller , Sven Jungo, Gianluca Terzini (Graphic Design). TV Production: Ramon+Pedro / Making-of : Picturn.

This was decided by the members at the recent General Assembly. With the repositioning as the most important national professional association in the field of sponsoring, Sponsoring Switzerland also expands the circle for new members, for example important implementation and marketing companies.

Sponsoring Switzerland aims to promote the understanding and acceptance of sponsoring and related forms of communication as important components of modern brand communication, as well as to improve professionalism and loyalty in the use of sponsoring. The association also represents the interests of sponsorship drivers vis-à-vis authorities and third parties. "The step from a community of interests to the Association of the Swiss Sponsoring Industry underlines our claim to be the most important national professional association in the field of sponsoring. What we have never been and will not be in the future is an intermediary platform for sponsoring providers and recipients," association president Daniel Gundelfinger explained the background to the repositioning in a statement. Sponsoring Switzerland is intended to contribute to the networking of the industry and to bring together the most important players in Swiss sponsoring under one roof. For this reason, the criteria for the admission of new members from the sponsoring business have also been adapted. In the future, Sponsoring Switzerland will also be open to companies and agencies from the areas of implementation and marketing.
 

Anyone looking for an apartment in Zurich or Geneva is not alone. And that in a double sense: To make it easier for apartment hunters to find their coveted new home, ImmoScout24 is now supporting them in a special way. In addition to its offering of over 70,000 properties every day, the portal is also providing support from prominent local heroes as part of the new campaign.

The new campaign comes from the Bernese agency Maxomedia. Under the motto "Fit for the housing market," the agency turns Zurich and Geneva city officials into housing coaches. They provide their protégés with tips on all aspects of the real estate search. In Zurich, celebrities such as comedian Stefan Büsser, businesswomen Bea Petri and Daniela Baumann, as well as Mykonos party icon Seigi Sterkoudis and bicycle specialist Peti Fontana are waiting. In Geneva, soccer coach Michel Pont and samba queen Veronice de Abreu will get the audience in top shape with their tips.

The implementation also reflects the training idea visually and presents itself entirely in the visual language of old boxing posters. The campaign platform is the microsite Immoscout24.ch/fit. On this one can see the Promi Tipps as well as current housing recommendations and inform in the housing councellor. There is also a competition with exclusive prizes from the coaches. The campaign is now present in Zurich and Geneva on posters, regional TV and online.

Responsible at Scout24 Switzerland:Andreas Schrag (Director Marketing), Nadia Probst (Marketing Manager ImmoScout24), Laila Aicher (Marketing Coordinator ImmoScout24). Responsible at Maxomedia: Simon Muster (overall responsibility) Michel Sulser (consulting), Reto Schild (CD), Daniel Rödel (AD), Antonia Bekiaris (text/concept), Philippe Stucki, Eduardo Cartaxana (graphics), Joel Stüdle (UX/UI design). Technical implementation: TWY, Web Development. Photography: Oliver Nanzig, photographer. Media agency: Mediakanzlei, Pascal Froehli and Rolf Suter.

 

The results are surprising, touching and funny moments captured on film, which are now shared and spread via social media.

The aim of the new Insieme awareness campaign is to positively influence the public's perception of people with intellectual disabilities. The Zurich-based production company Stories developed a concept for this purpose that does justice to the claim of eliminating widespread prejudices and fear of contact in an entertaining and emotionally touching way at the same time.

A spot that "sells" not product but the stimulus to think about it

"We show real people, real arguments and therefore also real feelings. We use a simple experiment to prove how unnecessarily uptight our everyday behavior towards people with mental disabilities usually is," says Stories director Tobias Fueter about the campaign's approach. The campaign is based on a spot that lets viewers take part in an encounter between disabled and non-disabled people that they themselves did not foresee. Under the pretext of a "social experiment", test persons were sought for the encounter with a respective unknown counterpart. They only learned afterwards that they were being filmed during the arranged meeting in the café. They were also asked about their expectations and feelings both before and after the encounter. Without exception, all the participants described the experience as enriching and agreed to its publication. "Five minutes are enough to experience that people with intellectual disabilities are simply people 'like you and me'," one participant summed up her experience - and with her statement provided the title of the campaign.

Prominent supporters

Numerous prominent supporters could also be won over for the experiment. Among others, TV and radio presenter Nik Hartmann, author and radio host Reeto von Gunten and DJ Rock Gitano were ready for a filmed encounter. Likewise, they are now participating in the viral spread of the spot via social networks; various other well-known people will continue the action in the coming days. "The campaign encourages more openness without raising the index finger. I think that's great," says Reeto von Gunten, explaining the motivation.

In addition to distribution via social media, the spot is also available on Insieme.ch/5min to see. The microsite offers interested parties additional footage of the encounters and interviews with the subjects. The website was designed and implemented by the Zurich digital agency Hinderling Volkart. Roland Sutter, partner of Roth Observatory International, supported Insieme in the selection of suitable communication partners.
 

Numerous employees of the city of Bern are at work every day for a "subers Bärn" - they clean our streets, collect our garbage, accept our waste at disposal yards, ensure clean collection points and maintain the parks.
Without them, the federal city would not be completely clean. And yet their work usually goes unnoticed. Polyconsult has been commissioned by the city of Bern to develop a campaign that pays tribute to the efforts of Bern's "cleaners". We bring them into the spotlight and make them the main protagonists of 18 humorous poster subjects. They can be seen on mobile poster stands at the locations where the "cleaners" work.

Responsible at the city of Bern: Christian Jordi (Head of Waste Disposal Yards and Services, Waste Disposal + Recycling), Martina Tschan (Responsible for Communications & Public Relations, Waste Disposal + Recycling). Vresponsible at Polyconsult: Silvio Truffer and Helene Zenhäusern (concept), Caroline Bühler and Dominique Imboden (consulting), photography: Croci & du Fresne.
 

The 29-year-old Swiss national began his career with Swiss in 2007 as a flight attendant and has since held various positions in cabin crew management, most recently as Head of Cabin Crew Communication. Daniel Bärlocher, Head of Corporate Communications: "I am delighted that with Stefan Vasic we have been able to recruit an experienced communicator from within our own ranks who has in-depth knowledge of flight operations and the airline industry." Stefan Vasic holds a Bachelor of Science in Communications from the Zurich School of Economics.

Mehdi Guenin will leave Swiss at the end of April. In addition to his function as media spokesman, he has made a significant contribution to the development of the internal television channel Swiss TV and has produced numerous reports. Karin Müller and Sonja Ptassek will continue to be part of the media spokesperson team headed by Daniel Bärlocher.