Doris Oberneder completed her education at the graphics HTL in Linz. After a brief insight into the advertising industry, she decided to specialize in editorial design. Her career took her to the daily newspaper Die Presse in Vienna, the Berliner Zeitung and KircherBurkhardt Berlin, among others, when the agency was still a start-up under the name MediaGroup Berlin. Doris Oberneder has lived in Zurich since 2003. Here she proved her worth during the redesign phase of the Observer. For the past year, Doris Oberneder has been in charge of the layout of the German edition of Migros magazine and is responsible for the redesign.
 
Pablo Tys studied illustration, advertising and photography at the Academy of Arts in Anvers, Belgium. He started as a photographer for the police magazine "info-revue" and later did a first redesign there as a layouter. Subsequently he worked for the biggest newspaper het Laatste nieuws in Belgium and became art director of Gondola magazine. Since last summer, Pablo Tys has been working for Migros magazine.

WW: What considerations led to the commissioning of a redesign?
Doris Oberneder: The last redesign was five years ago. But that was more of a facelift. In the meantime, it has been realized: The layout is already a bit wild. The shapes are no longer very clear. They don't allow for much variety.
Pablo Tys: In surveys conducted regularly by the publisher, the content was always rated very positively, but the layout was mostly criticized. It was perceived as not very modern. The reader guidance and the magazine structure were also a recurring theme among readers.
Oberneder: Even for me, the booklet was very confusing. Some of the divisions were not comprehensible from the reader's point of view. Now there are three fixed, clearly defined sections. We also wanted to support these with a clear color scheme. Each part has been given its own color.
 
So was it primarily about the design? How was the editorial team involved? Oberneder: No, it was about design and content. Every rubric was put up for discussion. Some content has been reconsidered and sharpened, and at the same time new ideas for rubrics have been introduced. Each department formed working groups to collect and evaluate ideas. The "Life" section in particular has been revised once again with a strong focus on advice.
Tys: With a thorough redesign, the content must also be reconsidered. The stories should be shorter and more concise. The French and German editions are also to be brought more into line with each other visually.
Oberneder: I think there should still be longer stories. The rhythm of the magazine is important to me. Short stories should be really short, but longer stories can be long. We want to cater to different reading habits.
 
What did you start with?
Oberneder: Various discussion rounds have been organized with representatives from the editorial office, the publishing house and the journalistic committee. For me, these workshops mainly served to find out how closely we have to follow Migros' CD guidelines. To what extent is Migros Magazine a corporate publishing product, or how independent does it remain? Journalistic independence will be kept very high, but we will draw more from the diverse areas of Migros and consult our internal specialists, for example from the health sector. The consulting section in particular will benefit from this.
 
How closely did you have to align your visuals with Migros?
Oberneder: In the first workshop, I already brought examples of what a magazine could look like that was oriented to the CD guidelines. I quickly realized that with the two cuts of Helvetica that would have been available to us, little tension would be possible in the magazine. Then I tried out shapes: How many additional cuts would I need in order to do better justice to the journalistic content and to be able to differentiate between them?
 
What does cut mean?
Oberneder: These are typefaces, for example Helvetica Regular and Helvetica Bold. Here, the unanimous opinion emerged in the workshops: We don't have to stick to the CD fonts. We can think from the magazine and also use completely different fonts.
Tys: This was already a first positive concession for a great freedom in design.
Oberneder: The title was also discussed: Do we stick with "Migros Magazine" or do we go back in tradition and call it "We," for example, to emphasize its independence. Just as "Brückenbauer" also had an independent title.
Tys: We have moved away from that. We're sticking with the "Migros Magazine. But we're leaving out the bar on the cover, which restricts us too much in terms of design.
 
What happened next?
Oberneder: We asked the editors-in-chief to do a full briefing. We didn't want to get started until the briefing was really watertight and all open questions had been discussed. What does younger mean? What does fresher mean? If you want to be young and modern, you could theoretically do an online magazine right away.
Tys: It was decided that the Migros magazine will remain a classic print product, but will be supplemented even more by online content. The print product should increasingly refer to additional offers on the Internet.
Oberneder: When we had the key data together, we withdrew for two weeks and really worked exclusively for this project. During this time, we were relieved for the other tasks. We have a super team in the layout. It worked absolutely reliably and great how people helped take over our roles during our time off. In some cases, we supplemented the team with freelancers.
Tys: We imposed a fixed structure on ourselves because we knew: two weeks is very tight for a redesign. Every day we set and reviewed a milestone, always with the main messages of the briefing in mind.
Oberneder: Our goal was to have a finished booklet on the table at the end.
 
Did you manage to do that?
Oberneder: I had already prepared our two-week retreat at home. We worked with Sky Fonts, a kind of rental option for testing out fonts. There we could draw from the full range. I had already printed out variants for the start of the workshop. That way, we could discuss these designs and develop them further. On the third day, we wanted to have decided on one or more fonts. Our CD Bruno Boll was there to advise us and encouraged us to be brave, but gave us a free hand.
 
Was it always clear that the new design would be done internally?
Oberneder: That was always clear. That's why I was hired a year ago. We knew then that the magazine was about to embark on a major redesign and that I already had experience in this area. The fact that Pablo Tys then joined our team in August was a great stroke of luck. Fresh, open and curious, he was just the right sparring partner.
Tys: We both have international experience and try to think outside the box. Doris Oberneder has already designed several publications in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. I myself come from Belgium. Doris and I harmonized immediately and complemented each other very well in the design.
 
What is visibly new now?
Oberneder: What is certainly new is the color scheme. We have deliberately opted for pure colors. Although it is called "Migros Magazine," it is produced using newsprint in rotary printing due to the large print run. Because the paper is highly absorbent and newsprint has a relatively coarse screen and large color gain, we decided to use as pure colors as possible. Each section gets its own color: the people section a pure cyan, the Migros section of course the Migros orange and the back section became green. In addition, we use a continuous signal color, a pure yellow, as a play option. Yellow has the advantage that it goes well with the other colors, blends in well despite its signal character, and can be labeled with black.
Tys: Another important design element is the frame.
Oberneder: The Coop newspaper has also recently been redesigned. There, the print margin, which cannot be printed in newspaper printing for technical reasons, is cut away at the end, so that it is borderless. We prefer to stay with the larger format and even emphasize the print area with a frame. The frame has something solemn about it, just as you would frame a picture to give it more meaning. Also, from a design perspective, it's a nice option to work with white space.
 
What's new with the cover?
Oberneder: There's a separate image strategy. Olivier Paky, the head of picture editing, has created a new picture concept. The images are to become more lively and attract the reader's attention. Of course, this applies not only to the cover, but also to the inside pages. From the layout side, we support the image effect by using a larger proportion of images.
 
What did you fight for the most?
Tys: We didn't have to fight at all, but were very much supported both in the editorial and publishing departments and by our Migros colleagues. What I would have fought for, however, if it had been necessary, is color.
Oberneder: We were also concerned that the journalistic forms should be better recognized. In this respect, we also found open ears in the editorial department. A recipe is now simply a recipe. We don't have to depict another celebrity. We wanted to get more down to earth, reduce it to what it is, and make great recipe photos for it. These recipes now also correspond with the product of the week, which is featured on the small-format page in the Migros bundle. The content goes more together. In part, this requires closer collaboration between the various departments and between editorial and layout.
 
But the editorial team had no say in these two weeks?
Oberneder: We wanted to prevent the editorial team from restricting us in the creative process. We had already received a lot of input beforehand, and I didn't know how I was supposed to do justice to all the requests. That's why we stopped or controlled the input. The editors-in-chief Hans Schneeberger and Steve Gaspoz received the results of the group workshops from the departments, checked them and incorporated them into the briefing. Only the final result was presented again for discussion.
 
How has the result been received?
Oberneder: Very positive. After the first issue we were able to present after the retreat, all possible forms had to be implemented and a first zero number printed. This was then submitted to the various committees of the MGB. Not many changes had to be made from the initial draft to the final result.
 
Will production now be more complicated?
Oberneder: It's getting a little more complex, but we're also working differently now. We work more with library elements. Every element and every page is mapped in the library and can be retrieved there.
Tys: But if you want or have to design freely, then it probably becomes more elaborate. We work with different columns, which is also new, and the white spaces must have a certain coherence and be coherent.
 
And then?
Oberneder: We are currently in the process of creating the manual and optimizing the processes somewhat. The high quality standards must now be maintained in everyday life. This can be quite demanding at times. The writers and designers alike have to internalize the new design concepts and stick to them. It would be a shame if the new design were soon watered down again. And finally, there are the extras, our monothematic editorial supplements.

Interview: Andreas Panzeri

Many National League A clubs feature an animal or symbol in their emblems or appear at matches with characteristic mascots. For example, the lions stand for ZSC, the panther for HC Lugano, a dragon for Fribourg-Gottéron and an eagle for Servette Genève.

Republica, SC Bern's in-house agency, has taken advantage of this for a provocative fan campaign in its own media. A total of eleven subjects poke fun at the opponents' mascots and get the fan base in the mood for the upcoming game.

The SCB doesn't just count on a record audience at matches: the Mutzen have over 45,700 likes on Facebook and around 11,300 followers on Twitter. On social media, they have long been the Swiss ice hockey champions. The subjects received hundreds of likes, were hotly debated and even parodied. The campaign ran from December to the end of February.

Responsible at SC Bern: Marc Weber (Chief Marketing Officer). Responsible at Republica: Chris Morgan (Creative Direction), Andreas Szentkuti, Yves Kamber (Text), Nadia Jost (Graphics), Simon Stalder (Consulting), Bala Trachsel (Overall responsibility).

The event industry reacts particularly volatile to economic changes - both positive and negative. For our Swiss clients, whom we support abroad, the situation has developed positively in that their costs have fallen due to the strong franc. However, many companies are cutting their marketing budgets, and extravagant events in particular send the wrong signal to the outside world in times of crisis. Nevertheless, we also see opportunities in the current development. Especially with reduced budgets, it is all the more important to create real added value with events. In line with the content marketing trend, we are seeing an even stronger tendency to use events to convey information relevant to target groups, tell stories and anchor brand messages in a targeted manner. And last but not least, we are seeing an increased demand for strategic consulting in the area of internal communication as well as team building and coaching inquiries, as job cuts in companies in particular are always associated with uncertainty and a loss of internal know-how - aspects that need to be accompanied by communication.
 

The reactions among the companies we serve varied. The export-oriented SMEs had to revise their budgets and will be calling on their suppliers. Companies in the northwestern region of Switzerland were forced to lower their prices. For our other Swiss customers with purely domestic business, the strength of the Swiss franc does not seem to have affected business so far. So far, no cuts have been made to the budgets we manage. On the contrary. The currency discount has to be communicated aggressively to keep the business going. This resulted in unplanned revenues on our side. From our point of view, there seems to be no reason for a negative spiral at the moment. Nevertheless, as an advertising agency, we must of course continue to do our homework consistently.
 

Reto Flury, Managing Director EGK, Ursula Vogt, Head of Communications EGK , Otto Gmeiner, CEO Dachcom (right).

EGK-Gesundheitskasse has been a reliable partner for its policyholders since 1919. EGK has grown in a pioneering role that treats complementary and conventional medicine equally. Today, EGK is one of the 15 largest health insurance companies out of a total of 60 in Switzerland. It stands out because it is still one of the few health insurers that can really demonstrate a strategy in the area of complementary medicine. "We have been following this development for a long time and are therefore perceived as a strong brand in this area," says EGK's Managing Director Reto Flury. But anyone who is perceived as a pioneer also has a history. And therefore a somewhat more "mature" image. EGK's corporate image has followed a similar path for around 25 years. "Now we wanted to refresh and modernize it," explains Flury. "But it's not about changing the image completely. We want to preserve our qualities and place them in a modern context," says communications manager Ursula Vogt.

When EGK started with complementary medicine, it was quickly given the image of a "green health insurer" with "grain lickers" as customers. This was also reflected in numerous events with which the insurer advertised its views to the public in the form of information. Such events will continue to take place in the future. In the meantime, however, complementary medicine has arrived in the middle of middle-class society. "Today, every young family is concerned about the issue: does it have to be a drug every time? Aren't there other, gentler remedies?" says Vogt. And EGK's communication should provide contemporary answers to such questions.

"Our challenge is that we now have a much broader target audience thanks to our good strategy. We want to appeal to this audience. That was one of the reasons why we wanted to redesign our corporate image," says Reto Flury about the briefing. The health insurance company invited three "very different agencies" to pitch for the new image. The EGK Board of Directors and Executive Board then decided to work with Dachcom in Rheineck.

"The EGK has a great history. Its appearance has something almost sacred to me. That's why we didn't want to create a completely new brand, but instead opted for a typical redesign in close teamwork with the client," explains Otto Gmeiner from Dachcom. The new EGK logo stands for naturalness, lightness and joie de vivre and has evolved from the existing one. The new brand image is now being introduced in stages. The work includes the brand redesign, the brand presence and internal and external communication. In addition, the EGK customer magazine was redesigned in terms of content and visuals and is now published under the new name "Vivere". It communicates EGK's services in a lively and informative way and deals with insurance, health promotion and current topics relating to the healthcare sector. As a first step, the changes to the logo were communicated internally to the 220 employees throughout Switzerland in an original way using a flip-book. An animated version of this "development film" is also available online. The current EGK company brochure was created at the same time as the new corporate design and conveys the service profile combined with values that stand for EGK-Gesundheitskasse.

Andreas Panzeri
 

The reason for his candidacy is the disastrous and alarming policy of the "left-wing majority in the Federal Council and parliament" in Bern, said Köppel. It was no longer enough to stand on the sidelines as an independent publisher and editor-in-chief; he now had to "enter the fray" himself.

He wanted to counteract undesirable developments. For him, only the SVP was an option as a party. Other bourgeois parties did not stand up clearly and consistently enough for the issues that were important to him. The lateral entrant was previously independent and has only now joined the SVP.

No conflict of interest 

It is nothing unusual for "editors-in-chief to go to Bern in difficult times", said Köppel, mentioning Willy Bretscher (NZZ, FDP), Peter Dürrenmatt (Basler Nachrichten, LDP) and Ernst Nobs (Volksrecht, SP). Köppel will retain his functions at Weltwoche if he is elected. In case of doubt, he will always be "the editor-in-chief Köppel and not the party soldier Köppel".

Tipping point for the candidacy

The decisive factor for his candidacy was the speech given by SP Federal Councillor Simonetta Sommaruga at this year's Albisgüetli conference, in which she wanted to give the impression that the SVP is opposed to human rights. For Köppel, it is important that international law is not placed above the Swiss Federal Constitution across the board.

Direct democracy is the backbone and lifeblood of Switzerland and is being "systematically torpedoed", continued Köppel. Federalism must also be defended by not shifting more and more responsibilities from municipal to federal level.

According to Cantonal Party President and National Councillor Alfred Heer, the office of the party leadership has asked the selection committee to include Köppel on the National Council list. It remains to be seen which place the Weltwoche leader will take. An assembly of delegates will decide on the National Council list in May. (SDA)

If a company spends 90 percent of its advertising budget on distribution, it quickly feels pressured to cut back on its distribution plan during a crisis. The 10 percent it transfers to the advertising agency for the design of the message carries less weight. It is quite conceivable that this cluster risk accelerates a development that is already taking place for other reasons. Many companies have begun to build up their own publishing power by consistently using or managing the low-cost digital distribution channels. At the end of this development ("content turn", see WeWo 11. 2. 2015), they may invest 90 percent of their advertising budget in profiling content and only 10 percent in its distribution. While expensive advertising content meets with ever lower acceptance and is disposed of with the waste paper, targeted content in the digital publication world can continue to have an impact for years without costing any more. Crisis-resistant.
 

As is well known, Joiz does not simply make television. The youth channel combines traditional TV with the web, mobile and social media. Young Joiz users log into the programs to actively chat, vote or take part in competitions via the so-called "Red Button" (which is broadcast directly into the program). The company saves everything its registered users do and can thus generate valuable data for its advertising customers. The media company - which is financed almost exclusively through advertising and sponsorship - has so far only used the self-developed community marketing solution for its two in-house Joiz channels in Switzerland and Germany. "We are the European leader in this area," says Gähwiler, Managing Director of Joiz Global. The youth channel is now also selling its technology to corporate customers.

Combining content and e-commerce

With the launch of a community marketing solution for corporate customers, Gähwiler is convinced that the company is in the right place at the right time. "We are seeing a lot of interest from the traditional television sector. Interaction tools are in demand - and customers primarily want to generate sales with our solution. The tools don't just generate costs for media companies, they also create additional advertising inventory for them." With the help of a "red button" like the one from Joiz, Gähwiler explains, it would be possible, for example, for viewers to directly buy a shoe that a professional footballer is wearing during the game. "Content and e-commerce are generally moving ever closer together," says the Joiz Global Managing Director. "But such a strong connection between content and e-commerce can only be found in Switzerland with Joiz."

German publishing house first customer

Joiz Global recently landed its first major customer, the German publishing house M. DuMont Schauberg. The publishing house has licensed the Joiz technology for its big data strategy and intends to transform Köln.tv into an interactive regional TV network in 2015. The websites of three regional newspapers will also be integrated into the new strategy. The interactive program will include sports, lifestyle and news broadcasts and is not only aimed at a young audience. Gähwiler and his team are supporting the process, which will take several months, from conception and development to consulting on the new workflows. However, the company also offers less comprehensive, format-specific products for its customers.

The brains behind Joiz Global

"Many people read and consume completely differently today than they did a few years ago. What attracted me to the media industry right from the start was the innovative power that has to be generated due to this upheaval in user behavior," says Gähwiler. The newly appointed Managing Director entered the publishing and media industry in 2007. After seven years as a consultant at PWC, he followed "the call of implementation orientation" and moved to Orell Füssli, where he held various positions, including setting up a corporate venture within the group. Most recently, as Controller at Tamedia since 2012, he oversaw the further expansion of the digital business. He will benefit enormously from this in his new position. "We support change processes and strategic realignments. As a supplier, it's easier to incorporate the overall environment of a larger media company if you know such a business from the inside."

Proximity to the Joiz production plant

The airy offices of Joiz Global float four floors above the hectic Joiz newsroom on the first floor, and the average age of the new team is also considerably higher. However, the proximity to Joiz production operations is important to Gähwiler. Every employee receives an induction program on the first floor, he emphasizes. "The young target group that Joiz appeals to has a language that we may smile about. But we need to know their user behavior in order to be able to roll out our applications on a large scale later on. " The 40-year-old knows that the interactive television behavior of Joiz users will be the same as that of 35-year-olds in ten years' time.

Simone Isliker
 

And suddenly the R-word is going around again: since the Swiss National Bank lifted the minimum euro exchange rate on January 15, Switzerland has suddenly become 15 to 20 percent more expensive as a business location compared to other countries. This has hit the export industry and tourism hard - but also the advertising and communications sector. And some economists were quick to predict a brief recession for the Swiss economy in the summer of 2015. Yet we were doing so well: in a survey conducted by the University of St. Gallen on behalf of BSW Leading Swiss Agencies and with the support of the Swiss Advertising Client Association (SWA) at the end of last year, 78% of all advertising clients generally expected the economic trend to remain positive in 2015. One month after the euro shock, there is little sign of optimism in the Werbewoche survey of industry experts.

However, the various influencing factors are weighted differently, and so the picture on the market remains diffuse. This makes the statements from the executive floors all the more worth reading, which is why we have reproduced them in full and unabridged. Who sees black and who is optimistic? Where are concrete effects already being reported? What recipes are being recommended? How does the view of advertisers differ from that of media planners? Who wins? Who loses? The large number of comments shows how strongly the topic is affecting the industry. So that the dialog can continue, we are also publishing the statements on Werbewoche.ch in such a way that they can be commented on individually. Whose assessment is met with approval? Who is skeptical?

Beat Krebs, CEO ZenithOptimedia Switzerland

Markus Gabriel, owner of the content marketing agency Angelink

Roland Ehrler, Director SWA Swiss Advertising Clients Association

Marcel Durst, Managing Director, Komet Advertising Agency BSW

Julien Witt, JBW Media

Axel Beckmann, MediaCom, CEO

Frank Bodin, Chairman & CEO, Office Havas Worldwide

Manfred Strobl, CEO, Mediaschneider

Hanspeter Lebrument, Chairman of the Board and Publisher Somedia

Frédéric Renzen, CEO, Renzen & Partner

Christian Baertschi, Partner, Serviceplan Suisse

Cornelia Harder, CEO, FCB Zurich

Catrin Rubenson, CEO, Admazing

Peter Frey, Managing Director, cR Werbeagentur

Mike Brodbeck, Managing Partner, Polyconsult

Urs Schneider, BSSM advertising agency, co-owner and CD 

Thorsten Schoen, Chairman of the Executive Board, M&M Media

Jennifer Somm, CEO, Rufener

Arndt Groth, CEO, PubliGroupe

Ulrich Tacke, Managing Director, MEC Switzerland

Michael Hählen, CEO, Partner, In Flagranti Communication

Maurizio Rugghia, Managing Director, Serranetga

Rolf Jeger, CEO, Blue Spirit Communications

Bernhard Herzig, CEO Maxomedia 

Andreas Jorgella, Partner, The House Agency

Michael Gerber, CEO Valencia Communication

Ronny Schmid, Co-owner, Konnex

Rudolf Rodenburg, Member of the Executive Board and Managing Director Zurich Process 

Gaby Zimmerli, Managing Director, Ogilvy & Mather

Curdin Janett, CEO, Publicis

Survey: Christoph J. Walther

Ve is a UK-based technology company that offers a platform that accompanies online store users through every step of their onsite journey and converts abandoners into buyers. The wide range of Ve apps help online retailers to reduce their bounce rates, increase customer activity, reduce cart abandonment and therefore increase conversion rates. Ve supports more than 6000 online retailers and businesses in executing their real-time marketing communications at key points within their customers' onsite journeys. Ve works with a purely performance-based commission model. There are no contract terms or set-up costs for store operators. www.veinteractive.com/de

WW: The VeAssist product search assistant is one of the applications that Ve offers to reduce the bounce rate and consequently reduce abandoned purchases. How does it work?
More than one in two customers who have already actively abandoned the purchase by clicking on the back button (landing page), closing the tab or entering a new URL and are therefore actually lost for the store, remain on the page thanks to this solution and continue their search. This in turn is directly reflected in increased customer satisfaction - the customer was able to find what they were looking for after all with the smart tool, the bounce rate is reduced, Google SEM costs fall and the webshop's sales increase sustainably. Precisely because this type of customer interaction only works in the course of an active abandonment and without the use of discounts, we demonstrably stand for two promises: There is no cannibalization of existing traffic, and additional revenue (incremental revenue) is generated.

Why do you think the customer doesn't feel pressured by this service?
To say it up front: The external impact looks very good, as our apps in general and the product search assistant in particular are seen by customers as a clear improvement in the shopping experience. One reason for this is that, thanks to our six years of experience in the area of shopping abandonment, we understand exactly what context the respective abandoner is in and we develop our apps accordingly. This means that if the abandoner is looking for products, they need to be addressed differently than if they abandon for reasons of time pressure or lack of information, for example. Secondly, we take the maturity of the user as a potential customer with whom our apps interact very seriously. This means that the customer is only approached once to offer them assistance, and the customer always has the option of rejecting the help with just one click if they do not wish to do so and want to leave the page immediately.

What other applications are currently available and where are they being used?
The latest apps are the VeAssist product search assistant mentioned above and VeProactive, our smart shopping list. With the latter, customers have the option of sending themselves the products already in their shopping cart as a wish list by email if they abandon their purchase - for example due to a lack of time. This improves their shopping experience by giving them the opportunity to continue shopping at the interrupted point at any time on any device (cross-device change). Furthermore, Ve Interactive has recently made strategic acquisitions in the areas of prospecting and re-targeting, making us - as things stand today - the only platform to offer re-targeting, re-engagement and re-marketing from a single source and on a single platform.

Which Swiss companies does Ve Interactive work with?
We work very closely and successfully with companies such as Conrad.ch and Deindeal.ch. But strategic partners such as TradeDoubler, Affili.net and Adresult are also an integral part of our work in Switzerland.

Where do you see potential for improvement/development for Switzerland in this area?
Switzerland can still catch up with other countries in certain areas of Internet development. This is mainly due to the networks and agencies mentioned above. In principle, e-commerce in Switzerland is on a very good path, and a lot has happened here in the last two to three years in particular. This is also shown by the size of a trade fair such as Swiss Online Marketing or the affiliate conference organized by Adresult.

Where do you think digital customer loyalty will go from here?
Real customer retention or loyalty is difficult to achieve in online business. With the exception of a few cases, it is actually non-existent today. It doesn't matter whether I have an account or am regularly sent newsletters and great offers. The customer is very clever, has understood the mechanisms of the stores and only uses them to his own advantage. One area where you can certainly do a lot, however, is the actual shopping experience as such. The challenge is to combine what is valued in the offline world - service, help, advice, etc. - with the technical advantages of an online store - free delivery, price comparison, a larger selection of sizes, payment on account, etc. - in order to create a better shopping experience. Finding products, interrupting and resuming the purchase process and the actual purchase and payment process must be as simple and convenient as possible. In addition, it is still astonishing how few stores offer truly appealing m-commerce. In many places, there is a lack of cross-device solutions - for example by means of responsive design - for a real alternative to buying products on a tablet or smartphone as opposed to a browser-based purchase.

Do you see further growth for your company?
I am pleased to say that we already saw this many years ago. We are now represented in 17 different countries, in 19 different languages. In Switzerland, too, we always offer our solutions in three languages. Apart from individual things where the many countries on different continents with correspondingly different mentalities naturally differ from one another - such as in China, for example, where addressing customers by SMS is more common than by email or newsletter - the basic needs and challenges for us as a service provider are always the same: Reducing abandonment, increasing sales and offering the end customer the best possible shopping experience.

Interview: Ursina Maurer
 

Cuddling up with loved ones, checking the latest news or a round of sports - that's how the models from the new Zalando campaign prepare for the day ahead. The exciting feeling of styling up and getting dressed up is the basis of the new "Are You Ready?" campaign for Spring/Summer 2015 at Zalando. The latest styles are presented in the spot by Arizona Muse, Ola Rudnicka, Christopher Folz, Jessie Li and Sabrina Loffreda. The film was directed by New York-based filmmaker Gordon von Steiner.

"We have the courage to dare to do something".

Zalando is breaking new ground with its TV campaign, relying for the first time on in-house expertise instead of its parent agency Jung von Matt/Elbe. VP Brand Marketing Arne Schepker explains the move to Werbewoche.ch: "You have to remember that we have a large in-house creative team that develops more than 100 marketing materials for 15 countries every day. That's more than any agency can do, and TV is just one of many channels in that." So, he says, it's a stringent evolution that they've now developed TV in-house for the first time - they've developed all other touchpoints in-house since forever. "We are a young and fast-growing company and have the courage to dare to do something. This transition phase was the perfect time for us to leverage our in-house expertise even more and set out on a new brand communication path."

Jung von Matt continues to be responsible for the TV campaigns in Italy, Austria, Poland, Belgium and Spain. Markets in which even more intensive brand building is needed than in Germany or Switzerland, for example. The campaign is available from March 2015 on the global Zalando channels such as outdoor and print ads, Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, Instagram and Google+ as well as on Zalando.ch visible. (hae/pd)

"Fässler-Kunz" tells the story of a well-off Swiss couple on the verge of retirement in a comedically poignant way. The series was written by Katja Früh and Patrick Frey.

Céline (Esther Gemsch) and Thomas (Patrick Frey) Fässler-Kunz are the conflict-ridden main characters of the series. They experience the everyday ups and downs of an ageing relationship. In the process, the two repeatedly get into embarrassing but funny situations - especially unintentionally.

"Ageing is a topic of great and increasing social importance. And as we all know, it is usually a rather serious matter. However, this so-called third phase of life also has distinct comedic potential," program director Mike Gut was quoted as saying in a statement on Thursday. 

The series will be broadcast on Thursdays at 6.30 p.m. on S1 from March 5, 2015.