Nearly half of Internet users aged 35 to 44 were also active on these networks.

The percentage of Internet users among the population aged 15 and older rose from 78 percent in 2010 to 84 percent in 2014. In 2014, this figure corresponded to approximately 5.8 million people. Nearly all residents under the age of 45 used the Internet. A sharp increase was observed among older age groups: 81 percent of those aged 55 to 65 (+12 percentage points compared to 2010) and 62 percent of those aged 65 to 74 (+17 percentage points) used the Internet. Accordingly, the differences in internet usage between the various age groups have been narrowing since 2010.

The increase in activity on social networks is broad-based

Social media activity rose sharply across all age groups. Nearly half of all Internet users were active on social media (47 percent, compared with 36 percent in 2010). Among 15- to 24-year-olds, this share rose to 83 percent (+5 percentage points compared to 2010). Interestingly, the 35- to 54-year-old age group recorded the most significant increase (+19 percentage points). Two-thirds of Internet users aged 25 to 34 were active on social networks. This proportion was 46 percent among those aged 35 to 44 and 36 percent among those aged 45 to 54.

Internet is increasingly used for everyday tasks

Online shopping is becoming increasingly popular. Two-thirds of Internet users engaged in this type of shopping (compared to 55 percent in 2010). Online banking and searching for health information are also online activities experiencing strong growth. They increased by 9 percentage points compared to 2010 and were used by 59 percent and 64 percent of Internet users, respectively. The Internet was also increasingly used to search for information on referendums or elections (+10 percentage points). The two younger age groups—that is, 15- to 24-year-olds and 25- to 34-year-olds—showed particularly significant increases in this regard (+18 and +16 percentage points, respectively). Nearly one in two Internet users sought information online about the political campaigns in early 2014.

Increasing use of mobile Internet via smartphones

Over the past four years, mobile Internet usage has risen significantly as a result of technological advancements and the increasing prevalence of smartphones. Two-thirds of Internet users now access the Internet outside their homes or workplaces. In 2010, this figure was still 43 percent. 95 percent of mobile Internet users used a cell phone to browse the Internet (56% in 2010). Smartphones have replaced laptops as the preferred device for browsing the Internet. Only 30 percent of mobile Internet users now use a laptop for browsing (79 percent in 2010).

New Indicator System for Monitoring the Federal Council's Strategy

Along with the release of the first results in 2014 on Internet use in Swiss households, the FSO is publishing a new indicator system on its website. This system ensures the statistical monitoring of the goals set by the Federal Council in its Strategy for an Information Society in Switzerland. Work is currently underway to complete statistical coverage in various areas of this strategy. The indicator system will therefore be further expanded in the coming years.

Indicators for the statistical monitoring of the Federal Council's strategy: Bsf.admin.ch

Federal Council Strategy for the Information Society in Switzerland: Portfolio-bund.force.com

Image: Keystone
 

In this role, he will head the Communications Department within the General Secretariat as of that date and serve as the point of contact for German-speaking media professionals. Georg Därendinger, 34, studied journalism, organizational communication, and European studies. While still a student, he worked at Swisscom as an editor in corporate communications. He then joined Sunrise as a communications specialist responsible for internal communications. He later worked as a manager of communications strategy and public affairs at BKW before joining the FDP’s General Secretariat as a political secretary in 2012. In this role, he will continue to oversee policy issues in the areas of energy, telecommunications, transportation, the environment, and land-use planning until the end of January 2015.

Image: Fdp.ch

Pascale Menzi moved from Ringier TV to "Tagesschau" on Swiss television at the beginning of 2004. There she worked as an editor and reporter and anchored the "Tagesschau am Mittag," the "Tagesschau" edition at 6 p.m. and the "Tagesschau Nacht. In addition, Pascale Menzi was deputy presenter of the health magazine "Puls". Since summer 2013, Pascale Menzi also presented the results studio at the federal votes.
For "Fernweh - In den Alpen" she was assigned as a narrative reporter in South Tyrol in 2009. Pascale Menzi has also been on the road again and again as a reporter for the Tagesschau: for example, at the World Ski Championships, at the Winter Olympics in Turin or at the Eurovision Song Contest.

After almost eleven years at Swiss Radio and Television, Pascale Menzi has decided to hand over the anchoring of "Tagesschau" and leave the company. However, she will continue to fill in for individual assignments as deputy presenter on "Puls" in 2015.

Pascale Menzi: "I look back on eleven wonderful years at the "Tagesschau" and say "Thank you!" to SRF for the really great time. But now I am at a point where I would like to have more time for my family. And so I'm leaving the "Tagesschau" team probably with a teary eye, but above all also with a laughing eye. I'm looking forward to what's coming."

Google's Year in Review takes the pulse of the past year and presents the most searched-for and most popular search terms across Switzerland. On google.ch, 2014 was all about soccer: The World Cup in Brazil generated the most search queries in 2014. In addition, people and their stories particularly piqued the search interest of the Swiss. Tragic events such as Michael Schumacher’s accident and Robin Williams’ suicide triggered many search queries. Polarizing figures such as Conchita Wurst and Jennifer Lawrence also made it into the top ten search terms with the largest increase compared to the previous year.

Users are also increasingly asking Google questions. Google Switzerland has compiled a list of the most common ones under the heading «What is…?» This year, people were interested in financial topics such as «What is PayPal?» as well as political topics such as «What is Ecopop?».

A look at the list «Swiss Scandals and Controversies» reveals which local issues captured people’s attention in 2014. The biggest increase in search queries in 2014 was driven by the controversy surrounding Geri Müller. The other two spots on the podium belong to two art installations that couldn’t be more different: Milo Moiré and the Zurich harbor crane. The Carna Grischa scandal, which kept people in Switzerland occupied toward the end of the year, barely made it onto this list.

The AIR14 air show has replaced the Paléo Festival at the top of the list of the most-searched-for Swiss events. The music festival in western Switzerland still holds onto second place, followed by Zurich’s Sechseläuten, which also continues to attract steady search interest. In the category of the most-searched Swiss cities and towns, Zermatt remained firmly in first place, leading the list ahead of Zurich and Basel.

Top Lists for Switzerland in 2014

Search queries:

1. 2014 World Cup
2. iPhone 6
3. Michael Schumacher
4. Robin Williams
5. Conchita Wurst
6. Ebola
7. Sochi
8. Jennifer Lawrence
9. Netflix
10. Nabilla Benattia

Stars International:

1. Michael Schumacher
2. Robin Williams
3. Conchita Wurst
4. Jennifer Lawrence
5. Nabilla Benattia
6. Julie Gayet
7. Peaches Geldof
8. Philip Seymour Hoffman
9. Dieudonné
10. Melanie Müller

"What is...?" questions:

1. PayPal
2. sour cream
3. Ecopop
4. Ebola
5. Instagram
6. LinkedIn
7. Double-cream cream cheese
8. Fiber-Optic Network
9. Raw milk
10. Vermouth

Events in Switzerland:

1. AIR14
2nd Paléo Festival
3rd Sechseläuten
4. Street Parade
5. Swissbau
6. SwissSkills
7. Energy Air
8th Engadin Ski Marathon
9. Boys' Shooting Competition
10. Touch The Air

Swiss watch brands:

1. Omega
2. Rolex
3. Swatch
4. Tissot
5. Alpina
6. IWC
7. Hublot
8. Breitling
9. Longines
10. Zenith

Destinations:

1. new york
2. paris
3. barcelona
4th Berlin
5th London
6th Mallorca
7 Portugal
8 Hamburg
9. Budapest
10th Fuerteventura

Swiss Scandals/Controversies:

1. Geri Müller
2. Milo Moiré
3. Zurich Harbor Crane
4. Love Life
5. Carlos
6. Elena Rybolovleva
7. Blanda Eggenschwiler
8. Raoul Weil
9. Carna Grischa
10. TPG Strike

Cities & Towns:

1. zermatt
2. Zurich
3. basel
4. lausanne
5. bern
6th Lenzerheide
7 Lucerne
8. davos
9. winterthur
10. lugano
 

For many Swiss people, the Million Raffle replaces the Advent calendar and brings a little excitement to the quiet and contemplative time every day. This year, the Million Raffle was again actively promoted with TV commercials, posters, advertisements, and classic POS media. The Christmas motif of the snow globe runs through all these media and was also adapted for the different communication phases.

As part of the PR measures for Ringier, Erdmannpeisker, together with Panta Rhei PR and the English illustrator Steve Simpson, developed three full-page Christmas puzzles, which offer an entertaining examination of Christmas traditions and the million-dollar lottery ticket.

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Christmas tradition is also the most important theme in the other activities of the Million Raffle campaign: For example, Blick readers could send in their Advent window creations and win a Christmas aperitif. In addition, the Million Raffle is also present at various Christmas markets in Switzerland and lets market visitors rub their hands on a giant 3D Million Raffle.

Responsible at Swisslos Intercantonal National Lottery: Rolf Kunz (Head of Marketing & Distribution), Bettina Dürrenberger (Head of Product Management Lots), Patrick Weisskopf (Product Management Lots). Responsible at Erdmannpeisker: Gabriel Peisker, Sybille Erdmann (overall responsibility), Patrick Fawer, Christina Weisser (art direction), Selina Helbling, Rainer Neusius, Daniela Müller (consulting), Tabea Ott, Christina Weibel (media design), Phanta Rhei PR (PR), Who's McQueen (film production, image editing), Spool (promotion), Steve Simpson (illustration), Mediafactor (media planning).

All advertising materials and the website Energy-climate-pioneers.ch have been adapted accordingly. The program offers school classes from kindergarten to high school the opportunity to implement their own projects that promote a sustainable use of energy and reduce the burden on the climate. At the end of the energy and climate pioneer year, all classes are invited to the big energy and climate festival. There, the little pioneers will meet the project sponsor and Solar Impulse pilot Bertrand Piccard. As a thank you for their efforts, the students are personally awarded by the great solar flight pioneer for their deeds and commitment. To date, more than 11'000 students from all over Switzerland have taken part and implemented over 500 projects.

The reason for the rebranding is a new partnership. Since fall 2014, the project, which grew out of an initiative by Swisscom, has also been supported by Energie Schweiz alongside Myclimate and Solar Impulse.

Responsible at Myclimate: René Estermann (Managing Director); Andrea Altorfer (Head of Marketing); Annette Vetsch (Project Manager Climate Education). Responsible at KSP Krieg Schlupp Partner: Flo Wacker (creative direction); Daniel Kobi (art direction); Christian Stüdi (text); Claudia Willner (graphics); Flavia Meyer, Daniela Schmidlin, Jolanda Heller (consulting).
 

Fine blend: Havas Worldwide Zurich now advertises for Twinings

The history-steeped tea brand Twinings of London is to realign itself: with immediate effect, it will be advised and managed by Havas Worldwide Zurich. A new brand direction and strategy will be developed, and new campaigns will be developed and implemented.

 

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Matter Gretener Lesch: New customer with Avia

After a multi-stage pitch, Avia - the association of independent Swiss importers of petroleum products - has a new communications agency: Matter Gretener Lesch. The nudge agency scored with a convincing strategy and attention-grabbing creative implementations. The first works promoting Switzerland's densest network of gas stations will soon be on display.

 

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In Flagranti rushes healthy and safe into the new year

Even before Christmas, In Flagranti looks back on a successful 2014 and starts the new year optimistically with three new budget wins. The traditional Bernese Oberland brewery Rugenbräu and the Lucerne Cantonal Hospital are now relying on In Flagranti's focus on nutrition and health. And Baloise, with Basler Versicherungen and Baloise Bank SoBa, is now also relying on the "Services" theme focus. New solutions in the areas of dialog, advertising, design and corporate publishing will be created for these Swiss brands in 2015. The first works will be on display at the beginning of 2015. In Flagranti promises even more new things as early as January.

 

In June 2014, the newspaper published anonymous allegations against the head of the Shipping Section of the Federal Office of Transport. The accusation was that he harassed the inland navigation industry with petty interpretations of paragraphs and favored long-time favorites. According to the Press Council, there is a public interest in investigating and possibly publishing any abuses in a federal office, as it announced on Monday. However, BaZ should have confronted the official in view of the seriousness of the allegations. This duty applies all the more if the authors of the allegations in the newspaper remain anonymous.

In a second case, the Press Council rejected a complaint against the Basler Zeitung. This concerned reporting on the award procedure for a school complex in Oberwil BL in the first half of 2014. The municipality had awarded a contract for the new building to a company whose co-owner is the husband of the Oberwil municipal president. The municipality complained against what it saw as unfair reporting. The Press Council has now come to the conclusion that the municipality was heard and had its say. Only in one case was it given a "relatively short period of time to comment". Nor were any untrue statements of fact made.

The Press Council has no sanctioning powers; its opinions and recommendations are only declaratory in nature. (SDA)

Image: Keystone

The reason is rumors about the appointment of a right-wing conservative successor to the dismissed editor-in-chief Markus Spillmann - the most recent talk was of Basler Zeitung boss Markus Somm, an admirer of SVP chief strategist Christoph Blocher. The letter asks the NZZ's editor-in-chief to insist on the editorial board's right to be heard. The NZZ editorial board in Zurich will address a letter to the board of directors on Tuesday.

"Even after Somm's cancellation, we are deeply concerned about the future of the NZZ. Should the political direction in which a search for a new editor-in-chief has apparently been conducted be confirmed, we condemn these plans in the strongest possible terms," reads the letter presented in Monday evening's "10vor10" program on Swiss television SRF.

The letter goes on to say: "With the election of an editor-in-chief with right-wing conservative leanings, the liberal journalism and culture of the NZZ have fallen by the wayside. We are fighting this with all our might." The letter was also available in full on the website of SRF to read. NZZ-online merely summarized the content. (SDA)

Passers-by in Zurich were amazed when an oversized vibrator walked past them in the middle of the Christmas pre-sales rush.

The Swiss e-commerce company Deindeal was responsible for the campaign and, according to the press release, has quickly become one of the country's leading shopping platforms. With this campaign, Deindeal implemented a concept that has been flickering across TV screens in Switzerland for some time (Werbewoche.ch reported). This is the main message of the three commercials, on the one hand representing the product areas covered by the company. On the other hand, demonstrating how cheaply one and the same product can be purchased via Deindeal compared to other offers. Accordingly, it did not stop at the vibrator in question. A conspicuously enlarged bag and an iPad from the "Brand&Products" area as well as an oversized champagne bottle, representative of the "Wine&Gourmet" channel for gourmets, were initially irritating. And this was deliberate, according to Amir Suissa, CEO: "We wanted to get in touch with people who otherwise "only" know us as an online platform via the internet. To present a different side of us to stressed-out passers-by and make them smile."

 

The organization cites impunity and a lack of compliance with international law as the reasons for the high death toll among media workers. Israel was responsible for the highest number of deaths this year. During its military offensive in the Gaza Strip, 16 journalists were killed. Syria ranked second with 13 fatalities, followed by Pakistan, where 12 media workers were killed, primarily in the tribal areas along the border with Afghanistan. Iraq ranked fourth among the most dangerous countries, with 10 journalists killed, including several during the advance of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group. In fifth place was Ukraine, where 9 media workers were killed, including four Russians, followed by Mexico with 8 journalists killed.

Graphic: Pressemblem.ch

In 2014, a total of 46 journalists were killed in the Middle East, followed by Asia (31), Latin America (27), sub-Saharan Africa (14), and Europe (10). In 2013 alone, 129 media workers lost their lives while on the job. Over the past five years, the most dangerous countries were Syria, with 69 journalists killed, followed by Pakistan (63), Mexico (59), Iraq (44), and Somalia (39). (SDA)

Various studies have examined how anxious people are on airplanes. While the a While some studies show that many women feel anxious starting with their very first flight, whereas men often don’t develop this unease until after numerous anxiety-free flights, others simply demonstrate that most people get weak in the knees when they lose the ground beneath their feet.

The takeoff, in particular, poses the greatest challenge to the nerves of passengers who are afraid of flying. Once in the (calm) air, it’s much easier to relax.

The Japanese airline ANA, in collaboration with the agencies Firstborn and Dentsu Tokyo, has addressed the fears and concerns of airline passengers by developing the «Takeoff Mode App.» The idea was made possible by the fact that the use of electronic devices is now permitted even during takeoff and landing. Users of the app are completely distracted by a relaxing skill-based game—for as long as necessary. The app detects when the plane is no longer climbing and displays the good news.
 

Whether the app can truly alleviate fear of flying remains to be seen in practice. Any passenger with a smartphone can volunteer to be a guinea pig—Ana is also making the app available to passengers of other airlines via App store available. (hae)