In times of viral marketing, you never really know what is real and what has sprung from the clever minds of creative minds. Last week, for example, Google's response to an analog search query enraptured the Internet world - for once, hearts just flew to the Internet giant:

It didn't take long for critical voices to take over the discussion. Google was deliberately engaging in viral image cultivation and had circulated the correspondence itself. One can certainly imagine that. But even then, the charming idea still deserves top marks for virology.

The American shopping mall East Hills is in less danger of being suspected of viral infiltration. Although their commercial has had almost two million clicks in just four days. The reason: the clip is so bad that it's almost good again. But only almost. The musical performance in particular leaves room for improvement.

East Hills will not really be able to benefit from the rapid viral spread - even if the shopping center is now known all over the world, the clientele will still have to be limited to a local target group. Nevertheless, the maximum return was achieved here with minimal financial outlay. (hae)

In the film, Ampegon CEO Josef Troxler embarks on a mental journey around the globe and reviews the most important achievements. The viewer is taken to exotic locations in India and Japan, learns about groundbreaking research at PSI, climbs up to massive transmitting antennas in northern Germany and is allowed to witness when Ampegon becomes part of the most ambitious and largest research project of all time: the thermonuclear experimental reactor Iter.

The aim is to let viewers experience the values the company stands for, the industries and markets in which it is active, and its prospects. The complete production took about a year, according to a press release. The filming took place exclusively at original locations and was realized during almost 3 months.

Responsible at Ampegon: Josef Troxler and Jennifer Lewandowski. Responsible at Maybaum Film and Avista Films: Michel Alraun (direction/concept), Hubert Staubli (production management/concept), Simon Usteri (camera), Angela Ryser (editing), Jürgen Kupka (color grading), Bluebox Tonstudios (sound design).

This consists of the Marketing Communications, Sales, Strategy and Key Account Management divisions. The 47-year-old Wagner-Fuhs succeeds Roland Schönholzer, who was elected Chairman of the Board of Directors of Namics in April. With this new appointment, the Swiss industry leader is increasingly targeting the German market. Wagner-Fuhs has held various management positions at both corporate and agency level over the past 20 years. According to the press release, she is a proven expert in communication and brand management as well as the implementation of marketing technologies in the digital transformation process. Wagner-Fuhs was a board member of the German Association of Communication Agencies (GWA) from 2008 to 2010 and has an excellent network in the German agency landscape.

"We are delighted to have gained such an industry expert for Namics in Stefanie Wagner-Fuhs. Her profound experience in combining communication, marketing, account management, business strategy and digital business is a rare asset," says Jürg Stuker, CEO of Namics. "Together with her, we will succeed in further strengthening Namics' position and sustainably expanding our business in Germany in particular."

Namics was founded in 1995 and is represented in Switzerland with offices in St. Gallen and Zurich. In 2000, the company moved to Germany, where the digital service provider has offices in Frankfurt, Hamburg and Munich. Today, the agency has a total of almost 500 employees. In the German market, the agency was able to acquire renowned brand clients and cover the most important sectors within a very short space of time. The agency was awarded the "Master of Swiss Web 2014" for UBS's innovative e-banking (Werbewoche.ch reported).

"Namics has implementation expertise in all relevant sectors in Europe. These references should also be able to convince more customers in Germany," says the newly appointed member of the Executive Board. In the current BVDW Internet agency ranking, Namics Germany is currently in 24th place. In future, the e-business specialists want to increasingly target the so-called hidden champions.

"Many of the global market leaders from the German SME sector," says Wagner-Fuhs, "are currently facing the challenge of digitizing their business models." CEO Jürg Stuker is also convinced of this approach to market development: "As a partner-managed agency, we can meet owner-managed SMEs on an equal footing. Because unlike corporate network agencies, we understand what it means to increase our own capital."

This year's Mediabrands study, conducted for the first time in all of German-speaking Switzerland, determines the qualitative reach of Swiss media brands and their total audience. This year's Mediabrands study covers over 60 media brands throughout German-speaking Switzerland. The intermedia study, which Publicom conducted for the first time last year, is based on a representative survey of over 3'200 people in German-speaking Switzerland.

Rapid advance of the mobile Internet

In addition to the qualitative broadcasting of the media brands considered, Mediabrands also examines the general media usage of the German-speaking Swiss. The rapid advance of the mobile Internet is particularly evident here. Two-thirds of adult German-speaking Swiss already use the Internet on a mobile device (smartphone or tablet). The Internet is also the most important medium in the subjective perception of the German-speaking Swiss. Digital use has also already reached a high level in the classic media (newspapers, radio, television). More than half of the German-speaking Swiss consume newspaper content in digital form via the Internet. The fact that very few pay anything for it is known to cause many media managers a major headache. This makes the qualitative perception of a medium all the more important. The audience is only prepared to pay money for strong brands, and the advertising industry is also increasingly recognizing the value of qualitative aspects.

Strong regional media brands

20 Minuten and SRF 1 reach the largest audiences via their various channels, with a good three and a half million adults between the ages of 15 and 74 in German-speaking Switzerland each quarter. But when it comes to emotional proximity and brand strength, other media are ahead, first and foremost the Beobachter. The traditional magazine is not only the most likeable regional language media brand in German-speaking Switzerland, it also beats all others in terms of the strength of its brand profile. The SRF media also enjoy great popularity - probably contrary to the hopes of the Billag abolitionists. SRF 2 in particular was able to significantly improve its likeability score within a year and sharpen its brand profile. The Neue Zürcher Zeitung and the NZZ am Sonntag are also among the most likeable regional language brands.

Many regional media brands also enjoy a strong profile. A regional subscription newspaper, the St. Galler Tagblatt, tops the ranking of the most likeable regional media. The strongest brand profile of all regional media is exhibited by the small Radio Freiburg. Its listeners give top marks to journalistic performance, entertainment value and other quality aspects.

Mediabrands is conducted annually by the media consultancy Publicom. The study provides media companies with the basis for successful brand management and creates transparency for advertisers and media agencies about the qualitative communications performance of the most important Swiss media brands.

Brand sympathy: The ten most sympathetic linguistic regional media brands German-speaking Switzerland

Brand Strength: The ten strongest linguistic regional media brands German-speaking Switzerland

Brand sympathy: The ten most sympathetic regional media brands German-speaking Switzerland

Brand Strength: The ten strongest regional media brands German-speaking Switzerland

The Bern Building Insurance (GVB) has been securing and insuring buildings in the canton of Bern for over 200 years. In a survey among the insured, it became clear that the danger of electrical fires is underestimated - and this despite the fact that, at 33 percent, most fires are caused by electricity. The GVB recognized the need for action and commissioned in flagranti to realize a prevention campaign.

Causes of electrical fires are, for example, defective appliances, home-made constructions or defective installations. That's why In Flagranti staged everyday electrical objects as dangerous fire monsters that need to be put to flight. This is achieved with the active support of the GVB home experts, who provide the most important tips at Gvb.ch/fire-tips have compiled.

Even greater safety is provided by 20,000 smoke alarms, which can be obtained at post offices and selected trade shows in the canton of Berne for a symbolic sum of five francs in aid of the Berne Youth Fire Brigade. The two-week campaign will be supplemented with advertisements, posters and clips on Canal Poste. The two campaign subjects are also represented in hyperlocal media, on cultural posters and as online banners. Memory, which can also be played online or as an app, rounds off the campaign.

Responsible at GVB Gebäudeversicherung Bern: Stephanie Kriesel (management), Mirjam Wüthrich, Alexandra Siegrist. Responsible agency: In flagrante delicto.

Karin Müller, 32, joined Swiss in February 2009 after working at Swissport for several years and has in-depth knowledge of the airline industry, according to a statement. After an internship at the Swiss media office, she moved to Crew Communications, where she was most recently Manager Operations Communication, reporting directly to the Chief Operating Officer, Rainer Hiltebrand. There, among other things, she further developed communications to Swiss cabin and cockpit staff. A Swiss national, she holds a master's degree in media and communications from the University of Zurich.

Myriam Ziesack worked for more than three years as media spokeswoman at Lufthansa subsidiary Swiss. As Head of Lufthansa Group Communications Asia/Pacific, she will be responsible from Singapore for communications activities in this region, which is both economically and strategically important for the Group.

The Swiss media team under Daniel Bärlocher, Head of Corporate Communications, also includes Sonja Ptassek and Mehdi Guenin.
 

According to the announcement, ESB is the market leader for know-how and contacts in sports, entertainment & marketing. Through the brand relaunch, ESB does justice to the development that it serves as a platform for sponsorship, but also for many other marketing disciplines. The networking idea, which has always determined the ESB enterprise, is deliberately brought to the fore by the new appearance. Members of the ESB partner network benefit from free participation in ESB congresses, exclusive networking events and through the individual promotion of new business contacts.

"We decided to change our name to "ESB Marketing Netzwerk" because ESB has increasingly developed from the niche "sponsoring" to higher-level marketing topics. As the organizer of congresses such as the Sport Forum Switzerland or "Sport & Brand", we still have a strong sponsoring connection. But we also organize "Digital Sports & Entertainment", "Testimonial Summit", "Kids & Marke" and "Premium & Marke", among others. ESB thus offers diverse platforms for marketing know-how," says Hans-Willy Brockes,
Managing Director ESB Marketing Network.

In the course of the name change, the ESB logo is also updated. The logo, which more clearly emphasizes the network character through its unifying and consistent appearance, was modernized through a graphic and typographic implementation by the specialists at Evoq
 

The magazine, which is aimed at men with a sense of lifestyle, fashion and exciting reportage, is published twice a year by Blond Publishing. The publisher has already successfully launched L'Officiel Schweiz for women in March this year (Werbewoche.ch reported). Editor-in-chief Sandra Bauknecht is responsible for both magazines, Stefan Hottinger-Behmer is publisher and editorial director, and CEO Oliver Burger is in charge of publishing.

In addition to fashion, beauty and lifestyle news from around the world, the first issue will also include stories written by renowned authors about the Rockefellers, dangerous codes in Mexico, Swiss IT stars, British design and world-famous men such as Clive Owen and John Paul DeJoria. 178 pages, in which there is also space for multi-page fashion reports and background stories on international labels.

L'Officiel Schweiz Hommes is not just a supplement, but a stand-alone issue sold at newsstands for twelve francs per issue. Subscribers to L'Officiel Schweiz will receive the new magazine together with the September issue. L'Officiel Schweiz will be published every two months until the end of 2014, and monthly from next year.

The mobile franking is possible with any mobile phone provider in Switzerland and it still costs 1.20 francs. According to the press release, the product met with great interest among mobile customers during the one-year pilot: over 100'000 letters were franked with the SMS stamp.

Swiss Post customers are increasingly demanding electronic products to complement the physical offering. Since 2006, stamps can be purchased online with Webstamp and printed out at home. Since September 2013, Swiss Post has been testing mobile franking for letters with the SMS stamp. Following the positive experience and over 100'000 SMS stamps sold, Swiss Post is definitely introducing the product for all mobile operators as of September 1, 2014.

Simple franking for on the road

If you want to send an A Mail standard letter to a Swiss address and do not have a stamp at hand, send the password "stamp" to the destination number "414". The code received is noted in the top right-hand corner of the envelope and the letter is dropped into the next letter slot. Alternatively, a corresponding code can be requested via the Swiss Post smartphone app. This code is valid for ten days and can be used once. The SMS stamp costs 1 franc plus 20 centimes per SMS (including VAT) - regardless of the subscription type.
 

As always, the task is to realize a campaign for the main sponsor. Specific details on the content of the briefing can be found at the warm-up event on September 2, 2014 at 6:30 pm at the ADC Galerie in Zurich.

In addition to Swiss Post, the organizer is pleased to have the support of APG Out of Home Media, Swissfilm Association, Streuplan and Keystone. The major creative competition for young people receives media support from Werbewoche and Persönlich. In addition, the youth channel Joiz is once again on board. The organizers are ADC Switzerland, supported by BSW Leading Swiss Agencies. The event is presented by Publicitas.

There are four ADC Young Creatives Awards to be won. The three winning teams from the categories Outdoor, Cyber and Film will travel to the international "Young Lions Competition", to the advertising film festival in Cannes, where they will officially represent Switzerland next year.

Registrations for the briefing event are open now at Adc.ch/en/invitation/yca-14 possible.
 

The ceremony took place at the Zunfthaus zur Zimmerleuten in Zurich. The best results were achieved by Olivier Fabrikant from Zollikon with a final grade of 5.6, Dani Duttweiler from Frauenfeld with 5.5 and Marc Bamert from Meilen with 5.4.

The graduates:

Michele Aggiato, Luca Amato, Marc Bamert, Patrick Becker, Marcel Beyeler, Nicole Candrian, Anastasia Deryagina, Dani Duttweiler, Olivier Fabrikant, Moritz Faccin, Bea Gerber, Andreas Hostettler, Debora Komso, Rebecca Meier, Sibylle Nussbaumer, Fabienne Romanens, Simon Rüttimann, Jürg Schneider, Ivan Sosio, Rahel Stössel, Nadine Traber-Burkhardt, Nina Vetsch.

Photos of the celebration can be found at Fh-hwz.ch

The bottom line is that profit has more than halved from CHF 2.6 million in the same period of the previous year to CHF 1.1 million. As Goldbach also announced on Wednesday, the company is also withdrawing from Romania. And in Poland, the company is giving up another part of its activities with the agency business. For the time being, there are no more major leaps in the home countries: in the main markets of Switzerland, Germany and Austria (DACH), sales grew by 0.9 percent to CHF 209.8 million.

The Swiss TV advertising market developed slightly positively overall. However, as the marketer of many private stations, Goldbach suffered from shifts in advertising budgets to SRG channels due to the Winter Olympics and the Football World Cup. Last year's change in TV reach measurement, which led to lower overall ratings for the stations marketed by Goldbach, also had an impact. Despite the difficult environment, the management confirmed its forecasts. Sales are expected to be at the previous year's level and a profit of around seven million francs, as CFO Lukas Leuenberger explained in a telephone conference. (SDA)