Technically outdated, but more popular than ever before: the GIF graphic format developed in 1987 is here to stay. More precisely: animated GIFs. The format allows several individual images to be saved in one file. Internet browsers play these as endless short animations. To prevent the file from becoming too unwieldy in size, the individual images are usually highly compressed, which in the age of HD and 4k makes for a pleasant trashy change in everyday visual life. Short scenes from YouTube videos - whether funny cats or foul-mouthed footballers - are immediately turned into GIFs and often edited with the simplest (and therefore iconic) effects. For example, there are what feels like 10,000 versions of Zidane's headbutt against Materazzi in the 2006 World Cup final on the internet.

The popularity of the file format, whose correct pronunciation has been debated for years (gif vs. "tschif"), is now also being exploited in a campaign for the Fiat 500. Originally created for Tumblr Fiat GIFs were recently combined into a TV commercial under the claim "Endless Fun". The 30 seconds offer almost everything that popular web culture has to offer: Rainbows, cats, explosions, lasers, sloths, horse masks, robots and unicorns.

In the next step of the campaign, Tumblr users are invited to create their own Fiat GIFs. As Chrysler CMO Olivier Francois told Adweek.com explains, social media followers are trusted to create even better GIFs. The internet world may not know much about advertising, but it knows GIFs perfectly. And Fiat seems to feel at home on social media anyway: In the last few days, the Twitter profile of the Abarth 500 went viral. Under the motto "Too fast to follow", they boast that they have no followers. (hae) 

He replaces Tamara Schmid of Goldbach Media, who has decided to step down after ten years on the Board. Oliver Flückiger from Rayneer Entertailorment, now in office as Vice-President, and Dominik Stibal from Inhalt&Form will continue to be responsible for programming, while Tanja Felix from Ruf Lanz will be in charge of financial matters.

The IAA Swiss Young Professionals are associated with the IAA Swiss Chapter and accordingly pursue the same goal of promoting the exchange of ideas and information between members on relevant and current topics from business, marketing and communication. At the same time, the Swiss Young Professionals are also part of an international organization that focuses on young executives in the individual countries. The IAA is headquartered in New York.

Since the beginning of 2014, Switzerland has been searching for a new national anthem - all Swiss citizens have until June 30 to submit their individual suggestions for the new lyrics and melody. Or even better: you can take the opportunity to submit your own suggestions on the online platform created especially for this purpose. Your-hymn-for-switzerland.ch to collaborate on a collective version of the anthem. The result of the joint effort could go down in history as the world's first crowdsourced national anthem.

It is very easy to take part and is open to everyone in Switzerland. On the campaign website, you can enter the words, sounds and moods that are important to you for the new national anthem: it's as simple as a few clicks. No previous musical knowledge is necessary. The sum of the collected data is then used to compose a truly democratic proposal for the new national anthem. The authors of the work are therefore all Swiss people - more precisely, those who take part.

The agency FCB Foote, Cone & Belding from Zurich launched the unusual campaign and the associated online platform. "It would be great if the whole of Switzerland could join us in creating the new anthem," comments Cornelia Harder, CEO of FCB Zurich. The result of the joint anthem will be presented to the public following the official submission.
 

This is an increased offer that Swisscom is making to Publigroupe for all outstanding shares. However, the Publigroupe Board of Directors rejects the offer of CHF 190 per share from the Zurich-based media group Tamedia. However, Tamedia and Swisscom are already working together in the battle for Publigroupe: The two companies agreed on a joint approach at the end of May. Swisscom's takeover of Publigroupe is part of the plan. Swisscom and Tamedia will then merge the companies Local.ch and Search.ch into a joint subsidiary.

Takeover now also occupies Finma

The Takeover Committee of the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) now also has to deal with the Publigroupe takeover on a side issue: Tamedia has challenged a ruling by the Swiss Takeover Board (TOB) and filed an appeal with the Takeover Committee, i.e. the next higher instance of the TOB. This concerns the TOB's ruling that Tamedia's public purchase offer for Publigroupe of 11 May must be adjusted. Tamedia only wanted to take over the advertising marketer on the condition that its loss-making subsidiary Publicitas was actually sold. According to the TOB, this condition does not comply with the legal provisions on public takeover bids, according to a statement issued by the Finma Takeover Committee on Tuesday. (SDA)
 

Kathrin Röder has already been with Tele Top for 13 years and, according to the press release, has extensive journalistic experience as well as a good knowledge of the entire Tele Top broadcasting area. With this appointment, another important position at
are filled internally by the top media. Kathrin Röder began her career with a commercial apprenticeship at Huber und Co. in Frauenfeld - even then she was already working as a freelancer for the Thurgauer Zeitung newspaper. After three years as a reporter at Schaffhauser Fernsehen, she moved to Tele Top as a video journalist in 2001. Over the years, she steadily took on additional responsibilities at Tele Top's headquarters in Winterthur as a producer and head of service. From July 15, 2014, she will now assume overall responsibility for the Tele Top editorial team of over 20 people.

Former editor-in-chief Marcel Fischer is leaving Top-Medien after 15 years to become the new managing director and program director of Radio Munot. Marcel Fischer first worked at Radio Thurgau and Radio Wil. In this role, he made a significant contribution to the successful merger of the two stations with Radio Eulach to form Radio Top. From 1999, he helped to rebuild Tele Top as Editor-in-Chief. Under his leadership as Editor-in-Chief, Tele Top greatly expanded its regional reporting and today broadcasts daily program windows for the various Top regions of Winterthur/Zurich, Thurgau/St.Gallen and Schaffhausen.
 

Vouchers.blick.ch offers users discounts and free vouchers for online purchases from well-known online stores such as Manor.ch, Ifolor.ch, DeinDeal.ch, Conforama.ch and many more. The clearly designed portal is operated directly by Cupo Nation Switzerland in terms of content and operations, while the Blick Group is responsible for marketing. To mark the launch of the new portal, a large survey was conducted among Blick.ch users on the subject of online vouchers. According to the press release, 83 percent of readers were aware of online vouchers, but 40 percent did not know where to find them. This is now set to change with the new platform. "We offer online retailers an ideal environment to make their offers and promotions accessible to a wide range of shoppers and provide users with a good overview of the discounts available from Swiss online stores", explains Martin Fessler, Head Digital Media Blick Group. "So everyone involved benefits from this new platform."

The HWZ Zurich University of Applied Sciences and the Swiss Text Academy have been course partners for eleven years. The new joint specialist unit is affiliated to the Center for Communications at the HWZ. It offers business, associations and public administration a wide range of services in the field of writing and publishing, in particular expert opinions, customized seminars and coaching.

Applied research and publications

"The ability of communication professionals to write accurately and efficiently is still considered important by clients, especially in the digital age," says Cyril Meier, Head of the Center for Communications at the HWZ. The Center is dedicated to applied research in the field of professional writing and publishing. It will regularly present the results to the public and professional circles. Initial projects concern the impact of language in real estate advertising and a handbook for corporate journalism. The specialist unit builds on the Swiss Text Academy's many years of experience in teaching, research and consulting in the various areas of corporate journalism. In addition, the department supports HWZ students with projects and theses.

Two long-standing, experienced partners

With over 700 students in Bachelor, MAS, DAS and CAS programs, the HWZ is one of the leading educational institutions for corporate and marketing communication in Switzerland. Since its foundation in 2001, the Swiss Text Academy has trained around 300 students a year in professional writing and publishing. In collaboration with the HWZ, the program includes four CAS courses and the overarching MAS in Corporate Writing & Publishing.

A month ago, the agency already implemented a guerrilla measure with signposts in 5 cities in German-speaking Switzerland (Werbewoche.ch reported). Now came the second prank. An SBB ticket vending machine specially converted for the idea toured German-speaking Swiss cities once again, inviting passers-by to discover Europe by means of a quiz and win a city trip. The well-known Swiss comedian Beat Schlatter, who has already appeared in a campaign for SBB, was won over for the idea and breathed life into the vending machine from the inside. The online city quiz, which was created by Maxomedia and SBB for the campaign microsite Sbb.ch/europareisen has been designed, was thus integrated into the ticket vending machine and provided not only additional attention and qualitative deep contacts with consumers, but also unforgettable moments and emotions.

Responsible at SBB: Petra Thomann (Marketing Communications Passenger Transport). Responsible at Statement: Renato Auer (overall responsibility), Philipp Brunner and Roger Gebert (strategy and concept), Till Ramstein (graphic design). Responsible for metal constructionSamuel Fausch (overall responsibility for the conversion), Manuel Zahner (project manager). Responsible at Made: Curdin Decasper (project manager), Beda Steinacher (technology & programming). Speaker: Beat Schlatter.
 

The current board members Verena Bernhard, Havas Worldwide Switzerland, Markus Ehrle, APG|SGA, Bernadette Grossenbacher, Electrolux, Curdin Janett, Publicis Communications Switzerland, Thomas Kaiser, Ringier Digital and Manfred Strobl, Omnicom Media Group Switzerland will also remain in office. After 19 years, Edith Moosbrugger is stepping down as head of the IAA office. Her successor will be Larissa Rossi. The trained marketing planner has professional experience on the client and agency side. In recognition of her many years of service, Edith Moosbrugger was awarded honorary membership of the IAA Swiss Chapter at the General Assembly on June 11.

Tim Alexander, new to the IAA Board

Larissa Rossi, new head of the IAA office
 

As part of the implementation of the new corporate design of the Swiss airline Edelweiss (Advertising week reported), the in-flight magazine was revised. Based on an editorial concept by the van Essel agency, the branding and design agency Process developed a new design concept for the "Sunflyer". The distinctive design elements give the magazine the Edelweiss-typical look. The reader is more involved and there is a cross-media link to web content. The magazine is now published six times a year and is distributed on all Edelweiss flights.

Swiss agencies are also successful on the second award day at the Cannes Lions Festival. Publicis wins two bronze lions for L'Oréal in the "Outdoor" category, Y&R wins a silver award for Teleclub in the same category.

Swiss shortlists
 

Category	Agency	Customer
Direct	Red Lion	Axa Winterhur
	Jung von Matt/Limmat	Pro Infirmis
Promo & Activation	FCB Zurich (x 2)	MTV Mobile/Sunrise
	Jung von Matt/Limmat	Pro Infirmis
	FCB Zurich	Swiss Youth Symphony Orchestra
Outdoor	Publicis (x6)	L'Oréal
	Y&R Group (x3)	Psyko Store
	Leo Burnett (x2)	Swiss Life
	Leo Burnett (x8)	Slow Food
	Red Lion	Anliker alarm
	Y&R Group (x5)	Teleclub
	Jung von Matt/Limmat	Pro Infirmis
Press	Publicis (x3)	L'Oréal
	Leo Burnett (x4)	Slow Food
Cyber	Jung von Matt/Limmat	Pro Infirmis
Design	Call Lanz	Real-Time Publishing
	JWT factory owner (x2)	Unicef
	Jung von Matt/Limmat	Pro Infirmis

The Swiss medal table 2014
 

 

FCB Zurich		1	1
Publicis			2
JvM/Limmat		1
Y&R		1

On the subject: First Lions for FCB Zurich and Jung von Matt/Limmat