The 2013 media year was not a very successful one across the industry. Advertising revenues continued to decline throughout Switzerland and the circulation figures of the major newspapers are also crumbling. Somedia, the media company to which Werbewoche also belongs, was able to hold its own in the market, as CEO Andrea Masüger writes in a statement. Although sales declined, cash flow improved by CHF 2.5 million compared to the previous year. The annual profit is roughly the same as in 2012.

In the future, Somedia will strengthen its convergence strategy with daily newspaper, radio, TV and online. These will be combined into the convergent media brand "Südostschweiz" by next year. In addition, the proven line of local newspapers, free newspapers and the Bündner Tagblatt will be continued. In the service sector, a strong brand for advertising sales has been created with Somedia Promotion, and a powerful presence has been launched with Somedia Production for the print shop, web agency and video production. The portfolio also includes numerous magazines and book publishing.

After the Bündner Tagblatt received a new layout last year, a relaunch of Südostschweiz will follow in the coming months. This will include content and graphic innovations that will reflect the new convergent media brand. As a result, both of Somedia's German-language daily newspapers will have a contemporary and modern appearance, without throwing their tradition overboard. Radio and television will also prepare for the new media brand with content and visual innovations.

Construction of the new media building in Chur is well advanced. The shell is currently under construction up to the second floor. Thanks to the good weather during the winter months, the schedule has been well met. The media building is scheduled for completion at the end of this year. The relocation of employees from the four current locations in Chur and the surrounding area to the new workplaces in the media house is planned for the beginning of 2015, with full commissioning scheduled for March.
 

The Japanese market occupies a challenging position for Swiss tourism: As part of the dual strategy pursued by Switzerland Tourism (ST) - winning back European guests on the one hand and exploiting the existing potential in the new long-distance markets on the other - special attention is being paid to Japan. ST has been able to fill the vacant position of Market Manager Japan with an experienced Asia expert: 33-year-old Fabien Clerc will take over from Kasumi Abe in Tokyo, who heads up Key Account Management for ST Japan, on September 15, 2014. Until recently, he was Head of Business Asia at the World Economic Forum in Geneva and, among other things, promoted the development of Japan as a business location in an international context.

Clerc lived in Japan for three years and worked as a project manager at the United Nations University in Tokyo or at the United Nations Asia Disaster Reduction Center in Kobe and taught English at various language schools in Osaka, Kyoto and Shiga. Other professional positions include project management at the World Business Council for Sustainable Development in Geneva and the position of Community Relations Manager for Japan at the World Economic Forum, also in Geneva. Clerc studied politics at the University of Lausanne and holds a Master's degree in Leadership. In 2007, Clerc also received a scholarship from the Swiss-Japanese Chamber of Commerce.

The Jury led by President Carolina Müller-Möhl, has selected the winners from over 250 entries. In the service category, the innovative "Social TV" Joiz wins this year's Swiss Economic Award. The innovative "social TV" with interactive programming for the target group of 15- to 34-year-olds combines TV with the web, mobile and social media. The young company was founded in 2009 by Alexander Mazzara and Dominik Stroppel and today employs 129 people. "We are very proud to have won this award," says a delighted Alexander Mazzara, founder and CEO of Joiz. "It means a great recognition for our company concept, but especially for the intensive development work that our young team has done in the last three years!"

Joiz is TV for the Facebook generation. The young company is responding to changes in TV use, seeking dialog with its community and offering its users a kind of media home since 2011. Unlike traditional TV stations, the "viewer" (a play on words from viewer and user) actively participates in the program by means of various interaction options. Viewers can also interact with each other via a second screen such as a tablet, laptop or smartphone. The technology developed in-house, combined with attractive content and modern storytelling on TV, web, mobile and social media, opens up completely new advertising opportunities. Joiz has already won several awards for its innovative branded entertainment concepts and cross-platform campaigns. Most recently with gold at the Goldbach Crossmedia Award for the interactive quiz show "Wer's glaubt" ("Who Believes"), which Joiz conceived and realized together with Wirz Werbung and PHD for Die Mobiliar.

In 2013, Joiz went on air in Germany with a new station based on the Swiss model and already reaches 35 million households. Internationalization is being continued with a franchise model. Joiz is financed by the Innovation Foundation of Schwyzer Kantonalbank (SZKB). After Dacuda in 2011, this is the second time a company financed by the Innovation Foundation has won Switzerland's most important young entrepreneur award, according to a statement from the bank. (pd/hae)
 

Gold, silver and bronze in 17 categories plus the coveted Junior Award (special prize) were awarded this year by the 22 jury members around Christian Huldi. Although the Dialog Marketing Heroes 2014 were not honored in Gotham City, they were celebrated in the comics-like skyline décor of Zurich's Kongresshaus. The evening was hosted by Knackeboul with his Gudrun and the fresh and witty Melanie Winiger.

Photo: Facebook.com/dmprice

Big Wow-Effect achieved

Three medals in gold, eleven in silver and twenty-one in bronze glittered on the stage during the heroes' tribute:
 

Status	Campaign	Agency	Client	Cat.
Bronze	Savings location	Ogilvy One	Sanagate	1
Bronze	UBS Check-in Mailing	Publicis Communications Switzerland	UBS	2
Bronze	BMW Soundtree	Serviceplan	BMW Switzerland	2
Silver	Helsana Group, Lead Management	Four. Advertising agency	Helsana Group	2
Bronze	Develop and shape the future	RedWorks	Swiss Life	3
Silver	The first couvert for baking & cooking	Wirz Wietlisbach Dialog	Betty Bossi	4
Gold	Advertising icons mailing	Wirz Wietlisbach Dialog	Post CH	5
Bronze	PostLogistics - Send parcels mailing	Leo Burnett Switzerland	Post Logistics	5
Bronze	SBB Advertising		SBB	5
Bronze	Work Anywhere	Eyekon	Swisscom	7
Bronze	Parisienne alphabet	Formula Three	British American Tobacco Switzerland	7
Bronze	BMW Ecoist	Serviceplan	BMW Switzerland	7
Silver	Audi A1 sales success thanks to Shazam	Y&R Group Switzerland	Audi	7
Bronze	Heidi - Hiking is the Heidi's delight	Y&R Group Switzerland	Federation of Migros Cooperatives	7
Silver	Heidi - Hiking is the Heidi's delight	Y&R Group Switzerland	Federation of Migros Cooperatives	8
Silver	Advertiser Anonymous - ADC Highjack	Wirz Wietlisbach Dialog	Post CH	9
Bronze	Migros Magazine - Car Special	Leo Burnett Switzerland	Migros Magazine (editorial office)	10
Silver	Swiss / Seats for Switzerland / Microsite	Publicis Communications Switzerland	Swiss International Air Lines	10
Gold	Kuoni - Travel your dream	Serranetga	Kuoni travel	10
Bronze	Denner: "Social Discount	Notch Interactive	Denner	10
Bronze	Ikea catalog preview	Wirz advertising	Ikea	10
Bronze	Mobile insurance calculator	Ogilvy One	Mercedes-Benz Switzerland	11
Bronze	Bio Suisse - Cow Marathon	Leo Burnett Switzerland	Bio Suisse	12
Silver	Micasa - Name app	Leo Burnett Switzerland	Federation of Migros Cooperatives	12
Silver	WOZ - Ultimatum	Leo Burnett Switzerland	Woz The Weekly	12
Bronze	Tailormade Christmas tree ornaments	Y&R Group Switzerland	Y&R Group Switzerland	12
Bronze	Hypnotizing holiday card	Y&R Group Switzerland	Microsoft	13
Silver	The first couvert for baking & cooking	Wirz Wietlisbach Dialog	Betty Bossi	14
Bronze	Metal letter	Huguenin	Huguenin	14
Silver	Boarding. Take off. Move the world.	One Marketing Services	One Marketing Services	14
Gold	Advertising icons mailing	Wirz Wietlisbach Dialog	Post CH	15
Bronze	Stalburg Theater: "Boards that mean the world."	GKK Dialog Group	Stalburg Theater	16
Silver	CORTEC: "You might like it that way."	GKK Dialog Group	Cortec	16
Bronze	Dialogues between people	GKK Dialog Group	GKK Dialog Group	16
Bronze	Wish free for education	One Marketing Services	Pestalozzi Children's Foundation	17

The fact that superheroes do not automatically fall from the sky is shown by the fact that the League of Justice was unable to find any in the categories "Printed, non-personalized measures" (category 6), "Ambient measures" (category 9) and "Digital: Mobile marketing incl. app" (category 11), but twenty-one competition entries were honored with a certificate:
 

Campaign	Agency	Client	Cat.
Held eco clothesline mailing	Runway West	Hero	2
Post Logistics - Easier to mail parcels	Leo Burnett Switzerland	PostLogistics	4
Apples instead of brochures	Wirz Wietlisbach Dialog	ERZ Waste Disposal + Recycling Zurich	5
Boarding. Take off. Move the world.	One Marketing Services	One Marketing Services	5
Säntispark: Almost like a vacation. Only much closer.	Rembrand	Migros Cooperative Eastern Switzerland	6
Advertiser Anonymous	Wirz Wietlisbach Dialog	Wirz Wietlisbach Dialog	7
BMW Soundtree	Serviceplan	BMW Switzerland	7
Develop and shape the future	RedWorks	Swiss Life	8
Dinosaur Museum Aathal	Wirz advertising	Dinosaur Museum Aathal	9
BMW Ecoist	Serviceplan	BMW Switzerland	10
Stöckli - The flying bike	Serviceplan	Stöckli Swiss Sports	12
Lotto Millionaire Heini Sutter	Contexta	Swisslos Intercantonal National Lottery	12
Ikea No empty chairs for christmas	Wirz advertising	Ikea	12
The Saville Row Mailing	Wirz Wietlisbach Dialog	Wirz Group	13
Pro Infirmis Mannequins	Jung von Matt / Limmat	Pro Infirmis	17

The bulk of the heroes work in the Limmat City

Concentrated power in the Zurich DM headquarters, this is where most of the medals and certificates go. At Wirz Wietlisbach Dialog, for example, there always seems to be a lot of creative sparkle and noise, but also at Leo Burnett Switzerland on Ämtlerstrasse and at Y&R Group Switzerland near Hardturm: 33 of the total of 50 medals and certificates can now be placed in their Shrines of Honor by the heroes and heroines working there. As always, of course, all the other participants can also be proud of themselves and their achievements. Congratulations to all - the medal table 2014:
 

Points	Agency
20	Wirz Wietlisbach Dialog
13	Leo Burnett Switzerland
12	Y&R Group Switzerland
7	GKK Dialog Group
7	Serviceplan
6	One Marketing Services
5	Publicis Communications Switzerland
4	Ogilvy One
4	Serranetga
4	Wirz advertising
3	Four. Advertising agency
3	RedWorks
2	Eyekon
2	Formula Three
2	Huguenin
2	Notch Interactive
2	SBB
1	Contexta
1	Jung von Matt / Limmat
1	Rembrand
1	Runway West

The medal table results according to a point system, for example, a gold medal brings four points, a silver medal three points. You can find a detailed ranking (with subdivision by awards) here.

No platinum - jury focuses on incorruptibility
 

What do you do when the sponsor of the highest award in a competition wins the prize himself? You go for fairness and stay correct. For years, the Platinum Award of the Swiss Dialog Marketing Prize has been sponsored by Swiss Post. This year, Swiss Post wins the platinum prize. A phenomenal result for those responsible, but a clear signal for the jury not to award a platinum prize in 2014. Incorruptibility wins. Nevertheless, the ultimate winner was celebrated at the award night: at the Post bar, people toasted the unchosen winner until well into the night.

Junior-Award reaches for the stars
 

The winners of the SDV Junior Award, Luca Schneider (26) and Yannick Schaller (26), both from Havas Worldwide Zurich, are not only reaching for the stars, but showed the whole industry where to find them. Their work impressed the most, so it will ensure general take-off at the next award night. Because, as the two award winners wrote in their submitted concept, promising : "Astronauts. Nobody rises higher, nobody penetrates further into unknown worlds. Except perhaps the creative ones. The really good ones among them create great ideas out of the big, oppressive nothing and inspire masses with them. [...] That's why we say: Get on board. And reach for the stars." - If that's not a motivation booster? We can be curious ...

More time to enjoy the victory
 

One or two visitors to the awards night may have wondered in advance whether this year's event would be like a Comic-Con, i.e. a convention center full of dialog marketing aces in colorful, skin-tight full-body suits à la Spider-Man or Iron Man. Fortunately for everyone, this was not the case. Instead, the lively Melanie Winiger, together with the restless rapper, beatboxer and Joiz presenter Knackeboul, gallantly led through the evening. This year, the organizer, the Swiss Dialog Marketing Association, focused on the awards ceremony, the joint party and the joint celebrations and networking. This was very well received by the participants of the award night and culminated in a lively after-party with DJ Luzius Wespe.

No heroism without generous supporters in the background
 

Batman would be virtually incapable of acting without Alfred Pennyworth, the loyal butler who works quietly in the background. In the same way, the Swiss Dialog Marketing Award depends on the support of partners and sponsors. A thunderous applause goes to them as well as to the award-winning heroes of the award night - a heartfelt thank you to the "Fantastic Twenty-Eight", the partners and sponsors of the past Swiss Dialog Marketing Award.

 

When heroes travel ...

... you can discover a lot. That's why the finalists and their award-winning campaigns from this year's Swiss Dialog Marketing Award can be booked, for example for a traveling exhibition or for learning purposes. Interested parties simply contact the SDV Swiss Dialog Marketing Association.

All winners

Redesigning football shirts is one of those things: the new shirts for the new season are usually just as boring as the old ones. Subtle changes to the design are primarily intended to fill the tills of the fan stores. Adidas took a slightly more creative approach when Ajax Amsterdam were presented with their kit proposals for the new season. The "test subjects" present: players Siem de Jong, Daley Blind, Jasper Cillessen and head coach Frank de Boer. With a hidden camera, the confused faces of the top athletes were captured for the general public. Inspired by tulips, pancake houses and the heraldic animal of the Netherlands, the Adidas designers produced extraordinary proposals. The Lions jersey would certainly have been a crowd favorite and a bestseller. In the end, there was no surprise: The new jersey is classic, beautiful - and boring. (hae)

As part of the strategic investment in high-quality journalism and the consistent digitization of content offerings, the NZZ editorial team is being strengthened with experienced journalists. In addition, the newsroom is being further expanded in order to respond even better to customer needs and market developments, both digitally and in print.

Colette Gradwohl, most recently Editor-in-Chief and Managing Director of the Winterthur "Landbote" and former Head of the Information Department at Radio DRS, will assume responsibility for the print/replica journalistic product as Deputy Editor-in-Chief.

Christoph Fisch, who is currently head of news and editor in the sports department of the "Neue Zürcher Zeitung" and who also has a very varied journalistic career, including as a newspaper editor, is now her deputy.

Peer Teuwsen is moving from Zeit in Hamburg to Zurich. He most recently oversaw the Hamburg edition and was previously head of the Swiss edition of Zeit. Starting in the fall, he will be responsible for developing journalistic products at NZZ, with a focus on magazines and the long tail.

Peter Sennhauser, who can look back on a long international career as a journalist, online developer and project manager, will now be responsible for the journalistic product at NZZ.ch. He has worked for the Blogwerk agency and "Tageswoche," among others.

Thomas Stamm will be responsible for the NZZ's mobile offerings in the future. Like Sennhauser, Stamm will join the newsroom's management board. He was most recently head of news in the business department and in this role was already intensively involved with digitization, among other things.

The former editor-in-chief of the news agency AP Switzerland, Balz Bruppacher, will strengthen the editorial team in the area of training and quality assurance. In addition, he will work as an author in his traditional areas of expertise, especially in the field of business.

Jeroen van Rooijen returned to the NZZ a few weeks ago. He strengthens the lifestyle section with contributions for the digital channels and for the NZZ lifestyle platform on Facebook. He will also soon be appearing with a regular print column.

Michael Fleischhacker, former editor-in-chief of the "Presse" in Austria and one of the most prominent journalists in the neighboring country, has also been working for the NZZ for several weeks. He is overseeing the project to expand the language-regional offering in Austria.

The NZZ newsroom will also receive professional support from four front-end programmers and interactive designers. There will also be more staff in community management, the newsroom and the Opinion & Debate department, which will be expanded under the leadership of Martin Senti, the former Deputy Head of Domestic Affairs, and supplemented by a digital presence.

Starting in the summer, the editorial team of the Neue Zürcher Zeitung will gradually be organized into three areas; at the center, under the leadership of the responsible department heads, will remain the specialist editorial teams as guarantors of the highest content quality. The expanded newsroom will remain under the leadership of Luzi Bernet as deputy editor-in-chief and head of news. He will continue to be assisted by Anja Grünenfelder as his deputy. All activities that perform cross-sectional functions or are necessary for digital coverage over 20 hours per 7 days will be concentrated in the newsroom. Thirdly, existing and new offerings are produced or developed under the direction of the respective product managers.

Chaired by Professors Torsten Tomczak, Director of the Research Center for Customer Insight at the University of St.Gallen (FCI-HSG), and Harley Krohmer, Director of the Institute for Marketing and Corporate Management at the University of Bern, the newly founded Swiss Academy of Marketing Science celebrated its premiere at Zurich's Grandhotel Dolder. During the gala event "Night of the Brand", which also included the crowning of the Advertiser of the Year, the Academy presented two awards: The "Swiss Academy of Marketing Science Award" for a marketing practitioner who has rendered outstanding services to university teaching and research, and the "Rigour & Relevance Research Award" for an outstanding research contribution that has met with the highest recognition in the field. The two award winners were chosen by experts from science and practice.

Marketing practitioner and lecturer

Dominique von Matt received the "Swiss Academy of Marketing Science Award 2014" for his exemplary support of academic marketing teaching and research at Swiss universities and his commitment to spreading the idea of marketing to the public. The Chairman of the Board of Directors and majority owner of the communication agency Jung von Matt/Limmat is one of the most renowned experts in brand management, advertising and digital communication in Switzerland. Dominique von Matt has been a lecturer at the University of St.Gallen since 2008 and teaches marketing communication in the master's program Marketing, Services and Communication. His course is always given the highest grade by students at the HSG.
The brand expert, who holds a doctorate from the University of Zurich, also frequently acts as a guest lecturer or speaker at other Swiss universities. Dominique von Matt is also the author of numerous publications on brand management. He is continuously involved in research projects, such as the recently published study "Swissness Worldwide". Dominique von Matt was chosen by a jury of 16 leading marketing scientists from Swiss universities and colleges ETH Zurich, IMD Lausanne, University of Basel, University of Bern, University of Fribourg, Université de Lausanne, Università della Svizzera italiana, University of St. Gallen and the University of Zurich.

Research with practical relevance

In order to correct the image that excellent scientific marketing research deals too little with current and relevant problems of marketing practice, a ten-member jury of leading personalities from marketing practice - among others Thomas Amstutz, CEO of Feldschlösschen; Nadine Borter, Managing Director of Contexta; Kjell Gruner, Vice President Marketing of Porsche; Emanuel Probst, CEO of Jura - evaluated scientific contributions.
in terms of their practical relevance. Reto Hofstetter received the Rigour & Relevance Research Award for the article "Social ties and user-generated content: Evidence from an online social network", published in 2013 in the renowned scientific journal "Management Science". The Bernese, who completed his habilitation at the University of St.Gallen, is now Professor of Marketing at the Institute of Marketing and Communication at the Università della Svizzera italiana (USI).
 

A good employer does not spoil its employees with small, inappropriate gifts, but with a comprehensive insurance solution. Drawn up by experts who know the industry inside out. This protects companies and employees from gaps and overlaps in cover. The print campaign developed by Leo Burnett Switzerland dramatizes precisely this insight. It appears in the daily and business press and is accompanied by a banner campaign on financial and business portals.

Responsible at Sanitas: Valentin Hüsser (Head of Central Marketing), Claudia Haueter (Deputy Head of Marketing). Responsible at Leo Burnett: Simon Staub (Creative Direction), Vinzenz Blaas (Art Direction), Mark Stahel (Text), Michael Gassler, Nino Zuberbühler (Consulting), Erasmo Palomba (Art Buying). Photographer: Stefan Minder, image editing: Felix Schregenberger;. Responsible for online: Notch Interactive: Jeff Gerber (Creative Direction), Marco Klein (Art Direction), Vera Weber (Consulting); Media: mediaschneider: Annika Heuter, Sina Beeler, Sean Pfister (Media Strategy and Planning).
 

Since Tamedia and Swisscom announced a joint approach in the Publigroupe case (Werbewoche.ch reported), the share price is sometimes more, sometimes less above the CHF 200 offered. RBR Capital Advisors, the fourth-largest shareholder, is dissatisfied with the Swisscom offer. RBR boss Rudolf Bohli, who took over two percent of Publigroupe shares from Tamedia at a price of 130 francs before Easter and recently increased his stake to over three percent (price: 150 francs), is calling for a "fair value" per share to be set for the sale. This is currently CHF 260. "If you only consider the parts of the company that were already sold in 2014 or for which there are concrete offers or comprehensible market prices from strategic investors, their value alone is higher than the CHF 200 offered by Swisscom," Bohli told NZZ am Sonntag. He hopes that the second and third largest shareholders will follow his call. Together they hold just under a quarter of Publigroupe shares. (hae/NZZaS)

AZ Medien AG already owns a majority stake in Dietschi AG. Two years ago, it initially acquired a 33% stake in the share capital. In May 2014, it was then offered additional shares by various shareholders, increasing its stake to over 50 percent. The offer to the remaining Dietschi shareholders runs from today, Friday, until August 6, 2014.

Co-owner of Radio 32 again

With the purchase of Dietschi AG, AZ Medien AG will once again become a co-owner of Radio 32. At the end of 2012, the Aargau-based media company had to sell its then 11.3 percent stake in the Solothurn local radio station to Gassmann AG (Bieler Tagblatt) because it already owned two radio stations, Radio 24 and Radio Argovia. Its lawyers are currently clarifying whether AZ Medien AG may retain Dietschi AG's 21.9 percent stake in Radio 32, said AZ publisher Peter Wanner when asked by the sda news agency. If the Federal Office of Communications were of a different opinion, this stake would be sold. All products and investments of Dietschi AG will be continued, AZ Medien AG also said on request. In addition to Radio 32 and the Oltner Tagblatt with a circulation of 14,800 copies, Dietschi AG's portfolio also includes the Oberbaselbieter Zeitung, a weekly free newspaper with a circulation of 44,000 copies.

Takeover talks initiated

The Board of Directors of Dietschi AG recommends that the minority shareholders accept the offer from AZ Medien. The Board has already initiated takeover talks. The aim is to secure the long-term future of the company and its publications. Dietschi made a loss in the last financial year. According to the press release, the reason for the red figures was depreciation on the newspaper printing press. The Oltner Tagblatt is printed by Dietschi AG itself. Dietschi AG sold a business division last year. It sold the commercial printing division to the then Dietschi CEO Thomas Müller in a management buy-out on September 1, 2013. (SDA)