The former Head of Key Accounting at consumer magazines such as K-Tipp and Bon à Savoir is a publishing and media expert at SAWI and SPOK. Neukomm is known for repeatedly creating successful solutions in a turbulent market environment, the company wrote in a press release on Tuesday.

The 52-year-old replaces Erhard Grütter, who held this position for over ten years and - after a handover period until July - wants to concentrate on Illustrazione Ticinese together with his daughter.

 

Between the beginning of December 2013 and the end of January 2014, over 700 consumers in Switzerland were surveyed on the following topics:

- Information procurement and mobile Internet
- Blogs
- Social Networking
- Use of QR codes

The most important findings at a glance:

- Around half (49 percent) of those surveyed use the Internet every day to search for specific information while on the move.

- The vast majority of consumers gather information online before making a purchase. User-generated content is becoming increasingly important.

- A new generation of bloggers has arrived. Having grown up in the wake of new technologies, they are setting out to enrich the Internet with content. Blogs are important sources of information. Bloggers track down or set trends and thus become opinion leaders. They are therefore also becoming increasingly relevant for companies.

- Facebook is still the most frequently used social network. It is also most frequently used for photo sharing and location-based social networking. However, there is a lot going on behind Facebook, with a large number of platforms vying for the attention of users - some of them very successfully.

- Attractive, high-quality content is the most important criterion for web users to follow or like a company.

- Although almost half of all respondents have a QR code reader installed, 80 percent never use it or use it less than once a month.

A preview version is available here for download. You can download the complete study (44 pages in A4 format) at under this link order
 

Reading newspapers for free on the Internet: This is now also an end for the Tages-Anzeiger. The pay barrier has been gradually switched on since Monday evening, as Tamedia spokesman Christoph Zimmer said on Tuesday in response to an inquiry from SDA. The online products can now only be consumed free of charge to a limited extent.

After a certain number of articles in a calendar month, the "wall" goes up. Anyone surfing Tagesanzeiger.ch on Tuesday morning, for example, would see a window appear in the browser after twelve texts: "You have read 12 of 20 free articles per month." After 20 articles, a subscription subscription is then due.

Those who have subscribed to the printed TA edition can log in with their own subscription data, according to Zimmer. However, digital-only subscriptions are also offered. Anyone who comes across TA articles on the Internet - via Facebook, for example - will still have access to them free of charge. It remains to be seen how the payment barrier will prove successful. Initial findings will be available in a few months at the earliest, said Zimmer.

The Bund and other newspapers follow

Over the course of the next year and a half, Tamedia plans to introduce the paywall for the other daily newspapers as well. First, Der Bund will introduce the system. After that, newspapers such as Berner Zeitung, Le Matin, Tribune de Genève and 24 heures will follow.

Tamedia is making new apps available for iPhone and iPad users of the Tages-Anzeiger service. A new app for Android smartphones will follow in the next few weeks.

More online stuff in print edition

The printed edition of the Tages-Anzeiger and the news platform Tagesanzeiger.ch have had a uniform look for a few days now. Both online and print articles with evaluative elements now have gray titles.

If additional digital content is available for articles in the print edition, there is a square pixel symbol (QR code) at the end of the text. Anyone who photographs this with a smartphone on which a QR code reader is installed is taken to the website with the multimedia added value. This eliminates the need to type in a web address. The link can be clicked on with the computer as before.

The newspaper's readers' forum is also being expanded. It will no longer only print letters to the editor that reach the editorial office by mail or e-mail. Online comments and posts on Facebook and Twitter will also be taken into account. In addition, a selection of blogs from Tagesanzeiger.ch will be published in the print edition. (SDA)
 

At the Best of Swiss Web Award Night next Thursday, April 3, 2014, at the Kongresshaus Zurich in front of more than 750 people, not only will the best Internet and mobile projects in eleven categories be honored, but an honorary prize will also traditionally be awarded, as announced in a press release on Tuesday. This prize is awarded to individuals who have made a special contribution to the development of the Internet and the ICT sector, for example through fundamental developments in the technical field or outstanding achievements as entrepreneurs, politicians or researchers.

This year's honorary award goes to Bea Knecht, co-founder and CEO of Zattoo. According to the press release, Bea Knecht embodies the type of innovative and courageous entrepreneur with the ability to spur others on to practical action and thus provide important impetus for the entire Internet and media industry.

Bea Knecht studied computer science at the University of California, Berkeley, USA, from 1986 to 1990 and completed an MBA at the International Institute for Management Development in Lausanne in 1995. In 2005, she founded the web television Zattoo in the USA together with computer science professor Sugih Jamin. In 2006, Bea Knecht took over as CEO of the television company in Switzerland for the Football World Cup, initially with four free-to-air Swiss television channels.

Knecht has been Chairman of the Board of Directors of Zattoo since 2009. Before founding the company, she worked in strategy consulting, in banking IT and in the development of HR and data center automation software for customers such as SAP and Linuxcare.

The services

Bea Knecht's special achievements include co-founding one of the first live TV providers (players) in the world. Together with partners, she combined three innovative industry challenges into a single business model:
- Third-party exploitation of TV signals
- Innovative streaming technology
- Software-based multi-platform (content delivery network)
Thanks to Bea Knecht's great personal commitment, a financially independent and highly successful European company based in Switzerland has been established. With broadcasting rights for more than 150 channels and around 3.5 million registered users, Zattoo represents Switzerland as an innovative country with leading mobile and stationary broadband coverage.

 

In the commercial, the gorilla appears in a well-known game with a powerful argument. It can currently be seen on television and on ad screens.

The Zurich agency has also developed a guerrilla campaign with eye-catching banana floor stickers. These remind young people to eat more healthily wherever junk food is available.

Responsible at Schtifti Foundation: Kathrin Steiger and Roger Grolimund (Co-Managing Directors, Communications). Responsible at Kreienbühl and Vogler: Oli Kreienbühl, Reto Vogler, Marco Donada, Fabian Schiltknecht; Mark Gmehling (3D artist). Responsible at Condor Films: Sonja Meier, Kerstin Reulen, Stefan Bucher. Responsible at Jingle Jungle: Mathias Sulger, Robert Büchel. Responsible at IMD Media Unlimited: Ralph Hekmat (Media Distribution).

 

Gorilla Spot from KREIENBUEHL AND VOGLER on Vimeo.

Giulia Pareschi holds a degree in Media and Communication Sciences from the University of Lugano and a Master's degree in Business Administration from the University of Lucerne. Giulia Pareschi previously worked as a PR trainee for Fiat for two years and is therefore very familiar with the company and its various brands, as was reported in a press release on Tuesday. In addition to her native Italian, she also speaks German, French and English.

 

Radio 3fach announced in a press release on Monday morning that it would cease operations on Monday. The station had run out of money and had to file for bankruptcy. The license and studio had been sold to an interested party from Zurich, who would continue operations on Radio 3fach's frequencies. Radio 3fach immediately ceased broadcasting - its frequencies remained silent until the afternoon. However, neither the Lucerne District Court nor the Lucerne Bankruptcy Office were aware of any bankruptcy filing. When specifically asked whether it was an April Fool's joke, program director Dani Glur told the news agency SDA that it was not a joke. When asked about the buyer of the studio, Glur explained that they were still in negotiations and would announce the name later. Glur could then no longer be reached by telephone.

"Very bad joke"

Only the Federal Office of Communications (Bakom) provided clarity. According to spokeswoman Deborah Murith, the supervisory authority has no indications of bankruptcy and is not aware of any insolvency. At 5 p.m., Radio 3fach also announced that the bankruptcy announcement had been a false report. The April Fool's joke, which was brought forward to the end of March, was not very well received. The media portal Klein Report wrote of a "very bad joke". And there was also criticism on the broadcaster's own homepage. "Boring and stupid", "lowest level" and "so completely off the mark" wrote the commentators. Then you could start playing April Fool's jokes a week in advance. And listener Lisa says: "I'm going to help him with the joke on Grend". Switzerland's first youth culture station went on air in 1998. The ad-free Radio 3fach is aimed at 16 to 25-year-olds from the region. It is mainly financed by federal fees and sponsorship contributions. (SDA)

"...as if it were funny to have to deposit the balance sheet": The 3-fold makers' humor took some getting used to, straining nerves and costing Flash newsletters (Image: Screenshot Klein Report).

"...little 105 parody": Radio 3fach celebrates itself (3fold.ch). In his detailed commentary posted on the 3fach blog, SDA editor-in-chief Bernard Maissen was understandably unable to share the celebratory mood:

Yes, we fell for your "joke". In a fit of infantility and in the opinion of being particularly original, Radio 3fach launched an April Fool's joke on March 31 and announced its bankruptcy. Yes, perhaps we should have noticed, and I don't begrudge you the schadenfreude and sense of triumph you must have felt when a colleague from sda called to ask you to confirm the bankruptcy. Yes, perhaps we really should have taken you as you are, namely simply not seriously. Yes, then we would have been spared unnecessary work and trouble, and perhaps you'll also enjoy my comment.

But at a time when journalism has a major credibility problem, you are doing the industry a disservice if you simply lie to your colleagues. And I don't want that to go unchallenged. Even though you like to describe yourselves as contrast radio, I would like to take the liberty of drawing your attention to a point in your license where it says that you are setting up a quality assurance system that includes "content and formal quality objectives and standards (journalistic standards, editorial programme concepts, etc.)".

As far as I know, journalistic standards also include the Declaration of the Duties of Journalists, the very first point of which is: "Journalists shall adhere to the truth." In this case, your security system failed very early on, namely when consulting the calendar. I would also refer you to Article 4 RTVA, which clearly states that "broadcasts with information content must present facts and events in an appropriate manner". This also applies to information on your site. We could now go to the ombudsman's office, accuse you of violating the license and the RTVA, and we would certainly be proven right everywhere. However, such a procedure would tie up your resources, which in my opinion would be better invested in your own journalistic training and further education. Perhaps it would also be enough for you - if you want to be particularly funny again - to remind yourselves that journalism is not all fun and frolics, but also has a lot to do with responsibility.

After 26 years at the helm of the company, co-owner Peter Stämpfli is handing over the chairmanship of the Executive Board and operational responsibility to Daniel Sinn, who has been with the company for eleven years. Peter Stämpfli, currently Delegate of the Board of Directors, will take over as Chairman of the Board of Directors at the Annual General Meeting in June 2014. "As an active Chairman of the Board of Directors, I will be able to become more involved in strategy development and customer care," says Peter Stämpfli. In addition, corporate communications and management training will remain in his hands. With this change in the top management of Stämpfli Publications, management capacities are being expanded due to the strong growth in recent years.

Daniel Sinn, who grew up in Frutigen, learned to be a printer and, after holding various management positions in other companies, joined Stämpfli Publikationen in 2003. In 2006, he was appointed to the Executive Board and took over the "Advertising, Books, Catalogs" division, later assuming overall responsibility for sales. He additionally prepared himself for his new task with an Executive MBA. "I approach this new task with respect and pleasure, knowing that I can count on the outstanding cooperation within the company," Daniel Sinn expresses.
 

At open up, Patrick Preuss manages mandates in the areas of financial services, IT/telecommunications, SMEs and non-profit organizations, among others. Before joining open up, he was responsible for corporate communications, public relations and marketing communications in various international companies for over 15 years. He also gained broad communications expertise as a member of the management board of a public relations agency. Patrick Preuss studied business administration, marketing and association management at the University of Fribourg and is a certified PR consultant.

"By expanding the management team, we are taking account of the agency's continuous growth," explains Kilian Borter, Chairman of the Board of Directors of open up. "At open up, the management is very closely involved in numerous client projects. To ensure that this can continue in line with the increased management requirements, the agency management is being strengthened with Patrick Preuss."

According to the press release, it comes across as fresh, likeable and appealing, the new Emmi Food Service website - just like their products: From cheese slices for sandwich providers to glaces and special cream products for professional kitchens. And all in particularly large packs, as used in restaurants, hotels, homes and hospitals. Emmi Food Service maintains a direct exchange with customers and partners. This is expressed on the website: plenty of space for employee portraits, an open aura that motivates people to get in touch. The new website presents the company in a modern and dynamic way.

It all began with value workshops, on the basis of which the Lucerne agency Rosenstar drew up a new communication and design concept and formulated concrete messages that sharpened the company's profile and spoke directly to the target group. The special features of Emmi Food Service's new website include its separation into an information section and an image section with generous images and striking statements. Services, team, products and recipes are clearly presented. "With the illustrated blog character "Emmily Marmite", the focus on people is additionally strengthened," says Selina Krummenacher, co-owner of Rosenstar. Overall, the website is an expression of the close ties between Emmi Food Service and its customers.

 

Every child in Switzerland knows the name Spirella: since 1958, the brand has stood for creative ideas for the entire bathroom. With attention to detail, a collection for bathroom interiors is launched every year to provide more showering pleasure and bathroom ambience. The brand agency Brandpulse has revolutionized the logo for Spirella and developed a new brand design concept. Now, Spirella's brand design radiates the high quality standards of its products and stands for the brand's unmistakable style, innovative strength and design expertise.

As part of the rebranding project, Brandpulse developed a new logo and a brand design concept for Spirella, which was presented for the first time at the Ambiente exhibition in Frankfurt in February. With the new logo and brand design, the brand shines in new splendor and makes it clear that it is positioning itself as a competence for innovative fashion in the bathroom.