The new agency name underlines its complete independence from the Liechtenstein-based parent agency, from which the partnership was separated in 2011. zurMarke is managed by Willy Tanner, who is also the owner of the agency.

According to the press release, the new company name reflects the corporate philosophy of implementing all marketing and communication measures in line with the brand and its development. In doing so, zurMarke focuses on the areas of branding and B2B marketing and offers companies with a focus on B2B not only classic disciplines, but also links these with digital solutions.

Customers can continue to count on the proven six-person team at the usual location in Widnau. Zur Marke is a member of the international agency network "E3", which comprises over 25 owner-managed B2B agencies and offers real added value for export-oriented Swiss customers. Zur Marke is also involved in this network and works actively with partners from Europe and Asia on cross-border projects.

According to the press release, "I am Westside" is based on the latest stop campaign of the Libero fare network in the Bern-Solothurn area. It motivates visitors to travel by train, bus and streetcar in an appealing way. The campaign is based on posters and public transport notices in the city and region, flanked by an online photo competition on I-am-westside.ch or in the spacious Libero Lounge specially set up in the Center. There are public transport vouchers worth CHF 10,000 to be won.

Animated formats are used on the center screens and on passengertv. Those arriving by car benefit from the public transport deal: car drivers receive a voucher that they can exchange for a Westside gift card on their next visit by public transport.

Responsible at Neue Brünnen: Ludwigs Nehls (Center Manager), Belinda Juhasz (Marketing Communications). Responsible at Formeldrei, Bern: Andreas Thommen (Art Director), Christian Wüthrich (Concept/Text), Patrick Ochsenbein (Consulting). Photo: Simon Opladen, Bern. Online: Arillo Switzerland.
 

Corporate communications expert Alexander Fleischer will found and build up the agency as Managing Partner together with marketing expert Urs Freudiger, according to a statement. With this solution, Furrer Hugi & Partner can further sharpen its profile as a public affairs agency while integrally offering its clients the full range of communications services.

On May 1, 2014, Furrerhugi Corporate will launch as an independent agency but closely networked with Furrer Hugi & Partner and will operate on the market in the field of corporate and marketing communications. At Furrer Hugi & Partner's location in Bern, Alexander Fleischer will build up the new agency as Managing Partner together with Urs Freudiger. The agency can already count the Swiss Travel Fund (Reka) and Condair, the world's leading manufacturer of air humidification and evaporative cooling, among its clients.

Fleischer and Freudiger: two experienced partners on board

With Alexander Fleischer, a figurehead of the Swiss corporate communications scene was brought on board to co-found and build up the new company. Fleischer was responsible for marketing and communications for fifteen years in Switzerland and internationally at PWC, and most recently also for strategy and reputation. Prior to that, he had been a PR consultant at Burson-Marsteller Switzerland. Fleischer also made a name for himself in the communications industry as a founding member and long-time president of the Harbour Club, the club of Swiss communications leaders.

Urs Freudiger is Partner and Senior Consultant in the new agency. Freudiger has broad and longstanding management experience in various marketing and corporate communications functions in different companies and industries such as IBM, Wirz, NCR, Swissair, Sunrise, Globus/Globus Reisen and most recently Walter Meier.

Marketing, strategy and corporate communications

Based on communication and marketing services, consulting focuses on reputation and identity, transparency and accountability, issue management, innovation communication, relationships and stakeholders, transformation, and communication education. Furrerhugi Corporate operates independently in the market. The principles of Furrer Hugi & Partner apply to both companies to the same extent: tailor-made solutions based on proven and self-developed methods, integrity, creativity and foresight, transparency and a commitment to communication that takes responsibility. Socio-political, economic and moral aspects have become new, central dimensions of corporate communications. Today, a society-oriented understanding of communication is increasingly required for this, which Furrer Hugi & Partner brings to the table through its experience in public affairs management.

Furrer Hugi & Partner: Focus on public affairs remains

As a bridge builder between politics, business and society, Furrer Hugi & Partner supports numerous companies, associations and foundations in the area of political advocacy. In the future, the agency would like to offer the understanding of social and economic contexts that it has built up in the process in the areas of corporate and marketing communications as well. Furrerhugi Corporate can build on the experience and network of Furrer Hugi & Partner and at the same time act independently in the communications market. With this solution, Furrer Hugi & Partner can further sharpen its profile as a public affairs agency, while at the same time integrally offering clients the full range of communications services.
 

As announced, the previous head, Rita Meyer, is leaving the company to take on a new challenge, according to a press release. Ronny Nenniger, Head of Editorial tilllate.com, will now report directly to Marco Boselli, Editor-in-Chief of 20 Minuten and 20 Minuten Friday.

Mathias Bamert has been with Tilllate.com since 2008, most recently as Product Manager. In this role, the 35-year-old was responsible for the successful relaunch of the website in 2012. He has also driven the mobile development of Tilllate.com by launching a mobile-optimized website and various apps. Mathias Bamert has thus made a significant contribution to the steadily growing user numbers of the leading Swiss nightlife portal. He reports to Marco Gasser, Head of Advertising Market 20 Minuten.

Corinne Frei will also be joining Tilllate.com on April 1, 2014. As Head of Marketing Projects Mobile and New Business, she will focus in particular on the further expansion of mobile marketing. Corinne Frei held various positions at 20 Minuten from 2001 to 2010, most recently as Key Account Manager. After a break, she has been back in the 20 Minuten sales team since June 2012.

With the "Advantageman," the agency Jim & Jim, which specializes in youth and student marketing, has created an anti-hero with a hipster look as the new face of Stucard.ch. The masked "freak" with mullet hairdo and 80s moustache unexpectedly appears as the alter ego of young people while shopping and reminds them in a quirky and forceful way to benefit from the countless Stucard.ch discounts and thus save. The unconventional art figure is intended to further activate the use of the offer by existing members and to emotionalize the services and advantages of STUcard.ch.

To promote the "Advantageman" and the Stucard.ch offer, Jim & Jim designed and implemented a comprehensive launch campaign. At the center is the claim "Be Smart. Use Stucard." The agency is responsible for the creation of the character, TV and cinema spots, advertisements, online and social media measures as well as guerrilla actions and promotions. In the spots, the "Advantageman" can be seen in action right away: A young person who neglects to take out his Stucard and save while shopping is admonished by the masked anti-hero with slaps in the face until he digs out the Stucard.ch from his wallet and makes use of the discount.

Responsible at Stucard.ch: Marc Schlüssel (overall responsibility). Responsible at Jim & Jim: Fabio Emch (overall responsibility), Tobias Bonfanti (creative direction), Cyrill Steiner (promotions & events), Marion Reinhard (social media).

After the welcome by Uwe Tännler, President Swiss Marketing and Reto Brotschi, Head of Direct Marketing PostMail, Post CH, Anchorwoman Susanne Wille offered a charming introduction to the day's program.

Proven value-added strategies

One of the distinguished keynote speakers was Ron Kaufmann, teacher and motivator for highest customer service and service culture, founder of UP! Yours Service. In a gripping presentation, he emphasized the increased expectations of customers in almost all industries and offered the perfect service as the answer.

Georges A. Kern CEO of the watch manufacturer IWC Schaffhausen explained the values that a luxury brand absolutely has to convey in order to be successful. Sahar Hashemi entrepreneur, co-founder of Coffee Republic described to a very interested and enthusiastic audience how to sell coffee extremely successfully in the UK, a country of tea drinkers. And Andreas Herrmann, Director of the Customer Insight Research Center, University of St. Gallen, HSG, took an expert look at emotional decisions, reference points, irrational behavior and environmental influences. Martin Betschart, motivator, speaker, trainer and author explained how to clear the mind for winning ideas. Andreas Aebi, OC President of the Federal Wrestling and Alpine Festival in Burgdorf revealed interesting details about the marketing of the largest sporting event in Switzerland.

Elena Hubschmid , Group HR Projects Manager Angst+Pfister emphasized how important added value through training is for marketing. Thomas Truttmann, Marketing & Communications Director McDonald's, Head of Sports Europe, told a fast food crisis story that turned into an overwhelming success through the right strategy. Christian Rätsch, CEO, Saatchi & Saatchi Germany clarified the relationship between technology and success and in this context emphasized the importance of the digital customer relationship.

The treat of the day was the show by Oliver Tissot, a cabaret artist from Middle Franconia and a sociologist by training. A survey of the participants revealed a high level of satisfaction with the event as a whole. Sahar Hashemi's contribution was mentioned in a particularly positive light, while "speakers who focused too much on promoting their own company" were criticized - quote Ursula Käser Aebi, Post Finance.

Plenty of time for valuable networking

The KKL Luzern once again offered ideal platforms for pleasant networking, which all participants took advantage of to make numerous new business contacts - in a pleasant atmosphere and with the best catering. All in all, the Swiss Marketing Day was once again the industry's pulse generator and the value-based marketing event of the year.

Photos: Marketingtag.ch

Feldpausch will now operate under the name PKZ Women, while Burger will become PKZ Men. By consolidating the PKZ Men & Women and Paul Kehl brands, the Group aims to achieve greater expertise under one roof, according to a press release issued on Wednesday. However, cost reasons are also likely to be decisive. "The sales areas can be used more efficiently and advertising costs can be deployed in a more focused manner", Group CEO Olivier Burger is quoted as saying. With the new strategy, PKZ hopes to further increase its market share. The company is primarily targeting the mid and upper price segments. Last year, the company achieved a turnover of 200 million Swiss francs.

At the same time as the name change, PKZ is opening Switzerland's largest women's fashion store on Thursday. In future, clothes will be offered on four floors and 3000 square meters. The investment in the total refurbishment amounted to over 12 million francs. The fact that the new fashion store is opening in the former Feldpausch building on Zurich's Bahnhofstrasse is not without a certain irony. In 1997, Feldpausch passed into the hands of the PKZ clothing group. Since then, however, the stores have always operated under their own name. (SDA)

You can read an interview with Managing Director Olivier Burger on PKZ's new marketing strategy in the next print edition of Werbewoche, which will be published on March 7. And from then, of course, also online (here it goes to the interview).
 

According to the press release, the quality of the entries promises an interesting judging process. This year's motto of the Swiss Dialog Marketing Award (SDV Award) takes us into the comic world of superheroes - the "DM Heroes". True to this motto, the SDV presented the submitted works at the vernissage and exhibition at the Folium in Zurich on March 3. The contenders for the Swiss Dialogue Marketing Award 2014 provided plenty of material for lively discussions.

Inspiring dialog marketing heroics

Despite slightly fewer submissions, visitors found the competition exciting because there were many clever dialog campaigns among the works submitted - works that are worth discussing and that inspire us. The submitted works were shown exclusively to this year's partners and sponsors at the pre-vernissage. The SDV took this opportunity to thank everyone for their support. The works were awarded prizes based on the task, the solution and the results.

Prizes are awarded in 18 + 1 categories

The 23-member jury, chaired by Christian Huldi, now has the task of selecting the best works. Once again this year, the two partner associations from Germany and Austria will each have one representative on the jury. The mixture of nationally and internationally experienced dialog marketing experts makes for an exciting competition. The jury evaluates entries in 18 categories. These range from dialog marketing campaigns in large print runs to small campaigns, ideas with unusual use of media and digital dialog implementations. The additional highest honor is the Platinum Award (Best in Show). This crowns the best work of the year and is awarded by a special jury consisting of the chairman of the jury as well as a representative of the sponsoring association SDV and the premium partner Post CH.

Online exhibition of all submitted works

From mid-March this year, all submitted works will be presented in an online exhibition at www.sdv-award.ch for the first time. This innovation creates even more transparency and enables a wide range of interested parties to actively engage with the current work in dialog marketing. The traveling exhibition will also be available at a later date. It includes the works that have been awarded the Swiss Dialog Marketing Prize and a Letter of Distinction. The exhibition provides an overview of the most creative and successful campaigns and can be used by companies, agencies and schools for internal training, information or as a framework for events. For further information, please contact the SDV office.

The young creatives prove their talent

The SDV Junior Award will be presented for the fifth time in 2014. Young creatives from agencies, companies and creative schools were able to submit their proposals for a special task. This year there were almost twice as many as last year. The Junior Award is an integral part of the competition and highlights the association's efforts to promote the continuous education and training of juniors throughout the industry.

The Award Night - the place of the award ceremony

The Award Night of the Swiss Dialogue Marketing Award 2014 with the DM Heroes will take place on June 6, 2014 at the Kongresshaus Zurich. As part of a gala event, the winners of the respective categories and special prizes will celebrate their victory on stage. An entertaining evening with highlights and plenty of opportunities to meet and exchange ideas.

More information on Sdv-award.ch.
 

The precise work of the journalists - with a lot of heart and soul, as on the first day - was clearly noticeable. The combined forces of the dedicated news editorial team are indispensable for listeners, he said. The audience council of SRF Deutschschweiz sees the added value of Radio SRF 4 News in the fact that in-depth, background and assessment are delivered throughout the day and not just at prime time.

The weekly TV talk show "Aeschbacher" on SRF 1 also scores well with the audience council. The show thrives on the unusual, mostly non-celebrity guests and their stories just as much as on Kurt Aeschbacher. The presenter's "empathetic and appreciative manner" is still consistent and noticeable after 13 years and 800 broadcasts, he said. (SDA)

"This is where your advertising really comes into its own!" With this and other short, concise text messages, APG|SGA Traffic, as marketing partner of the transport companies, is wooing customers in the greater Bern area and in the Valais (Lötschberg line). The campaign, designed by Renzen and aimed primarily at B-to-B business, addresses potential advertising customers directly on BLS trains via Railboards and Railboard Midis. In addition, a mailing in the form of a multi-ride card and a follow-up mailing were produced, in which the advantages of effective public transport advertising with impact are explained in more detail. In addition, several other RailBoard subjects were created specifically for the B-to-C approach.

Responsible at APG|SGA Traffic: Jürg Bickel (Head of Marketing & Sales Services). Responsible at Renzen Communications, Aarau: Hanno Lietz (CD/text), Michael Koritschan (Junior AD).

"UPC Cablecom is pleased to be able to broadcast TV24, a new Swiss TV channel, from the start. At the same time, we look forward to working with AZ Medien AG," said Benny Salaets, Director Content & Product Management at UPC Cablecom in a statement.

TV24 offers a wide range of programming, from news, Swiss in-house productions and music to documentaries, series and feature films. In addition to UPC Cablecom, TV24 is also distributed via other network operators. These are continuously updated, also on Tv24.ch, communicated. "Thanks to the partnership with UPC Cablecom, Switzerland's largest network operator, we will be able to make TV24 available to a broad audience from the start of broadcasting," says Roger Elsener, Managing Director TV Senderfamilie AZ Medien.

The TV24 logo and on-air design were created by Frame Eleven.

On the subject:
Werbewoche interview with Roger Elsener on the new TV24 station: "The 'eyeballs' are relevant."

Of the people who go online with a smartphone, 85 percent are so-called "heavy users". They use this device daily or even several times a day. They easily prefer surfing via Internet browsers such as Safari or Chrome to using apps. Less than one percent of smartphone users surf the Internet exclusively via this one device. Almost 70 percent even use a total of three devices or more (PCs, laptops, etc.). Just under half of smartphone owners also have a tablet in addition to their smartphone.

The latest figures from Net-Metrix-Base also show that 1.9 million people in Switzerland use tablets or e-book readers. These people generally surf the Internet very frequently: 95 percent surf daily or several times a day, and two-thirds use their tablet for this purpose. Only two in a hundred tablet users surf the Internet exclusively with their tablet, while 86 percent use three or more devices to access the Web. 83 percent of tablet users also own a smartphone.

While the youngest age group of 14 to 19-year-olds has the most smartphone users (84 percent), tablets are particularly popular among 30 to 39-year-olds (42 percent). This age group also has the highest number of dual users, i.e., people who own both a tablet and a smartphone.