Technology companies such as Facebook and Google have been using them for a long time. But newspapers such as The New York Times, The Guardian and Zeit online have also held them. We are talking about so-called hack days or hackathons, events at which programmers, designers and web specialists work on new applications for companies. At some hackathons, internal employees juggle with company data, while others tap into creative minds from outside the company. Zeit online, for example, launched a beta version of its content API with several hundred thousand articles in November (Developer.zeit.de) and invited interested parties to explore its 66-year-old archive. In the first month, 23 applications were created. For example, a tool that can be used to find out how often a certain word has been used in the weekly newspaper since 1946 (Webevangelisten.de/zeitapi). Or a world map on which the Zeit articles are visualized (Newstral.com/maps).

Tamedia was also inspired by the idea of Hack Days and last weekend organized a two-day competition called Open Development Projects, in which students, freelancers, web designers, developers and programmers tried their hand at various Tamedia products. For two projects, the task was clear: an interactive 3D globe was to be developed for the SonntagsZeitung, on which all travel reports are anchored. The fashion portal Fashionfriends wanted to use gamification to make its platform more attractive. 20 Minuten online, the appointment calendar Doodle and Search.ch, on the other hand, made their data available for free development. Data from the electronic telephone directory and the interactive map from Search.ch, Wemf measurement data such as visits, page views from web, mobile and tablet from 20 Minuten online.

Tamedia was prepared for 50 participants. In the end, 17 participants found their way to the Open Development Projects on March 9 and 10. Students from the Chur University of Applied Sciences (HTW), a team from the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW), some young entrepreneurs and freelancers as well as the Bern-based web agency Cubetech, four of whom had traveled to the event. They came to make contact with Tamedia and its digital specialists, to take a look behind the scenes of the media group and to network with like-minded people.

Copying ideas

The fact that fewer participants than expected took part in the Hack Day is probably due to the fact that many in the web community were skeptical about the project. There were reports of ideas being stolen on Twitter and Blogs the talk. The community was particularly annoyed by Tamedia's demand that participants would have to cede the rights of use to their contributions free of charge in the event of the project being realized. This was originally stipulated in the guidelines. Following criticism from the community, Tamedia adjusted the provisions, but there were also doubts of a different kind. It was also said that the project was a cheap ploy to get ideas. The fact that Tamedia did not develop successful web platforms such as Doodle and Search.ch itself in the past, but rather bought them in, further confirmed the skeptics. The media company would have been better off commissioning freelancers or companies. Tamedia firmly rejects this accusation: "We award many contracts to agencies and freelancers. The Open Development Projects are about giving people outside the scene a chance. We wanted to reach those who would otherwise not get a chance," Christoph Brand, Head of Digital at Tamedia, told Werbewoche.

In any case, those who came worked hard. Scattered around various rooms in the Tamedia building, the participants set up their laptops and began brainstorming and implementing ideas. The HTW team developed the travel reporter 2.0 for the SonntagsZeitung, a reporter equipped with a GPS transmitter who records his route and provides information on various locations. An excursion manager was designed for Doodle, a kind of modern round telephone for information on upcoming events (Excursion.smilebox.ch). At 20 Minuten, there was a discussion about how the reading time of articles could be measured or how the popularity of a post on social media channels could be measured.

Catering was provided, and in the evenings people met up for pizza and beer. And for some participants, it wasn't even over after the after-work beer. They continued coding on Werdstrasse until late into the night. Mike Herter, Project Assistant Online Development, and Sven Ruoss, Project Manager Corporate Development, were amazed by the amount of intrinsic motivation. The exchange was extremely fruitful, they both said. Head of IT Aurel Stevens, who accompanied the brainstorming session at 20 Minuten, also found the discussion with the "lateral thinkers" very interesting. It was exciting when external people asked questions and questioned certain things, he said.

Two projects honored

On Monday evening, the projects were finally presented to the four-member jury headed by Christoph Brand, Peter Schüpbach (CEO of Fashionfriends), Roland Wittmann (Head of Corporate Development at Tamedia) and Simon Bärtschi (Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Sonntags- Zeitung). Two groups were declared the winners: firstly, the Bern-based web agency Cubetech, which had planned a redesign for Search.ch and had already programmed a prototype. Secondly, the ZHAW team, which realized the "gamification" brief for Fashionfriends with the idea of a fashion board on which users can create their own styles and share them with others. As a thank you, all participants received a gift bag containing subscriptions to the SonntagsZeitung newspaper and vouchers from Fashionfriends. On top of that, there was an invitation to dinner together and a small expense allowance. Brand also presented the two winning teams with flight tickets to Berlin and promised to open a door or two for them there.

However, it is not yet clear whether the winning projects will be realized. "If they are realized, we will have a commercial discussion with the authors," explains Brand. Cubetech will be able to present its concept to the Search.ch management in April. "However, this is not a guarantee," clarifies the Head of Digital. The Fashionfriends team is also currently clarifying whether and, if so, in what form the project should be implemented. In this sense, the open development projects are not yet complete. The winning teams are eagerly awaiting the outcome. The attractiveness of future Hack Days will depend not least on how they proceed.

Isabel Imper

Search.ch after the redesign of the Bern-based start-up Cubetech.

The fashion board that every user can design individually. Design by the ZHAW Group for Fashionfriends.

Christoph Brand, Head of Digital at Tamedia, talks in more detail about the Open Development Projects and Tamedia's digital business: "Tamedia must extend innovation beyond the boundaries of the company".

position. He addresses the criticism that was leveled at the ideas competition on the web in advance and explains the next steps.

Subscribers to Werbewoche can find a report on the ideas competition in the print edition or as of now online.  

WW: he Open Development Projects were designed for 50 participants. 17 came. Did Tamedia envision the event differently? 

Christoph Brand: From our point of view, the event was a complete success, considering it was the first time it had taken place. We are delighted with the commitment of the young people and the projects that were created.

Originally, the participants were supposed to assign the rights of use. After Criticism from the community, Tamedia adapted the rules and granted the rights to the developers. What will happen to the winning projects now?
In the event of realization, we will hold a commercial discussion with the authors.

What does this mean for the Cubetech agency, which has a Redesign for Search.ch has developed?
Cubetech will present its concept to the management of Search.ch in April. However, this is not a guarantee. It is possible that Search.ch will decide against a redesign. Or that the management will invite other agencies to submit proposals as part of a pitch. The procedure is still open.

This means that Cubetech has not yet won anything.
In addition to the non-cash prizes that the winners received, the competition prize is that the agency will be considered for a possible competition presentation. In my opinion, this is not a bad prize for a small start-up company that would probably not be invited to such a pitch without the Open Development Projects.

What about the ZHAW Group's Fashionfriends project?
There, too, various things need to be clarified first. Among other things, whether the students would even have the time and resources to implement the project. Or whether Tamedia will buy the idea from them. That is still completely open at the moment.

The fashion board for Fashionfriends design of the ZHAW Group.

Another point of criticism was that Tamedia was buying ideas on the cheap. Why didn't you commission freelancers or agencies to come up with new application ideas?
We award many contracts to agencies and freelancers. The Open Development Projects are about giving people outside the scene a chance. We wanted to reach those who would otherwise not get a chance.

Regarding the digital strategy in general: Tamedia has not yet succeeded in developing successful online projects internally. The bargain platform Scoup.ch was discontinued, Doodle.ch and Search.ch were purchased. Why is that?
That's a good question. Large companies generally find it difficult to successfully launch start-ups from their own ranks.

You mean media companies?
Not only. I know of only a few examples in the telecoms sector. There are certainly a few successful cases. In general, I believe that the DNA of a large company does not tend to be geared towards developing completely new products via start-ups. In the digital business in particular, it is also completely illusory to believe that a company can cover all areas of innovation. In this respect, it is imperative that Tamedia expands innovation beyond the boundaries of the company.

Does Tamedia promote innovation externally, by supporting start-ups or similar?
We do not have a specific funding program for this. If you like, you could see the Open Development Projects as a small-scale funding project. However, this is just one piece of the puzzle. We specifically promote individual start-ups by getting involved at an early stage. This was the case with Fashionfriends and Doodle, for example.

According to Christoph Tonini, the digital sector should already account for 19% of the company's turnover this year (Dreikönigstagung). Where do you expect the greatest growth within the digital sector?
I cannot answer this question. Tamedia does not publish figures for individual business segments...

In other words, which digital projects do you think are promising?
In my opinion, the classified market in Switzerland has not yet been exhausted. We see growth potential there and we will continue to offer new products. The real estate platform Homegate.ch, for example, will launch an online mortgage.

What is the status of the jobs platform Jobs.ch, which Tamedia and Ringier launched last year? Jointly adopted have?  
Tamedia has contributed Jobup.ch, Jobwinner.ch and Alpha.ch, among others, to the deal. The integration is now underway. New offerings will be introduced in the coming months. In French-speaking Switzerland, for example, Jobs.ch was previously the clear number 2 behind Jobup.ch. This means that attractive, comprehensive offers with a wide reach are now possible.

In which digital businesses do you see competition for Tamedia from international groups?
International competition is particularly fierce in the areas related to search and find. A number of providers overlap with Search.ch. Not only Google, but also specific offerings such as Yelp.

If you compare Search.ch with Google: Where does Search.ch score?
Search.ch is not directly comparable with Google. The business models are very different. Search.ch is primarily a directory business and does not offer a search service that competes with Google. The listing business for SMEs is Search.ch's most important line of business.

Google is also using Adwords to attract SMEs...
Of course, Adwords is a way for an SME to be found by customers. However, as with all forms of advertising, the same applies here: The mix is crucial. If all companies only used Adwords, it would ultimately only depend on who invested the most.

Last question: What does the growth in the mobile sector mean for Search.ch?
Many ad-financed sites are struggling with the commercialization of mobile. For Search.ch, on the other hand, mobile is much less of a problem, as we earn most of our money not from display advertising but from listings. These are paid for - regardless of whether an entry is ultimately accessed by the end user via mobile or desktop. Search.ch is therefore much more relaxed about the mobile trend than purely ad-financed sites.

Interview: Isabel Imper

To the print article about the Open Development Projects: Inspiration from outside.

 

A treasure lies dormant on the Internet. The maps from the Federal Office of Topography not only have a better resolution than the world-famous maps from market leader Google, for example. The Swisstopo service also has countless additional functions. For example, if you are preparing a hiking tour, you can display the elevation profile on a graphic on the Swiss map. When planning an event, the available area for a marquee, for example, can be precisely measured with a few simple clicks. A radius can be defined and it is also very easy to measure a route for joggers, transport in the neighborhood or even a tour across Switzerland.
 
In order to make all these gadgets and real benefits more widely known, the agency has chosen to start with schools. "Once kids get used to the benefits of this Swisstopo map tool, they will keep coming back to this website," says Cendrine Gafner at Numéro 10. Numéro 10 has developed an online game to introduce pupils aged 10 to 13 to Swisstopo's maps and useful data. Together with their teacher, the pupils are sent on a virtual journey through mystical Switzerland. In various lessons, geography, history and online lessons are packed into an exciting combination. The aim is to find a ghost. Whoever finds it can also win a school trip for their class as part of a competition.  

Andreas Panzeri

With the online game "Search the Spirit", pupils learn about the advantages of Swisstopo maps. For example, they can measure jogging routes, create altitude profiles, calculate radii or obtain traffic information. Available free of charge for everyone at Map.geo.admin.ch.

The campaign has been carried out since 2007 as a joint initiative of the Confederation, the cantons and the organizations of the world of work under the sender Befufsbildungplus.ch. Its goal is to promote the non-academic career path through communication.

The Apprenticeship Conference has decided to set the strategic focus for 2013/2014 on talent acquisition. Against the backdrop of a declining total number of apprentices, it is important to attract talented young people to vocational education and training. In addition, specific motifs for "higher vocational education" will be used to draw attention to the follow-up opportunities. As is well known, there are now various opportunities to obtain a higher degree for young people who have opted for an apprenticeship. The campaign focuses on the internet platform of Berufsbildungplus.ch. It functions as a hub for young people, parents, teachers, career counselors, other VET professionals and companies. The platform has undergone a revision and appears with a new structure and a new look that corresponds with the broad campaign.

The broad campaign with posters, ads, and online banners stages the theme of "talent," as strategist Patrick Lienert explains. In the implementation of the team around CD Daniel Meier, the focus is on authentic portraits who - according to the playful headline - have a special talent. A talent that is to come to fruition thanks to vocational training. The puns are carefully adapted to work in all national languages. pan

 

"Everything used to be better" - that's what people are quick to say. But is that really the case? At least, traveling by train isn't. Because although SBB's performance has improved massively since the 80s, it's still possible to travel at prices like back then: Today, anyone who is flexible can travel from Economy tickets with which he drives up to 50 percent cheaper.

To make this clear, Maxomedia has launched an emotionalizing campaign for SBB. On posters and in a TV spot, the visual language of the already well-known campaign "on the road at home" is taken up and translated into the 80s. On a landing page, users can find out more about the development of the service offering - and ask themselves: Would trains without air conditioning, mobile reception and power sockets still be possible today? Would it be possible to live without the interval timetable? And are smoking compartments still conceivable?

Responsible at SBB: Reto Meissner (Head of Marketing Communications), David Brunnschweiler (Communications Manager), Andreas Widmer (E-Business).

Read more in the current print edition of Werbewoche.
 

The first issue under new management will be published in mid-March 2013. Bodan Druckerei und Verlag will assume overall responsibility for the Thurgauer Hauseigentümer magazine as publisher, with the homeowners' association acting as editor. Salcom announced this in a press release on Thursday.

The magazine is sent to all members of the Thurgau Homeowners' Association and is published with a circulation of around 18,000 copies. Thurgauer Hauseigentümer provides trends and tips on house construction, interior design, home and environment design and lifestyle. It also features personalities who shed light on interesting aspects of home ownership from their own perspective. As the cantonal organ of the association, the magazine mainly creates links to the Thurgau living and working region.

As part of the agreement, both partners have agreed to invest in joint go-to-market capabilities. This includes sales, customer service and marketing resources to take advantage of new business opportunities in Switzerland. Under the terms of the agreement, Swisscom will act as the preferred go-to-market partner for Akamai in Switzerland. Swisscom will integrate Akamai's complete service portfolio into its solutions and resell them.

"The new services meet the increasing expectations of corporate customers with regard to the high-performance transmission of digital content, videos and cloud applications," says Urs Schaeppi, CEO of Swisscom (Switzerland). The collaboration is a response to the strong growth in devices, content and data traffic and supports customers in protecting themselves against the increasing flood of cyber attacks.
 

Research shows that women always weigh all options when it comes to fashion shopping. They usually get advice from their best friend, because no one else knows them better, the agency said in a statement Thursday. That's why Vögele Shoes is occupying the field with the catchphrase "Best Friends Forever" (BFF). A term coined in the 1980s and beyond for close friendships between teenagers.

The campaign's key visual is a specially created watercolor label by artist Stina Persson, which is used throughout all advertising materials. The film, shot by director and cinematographer Thomas Dirnhofer, shows two friends who share everything in their lives. The song is by Danish singer-songwriter Benedicte Westergaard Madsen.

BFF is a brand campaign that culminates in the "2 for 1" promotion. For four weeks in the spring and four weeks in the fall, Vögele Shoes presents the BFF promotional shoe of the week at all points of sale on a special display and in the online store with the "2 for 1" offer for girlfriends. Two girlfriends who buy exactly the same shoe will receive the second pair for free. For this purpose, the endings of the TV/online spots are adjusted weekly with the corresponding offer.

At the same time, Vögele Shoes is looking for the two best girlfriends in Switzerland via Facebook for a month. Candidates can apply via the app on their Vögele Shoes profile with a photo and a short portrait. The community will then select the winners. The "Best Friends Forever" will receive shopping vouchers worth CHF 1,750.

The campaign is running in Switzerland and Austria and includes various moving film formats, appearances at POS and in brochures, an online and Facebook presence, and public relations.

Responsible at Vögele Shoes: Daniel Widmer (Head of Marketing, Member of the Executive Board), Marco Greco (Head of Communications), Julia Schumann (Head of Visual Merchandising), Sabine Schwärzler (Head of E-Commerce). Responsible at Jung von Matt/Limmat: Alexander Jaggy, Lukas Frei (Creative Direction), David Hanselmann, Adrian Merz, Claude Eberhard (Art Direction), Cyrill Wirz (Text), Alexander Moltzen, Aude Kohler, Melanie Sellmann (Graphics), Sabrina Arthur, Astrid Krauss, Milena Elias (Consulting), Nathalie Eggen, Bettina Luginbühl (Public Relations), Sarida Bossoni, Ilonka Galliard (Art Buying), Thomas Dirnhofer (Direction), Wiener Klappe (Film Production), Stina Persson (Illustration).

 

A treasure lies dormant on the Internet. The maps from the Federal Office of Topography not only have a better resolution than the world-famous maps from market leader Google, for example. The offer from Swisstopo also has countless additional functions. For example, if you are preparing a hiking tour, you can display the altitude profile on a graphic on the Swiss map. When planning an event, the available area for a marquee, for example, can be precisely measured with a few simple clicks. A radius can be defined and it is also very easy to measure a route for joggers, transport in the neighborhood or even a tour across Switzerland.
 
In order to make all these gadgets and real benefits more widely known, the agency has chosen to start with schools. "Once kids get used to the benefits of this Swisstopo map tool, they will keep coming back to this website," says Cendrine Gafner at Numéro 10. To introduce pupils aged 10 to 13 to Swisstopo's maps and helpful data, Numéro 10 has developed a Online game developed. Together with their teacher, pupils are sent on a virtual journey through mystical Switzerland. Geography, history and online lessons are packed into various lessons in an exciting combination. The task is to find a ghost. Whoever finds it can also win a school trip for their class as part of a competition.  

Andreas Panzeri

With the online game "Search the Spirit", pupils learn about the advantages of Swisstopo maps. For example, they can measure jogging routes, create altitude profiles, calculate radii or obtain traffic information. Available free of charge for everyone at Map.geo.admin.ch.

Once again, the Federal Administrative Court has ruled that Swiss Post cannot protect the name DIE POST, as it previously did POST, as a trademark for its core business, the transportation of letters and parcels, as both the name POST and DIE POST are descriptive of postal services in the narrow sense and therefore not distinctive, which is the legal meaning of a trademark. Moreover, the designations POST and DIE POST are terms that must also be available to other service providers for the transportation of letters and parcels, as there are no alternative designations.

The Trademark Protection Act does not positively define how a trademark must be in order to be protected. The law lists absolute and relative grounds for exclusion from trademark protection. In any case, a sign that belongs to the public domain, such as individual letters, numbers, general shapes and colors, cannot be protected as a trademark. Such signs can exceptionally be registered as trademarks if they are very strongly associated with a company and there are alternatives for other companies. Swiss Post, for example, was not able to register the designations POST and DIE POST as trademarks, but was able to register the typical "Postgelb" as a color trademark. As a rule, this requires a long period of use, a high level of recognition among the public and a strong association with the company. It is also absolutely impossible to register shapes that constitute the essence of a product and shapes of the product or packaging that are technically necessary. A sign that is registered as a trademark must also not be misleading. For example, a TITLIS trademark is restricted to "goods from Switzerland", as Swiss mountains stand for Swiss products according to case law. Finally, trademarks must not violate public order, morality or applicable law. For example, the Federal Administrative Court refused to allow the singer Madonna to register the name "Madonna" as a trademark, as "Madonna" on goods of any kind was likely to offend the religious feelings of Catholic Christians.

Relative to an already registered trademark, the ground for refusal is that a trademark cannot be registered if it is identical to an existing trademark in the register and is to be filed for the same goods or services, or for similar goods or services if there is a likelihood of confusion, or a similar trademark for the same or similar goods and services if there is a likelihood of confusion. In this case, the owner of the earlier trademark can file an opposition against the new trademark. If he does not do so, it is also possible that two identical or similar trademarks for identical or similar goods or services are entered in the register.

In positive terms, this means that for a trademark to be successfully registered, it should be as far removed from the public domain as possible, not descriptive of the goods or services used and therefore as imaginative as possible. A good example of this is the Google trademark. Before filing a trademark application, it is also necessary to search whether an identical or similar trademark has already been registered for identical or similar goods and services. Some of the possible online search tools can be found on the platform www.kommunikationsrecht.ch*. For important projects, a trademark attorney should be consulted, who can be found on the homepage of the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property www.ige.ch **.

Ueli GrüterLL.M., attorney at law, Grüter Schneider & Partner AG, Zurich, is a lecturer in communications law and co-editor of the book Kommunikationsrecht.ch. He comments on practical legal issues in advertising once a month in Werbewoche. Questions for the Werbewoche legal expert at [email protected].

www.kommunikationsrecht.ch/links.php
www.ige.ch/marken/schutz-in-der-schweiz/markenberater
 

What we are talking about here is that advertising on all channels should no longer bore consumers. Since I've been writing this column - and it's been over two years - I haven't noticed any improvement in advertising. On the contrary.

Why is that? My theory is as follows: The automotive industry is no longer booming at the moment because it is suffering from a sales crisis in Europe. It's not just cars up to 50,000 francs that are looking more and more alike thanks to wind tunnel technology. So is the advertising that is being placed for them. There are only a few brands that still have a profile and a clear image. Or can someone explain to me the differences in the positioning of Dacia, Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mazda, Nissan, Opel, Peugeot, Renault, Toyota, etc.?

record? This lack of profile is not a sudden, short-term problem. The sins in communication through advertising began years ago. Not only are the individual brands and their models confusingly similar, the advertising messages are also interchangeable apart from the logo. In my opinion, massive advertising, poster and brochure campaigns go unnoticed by the target audience for a lot of money (see Werbewoche 3/2011, 3/2012, 6/2012, 19/2012).

When I try to remember TV commercials for car brands, the only thing that comes to mind is films produced at great expense and shown ad nauseam. Cars are pelted with paint. Another car drives through a strange tunnel made of wood and comes out on the other side as a horse and rider. Countless drummers beat, then there is silence and you see a car driving through the city. I remember all these and others - the one with the gecko is still well done. But not their brands.

I have fond memories of the VW Group brands with Audi over the last 15 years. Mercedes and possibly BMW as well. These brands are also the ones that are still posting record results. This certainly has to do with good advertising, which runs and runs and runs.

Even the journalists now only write about the latest Rolls Royce, the fastest Porsche and the most expensive Ferrari at the show time. But also about the XL1 from Volkswagen. Another image boost for VW.

My stand-up was the FCB.

Almost every house in Winterthur's old town has such a name. And in neighboring Zurich, too, house names develop communicative power. My declared favorite is a name that is so poetic that people hardly dared to invent it: the "Weisse Wind" (meaning a wind chime, a fast dog.) As with any strong brand, certain ideas, characteristics, product benefits and values are immediately associated with the name.

What the Marlboro Man is the "scent of freedom and adventure" and Milka's purple cow is the naturalness of pure Alpine milk, the "Weisse Wind" is two things: the down-to-earth nature of a large, traditional pub with enormous beer mugs and local specialties in an environment of kebab stores, sushi bars, Thai and Lebanese restaurants. The house specialties here are, firstly, Suure Mocke, Hörnli with minced meat and Teufelsnudeln.

Secondly, the "Weisse Wind" is the launch pad for independent stage artists of all kinds, a Zurich version of an off-off location and, incidentally, an example of private, unsubsidized cultural promotion. Blues Max started here, the Cabaret Rotstift felt at home here, and currently Veri from Central Switzerland is trying his hand at his first full-length solo program ("a cabaret empty run for species-appropriate disposal"). Let's see what comes of it.

Everyone is allowed, no one has to. The new landlady Susanne Bochsler, daughter of the owner (Schorsch, who ran the legendary "Blick" pub "zur Au" on the Utobrücke bridge in the 1970s), supports the artists with simple rules: Daily or weekly rent, advertising and advance sales are the responsibility of the tenant. The threshold is low and it often works. Restaurants, whether pubs, pubs or fine restaurants, are the epitome of local brands: Kronenhalle, Kropf, Della Casa, Galliker, Hasenburg, Bruune Mutz... And local branding is progressing, initially in the neighboring regions of the pub trade, which are rich in delights.

It is particularly noticeable in the case of beer: Heimat sells better (or at least better) than Konzern, as the Ueli beer proves, but also the Turbinen brand, Stadtguet, Quöllfrisch and many others. Dieter Bachmann has revitalized the old traditional brand of Gottlieber Hüppen in an exemplary marketing case (www.gottlieber.ch). What Elisabeth Wegeli started with a waffle iron is now on its way to becoming a success story similar to that of the Läckerli-Huus, which is also locally based. The flagship store (in Winterthur, near the train station) is already open. Intelligent designers - go to www.toesstaldesign.ch" - build small, attractive and comparatively expensive counter-worlds to the huge brand giants that spend a fortune to appear in the pedestrian zones of nameless Chinese cities with millions of inhabitants as well as on Bahnhofstrasse, which will soon be nothing more than a catwalk for the international brand circus. Meanwhile, the nimble little ones are picking up those individualists who don't want to walk around in the same clothes as millions of others.

Likeable brands can not only tell stories, but also convey values, such as security or a sense of home. For years, the Spleiss construction business in Zurich has not advertised with reference buildings or machinery like everyone else, but by presenting itself as a "master builder with heart and mind". Volg celebrates the return to lost village life in its Agglo stores ("Feins vom Dorf").

The wholesalers in general: they have long been running on two tracks, organic and regional. Migros has been promising "From the region - for the region" since 1999, while Coop announces that it even offers regional organic products with a lower margin. And Manor proudly reports that it now offers 15,490 certified products from 545 local producers under the label "Lokal - das Beste aus guter Nachbarschaft". And here, too, the little ones are on their toes. The Internet is their driver. Nachhaltigleben.ch is one of many portals that open the door to the world for local brands and strengthen their competitiveness.