The festival, in which an audience jury of up to 2,000 people votes alongside the expert jury, will take place for the fourth time in Mannheim from March 14 to 15, 2013.

Information on submission, tickets and festival: Spotlight-festival.com

 

Over 42 million people have registered on Youtube the campaign for the Belgian TV channel TNT. Passers-by who pressed the red button in a quiet city center witnessed a unique action spectacle.

The recently published sequel once again took place in a shopping street - this time in the Dutch city of Dordrecht, this time in winter. Grateful victims, curious to press on anything red and round, were once again found in abundance in the second edition. To their credit, they were even more involved in the action than in the previous campaign. Even if it cannot be ruled out that certain "victims" were involved. The Belgian agency Duval Guillaume Modem was once again responsible for the spectacle. (hae)
 

Xing Projects is free of charge for freelancers, according to a statement. They benefit from new tenders every day, to which they can easily apply. Companies can also use the product free of charge until the middle of the year, after which a fee of 195 euros for 30 days will be charged for a tender. Xing Projects is available via the Xing main navigation and can be accessed directly by all members - without separate registration. Likewise, users who are not registered on Xing can also submit projects via Xing.com/projects and search them (at least that should be possible, according to the announcement). In addition, the entries can be found via online search engines such as Google.

Freelancers more in demand than ever in times of skills shortage

Thomas Vollmoeller, CEO of Xing: "We have companies on Xing that are groaning under the shortage of skilled workers. At the same time, Xing is the platform with the most freelance professionals in German-speaking countries, with more than 600,000 freelancers - such as software engineers, mechanical engineers and graphic designers. Since our core competence lies in connecting people, it was a logical step to build this marketplace and thus offer companies another way to find the right talent for upcoming projects."

During the beta phase, which lasted several months, around 100,000 freelancers and clients already used the new product. In the same period, a five-digit number of tenders were posted from a wide range of industries, such as IT, telecommunications, sales and engineering. The projects had an average duration of six months. An external survey conducted in September 2012 - i.e., during the beta phase - had the result that Xing was by far the most-used project exchange for freelancers, with 91 percent. The runner-up achieved a value of 31 percent.

Vollmoeller: "The response during the beta phase far exceeded our expectations. We are also very pleased that Xing already plays a central role in freelancer circles when it comes to acquiring jobs. We want to expand this further and become even more useful for our customers."

Xing Projects ensures transparency for freelancer and client

Xing Projects works very simply: The client describes his project and the skills he is looking for in the desired level of detail and then publishes the tender with one click. Xing immediately suggests suitable service providers. In addition, all members see the project and can apply. In return, potentially interesting projects are also displayed to the member on the basis of his or her profile details. The highlight: Since the project exchange is integrated into the Xing platform, both the client and the freelancer benefit from XING's social structure. As usual, both parties can use the Xing profiles to find out more about the potential new partner before the initial contact. Likewise, references can be obtained via the contacts available on XING, for example.

Xing Projects will gradually become available to all members during the course of today, Monday. In the coming months, the portal's functions will be expanded even further, integrated into other areas of Xing and displayed more prominently.

 

"Upcoming" gives young Swiss filmmakers a place of their own and puts new talents in the spotlight. Suissimage and SSA are donating the young talent prize worth CHF 15,000, as detailed in a press release.

Just last month, "Un mundo para Raúl" in the USA with the Cine Golden Eagle Award for "Best Drama" and at the Sekna Up International Student Film Festival in Kosovo with the main prize for "Best Fiction Film". The short film has already been screened at a number of international competitions, including the Oscar-qualifying Warsaw Film Festival, Outfest 2012 in Los Angeles and the Morelia International Film Festival in Mexico.

In his short film, Zurich-based Mauro Mueller deals with the dilemma of social class differences in Latin America. The film tells the story of the Mexican peasant boy Raúl, who is humiliated and abused by the rich son of his father's boss while playing.

Responsible at Contrast Film Zurich/Fidelio Films: Mauro Mueller (writer/director/editor), César Gutiérrez Miranda (cinematographer), Jason Stasium (sound editor), Lucas Lechowski (music), Alexandré Barceló, Adrián Alonso, Gerardo Taracena, Roberto Luis Meza (actors), Ivan Madeo, Urs Frey, Laura Pino (producers).

 

The digital media agency from the Zurich area specializes in web and e-commerce projects and mobile apps on the one hand, and in cinema and TV spots, animations and visual effects on the other. Now these two specializations will be communicated and strengthened separately by means of the two newly created brands Guave Interactive and Guave Motion, according to a statement. With the restructuring, the corporate identity has also been revised. The two new websites are currently under construction.

 

From left to right: E. Eisfeld, D. Zuberbühler, Ph. Treyer.

Daniel Zuberbühler joins Serranetga's consulting team as Client Service Director with immediate effect. With a degree in journalism, he can draw on years of experience as a client consultant at Scholz & Friends in Hamburg, where he was entrusted with advising clients such as Vodafone, Tchibo, Honda and Deutsche Bundesliga. Most recently, the 33-year-old worked at the Miks agency in Hamburg, where he was responsible for building up client consulting and for acquiring and supporting clients such as Axel Springer Verlag, Otto Group and Bombardier.

Philipp Treyer has joined Serranetga as Performance Marketing Strategist, where he is responsible for the development and management of performance-oriented campaigns and the targeted further development of the performance marketing area. The 25-year-old communications graduate and search engine marketing specialist was previously Campaign Manager at Metapeople and Search Campaign Manager at Zed Digital.

Elena Eisfeld is the new Account Manager at Serranetga, responsible for advising customers and partners as well as for project and campaign management. The 33-year-old economist previously worked as a project manager at the German online marketing agency Hurra Communications in Stuttgart.

Joiz's broadcasting concept is interactive and transmedial: for the first time, web, mobile, social media and TV are merging completely. The direct line to the target group of 15- to 34-year-olds is always the focus of the station, according to a statement. Joiz will be available free-to-air via cable and satellite, as well as via various apps, and will offer its own VoD platform in addition to a 24-hour live stream on the website.

"For us, interaction with the audience is not a marketing phrase, but our THEN," says CEO Alexander Mazzara. "Joiz has been around in Switzerland for just under two years now. Of course, we have learned a lot in that time. It's a challenge when the audience can intervene at any time, the response is so direct and the outcome of some shows is rather uncertain. It's very exciting and enriching, but it takes a certain amount of courage and ultimately experience. But we learned quickly and have been rewarded: viewer numbers and reactions are rising steadily, and there is acceptance in the advertising market. Now we're taking the step into Germany."

Joiz will broadcast around the clock seven days a week from its Berlin location. The programming is geared to the topics of the young target group and all shows will be produced on site by Joiz itself. The spectrum ranges from music, fashion, nightlife, celebrities, digital life and sexuality to politics and environmental topics. The focus is always on the viewers: Chats and votes, which are integrated into live broadcasts in real time and posted on social media sites, are omnipresent and determine the program. And even directly in the studio, fans can experience their stars up close in unique live performances. Joiz sees itself as a new media home for digital natives and represents their lifestyle, lets them participate and have a say - and takes them seriously.

"Joiz - a great and valuable new player in Berlin! In addition to good musicians, pop also needs a functioning infrastructure and companies that successfully produce and market music," says Björn Böhning, head of the Berlin Senate Chancellery, welcoming the move. Medienboard Managing Director Elmar Giglinger: "We are also very pleased that Joiz has chosen Berlin. A good choice, as I can confirm from my own experience. The newcomer is a great enrichment for the TV location Berlin-Brandenburg. On that note, welcome to the capital region!"

"Joiz couldn't have found a better location for its commitment in Germany than the media capital Berlin. Here, the social TV station meets a young, innovative, creative scene like no other German city has to offer. We are excited about the new television," explains Melanie Bähr, Managing Director of Berlin Partner. Berlin Partner supported Joiz throughout the entire settlement process.

 

The aim is to create transparency and efficiency for advertising customers' brand awareness campaigns, as detailed in a press release. Similar to radio and television, Swisscom Advertising can thus prove that the advertising customer actually receives the booked number of contacts and that the contact duration and advertising space are sufficient to fully convey the advertising message.

Specifically, the percentage of visible advertising space on the screen being used (ad visibility) and how long the advertising material remains in the visible area of the screen (ad viewtime) are measured. These values provide information on whether and to what extent in terms of time and space the user has visual contact with the respective advertising format before leaving the website, scrolling further or selecting a different zoom area. In addition to conclusions about impact and involvement, creative agencies also benefit from the knowledge of visibility and viewing time, for example to bring storytelling of the right length to the creative.

Swisscom Advertising now offers a guarantee for the average minimum viewability rate and minimum viewability duration for its premium inventory. Effectively achieved campaign values can be requested as a special report.

 

The insurance 1st for Women is aimed - nomen est omen - at women. For example, the fairer sex are offered cheaper car insurance for statistical reasons ("Even good drivers need insurance"). In many respects, women seem to pose less of a risk than men. This actually makes sense - even to most men. The agency Black River FC from Johannesburg explains the small but subtle difference to everyone else:
 

(hae)

Stress and his clothing label Bear Inc. are not only to be seen on a quarter of the 700 advertising posters put up, as Sonntagsblick writes. In the first broadcast of the show on Saturday, the rapper also prominently displayed the lettering of his own fashion brand: his clothing is so conspicuously labeled that it cannot be overlooked - and this throughout the entire show.

SRF spokesperson Martin Reichlin counters the accusation that this staging corresponds to surreptitious advertising ("quantitative accumulation of product placement that is permissible in itself"), which is prohibited under the Swiss Radio and Television Act, with the argument that the brand is declared as a sponsor at the end of the program.

According to Bakom, appearances by celebrities with self-promotion or visible sponsors often violate the advertising guidelines. SRF has to make concessions if it wants to have certain celebrities in a program. However, the broadcaster must ensure that the advertising is not too obtrusive - for example with camera work or clever editing. However, as Sonntagsblick notes, Stress presented his label so aggressively that "nothing could be done" with image editing.

Picture: Screenshot Srf.ch / "The Voice of Switzerland"
 

The jury was chaired by jury chairman Frank Bodin, CEO of Havas Worldwide Switzerland. This year's guest juror was Roger de Weck, Director General of SRG, who for once had the opportunity to judge the quality of the commercial breaks in his programs.

High basic quality, few world-class works

According to the press release, what is striking about this year's judging is the high basic quality of the submissions. "The agencies already separate the wheat from the chaff in their submissions. Most of the submissions were above average," says Frank Bodin. "On the other hand, after a very strong 2011 with numerous campaigns at international level, 2012 turned out to be weaker. There were fewer world-class works." Out of 673 entries, only 2 works were awarded gold, 15 silver and 63 bronze. 130 works made it onto the shortlist. A total of 34 out of 66 submissions, together with their clients, can look forward to at least one shortlist. Gold in the Advertising category for Garnier and in the Creative Media category for Theater Rigiblick.

Beard and annual report
 
With Garnier Bart, Publicis has come up with an astonishing trompe-lʼœil idea. Ad series at a world-class level. The campaign shows that beauty products such as shampoo can be advertised in a different way than with the usual images of stereotypically beautiful people.
 
The work for Theater Rigiblick by Draftfcb/Lowe demonstrates that no client is too small for big ideas. Instead of the usual annual report, this was turned into a play, which was performed at the Annual General Meeting by Daniel Rohr, Sabina Schneebeli and Rolf Sommer to the surprise of the guests.
 
According to the ADC, the other 15 silver and 63 bronze cubes are anything but consolation prizes, but awards for equally great ideas. The overall evaluation can be viewed after Category and after Agency can be downloaded in PDF format.

Two times "Evergreen" for the Mobiliar campaign and the VBZ campaign
 
In the new "Evergreen" category, campaigns that have been based on the same central idea for at least three years up to the present day and thus demonstrate strategic and conceptual continuity at the highest level could be submitted for the first time this year.
 
The campaign for VBZ by Ruf Lanz, which has been running since 2002 and has surprised with fresh ideas every year since then, was each honored with a cube. For over a decade, the campaign has managed to turn a once dusty state-owned company into one of the city's most popular institutions. The insurance campaign for Die Mobiliar has been running for as long as 15 years and has built up great popularity throughout Switzerland with its claims sketches. The basic concept, which was once invented by the agency Aebi, Strebel, then continued by Publicis and is now managed by Wirz, has even outlasted three agencies - the fact that continuity pays off is exemplified by the campaign, which is one of the most popular in Switzerland.