APG|SGA has installed a total of 23 additional screens for digital outdoor advertising at Bern station. Together with the previous 33 screens, they form the five combinable branding zones "AdWalk City," "AdWalk University" (both existing), "CityFloor," "CommercialZone," and "Wave" (all three new).

At Lucerne station, the digital offering triples: A total of 24 digital screens are located at top locations in the two new branding zones "CityFloor" and "CommercialZone.

The current 13 branding zones in Zurich, Berne and Lucerne comprise a total of 157 ePanels. To increase the impact, this presence can be combined with the existing eBoards, posters, MegaPosters and mobile media products or with individual special solutions and promotions in the SBB stations.

"With this campaign, we want to express that the time has come to go out again and enjoy the diverse hospitality offering," notes GastroSuisse Director Daniel Borner, who played a key role in the campaign's creation. "We want to show that a great many people put their heart and soul into it every day, in order to offer their guests a wonderful experience after the times of deprivation."

"The crisis has made it clear," adds Marketing Director Michael Siebenmann, "what the social role of gastronomy is in society and how great the need is to finally meet again - in a restaurant, in a bar or in a club. Now it's also a matter of encouraging the population to overcome any uncertainties and regain trust.

Scattered throughout Switzerland

In the first phase, ten major Swiss cities in the three language regions are planned: Zurich, Bern, Basel, Biel, Lucerne, Lugano, St. Gallen, Winterthur, Geneva and Lausanne - with more to follow. GastroSuisse is also building on a strong partner network to strengthen fine distribution in the regions and extend the campaign's reach. At the heart of the campaign is a poster campaign in three languages, which will also be reflected in social media and news portals. The campaign will run until at least the beginning of July. (pd)

The Farner St.Gallen team offers support in developing an effective communication strategy and helps to implement it at all relevant touchpoints. At the heart of the communication is the Swisstransplant website, which Farner St.Gallen will help to design. The creative team is also developing a new uniform visual identity and tools for strategic brand management.

Weischer.Cinema Switzerland is pleased that Arena Cinemas have also reconfirmed that they will be a part of the project for years to come, the company writes in a statement.

Patrick Tavoli, CEO of Arena Cinemas, is looking forward to the future with enthusiasm: "As a cinema group with a strong focus on innovation - including the world's first LED screen in 4K 3D and the nationwide introduction of 4DX and ScreenX - we want to continue to make our mark in the new decade. With Weischer.Cinema, we have an exceptionally experienced, service-oriented advertising partner on board. This is where advertising wishes become reality."

Christof Kaufmann, CEO of Weischer.Cinema Switzerland: "We are happy to have secured the 15 largest cinema partnerships for the long term and thus to be able to convey trust and security to the advertising market."

The dpa subsidiary News Aktuell, together with Faktenkontor, asked PR professionals from companies and agencies how they assess their professional field in the context of permanent change and in which areas there is a need for improvement.

Seven out of ten PR professionals believe that they will still be attractive to their employers in five years' time. However, the communications industry is still a long way from true equality in the executive ranks. Only one in six employees at a media outlet reports a gender balance among managers.

"In view of advancing digitalization and globalization, our working world is undergoing a multi-layered structural change - and that even before the Corona pandemic. We need to find new ways of dealing with permanent change," says Eljub Ramic, Managing Director of News Aktuell Switzerland, about the motivations behind this year's trend report and how the results fit in against the backdrop of the pandemic. "Communicators have a central role to play in this regard. After all, they mediate and accompany change and are also those affected themselves. That's why we asked communications professionals, among other things, how they assess their professional field in the context of a constantly changing world of work, how advanced digital technologies and new forms of work actually are, and what skills they need for the future."

Lack of resources as a brake on digitization

Digital technologies are rather or even very important for the daily work of almost all communications professionals (90 percent). But there is still a lack of implementation. Although digital transformation is well advanced at half of the companies and agencies (50 percent), it is still not very advanced at the other half (50 percent). The main obstacles to change are a lack of time in day-to-day business (50 percent), a lack of budget (45 percent), but also outdated ways of thinking in management (27 percent).

Messenger services are popular

When it comes to the actual use of digital technologies, messenger services are way out in front. Well over half of communications professionals already make intensive use of WhatsApp, Skype and the like (57 percent). SEO software (54 percent) and collaboration (52 percent) as well as digital measurement and analysis tools (51 percent) have also become established in everyday life.

New forms of work are booming

The new forms of work associated with digitization are already well advanced in the industry. An overwhelming majority of PR professionals have the option of working from home (90 percent) or part-time (89 percent) and have the flexibility to schedule their work (83 percent). In addition, two-thirds of communicators say they already work in flat hierarchies (68 percent).

Increasing importance of change and internal communication

Communications support for change processes already plays a major role in companies today. Well over half of the PR experts state that change communication and internal communication are currently important in their company or for their customers (63 percent). Nevertheless, a very large majority of respondents agree that these two disciplines will become even more important in the future and would therefore like to see them intensified. A full 91 percent are in favor of a strong or very strong role for internal communications in the future, and 85 percent believe that change communications will become more important.

Too often, however, implementation fails due to a lack of interaction and integration as well as a lack of dialog. The respondents complain most that managers do not set an example of change enough (52 percent) and do not involve their employees sufficiently in change processes (51 percent). Another hurdle for change communication, in the view of the PR experts, is the lack of dialog: 48 percent criticize that change communication is still too often focused on "sending" and too little on "dialog.

Strong change of the communication job 

Almost two-thirds of PR professionals predict that their jobs will change significantly within the next decade (61 percent). However, very few fear losing their jobs (three percent). The vast majority of PR practitioners are optimistic about the future: seven out of ten communicators surveyed think they will completely or mostly meet the demands of the communications job in five years' time (72 percent).

PR armor of the future: digital competence and adaptability

Whereas in the present, classic specialist skills such as copywriting skills, a strategic and conceptual approach, and broad general knowledge play a very important role, in the future, skills with technical demands will take on an ever greater significance. According to the respondents, producing multi-media content in particular will become much more important in the next five years (31 percent), but data-driven measurement and analysis will also become much more important (28 percent). Accordingly, an overwhelming majority of respondents believe that digital competence will be just as important as social, technical and methodological competence in five years' time (73 percent).

Personal responsibility in the job is the most important prerequisite for satisfaction

When it comes to personal satisfaction and the meaningfulness of their own work, communicators value personal responsibility and self-determination above all. Even ahead of work-life balance (60 percent) and trust in managers (55 percent), this aspect is rated as very important by respondents (61 percent).

Team before boss: New leadership on a good path

When it comes to teamwork, the communications industry is already well positioned. In more than half of the media outlets and agencies surveyed, PR leaders currently already place a great deal of trust in their employees (55 percent) and promote collaboration, networking and communication (51 percent). However, only just under one in three new leaders in the industry currently lead democratically (31 percent), actively develop visions (29 percent) or accompany, steer and exemplify change within the team (29 percent).

Gender Equality: Flexibilization, Baby Leave and Wage Transparency

A balanced gender ratio at management level is now reported by more than one in three PR agencies (36 percent), but male managers continue to dominate in the media departments. Only one in six PR professionals from a company states a balanced ratio (17 percent).

In order to promote the professional development of the genders equally, companies and agencies currently offer above all flexibility instruments such as part-time work (89 percent), home office (88 percent) or flexible working hours (73 percent). By contrast, paternity leave for fathers in management positions has hardly been promoted to date. Only one in six employers actively encourages male executives to take baby leave and thus indirectly relieve the burden on women (16 percent).

Even less established in practice is the disclosure of salaries (8 percent). Accordingly, there is a great need to catch up on these two aspects: First on the wish list of communications professionals is the promotion of parental leave for male executives (37 percent), second a transparent salary structure on the part of their employer, but also the possibility of job sharing at management level (29 percent each).

Nevertheless, a part-time position is currently the number one career killer for most respondents, as 88 percent of female and 91 percent of male respondents believe that management positions in communications are still predominantly advertised as full-time positions and, as a consequence, are usually filled by men.

More results

• Only five percent currently use AI for writing media releases and other texts. Only one in ten respondents plans to use AI for copywriting in the future (8 percent).
• In each case, an overwhelming majority of respondents say that they cannot do their work without digital technologies (90 percent) and that the associated new forms of work motivate them (87 percent) and make their work more productive (77 percent). Nevertheless, three-quarters complain that digitization means that too much information is shared on too many channels (76 percent).
• Flexibility and curiosity or open-mindedness are the most important social skills that communications professionals currently need (67 percent each). Adaptive skills such as these, but also the willingness to embrace change, will become much more important over the next five years in the view of PR experts.

At the 2017 general meeting, it was decided to open up Unikom to the new DAB+ radios. A year later, a "Notifiable radios" group and a "Complementary radios" group were set up for this purpose.

The 23 radio stations subject to reporting requirements are start-up radio stations that are mainly commercially oriented in order to at least cover their costs. They broadcast their programming via DAB+ and are working on new business models (events, sponsorship, advertising, crowdfunding, subscriptions, etc.). The group of nine non-profit complementary radio stations such as 3fach, LoRa and RaBe broadcast their stations via FM and DAB+ and fulfill a performance mandate.

Unikom currently has 32 members, making it the largest radio association in Switzerland. The 23 radio stations subject to registration are popular music radio stations for all tastes or moderated cultural, sports or church radio stations for Swiss or foreigners living here.

Board elections

The General Assembly elected a Board of Directors that also takes into account the new interests resulting from the expansion of the association and integrates multilingualism.

Board of Directors:

• Judith Grosse, PR manager of Radio LoRa, was re-elected and represents the interests of the complementary local radio stations.
• Simone Ruckstuhl, Managing Director of Radio 3fach, was newly elected to the Board and represents the concerns of the complementary local radio stations.
• Vanessa Esteves, Radio Vostok, was newly elected to the Board and represents the interests of non-profit radio stations in French-speaking Switzerland.
• Dany Hofmann, operator of IP music and entrepreneur (IP worldcom, Decibel SA, Dabcom) was newly elected to the Board and represents the commercial interests of the radio stations in French-speaking Switzerland that are subject to mandatory reporting.
• Giuseppe Scaglione, operator of My105, was newly elected to the Board and represents the commercial interests of DAB+ radio stations in German-speaking Switzerland and Ticino.
• Armin Köhli, Managing Director of the Klipp+Klang radio school, was newly elected to the Board and represents the interests of radio training.
• Thomas Gilgen, operator of Open Broadcast Radio and Digris, was re-elected. He is the contact person for innovative technologies (DAB+, archive, streaming) and for digital migration.

Lukas Weiss, former President of UNikom, is stepping down after 25 years. Patrick Studer has also stepped down because there is not enough time available for the honorary position.

Eight people with rheumatism appear on filler advertisements and on the channels of the Swiss Rheumatism League with their authentic statements.

Rheumatism is not a minor ailment, but an often serious chronic disease that can affect people of all ages. "I'm young and I have rheumatism. That doesn't fit the mold of many people," is how one of the protagonists of the Rheumaliga campaign sums it up. Just 40 years ago, deformed joints were often seen in rheumatism patients. With medical progress, rheumatism became largely invisible. A great improvement in quality of life on the one hand, but a challenge for many sufferers on the other. People with rheumatism have to explain themselves time and again in their private and professional lives. Not only, but especially now in the corona crisis.

As many rheumatism sufferers belong to the risk group due to their medication or their age, they are concerned about their safety and fear the possible serious progression of the disease in the event of Covid-19. The Rheumaliga is currently responding to numerous inquiries from insecure sufferers who receive too little understanding of their situation from those around them. It intervenes and seeks individual solutions with those involved.

The restrictions in everyday life are complex, as rheumatism comprises around 200 different clinical pictures. And it can affect anyone. Rheumatism knows no age. Members of the Rheumaliga Switzerland's Council of Patients tell their very personal stories on Rheumaliga.ch. In the "Me and my rheumatism" campaign, they talk about hardship, prejudice, stigmatization and aching joints. They share their experiences with around 2 million sufferers in Switzerland and want to encourage them.

The bone of contention between the advertising-financed TV broadcasters and the telecom industry was that viewers fast-forward through the advertising on time-shifted TV. The advertising industry is not happy about this. The TV broadcasters complained of revenue losses because the compensation for time-shifted TV paid by the telecom providers was too low.

The major TV distributors such as UPC and Swisscom refuted the broadcasters' complaints that advertising revenues had fallen since the introduction of replay TV in 2012. On the contrary, they had risen. The National Council rejected restrictions on replay TV in December 2018 as part of the copyright revision.

Compromise found

Now both sides have found a solution: The collecting societies and the telecom associations Suissedigital and Swissstream have agreed on a new tariff that will regulate time-shifted television in Switzerland from 2022. They made the announcement on Friday.

The advantage for viewers is that the storage period for TV programs will be extended from 7 to 14 days from the year after next. And replay TV will be retained as a central offering. This sets the TV offering in Switzerland apart from abroad, where programs can only be viewed retrospectively in the media library of the respective TV station.

Spectators have to swallow toad

But the new compromise also has disadvantages for viewers: They are forced to watch commercials if they want to skip commercial breaks. Or they have to pay more.

There are three variants, explained Suissedigital Managing Director Simon Osterwalder: In the basic rate, everything would remain as before. There is no fast-forward option there.

The second variant provides for a start ad of 7 seconds before the viewer can watch his program time-shifted. But then he would be right at the beginning of the show, said Osterwalder. This is familiar from Youtube. With the interruption advertising blocks in a film, you have to watch three commercials with a total duration of not quite two minutes, he said. Then, with one click, you can jump to exactly where the film continues. This eliminates today's multiple-speed fast-forwarding, which often takes you too far.

But that only applies to the TV stations that are part of the industry agreement, Osterwalder said: With the other broadcasters such as SRG, one must continue to rewind as before, but also not watch any forced advertising. SRG is not participating in the industry agreement because it does not agree with the extension of the replay duration to 14 days, the communiqué said.

Advertising-free for 5 francs per month

In the third variant, everything would be free of advertising if the TV broadcasters received 5 francs per month and customer. Then you can skip the commercials at the touch of a button and go straight to the movie. This variant is possible with all TV stations, even those stations that, like SRG, are not involved in industry agreements, Osterwalder explained.

The industry agreement is a broad-based compromise to secure replay TV in Switzerland in the long term, it said. Joining the industry agreement is open to every TV distributor and TV broadcaster and is not mandatory. The new copyright tariff was submitted to the Federal Arbitration Commission for Copyright for approval on Thursday.

The new rule is a compromise, Osterwalder said in response to criticism that there is now forced advertising. "Each side had to give ground." The point, he said, was to keep time-shifted TV as a central replay function. Otherwise, viewers would have to go to the media libraries of the respective stations, which would be much less user-friendly.

Without agreement, there would have been a new tariff that would have been much higher than today, Osterwalder said, "I hope hard that SRG also accepts this compromise, even if they don't agree with the 14-day rule. That would be sporting behavior." (SDA)

In a press release issued on Friday, Asut calls on politicians and authorities to support the necessary renewal of mobile networks and to resolve the expansion and investment blockade. The last few months in particular have shown how important high-performance communication networks are for society and the economy.

Infrastructure expansion necessary

In view of the current economic situation, it is incomprehensible that the mobile communications industry is being prevented from investing in Switzerland's important infrastructure expansion. Mobile network providers invest between half a billion and a billion francs a year in the expansion of the mobile network

When the last generation of 4G/LTE mobile communications was introduced in Switzerland, over 10,000 transmitters were equipped with the new technology within just a few years. Within three years, over 60 percent of sites had been equipped and by 2017, 4G/LTE was available nationwide.

Although the differences in radio technology between 4G and 5G are much smaller compared to older generations of mobile communications, the introduction of 5G is being delayed or even blocked in many cantons and municipalities, criticizes Asut.

Resistance is present

For example, the time it takes to obtain a first-instance building permit for new facilities or conversions requiring approval has increased by 37% since 2018 and now takes over seven months. Appeals to the Federal Supreme Court could delay the construction or conversion of a facility for years.

In addition to the longer procedures, it is also apparent that many municipalities and cantons are no longer even processing applications for new installations or changes to installations. However, the blockade does not only affect approval procedures. Even modifications to existing mobile radio installations, which only required notification, now take seven times longer than in 2018. (SDA)

Masks instead of distance: Roger Tinner, previous president, hands over the presidency of the Werbeclub Ostschweiz to Pascale Hoch and Roland Köppel (from left to right). (Photo: Leader - the business magazine)

Two dozen members and guests took part in the Annual General Meeting, which was held "analog" at Appenzeller Edelbrand in Urnäsch and thus marked the re-launch of events with personal encounters in the creative industry.

The participants were given interesting insights into the start-up, which is passionate about gin distilling in the region and has a great deal of perseverance.

Board of Directors unchanged, Presidium new

At the 47th Annual General Meeting, the members approved all items on the agenda unanimously and without discussion. After six years as President, Roger Tinner (alea iacta ag) stepped down. He was pleased that with the - also unanimous - election of the previous Board members Pascale Hoch (Kraftkom) and Roland Köppel (netz.werk), the "fifty-fifty" principle now applies to the presidency as well as to the Board as a whole.

Together with Lea Hobi (Advery), Katja Sgro-Thürlemann (acrevis) and Hanspeter Häne (ch media), who were also re-elected, Tinner will also remain on the Board.

The new claim is from the Stöckli-It was derived from the Stöckli vision "The best ski sports brand in the world" and was developed jointly by the client and the agency in the course of intensive workshops. "Built for Perfection" is intended to lay the foundation for Stöckli's hub and omnichannel strategy, as well as for a multitude of measures up to and including the globally differentiated addressing of customers.

With the new "Premium Line" communication design, the new strategy is also implemented visually. On the one hand, the layout system can accommodate a lot of information in a structured way, while appearing sporty, powerful and high-quality.

First action: the new laser WRT

The new Laser WRT from Stöckli forms a combination of giant slalom and slalom ski. Inspired by racing, the Laser WRT stands for high speed, precise turns and power.

For the launch of the new ski in the coming winter season, a cross-media campaign will be realized as part of the new image. The focus is on the strengths of the Laser WRT and the innovative Carbon Steering Control technology. The Laser WRT is to be positioned as the perfect piste ski for demanding and sporty skiers.

The campaign includes the redesign of the landing page, a physical mailing to existing customers, and a content video for various social media channels. The video provides a special look behind the scenes: Together with Stöckli athlete Marco Odermatt, the user can take a look inside the Stöckli manufactory in Malters and at the production of the Laser WRT. Further background information can be found on the linked landing page.

The graduation ceremony marks an important event for graduates of bachelor's, master's or doctoral studies, the confirmation of having achieved an important goal in life. However, due to the current situation surrounding the coronavirus, this occasion was in danger of falling through.

Together with the Bernese agency Gecko Communication and Christian Bischof, Swiss master of magic, the university therefore created a magical virtual promotion party.

Promotion celebration by zoom

Instead of an invitation to the graduation ceremony at the Casino Bern, the 220 graduates received an invitation to a Zoom meeting. The event, which lasted about an hour, was moderated by Christian Bischof and enriched with live magic moments. Prof. Dr. Artur Baldauf gave the ceremonial speech to the camera in front of empty seats in the university's auditorium, and congratulations from personalities from business, politics and science were delivered via video.

The graduates at home at the screens were interactively involved. Despite the physical distance, a very special closeness was created. Relatives, acquaintances and friends were also able to participate, namely via live stream on the landing page set up especially for the ceremony or via YouTube.

Promotional salt as a parting gift

The following day, all graduates received by mail as a surprise a "Berner Promotionssalz", a spice mixture that had played a magical starring role in the magic during the ceremony.

A summary of the event has been posted online for review. "The celebration was a complete success, I am very satisfied. With this virtual form, we have also expressed that we are a modern and innovative university," said the happy Prof. Dr. Baldauf after the premiere.