"Dar-Vida crispy" are crackers based on hummus and lentils. Dar-Vida is thus once again expanding its product range and for the first time also offering gluten-free snack products.

The two motifs are intended to put the new product in the spotlight and will be displayed on billboards around the sales outlets. In addition, nationwide samplings are planned for the fall.

The EU fears ongoing fake news campaigns surrounding the Corona virus and therefore wants to hold social networks more accountable. According to a plan presented by the EU Commission on Wednesday, platforms such as Facebook and Twitter are to submit monthly reports on their fight against disinformation in the future. In addition, the companies are called upon to cooperate more closely with independent fact-checkers.

"During the coronavirus pandemic, Europe has been inundated by disinformation campaigns originating both inside and outside the EU," commented EU Commission Vice President Vera Jourova. To combat this, she said, it is necessary to "mobilize all relevant actors, from online platforms to public authorities, and support independent fact-checkers and media."

Rising number of vaccination opponents

As an example of a worrying development, Jourova cited the growing number of vaccination opponents in Germany, for example. The topic of vaccination seems to be becoming the next battleground of spreaders of misinformation, she said. According to one study, the willingness to vaccinate in Germany has dropped by almost 20 percentage points in less than two months, she said.

The topic of disinformation is relevant for the EU primarily because of social dangers. It must fear that the misinformation could lead to dwindling trust in governments and the media as well as to a weakening of European influence in the world. According to the EU Commission, China and Russia are behind some of the campaigns.

Long list of false news

The list of false news spread during the Corona crisis is long. For example, conspiracy theorists repeatedly claim that Microsoft founder Bill Gates is behind the Corona virus and is conspiring with the EU to monitor all of humanity.

Other examples of Fake News are reports that the EU is not supporting partner countries in crisis management, that the crisis is to be used as a pretext for mass vaccinations, or that the new mobile phone standard 5G is the cause of Corona.

All this, according to the EU Commission, weakens social cohesion, endangers democracy and people's health. "Disinformation in times of the coronavirus pandemic can kill," said EU foreign affairs representative Josep Borrell, referring to the claim that drinking bleach can help against the coronavirus.

Monthly reports

Specifically, social networks, where lies often spread at breakneck speed, are now expected to provide detailed data in monthly reports on how they promote trustworthy content and curb fake news.

The platforms already provide links to information from the World Health Organization (WHO) and delete advertisements for counterfeit and overpriced medical products, she said. But more needs to be done, Jourova said. Restricting freedom of expression is not the point, she said. "I don't want to create a ministry of truth," the Czech said.

Facebook, Google, Twitter and Mozilla had already pledged in the fall of 2018 to take stronger action against misinformation on the web and signed a corresponding voluntary code of conduct. In the meantime, Tiktok has also joined, said Jourova on Wednesday. With Whatsapp one is in the discussion. Microsoft has already joined in 2019. Wednesday's report is to be incorporated, among other things, into planned projects of the EU Commission such as a law for digital services. This is a core concern of the authority. It is to define common rules for providers on the Internet. (SDA)

The current complete cancellation of trade fairs weighs doubly heavily on B2B in particular. This is because it is not just demand that has temporarily fallen in the current economic crisis year. In addition, without the trade fairs, many high-quality prospective buyers for the predicted catch-up effects will simply not be found.

However, the biggest mistake now would be to cut back on marketing. After all, those who align their marketing strategy correctly can not only gain missing leads, but also sustainably improve their business success through important digitalization measures. So how should B2B companies react?

1. sales support marketing is now the tool of choice

Corresponding budgets should therefore flow fully into supporting sales through marketing. "However, you must never lose sight of branding," says Julia Bohn, Sales Marketing Manager at Sybit. "The target group must constantly have the feeling that they are being communicated with in a high-quality way. This is particularly helpful when the mood brightens up again, as it is at the moment."

2. marketing automation is the most effective tool for extensive lead generation

There are powerful tools that allow the collection of customer information and the automated distribution of campaigns. In this way, a large number of potential customers can be targeted in a short space of time. Appropriate technologies should be used now. Integration into existing systems is far less extensive than many assume.

3. the CRM often harbors forgotten treasures

Neglected, old or cold leads can now be precisely the people that marketing can address with new content and drive the score up again. In an optimal system, CRM and marketing tools work hand in hand.

4. purchasing processes are complex in B2B

Especially in the digital age, several specialist areas are involved in decisions. These different stakeholders should be addressed according to their specific interests, goals and problems. With the right tool and the right content, all senior executives from production, sales, IT and management can be convinced individually.

5. the mix makes the music

Content that is tailored to the respective buyer persona wins the decisive leads. Surveys, specialist articles, webinars and virtual conferences work best here. Various online activities should be used to promote the content: Email campaigns, search engine optimization (SEO), Google Ads (SEA) and social media.

Current surveys and studies on B2B trade show that decision-relevant processes will shift even more to digital - and not just since the (still relevant) trade fairs cannot take place. So those who invest in new marketing processes now will be more competitive in the long term.

The Heads Corporate Branding consulting team: Natascha Almeida, Ralph Hermann, Dominique Banschbach, Simone Raubach and Galina Helbling (from left to right).

Previously, Simone Raubauch was Head Brand Strategy at Brandpulse, Head of Marketing at IFBC Corporate Finance and Brand Consultant at Lowe, Diffferent and Publicis. She is a federally certified Head of Marketing/Communications and has been a member of the Account Planning Group Switzerland since 2004.

Simone Raubach on her move: "I received a very warm welcome at Heads - the chemistry is right. And as a passionate brand consultant, I am delighted to now be using Brand Profiling, a systematic analysis tool that can make a decisive difference in value-oriented brand management."

Urs Hunziker, Head of AT Verlag, is retiring at the end of 2020 after 33 years with the book publisher. The 64-year-old studied natural sciences in Zurich and Bern and joined the publishing industry as a career changer after completing his studies. As publishing director, he shaped the program and internal and external image of AT Verlag for many years, according to the press release.

Urs Hunziker will be succeeded by Urs Hofmann, who has many years of experience in a managerial role in the book publishing industry. The 48-year-old will join AT Verlag on October 1, 2020. The time until Urs Hunziker's departure at the end of the year will be used for the handover.

Urs Hofmann has been Head of Publishing at NZZ Libro, the former book publisher of the New Zurich Newspaper under the umbrella of the Schwabe publishing group in Basel. Hofmann completed a commercial apprenticeship, studied history and law and gained his doctorate at the University of Basel. He previously worked as a scientific editor at the publishing house Hier & Jetzt in Baden.

54.1% of respondents state that the coronavirus crisis has had an impact on their collaborations as influencers. Although a good half say that they have not yet had any collaborations canceled or postponed due to coronavirus, and 80.9% say this applies to collaborations they had planned themselves, 54.5% say that fewer sponsored posts are being published overall. Most (60.7%) have up to a quarter fewer collaborations than before the crisis. Just under half of influencers would like to see entertainment and lifestyle electronics as campaigns. Sectors that have proven to be resistant to the crisis.

Influencers plan changes

Only a minority (17.2%) are worried about publishing advertising posts during the coronavirus pandemic and possibly experiencing a shitstorm. However, a good half see the crisis as an opportunity and are planning to make changes in connection with branded content.

"Our survey shows that in times of coronavirus, influencers want to choose their collaborations more carefully. A smart matching logic and mechanism for selecting collaborations, as used by HashtagLove, supports credible influencer marketing and is extremely important for both brands and opinion leaders. Experience, advice, expertise and an understanding of both the customer and influencer side are important factors for successful influencer marketing," says Kirsten Hücker, Deputy Managing Director at MSM.digital.

The influencer marketing platform HashtagLove has been part of the omni-channel marketing agency MSM.digital since May 2020. More than 13,000 influencers are registered with HashtagLove.

The University of Bern presents itself with the new digital annual report as a future-oriented university with social relevance. In the spirit of sustainability and in line with the University of Bern's digitization strategy adopted in 2019, the existing high-quality print product was transformed into an innovative, varied digital content package.

Christian Degen, Head of Communications & Marketing, explains: "In about six months, we have developed a completely new digital magazine together with our partners Monami, Zeix and SNTL Publishing, consistently trilingual in German, French and English. And apparently quite convincingly: the feedback so far has been consistently positive."

Storytelling consistently tailored to topics 

Based on a basic concept, Monami developed a website structure that is based on the strategic core positioning of the university. The agency defined and developed content vessels, selected the content with the University of Bern and then focused primarily on the conception and implementation of all moving image content.

For example, the digital annual report includes short videos on projects from the five strategic thematic focus areas, video messages from the rector and all members of the university management, animations and a variety of sections. The current figures and the developments of the past years on students, employees and finances are also available in a figures portal.

Sophisticated design and congenial editorial system 

Zeix translated the conceptual requirements into a consistent user experience and developed the visual design for the digital annual report. In addition, the agency implemented the front end. The Berlin-based company SNTL Publishing develops customized web publishing solutions for the academic environment using the open source CMS "ZMS". Markus Jufer, Head of Online Marketing at AKM at the University of Bern, says: "SNTL Publishing created a congenial editorial system for Zeix's sophisticated web design, which enabled the web team at the University of Bern to capture the content of the annual report in a short time and edit it on an ongoing basis."

Short clips on social media generate traffic

In order to make the University of Bern's annual report known to as wide an audience as possible, the university, in collaboration with Monami, used short clips on social media channels as well as mailings.

Sales declined by CHF 19.4 million to CHF 984.8 million, Ringier announced on Wednesday. On the other hand, the media group increased its operating profit (Ebitda) for the fifth year in a row to 114.1 million Swiss francs (+1.1 million).Despite declining advertising revenues and slightly lower sales, 2019 was a "solid business year," Ringier wrote.

The Group emphasized its successful digital transformation. The digital share of the Ringier Group's operating profit has been increased for the seventh time in a row to 72 percent by now, it said. This makes Ringier one of the most consistently transformed media companies in Europe today.

Corona effects unclear

The outlook for the current year is unclear, as Ringier is not yet able to quantify the impact of the Corona crisis on the economic earnings situation. The Group assumes negative effects in the amount of a "substantial double-digit million figure.

The first effects of the Corona pandemic on individual Ringier business units were felt in March: On the one hand, Ringier media brands recorded historically high access figures; on the other, advertising revenues plummeted massively.

Due to the cancellation of major events and concerts, business areas such as Ticketcorner were barely able to go about their business practically overnight. The digital job markets are also suffering. Positive trends were reported by the Ringier Group's e-commerce unit.

Despite the Corona-related impact, Ringier does not intend to change its focus. "We will continue to invest in independent journalism, digital marketplaces and cutting-edge technology," Group CEO Marc Walder is quoted as saying in the statement. (SDA/hae/pd)

"We don't expect any dramatic improvement for June either," he continues. The trend will be similar to the previous two months.

Beaujean initially made little comment on the harsh criticism from investors, who had called for a growth strategy and, in some cases, his replacement in the medium term. The CEO, who is also CFO, confirmed that the company intends to focus more strongly on the entertainment and TV business again. The major Italian shareholder Mediaset recently called on Beaujean with unusually harsh words to present a growth strategy.

As part of the Group's restructuring, the television group wants to float its dating division on the stock market. This is planned for 2022, said Beaujean. The aim is to merge investments of the e-commerce subsidiary NuCom - such as the Parship Group with its brands Parship, ElitePartner and eharmony - with the US company Meet Group, which was recently acquired for half a billion dollars. (SDA)

Do you know what your kids are up to online? Especially in the Covid 19 crisis, when people are spending a lot of time at home and even more time online, controls have probably been relaxed in many places - after all, kids and teens have to do something all day when there's no school and parents' nerves also have limited capacity.

The New Zealand government is therefore issuing a warning: There are many dangers lurking online. The humorous campaign "Keep it real online," created by the Motion Sickness agency, encourages guardians to talk to the target group at risk.

The vast majority of companies in Switzerland (around 80 percent) do not use content marketing. Three quarters of them do not intend to use it in the future either - and this despite the fact that seven out of ten companies believe that content marketing is indispensable. This is the result of a study by the ZHAW School of Management and Law based on a representative survey of almost 600 Swiss companies.

As reasons for the lack of use, the companies cite the difficulty of measuring and the uncertainty of success, as well as what they see as the problematic relationship between effort and return.

Strategy as a success factor

"At the same time, the results of our study show that companies that have anchored content marketing strategically are more successful than those that implement it only operationally or not at all," says Adrienne Suvada, Head of the Communication & Branding Unit in the Institute of Marketing Management at the ZHAW School of Management and Law. The companies in question observe positive effects on their image as well as on the trust and enthusiasm of existing customers. They also see improvements in their position in Google rankings. It is also clear that companies with a written content marketing strategy have less need for external services.

Companies primarily see content marketing as a measure to intensify customer relationships. But they also use it to generate new leads. "At the same time, there is relatively often a lack of a binding strategy. Accordingly, the roles of employees are often not clearly defined," explains Suvada.

Cost/income ratio

The biggest challenge in content marketing for companies is to achieve a balance between effort and return. Although increasing the visibility of the company's services is a central goal of content marketing, the companies surveyed are reluctant to use technical tools (especially search engine optimization) and budgetary means (paid content) to place their content more prominently. They primarily use digital platforms for their content: Facebook and their own website are standard, other favorites are LinkedIn and Instagram.

Internal knowledge and storytelling skills critical

In addition to analyzing the current use of content marketing in Switzerland, the study makes various recommendations: "A clear content strategy and the definition of KPIs are crucial for success," says Suvada. Especially in the initial phase, this facilitates the efficient use of resources. Furthermore, the necessary know-how for content marketing should be built up internally to avoid dependencies on third parties. It is also advisable for companies to have storytelling skills and be familiar with the technical requirements of digital marketing.

As Ringier Group CEO Marc Walder said in a video call on Wednesday, views are typically over 100,000 per day. "We are satisfied to very satisfied," he said.

Blick TV, which was launched on February 17, 2020, includes videos of 20 to 50 seconds in length in addition to the livestream. These are embedded in articles on Blick digital. Between January before the launch and April, the number of video views increased from 208,000 to 295,000, according to Walder.

Walder was "more than satisfied" with this growth. While an average of 21 videos were published per day in January, the figure has now risen to 47. This doubling is important for users and for the advertising market, Walder said. (SDA)