On March 12 and 13, all the works were evaluated using the dual judging process and subsequently dialogue campaigns were proposed for the shortlist in the "Metal Discussion" and some of them were awarded the coveted trophies.

How worthy of an award is a campaign? Is it because it has been creatively implemented or has demonstrably achieved a high response rate? The ideal would be a good rating in creation and effectiveness. In the discussions, the top-rated campaigns were discussed individually and awarded "Letter," "Bronze," "Silver," or "Gold." For the "Industry Award", the most award-worthy campaign within each industry was sought. Well rated campaigns could also be rewarded with a "Letter". Below is the shortlist of campaigns that were judged to be worthy of an award.

Exhibition of all submitted works 

The exhibition of all submitted works will not take place in real space this year as usual. The vernissage in Zurich was cancelled due to the corona virus. The submitted works will be presented on a separate and new online platform (Werbewoche.ch reported). The presenting partner is DirectPoint, Swiss Post's knowledge platform. At Exhibition.sdv-award.ch you can discover these dialog marketing campaigns from a wide range of industries and in countless application variants - inspiring ideas from the world of direct customer contact.

(Image: Raimar von Wienskowski)

The three-country alliance is intended to create a powerful region with many synergies and strong digital expertise that is geared towards the needs and geographical structures of many customers within the DACH region, according to a press release issued on Wednesday.

With a total of more than 3,000 employees, including over 1,000 in the area of digital services and technologies, the region plays a strategically central role within the Dentsu Aegis Network in EMEA.

The country managers Andreas Weiss, CEO Dentsu Aegis Network Austria and Patrik Gamryd. CEO Dentsu Aegis Network Switzerland, will work closely with Ulrike Handel and report to her.

"With the structural change, we want to focus and manage our business even better at market level, maximize synergies between our business units and also reflect the geographical structure of most of our customers and partners," says Giulio Malegori, CEO Dentsu Aegis Network EMEA. "I am convinced that the new DACH organization will create interesting opportunities for collaboration," adds Patrik Gamryd, CEO Dentsu Aegis Network Switzerland. "Together we form a significant and successful three-country alliance that will be the strongest cluster in EMEA."

The dispute had been raging for eight years. In 2012, Swisscom had terminated its contract with Init7 and demanded higher charges for forwarding data from Init7's network to the Swisscom network (IP interconnection). Prior to that, Init7 had a contract with Swisscom in which both sides bore their own costs.

The case is about dominance on the Internet. Until now, Internet providers have charged content providers money for the connection to the customer. The latter had no choice but to pay - either the telecom provider or a transit provider - because they could not get directly to the end customer.

Only the really big providers, such as Netflix or Google, would be able to avoid the obligation to pay, said Init7 CEO Fredy Künzler on Wednesday when asked. Swisscom caved in to Netflix a few years ago. All other providers, such as Zattoo, would have to pay Swisscom for access, Künzler said.

Comcom must set new fees

Init7 had filed a lawsuit against what it considered to be "massively excessive compensation" for network interconnection and forwarding and lost before the Federal Communications Commission (Comcom). However, the Federal Administrative Court has now come to the conclusion that Swisscom is market-dominant: it is undisputed that Switzerland's largest telecoms group, as the owner of the "national telecoms infrastructure, has a technical monopoly for access to its end customers," according to the ruling, which is available to the AWP news agency.

The court thus overturned the decision of the telecom regulator Comcom and upholds Init7. Comcom must now set the cost-oriented price for data forwarding, Init7 wrote in a communiqué. This means that an additional claim by Swisscom for 550,000 francs to Init7 is off the table. In addition, Init7 will save the 126,400 francs in procedural costs imposed on it by the lower court.

However, the ruling has a broader impact. In the future, powerful providers with many broadband customers will no longer be able to artificially increase the price of IP interconnection through competitive agreements and make it more difficult for smaller providers to access their customer base, Init7 wrote.

At Swisscom, it's about more money, Künzler said. It is unclear exactly how much. Swisscom did not comment on this when asked.

Swisscom checks

The "blue giant" explained: "Swisscom takes note of the decision and is currently examining it in detail." It is now up to Comcom to determine the prices that Init7 will have to pay for data forwarding to the Swisscom network until the end of 2015. In addition, Comcom would have to examine the market and competitive conditions from 2016. The ruling of the Federal Administrative Court makes it clear that data forwarding must be paid for, albeit on a cost basis and not free of charge as originally demanded by Init7.

The Federal Administrative Court's ruling cannot be appealed to the Federal Supreme Court. "It is therefore final," the ruling states. (SDA)

Of these, 130 million would have subscribed to the premium service, for which monthly fees are payable. This was more than expected. The Spotify share, which is listed in New York, rose almost two percent in pre-market trading. In the same period last year, monthly user numbers had climbed by 25 percent.

Advertising revenues below expectations

Sales of the music streaming pioneer, which now competes with offerings from Apple, Amazon and Tencent Music, rose 22 percent to $1.85 billion at the start of the year. In contrast, advertising revenues did not increase, contrary to management's expectations. Spotify explained this with the effects of the Corona crisis: In March, advertising campaigns were cancelled or paused.

Fewer settings

Due to uncertainties about the economic impact, job growth will be slowed, Spotify announced. Operating loss narrowed to $15 million in the first quarter from $47 million in the year-ago period.

In the current quarter, Spotify aims to increase the number of monthly active users to between 289 million and 299 million, boosting revenue to between $1.75 billion and $1.95 billion. At the same time, management lowered its 2020 total revenue forecast to a range of $7.65 billion to $8.05 billion from the previous $8.08 billion to $8.48 billion. (SDA)

The reason for the new concept was that the old websites no longer reflected the spirit of the times in terms of technology and modern web design. "For associations to perform their function efficiently, they need an attractive website with customized tools," says Roger Guggenheim, project manager and managing director of Net Working. "With the new website for PR Suisse, we have succeeded."

The new websites appear in a new and fresh design. They should not only appear modern and contemporary, but also radiate values such as seriousness and professionalism for the professional association. The main content areas such as news and events have been given more weight.

A lot has been invested in the new member database. After all, it is the DNA of every professional association. Among other things, the member profile view has been made more attractive and its functionality has been optimized.

Christian Wick, interim head of PR Suisse and president of the Zurich PR association ZPRG, comments: "With the national launch of the new websites, both the umbrella organization PR Suisse and the regional associations once again have an attractive and contemporary presence, which can also be expanded in the future thanks to the completely new platform." (pd/swi)

The Fondation Reinhardt von Graffenried announced on Wednesday that his research had hardly attracted any public attention. "Cryptoleaks" was the first scoop of the media year 2020. On February 22, the "Rundschau" of SRF television revealed how American intelligence services and the German Federal Intelligence Service had spied on more than a hundred countries for decades with manipulated cipher devices from the Swiss company Crypto.

The scandal, which the Washington Post and the Second German Television (ZDF), went around the world. "Only: 'Cryptoleaks' was actually no longer breaking news at this point," the foundation writes in this regard.

Because on November 18, 2019, a five-part video series had gone online on the website of the French-speaking Swiss television RTS. "La Suisse sous couverture" had documented a Switzerland as a "center of espionage" that had never hesitated to "sacrifice its neutrality to political, economic and military interests." The web series, however, had not elicited any response.

The 36-year-old freelance journalist Atmani had spent ten years researching Switzerland on a secret mission in the USA, Great Britain, Germany, France and Belgium. He then summarized the crypto affair in a 14-minute film.

No resentment despite lack of appreciation

Eleven days after the Rundschau scoop, a German-language version was published on the online portal Srf.ch, but Atmani's name was not found. The Lausanne journalist does not seem to harbor any resentment against his Zurich colleagues: The "Rundschau" report has fueled the desired public debate. Atmani, on the other hand, finds it a pity that the SRG broadcasters on both sides of the Röstigraben, aware of each other's parallel research, had not coordinated their efforts. However, he and his small team have gained legitimacy, which is extremely useful for further research. "Cryptoleaks" is probably only the tip of the iceberg.

His meticulous work, his humility and his will to continue distinguished Mehdi Atmani as "Swiss Press Journalist of the Year," the foundation writes further. He is the first holder of this new title and will receive 25,000 Swiss francs in prize money. To "package" the research into a five-part video series, he had teamed up with Alexandre Bugnon. The two are therefore also the winners in the Swiss Press Video category.

More awards

The following category winners were also selected: Arnaud Robert (Swiss Press Text) for a report on global toilet hygiene, Christian Zeier and team (Swiss Press Online) who addressed a financial scandal in Mozambique, Franziska Engelhardt and Stefanie Müller-Frank (Swiss Press Audio) with an article on the Messi syndrome, and François Ruchti (Swiss Press Local) with a report on big game hunting in Valais.

Already at the beginning of April it had become known that Yves Leresche (Swiss Press Photo) had been chosen for a picture series about the women's strike in the magazine L'Illustré award. He has now also been named Swiss Press Photographer of the Year, for which he will receive CHF 25,000.

The winners of the text, online, audio and local categories each received CHF 15,000. Each of the winners was also presented with a diamond for their outstanding work. The total prize money amounts to 128,000 Swiss francs.

The Fondation Reinhardt von Graffenried, which is independent of publishing houses, was founded with the aim of promoting Swiss journalism. (SDA)

The collaboration between Dreifive and real estate service provider Privera began last fall, when the first joint Black Friday campaign was launched. A total of four residential projects were advertised and publicized with attractive campaigns both online and offline.

Digital advertising tools in the real estate industry

Digital advertising tools are becoming increasingly important in the real estate industry. "On the one hand, digital solutions make it possible to advertise to specific target groups and thus reduce wastage. Secondly, digital tools can be easily and flexibly adapted to the relevant needs, which was not possible in the past with print advertisements, for example," says Michèle Oser, Regional Head of Letting Management East at Privera, explaining this change.

Thanks to its long-standing clients in the real estate industry, Dreifive knows the most important ingredients for the successful marketing of properties. In order to generate qualitative inquiries from the target group, a cross-channel approach, comprehensive tracking methods, target group-specific targeting and appealing advertising materials are used.

Application to current projects

This approach is currently also being used to publicize the Zwicky-Riedgarten residential district and the "MyOffice" commercial space and co-working space in Bülach. "Both projects are very different and each requires its own digital strategy, which can only be developed and ultimately implemented through good and close cooperation," Jolanda Kessler, Head of Digital Marketing Consulting at Dreifive, is convinced.

In the trendy Zwicky district with a very young and urban target group, the focus is on social media advertising. The advantages of the area can be convincingly visualized using various advertising formats. The message is adapted quickly and flexibly, and attractive campaigns ensure that even the last available apartments find suitable tenants.

According to the Voice First Barometer, the annual representative survey on the spread and use of voice user interfaces (VUIs) in Switzerland, 51% of the Swiss population are already using voice assistants. In the previous year, this figure was only one-third. By the end of the year, the proportion of voice users in the population is expected to rise to 68% according to self-reporting.

New everyday companions

Voice assistants are already taking over many everyday tasks and making life easier. The study participants stated that they like to use the technology primarily because it allows them to keep their hands free and get things done in parallel.

The most popular functions are:

• Request information ("What will the weather be like today?")
• Navigating ("How long does it take me to bike from home to the office?").
• Locate ("Where is the nearest post office?")

Voice assistants are most frequently used via the smartphone (42%). In second place is the car (16%), which overtakes the desktop computer (12%). At 2,63%, smart speakers are still rarely used compared to other devices. Smart speakers have also only been officially available in Switzerland since October 2019. Nevertheless, their use has already more than doubled compared to the previous year.

Voice commerce on the rise - from search to sale

The combination of wage inequality, part-time work, longer life expectancy and investment behavior have a major impact on women's overall wealth. And these factors carry the risk that women will have significantly less money available than men in old age. Addressing the facts and making provisions are therefore important measures.

Data on voice banking for the first time

The willingness of voice users to use voice assistants to perform banking services is examined in greater detail. Only 11% can imagine doing so, for example, to call up transactions or account balances. Of these users, a large majority (78%) prefer the bank's own voice assistant rather than an intermediary such as Siri or Alexa. "This is most likely due to consumers' already high privacy concerns, which are likely to be additionally heightened in the banking context," says Reto Hofstetter, Professor of Marketing at the University of Lucerne and co-author of the study.

Requirements for brands

The increasing use of voice assistants is creating new opportunities for brands and companies to communicate with their customers. According to the Voice First Barometer, every second voice user wants brands to have their own voice at voice touchpoints, matching the brand identity.

If marketers and communicators want to meet this customer need, they must strategically extend their brand and marketing activities with voice applications. And digital touchpoints such as the company website must be optimized with structured data for voice search. Voice strategies will thus soon be part of every integrated brand strategy.

"Since April 19, we have also been delivering on Sundays, initially in the Zurich area," says Roman Hartmann, Co-CEO of Farmy.ch. This would open up new delivery windows, which would be very well received by customers. This is only being done for a limited period during the crisis and is still in test mode.

Coop@home has been offering this service in the city of Zurich since 2017. With success, as head Philippe Huwyler explains Handelszeitung says: "Sunday deliveries are increasingly in demand. We regularly check whether we can extend the offer to other cities." At market leader LeShop, Sunday delivery has been examined, according to a spokesperson. Implementation in urban centers is "conceivable, but not currently planned".

This is what the KVF is calling for in a motion, as the parliamentary services announced on Tuesday. The Council of States committee has already formulated an identical motion. While this committee reached its decision by a large majority, the motion was narrowly approved by the National Council committee by 12 votes to 10 with 2 abstentions. The motions are likely to be dealt with in next week's extraordinary session.

The motions demand that the Keystone-SDA news agency be supported with additional financial resources so that it can provide its basic text service to its subscribers in three languages free of charge. The costs are not quantified in the motions.

CHF 25 million is to be made available for the free delivery of regional and local newspapers by Swiss Post, and CHF 10 million to reduce the cost of delivering other daily newspapers.

Interim solution for media

In the Commission's view, the support is a transitional solution. It is to be replaced by the package of measures in favor of the media. Media Minister Simonetta Sommaruga is expected to present the matter to the Federal Council tomorrow, Wednesday. Emergency aid for the media has not yet found a majority in the Federal Council.

Both committees unanimously adopted a further motion calling for regional radio and television broadcasters to be supported with an additional CHF 30 million compared to 2019. This emergency aid can be distributed from the existing fluctuation reserve of the radio and TV levy.

Help for public transport

The commissions also agree that public transport must be supported. Although demand has fallen by up to 80 percent, 70 to 80 percent of public transportation is still in operation, according to the press release. The KVF of the National Council expressed its satisfaction with the Federal Council's immediate measures.

Nevertheless, it wants to use a motion to oblige the government to work with the cantons and transport companies to develop a proposal to mitigate the loss of revenue. The aim is to find a balanced and fair solution in which the transport companies and the cantons as well as the federal government should bear a share of the loss, according to the press release.

The decision in favor of the motion was made in the National Council's KVF by 16 votes to 8. The Council of States committee had merely formulated a corresponding recommendation to the Federal Council. (SDA)

Pia Gerteis will be responsible for planning and producing Radio 24 program content and will also occasionally host shows. The 33-year-old from Winterthur most recently hosted the morning and evening programs at Radio Top. Previously, she worked at Radio Energy Zurich and the Country Messenger active.

Daniel Glur joins the team in May as a new local editor. He started his radio career at Radio 3Fach, where he became program manager after four years. At the same time, he graduated from the Swiss School of Journalism MAZ in Lucerne. He also worked as a trainer at Toxic.fm in St. Gallen and is currently a news producer at Radio Energy Zurich.

The majority of Swiss people are still planning private trips for this year: at the time of the survey, just over half (52%) were still planning to travel this summer. A fifth intend to travel later in the year (19%) or postpone trips already planned to a later date (21%). 16% each plan to spend their vacations in Switzerland this year or to book at short notice.

Destinations in Switzerland are likely to grow 

The situation is also having an impact on the choice of destinations: a third of respondents say they want to spend more of their vacations in Switzerland after the coronavirus crisis. 24 % would like to visit more destinations in Europe. On the other hand, the desire for long-haul travel seems to be somewhat gone for many: 35 % state that they want to book fewer long-haul trips or stays in overseas destinations.

27% think that they will generally travel less in the current year and just under a third of respondents say that they intend to book their vacations at short notice in the coming months.

Solidarity with smaller hotels 

The Swiss people surveyed show solidarity with SMEs: around one in two want to try to support smaller hotels and guesthouses in Switzerland and neighboring countries on future trips by taking them into account when making their bookings. 27% are planning intergenerational vacations for the time after the coronavirus crisis. One possible explanation is an increased need for contact with family members and grandparents or grandchildren after the period of isolation.

Many Swiss people will probably be spending their vacations in Switzerland this year. 

Increasing need for security

The crisis also appears to be having an impact on the need for security: 48% of all respondents say they want to take out travel insurance in the future. Greater security also appears to be an issue in financial matters; only 18% - and significantly more men than women - plan to spend more money on their vacations in the coming months. A third are planning longer vacations or more vacation days - possibly to compensate for missed vacations in the first half of the year.

Book trips with appropriate booking flexibility 

"Now that travel restrictions may begin to be eased, seeing family and friends again is key for many people. In the current situation, we strongly advise travelers to choose their travel offer in such a way that they have the greatest possible flexibility and can make use of the option to cancel or change at any time free of charge," recommends Claudia Parker, Head of PR at Ebookers.