VR enables new ways in the learning process of abstract and elusive topics. Realistic virtual representations provide the necessary visual explanations and thus support learning success. Whether this also applies in school lessons for learning foreign languages was examined by student Rachel Koller as part of her master's thesis. "Virtual reality enables almost authentic interactions with the environment. I investigated whether this type of learning, as well as the handling of the glasses, can be integrated into traditional school lessons," says Koller.

Interpunkt supported the student with eight Oculus Go VR goggles. The interest in the test results is not unfounded, as the agency has already programmed VR applications for training purposes for learners and fire departments. "Following this project provides us with exciting insights that we will incorporate into the development and programming of future VR applications," says Managing Director Fabian Koch.

Pupils of the mixed secondary class in the 7th and 8th school year from Unterseen participated in the experiment. By interacting with the voice application on the VR glasses, the class trained their pronunciation and expanded their vocabulary. Koller's conclusion after 6 lessons is clear: "The Oculus Go glasses have a pleasant size and can be optimally integrated into the lessons for concrete sequences. The students had fun." In addition to the fun factor, the tests also show learning progress among the young people. Koller attributes these successes to the combination of visual and verbal interactions in authentic situations. The student is convinced that virtual reality provides convincing arguments for its targeted integration into school lessons.

Just over 100 days ago, WEMF launched MedienDB, a comprehensive database solution that enables end-to-end ad planning from analysis and costing to booking. An initial assessment shows that 100 percent of LSA media agencies and some major advertising clients regularly use MedienDB to research press titles and perform cost calculations. Each participating title is accessed several times a day on average.

Already mapped a considerable part

With over 850 booking units, the database already represents a considerable part of the advertising-relevant Swiss press market. Andreas Häuptli, Managing Director of the Swiss Media Association, is pleased with this development. He advises all publishers to participate: "Press titles that participate in MedienDB and are consequently listed in the Swiss press media directory significantly increase your chances of being found, planned, priced and booked by media agencies." Particularly in the area of trade and specialized press, not all publications seem to have recognized the potential of MedienDB for themselves yet. Here, the database still has gaps.

More features planned for 2020

The MediaDB is linked to the WEMF readership and consumption studies MACH Basic and MACH Consumer. This offering is new to the Swiss market and further simplifies the planning process in media agencies. Media plans created with KPIs on a gross basis can be calculated and commissioned directly with original conditions or special conditions down to net level.

In consultation with representatives from the media and advertising market, the WEMF has developed expanding functionalities for the MedienDB. These are to be implemented step by step by the end of 2020. Among the planned features are the possibility for publishers to store even more title information, a module for creating production schedules, an expanded booking receipt control, the creation of additional reports, and various interfaces to third-party tools.

The WEMF media database (MedienDB)

With MedienDB, WEMF provides the media and advertising market with a comprehensive database solution that enables end-to-end ad planning from analysis and costing to booking. The MedienDB contains booking units of advertising-relevant press titles. It includes all important title and price information as well as booking and production data of the listed newspapers and magazines. The media companies enter their data themselves.

The small white nicotine pouches are strongly reminiscent of the Scandinavian tobacco product snus, which has been approved in Switzerland since the summer of 2019, in terms of appearance and method of use. However, Nordic Spirit is produced entirely without tobacco, which makes it a new product category.

To introduce this way of enjoying nicotine to adult Swiss consumers as an alternative to classic tobacco products, Wunderman Thompson developed a key brand design that links Nordic Spirit's Nordic DNA with Switzerland. Icy freshness thus runs through the entire 360-degree communication.

The new claim "Anytime. Anywhere." to succinctly point out the advantage that the pouches can be consumed anytime and anywhere.

The subjects will soon be used throughout Switzerland in print ads and online banners, as well as at the point of sale. Wunderman Thompson is also responsible for the new brand website including e-shop, which is intended to ensure a positive shopping experience and long-term customer loyalty.

The large Ikea stores tend to be located outside major cities, as is the case in New York, Dubai, Madrid, Tokyo and Sydney, among others. In Switzerland, there are currently nine locations and two pickup points, some of which are rather close to each other. This means that various customers in this country, as elsewhere, sometimes have to travel long distances to reach the nearest store.

As part of the opening of a second location in Dubai last December, Ikea and Ogilvy Dubai wanted to give customers something back for their time spent, as well as offer a stronger incentive to make the trip in the first place. Customers were asked at check-out whether they wanted to pay for their products in money or time. Google Maps Timeline was then used to determine how much credit they had. A billy shelf was available for the equivalent of just under two hours of travel time; five minutes could buy a hot dog. Those who wanted a blue tote bag paid with two minutes of their time. The conversion of time into money was based on the average family income in the respective country.

If you are over 25 years old and have been dreaming of a big motorcycle for a long time but do not yet have the appropriate license, you need to hurry. Because 2020 is the last year in which it is possible to order a learner's license for the very large, unlimited class A without first holding another motorcycle license.

Big riders on small motorcycles  

In order to make it clear to all interested parties in the country before the start of the motorcycle season that direct entry is only possible this year, Voima has developed a creative campaign for the Association of Swiss Motorcycle and Scooter Importers in addition to an informative landing page. It dramatizes the current situation by showing "big" riders on small motorcycles and advises them to step on the gas - there are still a few months left to learn how to ride a big bike.

The Gamned agency ensures that the digital media campaign reaches the right target group. Several strategies on different channels - social networks as well as open and private market places - with video and display versions of the advertising media are implemented with precise targeting.

The popularity of WhatsApp among users shows that encrypted communication must be defended, says Whatsapp CEO Will Cathcart in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.

Most recently, the U.S. government made a new attempt to demand backdoors for investigators in encryption systems from Silicon Valley. The authorities criticize the fact that they cannot access messages from criminals even with a court order - unlike classic SMS or telephone calls, where there are legally mandated monitoring interfaces. The tech companies counter that a backdoor for authorities could potentially also be abused by online criminals and would therefore jeopardize the security of user data. (SDA)

As recently as last year, rumors were circulating in the media industry that Ringier might turn its back on Admeira (Werbewoche.ch reported). The expansion of the booming content marketing sector was interpreted to mean that advertising marketing could soon be taken into its own hands again at Dufourstrasse. This is what Ringier is now doing - not by leaving Admeira, however, but by taking over the joint venture. The print media will once again be marketed by Ringier itself, while Admeira will concentrate on the TV inventory.

Walder, CEO of Ringier and Chairman of the Board of Admeira, explains the new starting position in a statement on Thursday: "We now own Admeira one hundred percent. We are using this to realign Admeira: In the new constellation, Admeira will concentrate entirely on the marketing of TV inventory. The marketing of print media and all digital, journalistic platforms will go back to Ringier."

Swisscom's expectations were not met

Swisscom was since the foundation of the advertising joint venture on board primarily as a technology partner. "Since its launch in April 2016, Admeira has established itself in an extremely challenging market. However, cross-media offerings and the general conditions for target-oriented advertising have not developed as might have been assumed four years ago. Swisscom's role as a technology partner is thus limited, and Ringier, as the sole owner, can implement the necessary realignment of Admeira more quickly and effectively," says Swisscom CEO Urs Schaeppi.

Would Ringier have liked to keep Swisscom on board as a partner? "It was good cooperation. But we agree that as things stand today, Admeira can respond faster and more successfully to new market needs with a single strong owner," says Johanna Walser, Chief Communications Officer a.I., when asked by Werbewoche.ch.

SRG inventory remains with Admeira

In the future, Admeira will focus entirely on marketing TV offerings and will thus continue to be responsible for marketing SRG SSR's advertising inventory as well as TF1 Group, Tele Regio Combi TRC, MySports and WetterTV. "We consider Admeira's focus on the TV market as an opportunity for SRG. With Admeira, we have a strong partner in an advertising market that is challenging for all of us," says Gilles Marchand, Director General of SRG SSR.

Since Ringier is aggressively pushing into the moving image market with Blick TV, the question arises as to whether it might not become a problem to market one's own competition with the SRG stations in the future. Ringier waves it off: "We don't see any problem here," says Johanna Walser. "The linear TV offer of the SRG and Blick TV follow completely different moving image logics. Blick TV will first and foremost correspond to user habits on the smartphone."

While Admeira will continue to sell advertising for SRG stations, sponsorship will now be organized internally within SRG. As a result, the relevant sponsorship staff will move from Admeira to SRG.

Print and digital advertising moves to Ringier

During the year, there will also be changes in the area of print and digital inventory: Ringier will now market its own print and digital offerings itself. The teams concerned will accordingly move to Ringier, where Thomas Spiegel, Head of Global Media, will be responsible for these marketing activities.

In addition, Swisscom's digital inventory will now also be marketed by Ringier. Admeira employees who were responsible for print and digital advertising will be taken over by Ringier.

Realignment and personnel changes

Admeira's focus on TV marketing will result in an adjustment of internal corporate structures. A total of 25 of the current 278 jobs will be cut in 2020. Bertrand Jungo, CEO of Admeira for the past three years, is moving to the Board of Directors. Marc Walder will continue to chair the board. Beat Grossenbacher, CFO of SRG SSR, is a new member of the Admeira Board of Directors.

As of March 1, 2020, Frank Zelger, previously Chief Commercial Officer, will take over the operational management of the marketing company. Zelger has many years of experience in the areas of marketing and digitization, according to the statement. Before joining Admeira, he held management positions at UPC and Sunrise, among others.

The Competition Commission (WEKO) has meanwhile given the green light for the takeover by Ringier. The two partners have agreed not to disclose the financial details. (hae)

According to the announcement, this should enable more targeted and effective ad placement. At the same time, agencies and advertisers will be able to incorporate IAS metrics on invalid traffic, viewability and brand safety into all campaigns realized by Goldbach and TXMA in order to support their efforts to achieve the best possible ad placement.

Alexander Horrolt, Managing Director of Goldbach subsidiary Digital Ad Services, said in a press release that the collaboration with Integral Ad Science makes it possible to meet the quality requirements in terms of brand safety, viewability and invalid traffic. "As a first mover in the Swiss market, we are also able not only to measure these quality features, but also to actively target and filter them. This enables us to achieve an enormous increase in efficiency in our daily business processes, which results in long-term, high-quality traffic for our customers and agencies."

Oliver Hülse, Managing Director CEE at IAS, adds: "As part of this partnership, we will not only act as a measurement service provider in future, but also as a communicative intermediary between the individual players in order to ensure more effective deliveries and optimized results for all players."

"The Climate Policy Exchange CPX" is a platform that brings together local climate initiatives and global companies to contribute to climate protection.

Wirz Brand Relations designed the brand presence including website and presentation for CPX and implemented it together with Namics. The appearance is intended to appeal to both globally active companies and local initiatives. The simple design puts nature in the center and thematizes the interaction between the two players.

In a collaborative process, Namics developed a prototype that describes the functionality of the platform in detail. In addition to the newly developed brand elements and the specification of the application, the next step will be to implement the platform.

"The brand identity sums up CPX's core service," says Nick Beglinger, initiator and project manager of CPX. "Thanks to the iterative process in creating the prototype, we were ready to start implementation within a few weeks." Beglinger launched the platform at the Climate Conference in Madrid on December 11, 2019, and presented it to interested companies at the WEF in Davos.

Everyone lives for their passion. For Bio-familia, it is müesli, which the company has been producing for over 60 years. The campaign uses image advertisements and a film to show how this passion meets the hearts and minds of consumers.

The campaign focuses on the power of personal action, which is intended to emotionally highlight the product benefit - the sustainable and gentle processing of the grain into muesli.

The campaign has been running since Monday and can be seen throughout Switzerland on various online and offline channels.

A new study of card transactions from more than 53 countries around the world has found that the "love economy" is growing five times faster than the global economy, but in Switzerland it is bucking the trend by falling slightly. Valentine's Day spending has increased by 17 percent globally since 2017, but in Switzerland it fell by three percent over the period. Still, total spending around Valentine's Day in Switzerland remains at just over CHF 142 million in 2019. The figures come from the Mastercard Love Index, which analyzes spending behavior and trends around Valentine's Day by taking into account credit, debit and prepaid card transactions around the world.

The trend in Switzerland is also toward giving "experiences" as gifts: Hotel bookings increased by 30 percent over the past three years and account for 32 percent of total Valentine's Day sales. The data also show that, by contrast, the traditional Valentine's Day card has lost its appeal, with spending down 20 percent on the previous year.

Love goes through the (hungry) stomach 

The way to a man's heart is through his stomach, and this is also true in Switzerland. Last year alone, the Swiss spent around 42 million francs on restaurant visits on Valentine's Day, although this is eleven percent less than three years ago. Globally, spending has increased by 32 percent since 2017.

Just as experiences in Switzerland have seen fluctuating sales, so too have traditional Valentine's Day gifts: while spending on flowers fell 19 percent last year, it rose 16 percent for jewelry from 2017 to 2019 (up six percent globally).

Experiences - booked last minute

"The global trend of giving experiences as gifts continues to grow. The Love Index shows that today's generation places great value on using Valentine's Day for a shared experience," says Juliane Schmitz-Engels, Head of Communications Germany and Switzerland at Mastercard. "It is now easier than ever to book travel, as reflected in the huge increase in flights and hotels booked online in the run-up to Valentine's Day over the last three years. The Mastercard Love Index is a unique look at how buying behavior is evolving, and for the new decade we expect the trend of investing together in time and memories to continue to grow."

The data also show that, contrary to the global trend, the Swiss continue to be last-minute shoppers. As in previous years, most transactions here are made on February 13, the day before Valentine's Day. Globally, most transactions are taking place earlier than ever before, and the number of last-minute shoppers is declining. In 2019, the majority of global Valentine's Day transactions took place on February 11, compared to 2018, where they took place on February 12, and in 2017, on February 13.

In the first round of judging, each of the 42 jury members judged their assigned cases in a live session, sending 29 campaigns to the second round of judging and into the running for an Effie Award 2020. The judging was based on Effie International's internationally recognized scoring system.

The winners will be announced on May 5 at Samsung Hall. Gold, silver and bronze will be awarded in a possible 18 categories. A Grand Effie will be awarded for the first time in 2020. The Effie Congress will also be held for the first time in the run-up to the awards ceremony: A half-day dedicated to effective brand communication. At the Effie Congress, decision-makers from companies, agencies and the media will see which campaigns best achieved their goals last year.

The points from the Effie Award Switzerland can be credited to the creative ranking of Werbewoche.