The independent jury of experts, consisting of 20 personalities from advertising, culture and design, evaluated around 150 competition entries under the leadership of jury president Christian Brändle, director of the Museum of Design Zurich. 34 nominated campaigns made it onto the shortlist for the Swiss Poster Award 2020, impressing with their originality, implementation of the advertising message and design execution.

What stood out in the 2020 posting year was the expressiveness and linguistic power of the campaigns, which made people look and think, writes the organizer APG|SGA in a statement. In addition, campaigns were increasingly implemented digitally and ensured dynamism. In addition, the Out of Home Innovations category once again proved that there are hardly any limits to outdoor advertising.

The shortlist shows very different clients and areas of application for Out of Home Media. They range from the bank UBS to the Solothurn Film Festival and the electrical wholesaler Otto Fischer.

Announcement of the winners 

The winners of the Swiss Poster Awards 2020 selected from the shortlist will be communicated on March 11, 2021. Who, among others, will win the "Poster of the Year 2020" award will be announced in an alternative way, as due to the Covid 19 situation the traditional "APG|SGA Poster Night" cannot take place again this year.

For film production company Mygosh, the year begins with a toast to Carlsberg 0.0. The new commercial features Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen as a bicycling philosopher who rides through Copenhagen in the traditional way, celebrating the taste and versatility of Carlsberg's non-alcoholic beer.

Mikkelsen demonstrates how good moments are made even better with non-alcoholic beer by enjoying a Carlsberg 0.0 in a variety of situations. For example, while finishing a tennis match with a one-handed backhand, while ducking a modern art exhibition, and even while skipping his own commercial.

The new Carlsberg spot will initially launch in Ireland and Denmark - with other markets to follow as soon as possible. The spot was developed by Grey Europe and produced by Mygosh together with Partners Canada.

"It was a great experience to be able to realize this project with a world-class actor like Mads Mikkelsen and the director Miguel Campaña - and this in times of pandemic," says Natali Sussman of Mygosh happily.

For years, Davos Klosters has been an insider tip for a day trip during the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum WEF. Although there is no accommodation, there is plenty of space on the trails and in the ski areas, including powder snow. This year everything is different: the physical WEF in Davos has been canceled. "The coronavirus-related cancellation of the WEF hurts us a lot. Nevertheless, we are looking ahead and have come up with some ideas," said Reto Branschi, CEO/Director of Destination Davos Klosters, in a press release. New special offers should now attract last-minute travelers to the Grisons mountains.

Introductory pass and hotels during the week

This includes the new "Sports Unlimited Pass". This allows overnight guests to experience winter sports at a flat rate of 79 francs. In addition, those who prefer to enjoy the slopes, cross-country ski trails or winter paths when there are fewer people out and about can benefit from a new special hotel deal during the week - with or without a ski pass.

Moving your home office to the mountains

Around two million Swiss people are working from home again during the second lockdown. The temporary office can just as easily be relocated to the mountains, and winter sports above the sea of fog can be combined with an efficient home office. In this way, work breaks can be used sensibly with exercise in the fresh air. Guests who book a vacation apartment in Davos Klosters receive a 20 percent voucher on ski and snowboard rental from Bardill Sport and Angerer Sport.

"We want to launch a new free newspaper for the capital from fall 2021," Norbert Bernhard explains to the Handelszeitung. The Schaffhausen-based publisher with Bernese roots has been publishing the free money magazine Private which also awards a "Prize for Quality Journalism".

Bernhard is currently in the process of obtaining offers for the new newspaper project, as the Handelszeitung writes. Printers, distribution organizations and news agencies are being contacted. As soon as the offers are on the table, Bernhard wants to start looking for investors. "The daily newspaper will be financed by advertising revenue and patronage," says Bernhard. Donors could be wealthy private individuals as well as interested banks and companies. In addition to a daily print publication in newspaper format, the free alternative to Confederation and Bernese Newspaper will also have its own online presence. The "Neue Berner Zeitung" will cover all the sections of a normal daily newspaper, he says.

Industry experts expect start-up costs over several years, which could run into the mid double-digit millions, according to the Handelszeitung. Bernhard's newspaper plans are a reaction to the changes in the Bernese press landscape: from April, the two Bernese daily newspapers The Covenant and Bernese Newspaper cooperate more closely in terms of content. The owner of the two newspaper titles, the Zurich media group TX Group, announced the cost-cutting measure in the fall (Werbewoche.ch reported).

In her new position, Kathrin Jesse will further expand the agency group's planning expertise and put together a dedicated strategic consulting offering. The need for consulting and the demands on the customer side are growing. Reinforced by the events of the past year, clients want to understand people's rapidly changing behavior in order to quickly develop strong insights, relevant services and effective communications for brands. To this end, a specialized unit will be created under Jesse's leadership.

The political science graduate comes from DDB Berlin. Here she headed the strategy department for more than five years, rose to agency management and looked after clients such as Volksbanken Raiffeisenbanken, Handwerk, Nürnberger Versicherung, Ebay, Deutsche Telekom, Sony, Vattenfall and Volkswagen. Previously, she worked at Saatchi&Saatchi and before that at DDB in leading strategy functions.

Today, the news portal Bzbasel.ch and the portals in the Mittelland region - Aaargauerzeitung.ch, Badenertagblatt.ch, Solothurnerzeitung.ch, Oltnertagblatt.ch, Grenchnertagblatt.ch and Llimmatttalerzeitung.ch - have a paywall. Luzernerzeitung.ch and Tagblatt.ch have been subject to payment since May 2018. CH Media is thus relying on the freemium payment model for all news portals of its newspaper titles.

Visually and technically more appealing

The newspaper portals have been completely redesigned to offer a modern, uncluttered look and intuitive reader guidance, writes CH Media in a press release. This will enable readers to easily access the content that is relevant to them, opinion pieces and the latest news from their region.

Also new: 750 community pages

In addition to the news on the websites, readers in Eastern and Central Switzerland can access special community pages, which have been an important part of the offering on the previous portals in Northwestern Switzerland for some time. In addition to journalistic texts from the editorial team, these pages also contain reports from municipalities and associations. These can be entered by them and are clearly marked.

Discount stores are more in demand than ever. How do you get the Swiss population to think more strongly of Migros when it comes to low prices? By giving the M-Budget own brand a direct and unconventional appearance - as is already familiar from the brand.

No guarantee in everyday life

With Wirz's message "Low price guaranteed. Everything else not.", everyday life is staged with all its pitfalls. From pants that fit too low to uncontrollable washing machines and ill-bred dogs, it's all there. The only sure thing in the whole scene are the M-Budget products and their low prices.

Honest and straight from life - with these values plus a dash of originality from M-Budget, the communication follows Migros' new direction. Once again, a wider target group of young families and singles will benefit from M-Budget advertising. The range is also being expanded to include many everyday items, which are now available in the unmistakable M-Budget packaging - with a refreshed design. The green and white look will be retained. The campaign can be seen on TV, OOH, in print media, online and on social media since Monday.

In the previous year, operating profit had been 1.16 billion euros and sales 6.65 billion euros. However, the fourth quarter had been unexpectedly good thanks to the recovery of the TV advertising markets. The Bertelsmann subsidiary had originally announced revenue growth of two to three percent for this year and, despite investments in the streaming business, had only targeted a slight decline in profits of seven percent.

But RTL withdrew this forecast shortly after the start of the Corona crisis. It wasn't until November that the Group ventured a new outlook, holding out the prospect of around EUR 720 million in profits and about EUR 5.8 billion in revenues. German rival and station chain ProSiebenSat.1 also recently presented preliminary figures and also managed a positive year-end spurt thanks to the recovery of the advertising markets. (SDA)

There are currently around 4.2 billion social media users worldwide, which represents growth of more than 13 percent compared to the previous year (490 million new users). The number of social media users now represents more than 53 percent of the world's population.

However, at an average of two hours and 25 minutes a day, people still spend just as much time on social networks as in the previous year. Facebook remains the most-used platform, closely followed by YouTube and WhatsApp. Facebook's own apps account for four of the top five most frequently used platforms worldwide.

"Consumers are increasingly interacting with brands in the same way they interact with their friends and family - via social and messaging apps," said Tom Keiser, CEO of Hootsuite. "The pandemic has only accelerated this shift, as corporate laggards are now moving to online interaction with their customers."

Messaging platforms gain popularity

The annual report also outlines the expanded use of social media, with 45 percent of users aged 16 to 64 looking to social networks for brand information, while 40 percent use social media for professional purposes. An important consideration for marketers here is the growing popularity of messaging platforms, with 91 percent of Internet users aged 16 to 64 now using chat apps every month. Messaging has thus overtaken the use of social media platforms and is now in second place with 88 percent.

Online two days a week

Meanwhile, the total amount of time spent on the Internet worldwide has increased significantly. The average Internet user now spends almost seven hours a day online across all devices. This means that they spend more than two full days of a seven-day week online - an increase of 16 minutes or four percent compared to the previous year. The Digital 2021 report shows that there were 4.66 billion Internet users worldwide in January 2021 - an increase of 316 million (7.3 percent) compared to January 2020.

"It's no surprise that within a year - when so many people around the world were on lockdown - we saw massive growth in social media and Internet usage," said Nathan McDonald, co-founder and global chief executive of We Are Social. "Much of our lives now take place through digital channels, whether we're networking on social media, shopping via smartphone, using voice assistants or playing online games. The pandemic has helped this shift that has already begun, and in 2021 it will continue even further. So it's more important than ever for marketers to understand how to connect with their online audiences in a culturally relevant way."

More trends

• The smartphone is becoming the number one screen and thus takes up more time than classic television for a larger proportion of people.
• 77 percent of Internet users ages 16 to 64 said they shop online every month, with groceries and personal care products among the fastest-growing e-commerce group.
• The "Silver Surfer" age group is one of the fastest growing target group segments of the most important social networks. The user group over 50 is thus growing faster than any other age group on Facebook and Snapchat.
• Gaming is growing in popularity across all generations, with more than 90 percent of Generation Z Internet users saying they play games online - compared to 67 percent of 55- to 64-year-olds.

Every year, BMW invites a select clientele to a luxury event. Last year's highlight, in addition to test drives and presentations of luxury BMW models, was a private dinner with star chef Heiko Nieder. The dinner was complemented by a course in which participants were introduced to the art of plate serving.

This is precisely where Serviceplan Suisse came in for the invitation card, which was sent to selected customers in the luxury sedan sector. Instead of artfully arranging plates as usual, Serviceplan commissioned the celebrity chef to leave his culinary signature on paper for the first time. And he did so with colors produced in a special process from foods such as cherries, onions, avocado and safflower.

The result is a colorful and expressive one-off - individually designed for each recipient. Via QR code, they could also follow the creation of the artwork in a making-of video.

The campaign was continued on social media and interacted with extended target groups. Users were asked to post their own culinary art pictures - matching the competition with a Christmas menu decoration. Heiko Nieder judged the works himself, and invites the five winners to a private preparation course in an exclusive ambience as soon as this is possible again without any worries.

As the first company in Switzerland in the areas of professional reorientation, newplacement and outplacement Shaperion Shaperion is committed to the concept of "agile leadership". Shaperion's experts advise and support companies and managers at senior or C-level in separation management and in the development of a new leadership culture. Clients benefit from broad leadership experience in the areas of marketing, HR and banking.

The company communicates the complex topic of "agile leadership" with a pleasant simplicity and gets to the heart of the matter quickly and easily. The target groups of managers and companies are addressed on various channels. The campaign can be seen in selected print titles and on social networks.

Due to these uncertainties and also to protect exhibitors, speakers and visitors, this year's trade fair will not be held, writes the organizer. The focus is now on the organization of Finanz'22, which is scheduled to take place on January 19 and 20, 2022, in Hall 550 in Zurich Oerlikon.

What makes trade fairs like Finanz'21 so special is the personal conversation between exhibitors and visitors and the exchange between speakers and their audience on site. "As difficult as the decision was for us, the health of all involved has absolute priority for us," Bernhard Zosso, Managing Director of Finanz'21, was quoted as saying in the statement. "A trade fair with more than 1,000 participants every day needs planning security, which unfortunately is not available until further notice," Zosso continued.

However, the organizers are confident that the Covid 19 situation will calm down in the coming months to such an extent that nothing should stand in the way of holding the 23rd edition of Switzerland's largest financial fair in early 2022.