As part of the study, business decision-makers from the B2B sector worldwide were asked what is important when launching a product and what difficulties are particularly common. The goal is of course always to increase sales, but the measures required to achieve this are often misjudged.

Efficient product information management has a decisive influence on factors such as sales potential and customer loyalty as well as on the relationship with sales partners. It also helps to stay one step ahead of the competition in terms of speed when it comes to product launches. 

In many cases, respondents underestimate these correlations. Just like the topic of adaptive merchandising. The aim here is to understand how customers arrive at their purchasing decisions and to respond to their requirements accordingly by providing suitable product content at any time and on any sales channel. 

Automation is essential in large companies

A quarter of those surveyed in Germany stated that product launches fail due to inadequate product information or are less successful than hoped. Against this backdrop, 55% of those surveyed also reported an increase in returns, which in turn has a negative impact on customer satisfaction. Almost all global companies are confronted with tough competition, which has increased massively in recent years and will continue to increase in the future.

On average, a company has around five competitors, while in some cases there are more than 15. The construction and industrial manufacturing sectors are particularly affected. Here, it proves to be a particularly great challenge to underpin the countless SKUs and products with convincing content. This is because once a company reaches a certain size and the associated extensive product range, it is no longer feasible to maintain product information manually.

It is therefore important that the companies concerned address the issue of automation in this respect. From the perspective of German corporate decision-makers, one particular difficulty is ensuring that product information meets all formats and compliance standards of a market or channel (55%). This also clearly shows the need for reliable automation measures.

The devil is in the detail

Although companies realize that product launches are a critical process for business success and invest a lot of effort accordingly, they struggle to make the process fast, scalable and smooth. When it comes to an effective and profitable product launch or building a new channel, the devil is often in the detail, as B2B customers today are accustomed to a buying process that is as smooth as the consumer one.

Martin Gnos, Head Digital at Factum: "The connection of the new e-shop to the customer's warehouse management and the elaboration of a dynamic CMS management for the many different table structures were very challenging. Mammut-Lift customers and service partners benefit from efficient order processing for original spare parts, after-sales support, and features such as 3D visualization with 360-degree views for all lifting platforms."

Hydraul Technik's declared goal is to provide customers and service partners with the best possible digital support. The web presence is a first Factum measure in the course of the gradual redesign of Mammut Lift's brand presence: online and offline.

We wish you wonderful holidays, good rest and a happy new year! We look forward to you staying loyal to us in the new year! We have a lot planned for 2020 - it's great if you join us!

Your editorial team

Werbewoche.ch / m&k / Advertising week

Following the rebranding and dissolution of the Advico, Y&R, Exxtra and Futurecom sub-brands in September, Wunderman Thompson Switzerland is about to make another change with the promotion of Vaugne and Schäfer.

"The consolidation of the company's management is another important piece of the puzzle that we were able to successfully complete this year. Changes in today's marketing universe require constant anticipation and we must not get stuck in the obvious methods. We are very happy that Giselle and Peter also embody this credo and will thus successfully not only continue the agency DNA, but also significantly shape and define it," says Yvan Piccinno, Chief Executive Officer. 

With the expansion, the now five-member management team is supplementing its portfolio of competencies in order to better serve the changing needs of the market. The expansion of the management team also takes into account the holistic approach of the communications experts. The new constellation reflects the central service areas of technology, creation, strategy and consulting.

Giselle Vaugne joined Wunderman Thompson as Client Service Director back in March 2019. The 38-year-old was previously responsible for marketing at VW Switzerland. In addition to many years of management experience, she also brings proven practical knowledge in the area of marketing transformation.

Peter Schäfer has been Strategy Director at the Zurich agency since September 2019. The 55-year-old studied communication sciences in Johannesburg and at the London School of Economics and looks back on more than 20 years of experience in leading positions. He was responsible for the strategy, positioning, service offering and image of numerous national giants such as Coop, Credit Suisse and SBB, among others.

The launch of the World Cup 2020 campaign and the new brand presence on large airport surfaces was celebrated in the old flight tower of Zurich Airport. Group Chief Marketing Officer Frédéric Tardy welcomed the guests with an engaging speech. Urs Schwegler, Head Sponsoring & Live-Marketing, then conducted an interview with head coach Patrick Fischer, Gian Gilli and goalie legend Lars Weibel. 

The highlight was the interactive Goalie Game developed by FCB Zurich, which will be on display at the airport from December 23. Passengers will have the opportunity to duel with national team goalkeeper Leonardo Genoni and beat him virtually. 

The entire branding hall of Zurich Airport was redesigned and the waterfall was branded. Swiss arriving back on home soil, business people and tourists streaming to the exit are welcomed with film scenes on the LED wall. The aim is to stage the overarching enthusiasm of the Swiss for ice hockey. 

From November 2019 until the end of the World Cup in May 2020, the LED surface will be used for various ideas and activities, depending on the current situation. Zurich Airport is proving to be an ideal touchpoint for bringing Zurich Insurance's commitment to a broad national and international audience with plenty of action and Swissness.

In this way, Zurich Insurance wants to present itself to the public in a sporting way as a sponsor of the 2020 Ice Hockey World Championship in Switzerland. The sponsorship commitment was developed with the agency FCB Zurich in months of intensive collaboration as a broad-based, integrated campaign. In addition to a TV spot, various print and digital advertising media and interactive poster sujets were created.

At the moment, the tests by specialists on the subject of digital posters and DOOH are piling up. But the first thing to do is to test the process from A to Z in principle. This is the best way to get a handle on the specifics of the programmatic process. Gamned! has now launched the first programmatic campaign for client Visilab on over 100 screens that are part of Neo Advertising's network.

"The process is similar to a display or video campaign: First, the medium or media network must agree with the trading desk on the choice of screens and the price. Then Neo Advertising creates a specific deal in its SSP, in this case BroadSign. Displayce, our DSP, connects to that SSP to set up the campaign: Date, Time, Videos, Budget, Frequency, etc. Once setup is complete, the ad message - a 10-second vertical video - can be reviewed by Neo Advertising. Once the banner is approved, the campaign can start," explains Pierre Berendes, Managing Director of Gamned! Switzerland.

"Programmatic buying of DOOH formats has finally become a reality. Our digital inventory has been available on our SSP Reach platform for a few months, but we needed some time to get the market familiar with it. That's why we are even more pleased to have launched our first major campaign with Visilab, as well as other smaller campaigns. Programmatic is an extraordinary opportunity for DOOH media to attract new digital affine customers and to offer existing customers new tools for their media planning. This will be one of our big challenges in 2020," comments Florian Maas, COO of Neo Advertising.

"We rely heavily on DOOH as a link between supports to enforce our onmichannel strategy. Therefore, when our partner Gamned! offered us the first programmatic campaign on the Neo Advertising network, we immediately jumped at the opportunity. We are very excited because, for Visilab, it is an essential measure to optimize the customer journey and address our customers with integrated, engagement-focused communication concepts," adds Jean-Baptiste Gerberon, Team Leader Marketing Online / Omnichannel at Visilab.

The programmatic offering in the DOOH area is initially limited to niche inventories (gas stations, stores, pharmacies, sports clubs) and on smaller screens. In 2020, however, the three national providers plan to offer all or part of their inventory in programmatic form. As a result, the market will also open up to new customers and offer brands the opportunity to use networks that offer the entirety of the digital screens available. Creative agencies will be particularly excited about this, as Programmatic DOOH offers the opportunity to contextualize messages, personalize them and even offer interaction with the mobile user.

The annual sales premium (JUP) for advertising customers dates back to the 1950s and has been offered to a media company's direct customers since that time. A distinction is made between JUP 1 for newspapers and JUP 2 for magazines.

The new JUP recommendation for VSM members and advertisers replaces the previous regulation and makes many things easier. For example, annual registration with a trust company is no longer necessary, there is no longer a minimum turnover requirement and annual statements are no longer required.

The new JUP will be deducted directly from the orders of direct customers - regardless of quantity or other discounts. However, advertising clients cannot cumulate the JUP and the consultant commission!

The amount of the JUP was also standardized and now corresponds to the same rates as the BK. Advertisers are required to decide whether they want to claim the JUP for direct bookings within a calendar year or the BK in cooperation with an agency. Occasional advertisements such as job and real estate advertisements as well as advertisements at local rates are exempt from the JUP regulation.

The new JUP recommendation can be found on the websites of the VSM and of the SWA can be downloaded.

Under the motto "How do you define joy?", the 90-second video provides insights into the diverse working world of the airport. The employer film is a tribute to the employees of Zurich Airport and has a clear message: working at the airport operator means performing responsible tasks in a unique environment.

Four motifs were developed for the online campaign, which are played out to specific target groups. With their swipe mechanism, they are intended to emphasize the simplicity of the app and demonstrate the user benefits.

Anyone who pays for their Fairtiq ticket with Mastercard during the campaign period will also be entered into a competition.

According to the Press Council, an increasing number of articles appear in Swiss newspapers and online media that are purchased advertising but are not clearly recognizable as such. This would deceive and mislead the audience, and the media would thus damage their own credibility as independent reporters. The Press Council insists that the audience must be able to distinguish advertising from editorial content at first glance.

For example, the Press Council has received several complaints alleging an unclear distinction between editorial content and advertising. The Press Council has already dealt with one complaint. It criticizes the NZZ on Sunday because of a full-page article entitled "Superhero Pork," which was largely identical in type, layout and design to the editorial pages of the NZZ on Sunday had been. Only two differences had been recognizable: The page title said "Sponsored Content by Proviande" and at the end of the article it said "This article was created by NZZ Content Solutions on behalf of Proviande." According to the Press Council, it would take a very close look to recognize that this was paid advertising and not editorial content.

In doing so, the NZZ am Sonntag had violated the Journalists' Code of Conduct. This requires that paid content be clearly distinguished from editorial content. If this is not the case, the advertising must be clearly declared as such. The NZZ on Sunday omitted.

In such forms of advertising, the term "sponsoring" is often used incorrectly, although it is obviously advertising. In sponsoring, editorial contributions are financed without any influence being exerted on their content. Paid content, on the other hand, is advertising. According to the Press Council, this mixing of sponsoring and advertising also damages the credibility of journalism.

Journalists' Association welcomes statement

The journalists' association Imprint writes in a statement that it welcomes the statement of the Press Council. It also calls on the NZZ Group to publish the statement and for all media companies to refrain in future "from the practice of obviously intended confusion between editorial and paid content".

The mobile world has changed a lot in the last ten years. Numerous apps have become established that make life easier and have become an indispensable part of everyday life. For example, it is now possible to rent the house of local hosts on vacation instead of booking a hotel room, order food from any restaurant without being limited to the delivery service offer, and consume the favorite video game on the go at any time.

The smartphone always plays the leading role, giving consumers unlimited access to the Internet. App Annie, a provider of app data and insights, has analyzed this development over the last ten years and summarized app usage by consumers. The study provides an overview of which apps have conquered the mobile market and what the corresponding consumer behavior looks like worldwide and in Germany. 

Facebook at the top

According to the analysis, the company Facebook has dominated the mobile market over the last ten years with its applications Facebook, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram. The aforementioned apps occupy the first four places in the global ranking of the most downloaded apps of the decade. Communication and social media programs are particularly popular with consumers and occupy seven places in the top 10 ranking. 

Facebook has also taken the German market by storm with its apps and is clearly in the lead. Compared to the global ranking, one of the largest online marketplaces, Ebay, is also represented in Germany. Ebay Kleinanzeigen is in seventh place after Amazon, while the Ebay app is in ninth place. DB Navigator brings up the rear in the rankings. The mobility app of Deutsche Bahn is in tenth place.

Top-selling apps: Dating apps are trending

Video streaming and music apps were most prevalent among the top 10 revenue-generating apps worldwide, with streaming services such as Netflix, Pandora Music, and Tencent Video landing in the top 5. Tinder was the most successful dating app of the decade, coming in second behind Netflix.

The German top 10 are very varied. In addition to video streaming and e-learning, the fitness app Freeletics has won one of the top ranks. Two dating apps are at the top of the German rankings. Lovoo takes first place, closely followed by Tinder. Netflix is in third place, while the Bild app follows next. 

Subway Surfers most loaded game of the decade 

It may surprise some, but Subway Surfers was the most downloaded game of the decade worldwide. The reason for the first place is the great success in India, where 15 percent of the total downloads (iOS & Google Play combined) took place. In general, the top 10 list is very diverse, as the games included come from different companies.

The famous game Candy Crush Saga takes second place here, while Temple Run 2 is in third place. In addition, Clash of Clans and Candy Crush Saga stand out as the only games to feature in both the top 10 most downloaded and highest revenue generating apps. Monster Strike, Puzzle & Dragons, and Fate/Grand Order round out the top 5 apps with the highest consumer spending for the decade. 

Best of 2019: Demand for mobile services breaks new records 

Consumers worldwide are on track to reach a record 120 billion app downloads across iOS and Google Play in 2019, a five percent increase over the previous year (excluding third-party Android). This is particularly impressive as these are new first-time downloads, not including new installs or app updates.

Consumer spending is expected to grow even faster at 15 percent year over year, approaching $90 billion globally by the end of 2019 (Android excluded as a third party). This increase will be driven mainly by the photo, video and entertainment categories, excluding games. It can be predicted that the trend of growth will be supported with the launch of new video streaming services such as Disney+, as well as the increased use of subscription services. This will create new revenue streams for publishers.

So 2019 was a significant year for the smartphone. With the rising popularity of short video apps like TikTok and the success of games like Fun Race 3D and Call of Duty: Mobile, new formats have been added. In another report from App Annie, "The State of Mobile 2019" report, Likee - a short video and sharing app - was the only newcomer to the most downloaded apps, while there was more variety in the games category. There, seven of the top 10 apps were new to the list of most downloaded games in 2019.

Outlook 2020: The mobile market continues to grow

The past decade has completely transformed the mobile economy. With a five percent increase in downloads, and 15 percent year-over-year revenue growth (excluding third-party Android), this trend is expected to continue in 2020.

According to the forecast, the coming year will be even more successful with consumer spending of over $30 billion on apps and nearly $80 billion on games.

With the CEO poster, Baloise had published the phone number of CEO Michael Müller twice in 2019 and encouraged potential employees to call - countless applicants called.

The action as part of the employer branding campaign "Worklifebaloise" received a great deal of media coverage. Now, at the request of the Museum of Communication in Bern, the poster has been added to the permanent collection.