"We have not found a way to reduce costs to the point where a long-term sustainable business is possible," Loon chief executive Alastair Westgarth wrote in a blog post Friday. Google had unveiled the large balloons, which can stay aloft for months, back in 2013. The idea was that remote and sparsely populated areas could be supplied with Internet more cheaply in this way than with conventional telecommunications infrastructure.

In the meantime, Google and Facebook also tried out drones for this purpose, but abandoned these plans relatively quickly. Google, on the other hand, did see business potential in balloons. Under the umbrella of the later created parent company Alphabet, the project was brought into the independent company Loon in 2018.

Just last year, Loon launched coverage for a region in Kenya in cooperation with a local network operator. Alphabet makes future bets like Loon cost billions year after year, while Google's core business with online advertising continues to provide the money. The group's best-known innovation project to date is the robot car company Waymo, which is considered a leading player in autonomous driving. (SDA)

Under these plans, IT giants such as Alphabet or Facebook will have to pay local media companies money if they distribute their content. Under the bill, the Internet giants would negotiate a user fee with publishers and broadcasters. If the negotiations fail, a state-appointed arbitrator would set the fees.

"If this version of the media guidelines becomes law, then we will have no realistic option other than to make Google search inaccessible in Australia," Alphabet executive Mel Silva, who is responsible for Australia and New Zealand, told a Senate committee hearing Friday. (SDA)

In her new role, Janique Weder heads the News department and thus a central interface in the newsroom of the New Zurich Newspaper. In addition to her work in the daily news business, she and her team will work in conjunction with the other departments of the NZZ be responsible for the management of Nzz.ch. "Janique is highly valued both in the newsroom and throughout the editorial team. She has the leadership qualities and journalistic stature to lead the important news department," lets Eric Gujer, editor-in-chief of the NZZ, quote in a news release.

Since January 2018, Janique Weder has been chief of staff in the newsroom of the NZZ. In January 2020, she was appointed deputy head of the news department. Prior to that, she worked as an online editor at the St. Galler Tagblatt, where she initially completed a two-year traineeship. Janique Weder studied media and communication sciences at the University of Fribourg and business history and economics at the University of Zurich. Her education also included a semester of study at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

The previous head of the news department, Tobias Ochsenbein, has decided to NZZ to leave the company. He will continue to head the department until the end of February and will then devote himself to new professional challenges, which is NZZEric Gujer, Editor-in-Chief, regrets this: "Tobias has been instrumental in establishing the news team in the company and has become an important driver in the implementation of the digital strategy and in the ongoing transformation process.

Ochsenbein joined the news editorial team of the NZZ in. In 2019, he took over as head of the then newly created news department.

Reinhart has been working at SRF since 2004. First as an editor for the health magazine "Puls" for a year, then as a reporter and co-producer for the "Tagesschau", until the switch to the TV correspondent position in Berlin in the summer of 2009.

In the summer of 2014, Stefan Reinhart returned to Zurich as producer of the main edition of "Tagesschau"; in addition, he also had assignments as producer of "Arena" from mid-2017. Since August 2018, Stefan Reinhart has been deputy head of the video editorial department of SRF News in the Zurich Leutschenbach newsroom.

In April 2021, Stefan Reinhart will now take over the position of TV correspondent in Ticino. There he will replace Reto Kohler, who has been reporting from the region since 2018 and will now return to the domestic editorial team in Zurich.

According to the study, more than half (54 percent) of professionals are basically willing to change jobs in 2021. This means that the willingness to change jobs is practically the same as a year ago (56 percent) and is largely unaffected by the Corona pandemic. 16 percent of respondents even have concrete plans to change jobs this year.

Another 38 percent are open to a change, but have not yet taken any concrete steps. Contrary to what the high willingness to change might suggest, the majority of respondents (87 percent) say they are very or somewhat satisfied with their current job. This figure is also on a par with the previous year.

Younger employees increasingly have concrete plans to switch

A look at the age groups shows a significant increase in the number of people aged 18 to 29 who already have concrete plans to switch in the coming year (29 percent vs. 20 percent at the beginning of 2020). Overall, the willingness to switch has decreased among the over-50s. At 37 percent, this is nine percent below the previous year's figure of 46 percent.

Pandemic inhibits active job search

Although the general willingness to change jobs has remained virtually constant, the Corona pandemic sometimes discourages employees who are willing to change jobs from actively looking for one. Forty-nine percent of those latently willing to change jobs say that Corona is one reason why they have not yet actively looked for a new job. This figure is even significantly higher in the youngest age group, 18 to 29. Here, 68 percent of those latently willing to change jobs feel held back in their active planning by the Corona pandemic. In addition, Corona puts a much stronger brake on employees' concrete plans to change jobs in the retail sector than in other industries.

"A high latent willingness to switch makes actively approaching candidates even more important for companies," explains Robert Bertschinger, Managing Director of Xing Switzerland. "There are many people who are open to a change. But in the current environment, they are more hesitant to become active themselves. Hoping that the right candidate will come forward on their own is therefore not a promising strategy."

Middle management slightly less satisfied

While satisfaction with the current job is at least as high as in the previous year among professionals without management responsibility and among members of senior management, the proportion of rather or very satisfied employees in middle management, for example people with team management functions, decreased slightly from 90 to 85 percent. "Middle management members were often particularly challenged in 2020 by working in a home office, as they had to assume their direct management responsibilities under completely new conditions. This pressure could have influenced satisfaction," concludes Bertschinger.

Younger people in particular are worried about their jobs

Overall, 39 percent of respondents are concerned about job security. Younger people in particular are concerned about the current situation. In the 18 to 29 age group, almost half (46 percent) are worried about job security. In a sector comparison, it is primarily professionals in the retail sector, at 56 percent, who are worried about their own job security. The figures are lower in the industry and manufacturing sectors (39 percent) and services (36 percent).

Dealing with Corona: Good marks for Swiss employers

Just under two-thirds (61 percent) of professionals rate their employer's handling of the Corona crisis to date as good or even very good. Only 8 percent rated their behavior as poor or insufficient. The best marks are awarded by employees in the industry and manufacturing sector, while employees in the retail sector are the most critical.

Although the pitch, in which TBWA\ prevailed over two competitors, took place in the fall of 2020, the launch of the winter campaign was initially postponed due to Covid-19.

"Davos Klosters is a special destination and by no means just because of the World Economic Forum. The unique quality and breadth of the sports on offer, the size of the region and the mix of Swiss and international guests make it one of Switzerland's top destinations. We are very pleased about this mandate and want to help anchor it with vacation guests as a "place to be", as it has been for years with economically interested parties," Matthias Kiess, CEO of TBWA\Zurich, is quoted as saying in a press release.

In order to communicate the broad range of products and services in a targeted manner, the campaign is already relying on a large proportion of data-driven, digital communication this season, but a positioning image film as well as PR and social media measures will also be part of the communication in the future.

This was announced by the German TV group on Thursday evening on preliminary business figures for 2020. Due to the current coronavirus lockdown, it still expects a damper in the advertising business for the current first quarter of 2021. "However, we expect a significant year-on-year improvement in the entertainment segment, particularly in the second quarter," the group added.

At the beginning of November, the Bavarians had only forecast a profit of between 600 and 650 million euros and sales of 3.85 to 3.95 billion euros for 2020. During the first coronavirus lockdown due to the pandemic, advertising revenues had still slumped massively in the spring. According to the Group, things then improved noticeably from the summer onwards, as customers booked more advertising again in the wake of the economic recovery.

Meanwhile, the Italian media group Mediaset increased its direct stake in the German TV company to 12.38 percent. According to a voting rights announcement, the company controlled by the family of former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi now has access to a total of 23.53 percent of ProSiebenSat.1 through shares and derivatives. A person familiar with the matter had told Reuters that Mediaset would gradually increase its shareholding in the station chain, and thus also its voting rights. (SDA)

"Users can add a Q&A button to their profile that allows followers to ask questions," explains social media consultant Matt Navarre on Twitter. Until now, it was only possible for producers to take fan questions in comments on their individual videos. The Q&A feature is intended to make it easier to address a variety of questions and communicate more directly with followers.

As TechCrunch reports, only users with more than 10,000 followers can participate in the test at the moment. There is no limit to the number of questions fans can ask. However, the content producers do not have to respond to every request. In the coming weeks, the feature will be available to more users.

Competition had feature already

TikTok's overwhelming popularity continues unabated. In 2020, the app for short video clips was at the top of the download charts (Werbewoche.ch reported). But the Q&A function is a feature that competitors have been doing for a while, including Snapchat and Instagram. (pte)

"The fact that Switzerland is now "celebrating" the 50th anniversary of women's suffrage is actually a scandal. Probably the most dubious anniversary of this country ever," writes editor-in-chief Jacqueline Krause-Blouin in her editorial. Annabelle had therefore taken the supposed day of joy as an opportunity to demand instead of celebrate.

In its special issue, the magazine points out the injustices that still exist in Swiss gender equality policy - and formulates the following major construction sites: Wage inequality, outdated tax system, sexual violence against women, unpaid care work, poverty in old age, incompatibility of career and family, and the underrepresentation of women in positions of economic leadership and political power. Federal Councillor Simonetta Sommaruga also expressed her views in an interview with the Annabelle-Sven Broder and Helene Aecherli are combative: "Equality is a struggle. Has always been a struggle. And we continue to fight."

This time, the cover of the magazine is not adorned by a model, but by an illustration of a protest poster with the inscription: "Yes - and now? 50 years of women's suffrage, why we demand instead of celebrate". As an insert, there is also an extra consisting of a 16-page excerpt from the historic special edition, with the Annabelle in 1971 created the mood for a Yes vote. Issue 1/21 will be available from Friday. In addition, a special delivery will be sent to the Federal Palace in Bern. Every member of parliament will receive a copy.

"Brands significantly increased their investment in social media ads in the fourth quarter. At peak, global ad spend increased 50.3 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2019," said Socialbakers CEO Yuval Ben-Itzhak. "In North America alone, they increased by 92.3 percent at peak. The focus on digital advertising has become the new normal as brands work to build lasting relationships with their customers to drive online revenue."

Increase in social media ads and cost-per-click 

Following a strong performance in the third quarter of 2020, global social media ad spend continued its steep rise in the fourth quarter. The 50.3 percent year-on-year increase in total spend was as high as 56.2 percent in terms of median monthly ad spend. Of particular note was the 92.3 percent increase in North America and 39.6 percent in Western Europe. This growth was seen across all sectors, with e-commerce spending up 24.8 percent from the previous quarter. This corresponds to a doubling compared to the first quarter of 2020.

The developments were accompanied by an increase in global cost-per-click. Over the course of 2020, CPC for brands on Instagram and Facebook increased by 35.6 percent, from $0.104 to $0.14.

Instagram ahead of Facebook in audience size and engagement

Instagram's lead over Facebook continues to grow. While Instagram's audience grew 11.3 percent, Facebook's audience fell 17.6 percent year-over-year in Q4 2020. The audience of the 50 largest brand profiles is now 39 percent larger on Instagram than on Facebook. In addition, Instagram saw 21 times more interactions. Despite this growing gap in audience size and engagement, 61.9 percent of all brand posts were published on Facebook in the fourth quarter.

Another bright spot for Facebook is that advertisers can now reach more people via the platform. Globally, the reach of Facebook ads increased by 23 percent in the fourth quarter of 2020 compared to the same period last year. The largest quarter-on-quarter growth was seen in the luxury food sector (alcohol: up 9.9 percent) and the automotive sector (up 12 percent).

Downward trend of interactions

Overall, user interactions with brands fell slightly in the fourth quarter of 2020 compared to the same quarter last year. Globally, the decline was 5.4 percent on Facebook and 6.3 percent on Instagram, although there were outliers. In North America, Facebook interactions increased to 11 percent, while Instagram interactions decreased 10 percent year-over-year. The e-commerce sector was also up 14.4 percent on Instagram and one percent on Facebook compared to 2019.

Popular video format leads to rising advertising costs

The use of video content on social media channels again enjoyed growing popularity in the fourth quarter. The share of video posts on Twitter increased by 26.7 percent compared to the previous quarter. The share of video posts on Facebook increased by 4.6 percent and on Instagram by 5.9 percent. 17.9 percent of all posts on Instagram and 18.1 percent of all posts on Facebook were videos.

The popularity and competitiveness of the video format also led to a significant increase in video ad costs. In Q4 2020, Facebook Instream Video ad costs increased 216.8 percent in CPC and 247.2 percent in CPM year-over-year. The Facebook Live format saw the highest engagement on the platform by some margin in the fourth quarter of 2020, with 2.8 times more interactions than images and 3.25 times more interactions than regular video content. The growing popularity of live video and the momentum around live shopping experiences demonstrates the importance of social media as a revenue generation tool. Live shopping is already a megatrend among Gen Z in China and is gaining traction with brands and consumers in the West as well.

Influencer posts decrease with #ad 

Despite the steep rise in global ad spend, brands appear to have cut back on the use of Instagram influencers for paid advertising in the fourth quarter: Overall, influencer use of the hashtag #ad dropped 17.6 percent year-over-year. There was still an increase during the Christmas season, but it did not reach the level of the previous year.

"If there's one thing brands have learned from the pandemic, it's the importance of social media. It allows them to reach their audience, engage with them and extend their reach beyond a specific geographic area. Plus, social media gives consumers 24/7 access to the brands they love," Ben-Itzhak explains. "Looking back at 2020, it's clear that digital will continue to be the focus of brands in 2021. Today's consumer is online. Therefore, to future-proof their business and drive brand loyalty and profitability, brands must focus on providing each customer with an outstanding end-to-end experience in the digital world."

The directory of SWAN  has been under development since the end of 2019 with the financial start-up support of the Federal Office for Gender Equality and additional funding from Migros Culture Percentage. It aims to map the professional profiles of all women working in the audiovisual sector. Entry and query are free of charge.

With the additional support of the Müller-Möhl-Foundation, the directory will be published on Monday as part of the Solothurn Film Festival and opened it for registration so that women working in the Swiss industry can create their professional profile with just a few clicks. The network is also planning a wide-ranging communication campaign aimed at women in all sectors of the industry as well as potential employers, employees, institutions and interested media.

The CMA group of companies, to which the mountain railroads belong, is denouncing shortcomings in the association and complaining about problems with the tourism promotion board, as detailed in a press release on Thursday. It is considering founding a new independent tourism organization.

CMTC and the municipality of Crans-Montana reject the accusations. CMTC director Bruno Huggler told the Keystone-SDA news agency on request that there was a good understanding and "very good cooperation" within the committee with the head of the mountain railroads (CMA SA), a member of the CMA Group.

The municipalities, CMTC and the CMA Group have been working for several months on a global strategy for the tourism destination until 2030 - "to the satisfaction of all members, including the CMA, which has validated and signed the jointly defined strategy," said Huggler.

However, there was a lack of open and constructive dialog with the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the CMA Group, Philippe Magistretti, he continued. Magistretti is the right-hand man of Czech investor Radovan Vitek, majority shareholder of CMA.

Relations between the CMA president and the tourism office had deteriorated after the group closed the ski resort's slopes in April 2018 due to a dispute with the municipality over 800,000 francs in perfect snow conditions.

Resignation demand made

Magistretti told the Keystone-SDA news agency that there had been a loss of confidence in the CMTC director, who in his opinion was not working with the necessary commitment and whose resignation he was calling for. He said he was open to further discussions and hoped that they would be successful.

When asked why he had not engaged in a dialog before bringing the problems to the public, the CMA president said that he had communicated and warned enough - to no avail. (SDA)