Next year she will be forty years old, and she feels like making a change, Heimgartner was quoted as saying in a statement from Radiotelevisiun Svizra Rumantscha (RTR) on Tuesday. She is leaving SRG and her RTR family with a heavy heart, but at the same time she is very much looking forward to her new role at Ringier.

Heimgartner joined SRG at the age of 27, as editor of Radio Rumantsch. In 2014, she was elected RTR Director at the age of just 33. She was the first woman to head SRG's smallest corporate unit in Chur. In 2017, she was elected Deputy Director General of SRG.

At Ringier, Heimgartner will become a member of the Group Executive Board, the executive management of Ringier AG, headed by CEO Marc Walder.

She is responsible for the newly created Corporate Services unit and thus for various central services for the internationally active media company.

The regional board of the RTR supporting association SRG.R will initiate the search for a new director of RTR. (SDA)

Flumroc is a Swiss manufacturer of stone wool and uses mostly regional stone from Graubünden for its products. The new campaign for the "Compact Pro" product is intended to familiarize construction professionals with the natural advantages of Flumroc stone wool.

The campaign key visual shows the product where it originated - in the Swiss mountains. The core message "The natural talent for the façade" gets to the heart of the matter: the natural advantages of stone as a raw material are incorporated directly into the façade with "Compact Pro". 

Dachcom is developing the campaign microsite Flumroc.ch/naturtalent as a central information platform. The target group is addressed directly via a 3D mailing and a brochure. Accompanying activities include posters, advertisements, a themed trade fair stand and online marketing measures. Explanatory videos on the respective product benefits are published at regular intervals.

Peter Neumann has decided to leave the company in summer 2020 to pursue a new professional challenge.

Neumann joined the former AZ Medien in June 2014. He was instrumental in developing and building up the digital division and turning it into a stable and profitable part of the company. During his time as CDO, he established the central digital sales team, a central web IT department and a group-wide digital performance unit. He was also responsible for the expansion of the Classified division with regional jobs and real estate platforms. He was also responsible for the successful acquisition of Swissmom.ch.

Peter Neumann will continue to be responsible for CH Media's digital division until the summer and will also ensure the successful handover of his duties during this time.
 

Magnetic Sense is a manufacturer of sensors for measuring torques and forces. The torque sensors and force sensors use a new technology based on a magnetic inductive principle for force measurement. The unique measuring principle opens up new applications for the series.

For the new brand of contactless sensors, a graphic solution was sought that depicts the contactless. A monogram that interlocks, but still has minimal gaps in the lines. The CI color orange was based on the industrial color of the original production. A clean and precise font was chosen for the typography. The new corporate design is rounded off with designs for images and diagrams.

Frey & Frey is responsible for the concept development and implementation of the live communication appearances of the brands AutoScout24 as well as MotoScout24 from fall 2019. The first staging will be realized for Auto Zürich, which will take place from October 31 to November 03, 2019. Further appearances are planned for the coming year. Among others, there will be appearances at the Geneva Motor Show as well as at Swiss Moto.

"The live productions for Scout24 Switzerland show the importance of continuing to use analog channels in the course of digitalization. With a holistic communications mix that takes into account the fusion of digital with analog touchpoints, the target group can be addressed even more effectively and at all levels," says Dominic Hefti, CEO of Frey & Frey.

• Address: Stauffacherstrasse 101, Zurich
• Date of foundation: April 1, 2016
• Founders: Nico Ammann, Simon Rehsche, Matthias von Bechtolsheim
• Chefs: Simon Rehsche, Nico Ammann, Lukas von Wartburg, Leander Schmalfuss
• Number of employees: 16
• Current clients: Bank Cler, Gazenergie (Swiss Gas Industry Association), FDP. Die Liberalen, Jungfreisinnige, Wingo, Zur Rose
• Home-zuerich.com

Which campaign from the past twelve months are you particularly proud of?

On the Kieser Training campaign "Read Upright", because it simply combines brand attitude and technology and also addresses a real problem of our time. We are no less proud of the Gazenergie (formerly Natural Gas) brand launch because it is an enormously comprehensive campaign and our involvement ranges from brand strategy to corporate identity design to content creation.

The most important campaign in agency history to date?

"Time to talk about money" for Bank Cler. We created a disruptive and relevant brand platform for Bank Cler and positioned it conspicuously in the market with a nationwide campaign. Furthermore, the daily, close collaboration with Bank Cler to this day is characterized by enormous energy, constructiveness and tremendous courage.

The most offbeat place your creatives retreat to be creative?

Your own office desk. If you have good ideas at your office desk, you're sure to have even better ones in the shower or while reverse stand-up paddling.

What is your agency philosophy?

People need a home. We turn brands into home. In addition, we always keep the Heimat Group's credo in mind: Good advertising is clever, unexpected and touching.

The entrance door at home Zurich

Why should talented people definitely come to work for you?

Because our agency is young enough to be open to anything new. And it's experienced enough to turn a good idea into reality.

How old is your youngest employee, and how old is your oldest?

Our youngest is 21, our oldest 52.

What do you do when you have thought blocks?

Think differently.

How high are the wages you pay compared to the industry average?

Our wages are above the industry average.

Do employees know among themselves who earns how much?

We do not openly communicate wages; we leave that decision to each employee.

How much overtime do you work on average per week?

The industry is changing. The days when the lights stayed on longer in advertising agencies than in whorehouses are over. On average, we don't work overtime. Some days we work significantly longer than eight hours, and others significantly less. Good communication is valuable and has its price - an agency should function in a businesslike manner - without overtime - and thus strive for the de facto reduction of hourly wages.

What benefits do you provide to compensate your employees for said overtime?

Overtime is, of course, fully compensated. We have also rewarded employees who have worked on particularly demanding campaigns with spa vouchers, paid wellness weekends or high-proof alcohol.

How long do you give maternity leave and how long paternity leave?

We found the one day of paternity leave by law too little, so we have increased paternity leave to one week. We give maternity leave according to the current legal situation.

Is home office allowed - and if so, how often?

Yes, but it always depends on the function and the circumstances, so we assess this together with each employee and for each job individually. One of our employees lives in Badi Enge - we are always a bit skeptical about him wanting to work from home.

What is the current quota of women?

Our gender ratio is 50/50.

Do you employ interns?

Yes. We think it's important that we not only give interns the chance to get a taste of "advertising air," but that if they prove to be very talented and motivated, we can also offer them a place at the agency after their internship.

Do you organize team events?

Regular. This year, among other things, we had the pleasure of combining our summer party with the 20th anniversary of "Heimat in Berlin".

The summer festival of Heimat Zürich and Heimat Berlin at the Badeschiff in Berlin.

Where do you drink your after-work beer?

Where the beer is. In the agency, in the "Xenix", in the bank and sometimes also in the cult kiosk Treffpoint directly opposite.

Do you have an agency dog or other mascot?

Our "charming" hanging plant named Kevin.

SolidarMed works together with the local population in Africa to provide people with permanent basic medical care. Since the organization is still relatively unknown, an awareness campaign is to be launched to promote its concerns and thus increase the level of awareness of the aid organization. The campaign was preceded by a rebranding process, for which Freundliche Grüsse was also responsible (Werbewoche.ch reported).

The work and attitude of SolidarMed is communicated in simple but concise statements. Three key visuals are built on three of the organization's focus topics - training of professionals, mother and child, and the Lighthouse Project Velo-Ambulanz - to provide both variance and recognition.

Somewhat unusual for NGO advertising, it does not show victims, but professionals with whom SolidarMed works on site in various projects. The headlines communicate what distinguishes SolidarMed from other NGOs: The focus on a long-term, sustainable improvement of the situation - fighting causes instead of symptoms.

The campaign launched Monday on digital and analog billboards, display ads and social media.

This sets the platform, which was launched at the beginning of October, apart from other games flat rates. Does this mean the games market is facing a major upheaval? You won't find big titles like "GTA", "Fallout" or "FIFA" in Arcade. Instead, Apple is focusing heavily on small development studios, unusual game concepts and lots of story. The catalog is intended to appeal to as wide an audience as possible, explain the people behind Arcade.

Customer loyalty

The company does not provide any information on how much money Apple has invested in Arcade, what remuneration and support the developers receive and what profit expectations the company has for the service.

However, making a quick profit is not necessarily the primary goal of such offers, says analyst Liam Hall from market researcher IDC. They also serve to increase customer loyalty and, as Hall puts it, make the fenced garden more attractive.

Independent developers

While the fixed-price game catalogs from Sony or Microsoft for PC and consoles also contain larger titles and usually cost from 10 euros upwards per month, Apple is working in a different field. "Apple focuses more on family-friendly games and small and independent developers," explains Hall.

The offer costs 4.99 euros per month in Germany and 6 francs per month in Switzerland. This makes the Arcade relatively inexpensive. At best, up to six family members can play for the monthly price - provided they all have an Apple device.

Arcade makes owning an Apple device more attractive, says Hall. He sees the games flat rate as a further step towards tying Apple customers more closely to the company through services and securing additional regular income beyond the approximately 30 percent share of the sales or subscription price via the App Store. This is similar to what has already been achieved with the 60 million users of the Apple Music streaming service, according to Apple. The video-on-demand area is also currently being expanded. The Apple TV+ subscription service will be launched in November.

Large customer base

The analyst does not yet want to estimate what impact the game flat rate will have on game developers. Just this much: "It could be a good way for studios to expand their customer base." The calculation: anyone who gets to know a studio through a game in the flat rate catalog may also buy other titles.

Managing Director of the industry association GAME, Felix Falk, believes that subscription models for games are still in their infancy. However, he already recognizes the impact on developers. This is because the competitive situation on the market means that platforms are vying for the best or most successful games. Falk sees such models as an opportunity for studios to market their games.

Apple emphasizes that developers can continue to upload their games to the store as usual. Arcade stands for a curated offering with quality standards and a binding business model. There will be no additional purchases, advertising or data collection.

Industry still in its infancy

It is not yet clear how successful games flat rates for Apple and the like will be. According to GAME Managing Director Falk, the industry is still in its infancy. However, revenue from online services in general, including cloud and subscription services, grew by 52% in the first half of 2019 - to around 228 million euros in Germany.

GAME does not share fears that the trend towards gaming platforms will harm diversity or marginalize certain topics. Platforms have existed in the past and, on the contrary, have made it easier for developers to access the market, says Falk.

And Apple is not the only provider courting small developer studios. Microsoft and Sony also have corresponding programs for their ecosystems. Felix Falk does not see developers in the position of supplicants when working with the platform giants. In order to keep their subscribers happy, the operators are dependent on unique game ideas. This is why we can talk about negotiations at eye level. (SDA)

In a statement, CEO Michael Mueller expressed his delight at the award, seeing it "as recognition of Valora's successful transformation and its repositioning." The award goes above all to the employees who have helped to bring this about, Mueller added.

The jury considers the Valora Group to have fulfilled all the specified categories with flying colors. The jury was particularly impressed by the Valora Group's sustained corporate success, marketing orientation and innovation, the statement added. The jury was also impressed by the consistent combination of brand management and distribution strategy.

Since 1984, the GFM has honored companies that stand out for their outstanding marketing achievements with the "Annual Award of the Foundation for Marketing in Corporate Management". Successful entrepreneurial results that can be attributed to a large extent to innovative marketing strategies and effective measures are evaluated.

Three new board members elected

At the 78th General Meeting at The Dolder Grand Zurich, the last item on the agenda was a vote on the members of the Board of Directors. Newly elected to the Board were:

• Rolf Fallegger, Member of the Group Management Lindt & Sprüngli
• Sunnie J. Groeneveld, CEO Inspire 925
• Bernd Schopp, CEO & Partner Namics

The following members of the Board of Management were re-elected for a term of three years:

• Reto Dahinden, CEO Swica
• Martin Schneider, CEO Swiss TXT
• Guido Stillhard, Head Digital Products Schindler Digital Group

Dominique von Matt was re-elected for another term as GFM President.

Key insights from the study "As Banks Pursue Digital Transformation, Many Struggle to Profit from It" by Bain & Company:

• At some banks, only one in three customers is activated for online and mobile banking
• Less than half of bank staff in Europe use in-house mobile services
• If customers and employees are mobilized, this leads to urgently needed efficiency gains

In recent years, European banks have invested up to half of their transformation budgets in digital projects. However, the hoped-for success on the income and cost side has been slow to materialize in many places. Depending on the bank, in some cases only a third of customers are activated for online and mobile banking. And of these, only one in two regularly uses the digital access channels.

Banks must act now

"Many banks have so far focused too much on expanding their digital infrastructure and have failed to mobilize their customers and employees with the same level of commitment," states Dirk Vater, Bain Partner and Head of the Banking Practice Group in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. "They have underestimated the human success factor."

Mobile-first customers are now the more loyal and economically attractive clientele in Germany, Switzerland and many other countries. For industry expert Vater, one thing is clear: "Banks must now do everything they can to attract more customers to online and, above all, mobile banking."

This can be achieved in two waves. The first is communication campaigns using traditional media such as print or television to reach account holders with a low affinity for the internet. Banks should address the security concerns of these customers. Some financial institutions convince skeptics, for example, by promising to reimburse losses from digital fraud. Pioneers are also creating financial incentives in the form of at least temporarily free digital accounts or refunds for digital payment transactions.

Creating understanding for change through dialog

"If you want to make digital channels appealing to your customers, you have to plan enough time and financial resources for this," emphasizes Bain Partner and banking expert Jens Engelhardt. "In the past, many institutions were either too impatient or too cautious in this regard." In a second wave, banks could take tougher measures, such as charging additional fees for individual services in branches.

Employees play a decisive role in mobilizing customers. Here, too, there is still great potential. According to Bain estimates, not even every second bank employee in Europe uses their own bank's mobile services. Understanding for the change can only be created through dialog. If acceptance increases, the willingness of the workforce to gain further qualifications and test new ways of working will grow.

Overcoming organizational hurdles

There are organizational hurdles in many institutions. "Banks are promoting mobile banking and prohibiting the use of personal smartphones in the office, for example," explains industry expert Engelhardt. "Nobody understands this and it stands in the way of successful change." Those who remove such obstacles and involve employees in the process motivate them to use their own mobile services.
All banks must act. "If banks do not systematically migrate their customers to digital channels and mobilize their employees, they will never reap the rewards of the digital transformation," warns Vater. "And given the pressure on margins, no bank can afford to do that."

This is made possible by a financing solution from Valora subsidiary Bob Finance which is free of charge to the customer. Customers can choose between iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone XS and iPhone XR on Zer000.ch and specify both colors and storage capacity. They receive a two-year warranty on the smartphone. The new web store also offers Apple accessories and the AppleCare+ insurance policy.

The offer is available now and is aimed at adults residing in Switzerland who want to buy an iPhone independently of a mobile carrier and spread the payment of the purchase price over a period of up to 36 months.

With a positive credit check, an iPhone 7 with 32 GB of storage can be purchased with 0 percent financing provided by Bob Finance for as little as 38 centimes per day and a term of 36 months. In addition, the Apple Music subscription is included free of charge for the first 90 days, as is the Apple TV+ streaming service, which will be available from November.

With this offer, Valora is further expanding its partnership with Apple. The company also wants to give a broad customer base access to the smartphone as an everyday companion, thus meeting the need for convenience in shopping. Convenience not only includes the product itself, but also the payment and financing options.

For the eighth time, Digitec is launching new subjects for the campaign, which advertises with real product reviews. At the same time, the 25 subjects will also be displayed as online banners, hanging boxes, ePanels and eBoards. 

The campaign - like the previous ones - was developed in-house by Digitec Galaxus Marketing.

From November 11, there will also be TV commercials in which the rated products react to the users' comments in an unusual way and become actors themselves. The commercials were created in collaboration with stop-motion artist Bruno Conti.  

The campaign is accompanied by contributions from the 20-strong Digitec Galaxus editorial team, who are inspired by the amusing ratings. The landing page for the campaign is continuously updated with the corresponding editorial contributions.