This can be, for example, the tax number or the registration with the U.S. election authority. Facebook already stipulates that advertisements with political content must state who paid for it.

In some cases, however, advertisers had tried to provide misleading information about this, Facebook now explained. They already had to provide address, telephone number, e-mail address and website name.

Facebook had come under massive pressure to ensure more transparency in political advertising after the influence campaigns from Russia surrounding the 2016 US presidential election. At the time, the campaigns were aimed, among other things, at reinforcing the divisions in US society on issues such as gun ownership or racial tensions.

Campaigns from Russia

To this end, controversial posts were placed in users' news feeds as paid advertisements. Facebook and U.S. authorities consider it proven that the campaigns were conducted from Russia; the Russian government denies involvement.

"People should know who is trying to influence their vote, and advertisers shouldn't be able to hide who is paying for ads," Facebook stressed Wednesday.

The pressure on the social network to improve its transparency also affects legal election advertising by so-called PACs (Political Action Committees), where users can often hardly tell which lobby group is hiding behind them. (SDA)

Flyer has been developing, producing and distributing e-bikes in Switzerland as well as in Germany, the Netherlands, France and Italy since 1995.

Flyer is now working with Plan.Net Suisse in the area of digital communication. As a first step, the web platform is being redeveloped and launched as the basis for digital communication.

"There has never been anything comparable in tourism before," says Christian Ziörjen, Head of Destination Services at Zermatt Tourism. This refers to the new "guest advisor" Alexa, a virtual assistant that has been stationed in the Zermatt Tourism ticket hall since Wednesday. With this project, Zermatt Tourism wants to take advantage of new digital opportunities, keep up with changes and show itself innovative.

Complements the guest consultation

"The assistant in no way replaces the guest service staff, but rather complements them," says Christian Ziörjen. For example, Alexa cannot give advice, but can only call up information. Questions such as "Where is the best place to take pictures of the Matterhorn?", "How much does a trip up the Gornergrat cost?", "What can I do in Zermatt?" or "Which restaurant do you recommend?" she answers without any problems. In the process, she also asks the guest counter-questions to narrow down the results.

In addition to the informative character, Alexa also has a play factor. Guests can engage with the destination in a playful way, so that even the guest information becomes an experience.

Foreign languages follow

At the moment, Alexa only understands German. However, other languages will be added soon. The agency Speed U Up, which has already realized various digital projects for various tourism destinations in the past, is responsible for the development and installation.

The Swiss media market has a lot to offer: with a total of 593 online audio and online video offerings from 261 providers, the range of offerings is extremely diverse in terms of content and language. Traditional media brands are particularly well represented: around two thirds of the 440 online audio offerings come from FM/DAB+ radio brands. In the online video sector, more than half (56%) come from the television, radio or print market.

Compared to the previous study in 2017, the web media market has become more professionalized: Smaller "hobby providers" have switched to high-reach social media platforms. The attractiveness for the advertising industry has increased and the providers' forecasts are correspondingly positive: They expect annual advertising growth of 18% for the online audio sector by 2021, and as much as 49% for online video.

Increased usage and willingness to pay

Today, 56% of TV/video usage and 54% of radio/audio usage in Switzerland takes place on the internet. The most popular offerings for online audio users are simulcast streams from FM stations and music streaming services. In the video segment, live TV programs from TV stations and free video portals are particularly popular.

At the same time, the willingness to pay for media content on the internet is also growing. More than a third of Swiss online users already (at least occasionally) use paid online audio services, and among 16 to 29-year-olds this figure is already almost half (48%). This trend is even stronger in the online video segment. Here, more than half of respondents and even two thirds of 16 to 29-year-olds use paid online video platforms.

Plenty of potential for growth

The growth forecasts for the web media industry are predominantly positive. When asked about future market drivers, audio providers cite in-car audio streaming and in-car entertainment systems in particular. They also see great development potential for the industry in smart speakers, the personalization of services and podcasts.

The most important future topics in the Swiss online video market are innovative formats, interactivity of content, but also 5G and influencer marketing.

The private radio industry is celebrating a milestone birthday. 20 years ago, the radio stations started with the first programs via DAB, as Bakom Vice Director Bernard Maissen looked back on Thursday at the Swiss Radio Day 2019 in Zurich.

As luck would have it, Swiss Radio Day, the annual gathering of private and public radio, is also celebrating a 20th anniversary. In a turbulent media environment, private radio stations recorded stable listener figures, said Jürg Bachmann, president of the Association of Swiss Private Radio Stations.

Support during the changeover

To help the industry make the switch from analog to digital, the state has supported private radio stations with a total of 24 million francs from 2014 to 2018, according to Maissen. Over the next few years, the total will be 44 million francs. At the end of 2022, this support is to be gradually phased out.

A total of 10.3 million Swiss francs is available for the communication concept. Of this, 4.7 million has been spent. This will be followed by 5.6 million by 2024. The most important tunnels on the national roads in Switzerland are to be equipped by the end of 2019 so that DAB+ can also be received there.

The switch to DAB+ is being made in order to be able to ensure programming diversity in the future, Maissen continued. For the peripheral regions, Bakom is leaving a door gap open. The regulatory authority is examining whether individual FM transmitters could continue to be operated on a selective basis and for a limited period beyond the end of 2024.

Audio via Internet on the rise

In the digital world, listeners, namely young people, are increasingly turning to audio and video content on the Internet. This is shown by the Web Media Monitor 2019 from Goldmedia (Werbewoche.ch reported). According to Goldmedia CEO Klaus Goldhammer, the number of web radio and TV offerings will continue to grow strongly. (SDA)

The stubbornness of the ice hockey club and its characters is reflected in the 2019/20 season campaign: once again, in flagranti communication stages the character heads of the EHCB in the club colors and underlines the fighting spirit of the key players with juicy punchlines. 

The campaign of the EHCB will be spread from September on posters, flyers, passenger TV, advertisements and in all online channels and transport all information about the team. 

After last year's launch, the focus in 2019 will be on establishing the image campaign. For this purpose, Stämpfli Kommunikation developed three campaigns together with EWB based on the concept of "vou im flow". The aim of the campaigns is to convey the positive Bernese attitude to life in a way that can be felt and experienced, and at the same time to involve the Bernese population so that they remain "vou in flow" thanks to Energie Wasser Bern.

Action 1: Hit the Genoni

At the beginning of the year, kids were able to try their luck with the then SCB goalkeeper Leonardo Genoni at the artificial ice rink at Bundesplatz Bern. In the penalty shootout against the renowned ice hockey goalkeeper, 60 kids were able to prove their "flow".

Finally, 12-year-old Nico was the lucky winner of a signed SCB jersey, an exclusive cup and a field hockey stick. The other participants received a signed autograph card and a puck.

Action 2: Grill & Chill

At the beginning of July, the "Grill & Chill" took place in the Marzili near the Dalmazimätteli. The Bernese musicians of the band "The Cavers" and the Bernese singer and songwriter Josua Romano played the Bernese people present "vou" into the "flow". With his homemade burgers, the "Tätschmeister" provided a culinary highlight on site. The guests could also bring their own food and grill it on the gas grill "Ernie", which was permanently installed by EWB. This exclusive gas grill is a gift from EWB to the people of Bern. "Ernie" the gas grill is available free of charge daily until 10:00 pm. 

Action 3: The Individual Creatives

For EWB's performance at the Gurtenfestival, two young Bernese artists, the "Individual Creatives", were engaged. Gina Graeser alias "Ginadraws" and Manuel Rohrer alias "Tens" performed live in the EWB lounge at the Waldbühne during the four festival days. In the run-up, the two artists created three independent subjects in cooperation with the agency. The three subjects symbolized three types of festival visitors. 

This is how the "Wiudsou", the "Trapfuchs" and the "Dance Häsu" were created. These three subjects were also available as tattoo stickers during the festival. At the same time, when guests posted their picture with the hashtag #vouimflow, they received a bag with the imprint of the desired subject. Depending on their wishes, the guests could have the bag customized by the "individual creatives" on site - this way, a variety of personal motifs were created, tailored to the guests' wishes. 

Minestrone sees itself as a partner for communication with substance. "Creating something rich with simple but effective ingredients - that's what Minestrone means to me," she said in a statement. On the menu are services in the areas of media relations, corporate publishing and text production. Minestrone supports companies and associations in conception, planning and implementation. Be it arranging with the big ladle or spooning out a baked-in alphabet soup. "I like to be inspired - by people, companies, ideas and stories," says the owner. 

Minestrone is not an agency, but due to its broad network it can selectively add partners and thus take over the entire project management. A firm partnership exists with the copywriting duo Inyourface, who are based in the same office community in Bern.  

Nathalie Stöckli has worked, among other things, as PR manager of the Hotel Schweizerhof Bern, as PR and events manager of the Swiss Hiking Trails, junior consultant at agencies and video journalist.
 

In this year's MediaBrands study, Publicom examined 172 media brands for their qualitative appeal to the audience. Among them are 49 radio brands for which an initial analysis is available. In addition to quality dimensions such as credibility, information relevance or entertainment value, the listeners of the various stations also assess their likeability value. The Rhaeto-Romanic SRG radio station, which was included in the study for the first time, made it directly to the top of the sympathy ranking. In second place was the private radio station Rhône FM in French-speaking Switzerland, which overtook last year's sympathy winner, the bilingual Fribourg-based Radiofr. 

Rhône FM also achieves high scores on other quality dimensions. For example, the radio station in Lower Valais also achieves the highest score of all private radio stations in terms of credibility. Among the SRG stations, a radio station in French-speaking Switzerland also comes out on top in this dimension, which is particularly important for the media. La Première from RTS achieves the top Swiss score in terms of credibility.

SRF Musikwelle and GRRIF entertain their audience best

A key quality dimension in radio is also entertainment value, since radio programs are mostly chosen for their music offerings. Here, two completely differently positioned radio brands occupy the top spots. The folk music station SRF Musikwelle and the Jura-based alternative music radio station GRRIF lead the entertainment ranking of SRG brands and private radio stations, respectively. These two radio brands are obviously particularly good at meeting the musical needs of their audiences. 

Stable radio usage

83 percent of adult Swiss listened to a radio program at least once in a three-month period in spring 2019. Compared to the previous year, this figure decreased slightly (-1 percent). The medium of radio thus reaches more people in Switzerland than printed newspapers (78 percent), social media (57 percent), magazines and journals (56 percent) or cinema (30 percent). 

"Scill is currently in the beta phase," says Marquard to the Handelszeitung. This is a competition within a classic game of skill and entertainment. The app from Marquard's company 4Players is already available to play and win in the Android and Apple stores. 

Marquard's Head of Development and 4Players CEO Phillip Schuster is currently in talks with well-known game developers to sell and implement the app service. At Gamescom in Cologne, the largest gaming trade fair in the world, Schuster was already able to successfully place the app for the Marquard Media Group: "We're knocking down open doors with all publishers to whom we present our product." Schuster is expecting seven-figure sales by the end of 2021.

"The media are the foundation of our democracy," said Media Minister Simonetta Sommaruga (pictured) in Bern on Wednesday. Nothing has changed in that regard, she added. But newspaper revenues were steadily declining. The Federal Council does not want to simply accept this development. It considers measures that can be implemented quickly to support the media to be sensible and necessary.

In the future, the Radio and Television Act will also support online media. Their importance is growing, Sommaruga said. The population is increasingly obtaining information on the Internet. However, the willingness to pay for digital media offerings remains low.

Money only for pay offers

The Federal Council does not want to encourage the freebie mentality any further. It therefore wants to support only paid digital offerings. Providers who sell digital media content and thus aim for longer-term financial viability are to benefit. The Federal Council assumes that this will cost 50 million francs a year. For the time being, however, online funding is to be limited in time.

Prerequisites for support include a certain proportion of editorial content, a continuous offering and compliance with journalistic standards. The editorial independence of the media will be preserved, Sommaruga emphasized in response to corresponding questions. The criteria would roughly correspond to those that apply to indirect press funding.

More indirect press promotion

Indirect press promotion consists of discounts for postal delivery, from which newspapers currently benefit. The Federal Council wants to expand these. It proposes to expand the group of eligible subscribing daily and weekly newspapers.

Specifically, the Federal Council wants to lift the existing circulation cap of 40,000 copies. In addition, titles that are part of a header association are also to benefit from a reduction in delivery. An additional 13 titles would be eligible for subsidies, Sommaruga said.

More discount per copy

In addition, the reduction per copy is to be increased so that newspapers with a small circulation also receive more support than today. This will also increase support for the local and regional press, writes the Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC).

To enable the additional funding, the federal contribution is to be increased from the current CHF 30 million to CHF 50 million. An amendment to the Postal Act is also necessary. Publishers had called for an even greater increase in the amount.

Training and news agencies

Support measures are also planned to strengthen the entire media sector. Training and further education institutions, news agencies, self-regulatory organizations and IT projects for the benefit of electronic media are to benefit from this.

A total of 27 million Swiss francs has been earmarked for this. Exactly how they will be distributed is still open. The Federal Council does not want to change anything in the framework conditions for SRG and local and regional radio and TV providers.

No new law

With this package of measures, Media Minister Sommaruga is taking a different path than her predecessor Doris Leuthard. The latter had sent a new law into consultation. The law also provided for the promotion of online offerings - but only for online media that essentially rely on audio and video content.

In this way, the Federal Council wants to protect the press from subsidized competition, Leuthard said when presenting the proposals. In any case, there was no constitutional basis for direct subsidies for newspapers - whether printed or online.

Failed in the consultation process

In the consultation process, however, the new law was not convincing. Many had pointed out the difficult situation of the press and claimed an urgent need for action, writes the Uvek. The Federal Council has now responded to the criticism and decided to provide greater support for the media on the basis of existing laws.

He wants to submit his package of measures to parliament by summer 2020. Also under discussion is the creation of a new constitutional article that would allow direct promotion of print media. Appropriate motions are pending in parliament. The Federal Council has not taken a decision on this. It wants to wait for the decisions in parliament. (SDA)

With summer temperatures, cool drinks and Caribbean rhythms, numerous personalities from the music and radio business as well as the advertising industry celebrated the medium of radio.

The industry event attracted around 350 guests from all over Switzerland and neighboring countries to the Haus am See in Wollishofen.

In keeping with the motto of the never-ending summer, the evening was accompanied by an unplugged concert by Swiss Latin star Loco Escrito. With his internationally successful hits, such as "Punto", he brought the south a little closer to Lake Zurich. In a relaxed atmosphere, the guests had an exuberant exchange about developments in the radio industry.
 

The Radio Night 2019 was able to score again this year with a unique atmosphere as well as culinary and musical delicacies among the attendees.

The evening showed once again that radio is a very important part of the media mix, even in a fragmented media landscape. This is also the opinion of Ralf Brachat, Managing Director of Swiss Radioworld (pictured below): "In keeping with this great weather, we're toasting radio today, the most popular and widest-reach medium next to TV."