Almost everyone knows the small vans or at least has seen one before, but when hearing the name Fuso, few can make the connection.

In order to show the variety of possible applications of the Fuso, various subjects were developed in a first step, which should show in a surprising way how the Fuso can be loaded. Combined with a headline that matches the subject, the message is to be anchored humorously in the viewer's mind.

The subjects are visible on a Switzerland-wide OOH campaign, with engagement advertising and a digital campaign as well as with the "Luigi ConFuso" radio spots. The target group is referred to the landing page Meinfuso.ch, which was created especially for the campaign.
 

The annual meeting of the media and communications industry draws on a broader base. The major media houses CH Media, NZZ, Ringier, SRG and Tamedia are involved in the SwissMediaForum and assume responsibility there.

The new composition of the Board of Directors is as follows:

• Felix Graf (CEO NZZ),
• Gilles Marchand (Director General SRG),
• Pietro Supino (Publisher Tamedia),
• Marc Walder (CEO Ringier),
• Peter Wanner (Publisher CH Media),
• Patrik Müller (Initiator SwissMediaForum) and
• Andreas Binder (President).

The Advisory Board continues to include:

• Frank Bodin (Entrepreneur),
• Pascale Bruderer (Member of the Council of States),
• Etienne Jornod (Chairman of the Board of NZZ),
• Miriam Meckel (Professor HSG, Editor Wirtschaftswoche) and
• Roger de Weck (Journalist).

New to the Advisory Board is Sandra Cortesi, Director of Youth and Media at Harvard University.

Christian Dorer (Editor-in-Chief Blick Group) and Patrik Müller (Editor-in-Chief Central Editorial Office CH Media) will remain in charge of the program, while Susanne Wille (journalist and Head of Quality Monitoring SRF Newsroom) will continue to moderate the congress.

The decision of the media companies to assume joint responsibility for the Forum in the future would mean a strengthening of the SwissMediaForum as the most important event for the media and communications industry in Switzerland.

The SwissMediaForum will once again be held in the spring. Feedback from many participants has shown that this date is more popular than the fall date, according to a statement. The next SwissMediaForum will therefore take place on May 7-8, 2020, and not in September 2019 at the KKL Luzern as originally planned. The 2019 edition is therefore cancelled.

This is shown by documents from the commercial register office, which the Handelszeitung are available. The company intends to provide financial and technology services and develop related software and hardware.
 
Facebook is currently developing a new payment system centered around its own coin, its own currency, which is linked to the dollar. It remains to be seen what role the Geneva-based company will play in this. Facebook is not commenting on this. However, the articles of association of Libra Networks suggest that the Swiss company will have a hinge function. Libra Networks can grant loans to its future subsidiaries, its shareholders and other companies, enter into cash pooling agreements and provide guarantees of all kinds for them.

Among other things, the campaign was published in the SRF daytime news shown, as well as in the View, in which Aargauer newspaper as well as in the Daily Gazette. What was appreciated most about the campaign was the authenticity displayed by the BDP.

The agency's reasoning for implementing such a campaign is that solving political problems is actually an unspectacular matter, but ultimately what politicians are elected to do. It needs objectivity and objectivity, no emotions and mood mongering. And since the political environment is increasingly characterized by left-right spite, the BDP's willingness to compromise and solution-oriented approach is a rather dry and not so exciting matter. The campaign is intended to reflect this with a great deal of self-irony and honesty.

Until the elections in October, various posters will be used in Bern, Zurich, Aargau and Graubünden, as well as social media subjects.

In order to increase credit card sales, the issuer of credit and prepaid cards Viseca is supporting Swiss partner banks with an acquisition campaign aimed at the partner banks. The campaign has been designed and implemented by the Four agency for four years.

The added value of credit cards is to be highlighted by the online and offline campaign. The key visual shows a smartwatch as a contemporary digital payment channel, while the headlines are formulated as exaggerated words such as "more flexible", "simpler", "more diverse" or "more practical".

The catalog of measures for the sales-oriented campaign consists of POS activities with various posters, stands, dispensers and flyers. Online banners, a website and a direct mailing will be implemented. All measures are adapted to the individual needs of the participating partner banks using a co-branding concept.

Walk-in customers at bank branches as well as bank customers without a credit card are made aware of the most important benefits of a credit card through these measures. When a credit card application is submitted, customers also receive a Chilly's bottle from the customer advisor as an incentive.

There was something different about the Super League match between FC Basel and BSC Young Boys last Sunday. The players' jerseys did not feature their names as usual, but the names of their mothers. The jerseys were specially made for the Mother's Day campaign, which the two clubs realized together with TBWA and McDonald's Switzerland. The teams' reach was used to remind people of the importance of family and, of course, of mothers in particular.

The action was very well received by the press and was spread on social media under the hashtag #mamafan.
 

The SVP National Councillors Franz Grüter (SVP/LU) and Manfred Bühler (SVP/BE) were newly elected to the board. Rickli has played a decisive role in shaping media policy in the Federal Parliament for five years as president of Aktion Medienfreiheit, according to a statement on Wednesday. Bernese FDP National Council member Christian Wasserfallen remains vice president of the association. (SDA)

Photo: Facebook

"Product reviews in brands' online stores increase sales by up to 20 percent," says Markus Oeller, Managing Director of the agency group for omni-channel marketing MSM.digital. However, the topic of product ratings by customers (reviews) is not yet strategically anchored in the marketing of brands and retailers. The expert explains the reason: "There is often no budget for review marketing and so the topic is not included in annual planning. This is a mistake given the importance of product reviews for reputation and sales."
 
MSM.digital's latest study figures show how important review marketing is for brands. MSM.digital has visualized the results in the infographic "Customer reviews as a decision criterion for online shopping".

Customer reviews: Important for the purchase decision when shopping online

• 76 percent of German Internet users read product reviews (BVDW, Digitale Nutzung in Deutschland).
• Almost two out of three German online shoppers (65%) read product reviews in online stores before making a purchase (Bitkom). They obtain further information secondarily on price comparison sites (51%), in personal conversations with friends or family (50%), on retailer websites (49%) and in test reports in the media (TV, online, print with 42%). Of 14 to 29-year-old online shoppers, as many as three quarters use customer reviews as a basis for information and decision-making. 
• Without customer reviews, 39 percent of online consumers trust offers or products less (Bitkom).
• 45 percent of online shoppers state that they write online reviews of goods or services themselves (bitkom).
• Reviews are also important for in-store purchases
• Even when consumers buy products in stores, they inform themselves online in advance. 22 percent use Amazon as an information platform before buying offline (ECC Cologne, Cross-Channel - Quo vadis).
• Access to product reviews is even important directly in the store: 23 percent of European consumers would like to be served by sales clerks with tablets in the store in order to obtain better product information or view product reviews (ShopperTrac, Redesigning Retail, Part 2).
• 58% of European consumers use their smartphone to research reviews of a product in a store (inRiver). Among 18 to 24-year-olds, as many as 62% use their smartphone to access price information or product reviews before making a purchase in a physical store (inRiver).
• 38% of German internet users trust product reviews on the internet more than advice in a bricks-and-mortar store (BVDW, Digitale Nutzung in Deutschland, 2018). Among 14 to 34-year-olds, the figure is as high as 49%.
• Brands and retailers: More success through product reviews 
• From research to product purchase, German consumers today use many channels: Google search, shopping platforms, price comparison portals, retailer websites, brand stores or social media. 58% of users choose Amazon as an information platform before buying online (ECC Cologne, Cross-Channel - Quo vadis). 43% of German consumers start their product search there (PwC, Total Retail).
• The more reviews a product has, the more likely it is to be purchased. Even a single review can increase the likelihood of purchase by ten percent. If an online store visitor engages with customer reviews on the product page, the conversion rate increases by 58% (Bazaarvoice, Conversation Index 8).
• Eight or more product reviews also have positive search engine optimization (SEO) effects thanks to the new, product-relevant and user-generated content. With reviews on the product page, organic traffic can increase by up to 25 percent.
• Around 50 reviews are enough to give users the feeling that a product has been sufficiently tested, says a consumer study by PowerReviews with Northwestern University. Another result: With star ratings, 4.4 out of 5 stars are ideal for a positive product perception. 
• Customer reviews on retailer websites and in brands' online stores increase the likelihood of buying products by up to 20 percent. This has been proven by various analyses, for example by Revoo.

Digital trust signal

Markus Oeller explains: "Online product reviews from consumers are a digital signal of trust and work in a similar way to word of mouth. As an important tool in omni-channel marketing, review marketing should be strategically integrated into marketing. An important aspect of this is "review syndication". This means that the reviews collected from various platforms are bundled in a central location. They are then made available to consumers on various platforms, such as brand and retailer websites or in brick-and-mortar stores."
 

Virtue will implement a new platform for the Swedish brand across all channels with a new claim. Matias Bergknut, External Communication Manager at Ikea Switzerland, says of the new partnership: "We want to communicate our enthusiasm for the home to the Swiss population in a way that is convincing and emotionally moving. Everyone knows Ikea as a brand, but much of what makes us special is less well known - such as our commitment to quality, design and sustainability. With a partner like Virtue and its heritage from Vicewe will be able to convey these messages in a contemporary and innovative way. My team and I are looking forward to presenting the first results soon."

True to the new claim "Bring more home into your life", the aim is to inspire Swiss people to attach more importance to their home not only as a place, but also as a feeling. Florian Sonderegger, Managing Director at Virtue Switzerland, sees great potential in the partnership: "Communication is increasingly about values. We are delighted to have a partner in Ikea Switzerland that lives by real values. Redefining a brand that everyone already knows on the basis of these values is incredibly exciting for our Swiss team led by Creative Director Radwan Atwi and Client Service Director Christian Brütsch. Our aim is to transfer our in-depth understanding of the mindsets of the target groups to the brand, to give Ikea a distinctive role in Switzerland and to further expand Ikea's market leadership position in the Swiss home furnishing market. 

With the new campaign, Sodastream wants to emphasize its environmental message and its efforts to reduce global plastic consumption. In the clip, Game of Thrones characters Septa, Hodor and The Mountain struggle with single-use PET bottles in everyday situations and realize that they should say goodbye to them.

"We are always looking for fun and exciting ways to get the message across that we can enjoy fresh sparkling beverages in an environmentally friendly way," said Daniel Birnbaum, CEO of SodaStream. "We encourage consumers to say goodbye to single-use plastic and embrace reusable solutions. As a bonus, so to speak, they can also avoid unnecessary, painful lugging around."
 

The Game of Thrones actors have already appeared in previous Sodastream campaigns:

It would be presumptuous to say that the St. Gallen Rhine Valley is the best, most beautiful or coolest region in Switzerland. Nevertheless, it is a pretty great place, and it is precisely this insight that Farner wants to convey in the new campaign for Rheintal.com. The agency presents the region with a wink and a dose of self-irony.

The campaign is mainly played out on social media and encourages users to visit the microsite Greatplace.ch to find out their personal "great place" as part of an online test. The test result is displayed immediately afterwards and all Swiss regions are taken into account, with no preference given to the Rhine Valley.

In addition, the film series "hoppid" was produced, in which the Rhine Valley stand-up comedian Nico Arn tells over the course of six episodes why his home is a great place. The aim is to bring the St. Gallen Rhine Valley closer to viewers in a humorous way.

The whole thing is accompanied by a competition in which various lucky Rhine Valley packages filled with delicacies from the region can be won every month until the end of the year.

The campaign was launched at the same time as the Rheintal trade fair Rhema, at which Rheintal.com was represented with a stand. At the stand, visitors were able to complete an adaptation of the online test and were thus automatically entered into the trade fair competition, which was also held. Nico Arn was also there and told visitors why he thinks the Rhine Valley is so great.
 

The new website of the St. Gallen brewery is all about discovery. Beer lovers can discover the range of beers, the art of brewing, the history, events and the gastronomic offerings of Schützengarten in a variety of ways.

A generous and contemporary design as well as a clear structure with many details should ensure an attractive user experience.