ETH Zurich has sent out a special Christmas greeting for the 2020 holiday season. The story revolves around a robot that has to make up for a mistake. To do so, he creates a very special Christmas tree out of concrete.

However, there is more behind the story: namely, ETH Zurich's ambition to contribute to social progress through teaching and research. Digital manufacturing technologies in architecture have, among other things, the potential to build with less concrete in a resource-saving way.

Seed developed and realized the film in close cooperation with the university communication and the team of the professorship "Digital Building Technologies" at ETH Zurich. The film was directed by Janos Menberg.

To ensure the safety of Swiss event visitors, Ticketcorner has invested heavily in new, innovative technology tools in recent months. The aim is to comply with the strict and regionally varying regulations governing the organization of events. Ticketcorner's tracing app "CheckIn" is designed to enable event organizers to efficiently handle regulatory requirements and ticket buyers to attend events safely.

Mindful: Leader in Contact Tracing

Mindnow from Zurich developed "Mindful", the most widely used contact tracing app in German-speaking Switzerland. It is currently already being used in over 4,500 businesses, such as cinemas, restaurants, clubs and sports clubs. Thanks to new functions, the Mindful app can also be used by mountain railroads and ski resorts to meet the requirements for safe operation.

To date, the Mindful App is actively used by over 400,000 users, with tens of thousands of new users joining every week.

Contact tracing from a single source

The event industry is suffering enormously from the Corona-related restrictions on events. Even after the measures are eased, security and tracing requirements will remain high. "With the acquisition of the Mindful App, we want to make contact tracing, which will continue to occupy us for an indefinite period of time, as simple and uniform as possible in Switzerland. Visitors should have uncomplicated access everywhere and feel safe," is the wish of Andreas Angehrn, CEO of Ticketcorner.

At the moment, the Ticketcorner and Mindful apps are running in parallel. In a first step, the location codes will be readable via both apps. After that, further joint expansion steps are planned.

After the appointment of Yannick Suter appointed new Chief Data Officer of TX Group, the Group has now also been able to fill the vacant position of Chief Digital Officer. In his new role, Markus A. Wirth will serve as a kind of engine for digital transformation and as a driver for a technical and data-driven future in order to promote growth and achieve strategic and operational goals, the group writes in a statement.

As an entrepreneur, consultant, strategist and executive, Markus A. Wirth has more than 20 years of experience in the development and implementation of corporate strategies in various industries and in both Swiss and international contexts. Most recently, he held various management positions at Cofra Holding, and before that at McKinsey and IBM, among others. Wirth holds a Master in Economics & Business Administration as well as a PhD from the University of St. Gallen.

According to media reports, the purchase price is around $300 million. Accordingly, iPhone manufacturer Apple and Sony Music Entertainment had also shown interest in acquiring the start-up. (SDA)

Eight video journalists and photographers will work for the internal agency at its locations in Zurich, Bern and Lausanne, as 20 minutes announced on Tuesday. A network of freelancers will also be established. Sofie Erhardt, former art director of 20 Minuten Friday, will take over the overall management of the agency.

To 20 minutes In addition to commuter newspapers and news portals, the lifestyle publication Encore and shareholdings in Luxembourg, Austria and Denmark. (SDA)

One month before the end of the year, annual advertising print totals 4,616 million gross Swiss francs. This represents a 15.1 percent reduction in advertising print compared with the same period in the previous year.

Slight recovery for print advertising, out-of-home success slowed for the time being

The negative trend was felt across all media groups in November. Print advertising is the best performer, recovering somewhat and down just 4.2 percent year-on-year in November. Outdoor advertising, which has seen regular year-over-year gains in recent months, is also seeing a slight decline of 4.7 percent compared to November 2019. In addition to TV (-17%), internet (-17.8%) and radio (-15.4%) are also seeing double-digit year-over-year declines. Cinema advertising has been hit the hardest - after October's advertising print was already around 60 percent lower than in the same month last year, the decline in November is around 93 percent.

Retail and Initiatives & Campaigns with double-digit increase

Six out of 21 sectors were able to increase year-on-year in November. In addition to the top sector, retail trade (+10.5%), which posted a double-digit increase for the third month in a row, the initiatives & campaigns sector stood out with an increase of 20.2 percent year-on-year. This increase is largely attributable to the referendums held on November 29.

The sectors with the sharpest year-on-year declines in advertising print are events (-80.2%), transportation (-69.2%) and leisure, hospitality and tourism (-44.4%), all of which were hit by the Corona crisis.

Cumulatively, one month before the end of the year, only three of 21 industries are in a positive position: initiatives & campaigns (+9.9%), the retail industry (+8.3%) and the cleaning industry (+6.2%) were able to increase advertising pressure YTD compared to 2019.

Representatives of initiatives & campaigns dominate top 10 products

The strong month for advertising in the Initiatives & Campaigns sector is also reflected in the top 10 products in November. The FOPH's Coronavirus campaign is back on the throne, with a measured advertising print of more than 4 million gross Swiss francs. This, after searching in vain for the campaign among the ten most advertised products in October. The ranks 2 and 3 of the product ranking also go to industry representatives of initiatives & campaigns: Namely to the opponents (rank 2) and the supporters (rank 3) of the corporate responsibility initiative. This puts the Yes camp in third place for the second time in a row among the most advertised products of the month.

The working basis was the new, group-wide brand portfolio strategy, the visual elements of the BKW brand, and the existing logo ductus of the competence brands and their subsidiaries.

Solid Identities chose the bridging that BKW Building Solutions perceives in everyday life as a link between the subsidiary and the competence field of the parent company as the design guiding idea. The square competence mark logo builds the bridge between the white background, which is the carrier of the subsidiary's logo, and the green area or photograph, which represents the field of competence.

These measures created a simple, effective sub-branding system within the BKW brand world that can be easily applied to all touchpoints of BKW Building Solutions subsidiaries.

"2021 will be a year of transition, starting with the digestion of the effects of the Corona crisis," Nicolas Délétroz, professor at the Tourism Institute of the University of Applied Sciences of Western Switzerland, tells AWP news agency. But tourism must inevitably become more local and digital, is his recommendation.

In cities in particular, tourism has really collapsed. Between May and October, the number of overnight stays in Geneva (-78%), the Zurich region (-73%) and Basel (-63%) fell sharply due to the absence of foreign tourists, as the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) recently reported.

According to Jürg Stettler of the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, travel demand is also likely to remain low: "We expect foreign demand to pick up slowly in 2021, depending on the number of coronavirus cases and vaccinations." First from nearby markets and then, in the second half of the year, from more distant countries such as China.

However, Swiss cities, which in the past would have attracted a high proportion of foreign shopping tourists or business travelers, would likely continue to be strongly affected by the aftermath of the crisis. In 2019, foreign travelers spent around CHF 18 billion in Switzerland, according to the FSO.

Digital customer acquisition

Meanwhile, online tools, for example, could help: "Digital advertising, especially on cell phones, has more impact because the proportion of people looking for tourism offers on a smartphone has increased significantly in recent months," says Stettler. Destinations off the beaten track are also investing more in these tools, he adds.

In addition, especially in small Switzerland, it is increasingly important to offer a combination of more affordable accommodations and, for example, the promotion of local products. This should also increase the Swiss people's desire to travel again.

But at the same time, according to the director of the Swiss Travel Association (FSV), the desire for foreign destinations is likely to increase again. "If there is a vaccine and people live better with the virus, that could help," says Walter Kunz. Especially since people are fed up with the restrictions and want to go on vacation by the sea again, for example. (SDA)

From a total of 864 entries from 22 countries, the ADC*E jury awarded 41 Gold and 86 Silver Awards. Switzerland received 15 nominations, as well as three Silver Awards. One Gold Award went to the campaign «Waiting Wins» by Havas Village Genève for Canal+ in the «Print & Outdoor, Direct Marketing» category.

The motion instructs the Federal Council to set the contributions to the costs of DAB+ broadcasting for licensed and notifiable radio broadcasters at a minimum of 50% for 2021 instead of the planned 30%.

Financing should come from the radio and TV levy. If the corresponding financial leeway increases over the course of the year, the contributions should be increased to a maximum of 80%, according to the motion.

OFCOM had already announced in October that the funding shares for DAB+ broadcasting would be set at 45% for radio broadcasters financed by levies and 40% for other radio broadcasters, said Media Minister Simonetta Sommaruga in the National Council.

Due to delays in setting up distribution platforms, funds would still be available, so that Bakom would increase technology funding to 50 percent next year. This would fulfill the request. The Federal Council accepts the motion. (SDA)

"Happy Moments - this is what we want to offer our guests. And that includes creative advertising that brings joy and touches people. Because McDonald's promotes talent, we are an enthusiastic partner of the ADC Young Creatives Award. We want to exchange ideas closely with Switzerland's young creatives, learn from them, be inspired, and at the same time make our own contribution," says Stijn Heytens, Chief Marketing Officer at McDonald's Switzerland.

The ADC Young Creatives Award is the competition for young creatives under 30. Creatives born after June 25, 1990 are eligible to participate. The Warm-up event, at which the content of the briefing will be audited, will take place online on January 27, 2021 at 6:30 pm. The access data will be announced after registration.

Participants then have until February 24, 2021 to submit their work. As always, there are four ADC Young Creatives Awards to be won in the categories Film, Outdoor, Direct and Cyber. The winners of the Young Creatives Award can become members of "Young ADC" and thus part of ADC Switzerland. The Young Professionals will receive a "ticket" to join the jury at the next ADC judging and thus decide on the Shortlist and Bronze Awards on the first jury day.

In addition to McDonald's as main sponsor and briefing provider, the organizer receives the support of long-standing sponsors APG|SGA Out of Home Media, Blick, Die Post, Swissfilm Association and Keystone SDA. Media support for the important creative young talent competition comes from Werbewoche and Persoenlich. The organizer is ADC Switzerland, supported by the LSA Leading Swiss Agencies association.

In those markets where the "Pre-Owned" segment has been launched, it has been very well received, says Miczaika: "We launched the Pre-Owned category this year and are seeing an extremely high level of interest from our customers - even though we've put virtually no marketing effort into it."

In an interview with the Handelszeitung Miczaika also talks about the attractiveness of the sports equipment sector: "With regard to sports equipment, I noticed in Lockdown that there isn't one really good online supplier. You have to find it all yourself, so the dumbbell here, the mat there, the running shoes there. It's very fragmented. That can be expanded even further. We also want to attract more male customers in the future, and that would complement each other well."

In addition, the Zalando Switzerland boss announces the opening date for the planned Zalando outlet in Konstanz and talks about the Connected Retail program, in which stationary retailers are also to be integrated: "The Connected Retail program has only just got off the ground in Germany, the Netherlands and a few other markets, and we want to continue to scale this bit by bit. There are plans next year to bring Connected Retail to more markets, including Switzerland." The company has already received inquiries from Swiss retailers.