At Switzerland's highest ski resort in Zermatt, a digital information system replaces the analog scoreboards. The screens on the left provide information on piste plans, temperatures, wind speeds and avalanche danger. The screens on the right are now managed by APGISGA Mountain. The network consists of 20 "Mountain Screen Zermatt" and allows advertisers to be present with spots or animated images.

The screens along the newly opened "Matterhorn glacier ride" (3821 m.a.s.l.) and in the waiting and transit zones of the mountain railroads are designed to attract attention all year round. Around 300 broadcasts per day and screen with spots of ten seconds in a two-minute loop offer advertisers visibility and impact for their campaigns.

The weatherproof screens are state of the art and feature anti-reflective protective glass that is readable even in strong sunshine. The 20 Mountain Screen Zermatt (46 inches) in the ski area complement the existing digital offering of four Mountain ePanels (70 to 80 inches) in the center of Zermatt and Täsch. The national digital portfolio of APGISGA Mountain currently includes 38 digital advertising spaces in the mountain areas.

SZU (Sihltal Zürich Uetliberg Bahn) and VBZ (Verkehrsbetriebe Zürich) have invited tenders for the marketing of seven and five digital jobs respectively. Clear Channel decided not to submit a bid in either tender, the company said in a statement Monday.

This inventory does not fit into the existing offering of a total of 357 digital sites and cannot be combined with the digital play offerings. In the case of VBZ, there is also no profitable combination with the approximately 1100 classic poster sites at the stops.

Robert Furger, Development and Technology Officer: "Of course we welcome the expansion of the digital offering in Switzerland. But these two mandates would be isolated solutions in our overall offering, with little chance for meaningful commercialization."

In 2017, Facebook had actually promised that moderators would check every targeting category in the fight against hate messages. The company has admitted that there is obviously some catching up to do here.

Facebook earns well from advertising, with revenues of 55 billion dollars in 2018. This is not least due to the fact that marketers can target their advertising on the social network to users who are interested in certain topics. In a test, the L.A. Times found that any number of relevant terms can still be used to select target groups - from Nazi greats such as Göbbels, Mengele or Himmler to the neo-Nazi punk band Skrewdriver. The system also suggests suitable keywords that could boost right-wing reach in Germany and elsewhere, such as the fashion brand "Thor Steinar", which is considered an extreme right-wing symbol, and the AfD's ongoing topic of "refugees".

"What they're describing, which is how a clear hateful idea or narrative can be amplified to reach more people, is exactly what they said they didn't want to do," Oren Segal, head of the Center of Extremism at Anti-Defamation, criticized to the newspaper. After a scandal involving anti-Semitic targeting terms in 2017, Facebook had actually promised to take action against such relevant advertising categories. In August 2018, the company also proudly announced that it had deleted over 5,000 problematic targeting terms.

In fact, however, most of the terms found in the current newspaper research violate the current Facebook guidelines, as company spokesman Joe Osborne confirms. "While we're constantly reviewing our targeting options, we clearly need to do more, so we're taking a broader look at our policies and detection methods," he promises. This would be important, not least for legitimate media, as test advertising has often been linked to contributions from media such as CNN and the BBC, but also from Breitbart is displayed - an apparent connection for users.

In fact, the testing of terms for targeted advertising on Facebook still seems to be a major construction site. The ball was set rolling by a musician from Los Angeles, who then contacted the L.A. Times has contacted. According to the artist, he had entered "black metal" in Facebook's advertising portal and then automatically received the suggestion to also use "national socialist black metal" as a targeting term. (pte)

Consumers are increasingly digital and do more and more research on the Internet before making a planned purchase. Omnichannel retailing thus opens up huge potential for customer acquisition and retention. The new study "Omnichannel Readiness Index Switzerland" examines how well domestic retailers are prepared for this reality.

In cooperation, SAAM, Google Switzerland and the market research institute MindTake are today publishing a comprehensive study that for the first time compares the most important retailers in Switzerland across all sectors according to their omnichannel maturity. Around 100 individual criteria were used to examine how well the channels of the big players in Swiss retailing are interlinked. "We see omnichannel as an opportunity to win and retain consumers, online and stationary. With this study - the ORI Index - we want to give Swiss retailers a tool to seize this opportunity," says Saskia Tönnesmann, Industry Manager at Google Switzerland. Petra Kacnik-Süss, CEO MindTake, adds: "We have developed a benchmark, a guide and roadmap with concrete recommendations for future developments and investments - for the entire Swiss retail landscape."

An unusual feature of the study design was the 360-degree perspective achieved by combining different survey techniques. In addition to desk research and a retailer survey, 1,000 consumers were asked how important the respective factors are to them. The assessments were incorporated into the index - so it was not just the presence of omnichannel features that was rewarded, but also the provision of services that are valuable to consumers.

VSV President Patrick Kessler gives the Swiss retail trade a generally positive omnichannel assessment: "A somewhat surprising finding of the study - the DIY sector with the representatives Coop Bau+Hobby, Hornbach, Migros Do it + Garden and Jumbo achieves the best sector average value with an average of 73.4 percent. The jewelry & watches sector (73 percent) and department stores (72.6 percent) follow.

Around three quarters of Swiss consumers would like to see the availability of a product displayed in the online store. This is already offered by almost 60 percent of retailers. Customers also want a filter function according to product availability in the store, but only one retailer offers this.

There is also a surprising finding with regard to contact options for customers: A callback option by telephone is desirable for almost half of the customers; only two retailers currently offer this. Only about half of the retailers offer their potential customers an e-mail address for communication - although around four fifths of consumers would like to have such a contact option by e-mail.

The study shows that the options "Click & Collect" (online purchase with in-store pickup) and "Reserve & Collect" (online reservation with in-store pickup) are in almost equal demand from customers. While "Click & Collect" is already offered by over 80 percent of retailers, "Reserve & Collect" still shows some potential, as this option is only offered by a good third of retailers.

The study shows that retailers can score particularly well with consumers if they can meet the now very high expectations regarding free delivery and additionally a precise delivery window. Every second Swiss customer already expects a precise time as a delivery date, but only three retailers offer this promise.

However, one of the greatest potentials lies in organizational implementation. More than half of companies (54 percent) still separate e-commerce and brick-and-mortar sales through separate sales organizations. "In order to efficiently align employees and corporate culture with omnichannel, discard silo thinking and make the most of synergies, existing structures must be broken up and areas of responsibility redistributed," says Saskia Tönnesmann, Industry Manager at Google Switzerland.

As a proven marketing specialist, who also worked for international groups such as Ford and Microsoft before her time as Head of Marketing VW Switzerland, Vaugne knows exactly the high demands of clients on a communications agency in 2019, it says in a statement. Her knowledge of the automotive and technology industries is of great value to Y&R Wunderman, as the agency serves clients such as Audi and Microsoft.

In addition to her wealth of experience, Giselle Vaugne also brings a keen sense of innovation and a working philosophy that in many ways resembles that of Y&R Wunderman. "I share with the team at Y&R Wunderman a deep conviction that in our industry, co-creation will be the way of the future. Y&R Wunderman has been setting standards and shaping the Swiss communications market for years, both through technical expertise and creative skills. I am delighted to become part of the team of one of the most successful players in the future," the Zurich native is quoted as saying.

At Y&R Wunderman, co-creation means not only the interlocking internal collaboration between strategy, technology and creation, but also the targeted involvement of the client side to enable the best possible results. At Hardturmstrasse, Giselle Vaugne's move into the company's own ranks is seen as an important step into the future of customer care.

Together, Mediaschneider and Hoy now manage the Bico and Happy brands in the areas of brand, performance, SEA, SEO and technology. The collaboration with the Schänis-based company includes, in particular, media strategy, consulting and planning. In addition, reporting, media buying and billing will be handled. The cooperation covers both classic and digital campaigns. 

Philipp Semmler, CDO of Mediaschneider, in a statement, "The Bico and Happy brands offer an exciting and very broad field of activity for us as an agency. We are very much looking forward to a continued good cooperation with Hilding Anders." 
 

In the city of Zurich, APG|SGA is continuously expanding its portfolio of premium locations. In 2019, 4 new City ePanels and 3 additional Startowers have already been added at top locations. The total of 118 ePanels, 20 eBoards and 26 Startowers from APG|SGA in the city of Zurich offer advertisers unique impact and reach at high-traffic locations.

The 4 new City ePanels in the city of Zurich are located at top locations in the middle of the pedestrian flows along Langstrasse, Zollstrasse and at the Swissôtel in Oerlikon. The screens reinforce the Rail ePanel Zurich HB large and Rail ePanel Oerlikon networks. Thanks to flexible booking options and free subject changes, animated spots can be broadcast. A total of 118 ePanels and 20eBoards in the city of Zurich enable a broad digital presence with high flexibility.

Furthermore, three additional start towers ensure high contact opportunities. The selected locations are along Seebahnstrasse, at the VBZ stop Milchbuck and in Zurich-Seebach. This brings the total number of Startowers in Zurich to 26. The product, which is over four meters high, displays two F200 backlit posters fixed one above the other. These are mounted in three rows and can be used all around or in thirds.

The expansion of analog and digital offerings in the city of Zurich is being continuously driven forward by APG|SGA.

Matthieu Robert, Co-Owner and Head of Digital: "Aeko is Mediatonic's new programmatic unit that takes care of all Real Time Advertising activities. Aeko's expertise is focused on campaigns combining premium inventories and data-driven approach. Aeko's objective is to use all available channels to produce integrated and optimized online campaigns. Digitonic - online division of Mediatonic - will from now on offer its clients a global consultancy, i.e. Programmatic, Search, Social and Adops, all under one roof."
 
Digitonic specializes in customized online media solutions. It takes an integrated approach to incorporate Mediatonic's offline recommendations into its online considerations. The goal is always a coherent, global media dispositif.
 

For generations, familia has been producing healthy food for real enjoyment in the heart of Switzerland and stands for a piece of Swiss food culture for at home or on the go. To mark the company's 60th anniversary, Branders has designed a national anniversary campaign that not only promotes the product, but also highlights the brand's updated image created by the Zurich-based branding boutique. Based on its positioning, familia presents itself with a new typeface and a more modern visual world in which two-generation images express the new attitude to life: familia stands for nutrition that gives people a sense of well-being and allows them to get the best out of themselves. The campaign can be seen on posters and advertisements and is accompanied by various BTL and POS measures, such as the muesli type analysis on Biofamilia.com/60years.

The Salt brand is to be further strengthened on the communicative level. To this end, Ogilvy Switzerland has developed a presence that will once again be more eye-catching, distinctive and closer to Salt's independent DNA. In addition to the creative new communication platform, Pascal Grieder, Salt CEO, was particularly impressed by Ogilvy's understanding of the market. "They came up with a multi-layered
strategic approach convincingly demonstrated how they intend to move the brand forward in the marketplace." At Ogilvy, after celebrating the win of the mandate, they are already busy working. Ogilvy Switzerland CEO Jonathan Schipper says: "There is a distinctly fresh, dynamic spirit at Salt, which we are happy to share and translate into successful communications. The whole team is exceptionally looking forward to this challenge."
 

Charles Liebherr, 52, studied history, German literature and linguistics as well as political science in Basel and Lausanne. He also completed a Master's degree in European Integration.

Charles Liebherr has been working for SRG since the mid-1990s. Initially at Swiss Television, he then moved to SRG in the General Management and in 2000 to Radio DRS as Head of Multimedia and later Project Manager of Radio SRF 4 News. In 2008, he took over as Head of Internal Communications at SBB. Charles Liebherr has been back at SRF since 2010, where he worked as business editor and until last year as France correspondent. He currently works for the foreign desk in the Bern radio studio.

Charles Liebherr is scheduled to take up his position in Brussels in late fall 2019. After five years as EU correspondent, Oliver Washington will return to the domestic editorial office of Radio SRF in Bern at this time.

Simon Muster (right) with his predecessor Bernhard Herzig (left) (Photo: zVg)

Maxomedia has been a pioneer in digital communications for around 22 years and has successfully positioned itself nationally as a full-service agency from its base in Bern. Co-founder and main shareholder Bernhard Herzig will take care of the strategic development of the company. He is handing over operational management to Simon Muster. Muster has been a partner, member of the executive board and head of consulting at Maxomedia since 2014.

"Maxomedia has been using forward-looking technologies and working methods for its customers since the very beginning. I'm looking forward to continuing on this path with the existing team and building on a long tradition. The first step will be to expand our marketing automation department. As a full-service agency, we not only approach the topic from the technical side, but also know how to combine the individual elements on a creative level to create a consistent brand experience from start to finish," says Muster about his plans with Maxomedia. Herzig adds, "A successful continuation of Maxomedia's interdisciplinary full-service approach is assured with Simon. I'm convinced that with his vast experience and passion, he will lead the agency into a new era."
 

Bernhard Herzig co-founded Maxomedia over 22 years ago. Since then, he has built up and expanded the agency in various roles. For the past six years, he has been its CEO. During this time, he has managed a number of international and national campaigns (e.g. the introduction of the SwissPass) and has been responsible for long-term mandates such as Gleis7 for the SBB for 16 years. The graduate in business administration is a member of several award juries (Best of Swiss Web, SDV Award). As an active Chairman of the Board of Directors of Maxomedia, he will now be responsible for the further development of the agency, in addition to managing selected mandates,

Before joining Maxomedia, Simon Muster was a consultant and member of the executive board at the Bern-based agency Republica and was responsible for brand management in Switzerland as brand manager at Nike. During his time on the agency side, the brand specialist accompanied many large and medium-sized companies on their way to digital transformation. Simon Muster studied business administration and marketing at the University of St. Gallen. In addition to his duties at Maxomedia, he teaches Business Modeling & Corporate Management at the Höhere Fachschule Wirtschaft (HFW) in Bern.