Celebrate in alpine chic: in Baden an alpine hut has been created as an event location.Professional events for employees and customers are on the agenda of more and more companies. Extraordinary event locations in the midst of nature are playing an increasingly important role. The Swiss event specialists from Argo Marketing are well aware of this, and with their Eventalp new standards. In front of a dreamlike natural backdrop, they offer an authentic alpine hut in alpine chic style, which makes every celebration an extraordinary, very cozy and unforgettable event. "We combine the ruggedness of alpine nature with traditional elements of Swiss culture. Our 650 square meter Eventalp is built in traditional solid wood construction and equipped with organic natural wood floors and hand-chopped or hand-carved ceilings and furniture. We do not miss this attention to detail in the culinary area either. For example, we cater to our customers with our Terroir Catering, which includes regional specialties from all cantons, and offer local producers a platform for their products directly from the region," explains Claire Egert, project manager at ARGO Marketing.It is precisely this combination of the rustic and the traditional that is making Eventalp increasingly popular with companies and private individuals alike. Up to 420 people can be accommodated in the alpine hut, which can be rented either in its entirety or in parts. A 450-square-meter terrace invites guests to enjoy the view of the Swiss Alpine landscape around the village of Stetten in the canton of Aargau. Those who prefer to enjoy the original decoration in the alpine hut can also do so, for example, in the integrated bar or lounge area. But it is not only this distinctive atmosphere in the midst of nature that makes the Eventalp a unique location. Also the full service, which the Event specialists of Argo marketing offer, contributes to it. From program design, event technology and direction, ticketing, catering and decoration to photo and video production, they offer a comprehensive service that is very popular with customers. This service also includes a traffic and security service if required. Thanks to Eventalp's prime location with up to 300 parking spaces, guests can enjoy a relaxed journey.

Jury President Stefan Michel and Reto Gurtner of the Weisse Arena Group. Photo: BellefotoThe General Meeting of the Society for Marketing (GfM), held on October 25 at the Hotel Dolder Grand, was marked by a change in leadership. Dominique von Matt was unanimously elected as the new president by the more than 200 members in attendance. He succeeds Ulrich H. Moser, who has expanded the GfM over the past nine years and was elected honorary president as a result.Exchange Between Academia and Professional PracticeDr. oec. publ. Dominique von Matt founded the communications agency Jung von Matt/Limmat in 1993 and currently serves as its chairman of the board. In 2011, he founded Jung von Matt/brand identity, which specializes in branding. Von Matt also serves on the board of directors of the NZZ Media Group and is a lecturer at the University of St. Gallen. Throughout his career, he has been committed to fostering dialogue between academia and the professional world, for which he was honored with the Swiss Academy of Marketing Science Award in 2014.

Presidents Together (from left to right): The new GfM President Dominique von Matt with Uwe Tännler, President of Swiss Marketing, and Ueli Moser, GfM Honorary President. Photo: BellefotoForward-Looking MarketingThe GfM Marketing Award, which is presented once a year to a company selected through a multi-stage process by a distinguished 13-member jury, stands as a symbol of excellence. This year, the Weisse Arena Group took home the prize. Its Chairman of the Board, Reto Gurtner, accepted the award at the Dolder Grand from jury president Prof. Dr. Stefan Michel. The cover story of the MK issue 10/2016 states: „The Weisse Arena Group is being honored for its past achievements. Yet its marketing is forward-looking. Innovative offerings, high quality, and simple solutions to customer needs are essential. Digital marketing is already a given. But without visionary thinking and bold decisions, this success story would never have happened in the first place.“ „MK Marketing & Kommunikation“ explores how this came about in an interview with Reto Gurtner.Marketing ExcellenceThis year, GfM is celebrating its 75th anniversary. To mark the occasion, „MK Marketing & Kommunikation“ asked representatives of past GfM Marketing Award winners for the 10/2016 issue what they consider to be marketing excellence.

The topics of inbound marketing and marketing automation are gaining in relevance.Of course, inbound marketing and marketing automation have been an issue for progressive, international or large companies for quite some time. For example, at Migros or Nobel Biocare in Switzerland. Both companies have dedicated inbound marketing managers as full-time positions to organize and structure the topic internally and externally. Now the topic seems to be gaining ground on a broad front, even among SMEs. media BROS., for example, has recorded an increase of Blog article significant growth in visits to these topics. Especially via the Organic Search (SEO) channel.

Visit history of a blog article about inbound marketing software and marketing automation, since February 2015 until the end of August 2016 on blog.mediabros.ch.Significant here is the increase in interested parties/leads on the topic of "Comparison of Inbound Marketing and Marketing Automation Software/Tools.". So Visitors, who have obviously already familiarized themselves with the topic and want to find out specifically about a software comparison. And in this sense is considering using such a tool and strategy for his company in the future. A plausible interpretation that is often confirmed in personal 1:1 conversations.

Course interested in "Comparison of Inbound Marketing and Marketing Automation Software/Tools".Also interesting as well as significant is how great the airing of this topic on a small modest blog like blog.mediabros.ch to Germany is. Germany is generally somewhat more developed in online topics than Switzerland. The gap has certainly decreased in recent years, but is still there. Which doesn't seem to be the case on the topic of inbound marketing as well as marketing automation, at least based on the example of media BROS. Otherwise, almost 18 percent of the traffic on pages on these topics would hardly come from Germany. This shows impressively how new these disciplines are in general and how little is reported about them on the web. Austria has recently seen an increase in visits and interest in the topic, and media BROS. believes that Austria will soon take third place.

Author Jürg Stuker, Partner and CEO of Namics.Whether business models, processes or even culture - digital transformation has a decisive impact on companies. This is also reflected in the development of job profiles. Take IT, for example: Colleagues from this department were mainly responsible for programming and system administration. With digitization and its possibilities - keyword Big Data - IT specialists are getting new fields of application. The best-known job description is the data scientist. He or she is characterized by a high degree of analytics, but also the ability to abstract, to recognize and interpret patterns - he or she makes the data speak, so to speak. This is crucial. After all, what good is the aggregation of data if there is no meaningful interpretation of it? This is precisely what is needed for the further development of products and marketing measures. No wonder, then, that the data scientist will not be found in IT, but rather in marketing.Networking and fusionThe increasing networking and merging of areas of expertise is also noticeable at management level. To stay with the example of IT and marketing: There is also a growing need for a C-level officer who combines both worlds and drives them forward at management level. Some companies are responding by appointing a Chief Digital Officer (CDO), a Chief Marketing Technology Officer (CMTO) or expanding the competencies of the Chief Information Officer (CIO). Whether CIO, CDO or CMTO, the business-critical decisions about new, digital solutions will be made by those who can draw equally on IT and marketing knowledge. Technology evolves, customer needs change, and thus there will always have to be a transformation of business models. So it's not just about mastering digitization, but permanent change. In the long term, companies should therefore think about a Chief Transformation Officer - someone with interdisciplinary knowledge from the areas of marketing, IT and business development.Digital transformation changes professional landscapeThe examples show: The challenges of digital transformation are changing the occupational landscape. It is therefore becoming increasingly important for companies to invest in employee training and development. So only those who invest in further training today will be able to master the change tomorrow. An initial attempt to provide information about these measures has been made by digitalswitzerland with its Education Digital initiative. Here, numerous offers from Switzerland and Germany can be found.Author: Jürg Stuker, Partner and CEO of Namics

Goldbach Interactive realized a Snapchat campaign for McDonald's SwitzerlandMcDonald's Switzerland is bringing the CBO burger back to its restaurants for a short time and is celebrating this with its own Snapchat geofilter, especially for the Swiss market. Snapchat uses GPS coordinates to determine the location of mobile users and delivers the appropriate sponsored filter. The funny overlay will be made available to subscribed users in Switzerland for their snaps on October 26, and the specially created illustration will be placed as a filter over the snapped image on Snapchat. The graphic is designed so that, for example, in a selfie, the user looks as if they are holding the CBO in their hands. In addition, a custom "Sorry" statement can be texted (e.g. "Sorry Pizza, the CBO is back").Goldbach Interactive (Schweiz) AG has been managing McDonald's Switzerland's Snapchat channel mcdoswitzerland since July 2016. The geofilter was designed by TBWA to match the current CBO campaign ("Sorry ... I'm back").

How do you drive smart? The Ecodrive campaign provides answers.In summer 2016, the advertising impact of the Eco-Drive campaign "Clever driving" was examined. The poster campaign, which was realized in German- and French-speaking Switzerland, consisted of four different subjects and was displayed for two weeks at Clear Channel Switzerland's quality stations. The campaign was also accompanied by online advertising measures and provides tips on how driving behavior can be adapted to "smart driving". Over a third of respondents who can remember the campaign say that they have changed their driving behavior as a result of it.Diego Quintarelli, Sales Director Clear Channel: "It is very pleasing that we can show the lasting effect of posters with this study. The fact that so many of those surveyed changed their driving behavior as a result of the campaign is remarkable."More Information on the study.

Huawei promotes the P9 smartphone launched in April with a social media campaign."Change the way you see the world" is the motto of the smartphone launched in April, the Huawei P9. With this guiding principle, Huawei Switzerland has launched a social media campaign supporting the three Swiss aid organizations Make a Wish Foundation Switzerland, OceanCare and Theodora FoundationSix Swiss are part of this campaign:

•          Steven Epprecht (Model, Host and Actor)
•          Céline Gehret (Professional surfer)
•          Mirjam Hunter (Ex-freestyle skier, model and presenter)
•          Nina Jauch (Food Blogger)
•          Anastasia Lammer (Food Blogger)
•          Patrick Obrist (Ice hockey player with EHC Kloten)

To capture the best moments, all participants received a brand new Huawei P9, equipped with one of the best smartphone cameras on the market. Not only the dual camera, which was developed in cooperation with the photography pioneer Leica, but also the sleek, compact design distinguish the device. The professional camera features allow everyone to capture their most beautiful moments photographically with ease, edit them, and share them with their social media community on Instagram and Facebook - which is exactly the main component of the #MyHuaweiP9 campaign: each of these selected people takes as many photos as he or she wants, uploads them to Instagram or Facebook, and then tags them with the hashtag #MyHuaweiP9. For each published photo, Huawei will donate CHF 25 to one of the three charities.The campaign will last until November 4. The person who has uploaded the most pictures by then will support the organization of his/her choice with an additional CHF 1000.Daniel Meier, Country Director Consumer Business Group Huawei Switzerland, commented: "I am delighted to have attracted six such great role models for the #MyHuaweiP9 campaign. This project aims to inspire to capture extraordinary moments and challenge people to see the world from a different perspective. We must not forget how diverse our world is - this project should remind us of that. "The aid organizations are also very pleased to be part of the #MyHuaweiP9 campaign. Not only because of the monetary support, but also because the motto of seeing the world differently is positive and fitting. The Theodora Foundation comments: "#MyHuaweiP9 is a nice idea that gets people to do good. "For those who would like to follow the project: The Huawei Mobile Switzerland Facebook page reports regularly about the campaign. It is also worth visiting the Instagram and Facebook pages of the six celebrities.

•          Mirjam Hunter
•          Steven Epprecht
•          Céline Gehret
•          Patrick Obrist
•          Anastasia Lammer and Nina Jauch

In the big sex survey, couples reveal intimate details and win a trip to Amsterdam.Men and women are fundamentally different. Fortunately, they are united when it comes to lovemaking: they trust Ceylor. The House's new campaign dramatizes this unifying effect and at the same time launches the first major sex survey. For almost 100 years, Ceylor has been the No. 1 Swiss trust brand for a carefree love life - before, during and after the act.This claim to leadership is also conveyed by the new campaign, at the heart of which is a film dramatizing how ceylor meets all the preferences of men and women - in which the brand has the right condom, lubricant or intimate care product for every need and situation. the film deliberately focuses on storytelling with authentic, witty staging of real couples and their contradictions. It will be distributed in short and long versions and adaptations via digital media, social networks and internal channels.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swqA65i8jbsMit of the major survey on the "truth about our sex life", the microsite https://liebeleben.ceylor.ch which in turn generates content for continuous brand promotion in social media and leads through the prize draw: http://tinyurl.com/ceylorliebelebenResponsible at Lamprecht AG: Nico Issenmann (CEO), Martina Langes (Marketing Manager ceylor); at The HouseGrischa Rubinick (ECD), Patrick Meyer (CD Copy), Manuel Steiner (Art Director), Carolin Widemann (Art Director), Oskar Levinson (Screen Designer), Guy Collé (Director IT & Development), Patrick Grob (Senior Frontend Developer), Sven Stirnemann (Development), Paola Gächter (Senior Consultant), Stephan Suter (Media Director), Luzian Storrer (Media Consultant), Andreas Jorgella (Overall responsibility); at CZAR Film GmbH Berlin: Caspar-Jan Hogerzell (director), Daniel Flaschar (photography).

Ready for the Oktoberfest party: Renato Luna, Edith Swiezy and Bruno Felder (both on the ZW Board) and Christian Sulser (from left to right).At least as good as Ballermann, but with pretzels, knuckle of pork and Oktoberfest beer, the Bauschänzli Oktoberfest has been celebrated in Zurich for 21 years. Playing during the visit of the Zurich advertising clubs the Mürztalers. The seven multi-instrumentalists and vocalists from Austria tour Europe as a live band when they are not heating up the audience on Mallorca's Playa del Palma.With a full throatThe atmosphere was great. Even Ursula Gamper from the Zurich Advertising Club (ZW) office climbed onto a bench to balance to the beat of the music. ZW President Danijel Sljivo could hardly believe how the otherwise serious club members sang along at the top of their lungs when encouraged to do so by the Mürztalers. The advertising club had organized the ZW-Fun-Event as a thank you for sponsors and partners.Serious information eventAt next ZW event On 2 November, the focus will once again be on serious information: during a visit to the Swiss Radio and Television SRF television studio in Leutschenbach, the focus will be on how a television programme is produced, what is involved in programme marketing and how Admeira organizes the marketing of advertising space.

Many companies do not exploit their potential because they do not carry out sufficient lead nurturing.In my last article, I described the four phases of the Hubspot inbound methodology. In the third phase (closing), after a website visitor has been converted into a lead, it is now a matter of transforming the leads into a real existing customer base. This brings me to the next exciting topic, lead nurturing.The idea behind lead nurturing (contact nurturing) is to maintain the dialog and communication between the company and the leads so that the product or service is "top of mind" when it comes to the purchase decision. Lead nurturing is a process that focuses on building a relationship with the consumer at every stage of the buyer's journey, and studies have shown that the valuable leads that companies generate are often not followed up strategically or at all. This means that great potential is not exploited. It is true that lead nurturing takes time and manpower. However, it pays off in the long term, as Web 2.0 has changed consumer behavior. Before they get in touch with a company, they take enough time to research and evaluate the subject of their interest and they want to be heard. This type of behavior goes against the traditional way of selling. Studies show that the majority of consumers are not ready to buy at the time of first contact (e.g. leaving contact details). For B2B companies in particular, this means nurturing these leads until they are ready to buy, and building and maintaining valuable and long-lasting customer relationships is essential in the new Buyer 2.0 world. And with targeted lead nurturing, the company can be present on the channels and touchpoints where the customer is, the buyer can be involved and thus increase the chance of a relationship.A lead nurturing program should include the processing of leads generated via the various channels. The information for nurturing and further processing must not lose its benefit character and should not be promotional. Furthermore, they must always include a call to action, and lead nurturing and follow-up must not only take place online, but can also take place offline, e.g. in the form of telephone calls, events, etc.A few facts from studies

• The Swiss Online Marketing Trend Monitor 2015 states that many companies lack a clear strategic direction and the necessary resources for successful, continuous online marketing. The opportunities offered by the combination of individual instruments (website, email marketing, social media, landing pages, call-to-actions and content) are still underutilized
• Companies that automate their lead management report an average increase in sales of 10% within the first six to nine months.
• Professional lead nurturing leads to 50% more leads at a third lower cost (Hubspot - the Ultimate List of Marketing Statistics).

The procedure for a lead nurturing campaign could be as follows: As soon as a prospective customer fills out a form on the website, for example to request a checklist, they are considered a lead - this assumes that the website must contain various offers. This is where lead nurturing begins. Further processing takes place a few days later with an e-book offer, which is sent by email. Another few days later, a download of a user report is sent and finally the lead is invited to a webinar. The procedure depends heavily on the customer touchpoints identified in the previous analysis and the options available to the company, so it's not really rocket science. It's just a shame that only around 40% of companies use online lead management (Swiss Online Marketing Trend Monitor 2015). This means that those who start now can certainly enjoy a competitive advantage. This is because 74% of companies set themselves the goal of turning leads into customers in 2017.author: *Martina Garcia is a media consultant at Mediaschneider AG and has written a master's thesis at HSLU on "Successful content marketing in B2B".Mediaschneider AG: https://www.mediaschneider.com/

In mid-November, the cityscape of Lugano changes: fairy lights, winter decorations and Christmas music from every corner - the city is immersed in the world of Natale in Piazza. The traditional Christmas market, concerts and many other activities and attractions attractVisitors to Lugano from 26 November 2016 to 08 January 2017. And from December, northern Swiss will be able to travel south faster. In December, the Gotthard Base Tunnel will open on schedule for passenger transport. At the same time, the renovation of the Funiculaires will also be completed. The small cable car will take passengers directly from the train station to the heart of Lugano. Travel time will be reduced from two minutes to just 30 seconds. This will make the city even easier and faster to reach.

When it comes to online Christmas shopping, there are many stumbling blocks.1. do not do Christmas marketingQuestion your current marketing strategy: Are you actually using all possible channels such as email, social media and newsletters? Are these coordinated with each other? Is your store designed for Christmas and optimized for specific target groups, for example with regard to a certain type of buyer or certain product preferences? Do you use discounts and/or coupons to entice undecided customers and prospects to your site?2. do not offer Christmas-specific servicesPamper your customers during the stressful pre-Christmas period with an "all-round carefree" service: send products gift-wrapped - gladly with an additional card; allow your customers to save individual wish lists; bind your customers with time-limited discounts and send discount calendars; show them with a countdown until when timely Christmas orders are possible; support undecided buyers with a best-of list etc. in their purchase decision.3. do not offer additional shipping optionsCustomers must be able to rely on receiving their ordered goods on time, especially during the Christmas season. Position yourself as a reliable partner by having goods delivered even on December 24. You should also offer express delivery as an additional shipping method, allow your customers to pick up their orders at your stores free of charge, and send orders within Germany free of shipping costs - this is particularly well received.4. provide the wrong payment methodsThe abandonment rate is particularly high during the checkout process. Therefore, offer the right mix of payment methods and ensure a convenient, streamlined checkout with short loading times. The easiest way to do this is with professional payment software.5. neglect the post-Christmas periodAfter Christmas, there's still no time for you to catch your breath. Have special New Year's Eve and New Year's Day offers ready for your customers and enable them to return gifts without complications.Heidelpay presents more information on the biggest mistakes during Advent and helpful tips on how online retailers can effectively avoid them in its whitepaper "The five biggest mistakes in online Christmas business - tips and tricks for success in Christmas e-commerce". It is available at www.heidelpay.de/downloads available for download free of charge.