MEDIA The media company Ringier has announced that it is leaving the association with immediate effect. The reason is irreconcilable differences. (more…)

On Monday, SRG, Swisscom and Ringier provided information about a new joint venture: SRG, Swisscom and Ringier are bundling the marketing of their media offerings and advertising platforms in a new, joint marketing organization (Werbewoche.ch reported). This is to be geared to the rapidly changing needs of advertisers and Swiss media.

The following day, intensive discussions were held on this matter at a closed-door meeting of the executive committee of the Swiss Media Association (VSM), Ringier wrote in a statement on Thursday. The Association of Swiss Media is of the opinion that SRG's advertising revenues are not necessary, it said. Ringier does not share this drastic stance.

Ringier CEO Marc Walder: "In fact, the Swiss Media Association is calling for a ban on advertising for SRG. In other words, no more advertising on their TV stations either. This is a radical demand that Ringier cannot stand behind. We are therefore withdrawing from the association with immediate effect. I regret Ringier's inevitable withdrawal due to this stance of the association."

The planned joint venture between SRG, Swisscom and Ringier is subject to approval by the Competition Commission (WEKO) and DETEC/ OFCOM, the statement added. Subject to this approval, the start of business activities is planned for the first quarter of 2016.

Swiss Media Association

Commenting on Ringier's withdrawal, the Swiss Media Association said in a statement: "The Swiss Media Association considers it highly questionable in terms of media policy and is disappointed that the public broadcaster SRG, with its public service mandate, and Swisscom, which is 51 percent owned by the Swiss Confederation, together with Ringier, want to merge the marketing of their advertising into a joint company. Consequently, Ringier has declared its withdrawal from the Swiss Media Association.

It was unacceptable that the Confederation, through SRG, which is financed by the media tax, and Swisscom, which is majority-owned by the Confederation, should contribute with this new marketing company to interfering in the already distorted competition in the media sector. And it is regrettable that this is happening together with one of the largest private media houses in Switzerland, he said. Precisely because global challengers such as Google and Facebook are skimming off a growing share of the advertising market, it is elementary that the federal government, via SRG and Swisscom, does not weaken the livelihood of the private media.

The Swiss Media Association regrets Ringier's withdrawal, but considers it logical.

On Monday, SRG, Swisscom and Ringier provided information about a new joint venture: SRG, Swisscom and Ringier are bundling the marketing of their media offerings and advertising platforms in a new, joint marketing organization (Werbewoche.ch reported). This is to be geared to the rapidly changing needs of advertisers and Swiss media.

The following day, intensive discussions were held on this matter at a closed-door meeting of the executive committee of the Swiss Media Association (VSM), Ringier wrote in a statement on Thursday. The Association of Swiss Media is of the opinion that SRG advertising revenues are not necessary.

 

"Radical demand that Ringier can't stand behind"

Ringier does not share this drastic stance. Ringier CEO Marc Walder: "In fact, the Swiss Media Association is calling for a ban on advertising for SRG. In other words, no more advertising on their TV stations either. This is a radical demand that Ringier cannot stand behind. We are therefore withdrawing from the association with immediate effect. I regret Ringier's inevitable withdrawal due to this attitude of the association." The planned joint venture between SRG, Swisscom and Ringier is subject to approval by the Competition Commission WEKO and DETEC/ OFCOM, the statement added. Subject to this approval, the start of business activities is planned for the first quarter of 2016.

 

VSM shows disappointment

Commenting on Ringier's withdrawal, the Swiss Media Association said in a statement: "The Swiss Media Association considers it highly questionable in terms of media policy and is disappointed that the public broadcaster SRG, with its public service mandate, and Swisscom, which is 51 percent owned by the Swiss Confederation, together with Ringier, want to merge the marketing of their advertising into a joint company. Consequently, Ringier has declared its withdrawal from the Swiss Media Association.

It was unacceptable that the Confederation, through SRG, which is financed by the media tax, and Swisscom, which is majority-owned by the Confederation, should contribute with this new marketing company to interfering in the already distorted competition in the media sector. And it is regrettable that this is happening together with one of the largest private media houses in Switzerland, he said. Precisely because global challengers such as Google and Facebook are skimming off a growing share of the advertising market, it is elementary that the federal government, through SRG and Swisscom, does not weaken the livelihood of private media, he said. The Association of Swiss Media regrets Ringier's withdrawal, but considers it logical. (hae/pd)

<span sheds light on the importance of values in the modern sales world. (more…)

<span no longer appears on Mondays but on Fridays. The editorial content has also been expanded. (more…)

The "mobile friendliness" proclaimed by Google is not a revolution. Those who adhere to the basic mechanisms and guidelines of the search engine giant have created a reliable foundation for being found. However, the increasing importance of a mobile site and corresponding content should not be ignored. Simon Griesser, Head of SEO at Yourposition, comments on Google's algorithm update: "Aspects of the usability of a mobile website are relevant for Google's ranking. This update was accompanied by adjustments to app indexing: Information from installed apps is used to index app pages more frequently in mobile search results. 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And he mentions a link that you can use to test the mobile performance of your own website: www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly.Z'graggen also notes two other current trends - speed and user experience. "Google invests a lot of money to provide searchers with the most relevant search results possible within fractions of a second. However, speed is not only very important to Google when providing search results, but also when it comes to the loading speed of a website, as this is an important feature of usability and user experience," says Z'graggen. If a visitor arrives at a page that loads slowly, they will be dissatisfied. It is therefore essential to have a fast and secure website in order to improve your ranking in Google's search results or at least not lose any positions. Google tools that measure end customer performance can help to achieve this goal. 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Since then, there have been around 600 adjustments per year."Structured dataMetapeople has been offering solutions for national and international online marketing projects in the areas of search engine marketing, search engine optimization, affiliate marketing, social media and online media since 1998 and now has 450 employees worldwide. Kim Engels, Head of Campaign Management, identifies two major trends for 2015: "The importance and sensible use of structured data is increasing. At the same time, the correct combination and use of this data for SEO brings relevant benefits for our clients." In addition, good content continues to be essential, which is needed on all pages to keep the user experience high.Simon Griesser from Yourposition considers it important to keep an eye on existing trends in addition to the innovations: "Traffic via mobile devices is on the rise, which means that websites optimized for mobile and app indexing are becoming increasingly important, and the proportion of local search is increasing." Videos are still on the rise and their optimization offers even greater potential. "In the area of content, the focus is still on quality and uniqueness. However, with regard to topics such as vocal search and device diversity, the focus is also shifting towards semantics and therefore the correct use of html elements and microformats," adds Griesser.Focus on local searchWhen asked about the most common mistakes or sins of omission made by companies, Griesser says: "We come across websites with a wide range of optimization levels, from advanced implementation to a lack of basics - and a pleasingly high level of potential. Many websites are lagging behind the trends mentioned, even if they have been around for some time: a lack of mobile optimization, no focus on local search, especially for companies with numerous locations, hardly any optimization in the area of videos." In general, it is striking how often the topic of universal search is left out: Optimization of images, videos, news, locations, etc. These are topics with great potential. "We regularly come across websites with slow page loading times and problems controlling indexing. In the area of content, many companies have difficulties offering helpful additional content alongside their actual offerings. Relaunches often fail in terms of visibility in search engines due to the lack of a redirect concept. "Many website operators also fail to consistently measure all KPIs relevant to SEO, from ranking and traffic to conversions.Yourposition AG is known for its holistic, interdisciplinary approach. Its services include website, keyword and competitor analyses, content audits, local search, consulting mandates, relaunch support and reporting. Yourposition also offers the combination of SEO with content marketing, inbound marketing, web analytics, YouTube and SEA.Web analytics toolsOn the subject of sins of omission, Beat Z'graggen says: "The American writer Daniel J. Boorstin once said: 'The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, but the imagination of knowledge. Unfortunately, we experience the essence of this statement in many conversations with potential customers. In projects where customers have a certain amount of SEO knowledge, they make the worst mistakes themselves, while customers without technical SEO knowledge only implement with great success what we recommend based on many years of experience and visitor data from web analytics tools." Z'graggen cites misleading visitor data, 404 error pages, duplicate content, non-optimized meta descriptions and title tags, blocking search engine crawlers, a focus on link quantity rather than quality, old, slow websites with a poor user experience, a focus on the wrong search terms, a lack of new content and poor maintenance as the most common mistakes.Z'graggen also sees a lot of potential for improvement in SEO copywriting: "Unfortunately, many companies still make the mistake of not paying attention to customer language and visitor behavior when writing website copy, instead using company-internal terms and spellings. With free tools such as the Google Keyword Planner, you could easily check the search volume for various terms and spellings and also receive suggestions for other related terms, term combinations and spellings."

STORE CONCEPT More and more people are eating out rather than at home or in a restaurant. Coop recognized this trend early on and expanded its expertise in out-of-home consumption. The retailer is now launching a new store concept under the name "Coop to go" that focuses exclusively on eating out. (more…)