Sunrise and UPC increased the number of customers in the important area of mobile subscriptions in particular by 66,700 in the fourth quarter, according to a statement on Tuesday. Sunrise contributed around three quarters of this growth.

By comparison, top dog Swisscom only managed to increase the number of mobile subscribers by 31,000 in the same period. Sunrise and UPC have thus gained market share. As is well known, this is one of the goals that the two companies are pursuing with the merger completed in November.

According to Sunrise-UPC CEO André Krause, the market for mobile subscriptions probably grew again in the fourth quarter, as he told the AWP news agency. He explains this, among other things, with the trend towards a second device, such as smartwatches.

In addition, intense competition and lower subscription prices have led to more and more customers switching from prepaid to subscription models. "Corona and home offices also had a certain effect, and with them the need for more bandwidth," says Krause.

UPC breaks the trend

However, customer numbers did not only increase in the mobile communications sector. Sunrise also added 13,600 Internet and 12,300 TV customers. There were also positive developments at UPC.

The number of broadband customers grew again for the first time since the second quarter of 2017. Specifically, 2,000 customers had been gained. "The figures are improving from quarter to quarter," said Krause.

For him, these developments are "extremely positive," as he pointed out: "We've managed to maintain our growth rate despite the integration work and despite the Corona difficulties."

Together, Sunrise and UPC now reported around 2.31 million mobile subscribers, 1.18 million Internet customers and 1.27 million TV customers at the end of last year. Swisscom, meanwhile, had 4.85 million mobile subscribers, 2.04 million Internet customers and 1.55 million TV customers.

Without concrete figures

What all this means in francs and centimes remains open. No revenue and profit figures for the combined company are mentioned. The only thing stressed was that Sunrise achieved the promised growth in operating profit with a plus of 2.2 percent in the full year 2020 alone. This suggests an EBITDA of around 683 million.

However, the parent company Liberty Global has published concrete figures, albeit in the reporting currency of U.S. dollars. In addition, these figures only include Sunrise's contribution from the time of consolidation in mid-November.

Accordingly, the company achieved sales of $642.9 million in the final quarter, which corresponds to a decline of 2.6 percent on a comparable basis. Meanwhile, operating profit at the EBITDA level decreased 7.9 percent to $254.4 million in this view. "If Sunrise had been consolidated for the whole quarter, the numbers would have looked better," Krause said.

No news on job cuts

There was no big news on the further steps of the merger. "We are still at the start," said the CEO. The whole process will take one to two years, he added. As is well known, this will also lead to a reduction of several hundred jobs out of the current 3,300 or so. Consultations on this are underway, Krause said. Also because of the job cuts, he expects "merger costs" of 150 million Swiss francs in the current year.

On the other hand, the goal is to "continue to drive growth momentum. He let it be known that he is not primarily planning a discount battle. Instead, Sunrise UPC should score points with innovations and a good infrastructure.

This also included good TV content. "We are applying again for the ice hockey rights," said Krause. And that also includes a good 5G network, he added. "In three quarters of the cantons, we're on a good path here," he said of political resistance to network expansion. In the others, he said, efforts are being made to convince people. If necessary, legal action will be taken: "We also have lawsuits pending in individual places," said Krause. (SDA)

"Tiktok is failing its users by violating their rights en masse," said Director General Monique Goyens. "Children love Tiktok, but the company is failing to protect them."

Specifically, the consumer advocates complain that children and young people are not adequately protected from hidden advertising and potentially harmful content. The approach to processing personal data is also misleading.

Several clauses of the terms of use were unfair. The authorities are expected to fully investigate and take action against Tiktok's practices, Beuc said Tuesday. In addition, national authorities would be urged to take action.

According to Tiktok's terms of use, you have to be at least 13 years old to use Tiktok. Users under 18 officially need the consent of a parent or guardian, but this is not actually obtained by the application's operators.

TikTok responds to accusations

The short-video app responded to the complaints, saying it was constantly working to improve security. "Keeping our community safe, especially our younger users*, and complying with the laws of the countries in which we operate is a responsibility we take incredibly seriously," a spokeswoman said. "That's why we've taken a number of important steps, including setting all accounts of users* under 16 to private by default."

In addition, TikTok has developed an in-app summary of its privacy policy with vocabulary to make it easier for teenagers to understand the app's approach to privacy. According to the spokesperson, TikTok has contacted BEUC and welcomes a meeting with the association to hear the concerns. (SDA/pd/swi)

Time to talk about money - even in relationships. This is the opinion of Bank Cler and its agency Heimat Zürich. Because when people spend a lot of time together, money also plays a role at some point. From paying for drinks together to splitting the apartment rent: Those who deal transparently and competently with their joint finances make things easier for themselves and thus also increase the chances for long-term togetherness. A big step in this process for some new or not-so-new lovers is the joint account. In addition to practical advantages, combining finances is also a sign of trust and quite romantic.

For the latest activation of the brand strategy, the bank and the agency are once again relying on a surprising strategic focus and an equally unconventional creative approach. For this, the pop singers Roy Bianco and Die Abbrunzati Boys could be won for a collaboration. They sang their hit "Ponte di Rialto" with new lyrics for the film, which was realized as a video clip, as a tribute to the joint account and also take on the leading role in the film. The film was launched on the occasion of Valentine's Day at the weekend.

The launch of the film goes hand in hand with an increased focus on couples as a target group. A representative survey on the topic of money in relationships was already conducted in the fall of last year. The results formed the basis for a landing page, content on Bank Cler's own channels, and became the cover story on 20 minuteswhich led to lively discussions - very much in the spirit of "time to talk money."

As an architect for office design, Aroma deals with new forms of work on a daily basis and therefore also focuses on the workspace at home. Aroma's own need for a space-saving and uncomplicated solution for home office work gave rise to the idea for the "Tåble". A compact workstation that can be easily integrated into any living situation.

With "Tåble" and "Hång", the Aroma Productions team has developed products that are designed to meet all requirements in terms of aesthetics, functionality and mobility. The assembly is simple: A mounting strip fixed to the wall supports the "TÅBLE", which makes it easy to move it around or hang it up. The tabletop can be mounted at two heights, making it possible to work both standing and sitting. At the back there is space for the most necessary work equipment.

But if holes in the wall are out of the question, or no more wall is free, in combination with "Hång", which can be hung on any door, a previously unused space can be converted into a work zone. There are no limits to the imagination in creating additional space or storage: Supplemented with shelves and wooden pins, "Hång" can be expanded as desired - for example, to a coat rack or a shelf.

The two products from Aroma Productions are available now in the Online store available.

"Mutated Corona virus in Switzerland" is the headline at the beginning of the video. And already a zombie is chasing the spearhead of the Swiss influencer scene through post-apocalyptic Switzerland. Zeki Bulgurcu (@zekisworld), Ivan Spataro (@ivan_spataro), Gustav (@jounggustav) and Noelia Berberat (@noeliavid) just manage to escape into a car, but don't get far.

The one-minute video begins with these wild scenes and provokes in typical Zeki manner. In addition to the Corona virus, the video also alludes to the issue of vaccinations and makes fun of the cantons. The four main actors serve over half a million subscribers on Instagram and a hundred thousand more on Facebook and TikTok.

That Zeki has his videos realized via a production company is rather rare. The film production Maybaum supported his idea with Wo_Manpower and realized the film in one day of shooting on a Zurich junkyard. The young team members in particular were able to hold their own in all disciplines - from directing, camera, sound and lighting, to hand-made special effects, editing, sound design, mixing and mastering. The collaboration is already bearing fruit. On Monday morning, the clip already has 164,490 views.

Sandra Banholzer will become the new CEO of Rausch as of July 1, 2021, succeeding Lucas Baumann, who stepped down from the position in October 2020. Rolf G. Schmid, who will provide ad interim operational management, will take over the induction of the new CEO and then return to his duties as Delegate of the Board of Directors.

Banholzer started her career after completing a bachelor's degree in business administration as Sales Manager Latin America for Luzi. In 2007, she took on the role of Key Account Manager for Migros' Chocolat Frey operation in International Sales. In her role as Trade Manager for Migros, she lived in North America for two years, where she was responsible for setting up export platforms in the USA and Canada. This was followed by various positions in international sales for the Migros Group. Currently Sandra Banholzer heads the international business unit of Migros-Industrie, where she is responsible for the international brand and private label business.

With Sandra Banholzer, the Board of Directors is handing over operational management to a person outside the owner family for the first time. In this way, Rausch wants to set an example for the future-oriented direction of the family business and strengthen the intended modernization of the brand. With Sandra Banholzer, the company is to further expand its position as a global player in the field of natural cosmetics and also realize strategically important focal points in international distribution, specialized trade and e-commerce.

The new tax portal Esteuern.bs has been available to Basel residents since the beginning of February 2021. This platform offers many practical services related to tax business. These include the electronic tax account, where all payments can be viewed, and the online tax return BalTax.

The advertising campaign developed by Kernbrand around this new portal plays with art, which is of great importance to Basel as a city of culture and museums, and relates it to the fact that the services of the new tax portal will make tax transactions much easier.

Humorous promotional video with artist Mardi Malt

In keeping with the motto "Taxes are not art," the artist Mardi Malt was brought on board to create a colorful work of art with Tinguely-like motifs out of a tax return for the campaign's commercial after she made a mistake filling it out in writing. The commercial humorously shows that filling out the tax return will be much easier in the future with the new online solution.

To explain the services of Esteuern.bs in detail, Kernbrand's interaction media designers have created animated explainer videos for e-account registration, online tax return and electronic tax account. All videos can be found on the eTax.BS platform, in the design of which the core brand design team was involved.

Mardi Malt's artwork is not only featured in the promotional video, but is also the main motif of the accompanying poster campaign and explanatory brochure.

"An AI analyzes enormous amounts of data and thus recognizes things that a human often cannot perceive. Its use in the field of art is also conceivable. In both the visual and auditory realms, an algorithm can find structures and patterns and thus learn what makes artists' works unique," explains digitization expert Tim Niesen in an interview with news portal Press release.

"Play a Kandinsky" was created in collaboration between Google and the Centre Pompidou in Paris. Users can interact with Kandinsky's 1925 painting "Yellow-Red-Blue" and create their own music by clicking on the colors. The application also explains how a synesthete perceives music and colors.

Training through music and paintings

The developers trained the system using machine learning. The AI has learned both the works of Kandinsky and the music from his creative period. In addition, the algorithm knows which sounds, instruments and emotions the Russian master associated with certain colors.

Play a Kandinsky can create music from the paintings. According to Google, this does not replicate the exact perception through synesthesia. However, it is intended to give users an understanding of how emotions are related to certain sensory impressions. (pte)

The Bieler Tagblatt has been an independent daily newspaper in the Biel-Seeland region since 1849 and reaches 46,000 readers daily with a circulation of 16,803 copies. The regional title fully covers daily events inside and outside the region in all areas. From Thursday to Saturday, the daily newspaper is supplemented by the regional background magazine Kontext.

With immediate effect, Goldbach Publishing will market the daily newspaper on a non-exclusive basis and the Bieler Tagblatt will also be bookable for national customers via a Metropool Andok module.

André Dummermuth, Co-Managing Director at Gassmann Media, is delighted about the collaboration: "With Goldbach, we are gaining a national partner who will raise the issue of the qualities of print advertising among decision-makers on the client and agency side and strengthen the genre. Participation in Goldbach Publishing's network helps us to achieve an even stronger market presence and ideally complements our own activities."

His role focuses on integrated customer consulting and management across the three Dentsu business units - Media, Customer Experience Management (CXM) and Creative - thereby managing the expertise and integrated solutions from Media & Performance, Content & Creative and Marketing Technology for the specific requirements of customers.

As a member of the DACH Executive Board, he reports directly to CEO Ulrike Handel and works closely with the regional client teams from all Dentsu agencies on the development and business growth of clients.

Stefan Voss has more than 20 years of experience in marketing & advertising as a consultant, entrepreneur and in various management positions in different industries. Most recently, he was Digital Sales & Solution Lead DACH and Lead Marketing Services Central Europe at Cognizant Interactive. Prior to that, he was Senior Manager Digital Marketing Transformation at Accenture Interactive, where he was responsible for various projects in the field of data-driven marketing. He has extensive knowledge of digital marketing strategy, organization and implementation - and a proven track record at leading companies in digital transformation and the implementation of new business models - including Axel Springer, ProSiebenSat.1 Media and Amazon.

"The complexity of marketing is high and is becoming increasingly integrated through the combination of relevant content, a target group-specific approach, efficient technology and the trustworthy use of data. Dentsu already maps these disciplines in its three service lines and has thus created the relevant basis for integrative marketing solutions. The scope and depth of services offered by Dentsu agencies is impressive. We are bringing these together further in an integrated consulting approach," comments Stefan Voss on his new position.

The submission period for the German Dialog Marketing Association's creative competition for young dialog marketing talents begins on Monday. The Max Junior Award is aimed at students and young creatives with less than two years of professional experience, who now have the opportunity to demonstrate their creative potential with the competition.
The task this year is to develop an implementable, dialog-oriented communication concept to increase public awareness of the Psychosozialbildung e.V. association, with a particular focus on social media such as Instagram. The aim is to address children and their parents, adolescents and young adults as well as teachers, educators and social pedagogues.

The Psychosozialbildung e. V. association sees its task as providing children, adolescents and young adults with support services for decisive developmental steps in their various phases, areas and contexts of life. The aim is to impart knowledge and skills for coping with challenging and stressful situations.

Projects can be submitted until Friday, March 12, 2021. The Participation in the Max Junior Award is free of charge.

At last weekend's World Ski Championships, there was one gold and two bronze medals for Switzerland. The interest of the TV audience was just as outstanding, as SRF writes in a statement. Up to 1.02 million people from German-speaking Switzerland watched the men's downhill race with bronze winner Beat Feuz on SRF zwei on Sunday. This peak value corresponds to a market share of 82.7 percent (target group 3+, German-speaking Switzerland, overnight).

807,000 watched Suter's victory

On Saturday, up to 807,000 German-speaking Swiss watched Corinne Suter become the first Swiss downhill world champion since 1989 and Lara Gut-Behrami finish third on the podium, according to the report. This top value corresponds to a market share of 82.9 percent. Already on Thursday, Lara Gut-Behrami secured World Cup gold in the Super-G. According to the broadcaster, this race reached a peak of 428,000 viewers from German-speaking Switzerland on SRF zwei, which corresponds to a market share of 79.5 percent (target group 3+, German-speaking Switzerland, overnight).

Much attention for World Cup magazine "Skichäller

According to SRF, "Skichäller" also met with great interest. In the TV magazine program on the Ski World Championships in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Jann Billeter talks to former and current skiing greats at 7 p.m. on SRF zwei about stories beyond the daily sporting news. According to SRF, Saturday's show attracted the most attention so far, with an average of 203,000 viewers from German-speaking Switzerland and a market share of 17.3 percent. Overall, the first six "Skichäller" editions have reached an average of 148,000 viewers from German-speaking Switzerland. This average corresponds to a market share of 12.0 percent (target group 3+, German-speaking Switzerland, overnight).

Online: SRF sports offerings with almost six million visits

At Srf.ch/sport and in the SRF Sport app, news and results overviews as well as reactions, assessments and stories round off SRF's offering on the World Ski Championships. During the first week of the World Championships, the complete sports offering on SRF's online platforms reached a total of 5.8 million visits, according to SRF. (pd)