In March, the Council of States approved a parliamentary initiative by former Ticino National Councillor Marco Romano. The Council of States' Committee for Transport and Telecommunications (KVF-S) now sees things differently: it voted against the initiative by 7 votes to 2 with one abstention, as the parliamentary services announced on Tuesday.

According to the Commission majority, the existing control mechanisms are sufficient. In their view, an additional review body would not bring any added value. "On the contrary, this could even jeopardize the constitutionally guaranteed programme autonomy," writes the Commission.

A minority, on the other hand, wants to follow the National Council. According to the press release, it considers it appropriate to place the SRG under the control of the SFAO due to the volume of fees paid out to the SRG each year.

In the text of the initiative, Romano wrote that the SFAO, as an independent body, would be able to carry out risk-based and management-related financial supervisory audits at SRG.

The Council of States will now decide on the initiative. (SDA/swi)

Annalisa De Vecchi previously worked as a correspondent for Radiotelevisione della Svizzera Italiana (RSI). From September, she will take over from Danilo Nussio, who is retiring. De Vecchi will report for the Italian-speaking regions of Misox, Bergell and Puschlav, and will also incorporate news from these valleys into Keystone-SDA's national reporting.

The Italian-language editorial office at Keystone-SDA was set up in 2017 on behalf of the canton of Graubünden and is funded by the federal and cantonal language subsidies. In April 2024, the government approved the expansion of the Servizio Valli Italofone (SVI).

The expansion of the editorial office in Chur from the current 50 percent to 100 percent will promote Italian-language reporting on events in politics, culture and society and thus ensure basic journalistic coverage of the southern valleys of Graubünden, as Keystone-SDA writes in a press release. To this end, it will work closely with Keystone-SDA's regional office, which is also based in Chur, and receive support from the central editorial office in Bern.

In addition to strengthening journalistic reporting for the Italian-speaking areas of the canton, the InfoGrigione association is also pushing ahead with the development of the E-Grigionitaliano digital platform. This platform will enable participating media to provide each other with content, exploit synergies in digital production and distribution and carry out development projects.

The platform is scheduled to go into operation in the second quarter of 2025.

Pupils should be sensitized to follow social media critically, said Federal Councillor Rösti on Tuesday in Brugg AG at the inauguration of the new service on the SBB school and adventure train. The media skills of young people are extremely important.

The Federal Council wants to play its part in this, Rösti stated. Platforms such as Facebook, YouTube and X should be regulated as far as necessary. In future, he said, there should be a simplified reporting option if someone comes across fake news or completely false representations. It is also about hate comments, which should be made a punishable offense.

According to Rösti, the Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC) will soon submit a proposal to the Federal Council. In April 2023, the Federal Council instructed the Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications to draw up a consultation draft on the regulation of communication platforms.

In collaboration with SRG

The topic of fake news, i.e. targeted misinformation and disinformation, is the focus of the new and fifth carriage of the SBB school and adventure train. The interactive information transfer in the rolling classroom was created in collaboration with SRG.

SRG must not only provide accurate and balanced information, it must also help the public and young people in particular to find their way in the digital world, said SRG Director General Gilles Marchand. In collaboration with SBB, a unique learning space has been created.

SBB CEO Vincent Ducrot was also proud of the offer on the school and adventure train. This is aimed at schoolchildren from the age of 10. More than 17,000 school classes have visited the train since 2003. It is available at 12 to 15 locations throughout Switzerland every year. (SDA/swi)

Content creator and actress Anaïs Decasper takes on three different roles in Smile's anniversary commercial. With a good dose of wit, charm and irony, she embodies exaggerated call center agents from the 1990s who have to deal with bizarre and crazy telephone inquiries.

On set, CRT screens, chunky table partitions, corded telephones and boy band posters create the perfect 90s atmosphere. "It was important to us to capture the zeitgeist of the 1990s in an authentic yet humorous way. Anaïs used her versatile talent to portray the characters in a lively and very entertaining way," says director Richy Hafner from Maybaum Film.

The commercial is a tribute to the beginnings of Smile Versicherung and shows how far the company has come in the last 30 years. At the same time, it conveys the message that despite all the technological advances, people remain at the heart of insurance services.

The anniversary film is Maybaum Film's third production for Smile Insurance in 2024 and will be shown on all major TV channels, on the usual social media formats and on the company's owned media channels.

Responsible at Smile: Chris Benros (Lead Media & Communications). Responsible at Maybaum Film: Richy Hafner (director); Florian Venedey (producer); Nikolas Reigel (camera & editing); Silvan Michel (camera assistance & color grading); Tim Zumstein (sound design/mastering).

With the Better Prediction Initiative (BPI), Wemf aims to ensure greater transparency and quality in online advertising. With the new "Rapid" data set, missing or existing user profiles and predictions can be enriched in real time with segmented user information from the Wemf data set via an interface connection (API). User profiles are supplemented with current data in a fully automated process, which enables the profiles to be iteratively updated and refined. According to Wemf, this results in various options for making the profiles more precise and displaying targeted content and advertising more effectively.

The data for "Rapid" comes from the ongoing population-representative Wemf surveys, in which around 15,000 people in Switzerland and Liechtenstein are questioned annually on a wide range of topics. The extensive data set includes all known variables from the MACH studies and thus covers a wide range of demographic and geographical information, personal interests, consumer and shopping behavior and values.

Goldbach is the first customer to implement "Rapid" in its networks, including the news platforms 20min.ch and Tagesanzeiger.ch. "We are using the new 'Rapid' service to optimize and sharpen our user profiling. This will enable us to further improve our targeting offerings and we hope to be able to offer our customers further new, attractive targeting offerings in the future," says Stefan Wagner, Managing Director of Goldbach Audience.

With the Better Prediction Initiative (BPI) Wemf supports publishers, marketers and advertising clients in validating and optimizing their predictions and improving their targeting. In this way, it creates transparency for the advertising market and contributes to improved online targeting. With the labels "Better Prediction Initiative by Wemf", "Prediction Accuracy Check certified by Wemf" and "Rapid by Wemf", participants can prove to the advertising market that their predictions and user information meet the highest quality standards.

Of course, first and foremost, accident victims need immediate medical help after an accident. But they also need the moral support of people who are close to them both privately and professionally. The problem is that many people don't even realize how important they are for recovery and how they can help.

The campaign designed by Wirz now provides a simple answer to this: being there for accident victims helps - no matter how. "We want to break down inhibitions and give those around us simple tips on how to support accident victims," explains Urs Schaad, Head of Marketing Communications at Suva. In contrast to previous communication measures on reintegration, this time we are taking the step from an awareness campaign to an involvement campaign.

The focus is on a TV commercial that humorously demonstrates that even the smallest gesture can have a big impact.

In addition to the film, shorter online spots, social ads and DOOH were produced. Organic content was also produced for social media to give the various target groups further tips on how to deal with accident victims.

All advertising material leads to the landing page suva.ch/helfen, where all information on the topic is bundled and concrete recommendations for action are available for those affected, for employees, for the family and for employers.

The campaign will run throughout Switzerland from now until the end of September.

Responsible at Suva: Urs Schaad (Head of Marketing Communications), Marc Winterhalder (Head of Campaigning Communications), Beat Enderlin (Team Leader Communications Consulting), Regula Müller (Crossmedia Publisher), Kevin Hofstetter (Communications Consultant Campaigning Media/Digital), Jessica Fanger (Social Media Manager). Responsible at Wirz Group: Livio Dainese, Lorenz Clormann, Jan Kempter, Evelyn Schellenberg, Florian Siegrist, Tim Lieberherr, Muharem Alagic, Julia Ewers, Simone Jehle, Fabian Nold, Stephanie Ackermann, Erasmo Palomba, Nadja Kilchhofer, Ruwanie Hayoz, Giovanni Bucca, Yussef Serrat, Günther Prächt, Sonja Jegen, Oliver Fäs. Production: Stories (film production): Tobias Fueter (Director), Pascal Walder (DoP), Benjamin Fueter (Editor), Meret Früh (Producer), Yves Bollag (Executive Producer) Edoardo Moruzzi (Head of Post Production), Atelier Lomann (Production Design), Damaris Eigenheer (Styling), Rémy De Vlieger (Grading), DubDub Studios (Audio Post Production), Jonathan Heyer (Photography), Sebahat Film+Foto GmbH (Photo Agent).

In the tower hall of Holligen Castle in Bern, which could pass for the former Thomasschule Leipzig, the Bachwochen Thun have made a video - with Johann Sebastian Bach in the leading role. The short film shows the completion of the only authentic portrait of Bach that has survived in the original, painted by the German painter Elias Gottlob Haussmann (1695-1774). The well-preserved Haussmann painting from 1748 can be found in the Bach Archive in Leipzig. It is considered a reference painting for Bach's appearance.

Based on the Haussmann painting, Iranian 3D artist Hadi Karimi created a high-resolution, photorealistic 3D model of Bach's face. In the film's post-production, the face of Leipzig actor Christoph Müller, who plays the role of Bach, was replaced by Bach's digitally reconstructed face with the help of artificial intelligence.

Bach as a living person

This deepfake now shows Bach as a living person. In the video spot, Bach plays model for Haussmann, who is completing the portrait of the master. You can also see that Bach doesn't actually have time to model because a composition urgently needs to be completed.

The clip ends with a request from Bach, spoken in Thuringian Saxon, Bach's mother tongue: "But to you, dear lovers of my music, may this request be graciously requested: To attend the performance of the pleasing Collegium Musicum Bachwochen Thun and then to kindly send me your esteemed message about it!".

A picture comes to life

Tehran designer Hadi Karimi is considered the world's leading specialist in digital portraiture. He has revived the Baroque master for the Bachwochen Thun, bringing Bach to life in moving images.

The three-minute video clip was produced by the Bern-based production company Epic Lab and directed by Andreas Graf. Indian VFX artist Mubin Khan is responsible for the deepfake.

Idea, concept and script: Vital Julian Frey, Bachwochen Thun. Video-Cast: Christoph Müller as J. S. Bach, Eugen Jost as E. G. Haussmann. Video producer: Andreas Graf, Epic Lab. 3D artist / Bach face: Hadi Karimi. VFX Artist / Deepfake: Mubin Khan.

Despite clear political guidelines and public pressure, there is a lack of according to the study In many cases, companies lack transparency and clarity when reporting on climate protection measures. "For internationally renowned companies, this is playing with fire. Against the backdrop of increasing public awareness of climate change and stricter legal measures, companies must significantly improve their climate communication," says Prof. Dr. Claude Meier, Head of the Center for Research & Methods HWZ and author of the study.

Following the ratification of the Paris Agreement in 2017, the Energy Strategy 2050 and the Climate and Innovation Act adopted at the ballot box in June 2023, Switzerland has introduced far-reaching instruments and incentives to reduce emissions. In addition, mandatory climate reporting came into force in Switzerland on January 1, 2024. These framework conditions require companies to communicate their climate protection efforts effectively and credibly, which has now been examined in detail by the HWZ.

As the study shows, the companies surveyed can be divided into three performance groups based on the scores they achieve in terms of their climate communication. In the lowest performance group in particular, there is a high risk of accusations of greenwashing - the distorted and embellished presentation of climate protection measures - and greenhushing, the withholding of relevant information.

Deep ratings in social media

In addition, the 46 Swiss companies listed and analyzed in the "Swiss Reputation Ranking" generally show poor ratings in their climate communication on social media, the study continues. Company reports, on the other hand, are usually rated better, but there is also considerable potential for improvement here in some cases.

Independence from reputation and corporate form

The study also shows that there is no striking correlation between a company's climate communication and its public reputation according to the "Swiss Reputation Ranking". A company's reputation is therefore fundamentally independent of its climate communication.

Identified risk profiles

Furthermore, the companies were assigned to different risk profiles in terms of their reputational risk as part of the study.

Holcim, for example, is one of the companies with a low reputational risk. The company is characterized by "exemplary climate communication, both in its sustainability reports and in social media". Other internationally active companies such as Swiss Re, Nestlé, Swisscom and Credit Suisse also show good approaches, particularly in their sustainability reports. However, they have some catching up to do, especially in social media.

Companies with medium reputational risk include groups such as Novartis, ABB and Migros: they have an average to good communication performance in their reports, but also have deficits in social media. These companies need to provide more detailed and frequent information to minimize potential reputational risks.

According to the study, Landi, Securitas and Zweifel are companies with a high reputational risk because they hardly communicate about their climate protection measures - neither in reports nor on social media. These companies are particularly susceptible to accusations of greenwashing and urgently need to improve their communication strategies.

Active climate communication required

"The results make it clear that more precise and intensive climate communication is increasingly required. Companies should provide detailed and comprehensive information both in reports and on social media in order to minimize reputational risks and strengthen market-relevant credibility," emphasizes Meier.

Holcim demonstrates a high level of communication both in reports and on social media and clearly sets itself apart from other companies. However, according to Meier, with its very high CO2 emissions in its core business, the topic of more climate-friendly production is very much in the foreground for Holcim. This also favors the fact that Holcim attaches great importance to climate communication.

Conversely, other companies may focus more on other areas of sustainability due to their specific situation - for example, the procurement of raw materials from the Global South or animal welfare. Others already have a good reputation in terms of climate, which is why they do not push climate communication even more intensively, as is the case with SBB, for example. However, these reasons and other areas of sustainability were not the subject of this study.

Furthermore, companies such as ABB and Migros show good approaches in their corporate reports, but there is a lack of sufficient and detailed communication on social media. This gap should be closed in order to ensure comprehensive and credible climate communication.

Companies such as Landi and Securitas have an acute need for action and must urgently improve their climate communication in order to avoid reputational risk, particularly with regard to accusations of greenwashing.

The HWZ examination includes 46 of the 50 companies listed in the Swiss Reputation Ranking (GfK, 2023). Data from company websites, reports and posts on Facebook, LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter) in the period from March 2022 to March 2023 were analyzed. Secondary sources such as daily newspapers were not taken into account in order to analyze only the companies' own communication.

Trust and sympathy are created through proximity. For many companies, origin offers the opportunity to gain a face in the customer's perception and to build an emotional bond with customers. The current study by the HWZ in collaboration with Htp St. Gallen, YouGov and Jung von Matt on the perception of the origin of companies shows this impressively.

On September 5, the results of the study with 1,300 respondents will be presented and the resulting opportunities discussed with selected companies. After an introduction by Stephan Feige from the HWZ and the presentation of the empirical results by Marianne Altgeld and Manuel Schwaninger from YouGov, Thomas Deigendesch from Jung von Matt will take a closer look at the topic of "Brand trust through origin". Auréle Meyer, CEO Appenzeller Bier, Sandra Bürkle, CMO Raiffeisen, Stephan Huber, CMO Hug, Roman Reichelt, former Head of Communications at Migros and Global CMO Credit Suisse, and Oliver Wuest, Marketing Director at Hirz, will then take part in a panel discussion, followed by an aperitif.

The first edition of "HWZ Impact" will take place on September 5, 2024 from 4 p.m. at Lagerstrasse 5 in Zurich. The aperitif starts at 17:30. Free registration via the HWZ website.

A poster should actually be striking above all: show as few products as possible, as large as possible, preferably with a large logo and a concise headline.

Galaxus' current OOH campaign is intended to show that there is another way. The 26 subjects illustrate the diversity of the online retailer's product range, which is now over 7.4 million strong, by always showing a hodgepodge of different representatives of one product type. From dinosaurs to watering cans and corkscrews to birdhouses. The design quality of the posters is based solely on the selection and arrangement of the products.

The campaign can be seen in German-speaking and French-speaking Switzerland until the beginning of September on posters, e-boards and hanging boxes as well as in the form of advertisements, banners, social media ads and online moving images.

Responsible at Digitec Galaxus: Martin Walthert (Chief Marketing Officer), Flurin Spring (Creative Director), Jill Wanner (Leader Brand Communications), Branko Nastic (Project Management, Brand Communications), Dyan Shirai, Clémence Censi (Art Direction, Realization and Animation), Julian Stauffer (Teamlead Creation), Christian Walker (Photography & Image Retouching), Cédric Feusi, Luca Giugliano (Digital Marketing & Media Planning), Gesine Hauder (Media Planning).

Orangutans have no place in Switzerland. On this year's World Orangutan Day, they are nevertheless present in Zurich for a good cause: on the Bellevue lakeside promenade, 15 of them are holding up signs with slogans: Our home is your climate protection. And: Which apes are chopping down our trees?

"With this monkey demo, we want to make the orangutans and their rights heard and draw attention to a life-threatening problem for us too: Bornean orangutans are acutely threatened with extinction because their habitat is being destroyed," explains Dr. Sophia Benz, Managing Director of BOS Switzerland. "Up to 1.7 million hectares of forest are destroyed on Borneo every year. That's more than the entire Swiss forest cover."

The primeval forests of Borneo store many times more carbon than our forests - and provide the oxygen we breathe. They regulate our water balance and our climate. They also enable an enormous diversity of species: scientists found 24,000 insects belonging to around 2,800 different species on just ten jungle trees.

This is why the non-profit organization Borneo Orangutan Survival (BOS) Switzerland is protecting and reforesting the valuable rainforest on Borneo. With just 40 francs, anyone who is touched by this campaign can protect one hectare of forest. And if you want to make a contribution to orangutan and rainforest protection with concrete measures in your everyday life, subscribe to the Affendemo Newsletter.

Funny action with depth

The Affendemo idea came from Saatchi & Saatchi Zurich, who worked pro bono. "Creativity is the best tool when it comes to solving problems - in this case, raising awareness for an important issue," explains Sören Schröder, Head of Creation. "And of course we are always particularly pleased when we can support a good cause with our ideas."

Responsible at BOS: Judith Maurer (Communication), Dr. Sophia Benz (Management), Antonia Merz
(fundraising). Responsible at Saatchi & Saatchi: Rémy Steinmann (Art Direction), Berni Brungs (Text), Romina Plesca (Consulting), Sören Schröder (GF Creation), Holger Schicke (GF Consulting). Other partners: Kevin Hy (Social Creative | Bagels of Berkeley), Rahel Dürsteler (Consultant | Bagels of Berkeley), Adrian Haeni (Digital Production | Prodigious), Arsen Rüegg (Senior Key Account Manager | Setaprint).

Although many studies already support this, the integration of diverse perspectives in organizations is rarely recognized as a strategic focus and success factor. This is why the two strategy consultants Konrad Weber and Pirmin Meyer, based on the research findings of the Competence Center for Diversity and Inclusion at the University of St.Gallen, have developed the new consulting platform Allyship.ch into being. Their aim is to provide organizations with concrete support in developing an appreciative corporate culture and enabling collaboration on an equal footing.

Meyer and Weber use the concept of "allyship" to make the corporate culture as tangible as possible. In the corporate context, this means actively supporting the concerns and perspectives of underrepresented groups and advocating for their equal rights. "Allyship is an important part of modern leadership. It means standing up for respect, equal opportunities and shared growth in a privileged situation," emphasizes Konrad Weber.

With their new consulting services, the two strategy consultants are focusing primarily on male managers. "Progress in equality and an inclusive culture require the commitment of top management and the support of men as allies. Men who promote diversity contribute to an innovative, productive and healthy working environment," says Pirmin Meyer.

Because "Allyship" takes practice, Pirmin Meyer and Konrad Weber have developed various formats such as workshops, presentations and process support, which they adapt to the needs of companies.