At Interview with Advertisingweek.ch Refluenced has been described as Tinder for companies and influencers. But the Zurich-based start-up wants to do much more than just bring companies and influencers together: "Refluenced has made it its mission to simplify the influencer marketing process for everyone involved and promote better results in the process," says Quirin Hasler, Co-Founder and CEO.

According to Refluenced, there is already interest in the influencer platform in Germany: The Master Class at OMR 2024 with Foundry was fully booked in no time, despite Kim Kardashian's appearance at the same time. Brands, influencers and agencies were offered insights, challenges and solutions relating to micro-influencing.

The main focus here is on the rapidly advancing trend of nano- and micro-influencing. "Focusing on creators with around 1,000 to 30,000 followers promotes creative and more authentic content, because influencers with a comparatively small following are often more committed, more credible and have more local impact," explains Jonas Holzer, co-founder of Refluenced. "At the same time, a budget that would traditionally have been enough for just one collaboration can have more impact in the long term if it is spread across several creators."

Founded in 2022, the data-driven platform for nano- and micro-influencers enables brands and agencies to manage the process through to successful content playout, including reporting, using a simple tool. Influencers apply to brands on Refluenced - and not the other way around: "By influencers applying to collaborations that feel authentic and motivating, more convincing content is created. A win-win for both sides," says Quirin Hasler.

Refluenced launched its own campaign back in the fall of 2023 to kick off its expansion into Germany. The Foundry agency, which is also an investor behind the start-up, provided support.

Refluenced has just secured its second round of financing to enter the German market. "We successfully closed the 2023 financial year and experienced a significant growth spurt in the first quarter of 2024. The financing we have received will enable us to push ahead with our expansion into Germany faster than originally planned," explains Hasler.

The financing of around one million Swiss francs is led by both existing and new investors, including Anja Graf, known from "Höhle des Löwen", and Thomas Brändle, President of Swiss FinTech.

It is important for the company to design products for creative people, Apple manager Tor Myhren told the advertising trade journal Ad Age on Thursday. "We missed the mark with this video and we're sorry."

The video was intended to emphasize the diverse capabilities of the Pro model of the tablet series in a sensational way: Musical instruments such as a trumpet and a piano as well as paint pots, cameras, a sculpture and a video game machine are crushed in a gigantic press. Then the press opens again - and inside is an iPad.

CEO Tim Cook published the video on Tuesday at the presentation of the new iPad models on X.

However, many viewers were outraged by the destruction, even if it appeared to be computer-generated. There was widespread criticism in online networks that the video was crushing tools of creativity. Actor Hugh Grant complained on the online platform X about the "destruction of the human experience" by Silicon Valley. (SDA)

The Valais native died "on one of his beloved hikes", it was reported. Simonazzi liked to relax in the mountains after his top job in the Federal Administration. The chancellery did not provide any information on the place of his death. Simonazzi is survived by his wife and three adult children.

It was initially unclear who would take over his official duties at short notice following his sudden death. The Federal Chancellery informed the Keystone-SDA news agency in response to an inquiry on Saturday that no solution had yet been found that could be announced. Chancellor Viktor Rossi is examining the situation, it said. Rossi has been in office since the beginning of the year.

Tenacious Federal Council spokesperson

Simonazzi was best known to the general public as a spokesperson for the Federal Council. During the coronavirus pandemic, for example, he tirelessly chaired the national government's numerous media conferences, which were followed live on the internet by many people. Last Wednesday, Simonazzi also moderated three press conferences after the Federal Council meeting in Bern.

Under his leadership, the state government's communication was professionalized and digitalized. Simonazzi also made communication an integral part of government activities.

When he encountered resistance with his arguments, the speaker with an extremely good memory sometimes resorted to wit and charm. He was also known for his tenacity. Even under great pressure, he did not allow himself to be swayed by journalists' questions in individual cases.

Simonazzi was appointed Vice-Chancellor and Speaker of the Federal Council in November 2008. From January 1, 2009, he also attended government meetings, took minutes and handled communications. In the Federal Chancellery, he headed several sections and the Presidential Service.

"Much too early"

The Federal Council reacted with shock to the unexpected death. The news shocked the members of the Federal Council and the Federal Chancellor, according to the statement. The Federal Council and the Federal Chancellor expressed their deepest condolences to Simonazzi's family and relatives.

Simonazzi was a public servant in the best sense of the word, the Federal Chancellery paid tribute to the Vice-Chancellor. The standard he applied to his work and that of his colleagues was the statutory information mandate.

Swiss federal politicians also reacted to the news of his death. "Stunned, dismayed and far too soon, we have to say goodbye to André Simonazzi," wrote Samira Marti, Co-President of the SP parliamentary group and National Councillor (BL) on Platform X. "We are losing a wonderful person who was committed to our institutions out of conviction and with great charm." Simonazzi was an SP member.

Simonazzi was "an exceptional personality" and "the pride of our region", wrote FDP Vice President and National Councillor Philippe Nantermod from Valais. Condolences were also expressed by Bernese National Councillor and Green Liberal President Jürg Grossen.

Journalist and at Caritas

Originally from Monthey, Simonazzi graduated from the University of Geneva with a degree in international relations. He then went on to work for the newspaper Nouvelliste to train as a journalist. From 1995 to 1998, he worked for Caritas Switzerland as press spokesman for French-speaking Switzerland. In 1998, he took over the overall information department.

He then joined the Information Service of the Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC) in 2004. He was initially deputy head of information and press spokesman for French-speaking Switzerland. In 2005, Simonazzi became Head of Information in the department of the then SP Federal Councillor Moritz Leuenberger, before becoming Vice-Chancellor.

Last fall, Simonazzi was considered a possible successor to Walter Thurnheer, who had resigned as Federal Chancellor. However, Simonazzi declined to stand as a candidate. He said that his chances of being elected Federal Chancellor were slim if the SP had two representatives in the Federal Council. He therefore did not want to enter into a fight unnecessarily. The election for Federal Chancellor is also a political election. (SDA)

This abbreviation was already cute during the Cold War. Although the commies were the bad guys back then. And they still are today. Back then, commies still stood for communists. Today there are hardly any left. And the ones that are still around live and work in distant and exotic countries. Nevertheless, the word is very popular again. But with a different meaning and origin.

Today, commies are not believers in a political-economic ideology based on the abolition of private property and the creation of a classless society in which goods are held in common and distributed according to need. Today, commies are mainly fields that encourage readers to express their opinions publicly in the digital media with a hearty speech bubble at the end of the article. And they are the capital of participants in social media. The more of them I have under my post, the better. In contrast to the old commis, there are good guys and bad guys. The good ones are the ones that make you feel totally unsuccessful, especially on LinkedIn, with so much success posted. Prefabricated like commis: Well done! Congrats! Keep up the good work! Fantastic! But also self-made, somewhat more detailed comments that lead to the release of endorphins and the associated feeling of euphoria or well-being. The bad ones are the ones that are posted with unbridled aggression and often encourage followers to lose their sense of decency.

Better no commis than bad commis

So the next time you're annoyed that your post on social media hasn't been commented on, take comfort in the fact that it could be even worse. Although ignorance is actually the ultimate punishment in real life, it is salutary on social media. What goes uncommented on generates less attention. That's why we should refrain from adding the request "write it in the comments" to posts. And certainly not believe that we can change anything with our comments. We leave this claim to the communists, who often strive for a revolutionary transformation of society in order to achieve the creation of a classless society. Because if everyone is allowed to make everything public, then no one will listen to anyone. Opinions are different from capital. In other words, the bad guys are supposedly the good guys, but they still remain the bad guys.

* Benno Maggi is co-founder and CEO of Partner & Partner. He has been eavesdropping on the industry for over 30 years, discovering words and terms for us that can either be used for small talk, pomposity, excitement, playing Scrabble, or just because.

With the "Order&Pay" function in the McDonald's app, guests can place and pay for their order in advance with just a few clicks. This eliminates queuing and the order is served directly to the seat. The offer is also available at McDrive or as a take-away option.

To make "Order&Pay" even better known, TBWA\Zurich collaborated with Shining Film and director Sidney Van Wichelen to create three commercials that are very similar in structure. The main protagonist introduces the app and guides viewers through the entire process - from ordering to menu service. The advantages of the function are staged along well-observed typical McDonald's ordering moments of various guests who do not yet use "Order&Pay". It is shown, for example, that "Order&Pay" can skip the distracted teenagers at the ordering kiosk, the people waiting at the take-away or the McDonald's greenhorn at the McDrive.

The three films will be shown on television and online. A banner campaign with the core messages is also intended to generate even more visibility. There is also a special pre-roll for YouTube.

Responsible at McDonald's Switzerland: David Smadja (CMO), Audrey Parance (Customer Engagement & Digital Manager), Brenda Henry (Digital Marketing Consultant). Responsible at TBWA\ Zurich: Manuel Wenzel, Reto Clement, Davide Schenker, Dominik Bruelisauer (Creation), Marion Schwager, Maryna Pavilchkova-Meier (Consulting), Domenico Catena (Senior Video Producer), Agnes Meier (Head of Production), Toni Rubera, Noemi Rubera (DTP). Responsible at Shining: Caroline Braun, Leonardo Sanfilippo (Executive Producer), Meret Früh (Line Producer), Sidney van Wichelen (Director), Sander Vandenbroucke (Cinematographer), Alessandro Biffi (Editor), Simon Hardegger (Grading), Gregory Caron (Music), Jingle Jungle (Audio Postproduction).

The "Printing Center Switzerland" will operate four large-format offset printing presses of the latest generation with eight and ten printing units at the sites in Flawil and Baar, the statement continues. "We are convinced that by bundling our technologies and capacities, we will be able to meet our customers' needs for ever shorter production times with exclusive quality even better," Christian Huber, CEO of the Mattenbach Group, is quoted as saying. As owners, Vince Bang VRP and board member Alfred Angst are among the designers of the new "Printing Center Switzerland".

Reaction to "challenging competitive situation"

The reduction from the current four production sites to two high-performance technology centers is the strategic response to the challenging competitive situation in the Swiss market. "By focusing on two production sites, we are significantly increasing capacity utilization," explains Daniel Schneider, Head of Print at Galledia.

Despite the merger of the production facilities, the independence of the two companies will be maintained. The customers of both companies will continue to be served independently and will have access to the "most modern and efficient machinery in Switzerland".

"Today, print quality no longer makes the difference in competition," explains co-owner Alfred Angst. "Almost all companies can print well". The "Printing Center Switzerland" is therefore also aimed at graphic arts companies that are about to make major investments in new printing technologies. "Anyone who would rather invest in lean digital media production than in conventional printing technology will find the ideal partner in Druckzentrum Schweiz," adds Christian Huber. "Despite consolidation, there is still too much unutilized production capacity on the market. I am convinced that the centralization of large-format offset printing is a forward-looking model for Switzerland," continues Christian Huber.

Adelbodner's new product design is at the heart of the current campaign. The expressive portraits of the testimonials underline the campaign headline and are intended to create a high level of identification.

The campaign concept was developed by the Bern-based agency Studio Thom Pfister. The measures have been live since the beginning of May and consist of OOH and DOOH posters, animated and static display ads, ads on social media and illuminated displays for trade fairs and events. A look behind the scenes is provided by the making-of films, which are distributed via Adelbodner's own channels.

Responsible at Aqva Holding:  Lionel Hofstetter (CEO), Christian Biedert (Marketing Director). Responsible at Studio Thom Pfister: Thom Pfister (creative director, idea and concept), Roland Zenger (art director, print and digital), Daniel Hackiewicz (web development, senior designer), Sharon Moor (graphic designer, animations), Ursula Rytz (consulting, production and coordination), Marianne Schoch (consulting, media planning). Portrait photography and making-of films: Oli Hallberg, Priska Fuhrer, Jami-lyn Fehr. Hair and Make-Up: Anja Wiegmann. CGI products (static and animated): Oli Hallberg, Priska Fuhrer. Landscape photography: Oliver Dietschi.

Mother's Day in Switzerland is on May 12 and Father's Day on June 2 - so it's good to know which brands really score points with the recipients. To find out exactly that, YouGov took a closer look at the retail and consumer goods industry and determined which brands perform best in the eyes of mothers and fathers in Switzerland.

Migros more popular with Swiss parents than Coop

For mothers, the top 3 is occupied by the brands Migros (score of 57.4), Gruyère AOP (52.6) and Zweifel (49.9), while for men Gruyère AOP takes first place (53.3), followed by Galaxus (52.6) and Zweifel again (51.9).

While many consumer goods brands rank in the top 10 for both genders, the two brands Galaxus and Digitec.ch occupy significantly higher positions for fathers. Looking at the stationary retailers, it is noticeable that Migros occupies high places on both sides (1st place for mothers and 4th place for fathers), while its direct competitor Coop is in 7th place for mothers and just misses the top 10 for fathers at 11th place.

Gender-specific preferences

There are particularly strong gender differences at Digitec.ch, for example. The online retailer achieved a score of 48.8 (5th place) for fathers, but only 32.8 (30th place) for mothers. The situation is reversed for the cookie brand Blévita, which achieved a score of 40.5 for mothers (11th place) and only 26.8 for fathers (39th place).

The results Parent rankings 2024: Retail for Switzerland are based on more than 13,000 online interviews conducted by YouGov in the period from 01.04.2023 until 31.03.2024 per brand for the YouGov Swiss Brand Observer representative of the Swiss population aged 15 and over. For the ranking, the statements of women and men in Switzerland aged between 30 and 59 with children under 20 in their own household were evaluated. The index value or score of a brand represents its average performance in six different evaluation dimensions: Positive overall perception, quality, value for money, customer satisfaction, willingness to recommend and brand trust. Only brands from the retail and consumer goods industry tracked in the YouGov Swiss Brand Observer were analyzed for the ranking.

SMEs know that IT is crucial if they are to remain competitive in the future. However, they often do not have the necessary capacities, resources and skills in this area. It is also obvious that SMEs prefer to focus their attention and passion on their core business. As a result, IT is neglected - and therefore a lot of potential is not used, which can even put the company's existence at risk.

Swisscom wants to make SMEs more productive and secure with its IT solutions. To convey this, the House of Communication Zurich has taken up essential SME topics in the third communication wave and "enriched them with a lot of love" in line with the campaign motto.

The result is two eye-catching and striking visuals that can be seen throughout Switzerland as digital out-of-home, display ads, social media ads and also as classic posters and advertisements.

Client: Swisscom Switzerland. Responsible at the House of Communication Zurich: Günter Zumbach, Thomas Lüber (Text), Luca di Francesco, Carina Kienzle, Mila Lu, Michael Winnicki (Art Direction), Marcin Baba, Micha Seger (Executive Creative Direction), Philip Zsifkovis (Strategy) Edi Walker, Nicole Grogg (Consulting), Barbara Meier (Realization) Carmen Aebischer (Production Management) Nathalie Diethelm, Raul Serrat (Overall Responsibility). Production: Post Office Amsterdam.

Various speakers presented their thoughts on the rapid progress of artificial intelligence at the 6th Swiss Digital Summit: Meredith Whittaker, President of the news service Signal, Zack Kass, formerly of OpenAI, Alex Osterwalder, bestselling author and strategy consultant, Henrik Werdelin, serial entrepreneur and Martin Hoffmann, Co-CEO of On. The Digitalswitzerland event provided a relevant platform for discussing the opportunities and risks of the technology.

"We are at the beginning of a new technology era. The intelligent management of exponential growth and radical change is an enormous opportunity," says Marc Walder, founder of Digitalswitzerland and CEO of Ringier. "The key challenges in this new technology stage are application, education, regulation, ethics and social interaction. We are making a contribution to this during these two days."

Kathrin Braunwarth, CIO of AXA Switzerland, also sees the great potential: "We look after around two million insured persons in Switzerland and have therefore been thinking digitally for a long time. Thanks to countless interactions at various levels, we see a lot of potential to make the customer experience of the future even simpler, more individual and more efficient using AI. We are actively pursuing this goal as a top priority."

Amag CEO Helmut Ruhl appreciates the broad perspective of the event: "The way in which AI is already simplifying the use of our vehicles for customers today should come as little surprise. However, as we are now thinking and planning beyond the car, for example into the energy sector, the exchange with representatives from a wide range of industries is of great value to us. And that's why we're in the right place here."

Stefan Rösch-Rütsche, Country Managing Partner of EY Switzerland, takes a similar view: "Our business requires broad knowledge of all processes in the economy. And if a development is progressing at the speed currently seen with AI, then we want and need to be at the forefront. A lively exchange like the one at this event makes this possible."

How the View reported on Tuesdaythe location initiative is to have a new president. It was announced "on the fringes of the 6th Digital Summit" that former SBB CEO Andreas Meyer is to take over the presidency of Digitalswitzerland from Sascha Zahnd. Meyer is to be officially elected President at the General Assembly on May 29.

Migros alone has 180 different types of ice cream - 23 of which are new. The range is also correspondingly large in many other areas. For example, in keeping with the spirit of the times, Migros offers a huge selection of non-alcoholic drinks and has once again significantly expanded its range of beers. Migros also offers a large selection for the barbecue, with meat and fish lovers as well as vegetarians and vegans getting their money's worth.

Migros wants to whet the appetite for its summer range using a total of 29 different subjects - with colorful imagery and fresh texts, including a summer greeting to the competition. "In order to do justice to the diverse range, we are also using a variety of different subjects in the campaign," says Peter Krebs, Senior Campaign Manager at Migros Supermarkets.

The summer campaign is now running on all common digital and non-digital channels such as DOOH and OOH, as display ads and as advertisements.

Responsible at Migros Supermarket: Peter Krebs, Marta Mielcarek, Céline Jagisch, Corina Edler (Sales Promotions Campaigning), Simone Blaser, Dominik von Büren (Media), Sophia Veser (Digital Campaigning & Promotions). Responsible at Wirz Group: Caspar Heuss, Matthias Fürst, Evelyn Schellenberg, Elena Gabriel, Adrian Busse, Florian Siegrist, Marco Martoglio, Emma Ulrich, David Offermann, Eva Bachmann, Simona Hurter, Nina Riesen, Erasmo Palomba, Svea Mäder, Giovanni Bucca, Yussef Serrat, Sonja Jegen, Oliver Fäs, Günter Prächt. Responsible for production: Production key visuals: Martina Meier (photography), Vera Schmid (agent Martina Meier), Jonas Oswald (assistant photography), An-Ki Vogel (food and prop styling). Production of advertisements and content: Claudia Linsi (photography), Feride Dogum, Petra Salvisberg (styling). Media: Dynamo team from Dentsu Switzerland.

Founded in 1996, Laser Vista claims to be a pioneer for refractive eye treatments in Switzerland. Following its acquisition by and integration into the Vista Group in 2021, the brand is now to be updated with increased marketing measures and a campaign by Komet and brought into a "top-of-mind-and-heart" position among spectacle wearers and people with other visual impairments - initially regionally in the vicinity of the Laser Vista site in Binningen near Basel.

To this end, a "Laser Vista Tram" is now running on the BVB and BLT network for a year to attract the desired attention. The people of Basel are deliberately irritated by highly visible headlines that make them doubt their own eyesight for a moment. A moment in which Laser Vista, with all its expertise, recommends itself as a possible problem solver and invites them to a free eye check in Binningen.

Komet also conveys this idea for its new customer Laser Vista on other advertising media such as banners and social media ads. In contrast to the streetcar, the respective headline does not refer to the advertising medium itself, but to pictures of cute cats and objects reduced to a minimum.

Responsible at Laser Vista: Paul Scherübel, Deputy Head of Communications & Marketing. Responsible at Komet: Jeff Gerber (CD), Daniel Müller (text), Claudio Parente (AD), Alina Morger (graphics), Lisa Oppliger (DTP), Corinne Hert (Client Service Director), Christa Zesiger (consulting).