Irène Dumas was Head of Verticals in the Marketing, Audience & Communications department at Localsearch for the last two years, where she was responsible for the development and expansion of the two vertical platforms Renovero.ch and Anbieter-vergleich.ch. She has in-depth knowledge in the areas of digital marketing, transformation and change management as well as in the development and implementation of growth strategies.

Before Localsearch, Irène Dumas worked in various roles in the IT and consumer goods industry. These included Microsoft Switzerland as Channel Marketing Lead and Maestrani as CMO and member of the Executive Board. She studied business administration with a specialization in marketing at the University of St.Gallen HSG.

Since the beginning of March 2024, Dumas has been a new member of Localsearch's management team as Chief Marketing Officer and head of the Marketing, Audience & Communications department. "It is a privilege to be able to support Swiss SMEs in becoming digitally successful in my new role as CMO of Localsearch. After all, the more than 600,000 SMEs employ over two thirds of all employees and form the backbone of the Swiss economy," says Dumas about her new position.

Faki has been working for the Blick Group since 2016, as the publishing house Ringier announced on Wednesday. She took over as head of the politics department in 2017 and was quoted in the press release as saying that after seven years, the time had come for something new. The publishing house did not reveal anything about her future plans.

Tischhauser will head the General Secretariat of the Green Liberal Party (GLP) together with Martina Bühler, as the party announced. Tischhauser was deputy head of politics for six years at the View. The jobs are written by the View and intends to fill them promptly.

With Tischhauser, the Green Liberals have gained an experienced communications professional and political expert, wrote the GLP. Co-Secretary General Bühler will take on the role as maternity cover until November. Julie Cantalou will then return. (SDA/swi)

Nelocom is taking over Maatoo from the company 55 Weeks, which is managed by Simon Balz. "We are very pleased to be able to secure the long-term future of Maatoo and hand over the customers into such experienced and competent hands," says Balz. Lorenz Schmid, owner of Nelocom, adds: "I have been convinced of Maatoo's potential for years and see many ways in which we can further develop the already successful solution.

Since launching Maatoo in 2017, Niklaus Moser and Simon Balz say they have built a broad customer base and developed the platform into a trusted and powerful marketing automation solution. Features such as user-friendly newsletter dispatch via drag & drop, advanced automation functions and seamless integrations with e-commerce platforms such as WooCommerce, Magento and Saldia as well as data storage in Switzerland have made Maatoo a popular tool.

Since the beginning of April 2024, the operation and further development of Maatoo has been in the hands of Nelocom. The agency has been a close partner of Maatoo for a long time and has actively contributed to the development and optimization of the solution, according to the statement. As a result of the takeover, Maatoo and Nelocom customers will benefit from even more comprehensive services in the areas of marketing automation and e-commerce.

Since the end of March, the revised website of Newhome in a fresh mint tone and simple, tidy and clear. The redesign allows searchers and advertisers to meet their needs more quickly and easily. With a tidy design, revised user guidance and consistent optimization for all devices, the improved user experience is at the heart of the new look.

Focus on user-friendliness

Sabrina Schmid is responsible for implementing the redesign on behalf of Newhome: "For the new Newhome experience, we focused entirely on improving the user-friendliness of the site," explains the Senior UX Manager. "The focus on the core elements of the website makes it easier to find your way around, while the uncluttered design ensures greater clarity and simplifies navigation."

Silvio Frei, Head of Marketing & Communications at Newhome, adds: "Our aim is to support our site visitors in their user journey wherever they happen to be. We have focused heavily on improving the use of mobile devices, as the majority of our site visitors access our portal via smartphone." Significantly faster loading times also contribute to the new experience.

Uniform look & feel

The visual concept is based on the new campaign design, which has been on display in Switzerland since the beginning of the year. "The fresh mint, the clear language and the focus on our core products, searching and advertising, are communicated uniformly across all channels," explains Frei.

Responsible for Newhome.ch: Silvio Frei (Head Marketing & Communications), Carolin Franchi (Senior Marketing Manager), Sabrina Schmid (Senior UX Manager). Responsible for Zeix: Sibylle Loetscher (User Experience Architect, Partner), Thomas Ehrat (Art Director, Partner), Chiara Kühne (User Experience Architect). Responsible at Exanic: Tim Lanbacher (Software Engineer), Andri Wandres, Fabian Lang (Software Engineer). Responsible at Comotive: Martin Ott (front-end developer, management).

The exhibition halls in Lucerne belong to Lumag. It rents out the halls of Messe Luzern for trade fair and event operations. "If the trade fair is doing well, then we are also doing well," says Karin Auf der Maur, President of the Board of Directors. Because as long as the trade fair can pay the rents, Lumag is able to write off the investments in the hall infrastructure and make itself fit for the further development of Lucerne as a trade fair venue.

Lumag reports a profit of CHF 230,000 for 2023. In addition, the Board of Directors is strengthening its expertise in the real estate sector: Moritz Falck was unanimously elected to the Board of Directors at the Annual General Meeting on March 21, 2024.

Moritz Falck is Managing Director and owner of the Falck Group, which offers real estate, fiduciary and tax services. He studied economics at the University of Zurich and completed further training in economics and real estate. He worked in consulting for a long time before joining the family business in 2017 and is now the fifth generation to run it.

With Spatial Earth the classic globe becomes an interactive experience, the agency writes in a press release. While the traditional model could only be rotated, the digital version of Spatial Earth, which appears to float in space, allows users to zoom in at will - right down to individual streets and buildings. This means that the earth can be explored right in your own living room. The app offers access to detailed landscapes and over 2300 cities in detailed 3D visualizations, just like Google Earth.

In addition, Yale Cohen is to make the service more attractive for companies, as X announced on Tuesday. Cohen comes from the advertising industry.

Hate speech is also a business problem for X. The service relies on advertising revenue - and companies do not want their brands to appear alongside posts with incitements to violence or anti-Semitic slogans, for example.

Advertising revenue halved since takeover

Since Musk took over Twitter in the fall of 2022, advertising revenue has halved. The tech billionaire promised radical freedom of speech on X within the limits of what is permitted by law. He is focusing on severely restricting the distribution of posts with problematic content instead of removing them. Two safety managers have already left since the takeover.

A few months ago, online researchers demonstrated how advertising from well-known brands can appear alongside anti-Semitic posts. Musk countered that the examples were artificially constructed and did not correspond to everyday use. Several major advertising clients have since cut back their spending on X or have done without it altogether. The head of X, Linda Yaccarino, who was appointed by Musk, is trying to convince them that the platform offers a safe environment for their brands.

Musk insults renegade advertising customers

Meanwhile, Musk viciously insulted renegade advertisers during an appearance a few months ago, claiming that they would be to blame if X were to fail. Musk, who is politically aligned with the US right, is particularly fierce in his attacks on the Disney Group and its CEO Bob Iger.

The X owner himself caused a scandal when he described a post with an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory as "actual truth". Musk later spoke of a mistake and misunderstanding and apologized. X emphasized on Tuesday that freedom of speech and security must coexist on the service. (SDA)

Given the growing challenges posed by misinformation, it is crucial to provide effective tools to identify and combat disinformation. The Handbook of Disinformation aims to go into detail about manipulative strategies and techniques and provide readers with practical skills to recognize and protect themselves from disinformation. Studies show that people who know these techniques recognize manipulation and misinformation faster and better.

Building a community is another goal

In addition to the publication of the handbook, a committed community of activists is to be formed. This community should actively promote media literacy in order to create a broader awareness and understanding of the importance of critical media viewing in society.

Commitment of "Mr. Campaigning" Peter Metzinger

Behind ReclaimTheFacts is "Mr. Campaigning" Peter Metzinger, who launched the initiative. Since 1982, Metzinger has been campaigning for social causes that aim to strengthen democracy and improve the future viability of humanity. With the founding of ReclaimTheFacts, Metzinger wants to contribute his many years of commitment and expertise to counteract the increasing spread of disinformation.

Call for support

The initiative invites both individuals and companies to participate in the crowdfunding campaign or support the initiative through sponsorship. The aim is to raise 3,000 francs. The aim is to enable the production and promotion of the handbook "and thus make a significant contribution to the fight against disinformation", according to the statement.

The magazine aims to offer readers entertainment and information and also serve as a source of inspiration, according to a press release. The content ranges from local events and gastronomy tips to health and beauty advice and is intended to reflect the "diverse character of the region". The magazine is aimed at anyone who wants to discover the beauty of Central Switzerland and lead an active, fulfilling life.

Wide availability for maximum range

Bestforyou Central Switzerland will be placed in places where daily life pulsates - including restaurants, bars, hotels, hairdressing salons and doctors' surgeries - the press release continues. This strategic placement is intended to reach a broad readership. "Our aim is to be present where our readers spend their time," explains publisher Roger Givel. "We want that Bestforyou Central Switzerland is an easily accessible companion for anyone who appreciates the diversity of our region."

In his position as Head of Communications at FINMA, Markus Jaggi will report directly to the Director of FINMA. He succeeds Tobias Lux, who held the position until the end of October 2023, and Vinzenz Mathys, who currently heads this staff position on an interim basis.

55-year-old Markus Jaggi was Head Communications at Credit Suisse from 2021 to 2024. In this role, he was responsible for external and internal communications for the bank's business units operating in Switzerland. From 2015 to 2021, the doctor of economics held various management positions in communications at Novartis, most recently with responsibility for external communications in Switzerland, Asia and EMEA. Prior to that, between 2008 and 2015, he headed first internal and later all external communications at the Holcim Group in Zurich.

Markus Jaggi began his career as a Senior Economist at UBS in Zurich, where he soon moved into communications and took on various management roles.

On the one hand, the boom in AI could partially compensate for the baby boomers leaving the labor market, but at the same time it will make it more difficult for young people to enter sectors such as the creative industries.

According to a conservative estimate, the programs that now run under generative artificial intelligence (AI), i.e. create new content, could save around 1.5 hours of net time in a 40-hour week, estimates Mück. Although the first drafts of the programs cannot be used without human control and revision, they are faster "than starting from scratch".

AI like a bank account: First free, then chargeable

So anyone who can use AI has a competitive advantage, emphasizes Mück, who was head of the Institute for Computer Science and Business Informatics at the University of Vienna until 2001 and has been running the non-profit association Österreichische Computer Gesellschaft OCG for almost a year. Its 1200 members include IT companies, ministries, research and educational institutes. The aim is to "promote computer science and communication technology".

The fact that generative AI is available free of charge for private individuals and at low cost for companies has contributed to its current triumph. However, Mück assumes that this will soon be a thing of the past or will only apply to basic models. It's like current accounts, which were initially provided free of charge by the banks, but "since you can no longer exist properly without a current account, they are no longer free".

Warning against AI monopolies

AI models have to be trained with enormous amounts of data and very high computing power. The more data is fed in, the better the models become - and the more they are used, the greater their lead. Only a few large companies have the necessary resources for this. The German AI Association already warned in a 2021 analysis that monopolies or oligopolies could emerge for AI models - and that Europe is not yet at the forefront.

Amazon has now invested four billion dollars in the AI start-up Anthropic, Microsoft has invested ten billion dollars in OpenAI and has announced AI investments of around three billion euros in the UK and Germany. Google (Bard) and Facebook, as well as Chinese tech giant Baidu, are also investing billions in this area.

Europe is being left behind

Europe cannot keep up financially. Mück mentions two European models as relevant. The French "Mistral AI", which has so far raised around half a billion euros in funding, and the Trust LLM at Linköping University in Sweden, which has so far been financed primarily with European research funds. The German AI company Aleph Alpha is also financed with around half a billion euros.

Science can no longer keep up financially. Europe would be at the forefront of AI research, but putting it into practice is not working, says Mück. The majority of market-ready AI models currently in use are offered by US companies, while the enormous computing power required is concentrated in Asia, especially India and China. Europe is in danger of being left behind, as has already happened with electric cars and photovoltaics. In the end, only a few AI models will remain worldwide, Mück expects.

Data protection as a "club"

On the other hand, Mück has no data protection concerns. Data protection is important and would be manageable from a factual point of view, but is repeatedly "instrumentalized as a cudgel" when lobby groups want to derail projects: "If I don't think something is politically opportune in the broadest sense, the easiest thing to do in Europe is to come up with data protection," complains Mück.

The strict laws in Europe are also not the reason why projects fail on this topic, but rather interest groups that use the topic to bring down things they don't like. Of course, this could also happen with AI, he admits. On the other hand, it is clear that in Europe we have to deal with people's "basic fear" of being overrun by IT. "As a result of digitalization, there are an extremely large number of people for whom their own present is becoming alien, who can no longer orient themselves." This needs to be taken into account.

Development too fast for legislators

Mück therefore also welcomes the recently adopted regulation of AI at EU level, the "AI Act". This regulates AI models to varying degrees depending on the "risk" to humans. However, "I wouldn't bet on whether the AI Act is the last word in wisdom". After all, developments are moving too fast for legislators to keep up. According to Mück, the drafting of the rules of the game was "not ideal, but that doesn't matter, it's a good attempt". In a way, EU regulation is symbolic policy, but it is important to signal to people: "We don't want to be passengers." He does not fear any competitive disadvantages as a result of the regulation.

Not everyone is aware that modern AI models represent a "neural network" and ultimately only estimate the probability of certain word sequences - factual truth or accuracy is not a criterion. AI can therefore also "hallucinate", i.e. invent new facts. Mück makes no secret of the fact that he would prefer an AI that is based on logical-mathematical laws. However, this approach has not prevailed. "The sentimental favorite, as is so often the case, didn't really get us anywhere."

Rule-based algorithms were probably not "the right form of representation", or only for very limited applications. The neural network, on the other hand, which has nothing to do with formal logic, has "worked in practice", even if we don't always know exactly why. Mück admits that "from the outside, it is certainly comparable to human thinking". In reality, however, it is not "elegant algorithms" that represent intelligence, but "only the enormous computing power", i.e. "brute force". (SDA)

The Swiss cinema year 2023 has seen an impressive recovery, as the latest figures from the ProCinema association show. With a total of 10,881,937 admissions, the 10 million visitor mark was broken again, which corresponds to an increase of 20.02% compared to the previous year.

This positive trend is also reflected in the area of cinema advertising. Statistics from advertising marketer Weischer.Cinema Switzerland show that advertisers benefited from an average overperformance of 34% in national cinema screen campaigns in 2023.

"Cinema is the fairest and most transparent currency. The unique contact guarantee in our medium allows us to charge according to the actual number of cinema contacts. Last year, we demonstrated our generosity by considering every third moviegoer on a goodwill basis," emphasizes Christof Kaufmann, CEO of Weischer.Cinema Switzerland.

The signs are therefore extremely positive for the medium of cinema, not only in the moviegoer market, but also in the advertising market. According to annual data from Media Focus, cinema's share of the moving image market is growing by 9%. The so-called "Barbenheimer effect" in the summer has really boosted requests for advertising campaigns in cinemas, but also in the foyer on DOOH cinema screens, for the fall.

Advertisers are also increasingly opting for longer cinema spots, Weischer.Cinema notes: the average spot length has risen to 34.9 seconds, compared to 33.6 seconds in 2018. Juliane Merz, Director of Sales at Weischer.Cinema Switzerland, emphasizes: "Long spots in cinemas are no coincidence. The big screen offers the ideal platform for emotional and expressive stories. "

Accompanied by strong blockbusters such as "Migration", "Anyone but You" and "Dune: Part Two", the advertising marketer has already made a successful start to 2024.