Behind the WhatsApp logo, which can be found on more than two billion smartphones, lies one of the more exciting what-if questions in the tech industry. What if the founders and financial backers of the chat service had resisted the temptation of a 19 billion dollar purchase offer from Facebook ten years ago?

Would the service have gone under in competition with the tech giants? Or would the business model with a one-dollar subscription fee per year have established itself as the alternative to free services where you are inundated with personalized advertising?

WhatsApp remains unmistakable

Immediately after the deal was announced on February 19, 2014, there were concerns from users that the service could change fundamentally under Facebook's direction. After all, doesn't the money spent have to be earned back somehow? And by the time the takeover was completed in October 2014, the purchase price had swelled to almost 22 billion dollars - a large proportion of which was paid in Facebook shares, which had risen in price.

Ten years later, WhatsApp is still unmistakably WhatsApp. There are no ads, the app is tied to a phone number instead of a profile. And all messages are protected with end-to-end encryption, which ensures that they are only visible in plain text on the devices of the users involved, but not to the service.

The right SMS alternative at the right time

When Facebook decided to buy WhatsApp, the service still had around 450 million users. And more traditional text messages were actually being sent than chat messages. Today, it is unimaginable to pay money per individual message - back then, mobile phone providers were just coming to terms with the fact that they would lose this once lucrative source of money.

WhatsApp proved to be the right SMS alternative at the right time. Even smartphone newcomers were not put off by its ease of use. And the service built a bridge between iPhones and phones with Google's Android system. Apple's iMessage chat service is only available on the company's devices - and there was a need for a cross-platform solution.

US competition lawsuit still pending

WhatsApp was only launched in 2009. The two co-founders Jan Koum and Brian Acton had worked at the then internet heavyweight Yahoo and then wanted to try their hand at their own start-up.

Facebook became aware of the service via the VPN app Onavo, which it had purchased and which the company used to identify trends in user habits. The explosive growth of WhatsApp observed in this way may have been one explanation for the sensational purchase price.

In a competition lawsuit, the US government accuses Facebook of simply buying a competitor off the market before it could pose a threat to the company. It has brought up the possibility of spinning off the service. The trial is still pending.

Companies should pay money

Meanwhile, the Facebook group Meta believes it has found a way to finally make money with WhatsApp. Facebook quickly dropped the subscription fee of one dollar after the takeover. Nothing will change for users, but companies will pay money to communicate with their customers via WhatsApp.

In the past quarter, Meta's app revenue outside of the advertising business jumped by 82%, mainly thanks to the WhatsApp business platform. However, at 334 million dollars, they accounted for just 0.8 percent of the Group's total revenue.

Founder no longer involved

Founders Koum and Acton only stayed at WhatsApp for a few years after the takeover. Koum announced that he would now take some time out to do things outside the technology industry, "for example collecting rare air-cooled Porsche cars" - and largely disappeared from the scene. Meanwhile, Acton invested in the chat app Signal, whose encryption technology is now also used by WhatsApp.

Signal also recently provided proof that WhatsApp's original business model could have worked out. The chat service, which is financed by donations such as Acton's, estimated that it would need around 50 million dollars for development and operation in the coming year. Even with just one dollar per user, WhatsApp would have earned many times that amount. (SDA/Focus)

The Sana Fürstenland retirement center in Gossau SG stands for the highest possible quality in all services for residents and guests. The only thing that was outdated was the existing website. The St.Gallen agency Kernbrand launched the website relaunch project with a joint brand workshop.

The creative guiding principle "Connected across generations" was developed. Based on this, the agency refreshed the design and imagery and implemented the Website of the retirement center from scratch.

Among other things, the website tells the unique life stories of the residents: Parking lot love stories, rascally pranks, strokes of fate, childhood memories and more now find their place on the homepage. The diverse career opportunities for young apprentices are also presented in an even more attractive way.

Ebnat produces high-quality brushes for oral hygiene and household use. The company invests heavily in innovative products and its employees and is proud of its self-built production facilities and sustainable product lines with raw materials sourced from the surrounding forests. The film production company Maybaum Film was hired to capture the company's friendly corporate culture in an image film.

"During an image film production, you immerse yourself deeply in the culture of a company. The friendly and friendly atmosphere at Ebnat rubbed off immediately and you can feel it throughout the film," says Michel Frutig, Creative Director at Maybaum Film.

The image film was produced by a well-coordinated team of three over two days of filming at various locations in the Ebnat factory halls. Almost the entire workforce of the company took part in the film and came together for the grand finale. The main film and various cut-downs are used in German and English and are used internationally with a focus on B2B customers and partners. The videos are also used for employer branding and recruiting.

Responsible at Ebnat: Marlen Thoma, Simon Camenzind, Sheryl Amstutz, Annemarie Mahler, Peter Oberholzer. Production: Maybaum Film, Oliver Wigger (director), Simona De Roni (camera), Simona De Roni, Nikolas Reigel (editor), Silvan Michel (color), Tim Zumstein (sound design, mastering).

Ruf Lanz has always been between 3rd and 2nd place since I started writing and managing the creative rankings - in other words, always reliably brilliant. But this year, the boutique agency with its eight employees takes the crown. 1st place.

This is not the first time that the agency has been at the top, as was the case in 2005. 36 points behind Wirz, Ruf Lanz has now made itself comfortable on the creative throne again after so many years with 399 points. With excellent work for long-standing customers and new clients such as Museum Haus Konstruktiv, Vegipionier Hiltl, VBZ, Welti-Furrer Fine Art Transport, Arud Center for Addiction Medicine and the Swiss Council for Accident Prevention (BFU), Ruf Lanz has been able to win national and international awards. Markus Ruf is very grateful to his "dedicated team", but also to his customers, and is visibly touched. So much heart and soul goes into the work, he says, and this is also needed to package ideas into messages so surprisingly that the audience really wants to see them and appreciates them.

An end to the hype

As early as December, before m&k advertisingweek.ch started this year's creative ranking process, the agency decided to say goodbye to the award hype from 2024. "Our hunger for awards has been satisfied," summarizes Markus Ruf. On the international stage, the agency will continue to break the odd Lanz(e) with selected works such as "Lürzers Archive Best Advertising Worldwide". The fact that Ruf Lanz is now saying goodbye with a first placement is, of course, the perfect departure.

Wirz takes 2nd place

Wirz takes second place in the district ranking with 363 points. There is joy at Uetlibergstrasse 134b about the podium position. The agency was in 4th place in 2021, then forgot to enter in 2022 for unspecified reasons, and in 2023 the agency is on the podium. It is both an incentive and confirmation, says Caspar Heuss, Executive Creative Director and Senior Partner at Wirz. "We will continue to devote all our creative energy to making our clients successful. Above all in the market, but also at award shows if desired." Heuss explains that Wirz's customers know that Wirz does not create ideas in order to win prizes. "They know that our ideas solve problems and achieve goals. That creates trust. That leads to courage. And that ultimately leads to prizes."

For the current year, Wirz hopes that award shows and creative rankings will finally be given the status they deserve: namely not a particularly high one. In 2024, a good agency will no longer be recognized by whether it wins a lot of awards, but by the fact that it ensures growth for its clients, says Heuss. "And if it wins a few prizes along the way, all the better."

Team Farner in 3rd place

Team Farner is highly satisfied with 3rd place and the 262 points gained. They have been working their way towards the top since 2020. Team Farner realizes projects for brands, companies and politics at seven locations across the country - with 300 experts in all communication disciplines. With the acquisition of agencies such as Rod, Blue Glass, Yoveo, Jim&Jim, Affective Advisory and Semsea, Team Farner has constantly brought new expertise on board in recent years.

Philipp Skrabal, Partner & Chief Creative Officer at Team Farner, summarizes the development as follows: "What we started with the establishment of Team Farner around twelve years ago has developed into a successful Swiss model. We have now been building this model in Europe for two years. The international exchange is very inspiring." When asked about Team Farner's USP, Skrabal elaborates a little. "Here you work with experts from all areas of communication as a matter of course. As a creative, it can quickly happen that you work on an idea with public affairs, corp. com or behavioral science people. This interdisciplinary proximity creates something new and makes our clients' communication more stringent and effective.

When he thinks back to customer meetings in the past year, the topic of creativity has become more of a focus again, says Skrabal. He cites the "cookie-stalking era", which is coming to an end, as the reason for this. The creative is certain that relevant content and creativity still attract the most attention. He has not made any specific resolutions for 2024; his main focus remains on creating exceptional communication solutions with joy and ambition. He wants to pass this enthusiasm on to others.

Thjnk slips from rank 1 to 4

Last year, Thjnk was the clear winner in the Krearanking. This year's 4th place with the accompanying 195 points naturally does not meet the agency's expectations, says Alexander Jaggy, Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Thjnk. But in view of the turbulent year, it is understandable and not surprising. He goes on to explain what turbulence he is referring to: "2023 was a defining year for our agency with the demise of Credit Suisse in the spring and winning the Swiss mandate in the fall. Such massive turnarounds rarely happen in the same financial year. Despite this entrepreneurial tour de force, we managed to produce some great creative highlights for Ochsner Sport, Denner and Migros. That makes us incredibly proud.

Career changer stories

With 5th place and 177 points, the film production Stories achieved a surprise. Tobi Fueter, co-founder and director of Stories, has mixed feelings: "It's kind of like we cheated: Firstly, this place actually belongs to an agency and not a film production, and secondly, we owe the place solely to our high-flyer NZZ. We were lucky that NZZ only wanted an online moving image film and we were therefore allowed to be involved in the creative process right from the start. This was an unconventional and courageous step on the part of NZZ. We saw this particular challenge as a great opportunity. We are of course delighted with the great honor of being among the top 5 in the ranking, but we are even more pleased with the successful film. "Wenn die Debatte verstummt" by Stories for the "Neue Zürcher Zeitung" won national and international awards in 2023. When asked about the current year and how we could top that, Fueter says: "Our wish has already come true with a project in a similar form for this year." Congratulations and we are already looking forward to the Krearanking 2024.

Ranks 6 to 10

Ranks 6 to 10 are also high-caliber. 6th place goes to TBWA with 141 points. CCO Manuel Wenzel sums it up as follows: "2023 was good, even if we slipped down one place. We try to develop further every year and explore new, bolder and, above all, many different paths with our clients. In our view, we have succeeded in doing this. We were able to score points in categories such as product design, brand experience and social as well as in perhaps more traditional advertising agency categories. In 2024, we naturally hope to climb closer to the top again. But we are pleased with how our ranking came about, just like in previous years, namely with a lot of very different and effective work for our major clients."

7th place goes to the Freundliche Grüsse agency. With 130 points, they are only 11 points behind TBWA. Samuel Textor, Founder/Creative Director, summarizes the result. "From 10th place to 7th place: we are happy with that - a nice present for our 10th anniversary. If you look at the size of the agency - we are 15 people - in comparison to the number of points, we see ourselves even further ahead. But 7th place also shows that there is still room for improvement - and that remains an incentive." The year 2023 was challenging in many respects. On the one hand, the global and economic situation contributed to customers understandably not wanting to take any risks. On the other hand, the agency noticed that the key topics of sustainability and society were in high demand in communications. This presented a wide range of opportunities for creative solutions, which Freundliche Grüsse made good use of.

With 98 points, Foundry landed in 8th place. Sacha Moser, Founder and Creative Partner, expressed his delight: "We are delighted and take this as an incentive. The symbolism of the '8' as a sign of infinity reinforces our ambition to be a regular presence in the ranking and to become a recurring top 10. As newcomers, we take our hats off to all the legendary names that have been regularly at the top of the table for years. 2023 has had its challenges, but what year hasn't? In our industry, we are always at the forefront of change and innovation. Because problems, coupled with optimism, are the parents of creativity. Agility, creativity and openness to new things is what drives us every day. We are at the beginning every day and our goal is to deliver the most innovative and best creative solutions.

The company ON ranked 9th with 66 points. No statement could be obtained from ON by the editorial deadline. Finally, 10th place was snatched by the Zurich agency Wundermann Thompson with 60 points. Swen Morath, Co-CEO and Chief Creative Officer, says: "We were (happily) surprised to see that in the end we just made it into the top 10 of the creative ranking. Congratulations to all the top 10 agencies for their creative achievements and especially to the new number 1 Ruf Lanz. To have been among the most creative agencies in Switzerland continuously since 2001 is unique and deserves our utmost respect!"

The color yellow is intended to stand for the many advantages that a subscription with Swiss Post brings. With around 800 post offices throughout Switzerland, Post Mobile has the densest sales network of all telco providers in one fell swoop. So you never have to walk far to get advice or take out a subscription. The aim is to score points with an excellent price-performance promise, friendly Post employees and products that keep you on top of things. In short: it couldn't be more yellow. This also applies to the launch of the new player.

An anthem for the launch and lots of yellow

Post Mobile is launched with a cover of the 90s hit "Blue (Da ba dee)" by Eiffel 65, but instead of blue aliens in spaceships, the song "Yellow (Ring Ring Post Mobile)" is sung by the color yellow lover "Yellow Jan". In the music video, he invites people to his home and performs his song with all the yellow things he can get his hands on - actively supported by his sidekick and celebrated by his family. The song is played on all social media channels and flanked by a large-scale OOH campaign. The posters focus on the core message "It couldn't be more yellow" and fill the city centers with the color yellow that matches the campaign.

Many yellow phases

The yellow campaign can be seen throughout Switzerland from Monday and will be played out on various channels over several months. The launch phase with a music video and yellow posters will be followed by an awareness phase with OOH and DOOH placements, followed by TV and online spots designed to dramatize the yellow benefits of Post Mobile subscriptions in a fresh and entertaining way - supplemented by various online measures. This will be accompanied by an ongoing performance phase with additional flights focusing on the various subscription offers in the campaign.

Responsible at the post office: Evelyn Schnarrenberger, Jenny Mosbacher, Sonja Baumann, Ana Ingold, Yannick Lehmann, Carmela Fusco, Marcel Lehmann. Responsible at Publicis Zurich: David Lübke (Creative Director), Philipp Klink (Senior Copywriter), Sebastian Danielsson (Senior Art Director), Cedric Fuchs (Art Director), Maureen Wangui (Graphic Designer), Anna Leudolph (Freelance Creative Director), Rob Hartmann (Executive Creative Director), Sandro Looser (Client Service Director), Lea Zaydowicz (Account Director), Lea Zehnder (Junior Account Manager), Matthias Koller (overall responsibility). Responsible at Prodigious: Factory Prodigious, Carol Maag / Constantine Wrage (Agency Producer Prodigious). Post Mobile Musicvideo Crew: Sam de Jong (Director), Hillton (Production), Mona Bertschinger, David Bertschinger Karg (Exc. Producer), Yanik Müller (Senior Producer), Debby Caplunik (Producer), Boas van Milligen Bielke (Camera), Jenny Tschuggmel (Styling), Robin Fessel (Art Dep.), Lena Fleischer (H&M), Billy Bains (Post-Producer), Johannes de Jong (Editor), DeGrot (Color Grading), Jingle Jungle (Sound Design). Music: BLUE (Da Ba Dee) by Eiffel65, composed by M. Lobina, M. Gabutti, G. Randonepublished by GZ 2538 Srl, copyrights by Bliss Corporation Srl, interpreted by N. Jensen.

Dancing, creating, making music, taking photographs, keeping traditions alive and much more: Switzerland's cultural associations enrich people's lives in the most diverse ways. Migros supports them under the motto "Support Culture" with a funding pot totaling CHF 6 million. And it is also rewarding customers with a prize draw for the club vouchers they receive when shopping at Migros.

Culture staged close to everyday life

The promotion is advertised with three current films for TV, cinema and online - conceived by Wirz and realized by Rocket Film with director Malte Goy. The films break down barriers in an entertaining way by showing that cultural activities such as dancing, spraying or mime also have their place in everyday life. The established Migros acting cast also had to step out of their comfort zone a little for this, as the humor is not conveyed through dialogue for once, but purely through acting. Various online and offline measures complete the communication mix, with the defining key visual as the unifying element.

Responsible at Migros: Sarah Schneider (Head of Promotions & Activation), Laura Geerts (Project Manager Promotions & Activation), Lisa-Marie Seidl (Project Manager Promotions & Activation), Melina Schweizer (Intern Promotions & Activation), Iris Kramer (Project Manager Digital Campaigning and Promotions), Michèle Leibacher (Project Manager Campaigning), Simone Blaser (Media). Responsible at Wirz Group: Thomas Kurzmeyer, Chantal Heimo, Mark Stahel, Zara Velchev, David Offermann, Laura Schädler, Nina Riesen, Julia Keller, Nadja Kilchhofer, Erasmo Palomba, Giovanni Bucca, Yussef Serrat, Sonja Jegen, Corinne Räber, Oliver Fäs, Rahel Signer, Robin Schuler, Elena Braun. Responsible for Rocket Film (film production): Kerstin Reulen (Producer), Malte Goy (Director), Jan Mettler (Director of Photography), Marko Strihic (Edit), Jingle Jungle (Sound), Vaudeville (Animation), Cloudscape (Image Editing). Photo production: Romain Mader (photography); Karin Messerli (styling). Media: Dynamo Team, Dentsu International Switzerland. Social media: Ese Agency. Stroke: Mutabor.

According to the press release on the study published on Thursday, Migros has made gains among young people in French-speaking Switzerland in particular. However, the survey was conducted before the Migros management decided to restructure the group. Among other things, Migros is planning to sell its subsidiaries Hotelplan and SportX and will cut around 1,500 jobs.

Retail, consumer goods and global brands dominate

The "Brand Indicator Switzerland" (BIS), compiled under the direction of Zurich-based advertiser Frank Bodin and together with Deeptrue, Furrerhugi and Converto, remains dominated by brands from the retail and consumer goods sector as well as digital global brands. The Migros label "From the region, for the region", which was recorded for the first time, immediately took sixth place. Le Gruyère and Lindt ranked 8th and 9th respectively.

Meanwhile, the Group brand Coop slipped to seventh place, but Coop remains well represented in the top ten with Coop.ch and Coop Supercard (10). The upward trend of Coop.ch is spectacular, according to the press release. In 2022, the brand was ranked 118th as Coop@home, 18th in 2023 and now 4th. In contrast, Migros.ch is only ranked 100th.

The promoted and relegated teams

The biggest climbers in the top 100 brands include:

• Lindt (from rank 17 to 9)
• PayPal (from rank 122 to 16)
• Swiss meat (from 53rd to 31st place)
• Swiss Milk (from rank 80 to 37)
• Kägi (from rank 60 to 39)
• Swiss (from rank 65 to 40)
• Digitec.ch (from rank 81 to 54)
• Samsung Galaxy (from rank 103 to 55)
• Raiffeisen (from rank 114 to 61)
• Nike (from rank 108 to 73)
• Canon (from rank 116 to 93)
• Maggi (from rank 133 to 97)

The list of the biggest movers and shakers among 16 to 29-year-olds is as follows:

The BSI study is based on an online survey of 2631 people aged 16 to 65, which is representative in terms of language region, age and gender. The survey was conducted from November 21 to 30, 2023. (SDA/swi)

Elsässer is a media manager with a strong track record, CH Media announced on Thursday. He will take over the management of the national TV business with the flagship channels 3+ and TV24 as well as the streaming service oneplus and will be a member of the Executive Board, as CH Media writes.

"I am delighted that I have been able to recruit him for my team," CEO Michael Wanner is quoted as saying. The potential of CH Media TV AG is huge, Wolfgang Elsässer is quoted as saying. He is "highly motivated to exploit this potential together with his colleagues."

With the arrival of Wolfgang Elsässer, the restructuring of CH Media's entertainment division has been completed, it was reported. This was split into the two units TV National and Regional Electronic Media last fall (Werbewoche.ch reported). (SDA/swi)

Whether early inheritance, early retirement, sabbatical, home ownership or marriage, there are many important moments in life when it pays to know about finances. The "Women's Wealth Academy" from UBS aims to help women deepen their own financial knowledge: with events, lectures, Academy ambassadors - and also with a digital advice platform that offers a wide range of financial advice. Articles and interviews on financial and asset issues.

According to Sandra Huber-Schütz, Vice Chairwoman of UBS Switzerland and initiator of the Women's Wealth Academy, there is a great demand for financial knowledge and customized answers to financial questions that specifically address the life situations of women: "With the Women's Wealth Academy, we actively support women in making confident and informed decisions and taking responsibility for their financial future." After all, being a woman makes a difference when it comes to financial planning. For example, women have to make more extensive provisions for retirement due to their longer life expectancy.

Revised user journey

Freundliche Grüsse adapted the structure of the website for the relaunch of the "UBS Women's Wealth Academy" and completely revised the user journeys. In addition, a new, target group-oriented appearance with emotional imagery was designed and a large number of articles were optimized in terms of tone, visuals and for search engines. The heart of the Academy - the learning paths - a series of automated e-mail learning modules on various financial topics, were revised and redesigned and the lead process optimized.

Not explanatory, but empowering

Freundliche Grüsse created a launch campaign to complement the relaunch of the content platform. At the heart of the campaign concept is the idea that women are often told how the world of finance works - but that this is not necessary: the Academy empowers women to take their finances into their own hands and deepen their financial knowledge. With the headline phrase "I know ..." and the claim "Financial knowledge means independence", the insight is implemented appropriately and underpinned with various relevant facts and statements from women's financial lives.

The campaign will go live in mid-February 2024 with seven subjects in four languages and will be played out on UBS Owned Channels and social media platforms. It is intended to create awareness for the UBS Women's Wealth Academy and for the topic of women and finance in general, as well as to generate traffic to the Academy website and new leads.

Responsible at UBS: Sandra Huber-Schütz (Vice Chairwoman), Melanie Felber-Gossweiler (Segment Manager Women's Wealth WM Switzerland), Domenica Herrmann (Management Support Head PFA), Aydin Sahin (Head Marketing & Digital Sales), Oliver Vedolin (Head Digital Communication & Growth), Joël Frey (Head Content & Dialogue Marketing), Marcel Aisslinger (Marketing Specialist, Content and Growth Marketing), Fiorella De Luigi (Marketing Specialist, Content Marketing), Karin Wagner-Hohl (Marketing Specialist Dialogue Marketing), Renata Ruprecht (Dialogue Marketing Specialist), Jacek Jablonski (Content Management Specialist), Patric Møller (Head of Digital Marketing), Valentina Pece (Digital Marketing Campaign Strategist), Anne-Martine Beck (Head Brand Experience), Mathias Kunz (Live Experience Expert), Manuela Gualeni (Brand Design Expert), Dania Vogel (Moving Images & eScreen Expert), Naomi Bechtold (Moving Images & eScreen Expert). Responsible at Friendly regards: Pascal Deville, Fabian Biedermann, Samuel Textor (overall responsibility), Laura Leuenberger (art direction), Janine Sonderegger, David Elmiger (text / concept), Andrea Aegerter, Damian del Fabbro (consulting), Sandro Matter (digital consultant), Jonas Hermann (UX design). Photos: Désirée Good (photography), Süsstrunk & Jericke (image processing), 13Photo (production).

With sustainable organizational development - which includes strategy, organizational structure, team size, service portfolio, processes and various new clients - the agency has laid the foundations for organic, sustainable growth over the past two years. As a result, this next step in the agency's strategic orientation follows, as Campfire writes in a press release.

"We will keep our roots and our office on beautiful Lake Biel, but we want to be even closer to our Bernese customers with our second location at Bern station," says Pius Caduff, co-founder and Managing Partner of Campfire, explaining the decision.

The new office is located at Laupenstrasse 2, right next to Bern railroad station, and offers up to twelve workstations for new and existing employees. The "close interdisciplinary collaboration, the team and the culture" are to be retained.

"The agency business is a 'people business'. Close collaboration and regular contact with our clients are essential for our culture and the quality of our digital products. Even though other organizations have completely switched to remote work, for us, direct and physical exchange on site with our clients in the form of conversations, meetings and workshops is an important part of our DNA. The positive feedback and long-standing partnerships with our customers confirm this," explains Frank Salathé, Managing Partner at Campfire.

The digital agency with its office in Bern has high hopes of attracting new talent in particular. The 16-strong team is currently looking for after reinforcement in the areas of UX design, development and content.

The Zurich agency won over the Amag Group with the promise of "A New Way in Media" and an integrated digital-first approach, as detailed in a press release. Bundling the budget with a single agency offers "above all cross-channel strategies and planning, but also simplified processes, increased efficiency and the targeted use of synergies".

"The Webrepublic team impressed our Group-wide decision-making committee with its authentic nature, passion for marketing and comprehensive expertise in digital channels," says Christian Hermle, Director Marketing & Sales Transformation, Amag Import, explaining the decision.

Simplified set-up for an increasingly complex environment

The increasingly fragmented media and advertising market as a result of the digital transformation has also triggered a paradigm shift in media strategy, according to the statement. Away from "traditional approaches" towards an approach that increasingly follows digital logics. Webrepublic predicts that the currently still analog channels "will most likely also become digital and programmatic in the medium to long term". In addition, the increasing number of platforms and channels will lead to more interfaces between companies and agencies.

The Amag Group therefore wants to streamline its media agency structure and expand its digital expertise across all channels. Webrepublic supports Amag in successfully navigating the complexity of this change - online and offline, based on a holistic understanding of customer needs.

The decision to commission Webrepublic as the sole media agency illustrates the Amag Group's increased strategic focus on sustainable, individual mobility. At the same time, Webrepublic sees this partnership as strengthening its now strong position as a full-service provider. "We have constantly evolved to win precisely this type of mandate. In a changing marketing landscape, clients don't want to manage dozens of specialized niche agencies. They want a single strong partner at their side," Tobias Zehnder, partner and co-founder of Webrepublic, is convinced.

Swiss Post has been offering subscriptions, smartphones and telecoms accessories from various providers for a good twenty years, the "yellow giant" wrote in a joint press release with Salt on Thursday. Now the range is being focused in the branches, where around 350,000 customers come and go every day.

In future, Swiss Post's cooperation in the area of postpaid and prepaid contracts will focus on a single partner. This partner is Salt. With the new "Post Mobile" subscription, Salt will offer Swiss Post customers mobile access with a 5G network and 99.9 percent network coverage. Salt is also the contractual partner for the subscription and the offer is aimed at price-conscious individuals.

"We are now no longer just a pure sales channel, but can help shape our own offering," Thomas Baur, Head of the Swiss Post branch network, was quoted in the Tamedia newspapers on the decision to choose Salt as a subscription partner. Customers will not only be able to buy subscriptions in the post offices, but also take advantage of the support for the new mobile phone service. Swiss Post employees have already been trained accordingly.

So far, Swiss Post has offered subscriptions from various providers. Sales targets had already been set for these. "We still have sales targets, but these now apply to our range," continues Baur. So far, 30,000 to 40,000 mobile phone subscriptions from Swisscom, Sunrise or Salt have been sold in the branches each year. The state-owned company now wants to reach this level with "Post Mobile".

Subscriptions "not a big hit"

The online comparison service Moneyland.ch has analyzed how the four new Swiss Post subscriptions compare to the competition. According to telecoms expert Ralf Beyeler, the subscriptions are "not a big hit". Swiss Post is unlikely to shake up the mobile phone market. The subscriptions are considerably cheaper than the direct subscriptions from Swisscom, Salt and Sunrise. However, in many cases there are cheaper alternatives to the Swiss Post subscriptions, for example for smaller brands.

Generally speaking, third-party brands are nothing new on the Swiss cell phone market. Cell phone offers from Migros and Coop have been available since 2005. Today, the three mobile network operators work together with all major supermarket chains to sell cell phone subscriptions under the brand names of Migros, Coop (both Swisscom), Aldi (Sunrise) and Lidl (Salt). The largest Swiss online retailer Digitec Galaxus also rents the Sunrise network for its subscriptions.

Cell phone subscriptions from Red Bull or the free newspaper 20 minutes However, expert Beyeler emphasized that they had not prevailed. (SDA)