The signed agreement stipulates that Saas Valley Tourism will specifically include products and activities around Eisten in its communication. The activities, some of which have already been jointly developed in the product development phase, include the new mountain bike trail from Saas-Balen to Stalden along the valley road, the region's hiking trails, the husky tours in winter and other tourism-related products as agreed. The Saas-Fee/Saas Valley tourist office will also be available to guests in Eisten for tourist inquiries by telephone or e-mail. As a concrete sign of the close cooperation, the Saas-Fee/Saas Valley destination will also be a co-sponsor of the 81st Upper Valais Drum and Pipe Festival.

Overall, sales at local retailers fell by 0.1 percent, according to provisional figures released by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) on Wednesday. The slight decline is due to inflation. This is because real turnover, i.e. excluding inflation, fell by 2.0%.

This is the sharpest decline since the turn of the millennium. Not even during the crisis years of 2002 and 2003 after the internet bubble burst or in 2015 and 2016, when the retail trade suffered from the discontinuation of the minimum euro exchange rate and the Swiss flocked to buy abroad, had sales at local retailers suffered so significantly.

Almost all retailers are selling less

The downward trend from the previous year continued in the food, beverages and tobacco retail sector (-2.3%). During the lockdowns during the pandemic, stores had benefited from the fact that people had eaten much more at home as restaurants were closed.

Non-food retailers (excluding petrol stations) lost 1.7% in real terms, after benefiting somewhat from pent-up demand from the pandemic in the previous year. Almost all sectors suffered losses. The biggest dip was among sellers of household appliances, textiles, DIY and furnishings (-4.2%), which had already come under pressure a year earlier.

Retail sales of publishing products, sports equipment and toys fell by 2.5%. Sales of clothing and shoes also fell by 3.8%. Only sales of information and communication technology devices such as computers and cell phones increased by 6.2%.

Significant price increases

However, substantial price increases in some cases saved the annual balance sheet for many retailers. Despite lower sales, food, beverage and tobacco sellers were able to achieve a significant nominal increase in turnover of 1.7%. And retailers selling non-food products were able to limit the fall in turnover to 0.9%.

Only in the case of fuels was the trend reversed: because petrol, diesel and heating oil have become much cheaper than a year ago, nominal sales of fuels fell by 8 percent, although slightly more fuel (+0.6 percent) was sold. (SDA)

The Federal Council's proposal, which is now undergoing consultation, merely changes the SRG initiative from "200 francs is enough" to "300 francs is enough". However, the question of the meaning and purpose of the SRG's public service for the regions and Switzerland as a whole remains unanswered, criticized the President of the Government, Monica Gschwind (FDP), on behalf of the executive of Basel-Landschaft.

It sees the planned reduction in fees as a major risk that media offerings in the regions will disappear and the quality and diversity of information will decline. The government also assumes that the reduction in fees will lead to centralization. Numerous jobs are likely to be lost in the Basel region as an SRG location.

Last week, the government of Basel-Stadt already spoke out against the partial revision to reduce fees. A strong public media service for all language regions is essential, the Basel executive announced, also referring to SRG's roots in the region.

Consultation before completion

Media Minister Albert Rösti (SVP) wants to oppose the partial revision of the RTVO to the submitted halving initiative. The Federal Council rejects the reduction in Serafe fees from CHF 335 to CHF 200 per year and household called for in the initiative. Instead, it is proposing a reduction to CHF 300 from 2029, among other things. The Federal Council does not want to oppose the initiative by amending the constitution or the law, but rather reduce the fees at ordinance level.

The federal government sent the partial revision of the RTVO to the cantons for comment. The consultation period will last until February 1, 2024, and the Federal Council must submit its dispatch on the SRG initiative to Parliament before the summer vacations. (SDA)

Meier is moving to Basel to be with his family, writes the nature and animal park in a press release issued on Wednesday. In his role, he has made a significant contribution to leading the zoo successfully into the future, Regula Straub, President of the Administrative Commission, is quoted in the press release.

The 53-year-old Katrina Wenger already works as Head of Marketing, Sales and Education at the zoo and is a member of the management team. Until the organizational realignment and Meier's successor have been clarified, she will hold a dual role, according to the press release. Wenger has many years of experience in the areas of leadership, marketing, sales and the development of corporate strategies. (SDA)

In order to create a consistent and exceptional customer experience, the experts at Jung von Matt Brand Identity developed MDH's entire customer journey from scratch. The strategy focused not only on presenting the MDH brand, but also on making it tangible - at every single stage of the interaction with customers.

This holistic approach has resulted in many changes. First and foremost is the increased proximity to the customer, which is also reflected in the new design. Inspired by Corbusier's "Modulor", which combines the human scale with the golden ratio, the design ensures aesthetic excellence. This is intended to give the architecture a human dimension and at the same time bring order to the visual concept. By using real client portraits in the imagery and storytelling that focuses on the needs of the clients, MDH also creates a deeper connection with its clients.

The brand's design concept comes into its own through a detailed customer journey that aims to impress through unique experiences. From personalized architectural plan rolls to tailor-made surprises and high-quality communication materials.

"With Jung von Matt Brand Identity, we have taken our brand and the customer experience to a new level. Now our customer journey reflects exactly what we achieve in our architecture and design: excellence, creativity and individuality," says Ivana Ristovic from MDH.

Responsible at MDH: André Kressebuch, Ivana Ristovic, Lea Kuzhini. Responsible at Jung von Matt Brand Identity: Philipp Siegenthaler (strategy), Diana Geissel (project management), Monica Bühlman, Pablo Scheidegger, Didier Quarroz, Christina Widmann (design), Julius Jäger (mandate management).

What you always wanted to know about media but were hesitant to ask: Is my money well invested in media? What should I pay attention to? What should I avoid? How do I create a powerful, well thought-out media strategy?

Perhaps you've been looking for a checklist that explains the complexities of media strategy in easy-to-understand terms? After all, between 60 and 80 percent of the marketing budget is usually spent on "media". And it can quickly happen that the wrong media decisions cause your hard-won media budget to "fizzle out".

Unfortunately, in reality, too many media plans are still created on the basis of false assumptions, incomplete briefings, unrealistic goals, contradictory information or your own - often deceptive - gut feeling.

What criteria lead to the choice of the right media, and why the "fit" (impact) of a medium is more important than the discount offered - this is what I want to discuss below. Because the strategy should determine the media purchase, and not the other way around.

Strategy should not be "wishy-washy"

A poor strategy does not set a clear focus, confuses implementation with strategy and sets unrealistic goals. Certain marketing laws are still valid in the age of digitalization.

Marketing gurus Byron Sharp and Mark Ritson in particular clear up some of the nonsense and misconceptions that have unfortunately proliferated in recent years - partly due to various "hypes".

1. Attention for advertising is mainly driven by interest (mental availability).
2. Reach is more important than contacts.
3. New buyers and light buyers Brands grow through new buyers and light buyers (and less through heavy buyers), which shows the limits of performance marketing.
4. Media mix is more effective than concentrating on just one medium.
5. The AIDA formula (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action) has lost none of its validity - even though it has been repeatedly declared dead. It has merely been expanded to include what is now known as the "marketing funnel".

We are convinced that a consistently well thought-out and comprehensible process automatically leads to an intelligent and effective media strategy. The creation, the message, plays an immensely important role here and can contribute 50 to 60 percent of the advertising impact.

This and much more "meat on the bone" includes the first TWmedia white paper "Strategic Process"which forms the start of a multi-part "how-to" series. Because without a well thought-out process and a clear justification for the choice of channel, media planning is pretty headless.

After holding various positions at media and creative agencies and as head of marketing at an outdoor advertising company, he took over Oliver Schönfeld took up the position of Managing Director at TWmedia in Basel in 2018. He has acquired his knowledge through a great deal of curiosity, many years of experience and by studying marketing and psychology on the windy Baltic coast and in vibrant Manchester.

All of the Group's activities and locations will be affected, according to a press release issued by ESH Médias on Tuesday. Around ten jobs would be lost in each of the various editorial offices.

According to the communiqué, the reduction in staff is to be achieved "as far as possible" through natural fluctuation. However, redundancies cannot be avoided, it said.

A consultation phase has begun and will end on February 16. Employees were informed about the restructuring on Tuesday. A new organizational model will be presented to them at the beginning of March. (SDA)

The brand design and brand communication agency Studio Thom Pfister is awarded the contract for the image campaign for the Adelbodner mineral water brand.

"For the relaunch of the adelbodner brand, we wanted a campaign that combines our Swiss origins, our down-to-earth attitude and our unmistakable character with a touch of value. Studio Thom Pfister did a masterful job of uniting these components and bringing them to life with creative clarity," comments Lionel Hofstetter, CEO of the Aqva Group.

According to the agency, the first implementations will be seen from April or May 2024.

Out-of-home advertising is once again growing in popularity (+16.3%) and is cushioning the decline in TV (-8.3%) and print (-3.6%). Radio and cinema advertising also increased (5.1% and 9.0% respectively) - albeit at a significantly lower level in absolute terms.

The order in the media mix remains unchanged, but the media are moving closer together. TV (36%; -3% points) and print (35%, -1% point) are at the top, ahead of out-of-home with 22% (+3% points), radio (6%, +1% point) and cinema (0.8%).

Looking at the world of online marketing, display ads (CHF 536 million, +4.7%) and YouTube ads (CHF 305 million, +8.8%) continue to grow, although no longer at double-digit percentage rates as in previous years. The figures show that digital advertising formats are continuing to gain in importance, even if the pace of growth is slowing slightly compared to previous years.

In the Search segment, a direct comparison with the previous year is problematic due to the ongoing adjustments and updates that Google made, particularly in the second half of 2023. These continuous changes, which were also documented in detail in the media, led to significant fluctuations in the search results. Therefore, no meaningful direct comparison can be made with 2022. However, despite its dynamic nature, 2023 itself provides a basis for internal comparisons and analyses.

Coop, Migros and P&G lead the way - not everyone follows

Coop continues to hold the top position in terms of advertising share (SoA% Top 20: 28%) with a slight decline compared to the previous year (-2%). Migros (2) follows in second place with 16%, also with a slight decline (-5%). Procter & Gamble in third place and Swisscom in sixth place have also significantly reduced their traditional advertising pressure in percentage terms (-19% and -17% respectively), but have maintained their positions. Ferrero in 4th place and L'Oréal in 5th place also remain unchanged, despite slightly higher advertising pressure than in 2022 (+3% and +6% respectively).

However, four companies have invested more and have been rewarded for this in the ranking. Henkel and Beiersdorf each moved up eight places compared to the previous year, Ikea jumped from 13th to 7th place and Galaxus moved up three places and is now in the top 10.

Jumbo recorded the largest percentage increase in the top 20 following the merger with Coop Bau+Hobby, with an increase of 93%. This catapults the DIY store from 41st to 15th place. Unilever and Nestlé, both with increases of just under 40%, are now back in the top 20. McDonald's, Lidl, Denner, Interdiscount, Sunrise and Aldi are reducing their traditional advertising pressure in 2023. As a result, the first five companies mentioned will lose their top 10 position. Aldi falls from 15th to 20th place, while Sunrise will see the biggest percentage reduction of 36%.

Retailers are also the measure of all things when it comes to display ads. Migros and Coop lead the way, but with Lidl and Denner there are four in the top 10. In addition to the Swiss "institutions", Swisscom, UBS and Swiss Post, new companies appear in the ranking with Swisslos, Philipp Morris and Google.

On YouTube, "entertainment" companies dominate the ranking - TikTok at the top, Nintendo, Disney and Universal. Smile Direct, surprisingly strong in second place, ahead of Beiersdorf. Migros, Lindt & Sprüngli and Coop also make it into the top 10.

Search as a pull rather than a push medium reflects the needs of Swiss people. Travel is mainly booked online on platforms such as Ab-in-den-Urlaub.ch (1), Booking.com (3) and Ab-ins-blaue.ch (9). Purchases are also made on Ottos.ch (2), Galaxus (4), Brack.ch (8) and Home24.ch (10). Price comparisons are also made on Comparis (6). Sunrise.ch and Axa.ch, in 5th and 7th place, almost fall out of line here as brands.

Vehicle industry picks up speed again in 2023

2023 is a good year for the vehicle industry. The industry, which has been hit by the coronavirus pandemic and supply bottlenecks, grew by 21.2% and climbed three places to fifth place. Jeep and Škoda each have a product in the top 10 newly advertised products in 2023 - both electric SUVs.

In percentage terms, only transportation companies (+22.8%) and tobacco products (+82.1%) grew faster than the vehicle sector. The latter also has a product in the top 10, the Iqos tobacco heating system, but this does not lead to any change in rank, unlike events (+3.3%), pharmaceuticals & health (+1.5%) and cleaning (+14.2%). Fashion & Sport benefited from the traditionally more defensive advertising behavior of the telecommunications sector (-18.1%) and climbed one place despite a minimal reduction (-0.8%).

In terms of online focus, the ranking list for the sectors paints a different picture. The telecommunications industry, which is only ranked 15th in the traditional market, shines in turquoise for display, YouTube and search ads, as it is ranked 8th, 5th and 9th respectively, more than 4 places higher than in the ranking of traditional channels.

At the top of the industry ranking (traditional channels), there were no changes in the top four places and only deviations in advertising pressure (-3.9% to 3.3%). Food remains ahead of retail, ahead of initiatives & campaigns and the financial sector. The latter impresses with top marks in the online ranking. 2nd place for display and search ads. On the gold podium for YouTube.

Gradual change in the advertising market

The year 2023 marks a phase of consolidation and gradual change in the Swiss advertising market. Despite the slight decline in the traditional advertising market, the increase in specific areas such as out-of-home advertising, radio and cinema shows a diverse and adaptive market structure. The continuous strengthening of online marketing channels such as display and YouTube ads underlines the growing importance of digital advertising strategies, even if the pace of growth is flattening out compared to previous years.

The changes in search engine marketing, especially at Google, reflect the constantly evolving technologies and user behavior. This requires companies to continuously adapt and optimize their online presence and search engine strategies.

The dominance of major players such as Coop, Migros and P&G in the traditional advertising market remains, while other brands are rising in the rankings, which shows the dynamism and competitiveness of the market. The strong presence of retailers in display ads and the dominance of entertainment companies in YouTube ads illustrate different strategic orientations in different advertising channels.

The automotive sector is making a comeback, indicating a recovery from the pandemic-related setbacks. The telecommunications industry shows an interesting discrepancy between its presence in traditional and online media.

Overall, 2023 offers important insights into the changing priorities and strategies in the Swiss advertising market. The ability to adapt and the willingness to innovate will continue to be crucial in order to be successful in a rapidly changing digital ecosystem. Whether everyone will succeed in 2024 remains to be seen. On a positive note, various market players expect the advertising market in 2024 to be at roughly the same level as in 2023.

The annual report 2023 of the Control Committees (CC) published on Tuesday contains topics that were not already publicly communicated during the year. What is striking is this: In two cases, the GPK-N was not satisfied with the Federal Council's statements on recommendations and suggestions made by the superintendence.

On the one hand, it concerns the GPK-N's inspection of the evaluation process for the Swiss Armed Forces' new fighter aircraft. The Federal Council's statements were "insufficient" in the view of the parliamentary superintendence and "its attitude was problematic for institutional reasons".

The Federal Council had not provided the additional information requested. "The Commission regrets that in this case the Federal Council was unwilling to deal materially with its findings and recommendations."

Constructive dialog required

The GPK-N also states in the report that a similar problem arose during its investigation into the procurement of Covid-19 protective masks. It emphasizes "that the framework set by current law for the distribution of roles between the Federal Council and parliamentary oversight only works if the two bodies can engage in an in-depth dialogue or if there is a corresponding willingness on both sides".

With the exception of the cases mentioned, this dialog "generally works", according to the GPK-N. However, it expects the Federal Council to be prepared in future to engage in a constructive and appropriate dialog with it on the findings and recommendations from its inspections. This is in the interests of both institutions. (SDA)

Since it was founded in 1882, Möbel Pfister has been continuously developing in order to offer the best possible shopping experience. The furniture store wants to be relevant for all customers, which is reflected in its modernized corporate identity (CI).

The revised logo is a central element of Möbel Pfister's new corporate design. It presents itself in a fresh, light, friendly and accessible style. The previous red bar next to the initial letter has been removed and the lettering is now consistently lower case. The characteristic Pfister red, the main color of the brand, has been subtly revised and noticeably refreshed. These changes are intended to emphasize Möbel Pfister's modernity and innovative strength.

"We want to appear more confident, bold and determined, while showcasing our unique expertise. In doing so, we are keeping both our existing customers and the next generation of Pfister shoppers in mind. Vasataschröder understood this mission and further developed our corporate identity in such a way that this promise is also kept visually," explains Pfister CEO Paul Holaschke.

With its new brand identity, Pfister is staying true to its origins while preparing for the challenges of the digital age. The company continues to keep its promise to offer attractive furnishing solutions for every customer.

The starting signal for the new CI is the campaign for the sleep range, which will be launched on Tuesday and will be used in print and digital measures on all channels in February.

The new Goldbach Regional" area is designed to meet the needs of Swiss SMEs and enable them to run effective advertising campaigns with advertising budgets from as little as 500 francs and "without extensive experience in this area", according to a press release.

"Branding and, above all, sales measures through targeted communication are also extremely important for SMEs," says Thierry Furrer (photo), Managing Director of Goldbach Regional, "but many companies have neither the time nor the resources to take care of this." Goldbach Regional is therefore keen to offer SMEs cross-media advertising solutions tailored to the region from a single source at the lowest possible cost and in the shortest possible time.

Goldbach Regional can draw on the TX Group's analog and digital media brands, social media platforms, the programmatically bookable DOOH inventory of all relevant Swiss providers and all standard video formats. Goldbach Regional also plans to integrate additional formats such as digital audio and replay ads into its range this year and make them bookable for SMEs.

Customers - or their agencies, if applicable - would also benefit from "technologically supported services such as the creation of advertising material, fully automated campaign optimization or proof of performance in the form of live reporting". Customers will be offered "transparent and personalized advice", concludes Furrer.