At the turn of the year, Chantale Meyer will become the new Head of Marketing/Communications at the Swiss Fruit Association SOV. She will take over the four-person team, which has been led by Director Jimmy Mariéthoz on an interim basis since the summer, and strengthen the Executive Board. The 34-year-old has been working as a marketing and communications specialist at the head office since June 2022. "I am delighted that we have been able to recruit a qualified person for this position in Chantale. She is already the driving force behind our campaign and has a broad range of specialist knowledge," says Jimmy Mariéthoz.

Before working in the fruit industry, Chantale Meyer was a project manager at a communications and event agency in Lucerne. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Social & Communications Science, a CAS in Brand Management, a CAS in Event Management and over eight years of experience in marketing and communications.

At SOV, she has so far used her broad knowledge to further develop the basic campaign to promote Swiss apple juice and fruit and organized successful appearances at festivals and events. "I am delighted to be taking on responsibility at this challenging and exciting time. I was able to get to know Swiss fruit growing as an innovative industry and the encounters with producers and processors are my inspiration," says the Zug native.

With the takeover, the BPI team is growing by more than 50 consultants across several European cities and now employs a total of more than 250 people, according to the press release issued on Thursday. With the new international focus, BPI is changing its name from Bully Pulpit Interactive to Bully Pulpit International. The brand name "Boldt" will remain with the addition "a BPI company".

With this investment, BPI is creating synergies and offering international political consulting, campaign work and strategic communication from a single source in order to serve both American and European clients. "In view of the current political situation and the growing pressure on European and American companies, now is the ideal time for Boldt to join forces with BPI," explains Matthias Graf, founding partner of Boldt.

With the Voting beer from Migros Wirz was able to secure gold in the Eurobest Integrated category. There was also bronze in the PR category.

In future, Cimmino will manage the online portal Ajour.ch, the two newspapers Bieler Tagblatt and Journal du JuraTeleBielingue regional television and the Canal 3 radio station, as Gassmann Media announced on Wednesday. The new journalistic director will also drive forward the development of the digital channels.

"I am delighted to be returning to my first journalistic home. I consider it a privilege and a highly exciting task to be able to manage Gassmann Media as a journalist. Especially as there are many good stories to tell in Biel, the Seeland and the Bernese Jura," Cimmino is quoted as saying by Ajour.ch.

The existing editorial teams will remain in their current form and will report to the new journalistic director.

Cimmino began her career with a traineeship at Canal 3, followed by stints at Radio 24 and TV3. In 2004, she moved to what is now Radio SRF. From 2014, she was a member of the SRF domestic editorial team. In 2016, Cimmino became presenter of the information program "Echo der Zeit". She left SRF at the end of May 2021 and founded his own company. (SDA)

Kronshagen has further training as a sales coordinator with a federal certificate and an excellent network in the advertising market and has in-depth expertise in outdoor advertising. She worked for Neo Advertising for eleven years in various management positions. Prior to that, she worked as an account manager for Jobs.ch for over four years.

Alexandra Kronshagen will report to Andy Bürki, Head of Advertising Market and member of the Executive Board. She succeeds Beat Nievergelt, who has already left the company. According to the press release, he and APG|SGA have decided to go their separate ways by mutual agreement. He worked for the out-of-home advertising company for 34 years.

Popular destinations among Tui Suisse customers this winter include the Canary Islands, Egypt and Cape Verde. But distant destinations such as Thailand, the Maldives and the United Arab Emirates are also increasingly being booked.

Bookings were up by a double-digit percentage on the winter before the pandemic, said Tui Suisse CEO Philipp von Czapiewski at a media event on Tuesday. In addition to beach vacations, other forms of travel are also in demand, with round trips and camper vacations, for example in Australia or New Zealand, being very popular.

Higher willingness to pay

The Swiss are also apparently prepared to dig deeper into their pockets for a break in the sun, despite rising fixed costs. Tui customers are spending an average of 10 to 20 percent more on their vacations than before the pandemic. They are booking more expensive hotels or staying longer on vacation.

According to Aage Dünhaupt, Tui's Head of Communications for the DACH region, this is probably due to the tense geopolitical situation. In times of crisis, vacations offer "a welcome break".

Meanwhile, Tui continues to expand its flight offering. Since October, individual flights can also be booked on the website. This makes it possible to compare different providers and combine flights with Tui hotels if required. The travel provider hopes to attract new customer segments in this way. (SDA)

The Ragusa chocolate brand is much less well-known in Germany and France than in Switzerland. An international social media campaign by Serviceplan Suisse aims to change this.

Ragusa is presented in a variety of ways in five posts: From a hazelnut and a cocoa bean meeting for a Tinder date and realizing that they are perfect for each other, to exciting insights into the history of Ragusa with historical images and a journey through time with a timelapse effect and AI-generated visuals. There is also a drone tour of Camille Bloch's chocolate factory in the Bernese Jura. German and French consumers were also able to taste Ragusa during a street survey in Fribourg and Colmar.

The media strategy was developed in close collaboration with the creative team at Mediaplus Suisse's House of Communication Zurich. After analyzing the target group's media usage, social media was selected as the main channel. The paid ads were precisely geo-targeted to reach users in the exact locations in Germany and France where Ragusa is available in stores. In order to make the media planning flexible and dynamic, the performance of the campaign is continuously optimized through classic re-targeting.

The campaign was launched at the beginning of November and is being played out on Facebook and Instagram. All posts were created bilingually in German and French. NateWork was responsible for the filming of the chocolate factory in Courtelary.

Responsible at Ragusa: Fabienne Leuenberger (Head of Marketing), Tamara Roth (Marketing Specialist International), Christiane Fahrni (Marketing Employee), Romain Bigler (Digital Marketing Specialist). Responsible at Serviceplan: Nadja Tandler (Art Direction), Carina Kienzle (Graphics), Günter Zumbach, Peter Liptak (Text), Shota Schweingruber (Motion Design), Audrey Isaak, Andrea Staub (Account Direction); Micha Seger (Executive Creative Direction); Pam Hügli, Raul Serrat (overall responsibility). Responsible at Mediaplus: Nathalie Naumann (Junior Digital Manager), Nico Podgorny (CCO/CDO).

The world of work has changed rapidly in recent years - so much so that employees may not be able to keep up. To better understand the impact of digital transformation and technological progress on the world of work, ServiceNow and Opinium surveyed 5,500 employees across the EMEA region - 500 of them from Switzerland - about their perceptions of technology. The results also highlight the desire of Swiss employees for further training to prepare them for the working world of the future: 40 percent of employees say that their training has not prepared them for work; 18 percent wish they had taken a different career path and, at 53 percent, more than half would like to better understand today's technologies.

On the way to the working world of the future, it is important to think about what the new ways of working mean for the employees who are experiencing this change. Otherwise, there is a risk that their Employee Experience is negatively influenced, according to those responsible for the study.

AI plays a key role

Will AI play a key role in the future world of work? According to the study, AI is already shaping the everyday working life of the average employee. Swiss employees are already using AI in three areas in particular - or are at least planning to do so. For 81%, AI can support brainstorming and creative idea generation. For 79 percent, it is used to create Excel formulas. And 78% see AI as a useful tool for writing emails or posts for social media.

More than half (57 %) of respondents in Switzerland believe that AI will have a positive impact on productivity in the workplace. The statement that AI is the greatest opportunity for the future of work was agreed by 49%.

For companies, this means that AI will have a major impact on the way work is done today and in the years to come. Those who want to remain competitive, productive and agile should focus on the positive attitude of employees towards AI and use the technology wherever possible.

Swiss employees do not trust their skills

Although employees recognize the potential productivity gains of AI solutions, the survey shows that they still lack confidence in their own abilities.

In Switzerland, 44% of respondents feel that they do not have all the technical skills required to work with AI systems. Similarly, 31% believe that they need further training in order to keep pace with technological developments in their careers as part of the digital transformation. Companies investing in new technologies need to take this into account. There's no point spending valuable budget on expensive AI solutions if your employees don't have the skills - or confidence - to use them properly.

Employees are willing to undergo further training

Despite a lack of self-confidence, Swiss employees recognize the importance of digital skills and are actively seeking to develop their skills. 69% of respondents believe that digital skills are a decisive advantage in working life, and 56% believe that AI should be a compulsory subject in schools before the age of 19. AI and coding skills should be taught in schools to better prepare the next generation. These results suggest that employees are clearly interested in improving the skills needed for a successful future. It can be assumed that such training would be well received in Switzerland.

Managers play a decisive role  

When it comes to teaching digital skills, the study puts the onus on managers. More than two thirds (67 %) of Swiss employees believe that their employers have a responsibility to promote the development of AI skills in the workplace.

According to the study, it is therefore up to managers to act now. The aim should be to find a practical learning and development strategy that provides employees with the necessary skills to work with AI systems. In addition, managers must also ensure that their employees are given the time and space to make the best use of what they have learned. At present, more than half (51 %) of those surveyed still find it difficult to incorporate the further development of their digital skills into their day-to-day work.

Companies should use initiatives to promote accessible and convenient digital training. This could be achieved through partnerships and training opportunities, for example. Managers who do not embrace new ways of working risk their workforce not being properly prepared for the working world of the future.

Conclusion

The study shows that employees are optimistic about the opportunities opened up by AI and other new technologies - if they are trained accordingly and the introduction of AI is driven forward professionally. Managers play an important role here. One thing is clear: companies that integrate digital skills into a solid learning and development strategy have the chance to be successful in the long term - and to allow their employees to share in this success.

For the study ServiceNow with Opinium Research to conduct the survey of 5,500 employees in the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates, Sweden and Switzerland. From Switzerland, 500 participants were surveyed. The study was conducted between October 3 and 9, 2023.

In addition to the co-management, Matthias Hämmerly and Andi Vogel will continue to be directly responsible for their previous areas: Hämmerly as Head of Content and Development, Vogel as Head of Production and Administration. By adjusting the management structure, Mediafisch intends to lay the foundations for further expansion. "Matthias Hämmerly and Andi Vogel complement each other perfectly with their experience and extensive TV know-how and guarantee that our strong growth in recent years will continue at the usual high level of quality in the future," says Marc Görtz, explaining the change.

The 50-year-old Matthias Hämmerly has been working at Mediafisch for two years and is a member of the management team as Head of Content. He knows the Swiss media world and can look back on a long career in TV and radio. Before Mediafisch, he worked for ten years at SRF as a senior producer and format developer, among other things, and most recently headed up the commissioned productions division.

Andi Vogel, 43, has been working at Mediafisch for seven years and is a member of the management team as Head of Operations. Before Mediafisch, he worked in the advertising industry and in tourism. He then worked for many years as a freelance production manager for various TV production companies, realizing numerous successful TV formats in the factual entertainment and documentary film sectors.

The supplier of herbal medicines Max Zeller Söhne has launched a campaign for its product "Zeller Schlaf Forte" in collaboration with the Antwerpes agency. This campaign relies on artificial intelligence (AI) to create the advertising material.

The campaign strategy takes a humorous approach that nevertheless underlines the seriousness of the topic of sleep disorders. "We believe that our target group will appreciate this and view our campaign with a wink," says Max Zeller Söhne.

According to the press release, 70 percent of the AI-generated image was created in Midjourney. For Max Zeller Söhne, the subject is a "prime example" of how AI can be used as an "efficient sparring partner" in day-to-day work.

Since its launch in October, the campaign has been present in the Chur area and is gradually being rolled out throughout Switzerland. It can be seen primarily in digital channels such as DOOH, social media feeds, stories and reels, as well as through programmatic - contextual targeting and direct buy.

Responsible at Zeller: Kathrin Borner, Sarah Bussenius, Yulia Kirschner. Responsible at Antwerpes (creation, coordination and implementation): Burghard Drews, Niclas Menke, Benedikt Seipelt, Jacob Tausendfreund.

Admeira accompanied the TV campaign, which ran on SRF 1, SRF zwei and SRF Info in fall 2022, with research and evaluated its advertising success in the Admeira AdPanel. In collaboration with GfK Switzerland, a pre-launch test was conducted in June 2022 and a post-test in November 2022 after the campaign was broadcast.

The results now show that Quickline's advertising campaign was widely perceived in German-speaking Switzerland as a result of the TV campaign. This can be seen in the ad recall, which was 35% after the campaign. This means that over a third of German-speaking Swiss can remember the Quickline commercial. An above-average ad recall of 55% was achieved among the 55-74 age group. The "best agers" represent an important segment - not only because of the large number of people in this age category, but also because of their high purchasing power and interest in digitalized communication.

The popularity of the brand was also increased by the TV advertising. According to the study, the proportion of people who find Quickline somewhat or very likeable rose from 21% to 33%. Among people who remember the TV commercial, the figure even increased from 33% to 47%.

The TV campaign also increased awareness of Quickline. The measured supported brand awareness of Quickline rose from 57% to 69% in German-speaking Switzerland. The successful figures are reportedly also reflected in sales: compared to the same period last year, Quickline recorded around 30 percent more orders.