A change is imminent on the Management Board of Swiss International Air Lines. After five years at Swiss, the current CCO Tamur Goudarzi Pour is moving to the Lufthansa Group. He will take over the Customer Experience department for the entire Group. In addition to this role, he will also be responsible for a Lufthansa Group-wide task force with the aim of increasing customer satisfaction.

Heike Birlenbach will take his place in January 2024. She has been Senior Vice President Customer Experience for Lufthansa Group Airlines since 2021. In this position, she is responsible for customer strategy, experience design, customer service and digital interaction, as well as all product developments such as aircraft cabin interiors. Previously, she held a dual role as CCO of Lufthansa Airlines and was responsible for sales for the hub airlines. Birlenbach began her career at Lufthansa in 1990 and has held various management positions, primarily in the areas of sales and product development in London, Amsterdam, Milan, Munich and Frankfurt.She holds a Master of Management from McGill University in Montreal, Canada.

Livesystems was successful in the tender for the award of the concession for the marketing and management of public advertising spaces in the town of Kriens. The residents' council awarded the DOOH provider the corresponding concession for a term of six and a half years.

According to Livesystems, the digital screens are "in a prime location in the city center". While eight advertising spaces are used commercially, two digital spaces provide information from the city of Kriens on current traffic events.

Livesystems already has an extensive network in the city of Lucerne and the surrounding area. The expansion in Kriens will further increase its reach in Central Switzerland.

Especially during the Christmas period and at the start of the new year, many people resolve to pay more attention to their mental well-being. This is why wellness apps that claim to support wellbeing record the highest number of downloads around the turn of the year. The apps are designed to help people put their good intentions into practice.

To find out how people in Switzerland feel about their mental well-being and how often and for what purpose they use wellness apps, an online survey was conducted among 1,000 residents from all parts of the country.

Wellness apps popular with young, urban and educated people

On a scale measuring mental wellbeing with a maximum score of 35, people in Switzerland have an average wellbeing score of 25.8, with the highest wellbeing respondents being older and working full-time. The survey also revealed that wellness apps are most frequently used to monitor their own health data, improve their mood and increase their physical activity. Wellness apps are used least frequently for meditation, recording habits and tracking mood.

People who use wellness apps frequently are younger, more likely to work full-time, live more in cities and in larger households with older teenagers. They also have a higher level of education than occasional users. At the same time, however, it is also apparent that frequent users have a lower level of mental well-being than those who rarely or never access such apps. This could indicate that wellness apps are unable to deliver on their promise of benefits.

The survey was conducted by a team from the Swiss Institute for Entrepreneurship of the FH Graubünden in cooperation with the market research institute AmPulse conducted in July 2023. The 1,000 respondents aged between 15 and 79 were 50 percent men and 50 percent women. The response rate was 24%, with a statistical margin of error of ± 3.1 percentage points. 68.6 percent of respondents completed the questionnaire in German, 26.8 percent in French and 4.6 percent in Italian. The respondents' perceived mental well-being was measured using the 7-item short version of the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale.

The Swiss Institute for Entrepreneurship and the PRME Business Integrity Action Center of the UAS Grisons are researching questions of responsibility and ethics in the digital transformation.

Soon it will once again be "Who will be 'Advertiser:in of the Year' 2024?". For over 45 years, the Advertising Week Personalities from the Swiss advertising and communication scene. But even the established sometimes need a revision. That's why, from this year onwards, it's not just the high-caliber jury that decides who should be nominated, but also your opinion.

We are looking for people who are active in the industry as service providers in the broadest sense. They should have distinguished themselves through outstanding achievements and represent the local industry as opinion leaders and ambassadors. It is irrelevant whether this person works in an agency or freelance and whether they work in a creative, strategic or advisory capacity.

The nomination takes place via the free newsletter from m&k advertisingweek.ch takes place. One person can be nominated per subscriber. Please provide the full name and explain in one or two sentences why this person should be given a chance to become "Advertiser:in of the Year" 2024. The nomination window opens on Monday, December 11, 2023 and closes on Friday evening, December 15, 2023.

After the nomination phase, the m&k advertisingweek.ch editors review the entries. The ten most frequently mentioned nominees are presented to the jury, consisting of the last ten "Advertisers of the Year". Each jury member can also nominate an additional person.

The jury will select a top 3 from the final list of nominees, which will be announced in spring 2024. As in previous years, voting will again take place via the newsletter of m&k advertisingweek.ch will take place. Further information on the voting will be communicated in due course.

Your details will be treated confidentially and will only be used to prevent multiple nominations. All personal data will be deleted immediately after voting.

You can only take part in the nomination and the official voting in spring if you are a newsletter subscriber. If you have not yet done so: Sign up today for our newsletter to receive daily and free relevant news from the industry as well as the chance to vote!

We look forward to your input and wish you a wonderful Advent season and a relaxed end to the year.

Your m&k Werbewoche editors

Users of the Qoqa shopping app can find new, limited offers every day. As a result, it is now not only popular with its broad community in French-speaking Switzerland, but also beyond the border.

With a refreshed look and a strong advertising campaign, the shopping app is sharpening its focus on users outside French-speaking Switzerland. The new campaign is intended to open the doors to a world of shopping gems and at the same time show the app's wide range of offers. So that, as the claim points out, they only have one option left: "The Qoqa for me".

The Bold agency, which has been the lead agency for the platform in German-speaking Switzerland since 2021, is responsible for the concept and implementation. The wide-ranging advertising materials reach their target groups via a variety of channels. The subjects are now on air in the densely scattered TV and poster campaign as well as in comprehensive DOOH and online measures.

Responsible at Qoqa Services: Nina Bühlmann, Line Labie, Mathieu Pereira, Christoph Karcher. Responsible agency: Bold. TV spot production: Boom Creative Studio.

The Epica Awards are a creative prize that has been awarded by media professionals since 1987. The jury is made up of journalists from specialist magazines and portals in over 50 countries. 16 Swiss projects made it onto the shortlist in 21 categories.

On Friday, the winning projects were presented in the livestream (see video below) was announced. From three shortlist placements, the "Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbars Primal" campaign won double gold for the Foundry agency. The creative Ikea candle "The Candual" also won double silver for TBWA\Zürich.

Ruf Lanz can also look forward to another Epica precious metal this year: the agency won both silver and bronze for the "When art has to travel" campaign for Welti-Furrer. Stories can also look forward to silver with "When the debate falls silent" for the NZZ.

To give the Swiss population nationwide access to very fast Internet, the Federal Council is proposing a funding program, as the government announced on Friday. Network expansion is to be supported outside the centers in peripheral regions. This should prevent a digital urban-rural divide.

The Federal Council intends to finance the expansion primarily with funds from the two future awards of mobile radio frequencies, the statement continued. It is also planned that the industry and affected cantons will participate.

Specifically, the program is intended to motivate private companies to invest in sparsely populated areas where the expansion of modern telecom networks would not be worthwhile. The aim is to finance the gap between expenditure and the expected income over the lifetime of the network.

Only where there is demand and no supply

Support would only be provided where the market itself does not already provide an offer. According to the Federal Council, private investment should not be inhibited or crowded out by the federal government. Moreover, expansion would only be promoted where there is demand.

If a municipality or region does not consider the development to be necessary, no funding will be provided, as the Federal Council announced. The 750 million francs is therefore a maximum amount.

In particular, the fiber optic network is to be expanded right into homes. In very sparsely populated areas, the focus is on the expansion of wireless technologies. The Federal Council assumes that costs can be significantly reduced with this mix. If lines for the fiber optic network were expanded throughout Switzerland, it would cost around CHF 1.4 billion, according to the report.

Limited to seven years

According to the Federal Council, the funding program is expected to be limited to the next seven years. To ensure that the entire population and the economy can benefit as much as possible from digitization, the Federal Council is aiming for a nationwide coverage of one gigabit per second throughout Switzerland.

According to the Federal Council, this corresponds to more than twelve times the Internet speed of the current universal service in Switzerland. To achieve this, the network infrastructure would have to be massively expanded. (SDA)

Texting correctly with AI - ChatGPT, GPT-4, GPT-3 & Co.

Using artificial intelligence to write texts for jobs, universities and websites - faster and better than ever before.

• Author: Kai Spriestersbach
• Publisher: mvg verlag, 2023
• Pages: 272
• ISBN: 9783747405741

ChatGPT and the like really do seem to be able to revolutionize text creation. Provided they are instructed correctly. The author explains in detail how this works, what possibilities artificial intelligence opens up in the field of copywriting and where the limits lie. Even if his own enthusiasm sometimes drowns out the risks, his book provides a solid overview of the state of the art and potential developments. An absolute must for anyone who is still writing texts without AI support.

Artificial intelligence and intuition

Robust and sustainable decisions in digital working environments.

• Author: Andreas Moring
• Publisher: Springer Gabler, 2023
• Pages: 206
• ISBN: 9783658420178

Will artificial intelligence soon be far superior to us? When it comes to sober data analysis, most definitely. In uncertain, strategically important situations, however, you should trust your gut feeling, says Andreas Moring. Intuition is the result of a wide range of experience - a treasure that no AI can draw on. In his book, the management professor provides deep insights into how our brain works and its influence on our actions. In order to be prepared for the future, he advises using humans and machines according to their strengths. They only deliver the best results when they work together.

Brain rules for the job

Working successfully in the office and from home.

• Author: John Medina
• Publisher: Hogrefe, 2023
• Pages: 264
• ISBN: 9783456862378

Groupthink is detrimental to teamwork, blue light wakes you up, a positive error culture increases creativity. Many of the findings presented by John Medina are not really new, but some may well come as a surprise. His book on the possibilities of neurological self-optimization in the workplace is well worth reading. It not only provides valuable tips on how we can become more productive and creative at work, but also the neuroscientific explanations for this. A recommendation for anyone who wants to know exactly what goes on in our brain at work.

I am not brainwashed

Living and working independently.

• Author: Reinhard K. Sprenger
• Publisher: Campus Verlag, 2023
• Pages: 231
• ISBN: 9783593516820

He's done it again. Bestselling author and leadership thought leader Reinhard K. Sprenger is once again shaking up the status quo of management practice. Leadership needs fixed methods, no imposed meaning, no vision and no purpose. For Sprenger, all of this is at best gossip, at worst true "brainwashing". Sprenger's all-round attacks will be too radical for some readers, but one thing they are certainly not is provocation for provocation's sake. Even those who don't always take his opinions at face value will at least find food for thought in the essays collected here - extremely enjoyable ones.

The Christmas campaign is intended to emphasize the importance of the NZZ at the center. It invites you to Subscription to the NZZ to pass on to future generations and thus keep the tradition of family discussions about current affairs alive.

The campaign was developed by the Internal Creation team of the NZZ and adapted for the moving image by the Marty-Trezzini agency. The Christmas spot shows a grandfather supposedly reading a Christmas story to his grandchildren and family. While the text read aloud does indeed sound like a fairy tale at the beginning, it only becomes clear when the recording is zoomed out that the grandfather is not reading a book, but the NZZ in his hand - and is not reading a Christmas story, but an article from the science section.

The commercial will be shown throughout the month of December in the "Frame" cinema and on various social media channels. It forms the centerpiece of a large-scale generational campaign.

"With this spot, we want to emphasize the outstanding role of the NZZ emotionally for generations of younger and older readers. The branding and revenue team demonstrated an incredible team effort from the campaign idea to the playout," says Andreas Gysler, Head Customer Revenue at the NZZ.

​Responsible at the NZZ: Claudine Caviezel (Awareness and Campaigns), Pascal Malici (Revenue Management), Nina Hildebrand (Concept and Text), Anita Gluderer (Concept and Graphics), Olivia Blum (Graphics), Kerstin Heidrich (Graphics), Andreas Gysler (Head Customer Revenue), Johannes Berchtold (Head Customer Marketing & Branding). ​Responsible at Marty-Trezzini: Yves Marty (Director), Gianluca Trezzini (Producer), Tim Rüegg (DOP), Emil Maeder (AC), Romina Häner (Styling), Francesca Kleinstück (Set Design), Manuela Porcelli (Hair & Make Up), Marysol Fernandez (Casting).

According to the press release, the "SRF 2024" strategy had already envisaged transferring production and technology into two independent departments. However, the project was postponed to a later date.

Christoph Gebel has now decided to hand over his duties as Head of Production & Technology and member of the SRF Executive Board on April 1, 2024. He will retire in summer 2024.

SRF Director Nathalie Wappler is taking this change at the head of the company's largest department, with around 1000 employees, as an opportunity to implement the organizational adjustment and split Production and Technology into two independent departments.

Both business areas are crucial to SRF's digital transformation, as the press release explains further. As independent departments, "they will be able to devote themselves even more consistently to their constantly changing tasks in future". Bettina Hübner and Olivier Bühler, who were previously responsible for the respective Production and Technology divisions, will take over as department heads.

As part of the reorganization, Production Management and Coordination nationale et services (CNS) will become part of the future Production department. As the interface between content and production, Production Management at SRF has been responsible for the planning and production of the entire offering since 2021. By merging production management and production, the competencies for the entire production process will be combined within one organizational unit. This will enable the new production department to support the content departments even more competently and effectively in the creation of audio and video content. CNS's core business is the coordination, exchange and transfer of media content. Mario Denzler remains Head of Production Management. Reto Faedi will head CNS from April 2024. He succeeds Thomas Meier, who will retire on this date.

Experienced leaders

Bettina Hübner has been Head of Production at SRF since June 2023. In her more than 30-year career in the production industry, the 57-year-old was previously responsible for the production management of motor sports at RTL, the live broadcast teams at Red Bull Media House and video content at Bild TV.

Olivier Bühler has been Head of the new Technology division since April 2021, which was created as part of the "SRF 2024" transformation process. He joined SRF and Tpc as Head of Technology Services in 2017. Prior to this, the 59-year-old was CIO at Landys+Gyr, where he led the development and implementation of the global IT strategy and IT roadmap.

1. increased volume of emotions

Christmas has always been a time for "coming home" and getting together with loved ones. During the festive season, people experience their "private emotional number one", so to speak, which is associated with many deep emotions.

Emotional storytelling or the presentation of heart-warming scenes in advertisements taps into precisely these deep-rooted emotional needs for closeness and belonging - and the commercials fit naturally into the festive mood thanks to strong storytelling "like another Christmas story". This strategy is particularly effective as it allows brands to tap into the private emotional No. 1. And thus not only promote short-term sales, but also build long-term customer relationships.

700 pounds and a friendly dog: Charlie's Bar went viral this year with a homemade Christmas ad because the video brings people together.

2. sensory stimuli activation

The typical Christmas aesthetic has hardly changed for many decades: Warm glowing lights, Christmas trees, snow - but also clearly defined scents, tastes and sounds are closely associated with Christmas. Over time, a very strong emotional thread has been spun around Christmas that encompasses all the senses. And the more senses are stimulated in the brain at the same time, the more and stronger emotions are triggered - keyword "multisensual enhancement".

The practical thing is that even in media designed for one or two senses, additional senses can be activated via learned sensory bridges. For example, if you show freshly baked cinnamon stars, viewers automatically smell them.

In the example video, Aldi 2023 focuses on Christmas sensory experiences.

3. social pressure to conform

Christmas is a time of giving and generosity. Advertising that highlights gift ideas or special offers capitalizes on the social pressure and expectation to give gifts to others at this time. This can encourage purchases, especially when products are positioned as ideal gifts.

The whole thing is reinforced by the psychological principle of reciprocity: people always want to create a balance in social relationships - if you receive something as a gift, you want to give something at least as great in return.

4. principle of scarcity

With claims such as "Offer only until Christmas!", Christmas advertising often emphasizes the limited time available or the uniqueness of seasonal products. This strategy creates a sense of urgency and encourages quick purchasing decisions. In addition, the principle of scarcity plays a crucial role - if customers believe that a product is only available for a limited time or only in a limited quantity, their willingness to purchase it increases to avoid a missed opportunity.

In addition, such limited offers create a psychological incentive: The product or service appears more exclusive and therefore more valuable and attractive - and is all the more suitable as a gift.

5. increasing relevance through personalization

During the holiday season, customers are looking for special gifts for friends and family. Data-driven marketing enables retailers to understand the exact preferences and interests of their customers. This allows them to create tailored advertising messages that offer relevant product suggestions for specific gift recipients.

The greater the relevance for the recipient, the greater the chance of sales.Personalized products also enjoy great success during the Christmas season: by adding the name of the recipient, the product suddenly fits the person even better - and gives the giver another strong reason to buy.

6. awakening childhood memories

Christmas is often closely linked to childhood memories. Many people remember the magic and excitement they felt as children during the Christmas season. Advertising that appeals to such nostalgic feelings can evoke a strong emotional response. By reliving these positive emotions, customers are more likely to be motivated to buy products associated with these happy memories. Nostalgia can be a powerful tool to build trust and an emotional connection to the brand.

Zutt & Partner investigated whether there is a perfect Christmas fairytale character in 2021 as part of an emotion study (Werbewoche.ch reported).

The magic of a wish come true: Migros and Finn are rekindling childhood memories in 2023.

7. increased spending capacity

At Christmas time, many people are more willing to spend money. Of course, this is partly due to the cultural tradition of gift-giving and the festive nature of the season - in addition, many people build up a "mental account" for Christmas well in advance and expect to spend more. In addition, towards the end of the year, the focus is also more on "treating yourself". In addition to something special for their loved ones, many people also want to reward themselves properly for the year's exertions.

Retailers take advantage of this willingness by offering special offers, discounts and exclusive products. Advertising that emphasizes the value of the product for the customer or the emotional value of a gift can tap into this willingness to spend particularly well.

In 2021, Samsung is staging the emotional value of its smartphone as a love story with a happy ending.

Conclusion: Christmas advertising works

The seven neuro-effects explained clearly show how profoundly Christmas advertising can influence decision-making processes and why it is so effective. They offer a unique opportunity not only to achieve short-term increases in sales, but also to build and strengthen long-term customer relationships.

The Management consultancy Zutt & Partner specializes in neuromarketing.

In German-speaking Switzerland, they are part of the cityscape. They stand at street crossings and in front of supermarket branches, many of them for years: the vendors of the red street magazine Surprise. A loyal clientele regularly stops and thinks about the eight francs in cash. But more and more are walking past them, muttering "no cash". A trend that could pose a threat to the print-based business model.

Because the non-profit association Surprisewhich is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, generates the majority of its income from street sales. Last year, 3.06 million francs of the total income of 5.49 million francs came from booklet sales.

However, this has recently been in decline: in 2022, sales were 6.6 percent down on the previous year. In the last annual report, the publishers of the Swiss street magazine expressed concern about "falling magazine sales" and at the same time "increased and rising production costs".

Cashless payment in vogue

One reason for this is probably the declining importance of cash. This is because Switzerland is undergoing a digital transformation. According to a study by the Swiss National Bank (SNB), cashless payments are gaining in importance. Debit and credit cards as well as payment apps are particularly popular in places where people pay on the spot.

According to the survey, younger people in particular are increasingly using digital payment systems. Also Surprise-customers had expressed a desire for online payment options. According to the non-profit company Surprise-Spokesman Nicolas Fux reacted and has been working with Twint since last year. This is "a solution that is established among customers", Fux emphasized to the news agency AWP.

However, Twint has not yet gained much acceptance among independent sales staff. This is because they need to have an account and an email address or cell phone number. Most sellers, including homeless people and addicts, therefore continue to rely on the "cash in hand" option.

For Surprise this is generally not a problem. "Most customers know their sales clerks, who are always in the same places, and take cash with them," says Fux. The association therefore does not see itself under any immediate pressure to adapt the payment model.

Germany comes up with QR code solution

Meanwhile, neighboring Germany has gone one step further. Since this October, socially engaged people in major German cities have been able to purchase street magazines using a QR code. In addition to an online version of the local street magazine, they also receive digital content and prize draws tailored to Gen Z. The Berlin platform is behind the model Streadwhich is financed by a charitable foundation.

StreadEditor-in-chief Robert Hofmann, who works for the online magazine Vice is convinced by this model. "Many street magazines have so far not been aimed at young people," he said in an interview with AWP. "If people are really keen on a medium, they are also prepared to spend money on it," he believes. His medium-term goal, Stread into a "cool" medium that people would actively seek out on the street.

The new model certainly offers potential: not only can digital distribution save costs and paper, it can also increase circulation as required. "We have set ourselves the goal of doubling the existing Germany-wide print circulation of around 400,000 copies by 2025," says Stread. This means that the street magazines, in cooperation with the online platform, would reach more people than the Image-Newspaper.

Surprise Sticks to model

The offer from Stread to the association Surprise known, says Fux from Surprise. The company maintains contact with other German-language street magazines and is generally open to changes.

Nevertheless Surprise There is currently no reason to replace the print-only model with an online version, such as the Stread offers to complement this. "Sales are a form of social interaction. This exchange takes place more extensively with a printed product," says the Surprise-Speaker.

About the organizations

The independent association Surprise has been providing work opportunities for socially disadvantaged people in Switzerland since 1998. It belongs to the international network for street magazines INSP, which has around 100 members from over 30 countries. The Surprisemagazine is published twice a month and is distributed by around 500 people in German-speaking Switzerland. 501,046 issues were sold in 2022.

Stread is published by the non-profit Dojo Cares Foundation. This was created 10 years ago from the Berlin agency Dojo and is financed by a social tax on agency services. The digital system of Stread is currently used by street magazines in Berlin, Frankfurt, Münster, Leipzig and Osnabrück, among others. There are a total of 22 street magazines in Germany. (Background:AWP/Leah Süss)