"We are delighted that we have been able to attract Beat Balzli, one of Germany's most distinguished business journalists and a proven leader, to the NZZ," says NZZ CEO Felix Graf. "With his extensive knowledge of business journalism and the German-language media landscape, he will help us to even better exploit the potential of NZZ in our growth market of Germany."

Beat Balzli, born in Hamburg and raised in Lucerne, studied economics and business administration in Bern and Paris and turned to business journalism after graduating. After various stations in Switzerland - at the Handelszeitung, the SonntagsZeitung and with Facts - In 2001, Balzli joined the Hamburg-based news magazine The mirror. From 2010 to 2013, Beat Balzli was editor-in-chief at the Swiss Handelszeitung. From 2013, he worked in the editorial department of the Welt Group and, as deputy editor-in-chief, was primarily responsible for the World on Sunday responsible. In 2016, he was appointed editor-in-chief of the WirtschaftsWoche which he led until 2023.

His editorial work has earned Balzli numerous awards, including the Henri Nannen Prize 2009, the Herbert Quandt Media Prize 2009, and the Helmut Schmidt Journalism Prize 2008. In 2009, Balzli was honored by the magazine Business Journalist voted "Business Journalist of the Year".

After rising 9.3 percent in May, advertising pressure leveled off again in June, as usual, the summer slump set in. In June, the advertising market was down 6.5 percent on the previous year, closing at 469 million gross Swiss francs.

However, this development is driven by a disproportionate decline in Search*. The classic channels even record an increase of 5.7% in June. The media group OOH has the greatest impact here, with an increase of 27% compared to 2022.

Financials strong in advertising in June and YTD

In June, the financial sector recorded a significant increase in its advertising print (+40.3%) and also presents itself strongly in the industry ranking YTD with an increase of 31.7%. This puts it in second place at the end of the half-year.

Only the retail sector generated more advertising pressure YTD, but stagnated in June (-0.5%). The food industry increased its advertising pressure both in June (+16.1%) and YTD (+1.9%), landing in third place.

Compared to the previous year, only eight sectors were able to increase in June. Leading the way was Tobacco, which in addition to a marked increase in June (+64.4%) also saw significant growth YTD (+76.9%). The Initiatives & Campaigns industry also saw an increase (+22.2%) with strong advertising campaigns on the Climate Change Act, and Cleaning also increased significantly (+48.6%).

Cultural life with concerts, open airs and sporting events such as Weltklasse Zürich are fuelling the events industry. Like food, it is growing by 16.1 percent.

Last but not least, transportation companies also increase advertising pressure in June (+3.4%).

Nine sectors make double-digit reductions

In total, 13 industries reduced their advertising print, with nine of them reporting double-digit declines.

The biggest reduction can be seen in the Energy sector, which has seen a 36% drop in advertising print. Construction, Industry, Furnishings, which made it to the top 5 YTD, also decreased significantly (-34.8%).

Similar to May, the fashion and sports industry recorded the third highest decline with a reduction of 2,.9 percent, but is in the middle range year-on-year.

Despite summer temperatures, advertising activity - with and without Search - also remains quiet in Leisure, Hospitality and Tourism (-25.3%). Services (-25.0%) is also among the five sectors with the strongest reductions in June.

* With the integration of "Bard" into Google Search, the internal structure of HTML pages was adjusted, which meant that in some cases fewer ads were recorded in June than in previous months. In the meantime, ad capture has returned to normal levels.

The shopping center Seewen Markt is located in the middle of the Mythen adventure region, with Lake Lauerz, Stoos and the town of Schwyz. In the home municipality of the Swiss Army Knife, numerous tourist attractions attract visitors, such as the Federal Letter Museum or the Swiss National Museum.

To increase awareness of Seewen Markt among tourists and locals and to promote its presence in the region, the image campaign "Shopping for every adventure" was launched. Evoq developed the appropriate communication concept as well as the visual appearance and implemented various advertising materials.

The campaign runs along the seasonally relevant activities and takes place in the close vicinity of the Seewen market but also at tourist hotspots. In order to address a broad public, a poster campaign will be launched at train stations, public places as well as at leisure locations. In addition, attention will be drawn to the shopping center in areas relevant to tourism, such as Stoos or the Arth-Goldau zoo. The media planning, which is also carried out by Evoq, is supplemented with bus rear advertising and traffic boards. At the Lauerzerseeelauf 2023, runners will be attracted to the shopping center with perimeter advertising and a glucose box. Various advertisements appear in the local print media.

Visually, the campaign is based on people in oversized shopping bags looking forward to their adventures in the region and stocking up accordingly at Seewen Markt.

Customer: Coop, Seewen Markt shopping center. Responsible at Evoq: Adrian Schaffner, Daniel Kuster (concept), Daniel Kuster (project management and media planning), Markus Wohlhüter (creative direction), Marc Hahn, Jonas Krull (design).

The HWZ Hochschule für Wirtschaft Zürich celebrates 20 years of Bachelor Business Communications. Together with former students who for once found their way back to the HWZ, the university looks back. Among them Renato Auer, who is now Chief Communication & Marketing Officer at Pure Holding, and Natalija Ivanovic, who works as Business Project Manager for Client Communication at Credit Suisse. In conversation with them, the tasks, challenges and visions were discussed in relation to the discipline of Business Communications, which is becoming increasingly relevant for companies and in which real worlds are merging ever more closely with virtual ones to form a single world of experience.

Renato Auer, in 2003 you were in the first group of students at the HWZ to take the diploma course in Communications, which has since evolved into a Bachelor Business Communications, and successfully completed it. Why did you take the Communications diploma course at the HWZ in 2003?

Renato Auer: At the age of 25, I already wanted to go into marketing, without having a precise idea at the time of what that meant in practical terms. I wanted to learn different communication strategies and be prepared for the professional world and my career challenges at UBS. The personal relationships that can be forged in the degree program were also essential for me, both professionally and privately, and still are today. I met my closest friend at the HWZ in my study group at the time.

What motivated you at the time to start training at the HWZ for the first time?

The decision in favor of the HWZ was made quickly and was very simple: For me, only part-time continuing education was an option. I needed motivational pressure from outside and I wanted to take a visible step in my career without having to restrict my connection to professional practice. I also wanted to prove to myself that I could handle this double burden. It was a personal and professional maturation process from which I still benefit today. The central location of the HWZ near Zurich main station was also an important criterion for me. You can get there quickly by train and bike.

Why not go to university?

A university was not an issue for me. I had a 100 percent workload and always wanted to stay connected to practice during my studies. For me, theory and practice have to combine in real-life contexts during continuing education courses so that they become career-relevant. Flexibility was important to me, also in terms of working hours. My focus was always on learning, not primarily on possible top grades.

How did the diploma program at the time influence your later career plans?

The bachelor's degree was certainly relevant for my later career. Today, this further education is the basic prerequisite for a professional career when I observe the job market. A master's degree is not absolutely necessary. But the practical relevance of the HWZ is career-relevant and I still benefit from it today.

For around 15 years, you have been professionally responsible for communication issues in various companies. Do you need different communication skills today than you did in 2003?

In the area of communication and consumer behavior, a profound change has taken place since 2003. Social media and smartphones are now part of everyday life. Digital skills have become much more important, including the efficient handling of the flood of customer data we are now confronted with every day. In the past, there was print media, people printed brochures and posters and did sponsorship. Digital media has completely changed that landscape. Social media are now an indispensable communication tool. They massively simplify and accelerate communication and offer the company a direct and dialogic communication channel between the company, consumers and the public. Direct and immediate feedbacks are possible, fast, direct and effective. Each channel, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram, requires its own communication strategy in a specific rhythm, which also affects the choice of images and words. You have to become more creative in a flood of messages in order to arrive and be remembered, at least in the short term.

Are there disruptive changes?

Today, communication is increasingly taking place in a sensitive cultural environment. How do I address whom, where and how? The relevance of crisis communication is increasing markedly. You have to know your own clientele extremely well in order to find the right language, the right image. A well-intentioned idea can quickly fail if it is not fully thought through. The intercultural element should be increased and trained by means of simulations. In this context, human emotionality in communication will certainly remain central, also with regard to the use of practical crisis communication, which, in my view, is not yet sufficiently weighted in further training.

Then there's digital transformation....

AI will also occupy us much more intensively in the future. ChatGPT is certainly an enrichment, a technical support. Everything takes much less time. Initial ideas can be formulated quickly, which of course must subsequently undergo qualitative elaboration. At the push of a button, nothing is yet possible with AI. The security issue is also still unresolved in the case of sensitive data. Language-based supports are a great help for me, especially in the intercultural context. ChatGPT can certainly pose a threat to good journalism if quality is replaced by monetary considerations.

Natalija Ivanovic, you are currently in your 6th semester of the Bachelor Business Communications at the HWZ and will graduate in about a year. What made you choose the part-time Bachelor's program at the HWZ?

Natalija Ivanovic: I already knew during my apprenticeship as a bank clerk that I wanted to specialize further in the field of communication. This wish became concrete after the BMS during an information event at the HWZ. It was always clear to me that further education had to be part-time. I wanted to earn money, continue my education at the same time, get a start in communications and maintain active networking. The creative side of communications excites me. For me, this further education is a career booster for professional focuses in which communication is to play an even more important role. I work 90 percent of the time and stress is something I never experience. I know exactly what to expect. Conscious career planning includes these methodical and social skills, which also include resilience.

What do you hope this bachelor's degree will do for your professional career?

The bachelor's degree is absolutely central to my career. This further education is a springboard, both professionally and in terms of my professional network. Relationships are absolutely relevant. What's important for me is that the skills I've acquired at the HWZ can be applied very directly in practice via pitches, because they show a high level of relevance to real-life requirements.

You have been working in the banking sector for several years and are currently a project manager for Client
Communications at CS. How do you assess the importance of communications in companies today?

Internal communication is something very important and is often underestimated. This also includes crisis communication, which must secure trust internally and externally. External communication is responsible for the image that a company wants to present to the outside world. It is necessary to show which values a company stands for and with which messages. Credibility is at the center here, open, transparent and honest. In addition, credible emotionality is the trend in communication, also in the banking business: personal addresses, customer wishes must be taken seriously. Needs must be met and understood. This creates security that can be built upon.

Your generation moves between real and virtual worlds, both of which are becoming a reality of life. What does that mean for communication? How and where does a company address young people in the future?

Today, virtual and real worlds belong very closely together. People communicate more briefly, directly and precisely. The attention span between individual messages is massively shortened. In terms of content and appearance, everything must be immediately appealing in order to capture curiosity. Crisp keywords are certainly crucial. There's an art to communicating in a way that resonates well. We love to hear when companies ask us how we're doing: surveys and livestreams are particularly well received in this regard. You have to be picked up by companies on social media, which is not always easy. You can feel how individuals are withdrawing more and more into digital bubbles. So it's all a question of how to attract attention.

How can companies implement this today?

Often, the best way to do this is through word-of-mouth in one's own network. Influencers are especially relevant for teenagers who play the role of a big sister or big brother. ChatGPT is again brilliant if you want to know something quickly. However, it is purely a tool for me and provides important information, but it is filtered in an unknown way. A review of the content is thus always necessary. The emotional is of course something I miss a lot with AI. It is and remains the key in real communication and cannot be replaced by anything - not even in the future.

Gamers are often part of a broad-based community. Until now, however, communication within the different sections and genres has mostly taken place on social media or a chat service. A platform that bundles all communication around the relevant topics has been lacking until now.

To counteract fragmentation and thus strengthen the community experience, Sunrise has Esports.ch expanded into a community hub. Users would now benefit from a common platform where they can update themselves on the diverse topics of the digital world and exchange ideas. The platform serves gaming and other topics related to the digital lifestyle, such as cosplay, streaming, e-sports, augmented and virtual reality.

The upgrade includes both functional and graphical elements. In the future, users will be able to create their own profiles and have more opportunities to interact with each other. At the same time, Esports.ch will continue to be the information hub for everything happening in the Swiss gaming and e-sports scene. Since April 2023, the Estudios agency, which was also entrusted with the relaunch of the platform, has been responsible for the mix of content such as news, groups and tournaments. In addition, however, the content is also to be co-designed and expanded by the members themselves. With the new Esports.ch event calendar, the community can also offer its own events. But also the big happenings and events will be announced and accompanied with reporting.

"Sunrise customers are also increasingly interested in digital trends such as augmented and virtual reality, innovative gadgets and hardware, and e-sports, and some of them already belong to the gamer community. We are taking this development into account by making better use of the synergies with Esports.ch," says Severina Pascu, CCO of Sunrise.

ProSiebenSat.1 plans to cut around 400 jobs in Germany this year. That would correspond to around one in ten jobs in the core entertainment business and in the holding company, a spokeswoman for the listed media group announced in Unterföhring near Munich on Tuesday.

The Group had announced a realignment after fully acquiring the Joyn streaming platform in fall 2022. ProSiebenSat.1 moved it to the center of its entertainment business.

According to the company, this will now be followed by a realignment of the organization, particularly in the Entertainment segment. The aim is "a more efficient structure, a competitive cost base and processes clearly geared to digital transformation," the Group announced.

Terminations to be avoided "as far as possible

The approximately 400 full-time positions are to be reduced in a socially responsible manner through a voluntary program. The company intends to avoid compulsory redundancies "as far as possible". For example, positions that become vacant will not be filled.

In the past, ProSiebenSat.1 significantly expanded its information offerings, building new studio space for programs for the ProSieben, Sat.1 and Kabel eins channels. Since this year, news has again been produced in-house; before that, it had been outsourced from Axel Springer's World purchased. The information division is not affected by the cutback plans, according to the company spokeswoman.

In its Austrian market, the Group plans to cut up to 35 jobs this year. It employs 550 people there.

Weak advertising market and many management changes

The job cuts come at an eventful time for the ProSiebenSat.1 Group, which operates TV stations and streaming services as well as Internet commerce and dating platform business. The advertising market has been weakening for some time. For the full year 2023, ProSiebenSat.1 management has so far forecast revenues of between EUR 3.95 billion and EUR 4.25 billion.

There was also a lot of change in the management team. In the fall of 2022, Bert Habets, who previously held top posts at competitor RTL, moved up to the top job. Rainer Beaujean left unexpectedly. Since then, the departure of board members in finance and entertainment has also been announced.

In addition, the actions of the Group's Management Board for the 2022 financial year were not approved by the shareholders; this is not expected to take place until 2023. The background to this is an ongoing internal investigation into possible discrepancies at the subsidiary voucher business Jochen Schweizer mydays. The aim is to review any misconduct in connection with regulatory issues at the subsidiary.

The Supervisory Board reserves the right to investigate claims for damages against Executive Board members, if necessary. According to ProSiebenSat.1, the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (Bafin) and the public prosecutor's office in Munich have been called in - neither authority recently gave specific details in response to a question from Deutsche Presse-Agentur. (SDA)

Hugo Keller worked for Andreas Messerli AG for 23 years. In 2000, he joined the company as Head of Finance and Controlling. In the years that followed, he had constantly expanded his scope of action and responsibility, including as CFO and COO. At the end of 2012, he was then appointed CEO, and had since been instrumental in the founding and steady expansion of Messerli Group AG, the company writes in an obituary.

Keller was an outstanding personality who shaped Messerli at all levels and played an extraordinary role in shaping the company, the statement continues. His entrepreneurial thinking, coupled with his foresight and vision, had made a significant contribution to the success of the group of companies. With Hugo Keller, the company is losing a constant and loyal companion, but above all a good friend and mentor who motivated, shaped and advanced his employees with an empathetic and passionate manner.

As a curious and open-minded person, Hugo Keller had been able to acquire a high level of competence and expertise in new and complex topics and issues in a very short time, which made him a very successful entrepreneur and a valued contact both inside and outside Messerli. His death leaves a big gap in the company.

The fact that Nemitz is taking over the function of Head of Strategy is a top strategic decision, according to a statement from the Zurich agency. "Gordon has impressively proven over the past five years at the Zurich location how to transform brands," Thjnk CEO Armin Jochum is quoted as saying. "He's a brilliant mind and a great colleague who has consistently set trend-setting accents in our agency group. Gordon brings everything we want for the strategic development of Thjnk."

For Gordon Nemitz, the additional task is a matter of the heart: "Thjnk has always been an agency brand that has attached crucial importance to strategy. Now to be able to further develop the strategic product of the entire Thjnk Group together with the Strateg:innen makes me very proud."

Nemitz began his career in 1999 in Hamburg at Scholz & Friends, moving to Planning at &Equity in 2001. Further stations were Jung von Matt in Hamburg and TBWA\Düsseldorf, before he joined Wirz in Zurich in 2008. There he was co-owner of the strategy unit for almost ten years.

Nemitz was president of the Account Planning Group Switzerland for five years and is currently on the board of ADC Switzerland. He is also on the school board of the Swiss Ad School as well as a lecturer at the Hamburg School of Ideas, the Hochschule für Wirtschaft in Zurich, the Hochschule Luzern and the Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz.

Constanze Fristensky, born and raised in Zurich, completed a degree in tourism with a focus on marketing at the Graubünden University of Applied Sciences in Chur. After graduating and successfully completing an internship at a marketing agency in the Lucerne area, Fristensky moved to Turin, Italy, to immerse herself in the world of influencer marketing. She later applied the international expertise she gained there to national influencer campaigns at Kingfluencers before joining the Farner team.

At Farner, Fristensky also focuses on influencer-specific projects and has been a member of the jury for the Swiss Influencer Awards since 2022. Through her involvement, a partnership between Farner and the Conscious Influence Hub was established earlier this year. Now she herself has been appointed to the board of the association.
"Through dialogue and exchange with Influencer:ins and the Advisory Board, I strive to advocate for responsible behavior on social media," Fristensky said.
The association was founded in 2020 by Anja Lapčević and Barbara Fry Henchoz and aims to promote respectful exchange in the digital world. The goal is to strengthen the basic values of respect, empathy and transparency in the social media world together with influencers and creators. With the support of experts from academia, the media, civil society, and the influencer industry, a Code of Conduct developed. This provides ten easy-to-implement principles that offer Swiss influencers a guideline for responsible and respectful behavior.

In addition to Constanze Fristensky, the following persons are members of the CIH Board of Directors:

• Barbara Fry Henchoz, Communications Consultant and Board President
• Corina Schuler, Senior Online Marketing Manager at Baloise Insurance
• Dominic Stöcklin, Head of Media at Switzerland Tourism and Head of Studies at the Institute for Digital Business at ZHAW
• Kai Landwehr, Marketing Manager at the myclimate foundation
• Nina Schaller, Partner at the Whoisnik Agency

Comvation ventures the step to Bern. The digital and web agency has already been in business for over 20 years. Now the time has come to move to the city, according to a statement. Through the acquisition of Cubetech, there are now even more resources, time and space for customers.

In particular, there should be more room for new innovative inputs in the collaboration. Comvation stands for seamless support and high quality standards in all projects. Under the umbrella of Comvation, there are now two agencies from two cities under the same management. Cubetech will continue to operate from a new address in Bern, while Comvation will retain its headquarters in Thun. Cubetech founder Christoph Ackermann will move from his operational role at Cubetech to the board of directors of Comvation.

Just in time for the start of the summer vacations, Child Protection Switzerland warns against the risks of so-called "sharenting". "Sharenting", a word composition of "parenting" and "sharing", means the sharing of pictures and videos of children by their parents on the Internet.

Especially during the vacation season, particularly cute photos of children are taken, often in the pool or on the beach. Many parents share these snapshots with family and friends with the best of intentions. But once posted, it is difficult to control what happens to the photos.

Heimat Zürich wants to raise awareness of this problem with a social media campaign: The campaign begins with three social media ads that do not show photos of children, but rather descriptions of the pictures in text form: "On the beach in Marbella: Lena jumps for joy in the middle of her new sandcastle" suggests the photo behind it, but does not show it. The resolution promptly follows in the form of a warning: "No matter how cute they are: Do not share children's photos on the web." Users can expect further information on the website of Child Protection Switzerland, which provides more detailed information on the topic of children's photos on the Internet.

In a further phase, social media users will take up the theme and post their own "pictures without pictures. "The simple mechanics of the campaign make it easy to reproduce, which increases awareness of the issue," says Sandy Pfuhl, the creative director responsible at Heimat Zürich.

Various video and static advertising materials for social media were produced.

Responsible at Child Protection Switzerland: Tamara Parham (Head of Communications), Daniela Ambühl (Deputy Head of Communications), Matea Petrovic (Communications Specialist). Responsible at Heimat Zürich: Sandy Pfuhl, Adrian Staehelin, Jacqueline Villiger, Lisa Hirt, Finn van Grondel (creation); Andrea Braschler (consulting). Responsible at Jung von Matt Impact (Media): Gabriela Oetliker.

Valser mineral water is available in different varieties - sparkling, still and still calcium magnesium - which differ on the basis of mineralization. Valser collects the minerals on its way through the depths of the Swiss Alps. How can you tell the origin in a short sequence and immerse yourself in a fascinating visual world?

Wunderman Thompson created a simple, aesthetic implementation idea by projecting existing film footage from Vals onto a mirror-smooth water surface and moving it with drops of water. These moving water reflections were filmed in the studio and set to authentic soundscapes.

The journey can now be seen online and via social media in Switzerland. The campaign is accompanied by print, posters and POS measures.

Responsible at Valser/Coca-Cola Switzerland: Jana Luecking (Category Senior Brand Manager Hydration Europe). Responsible at Wunderman Thompson: Marika Magnuszewska (AD), Julia Staub (text), Alisa Lomovceva (graphics), Stephan Lanz, Anita Roll (consulting). Responsible at Shining Film: Leonardo Sanfilippo (Executive Producer), Nathalie Maibach (Producer), Pascal Holzer (Postproduction), Sandra Vacic (Postproduction), Nicolas Bechtel (Editor), Nicolas Küng (Offline & Online Edit), Alex Herzog (DoP), Atelier Lomann (Art Department), Hofkapellmeister (Sound Design & Mix).