It is unclear who is responsible for the attack and what the motives behind it are, the University of Applied Sciences Graubünden said on Friday. "However, it can be assumed that one would like to deliberately harm the research goal of analyzing and combating hate on the net."

Due to the cyber attack, uploading of images to the project site was Hate-pictures-injure.ch disturbed by citizens. Thanks to preventive security measures, personal and sensitive data were not at risk at any time, it says. Previously, unknown persons had already disrupted a hybrid media conference for the presentation of the project on February 3 with a so-called troll.

The project is backed by the University of Applied Sciences Graubünden and the University of Fribourg. The aim is to collect data that is as representative as possible about who sends hate images, who they are directed against and on which platforms they are disseminated. The Federal Office of Communications is supporting the project. (SDA)

The wide view sweeps over the Highlands, a lake sparkles in the distance - next to a bottle of whiskey. Or a cozy crackling fireplace, a blanket with colorful checks over your legs - and a tumbler of whisky in your hand. It's images like these that the Scottish tourism industry uses to advertise vacations in the British part of the country.

High-proof alcohol is one of Scotland's best-known symbols and thus also an important economic factor. But the influential industry fears that this could soon be over.

Alcohol problem widespread

Because the regional government in Edinburgh is under pressure. According to the latest available data, more people than ever before died in the UK in 2021 as a result of heavy drinking. Scotland had the highest rate. "Scotland has a deep, long-standing and problematic relationship with alcohol," the government acknowledges.

In order to prevent younger people in particular from consuming alcohol, it is now considering a far-reaching ban on alcohol advertising. To this end, it has launched a "consultation", a public consultation.

Under discussion is, for example, a ban on advertising on billboards and in newspapers, as well as on alcohol-related merchandising. Proposals call for distilleries and pubs to be banned from selling T-shirts and glasses. There is also talk of breweries and other alcohol producers no longer being allowed to sponsor sports and cultural events.

"If all the measures being discussed become law, it could even mean that stores will have to hide their alcohol," commented the Herald.

Economy alarmed

The plans are alarming the business community. "Don't destroy Scotland's drinks industry," warned several drinks giants such as Diageo, Budweiser and Tennent's in an open letter. Young brands fear for their existence if they are no longer allowed to draw attention to themselves as sponsors.

But the tourism industry is also up in arms. "Effectively banning the sale of all alcohol-related items would impact a great many tourism businesses, not just distilleries," said Gordon Morrison, chief executive of the Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions.

With an estimated 84 million pounds (approx. 94 million Swiss francs) a year, whisky tourism plays an important role. Only in recent years have whisky companies invested a lot of money, Morrison said, pointing to examples such as the 140-million-pound expansion of the Macallan distillery in Craigellachie into a visitor attraction.

"The distilleries are often in parts of Scotland that are quite remote," Morrison said. ""There's often nothing else to do there. They bring visitors into the communities."

Opposition wants to use the issue

The Conservative Party, in opposition in Edinburgh, wants to exploit the popular issue, talking of "draconian" rules. "Not only will this cost jobs in Scotland, but it will make it much more difficult for the industry to export to the EU and elsewhere," criticized David Mundell, an MP in the House of Commons.

The Conservative government in London gratefully took up the ball: Secretary of State for Trade Nigel Huddleston promptly warned of "significant negative impacts."

Scotland's head of government Nicola Sturgeon feels misunderstood. "Some insinuations in recent weeks that, for example, hand-painted signs on distilleries or visitor centers are in our sights are not part of our ideas at the moment, let me make that quite clear," Sturgeon stressed.

There is a difference, she said, between a billboard near a school and a cap with a whiskey brand logo. "We have to look at this pragmatically and seriously," Sturgeon said. The "consultation" ends March 9. (SDA)

Eighty-nine percent of executives surveyed in the Adobe study say the demand for content has grown significantly. But despite this growing customer demand for dynamic digital experiences across an increasing number of channels, only a minority of brands feel they are truly well positioned to create and deliver content.

In response, leading brands are rethinking, optimizing and accelerating the way they work across the content supply chain, including planning, data analysis, campaign creation and delivery. The focus is primarily on efficiency and cost reduction. More than one in two executives surveyed (62 percent) report that they have already made their content processes more efficient.

"Delivering rich, personalized experiences has never been more important. After all, it's great content that creates a deeper connection with consumers. Content is the key to both short-term sales and long-term loyalty," said Alvaro Del Pozo, vice president of international marketing at Adobe. "At a time when brands need to reach more people through more channels, the abundance of content needed is huge. As a result, the content supply chain has become the linchpin of their entire marketing organization. Executives are therefore quite rightly investing in new ways to breathe new life into their content concepts."

Workflow becomes the top priority

Past efforts to speed up content creation have come at the expense of employees' time and creative freedom. However, nearly half (44 percent) of marketers in the Adobe study say a lack of time for creativity is a key barrier to delivering great customer experiences. What's more:

• Only one-third (33 percent) of marketers rate their company as "good" or "very good" at planning, categorizing, prioritizing and allocating content specifically for measurable results.
• 43 percent of respondents see the content workflow in particular as a key challenge.

To solve this problem and strengthen their content production in 2023, leading brands have put workflow management and digital collaboration at the top of their content teams' agendas:

• Two in five (41 percent) of executives have identified workflow management as a top technology priority in 2023.
• Almost as many (39 percent) focused in particular on streamlining or automating collaboration processes so that their teams can work faster and better.
• 38 percent plan to further improve their use of workflow automation to increase the efficiency of their marketing and customer experience processes.

Improvement of current technologies

As investments in content and creative workflows clearly show, leading companies are making process and technology optimization a top priority to succeed in the current economic climate. Nearly half (48 percent) said in the latest Adobe study that they plan to maximize the value of their existing marketing and data technologies this year.

Some brands' future plans may be impacted due to the economic situation, with 76 percent of agency executives emphasizing that their client:s are focused on short-term metrics and revenue goals. At the same time, 73 percent of senior brand managers report that the focus on immediate needs comes at the expense of longer-term planning and strategy. However, some respondents are already looking further into the future and are already looking at new digital platforms and forms of engagement. Twenty-two percent say their companies are thinking about marketing measures in the metaverse, for example.

The Adobe Digital Trends Report 2023 examines how leading companies are using cutting-edge technologies to help their employees transform their business and connect with their customers. Now in its 13th year, the Digital Trends Report compares industry leaders and laggards to identify the key strategies, technologies and issues brands must focus on to succeed and stand out.

The study is based on an online survey conducted from September to November 2022. The results are based on the responses of 9,247 qualified respondents.

The first phase of the repositioning focuses on the naming process, which also uses the "Creative Legal Intelligence" methodology developed by Zelebrand. This merges all brand protection aspects, including domain strategy, with the creative process and is designed to guarantee precision and quality with the greatest possible cost efficiency right from the start.

In a second step, the development of the entire brand identity up to the final omnichannel brand appearance is to take place. The first work is to be seen in the second quarter of 2023.

Autowelt Schweiz, based in Zurich, was founded in 2015 and describes itself as Switzerland's leading independent car dealer in the supercar and hypercar sector. The company is the exclusive contractual partner of the German car tuner and special model manufacturer Hofele.

After all, we gave up insisting on proper briefings a long time ago. But this development is now taking on new dimensions in the form of voice messaging. Creeping along, but as sure as the amen elsewhere, it is now making its way into the business world as a valid means of communication. The problem is the following: According to the dictionary, a message is a "communication that conveys knowledge of the latest facts to someone regarding someone or something [of personal importance to them]." Provided this is done in writing, it is clear so far. With a voice message, however, it gets complicated...

Without point and comma

First, not all people are able to be brief. To get their point across. Especially not when they are talking. And who is particularly bad at that? We Swiss. For all of you who are new to the country: You can safely skip the first four minutes, the essentials come after that. "What I wanted to say, and perhaps it would be good if we talked about it briefly, is - this may sound a bit demanding, sorry, I don't want to put you under pressure, but it would be good if we could check it briefly because of the deadline for the new layout, what do you think, until when can I expect it, and that's in any case easy, just that I'm informed, then I know what's going on and then I can read or how do you want to do it, you can also tell me if you have time or if you have a question...?". Translated, this would be: "When will the layout come?" The phenomenon is to be observed naturally also in written messages, but there one does not have to also still thereby LISTEN!

Second, voice messages are difficult to manage. You're sitting on a crowded bus, driving a car, or eating a sandwich, and you briefly listen to the voice messages - but you can't take notes or remember what they're actually about, because see above. And then you ask yourself whether this is now this progress. Written correspondence, which became inflationary with the introduction of e-mail and later text messages and chats, has many more advantages: You can retrieve it, organize it, mark it, and then delete it in a satisfying way... Voice messages, on the other hand, are simply too fleeting and confusing to be considered authoritative in any way. So please: Talk is silver, writing is gold. Thank you.

As of the beginning of February 2023, Roberto Galdo has relinquished his previous duties as Head of the Salesforce Business Unit. Under his leadership, the team in Switzerland developed the award "Salesforce Partner of the Year 21/22". Galdo managed more than 500 professionals in his unit. Until his succession is clarified in the long term, Roberto Quattrini, Deputy Head of Salesforce at Merkle DACH, will take over on an interim basis. 

In his new role as chief operating officer, Galdo is expected to drive Merkle's operations and ensure speed and agility in the DACH region. As the fastest growing EMEA region, the local market is of particular importance, the company writes in a statement. Under Galdo's leadership, customer experience management will also be more deeply integrated into Merkle and Dentsu.

Since 2019, Ferris Bühler Communications has been responsible for the PR work and since 2021 holistically for the marketing of La Val Hotel & Spa in Brigels GR. The agency has already been using the Daniel Craig lookalike Martin Langanke as a recognizable story element since 2020. For the current winter season, Ferris Bühler Communications is continuing the successful story around the world's most famous agent.

In the TV commercial, the Thurgau native, who had already officially doubled Daniel Craig, appears for the third time for Hotel La Val. In the latest video from the Baden-based agency, however, he skips all hustle and bustle and devotes himself to his well-deserved retirement - inspired by the end of the Craig era with the latest Bond film.

The video can currently be seen on SRF 1, SRF 2 and SRF info as well as on various OOH screens in the greater Zurich area and on social media channels.

Responsible at La Val Hotel & Spa: Reto Engler (host). Responsible at Ferris Bühler Communications: Anina Meier (Realization/Production), Elisabeth Zirk (Creation/Media), Ferris Bühler (Strategy/Creation). Film/Photo: Ervin Bedeli, Loren Bedeli (Light&Magic Productions).

Swisscom aims to generate EBITDA of CHF 4.6 to 4.7 billion in the current year. That would be significantly more than last year, when operating profit fell by 1.6 percent to CHF 4.4 billion.

The reason for the sharp increase was special factors, explained CFO Eugen Stermetz at the annual media conference in Zurich on Thursday. Last year, for example, provisions for legal disputes alone accounted for CHF 157 million. This includes a fine of just under 72 million Swiss francs from the Swiss Federal Competition Commission.

Without the special effects, Swisscom would have generated EBITDA of CHF 4.558 billion in 2022, Stermetz explained. In addition, rising interest rates will reduce pension fund expenses by CHF 90 million in 2023.

Adding it all up, these two reasons alone put Swisscom in the target range of CHF 4.6 billion to CHF 4.7 billion for EBITDA in 2023, Stermetz said.

Swiss core business grew slightly

At the same time, the Group's operations remained stable. Sales fell by only 0.6 percent to 11.1 billion Swiss francs last year. This is due to the weakness of the euro, because of which the growing business in Italy is worth less when translated into francs. At a constant euro exchange rate, Swisscom revenue would have increased by 1 percent.

"I am particularly proud of our consumer business," said the new Group CEO Christoph Aeschlimann, who has been in office since the beginning of June. "We were able to stabilize telecom revenue in the residential customer segment for the first time in seven years. That's a great achievement." The basis for this, he said, was mobile communications, where 166,000 subscription customers were gained. At the same time, customers were less willing to switch.

In the Swiss core business, sales increased slightly by 0.4 percent to CHF 8.3 billion. The small increase was attributable to the IT solutions business with business customers, which compensated for the erosion in telecom services. In Italy, revenue at the Milan-based subsidiary Fastweb continued to grow by 3.8 percent.

The prospects of higher operating profit EBITDA pleased investors. The share shot up by more than 4 percent in the afternoon.

Much less major disruptions

In addition, Swisscom was able to reduce its susceptibility to breakdowns, after major network failures had caused headlines and red heads throughout the country in previous years. In 2022, there were 40 percent fewer major service outages than in 2021, he said. "We have become massively better," Aeschlimann said.

Swisscom wants to reduce complexity in the networks by shutting down obsolete platforms. For example, the obsolete 3G mobile technology is to be discontinued by mid-2025. Platforms in the fixed network would also be decommissioned.

Mobile, residential and business customers all used to have their own network, as Aeschlimann explained: Now they will all be on a common network in the next few years. By 2025, Swisscom should have 40 percent fewer platforms than today.

However, one major construction site remains for the new man at the top. Swisscom's about-face in the dispute with the Weko over fiber-optic construction will take time. The number of fiber optic connections blocked by the Weko has risen further.

And even in 2025, Swisscom will still not be able to put 300,000 lines into operation because the design with one feed line for several households does not meet the requirements of the competition watchdogs. The Competition Commission is insisting on direct lines for every household. (AWP/Johannes Brinkmann)

The visually and technically redesigned platform Emmentaler.ch is intended to offer users a special user experience. Various interviews and user tests conducted in advance served as the basis for the strategy and implementation. This was to ensure that all content and tools are consistently geared to the needs of consumers.

In addition to an English version, the new website serves the most important markets in Europe such as Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Spain and France. Visitors:inside are greeted in their local language using geotargeting and guided through the site with country-specific content, content pieces and promotions, configured through a five-language CMS system. The SEO-optimized site also includes responsive programming and is designed to promote a positive user experience with Javascript and Lottie animations, social share elements and sweepstakes.

In videos, SEO-optimized blog articles and a USP hub, users discover the craft and the entire production process from the dairy farmer to the village cheese dairy to ripening in the cheese cellar. The focus in the respective worlds of experience is on the people behind the cheese: Where does the milk come from? Who made my cheese? How long does the cheese mature in the ripening cellar?

The range of eight different Emmentaler AOP cheeses is presented in its own world of images and experiences. Together with cheese sommelier Monika Bösch, an individual taste profile was created for each degree of maturity and graphically presented in an exciting way for users. Each maturity level is also presented by a cheese connoisseur as a testimonial with a personal taste suggestion. Links to the digital and stationary sales outlets are attached to the individual maturity levels.

Those interested in cooking will also find around 200 recipes on how the cheese can be used in cold and hot cuisine. The content is visually appealing and supplemented with user-friendly functions.

With the launch of the new homepage, Emmentaler AOP wants to set an example for quality and innovation and represent the company as digitally state-of-the-art. According to Zimmernann Communications, the number of visitors has increased by 174 percent since the go-live and the length of stay per user:in has been significantly extended.

Responsible at Emmentaler Switzerland: Annemarie Boos (Senior Manager Brand, Marketing & Communication), Sandra Wiedmer (Marketing & Communication Manager). Responsible at Zimmermann Communications: Dominik Mätzener (Managing Director Consulting), Christoff Strukamp (Creative Direction), Julia Hofmann, Sonja Zimmerli (Art Direction), Marietta Mügge (Text), Florian Bieniek, Lara Cavelti (Project Management). Responsible at Weooo: Sebastian Palka (technical conception, consulting), Johannes Gilges (server infrastructure, performance, programming), Michael Großklos, (web development), Christiane Betram (frontend design). Herrbuerli.ch: Manuel Bürli (User Experience/Testings), Fabienne Stoll (User Experience/Testings).

This marks another important milestone for the growing agency alliance in the implementation of its strategy to bring together integrated national champions to form a European market leader in communications consulting, Farner International writes in a statement. "Team Farner" is to combine leading consulting firms and the best strategy and creative minds.

Around 90 Komm.passion employees work at three locations in Hamburg, Düsseldorf and Berlin. The company specializes in particular in the areas of change, health, corporate, brand and digital, and describes itself as a leader in these fields.
Kirchhoff Consult, a Hamburg-based company with around 60 employees, is active in the growing market for sustainability issues. It has been providing annual and sustainability reports for over 25 years, assisting with IPOs and providing investor relations, ESG and sustainability consulting services.

"Komm.passion and Kirchhoff Consult share the same mindset and view of current customer needs, which drives our joint journey: complete, fully integrated communications solutions with a clear focus on creativity, technology and digital," said Roman Geiser, executive chairman Farner International. According to Geiser, more acquisitions are to follow to become a top 3 agency in Germany.

With the merger, the previous partners of Komm.passion Alex Güttler, Frederik Bollhorst and Jelena Mirkovic, as well as Kirchhoff Consult co-CEOs Jens Hecht and Vincent Furnari and agency founder Klaus Rainer Kirchhoff join the Farner International partnership. Klaus Rainer Kirchhof will also become Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Kirchhoff Consult. "With this shareholding structure, we are strengthening the entrepreneurial DNA of our agency group and creating a platform for intensive international cooperation," explains Geiser.

The ongoing expansion program is supported by the investment company Waterland. Waterland has broad digital expertise and knowledge of the European communications market and has already successfully supported Dept's European growth.

According to Geiser, Team Farner's plans seem to be attracting interest in several European countries. "We have obviously initiated a movement and are having good discussions in several markets. We will soon be allowed to communicate further steps - also in Switzerland," Geiser said. "We have greatly accelerated our historic growth trajectory in recent months, virtually tripling our sales since our announcement in February 2022. We will continue at this pace in the current fiscal year."

According to a statement, the agency's mission is to create digital solutions that bring about lasting positive change in its clients' business. In doing so, the Diselva team wants to be inspired by technological possibilities as well as by living, changing organisms in order to further develop the business models of its customers in the long term through digitalization.

The ten-member founding team of Diselva consists of digital experts with many years of experience and combines expertise in strategic consulting, creation, and technical architecture and implementation. The St. Gallen agency is managed by a team of four, consisting of Jörg Brunschwiler, Jan Keller, Pascal Nüesch and Michael Pertek.

"For us as a founding team, honest relationships at eye level in our work with each other, with customers and with partners are very important. This is expressed by our modern understanding of leadership and equal ownership," explains Michael Pertek, CEO and Partner. "In addition to our in-house competencies, we have relied on a strong partner ecosystem from the very beginning in order to be able to provide our customers with tailored advice and support," adds Partner and COO Jan Keller. "In the coming weeks, for example, we will enter into various partnerships in the areas of strategic consulting, onshore and nearshore delivery, and with software providers to round out our service offering."

But the agency doesn't just want to create high-impact solutions. "We also want to empower organizations to take the lead over their own constant, digital evolution," says Jörg Brunschwiler, CCO and partner responsible for strategic consulting at Diselva. "Our work concerns the core systems of our customer:s. When it comes to architecture and integration, we rely on lightweight, flexible technologies that ensure the constant renewal and further development of business models in the long term and thus achieve a sustainable impact on value creation," concludes CTO and Partner Pascal Nüesch.

For employees aged 49 and over, the vacation entitlement is six weeks, as the employee representatives Schweizer Syndikat Medienschaffender SSM, Syndicom and Impressum announced on Thursday. On the employer side, the Association of Swiss Private Radio VSP and the regional television association Telesuisse negotiated the conditions.

The minimum wage applies to trained and permanent employees. In the future, the social partners will pay pension fund contributions on the entire salary without coordination deduction. During statutory maternity leave, employers pay the full salary.

In addition, program creators can now submit copyrighted contributions in competitions and publish them on their own, non-commercial website two weeks after the first broadcast. According to the employee representatives, the background to the agreement is the new licensing of private radio and TV stations. (SDA)