City tourism is still struggling in comparison to rural destinations, said the Director of Switzerland Tourism (ST) at a media conference in Zurich on Thursday. He could not emphasize the importance of long-distance markets enough: "Foreign guests love our cities. They also come outside the school vacations, they book well in advance, they come even when the weather is not excellent and they book upper categories."

For this reason, Swiss city tourism is heavily dependent on long-distance visitors. Overseas guests are particularly important here. Compared to the reference year 2019, however, 50 percent of hotel overnight stays have been lost. "Switzerland is an export country; we are dependent on foreign countries in many sectors. This is no different for tourism," he continued.

The performance of city tourism is "decent", considering how drastic the pandemic has been for the tourism industry. And in many important markets, such as China, there are still lockdowns. However, compared to mountain, lake and generally more rural destinations, the development is currently below average.

Running campaign to boost city tourism

The federal government has therefore also given ST a special mandate with a "recovery plan". As part of this mandate, ST is to focus primarily on foreign guests and strengthen city and business tourism once again. The organization is to focus on the topic of sustainability. Various activities have already been launched to this end, such as a campaign with running shoe manufacturer On Running, which will run for the next few weeks with immediate effect and is intended to "generate momentum", as the ST director explained.

Under the motto "Run the Swiss Cities", Swiss cities are presented from the perspective of joggers and jogging routes are presented, some of them by prominent athletes (Werbewoche.ch reported). This should attract business and leisure travelers to the cities. (SDA)

With their short distances and proximity to nature, Swiss cities are particularly well suited for running. Jogging is also very popular with business travelers, for example, as a way to explore the destination and also get to know the surroundings and local culture. ST and sports brand On are now teaming up exclusively for "Run the Swiss Cities" this summer to help Swiss city tourism catch up from the pandemic. Cities represent the tourism region that has been the slowest to recover from the effects of the pandemic in terms of guest numbers.

Using Basel, Geneva, Lugano and Zurich as examples, short video clips draw attention to the diversity and uniqueness of Swiss cities and cover the different language regions. On and ST jointly promote the advantages of Swiss cities, their flair for life and running, and invite national and international guests to discover them for themselves in an active way.

The surprise guest is the ambassador of the two brands, Roger Federer, who makes a brief appearance in the video clip about Basel and gives the runners his own personal tip for his hometown.

The short films are distributed on various digital platforms in Switzerland, but also in Germany, France and the Benelux countries. In addition, there are several running route suggestions for every level and preference, which can be found on the sports app Strava be made available for download. The recommended routes are both touristy and interesting and have been compiled by experts and locals. More information is available on the Campaign website compiled.

The new dual leadership will co-manage the 23-strong team in the future: Jessica von Duehren-Cattani will be responsible for the central newsdesk, Flavio Razzino for the reporters in Zurich and the regions as well as the foreign team.

The 31-year-old Jessica von Duehren-Cattani had taken over the sole leadership of the largest department of the Blick Group as head of news in August 2021. She started out as a reporter in 2014 and later became a page-turner at Evening view as well as daily head of digital. "Flavio was already a great support to me as deputy last year and greatly enriched the department with his experience as a reporter of many years. As co-heads, we can now play to our respective strengths even better together," von Duehren-Cattani was quoted as saying in a Ringier statement.

Flavio Razzino, 33, was editorial director from 2015 to 2017 at the Toggenburg Newspaper and See & Gaster Newspaper, before that reporter at the Schaffhausen News. Razzino has been working for the Blick Group since 2017. First as a reporter and since August 2021 as deputy head of news.

Due to the tense labor market environment and the acute shortage of skilled workers, companies are currently strongly committed to approaching the topic of employer branding in a more professional manner and actively maintaining the employer brand on an ongoing basis. Klar specializes in the discipline of employer branding and has a independent competence unit built up. According to the agency, customer growth has been encouraging.

Klar also designed and created IWC's employer branding with the aim of publicizing the employer values and positioning the company as an attractive employer. Employees from more than 30 countries work at the Schaffhausen watchmaker's headquarters. In the first phase, the focus is on Switzerland as a place to work, but talent is recruited from all over the world.

Based on the Employer Value Proposition, Klar has developed a storyline to authentically convey and prove the promise of talent and career development. Four stories highlight the journey and relationship between mentee and mentor. This is intended to make IWC's workplace, working atmosphere and DNA visible and tangible and to bring the claim "Engineer yourself - become part of the journey" to life.

A four-minute main film was produced, as well as four one-minute stories plus cutdowns for the online campaign. A photo shoot took place at the same time as the shoot.

Responsible at IWC Schaffhausen: René Behr, Mirjam Bettinger, Qianhan Gong. Responsible Agentur: Clear-employerbranding.ch. Film: Otakus.agency. Sound: Department Of Noise. Photography: Karinheer.com.

Starting on Sunday, September 4, the new newsletter "Ron Family" will show every Sunday what families with Kind:ern can do in the city. The new format offers tips and inspiration in city life and aims to promote a sense of belonging, exchange and interaction among families.

So far, Ron Orp's content has been geared towards people without children. Now the platform is expanding its target group to include families and city life with offspring. "Ron Family" is not only for parents, but also for godmothers, goddesses, aunts, uncles or grandparents - from adults for adults. The new family format is geared toward a diverse target audience. According to a statement from Ron Orp, it differs from current portals, which usually only address mothers and almost exclusively depict traditional family models.

"Ron Family" is initially launching in the Zurich area with a weekly Sunday newsletter, an event calendar, family forum, marketplace and a social media presence.

The first mailing of the newsletter will be on September 4, 2022. The registration is now possible.

36-year-old Cathrin Münchbach holds a master's degree in "Human Computer Interaction Design" from the University of Applied Sciences in Rapperswil and had previously studied industrial engineering. The UX designer has already been able to demonstrate her skills in various sectors of Swiss industry. She has now been working as a UX expert at Raskin Apps for five years. With UX consulting and design based on the latest usability methods such as Design Thinking/Design Sprints, Münchbach expands the team's expertise. Her work includes screen design development, prototyping, workshop leadership, and overall project management.

In the last few years, Migrolino has grown strongly through new locations and formats. In order to be able to address all target groups according to their needs, Notch completely revised the online presence in collaboration with Publicis Zurich and designed a new architecture. Now the three websites Migrolino-ag.ch, Migrolino.ch and Mio-shops.ch united under one roof.

The core of the fresh Migrolino.ch and Mio-shops.ch website is the Shopfinder. This is tailored to the needs of customers and optimized for mobile-first use. The simple and intuitive navigation and the reduced structure make the online presence a fast and useful information platform. In a short time, the nearest stores including route planner, opening hours, current promotions and offers, services or even specific offers such as e-charging station can be displayed and found. There is also a dark mode. The corporate site Migrolino-ag.ch focuses on the various formats.

The design is complemented by the shot Migrolino moments, the newly developed icons and the bolde typography. The UX construction kit is available for all three websites.

Responsible at Migrolino: Marius Masso (Head of Corporate Development), Alexandra Vogel (Head of Marketing), Pascal Wetter (Project Manager), Michèle Hug (Marketing Assistant). Responsible at Notch and Publicis Zurich: Martin Stauch (UX Director), Martin Pfeiffer, Bruno Hofstetter (Senior UX Architect), Cédric Moor (UX Designer), Nina Martens, Nina Nesnidal (Art Director), David Voges (Senior Copywriter), Sandro Looser (Client Service Director), Selina Bigler (Junior Account Manager). Responsible at Prodigious: Matteo Attansio (photographer) and Martin Ottinger (retouching). Responsible at IMF: Simone Marchetta (Head of IWF Web Solutions), Stefan Friedrich (Senior Web Developer).

The young generation is in the process of turning its back on numerous previously established values and establishing a new, holistic and sustainably oriented paradigm for the future.

The resulting pressure for change in society has a massive impact on how companies manage their recruiting and HR, how they structure their marketing activities, and which products they can use to win over this generation as consumers. In the future, the focus must be on development instead of growth, on better instead of more. This requires a complete renewal of all existing corporate visions in the direction of more holism.

The most common narratives

A FirstSignals analysis conducted for the study shows: If you add up the media resonance of all the cultural trends shaping Gen Z, such as self-care, LGBTQ, wokeness, body positivity or climate fear, and understand this complex of topics as an expression of identity formation, this is currently the fourth largest social narrative communicated in the media after the climate crisis, digitization and sustainability. If the major topics that are also closely linked to Gen Z, such as equality, veganism, diversity and the gender discussion, are added to this, the media presence of this topic complex is directly behind the top global topic of climate change.

"We are in the midst of a profound change of times, explicitly triggered by a generation that is bringing a mindset into society that is substantially different from the culture that has prevailed so far," says Oliver Heyden, Chief Strategy Officer at Pressrelations. "Through them, climate crisis, sustainability, digitalization, diversity and feminism are advancing to become big narratives of our time. This development is the starting signal for profound changes in the political, social and economic world shaped by older generations."

What do companies need to do?

As society transforms, companies must also act. The key question here: What does Gen Z's search for identity mean for companies? What identity offers can companies make to their future employees - and what identity must they represent themselves in the process? How do their HR, marketing and product strategies support a sustainable lifestyle?

Companies are already feeling the effects of this new wind when it comes to recruiting - the key words being "great resignation" and "anti-work. The gender pay gap, the lack of a work-life balance and patriarchal relationships have become significant problems and ensure that fewer and fewer employees feel a close connection to their company. HR managers must therefore already formulate good answers to the very critical questions of their future employees.

The free Study "Generation Question Everything - Unseen, but Huge". by Pressrelations, Human Unlimited and Zukunftsinstitut Workshop is intended to provide communications and HR managers with a guide to better understanding, reaching and retaining Gen Z.

At Sihlcity, visitors should spend moments that are as beautiful as painted and want to be captured forever. This is what Karling wants to convey in the current roof campaign. Together with the artist Gemmy Woud-Binnendijk, a photographic series of subjects was created that are intended to look like paintings. The first three motifs focus on the areas of beauty/fashion, food and lifestyle.

The campaign appears throughout the greater Zurich area as well as online on banners, social media, billboards, megaposters, e-boards and e-panels, on bushels, in ads and in short cinema spots and other media.

Together with the new umbrella campaign, the corporate design was renewed and cleaned up. The Sihlcity logo was made more striking. In addition, Sihlcity has recently dispensed with a slogan and uses the so-called "chimney" not only in the logo but also in the headlines. Every Sihlcity communication medium - from stationery, business cards, and information signs to posters and eBoards - is given a short, prominent headline that is placed vertically and is intended to ensure greater recognition.

Responsible at Sihlcity: Marianne Guldimann, Jessica Graf. Responsible at Karling: Daniel Serrano, Patrick Suter, Carl Winthereik, Ilias Islam, Jeanne Sollberger, Rolf Helfenstein, Ingrid Brun del Re. Photography: Gemmy Woud-Binnendijk.

The contract also includes the corresponding repair services, the handling of warranty cases and the management of the spare equipment pool.

The volume of the entire contract amounts to around 85 million Swiss francs over a maximum period of eight years, Mobilzone wrote in a statement on Wednesday.

Mobilzone won the contract in a public tender. It was possible to offer the complex requirements as a single company from a single source, according to the statement.

The FOITT will purchase a total of around 80,000 smartphones, tablets and smartwatches from Mobilezone over the term of the contract. The federal office is now relying on a two-supplier strategy and equipping its employees with Samsung devices as well as Apple ones. (SDA)

In order to remain fit for the future and to question processes as well as existing partners, AG Hallenstadion has, among other things, re-tendered the strategic partnership in the area of venue service. Habegger, which has been responsible for the event technology at the event location in Zurich Oerlikon for over 15 years, was able to convince with a well thought-out offer package and its know-how in the pitch.

The international service provider will thus remain a strategic partner of the Hallenstadion for another five years and will continue to provide the complete venue service. In addition to lighting, audio and video technology, this also includes rigging and project management.

Foyer receives facelift

There are not only innovations backstage: As part of a facelift of the Hallenstadion, Habegger is currently realizing the redesign of the foyer, which was put out to tender in a separate pitch. Habegger won this with a multifunctional event space concept. In the future, guests will be able to hold smaller events or aperitifs in an elegant ambience. Completion is scheduled for the end of August.

Until now, sports was an independent editorial department at Keystone-SDA. Now it will be integrated into the overall editorial team to create more synergies. This was announced by the news agency headquartered in Bern on Wednesday. The two sports teams will be headed by Valentin Oetterli and Gilles Mauron. They will be integrated as departments into the German- and French-language editorial teams, respectively, and will now be headed by Nicole Meier, editor-in-chief of the German-language editorial team, and Federico Bragagnini, editor-in-chief of the French-language editorial team.

Data and automation

Sandro Mühlebach, the current Editor-in-Chief of Sports, will take over as Head of Content Development. This newly created department, with resources from the editorial team, is intended to provide Keystone-SDA's departments with the necessary resources and skills for continuous development. The team will take on a variety of tasks. Namely, existing vessels and content are to be further developed and data and automation projects are to be advanced. The needs of the customers are at the center of this.

These adjustments are based on a comprehensive restructuring program in recent months. Among other things, the news agency is adapting its product range and sharpening its services for 2023. (SDA)