Akomag Corporate Communications, based in Stans and Lucerne, was founded in June 1988 by Ronald and Barbara Joho-Schumacher. The agency specializes in advising companies and institutions in the areas of public relations, public affairs, media relations and strategic communications consulting in general.

In the course of its 34 years of operation, Akomag positioned itself in close partnership with the Lucerne Newspaper also as producer of the Central Switzerland business magazine ROI. The magazine and its special editions have been published since 2004 as a supplement to the Lucerne Newspaper and its regional editions in Obwalden, Nidwalden, Uri, Schwyz and Zug. Since 2009, the Central Switzerland business portal has also been ROI Online with its weekly newsletter on the web.

Successful succession planning

"Over the past 34 years, we have had the privilege of managing interesting regional and national mandates, including in the areas of real estate development, energy, healthcare and the financial sector. With the largest business event in Central Switzerland, the 'Perspectives for Central Switzerland as a Business Location', Akomag has set the tone in the event sector. The ROI-publications, in turn, are a strong pillar in the agency's diversification concept," Ronald Joho-Schumacher sums up. Now, he says, they have found two highly qualified successors in Daniel Piazza, Lucerne cantonal councilor and Dynamics Group partner, and Raymond Studer, who represents the company's project factory. "They will shape the future of the ROI-publications and provide new impetus," says Joho-Schumacher, who will be on hand to advise the new owners.

Three ROI-expenditures planned for 2022

The new owners have made a number of changes to the ROI-publications has a clear agenda: June 24 sees the publication of the ROI Special on the subject of "Shortage of skilled workers and its challenges", and on September 16 another special issue will be devoted to "Environment, energy and mobility". The ROI-main issue will be published on November 16. "The high acceptance of the ROI-We are convinced by the popularity of our publications in Central Switzerland's business community. There's a lot that can be developed here," say Raymond Studer and Daniel Piazza, who are also pleased with the valuable partnership with the Lucerne Newspaper emphasize

No human being flees voluntarily. In the event of a war of aggression in Europe, however, solidarity with the people affected is greater than with those who come to us for safety from distant countries.

For Swiss refugee aid, Spina's Civil Voices uses this current insight by reinterpreting the viral national flag of Ukraine into scenes of refugees from other countries. In this way, the viewers are picked up on their own emotions. At the same time, it shows the attitude that all refugees need help equally.

The leanly created campaign generates attention for the topic on social media. With the collection of email addresses, it leads to an appeal for donations for the refugees on the appropriately optimized landing page.

Responsible at Swiss Refugee Aid: Tendai Fleck (Online Communications Manager), Remo Gubler (Fundraising Manager). Responsible at Spina's Civil Voices: Susi Kammergruber (CD), Nicolas Stark (AD), Beat Egger (Text), Christian Egli (Senior Digital Innovation Manager).

Werbewoche.ch: Benjamin Tück, Accenture Interactive, together with its various sub-brands, forms the largest digital agency in the world. Now you have decided to undergo a comprehensive transformation, culminating in an almost poetic rebranding: From now on, you'll be operating under the name "Accenture Song." Why?

Benjamin Tück: I would like to talk not just about transformation, but rather about further development. The pandemic has taken a lot out of all of us over the past two years - as individuals, but also as employees or as managers. And yet, at Accenture, I believe we've been able to use this time productively: We've been thinking about how to completely reinvent customer relationships, sales, commerce, marketing, as well as business innovation. In parallel, the number of people working with us has more than doubled in the past 18 months. A structural adjustment and bundling of competencies is a logical consequence of these two developments.

So it's not just a new name, but a new organizational set-up. How is that set up?

The setup is integrated and scales along content dimensions to quickly provide custom-fit solutions for the customer's ever-changing requests. Diverse agency expertise is aligned along customer challenges. A classic agency setup is no longer sufficient to serve the transformation challenges of our customers and to achieve sustainable growth and stability.

What exactly does this show in?

In product or service innovation and design, marketing transformation, forward-looking sales and commerce, brand communication, and understanding and tapping into new frontiers like the metaverse ... among other things, this is what we set ourselves up for in a "seamless organization", that is, a fully integrated organization.

Fully integrated organizations usually bring with them clarity and structures that are designed to make it easier for customers to work together. Wouldn't a somewhat less "poetic" name have been obvious?

You weren't the only one who reacted with surprise to our new naming. In deriving the name, let me start with our corporate culture: I can say with conviction that we have long lived a culture of permanent change and put it into practice in our work. Accenture Song builds on this: A song, a song, stands for an ancient, universal form of human craft. What associations does the term trigger for you? Not also connection, inspiration, technical skill and experience; all combined in one great harmony? This symbiosis we are now undergoing has a lofty goal: to help unleash the imagination and ideas of our employees to achieve tangible results for customers.

Will you also try to play those instruments that were previously the domain of the more "classic" marketing and communications agencies? It is well known that several large consultancies also want a piece of this "pie".

I think the market perceives - and accepts - our expertise in technology, consulting and innovation very well. Now, to answer your question, we're going to shift our focus even more to creation, communications and media. Bringing our teams together under Accenture Song will give us a broad base to do that. You know, the name Accenture Song reflects the many dimensions and layers of who we are and what we can achieve for our female clients. "Song" begins our new chapter of existence, where we can all feel part of a community and culture. It represents how we bring imagination, intelligence and technology together.

What happens to all the sub-brands that you have acquired with Accenture Interactive in recent years - and in some cases painstakingly developed and sharpened? Will they disappear?

Our more than 40 acquisitions over the past decade will market uniformly as Accenture Song to strengthen our synergies in product innovation, experience design, marketing and commerce. In Switzerland, there aren't quite as many; here, Boomerang, Fjord, Sinner Schrader Swipe and Wirestone operated as part of Accenture Interactive or, newly, Song. So for our location, the move is relatively small; the teams have worked together for a long time without friction or barriers. But Accenture Song as an umbrella brand will, above all, allow us to build expertise in areas that have not been in focus before by bringing our global experts together under one roof.

How would you like to use the changes in your organizational structure to the benefit of Swiss customers?

In almost every conversation I have with our customers, the question of relevance comes up: How can your company remain relevant - for customers, employees and society? I already talked at the beginning about how rapidly the world and therefore people's needs are changing - and of course our customers notice this too. They ask themselves, "What kind of products or services do I offer, how do I reach my female customers, how do I interact with all my stakeholders?" Please keep in mind very clearly: companies are working toward a future that is very different from the one for which they were originally designed and in which they should still grow! We want to provide all the assistance it takes: Accenture Song's consolidated capabilities will hopefully enable us to become mission-critical partners in Swiss ecosystems, to accompany large digital acquisitions from strategy to campaign implementation, to develop new product groups and value streams with our clients, and to lift e-commerce into the metaverse together with them.

At the general meeting of Leading Swiss Agencies in Zurich's Kaufleuten, the old and new board of the association with President Beat Krebs and Vice President Andreas Hugi confirmed that they would continue their work for the benefit of the agency industry with pleasure and great commitment for another year. "We were able to work on many additional topics during the pandemic, such as workshops on labor law, short-time work or new work. In the process, other important topics were somewhat neglected. We definitely want to catch up on these and continue to give them our full attention," Beat Krebs is quoted as saying in the association's press release.

The board team also remains unchanged and receives a reinforcement from French-speaking Switzerland with Laura Jenny, Managing Director at Agence Trio. "I would like to expand the presence of the LSA in French-speaking Switzerland and make it more visible, improve communication between German-speaking and French-speaking Switzerland, and exchange ideas more effectively with LSA members from French-speaking Switzerland in order to be able to generate synergies," says the 31-year-old, who grew up in the Basel-Alsace region and has lived and worked in French-speaking Switzerland for around ten years.

Agency Finder receives update

Despite the pandemic, the LSA looks back on an eventful and successful year in which the association continued to pursue its mission of supporting its members with various initiatives and offerings.

In the course of the website redesign, the LSA Agency Finder will also be further developed in the coming weeks. The platform provides a quick overview of LSA agencies by competencies, industry expertise and current cases, and provides guidance in the agency evaluation process.

A lot of dialog and promotion of young talent for the industry

In the labor and opinion market, LSA aims to strengthen the relevance of LSA agencies through its continuing education and dialog projects. In the latest exchange format "LSA Live Talk", the LSA discusses topics on digital business transformation with experts. With projects such as the LSA Junior Agency Award and the young talent campaign recently conceived by young talents from LSA agencies to publicize the communications industry and its job diversity, the association is working on the one hand to position LSA agencies as attractive employers. On the other hand, offers for the benefit of junior agency staff in the battle for the best talent are intended to communicate the diversity and attractiveness of the various job profiles as well as training, continuing education and career opportunities in the communications industry.

Out of six applications, Matylda Tomaszewicz and Marieke Alleleijn prevailed. Both have an international background and, according to Weischer, have already implemented several campaigns for renowned clients. The team was able to convince with the creative design of the application documents, with concise arguments and the acceptance of the medium cinema in the moving image mix.

In preparation for the challenging task, the two young talents will take part in the "Weischer Young Lions Bootcamp," which will also take place digitally. There, the team will be optimally prepared for the international competition by experienced Cannes experts.

Subsequently, the Swiss media team has to implement the briefing of a real customer in English within only 24 hours and present it digitally to the jury within the framework of the Young Lions Competition from May 30 to June 1.

Since 2017, the positive perception of regional products has increased. For example, 37 percent of the population now perceive them as very positive, compared to just 24 percent five years ago. In addition, two out of five Swiss people now buy regional products with practically every purchase - in 2017, this was only one out of four people. Basically, it can be said that regional products have outgrown their niche and are preferred by the majority of the population over organic products, for example.

Regional products are more attractive

If we look at the buyers in detail, we see that women, older people, people living in German-speaking Switzerland and people with a high income are more likely to buy regional products. Regional products are rated higher than conventional and even organic products in the association fields "attractiveness", "sustainability & fairness" and "social issues" - only in the association field "ecology" are regional and organic products on a par.

Furthermore, the study shows how consumers perceive the various retailers with regard to "regionality", what the concrete drivers are for the purchase of regional products or how the regionality of various product groups affects the willingness of Swiss consumers to pay more.

The complete results of the study at a glance

• Regional products have outgrown their niche. For many consumers, they are more attractive than label products, such as organic products.
• Regional products are social products: Regional products are purchased primarily under the aspects of fairness and sustainability. Sustainability also includes ecological aspects, but in comparison to organic products, social aspects play a relatively large role. Customers buy regional products consciously in order to do something good for society. The expectations of customers with regard to sustainability are also high.
• There is a relevantly increased willingness to pay of 10 to 45 percent for regional products.
• Regional products are mainly purchased in the retail trade. However, local trade and supply structures are also becoming increasingly established.
• The argument "from here" gains slightly in importance compared to "regional specialty".

• Good conditions with regard to animal welfare and fair producer prices are expected and assumed for regional products.

Opportunities and requirements for suppliers and retailers

• The right perimeter (size and boundaries of a region) must be defined on a case-by-case basis as a compromise between credibility and economic viability.
• For a credible positioning, suppliers of regional products must make a clear promise regarding the specific origin and the practiced sustainability.
• Nationally active manufacturers and retailers can also position themselves with regional statements, but they must fulfill these credibly.
• Suppliers must make it as easy and convenient as possible for consumers to purchase authentic regional products.
• Successful logistics or platform models can be operated in an economically and ecologically sensible manner. To achieve this, different players must work together.

For the study "Regional Products 2022" were in February 2022 1,321 people were surveyed in German-speaking Switzerland, French-speaking Switzerland and Ticino. Click here for the study on Link.ch.

In "The Joy of Mechanics," gamers can immerse themselves in the intricate beauty of watch mechanics and win prizes worth over 5,000 Swiss francs. Gamers navigate through a dream world inspired by the new Calibre 400 movement and the worlds of artist Charles Morgan.

Collect points and win

Each time you play, your score and chances of winning are increased. Various jumps, elements and objects such as coins are available to keep the energy level high and stay in the game as long as possible. At the end of the campaign, a raffle is held among all participants.

Different technologies used

As part of the international Oris campaign, the game takes up the world of the campaign video. Cinema 4D was used to flesh out the 3D elements in the game. Through Unity, WebGL and mobile apps for iOS and Android are equally addressed.

The game is available in over 90 countries and 9 languages. "The Joy of Mechanics" can be downloaded via Web browser and played on a smartphone or tablet. Participation in the competition is possible until July 20, 2022, and the draw will take place on July 30, 2022.

Responsible at Oris: Marc Sutterlüti (Head of Global Marketing), Michelle Jung (Digital Marketing Coordinator), Nicolas Richert (Head of IT and Services). Responsible at Dreiplay Studio: Nino Cometti (Project Owner Dreiplay), Gregor Falk (Game Development), Nija Nikolic (Game Design), Michael Schürmann (Game Design), Diana Zberg (UX & UI Design), Diego Martinez (UX & UI Design), Lukas Bünger (Backend Development), Jules Robert (Legal), Sarah Hefti (UX Writing).

On June 28, 2022, the Zurich Journalism Award 2022 will be presented at Zurich's Kaufleuten. It is now clear who has made it onto the shortlist. From 180 texts submitted, the jury has nominated contributions from nine candidates:

• Helene Aecherli, The Case of Yasemin (Annabelle)
• Stefan Barmettler, The EY File (Handelszeitung)
• Yves Demuth, Forced Labor in the Spinning Mill (Observer)
• Manuela Enggist, A Long Life's Journey into the Night (The magazine)
• Roland Gamp, "They have ruined our existence" (Tages-Anzeiger / Sunday Newspaper)
• Angelika Hardegger, Dear farmers, let's talk (NZZ)
• Michael Schilliger, The Third Life of Mamadou (NZZ)
• Quentin Schlapbach, Cedric Fröhlich, Series: The Chaos Days of Wengen
  (BZ Bernese Newspaper)
• Rebecca Wyss, "I'm happy if someone just says faggot" (SonntagsBlick Magazine)

Three of these works will be awarded the Zurich Journalism Prize of 10,000 Swiss francs each at the end of June.

The jury also nominated three works for the Newcomer Award, which is endowed with 5,000 Swiss francs:

• Larissa Rhyn, Katrin Büchenbacher, No doctorate because of a tweet: This is how far China's influence on Swiss universities reaches (NZZ)
• Finn Schlichenmaier, My Generation Lives for Consumption (The magazine)
• Karin A. Wenger, In the Name of the Ball (Republic)

The Thurgau Cantonal Police must grow: the Cantonal Council has approved 91 additional positions in 2020, which must be filled in the next few years. In this respect, the Thurgau police have good cards: As a "full police force", it offers the entire spectrum of police work - from road control to fire investigation, from youth police to professional lake police.

The new campaign positions the Thurgau Cantonal Police as a unique employer. The local reference and the authenticity of the people shown - Thurgau corps members - set the emotional closeness of the campaign.

The target groups of the new campaign are potential candidates, but also trained police officers looking for a new challenge. With the claim "You can rely on us", the campaign emphasizes the internal working atmosphere. At the same time, the claim conveys a promise to the entire population of Thurgau.

The Kapo appointed Maureen, Géraldine, Dominik and Marcel as campaign ambassadors. From them, future colleagues will learn firsthand everything about the working world of the police in the canton of Thurgau - for example via Instagram, but also as part of various events. They are ready to stand up with their personality, shape the campaign and get in direct contact with the target groups. The actual "hub" of the campaign is the landing page We-can-be-relied-on.ch.

Responsible at the Cantonal Police Thurgau: Andy Theler (Head of Communication and Prevention Department), Michael Signer (Head of Basic Training), Manuel Ritter (Head of Continuing Education). Responsible at Notter & Notter (Strategy): Andreas Notter (Managing Director). Responsible at Die Gestalter (design and implementation): Beat Lüscher (Project Management Design), Tine Fleischer (Creative Direction & Social Media Support). Production: Dan Cermak (Photography), Yves Gmür(Focus Format, film productions).

The health app "Well" has been available in the app stores since August 2021. "We are now starting to market the app - after all, we already have many interesting features to offer," explains Katherine Lee, CMO of Well. The "Health Platform for Switzerland" aims to digitize and simplify the Swiss healthcare system. CSS, Visana, Medi24 and Zur Rose are behind it. In addition, the startup has a large network through partnerships with service providers and technology providers.

Vision with startup budget

An app that is supposed to digitize and simplify healthcare in Switzerland sounds like a complicated product that requires explanation - and will probably never be completely finished.

This was precisely one of the communication challenges. "That's why we decided to produce a short film as well. It shouldn't be a dry explanatory film, but should make both the performance and the vision of Well tangible. That means it has to explain, but also generate goosebumps - while fitting into a startup's budget," Lee elaborates. "We succeeded in this balancing act."

The full-length film was used at Well's first press conference on Wednesday. Various cut-downs will soon be available on Well's social media channels.

Responsible at Well: Katherine Lee (CMO), Nicole Koch (Senior Communications & Marketing Manager). Responsible at Film Lodge: Beat Oswald (director & producer, owner), Dylan Wiedler (post-production, editor). Responsible at Partner & Partner: Gianfranco Acocella (creative direction, partner), Sarah Pally (concept, partner).

Organizing an event on the scale of BEA is anything but trivial. The Bern Spring Fair attracts up to 290,000 visitors, around 750 exhibitors, many partners and has an impact that extends far beyond the capital. "An event like the BEA only comes about when all partners pull together. Republica has professionally accompanied the communication - whether with the public or partners from politics, society and the media - from the very beginning," explains Adrian Affolter, BEA division manager at Bernexpo Groupe.

Diversity at the heart of the campaign

"As a trade fair for the general public, BEA is characterized by numerous different stakeholder groups and an enormous diversity of offerings. This marked the basis for this year's campaign, where we focused on the multi-layered nature and the many perspectives on BEA," explains Nora Müller, Group Account Director and Partner at Republica.

Specifically, the agency developed several subjects to highlight different aspects of BEA. From networking between disparate visitors to the animals from the petting zoo to the extensive shopping offer - the campaign showed 1000 reasons why the public should mark the ten days from April 29 to May 8 in their calendars.

Broadly played

The measures were played out physically in and around Bern over a period of one month. In addition, content was played out online and on social media. Around 1.5 million people were reached on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter in April. "With the cross-media and geographically broad-based campaign, we were able to optimally address the large catchment area and the many stakeholders of the BEA," says Nora Müller.

The success of the campaign is also reflected in ticket sales: At the halfway point, Bernexpo Groupe expects BEA 2022 to equal the number of visitors from 2019.

Responsible at Bernexpo Groupe: Adrian Affolter (Exhibition Manager BEA). Responsible agency: Republica.

For the current Red Bull campaign, Openframe has expanded the display format "Welcome Ad", which already exists in the Swiss advertising market, with a full video variant. The format is intended to meet the growing demands for more expressive options from agencies and advertisers, as the agency writes in a statement. There is an increased demand for video formats that can be embedded in common formats.

The high full-video resolution, exclusivity in the broadcast of the advertising medium, and the possibility of playing out the campaign on all devices are important components. In addition, the large-format ad performs above average with high viewability and good click rates.

"It's great to see that customers continue to be interested in creating new advertising formats and trying out new things together with the agencies. The Welcome Ad, with the video feature, once again shows the evolution in digital advertising," said a delighted Oliver Anderegg, CEO of Openframe. "Seeing that a new advertising format works shows us that we are on the right track."

The new format was at Doodle placed.

Implementation: Jonathan Zuercher (Advertising Manager, Red Bull); Simone Buff (Digital Director, PHD); Luca Maier (Head of Sales TXMA / Doodle, Goldbach); Oliver Anderegg (Owner Openframe).