Rob Nicolas now supports Siemens Switzerland as a social media content agency. "Siemens has been at home in Switzerland for over 120 years. We are particularly pleased to be active on social media for this traditional company," Robin Mark, owner of Rob Nicolas, said in a statement.

With the Audi FIS Ski World Cup Lenzerheide, the agency also gains a client from the sports and event sector. Rob Nicolas managed the online campaign for last weekend's event.

Another collaboration is launched with the railroad catering company Panoramic Gourmet, which provides the culinary railroad experiences on the Glacier Express. Panoramic Gourmet is looking for numerous new employees for the summer season and is launching the corresponding HR campaign with Rob Nicolas.

The cooperation with the Graubündner Kantonalbank GKB celebrates a comeback. Having implemented selective projects in the past, Rob Nicolas is now working as a digital marketing agency for GKB.

According to the announcement, the agency has also already won other mandates. "We are particularly looking forward to one well-known client of these," Robin Mark is quoted as saying.

Five heads strengthen the team

In the meantime, Rob Nicolas' team has grown to 20 employees. "We were able to further expand both locations in Chur and Zurich and are pleased that our team gains even more experience and know-how with the new additions. And this in all our competences" says Rahel Egli, member of the management at Rob Nicolas.

Anika Bundi joins the team as Social Media & Community Manager. She previously worked at LikeMag and most recently at Who is Nik, where she managed the social media presence of #MoveTheDate. Graphics and UI specialist Nayara Pally joins Rob Nicolas as content creator from Sergeant. Performance marketing specialist Robin Gassner joins the Paid Team as Campaign Manager. He previously worked at agencies Digicube and Swiss Online Publishing. Author and rapper Gian-Marco Schmid, aka Gimma, also joins the team as a concept and copywriter. The latest addition to Rob Nicolas is Giancarlo Derungs as Senior Consultant. The communications consultant previously worked for various agencies in Zurich and Chur as well as in the social media team of the Rhaetian Railway.

The company, which is primarily known for its media brands such as Tages-Anzeiger or 20 minutes known TX Group reports a profit of CHF 832.7 million for 2021. In addition to the operational recovery, a book profit of CHF 778.5 million in connection with the contribution of the online platforms Ricardo, Tutti.ch, Homegate and Car For You to the newly formed joint venture SMG contributed significantly to this. By way of comparison, TX Group had posted an annual loss of CHF 94.6 million in 2020. In addition to the weak economy, the result at that time was also burdened by a large goodwill impairment at Paid Media.

High dividend

Shareholders can also be pleased about the good result. Following the waiver in the previous year, they will again receive a regular dividend of 3.20 Swiss francs. In addition, as previously announced, there will be a special distribution of 4.20 Swiss francs. With this, the owners of the Group will benefit from the SMG transaction, which brought the TX Group total sales proceeds of 270 million francs. This special dividend is also to flow in the same amount in the next two years.

But it was not only special effects that drove up profits. The operating business also performed significantly better again in 2021. Operating profit before effects of business combinations, which is the focus of TX management, improved by 53.5 percent to 127.9 million Swiss francs. The margin reached 13.4 percent compared to 8.9 percent in the previous year.

Unlike in 2020, the Group also grew again. Reported sales rose by 2.3 percent to 957.4 million Swiss francs. Organically, i.e. excluding the units divested in the course of 2021, the increase was as much as 6 percent.

"With organic sales growth of 6 percent, we can look back on the 2021 financial year with satisfaction," publisher and Chairman of the Board of Directors Pietro Supino is quoted as saying.

20 Minuten with strongest sales growth

The strongest revenue growth was recorded by the advertising marketer Goldbach (operating income +13.3%) and the 20 Minuten unit with its commuter media. Here, after the marked decline in the previous year, 2021 again resulted in an increase in revenue of 12.7 percent. However, the marketplaces and platforms combined in the TX Markets business unit also increased (+2.3%).

The situation was different at Tamedia, where revenues were down 2.4 percent. The pay media continue to struggle with the structural change in the media industry. However, the decline in sales was more than compensated for by cost savings, which led to an increase in the operating result. Thanks to the recovery of the operating business, Tamedia will repay the "Corona emergency aid" drawn in 2021 to the federal government, the Group continues to write. This will burden the 2022 financial year with 3.1 million.

Looking ahead, management is, as usual, not very specific and does not provide an outlook. The Group also announced that it will publish a sustainability report from fiscal 2022. (SDA)

Werbewoche.ch: Reto Osterwalder, why is broadcasting becoming more important in live entertainment?

Reto Osterwalder: In recent years, the major broadcasters have recognized that festivals are a good platform for their marketing activities as well. One example of this is the Blue channel, which is entering the festival broadcasting business with Swisscom. Sunrise UPC is also heavily involved in festivals. A good example of how to use the whole keyboard of marketing and social media is the Energy Star Night. Backstage, an entire editorial team is working to ensure that all videos are edited live and published immediately. That's where our service as a broadcaster comes into its own. We work à la minute. You've set a benchmark for how you can exploit an event in multimedia.

We are experiencing a change in viewing habits. How hard is it to keep up with this?

An incredible amount has changed here. The videos have become much shorter, are narrated faster and edited shorter. Today, portrait format is the order of the day. For us as broadcasters, this means that we have to make the images available live to the editorial teams for editing. And we can do that: While the event is being recorded, editors access the content live and edit it. Videos in portrait format for TikTok or Reels are automatically let out.

The pandemic was a fire accelerator for streaming & co. How do you think consumer behavior will change for live events?

The live experience is still unique. But people are now used to the fact that you no longer have to be there in person to experience something. It's becoming more and more important to be able to consume the experience again. In other words, that you can benefit from it even more sustainably.

Are there differences here between sports and entertainment?

Compared to a sporting event, entertainment does not have to be consumed live. In sports, when the result is decided, it's over. A concert can be watched for a long time afterwards. That's the big advantage of entertainment - it can be consumed virtually timelessly. The reuse of the recordings is the greater added value than the live broadcast. You get much closer to the artists with the recordings.

One big topic is sustainability. What approaches are you taking in this regard?

Our concept is centralized remote production. We no longer drive large semitrailers on site, but send the images directly to the headquarters in Volketswil. We then edit there. The creatives or directors naturally want to be on location - they operate the panel. But all the technology is with us remotely in Volketswil. It also allows us to save costs.

What is the order situation for entertainment productions in the summer of 2022?

The glass is half full and I'm positive about the future. I just hope that the entertainment industry doesn't make the mistake of having to catch up on everything that's been missed. A healthy middle ground is desirable so that customers are also adequately picked up.

The Video Production Service NEP based in Volketswil, realizes around 1,000 productions a year in the fields of "entertainment", "sports" and "corporate events".

360° Entertainment takes place for the sixth time and is organized by Ticketcorner and ESB Marketing Netzwerk as a two-day congress on March 29 and 30 at the Radisson Blu Hotel Reussen in Andermatt.

With the project "City of the future - what we live on", the city of Zurich wants to shed light on topics that are important for the economic development of the city. Zurich is a business location that is always changing. A place of encounters, a place of innovations. But can it be ensured that the economy will continue to positively shape the city's development in the future? And what does it contribute to sustainable urban development?

The project "City of the future - what we live on" deals with such questions. On the website Cityofthefuture.ch interested parties can learn more about the development of the city. The website can be explored with interactive elements and includes a map with timeline, statistics and company portraits. The content is brought to life with films, infographics and texts and focuses on "economic sustainability".

In a first step, ten Zurich companies were portrayed, and six statistics illustrate the business location from different perspectives. In addition, events around the focal points of business and sustainability are published on the website.

Responsible for City of Zurich, Urban Development: Anna Schindler, Yves Bisang (overall responsibility), Sara Matter, Antoine Schnegg, Margot Gagliani, Virginia Suter Reich, Ariane Früh, Alex Martinovits (project management). Responsible at Friendly regards: Samuel Textor, Pascal Deville (overall responsibility), Jonas Hermann (art direction digital, design) Mara Schwegler (art direction film), Morris Lötscher, David Elmiger (concept/text/content), Eva Brun, Käthy Känzig (consulting). Matto Grosso (film production), Benjamin Weiss, Annika Fausch (direction, editing), Diluno, Samuel Alder (web development).

The Hotelplan, Migros Ferien and German Vtours brands will come under the umbrella of the new Volume Tour Operating business unit, the Migros travel subsidiary announced in a communiqué on Wednesday. Also part of the new unit is the existing flight broker business in Switzerland and Germany. As a result, the former Hotelplan Suisse business unit will be split up and the Vtours business unit will be absorbed into the new division.

Hotelplan Suisse will retain the two specialist brands Travelhouse and Tourisme Pour Tous, marketing in Switzerland, distribution and the 88 travel agencies, as group spokeswoman Bianca Gähweiler said on request.

No job cuts

By combining the classic beach holiday business, it will be possible to bundle purchasing in Switzerland and Germany. The larger volume will result in lower prices in some cases, Gähweiler said. Otherwise, nothing will change for customers.

Employees would also keep their jobs. "The adjustment of the organizational structure will not result in any job cuts in Switzerland or Germany," the Hotelplan Group wrote.

Bachmann new head of the division

Head of the new Volume Tour Operating division will be the current Head of Hotelplan Suisse, Tim Bachmann (pictured), who will remain on the Executive Board. The new head of Hotelplan Suisse will be Nicole Pfammatter, previously Director Distribution & Marketing Hotelplan Suisse, while she retains responsibility for Distribution. Pfammatter thus moves into the Group Executive Board.

Vtours CEO and co-founder Achim Schneider will leave the company at the end of October 2022, it said: "He already made the decision not to renew his contract in the summer of 2021 and it is not related to the new organizational structure."

As part of the structural adjustment, the Executive Board of the Hotelplan Group will also be expanded. New appointments to the Executive Board are Walter Jung, previously HR Director Hotelplan Group, and Adrian Arnold, previously Director Group Strategy & Projects. As Chief People Officer, Walter Jung will increasingly focus on strategic HR issues for the entire Group. Adrian Arnold, as Chief Digital & Strategy Officer, will be responsible for the digitalization of customer interfaces and sustainability. (SDA)

With articles from Rewind, the 38th Trophy is all about the outdoors. From a hiking backpack with many functions to a practical hammock and an inflatable boat, 15 products are included this time.

Valencia created a comprehensive communication package including visuals: from moving images for digital use to print advertising media and various POS materials such as displays or 3D plates, the entire range of cross-channel communication is offered. The Boost Group from Steinhausen ZG is responsible for the concept development and product implementation of the Rewind Trophy.

The Outdoor Trophy is also supported by brand ambassador Evelyne Binsack. The Swiss extreme mountaineer, speaker and bestselling author is the first Swiss woman to conquer Mount Everest solo and to reach the North and South Poles from home with her own muscle power.

The Outdoor Trophy has been running since Tuesday and will continue until August 7, 2022 in Coop supermarkets, Coop Bau+Hobby and Coop City, as well as at Coop.ch. Collection stamps are also available in Coop restaurants.

Responsible at Coop: Thomas Schwetje (Head of Marketing/Digital Services), Sacha Zuberbühler (Head of Marketing Communications), Vanessa Finzer (Head of Advertising), Kathrin Wullschleger (Project Manager Advertising/POS), Raquel Garcia (Project Manager Advertising), Sandro Graber (Marketing Production/Purchasing Project Manager), Florian Lanovic (Social Media/Campaigning Manager), Anja Nowak (Social Media/Campaigning Project Manager), Annika Meier (Social Media/Campaigning Project Manager), Lucas Bieler (Social Media/Campaigning Project Manager), Oliver Pursell (Social Media Manager), Damla Polat (Social Media and Content Producer), Simon Grieder (Head of CM/Procurement Beverages/Specialty Stores), Daniel Vonach (Category Manager), Stefan Berberig (Purchasing Product Manager), Jacqueline Mega (Marketing Assistant), Pascal Gerhard (Project Coordinator), Carmen Mattich (Marketing Controller/Planner and Brand Manager Wine), Simon Flatt (Head of Media), Karin Rieth (Head of Media Classic), Lukas Schmid (Senior Project Manager Digital Media). Responsible at Valencia Communication: Tommy Schilling (Creative Director), Janine Kuhn (Consultant), Lea Bantlin (Trainee Consultant), Nadine Gschwend (Art Director), Daniel Nussbaumer (Art Director), Sebastian Refardt (Senior Copywriter), Marco Fritz (Polygraf), Niklas Dunke (Polygraf)

The newly developed claim "Staging Brands" puts the product in the spotlight, while expressive key visuals highlight the synergy between product and display and put the different areas of the company in the center. The animated CGI visuals are intended to convey the value of the brands and the implementations.

"The new appearance is an interplay of form, animation and type, which flow together to form a distinctive, meaningful and contemporary overall image. The customer experience is always in the foreground," explains Emanuel Brunner, Creative Director of Displaysolutions.

In addition to the visuals, it was equally important to communicate the company and industry trends to the outside world. The Website was given a new magazine section for this reason, which is intended to serve as a source of inspiration and information. POS trends, interviews and other news from the industry will find their new home here, which are also networked with LinkedIn and thus serve as multipliers.

"Materiality and the future were central themes throughout the entire process. The result is a new world that makes tangible on the outside what is already being lived on the inside. A communication platform still rarely seen in display production, which not only sells a service, but can offer real added value, for the company and its customers," explains Andrea Zanzerl, Brand & Design Strategist at Die Werbekanzlei.

Responsible at Displaysolutions: Django Rubinick, Emanuel Brunner, Adrian Binkert. Responsible for The Advertising Firm: Andrea Zanzerl, Patrick Varga, Turan Oeznalci, Ladina Baumgartner.

While Avec Now in Zurich delivers from the Avec store on Hardplatz, Valora in Basel is testing its own warehouse facilities as a starting point for orders. The company expects this to result in greater efficiency in terms of warehouse logistics. It will also allow staff to concentrate fully on processing orders.

With Avec Now, households and offices in the city of Basel and municipality of Binnigen are to receive e-bikes in basically just 15 minutes. There is no minimum order quantity, and delivery costs amount to just under three francs per purchase. At the start, the first 200 orders will be rewarded with a mystery bag.

For orders in Zurich and Basel, it is now also possible to use the Avec Now app, which can be downloaded from the Apple App Store and Google Play.

The convenience range of Avec Now includes around 1,700 products and is designed for smaller purchases in between.

Since the beginning of March the value creators can be found on the second floor of the Startfeld in St.Gallen. Another location is in Burgdorf. All partners work as independent entrepreneurs who support SMEs in strategic and operational topics such as strategy, leadership, marketing or succession.

The value creators want to combine methodology with a high level of practical relevance and entrepreneurial experience. In this way, individual solutions are achieved for each company - with the involvement of decision-makers and employees.

As its name suggests, the company is committed to creating value. This is to be implemented through the exchange of knowledge and experience, SME consultations and events. The continued existence and further development of Switzerland as a workplace is a matter close to the company's heart, writes the partner network in a statement.

Partnership in the network

Seven of the nine partners had previously worked together at the Raiffeisen Entrepreneur Center RUZ. In the past, the team had already implemented around 900 projects together. This means that it is clear among the partners whose competencies lie where.

In addition, the company's strength lies in its network. Because nobody alone covers all the issues of SMEs, it continues. In addition, the value creators describe themselves as "fadegrade, not perfect or perfect, but authentic, genuine and individual. They are also certain that "the whole is more than the sum of its parts.

The strategy of Sanitas Troesch was developed in close cooperation between the management and the agency, writes Festland in a press release. The corporate purpose derived from the strategy, "We make it easy to feel completely at ease in the bathroom and kitchen", was implemented in an initial co-creation in the brand core and the claim "Bad. Kitchen. Life." condensed.

The collaboration between the client, agency and external specialists came to fruition again in the development of the campaign images. The key visuals were to bring the brand strategy to life and show life in the bathroom and kitchen in a special way. The imagery needed to stand out from the competition. "The appearance must be an eye-catcher on all channels - offline and online. Especially in the trade press, which is teeming with beautiful interior design images," says Marco Serratore, Head of Marketing & Communication at Sanitas Troesch. "And contain just the right amount of irritation that makes for good advertising."

The solution was photorealistic architectural renderings of kitchens and bathrooms, complemented by colorful drawings animated in digital media. The figures created by illustrator Arbnore Toska are intended to bring the life that takes place in these rooms into the picture in a surprising and humorous way. They tell stories taken from everyday life that are intended to be retold in the minds of the viewers. The illustrations were animated by Burki Scherer for use on digital channels.

On the one hand, the renderings by Raumgleiter had to accurately reflect the furnishings and materials of the various bathrooms and kitchens; on the other hand, the images had to provide sufficient scope for the illustrations. It was important to involve the illustrator, the mainland creatives, but in particular the respective kitchen and bathroom product managers, the technical experts from both areas and the marketing services, so that the images would make the expertise of Sanitas Troesch visible. "In the end, this interplay of internal and external perspectives made for a convincing result," says Marco Serratore "Together, we created a unique visual world that can be used in a variety of ways, surprises again and again in the long term and never gets boring."

The independent design language is another recognizable feature of the campaign imagery. The brand element derived from the logo shape with the slanted edge and rounded corner serves as a frame for the images and is used in an accentuated way, for example in print or on the front pages of brochures. The renderings and illustrations had to be composed in such a way that they could work in any format.

Responsible at Sanitas TroeschMarco Serratore (Head of Marketing & Communication). Responsible agencyMainland St.Gallen and Zurich. Illustrations: Arbnore Toska. RenderingsFrancine Rotzetter (Managing Partner, Raumgleiter). AnimationsBurki Scherer.

Goldbach Audience markets various digital platforms for video, display, native and smart TV ads. Now the advertising marketer is adding Zappn, another streaming service for Switzerland, to its video-on-demand portfolio.

Advertisers will benefit from the bundling of well-known stations. For example, channels such as ProSieben, Sat. 1 and Kabel Eins and their program formats can be accessed on a single advertising platform via a single booking. The Zappn app thus offers a brand-safe environment for display and video campaigns.

Andrea Haemmerli, Managing Director of Seven.One Entertainment Group Switzerland, sees many advantages in the service: "With Zappn, we're able to offer news in addition to a broad entertainment offering - regardless of the TV platform used and of live TV. We're thus creating a comprehensive multimedia offering for Switzerland that's very attractive not only for users, but also for advertisers."

Zappn was launched in September 2021 as a new streaming service from Seven.One Entertainment Group in Switzerland. The app offers a selection of Swiss and international TV channels including ProSieben, Sat. 1, Kabel Eins, Sixx, ProSieben Maxx, Sat.1 Gold, Kabel Eins Doku and Puls 8. 

A study by the University of Applied Sciences Western Switzerland Valais-Wallis shows the position of the booking platform. According to the study, almost 80 percent of hotels now use special software to market their empty rooms on the Internet. Before the outbreak of the Corona pandemic two years ago, the proportion was still 63 percent.

Booking platforms would also benefit from the general push in digitization in the wake of the pandemic, writes the SonntagsZeitung. In the meantime, Booking has a market share of almost 78 percent, which is detrimental to the hotels and the guests, say hoteliers to the SonntagsZeitung. On Tuesday, the National Council will discuss the issue of the dominance of booking and other platforms.