Earlier, the broadcaster CNBC had reported that the 45-year-old wanted to retire from the top management of the company. As a result, the Twitter share started US trading with a plus of a good ten percent.

Dorsey has been at the helm of Twitter since 2015. He is considered the inventor of the short message service: Dorsey sent the very first tweet in 2006. He led the company in its early days from May 2007 to October 2008, after which he founded the Square payment service and stepped down from Twitter. Since returning to the Twitter helm, he has run both companies simultaneously - a double burden that raised concerns among some investors. Dorsey had to agree to business targets to appease them.

Out of the red

Under his leadership, Twitter has largely managed to get out of the red for many years - even though a settlement payment following an investor lawsuit recently resulted in a high loss again. At the same time, Twitter's business model, which allows advertisers to pay to place tweets in users' timelines, does not come close to Facebook's ad revenues.

During the 2020 U.S. election campaign and the pandemic, Twitter under Dorsey took a tough stance against misinformation about vaccines and Donald Trump's claims that victory in the White House race was stolen from him through fraud. Dorsey was attacked by Republicans over this in hearings in the US Congress. (SDA)

"This first pan-European newsroom will enable journalists to report together on EU affairs and promote a spirit of cooperation at home," said Thierry Breton, the EU Internal Market Commissioner responsible, at the European News Media Forum in Brussels on Monday. "We believe that with this new step we will strengthen the European information space and increase citizens' access to quality information."

Vice-President Vera Jourova, who is responsible for strengthening press freedom and media pluralism, said: "I am firmly convinced that media are stronger through cross-border cooperation."

As an example, she cited the research into the "Pandora Papers" on money hidden by politicians and celebrities in tax havens. "I also believe that such networks and solidarity make it more difficult for states to interfere," added Jourova.

Multilingual website

According to the Commission, the funding will be used to finance further training courses in the newsroom and a new multilingual website with selected texts from the news agencies on EU topics. The project is being coordinated by the German press agency DPA.

The French AFP, the Italian ANSA, the Belgian Belga, the Austrian APA and the Spanish agencies EFE and Europa Press are also involved. The Swiss news agency Keystone-SDA is also involved in this project. Agencies such as the Albanian ATA and the Serbian Tanjug are also involved.

Launch from mid-2022

The Chairman of the dpa Management Board, Peter Kropsch, said: "When 16 news agencies from 15 countries, each with their own national perspective on Europe, use a joint newsroom in Brussels, everyone benefits from the diversity of perspectives. Thanks to this networking, journalistic quality increases."

There would also be training, events and, above all, the infrastructure of the European Newsroom (ENR) with technology and news feeds. "With the ENR concept, it is particularly important to us that all partners are committed to free, independent journalism," said Kropsch.

Implementation of the project will begin in January. The newsroom will then go live towards the middle of next year. (SDA)

Debbie Zedi was most recently Head of Marketing and Communications at the Museum of Design Zurich. Prior to that, she worked as Head of Marketing at the Zurich University of the Arts ZHdK and as Creative Director at Rufener Events, among other positions. She continued her education while working and holds a Master's degree in Business Communications.

Barbara Mutzbauer moves from MCH Global, where she was Head of Design & Scenography. Previously, she was Design Director at Schmidhuber and Creative Director at Bellprat Partner. She is also a juror at the Design Preis Schweiz, a lecturer at the ZHdK and the Technische Hochschule Rosenheim, and wrote her doctoral thesis on "The Function of Blur - Atmospheric Communication in the World Exhibition" (Kovač Verlag).

"Debbie and Barbara have many years of experience and we are pleased to further strengthen the branding and scenography service areas with them," said Roger Stämpfli, executive creative director at Aroma.

The Lower Engadine has long been committed to sustainability and is at the forefront with the climate protection initiative "Cause We Care", innovative construction projects and energy from renewable sources. But more climate protection is always possible, the people of Lower Engadine said to themselves, and founded the "Klimatruppa Engadin": committed citizens who increase the well-being of their guests even more by personally compensating for their vacations.

How does that work? If a guest visits the sauna at Bogn Engiadina, the Famos family turns down the heating. If the cable cars are running, Ruedi Haller and his friends only ride their bikes - even in winter. And if a guest takes a hot shower in the hotel, Cla Mosca takes a cold shower in his apartment.

The "Klimatruppa Engadin" consists of a group of locals who volunteer and want to do something very concrete. With a good dose of tongue in cheek, they draw attention to the fact that climate protection and hospitality are close to their hearts.

Vacations compensated by the "Klimatruppa Engadin" can be booked now and until January 23, 2022 - and the associated communication is in use on various digital channels.

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Responsible at Graubünden Ferien: Marc Held (Product and Experience Marketing). Responsible at Engadin Scuol Zernez: Martina Hollenstein (Director); Claudio Daguati (Head of Marketing and Events); Marcus Esser (Head of Sales & IT); Dominik Täuber (Head of Web & Social Media). Responsible at Wirz: Matthias Fürst, Florian Siegrist, Adrian Busse, Nicola Peter, Lia Bellini, Alain Eicher (creation); Adrian Huwyler, Björn Bippus-Brender, Anina Eugster (XLAB); Fabian Nold, Janna Löhr (consulting); Marleen Diener (strategy); Cosima Lang (storyline); Erasmo Palomba, Nadja Kilchhofer (agency producing); Thomas Peller, Oliver Fäs, Sherif Ademi (media realization). MAMA Pictures GmbH (Film Production: Marco Frei (Director). Romain Mader (photographer); Brauereisound (sound recording).

Newly interpreted Christmas songs, absurd commercials or a potluck service. The first episode of the new video podcast format was released on Sunday. Three more episodes are to follow during the Advent weekends. The "Pottcast" was developed by Maybaum Film and the Fuchsbau agency, with the concept merely providing guidelines for the protagonists. Each episode was created spontaneously, practically without editing, and gave Knackeboul and Luuk the greatest possible freedom in implementing the content.

"As a video podcast addict, I've been following the trend from the US for years," says Flavio Alraun, communications consultant at Maybaum Film. "In Switzerland, we are still at the very beginning with video podcasts. It's great that we were able to get two absolute professionals on board with our first format."

However, not only video podcasts are produced in the new studio. With productions for the Nuklearforum, Coop Rechtsschutz and the Aargauer Kantonalbank, the production company has already been able to realize various other studio productions.

The studio was also joined by the inauguration of the expanded production department. Six editing suites, a color grading suite, a sound studio and the studio control room were put into operation in the new space. Head of Production Nikolas Reigel, Motion Designer Noëmi Krüsi, Editor Tadzio Cavegn and Content Creator Benjamin Katulu strengthen the production team.

"Videos are becoming more ephemeral. However, video content strategies need to be planned and designed for the longer term and in a sustainable way," explains Michel Frutig, co-owner and creative director at Maybaum Film. "By expanding our capacity, we are responding to the need for simpler, more regular content."

Growth progresses

Maybaum Film continues to pursue its growth strategy with the expansion. Below the existing offices, in the basement, the creative center of the production was created from an inconspicuous basement area in two months of conversion time. The open space was divided into common rooms, individual workstations, equipment storage and film studio.

Around 200,000 Swiss francs were invested in the expansion and the extended IT infrastructure. "Our goal is to achieve a larger throughput while maintaining the same high quality. We are therefore not only investing in hardware and infrastructure, but will also further strengthen the team. The 21-member team will continue to grow from 2022," says co-owner and producer Laurent Ulrich. The company is evolving from a production company to a video content provider, CEO Michel Alraun adds. "But we haven't found a better name for it yet. In order to offer customers holistic solutions, from strategy and production to the playout and evaluation of videos, we have to continue to develop. That's why we're investing in young talent, technology and the Baden site," Alraun concludes.

For the Tages-Anzeiger the result is a triumph of reason. After the first ballot on the Covid law on June 13, this is the second time that it has been proven that "the opponents of the measures, who have been trying so loudly and demonstrating in recent months, are clearly in the minority. They have an obligation to accept and support the clear statement of the sovereign. The clear "yes" is also a mandate to the Federal Council and Parliament to press ahead with scientifically based pandemic defense.

The Federal Council should keep a closer eye on the majority in future decisions and act more decisively, said the View. The people rewarded Switzerland's corona strategy with a clear yes. The pragmatic Swiss corona policy is clearly supported by the citizens.

Swiss Radio and Television (SRF) shares the same opinion. Within only half a year, the electorate has now twice supported the Federal Council's pandemic policy. However, the big test for the Federal Council is yet to come.

Balancing act

For the Confederation the Federal Council is still walking a tightrope after winning the vote. The exploding number of cases and the new virus variant would quickly make new restrictions necessary. However, respect for the liberal culture will have a restraining effect on the imposition of overly radical measures.

According to Watson the die is cast, there is no longer any reason to be considerate of the unsolidaristic minority of the unvaccinated in the fight against the pandemic. Among other things, the news portal calls for rapid mandatory vaccinations for the professions where they are legally possible and a 2G regulation for access to public transport and all non-essential places, services and crowds.

The Weekly newspaper WOZ wants a return to science-based policy. In addition, gratuities should be reintroduced so that the development of the pandemic can be tracked. A vaccination and booster campaign worthy of the name is also needed, as well as clear communication instead of despondent maneuvering.

Certificate as a curse and a blessing

According to the Bernese Newspaper the clear "yes" vote benefits everyone. The Covid law, which was approved by the people, facilitates the fight against the disease. But staggering on as in recent months is not an option. For this newspaper, the certificate allows a certain normality. Showing it again and again is a nuisance, unreasonable in the long term, but it is a suitable instrument for creating a bit of normality.

The same horn is sounded by the Lucerne NewspaperThe Covid certificate is unattractive in a free society, and as soon as it is no longer necessary, it must be abolished. But it is better than shutting down entire sectors of the economy.

Hateful tone as an indictment of democracy

The unflattering tone of the voting campaign is denounced by several commentators. For example the Basel Newspaper. For her, the referendum campaign was an indictment of direct democracy in the country. It was conducted in a spiteful tone. If decency falls by the wayside among parts of the loud minority, politics is doubly challenged. They must lead the country out of the crisis in a scientifically sound manner and set an example.

For a more constructive debate pleads the Bz Basel. The SVP, the party with the most voters in the country, also has a responsibility here. The Federal Council's strategy relies heavily on individual responsibility - the electorate, cantons and parliament help shape it, but also set limits. This negotiation democracy is exhausting. But the course has paid off so far and is supported by an "astonishingly large, albeit silent, majority.

For the New Zurich Newspaper the skeptics of the measures also have a duty to show that they really do not want a split, because a clear majority is behind the Corona policy. (SDA)

Colette Stamm has been working as Key Account Manager for the Swiss news agency since 2019. As Head of Sales, she will now be responsible for the entire Sales division, including assignments. Previously, she worked in Crossmedia Sales at Admeira, where she ensured the sale of 360-degree solutions including interface functions with the editorial teams of Ringier and Ringier Axel Springer Switzerland.

Stamm's professional career in the media industry began at 20 minutes as communications project manager and then took her into marketing at AZ Medien TV. Colette Stamm has a degree in communications management and has completed various further training courses in the field of media and communications.

"Being able to represent the news agency's high-quality content on the market with an experienced team motivates me every day - even in stormy times. I'm ready for the challenges that await me," says Colette Stamm, looking forward to her new role.

Kupper leaves after more than 20 years

After 21 years at Keystone-SDA, Rainer Kupper is stepping down at his own request. He wants to move his center of life to South Africa in order to realize one or the other project in Rainbow Land. "If I got the chance to work at a news agency again as a young person, I would grab it immediately - simply a great job with an unbelievable number of opportunities," says Kupper.

 

As of September 30, 2021, APGISGA took over WWP Plakatwerbung AG and the associated brand "SwissPlakat" with its 650 poster panels completely. In the course of this, around 150 panels will be managed by APG|SGA as of January 1, 2021, and marketed with immediate effect, the company writes in a statement. From January 1, 2022, around 500 panels will be integrated into the existing inventory of the renamed Swissplakat AG, which will thus now offer a poster portfolio throughout German-speaking Switzerland.

To underscore this new, supraregional focus with a range of over 1,170 poster panels, Alpenplakat has been renamed Swissplakat and markets its offerings under the "SwissPlakat" brand.

Hardly a stone was left unturned at Stadelhoferstrasse 25 last year: At the end of 2020, Alexander Haldemann took over the CEO position of Publicis Groupe in Switzerland. The Publicis Groupe in Zurich includes the agencies Publicis Zurich, Saatchi and Saatchi, Leo Burnett, Notch, Meta Design, Publicis Media, Publicis Sapient, and the production house Prodigious. The Publicis Groupe in Switzerland is completed by the agencies Publicis Lausanne and the event agency Publicis Live from Geneva.

Now the next act took place: the reorganization of Publicis Zurich. The management of Publicis Zurich was completed, and the agency was also able to hire numerous new employees.

New CEO...

As of November 1, 2021, Matthias Koller, previously Managing Director of Publicis Zurich, has taken over as CEO of the agency. The 42-year-old looks back on a long career at Publicis. Koller joined the company back in 2010 and has played a major role in shaping the agency over the past eleven years.

Koller will complete his EMBA in Digital Transformation at the University of Applied Sciences Graubünden in January 2022. His biggest challenge, then, will be to drive forward this transformation that has already begun. "Of course, there are still ways in which we can become better, faster and more flexible. How we can work even closer and more agile with our customers," Koller said. "Collaborative creation of creative experiences along the entire user journey will therefore be a focus of our agency in the coming years. From content creation to information and data processing to automated delivery, but of course still for big ideas for big brands, we want to be the first port of call."

Peter van der Touw, Member of the Group Executive Board, is convinced that Koller will continue to drive the agency's transformation as CEO: "Matthias has built a track record that is impressive in his many years at Publicis Zurich. Accordingly, we are convinced that with him as the agency's new CEO, we will be able to master the coming changes and challenges. On his promotion, we wish him and his team all the best and much success on their further journey under the Publicis flag and offer our sincere congratulations."

... new positioning ...

At the same time as the new CEO position was filled, the agency was also repositioned. "For a long time, Publicis Zurich was primarily one thing to the outside world: the largest advertising agency in Switzerland. What we stand for and what our vision is, on the other hand, was barely perceptible," Koller continues. "With the repositioning, we are now fundamentally changing that." From now on, he says, Publicis should stand above all for creativity that lends a hand. "For creativity that actively tackles the challenges of our customers and helps to generate growth. And, of course, for a concentrated load of expertise." Thanks to the global initiative "The Power of One," the network and the many specialists within the agency, among other things, the agency is ideally equipped. "That's exactly what our customers demand from us today," Koller says. "Diverse and specialized expertise that is seamlessly interlinked to create the greatest possible efficiency. Smoothly and, in the best case, without the client noticing that they are working with more than one agency."

The repositioning of the agency is based on concrete insights gained in interviews with CMOs and marketing managers of Swiss and international companies.

... and new also with Victorinox in the portfolio

The consistent focus on seamlessly bringing together a wide range of specialists is already manifesting itself in the acquisition of a new client. After an intensive agency evaluation, Publicis was able to secure the contract for the strategic further development of the coveted Swiss brand Victorinox.

Already during the evaluation, the collaboration between Publicis Zurich and Victorinox had been close and collaborative and had run smoothly. The next step will be to further sharpen the strategic foundation for the upcoming campaigns, and the first work will be seen in the middle of next year.

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INTERVIEW

"First and foremost, you have to be aware of your own strengths and weaknesses"

Matthias Koller, the new CEO of Publicis Zurich, talks to Johannes Hapig of m&k Werbewoche.ch about what was originally "Switzerland's largest advertising agency," but which has now embarked on the path of transformation.

 

Johannes Hapig: Matthias Koller, Publicis Zurich is undergoing a major transformation. What are the biggest challenges in the process? 

Matthias Koller: In order to transform oneself, one must first of all be aware of one's own strengths and weaknesses. Of course, you can assess what you're good at and what you're not so good at. But we advertisers in particular are pretty good at convincing ourselves that we do something really great. A sound analysis and, above all, feedback from existing and potential customers and partners are therefore essential. Even if it's not always easy to accept it.

 

What follows after that?

The task then is to find a consensus on the new positioning within the management body. And because there is probably never one hundred percent consensus, the search is on for an alignment that can command a majority. Only when everything has been neatly defined on paper, every word is right and you think, "Wow, that's pretty cool," does the most important part come, namely defining concrete measures that bring this alignment to life. The involvement of the employees is a decisive factor here. It takes people who believe in it and want to change something. Fortunately, there are more than a few of them at Publicis Zurich.

 

How have you personally experienced these "times of change" so far? 

Very intense. And also incredibly collaborative and motivating. I have a lot of pleasure with the committed and excellently coordinated management team that we have put together. Especially because some of the members only joined this year. Even more important for me, however, was that the employees at all levels showed such great commitment and a great deal of understanding when we had to put things off, for example when something could not yet be clearly defined. But it was worth it - and I sense a positive spirit of optimism in the agency.

 

Publicis Zurich should no longer be perceived merely as "the country's largest advertising agency," but should stand for "creativity that lends a hand. What does that mean in day-to-day customer contact? 

We want to work even more KPI-based, understand the concrete goals and business challenges of our customers and help solve them. Creativity is not an end in itself, but should be used to solve real problems. And it should do one thing above all: generate growth.

 

What changes have you initiated as the new CEO?

You put it exactly right. I initiated these topics, but I was able to implement them together with a great team. The first thing I wanted to do was define common values in the agency and improve the corporate culture. To do this, I conducted an anonymous employee survey and cultural analysis, defined values with an interdisciplinary team across all hierarchical levels and developed concrete measures, some of which have already been implemented and are being put into practice today.

 

The inclusion of all employees is therefore a weighty issue.

It is very important to me that we place great emphasis on teamwork, both internally and with our customers. No matter how agile and to what degree of co-working. Another major point was, of course, the new value proposition and orientation I mentioned earlier, which requires us to invest in certain areas and adapt our service offering.

 

You have grown together spatially with the MetaDesign agency, which has moved from Seefeld to the city center. And your workspaces are changing in other ways, too. What significance does agency space still have for creative work today? 

An important one. It is essential that every employee and every agency has a home port. The different agencies not only have different clients and different core competencies, but also different cultures, rituals and quirks. These are central to the feeling of togetherness, collegial exchange and motivation within each agency. But it is equally important that all Publicis Zurich employees feel part of a larger team.

 

When will the new co-working spaces come into play?

When we work together on projects and clients with sister agencies such as Publicis Media or Meta Design. We want to further promote and expand this type of collaboration: We don't want our clients to even notice that they are working with different agencies, but rather to receive the best expertise at the right moment for their needs without friction. For cross-agency cooperation and collaboration, the co-working spaces will be worth their weight in gold, and we are very much looking forward to the moment when they can finally take off at full speed.

 

What is the next step?

First we'll get the end-of-year run over with and then we'll celebrate Christmas. In the new year, we will focus primarily on implementing the changes with clarity and consistency. Because even the very big changes are no more than a collection of very many small ones.

Swisscom is a company that everyone knows. But the huge corporate tanker also has a speedboat on board. In 2011, the "Event & Media Solutions" unit was launched. Anna Kohler, Editor-in-Chief m&k advertisingweek.ch and Publishing Director, wanted to know more and invited the unit's CEO Sven Bethke to the "Off The Record" podcast. The result was an exciting conversation about much more than just business.

Spotify

Apple Podcasts

Podpage

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The podcast of Werbewoche and m&k with Anna Kohler is produced by Tablecast / Christoph Soltmannowski.

In his talks, the media pioneer meets prominent guests from the fields of society, culture, sports and business. The 30-minute talk format is shown every Sunday on the following Swisscom Blue platforms: as a stream on Blue News, from 6 p.m. on the free-to-air TV channel Blue Zoom (with the repeat at 10 p.m.) and as a podcast on all common platforms. Subsequently, "Schawinski" is also available in replay.

"Roger is an original the likes of which we rarely see in Switzerland," says Claudia Lässer, Chief Product Officer Blue Sport & News. "He is the most renowned Swiss talk show host and a profound journalist who convinces with a lot of personality and still has a great charisma. I am delighted that we were able to win him over for Blue."

For Roger Schawinski, it's the right time to return to television: "Blue offers me an ideal platform for my weekly talk. I'm looking forward to the new challenge and to being able to welcome Switzerland's most exciting minds." After being a guest of Claudia Lässer on the Blue talk show "Lässer" in the spring, he was surprised by the response his appearance received: "I was thrilled by how highly professional and yet personal the operation is in the studios in Volketswil." "Schawinski" will launch with a first season starting January 30, 2022. More information about the show and the first guests will follow.

The change in the public service in the context of digitalization is central, it said in a statement on Saturday. The manifesto focuses on the digital public service. On the one hand, this is to be understood as the digitalization of supply, but also as new goods and services for the society of the future. Among other things, the manifesto addresses issues of data protection and the threat of a digital divide.

According to Syndicom, the logistics, ICT and media sectors are facing major challenges. A solidarity-based future with fair working conditions and more to live for is therefore only possible with an expansion and transformation of the public service.

On the basis of several resolutions, the 200 or so delegates adopted key demands for a future based on solidarity, it was added. Among other things, they spoke out against the privatization of Postfinance. In addition, they want to support the efforts for a generally binding collective labor agreement (CLA) for delivery with fair wages.

The Congress is the highest body of the union. As a rule, it takes place every four years. In Langenthal, the presidium and the new executive board of Syndicom were also elected.

The Syndicom trade union has over 30,000 members. It represents employees from 13 sectors of the media and communications professions. (SDA)