Summer has been a long time coming this year, and in the first half it has been one thing above all: wet. That would be just as much the wrong translation of the little word "juicy", which suddenly seems to be important as a predicate for various things in the industry, like "juicy" or "wet". Agreed, from a purely linguistic point of view this is correct. But in terms of content, the word has received its ascent into the jargon of agencies and marketing and communications departments for entirely different reasons.

The end of sexiness

In the nineties and noughties, when gender stars and LGBTIQ promises were still a long way off, everything had to be sexy. The sexiness of a campaign was more important than its impact. Numbers weren't that important back then. The main thing was that something was exciting, stimulating or sexy. Anyone who still remembers dialogs in the industry or rummages through the archives for old presentations will blush with shame.

Fortunately, shortly before the gender issue was hotly debated in this country, a new buzzword spilled across the Atlantic in the form of "juicy" and enriched the dried-up vocabulary of advertisers. From then on, people talked about juicy details, juicy headlines or juicy campaigns. The word now seems as invasive as neophytes, which, thanks to all the rain this summer, are spreading even more than usual and threatening to displace native plants. Some people ask themselves: Can't we in this industry just leave things alone for once? That would be enough.

* Benno Maggi is co-founder and CEO of Partner & Partner. He has been eavesdropping on the industry for over 30 years, discovering words and terms for us that can either be used for small talk, pomposity, excitement, playing Scrabble, or just because.

In agreement with the price supervisor, Swiss Post will increase the price of A Mail letters by 10 centimes as of January 2022, while B Mail letters will become 5 centimes more expensive, according to a statement made at Swiss Post's media conference on Thursday. For SMEs, on the other hand, there are advantages in parcel shipping, so up to five parcels a day will be picked up free of charge.

The negotiations with the price supervisor also concern other price adjustments, such as for P.O. boxes, redirections in the event of address changes and the international dispatch of letters and parcels. The moderate price increase for letters, which is roughly equivalent to the price of a cup of coffee per household per year, is intended to safeguard the basic service, said Roberto Cirillo, CEO of Swiss Post.

As the price supervisor writes in a statement, it was important to him that the conditions and service for domestic SMEs be significantly improved. In the event of any changes to the universal service mandate, he would review postal rates again. The Foundation for Consumer Protection, on the other hand, criticized the price increase in a press release. Instead of waving it through for letter post, the federal government would be better advised to forego the millions of euros in annual dividends paid out by Swiss Post.

Better result thanks to parcel flood

Thanks not least to online shopping, Swiss Post was able to increase operating income by 7.2 percent year-on-year to 3630 million francs in the first six months. The operating result (Ebit) was 249 million francs (up 188 million francs).

At first glance, these are good figures, said Cirillo. But 2020 was an exceptional year that left its mark. The Corona-related lockdown impacted the result in the first half of 2020, he said. This year, the half-year result is lower than in the years before the pandemic, he said. The better result was mainly due to the increase in parcel volumes.

Huge amounts of parcels delivered

The first experiences of the new "Post of tomorrow" strategy, which has been in place since January, show that Swiss Post has recovered financially, Cirillo said. As of January 1, competencies in letter and parcel logistics have been bundled. This structural change will affect 20,000 employees, but thanks to the efficiency measures, jobs will be secured in the long term.

It was only thanks to investments in logistics that the huge volume of parcels could be handled. "Today, there are around 900,000 parcels a day, and on peak days we crack the million mark, as we used to do in the run-up to Christmas," Cirillo said. Compared to 2020, he said, the number of parcels delivered rose by another 15.8 percent - from January to the end of June, Swiss Post delivered 105 million parcels, compared to around 90 million the previous year.

Logistics to be further expanded

Further investments would also be made in the logistics area in the future: By 2030, Swiss Post plans to invest another 1.2 billion francs or so in the additional expansion of its sorting and delivery infrastructure. The future logistics network is to consist of at least four sites for letter sorting and at least 15 sites for parcel sorting by 2030, which would be at least seven sites more than today. This is expected to create 1,500 additional jobs.

Another key role is played by investments in international goods logistics and links to international logistics networks, as cross-border goods traffic is gaining in importance. Swiss Post therefore acquired logistics companies in the first half of the year.

Slump in payment transactions

Postnetz, meanwhile, improved its operating result by 28 million francs in the first half of the year and posted an operating result of minus 41 million francs. The slump in payment transactions at the branches was minus 11.4 percent, and that at the counter minus 12 percent.

Mobility Services with Postbus, Publibike and Post Company Cars improved its operating result by 34 million francs to 9 million francs. Demand had continued to rise, even if Postbuses were not yet as busy as they were before the Corona crisis.

Postfinance was able to increase its operating result by 19 million to 79 million francs. However, interest income (minus 36 million francs) declined due to the negative interest rate environment.

The digital business Swiss Post Solutions generated an operating result of CHF 19 million. The fledgling Communication Services business generated an operating result of minus CHF 31 million in the first six months of 2021. (SDA)

Since April 2021, the spice paste has been live with a TikTok channel and has thus officially arrived in Gen-Z marketing. The aim is to explicitly inspire teenagers and young adults for Cenovis and thus win new customers of this target group. This was implemented by Xeit, which has accompanied Cenovis as lead agency since 2019.

Fun, entertainment and inspiration

Until a few years ago, Cenovis drew attention exclusively with billboard advertising. Online marketing has only been an issue since Xeit took the lead. The newly established TikTok site is intended to be fun and entertaining, and is also to be understood as an inspiration platform for young hobby cooks and food lovers.

The product "Cenovis" is to be presented in an entertaining way. The site features short recipe videos, fun challenges and recommendations from Swiss creators that encourage users to integrate the spice paste as a key ingredient in the kitchen or into their lives in a slightly different way. According to Xeit, the content is catching on: In the first five months, it has already generated over 1.6 million views and 200,000 likes.

Around the launch campaign, the influencer "Thispronto" also produces a Cenovis video. The 21-year-old managed to become the most successful Swiss TikTok creator with his cooking videos. His specialty: He uses a functioning tablet as a base when preparing his dishes. The video achieved 1.5 million organic, not paid, views within the first four days.

A mysterious order

Xeit accompanies the launch activities with the placement of TikTok ads, in which Creators also make their appearance. The creators receive a mysterious invitation to a joint call. The order is still unknown. Part two of the action is located on the Cenovis channel and Resolves the reason for the mysterious meeting.

Vegetables are having a hard time: tasting good is no longer enough - today, vegetables have to meet a strict standard and be as cheap as possible at the same time. The result is that foreign vegetables are imported and imperfect Swiss vegetables end up in the garbage.

At the same time, the weather is making it even more difficult for Swiss farmers; numerous harvests have been destroyed by the rain. In the spring, on the other hand, farmers had to throw away vegetables because of the price war in the retail trade, because they could not compete with foreign prices, like the Blick reported at the beginning of August.

At Myfeld, the vegetables are not styled, they grow naturally and crooked. The start-up wants to support local agriculture and enable the inhabitants of Switzerland to grow their own vegetables. Fresh from the Swiss farm, free of any standards, without pesticides, grown by hand and shipped plastic-free.

To reduce food waste to a minimum, the startup only plants what customers have actually ordered. Myfeld started our first season this spring and was already able to harvest the first zucchettis, fennel and lettuces for customers. But now the startup needs support to develop further.

Therefore, a crowdfunding was started with Wemakeit: 75,000 francs in 30 days is the goal.

Interview

"Agriculture and population must come closer together"

Myfeld CEO Raphaell Schär explains why the startup is now looking for support and what its vision is.

Raphaell Schär, why does Myfeld need support?

Raphaell Schär: Myfeld has set itself the goal, on the one hand, to bring consumers closer to the seasonality of our local vegetables again and, on the other hand, to promote direct marketing from our farmers. However, the project is also very cost-intensive. In order to be able to continue Myfeld in the coming year and to enable our farmers a second mainstay in direct marketing, we are looking for support through the launched crowdfunding campaign.

Why should the project be supported?

Every single franc flows directly into our domestic agriculture. In addition to strengthening Swiss farmers, we are also particularly concerned about the issue of food waste, which is unfortunately a major challenge in the retail trade. At Myfeld, we only grow what the customer orders - so the carrots come straight from the field to the kitchen. We believe that innovative projects are important to address such issues.

What is the money used for?

Farming is expensive - machines, cultivation tunnels and helping hands are needed. Therefore, we would like to use the money from the campaign to further develop Myfeld, but also to support the farmers in the implementation in the field. After all, we want everyone to be able to eat their own vegetables. Healthy nutrition must not be reserved for the wealthy.

What do you get out of supporting Myfeld?

This year in particular, a large proportion of our domestic farmers are struggling with serious crop failures. The unsettled weather has caused them great hardship. By supporting Myfeld, donors are also supporting farmers in Switzerland at the same time. We believe that agriculture and the population need to come closer together again - with each other instead of against each other.

According to the Web Media Monitor, the range of offerings in the Swiss market is extremely diverse in terms of content and language, with a total of 575 online audio offerings from 193 providers. The proportion of online-only web radio stations has increased: they account for 39 percent of the offerings and are almost as numerous as the online sub-brands of the FM/DAB+ stations with 40 percent. This means that the offerings have grown by 30 percent compared to 2019.

Corona effect: while sales suffer, usage increases

Around half of online audio providers reported revenue losses due to the pandemic. Only 3 percent generated profits in 2021. By contrast, usage figures have risen significantly. 60 percent of providers reported higher call-up figures for 2020.

This trend is also confirmed by the usage survey: 48 percent listen to online audio more often because of the pandemic. The share of online use in the total use of radio and audio offerings has risen accordingly. While the online share was still 54 percent in 2019, it is now 59 percent.

Usage trends: more music streaming and more often in the car

Simulcast services from the traditional radio brands are used most frequently. However, music streaming services and online sub-brands of radio stations have seen the greatest increase in reach. The number of podcast users, on the other hand, has remained the same.

Audio and radio on the Internet are mainly consumed at home, as 87 percent of respondents stated. Use in the car has increased significantly, from 38 percent in 2019 to 52 percent today.

The "Web Media Monitor 2021" was produced by Goldmedia on behalf of the Federal Office of Communications. The study on the Swiss online audio and online video market is based on a survey of web media providers and users between May and July 2021.

Under the leadership of Managing Director Alexander Horrolt, Goldbach Next, TX Group's central technology and digital execution hub for advertising, is being reorganized. Jochen Witte, Chief Digital Officer Goldbach, will become Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Goldbach as of September 1, 2021 and will take over the operational management of the newly consolidated Technology and Product Development division of Goldbach Next. In this new role, Jochen Witte will also become Deputy Managing Director of Goldbach Next. 

In addition to responsibilities within Goldbach Next, the company will also intensify its collaboration with Berlin-based Jaduda and demand side platform (DSP) Splicky for cross-group synergies in technology, Goldbach said in a statement.

"With this structural adjustment, Goldbach is strengthening the areas of product development, data-driven advertising and technology, which are becoming increasingly important for classic media beyond the online sector and are of central importance for the sustainable development of Goldbach's business," Roland Wittmann, Chief Strategy Officer, explains this step.

Last year, 42 of 44 Swiss radio broadcasters and the SRG agreed on an early and staggered shutdown of FM stations: August 2022 for the SRG and January 2023 for the private broadcasters. This is because by the end of 2021, almost three-quarters of radio usage would already have been digital, Swiss radio broadcasters announced on Thursday.

Public discussion

In recent weeks and months, however, the shutdown has become more and more of a political issue: As early as June, former Media Minister Doris Leuthard intervened in the discussion and advised the government to hold its horses on the issue. (Werbewoche.ch reported).

In July, media pioneer Roger Schawinski submitted a petition with over 60,000 signatures to the Swiss government against the shutdown of FM transmitters. After a meeting with Schawinski, the National Council's Commission for Transport and Telecommunications (KVF-N) then also called for an in-depth examination of the consequences of abandoning the shutdown of FM radio stations. (Werbewoche.ch reported).

Nevertheless, a large majority of broadcasters in German-speaking Switzerland and Italian-speaking Switzerland were still in favor of the planned approach, the radio stations continued. In French-speaking Switzerland, however, no majority could be found.

More time for consumers

However, since a nationwide solution is needed, the radio stations have now returned to their original plan to switch off the FM transmitters by December 31, 2024.

In addition, the latest market figures indicated that listeners needed more time for the switchover, especially drivers of older models. It is true that the DAB+ share in new cars has been almost 100 percent since 2020. But older cars still have some catching up to do.

Schawinski wants longer deadline

FM radio licenses expire at the end of 2024. From that point on, FM programs could no longer be broadcast. In a statement, Schawinski criticized the fact that the new switch-off date is based only on the "expiry of the private licenses" and "not on real radio usage.

Even after that, "more than a million Swiss cars will probably still not have DAB reception. They will all be dependent on FM for years to come "in terms of road safety".

Schawinski therefore called on politicians "not to leave the decision to the private radio broadcasters". And the SRG must also get involved in the discussion instead of "consistently hiding behind the private radio broadcasters.

For the radio broadcasters, the postponement of the switch-off to the end of 2024 would be associated with costs in the multi-digit millions, they added. In the long term, no company can afford to broadcast twice via FM and DAB+. (SDA)

The most beautiful hikes across Switzerland, cozy gardens, delicious recipes and DIY ideas with instructions and patterns are also available since Thursday on Landliebe.ch to find. The website, which now also offers editorial content, was developed and designed in-house by Ringier Axel Springer Switzerland.

"From now on, lovers of country life can find inspiration online on hiking, gardening, cooking and DIY, always in tune with the seasons," explains LandLoveEditor-in-Chief André Frensch. "As in the print edition, the service character is particularly important to us - the community will find many concrete tips and tricks from proven experts here."
The digital expansion of the Swiss CountryLove does not end with the website. The magazine also offers even more content on Facebook and Instagram.

Online course bookings

You can also register for the various courses via the new website. Normally, these take place in the editorial offices of the Swiss CountryLove takes place. Due to the pandemic, selected courses are currently offered digitally on-demand.
The Swiss CountryLovewhich celebrates its tenth anniversary this year, is to remain first and foremost a print magazine, as Ringier Axel Springer Schweiz writes. Accordingly, the main stories of the current issue are presented online only in excerpts - for the online content, one can draw from a pool of ten years of LandLove can be resorted to.

In keeping with tradition, the Swiss radio world toasted and looked back on an unusual year on Wednesday evening. The figures show: Radio proved to be a stable medium during the crisis. As one of the media with the widest reach, radio is and remains an important part of the media mix for advertisers. 

As it belongs to the Radio Night, the evening was also musically accompanied besides networking. Joya Marleen brought a lot of summer feeling to Lake Zurich with her acoustic set.

Starting signal for the Radioday

As every year, the Radio Night takes place on the eve of Radioday. The most important networking event of the Swiss radio industry is organized by Swiss Radioworld together with the local radio stations in this form since 2015.

"Even during the pandemic, radio has proven to be a crisis-resistant and reliable medium. In addition, digital audio has emerged as an absolute shooting star. And that's what we're celebrating together today," says Ralf Brachat, Managing Director Swiss Radioworld.

Admission to the event was based on the FOPH's 3G event concept.

The Covid 19 crisis is making digital transformation a top priority for every company in the world. In fact, many companies are putting digitization at the top of their agendas. According to a survey by the US market research company Gartner, 87 percent of executives say that digitization is an absolute priority for their company. Only 40 percent of the US companies surveyed have implemented digital initiatives.

Europe is lagging even further behind: the recently published "New Era In Experience Report" by the London School of Economics is surprising: only 25 percent of European companies would currently be able to successfully transition to the digital post-Covid era and master the digital shift. Above all, the necessary know-how from internal experts is lacking.

Realizing the marketing vision together

According to Wirz, in order to combine the needs and innovations from a company's marketing with the best possibilities of IT and technology, a system-independent sparring partner is needed who is sustainable, innovative and trend-oriented, and who reacts in an agile manner. "We often observe that people rush into a system with little or no needs analysis. When it comes to investments in technology and recurring license costs, it pays to find the right solution with a system-independent partner," says Philipp Schütz, Business and Project Engineer at Younity/Wirz.

Younity/Wirz describes itself as a bridge builder between the digital needs of marketing and the technological possibilities. The team advises and supports companies in the modernization of their marketing communication and its data flow by means of procedural set-up, high-performance technology and specialized know-how.

INTERVIEW

"We build the bridge between needs and innovations".

Mario Kotschner (left), Co-Founder, and Philipp Schütz, Business & Project Engineer at Younity, talk to Werbewoche.ch about the reasons behind the relaunch of the Wirz unit, and what stumbling blocks companies face.

Werbewoche.ch: Younity recently had a relaunch with new products and website presence. What were the motivations? 

Mario Kotschner: We already changed our strategic orientation two years ago. At that time, we were still supporting customers in the implementation of IT projects and the operation of software. Our intrinsic motivation demanded a new business strategy supported by all employees. Because only where there is passion, the best services are created. At that time, we were inspired by Simon Sinek's "Golden Circles" approach.

Meaning?

The change to a system-neutral consulting company was the appropriate conclusion, as we always want to design, support and accompany the best sustainable innovations for individual customer needs, independent of software manufacturers. The technological possibilities are becoming more and more extensive for marketing teams and can sometimes be overwhelming. We change that, through unbiased targeted technology scouting and simple understandable products. This is unprecedented in the industry.

What new services does Younity offer?

Philipp Schütz: We build the bridge between the needs and innovations from marketing and the best possibilities of IT and technology, i.e. MarTech. In this area of tension, we have created service packages with our three products, in which we enable sustainable digitization together with our customers with our team of interdisciplinary experts and visionaries for marketing.

How does Younity approach a project?

Kotschner: Transparency about the current process and technological status in marketing, as well as effective packages of measures, give our customers security for future decisions. For this purpose, we have developed a procedure that comprehensibly conveys the mutual influence and dependency of business processes, business objects and system architecture on each other and how changes can be achieved.

What are typical results achieved through Younity?

Contactor: We want to generate added value at various levels. Specifically, we do this by uncovering system redundancies and gaps, making processes visible, assessing their efficiency, proposing automations, and initiating sustainable changes, to name just a few points. This results in benefits such as license cost and resource optimization, but also a future-oriented MarTech strategy.

Who is the offer aimed at?

Contactor: The offer is aimed at all companies that want to tackle the technological challenges in marketing, communication, sales and other related areas. We offer added value to all those who want to use and optimize their MarTech potential and take it to the next level with a trusted system-independent partner.

Why is your service portfolio relevant for marketing? 

Kotschner: Simply put; as long as we encounter countless Excel spreadsheets in marketing, our services are most definitely relevant. We all know the little "workarounds" that accompany everyday work. Mostly unconscious and accepted. This underlines masses of uncoordinated data sources and lacking data quality. And sometimes it is even unsuitable organizational forms that make digital transformation practically impossible.

Can you elaborate on that?

While technological potential has evolved, data quality has not: "Shit in, shit out" is still highly relevant. So for the next few years, we will still be busy digitizing and raising awareness and supporting marketing teams in scaling sustainably, tackling the problem at its roots. Digitization is not a sprint, but a marathon.

Where do you see the biggest stumbling blocks in your daily work in digitalization in marketing?

Contactor: We often observe that a system is prematurely put in place without or with only an inadequate needs analysis. As a result, a supposedly good technology may not be able to exploit its potential in the prevailing environment. Another stumbling block is often silo and departmental thinking. Today, data and information must be able to be developed and used across the entire context of a company.

What are your plans for the future?

Kotschner: Younity is a company with intangible assets, and I am convinced that this business sector will be most affected by technological developments in the coming years. We are pursuing a vision for the future that will accommodate this trend and significantly change the way our customers receive our services. We hope for an optimal symbiosis between human and artificial intelligence.

BBC Global News conducted two surveys to investigate changing consumer sentiment. The aim was to gain insights into how consumers around the world really feel about sustainability. The focus was on the three different sectors "automotive", "technology" and "finance".

The results show that consumers not only pay attention to what a company says, but also to what it does:

• 80 percent are of the opinion that a clear commitment to sustainability increases the value of a brand.
• 78 percent state that sustainable action and commitments are an important criterion when making purchasing decisions.
• 67 percent are prepared to pay more for brands that are committed to sustainability and environmentally friendly action.
• 56 percent state that they would no longer buy a product that they had previously been loyal to if they realized that it did not stand for sustainability.

On average, of the 27 brands surveyed from three sectors, around half of all consumers stated that they were unaware of the brand's sustainability - with the financial sector leading the way by far with 65 percent of all consumers unaware of the sustainability initiatives of financial brands.

Education is the be-all and end-all

The study shows that consumers believe it is important for all brands' sustainability efforts to include education and research. 83 percent of consumers believe that brands should invest in educating consumers about the importance of sustainability, and 82 percent agree that brands should fund research into sustainable practices.

Trust as an important asset

The study shows that trust in brands is still the most important association with a brand for consumers around the world. The value is particularly high in the automotive and technology sectors at 88% and 82% respectively, while the financial sector reaches 60%.

Interviews as a promising means of communication

According to the study, 66 percent of respondents said that interviews with an international news partner are the most influential way for consumers to learn about a brand's corporate social responsibility, followed by branded content in a premium environment (35 percent). These are techniques that brands can use to communicate their sustainability message to consumers on a large scale.

"Sustainability is becoming increasingly important to consumers in their purchasing decisions, but this study shows that there is a gap between a brand's sustainability actions and consumer awareness," explains Lori Suchcicki, Senior Vice President Commercial Partnerships EMEA at BBC Global News. "To maintain customer loyalty and attract new customers, this gap must be closed by developing an authentic and transparent story. The BBC's experienced storytellers have a long history of closing this gap by engaging global audiences through creative and emotive brand campaigns."

There is a willingness to pay more for sustainability

The results of the study show how important a brand's sustainability credentials are to consumers and that they are willing to put their money where their mouth is to make their feelings known. If brands want to retain the loyalty of their customers, they need to clearly demonstrate their commitment to taking action. Those that fail to do so expose themselves to criticism. It is therefore crucial that brands craft their story and communicate their message in a transparent and authentic way.

BBC: CSR with Future Planet

In 2020, in response to growing audience interest in the topic of sustainability, the BBC launched Future Planet, a platform for in-depth, fact-based reporting on potential solutions to pressing environmental issues around the world. The online publication focused exclusively on climate change and aimed to be as carbon-free as possible.

For the BBC Global Minds Sustainability Surveys two surveys were conducted, each with 4,526 (wave 1) 2,153 (wave 2) respondents. The BBC Brand Tracker includes 10,441 international consumers between the ages of 18 and 65 who know and would consider a brand.

From the end of August 2021, Eventpark has a new owner: EPZ Betriebs AG with a shareholder base around event entrepreneur Peter Habegger takes over Eventpark AG from the former owner Hans-Ulrich Lehmann. At the same time, the previous managing director Anke Stephan hands over the management to Natascha Leach (picture).

As former deputy managing director of Abc Production and former board member of Swiss Music Promoters Association (SMPA), Leach is well known in the event and culture industry. "I am very much looking forward to continuing the exciting story of Samsung Hall with the existing team and bringing this unique venue into the digital age," says the new managing director.

Under the new management, Samsung Hall is expected to focus additionally on entertainment and concerts, in addition to continuing its successful corporate event business, with new offerings, a loft facelift, and a digital upgrade in the coming months.