The industry get-together attracted over 450 participants to the Dolder Grand Hotel in Zurich on Tuesday - 100 of whom followed the congress via livestream. On stage were 39 experts from successful national and international brands. Among them were brands such as IWC Schaffhausen, Lego, Lemonaid, Emmi, Migros, Stöckli Ski, Audi, Microsoft and many more.

It is a clear sign that the industry is pushing out of the home offices again, said Hans-Willy Brockes, CEO ESB Marketing Netzwerk, the organizer of the congress. "A lot has changed this year, but there is still no substitute for personal contact at the live event," said Stephan Feige, organizer of Htp St.Gallen.

Nevertheless, common denominators emerged from the multitude of presentations. The pandemic has permanently changed the brand world. Today, companies are increasingly seeking direct contact with customers via digital channels and focusing on values such as sustainability and authenticity in communication.

Sustainable brands are in demand

Examples of this are the beverage companies Lemonaid or Air Up. Lemonaid's founding idea is based on the principle of social business. "Our aim is to show that doing business can be different - with a positive footprint in all areas," said Paul Bethke, founder of Lemonaid. Paul Bethke founded his company to earn money for projects in development cooperation. According to the motto "Drinking helps", Lemonaid supports various social projects in the regions where the ingredients are grown.

Chance for change

"The crisis is an opportunity for change and innovation," said Etienne Schumpf of Emmi Switzerland. As many people are currently spending time at home in their home offices, the Emmi Group came up with a creative campaign together with Swiss Post. In the spirit of "It's the little things in life that make everyday life in the home office sweeter", enjoyment boxes containing fine Emmi products were distributed through letterboxes in over 15,000 households. Within a few hours, Emmi received thousands of messages of thanks, says Schumpf.

Innovations and data

Franziska Gsell, Chief Marketing Officer of IWC Schaffhausen, talked about how marketing works for a luxury watch brand in Corona times. The Asian market buckled in the crisis - travel was restricted. Ideas were called for. "Thanks to a new digital studio, a hologram box can be recorded in China to still be with the customer," Gsell explained. A virtual factory tour is also possible at IWC today. The brand has also been repositioned more broadly in recent years from its very pointed positioning of "engineered for men" and now communicates under "engineering dreams."

The next Swiss Brand Congress will again be held at The Dolder Grand Hotel on June 13, 2022. In addition, the organizers have set up the "SMK Circle", a series of side events for the exclusive exchange of brand managers.

After the first successful tests, the articles can now be ordered from 20 minutes and 20 minutes can only be commented on in the app and online with a login. The introduction of the login requirement for comments is aimed at enabling an animated exchange between comment writers in a decent tone, writes 20 minutes.

"With the introduction of a login requirement, we want to make an active contribution to the fight against hate on the net," explains Gaudenz Looser, Editor-in-Chief 20 minutes. "We noticed an increasing number of hate comments in the last two years - presumably fueled by the general discontent due to the Corona situation. We don't want to offer these trolls a platform."

Managing Director Marcel Kohler also emphasizes the journalistic quality in which 20 minutes investiere: "Our 20-member Social Responsibility Board is committed to using non-injurious language and also cooperates with external organizations to this end. Allowing commenting only with a login is the logical, consistent next step."

Dobler is an expert in advanced analytics and data-driven marketing. He also has an in-depth understanding of data science, digital marketing and business intelligence. With over 20 years of professional experience in dialog marketing, he is an expert in the industry.

"In Roger, we have brought the top specialist in analytics into the team. Together with him, we will develop new offerings in the area of target group and location analysis. With Roger, we can move forward even faster on our consistent path to becoming the market leader in data-driven marketing and inspire our customers," says Rico Styger, CEO/COO of KünzlerBachmann Directmarketing.

The new Head of Data & Analytics will strengthen KBDM's analytics offering with various products and services in the future.

"I am looking forward to making the customer relationships and marketing processes of KünzlerBachmann Directmarketing's customers even more successful thanks to the evaluation of all relevant data and with the help of new analytical concepts," says Roger Dobler about his start at KBDM.

Since Wittmann joined the company in June 2014, much has changed as a result of his work at Goldbach. As Chief Strategy Officer, he was closely involved in the integration of Goldbach into the TX Group. In his role, he was responsible for the growth markets of Germany and Austria as well as the business development of the Goldbach Group. Now he would like to venture something new once again - even if there are no concrete plans for this yet, according to a statement from Goldbach.

Before joining Goldbach, Wittmann was responsible for corporate development at the former Tamedia between 2008 and 2014. He reported directly to the CEOs Martin Kall and subsequently Christoph Tonini.

After graduating in business administration from the University of Zurich in 2000, he worked for the strategy consultancy Roland Berger and was head of strategic planning at SBB Personenverkehr before joining Tamedia.

The successor arrangement will be announced to Goldbach at the appropriate time.

Traditionally, agencies develop a creative concept based on a client briefing. This is then implemented and adapted for various types of media. "An approach that only works halfway in our eyes," says Gaby Neyer from Transformer.

The agency reverses the process. The impact mechanism with the corresponding communication mix is the top priority. The creative concept is then based on this and leads to a perfectly coordinated and efficient campaign.

Efficiency: this should now also the new website of Transformer is captivating. Customers shouldn't be kept in suspense with endless blah-blah, but should be able to get to the heart of the agency with just one click. The hybrid communication is presented in an explanatory video. The numerous client projects shown in motion are intended to give a comprehensive impression of the work and reflect the diversity and capabilities of the Zurich agency.

The social media platform Tiktok Sie thrives on creative and entertaining short videos from its users. For the first time in this context, the big names of the Swiss Tiktok scene met for three days in the vacation region of Heidiland. Invited to the first Swiss Tiktok Meet were "Saturday.and.Sunday", who are themselves very successful on Tiktok with 1.1 million followers. A total of seven other influential Swiss Tiktokers answered the call. Among them was Thispronto, currently the biggest Tiktoker in Switzerland, whose account is followed by 12 million people.

Wakesurfing, mountain adventures and "night swimming

Since the vacation region of Heidiland is on the doorstep of "Saturday.and.Sunday" alias Loredana and Kilian Bamert, the question of the desired backdrop for the first creative meeting of this kind was quickly answered.

At the same time, Heidiland Tourism had been looking for opportunities to gain initial experience with the still young social media platform for some time. The tourism destination therefore took on the role of host together with its tourism partners and organized three varied days for the participants in the border region of the cantons of St. Gallen and Graubünden.

The focus of Tiktok Meets in Heidiland was not only on professional and personal exchange, but also on the joint production of content. The diverse range of leisure activities on site provided the framework for the necessary creativity. Wakesurfing on Lake Walen was on the agenda, as was tobogganing on the Flumserberg, mountain carting on the Pizol, or an exclusive "night swim" in the thermal water in the Tamina Spa in Bad Ragaz.

Stay innovative

By hosting the first big Tiktoker meetup in Switzerland, Heidiland Tourism is staying true to its line of not shying away from innovative ways as a small organization. "We were active on Instagram early on and in 2014 we were one of the first tourism organizations in Switzerland to organize an Instameet," recalls Adrian Pfiffner, Head of Corporate Communications at Heidiland Tourism.

The tourism organization is therefore all the more pleased that this path is now being continued and that initial experience can be gained with the still young social media platform Tiktok. "With the Tiktok Meet, we remain true to our content management strategy of addressing potential fans and guests with inspiring and entertaining content on a wide variety of channels."

At the first Tiktok Meet in Heidiland were beside the initiators Saturday.and.Sunday (1.1 million followers) the Tiktoker*innen Thispronto (12 million followers), Aditotoro (1.4 million followers), Kris8an (2 million followers), Jess.ontheWay (716.7 thousand followers), Nathistyle (193.7 thousand followers), Maelo (518 thousand followers) and Loris Zimmerli (253 thousand followers).

In the summer of 2021, Coop and Jung von Matt Limmat will send Franky the little wild boar on vacation to a real organic farm that supplies Naturaplan.

A visit to the Brügglen farm

Franky - who, by the way, was made entirely in CGI by Bacon X - takes the audience with him to the Brügglen farm in Emmental. The little wild boar curiously explores the production facilities, munches his way through the fruits and vegetables on offer and literally feels at home.

Through the eyes of Franky, it is conveyed that Naturaplan is committed to the highest organic quality and focuses on the well-being of humans, animals and nature. "For this reason, we also decided to render Franky entirely in CGI," adds Luitgard Hagl, Executive Creative Director at Jung von Matt Limmat.

All for one

So that Franky could be seamlessly embedded in the environment at the end, filming was done with an Alexa Digital and a Steady Cam. In post-production, 25 people worked on the details of the wild boar. But there was also a lot going on on set: crew, actors, a herd of cows, two dogs, chickens and bee colonies were all in action to bring Franky and Naturaplan to life in the spot.

Responsible at Coop: Thomas Schwetje (Head of Marketing / Digital Services), Sacha Zuberbühler (Head of Marketing Communications), Vanessa Finzer (Head of Advertising), Luca Schwarz (Head of Advertising Image / Own Brands), Christof Braun (Project Manager Advertising), Florian Fritz (Head of Social Media/Online Campaigning), Oliver Pursell (Project Manager Social Media), Simon Flatt (Head of Media), Karin Rieth (Head of Media Classic), Lukas Schmid (Senior Project Manager Digital Media), Marc Muntwyler (Head of CM/Procurement Fresh Produce), Michael Scheidegger (Brand Group Manager Sustainability). Responsible at Jung von Matt Limmat: Dominique Magnusson (Creative Direction), Jacqueline Rufener, Tobias Peters (Text), Michel Kissling (Art Direction), Sarina Pruschy (Graphics), Christian Omlin (Strategy), Sebastian Kaps, Marianne Sauter (Project Management), Constantine Wrage (Agency Producer/ Jung von Matt PLAY) Nick Schoberth (Executive Client Director), Luitgard Hagl (Executive Creative Director), Stefan Näf (Chief Consulting Officer). Responsible at Pumpkin Film (production): Stefanie Brand (Executive Producer). Responsible for Bacon X Copenhagen (post-production): Jan Tvilling, Arthur Dalvig, Supervision, Steffi Beck (Coordination). Responsible for HitMill (Music): Noemi Matthis (organization), Fred Herrmann (composer). Directed by: Martin Werner. DoP: Jan Mettler.

For its 33rd birthday, the eyewear manufacturer surprises its customers with various anniversary offers and a new campaign under the motto "Opticians for life".

Directed by Luki Frieden from Shining Film, the project produced five short films that tell completely different stories with the same message: opticians from Visilab are all about what's on your mind today.

In addition to the short films, several OOH subjects were created as well as a series of online and POS measures.

Responsible at Visilab: Fabrice Allegro (Chief Marketing & Digital Officer VisilabGroup), Juliane Gonzalez (Head of Brand Marketing Visilab), Christina Schätzel (Communication Manager), Anna Radwan (Team Leader Content VisilabGroup), Florence Abansir (Graphic Designer). Responsible at TBWA\Zurich: Manuel Wenzel, Angelo Sciullo, Reto Clement, Isabelle Benz, Lisa Bolte, Alisea Ferrara (creation), Marcel Mägerle, Renata Catambas (consulting). Responsible at Shining Film (film production): Luki Frieden (director), Filip Zumbrunn (DOP & photographer), Patrik Rohner (image editing), Jingle Jungle (sound studio).

Suddenly she's just standing there, as if she were the friend next door. In the middle of the store at Müllerstrasse 57, where Christoph Soltmannowski runs his Studio 57. She is smaller than I imagined her to be. And more delicate. Hello, she says and puts down her big bag. She is a little tired, but that doesn't matter, she says with a smile. Without make-up and as stylish as ever, Stefanie Heinzmann sits down opposite me, the microphones are just set up, the last camera settings are checked and then it starts. Without any shyness, she tells of her beginnings as a naive 18-year-old schoolgirl who signed up for Stefan Raab's casting show. And. Bam, she wins and a storm passes over her that she would never have thought possible.

But what am I writing, take a look and experience this great woman, who after 13 years in showbiz feels pudelwohl in her skin.

"Now that the new concept for Bern reporting has ensured that the Bund and Berner Zeitung will continue to be offerings with their own profile, I can fulfill my long-held desire to tackle something new professionally," the 54-year-old Feuz was quoted as saying in a Tamedia statement. "The new editorial team will meet the high standards of quality, diligence and diversity of content."

Patrick Feuz has been editor-in-chief of the Bund since 2015 (Werbewoche.ch reported). In 2009, he took over as head of the federal house editorial department of The Covenant and Tages-Anzeiger. Since 2007, he has served as deputy editor-in-chief of The Covenant active. Before that, he already worked from 1993 for the Confederationinitially in the Berne department, later for the domestic editorial department, which he headed in 2002. Patrick Feuz studied contemporary history, English literature and media studies and has edited various reference books, including the biography of chocolate manufacturer Theodor Tobler.

"Patrick Feuz has played a decisive role in shaping the development of the popular Stadtberner Zeitung over the past three decades and has most recently shown great commitment in helping to set up the new editorial office for Bern in terms of concept and personnel," said Marco Boselli, co-managing director of Tamedia. "With his many years of publishing and journalistic experience and his broad knowledge of the city and canton of Bern, he has made a significant contribution to ensuring that the planned joint local editorial team of the Bund and Berner Zeitung is well positioned for its launch in October. We very much regret his departure."

The position at the head of The Covenant will be reassigned. According to Tamedia, information about the new appointment will be provided at the appropriate time.

Who at Digitec and Galaxus in the secondhand sector rummaging around for bargains will find not only returns declared as "used + tested" or "as good as new + tested" but also second-hand offers from customers. Since the fall of 2017, customers have been able to resell products purchased from Digitec and Galaxus at the same location - whether it's a dusty cell phone, a last-generation game console, or a deck chair that no longer fits on the new balcony.

According to Digitec Galaxus, more and more online shoppers are making use of this resale option: in 2020, they sold 96 percent more used items. And this year there are signs of further strong growth: In the first half of 2021, two-thirds as many second-hand products were sold by private individuals as in the whole of 2020.

With this option, Digitec Galaxus wants to give various products a second life and make a contribution to the environment. "Because we offer this simple, fast and secure option for second-hand sales, fewer used products end up in the trash or recycling garbage can," explains Zara Hegemann, Product Owner at Digitec Galaxus and responsible for the resale function.

For reasons of competition, Hegemann does not want to give any details on units sold or second-hand sales. But she does reveal other figures. For example, the proportion of second-hand sales at Digitec and Galaxus: around 75 percent of sales in 2020 took place at Digitec, and 25 percent at Galaxus. "The secondary market for electronics has definitely established itself at Digitec," says Hegemann. However, the share of secondhand sales at the Galaxus online department store is growing fast: in 2019, it was only 18 percent.

44 percent success rate

Of the second-hand offers from Digitec and Galaxus customers, an average of 44 percent find a buyer in the current year. The remaining 56 percent of sales offers expire, for example because the price of the used ping-pong table was too high, or because the cell phone has a deep scratch across the display. "The 44 percent is a remarkable rate," says Hegemann.

She speculates that this is probably due to the high proportion of electronics in the offers. After all, she says, used cell phones are more attractive than, say, a used closet. "On the other hand, the offers generally get a lot of attention here thanks to the high customer frequency." In 2020, more than two million customers shopped at Digitec or Galaxus.

The highest success rates were achieved in 2020 by customers who had sold the following products:

• Fan controller: 77%
• Pulse belt: 77%
• Webcam: 76%
• External optical drive: 75%
• Cell phone VR glasses: 75%
• Stylus: 75%
• Headphone stand: 73%
• Streaming Media Player: 72%
• Notebook Pad: 71%
• Powerline: 71%

In absolute terms, however, Digitec and Galaxus customers sold mainly used cell phones last year, followed by PC monitors, graphics cards, headphones and notebooks.

Gritting teeth over service fees

The Digitec Galaxus community is generally satisfied with the offer. For example, the remaining warranty of the product - if still available - is also taken over, which pleases the users. Given the size of the Digitec Galaxus community, it is of course particularly attractive for resellers to offer their second-hand goods on a marketplace with many potential buyers.

Nevertheless, there are also points that users hope will improve in the future. On the one hand, the service fee - usually 10 percent - is relatively high, various customers write. This is a lot, considering that the sellers still have to pay shipping fees and other expenses.

Also, some successful resellers wait a comparatively long time for their money, as this is only triggered when the buyer marks the product as "received".

At the request of Advertisingweek.ch Alex Hämmerli is pleased with the feedback from the community. Referring to the widely complained about service fees, the Senior PR Manager comments: "Our commission is comparable to the brokerage fees of the competition, such as those of Ricardo. We also believe that our pricing model is fair, as the commission decreases with the amount of the sale price." With regard to the sometimes longer transaction waiting times, Hämmerli points to the calls that buyers* receive from Digitec Galaxus four days after shipping confirmation in each case. "If no confirmation follows, the buyer receives another reminder after another five days," he explains.

As it continues to develop, Hämmerli says Digitec Galaxus wants to make the entire process even easier - for both buyers and sellers.

A recovery can be observed after the Corona slump from last year, but the summer slump is clearly noticeable. Compared to the previous month, advertising pressure was significantly reduced (-14.5%). A look at previous years shows that the summer slump was especially noticeable in 2018 (-33.5%). In 2019 (-16.4%) and 2020 (-18.4), the decreases were at a similar level as this year.

Advertising pressure in the overall market

Development of advertising print as of July 2021 in million gross Swiss francs

Industries: Media with biggest increase

Media (+140.6%), Energy (+51.9%) and Cosmetics & Personal Care (+34.6%) were among the top 3 sector gainers in July.

July did not change anything in the top 3 industry rankings YTD. The ranking is completely identical to the previous month. Retail, Food and Initiatives & Campaigns remain in the top 3.

However, the leisure, catering and tourism sector, which had always been in the top 3 in previous years, also reported higher advertising pressure in July, with an increase of 32.6% on the same month last year. It remains to be seen whether the sector can fight its way back into the top 3 by the end of this year. This is also true for Finance, which again shows significantly stronger (+20.4%) in July.

Only 6 sectors reduce year-on-year

Only 6 of the 21 industries are cutting back in July compared to the same month last year. In percentage terms, the biggest reduction was made by Tobacco industry (-37.2%). In absolute terms, it is still in last place. YTD, the advertising pressure in the industry is nevertheless 32.1 percent higher than in 2020. However, the remaining decreases are in the single-digit percentage range, which is why an overall increase can be observed.

Top of the month

Top advertisers and most advertised products and services (excluding assortment, image advertising and collective categories) in July

Media Mix for the month of July