As in 2020, experts from communications and the media met virtually to determine the ten best photos in each of six different categories. The Dpa subsidiary News Aktuell will present the PR Picture Award 2021 for the 16th time.

"This time, we have received many applications that are in some way related to the crisis experience of the past year. These are pictures that tell very moving stories," says Eljub Ramic, Managing Director of News Aktuell Switzerland and jury member for the PR Picture Award 2021. "With the PR Picture Award, we want to honor the companies and organizations that have once again put a lot of passion and professionalism into PR photography despite the more difficult conditions. I'm excited to see which motifs make the running this year."

This year the jury of the PR-Bild Award is represented by, among others Personal-publisher Matthias Ackeret, jury chair Mirjam Berle, Henning Dorstewitz from Netflix, make-up artist Boris Entrup, Silva Imken from Ananné, Gudrun Kreutner from Wort & Bild Verlag, Susanne Marell from Hill+Knowlton Strategies, Johannes Müller from BSH Hausgeräte, Susan Sass from the German E-Commerce and Mail Order Association, Monika Schaller from Deutsche Post DHL, Rüdiger Scharf from DAK Gesundheit, Volker Thoms from KOM - Magazin für Kommunikation and Jana Tilz from Free Now.

The public has until Oct. 1 to register at PR-picture-award.ch vote. On October 28, News Aktuell will announce the winning images from each category as well as the PR Image of the Year for Switzerland, Germany and Austria respectively.

PR Image Award: The shortlist 2021

Lifestyle category

• Digitec Galaxus AG / CH
• DOT Philippine Tourist Office / D
• Greenpeace Switzerland / CH
• Press Factory GmbH submitted for LikeMeat / D
• Robert Josipovic Photography submitted for Landestheater in Linz / AT
• Switzerland Tourism / CH
• Special Olympics Germany / D
• STYX Sicherheitstechnik GmbH / AT
• University of Bonn / D
• CigarZone GmbH / CH

Category NGO

• Caritas International / D
• CBM Christoffel-Blindenmission Christian Blind Mission e.V. / D
• FEMNET e.V. / D
• Fire department Cologne / D
• Greenpeace e.V. / D
• Kindernothilfe e.V. / D (2 nominations)
• Special Olympics Germany e.V. / D
• Stay Foundation / D
• Visions for Children e.V. / D

Portrait category

• anja jahn photography submitted for C&C Contact & Creation GmbH / D
• Beiersdorf AG / D
• The Round GmbH / AT
• FH Switzerland / CH
• Friedrich Schiller University Jena / D
• hempel.hempel on behalf of VIDU Selbsthilfe für Verwitwete e.V. / D
• mococo medienmanufaktur submitted for hair studio Elisabeth / D
• Broadcasting Berlin Brandenburg / D
• Sana Kliniken Berlin-Brandenburg GmbH / D
• Special Olympics Germany / D

Travel category

• ADAC SE / D
• anja jahn photography submitted for C&C Contact & Creation GmbH / D
• DOT Philippine Tourist Office / D
• Greenpeace Switzerland / CH (2 nominations)
• KPRN network submitted for Voice4Africa / D
• Lieb Management & Beteiligungs GmbH filed for Locaboat Holidays / D
• Madeira Promotion Bureau / D
• Switzerland Tourism / CH
• TITLIS mountain railroads, hotels & gastronomy / CH

Category social media photo

• Experiment e.V. / D
• Fire department Cologne / D
• Friedrich Schiller University Jena / D
• Dortmund Hospital / D
• Lost Voices Foundation / D
• Technology Museums Sinsheim Speyer / D
• University of Mannheim / D (2 nominations)
• University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna (Vetmeduni Vienna) / AT
• Waterkant Tours GmbH & Co. KG / D

Category Stories & Campaigns

• Advery Brüggli / CH
• Alfred Kärcher SE & Co. KG / D
• Beiersdorf AG / D
• Greenpeace Switzerland / CH
• Hirslanden Group / CH
• Dortmund Hospital / D
• Mammut Sports Group AG / CH
• Plan International / D
• Broadcasting Berlin Brandenburg / D
• Switzerland Tourism / CH

Behind the new Campaign In addition to the Department of Education and Culture, the associations of Solothurn's municipalities, principals and teachers are involved in the campaign. Among other things, it consists of an advertising campaign and editorial school portraits.

Furthermore, various schools offer taster sessions for those interested, which are intended to provide an insight into everyday school life.

The University of Teacher Education Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW) has also reacted to the shortage of teachers that is also noticeable in other sponsoring cantons. Starting in the coming fall semester, it will offer a training course for career changers. As the Aargau school authorities announced on Monday, 78 interested persons between the ages of 30 and 59 have already registered for this training program. (SDA)

The need to be able to stay at home for as long as possible has been proven to be extremely high in Visana's target groups. That's why the health insurer has added a care supplement to its new pension package. This means that from the age of 65, people are not only well off financially, but can also take advantage of discounted care services within their own four walls.

Positive Ageing

To dramatize this, Nueva has come up with a hard-hitting campaign idea. The basic slogan is "Help your old self - Thanks to your young self." The testimonials are shown first in young and then in 80, side by side and one behind the other, respectively. The young self supports the future self, or the future self thanks the young self. Because the earlier you make provisions, the more provisions you will receive in old age.

Use of the latest face tracking technologies

The idea is implemented on film using face-tracking technology. The campaign testimonials sit relaxed and in good spirits at the table or on the sofa, chat about their way of providing for the future and age seamlessly from 35 to 85 in just a few seconds. Apart from their age, not much changes. One of them is wrestling king Christian Stucki, who knows full well that his current job will probably not be crowned with great successes until he is 80.

The national campaign launched in mid-May and includes display ads, social media ads, discovery ads and YouTube spots. The second flight is scheduled to start next week.

Responsible at Visana: Maurizio Della Mura (Head of Marketing Communications), Leandro Fina (Head of Digital Marketing) Michèle Leu, Lukas Schwitter (Digital Marketing Manager). Responsible at Nueva: Remo Brunner (Consulting), Thomas Ammann, (Text/Concept, Creative Direction), Jonas Hermann (Art Direction), Alexander Cox (Text/Concept), Nicole Tobler (Project Management). Responsible at Visualpark (film): Alex Kleinberger, Luzian Schlatter. Responsible at Moodpix (photography): André Scheidegger. Responsible at Drop8 (Programmatic Advertising): Sam Lutz, Fabrice Lalive. Responsible at N.E. Creative Marketing (YouTube, Discovery Ads): Nadia Egli.

Stores launched on Instagram in May 2020, reaching Instagram app users through businesses' profiles and promising a seamless shopping experience. While this didn't go down well with all users, not least because the Shops have supplanted Activities in the app's main menu. But it seems only logical that Facebook, which relies on advertising revenue, should now enable advertising here as well. After all, brands can hope that virtual storefront advertising will increase their reach among app shoppers.

Companies can choose between individual images and image carousels for their ads and compete for ad impressions in an auction model, as with other Facebook ad formats. The amount of advertising app users see in stores will depend on both the usage habits of individual users and the number of shoppers in the corresponding Instagram tab. According to the report, the company wants to track how users react to this in order to find a sensible balance between ads and actual content.

Manageable start

Testing for the feature has started with a limited selection of U.S. advertisers covering some of the most popular Instagram categories. These include luggage and accessories retailer Away and Rihanna's Fenty Beauty. These advertisers are expected to provide feedback, paving the way for a wider rollout of the feature. A specific timeline is not yet known, but the ad format is expected to be made available to companies outside the U.S. in the coming months. (pte)

For over 20 years, Lucerne Festival has been committed to the issue of sustainability. Now the festival is expanding its activities further and launching the "Musicians for Future" initiative together with Zurich Insurance, which focuses on commitment to a better future. The communication idea developed by Freundliche Grüsse for this: Music is sustainable per se. Classical music consumes nothing in production, instruments last a long time, and music lasts forever.

This idea is brought to life with various measures. First of all, young, committed musicians have their say: Igor Levit, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Reto Bieri and Johanna Malangré. In short spots, the artists are filmed playing their instruments and shown how this creates sustainability. On the website, they also share their ideas for a better future. The agency Monami is responsible for the implementation of the film, content and social media productions.

The "Musicians for Future" initiative is creating a buzz with panel discussions during the summer festival, a social media campaign lasting several weeks, and its own Website attention to the topic. The aim is to stimulate a discussion on the subject of sustainability. The aim is to inspire and motivate each individual to make a contribution to a better future.

Responsible at Lucerne Festival: Michael Haefliger (artistic director), Marianna Rossi, Luca Gnos (sponsoring), Bettina Jaggi (marketing). Responsible at Zurich: Anja Kaltbrunner (Sponsoring & Live Marketing Zurich Switzerland), Danielle Spielmann (Brand Strategy & Development Zurich Group), Manuela Carl (Content & Social Media Zurich Switzerland). Responsible at Monami: David Cappellini (overall responsibility), Lorella Liuzzo (project management), Andrei Vid (design), Blackframe Productions (video production). Responsible at Friendly regards: Pascal Deville, Samuel Textor (overall responsibility), Andrea Aegerter (consulting), Christian Stüdi, Morris Lötscher (text/concept), Mara Schwegler (art direction).

"Monte Verità - Der Rausch der Freiheit" is a historical drama. The Swiss-German-Austrian film production by Stefan Jäger around the themes of freedom, self-determination, emancipation and vegetarian food is set in 1906, but could just as easily be set in the present day.

The focus is on the young mother Hanna, who wants nothing more than to break out of her bourgeois role and the social corset. Faced with a difficult decision, she finds her own voice amidst the idyllic nature of Ticino and in courageous devotion to her art.

The story of the Hiltl family business began in 1898, just eight years before the film's plot, and has many thematic parallels. In the early days, the road for Hiltl was as rocky as that for the dropouts on Monte Verità. At that time, the restaurant was called a "root bunker," the guests "grass-eaters. The fact that the first reformers on the mountain in Ascona ate a vegetarian diet and lived a close-to-nature lifestyle makes this cooperation between DCM and Hiltl particularly fitting.

The partnership is accompanied by a campaign by Ruf Lanz, which pointedly stages historical and thematic similarities.

The eye-catching motifs can be seen online and offline on various channels, including cinema slides, posters, screens, postcards and social networks.

Responsible at Hiltl: Rolf Hiltl (overall responsibility), Patrick Becker (Head of Marketing & Communications), Milo Stegmann (Deputy Head of Marketing). Responsible at DCM: Stephanie Candinas (Overall Responsibility/Managing Director), Marco Schärer (Project Management/Marketing & Communications Manager). Responsible at Ruf Lanz: Markus Ruf (Creative Direction), Isabelle Hauser (Art Direction), Markus Ruf (Text) Armin Arnold (DTP), Miro Poffa, Stefan Schmid (Consulting). Image Editing & Postproduction: Lorenz Wahl.

The 45-year-old Fazzari will take over as Head of Human Resources at Ringier Axel Springer Switzerland from November 1, 2021. She is currently responsible for Human Resources in the BonusCard division at Cornèrbank. Previously, she worked as an HR manager in various industries.

A lawyer by training, she specializes in labor law and holds a degree from the University of Constance, among others. "HR is more central than ever in the current times," says Alexander Theobald, CEO of Ringier Axel Springer Switzerland. "The forms of work and the needs of employees will continue to change in the coming period. With Malta Fazzari, we are gaining an experienced HR expert who will bring valuable impetus to HR management. I look forward to working with her."

Fazzari succeeds Patricia Franzoni, who has served as Head of HR at Ringier Axel Springer Switzerland since 2017.

Before joining Suva, Zimmermann worked for more than two decades in various business areas of communications for PostFinance. He brings proven expertise in corporate communications, brand management as well as sponsorship and event management, in addition to his many years of leadership experience in various communications disciplines and experience in dealing with change management and digital transformation. Since 2007, he has been a member of the management team and, since 2019, an associate director of the executive board at PostFinance. In this role, he was also responsible for managing the Communications Crisis Team.

In his new role, Thomas Zimmermann reports to Daniela Bassi, Head of Customer Management and Communications. "I am very much looking forward to the new challenge and the team at Suva," says Thomas Zimmermann. "It is important to me to continue to make the public aware of the important social contribution that Suva makes as Switzerland's largest accident insurance company."

Zimmermann began his career in 1988 at Hallwag in Bern. In 2015, he rounded off his profile with further training in brand leadership at the HWZ. At Suva, Thomas Zimmermann succeeds Arabelle Frey, who is moving at her own request to the position of media spokesperson for the topics "Insurance and Finance" at Suva.

Jung von Matt Limmat's Social Driven Creativity team has recently started working for Swisscom. The Jung von Matt team strengthens Swisscom's existing social media editorial team with the aim of developing it further and taking it to the next level through strategic insights, topic focus and analytical power.

"We benefit from short paths, joint creation and a sparring partner at eye level. And at the same time, we have the advantage of having the outside view in-house, so to speak, thanks to the Jung von Matt team," says Jeffrey Gabriel, Co-Head of Content & Social Media at Swisscom.

1TP5Ready for all channels

Before the start of the editorial collaboration, the teams developed the social strategy together. "We not only conducted a classic, global benchmark analysis, but also used the know-how of our German colleagues from Jung von Matt Flow to conduct a more in-depth data analysis," says Christoph Kinsperger, Executive Strategy Director PR & Content at Jung von Matt Limmat. The result is a content strategy that brings Swisscom's overarching communication platform #bereit to all of the telecommunications provider's social media channels.

In editorial meetings, the teams from Swisscom and Jung von Matt Limmat coordinate closely, collaboratively develop existing formats further and implement new formats in a short time. "The newsroom approach gives us the opportunity to react quickly to communication issues and also to define the implementation together. This helps us gain speed and get more and more comfortable as a team," says Kinsperger.

Anyone who takes out the Wingo Fair Flat cell phone subscription in August will pay just 25 francs a month instead of 55 francs, with a lifelong discount. To dramatize the low price of the promo offer, Wingo and Heimat Zürich once again demanded extreme physical performances from actors Charles Nguela and Xavier Alfonso.

Their limbo dance and campaign can currently be admired on posters, DOOH and numerous digital channels throughout Switzerland.

Responsible at Wingo: Cyril Wick (Head of Wingo), Dominik Spadoni (Head of Marketing 2nd/3rd Brand), Sabrina Stalder (Brand Manager Wingo), Sabine Stoll (Communication Manager 2nd/3rd Brand), Michael Jakob (Digital Communication Manager), Dominik Schneider (Marketing Communication Manager). Responsible agency: Home Zurich. Media: Mediaschneider & Hoy. Production: Sebahat Film + Photo. Photographer: Dan Cermak.

Ringier is also taking over Axel Springer's shares in Slovakia. However, the founder of the company there will retain a minority stake, Ringier announced on Wednesday. In the future, the joint venture partners will only do business together in Poland.

Springer is reportedly focusing on large strategic core markets in the future, with investment priorities in Germany, the USA and Poland. The acquisitions are still subject to the approval of local antitrust authorities. They are expected to be completed later this year. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price.

With the acquisition of Axel Springer's shares in the joint venture in the countries concerned, Ringier is pushing ahead with its international growth and investment strategy in the area of digital marketplaces and media brands. The investment also strengthens Ringier's existing activities in Romania and Bulgaria, it said.

Digital sports media

The transaction is a commitment to a long-term engagement as a modern media investor in Eastern Europe, Ringier CEO Mark Walder is quoted as saying in the statement. Serbia, Slovakia and Hungary offer a good basis for the expansion of the digital sports media strategy.

Ringer and Axel Springer had established a business cooperation in July 2010. Axel Springer contributed its subsidiaries in Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary. Ringier contributed its business in Serbia, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary. The joint venture developed into one of the largest media companies in Central and Eastern Europe with around 3100 employees. It comprised more than 200 digital and print products. (SDA)

Ruf Lanz's "Das Klima dank" campaign launched in 2020 set new benchmarks for Ewz and achieved top scores. Ewz market research also showed what could be done even better: involving the next generation.

In the CO2 vote, too, we saw that the outcome was strongly influenced by the young. So it was time for a content initiative for more environmentally and climate-friendly solutions with renewable energies.

Based on an idea by Ruf Lanz - the ice melting bet - Ewz has launched a cooperation with Radio Energy. An ice penguin sculpture around two meters high will be set up live on Dufourstrasse in front of the radio studio. Radio Energy listeners can place bets on how many centimeters the ice penguin will have melted by 4 p.m. on August 5 - a live experience of global warming. The ice melt bet will be broadcast via Clear Channel's live cam at locations including Bellevue, Bürkliplatz and Globus.

The ice-melting bet will be accompanied by a wide range of branded content on the topics of energy from wind, water, sun and geothermal energy. Ewz solutions with renewable energies are made entertaining via gamification. In addition, the Ruf-Lanz poster campaign will be extended. On the posters, the popular polar animals, who have since had offspring, take their bows. The climate is grateful, and so is the next generation. Because animals from the polar region and the next generation are particularly affected by global warming. "Plus 40 percent engagement rate and over 80 percent likes - based on data, we simply had to continue the "Climate thanks" campaign," says Roland Trabadelo, Head of Branding & Campaigning at Ewz. Because the company has since slightly refreshed its corporate design, the posters also differ from the previous campaign in terms of graphic appeal.

In short video clips for social media, implemented by Jim & Jim, children, representing the next generation, explain how to generate electricity and heat and cool buildings from renewable energy.

The campaign was launched in mid-July. The main advertising media are posters in F4, F200, and F12 formats. Additional attention is attracted by flags in Zurich and Graubünden and a megaposter in Zurich's main train station.

Responsible at Ewz: Katrin Rüesch (Project Management) Roland Trabadelo (Head of Branding & Campaigning), Philipp Schad (Campaigning), Pascale Odermatt (Campaigning), Hadrien Jean-Richard (Social Media), Julia Weber (Social Media), Felix Seifried (Landingpage), Harald Graf (Media & PR), Pascal Schaub (Head of Marketing and Communication). Responsible at Ruf Lanz: Markus Ruf, Danielle Knecht Lanz (Creative Direction), Mario Moosbrugger (Art Direction), Isabelle Hauser (Concept Special Measures), Armin Arnold (DTP), Miro Poffa (Consulting). Image editing: Aschmann Klauser. Responsible at Radio Energy: Andy Fischer (Head of Sales), Nicolas Bernauer (Account Manager Zurich), Marina Korotkow (Project Manager Promotions and Partnerships), Flurin Spescha (Head of Content Creation), Nathalie Rufener (Team Leader On Air Promotion). Responsible at Jim & Jim: Andrin Buchli (concept and project management), Andrea Müller (concept), Marco Frei / MaMa Pictures (video production).