The Road Traffic Office of the Canton of Aargau employs 195 people to ensure the safety of motorized road traffic. Every year, almost 300,000 vehicle licenses are issued and over 100,000 new drivers are registered.

The Office now wants to improve further and implement its mission in an even more service-oriented manner. This transformation is to be initiated with the "sicher|weiter" service promise.

The narrative developed in a workshop stands for both the internal and external values. Externally, the Road Traffic Office is concerned that its customers continue to travel safely in the future, and internally, the terms stand for "We always go the extra mile for our customers".

The values are to be further anchored internally via case studies in the coming months. "In this way, we are creating clearly binding values around 'safe|forward' in situations that we frequently encounter," says Martin Sprenger, Head of Specialist Services and HR and initiator of the transformation.

At the Road Traffic Office, "sicher|weiter" is already visible as lettering in many places. In addition to posters, there are now also videos with stories in which the office has helped its customers as a mentor beyond the legal mandate.

Responsible at the Road Traffic Office of the Canton of Aargau: Martin Sprenger, Johannes M. Baer (overall responsibility), Salomé Jansen (project management), Erik Brandsberg (video). Responsible at Mattenberger Group: Matthias M. Mattenberger (overall responsibility).

In the summer session, the National Council and the Council of States decided that the media in Switzerland should now receive CHF 120 million more in direct and indirect funding over seven years than before (Werbewoche.ch reported).

For the referendum committee, which presented its arguments at a media conference in Bern on Tuesday, this media promotion is unnecessary, wrong and dangerous. "The independence and credibility of the media - and of each individual journalist - are at stake," explained Philipp Gut, communications consultant and publisher and managing director of the referendum committee. If the state fed the media, they would become state media.

Unacceptable under constitutional law

Peter Weigelt, former FDP National Councillor from St. Gallen and President of the referendum committee, declared that the media subsidies were unacceptable under constitutional law, harmful to the state and democracy and discriminatory in terms of competition policy. This direct media funding was a taboo and a breach of the constitution.

Article 93 of the Federal Constitution establishes a state-funded radio and television broadcaster. However, the other media are not defined in the constitution, nor have the people ever expressed their opinion on their subsidization.

Weigelt described the deliberate exclusion of free newspapers and free online media from the subsidies as particularly offensive. "The state is thus cementing the existing media monopolies at the expense of small private offerings and local and regional initiatives," said Weigelt.

Damage to young people and democracy

The Young Liberal politician Evelyn Motschi emphasized that young people are dependent on obtaining information free of charge. "The media subsidy law may be well-intentioned, but it is counterproductive. It harms young people and democracy," said the law student.

If the package of measures in favor of the media is accepted, free online media would not receive a single centime in subsidies, complained Alec von Barnekow, a member of the Fribourg Young Liberals. On the other hand, their direct competitors would receive generous subsidies. However, it is not the job of politicians or the state to favor one model over another.

Weigelt emphasized that the referendum committee had not yet sought contact with parties, politicians or associations and had never actively participated in the debate. The aim had been to start collecting signatures on a broad front in parallel with publication in the Federal Gazette. During the voting phase, however, the referendum committee wanted to open up and seek contact with parties and associations. (SDA)

Wysling will continue to work as a correspondent based in Italy until his retirement, covering topics related to the Mediterranean, according to a statement from the NZZ from Tuesday.

In March, the NZZ that Jonas Projer will be the new editor-in-chief of the NZZ on Sunday become (Werbewoche.ch reported). Bernet thus had to relinquish the leadership of the paper after only four years. There had been "differing views" about the further development of the NZZ on Sunday was given, it was said.

Born in 1963, Bernet headed the NZZ on Sunday from October 2017. He previously held various positions for the NZZ active. He gained experience abroad from 1992 to 1994 as European correspondent in Brussels for various Swiss regional newspapers. (SDA)

The Federal Council has decided on further opening steps as of June 26. An important tool in the course of these openings is the Covid certificate: a personal QR code that is available digitally or as a printout. The certificate can also be carried electronically: The "COVID Certificate" app is available to the public for download free of charge.

In addition to the surname and first name, date of birth and a certificate number, the Covid certificate also contains details of the Covid 19 vaccination, recovery or negative PCR test or antigen rapid test result. An electronic signature from the Swiss Confederation makes the certificate forgery-proof and guarantees its authenticity. No data is stored in a central system.

The information campaign for the Covid certificate was developed together with Rod Kommunikation and focuses on the certificate's areas of application: major events, travel abroad and clubs. With campaign subjects that playfully integrate these situations into a QR code, the population is made aware of the certificate and at the same time informed about its areas of application. The campaign also points out that, as of now, people with questions about the Covid certificate can obtain information on the web portal set up for this purpose. At Bag-coronavirus.ch/certificate the most important questions about the Covid certificate are answered, and various information materials are also available for download.

The Swiss Print Award jury has nominated 32 objects for the Swiss Print Award from a total of 41 entries. The winner of one of the 13 coveted awards for excellent print products will be announced at the Award Night on September 23, 2021, starting at 6 p.m. in the Papiersaal Zurich.

Swiss Print Award 2021

The nominees

TikTok was originally released in the Chinese market in September 2016, and after merging with another Chinese social media service, namely Musical.ly, was made available globally on August 2, 2018. As the most downloaded app in the world in 2020 TikTok is now  is available in over 150 countries and has over one billion users.

TikTok users are much younger, with 60 percent belonging to the so-called Generation Z. About one-third, or 32.5 percent, of U.S.-based TikTok users are 10 to 19 years old. TikTok recently established a $1 billion Creator Fund. This money is paid directly by TikTok to its content creators to further strengthen relationships with influencers.

Some surprising TikTok trends

Even though TikTok's largest demographic is Gen Z, older users are also becoming more active. TikTok shared new data on this growing trend: "Every day, millions of parents, teens, grandparents, and other groups come to TikTok to share snippets of their daily lives. What's unique is that often the whole family participates together - even teenagers aren't afraid to do it. It used to be a challenge to get everyone to sit still for a photo; now we see perfectly choreographed dance routines by the whole family, including grandma." TikTok also notes that parents are happy to share "tips, tricks and in-depth knowledge" on the platform.

Why brands should use TikTok

TikTok enables brands to communicate with younger generations in a way that grabs their attention: through creative short videos. TikTokers are also extremely active and interact heavily on the platform:

Fortunately, these high engagement rates also include brands. During the pandemic, interaction with brands' social media posts has increased, and TikTok users* are increasingly active when interacting with brands online. Across all networks and industries, the average increases are as follows:

• 44 interactions more per day
• 7.3 interactions more per post per day

TikTok users also interact with brands at a 31 percent higher frequency than users of other platforms.

TikTok's unique algorithm makes it possible to tailor content very precisely to users' preferences, and is one of the most four main reasons why TikTok will grow in 2021 and further expand its appeal. It presents users with exactly the content they love and want to see.

But there is more good news for the advertising market: Many people are not only present and very active on TikTok, but are also not afraid of advertising. According to Adweek "Gen Z doesn't mind being advertised to as long as the campaigns showcase their own entertainment and brand values that they can get behind - lucky for advertisers."

What can brands do on TikTok?

TikTok is definitely the new battleground for consumers' hearts - both today and in the future. Even though the platform is especially popular with a younger audience, brands of all kinds are striving to connect with them through TikTok. Among them is Porsche, for example.

So here's what brands looking to get started with TikTok should do:

• Stay relevant
• Make campaigns interactive
• Putting people in focus
• illustrate the values of the brand

How do brands get creative on TikTok?

For brands that are inherently visually strong, such as fashion or makeup brands, coming up with creative ideas can be quite easy. But what might a bank post, for example?

PostFinance has had great success on TikTok. On the PostFinance account, a mix of funny home office videos and short videos about the services are shared. PostFinance has also shared many HR marketing videos to illustrate their work environment in order to position themselves as a desirable employer.

The condom company Ceylor Switzerland uses humor, accompanied by current pop music, to inform the public about the importance of always practicing safe sex. In this way, this creative brand's posts make it clear, even to non-German speakers, that there's no reason to avoid condoms because they might be too small.

How can brands drive conversions & sales on TikTok?

In a recent study, about half of TikTok users said they discover new products through ads posted by a product or brand.

A large audience is great. A large, interacting audience is even better. And best of all, the platform makes it easy for that audience to convert to customers within the platform: Because that's the formula for outperforming other leading social media platforms.

The platform is investing heavily in social commerce and its features to help brands set up ads. The TikTok pixel, a small piece of code that can be placed on a website, helps brands find new customers, optimize their campaigns, and measure the performance of ads.

To help merchants* create and implement campaigns targeted at TikTokers, TikTok announced in October 2020 a global partnership with Shopify an e-commerce platform for online stores and retail sales systems. The partnership makes it easier for Shopify merchants to leverage the creativity of the TikTok community, get discovered and optimize their marketing campaigns.

* Yoeri Callebaut is chief growth and marketing officer at social media and influencer marketing agency Kingfluencers.

Kingfluencers offers a full-service approach for brands - from strategy to execution to optimization, including TikTok influencer marketing, TikTok ads/performance marketing and social commerce optimization.

As part of the brand refresh, the brand message, the logo, the design system and a color and image world were developed. The screen design of the platform was presented in different versions.

Responsible at Buildigo: Michael Hügli (CEO), Thomas Gerber (Project Manager), Mergime Raci (UX Design). Responsible at Studio Thom Pfister: Thom Pfister (Creative Director), Ursula Rytz (Senior Consultant), Daniel Hackiewicz (Art Director/Web Developer).

Exponents of the fashion industry are increasingly turning to digital distribution channels, which means that advertising bookings are also shifting to the digital space, the company further writes. The Textile Review has therefore been struggling for years with falling revenues in a structurally declining market. The Covid 19 pandemic, which has hit the fashion industry hard, has once again accelerated this development.

Three terminations

For this reason, the media company had felt compelled to discontinue the specialist title. The last issue is scheduled to appear on September 20, 2021. As a result, there will be three layoffs. A social plan is to be applied, according to CH Media.

The 44-year-old Arnold has been editor-in-chief of the local paper, which is published twice a week and has a total circulation of 9552 copies, since 2011. He worked for the newspaper for around 20 years. Uri weekly paper active. The Daetwyler Foundation, to which Arnold is now moving, is a charitable foundation that was established in 1990. (SDA/swi)

In April, Ron Orp launched the new skills matchmaking platform We Talents (Werbewoche.ch reported). Nine content creators accompanied the launch, discovered the platform, showed their skills and created content. Equipped with an annual membership, the content creators first registered themselves as talent on the platform and then took their community through their everyday life as a freelancer.

The campaign was accompanied by creative minds @jonglr, @ellamettler, @itsgiahanle, @remoneuhaus and @mr.hy5 from the photo and image industry. They created gallery posts, videos and stories on Instagram. From and for the editorial area with @slavia_karlen and @katrincroth gallery posts, stories and a blog post were created, which introduces the platform and the self-employment in more detail. In addition, the fashion experts @stylinabyselina du @nanagotti were part of the campaign, who presented their everyday life in the form of a reel, gallery post and stories.

The posts were accompanied by a clear call-to-action message. The content creators used their personal We-Thing link, which they used to promise their community a second free trial month. All posts on Instagram can be found under the hashtag #WeTalentsForFreelancers.

We Talents offers talents a platform to present themselves and their skills in a visual, dynamic and versatile way. Talents can be freelancers and professionals, as well as private individuals who have skills in a creative field. Clients can post jobs and search for talents.

As majority owner, RTL Group had only secured the remaining 34 percent of RTL Belgium at the beginning of December. This includes the TV channels RTL-TVI, Club RTL and Plug RTL, the radio stations Bel RTL, Radio Contact and the digital channel Mint. Provided the regulatory authorities approve the deal, it is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of this year.

Most recently, RTL Group had strategically realigned itself. In the Netherlands, RTL Nederland merged with Talpa Network to stand up to global competition such as Netflix and Disney+. In neighboring France, the private TV companies TF1 and M6 also want to merge after lengthy speculation in order to have a stronger position in international competition. (SDA)

With a fresh new look, Twint is showing up on all current advertising channels these days. The new slogan "Twint makes it easy" is supported by images of real merchants. "In a first phase, we asked our small merchants who would like to be part of this campaign. We received over 300 applications with great pictures - that was overwhelming," says Jens Plath, Chief Marketing Officer at Twint.

Three winners with their own advertising poster

Three retailers were finally selected for the posters: Picknick.ch from Zurich, the Leihbar in Bern and the Arco Mushing Team from Forel-sur-Lucens convinced with their story and won the campaign shoot with Twint as well as three poster sites around their business.

Closer partnership with the dealers

All other merchants who are not to be found on the advertising posters are also to play a major role in the company's communication in the future, as Twint writes in a statement. "We maintain a good relationship with our merchants and want to make our reach available to them in return," Jens Plath concretizes. In the coming months, the Swiss payment app will continue to play with real Swiss merchants on its own channels and tell their stories.

The campaign is the first in Twint's new brand refresh, with Zurich-based SHB+ for strategy and Raphael Püttmann and Stephan Deisenhofer as the creative team.

Responsible at Twint: Andrea Walker (Campaign Manager). Creation: Raphael Püttmann, Stephan Deisenhofer. Photos: Jessie Goldsmith.