Non-linear customer journeys and the urgent need for new business areas challenge marketing teams. For successful brand management and market success, they have to combine what was designed separately due to historical structures. How do brands present and develop themselves? How can interactions with customers and interested parties be designed to create value? And how can new business areas be developed? Students work out suitable answers to these and other questions within the framework of the new MAZ of the HWZ.

How successful companies and brands are depends on whether they can identify the central challenges and derive the right decisions from them. Today, it is central to understand the various stakeholders in depth and to pick them up on a human and content-related level. Marion Marxer, head of the CAS Multichannel Excellence HWZ course, says: "We know so much about people and their needs at the touchpoints and should also serve them with values instead of spreading messages with a watering can."

The MAS Marketing Excellence HWZ takes up this challenge. In the three CAS Brand Leadership, Multichannel Excellence and Business Creation & Marketing Strategy, students gain skills, customer insights and leadership know-how.

"Although the last year has been very challenging for all of us, I see the creativity. Who would have thought a year ago that we could change processes and entire business models every week. We can and we have to," says Tanja Herrmann, head of the CAS Business Creation & Marketing Strategy HWZ course. Specifically, HWZ's new MAS teaches fast go-to-market strategies and disciplines that take a closer look at human behavior. "Future topics are no longer digital transformation, but creating new business with good ideas and strategies, brand leadership and clever multichannel excellence. This is the new perspective for Next Generation Marketing" says Peter Felser, head of the CAS Brand Leadership program.

Facts about the MAS Marketing Excellence HWZ

The new MAS Marketing Excellence at the HWZ is led by Prof. Michael Grund with Su Franke. It is conducted by Peter Felser, Tanja Herrmann and Marion Marxer with a hybrid teaching model. Students can substitute one CAS for another at a time. Highlights include building their own marketing strategy, access to conferences, boot camps, coaching for marketing strategies, and a specialist community as well as a study trip.

As part of the "Communications Leaders Risk Survey", 100 communications managers in North America and Europe, primarily from companies with an annual turnover of more than one billion US dollars, were asked about their role as risk managers. Against the backdrop of a global pandemic, negative economic growth, social unrest and political tensions, 75 percent of respondents stated that they are involved in their company as a strategic advisor on risk issues. At the same time, 88% of respondents stated that they are increasingly the primary point of contact for such cases.

Lack of technical infrastructure and resources

Companies generally do not have the necessary technology and resources to monitor online communities. More than two thirds of respondents (68 percent) expect to encounter new and unknown risks for their companies in this context.

"Companies today operate in a very polarized environment," explains Vikram Sharma, Managing Director of Crisp. "This means that even those companies that consistently live their values in their day-to-day operations are not immune to public criticism from consumers, employees and shareholders. In addition, there are groups that specifically use digital communication channels to damage a company's reputation, processes or market value. Communications managers need to take every advantage to ensure they are aware of such developments in good time and are able to act pre-emptively, as the stakes for companies are often higher today than ever before."

However, according to the study, many companies are currently not in a position to cover all relevant channels. The communication managers surveyed stated that their companies only monitor an average of 6.4 publicly accessible social media channels. Very few monitor non-public channels such as online forums, messenger apps or alternative online platforms where groups can coordinate.

Concern also at management level

The topic is also becoming increasingly relevant at management level: Respondents stated that the volume (55 percent), diversity (57 percent) and speed (60 percent) of online communication are the biggest concerns for top management. The most serious consequences of risks not being identified and managed in good time were damage to company or brand reputation (93 percent), negative attention (92 percent) and negative effects on employee morale and recruitment (73 percent), customer satisfaction (59 percent) and business results (46 percent).

"The dissemination of information via online media has become massively more important for most companies - this is true for the visibility of a brand, but also for misrepresentations or deliberate attacks on the company and its public perception. As part of our risk management services, we are receiving more and more inquiries from clients who want us to recognize negative information at an early stage, identify the parties behind it and support suitable countermeasures to protect the companies under attack," says Christoph Rojahn, Managing Director at Kroll.

Less reaction time

Almost all (94%) of the communication managers surveyed confirmed that online communication shortens the time window available to companies to respond to risks. For 88% of respondents, online communication channels are also an important source of information for identifying and managing risks at an early stage.

At the same time, 75 percent of respondents are not sure whether their company is in a position to recognize and manage online risks in good time. More than two thirds (69 percent) believe that it is becoming increasingly difficult to do this. 73% state that their company is not investing enough in modern risk intelligence solutions to meet this business-critical challenge.

Problems will intensify

More than two thirds (77%) of respondents believe that the aforementioned uncertainties for companies will intensify over the course of the year. The Communications Leaders Risk Survey thus underlines how important it is for companies to gain a time advantage with the help of intelligent early warning solutions.

Surveyed in March 2021 Crisp and Kroll in cooperation with GLGan insight network with access to more than 900,000 executives, scientists, academics and former employees in the public sector, 100 communication managers in companies in the USA, Canada and Europe. The majority (60 percent) of respondents were from companies with revenues of more than 500 million US dollars, while half (52 percent) were from companies with revenues of more than one billion US dollars.

Competitive gaming - i.e. e-sports - has been a global hype for several years. It has its own subculture, millions of euros in prize money, and tens of millions of viewers streaming tournaments. The market is booming, with many global brands securing the rights to leagues and teams. What gets lost in the shuffle is that e-sports is a competitive niche, but gaming is a mass market. This is shown by the data of the opinion research institute Insightful in the representative study "Gaming Atlas Switzerland 2021" by Jung von Matt and Ovomaltine: With 44 percent, almost half of the Swiss describe themselves as gamers and play at least five hours a week, 26 percent of them even between five and 30 hours. Gaming is now a bigger global market than the film industry and the entire North American sports industry combined.

Gamers mainly play games on smartphones (83% of gamers), PCs (63%) and tablets (56%). The most popular console is the PS4, followed by Nintendo consoles (Nintendo Wii and older) and Nintendo Switch. The most popular games are Mario Kart (48% of gamers*), Candy Crush, (46%), Sims (38%), Fifa (36%), Pokémon (34%), Minecraft (32%), Need for Speed (32%), Call of Duty (32%), GTA (29%), Super Mario Bros. (27%) and Fortnite (27%). The study also shows that gamers are very interested in sports and are often active themselves. Hiking, swimming and jogging are among their most popular sports. What is particularly interesting is that 58 percent of gamers and 76 percent of competitive gamers have a positive attitude toward collaborations with brands.

Huge playing field for brands

Despite the high level of distribution and acceptance, only very few companies in Switzerland have recognized the gaming community as a relevant target group. And this is despite the fact that it is a community with extremely high purchasing power and brand affinity. So what's the reason why so little is happening in the gaming world? "It often has to do with outdated prejudices. Gaming is still perceived by many as a niche and gamers are connoted with negative stereotypes," says Cyrill Hauser, Chief Client Officer and gaming expert at Jung von Matt Limmat. "This is surprising, as the playing field for brands is huge: from campaigns and branded content that is channel- and target group-specific on Twitch, Reddit and Co. to cooperations with globally beloved gaming IPs on the product level, anything is possible." Together with Michelle Danilschenko, Managing Director at Jung von Matt Tech, and Jonas Bayona, Social Creative Director at Jung von Matt Limmat, Hauser forms the agency's team of gaming experts.

Although many things work, one thing is indispensable: Appreciation for the community. Jonas Bayona sees this as the most important criterion when it comes to successful marketing to this target group: "Anyone who can position themselves authentically, creatively and with a high brand fit in the gaming community will win. To do this, however, you have to understand and appreciate the community." And Swiss brands can also learn from the gaming industry when it comes to corporate platforms and apps. "Many creatives are inspired by games. Nowhere else is the experience built up as consistently and seamlessly as in video games," says Michelle Danilschenko.

The representative study "Gaming Atlas 2021" was conducted by the market research institute Insightful in collaboration with Jung von Matt Limmat, Jung von Matt Nerd and Ovaltine. In the study, 2000 Swiss people over the age of 16 were asked about their gaming behavior. 878 of the respondents describe themselves as gamers, 365 as competitive gamers (focus on participation in tournaments). Data for Germany and Austria were also analyzed as part of the study.

Swisscom's commitment to Swiss Ski has always been a matter of the heart for more than 20 years, the telecommunications provider wrote in a statement on Monday. In 2001, after the grounding of Swissair, Swisscom took over the function of the ski association's then general sponsor overnight and supported Swiss skiing during a difficult phase, it said. "Swisscom remained committed as the main sponsor and reliable partner of the ski association in good times, but also in less good times," it continues.

But now it's over: Swisscom does not want to renew the contract, which expires in April 2022. While the telecommunications company would recognize the association's need for increasingly higher investment to secure its top position in skiing in the long term, it does not want to substantially increase its commitment to snow sports and does not want to make such a long-term commitment again, but instead wants to engage more broadly along its brand promise in the future.

In 2020, Compresso beat out several agencies in a two-stage pitch to win the marketing budget of Elmer Citro and Elmer Mineral. Now, initial work for Elmer Citro is on air across Switzerland with the goal of increasing awareness and rejuvenating the target audience.

The nationally focused umbrella campaign developed by Compresso pays tribute to the brand's origins and values. The gentle rebranding elevates Bergfrische to a more modern level and is intended to provide a bolder, sometimes somewhat more provocative target group approach.

With the launch of Elmer Citro in Western Switzerland, the out-of-home and online campaign will also start from mid-June. Compresso relies on a younger look for the visual implementation and focuses on the colors "yellow" and "green", which are closely linked to the brand. Linguistically, it will be more direct, fresh and cheeky.

In keeping with Elmer Citro and the claim "Bergfrisch ehrlich" (Mountain Fresh Honest), the communicative appearance is self-confident, genuine and with a slight wink. What remains unchanged is the focus on the origin, the over ninety years of tradition and the taste of Elmer Citro.

The umbrella campaign also includes an on-pack promotion, in which a code can be found in the lid from now until September 2021 and there are outdoor prizes to be won, as well as a mountain railway promotion as a regional measure.

Responsible at Ramseier Suisse / Elmer Citro: Evelyn Kafka (Head of Brand Management), Stephanie Waller (Brand Manager SINALCO and Elmer). Responsible at Compresso: Fridolin Stauffacher, Michelle Müller (Consulting/Project Management), Alexandra Nadtochiy (Strategy), Nina Bärtsch (Texts), Sean Dünki (Art Direction), Christoff Strukamp (Creative Direction, Zimmermann Communications).

Larissa Rhyn holds a Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences with a major in Political Science from the University of Zurich. She completed her master's degree in international affairs with a focus on security policy and peace and conflict studies at the Institut de Hautes Etudes Internationales et du Développement (IHEID) in Geneva in 2017. The Zurich native got her start in journalism at the Südostschweizwhere she worked as a freelance journalist for three years from spring 2012.

After professional detours - among others to the FDFA, where she worked for the Swiss Embassy in Madrid, or to the Centre on Conflict, Development and Peacebuilding in Geneva - Larissa Rhyn found her way back to journalism in 2018 with an internship at the "SRF Tagesschau". At the beginning of 2019, she then switched to a traineeship at the NZZ. For two years she has been responsible for the New Zurich Newspaper as editor of the Federal Parliament. In September 2021, she will return to SRF, where she will join the Federal Parliament TV editorial team in Bern.

Usic is one of the business representatives campaigning for a Yes to the CO2 Act. To communicate that engineers develop climate-friendly solutions in their daily work, PAM created a motif with the headline "Monday to Friday for Future".

In the style of the Fridays for Future movement, Usic is also openly expressing sympathy for the concerns of climate activists. The campaign was not well received by SVP politician Michael Frauchiger, who criticized it as "glorifying vandals."

In addition to trilingual posters, a banner was mounted on Bern's Kornhaus Bridge and an action was carried out: Engineers sat working on their brought office chairs on Casinoplatz to underline the message Monday to Friday for Future. GLP National Councilor Beat Flach and FDP Councilor of State Olivier Français also supported the action.

Responsible at Usic: Lea Kusano (Head of Communications), Pierre Epars (Board member Usic and initiator Think Tank rethink_ing). Responsible at PAM Advertising: Parvez Sheik Fareed, Miro Pfister (creation, strategy). Photographer: Hanspeter Schneider. Image processing: Stephanie Wencek.

The retail trade in Switzerland has over 300,000 employees and more than 25,000 apprentices every year. This makes the retail trade the second largest sector and even the largest trainer of apprentices in Switzerland.

Long working hours and comparatively low wages are unfortunately still widespread in the retail trade. In addition, the demands on employees continue to increase and more and more tasks fall on the same number of people. Many work part-time, with irregular hours and wages with room for improvement, and often have a family to support. The pressure is increasing.

Reward for dedication and commitment

"Day after day, retailers are there for our society with their tireless efforts and commitment. That's why they are real everyday heroes for us and we say thank you," says Stefano Farro, initiator of "Alltagshelden - der Detailhandelsverband". In the newly launched association, the employees of the retail trade are at the center and are supported and accompanied from various sides.

The new platform Everyday-heroes.org is basically open to everyone and offers valuable input via news, jobs and other areas even without membership. Those who decide to become a member for 44 francs per year can benefit from various support offers and advantages from well-known partners

Open to new ideas - the voice of the members counts

The association Alltagshelden always wants to develop and improve. That is why the opinion of the members counts. Anyone who has a good idea or a suggestion for improvement can report it at any time and thus also make an important contribution to further development.

The campaign's central idea is based on that of the already launched Today portals FM1Today and PilatusToday. The focus is on the handbag and backpack contents of five fictitious testimonials from the Mittelland. No matter how different their gadgets are, the testimonials have one thing in common: they all have the entire Mittelland in the bag with the new ArgoviaToday app. In addition to publicizing the youngest media brand for the Mittelland also encourage app download.

The lead color of the campaign subjects is the same light blue as the logo of the Today portal. On the one hand, the color blue reflects the convergence within the brands of the Mittelland - for example, this color can be found on Tele M1 as well as in the visual property of Radio Argovia - and on the other hand, it refers to the color of the coat of arms and the water canton of Aargau.

The campaign includes radio and TV spots, an OOH campaign, display and video ads, and print ads. The campaign strategy, conception and implementation were carried out almost entirely in-house. Media designer and art director Oliver Fennel was responsible for the logo and campaign design. Photographer Andrea Camen and illustrator and stylist Mira Gisler were called in for photography and styling.

Rebranding for FM1Today, facelift for PilatusToday

For the launch of the latest Today addition, the two existing platforms FM1Today and PilatusToday were given a new coat of paint. The focus was on digital use and the stringency of the branding appearance across all three Today portals.

Responsible at CH Media: Denise Hildbrand (Head of Marketing & PR Entertainment), Rahel Stanig (Head of Marketing TV Regional & Radio), Lorena Furter (Brand Manager), Sofia Micic (Digital Marketing Manager), Vanessa Trieb (Polygrapher), Raul Steffer (Executive Producer Grips), Philipp Sulser (Commercial Producer & Audio Producer Grips), Matthias Eugster (Cameraman & Editor Grips), Bernhard Loretz (Account Manager & Audio Producer Grips). External partners: Oliver Fennel (Brand Design), Andrea Camen (Photography), Mira Gisler (Styling).

International travel is only picking up slowly as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Graubünden Ferien has therefore launched an offensive to attract guests from western Switzerland to Graubünden this summer and fall. The tourism organization is being supported by the PR agency PrimCom. "We are delighted to be supporting this popular vacation region to raise awareness of its touristic diversity in French-speaking Switzerland," says Mary Stefanizzi, who is in charge of the new project at PrimCom. The agency is thus strengthening its presence in French-speaking Switzerland, where it has been active since it was founded in 2005.

Graubünden Holidays has created the Alpine Circle to make it easier for first-time visitors to discover Switzerland's largest canton (Werbewoche.ch reported). The new offer makes it possible to discover the diversity of the region on an individual round trip - whether by car, camper, motorcycle or even on the Rhaetian Railway. "The Alpine Circle is a particularly attractive offer for visitors from French-speaking Switzerland who want to spend their first real vacation in Graubünden," says Stefanizzi.

The 41-year-old journalist will take up his post on July 1, according to Tamedia, to which Bilan announced on Monday. De Weck was most recently in charge of communications for the French-speaking market at the private bank Lombard Odier and previously worked as a journalist at the daily newspaper Tribune de Genève. (SDA)

The current campaign is all about the ping-pong table in Digitec's branding. The various game types are intended to visualize the advantages of the subscription. With the "Family + Friends" option, up to four friends can be integrated into a subscription - a circuit around the ping pong table is created. With the 5G option, the game is played at professional speed, and with the MultiSIM option, customers can use several devices with one subscription - a skillful game with two rackets.

The campaign will be played out from Monday in German and French-speaking Switzerland via various online channels such as Youtube, Twitch, Instagram and Snapchat.

Responsible at Digitec Galaxus (InHouse): Martin Walthert (CMO), Flurin Spring (Creative Director), Ursina Grimm (Head of Brand Management), Luisa Silvestri, Julian Stauffer (Art Direction and Implementation), Sven Mathis (Graphics and Mikrotypo), Fawad Qadire (Digital Producing), Julia Dürr (Brand Managment & Project Management), Anne Chapuis, Jean-François Arnaud (Translation), Magdalena Prynda, Theresa Wuitz, Roberto Debonis (Digital Marketing). Responsible at Filmgerberei (production): Gregor Brändli (Director), Azra Djurdjevic (Producer), Jonas Jäggy (DoP), Alun Meyerhans (Edit), Jürgen Kupka (Grading), UKO - The Audio Suite (Sound Post Production).