Dumeni Casaulta has worked in various roles for Radio FM1, FM1Today and TVO since 2011. Since 2021, he has been responsible for the content of the regional TV station in Eastern Switzerland as Editor-in-Chief. The 37-year-old from St. Gallen is now embarking on a new career path. He is leaving TVO at the end of April 2025 to join Stadler. He will be responsible for internal communications at the Swiss division of the international rail vehicle manufacturer.

"I remain a spectator and fan"

Commenting on his decision, Dumeni Casaulta says: "It is difficult for me to leave TVO and this passionate, highly committed team. And yet, after more than 13 years in daily journalism, I feel the urge to take a new path in order to gain new impressions and learn new things. TVO will be able to produce several new programs this year and, in my opinion, is well positioned for the future. I will remain a viewer and fan."

"With Dumeni Casaulta, we are losing a creative, courageous and versatile editor-in-chief. It is to his credit that he and his team have successfully repositioned TVO in Eastern Switzerland," says TVO CEO Dominique Lammer.

13-year career in journalism

Dumeni Casaulta began his journalistic career as an editor at Radio FM1 after studying journalism and organizational communication at the ZHAW. From 2016 to 2021, he was Editorial Director of Radio FM1 and FM1Today. He then took over journalistic responsibility for TVO as editor-in-chief. He is also known to TVO audiences as the presenter of the discussion program "Zur Sache" and various special programs.

TVO will provide information about his successor "in due course".

Boom Creative Studio is increasingly focusing on AI-supported creative processes and for the first time is presenting a line-up of artists who are characterized by distinctive styles. The existing roster will remain, but will be supplemented by AI creatives, as the studio writes in a press release. The aim is to seamlessly integrate the possibilities of AI into classic film productions.

The studio already has experience in AI-supported post-production and has established corresponding workflows. This means that AI-generated content can be efficiently integrated into existing production processes.

The new roster includes award-winning director Stéphane Benini, who is developing new forms of storytelling with AI, the Los Angeles-based collective Phantom X, which has established itself as a pioneer in the AI film sector, and Paris-based graphic designer Justine Fabarez aka Voyager.ai, who combines AI-generated stills with retro elements.

In addition to artistic implementation, Boom Creative Studio focuses on the targeted management of AI briefs. Agencies and clients are informed about the potential of artificial intelligence and supported in integrating AI technologies into their projects in a meaningful way.

Based on the question of how far the introduction of AI has effectively progressed in Swiss SMEs, the study results show that 38% of the companies surveyed have already introduced generative AI or are actively considering its use. According to the study, typical areas of application for GenAI applications are HWZ Report content creation, marketing and process automation. Generative AI is followed by the use of data analysis at 35%, while machine learning lags behind at just 12%, according to the results. The reasons for this: a lack of understanding of the potential of machine learning and its perceived complexity.

Challenges in AI adoption

According to the results, companies consider the shortage of skilled workers in the AI sector and a lack of understanding of the technology to be key challenges. Regulatory requirements - particularly in terms of data protection - would make the introduction of artificial intelligence even more difficult. Many SMEs want transparent and reliable solutions as they want to validate AI outputs and clarify liability issues. Generative AI services such as ChatGPT are constantly evolving, but according to the study results, companies often lack customized solutions based on self-trained models and their own data.

"The technology is making progress, but without targeted investment in employee training and the creation of transparent processes, sustainable adoption cannot take place. Human and organizational factors are crucial to fully exploiting the potential of AI," says Evangelos Xevelonakis, Head of the Center for Data Science & Technology at the HWZ.

"The results show that Swiss companies are very interested in data-driven management, but that the development of specialized AI solutions is often hindered by a lack of expertise and uncertainty about the ROI," adds Matthias Mohler, Head of Data & AI Consulting at Swisscom.

Chandler Robinson, a student of the MAS Applied Data Science at the HWZ, conducted the study as part of his Master's thesis. According to the report, he received support from Evangelos Xevelonakis from the HWZ and Matthias Mohler from Swisscom. The survey was conducted in fall 2024 and provides insights into the use of AI by 123 Swiss SMEs and 5 large companies. In addition to the survey, Robinson conducted seven personal interviews with senior IT executives.  (Dylan Wildhaber/jor/swi)

This article first appeared in Netzwoche.

The closure of the Jelmoli department store marks the end of a Zurich institution, but the name remains present online: Jelmoli Versand is continuing its activities as an online retailer. A current campaign under the slogan "Here to stay" accompanies this transition and aims to further anchor the brand value in the public eye.

At the center of the campaign is model Manuela Frey, who can be seen on posters and digital screens in and around the department store and on public transport. The message conveys that Jelmoli-shop.ch will remain available 24/7.

For Manuela Frey, the campaign has a personal meaning: even as a child, she admired the advertising posters on the Jelmoli building and dreamed of appearing there herself one day. The fact that she can now be seen on the outside of the department store for the mail order company closes a circle for her - while Jelmoli-Versand continues its tradition in the digital space

Microsoft is opening an AI research lab in Zurich, joining Google and OpenAI. According to the new co-working space View in Stockerstrasse and employ several dozen people. Zurich Enge is thus establishing itself as an AI powerhouse.

To further develop Microsoft's Copilot, AI boss Mustafa Suleyman has brought three former Google Deepmind employees on board, as Financial Times writes. These are Matthias Minderer, whose specialty is image analysis, Marco Tagliasacchi and Zalán Borsos. The latter two had previously worked on Deepmind's planned AI agent called Astra. They also played important roles in the development of Audio Overviews - a text-to-audio function - in Google's NotebookLM.

The trio of researchers is, according to Financial Times integral to the next generation of Copilot and will help to develop interactive AI agents that can take over tasks such as travel bookings or calendar management. All three comment on their new jobs at Microsoft on Linkedin.

Matthias Minderer: "Job update: I have joined Microsoft AI as a founding member of the new Zurich office, where we are currently putting together a fantastic team. I'll be working with colleagues in London and the US on image analysis features and can't wait to get started. There's a lot to do!"

Marco Tagliasacchi: "I am delighted to announce that I have joined Microsoft AI as a founding member of the new Zurich office. I will be working in audio and collaborating with teams in London and the US. AI continues to be a transformative force, with audio playing a critical role in creating more natural, intuitive and immersive interactions. I'm looking forward to the journey ahead."

Zalán Borsos: "I am pleased to announce that I have joined Microsoft AI as a founding member of the new Zurich office. Together with an outstanding team, I will focus on the further development of audio features. I am looking forward to the exciting journey ahead!" (Dajana Dakic/jor)

This article first appeared in Netzwoche.

Machine translations are becoming increasingly powerful, but are reaching their limits, especially in professional communication. With its new platform, Supertext is taking a hybrid approach: an AI-based translation can optionally be checked by professional language experts, which should provide a fast and reliable solution.

The offer starts with six language combinations, which will be gradually expanded. A LinkedIn post in flawless French costs around 5.70 francs and is delivered in an average of eight minutes. An A4 page is available for around 19 francs within 15 minutes - significantly faster and cheaper than traditional translation services.

Supertext uses its own language models, which were developed by an in-house team of experts in machine learning, engineering and linguistics. The system runs on Swiss servers and meets high data protection standards. Companies can also have company-specific language models trained in order to keep their corporate language consistent.

Internal tests attest to the higher quality of the Supertext system than DeepL in three out of four language combinations examined. The new AI performed particularly well with longer texts. According to Supertext, companies that rely on specialized models also achieve a significantly higher rate of print-ready translations than with standard AI solutions.

Germany is in a political crisis: the traffic light coalition is struggling to find solutions, infrastructure problems remain unresolved and migration policy is polarizing. The new NZZ podcast "Machtspiel" takes a look at these challenges. The moderation team analyzes current debates, asks critical questions and discusses alternative perspectives.

The hosts include Benedict Neff, head of the NZZ features section, Mirna Funk, author and journalist, Marc Felix Serrao, editor-in-chief of the NZZ in Germany, and Sven Preger, head of the NZZ podcast. In 30-minute conversations, also with guests depending on the topic, they shed light on Germany's political dynamics on a weekly basis.

The first episode is available now. New episodes are published every Thursday on Nzz.ch, in the NZZ app and on all popular podcast platforms.

SRF is responding to declining revenues and rising costs with accelerated restructuring as part of "SRF 4.0". The job cuts will begin as early as the start of 2025. "We need to implement the adjustments originally planned for 2026 as quickly as possible to ensure a balanced budget," says SRF Director Nathalie Wappler. In concrete terms, this means fewer in-house productions, a leaner radio offering and savings in IT.

SRF bi de Lüt - Live" and SCA also canceled

SRF is focusing its TV offering even more strongly on prime time. The early evening program will be streamlined and "G&G - Gesichter und Geschichten" will be discontinued after 20 years, as was announced on Wednesday (Markt-kom.com reported). The social program is being replaced by purchased entertainment formats. "We are pooling our resources where they will have the greatest impact," says Wappler. SRF 1's Saturday evening program will also be streamlined: the annual editions of "SRF bi de Lüt - Live" and the "Swiss Comedy Awards" will be discontinued. Repeats and extended summer breaks are also intended to reduce costs.

Radio: Shorter contributions, less live moderation

Savings are also being made on the radio. Longer formats such as the radio play and "Trend" on SRF 1 or the "Science Magazine" on SRF 2 Kultur are disappearing. Instead, shorter programs will strengthen the program flow. SRF 4 News will no longer have live moderations in the mornings, while SRF 2 Kultur will focus more on art and society. Some podcasts and special programs will be discontinued or merged with other formats.

Savings in technology

SRF is also reducing its technology budget by CHF 3 million. Planned projects will be postponed, license and service costs will be reduced and seven additional full-time positions will be cut.

The measures are to be implemented by the beginning of 2026. At the same time, SRF is planning further rounds of savings for 2026, including a reduction in the size of the Executive Board. "Our financial situation leaves us no choice," says Wappler. Nevertheless, she emphasizes that SRF wants to continue investing in digital formats and innovative offerings.

Following the 2024 TV ad, the agency is continuing its strategic mission: to strike a balance between health and life in order to further position Groupe Mutuel as a global personal insurer offering real pension solutions.

Two decades ago, Google Maps changed the way people find their way around. Today, over two billion people worldwide use the digital map service, and more than 500 million actively contribute with reviews and photos. In Switzerland, the Rhine Falls is the most frequently rated location with 75,000 reviews.

There's a lot of Switzerland in it

With over 100 million updates every day and one trillion kilometers of routes provided in 2024 alone, the map service ensures up-to-date and precise information. Swiss developers have also contributed to this: the acquisition of the Lucerne-based geodata company Endoxon in 2006 laid the foundation for numerous innovations. For example, Google Transit, the public transport function of Google Maps, was heavily co-developed by Google's Zurich site and initially launched in Switzerland. The "Bike Directions" bicycle navigation system was also designed here and launched as a pilot project in 2012.

Most visited Swiss places

The community plays a central role in the success of Google Maps. Users are constantly contributing new information with reviews and photos. In addition to the Rhine Falls, the most highly rated places in Switzerland are Zurich's Zeughauskeller with 12,000 reviews and the Lindt Home of Chocolate with 17,000.

Top 10 most rated restaurants in Switzerland on Google Maps

• Zeughauskeller, Zurich
• Hiltl, Zurich
• Kiosque des Bastions, Geneva
• Harder Kulm Panorama Restaurant, Interlaken
• Mrs. Gerold's Garden, Zurich
• Swiss Chuchi Restaurant, Zurich
• Indian Plaza, Geneva
• Parfums de Beyrouth, Geneva
• Restaurant Rosengarten, Berne
• Korean BBQ Restaurant Aare, Interlaken

Top 10 most frequently rated sights in Switzerland on Google Maps  

• Rhine Falls, Schaffhausen
• Lion Monument, Lucerne
• Titlis Cliff Walk, Engelberg
• L'Horloge Fleurie, Geneva
• Lindenhof, Zurich
• Piazza Grande, Locarno
• St. Beatus Caves on Lake Thun
• Jungfraujoch, Bernese Alps
• Trümmelbach Falls, Lauterbrunnen Valley
• Aare Gorge, Haslital

Top 10 most frequently rated museums in Switzerland on Google Maps

• Lindt Home of Chocolate, Kilchberg
• Swiss Museum of Transport, Lucerne
• Olympic Museum, Lausanne
• Chaplin's World, Corsier-sur-Vevey
• National Museum, Zurich
• Technorama, Winterthur
• Kunsthaus, Zurich
• Swissminiatur, Melide
• Ballenberg Open-Air Museum, Hofstetten near Brienz
• Fondation Beyeler, Riehen

Have you ever used "New!" in a jammer? If you work in the advertising industry: You probably have. You've probably done so with mixed feelings - because for many concept developers and creatives, new is nice, but not particularly relevant. Really?

Isn't "new" relevance par excellence? (Ok, maybe right after "sale"). Sure, that's really uncreative and trite and simple. But we're talking about selling and not art. After all, we're all constantly falling for some kind of novelty - the new collection, the "latest shit", some kind of hype or trend.

Treat yourself

Because new also means "treat yourself". When in doubt, new is better. New is exciting. New may be a bit clumsy, but it's also a bit cool. New is a sweet promise. New raises expectations. New is short and concise. New is as white, pure, untouched and surprising as freshly fallen snow on a freezing cold morning in early December in the lowlands. New makes eyes sparkle and credit cards glow. And the next day? Exactly: yesterday's snow! Out of my eyes! Out of my mind!

That's why skepticism about the little word is justified, because it's the memento mori among advertising messages: If "new" is your best argument, then you quickly look old. Or to put it another way: never just be new.

New and good

New and good are two different words. They do not mean the same thing. New only suggests something like good - but it is not automatically good. New can even be really bad and extremely annoying. Those applications, for example, that are constantly changing features and the UX or design because you can? Annoying. But at least you don't get bored and that seems to be half the battle. At the very least, it increases usage time because users have to search for everything again.

New can also mean "the packaging looks nicer, but I'm actually just making the opening of the tube bigger so that you use more and buy more quickly" or "the packaging looks nicer but has less inside for the same price because someone has to pay for the new packaging design". The suggestive power of "new" is also blithely blinded, precisely because it is so strong. It's a bit like making snow on a toxic waste dump so that the kids have something to slide down. Yay!

And sometimes, but only very sometimes, "old" is already so damn good that new can hardly be better: If your old wine in the same old wine skins is just what the world needs, then stick with it.

How new is "new"?

So as long as something is new, "new" is a legitimate sales argument, at least from a legal perspective. Sometimes, however, the question arises as to how long something new can be sold as new. As with new snow, it naturally depends on the conditions: How warm is it, will it rain in, how many cars have already driven through, how many children have already rummaged through the snow cover, how many dogs have already ..., how much dirt from the chimneys is settling - and so on.

The best answer is: From a legal point of view, fresh snow can probably be called fresh snow for longer than from a well-meaning point of view - what do you use as a guide?

For almost a decade, Benno Maggi analyzed industry-related terms in his column "What does it actually mean" and commented on them with a personal touch. Since 2025, his colleague Sarah Pally continues this tradition in her column "Blossoms and pearls" - with new impetus and her usual precise view of developments in the industry. She brings her own, more linguistic perspective to the table and sets new thematic priorities. Pally is a partner in the Partner & Partner agency in Winterthur. She has been working in the fields of content marketing, text/concept and storytelling in the communications and marketing sector for 15 years.

The Goldbach Crossmedia Award has been promoting cross-media communication in the Swiss media and advertising industry for over two decades and is now being presented for the 21st time.

In addition to the gold, silver and bronze prizes awarded by the expert jury, the Crossmedia Award 25 will once again be presented to the public's favorite. 19 campaigns were submitted by creatives, agencies and advertisers:

• Attention - Perfect slopes, Adelboden-Lenk ski region / in-house
• Alinghi Red Bull Racing, Red Bull / Phd Switzerland
• Arosa makes dreams come true, Arosa Tourism / Yoveo|Team Farner
• The apprenticeship campaign for Gen Z, Login Vocational training / Webrepublic
• Migros as Playmobil, Migros Supermarket / Wirz Group
• The best job prospects in the world, SBB / Farner
• A tad better. A tad greener., SBB / Contexta, Havas Switzerland
• Fanta x FasnachtThe Coca-Cola Company, EssenceMediacom
• Grand Tour, Astara Switzerland / Saatchi & Saatchi
• LXmas For You, Swiss / MSM.digital
• Room full of possibilitiesMigros Fachmarkt / Ingo Zurich, Ogilvy Switzerland
• Ready! for sex, Federal Office of Public Health, Rod Communication
• Realtime DCO, McDonald's Switzerland / OMD Switzerland
• SBB Half-Fare PLUS, SBB / Contexta, Havas Switzerland
• Swiss Natural Science - Weleda Blue Gentian, Weleda / Mediaplan, Tempomedia
• Cursed storm, Buildings Insurance Berne / Bold
• Advertising well, interest good., Bank Cler / Neu Creative Agency
• When breaking counts!, Continental Suisse / Follow Red
• Time to say thank you, Basler Kantonalbank / Mona and Mateo

Voting now open

From now on, all interested parties can via the online tool can vote for their personal favorite. Voting will run until March 3, 2025 and the winning teams will be honored at the Best of Swiss Web Award Night on Thursday, April 3, 2025 at The Hall in Zurich.