Heavent Meetings is a trade fair for the event and MICE industry with targeted one-to-one meetings, business lunches and networking evenings. The event is expected to attract 2,500 visitors, including 500 hosted buyers from agencies and companies. A special hosted buyer program is aimed at decision-makers from the event industry.

As part of the event, the Heavent Awards awards, which recognize outstanding events and creative event concepts in nine categories. Nominated agencies have the opportunity to present their best projects from 2024 to an international audience from the creative marketing industry. The evaluation is carried out by a jury of brand managers from companies such as Nike, Amadeus and Shiseido.

The award ceremony will take place on March 27, 2025 at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes and will be the finale of the trade fair. The participation fee includes three nights' accommodation in Cannes as well as access to the awards ceremony, the cocktail dinner and the after-party.

The largest contiguous ski area in Graubünden extends over two sides of the mountain and therefore always offers a sunny side as well as 225 slopes with guaranteed snow. With a family-friendly section on the Arosa side and an action-packed section in Lenzerheide, there is something for everyone. These and more USPs were creatively implemented using several messages in the "Two for one" campaign through a headline campaign on OOH, DOOH and all social media channels, showing why Arosa Lenzerheide is the perfect pairing.

"Ticket2Go" campaign sends St. Gallen onto the boards

One of the OOH advertising materials had a special surprise in store. To support winter sports enthusiasts in the January slump, Arosa Lenzerheide also launched the most spontaneous free promotion in Switzerland. At 6 a.m. sharp on January 17, 2025, day ski passes were stuck on an OOH poster next to the train station in St. Gallen, which could be removed and used immediately. This immediately caused a small rush, as over 60 enthusiastic winter sports fans were already waiting before sunrise to get their hands on one of the coveted day tickets.

"The 'Ticket2Go' campaign was our response to the January slump - a moment of joy for winter sports fans that shows how Arosa Lenzerheide is always breaking new ground to make winter a tangible experience," says Reto Wyss, Head of Marketing at Arosa Lenzerheide.

The day ticket not only gave the recipients a day of skiing fun in Arosa Lenzerheide, but also a comfortable journey by train from Chur. The tickets were sold out within a very short time.

Conception and implementation: Brinkertlück Switzerland. Casevideo Ticket2Go: Yoveo | Team Farner.

The Gstaad vacation region is expanding its storytelling with two audio formats. The podcast "Gstaad Stories" introduces personalities who shape life in the region - from the hotel manager to the farmer to the event manager. In the first episode, presenter Selina Riegert talks to Nadja, a mother of three who runs an alpine hut and experiences life in the mountains up close.

"The stories we share in the new podcast make the Gstaad vacation region tangible and lively," explains Ariane Ludwig, Head of Marketing, Communication & Sales. Having local heroes tell stories about Gstaad makes the destination more approachable than an advertising campaign, Ludwig continues. A new episode is published every first Thursday of the month.

Gstaad Saanenland Tourism is also launching the "Sounds of Gstaad" audio format. Natural sounds such as the rushing of streams or the ringing of cowbells are intended to offer a relaxing break from everyday life. "With these sounds, we want to create a conscious audio time-out that slows down everyday life and awakens a longing for the mountains," says Ludwig.

The content is available on streaming platforms and is intended to give listeners a new, sensual connection to the region.

Ruckstuhlgaragen has been an official dealer and service partner of Peugeot since January 1, 2025. At the same time, the collaboration between the dealership and the Zurich agency Alpstudios, which will be responsible for Ruckstuhlgaragen's marketing and social media in future, was launched.

The first joint campaign is entitled "A partnership that gets under your skin". Martin Ruckstuhl, Managing Director of Ruckstuhlgaragen, and Simone Ruckstuhl, designated successor, had the Peugeot lion logo "tattooed" as a symbol of brand loyalty. The campaign will be implemented in a cross-media campaign, including posters in the Zurich area as well as digital content on social media and Google Ads.

"In Alpstudios, we have found a partner who shares our vision and supports us with creative approaches," says Martin Ruckstuhl. Kerim Alp, co-founder of Alpstudios, adds: "Our campaign shows how bold and unconventional automotive marketing can be." The collaboration is set to continue in the long term.

Coop has been making shopping more convenient for years with its Passabene self-scanning service. To make it even easier now, the Coop shopping list has been integrated into Passabene: The shopping list created in Coop.ch or the Coop app can now be called up in-store with Passabene and the products noted can be checked off while shopping using the hand scanner or the Passabene app. In addition, actions from Coop.ch can be added directly to the Coop shopping list in advance. By automatically synchronizing the list before and after the Passabene purchase, no more planned purchases are forgotten, even with shared lists.

TBWA\Zurich has created a story for this. To make the digital processes in the apps comprehensible, the film combines a real and a virtual level: using the changing screens, they visualize the interaction between the various shopping requests and the shopping lists on Coop.ch and Passabene. The emotional story shows the eventful everyday life of a family with teenagers, which can be easily managed - at least logistically - with Passabene.

The film was realized by the film production company Shining with director Kay Kienzler. The TV spot has been shown on TV since Monday, a cutdown will follow next week.

Client: Coop Cooperative; Campaign conception and implementation: TBWA\Zurich; Moving image production: Shining; Media Planning: TWmedia; Music: HitMill.

Under the slogan "Play with the color you want", Fanta is launching colorful Xbox Series X consoles and wireless controllers inspired by the flavors Fanta Orange, Fanta Orange Zero, Fanta Exotic and Fanta Shokata. Fans can win the exclusive devices by scanning the QR code on Fanta packs and entering the prize draw via the Coke app. In addition, thousands of trial codes for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate will be raffled off.

Fanta and Xbox are also hosting a gaming event at "The Hall" in Dübendorf on February 28 as part of their collaboration. The winners of an online prize draw will compete against each other in Xbox games together with well-known Fanta influencers and Swiss gaming celebrities. Interested parties can register free of charge on the Coca-Cola website and choose their favorite influencer as a team member. The 80 winners will be notified two weeks before the event.

The golden tins of Grether's pastilles have established themselves as a collector's item since the launch of the limited edition with Swiss motifs five years ago. After four editions with an illustrator from Basel, Doetsch Grether has chosen Capucine Matti for the latest edition. The illustrator from Biel has designed four Swiss motifs in a retro style: the Alpenmaitli, William Tell, the Bernese bear and the St. Bernard.

The limited edition of 9000 pieces per subject is filled with the sugar-free Grether's Blackcurrant pastilles. In addition to the art direction, Yellow was also responsible for the sales promotion measures and POS implementation. Due to the continuing high demand, a sixth edition is already being planned.

Responsible at Doetsch Grether: Aglaé Voetmann (Senior Brand Manager). Responsible agency: Yellow.

Collective 57 sees itself as a creative meeting place for aspiring marketers who want to exchange ideas and learn from each other. The community is intended to meet the need of many young marketers for practical knowledge, mentoring and relevant networks - an area that has hardly been covered in the Swiss marketing landscape to date because the networking events are mostly aimed at experienced managers or large agencies, according to the initiators.

In contrast to formal conferences, the concept focuses on interactive formats and practical insights. "As the world increasingly shifts to digital and the concept of the 'third place' disappears, professional communities are becoming more important," says co-founder Joshua Gallacher. "Face-to-face meetings are becoming a sign of social status - they are the place where real connections are made and careers are advanced."

The first event in Zurich is limited to 40 participants. Due to the high demand, the plan is to double the capacity in future and offer further events.

According to the report, companies published a total of 60,956 videos on TikTok, an increase of 34% compared to the previous year, and collected a total of 232 million likes. Watch brands, banks and traditional companies such as Glasi Hergiswil in particular recorded strong growth on the platform.

Growth in various sectors

There is a strong trend among Swiss watch brands. Tag Heuer leads the ranking of the most successful watch brands on TikTok with over 1.5 million followers, followed by Hublot and Rado. Rolex generated over 72,000 followers without active content.

Banks are also discovering the platform: UBS and Migrosbank launched their own accounts in 2024, while Twint is at the top of the banking rankings with over 25,000 followers.

Viral successes and forecasts for 2025

The Olympics account collected over 100 million likes this year alone - that corresponds to 50 % of all likes of the 2,266 accounts recorded. With these figures, the Olympics' TikTok account not only sets new standards, but also shows how successfully global events can be used on the platform to drive reach and engagement to unprecedented heights.

In addition, TikTok remains a channel on which smaller brands can also go viral. Glasi Hergiswil, for example, achieved 215 million views with a single video.

The company repeatedly gives its TikTok community a glimpse behind the scenes, as if they were standing right in the glass workshop. The craftsmanship also offers something unusual that is becoming increasingly rare. The account, which has been running since 2023, has generated 10 million likes with 141 videos by the end of 2024 and has gained over 737,577 followers.

Mischa Birnstiel from mBusiness expects the number of Swiss business accounts to double in 2025, while follower growth per account is likely to be slower. This is because the number of Swiss TikTok users is likely to increase at a relatively slower rate.

Reaching the right audience with creative and relevant content will be crucial for community growth. Accounts with Swiss-German content appeal to a regional target audience, and often very specifically. They therefore have a limited growth radius. Accounts with content in High German, French, English or no language at all, just images and music, are understood beyond the national border and therefore have significantly greater growth potential.

Depending on the objective of the TikTok account, it often makes more sense to address a regional audience, especially when it comes to recruiting or regional service offers. The success of the TikTok account should therefore never be measured solely by the number of followers, but rather by whether the target audience has been reached and won over.

The opening took place with Marco Wölfli, Nadia Goedhart and Sandro Galfetti, moderated by Tobi Flückiger. Highlights include a dedicated EA FC 25 championship with influencer Cubanito, the "Joganito Rush Cup by Knorr" in 2vs2 mode and the "Interdiscount Racing Championship" with prizes and goodies for the best drivers. In addition to gaming tournaments, cosplayers, influencers and e-sports professionals are also part of the program.

Thomas Haslimeier, Head of Shopping Centers at Coop, sees the Game Days as a logical development following the success of Game Week in Volkiland: "Gaming inspires generations, promotes creativity and brings people together - that's exactly what we want to celebrate with the Game Days."

The event is supported by partners such as Sony, Sinalco, Knorr and Interdiscount. The exact dates and programs are available at Game-days.ch available.

Jan Maurer has decided to leave Swiss Marketing at the end of January to return to the private sector. From March 1, he will head the marketing department of the family-owned company Hauenstein in Rafz, which was founded in 1890.

Marco Ancora is a successor who ideally meets all the requirements, as Swiss Marketing writes in a press release. He has an impressive track record in sales and marketing across various industries, holds recognized certifications in these areas and has "done an outstanding job" as a member of the Board of Directors of Swiss Marketing Zurich and as a member of the new Central Executive Board. Before and during this time, he held various positions in marketing and sales at various national and international companies, including Hilti and James Hardie.

The six destinations have already cooperated on a selective basis in the past, for example on mountain bike routes or the joint staging of disciplines for the 2025 Bike World Championships. The actual impetus for closer strategic cooperation came from the Innotour project "Digitalization Cooperation Aletsch Collective", which was implemented between 2020 and 2023.

The cooperation focuses on three central areas. Firstly, offers and products are to be more closely networked in future and made visible on the web platforms of all participating destinations. Secondly, the existing digitalization strategy will be further expanded in order to make better use of synergies between the partners. Another focus is on international marketing: Brig Simplon, Blatten-Belalp and the Aletsch Arena are relying on the Aletsch Arena brand within the Matterhorn Region.

The first joint communication tool is already available: A new highlight map summarizes the tourist offers of all six destinations in one document for the first time. An adventure trail with sights is also being planned.

Philippe Sproll, Managing Director of the Aletsch Arena and Chairman of the cooperation, sees great potential: "Our products and our expertise complement each other perfectly. We want to seize the opportunity and structure our cooperation in greater depth."