Wüstmann has extensive experience in the industry: He managed AZ Medien and later CH Media as CEO in Switzerland for ten years. He moved to SwissCommerce as CEO at the beginning of 2024. He began his professional career at Gruner + Jahr in Hamburg, where he worked for over ten years.

"In Axel Wüstmann, we have gained an experienced media manager who, together with our committed and qualified colleagues, will continue the success story of our media group," says Andreas Scherer, who is now a member of the publishing group's advisory board.

Alexandra Holland also sees the new appointment as an opportunity for the transformation of the company: "Axel Wüstmann brings the right combination of tradition and modernity, of print and digital, and will not only accelerate the transformation process we have embarked on, but also shape it."

In addition to Wüstmann, the management of the media group remains unchanged with Marcus Strohmayr (CFO) and Michael Eder (CDO).

The service is now available in cities such as Basel, Bern and Zurich and will be expanded in the coming months. Lukas Streich, Managing Director of Just Eat Switzerland, sees this as a logical step in the company's strategy: "Our goal is clear: we want to deliver everything a city has to offer within 45 minutes via the Just Eat platform." In addition to restaurant meals, the range now also includes groceries, baked goods, meat products, pet food - and now flowers.

Fleurop-Interflora, with over 40,000 partner stores in more than 140 countries worldwide, wants to tap into new target groups through this cooperation. "This partnership offers us another globally recognized channel," says Jörg Beer, CEO of Fleurop-Interflora Switzerland. "Just Eat's established logistics infrastructure enables us to get our floral products and gift items to the recipients even faster."

The service is currently available in Basel, Bern, Biel/Bienne, Fribourg, Lausanne, Montreux, St. Gallen, Wallisellen, Winterthur and Zurich. Other cities, including Geneva, are set to follow in the coming months.

Swiss Post is now bundling its digital services for the public in the Digital Public Solutions department and is making electronic patient dossiers, e-voting and its digital mailbox available in its ePost smartphone app, including SwissID. As Swiss Post explains in a Blog entry writesit is a market leader in these three fields. In the area of EPD, 90 percent of patient dossiers are currently connected via Swiss Post's Post-Sanela Health platform - however, there are according to E-Health Swiss as of December 2024 was just 86,553; with a population of just under 9 million, there is probably still some room for improvement.

Swiss Post is currently the only provider of e-voting and has been successfully operating in four cantons and a growing number of municipalities since 2023. In addition, 200,000 private customers and around 10,000 companies, organizations and authorities use the ePost app and are connected to the ePost communication platform, which enables business correspondence to be received and sent digitally.

According to Nicole Burth, Head of Digital Services and member of Group Management, Swiss Post's core mission has remained the same for 175 years: "The secure transportation of information, goods, people and money." However, people's habits have changed. Today, the focus is also on the digital transmission of information. "With our secure digital solutions, we are adapting to the needs of our customers." (Marc Landis/tme)

This article first appeared in Netzwoche.

"By 2026, it is estimated that over 90 percent of content will be of synthetic origin and produced with the help of artificial intelligence," writes Holger Volland in his book "Overload". But how can content still attract attention in this flood of AI-generated media? The media world is changing rapidly as a result of AI.

Volland, who in addition to his position as CEO of the German business magazine Brand one who is also Deputy Director of the Frankfurt Book Fair, was a guest on the "AI and Society" podcast. He spoke with presenter Christoph Soltmannowski about the flood of information caused by the increasing amount of content and the role of artificial intelligence in media production.

How will generative AI affect the media industry and the value of creative work? "Mediocre human content will undoubtedly be replaced by AI. But excellent, original content will increase in value," Volland is convinced.

The video podcast "AI and society - paths into the new world" is produced by the Swiss Text Academy and is published twice a month. The training center also offers courses on artificial intelligence.

The majority of people now use generative artificial intelligence (AI) to simplify tasks. However, companies need more time to integrate the technology into their processes. The latest edition of Deloitte's AI study shows that the introduction is taking longer than initially expected. The euphoria expressed in earlier surveys has given way to a "healthy realism", as Deloitte writes.

In an international comparison, Swiss companies are particularly cautious in their assessment of developments. Half of the management board members surveyed expect that fundamental changes in their industry as a result of generative AI will take between one and three years. Just under a third (30%) even expect it to take more than three years. Only 8 percent assume that generative AI has already transformed the market environment. In the USA, on the other hand, 22% are of this opinion.

Switzerland brings up the rear

US companies are also pushing ahead with AI integration faster than Swiss companies: Almost half (45%) have already prepared their technical infrastructure well or very well for the introduction. In Switzerland, this is only the case for just under a third (32%). European companies are even further ahead. They are clearly ahead of the USA and Switzerland when it comes to preparing their strategy, developing employees' skills and managing data.

"Swiss companies are still reluctant to introduce generative AI. We also observe this in our work with customers. However, we are already seeing a promising use of generative AI in IT and marketing," says Marc Beierschoder, Head of AI & Data at Deloitte Switzerland. As the survey highlights, projects in the areas of IT and cyber security as well as marketing, sales and customer service are the most advanced. In contrast, most companies are only in the evaluation phase when it comes to AI tools for the legal department or HR and finance.

Low investment and little expertise

The survey provides a number of explanations for why Switzerland is lagging behind other countries. Firstly, Swiss companies invest relatively little in generative AI: half of those surveyed do not even allocate 20 percent of their total AI budget to the technology. Investments are significantly higher in the USA and Europe. Secondly, Swiss companies lack specialist knowledge. Almost a quarter (24%) of companies admit that they have little expertise in dealing with the technology. In Europe, this is only the case for 13 percent and in the USA for 7 percent.

Management interest in generative AI in Switzerland is also rather low. The majority of respondents agree that the topic needs to be given more attention internally.

Pressure on Swiss companies is growing

The lack of skills and specialists is therefore also one of the three biggest hurdles for Swiss companies when integrating technology, alongside managing risks and the complex legal requirements. In an international comparison, it is also noticeable that Swiss companies observe stronger cultural resistance among employees.

"In order to make broad use of the technology's huge potential, we need to overcome internal resistance and invest more. Time is of the essence, as the pressure on companies is increasing," Beierschoder notes. Compared to the survey a year ago, almost twice as many Swiss companies feel a strong need for action internally when it comes to the introduction of generative AI tools: while only 18% did so in the previous year, this figure has now risen to 34%.

The pressure from external sources, such as competitors or shareholders, is even higher. Within a year, this figure has risen significantly - from 18% to 46%.

The Study "State of Generative AI in the Enterprise" used quarterly surveys to investigate the status of the use of generative AI in companies. In the fourth wave of the survey, which was conducted between July and September 2024, Deloitte interviewed 2,773 AI-experienced management board members in 14 countries, including 50 from companies in Switzerland.

Download Deloitte Report State of Generative AI (English)

The introduction of TV advertising on the SRG stations DRS, TSR and TSI marked the beginning of a new era in brand communication. The first advertising block was broadcast there on February 1, 1965. Long commercials of more than 60 seconds in length were added in 1976, providing deeper insights into the brand stories. Four years later, short spots of just 7 to 14 seconds followed - to convey messages concisely.

The 1990s brought interstitial advertising with the new Radio and Television Act - a format that opened up new creative possibilities for advertisers. In 2005, an interactive live TV commercial campaign in a Migros branch attracted attention: viewers could not only watch, but also actively participate.

The 2000s were characterized by technological innovations. The introduction of the 16:9 widescreen format improved the visual quality of advertising, while the electronic delivery of commercials made processes more efficient.

TV advertising remains central

Despite changes in media usage, TV advertising remains an important part of the advertising landscape. Frank Zelger, CEO of Admeira, emphasizes: "Over the past 60 years, TV advertising has made a significant contribution to the awareness and successful positioning of our customers' products. This journey is far from over. TV advertising will remain an indispensable and important success factor for the foreseeable future."

EqualVoice uses a semantic algorithm to measure the presence of women in print and online media. The latest figures show: In Switzerland, seven out of ten Ringier Medien print titles have achieved better gender parity. Digital Ringier publications such as the Observer (43,2 %), L'illustré (41.1 %) and the Swiss Illustrated (44.18 %) recorded a very positive development.

AI bias as a challenge for diversity

At the World Economic Forum Wef, EqualVoice, Microsoft Switzerland and IMD presented a white paper on the topic of bias in generative AI. The study warns that unreflected training data can reinforce existing prejudices. "It is crucial that responsible AI is not seen as an afterthought, but is a fundamental and integral part of the development and implementation process from the outset," says Ann Jameson, COO of Microsoft Switzerland on the use of AI.

More partners for "EqualVoice United"

FS Parker, the Zurich airport region and Russell Reynolds Associates are also now part of "EqualVoice United". The network now comprises 23 companies that are committed to diversity in the Swiss economy.

The Migros Group Human Resources Management Directorate and the quality organizations SQTS and Quality Management will remain in the previous department. The newly created Directorate for Social Commitment includes the Directorate for Society & Culture, Miduca AG and the Park im Grünen and Ferrovia Monte Generoso AG foundations. In future, it will report directly to the President of the Executive Board, Mario Irminger.

Irminger emphasizes the merits of Andrea Krapf, who is taking over as Director of Social Engagement: "Andrea Krapf has built bridges within Migros, created trust and strengthened cooperation." Under her leadership, the AHV21 pension reform was implemented at Migros and a national social plan was adopted for the first time.

Change of focus after more than 20 years

The 55-year-old Krapf, who has held various positions at Migros since 2001, says of her new role: "After more than two decades in a variety of management positions, I am delighted to be able to focus on social commitment." She will remain at the head of the HR department until the handover.

The changes are to be implemented by the end of 2025, and a successor is now being sought for the department that will focus on the future.

CHF 6.12 billion - that's how much was generated in the Swiss advertising market in 2024. This was announced by Media Focus in its recently published annual résumé. The CHF 6.12 billion corresponds to an increase of one percent compared to 2023.

The market owes the increase in total advertising pressure primarily to the digital business. This is because the so-called traditional advertising market - which includes print media, cinema and out-of-home - shrank by 0.9% overall. The only exception: out-of-home (+4.9 percent) and cinema (+4.4 percent) benefited from a moderate increase, writes Media Focus.

By contrast, revenue in the digital advertising market increased by 4.6% and amounted to CHF 2.1 billion in 2024. The majority of this (66%) - or over CHF 1.4 billion - was generated by advertising on search engines ("Search" segment). This is followed by display advertising with a share of 25.7% (CHF 547 million). The last and smallest segment is YouTube - with a share of 8.2% and sales of CHF 175.1 million.

The ratio between the three segments remained largely stable compared to the previous year. In percentage terms, YouTube saw the strongest growth, with an increase of 9%. In the search segment, the increase was 5.5% and in display advertising 1%.

FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) products and retailers dominate the rankings of the most advertised brands and products, according to Media Focus. The Apple iPhone 16 Pro was the most advertised new product. Telco Swisscom secured a place in the top 10 most advertised brands in the Display Ads category, while rival Sunrise appeared in 3rd place in the Search Ads category. Temu, the Chinese online store, is also one of the most advertised brands and ranks in the top 10 lists for display ads and YouTube. (René Jaun/dwi)

This article first appeared in Netzwoche.

The Executive Board of the University has appointed Martin Nellen as the new Head of Communications. The 59-year-old is moving from Hochdorf Swiss Nutrition, where he was responsible for external and internal communications and investor relations as a senior consultant. Prior to this, he worked for around four years as Head of the Communications and Media Directorate of the FMC, after two years as Head of Corporate Communications at Suva.

Martin Nellen began his professional career at Credit Suisse, where he held various positions in communications and marketing. In 2007, he moved to the Helvetia Group, where he was Head of Corporate Communications and Brand Management until 2017. The communications expert studied economics, political science and media studies at the University of Bern. He is married and has two sons.

Originally, the license for the coverage area was awarded to Schawinski's Radio Alpin AG (in formation) in spring 2024. Südostschweiz Radio then lodged an appeal against this - with success. According to the Federal Administrative Court (FAC), Schawinski's station did not meet the prescribed minimum ratio of trained to trainee programmers - a criterion that serves as a benchmark for journalistic quality.

Consequently, the Uvek's licensing decision was revised, Radio Alpin Grischa AG was excluded from the licensing procedure and the license was awarded to the previous owner Südostschweiz Radio. The decision is final and cannot be appealed.

Schawinski's plans for a new station in Graubünden have thus failed for the time being. The initiators are "surprised and disappointed" by the court ruling, according to a report from SRF. For Stefan Bühler, the FAC focused too much on an "absolutely marginal point", as he told Radio SRF. Aspects such as the higher number of points awarded or the diversity of opinions and offerings, on the other hand, were neglected.

The media industry is under economic pressure: falling advertising revenues and rising production costs are posing major challenges for smaller publishing houses in particular. ZT Medien was therefore forced to find a new solution for the continued operation of its titles.

Under the umbrella of CH Media, the challenges can be better met, as Corina Eichenberger, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of ZT Medien, explains: "Even if this step is difficult for us, we see it as the best way to secure the future of the daily and weekly newspapers and thus also preserve a large number of jobs."

Continuity despite change of ownership

CH Media is taking on 29 employees, which corresponds to 23 full-time positions. The Zofingen and Oberentfelden sites will remain open. However, four employees cannot be kept on.

"After we started with the Zofinger Tagblatt We were happy to offer our support to ensure the continued existence of the three newspaper titles in the future," says publisher Peter Wanner.

By integrating the titles, CH Media aims to strengthen regional reporting and emphasizes the importance of independent local media in an increasingly challenging market environment.