Procap is the largest membership association of and for people with disabilities in Switzerland with around 24,000 members in around 40 regional sections and 30 sports groups. Procap Travel specifically supports people with disabilities in making their vacation dreams come true.

The Procap Travel & Sport vacation catalog includes trips for people with disabilities as well as older people with limited mobility. "We check all our offers to see whether they are suitable for people with disabilities," explains Helena Bigler, Head of Travel and Sport at Procap. We also offer supervised group trips where people with different disabilities can travel together - in Switzerland and all over the world. Procap's mission also includes training courses for barrier-free travel - for example at tourism schools.

"Procap Travel is always looking for motivated people who would like to get involved as vacation companions or for sports camps and, of course, donors. We therefore very much hope that we can achieve greater public awareness of this important topic through greater media presence," says Deputy Managing Director of Primcom Sabine Biedermann, who is managing the mandate as a PR consultant. "As Procap Reisen will be celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2025 and Procap Sport will even be 65 years old, the timing is just right."

Winterhilfe supports people living on the poverty line in all regions of Switzerland. Over 50,000 people throughout Switzerland receive over CHF 14 million in Winterhilfe benefits every year. The national aid organization relies on donations to finance its work.

The digital fundraising campaign launched last calendar year was created by Studio Thom Pfister and builds on last year's campaigns. 15- and 6-second animations show how you can achieve a lot with very little. The concept is based on the idea that "not everyone can afford health". The concise and easy-to-understand illustration style also characterizes this year's donation campaign. It was launched on July 1, 2024 and is played out via the tried-and-tested channels YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Google. According to figures, impressions have already increased by 12% in just one month since December 2024.

Responsible at Winterhilfe: Monika Stampfli (Managing Director Winterhilfe Schweiz), Esther Güdel (Head of Communication Winterhilfe Schweiz), Florence Regad Buholzer (Responsible for Marketing and Communication Suisse Romande). Responsible at Studio Thom Pfister: Thom Pfister (Creative Director, Idea/Concept), Ursula Rytz (Project Management/Text), Marianne Schoch (Consulting), Roland Zenger (Art Director), Sharon Moor (Graphic Design), Daniel Hackiewicz (Graphic Design & Web Development), Sandro Jungi (Clockwork, Online Marketing), Jerome Diktas (Clockwork, Media Coordinator), Martin Lehmann (Bluebox, Sound).

Metaloop worked closely with industry representatives to develop a new brand name and a consistent visual identity. To date, the project has included the development of a strong logo, the definition of a suitable color scheme and the creation of the screen design for the digital presence.

The name and visual identity reflect the association's central mission and priority: a shared commitment to a high-quality and sustainably financed healthcare system in Switzerland. The pragmatic approach and close dialog with stakeholders made it possible to create a convincing and industry-oriented solution. The new image gives the association a strong and contemporary presence.

Responsible at Metaloop: Jonas Hauser (concept and consulting), Rachel Pfaffen (art direction). Responsible at Prio.swiss: Beni Meyer, Lisa Flückiger. (Prio.swiss project group) Adrian Kay (Head of Communication Prio.swiss).

WPP Open is an AI solution specially developed for the communications industry that combines data, creativity and technology. In addition to general data, the platform draws on WPP studies such as the "BrandAsset Valuator" or the "Media Use Index". Virtual "agents" can also be used to simulate scenarios and make data-based decisions, for example on brand strategy or addressing target groups.

The AI also supports the brainstorming process by generating headlines or creating visual suggestions based on target group preferences. Features such as "Shower Thoughts" enable a creative exchange between humans and machines in order to develop innovative approaches.

End-to-end optimization along the entire process
WPP Open goes beyond creative work: it optimizes the planning, resource allocation and performance measurement of projects. The platform interlinks creative, media and production processes within the WPP network and is designed to ensure efficiency gains and higher campaign performance.

"AI is not just a trend, but a transformation that we are actively shaping in order to achieve our clients' communication goals even more effectively and efficiently," says Martin Keller, CEO of Ogilvy Switzerland.

For Swen Morath, CEO of Ingo Zürich, WPP Open is more than just a tool: "It's a creative partner. It broadens our horizons, pushes our imagination and enables us to realize ideas that were previously unthinkable. AI frees us from repetitive tasks and gives us the freedom to focus on what we do best: Inspiring people with great stories."

As part of this cooperation, Blue News supplies the content for Livesystems' DOOH screens. With over 1.1 million page views every day, the news platform is particularly popular among football fans, according to the company.

The new DOOH live tickers show the most important match scenes including video sequences in the respective region and language. "In Lugano, for example, the content is broadcast in Italian, while in Zurich it is in German," explains Christian Imhof, COO of Livesystems. The table is also shown after the end of the game.

More reach for Blue News

The cooperation offers Blue News an additional platform to reach football fans on the move. Claudia Lässer, Chief Product Officer Blue Sport & News at Blue Entertainment, emphasizes: "With Livesystems, we can achieve a remarkable reach in addition to our existing Blue News readers in a very short time. So everyone can follow the action, even if they are on the move."

After a successful test run in 2024, the project was launched at the beginning of 2025. The content will be shown on screens for 24 hours from the start of the game.

St.Gallen has a diverse creative industry that comprises around 1,500 full-time jobs - 9.1% of local employment. The city has established itself particularly in areas such as textile design, architecture and art. Design Week aims to better connect these players and increase the attractiveness of the location.

The "Design Forum St.Gallen" will kick things off on March 11, 2025 in the Lokremise. Here, creative professionals will discuss the potential for greater visibility and cooperation. In the evening, the first "Design Night St.Gallen" invites you to visit design studios and agencies in the city.

Workshops, awards and specialist congress

Other program highlights include the presentation of the "Interactive Media Design Awards" on 12 March at the Lagerhaus restaurant, where up-and-coming talent will be honored, as well as thematic workshops at GBS St.Gallen on 13 March.

The final event will be the Interactive Media Design Day on March 14. Under the motto "React", speakers will present current trends in virtual reality, experience design and interactive media. Among others, the protagonists of "Immerea", an interactive media company based in Vienna, will be on stage. They focus on the development of virtual reality games and interactive installations. Cocota Studio from Madrid will be presenting, while Zurich-based Ozelot Studios focuses on experience design for music, clubs and festivals.

On Wednesday, the Winner Talk took place in Zurich following the Award Night of the "Best of Swiss Apps" Awards 2024. Giancarlo Palmisani, Head of Association Services at the Swico trade association, welcomed the guests to the premises of Dentsu Switzerland.

From the virtual to the real world

Valentin Holzwarth, one of the three founders of AtlasVR, presented the "Bitumen VR" app, the world's first VR training app for flat roof welding. He spoke about the development path of the virtual training technology. This led the creators of the app through many rounds of brainstorming, the consultation of technical experts and the final development and programming. AtlasVR and the client Suissetec took a critical look at the added value of the app to be developed, the opportunities and risks and the gos and no-gos. Before the idea of "Bitumen VR" was born, they had already considered a number of other options, such as welding simulators or press loops, to teach trainees how to weld. However, none of these ideas came to fruition due to the high material and disposal costs. "Then - rather unexpectedly - we ended up with Bitumen VR," says Holzwarth. And so began the development of "Bitumen VR" and with it virtual welding.

The client Suissetec also waved the proposed app concept through. This also solved the cost problem. According to Holzwarth, 27 tons of material costs can be saved annually with Bitumen VR, and disposal costs are also eliminated.

23 weeks - according to the AtlasVR co-founder, that's how long it took to develop the app that brings welding from the real to the virtual world. After a few sleepless nights during the development phase, the app was finally rolled out. But that wasn't the end of the story: A Switzerland-wide app launch, instructor training, tech support - all of this is also part of the process, says Holzwarth. Daniel Stamm, Head of Training at Suisstec, emphasized that convincing instructors and apprentices to recognize the added value of the virtual welder application should not be underestimated. "All levels have to be brought on board, which is a challenge," he said.

However, Suissetec and AtlasVR are confident that "Bitumen VR" will soon be used in many inter-company welding courses. The fact that the app won gold in the Extended Reality category at the Best of Swiss Apps 2024 Award Night is certainly a good starting point for development. AtlasVR is aiming to develop further applications with similar added value. One thing is particularly important to the young company: focusing on added value right from the start.

Making the sun tangible

The development team of the "Helion One App" and Winner of the Master of Swiss Apps also offered guests at the Winner Talk a "deep dive" into his experiences during the project. The new development, which also won gold in the Customer Experience, Design and Functionality categories at the Award Night in addition to the Master title, replaces the old app with the Helion 2.0 version. Milo Peter, Experience Director at Dept, explained that the reason for this upgrade was that the first app version came from the category "By engineers - for engineers". The aim was therefore to work with Helion to build a new app that all customers would find easy to use. The development team immersed themselves in the topic by investing a lot of time in research and gathering customer feedback. Peter showed the guests at the Winner Talk some of the different approaches they were considering, particularly for the new design of the app. With many discussions, the team was "going in many directions". However, they often heard feedback along the lines of "the design is too abstract, too technical, not emotional enough".

"Based on this feedback that we should make the whole thing more emotional and make the energy transition tangible, we moved away from the abstract elements and tried to visualize the sun," said Peter. In the app, the sun is representative of solar production. The aim of visualizing the course of the day in the app is to show users how much energy they consume. At its core, however, is the optimization of the solar energy consumed. This was the starting signal for the app's creators to launch the main project. After setting up the design system and making many changes and simplifications, the app was ready to be used by all target groups. "We want to pick up the retired grandpa just as much as the IT geek," says Ramon Müller from Helion. In summary, Müller said that the app is now "more colorful, emotional and modern than the previous version". The focus is on Helion's differentiation strategy: standing out from the competition and offering real added value with the new app. In conclusion, he added: "Ultimately, we want to get closer to our goal and create a 100% renewable Switzerland". (Dylan Windhaber/rja)

This article first appeared in Netzwoche.

The resonance room serves as a platform for discussing program-related content from different perspectives.

It combines physical and digital participation opportunities. The dialog windows are designed using surveys, group discussions, individual interviews or insights into SRF's programming. Interested people from civil society can register; the topics and formats vary depending on the questions asked.

"In times of disinformation, news deprivation, image and video manipulation and other challenges for independent quality journalism, the Audience Council wants to bring SRF's program creators and the German-speaking Swiss population closer together. This should strengthen the basis of trust and mutual appreciation, reinforce understanding of the value of the public media service and anchor SRG in society in the long term," says Andreas Häuptli, President of SRG.D, summarizing the mission of the new Audience Council.

Two topics will be discussed in so-called dialog windows The social impact of major media events such as the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) and the European Women's Football Championship and the changing information behavior of young people.

The first dialog window focuses on the question of whether the broadcasting of such major events strengthens social cohesion or triggers controversy. The second dialog window is dedicated to the increasing shift in media use towards social media platforms and the effects on young people's political maturity. (pd/swi)

"For us, this partnership is more than just our name in the league's logo," emphasizes Roman Reichelt, Chief Marketing & Communications Officer at Brack. "We will offer fans real added value and are already working on various projects as part of this sponsorship." This cooperation will also be reflected in the Brack product range, adds CEO Stefan Fraude: "More information on this will follow at the end of the current season."

The Swiss Football League is also delighted. "With Brack, we are gaining a partner that has been committed to promoting young talent in Swiss football for years," says Claudius Schäfer, CEO of the Swiss Football League.

The contract between Brack and the Swiss Football League runs for at least five years.

In the pitch process, the agency was able to hold its own against three competitors, as detailed in a press release. The mandate is for four years and includes the management of international search campaigns in 13 markets - from Europe to the USA and Southeast Asia.

Jung von Matt Impact has positioned itself in the tourism industry in recent years, including through partnerships with Cervo Zermatt, the Tschuggen Collection and regional destination marketers such as Zermatt Tourismus and Engadin Scuol Zernez. As a Google Premium Partner, the agency offers tourism-specific data insights, for example with the help of "Google Travel Analytics", which analyzes and provides worldwide travel data from users.

Rüti was opened as a nursing home over 30 years ago. It offers residents with dementia and mental impairments an open form of living in a protected environment. The historic home was built in 1917 and is located on the outskirts of Sirnach, nestled in beautiful gardens.

The inspiration for the new logo was the secluded garden at Rüti. The result is a plant-based letter, an "R" as a monogram. In its visual appearance, the brand radiates seriousness as well as down-to-earthness and calm. The color concept in softened green, white and black rounds off the new design and runs consistently through all design and communication areas.

Responsible at Pflege-Daheim Rüti: Gabriela Figi (Managing Director, co-owner). Responsible at Schläfle Trittibach: Marcel Schläfle, Christoph Trittibach (Creative Direction).

Marco Bertoli brings more than 20 years of experience in the digital recruiting industry, including in various management positions at Monster, most recently as Regional Senior Vice President Central Europe. Before joining JobCloud as Head of Sales Operations in 2021, he supported the group as a consultant in the integration of the pay-per-performance business into its core portfolio.

Davide Villa will take over the position of Chairman of the Board of Directors (CEO) of JobCloud in February 2025. In this role, he succeeds Axel Konjack, Head International Marketplaces and member of the Ringier Group Executive Board, who will join the JobCloud Group's Shareholders' Committee as Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors together with Daniel Mönch, Chief Portfolio Officer and member of the TX Group Executive Board.
Villa has many years of industry experience in recruitment management and the job platform business. Among other things, he was Chairman of the Board of Directors of Jobs.ch, CEO of Monster Central and Eastern Europe, Chief Revenue Officer and Senior Vice President B2B of Xing, Marketing and Business Development Director of Idealjob and COO of Jobpilot.