The government rejects direct media funding by the canton because this could jeopardize the independence of the media, writes the government council in an answer to an SP question published on Thursday.

The request was triggered by the recent job cuts at the publishing house Tamedia, which belongs to the TX Group. The SP then wanted to know what the cantonal government was doing to support quality journalism.

"Difficult economic situation"

In its response, however, the Government Council acknowledges the difficult economic situation of various media companies. It therefore considers the measures for indirect media promotion proposed at federal level to be correct and effective.

This mainly concerns support for training and further education institutions as well as funding for the Keystone-SDA news agency. This funding would be provided via the radio and television levy.

The cantonal government also points out that the canton of Zurich and its universities are already making a significant contribution to journalistic quality. This applies in particular to the Institute for Applied Media Sciences at the ZHAW in Winterthur. (SDA)

In 2023, Agence Trio was commissioned to develop an exhibition about Lausanne station and the Léman 2030 project for SBB. The mandate included the creation and realization of an interactive space dedicated to the various people interested in the future of rail transport in Lausanne and the rest of French-speaking Switzerland. The exhibition aims to immerse visitors in the mobility of tomorrow's railroads. Trio collaborated with Miss Camping for the realization.

The various stages of work that make up the "Léman 2030" program are of key importance for mobility in the region. To make the complexity of these projects and the associated challenges tangible for the population, they should be presented in the exhibition in an easily accessible way.

Visitors encounter a series of stops that allow them to travel into the future of mobility and immerse themselves in the various stages and aspects of the renewal of the rail network. There are interactive elements such as buzzers, models and screens at each stop.

Lausanne station plays a special role as one of the cornerstones of "Léman 2030". The future station is presented as a living space that has a lot to offer - beyond the mobility hub.

The exhibition is located on the 4th floor of Place de la Gare 1 with a view of Lausanne station and follows a sustainable logic by designing the material to be movable and renewable. It is open every first Wednesday from 5pm to 7pm and every third Saturday of the month from 10am to 12pm. Private visits can also be arranged. be booked.

In six episodes, "Tumorboard" accompanies cancer patients Corinne and Manuel on their treatment journey through the Oncology Center Mittelland OZM of the KSA. A few years ago, 50-year-old Corinne was diagnosed with an aggressive form of lymphoma, while 39-year-old Manuel was diagnosed with a brain tumor a year ago. The podcast takes listeners through various stages of modern cancer therapy, from the tumor board to CAR-T cell therapy and psycho-oncological care.

Understandable and profound

"Our aim was to convey this complex topic in a way that is approachable, understandable and at the same time profound," explains Prof. Christoph Mamot, Head of Oncology and Chairman of the OZM. "The podcast has enabled us to present the interdisciplinary expertise of the Oncology Center in a format that picks people up on a personal level."

In addition to the personal stories of Corinne and Manuel, the podcast offers further insights into everyday life at the Oncology Center at the KSA. Acoustic recordings from tumor boards, radiotherapy and nuclear medicine examinations are intended to give an authentic impression of the treatment processes.

The podcast is part of the annual patient information obligation required by the German Cancer Society (DKG) for certified oncology centers. It has been available since Thursday on all common streaming platforms and on the Website of the KSA available. The first two episodes are available at the start. The other episodes will follow on December 11 and December 17, 2024.

More than 35 years ago, "Radio Grischa - ds Radio vu do" went "on air" for the first time as part of the "Südostschweiz media family". As a result, the radio station has "played its way into the hearts of people in Graubünden and beyond as a likeable and identity-creating voice and brand", writes Somedia in the press release.

The high level of identification with "Radio Grischa" was also reflected in the approximately 13,000 signatures that were collected as part of a petition to ensure that the brand name remains part of the "Südostschweiz media family" (Markt-kom.com reported). "In personal exchanges with the population, people repeatedly sympathized with 'Radio Grischa', so it quickly became clear that 'Radio Grischa' is still firmly anchored in the hearts of the people of Graubünden. Like an ibex: not visible everywhere, but always there," summarizes Silvio Lebrument, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Somedia.

As a result, "Südostschweiz" will be broadcasting "Radio Grischa - ds Radio vu do" on all frequencies throughout the broadcasting area from Friday morning. RSO - Radio Südostschweiz" will also remain as a web channel. "This will significantly strengthen 'Radio Grischa' within the 'Südostschweiz media family', so that the ibex will once again triumph on the peaks of south-eastern Switzerland," Somedia CEO Thomas Kundert is convinced.

Financial and insurance matters are often a challenge: piles of documents, opaque offers and rising costs leave many people in despair. This is precisely where the new campaign from finance and insurance company Monestra comes in. In a series of humorous online and social media commercials, typical everyday scenarios are presented in an authentic way in which everyone will recognize themselves: from exploding health insurance premiums to chaotic piles of paperwork and jargon battles when it comes to pensions.

In the commercials, the two founders Fabian and Michael appear in person to save the day. They present solutions with charming ease and bring order to chaos with their likeable manner and unique appearance.

Responsible at Monestra: Fabian Ferreira, Michael Ünes (Managing Director and founder). Responsible at Andfrank: Katie Eugster (Junior Art Director), Ramon Alder (Creative Direction), Florian Bieniek (Brand Director & Media), Nico Strässle (Managing Director). External partners: Nektar (Production), Leo Graf (Director & Edit), Yannic Krayss (DoP), Sven Bischof (Producer), Luca Zellweger (AC), Rouven Niedermaier (Gaffer), Simone Egner (H&M), Leuchtturm (Rental), 1291 Productions (Studio).

Advent, Advent. As excessively as calendar doors are being opened and window frames decorated for Christmas, frames are currently being opened and thematically decorated in meetings. But it's not just in the run-up to Christmas that the verb "frame" has found its way into the lingo of advertisers, marketers and "communicators". It has been haunting meeting rooms for some time now and, according to the Duden dictionary, means to classify, categorize or assign something. Doing this seems more important today than in the past.

There is no other explanation for its almost excessive use. The word has been around for a long time. It was the sociologist Erving Goffman who coined the term "framing" in the 1970s and launched it within what is known as frame analysis. This is a kind of interpretation scheme that helps people to classify everyday experiences and categorize social experiences and events. In times like these, a good thing. The more complex everything becomes, the more we want to put situations into existing schemes of experience or frameworks in order to understand them. We can only answer questions such as "What is actually going on here?" in a reasonably satisfactory way if we place them in the context of what we have already experienced, otherwise a situation is neither meaningful nor comprehensible to us. So it's understandable that everything is being framed at the moment. And still difficult.

It's all about marketing

It was framed in sociology and psychology and from there it went via theater and film studies into our industry. And as it happens, our industry craves new words and then uses them in abundance.

If we question the elections in the USA, the war in Ukraine and the Middle East, climate change, migration, violence, housing shortages and other topics in order to understand what is going on, that makes sense. When political organizations and actors in the foreground and background frame issues to the point of manipulation in order to influence us, it becomes difficult. In a country like Switzerland, where the media is almost exclusively owned by billionaires, we have to deal with the question of how and by whom public opinion is shaped and major topics and news are framed.

Why should we also question campaigns, subjects or advertising texts in marketing meetings? Can't we simply judge them as good, bad or semi-successful in our meetings? This is only about marketing, not about society or even life and death.

Let's leave framing in the fields of psychology, politics and media analysis. Let's only use it in marketing and communication when it comes to consciously or manipulatively influencing or questioning perceptions. Let's be more careful about where something is being framed and where it is being judged objectively. Otherwise we will be like Truman Burbank in the film "The Truman Show", who only realized that he was not in real life but in a TV show when a spotlight fell in front of him. So, question the big frames and stop framing marketing decisions - please. Instead, open and decorate doors and windows not only during Advent, but also in your mind.

* Benno Maggi is co-founder and CEO of Partner & Partner. He has been eavesdropping on the industry for over 30 years, discovering words and terms for us that can either be used for small talk, pomposity, excitement, playing Scrabble, or just because.

Since 2017, the Swiss Advertising Client Association SWA and Leading Swiss Agencies LSA have been collecting and publishing a meaningful price/performance index for media contacts.

Newspapers and magazines have been characterized by major changes in recent years. To take this into account, the selection of titles was fundamentally revised for the following analysis. The adjustments to the selection of titles - in particular the inclusion of high-reach but low-cost titles from the group of special interest titles - have significantly reduced the price-performance ratio compared to the previous selection.

Although many curves show a downward trend compared to the previous year, in most cases this is not an effective decline. Rather, based on the old universe of securities, there has been an increase in the price-performance ratio. The year 2024 could therefore be seen as a new start (index 100).

On TV, the planned thousand contact price (CPT) for older target groups remained stable overall, although it continued to rise in German-speaking Switzerland and Ticino, but fell significantly in French-speaking Switzerland. Among younger target groups, the planned CPM is rising constantly throughout Switzerland. The reason for this is that they are increasingly using digital and new channels.

In the cinema, the index value for Switzerland as a whole and the entire population rose slightly (+1.2 points).

In radio, the MPLI measures the situation with a one-year delay. By the end of 2023, an increase in price of 1.9 points can be observed across the whole of Switzerland and the entire population.

In the OOH market, the figures can now be reported again following a change of method in the SPR+ model. A new index point (index 100) was defined as the starting point for 2023. In a year-on-year comparison, some steep price increases (+6.2 points) were recorded across the whole of Switzerland and the population.

With the annual publication of the Media Price/Performance Index MPLI, the LSA and SWA associations want to make a joint contribution to transparency in the Swiss media business. The price/performance development of digital channels is currently missing from the index because the dominant players in this area are reluctant to "look at their cards", as the associations put it.

Download MPLI 2024 (LSA, SWA)

The campaign acts as an appeal against bullying and vandalism and is intended to convey that violence has no place in the municipality of Oetwil am See.

To this end, under the motto "Oewil acts!", a Websiteflyers, posters, plaques and themed illustrations with messages. The municipality also organized information events for residents and clubs. The campaign runs for three years and focuses on the topics of violence, bullying and vandalism each year.

Responsible at the municipality of Oetwil am See: Christian Götz (Municipal Councillor); Fabienne Bräm (Head of Security Department). Responsible at Dynamite: Roger Bosshart (consulting and text); Ralitsa Ruseva (art direction); Aleksandra Wolkow (graphics).

In his opening speech, Igem board member Roger Baur from Ringier Advertising emphasized the growing importance of gaming as an advertising platform. This was followed by five presentations on key findings and concrete implementations.

Andreas Weiss from Mediaschneider presented gaming usage in Switzerland based on the Igem Digimonitor study. 53 percent of the population aged 15 to 75 play games occasionally, 20 percent of them even on a daily basis. This applies equally to women and men. The target group is therefore correspondingly large, but also diverse in its gaming preferences.

Luca Hartmann from MYI presented how brands can inspire gamers. Using several short customer cases, he showed that there is no blueprint for successful brand campaigns in the gaming target group. This group is also difficult to reach via traditional online advertising due to installed ad blockers. In Switzerland, 65% of male gamers under the age of 30 use an ad blocker to suppress online advertising (compared to 37% of the overall population, according to the Digimonitor study). Accordingly, he gave the audience key questions to help them develop the right campaign for their brand and goals.

Tim Buzzi from Goldbach presented gaming ads as a network product. The global industry is worth 214 billion US dollars - and gaming is no longer a niche hobby in Switzerland either. Nevertheless, the sector is barely represented in the media mix in this country, despite a large target group and growth potential. Buzzi shed light on gaming advertising and highlighted examples and potential, but also the challenges in this area.

Sam Lutz from Drop8 showed how advertising in the gaming environment represents an opportunity for advertisers. The amount of time people spend gaming is higher than that spent on music/podcasts or online news and is almost on par with social media and TV. Despite this high usage time, advertising spend in gaming is almost nine times lower - a huge untapped opportunity for advertisers. It also enables a unique increase in reach: in-game advertising is not a mere extension of digital channels, but offers a unique opportunity for an incremental increase in reach. Some of the target group in Switzerland can no longer be reached via traditional media such as TV, news websites or social media - gaming can close this gap.

Arend Hendriks from League-M / NetGrowth showed how advertising can be placed not only within the gaming world, but also in the wider environment. Using practical examples from Swiss brands, he made it clear that in-game advertising often has strong similarities with outdoor advertising and that there are exciting opportunities to reach the brand-affine target group of gamers in their extended community.

"The event shows the increasing relevance of advertising in gaming environments. Uniform standards and further research are crucial in order to exploit the full potential," summarizes Roger Bauer. "Igem will continue to make its contribution by including gaming prominently in the Digimonitor study."

APG|SGA has completed the installation of ten new "Mountain ePanels" on the Jungfraujoch. According to the company, the digital advertising spaces are located at an altitude of 3,454 meters above sea level, making them the highest e-panels in Europe. The Jungfraujoch, known as the "Top of Europe", attracts over one million national and international guests every year.

Eight of the new 55-inch screens were installed in the connecting tunnel, which all visitors pass through on their way to the "Sphinx Terrace". Two further 75-inch screens are located directly at the exit of the terrace and cannot be overlooked before guests enjoy the view of the Aletsch Glacier, the longest ice stream in the Alps and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The "ePanel" was installed using special brackets that were attached directly to the rock, according to the statement.

In May of this year, APG|SGA and Jungfrau Railways extended their marketing contract. According to the company, more than 200 analog and digital communication solutions are now available in the region. The new "ePanels" are to be powered entirely by renewable energy. (Yannick Züllig/NetzKI Bot/tme/swi)

This article first appeared in Netzwoche.

The assignment for Mutoco involved refreshing BLS's digital brand presence. This involved revamping the UX and design of the BLS mobile app, one of BLS's most important sales channels.

The new app design combines functionality and usability with aesthetics and makes the brand more visible. Panoramic images in the check-in tab elegantly highlight important UI elements. The large-scale images change seasonally and give the app a unique look. "We wanted the purchase via the app to feel like the start of the journey and for customers to have a pleasant travel planning experience," explains Kilian Sonnentrücker from Mutoco. Various features contribute to this, such as the real-time travel widget or the option to save connections.

A clear information architecture should ensure orientation at all times despite the many functions. In addition, barrier-free content and accessibility efforts in the design ensure accessibility for all.

As part of the project, three Mutoco employees were involved in the BLS Mobil Art team for a good three years. "The long-term collaboration was not only a lot of fun, but also a great tool for pooling forces and expertise in the most effective way," says Jessica Jenni from BLS.

A scalable design system was developed for the revision of the BLS mobile app, from which all BLS digital products - website, web store and car transport - should benefit.

The app not only receives excellent ratings in the stores for its functionality and design, the BLS Mobil app was also awarded three bronze medals in the Design, User Experience and Functionality categories at this year's "Best of Swiss App" awards.

Strongly participatory democracies such as Switzerland depend on their population being able to make informed political decisions based on facts. Accordingly, news literacy - the ability to critically evaluate and verify news - is a key element of this, according to a press release issued on Wednesday. And these skills are still underdeveloped in Switzerland, as a representative study commissioned by the Federal Office of Communications in 2023 showed.

In the fight against fake news, disinformation and manipulation, Keystone-SDA, the SRG and the Swiss Media Publishers Association VSM founded the "Usethenews" association in spring (Markt-kom.com reported).

Now with the Platform Usethenews.ch the "central element of this initiative" online, the press release continues. The database already contains 60 educational offers, training courses, workshops and materials that are available in Switzerland in the field of news literacy and journalistic media education. The platform also offers further information from science and practice on journalism, media education and media research. Usethenews also aims to promote dialog and network the areas of education, media practice, science and politics with events such as roundtables and conferences.

"Anyone looking for, offering or wanting to know something about news expertise should be able to find their way around here in future," explains Managing Director Markus Spillmann. The platform is currently available in German and French, with an Italian version to follow later. Further functionalities and services are also planned.

More than a dozen organizations and universities throughout Switzerland are already involved in the Alliance for News Literacy Usethenews. The initiative is supported by the Mercator Foundation Switzerland. It builds on the international network of the same name. (pd/swi)