Suissedigital, the association for communication networks, hosted the annual Suissedigital Day in Bern. The event in the Kursaal Bern began with a look back - on the occasion of Simon Osterwalder's 10th anniversary as Managing Director of Suissedigital. He took over the management of the association in March 2014 - when it was still called Swisscable.

In his review of past highlights, he quickly turned to Suissedigital Day, describing the event as "perhaps the greatest achievement" of the association. "We are not a family; we are not a club of friends," he told the guests, some of whom are probably in direct competition with other members of the association. But with the Suissedigital Day, a platform has been created for exchange, where we can work together in a constructive and goal-oriented manner. It was about long-term policy and getting a foot in the door.

This year, the focus is on SMEs for the first time. As an association with many SMEs among its members, it was time to sharpen the focus and ask what SMEs can do in a digitalized, connected world. "What do I do if I have already sold fiber to the home (FTTH)?" Osterwalder answered his own question straight away: Services.

He sees a lot of potential for SMEs here. He listed possible services such as local data center services or cybersecurity services. "Our industry has not yet exhausted the capacities in the IT market," he told the association members. There are also many opportunities to enter into partnerships. After all, only very few association members can do everything themselves.

First Federal Councillor at Suissedigital Day

In keeping with the Managing Director's anniversary, Suissedigital Day had a special guest of honor this year. For the first time, a Federal Councillor spoke at the conference of cable network operators. Albert Rösti, Head of the Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC), spoke in the Kursaal about the Confederation's gigabit strategy and possible regulation of artificial intelligence (AI).

"There is no other country that has such a basic service," said Rösti. "Thanks in part to you, we are above the EU average in terms of network performance. This result will improve significantly once again, as the cable TV networks now also offer Internet speeds of 2.5 gigabits per second."

"However, we still want to improve on the expansion of fiber optics," said the Federal Councillor. Currently, fiber optic coverage to the home in Switzerland is around 60 percent. By the end of next year, around two thirds of homes and businesses should be connected to a fiber optic network.

"However, it is foreseeable that modern fiber optic networks will not be built throughout Switzerland because it simply won't be profitable everywhere," said Rösti. As copper networks will be decommissioned in the medium term, there is a risk that not all buildings will be connected to reliable telecommunications lines, according to the Federal Council. "This must be avoided."

Funding program for gigabit strategy

In December 2023, DETEC was therefore tasked with drawing up a gigabit strategy to close this looming supply gap. The aim is to provide all households and businesses with bandwidths of at least 1 gigabit per second as comprehensively as possible. This should prevent a digital urban-rural divide. "I'm thinking here above all of the remotest and most remote areas of our country."

"However, the development will cost a lot," Rösti told the cable network operators. "We are talking about more than half a billion francs according to our estimates." The federal government therefore intends to support the expansion financially. "Of course, and this is very important to me, we don't want to replace the market here," said the Federal Councillor. "But we want to close the gap where this expansion is not being carried out by the market." If a municipality or region does not consider support to be necessary, the federal government will not become active. The funding program is limited to seven years.

The cantons are to bear part of the costs for the fiber optic expansion. Nevertheless, it will not be easy to get the funding program up and running. The federal government is currently implementing numerous cost-cutting measures to reduce the budget by CHF 3.5 billion from 2027 and CHF 4.5 billion from 2029.

Avoid overregulation of AI

The topic of AI is currently also the responsibility of DETEC. Together with the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Justice, DETEC is to submit an overview of AI to the Federal Council. And "based on this, also consider the extent to which artificial intelligence should be regulated in our country", explained Rösti.

"It would be wrong to go into activism here and slow down economic activity and progress too early with regulation," said the Federal Councillor. "We are one of the most innovative countries in the world. We are in this area too and want to remain so." A great deal can already be regulated on the basis of existing laws.

In a subsequent question and answer session, Rösti drew a comparison with the food industry. The federal government does not prohibit the sale of food, he explained. "But it does stipulate that the packaging must state what's inside. So that people know what they are buying." This is also necessary for AI products.

Gaming against the shortage of skilled workers

Another topic addressed at Suissedigital Day 2024 was the shortage of skilled workers. Joachim Reuter, guest lecturer in Sports Marketing, Gaming & E-Sports at the FHNW and former Head of E-Sports / Marketing at FC Basel, and Fabian Wicki, owner of Gestalt Kommunikation and also a lecturer at the FHNW, spoke about this. In their joint presentation, they showed how companies can use gaming as a vehicle for attracting learners.

Reuter began by showing how big the market for gaming and related products is: 187 billion US dollars. It is also a growth market. "These are figures that cannot be ignored," he said.

He later went on to talk about the amount of prize money in the e-sports sector. "In terms of prize money, e-sports hardly has to hide behind Wimbledon and certainly not behind the Tour de France." The record was set at the 2021 Dota 2 tournament The International, where over 40 million dollars were awarded in total. At Wimbledon in 2024, the prize money amounted to a total of 63 million dollars and at the Tour de France 2.7 million.

In Switzerland, around 60 percent of the population play games at least once a year. "Gaming is of course very strongly associated with the young target group, but the average gamer is almost 40 years old," explained Reuter. And the proportion of women is at least a third, and is even significantly higher in certain sub-areas of gaming.

"Brands are increasingly recognizing that gaming is an attractive platform to present themselves." Reuter cited examples such as the Insurance provider Baloise, which has opened a branch in the video game GTA 5or Burger King; the fast food chain sponsored the then almost completely unknown English football club Stevenage FC so that the Burger King logo would appear in the video game Fifa.

Employer branding in the digital world

Wicki took up the topic of employer branding. Gaming requires a stable and fast internet connection. It is therefore obvious for cable network operators to become active in this area.

In August of this year, almost 9,000 apprenticeships were vacant. In addition, a quarter of all apprenticeship contracts in Switzerland end in premature termination. This is all "grist to the mill of the skills shortage". To counteract this, he presented his concept of a Swiss Digital League - a joint FIFA e-sports league of the industry association Suissedigital.

The apprentices are invited to take part by their training companies. In this way, the companies turn the apprentices into brand ambassadors. The league will also have a physical tournament with an award ceremony. And how does this help to attract new employees? The "Bring a Friend" concept is intended to attract potential new apprentices, explained Wicki. Each apprentice can bring someone from their own network with them and introduce them to the world of cable network operators.

Wicki then went on to explain what stage this idea is currently at. It is a concept that is already in the starting blocks to be realized, he explained. The preparatory work has already been done, for example the League was already represented with a stand at the Suissedigital Day. Now the concept just needs to be implemented.

No fear of AI

The Suissedigital Day 2024 also included a lecture by philosopher Ludwig Hasler. He spoke about the role of humans in an AI world. "Knowledge is a child of yesterday," he said. Specialist skills are in very good hands with machines. People should therefore concentrate on seeing the world in a new way and coming up with ideas for what could be nicer, funnier and more convenient. "We should get our act together to lead this development as far as possible and not just look on," he said.

There were also presentations on the topic of cyber security at this year's conference. For example, Bettina Zimmermann, CEO of GU Sicherheit & Partner, spoke about crisis management in the event of cyber incidents. She had already given a presentation on this topic - together with neuropsychologist Wolfgang Maier - at this year's Gohack24 Symposium. (Coen Kaat/jor/swi)

---

This article first appeared in Netzwoche.

As of January 2025, Mike J. Herter will strengthen the management team at Weltwoche In this key role, he will "significantly drive forward the digital transformation of the company", as it says. His main tasks include the further development of digital platforms such as websites, apps and podcasts, as well as the creation of new digital advertising offerings.

"The US elections have shown that podcasts and media with different opinions move more than so-called legacy or mainstream media," explains publisher Roger Köppel. After the digital relaunch three years ago, the Weltwoche "Our 'Weltwoche daily' podcast is already the market leader in Switzerland by a wide margin and is strong abroad. The digital business is also becoming increasingly important for us. Mike Herter should continue to drive this growth forward."

Mike J. Herter has more than two decades of experience in the Swiss media industry. In various management positions, he has continuously expanded his expertise in the areas of digital strategy, innovation, product development and marketing. Most recently, he was responsible for the further development of magazines and Blick Sport in the "Product & Tech" unit at Ringier Media Switzerland. He holds an Executive MBA HSG in Business Engineering and a BSc in Business Communications ZFH.

"Information: a public good worth protecting" was the title of the motion tabled by Alizée Rey (SP) and Sophie Tritten (center-left CSP). In the constitution, the canton should be obliged to ensure the framework conditions for an open and enlightened public discourse.

The government and the conservative majority in the council did not want to know anything about this. The situation of the media is serious and the development is worrying, admitted Economics Minister Olivier Curty, recalling the recent job cuts in the media sector.

"Open doors"

However, the motion would open doors. The canton is already promoting media today. For example, it supports digitization projects of regional media and covers half of the subscription costs of the Fribourg media at the Keystone-SDA news agency.

In addition, all 18-year-olds in the canton now benefit from an annual subscription to a regional newspaper. Already 400 people have benefited from the offer, which corresponds to ten percent of those entitled.

The existing constitutional framework is sufficient, said Savio Michellod, a Liberal Democrat. He was not of the opinion that the state had to act. The upheaval in the media landscape was, among other things, a consequence of the digital transformation. Issues relating to the reliability of information also played a role.

The left wing of the Council remained in the minority with the view that the state cannot limit itself to guaranteeing freedom of the press. It must also ensure the quality of public debate and access to diverse and verifiable information. (SDA)

Mediapulse, which was founded by CH Media, Ringier, SRG and TX Group in 2020, had previously conducted the research. However, due to a lack of funding, Mediapulse will discontinue its service at the end of 2024, as was made public at the end of September (Markt-kom.com reported).

The technical reach measurement for websites and apps will be continued by the previous service provider Kantar Switzerland. The measurement technology will continue to be supplied by Comscore EMEA, based in Amsterdam. Wemf will be responsible for publishing the measurement data. Mediapulse will be on hand to advise on the handover of reach measurement.

The "Swiss Online Research Consortium - Online Data Switzerland" is open to the participation of other media companies. "We would be delighted if other online publishers took part in our traffic measurement in order to map the entire Swiss market," Tarkan Özküp, Chief Commercial Officer of CH Media, was quoted as saying. (SDA/swi)

For the study published on Thursday 1179 media professionals from all three language regions were surveyed. The results showed that women are underrepresented in management positions, despite holding 44% of the positions. At 60 percent, women are in the majority among 20 to 29-year-olds.

According to the study, the typical Swiss journalist is male, 43 years old, born in Switzerland, non-denominational, politically left of center and an academic. The authors of the study warn against assuming that political attitudes influence reporting. This would require a deeper analysis of the content. People in French-speaking Switzerland consider themselves more left-wing than those in German-speaking Switzerland, while those in Ticino consider themselves more right-wing.

Time pressure and less freedom

A "trend towards precarization" is also noted. Temporary employment has increased, from six percent in 2015 to 23 percent. Journalists' part-time jobs have also increased. 40 percent earned less than CHF 5601 per month. The median salary for the population is 6788 francs.

Time pressure is increasing and often several channels have to be used, such as online and print. Editorial freedom is therefore perceived as declining, according to the study.

Working conditions in journalism had become worse. 39 percent were worried about their mental health, 76 percent of those surveyed had experienced humiliating or hateful comments aimed at them, 67 percent perceived public discrediting of their work. Around half stated that they had been stressed often or very often in the last twelve months.

Inform and classify

When asked about their most important tasks, 85 percent stated that they convey information, enable people to form an opinion, 79 percent that they observe impartially and 78 percent each that they convey and classify current events and counteract disinformation.

At the other end of the scale are supporting government policy and conveying a positive image of the government, each with just over one percent. As many as 11 percent want to influence public policy with their work.

The survey was conducted for the third time and is part of the "Worlds of Journalism" project. Over 80 countries are involved. (SDA/swi)

According to the report, the estimated savings are to be made as part of the "Enavant" transformation project announced by the new CEO Susanne Wille. This was reported by the Tamedia media.

Wille has been Director General of SRG SSR since November (Markt-kom.ch reported). On her first day at work, she announced the "biggest transformation" in the company's history in a speech, according to the report (Markt-kom.com reported). This involves savings of around CHF 270 million by 2029, which according to SRG corresponds to a budget reduction of around 17 percent compared to 2024.

Various factors put SRG under pressure

The reasons cited by SRG for the savings program are the gradual reduction in the media levy in accordance with the Federal Council's ordinance adjustment (gradual reduction from CHF 335 to CHF 300 by 2029), significantly declining advertising revenue and rising prices. The change in media usage by the population and international competition also made the adjustment process necessary.

At the request of the Keystone-SDA news agency, SRG broke down the stated savings of CHF 270 million into these various factors.

The reduction in the media levy planned by the Federal Council would result in around CHF 120 million less being available. This is because the group of companies that are completely exempt from the levy will also be broadened. The projected growth in households in Switzerland has already been taken into account in this estimate.

SRG puts the decline in commercial income, i.e. advertising and sponsorship revenue, at around CHF 90 million. And SRG estimates the increase in costs due to inflation at around CHF 60 million by 2029.

How can we continue to offer the public added value in the future?

Enavant" is new in terms of its approach, depth, complexity and speed, SRG had already communicated after Wille took office. Budget reductions would not only be distributed to the business units, but the company would be viewed as a whole.

The questions were which service strategy SRG should use to meet the demands of the public media service of the future and how the public can continue to be offered added value. They also asked what structures and processes SRG will need in the future, how it will organize cooperation within the business units, how it will use technology and how the transformation will succeed within the specified timeframe. (SDA)

On Wednesday, in 40 keynotes, master classes and workshops, over 60 speakers spread across five movie theaters at the Zurich Frame shared and discussed their insights on the current and controversial topics that are moving the industry.

The numerous highlights of the programme included the award-winning Oded Lavie from Publicis Groupe, who had travelled from Israel, a statement by top German creative Terry Ellmer on dealing with culture and subculture(s) in marketing, a presentation by Isabelle Rogat (Isi) on the "Hot Sh*t", which can be used to mobilize trend cycles and the attention economy for your brand, and Dr Daniel Knapp from IAB Europe, who had joined the event from Sydney to present data and figures on the status of digital advertising.

The practical masterclasses and workshops were particularly popular this year. There were also several panels on key digital marketing topics such as retail media, sustainability and responsible media. According to the organizers, the fact that all of these topics are becoming increasingly relevant to society also underlines the importance of the conference.

"Dex has become an institution," says IAB Switzerland President Martin Radelfinger. "The only Swiss digital conference of this size and importance has become indispensable not only because of its impetus and knowledge transfer. Networking is also absolutely key: for many, Dex is the opportunity to meet colleagues, companions and friends from the industry once a year - in a setting that is as exciting as it is relaxed."

What wonderful flowers the marketing jargon always produces.

The latest example: ScrollyPub. It sounds so cute and sweet that it simply has to be loved - just like a newborn baby. ScrollyPub is the grandchild of scrolling and storytelling, whose non-binary child Scrollytelling has now given birth to a new word with the droll name ScrollyPub. Don't know it? But you should. And please use it as often as possible so that the other person knows that you are up to date.

The relationship shows: But even the latest shit comes from somewhere. So let's delve deeper into the genealogy of the new industry baby. Let's start with the grandparents - even in real life, grandparents have long since learned how to scroll. It's been so long since the word entered the dictionary that the acronym EDP is actually still listed under "use". Electronic data processing. Do you remember? Scrolling actually means "moving" in English. Today we mean that the display on the screen cannot be captured in its entirety and should therefore be moved around the screen in sections. There are evil tongues that claim that the higher someone climbs in the hierarchy, the more their ability to scroll decreases. And with a story like this, we are already at the next ancestral part, storytelling.

When the content gets lost in all the scrolling

For a long time, this term was only reserved for writers and film and theater makers before it conquered our industry. It was about dramaturgy, rhythm and complex storylines that captivate the audience or readers over a longer period of time. But if something has neither a beginning nor an end, neither a plot, starting point nor a payoff, then it is not a story, but merely a string of facts, wishes and requests from a sender to a receiver. And the sender hopes that someone will understand what is being conveyed. The fact that a story can be told in just a few words was already known before TikTok and Snapchat: "For sale. Baby shoes, never worn." This famous story in six words is attributed to Ernest Hemingway. Is it true? That too is storytelling.

Scrollytelling now combines "scrolling" and "storytelling" and describes a journalistic format in which readers experience a story that builds up dynamically by scrolling. This can be done using graphics, videos or interactive elements. All of this is intended to enhance the reading experience and enables complex content to be conveyed in a visually appealing way. So much for the activity. "ScrollyPub" is now the place where scrollytelling takes place. Not in a dimly lit pub where lukewarm beer is served and sports broadcasts are shown on screens and darts are thrown at a target. No, it usually refers to publications (or publication formats) that use scrollytelling techniques. In a ScrollyPub, stories are presented in formats that are geared towards new reading habits, especially those on the screens of mobile devices. Unfortunately, with all the multimedia excitement and attention, the content is often forgotten and it is questionable whether the little content that is still available is retained with so much experience.

---

* 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.

Recently, the City of Zurich Gastronomy Association launched the "Roast & Host" training company (Markt-kom.com reported). The project has been running since spring 2024, and the first apprentices started in the summer.

In order to publicize the offer, Bagels of Berkeley has initially designed and implemented individual content for the restaurants as well as the Instagram channel @roastandhost was launched. Now, as part of the ongoing application process for 2025, a campaign has been launched that focuses on childhood memories. Although children are often fascinated by careers in the hospitality industry, this fascination unfortunately often wanes later on when it comes to choosing a career.

"POV: You are living your childhood dream" 

So, in order to bring back this joy from earlier times and also to strengthen interest in gastronomy, the four videos produced, which were played out organically on Instagram. The videos play with aesthetic shots of the kitchens of Roast & Host restaurants and also show how today's learners used to play in the children's kitchen.

Influencers wield the wooden spoon

In addition to the assets developed by Bagels of Berkeley itself, the agency also engaged two food influencers. @Thispronto and @Noahbachofen created entertaining content pieces for Instagram and TikTok, in which they looked back on the beginnings of their cooking careers and drew attention to the new training concept.

According to the social media agency, over 140,000 views on Instagram and over 100,000 views on TikTok were achieved with all assets and the two influencers without a media budget.

---

Responsible at Roast & Host: Claudia Wartmann, Florian Ilmer, Nicolas Kern. Responsible at Bagels of Berkeley: Lara Zehnder (Copywriter & Storyteller), Ramon Osti (Social Consultant & Producer), Kevin Hy (Video & Photo Producer), Marco Klein (Senior Motion Designer & AI Artist), Monia Rosenow (Trainee Video Producer), Luciano Hagge Dias (Digital Business Director). External Partners: Oluyomi Scherrer, Noah Bachofen, Biba Model Management.

Short, targeted advertising interruptions are intended to create "an immersive and visually impressive experience on mobile devices". This would seamlessly integrate advertising messages into the user experience and create new opportunities for emotional brand staging.

"It is important to us to make advertising on Nau.ch contemporary and appealing. With formats such as 'Midbreak Mobile', we are setting new standards and offering our advertising partners the opportunity to be present in an innovative way," explains Tiziano Obrecht, Director Advertising Strategy at Nau Media.

For Pascal Wälti, Marketing Communications Manager Media at SBB, the new format from Nau.ch is also an exciting solution, "which enables us to place our messages in a high-quality environment using both video and image material." The high density of advertising in the digital sector leads to "banner blindness" among users. "In particular, we hope that the exclusivity and interactivity of the midbreak ad will create positive effects in terms of the user's attention to the advertising message," Wälti continues.

---

Responsible at SBB: Pascal Wälti & Beat Huber (Marketing Communications Manager Media). Responsible at Havas: Marieke Alleleijn (Senior Account Director). Responsible at Publica4: Luca Maier (Chief Sales Officer).

Sunrise Starzone is responding to the increased mobile use of the website with a clearer and significantly reduced user interface and a new, improved search function. The platform also has a younger, more dynamic and leaner look, so that music news and exclusive ticket benefits can be accessed even more quickly and directly.

The new site was designed by Parker Digital as lead agency, implemented by Mayor Unlimited in the UI/UX and accompanied by Blast Off. The technical implementation was carried out by Undoo. In order to maintain the recognition value, the basic colors red and black remain. These two colors are firmly anchored in the brand identity of Sunrise Starzone and represent the energy and passion for music.

A broad campaign in real and digital space is planned for the end of the year. The DOOH and display campaign also marks the start of the 2025 festival summer.

The survey of the LGBTIQ+ community is based on a reference survey in the EU and allows Switzerland to be compared with other European countries for the first time. It is striking that LGBTIQ+ people in Switzerland reported more frequent experiences of violence and discrimination than respondents in the EU, as Amnesty International Switzerland announced on Wednesday.

The organizations - including Pink Cross and Queeramnesty - are also calling for the criminal standard on discrimination to be extended to include trans people and people with variations in gender characteristics. A national action plan against LGBTIQ+ hate crimes must also be implemented promptly and in full. Sensitization is needed in public institutions, especially in the healthcare system, in the asylum sector, in schools and in the police.

Regular prevention campaigns against anti-queer stereotypes and violence are also needed. Furthermore, helplines and advice centres for those affected by queer-hostile violence need to be institutionalized and their funding guaranteed. In addition, regular monitoring must be carried out to measure the effectiveness of measures.

"Like all people, we want to live self-determined lives. Free from hate and violence. But we are increasingly in the crosshairs of discrimination and hate speech," Urs Vanessa Sager from Interaction, the national association for intersex people, is quoted as saying in the press release. (SDA)