Screenforce Day 2025: Trust is the new currency
For the tenth time, Screenforce Day brought the industry together—with record attendance, clear insights into the future of TV and AI, a highly acclaimed comparative study on YouTube and TV, and a call for greater trust and relevance in video content.
Screenforce Day Switzerland celebrated a truly memorable anniversary on May 27, 2025. Around 370 guests—the event had been fully booked weeks in advance—gathered at the Kongresshaus Zürich to follow the exciting presentations and discussions led by the experts. In addition to the six presentations, host Wolfram Kons and Swiss comedian Fabian Unteregger provided top-notch entertainment. Unteregger impersonated various personalities, humorously highlighting the relevance of TV.
Between Algorithms and Authenticity: AI Needs People
After coffee and pastries, futurist Gerhard Leonhard began his presentation promptly at 9 a.m., painting a powerful yet cautionary picture of the future: Artificial intelligence boosts our «brain power»—but true relevance remains human. While AI is based on logic and patterns, intuition, emotion, and creativity remain the domain of humans. Leonhard issued a stark warning against a world in which we lose our own abilities and blindly place ourselves in the hands of intelligent systems: an «existential crisis» is inevitable if machines take over our thinking but fail to understand meaning.
According to Leonhard, advertising in particular is at risk of becoming a «beautiful digital fake shit world»—perfectly personalized but content-free communication. His message: Don’t work, learn, or communicate like robots; instead, focus on authenticity, humanity, and meaning. AI should be a tool, not a replacement. People remain the most important factor—as architects of the future, not as its victims.
TV and YouTube: Not a Showdown, but a Distinctive Duo
Immediately afterward, this year’s Screenforce Switzerland study addressed the question, «TV and YouTube: Friend and/or Foe?» The qualitative study, conducted as part of Screenforce 2025, shows that YouTube and TV are not bitter rivals, but rather two worlds of moving images with distinct strengths—and a growing convergence. While TV stands for credibility, quality, and brand-safe environments, YouTube scores points for flexibility, targeting precision, and agility. Experts describe YouTube as TV’s younger relative—eager to offer advice, sometimes over-the-top, but to be taken seriously. The key lies not in an “either/or” choice, but in synergy: Anyone who wants to intelligently combine reach, impact, and relevance cannot do without an orchestrated video strategy. Linear TV remains a rock-solid foundation—with the potential to learn from YouTube’s dynamism.
Just before the break, things got a little crowded on stage. Wolfram Kons moderated the panel discussion on the topic «Media in Transition—Who Will Keep Us Informed in the Future?» with representatives from the LSA association, the ad tech company Utiq, CH Media, and SRF.
Midlife High Instead of Midlife Crisis: Rethinking the 50-Plus Target Audience
Fabian Unteregger kicked off the second half of the program with a brief excerpt from his current stage show, «Fachkräftemangel.« This was followed by two presentations from the market research firm Rheingold Salon. In «Brands as the Last Anchors of Trust—Why Brands Should Emphasize What Unites Us Even More Right Now,» it was demonstrated how brands have the power to either mitigate or promote change in society.
In her presentation, Ines Imdahl called for a radical shift in how target audiences are addressed: The 50-plus generation is neither technologically illiterate nor sluggish—but rather eager to consume, quality-conscious, and full of creative drive. Nevertheless, advertising often reduces them to clichés: large fonts, simple messages, stairlifts. The reality, according to Imdahl, is quite different. People over 50 feel «right in the thick of things,» not on the sidelines—they draw on a wealth of experience while looking forward with a desire for self-determination, enjoyment, and new inspiration.
A qualitative study involving 42 participants clearly showed that this target group is not brand-loyal in the traditional sense—but rather discerning, open to new ideas, selective, and easily swayed. They buy organic and luxury goods, are interested in e-bikes, digital tools, and specialty products—and use discount apps not out of financial necessity, but out of savvy. Advertising that takes them seriously—that inspires rather than lectures—is well-received—provided it is high-quality, relevant, and free of patronizing tones.
The event culminated with exclusive behind-the-scenes glimpses into the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest production in Basel.
The next major TV event is coming up on September 18 with the screen-up at Hall 622 in Zurich. The next Screenforce Day in Zurich will take place again on May 27, 2026, at the Kongresshaus.
