Valora’s new visual identity captures what makes everyday life on the go special: a morning coffee, a warm pretzel between appointments, or a fresh sandwich on the way home. As creative lead, Partner & Partner collaborated with Swiss photographer Dominik Baur to develop the cross-brand visual language. It is designed to bring the brand promise—«a little bit of happiness on the go»—to life.

Valora's visual identity creates a shared framework

The imagery brings to life small moments that enrich everyday life on the go and cause people to pause for a moment. A common visual framework emerges across the various brands. It anchors Valora’s brand promise in everyday life and highlights the company’s closeness to its customers.

Role of Partner & Partner

Partner & Partner led the process of evaluating the photographers and contributed to the conception and development of the visual identity. This also included revising the design guidelines and the corporate design manual. For the new visual identity, the agency developed the photo brief and provided consulting support throughout the process.

Photographs Taken While on the Go

The photos were taken at locations in Switzerland and Germany: in city centers and train stations, at bus stops and gas stations. The diverse settings showcase different facets of being on the go and lend the images authenticity and a sense of intimacy. This new visual style will be used in Valora’s internal and external communications going forward.

Responsible at Valora: Sascha Heiniger, Daniela Baumann, Alexandra Tschan, Luca Cereghetti. Person in charge at Baur Maison Créative: Dominik Baur. Photography and Production: Rockenfeller & Göbels (photo agency), Chris Reist (DOP / Editor / Lighting Assistant), Adina Zwahlen (Photo Assistant / Digital Operator), Letizia Abbatiello (Styling, Switzerland), ninakleinagency (Styling, Germany). Responsible at Partner & Partner: Gianfranco Acocella (Creative Director)

Gemmi Website: A Plateau as a Destination in Its Own Right

The Gemmi, the plateau at 2,350 meters above Leukerbad, has launched a new website. The Winterthur-based agency Partner & Partner was responsible for the concept, design, and implementation of the platform—with the goal of bringing the alpine destination’s diversity to life and clearly positioning it as a distinct destination in the digital space.

Gemmi Holding, with Roger Büchel as Chairman of the Board, is driving the strategic development of the plateau—respecting what already exists while also bringing new ideas to the table. The plateau is just a few minutes away by cable car from Leukerbad or can be reached on foot via the spectacular historic Gemmi Trail.

Hiking, Climbing, and Bearded Vultures—What’s on Offer Clearly Communicated

The new website provides direct access to the wide range of activities offered by the Gemmi: hiking, climbing, bearded vulture watching, hotel packages with spa facilities, as well as seminars and retreats in a high-Alpine setting. A clearly structured navigation system ensures that visitors can find what they’re looking for quickly and easily. The site’s content and structure reinforce the Gemmi’s positioning as a high plateau in the Swiss Alps.

Generous visuals define the site’s design and convey the plateau’s striking landscape and atmosphere. The focus is on a clear user experience and language tailored to the target audience. The platform integrates live weather data and features a built-in booking tool for the hotel.

Subtle Branding as the Foundation of Gemmi's New Website

In parallel with the development of the website, Partner & Partner also carefully refined Gemmi’s branding. Building on the few existing elements, they created a clear and consistent visual foundation that, for the first time, enables the destination to communicate in a unified manner.

Phishing and scam messages have long been part of everyday life. Many of these contact requests are recognized and deleted by users. Nevertheless, some messages appear so credible that the fraudulent intent is barely recognizable and therefore pose a considerable risk. With the new awareness-raising campaign «SUPER, right?», the BACS, together with Swiss Crime Prevention (SCP), the cantonal and municipal police forces, SBB, Swiss Post and the Swiss Insurance Association (SIA), aims to deepen existing knowledge on cyber security and raise public awareness of the challenges.

The central idea «SUPER, right?» addresses the problem of supposedly tempting content. Various visuals focus on fraudulent everyday examples and call on people to question them critically and react correctly. The campaign starts on April 13 and runs until May 10, 2026.

Broad distribution across various channels

The campaign will be widely disseminated using various means of communication. These include a dedicated information stand at the BEA trade fair in Bern, various poster sites, screens in post offices and Postbuses as well as eBoards at seven major railroad stations in Switzerland. The social media channels, websites and corporate platforms of the participating partners will also be used.

The campaign is aimed at the general public. In-depth content on cyber security is provided on the refreshed campaign website. There is also an interactive format with a quiz in three difficulty levels to test your own cyber security knowledge.

This seventh edition of the cybersecurity campaign builds on previous experiences. While previous campaigns conveyed basic cyber security measures and most recently focused on implementation («No excuses. Do it!»), «SUPER, right?» focuses on mindfulness in the event of fraud and phishing.

Responsible at BACS: Dominique Trachsel, Kilian Cuche, Gisela Kipfer, Manuela Sonderegger, Clélia Runtz, Marc Studer. Responsible at SKP: Beatrice Kübli, Sharon Carminati. Responsible at SVV: Gabor Jaimes, Thilo Kleine. Responsible at SBB: Reto Zgraggen. Responsible at Swiss Post: Yael Toenz. Responsible at Partner & Partner: Denise Nick (Partner and Consulting), Tiziana Mascolo (Project Management and Consulting), Sarah Pally (Text and Strategy), Lea Züllig (Art Direction), Nina Diem (UX Design), Lawrence Markwalder (Consulting Development), Dominic Schweingruber (Motion Design).

The von Rotz Group is entering a new era with its expanded range. The portfolio of the family-owned company is impressive - over the course of its almost 50-year history, the innovative family has steadily expanded its areas of activity with a steady hand. The leading car dealer and garage owner in Eastern Switzerland is now significantly expanding its range and opening up completely new market and customer segments with a diverse range of catering, hotel and event services.

From car dealership to world of pleasure

Eastern Switzerland is getting a pleasure and meeting hotspot with a casual fine dining restaurant, hotel with private spa as well as seminar and event facilities. In order to successfully implement the growth strategy, the company engaged the agency Partner & Partner and management consultant Paul Nussbaumer as sparring partners.

Together, they sharpened the positioning of the new offer and Partner & Partner gave the new brands an independent and modern appearance. The "Restaurant Cabrio" in particular is set to become a flagship project in the region. Partner & Partner developed high-quality brands with a reduced color palette and created versatile and strong brands that harmonize with each other.

Comprehensive brand communication

The agency realized four new websites (design, programming and text), all physical and digital communication materials and implemented a successful recruiting campaign in addition to initial media work.

Founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors Hanspeter von Rotz is delighted about the many new opportunities to appear as a host. He says: "Partner & Partner has not only implemented our vision, but also thought it through. The result is two new brands that bear our signature - clear, high-quality and full of character."

Responsible at Partner & Partner: Denise Nick and Manuel Specker (partners, consulting), Jasmina Seelig (consulting, project management), Sarah Pally (text), Angela Fessler (text), Julia Weber (art direction, graphic design), Alisa Kuratli (art direction, graphic design), Dominique Martin (UX/UI), Stefan Melz (development), Leon Schulte (SEO, metatexts and technical consulting) External partners: Paul Nussbaumer (hotel industry and management consultant), Markus Bühler (photographer), Paolo Vaccariello (photographer) Responsible at the von Rotz Group: Hanspeter von Rotz (Founder, Chairman of the Board of Directors), Andrej Rüegg (Member of the Executive Board, Car and Group Division), Karin von Rotz (Chairwoman of the Executive Board), Pascal Schmid (Managing Director Gastronomy and Hotels), Andrea Büchel (Marketing and Event Manager), Anna Weder (Event and Marketing Manager)

Risk groups

Younger people, in acute group situations. Older people who want to prove their youth and world experience or professionals who want to give their bullshit an international touch. Furthermore: Low-status, half-strong wannabe gangsters.

Immunity

People with a genuinely English-speaking background or who have spent a long time in the English-speaking world appear to be less affected or even immune. Researchers suspect that the obvious absurdity for these people protects them and the disease therefore falls on fertile ground (so-called cringe factor).

Symptomatology

The symptoms include: Pretending that you can only think of the much cooler and obviously more appropriate English term for everything. German is perceived as a foreign body, sometimes leading to a lack of understanding of terms, difficulty finding terms, the incorrect English pronunciation of German expressions or literal translations of English phrases. In extreme cases: Complete loss of linguistic sense of taste. Making people aware of their illness can also lead to aggression and shoulder shrugging.

Variants

In addition to classic Denglish, in which English expressions are sprinkled into German sentences, there are now different variants in circulation. In "false friends", similar-sounding terms are used in English to replace German ones, but they mean something different. For example, "eventuell" is replaced by "eventually" or "bekommen" by "become", etc. This behavior ridicules those affected and can lead to social isolation in extreme cases. An older variant are pseudoanglisms: terms that do not exist in English or are understood differently than in Denglish. For example, home office, cell phone, public viewing. However, this variant is so widespread that it is no longer considered pathological. A variant that mainly affects working office gums is business English: meetingscancellen, einander alignen or ein Call vereinbaren are common examples here and underline the pseudo-importance of those affected.

Contagion

Denglish is transmitted both orally and in writing. The incubation period for initial infection lasts from a few minutes to several months, depending on exposure and adaptation pressure.

Progression and prognosis

The disease progresses gradually. Initially, denglish tends to occur in stressful situations - for example, when those affected want to appear particularly competent or youthful. Over time, however, the disease becomes chronic. If left untreated, this can lead to a progressive loss of reality, with those infected convinced that they will no longer be taken seriously without Anglicisms. The prognosis is mixed: while mild cases remain stable, severe cases can lead to irreversible language impoverishment.

Healing and prevention

A cure is considered largely impossible. Disease-delaying therapies are therefore used. These include deliberate avoidance, even in heavily contaminated environments, as well as regular consumption of German literature to maintain the immune system, conversations with people who are fluent in the language and conscious observation of one's own expression.

Outlook

Experts are watching the further spread with concern, but point to historical parallels: Every language goes through waves of attack that sooner or later die down. Whether this will also be the case with Denglish remains to be seen. At present, however, there is little to suggest that it will subside any time soon.

This type of text has found its highest mastery in a well-known catalog or online store for home tools, kitchen utensils and other practical items around the house and home.

Cutting board as a cultural asset

The most mundane everyday objects are given a charming, slightly elitist and thoroughly detailed character here - just like in a good specialist store with enthusiastic advice. The genesis of a quality shovel is celebrated in a tongue-in-cheek but eloquent manner, the plight of live fruit fly-catching is explored, mixing bowls are praised for the cleverness of their design and the cleaning properties of the most inconspicuous linen cloths with a waffle structure are explained in detail, including the weave, and lovingly rounded off with free tips on care and correct use. The texts are spicy, the prices salty. But with all the knowledge about the true quality of these things, we are happy to pay them. In the fullest conviction of acquiring the best possible, traditionally manufactured chopping board - or actually a cultural asset that will be enjoyed by great-grandchildren - you will enthusiastically fork out sums that you would hardly do without these texts.

The entertainment value and poetry of these works are reasonably high, but not the goal. As a result, many lyricists who can't actually afford the stuff return again and again to be intoxicated and then humbly acknowledge their own inability. Instead of an Oscar or Michelin stars, they dream that this place will one day call them.

Wannabe femme fatales and snobs

Incidentally, perfume manufacturers are similarly committed, albeit a little clumsier. The effective information content of these product descriptions may be extremely low (ah yes, of course, I know exactly what Chinese rose, violet, musk and amber smell like together - especially in the heart note). However, the suggestive information content is enormous and is intended to emphasize the image evoked by the advertising and bottle as much as possible. The cult fragrance "Opium", for example, speaks of eroticism, confused feelings, breaking taboos, sensuality and seduction. In other words, a fragrance for would-be femmes fatales. Ohlàlà, some people feel triggered in their desires - regardless of how it smells. And after reading the product description for "Chanel No. 5", there's a real hint of arrogance: the "unique floral-aldehyde signature" and the "hesperidia notes" mean nothing to ignorant philistines? That's precisely why you simply have to have the fragrance. Yes, yes and yes, take all my money!

Of course, the vast majority of product descriptions are not nearly as dramatic, poetic or worth reading. At best, they are reasonably error-free and fluent thanks to ChatGPT. The power of these texts is completely underestimated - just as good in-store advice is underestimated. Of course nobody wants that (who wants to talk to people). And that is precisely the advantage of the text: you can read it, but you don't have to. But those who do are immediately caught in the (fruit fly) trap. At least that should be the claim.

Since 2025, Sarah Pally has been analyzing industry-related terms in her column "Blossoms and Pearls" and commenting on them with a personal touch, from a linguistic perspective - as well as with a precise view of developments in the industry. Pally is a partner in the Partner & Partner agency in Winterthur. She has been working in the fields of content marketing, text/concept and storytelling in the communications and marketing sector for 15 years.

Creation is a fermenting process and sometimes agonizing, painful, existential. And just like giving birth, afterwards you are exhausted, diffusely happy, diffusely proud and, above all, glad that it's over. And also a little blinded: Isn't it the prettiest, cleverest baby (probably not)? Or completely terrified: Isn't it the most horrible, useless thing I've ever thought of (probably not, unfortunately)?

That's why we would like to protect it a little longer. The work, the idea, the text, the spot, the concept, the logo - the result of this inwardly raging micro-apocalypse. What if it is not properly understood? If it touches no one, interests no one? If it fizzles out quietly - or at the wrong time, like a firecracker that goes off too early?

At least disturb

Criticism is like the weather: sometimes surprising, sometimes less so, sometimes sunny, sometimes icy - rarely balanced, but often inappropriate. That's part of it. Because good creation doesn't want to please everyone - it wants to say something, show something, disturb something or simply stick. That's why the worst of the terrible criticism is: That the work under discussion does absolutely none of these things.

The more difficult the process was, the more criticism there is. Unfortunately, suffering is no guarantee of quality. Something that has been thrown out can be just as good or bad as something that has been thought through for a long time. That's unfair, but true.

And yet you do it again and again. Because there is no satisfaction quite like when something suddenly takes shape - out of all the fog in your head, out of all the loose ends, out of what was previously just a fleeting idea.

Fear of the weather

It becomes problematic when you no longer dare to do anything because of criticism - out of fear of the weather, so to speak. When you prefer to sketch forever instead of finishing something. When everything gets stuck in the draft stage. And no, even a finished work is of course never really "finished" and certainly not perfect.

You're always wiser with hindsight - and with a bit of distance you usually realize that the baby wasn't actually that pretty/smart/unique. But it was actually quite okay. And sometimes the unexpected happens and you realize: Wow, that was actually really good. But mostly it's just the former, and that's a hell of a lot.

Because ultimately, good creation is not the result of perfection, but of courage. The courage to show something that you don't yet fully understand. The courage to face judgment - and your own gaze. The hardest of all.

Analyzed since 2025 Sarah Pally In her column "Blossoms and Pearls", she uses industry-related terms and comments on them with a personal touch, from a linguistic perspective - as well as with a precise view of developments in the industry. Pally is a partner in the Partner & Partner agency in Winterthur. She has been working in the fields of content marketing, text/concept and storytelling in the communications and marketing sector for 15 years.

The Smarties test known from developmental psychology puts it in a nutshell: children see a Smarties package and naturally think there are Smarties inside. But surprise - there are pencils inside.

It's about suggestion. You think you know something because you deduce it from certain information. But you don't really know it. Suggestion is therefore the opposite of information and has the advantage or disadvantage (depending on your perspective) that you don't necessarily notice the difference.

Can. Maybe. If.

Advertising naturally sees it as an advantage that people like to draw conclusions quickly - and feel particularly clever in the process. The product with "eco" in the name? Bought, because you want to take responsibility. The cream that made 99% women happy? You think of wrinkle-free faces, but maybe it was just the scent. And who are these women? How many were asked? And how many goodie bags were they bribed with? The obligatory asterisk only makes things even more nebulous: it suggests objectivity and is intended to prevent complaints about false advertising promises - which is also often enough a false conclusion. Or the product with "properties that may contribute to health promotion if you lead a healthy lifestyle", as the professional-looking gentleman in the objective coat earnestly promises. And he must know, as a professional advertising model.

But advertising is rarely a flat lie! It is more sophisticated: it is a realm of possibilities of false conclusions. A "can", a "possibly", a "almost everything for almost everyone", a "contributes to ...". Just like I could possibly contribute to almost taking out the garbage tomorrow - if the weather is right, my mood is right and nothing comes up. Can. Maybe. If. An elegant way of saying: maybe, but probably not.

We know that magic is tricked. With advertising, we are only half aware of it. That's why advertising occasionally slips from the world of magic into the realm of tricksters.

Fish for Kant

More often than we highly rational Kantians would like, we overlook important subtleties - the not-really-promises and suggestive charges are too seductive. We can't and don't want to check or question any of this. And the legal situation basically ensures that we can rely a little on what is suggested. However, the matter is as difficult to grasp as a floundering fish and just as dazzling.

Some of what is suggested could also be recognized with common sense - if one were to make the effort. Or does anyone really think that Smarties make you smart? Of course not - they are only called that because they can be used to measure the cognitive maturity of children. Because the test goes even further: the key question for the children is: what would someone think if they didn't know the actual contents of the box? Children who answer "still that there are Smarties inside" have recognized the mechanism (and qualify directly for the advertising industry). They are considered more cognitively advanced than those who answer "that there are pencils inside". QED.

Analyzed since 2025 Sarah Pally In her column "Blossoms and Pearls", she uses industry-related terms and comments on them with a personal touch, from a linguistic perspective - as well as with a precise view of developments in the industry. Pally is a partner in the Partner & Partner agency in Winterthur. She has been working in the fields of content marketing, text/concept and storytelling in the communications and marketing sector for 15 years.

The motto was "digital first". The refresh was consistently geared towards digital applications and the UX was made much clearer and more user-friendly by restructuring the website and improving the individual elements. Convincing, clear messages focus on the simplicity and benefits of the solution. The fresh, self-confident appearance now also matches the mature product and underlines it in the best possible way.

Responsible at Partner & Partner Luc Holzach and Manuel Specker (Partner and Senior Consultant), Fabian Soler (UX/UI), Sarah Pally (Content), Julia Batzlen-von Bank (Art Direction); Responsible at SIX Annatina Grandchamp (project management), Nino Thommen (overall responsibility).

...is of course not this one. And yes, the title is not only wrong in terms of content, but also orthographically. This error is one of those that could soon make it into the Duden dictionary - not as an error, but as what we call an "alternative spelling". Unlike alternative facts, the same applies here: If you say it often enough, it will become true after all.

The overly well-intentioned superlative is of course not the only (höhö) phenomenon. There's also the je-je-Jojo (for example: the more wrong, the better) or the Verhunz gendering, as in the ever-popular "Kund:innen". Nothing against gendering, but that's just wrong. And of course the infamous "idiot apostrophe" among dozens of other corpora delicti. Are mistakes actually cultural brutalization or somehow linguistic progress - or even art?

The crucial question

Dealing with language rules really is a crucial question, a veritable battlefield of beliefs: Do you want to flaunt your own educated bourgeoisie? Do we put ourselves above others by rubbing their noses in it? Do you see language as a mirror of society and therefore see breaking the rules as betraying it? Is it a question of respect and care - and are spelling mistakes therefore disrespect? Or is everything allowed that does not harm others? Or only what is fun? Or is everything just constructed anyway and you make up your own rules, and rules are overrated and linguistic rules are overrated anyway?

The line between demonstrated idealism and ignorance or lack of care is difficult to recognize: Some people virtually celebrate their inability to spell or even turn it into something like social criticism or even art - the best example is misspelled tags and graffiti: the better the spelling, the more likely it is to be intentional.

Is that art or can anyone do it?

In advertising language, you can do anything if you do it well (and on purpose). That's why unintentional mistakes are amusing at best, but embarrassing - intentional mistakes are rhetorically valuable and sometimes high art. And, as with high art, not everyone can do that.

With graffiti, the appeal of the mistake also lies in the fact that it's not always so clear whether it's good humor or carelessness. In advertising, everything is a bit more clumsy. The fear that a mistake that is too subtle will not be recognized as intentional is simply too great. If mistakes are to be made, then they should be obvious. That's why clumsy spelling mistakes in advertising are usually just that: simple spelling mistakes. In dubio pro reo, of course.

Analyzed since 2025 Sarah Pally In her column "Blossoms and Pearls", she comments on industry-related terms with a personal touch, from a linguistic perspective - as well as with a precise view of developments in the industry. Pally is a partner in the Partner & Partner agency in Winterthur. She has been working in the fields of content marketing, text/concept and storytelling in the communications and marketing sector for 15 years.

More and more pedestrians, bicycles, e-scooters, cars and buses are sharing the road space. This inevitably leads to conflicts between road users - buses in particular are increasingly being slowed down, overtaken carelessly or otherwise involved in awkward situations.

This is where the "Safe on the road together" campaign comes in and reminds people of some basic rules of conduct and traffic regulations. With messages such as "Hey bike, watch out for the bus!" and "Hey e-scooter, the bus has priority!", awareness is raised clearly, noticeably and at eye level. The visuals are also simple, but independent and eye-catching. They are intended to quickly convey what is at stake in traffic situations.

The campaign will be present on the streets of Winterthur as well as in and on the city buses this spring. Posters with location-specific messages can be seen at selected poster locations.

Responsible at Stadtbus Winterthur: Matthias Gerth (Head of Marketing and Communication), Ramona Lüthi (Marketing). Responsible at Winterthur City Police: Michael Wirz (Head of Media & Communications), Andrina Vögeli (Media & Communications). Responsible at Partner & Partner: Gianfranco Acocella (Partner and Creative Direction), Sarah Pally (Partner, Senior Consulting), Livia Sager (Senior Consulting and Project Management), Dominic Schweingruber (Motion Design).