Swiss Olympic and Dynoptic Partner AG are reaffirming their collaboration and extending their partnership until the end of 2026. As an official partner, Dynoptic will continue to ensure that Swiss athletes can see clearly in the future. Since 2009, the association of owner-managed specialist opticians has been supporting Swiss Olympic with free contact lenses and care products from its own brand "Lensy by Dynoptic" - a valuable contribution that the athletes appreciate.

Cyrill Woodtli, Head of Team Partnerships at Swiss Olympic, is delighted: "Dynoptic has been making an important contribution to supporting Swiss sport for many years. We are delighted that this successful partnership is being continued." Martin Schütz, Managing Director of Dynoptic, is also optimistic about the future: "With our services, we want to help ensure that Swiss athletes continue to have the best visibility - for more success in sport."

For the fourth time since 2019, Graubünden Holidays CEO Martin Vincenz welcomed the industry to a Graubünden Tourism Day on October 2 and 3, 2024. Around 160 representatives and service providers from Graubünden tourism attended the presentations and panel discussions on the topics of artificial intelligence (AI) and sustainability in tourism at the Arosa Sports and Congress Center. Cantonal Councillor Marcus Caduff emphasized at the opening that the various challenges must be tackled together.

Between fascination and danger
Keynote speaker Roger Basler de Roca provided an introduction to the conference topic of AI. According to the digital entrepreneur, we could actually also talk about "creative inspiration". AI is like a creative spark that ignites new ideas and inspires innovative solutions. "The machine is artificial, the intelligence comes from humans."

Manuel Altermatt, Software Engineering Manager at Google, gave a more critical outlook on AI, even though he is generally a great advocate of the new technology. AI in the hands of abusers could be devastating. "This will undermine the human trust system as we know it," said Altermatt. What's more, unintended consequences of the use of AI are more critical than "malicious" AI.

Philosopher and publicist Ludwig Hasler categorized the topic from a social perspective. AI would take the relationship between man and machine to a new level. "The crucial question is what we want with AI." Referring to Immanuel Kant, he named sleep - or regeneration and dreaming -, hope and laughter as the three things that make humans superior to machines.

Using AI responsibly

Rainer Karcher, CEO and founder of Heartprint, built a bridge from AI to sustainability, the second major conference topic at the Graubünden Tourism Day. The key is to use responsible AI, he said. In terms of sustainability, AI can be used to mitigate climate change as well as to optimize the use of resources. He cited the enormous energy requirements of the new technologies as a problem.

Short presentations by various service providers gave an insight into current applications and projects at the Tourism Day. The company Fair unterwegs specializes in environmentally friendly travel experiences in Switzerland, Travelise offers surprise trips to steer guests, and Cirkel Supply promotes the circular economy through rental ski clothing. From Chiping comes the first "intelligent" golf ball that doesn't "get lost". Equally innovative is Skip's first active hiking pants with a built-in electric motor.

The Digital Tourism Trend Radar 2024 from Inside Labs provides a comprehensive analysis of the current and future impact of data and technology on the tourism industry. At the Tourism Day, AI lecturer Gion Sialm from the University of Applied Sciences Graubünden provided specific guidance for efficient prompts. Representing the NextGen Tourism Board of the Graubünden Tourism Alliance, Jamie Rizzi from the Hotel Schweizerhof Lenzerheide said: "We want to help shape the future of the tourism canton."

How far along is tourism?

The need for a more sustainable approach has been recognized in the tourism industry. In Arosa, the impact of tourism is considered in all dimensions - on nature, society and the economy, said Claudio Föhn, Head of Arosa 2030. According to Philipp Niederberger, Director of the Swiss Tourism Association, the conditions for a more sustainable development of the travel industry in Switzerland are good. Martina Hollenstein Stadler, Project Manager at Graubünden Ferien, called for sustainability to become the standard.

Pascale Berclaz, Director of Made in Bern, Janine Rupf, Head of Marketing Zurich Tourism, Karin Seiler, Managing Director of Tirol Werbung, and Martin Vincenz, CEO of Graubünden Ferien, discussed whether cities or Alpine regions have the edge. There is no clear-cut answer; aspects such as mobility, added value and acceptance of tourism among the population can all be weighed in the balance. "It is important that we see the city and the countryside as a whole experience," explained Pascale Berclaz.

A "must-plus" for the economy

Sustainability also offers new opportunities in other sectors of the economy. Johanna Gollnhofer, Director of the Institute for Marketing and Customer Insight at the University of St. Gallen, called it the 60 percent potential - the proportion of people who have a "green attitude" but do not act accordingly. For the broad masses, the classic customer benefit must be at an advantage with more sustainable offers.

Vanessa Rueber used the example of Patagonia Switzerland to underline the fact that prioritizing environmental sustainability also works from a company perspective and does not come at the expense of profitability. "In everything we do, we pay attention to how we do it," said the Community Marketing and Impact Manager of the outdoor sports apparel company. Products are measured and improved strictly according to sustainability criteria.

Sustainability is just as holistically anchored in the Graubündner Kantonalbank organization. "Thinking and acting sustainably is part of the consistent implementation of our vision and strategy," says Martina Müller-Kamp, member of the Executive Board. In terms of communication, the aim is to present a holistic, consistent and credible image and also to create lasting memories.

Exclusive insight into guest survey

For the first time ever, results from Switzerland Tourism's new national guest survey were presented at the Graubünden Tourism Day. Over 22,000 overnight guests from Switzerland and abroad were surveyed for the Tourism Monitor Switzerland 2023. The results show the guest structure, main travel motives as well as the touristic strengths and weaknesses of a region. Stefan Künzle, Head of Digital Management, presented the results for Graubünden on behalf of Switzerland Tourism.

Graubünden stands out from its domestic competitors in particular due to its high proportion of sports and leisure guests (71 %). These include an above-average number of regular guests from two clear main markets: Switzerland (63 %) and Germany (18 %). The vacation region's best differentiators include sport, public transport and cuisine. In summary, Graubünden is the number 1 for active vacations in Switzerland. Over a quarter of respondents named winter sports as Graubünden's greatest strength. The biggest "weakness" from the guests' point of view is the price level.

The ASW agency network published guidelines on dealing with artificial intelligence in communications agencies back in fall 2023 (Markt-kom.com reported). These principles have now been supplemented by an everyday guide: the tool-independent, activity-based AI radar.

The decision matrix is intended to ensure that generative AI in particular can be responsibly integrated into everyday agency work and that neither ethical nor legal framework conditions are violated in the process.

"Our intention is to be able to continuously supplement the AI Radar together with the entire industry," says Benno Frick, Managing Director of the agency network ASW. In addition, the AI Radar will be adapted to current case law as required.

The KI-Radar is now available to communication agencies, designers, photographers, audio and video producers and other creators at Ki.asw.ch at your free disposal.

Insurance becomes an issue for young people as they enter adulthood. The new Vaudoise web series takes up the topics of pension provision, household contents/liability and comprehensive cover and presents them in a relaxed way to the young target group. In 20 episodes, you can follow the everyday lives of three flatmates.

Meli, Laura and Sebi experience typical everyday situations in their living room that are directly or indirectly related to the insurance industry. The web series offers insurance tips in a short, simple and entertaining way. "When you move out of your home, you have to take care of your own insurance. It's not so easy to understand why you need household contents/liability insurance, a third pillar or comprehensive insurance," explains Véronique Oliveira, Head of Brand Management at Vaudoise Insurance.

"With the title of the series - Bad Vibes - we show that we understand our target audience. When you're dealing with insurance, it's sometimes seen as something tedious, especially in the event of a claim. With Bad Vibes, we want to convey a memorable and unique message," adds Estelle Payot, Social Media Manager at Vaudoise and project manager. The videos are published on TikTok and Instagram published in French and German via the accounts @badvibes_ch.

Premiere for Vaudoise

The web series was first written and directed in French by Julien Doquin de Saint Preux, Grégoire Leresche and Paul Walther and then translated into Swiss German and realized by director Camille Christen. The faces behind the Swiss-German flatmates are Amanda Verandi, Sira Topic and Sandro Howald.

The agencies Adisfaction-Annex, EssenceMediacom, Havas Media, Mediabrands, Mediaplus, Mediaschneider, Nova Impact, Omnicom Media Group, Publicis Media, Webrepublic and ZipMedia took part in the Teads Agency Cup.

Each team consisted of a captain and a total of five players, who competed against each other in a total of seven matches. The results of the matches were broadcast live. After an intense competition, the Havas Media team ultimately came out on top. Second place went to ZipMedia, with EssenceMediacom coming in third. After the awards ceremony, a toast was raised together and the celebrations continued in a convivial atmosphere.

For the organizer Teads, the first Agency Cup 2024 was a complete success. "The idea for the Teads Agency Cup came about a few years ago when we organized a similar game evening with an agency at an event in our office," explains Claudio Lumbiarres, Managing Director at Teads. "We then asked ourselves the question: Which agency in Switzerland would win a mini-game challenge? We then developed the concept and the games in detail. We are all the more pleased that both the motivation of the teams and the feedback were overwhelming and that everyone took part with great enthusiasm!"

A total of 58 project submissions made it onto this year's Shortlisted for Best of Swiss Apps 2024. These submissions are among the best app projects of the year and can look forward to further awards at the Award Night on November 19: Gold, Silver or Bronze.

The app projects that particularly impressed the juries in the ten categories made it onto the shortlist. On the jury day, the committees considered a total of 241 project submissions - more than ever before.

Next Thursday, it will also be announced which apps are in the running for the title of "Master of Swiss Apps". The Netzmedien reader vote for the "Master of Swiss Apps" will then start at the end of October. Anyone who registers by October 28 can vote. registers for the net ticker.

The Best of Swiss Apps Award Night will take place on November 19 at the Zurich Kongresshaus. Tickets can now be purchased at the website of Best of Swiss Apps.

What on earth is that now, many creatives probably ask themselves when clients use this word. It's one of those terms that recipients should learn quickly. But beware, it's also one whose meaning you think you understand, only to be surprised that it means something completely different. The term "marginal utility" comes from the field of utility theories - yes, there really is such a thing. Utility theories are models that describe the choice or decision-making behavior of people.

Decisions that people make depend on the benefits that we attribute to our decisions. For example, customers decide in favor of an agency or one of the three proposals presented by this very agency. They always do this depending on the benefits that this decision will bring them. The focus is often not on annoyance with board members, bosses, colleagues or competitors. The benefit for the cause, on the other hand, usually takes a back seat. Except perhaps when it comes to winning an award. In this case, the benefit can serve as legitimation for both the client and the agency that they have done everything right - even if sales figures claim the opposite.

In theory, a decision rarely relates to one attribute (benefit of a feature) of a selected option, but as described above, usually to a variety of attributes that are considered important. In practice, these can be recommendations from the VR, the boss's buddy, the promise to colleagues or the award potential. Together, these result in the marginal benefit when the actual aim is to optimize the image of a brand, position a company better or sell a consumer good more effectively.

The end of "Nützt's nüt so schadt's nüt"

Diminishing marginal utility is often mentioned at present. This means that with every additional unit of a good consumed, the additional utility value (i.e. the marginal utility) generally decreases. Let's remember the first smartphone: the utility value of this magic thing was initially very high because it combined so many things that we no longer had to carry a laptop, agenda, camera or iPods around with us, just a smartphone. Nota bene, we still call it a phone, although the screen time announcement at the start of the week shows that we hardly need the device for making calls any more. The marginal benefit is therefore becoming more important than the actual utility value.

The fact that this term from economics is now flooding the creative industry is of great benefit to many. This is because it is usually used to determine how many units of a product consumers will buy. Although these are marketing basics, in the creative industry they are usually an annoying element on the way to winning awards for creative and not necessarily useful work. On the other hand, clients of creative agencies use the marginal benefit to optimize their decisions - they consume the agencies' services up to the point where the marginal benefit corresponds to the marginal costs or the marginal benefit decreases. So listen carefully when a customer talks about decreasing marginal benefit. He or she could soon draw economic conclusions from this.

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* 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.

The Hyatt Regency and the Hyatt Place Zurich Airport The Circle are located in the immediate vicinity of Zurich Airport and are part of The Circle complex. The hotels offer accommodation, restaurants and bars as well as the conference center "The Circle Convention Center".

Comprehensive communication strategy

WeArePepper developed a tailor-made communication strategy to increase the brand awareness and visibility of the hotels and the Convention Center. The

strategy includes regular media releases, the organization of media trips, the development and maintenance of media contacts and the management of the multimedia database.

Increase awareness

The aim of the collaboration is to anchor the hotels and the Convention Center in the consciousness of the German-speaking Swiss public through continuous, targeted communication. In particular, business travelers, group customers and end consumers from the local market are to be made aware of the diverse offers of the hotels, restaurants and bars as well as The Circle Convention Center through targeted PR activities.

34 campaigns were selected as finalists for this year's Effie Awards Switzerland. 24 of them were able to secure precious metal. In the coming weeks, m&k will reveal the winners in various stages. The winners will be celebrated at the award show on November 13, 2024. The next Bronze Effies will go to Thjnk, TBWA\Zürich and Inhalt und Form.

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Ochsner Sport - Winter World Cup Campaign 2022 (Brand Image category)

For the World Cup in Qatar, the campaign succeeded in turning football into a winter sport in 2022, thereby increasing sales of the football range disproportionately to the competition to Index 344.

Ochsner Sport's World Cup campaign shows the power of communication even under adverse conditions. Major football championships are usually accompanied by high sales targets in the football segment. The Winter World Cup in Qatar was no different. But fans buy jerseys to show their allegiance, not to play sport themselves. The World Cup in Qatar restricted precisely this function: The freezing temperatures prevented public viewings and jerseys disappeared under thick coats. The creative campaign succeeded in turning football into a winter sport and jerseys into a desirable accessory despite the cold season. As a result, football sales at Ochsner Sport were twice as high as those of the competition.

Client:Ochsner Sport AG
Lead agency: thjnk Zurich AG
Other agencies / companies: JBW Media AG

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Migros Bio - Animonials (Activation category)

Migros Bio recorded an increase in sales in the organic range of +13.2% (+9 PP over Migros' total sales) and gained market share of +1 index point, while its largest competitor lost -1.3 index points.

If you shop today, you can hardly save yourself from all the sustainability labels. And all these (near-)organic labels advertise with the same farmyard romanticism. Migros Bio has recognized that this does not need to be differentiated and that the category convention needs to be broken. Instead, a new and credible authority has its say: nature itself. Frogs, seals, cockatoos, panthers and kangaroos become unseen animonials and report on the quality and sustainability of their favorite Migros Bio products. The campaign not only succeeds in turning a label that has been quiet for a long time into a brand, but also in communicatively pushing its biggest competitor into the background, disproportionately increasing sales of sustainable products and gaining market share.

• Client: Federation of Migros Cooperatives
• Lead agency:thjnk Zurich AG

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McRaclette - The Cheesiest Song Ever (Social Media / Influencer Marketing category)

More than 4000 fans wrote a love song for McRaclette in co-creation with well-known Swiss rappers, which made it into the Zurich club scene and the streaming charts.

As part of the McRaclette campaign, an activation was launched specifically for Gen Z. The aim: a culturally relevant interaction between the brand and the target group. Young people want to help shape brands - which is why we invited them to co-create a love song for McRaclette. The lyrics of the song were written by GenZ themselves - in the comment column of an Instagram livestream. Three well-known Swiss rappers then curated the fans' lines and composed the "Cheesiest Song Ever". The livestream organically reached more than 120,000 accounts. More than 4,000 participants wrote 1,100 comments within 30 minutes. The final song reached number 1 in the Apple Music playlist "The New Switzerland", among others.

Client: McDonald's
Lead agency: TBWA \ Switzerland AG
Other agencies / companies: OMD (Switzerland)

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Give your Skin a Voice (Doing Good/Positive Change category)

With minimal effort and no media budget, the campaign managed to achieve maximum impact at the location of the event (10,000 activated message carriers) and beyond (9 million organic impressions).

People of all genders continue to be confronted with sexual harassment. The "Give your Skin a Voice" campaign sends a clear signal against this and raises awareness and encourages the target group to take active action against sexual harassment. The results show that with a creative idea and excellent implementation, maximum impact can be achieved with minimal effort and no media budget. The results: 10,000 message carriers with strong tattoo statements that received a lot of attention through over 9 million organic impressions in German-speaking Switzerland, a significant increase in the number of reports via the City of Zurich's reporting tool of 28,36% and a powerful statement in the fight against sexual harassment that still resonates today.

• Client: Zurich city
• Lead agency: Content and form advertising agency LSA

 

 

 

 

 

Sustainability is a key topic in the public debate, but the question arises as to how profoundly these discussions influence consumer behavior. Economists at the University of Zurich have investigated this in a comprehensive study and were able to prove that a public discourse prior to the purchasing process has a lasting effect on consumer behavior. Particularly noteworthy: the decision to buy socially responsible products is made even if this is associated with higher costs.

In controlled laboratory experiments, around 2,500 participants simulated trading in 187 fictitious markets. The choice was between a low-cost but socially harmful product and a more expensive, more socially responsible alternative. The decisive factor here was the possibility of communication: if a discussion was held before the purchase, the market share of fairly traded products increased significantly. Even in markets such as China, where traditionally less value is placed on social responsibility, the discourse led to similarly positive results as in Switzerland.

The study highlights how important public debates are for a change in consumer behavior. These findings provide valuable information on how responsible purchasing decisions can be promoted at a societal level.

CokeSTUDIO Soundcheck 2024 is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year and has once again proven itself as a springboard for young musical talent. After an exciting selection process, the four finalists have been chosen: Jamila, Mo'Mot, Julie Meletta and Eileen Alister. It is remarkable that only women have made it to the final. The title will be awarded on November 9 at the Plaza in Zurich, and the winner will not only receive CHF 20,000 in cash, but also a comprehensive coaching and management package worth a further CHF 30,000. Support will be provided by the successful management agency "Capitano Music GmbH", which manages artists such as Joya Marleen.

The final promises to be a musical highlight, with the four finalists as well as the winner of 2022, Nicky B Fly, and coaches Kings Elliot, Loco Escrito and Stress performing. With their many years of experience, they will inspire the audience with a joint showcase. Admission is free for all guests.

Around 230 acts took part in this year's competition. The jury, consisting of Julie Born (Sony Music), Reto Lazzarotto (music manager) and Schimun Krausz (journalist), selected the twelve semi-finalists, who underwent an intensive coaching program over the summer. Now the decision lies with the finalists - who will take home the victory?

The public broadcasters ARD, ORF and SRF have further expanded their successful cooperation and initiated numerous new projects at the recent co-production meeting in Zurich. The annual volume of jointly agreed co-productions will amount to around 150 million euros in future. A central component of this partnership are productions that are specially developed for the broadcasters' media libraries and are therefore aimed at younger target groups in particular. Highlights include the second season of the hit series "School of Champions" and the mini-series "Tage, die es nicht gab".

Strengthening the documentary offering

Serial formats are also at the forefront in the area of documentaries. One of the most prestigious projects is the six-part docu-drama series "The Division of the World 1939-1953", which will be available in the ARD Mediathek from the end of October. In addition, the broadcasters are working on an elaborate documentary series about the natural and animal world of Europe, which offers an impressive range with over 1000 days of filming at more than 50 locations. These productions underline the ambition of the public broadcasters to provide relevant and in-depth content in addition to entertainment.

Continuation of proven formats and new highlights

In recent years, ARD, ORF and SRF have already produced a number of successful formats together. Shows such as "Verstehen Sie Spass?", "Tatorte" and "Steirerkrimi" have established themselves as firm favorites and will be continued in the future. The program will be supplemented by special events such as the historical film "Bach - A Christmas Miracle" and the show "The Great Udo Jürgens Show", which will be broadcast on ARD in December. This cooperation will ensure that the broadcasters retain a strong position in the German-language media landscape.