The traditional family business Etter & Berno returns to its roots and is now called Berno again. For 50 years, Berno has been supplying customers from the Mittelland with fresh fruit and vegetables from local production. In recent years, the seasonal assortment has been constantly expanded. Together with an innovative team and imaginative partners, frozen, ready-to-eat, sweet and vegan specialties are also distributed.

Berno commissions Studio Thom Pfister with the development and implementation of the branding. All basic elements such as the logo, the definition of colors and fonts, the imagery, but also the letterheads, truck lettering and the screen design and programming of the website are part of the assignment. The new claim "Naturally Fresh", a communication concept and social media guidelines round off the overall project.

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Responsible at Berno: Gabriella Berno (Managing Director), Romeo Ceroni (Managing Director) and Sara Niklaus-Ceroni (Executive Director). Responsible agency, Studio Thom Pfister: Thom Pfister (Creative Director, Idea/Concept), Ursula Rytz and Laura Capponi (Consulting), Roland Zenger (Art Director), Daniel Hackiewicz (Graphic Design & Web Development), Noemi Bünzli (Graphic Design). Photographer Images Collaborators: Yasmine Pauchard.

Finally, a German word can be described here that is not yet in the Duden, but is nevertheless already used very frequently. This is usually reserved for Anglicisms. Hopefully, however, this word will never make it into the Duden, because that would be somehow too shameful for our industry.

The interpretation of the word "third party understandable" is simple. Understandable for third parties. The reason for its use, however, seems meaningless at first glance, but very revealing at second. In the past, messages simply had to be understandable, not understandable to third parties. Best of all for those whom it concerned: in church the faithful, on television the viewers or on a billboard the customers.

Who are the third parties, please?

When concepts or campaigns are returned from management with the comment that they are not comprehensible to third parties, marketing managers and their agencies are usually at a loss. After all, they learn the classic sender-receiver model in their training courses. Who are these third parties who do not understand?

If the cooperation between the agency and the marketing department is working well, the unknowing management is usually identified as this third party and complained about. In the case of less well-functioning cooperation, the comment is simply forwarded to the agency with a request for optimization.

What rarely happens, but would be important: That as a third party the customer is meant, to whom the product or service should be sold in the end. Therefore often also called "end customer". Which is a doubly wrong formulation. It is always proclaimed everywhere: Customer first or more old-fashioned, the customer is king. But it doesn't seem to be about the customer at all. In first place comes the ME, regardless of whether this belongs to the agency, the marketing and communications managers or the management. In second place are always the others from this triumvirate and only in third place the "end customer". That is, the person for whom the whole thing is intended. This also clarifies the question of who the "third parties" are for whom what we are doing here is not comprehensible.

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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.

Mobilog was founded in 2021 as part of the AMAG Group to respond to the growing demands for high-performance logistics in the automotive sector. The high model and product range diversity and increasing service demands of customers are constantly presenting vehicle dealers and workshops with challenges. Mobilog positions itself as a competence center for all logistics activities in the vehicle and parts business.

Heads was entrusted with finding the name when the company was founded. Mobilog stands for the combination of mobility and logistics. Now Heads was tasked with designing a corporate identity for Mobilog that would make the company more independent and make it clear that the logistics service provider is available to the entire industry as a competent partner.

The fact that Mobilog moves Switzerland is symbolically expressed in the new logo by the displacement of the "i-dot" - the sphere. This sphere runs through the brand's new appearance as a strong recognition feature. In addition, the main color, the deep sky blue in contrast to the white, creates a concise design language.

How integration-capable are the MES solutions currently offered on the market? The "Aachener Marktspiegel Business Software - MES/Production Control 2023/2024" will be published just in time for the Hannover Messe (April 17-21, 2023). It is published by the Trovarit Competence Center MES in cooperation with the long-standing partner Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA and the VDI and examines the range of MES currently available on the German market. It therefore provides an ideal market overview for MES prospects and users. In addition, the MESs examined are evaluated with regard to their support in production management and concrete assistance is given for the implementation of an MES selection project. From mid-April it will be available at https://www.trovarit.com/studien/marktspiegel/mes-fertigungssteuerung/ available.

What do MES systems do?

Fast production with good quality is the goal of every company. To achieve this, however, it is necessary for the company to make optimum use of the resources it requires for the production process. For example, the availability of personnel and operating resources at a given time to handle an incoming order can be of decisive, pro-competitive importance. After all, fixed deadlines can only be met to the customer's satisfaction if production progress, quality and resource availability are known at all times. An MES system is able to map the current factory situation. This means that with the help of such a system it is also possible, for example, to react more quickly to changing conditions such as personnel or machine failures. In this way, a malfunction can possibly be bridged in time and the resulting deadline pressure can be minimized. In this way, an MES system provides information that enables the optimization of production processes - from the creation of the order to the finished product.

But not every MES system is equipped with the same functions. Some providers also like to deliver holistic and comprehensive products, while others focus on individual areas, such as data acquisition or specific industries. Furthermore, the interaction with existing ERP systems also plays a decisive role here. If the two systems do not work hand in hand, conflicts can result that ultimately reduce competitiveness instead of increasing it.

Market overview takes a close look at over 140 MES solutions from more than 120 vendors

In order to enable the comparison of different MES solutions and to increase market transparency, the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA, Stuttgart, together with the VDI and Trovarit AG, offers an up-to-date overview of MES solutions available on the market with the "Aachener Marktspiegel Business Software MES 2023/2024". The software solutions are examined comprehensively with regard to their range of functions. Evaluations regarding technical features (e.g. supported server databases, clients, standardized interfaces, etc.) of the systems as well as general information on the MES providers (locations, staffing levels, services offered, etc.) complete the picture. A chapter also deals with the significance of MES for "Industry 4.0".

This article originally appeared on m-q.ch - https://www.m-q.ch/de/mes-marktuebersicht-vergleicht-ueber-140-fertigungs-loesungen/

ChatGPT has triggered a new hype around Artificial Intelligence, the possibilities of AI are impressive. At the same time, quality assurance and control of AI systems is becoming increasingly important - especially when they take on responsible tasks. This is because chatbot results are based on huge amounts of data on texts from the Internet. However, systems such as ChatGPT only calculate the most probable answer to a question and output this as a fact. But what testing tools exist to measure the quality of the texts generated by ChatGPT, for example?

KI test catalog

Testing tools in use

From April 17 to 21, researchers from Fraunhofer IAIS will also be presenting various testing tools and procedures at the joint Fraunhofer booth in Hall 16, Booth A12 at Hannover Messe 2023 that can be used to systematically examine AI systems for vulnerabilities throughout their lifecycle and safeguard against AI risks. The tools support developers and testing institutes in systematically evaluating the quality of AI systems and thus ensuring their trustworthiness. One example is the "ScrutinAI" tool. It enables auditors to systematically search for weaknesses in neural networks and thus test the quality of AI applications. One concrete example is an AI application that recognizes anomalies and diseases on CT images. The question here is whether all types of anomalies are recognized equally well or whether some are better and others worse. This analysis helps inspectors to assess whether an AI application is suitable for its intended context of use. At the same time, developers can also benefit by recognizing shortcomings in their AI systems at an early stage and taking appropriate improvement measures, such as enriching the training data with specific examples.

Source and further information: Fraunhofer IAIS

This article originally appeared on m-q.ch - https://www.m-q.ch/de/prueftools-fuer-ki-systeme/

Recently, it became public that the major Swiss bank Credit Suisse is being taken over by UBS. This raises questions: To what extent has this caused uncertainty among the population? Which banks are benefiting from this takeover? Based on study data on the period before and after the takeover, the market research institute Link provides answers. Population-representative data from two survey waves are used for this purpose: Wave 1 took place shortly before the takeover was communicated, Wave 2 in the week after.

Banks lose ground

Uncertainty about the future of Credit Suisse is reflected in the consideration of the Swiss population. There was a significant drop in the proportion of people in the population who could imagine becoming a Credit Suisse client. In the days before the takeover, the corresponding figure was 10 percent; after the takeover, it was only 5 percent. UBS also lost ground, albeit to a lesser extent, with consideration falling from 33 percent to 27 percent.

A similar picture of consideration can also be seen in the segment of people with disposable assets of over CHF 100,000, which is of particular interest to the banks. Here too, both Credit Suisse (decrease from 13 % to 8 %) and UBS (decrease from 40 % to 31 %) recorded losses. Conversely, the competitors with the largest market shares - the cantonal banks, Raiffeisen and PostFinance - have each recorded a slight increase in consideration. They could therefore benefit from the takeover.

The events surrounding the takeover are viewed critically by the majority. A majority of respondents state that they believe the reputation of "Switzerland as a banking center" has been damaged by these events (61 % "agree" / "strongly agree"). Likewise, many respondents agree with the statement that these events demonstrate the need for increased regulation in the financial market. However, the events hardly trigger any fears about their own finances - only 14 percent are worried about this.

Struck brand confidence in Credit Suisse continues to fall

A decline in trust values can also be seen in Link's weekly brand tracking, the Swiss Brand Observer. Due to its continuous measurement (since September 2021), the instrument is suitable, among other things, for recording unforeseen events in connection with the perception of various metrics, such as brand trust or client satisfaction. In the week following the UBS takeover, only around 2 percent of the population perceived Credit Suisse as particularly trustworthy. This value remained at this level one week later. In the week before the takeover, this figure was around 7 percent, and in December 2021 it was still around 16 percent. UBS, on the other hand, lost less trust; overall, however, the trust scores for UBS and other banks over the last two weeks also show a slight downward trend, at best stagnating.

In terms of the so-called "buzz" (which financial service providers have respondents heard something positive or negative about in the news, in conversations with friends & relatives, etc. in the last 7 days), Credit Suisse shows a very strong negative increase, as expected, although the curve has flattened out slightly again in the past week. An increase is also present at UBS, but comparatively at a lower level. The net buzz score (ratio of positive to negative) is significantly better at UBS than at Credit Suisse.

 

The travel market is picking up speed. The Boomer generation in particular is responsible for this. 85 percent of those born between the 1950s and the end of the 1960s are planning at least one vacation trip this year. And the following generations are also obviously feeling a great urge to travel. This is most evident among Generation Z. 83 percent of this target group are ready for a vacation and want to travel this year, followed by Millennials (81 %) and Generation X (78 %). Tourism companies should take advantage of this growth dynamic and take it into account accordingly in their marketing and advertising strategy by addressing the target groups in a targeted manner.

Majority wants to book trip in the first half of the year

More than half (58 %) of all respondents are considering booking a trip within the first half of the year. Millennials in particular stand out here. 46 percent of this generation group intend to book in the first half of the year. They are followed by Boomers and Generation X with 29 percent each.

Online tourist media crucial for travel research

On average, 36 percent of consumers from Switzerland turn to online sources with a tourism focus when researching vacations, travel and vacations. In doing so, readers implicitly establish a link between editorial articles and the advertising placed. Ads and commercials that rely on contextual or semantic targeting against this background therefore not only achieve a significantly higher relevance in addressing the target group. With this strategy, advertisers also achieve significantly higher attention values because they play advertising exclusively in a thematically appropriate environment.

Relevant trend: vacation and environment

62 percent of the consumers surveyed from Switzerland cited the cost of a trip as a key factor influencing their decision-making, followed by preferred destinations (54 %). And: environment and vacation, this area of tension is also gaining in importance for many Swiss. On average, 49 percent of those interested in traveling prefer ecologically sustainable vacations. To achieve this goal, a total of 29 percent of travelers decide to fly less, book environmentally friendly accommodation (23 %) or generally travel to a destination that excels in sustainability (19 %).

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Teads surveyed a total of 16405 people in 24 markets, including 870 consumers from Switzerland, between December 13, 2022 and January 23, 2023. The survey focused on the travel intentions and interests of these individuals.

 

While the online pharmacy Zur Rose enjoys a high level of awareness in German-speaking Switzerland, it is still less established in French-speaking Switzerland. To change this, the company launched a cross-media campaign in the fall of 2022 in collaboration with the interdisciplinary iundf agency group. The centerpiece was Swiss Post's multichannel media offering with two addressed advertising letters - an initial and a reminder mailing - as well as an unaddressed mailing. To amplify the impact, Zur Rose also relied on the following online and offline channels: Digital Out of Home in post offices and on regional public transport, Facebook Ads, Display Ads, and flyers placed at relevant medical touchpoints such as medical supply stores.

To measure the advertising impact of the cross-media campaign, the market research company DemoSCOPE subsequently conducted an impact study. René Brawand, Project Manager Social Research at DemoSCOPE, sums up the most important result of the study: "The channels chosen for this campaign were successful - especially the flyer in the mailbox and the addressed advertising letter."

Significantly higher awareness

The campaign significantly increased both aided and unaided awareness of the Zur Rose brand: Supported awareness is 101 percent higher among people in the scatter area than among the control group. Unaided awareness of the company in the scatter area is even 156 percent higher compared to the control group. The top-of-mind mentions, in which Zur Rose is named unaided as the first mail-order/online pharmacy, are also significantly higher in the scatter area - by a remarkable 144 percent.

High attention to physical advertising

The study also examined advertising perception. 43 percent of the people in the area surveyed said they had seen advertising from Zur Rose. This shows how strongly printed mailings work. More than half of these people have seen the flyer in their mailbox and almost a third have seen the personally addressed advertising letter.

Better image values

In order to determine the impact of the cross-media campaign on the corporate image, the respondents rated statements about the Zur Rose brand on a scale of 1 (not at all true) to 10 (completely true). This showed that the proportion of people who gave a value between 8 and 10 for the attributes questioned was significantly higher in the scatter area for all brand values. The values "Innovative/always brings something new" (plus 159 percent), "Good value for money" (plus 115 percent) and "Friendly employees" (plus 82 percent) improved particularly strongly. People in the dispersion area thus perceive Zur Rose significantly more positively than the control group.

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The study, commissioned by Post Advertising, aimed to analyze the advertising impact of Zur Rose's launch campaign in French-speaking Switzerland on awareness, perception and attitudes. To this end, DemoSCOPE conducted a total of 668 interviews (603 telephone interviews and 65 online interviews) at the end of 2022 among French-speaking private individuals aged 55 and over who reside in French-speaking Switzerland. The test group included individuals from the dispersion area who had received an initial addressed promotional letter six weeks earlier. For the control group, DemoSCOPE recruited people outside the scatter area.

With more than 12 million companies reached and around 20,000 applications, the HIPE AWARD is one of the most important and coveted awards in the German-speaking world. The main criteria examined for the award are service quality, above-average performance, outstanding service, as well as effectiveness and steady growth. The service provider bbi Software AG achieved top marks with full points in the areas of customer support, competence and customer expectations. Since 1994, the company has specialized in developing innovative license management solutions to help companies effectively manage their software licenses, save costs and minimize compliance risks.

Efficient, experienced, practical: this is how the software solutions of bbi Software AG present themselves. They support numerous companies in the optimal use of internal resources and create clarity in daily license management, as the company writes. Individuality and competence are written in capital letters, the company continues. Managing Director Marco Kurmann and his team offer customized solutions that will inspire customers in the long term - and at fair prices. In addition, the company attaches great importance to the continuous training of all employees, thus guaranteeing a pool of experience and knowledge in a class of its own, according to the company's further statements.

As an official winner of the HIPE AWARD 2022, bbi Software AG can now count itself among the TOP 400 award-winning service providers in the German-speaking world.

Source and further information

This article originally appeared on m-q.ch - https://www.m-q.ch/de/internationaler-preis-fuer-bbi-software-ag/

The list of risks that seriously threaten the existence of a company in extreme cases is long. To prepare a company for the worst case scenario, the establishment and operation of a business continuity management is the first choice. A BCM ensures that critical business processes and key functions remain available in emergency situations or are available again in time, i.e. before the damage becomes unacceptable.

Identified sensitive business processes and known dependencies

The survey, in which 118 companies from a wide range of industries participated, delivers encouraging results. In particular, when it comes to identifying the most sensitive business processes (87% of the companies have identified them) or ensuring that companies are aware of the most significant dependencies on third parties, e.g. suppliers (91% of the companies are aware of them), the companies are very risk-aware. 77% of the companies have also specifically drawn up plans to be able to respond to the occurrence of risks in a prepared manner. This is seen as a strong sign by the BCM specialists at Swiss Infosec AG and shows that the benefits of the BCM management discipline and its necessity have been recognized.

Risk management and business continuity management move closer together

The actual risk management performs valuable (preliminary) work for the establishment and operation of a BCM. It identifies and names risks and estimates the probability of occurrence and the extent of damage. Based on these findings, emergency plans can be drawn up more efficiently and adapted more easily in the event of changed or new risks. Almost 70% of the companies consciously exploit the proximity between risk management and BCM and have risk management and BCM work closely together to control identified risks.

And what about employee awareness of BCM?

Developing emergency plans is one thing. However, it is important that employees actually know the emergency procedures in order to act correctly in emergency situations. In the survey, at least 2/3 of the companies state that their employees are aware of the emergency procedures, 20% deny this and 14% are not sure. This is where BCM specialist Reinhard Obermüller from Swiss Infosec AG sees potential for optimization: "Behavior in emergency situations must be practiced and addressed again and again. Especially when new employees join the team. Emergency plans are of little use in a drawer."

Use of BCM tools still expandable

Business continuity management tools provide organizations with a comprehensive platform to develop, implement and manage their BCM strategies. However, only just 23% of organizations are taking advantage of BCM software solutions. Besfort Kuqi, CEO of Swiss GRC AG, is not surprised, given his experience in the GRC environment: "It is unfortunate that many organizations are not taking advantage of GRC tools to improve their risk management and BCM. Particularly in times of heightened uncertainty, it is critical for organizations to maintain a comprehensive, consistent, and up-to-date view of their risks and opportunities and use this as a basis to strengthen their resilience capabilities. Those who have worked consistently with GRC tools know the added value and the many benefits."

Source: Swiss Infosec

This article originally appeared on m-q.ch - https://www.m-q.ch/de/unternehmen-setzen-auf-bcm-aber-noch-zu-wenig-auf-unterstuetzende-tools/

Marcel Proust's novel "In Search of Lost Time" is an exploration of human memory - and the factors that set it in motion. Thus, the work also contains probably one of the most sensual (in the truest sense of the word) descriptions of what can happen to one while enjoying a simple sweet: The protagonist dips a sand tart, called a "madeleine" in France, into a sip of tea - and suddenly feels transported back to his own childhood: "All at once the memory was there," he notes. He continues, "The taste was that of that little piece of a madeleine that my aunt Léonie offered me after dipping it in her black or lime blossom tea."

Tastes and scents can penetrate the depths of our subconscious.

Yes, tastes and scents have a remarkable property: they can penetrate the depths of our subconscious and evoke memories we didn't even know existed. This property makes scents and flavors a powerful marketing tool. In fact, the involvement of all five senses is already part of the agenda in marketing; yet it is talked about rather little. So what is the secret of sensory marketing?

A powerful instrument

First of all, it is no secret that sensory marketing is extremely effective. More and more studies confirm that brand loyalty and purchase probability increase proportionally to the dimensionality of the touchpoint. In neuroeconomics, one even speaks of the "law of multisensory amplification": the more sensory channels are stimulated, the faster and more intensively an impression is processed. Numerous practical examples can be cited to illustrate this: A classic is the 1995 experiment by Alan R. Hirsch, "Effects of Ambient Odors on Slot-Machine Usage in a Las Vegas Casino." The study recorded an increase in revenue of about 45 percent for slot machines in an aromatized environment versus a neutral-smelling atmosphere. The examples can be continued at will: Think of the perfumes and carefully chosen color palettes in hotel interiors, or the smell of fresh-cut grass in sporting goods stores, customer letters with the scent of sunscreen, tasting morsels in supermarkets, or the feel of drinking bottles like Orangina ...

Multi- and intermodal game

According to the law of multisensory amplification, these marketing strategies owe their effectiveness to a multi- and intermodal interaction. Let's think of the scene from Proust's novel: it's not just the sight that brings the memory to life, but also the smell, taste and consistency of the pastry mixed with tea. The combination must be right to achieve the desired result. Artificially creating this coherence is the great challenge in multisensory marketing. If the interplay is not successful, confusion and sensory overload will result. It is therefore to be hoped that research in neurology and psychology will soon develop more precise models for the design of multidimensional sensory messages: knowledge which, in addition to marketing, could also become relevant in other contexts such as learning psychology, psychotherapy and psychoanalysis, or in the medical treatment of pain and sleep disorders, for example.

Why are potato chips bigger than your mouth? So that it really cracks when you bite!

It must be taken into account that a modal-specific stimulus can suggest or influence impressions of the other four sensory stimuli: Scents or sounds can trigger color impressions, and colors in turn can trigger smells and tastes. Therefore, for example, brand names, packaging sizes and materials, and eating sounds can influence the evaluation of a taste. Why else are potato chips bigger than your mouth? So that it really cracks when you bite!

Subtlety of the stimuli

Another recipe for success in multisensory marketing has to do with the subtlety of the stimuli and their direct access to the emotional world. Visual sensory impressions account for around 83 percent of perceptions, acoustic stimuli 11 percent. These two senses, which are most prominent anyway, are also in the foreground in traditional marketing. The utilization of the visual and acoustic communication market is therefore high. No wonder, then, if traditional advertising is no longer perceived properly or is even perceived as annoying.

The situation is quite different for the sense of smell: It comprises only 3.5 percent of conscious perception, haptics and the sense of taste only 1.5 percent and 1 percent, respectively. This does not mean that these senses work less precisely, but that their stimuli are largely taken in unconsciously. You may be familiar with the image of the iceberg floating on the sea, with most of it lying underwater: The magnitude of what is happening beneath the surface of consciousness is enormous. It is estimated that at least 70 percent of purchasing decisions are made unconsciously. The possibility of directing the unconscious through sensory marketing therefore promises uncanny potential.

A promising candidate

The sense of smell is the most promising candidate for sensory marketing. Scientists Richard Axel and Linda Buck, who were awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 2004, have shown, among other things, that the human memory can remember around 10,000 smells, but only 200 colors. It is also known that the olfactory center has direct connections to memory and the limbic system. This is the brain region where unconscious feelings arise. Therefore, smells are closely linked to emotions and memories: The smell of madeleines dipped in lime blossom tea or the perfume of your first great love - just a whiff of it can vividly recall past experiences, people and feelings in all their details. Thus, the sense of smell forms the perfect instrument for brand recognition.

Smells are not only excellent carriers of memories and emotions. They are also particularly effective for marketing because, depending on their intensity, their persuasive effect goes unnoticed. In fact, unlike other sensory perceptions such as sight and hearing, the impulses of the sense of smell do not usually pass through the thalamus, the gateway to consciousness. Perhaps this is one reason why they are so little talked about: Fragrances can influence our emotional state without us noticing.

Ethical issues

Because sensory marketing often goes unnoticed, it also raises ethical questions. Olfactory marketing in particular is suspected of interfering with free decision-making. After all, what takes place below the threshold of consciousness cannot be critically evaluated. Should fragrances be designed in such a way that they are actively perceived as advertising? Here the problem arises that the effectiveness would probably decrease if the sensory measure were evaluated as such. Once a person realizes that they are being manipulated in making their decisions, they are more likely to think unfavorably about the source of the steering. But are pleasant scents, crisp chips, friendly staff, and coherent interior design experienced as manipulation at all?

Because sensory marketing often goes unnoticed, it also raises ethical issues.

The secret of sensory marketing lies in the influence of the intermodal interaction of different sensory stimuli on the unconscious. Its great potential makes it an influential but highly complex advertising tool, which will establish itself with further research steps in the field of multisensory marketing. But growing knowledge in this field brings responsibilities. After all, the unconscious is also the home of a personality, storage place of childhood memories and censoring instance of the deepest desires and most abysmal thoughts. Sometimes these materialize in smells and tastes, and when we inhale, they blossom. Even if we were to lose all memory, even "after the death of men and the ruin of things," we learn from Marcel Proust, "then, as the only ones, more delicate but more permanent, more insubstantial, more constant and more faithful, the smell and the taste persist, to remember for a long time, like souls, to wait, to hope, to carry above the debris of all that remains, on their almost intangible droplet, without yielding, the immense edifice of memory."

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EXAMPLES

These brands use sensory marketing

Visa

When paying with their Visa card, customers in the USA hear a special sound at the end - one that Visa has been working on for years. It completes the purchase and conveys security and familiarity.

Singapore Airlines

Singapore Airlines flight attendants not only wear uniforms in a color combination based on traditional patterns; they also wear a perfume (rose, lavender and citrus) that is highly recognizable to travelers.

Apple

The design of the Apple boutiques is a masterstroke, both visually and haptically - the stores should be perceived as "clean" and "smart" as the company's products.

Starbucks

From the very beginning, the American café chain has required its branches to grind coffee beans on site - so that it smells like fresh coffee at all times and visitors are encouraged to consume it.

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Would you like to learn more about sensory marketing? Then we recommend "Customer Sense" by the American professor Aradhna Krishna: a standard work that is appreciated by academics as well as in practice and excellently describes the game with our five senses in marketing.

 

The events surrounding the demise of Credit Suisse are reminiscent of the grounding of Swissair. An internationally known Swiss company suddenly no longer exists. The situation, in turn, affects many: "We are sorry for all employees who have to fear for their jobs because of the demise of Credit Suisse," explains Markus Baumgartner, President of the Swiss Association for Crisis Communication (VKK). The association has developed nine points on the Swiss banking crisis from the perspective of crisis communication.

1. crisis communication needs trust

The many scandals of recent years have increasingly destroyed the reputation of Credit Suisse. Even though the two captains CEO Ulrich Körner and VRP Axel Lehmann were ultimately credited with the turnaround of Credit Suisse, they were unable to free the bank from the dark shadow of the past. Both are undoubtedly qualified managers, but they failed to build up or create new trust through a lack of adequate communication.

2. crisis communication needs good communication consulting

It is not always easy for communications people to assert themselves vis-à-vis the board of directors or management. Because time and again, executives show themselves to be "resistant to advice" and simply do their thing. This is despite the fact that they have highly qualified internal or sometimes external communications consultants. When it comes to communication, many suddenly have the feeling that they are experts in this area as well. Particularly in crisis communications, it's all about facts so that no speculation arises, but - as here at Credit Suisse - it's not just about bare figures, but about emotions and understanding, and often also about the view from outside when you yourself are only spinning in the hamster wheel.

3. crisis communication needs trustworthy and empathic minds

The importance of this crisis communication principle, and the fact that success or failure depends on it, can be seen in the various exponents of the current situation. Federal Councillor Karin Keller-Sutter has not had an easy time conveying credibility right away in the short time since she took over the Finance Department. What's more, her predecessor Ueli Maurer had said that Credit Suisse could turn itself around. Her personal example as a Credit Suisse client was insensitive. The vast majority of employees do not have the financial security of a member of the national government. At Credit Suisse, the heads of CEO Ulrich Körner and VRP Axel Lehmann are too little known through their own fault. In addition to their work "in the background," they have failed to build trust with the outside world and to convince clients that they are on the right track. This takes time and does not happen overnight. And Finma President Marlene Amstad was hardly able to raise her profile in the run-up to the crisis.

4. crisis communication needs empathy and emotions

That is rather difficult in the financial industry, but certainly not impossible. Axel Lehmann's performance was technocratic and showed a lack of self-criticism. Just now, the demise of one of the landmarks of the Swiss economy was communicated, and he, as Chairman of the Board of Directors, could not bring himself to apologize. From a legal point of view, it is understandable that he does not admit guilt, but at least at this moment he should think of his employees and customers whose jobs and money he has destroyed. At this moment, it is no longer just billions that count, but above all people. In addition, the question obviously arises as to who wrote the words "I am convinced that the new solution will bring sustainable stability and security for employees" on his paper. This statement shows that he has hardly reflected on it. The same applies to the announcement that all employees would devote all their energy to the process of merging with UBS. When so many jobs will be lost, such a statement is unworldly or simply ridiculous.

5. crisis communication needs preparation

A crisis never adheres to a regulated procedure or process. Many unprepared tasks come at the responsible parties from all sides and are difficult to coordinate. Companies therefore do well to prepare for possible crises with texts, dark sites or checklists - always in the hope that they will never need these documents and channels. After all, everyone must be aware that crisis communication has long since ceased to be an episodic task and has become a permanent one. It is to be hoped, for example, that the last-minute, "personal" invitation to an information call from the Credit Suisse management team (only 10 days after the bang), which was sent out quite impersonally with only "Dear Customer" in the salutation - without names (!) - was not the first contact with the "valued" customers. All addressees may rightly ask themselves whether they are only known by name when it comes to profit and they become a neuter in the crisis.

6. crisis management needs credible sponsors

Credit Suisse's short-lived Chairman of the Board, António Mota de Sousa Horta-Osório, promised to introduce a new code of conduct, but failed to stick to it himself. This made it even more difficult for employees to believe in their leadership. And accordingly, the culture of insatiable risk-taking remained. 

7. after the crisis is before the crisis

The scandals at CS and other banks around the world show time and again that too little, if anything, is learned from crises. It is not enough to analyze past mistakes and name the guilty parties. It is crucial to really want to learn something from the misconduct, so that at least we do not put our foot in our mouth again and again. In plain language, this means that crises must not only be dealt with, but also anticipated. This requires a well-established and implemented issue management. It is also important to play out possible future crisis scenarios live and not just in theory. Internal processes and people are not enough. What is needed is a view from the outside that provides an unvarnished reflection of the situation without regard for one's own career - and tells in plain language what needs to be changed. It is not for nothing that those affected by a crisis often perceive the event as a "surprise," while third parties saw it coming long ago.

8. crisis prevention thanks to good corporate culture

We don't want to go into further detail about corporate culture. But a trusting, honest, open corporate culture may not prevent every crisis, but it is one of the best crisis prevention measures. And here, too, it often helps to call on external help, because the view from outside is often worth its weight in gold.

9. bonuses need sustainable criteria thinking

Finally, a word from ethicist Prof. Dr. theol. Peter G. Kirchschläger on the incentives provided by Credit Suisse's bonus culture: "It is worth considering linking bonuses not only to economic criteria, but also to social and sustainability standards. This is in order to honor and reward ethical and responsible decision-making and action. It is almost schizophrenic when a company uses elaborate communication and advertising measures to constantly emphasize how important sustainability and climate protection are to them. And it also publicizes this in glossy brochures. At the same time, ethical criteria apparently play no role whatsoever in bonuses."

Source: VKK

This article originally appeared on m-q.ch - https://www.m-q.ch/de/neun-punkte-zur-bankenkrise-aus-sicht-der-krisenkommunikation/