Philipp Skrabal beat fellow nominees Gordon Nemitz, Chief Strategy Officer at Thjnk Zurich, and Lorenz Clormann, Executive Creative Director at Wirz, in the race for the title of "Advertiser of the Year" 2025. This is his fourth nomination for the most prestigious personal award in the Swiss communications industry. Andrea Bison, founder and co-CEO of Thjnk Zurich and "Advertiser of the Year" 2024, presented Skrabal with the "Egon" at the award night on Thursday evening at the Razzia restaurant in Zurich.

In her laudatory speech, Bison emphasized that the title "Advertiser:in of the Year" is more than just an award - it is also a promise. "To creativity, to the courage to break new ground and to the responsibility we all bear when we tell the stories that shape our world," said the "Advertiser of the Year" 2024 to the more than 100 invited guests on stage at the Razzia. "Philipp Skrabal has proven over the years that creativity is not a question of budget, but of attitude," continued Bison. "Good advertising doesn't just sell, it also has something to say."

Skrabal started his career as a graffiti artist. After working for agencies such as Publicis, Advico Young & Rubicam and Wirz, he has been shaping the creative direction of Farner for over a decade. As Chief Creative Officer, he has shaped Farner into one of the most creative communications agencies in Switzerland, which recently won the Swiss Creative Ranking 2024.

His creative signature has shaped numerous campaigns for companies such as SBB, Arosa Tourism, Greenpeace and National Councillor Islam Alijaj. Winner of several awards - including two Cannes Lions - his work has also sparked debates and set new standards. Philipp Skrabal is also strongly committed to promoting young talent in the industry: he is Vice President of the Art Directors Club Switzerland, a member of the Ad School Board and a member of ADC Europe and the Creative Club Austria CCA.

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Read the interview on Philipp Skrabal's nomination here.

"The young creative scene has once again proven its potential," says Maximilian Börke, Head of Marketing at Ringier Media Switzerland. "The judging of the ADC Switzerland Young Creatives Award 2025 was a real highlight full of fresh ideas and bold concepts. With their creative concepts, the young talents showed how a news brand can be part of the lives of a young generation in a new, captivating way and impressively demonstrated that the media consumption of the future will be shaped by innovation."

The works were judged last week by representatives of the View and the other sponsors of the young talent competition - APG|SGA Out of Home Media, Cash, Swissfilm Association and Keystone SDA - as well as ADC members. m&k-Editor Beat Hürlimann was also on site to catch votes (Markt-kom.com reported).

In addition to the coveted Young Creatives Awards, the winners can look forward to a membership in the "Young ADC" and are thus part of ADC Switzerland. The Young Members will also receive a "ticket" to join the jury at the next ADC judging and thus decide on the shortlist and bronze awards on the first jury day. Through a cooperation with Weischer.Cinema Switzerland, the winning teams will also represent Switzerland at the Young Lions Competition in Cannes in June. To toast their win, all winning teams are also invited to the "Advertiser of the Year" award night on Thursday evening, where they can network with leading industry figures.

The award ceremony was once again hosted by SRF 3 presenter Céline Werdelis, who also welcomed the Media team, which was chosen in a separate selection process by Weischer.Cinema, to the stage for the first time. Like the Young Creatives winning teams, the Media team will also take part in the Cannes Young Lions Competition.

The winners of the ADC Young Creatives Award 2025

• Film category: "Everything in view" by Francesca Kleinstück & Emil Maeder

• Outdoor category: "Clickbaiting With Comments" by Alex Gubler & Jenna Davis

• Cyber categoryThe Blicket" by Josephine Jeanguenin & Patricia Schneider

• Category Media (powered by Weischer.Cinema Switzerland)Sara Schild & Delia Montagnolo

The ADC Young Creatives Award is organized by ADC Switzerland with the support of main sponsor View as well as APG|SGA Out of Home Media, Cash, Swissfilm Association, Keystone SDA, Swiss International Air Lines and the event partner LSA Leading Swiss Agencies. Weischer.Cinema Switzerland is also taking part as the official Swiss Cannes Lions representative and ADC cooperation partner. Media partners are m&k and personally.

Myriam Käser has headed the Group Communications & Corporate Responsibility (GCR) department as a member of the Group Executive Board since June 2024. Together with her team, she has defined new priorities in a comprehensive strategy process. This has resulted in an "organizational development of the department", as detailed in a press release. Among other things, this includes greater integration of corporate communications and a targeted focus on AI and digital transformation.

Andrea Meier is taking over as the new Head of Corporate Communications. The newsdesk, media service and film team will be merged with the Corporate Communications department. Meier was previously responsible for Partnerships & Live Experience at Swisscom and has extensive experience in the communications industry. She will be succeeded by her previous deputy, Julia Werner.

With the new "Comm Tech & Transformation" department, Swisscom is also focusing more on digital communication and AI-supported processes. Michèle Westhues Estermann, who has already worked intensively on the use of AI in corporate communications in her previous role, will take over as head of the department.

"I am convinced that the new set-up will enable us to make even better use of our digital potential, exploit the opportunities offered by AI and manage communication and stakeholder management in a more strategic and agile way overall," says Myriam Käser about the realignment.

The SWA's anniversary annual meeting focused on the trends and challenges of tomorrow's marketing. In his welcoming speech, SWA President Roger Harlacher emphasized right at the beginning how much has happened in the field of AI since last year: "The development is gigantic - AI has definitely taken its place. What we need now is a deep dive into the new technologies and the marketing of the future."

According to Harlacher, speed is the biggest challenge here, but reflection is also required. Because in a world in which more and more is possible faster and faster, values and reliability are becoming more important for brands, and orientation and trust are gaining in significance. Hence his appeal to the audience: "Let's be inspired by the new possibilities and technological trends for brands, but let's also take enough time for reflection".

Strong SWA in its anniversary year

The SWA was founded in 1950 and is now celebrating its 75th anniversary. Roger Harlacher was particularly pleased that the SWA is still a strong voice in the Swiss advertising market at the age of 75 - even stronger than ever before. After a successful year for the association with numerous activities such as webinars, expert group meetings and various initiatives, the SWA was able to announce a new record number of 215 active member companies.

There were five departures from the Board of Directors and four new Board members were elected. This means that the 11-member Board of Directors from various sectors is once again complete.

There was a surprising change in the Executive Committee. Roger Harlacher announced that he had decided to step down as President. After 16 successful years, he felt the time was right for a successor. He brought Jan De Schepper, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer of Swissquote, onto the stage right away (Markt-kom.com reported). Jan De Schepper expressed his thanks for the introduction and is looking forward to the exciting topics and challenges in the association. On behalf of the Board of Directors, he also announced that Roger Harlacher had been appointed Honorary President for his services.

SWA Director Roland Ehrler also took the opportunity to bid Roger Harlacher a fitting farewell. As a special farewell gift, he received a painting specially created for the occasion by his son, freelance artist Luca Harlacher. After the emotional farewell to Roger Harlacher, Johannes Hapig welcomed the guests as host and led them through the evening with wit and charm.

Kemp-Robertson and Polomski: What the future holds

The first keynote speaker was Paul Kemp-Robertson, Chief Content Officer at Lions, who presented the eager audience with "44 Ways to Win in 2029". At the same time, he emphasized that there is not just one path that leads to success, but many paths. In addition to some predictable inputs such as "Understand your emerging buyers" or "Win the internet every day", Kemp-Robertson also presented some surprising tips that brands can use to stand out in the age of AI: "Focus on what will not change" and "Over-index on trust".

Kemp-Robertson also emphasized the importance of creativity and vision. His advice to the audience: "Be a visionary, not a creator". And to management he recommends: "Don't kill creativity in the name of efficiency". Because he is certain that something will still be true in 2029: "It is creativity that makes brands famous". Not entirely unironically, he concluded by telling the guests: "Ignore predicitons about the future." Because we all have it in our own hands how we face the future.

The second keynote speaker Jens Polomski, LinkedIn Top Voice for AI and co-founder of SnipKI from Cologne, was on the SWA stage for the second time in a row. He reminded the audience that AI is more than just a text generator and showed impressive examples of what AI can achieve not only in the audiovisual sector, but also in medicine and materials research.

Polomski emphasized the possibilities that AI offers us to implement ideas quickly and cheaply. Even without programming skills, we can build and integrate tools ourselves. And at a speed that is almost unbelievable. Polomski needed just over eight minutes to create his own image generator with AI. He concluded by advising the guests: "There are no more excuses for not implementing ideas", and looking to the future, he is certain that "there is still a lot to come".

Panel discussion and aperitif riche

After the two presentations, Johannes Hapig hosted the "Next Gen Marketing Podium". Jens Polomski was joined on the panel by "Advertiser of the Year" Andrea Bison (Thjnk), Yaël Meier (Zeam) and Jan De Schepper (Swissqoute).

At the end, SWA Director Roland Ehrler thanked the audience for their patience and quickly moved on to the celebratory stand-up dinner. The mix of guests from customers, agencies and marketers as well as the 75th anniversary provided plenty to talk about for a long time.

The next SWA Annual Meeting will take place on March 19, 2026 at StageOne in Zurich.

The SWA annual meeting took place on Tuesday in Zurich-Oerlikon with over 400 members and guests from the advertising industry. The association also celebrated its 75th anniversary. On the topic of "Next Gen Marketing", the two keynote speakers Paul Kemp-Robertson, Chief Content Officer at Lions from London and Jens Polomski, LinkedIn Top Voice for AI & Co-Founder snipKI from Cologne, gave an insight into how they see the future of marketing and communication.

Last year, the long-standing SWA President, Roger Harlacher, announced to the Board that he would be stepping down at today's 76th General Assembly. Harlacher was elected to the Board in 2006 and became President of the Association in 2009. During his time in office, the SWA has developed into a strong lobby group and a valuable partner in the advertising market, according to the association. Roger Harlacher was made Honorary President at the AGM in recognition of his services.

Jan De Schepper, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer of Swissquote Bank, will take over as Chairman. De Schepper has been a member of the Board of Directors since 2018. He began his career in branding at Feldschlösschen and continued it at Bacardi-Martini, Saatchi & Saatchi and McDonald's. In 2015, he moved to Swissquote to head the marketing department. In 2019, he was promoted to CSMO and became a member of Swissquote's Executive Board. De Schepper is also a member of the Board of Directors of Neobank Yuh and holds an MBA in International Management from the University of Geneva.

Hirzel.Neef.Schmid.Konsulenten has gained an experienced communications strategist in Ursula Nötzli as a new partner. The long-standing Head of Communications at TX Group will take up her new role on September 1, 2025 and will focus on positioning leaders and supporting companies during transformation phases. She will also bring her expertise in financial communications, capital market transactions and ESG reporting to the communications consultancy.

Nötzli, who announced her departure from the TX Group at the end of last year, had been Chief Communications & Sustainability Officer there since 2021 and a member of Group Management since 2022. She was responsible for corporate communications, investor relations and the media group's sustainability strategy. During her time in office, she oversaw the founding of the SMG Swiss Marketplace Group joint venture and the acquisition of Clear Channel Switzerland, among other things.

Nötzli began her professional career as a business and stock market editor at the NZZ and the Finance and economy. She later headed up communications at ABB Switzerland and was Director of Communications and Strategy at Credit Suisse. With a doctorate in economics from the University of St. Gallen, she also completed the Advanced Management Program (AMP) at the MIT Sloan School of Management.

Her move to strategic consulting is a logical continuation of her previous career. At Hirzel.Neef.Schmid.Konsulenten, she will advise companies and their managers on strategic and communication issues - particularly in challenging market phases and transformation processes.

For the fifth year in a row, NZZ Connect presented the Swiss Economic Forum Woman Award at The Circle Zurich. One of the three women honored was Paulina Grnarova, according to NZZ Connect. Grnarova, co-founder and CEO of the AI start-up Deepjudge, received the award in the "Young Female Entrepreneur of the Year" category.

Born in North Macedonia, she founded the ETH spin-off Deepjudge in 2021 to transform the legal search process with artificial intelligence. According to the press release, Grnarova holds a doctorate in computer science and has already been included in the Forbes 30 under 30 list.

The Swiss Economic Forum presented another award to Bea Knecht. As the founder of the TV streaming service Zattoo, she has developed new business models in the technology sector and is an expert in digital transformation, according to the press release. For this, the organizers named her Honorary Award Winner of the Year 2025. Alpiq CEO Antje Kanngiesser also received the award in the "Entrepreneur/CEO of the Year" category. (Dylan Windhaber/rja)

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This article first appeared in Netzwoche.

The SEF.WomanAward honors women with an outstanding entrepreneurial track record and at the same time creates a powerful and future-oriented platform for female entrepreneurs.

Before moving to the HWZ, Stallone worked as a course director and lecturer at the ZHAW School of Management and Law, where he led teaching and research programs at the interface between marketing and technology. His focus was always on the transfer of science into practice. With his expertise and innovative strength, he will now drive forward the further development of the Department of Marketing & Digital at the HWZ.

"It will be an honor for me to create an environment at the HWZ in which we combine market expertise with a real feel for the future," says Stallone about his new role. "I value an outside-in approach and the consistent integration of digital innovations without losing sight of the human factor."

HWZ Rector Brian Rüeger emphasizes the importance of this new appointment: "My aim is to break down silos and establish a networked way of thinking in order to find innovative and sustainable answers to technological and economic challenges as a university. In Valerio Stallone, we are gaining a committed manager who successfully combines theory and practice and will provide valuable impetus for the HWZ."

Stallone holds a Master of Science in Management & Economics from the University of Zurich, a Ph.D. in Marketing from the University of Maastricht and a CAS in University Didactics from the ZHAW.

He started his career as an Account Manager at Webrepublic. He then became Head of Marketing & Communication at Selfnation (RealLook), where he was responsible for the marketing strategy for the DACH region. He then moved to Ava, where he rose from Digital Marketer to Marketing Director Europe and led an international team.

Those with a small budget are often faced with the challenge of making their own brand known. This is where the idea behind "brand slogans" comes in. As the name suggests, the service offers tailor-made slogans for start-ups and small businesses with limited financial resources. The service focuses on timeless, memorable copywriting concepts that can be used across various channels.

The independent offering has a own website with all the trimmings - an eye-catching blue, red and white design and a playful logo with lions and bears. The offer is clear, the pricing transparent: a standard package is available for CHF 4900, the premium version costs CHF 7900. Both packages include an "international full buy-out".

What motivates an agency that is known for its provocative communication and advertises with the words "We're probably not the right agency for you" to launch such an additional offer?

m&k: What was the idea behind "brand slogan"?

Parvez Sheik Fareed: We mainly receive inquiries from companies that describe our out-of-home campaigns and publicity stunts as either "humorous advertising" or "good advertising slogans". For many start-ups and small companies, however, such campaigns cannot be realized with the available budgets. We noticed that many start-ups either have no slogan or only a trivial slogan that is neither catchy nor to the point.

 

That's how you came up with "brand slogan". But why an independent offer?

Miro Pfister: We wanted to create an offering that focused solely on slogans. If we were to offer this via Pam Advertising, there would be a risk of dilution and it would be lost in the agency's overall scope of services. In contrast to traditional agency services in the branding sector, we focus exclusively on slogans. As far as we know, no such service exists in Switzerland.

As far as we know, no such slogan service exists in Switzerland.

 

You make it clear on your website that the offer is only for start-ups and small businesses. Why this target group restriction?

PSF: We offer this service at Pam's usual quality level only to those who have limited financial resources and want to make a sales-boosting investment in their brand.

 

How do you reach this target group?

MP: We place ads on social media and on selected online portals whose target groups are start-ups and small businesses. We are also currently in talks with start-up incubators for strategic partnerships.

 

The special branding of "Markenslogan" stands out on the website. How did the look with bears and lions come about?

The name brand slogan says it all. The name says it all. The bear and the lion are suitable as accessible and recognizable visual elements. I'm from Bern, Parvez is from Zurich - so we chose these animals because they appear in the city coats of arms of Bern and Zurich. The same with the colors red and blue.

The name 'brand slogan' says it all.

  

What is the difference between slogans and claims? And how important is a slogan compared to other branding elements?

PSF: The distinction between slogans and claims is very theoretical and has little meaning in practice. We have deliberately used the term slogan because it is more commonly used outside the marketing industry than claim. In addition to the logo, a slogan is an important branding element that contributes to brand growth in order to keep the brand in mind in purchasing situations.

 

For you, a good brand slogan should be memorable, unmistakable, catchy and not a tongue twister. Are there any other criteria for success or current developments and trends that need to be taken into account?

Another success criterion is rather the opposite of this, namely none to follow developments or trends. One of the things that makes a slogan effective is that it is timeless and can be used again and again. It would be wrong to focus on current events. Good slogans are like music hits that you can listen to again and again, no matter what era they come from.

 

The slogans you create come with a full buy-out - in other words, the right to use the finally selected slogan remains with the customer afterwards. How can you ensure that slogans remain relevant in the long term?

MP: In addition to the aspect of timelessness, we make sure that the slogans have a certain linguistic virtuosity. In other words, saying something in such a way that it sticks and doesn't sound trivial or hackneyed.

 

How can we imagine your service and the associated creative process?

We have developed our own briefing form. This ensures that we understand the product or service of the company in question and hit the right tone for the slogan. Then it's time to get down to business: sit down, think, write. The process is the same as for any creative job.

 

Which of your slogans are you particularly proud of?

PSF: "Boring, but good" for the BDP was a solid hit that caught the eye of the media and got people talking. For the Too Good To Go campaign, we created the headline "The world's leftover app", among others. This would also have been suitable as a future slogan for TGTG. Potential slogans often lie dormant in good headline campaigns. Brands that don't yet have a slogan but have good headline campaigns should therefore look through their old campaigns.

Are you planning to develop your slogan service further?

MP: For the moment, we will leave it at that. Should it become apparent over time that an expansion would be sensible, we would examine this.

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Parvez Sheik Fareed (left) and Miro Pfister are co-founders and owners of the Zurich agency Pam Advertising.

 

m&k Andrea Bison joins the HWZ team as a communications expert. Congratulations on this? How did this come about?

I was specifically looking for a high-profile personality from the agency scene to jointly develop and manage my proven course. Andrea Bison was my preferred candidate, who was also recommended to me by several people. And to clarify: like me and most program directors at the HWZ, she will take on the role of co-head of the program on a part-time basis. This fits in with the HWZ's profile as the most practice-oriented and entrepreneurial business school in Switzerland. The majority of lecturers are also experts from the field. After each module of our CAS Best Practices, there is now input on current topics and campaigns from the responsible CMOs, agencies and researchers. The choice of Andrea Bison also shows that our CAS is suitable for marketing and communication professionals in companies and agencies. This exchange takes place intensively in the CAS and the mutual understanding is an important additional benefit for the participants from both sides.

 

What are the challenges for future CAS graduates in the field of communication? What do they need to learn?

What remains are the basics for marketing communication professionals such as Campaign Management, Touchpoint Management, Strategic Brand & Communication Management, Partnership Management & Cultural Marketing or Marcom Controlling. Newly integrated or more in-depth topics include Behavioral Sciences & Communication, Concept Development, a Deep Dive Shared & Paid Social Media, an Audio & Video Media Production Workshop in two studios, Marcom in the Age of GenAI, Marcom Data Sciences & Management and Marcom Automation. In general, technology and the use of the latest relevant tools play an important role - a file rouge as required. And on the second last day of the course, we go on another study tour. With the last course, we visited Ochsner Sport, AXA, SRF and Wirz. The students were thrilled with the in-depth insight that the hosts gave us.

 

Where will Andrea Bison offer added value?

Her immense experience in the strategic-conceptual development of effective marketing communication and campaign management. The co-founder of the award-winning agency Thjnk, advertiser of the year 2024 and board member of the ADC is also responsible for internal training in the Thjnk Group in the DACH region and the implementation of the GenAI. Both are central for and in our CAS.

 

Who is the CAS recommended for?

For marketing and communication experts from companies, SMEs, start-ups, NGOs, NPOs, consultants from agencies and the self-employed who want to ambitiously reach the professional level in marcoms.

 

"Many companies see the possibilities of AI, but don't know how they can use it for themselves. This is exactly where we come in - with a mixture of consulting, workshops and production to efficiently integrate AI into creative processes," says Lymbus co-founder Sven Würgler, explaining the idea behind Beyond Dreams.

Advice and production from a single source

Companies can use the service to acquire the necessary knowledge in workshops, obtain advice or have AI-supported content produced directly. Interdisciplinary teams of tech experts, creatives and strategists work together to achieve this. The aim is to make AI "not just a trend, but a real business advantage".

"Design and technology have always been closely linked. We are currently experiencing a real revolution with AI - and with Beyond Dreams, we are helping our customers to be at the forefront of this," adds Michael Ryser, Managing Director of Designnow GmbH.

Beyond Dreams is now on the market.

Andrea Bison, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of the agency Thjnk, "Advertiser of the Year" 2024 and ADC Board Member, is the new head of the enhanced CAS Marketing Communications at the HWZ Zurich University of Applied Sciences together with long-time course director Stefan Vogler. "Our tasks and requirements in the field of marketing communications today are so demanding and varied that we need highly trained people who are familiar with all subject areas in order to achieve excellent results," says Andrea Bison about her commitment.

Promarca becomes new patronage partner

In addition to established patronage partners such as Igem, Leading Swiss Agencies, Marcom Suisse, SWA, Swiss Marketing and the Swiss Media Publishers Association VSM, Promarca is now also supporting the course. Barbara Castegnaro, Managing Director of the Swiss Branded Goods Association, emphasizes the importance of further education: "Effective brand communication is constantly presenting the MarCom community with new challenges and is constantly setting higher standards. To really stand out here, continuous training is essential."

The CAS is aimed at marketing and communication professionals from companies, SMEs, start-ups, NGOs and NPOs as well as consultants from agencies and the self-employed. In the MarKom field of tension of the 4M - people, brands, markets, media - as well as technology (GenAI), the practice-oriented further education imparts the relevant skills for the future. The Next implementation starts in September.