Our reporting from Winterthur on the "dezibel" event focuses on exclusive interviews with Jeanne Drach, Laura Dath-Linienkämper and Cheyenne Mackay, who spoke about the art of podcasting, the challenges of generating reach and collaboration in the DACH region.

Podcasts are now an indispensable part of the media landscape, not only for entertainment, but also for brands that want to tell authentic stories. At the dezibel conference in Winterthur, experts discussed the future of podcasting and how this medium can continue to grow through creativity and technological innovation.

Jeanne Drach from "Oh Wow" pleads for more courage to be authentic

In an interview, Jeanne Drach, founder of Austria's first podcast agency, emphasizes the importance of authenticity and the courage to try out new forms of storytelling. "The technical aspects are important, of course, but what really counts are exciting stories," explains Drach. Oh Wow produces corporate podcasts for clients such as Austrian Post and the European Parliament as well as originals with a clear focus: "We rely on strong female voices and experiment with new forms of storytelling." She advocates more courage in the corporate podcast sector: "Brands should convey their messages implicitly rather than insisting that they have to be the super brand." Her tip for the success of a podcast? "Good stories that are told well."

Laura Dath-Linienkämper from "Podstars by OMR" on authentic storytelling

Laura Dath-Linienkämper from Podstars by OMR also emphasizes the need for authentic storytelling and courage. "Podcasting is a medium that needs to be understood, and brands need to dare to tell different stories," she says. It is particularly important to invest in reach: "You have to launch campaigns around the podcast, tell people about it and also invest money. If the content is good, it creates word of mouth and people talk about it." True crime formats are still very popular in Germany, but every well-told story can find its niche, says Dath-Linienkämper.

Cheyenne Mackay from Podcastschmiede on the need for visibility

Cheyenne Mackay, co-initiator of dezibel and founder of Podcastschmiede, talks about the acoustic aesthetics that are essential for a good podcast. "A good podcast doesn't just sound good, it also has to be individual and unique - like music," she says. Reach is a particular challenge in Switzerland, as dialect podcasts are often only understood in southern Germany. However, Mackay emphasizes that the investment in reach is worthwhile: "You have to invest almost as much in the visibility of a podcast as in the production itself." Her wish for the podcast community in the DACH region: "More networking and more intensive exchange. We would all benefit from that."

The dezibel conference not only provided space for discussions about technological innovations such as AI tools for editing and transcription, but also showed how much podcasts can benefit from an intensive exchange between the countries of the DACH region. The exclusive insight into the thoughts of Darch, Dath-Linienkämper and Mackay shows: The future of podcasting lies in exciting, well-told stories and a continuous pursuit of quality.

Republica has been a constant in the Swiss agency world for around 25 years. From the Bernese Matte, CEO and founder Bala Trachsel successfully leads a team of around 40 people that creates differentiating communication for clients such as SC Bern, Bernexpo, Jungfrau Ski Region, Rugenbräu, Honegger, Swiss Heart Foundation and Senevita.

Creative-driven is becoming increasingly important

Building on the experience and success of previous years, Republica has undergone a creative realignment in recent months. "In times when our customers can also create their own texts, images, videos and websites with the help of AI, outstanding ideas are becoming increasingly important. This makes experts with a flair for outstanding creation all the more important," explains Trachsel.

The "Rethinking Republica" project was launched at the beginning of 2024, with the new creative management team playing a key role: Florian Birkner has been on board as Creative Director since March. He manages the creation together with Creative Director and Partner Stefanie Berchtold. Together with Bala Trachsel, the management duo has implemented the change process in recent months and is already reporting various new business wins.

New dual mission

The agency refresh was created under the umbrella of the dual mission "Down to earth. To the stars", which will shape the way the agency thinks and acts in the future. "Republica is an agency with an independently developed culture and valuable in-house expertise that we absolutely wanted to integrate into the change process," explains Florian Birkner. "At the same time, it was important to us to spark a new dynamic and push the energy momentum of a new start. With our Dual Mission, we celebrate both - a sound understanding of the right strategies and messages as well as reaching for the creative stars."

"Down to earth. To the stars." has now found its way into practice. In September, the agency's new consistent image was launched. The new dynamic is particularly evident in the new logo and the completely redesigned website. "Our new look is as challenging as it is energetic and underlines the wide range of topics in which we operate. It was also important for us to set an unmistakable mark both internally and externally," emphasizes Stefanie Berchtold.

According to Republica, the measures are already having an impact: for example, an offer campaign with two TV commercials and broad-based out-of-home advertising with posters for the Jungfrau Ski Region's winter campaign is currently underway. A campaign for the Bern University of Teacher Education was launched in September and a new campaign for the Swiss Heart Foundation is in preparation.

The six sister companies Neustadt, Gold Interactive, Motion Inn, Johanna Unternährer, Authentiq and Pure are merging to form the Union Group. The merger creates a group that offers holistic solutions for digital marketing, brand experience, motion design, photography, software solutions and change management.

Already represented in Lucerne and Zug, the Zurich location was also opened up in 2023 with Gold Interactive, making it an important Swiss business location.

"It was important to us to be able to offer everything from a single source and to be largely independent of third-party providers," says Martin Stauch, Managing Director of the Union Group. "This is probably unique in its breadth and depth. And it is a clear differentiation from other networks." The focus of the owner-managed group is on people and their individual expertise. Union now has "the ideal size to be able to act quickly and effectively", the statement continues. The six companies bring together almost 70 employees.

The common DNA is that all units are ultimately also data-driven. "You now benefit from different competencies in a holistic overall offering," says Cyrill Kuster, founder of the Union Group. "To create convincing and measurable brand experiences, we combine data-based insights with creative concepts. This combination leads to the desired business impact for our customers and everything bears the same signature."

The Union Group is headquartered in Zurich. It also has a branch in Lucerne. The Group has been operational since the beginning of October and is already managing its first comprehensive mandates.

The Effie Awards Switzerland are organized by Leading Swiss Agencies, the association of Switzerland's leading communications agencies, and recognize the most effective marketing campaigns of the past two years. For this year's edition, 59 jury members selected 34 outstanding campaigns as finalists in the first round of judging. m&k was there and gained various insights from the jury (Markt-kom.com reported).

From these 34 campaigns, 20 jurors have now awarded a total of 24 campaigns with metal in the second round of judging. The judging took place under the direction of jury president Peter Felser and the Effie management.

Which 24 campaigns have won is revealed m&k currently being unveiled in various stages. The 2024 winners will be celebrated at the award show on November 13.

Now that all the bronze and the first silver winners have been announced, the final silver winners will be announced, including a second silver award for both Wirz and Farner.

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History Writing (Category: Doing Good/Positive Change)

Islam started from a hopeless position on the list. Thanks to Farner's campaign, he was elected by around 10,000 more voters and made it into the National Council.

Political inclusion communication often relies on pity and is therefore not successful. The aim of Farner's campaign was therefore not to show Islam Alijaj as a person with disabilities and at the same time to empower people with and without disabilities to support him in the election campaign. Alijaj was ultimately sensationally elected to the National Council with 95,000 votes and brought unprecedented attention to the issue of inclusion in Switzerland.

• Client: Islam Alijaj
• Lead agency: Farner / Team Farner

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Denner - Dogs (Category: Brand Image)

The surprising campaign not only won the hearts of consumers, but also brought them into the store more often. With a customer frequency increase of +3.8%.

Denner proves with the Image campaign 2022 The campaign not only achieved convincing recall values (52%, +22 PP above benchmark), but also achieved a significant uplift in terms of brand sympathy (71%, +11 PP above benchmark). In addition, the campaign managed to get Denner considered more often as a place to shop (49%, +10 PP above benchmark) and, last but not least, managed to increase customer frequency by a whole +3.8% compared to the previous year - despite a declining overall market.

These figures testify to an outstanding performance in terms of creation and media orchestration, especially as Denner has to compete against advertising giants such as Migros or Coop with its limited media budget within the category.

• Client: Denner
• Lead agency: Thjnk Zurich
• Other agencies / companies: JBW Media

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CSS Fall Campaign 2023 (Category: Marketing Automation)

The CSS autumn campaign increased the number of contracts concluded for compulsory basic insurance by 45% compared to the previous year.

The 2023 campaign relies on artificial intelligence in creation and media as well as a holistic, user-centered approach across all touchpoints. A revolutionary step in insurance communication that perfectly serves every individual user behavior.

• Client: CSS Health Insurance
• Lead agencies: Digitas Switzerland / Webrepublic
• Other agencies / companies: Hutter Consult

When asked about the most dangerous triggers for communication crises, one in three respondents named disinformation as the highest risk factor (33%). Almost as many PR professionals are of the opinion that covering up mistakes is the biggest crisis accelerator (32 percent). Personal misconduct at top management level was the third most cited cause (28%).

Shitstorms in social media are the most dangerous crisis trigger for one in four (25 percent), while criminal offenses against the company, such as a cyberattack, significantly increase the crisis potential for a good one in five respondents (23 percent).

Around one in ten see an increased crisis risk if the company is investigated by the public prosecutor's office (13 percent), the products are faulty (12 percent), the company's own employees engage in personal misconduct (12 percent) or data protection is violated (10 percent).

By contrast, most respondents rated natural events as less dangerous: Only a meagre 6 percent fear earthquakes or storm surges as the most dangerous triggers of communication crises. Respondents were least concerned about possible defamation by competitors (3 percent).

The most dangerous triggers for communication crises, according to the survey

1. False reports & misleading information 33%
2. Covering up errors 32%
3. Personal misconduct of management 28%
4. Social media shitstorm 25%
5. Crime (e.g. cyberattacks) 23%
6. Lack of transparency 22%
7. Failure of top management 22%
8. Compliance issues 20%
9. Investigations by the public prosecutor's office 13%
10. Defective products 12%
11. Personal misconduct by employees 12%
12. Data protection violations 10%
13. Economic problems 9%
14. Poor working conditions 8%
15. Poor service 8%
16. Natural events (e.g. storm surge, earthquake) 6%
17. Defamation by competitor 3%

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As part of the PR trend monitor from News Aktuell and Per an online survey was conducted in February 2024 among 327 communications professionals from companies, organizations and PR agencies in Switzerland and Germany. A maximum of three responses were possible.

This year's winner impressed the Gfm jury with its secure and user-friendly solutions that enable customers to achieve their financial goals more quickly. This customer focus not only strengthened trust, but also contributed significantly to the growth in sales from CHF 317 million in 2020 to a forecast CHF 615 million in 2024.

According to Foundation Board member Marcus Schögel, the digital platform, financial products and global expansion, investment opportunities, cryptocurrency offerings, education and support as well as sustainability and ESG initiatives were decisive factors in the selection of Swissquote.

Two new board members

Furthermore, two new Gfm Board members were also welcomed by President Dominique von Matt on Tuesday evening. Patric Deflorin from Mobiliar and Professor Reto Hofstetter from the University of St. Gallen were newly elected.

In 2019, the Zurich agency Openroom won the AOP-IGP account as part of a competitive presentation. The Swiss Association of AOP-IGP looks after a large number of different Swiss products, all of which bear the AOP or IGP quality mark.

From 2020 to 2024, Openroom anchored the quality label in the minds of the target group with various national campaigns and made the Swiss specialties "Appellation d'Origine Protégée" and "Indication Géographique Protégée" appealing to a broader population. According to the agency, both the level of awareness and the credibility of AOP-IGP were significantly increased during this time.

Openroom has now been able to put all the experience and knowledge that the team has built up around AOP-IGP over the past few years to good use in a competitive presentation. Even though brands such as Le Gruyère AOP, Tête de Moine AOP and St. Galler Bratwurst IGP are well known among the Swiss, the next few years will continue to be about raising awareness of the quality label itself and increasingly appealing to a younger target group in the future.

Openroom won the pitch with an attention-grabbing campaign idea centered around an unusual key visual that is linked to the three core values of AOP-IGP and also offers a wide range of implementation and development options.

The new campaign will start in spring 2025.

This year, the Swissfilm Association is organizing the Edi. Award, under the patronage of the Federal Department of Home Affairs. The aim of the award for outstanding Swiss productions is to raise awareness of Swiss commissioned filmmaking. From this year's submissions, over 150 experts have selected 38 films nominated in the four main categories Commercials, Corporate Communication, Branded Content and Animation.

The most important assessment criterion is the audiovisually convincing implementation of the communication brief. The script, direction, image, music, sound and editing must therefore form an artistic unit that does justice to the content conveyed and realizes the client's brief for the production.

The Edi.24 Award Night will take place on November 7, 2024 at the Schiffbau in Zurich.

The Effie Awards Switzerland are organized by Leading Swiss Agencies, the association of Switzerland's leading communications agencies, and recognize the most effective marketing campaigns of the past two years. For this year's edition, 59 jury members selected 34 outstanding campaigns as finalists in the first round of judging. m&k was there and gained various insights from the jury (Markt-kom.com reported).

From these 34 campaigns, 20 jurors have now awarded a total of 24 campaigns with metal in the second round of judging. The judging took place under the direction of jury president Peter Felser and the Effie management.

Which 24 campaigns have won will be m&k will be unveiled in various stages over the coming weeks. The 2024 winners will be celebrated at the award show on November 13.

After the bronze winners have already been announced, this week we continue with the silver winners. The winners are campaigns by Neu, Farer, Thjnk Zurich and Wirz.

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"Zak as a second bank" (Category: Activation)

The campaign differentiated and positioned Zak in terms of communication. This became the basis for exceeding the reference values and communication targets along the customer journey - above all downloads and new customer figures.

Smartphone banks are increasingly popular and the market is growing. The advertising investments of the major players are correspondingly large.

To combat this dominance, the Neu Zak agency has positioned itself via an as yet unused insight that is particularly relevant for the provider: People who use the free smartphone banking service don't have to go to the trouble of changing their bank to do so - because they use Zak in addition to their main bank. This was positioned in a surprising, self-confident way: Zak is the first bank that wants to be second.

The "Get Zak as your second bank" campaign succeeded in exceeding the targets along the customer journey by using a new, sharply formulated insight as a strategic lever, with surprising films and numerous measures across all channels.

• Client: Bank Cler
• Lead agency: New Creative Agency
• Other agencies / companies: PHD Media Switzerland

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SBB: "Because life sometimes needs more time, we advertise our jobs from 60%" (Category: Employer Branding & Recruiting)

With the Recruiting campaign applications for open part-time positions increased by 160% compared to the same months in the previous year. 99,960 visits were tracked on the landing page. An average dwell time of 3 minutes and 16 seconds was measured.

Switzerland is facing a wave of retirements, which is accompanied by a shortage of skilled workers. There is also a growing need for a good work-life balance. With this social change, new working models are becoming key. As Switzerland's fourth-largest employer, SBB wants to be a role model, as it relies on employees in all areas. The campaign therefore focused on the 16 hours a day in which people live, using the slogan "Because life sometimes needs more time". SBB is picking up on this paradigm shift from work to private life with the job advertisement from 60%. SBB is thus legitimizing work-life balance requirements and demonstrating that part-time work is worthwhile for everyone. With an increase in applications of 160%, this aspect was successfully emphasized and the shortage of skilled workers was counteracted.

• Client: SBB
• Lead agency: Farner / Team Farner
• Other agencies / companies: Havas Media

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Ochsner Sport: "Winter World Cup Campaign 2022" (Category: Timely Opportunity)

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.

The World Cup campaign by Ochsner Sport 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
• Lead agency: Thjnk Zurich
• Other agencies / companies: JBW Media

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Switzerland Tourism: "Grand Train Tour of Switzerland: The Ride of a Lifetime" (Category: Activation)

In just six weeks of campaigning, the Grand Train Tour of Switzerland raised its profile (+31.8%), increased train ticket sales (+59%) and established Switzerland internationally as a safe, sustainable and diverse travel destination.

In the face of a post-pandemic multi-crisis, the Swiss tourism industry used the "Grand Train Tour of Switzerland" to reposition itself as a sustainable, safe and diverse destination (Read the exclusive interview with André Hefti and Livio Dainese here). With Roger Federer and Trevor Noah, the campaign combined tradition with modernity to attract international tourists. Despite geopolitical tensions and economic challenges, this strategy resulted in Swiss Travel Pass (STP) sales growth of 59 % and achieved unprecedented growth with a triple return on investment. The efficiency and impact of the campaign led to a significant increase in STP sales (+33 % above target expectation) and a record number of visitors to Switzerland, revitalizing the country's image as an attractive travel destination.

• Client: Switzerland tourism
• Lead agency: Wirz Group

Claims such as "Sausage without end" (Migros) or "Love from the region" (Coop) set alarm bells ringing at Animal Rights Switzerland. The animal rights organization criticizes that such advertising messages promote the excessive consumption of animal products and also mislead consumers.

In order to draw attention to these abuses, Animal Rights Switzerland is once again awarding the "Bullshit Award" for advertising that is particularly harmful to animals. This year's posters are "Sausage without end" from Migros and "The most important ingredient in eggs: love from the region" from Coop, various Advertising motifs for meat products from Aldi and the cows were nominated as ambassadors for cheese at Tilsiter.

According to the organization, Coop's poster with the inscription: "The most important ingredient in eggs: love from the region" is misleading. "Hens in egg production suffer from painful broken bones, live under constant stress and are quickly replaced as soon as they are no longer profitable. This has nothing to do with love," argues Céline Schlegel, Managing Director of Animal Rights Switzerland.

By awarding the negative prize, Animal Rights Switzerland wants to encourage the public to take a critical look at advertising. "Many people are not aware of the suffering behind animal products," explains Schlegel. "At the same time, this gives us an opportunity to inform people about the true situation. Ultimately, that's what our Bullshit Award is all about."

Pax Versicherung is organized under the cooperative umbrella of Pax Holding and offers solutions for private and occupational pension provision. However, this is facing major challenges in Switzerland: Demographic trends are making the sustainable and fair financing of pensions increasingly challenging, while at the same time the growing diversity of lifestyles and employment biographies as well as digital change are placing new demands on insurers. In this challenging environment, Pax wants to further develop its brand in a targeted manner.

In this context, Scholtysik will sharpen Pax's brand strategy and transform the brand experience in the medium term. The aim is to consolidate and expand Pax's position as a leading provider of pension solutions. "We are delighted to have Scholtysik on board as an experienced partner who knows the financial sector, understands our culture and actively supports us in the further development of our customer experience," says Luzius Marbet, Head of Marketing & Digital Sales at Pax.

"As the ESC, we have a duty of care and will take a closer look at the issue of well-being in future," Walden told the Sunday view.

The SRG manager admitted mistakes at the last ESC in Malmö, Sweden, which was overshadowed by the Middle East conflict: "Malmö was a great ESC final - but a few things must not be repeated," said Walden. For the edition in Basel, he promised better communication on the part of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which will organize the ESC 2025 together with SRG and the city of Basel.

"In future, we will have our own crisis management, strengthen communication and work very closely with the SRG project team. We at the EBU are organizing the competition, SRG is organizing the event together with Basel," said Walden. They want to make sure that the ESC is as neutral as possible. Anti-Semitism has no place at the ESC.

They want an ESC where everyone puts their heart and soul into it. It would be a "strong statement" if everyone treated each other fairly, peacefully and respectfully. Because: "We can't solve the many wars and conflicts in the world during the ESC," said Walden. (SDA/swi)