The Female Innovation Forum is aimed at female founders and young entrepreneurs and connects the startup world in Switzerland and abroad. According to the EY Startup Barometer (2023), only 5 percent of startups founded by women received venture capital. The forum has set itself the goal of continuously increasing this proportion and promoting and networking young female entrepreneurs in order to ultimately strengthen Switzerland as a business location in the long term.

For the seventh time, the Female Innovation Forum presented awards in various categories to innovative women. With the "Female Innovator of the Year" and the "Recognition Award", two jury awards were presented again this year. In addition, four other female founders were honored together with various Collab partners in the areas of "Social Innovation", "Digital Innovation", "Diversity & Inclusion Innovation" and "Design Innovation". Founder and jury president Sandra-Stella Triebl emphasizes: "The economy also has a female face. We show and celebrate that."

Daily program with keynotes and workshops

Once again this year, the Female Innovation Forum offered various networking opportunities. In guided workshops with five female founders from different sectors, the 260 participants were able to exchange experiences and ideas and make valuable contacts.

Marion Fogli from the digital private bank Alpian spoke about financial knowledge as a driver for innovation, and social entrepreneurship expert Katherin Milligan showed the path to becoming a social change leader. BMW Vice President Brand Portfolio, Dr. Larissa Huisgen, explained how transformation is made possible through innovation, while Siemens Sustainability Lead Pina Schlombs presented innovation as a turbo for sustainable industries. And Sarah Harbarth from start-up Kuori presented solutions for the circular economy with innovative upcycling technology.

The day was crowned by the Award Night in the form of a gala dinner, which was accompanied by another keynote speech by Larisa B. Miller, CEO Phoenix Global Group Holdings.

"Female Innovator of the Year" award for Nicole Kleger

The main award of the Female Innovation Forum 2024, which is presented in cooperation with BMW Switzerland, went to the ETH spin-off "Sallea" and honored co-founder Nicole Kleger. The start-up has developed a novel process for the production of biomaterials to create three-dimensional structures on which flesh tissue can grow. Their 3D printing can be used, for example, as a basis for cultivating meat in the laboratory.

"Recognition Award" for Margaux Peltier

The spin-off from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne EPFL has developed an innovative solution for the use of heat and cold from existing underground infrastructure. To this end, "Enerdrape" has constructed geothermal panels that can be installed in tunnels, parking garages or subway stations. Several layers of pipes run through them, through which water circulates and which thus become heat exchangers. In this way, the energy from existing buildings is used directly underground.

The engineer Margaux Peltier is CEO and co-founder of "Enerdrape" and is responsible for the development of the corporate strategy and its implementation. She received the "Recognition Award" for this, which was presented to her by the digital private bank Alpian.

Four awards for exceptional women

In addition to BMW and the digital private bank Alpian, the Female Innovation Forum is also supported by DQSolutions, Siemens, USM and the Canton of Zurich. They each presented an award.

The Social Innovation Award in cooperation with the Office of Labor of the Canton of Zurich was presented to Sarah Taubman for her app and empowerment with "Tara & Pipps": Children's stories as preparation for medical interventions.

This year, the Digital Innovation Award from DQ Solutions went to Olga Miler, who "Smart Purse" for more financial knowledge as the basis for prosperity.

Siemens presented its Diversity & Inclusion Award to Lisa Stähli, founder of "hello world 50:50" for their commitment and a "better together".

And the Design Award from USM Modular Furniture went to Ramona Schwarz from "Rayne Care" for their menstruation Disc.

Arcidiacono, 58, who is independent, will take up his post on October 1, as the Federal Chancellery announced on Friday. He will remain director of the Arcidiacono Consulting Partners agency until the end of September, but will relinquish this post and his shareholding in the company. He lives in Bern.

Arcidiacono was proposed for election by Federal Chancellor Viktor Rossi. The designated new Vice-Chancellor knows the Federal Parliament, federal politics and the tasks of the federal media, Rossi told the media in Bern. Arcidiacono is a native Italian speaker and speaks German, French and English.

"Different roles"

He is convinced that Arcidiacono will ensure continuity. Arcidiacono started his career as a journalist. He then worked for the Federal Administration, Presence Switzerland, Curafutura, the University of Italian-speaking Switzerland in Ticino and the Federal Administrative Court.

Arcidiacono expressed his thanks for the election in the four national languages. He said it was a great honor and responsibility for him to take on this important role. "Mutual trust is the starting point for carrying out my exciting and difficult task in the best possible way."

Arcidiacono assured the journalists that he was looking forward to working with the media representatives, "even if we will have different roles".

He said that he wanted to ensure continuity in the first phase of his work. In a second phase, he wants to analyze where strengths and weaknesses lie and examine where and what can be further developed and how.

"The entire Federal Council will be a party"

When asked about his party affiliation, Arcidiacono said: "I stand for solidarity, personal responsibility and equal opportunities. My party will be the Federal Council as a whole. I don't belong to any party." He has already worked for members of the Federal Council from various parties.

Arcidiacono began his career in journalism. He worked as a journalist and parliamentary correspondent for the newspaper Corriere del Ticino and the television station of Italian-speaking Switzerland RSI. From 2007 to 2009, he was head of the Italian-language editorial team at Swissinfo.

He then gained experience in communications within and outside the Federal Administration. He was deputy head of information for Federal Councillors Ruth Dreifuss and Pascal Couchepin. In 2017 and 2018, he was media spokesperson at the Federal Office of Public Health FOPH.

At the Presence Switzerland image agency of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), he managed the "Gotthard 2016", "Italy/Expo Milano 2015" and "Verso Expo Milano 2015" programs. He was also responsible for public relations at the Università della Svizzera italiana and for the health insurance association Curafutura. From 2009 to 2011, he was responsible for communications at the Federal Administrative Court.

Accordion, jogging, traveling

Arcidiacono lists playing the accordion, jogging and traveling as his hobbies. His predecessor André Simonazzi (SP) died in May at the age of 55 during a hike. He had held the office for 15 years. Until Arcidiacono takes up office, Simonazzi's closest colleague Ursula Eggenberger will perform his functions ad interim.

She heads the Communications Section in the Federal Chancellery. She will return to this role when the new Vice-Chancellor takes office. Rachel Salzmann (center) has held the second Vice-Chancellor position since July 1. (SDA/swi)

That too! What a ...! CAC is suddenly relevant. In written form: Customer Acquisition Cost. In other words, it refers to the financial outlay required to acquire customers. Not that the term is new, but the frequency with which it is used and the many managers who ask about CAC are causing marketing departments and agencies alike to be alarmed. Now what? Why should we also divide the spend at the end of a campaign by the number of customers acquired? You might ask yourself this question. But the answer is: it's justified.

Marketing often has a tough time in companies. When the going gets tough, depending on the industry, finance, IT, operations, distribution, sales and recently even HR set the pace in management. Marketing often takes a back seat with its role.

There are few marketing-driven companies in Switzerland. On is one of them and always has to make do. It's often said: "We're not On." That's true, but you could be. But it doesn't, or doesn't allow itself to become one because a) in bad times, it saves on marketing instead of investing, and b) because marketing managers flatly refuse to raise the CAC. Nobody should be surprised if the killer question "Do we really need this?" is followed by "What are our customer acquisition costs?".

When every franc counts

There are various methods for calculating the CAC value. A simple version is: CAC = total costs for marketing and sales / number of newly acquired customers. And that's where the struggle begins. What exactly was booked to which cost center? Sales and marketing are not only enemies in funny TikTok videos. There are also numerous other jokes and comics in the style of "What's the difference between marketing and sales...?" The old star among cartoonists in the business world, Scott Adams, with his character Dilbert, delivers them by the page.

The total cost of marketing and sales usually includes every franc a company spends on acquiring new customers. This includes the cost of staff in the bloated marketing departments (which usually pay higher salaries than the agencies), sales staff (who are motivated by high commissions but cannot use the marketing material), the production of marketing materials, events, exhibitions, stores, campaigns and everything else that is done to acquire customers. This is compared with the number of new customers acquired within a certain period of time. The result is then two, three or four-digit figures, depending on the situation. Once you have the cash figure in front of you, you should be allowed to ask: "Is it worth it?" And this question can be asked by everyone. Instead of grumbling "that too", please go and do the math and analyze. Otherwise you'll soon be out of luck.

* 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.

Every year, the "Swiss Out of Home Award" honors analogue, digital and innovative outdoor advertising in Switzerland. A total of 163 entries were submitted in 2024 - 30 of which were nominated by the jury. The award ceremony took place on Thursday as part of the industry event Woohw!, which was organized by the Swiss Outdoor Advertising Association AWS and supported by APG|SGA, Goldbach Neo and Horizon.

The independent expert jury of 14 personalities from advertising, culture and design announced and awarded the 15 winning campaigns of the Swiss Out of Home Awards in gold, silver and bronze during the Award Night at the Stage One Event & Convention Hall in Zurich.

The gold winners operate in very different areas of application for OOH media: From the personnel campaign for over 50s (category Public Service) of VBZ to the summer campaign "Cool down in the Museum" (category Culture) for the Museum Haus Konstruktiv to the subscription campaign (category Commercial Local & Regional) for the weekly newspaper Woz.

Bank Cler's "Werbung naja, Zins gut." campaign received the main "Campaign of the Year" award and also won gold in the Commercial National and Digital Out of Home categories. The bar was set particularly high in the Out of Home Innovations category: "Unfortunately, no project in this category was deemed worthy of an award by the jury in the current year," says Christian Brändle, jury president and director of the Museum für Gestaltung Zürich.

Supporting program with keynote and panel

The Woohw! industry event was preceded by the conference. The technical part started in the afternoon with keynotes from the Neuromarketing expert Gesa Lischka and neuropsychologist Prof. Dr. Lutz Jäncke from the University of Zurich. The subsequent panel discussion featured Antonia Lepore (CMO, Axa Switzerland), Oliver Schönfeld (Managing Director TWmedia, The Whole Media), Stefan Vogler (Lecturer and Head of CAS Marketing Communications, HWZ) and Gesa Lischka. The panel was moderated by Johannes Hapig, co-editor-in-chief of m&k.

The sponsors Setaprint, Richnerstutz, Burri Public Elements and Media Focus were present with interactive presentations. HP3, a mobile trio with saxophone, double bass and minimal drum set, provided the sound for the dinner and party. The more than 350 invited guests partied in high spirits until late into the night.

m&k is media partner of the industry event Woohw!

"Refluenced" connects nano- and micro-influencers with brands and products using advanced technology and artificial intelligence (AI). According to the company, the platform has been able to grow rapidly throughout the DACH region. Following its successful market entry in Germany and Austria and a successfully completed financing round, the company is now appointing two new members to its Board of Directors.

Serial entrepreneur and founder of Run Accounts, Thomas Brändle, is joining Refluenced's Board of Directors and will also become its Chairman. His "understanding of the technology industry coupled with his financial expertise" will be a "valuable asset for the further development of Refluenced", the platform writes in a press release.

Sacha Moser is also a new member of the Board of Directors. The founder and CEO of Foundry will contribute his many years of experience in brand building and digital transformation to the platform.

With the recent financing round, Refluenced can now further expand its platform and extend its offering for companies, agencies and brands. According to the company, it recently launched the world's first platform for TikTok campaigns with nano- and micro-influencers.

By 2028, the market for (entertainment) media, which includes internet offerings, music and radio, newspapers and magazines, online media, television, video games and virtual reality, will only see average annual growth of 1.1%. This is the conclusion reached by PwC in its latest Swiss Entertainment & Media Outlook" survey.

On the one hand, the experts blame inflation and the higher cost of living for this slowdown. On the other hand, the so-called "post-Covid effect" is easing.

However, the pessimistic forecast does not apply equally to all sub-segments of the industry. Cinema, for example, has recovered from the coronavirus pandemic and grew by a good quarter in 2023. In addition, the high level of streaming has boosted sales of video, music and radio.

On the other hand, newspapers, books and consumer magazines were among the biggest losers. Linear television is also likely to experience a decline.

According to the report, virtual reality (VR) and artificial intelligence (AR) will achieve the strongest growth in 2023 with an increase of 36.4% to CHF 161 million. The authors also forecast a significant increase for the coming years. Bogdan Sutter, Director Strategy and Digital Change Expert at PwC Switzerland, is quoted in the press release as saying that sales will almost double by 2028. (SDA/swi)

The newly designed specialist conference took place in a contemporary afternoon format and in a fresh location, the Kaufleuten Zurich. The program of "Direct! by Post Advertising" included a journey through current trends and forward-looking topics in the advertising industry.

In his presentation, computer graphics pioneer Prof. Dr. Markus Gross showed how artificial intelligence is revolutionizing storytelling and advertising. And emotion researcher Cornelia Krebs addressed the question of how companies can reach the hearts of their target groups through passionate advertising. Together with Andrea Bison, Co-CEO of Thjnk Zurich and "Advertiser of the Year" 2024, and Raphael Bratschi, Head of Product Management and Business Development at Post Advertising, she discussed in the panel discussion how brands can be developed into authentic "soul brands".

The children and youth researcher Ingo Barlovic then opened up a fascinating perspective: he explained how Generation Alpha, the future target group, actually ticks. He emphasized their sensitivity to authenticity and made a powerful plea for credible advertising.

Other personalities on stage included Nicolas Hugentobler, Head of Live Marketing at Rivella, Christoph Keiser, Co-Head of Fundraising and Marketing at Caritas, Esther Cahn, VP Strategy & Customer Growth at Exactag and Adriano Beti, CEO of Livesystems.

Speakers and panelists presented inspiring theses and illuminating insights. Statements such as: "In the coming years, the digital overlay of the real world will take hold - with a dual economy and numerous personalized services.", "Present your brands with rough edges. Have the courage: Show who you really are.", "Your target group asks itself: Who are you really? And who will I become with you?", "Generation Alpha - born between 2010 and 2024 - finds itself caught between the old world and the digitalized world, with the old world still very much present.", provided plenty to talk about.

This was announced by the European police authority in The Hague. According to Europol, a total of 51 suspects were arrested, including 38 in Australia. Further arrests have not been ruled out. Drugs, weapons and around one million euros in cash were confiscated.

Even the most secret communications would stand little chance against the international efforts, said Europol chief Catherine De Bolle. Investigators from nine countries were involved in the operation.

Ghost's servers were found in France and Iceland, the company's owners were discovered in Australia and funds were found in the USA. There had been several searches and technical interventions since the investigation began in spring 2022.

According to Europol, "Ghost" was attractive to crime gangs because of its sophisticated security measures. These included triple encryption of messages and the automatic deletion of messages on cell phones. Several thousand people around the world had used the network. Every day, around 1,000 messages were distributed via it.

Organized crime is making extensive use of new encryption techniques to ensure their safety from prosecution and their anonymity, the European police authority said. (SDA/swi)

241 project submissions had been received by Monday for Best of Swiss Apps. This means that this year's edition has set a new record. The judging process begins on Friday. The experts will take a first look at all projects before they meet on September 30 for the jury day.

On October 3, it will be announced which projects have made it onto the Best of Swiss Apps 2024 shortlist and will therefore enter the race for the title of "Master of Swiss Apps".

Ticket sales for the Award Night will also start at the same time. All entrants will receive details of their tickets on October 3. Additional seats can be purchased directly from the organizers. The award ceremony will take place on November 19 at the Zurich Kongresshaus, in combination with the "Best of Swiss Software" award.

Winner Talk in January

The Best of Swiss Apps Winner Talk will take place on January 22, 2025. Winners of Best of Swiss Apps 2024 will talk about what makes an app project successful and answer questions from the audience. The event will be rounded off with a breakout session. Click here to register free of charge.

Today, most Unikom members still make "classic" radio. And linear radio is holding its own compared to other traditional media genres. amazingly good. But the internet and streaming are changing everything here too. The radio landscape is undergoing a similar upheaval to that already experienced by record companies and publishers. Organizers of exclusively linear radio stations are becoming rarer, while on-demand offerings and podcasts are becoming increasingly important.

As an association, Unikom therefore also wants to make itself fit for the future: All audio media that operate independently of the large national and international media companies and platforms can now join. Training, marketing and technology service providers for radio and audio media can also join the association as "affiliates". The association "Unikom - Association of Independent Radios and Audio Media" now brings together all these independent players for mutual benefit.

This means that the core element of the association is and remains "audio". However, it now represents the common interests of broadcasters of independent radio and audio media, as well as audio and podcast producers. In addition, Unikom continues to advocate media diversity, participative, locally anchored forms of media, freedom of expression, secure funding for its members and the training of media professionals.

In the final vote, the small chamber clearly approved the bill by 28 votes to 12 with four abstentions. However, some of the previous decisions were relatively close with a difference of just a few votes.

With the revision of the law, the Federal Council wants to ensure that advertising for tobacco products and e-cigarettes no longer reaches children and young people as required by constitutional law.

As in autumn 2023, the small chamber voted in favor of enshrining exceptions for mobile sales staff in publicly accessible places in the law. In addition, tobacco advertising in publicly accessible places and the sponsorship of events should remain permitted, provided that the advertising on site is neither accessible nor visible to minors.

No special rules for cigars

During the second discussion of the matter, the Council of States merely tightened up the wording of an exemption clause. However, it rejected minority motions to follow the state government and waive the exceptions, with one exception.

The small chamber originally wanted to continue to allow the direct, personal promotion of cigars and cigarillos. During the second consultation, it returned to the decision with a majority of one vote.

Matthias Michel wanted another exception: advertising in the inside section of magazines and newspapers should remain permitted, provided they are mainly sold via subscriptions and at least 95% of the readership consists of adults. His individual motion failed by 23 votes to 21 with one abstention.

"Tobacco advertising omnipresent"

The debate was also about fundamental issues. "We have to show which side we are on here today," said Flavia Wasserfallen (SP/BE), unsuccessfully campaigning for restrictive regulation. Today, tobacco advertising is omnipresent. And Switzerland is bringing up the rear in terms of regulation.

When the initiative was being discussed, it was not disputed that it was also aimed at the sponsoring of events and/or the use of mobile sales staff, said Wasserfallen. She criticized the proposed exceptions with regard to events as impractical.

Hannes Germann (SVP/SH) rejected the accusation that the Council of States wanted to undermine the initiative. He argued that young people also consumed cannabis, even though advertising it is prohibited in Switzerland.

Back in the National Council

Health Minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider, on the other hand, said that the trend in the proportion of smokers in the UK, for example, showed that restrictions on advertising were having an effect.

Now the ball is back in the National Council's court. When the matter was first discussed in February, it rejected the bill in the overall vote. This was tantamount to a decision not to enter the debate. For the SVP, the proposed advertising bans went too far. The left, on the other hand, considered the proposed exceptions to be unconstitutional and called for stricter rules. In the Council of States, Germann spoke of an "unholy alliance" in the large chamber.

If the National Council rejects the bill a second time or does not act on it, the matter is closed. Parliament would then have to start implementing the new constitutional article on field one. (SDA/swi)

The Sponsoring Excellence Award will enter its sixth round in 2025, consolidating its role as an important platform for recognizing outstanding sponsoring initiatives in Switzerland. With the possibility of submitting sponsorship projects until 29 November 2024, the award will once again be open to innovative entries that were realized in 2024. The awards ceremony, including the Audience Award, will take place on Wednesday, March 12, 2025 at the prestigious Kunsthaus Zurich.

The past edition has shown that both members and non-members of the industry submit exciting and professional projects. Over 20 submissions in the last two years underline the growing relevance of the competition. "I am looking forward to evaluating the most exciting projects together with the jury," says Oliver Niedermann, the new jury president. The submissions will be judged according to the tried and tested criteria: Innovation, concept, implementation, profitability and impact.

All information on project submission can be found on the Website of Sponsoring Switzerland.