With Converto's new B2B targeting, companies now have the opportunity to target their business customers effectively, while at the same time acting in compliance with data protection laws, minimizing wastage and efficiently optimizing marketing budgets.

B2B online marketing faces a variety of challenges. Complex buying decisions, demanding target groups, and the need to build trust are just some of the hurdles companies face. This is where Converto's B2B targeting comes in. The goal of the solution is to create awareness among business customers for services and products, acquire new customers, strengthen brand perception - and, of course, increase sales.

At the heart of the solution is specific B2B targeting, which targets advertising according to company type, job titles, company size, industries, headquarters, country and region. This leads to a targeted approach that reaches the relevant decision-makers while minimizing wastage.
Converto's B2B targeting can be seamlessly combined with a variety of advertising solutions and other targeting. From Augmented 3D for impressive 3-dimensional product presentations to dynamic ad placements with video, display and native ads. Likewise, services can be mapped in a wide variety of ways and therefore offer every company a suitable path into online advertising.

In addition to standard tracking, Converto offers extensive advanced tracking. This allows companies to track which specific companies are interested in their offers, which enables optimized adaptation of marketing strategies.

For more than 35 years, Wenger Betriebs AG has focused on the professional care and nursing of the elderly. In recent years, the operator of six retirement and care institutions in the cantons of Bern and Zurich has felt the great pressure of the shortage of skilled workers. How do we succeed in wooing talent? And how is it possible to appeal to both professionals and residents at the same time? Clearly, a new positioning is needed.

Easier said than done, because in addition to the multiple target groups, the new communication must reflect the tactical level and at the same time be adaptable for the individual locations. Pinktank supported the company in the development of the DNA as an identification feature and the elaboration of the new communication.

The joint creative work resulted in a new story with the message "Welcome joie de vivre". The new story was visually implemented with hand gestures by team members and residents. Starting from the hand sign "high-five", various gestures with diverse messages were visualized in a photo shoot. At the same time, the different hands symbolize the diversity and individuality of the Wenger companies.

As a result, the visuals are used for various new communication tools such as the website and present Wenger Betriebs AG in a unique new design. With this communication strategy, the company clearly sets itself apart in the industry and surprises with a fresh and bold appearance.

Responsible at Wenger Betriebs AG: Martina Zweiacker (Management). Responsible at Pinktank: Cordelia Hagi (overall responsibility), Rolf Kleeb (project management).

Sustainability reporting will become mandatory in more and more countries in the future, especially for large companies. This increases the pressure to act for many companies. This is because heterogeneous data sources, poor data quality and complex regulatory requirements represent a major challenge that can only be met with the appropriate tools and a high degree of automation. So far, many companies still rely on the on-board tools of large software and cloud providers and thus leave a lot of optimization potential unused, as the current "IT & Sustainability - Maturity Index 2023" shows. For the study, the market research company PAC surveyed 150 IT and business decision-makers from the automotive industry, the manufacturing sector and the logistics sector on behalf of Lufthansa Industry Solutions.

Sustainability tools on the wish list of many companies

"To meet the regulatory requirements of sustainability reporting, companies have to collect, analyze and prepare a lot of data. Managing these tasks manually is not only too time-consuming and labor-intensive, but also very error-prone," says Moritz Röder, Associate Director Supply Chain Management & Sustainability at Lufthansa Industry Solutions (LHIND). For the "IT & Sustainability - Maturity Index 2023" LHIND has therefore determined a sub-index for the "Tooling" area. The sub-index takes into account whether companies prepare their sustainability report with the help of tools and in an automated manner, whether they carry out a risk assessment of their suppliers and which tools they use for this purpose. On a scale of "0" (immature) to "10" (mature), the sub-index achieved a value of 6.4. "The index shows that companies are already intensively addressing the issue of sustainability and the tools required for this," says sustainability expert Röder.

And what must such a tool do from the companies' point of view? In addition to calculating the carbon footprint (93 percent), 82 percent of respondents want support in making sustainable purchasing decisions and 78 percent want complete sustainability reporting. For 70 percent, recording the status quo is important in order to be able to improve sustainability, and 61 percent expect a holistic view of financial and sustainability KPIs.

Only 15 percent of companies have automated their sustainability reporting

To date, every second company surveyed for the study has already produced a sustainability report, either voluntarily or as required by law. Four out of ten of these companies still do this manually and are supported to varying degrees by a reporting tool. 44 percent of the companies already produce their report at least partially automatically. Often, sustainability monitoring tools are used that are already established in the company as part of the software portfolio of large software or cloud providers. But only in 15 percent of the companies is the report generation already largely automated. Moritz Röder: "Contrary to what the sub-index might suggest at first glance, there is still considerable potential for optimization here."

The same applies to supplier risk assessment. Two-thirds (67 percent) of companies already carry out a risk assessment on the sustainability of their suppliers, and a further 26 percent have this in the pipeline. Less than a third of these companies have largely automated this process to date. In contrast to sustainability monitoring, specialized tools are generally used for supply chain assessment. LHIND consultant Röder: "To improve their own maturity level and drive automation, companies do not need a bouquet of different tools, but a single source of data truth. A tool that guides them step by step through reporting while providing supply chain visibility."

Cloud-based solution on the market

To avoid unpleasant surprises when implementing the tool, companies should also make sure that it is in line with process governance and reporting guidelines and that it can be adapted both to the requirements of the finance department and to future organizational structures. "If these requirements are met, such a tool ultimately enables the data-based sustainability management that companies need to achieve their climate targets," says Moritz Röder.

LHIND has therefore developed the cloud-based solution EPACTO (ESG Performance Accounting Tool) as the digital centerpiece for sustainability management. EPACTO brings together all relevant data, uses it to calculate the company's current sustainability performance, and shows a development path towards planetary impact limits. 

Source: www.lufthansa-industry-solutions.com

This article originally appeared on m-q.ch - https://www.m-q.ch/de/nachhaltigkeits-tools-sollen-komplette-reportings-erstellen/

According to Fritz Gerber, regional manager of Coop Gastronomie Bern Nord Region, "Anyone eating at Thai Street should feel as if they are in the middle of Thailand," was the aspiration for the new gastronomy offering. Kreisvier also pursued this goal in developing the new brand identity. In keeping with the authentic taste of the curry dishes, noodle soups and grilled dishes on offer, an image was designed based on the model of Far Eastern street kitchens.

Thai-style typography was used for the logo, which was combined with neon letters in various applications. Analogously, a cheerful color scheme was implemented for the opening communication. This included advertising materials such as the website and online banners, as well as banners, wall tattoos, in-store spots, bonflyers, in-house screens, LED frames, window lettering, stickers, menu texts and much more.

Responsible at Coop Gastronomy: Barbara Paula Felix (Head of Marketing & Support Coop Gastronomy), Martin Wasserfallen (Head of Services Gastronomy), Moritz Poli (Head of Specialist Consulting Gastronomy), Kaspar Wittwer (Head of Gastronomy). Responsible at Kreisvier: Sinia Brugger (creation concept & website), Andreas Erfert (text), Sybille Gundry (DTP), Meret Moor (consulting).

It's been tweeted out. With the master plan in mind to turn Twitter into the "Everything App" of the Western hemisphere along the lines of WeChat, Elon Musk has unceremoniously disposed of one of the world's best-known brands. Twitter is now called X. He bought Twitter a good year ago for 44 billion, about half of which - according to experts - was the value of the brand, its symbols and the word "twitter" that has become part of everyday language. At the time, the media outcry erupted like a tsunami across all channels in our communications industry, and it is still omnipresent. I deliberately waited for this tsunami to pass before writing my (preliminary) conclusion on the Twitter case - and it is a positive one.

Musk was right for two reasons

There are two reasons why Musk's move was exactly right: First, Twitter was limited in its business model and could not scale as an investor paying such a high price must expect. The name Twitter alone only describes a certain activity - namely "tweeting", but not payment services, eCommerce, travel and everything else that an "everything app" does. So here the brand was not optimal.

Elon Musk is the richest man in the world and anything but stupid - and here comes the second aspect: I don't know him personally, but I know people who have worked with him. That's how I know he hates marketing. That's why the crowbar-like way of this rebranding is not only very typical of Musk - it's simply brilliant. While other brands spend an insane amount of money on strategies, rebranding programs and campaigns and millions on media to change their brand, he just pays... nothing.

And yet, in one fell swoop, the whole world knows it. No matter how unique this X logo may be, whether it can be protected or what twitter is now called - in just a few hours, this X has burned itself into everyone's brain - without a cent of paid media. Musk has used his persona and the power of the platform for which he paid so much money. And lo and behold, his investment was the right one. Now he can move on to the next chapter. And again, everyone will be waiting in suspense to see what his next move will be. We'll find out on X.

* Heinrich Paravicini is founder and creative director of Mutabor.

Today, the 100 label companies and organizations in Switzerland and Liechtenstein include well-known names such as SBB, Swisscom, Migros, Lidl, V-Zug, the Zurich and Bern cantonal banks, and the insurers Suva, Visana, Helsana, and Swica. As of this week, the Graubünden Civil Engineering Office is also one of them. "We are proud of this milestone. It shows that investing in workplace health management is worthwhile," says Thomas Mattig, director of Health Promotion Switzerland. The shortage of skilled workers in certain industries and the realization that occupational health management also pays off financially are among the important drivers for a steady increase in the number of label companies. "In terms of systematic occupational health management, the 100 Label "Friendly Work Space" companies and organizations are the flagship companies in Switzerland and are thus fully in line with the trend," Thomas Mattig continues. According to the representative BGM Monitoring 2020, the proportion of companies with 50 or more employees that systematically implement BGM rose from 22.7% (2016) to 26.3% in 2020, with a further almost 50% implementing BGM for the majority. This means that the proportion of companies that are implementing OHM measures today is likely to be over 75%.

Those who are a "Friendly Work Space" showcase company meet six BGM quality criteria that can be easily integrated into existing quality processes. "Thanks to the assessment, we were able to clearly identify where there is still potential for improvement. That's where we are now targeting our efforts," says Reto Knuchel, Cantonal Engineer at the Civil Engineering Office of the Canton of Graubünden. Certification is not only a reward for successfully implemented OHM, but also an obligation to continuously invest in good working conditions and healthy employees. After passing the assessment, the companies and organizations can use the label for their internal and external communication for three years. After that, they are each recertified at a reassessment for a further three years. "Our goal is not only to use the label to appeal to potential employees in the long term, but also to be and remain attractive to our employees," Reto Knuchel continues.

The online tool FWS Check shows interested companies and organizations within a few minutes where strengths lie and, if necessary, improvements can be made. After that, the certification process can be tackled alone or, if necessary, by an external, independent and certified consultant or a consultant accompanied. Independent, certified assessors then check the quality criteria on the assessment day.

Notice:
All 100 companies and organizations awarded the "Friendly Work Space" label can be found at here. Companies and organizations will receive the latest developments in occupational health management and especially in the area of New Work at this year's National Conference for Occupational Health Management 2023 on the topic "Healthy new world of work?" on September 20, 2023 in the Kursaal Bern. Around 900 participants have already registered. www.bgm-tagung.ch

This article originally appeared on m-q.ch - https://www.m-q.ch/de/100-unternehmen-erhaelt-label-friendly-work-space/

The European Heritage Days present themselves in new splendor for the 30th edition in Switzerland on September 9 and 10. With the Discover heritage" brand extension they are appearing for the first time under a national umbrella that sets the visual framework while leaving the individual cantons and regions free to run their own campaigns.

The National Information Center for Cultural Heritage NIKE, which organizes the days together with the Federal Office of Culture FOC and the cantonal offices for the preservation of monuments and archaeology, wants to achieve better visibility and recognition. Up to now, the Denkmaltage, with its numerous individual events, appeared with national, regional and cantonal campaigns.

The umbrella brand was developed by Art.i.schock. The Zurich-based agency won a pitch for a redesign in 2022 and has since designed a trilingual manual and, based on it, a wide variety of analog and digital implementations. It aimed for a more broadly accessible communication that stands out. The result is a clear appearance with clear structures and fresh colors.

Responsible at NIKE: Maria Christoffel (Campaign Manager European Heritage Days). Responsible at Art.i.schock: Sylvia Brüggemann (conception), Nadine van den Berg (consulting, project management), Dominik Blaas, Michèle Caduff, Dominic Fiechter (graphics).

For 44 years, Consilex AG has offered its customers highly qualified consulting in organization and information technology. Local experts for local customers has been a guiding principle in the company's development since its founding, the company writes. Thematically, Consilex focuses on project management, requirements engineering, legal engineering and corporate learning. 

Consilex AG also describes itself as progressive in terms of corporate structure and management: lean organization, sociocracy, self-responsibility, entrepreneurial thinking, and home office have been lived practice not just since Corona, but since the company was founded in 1979, according to the company. This is matched by the fact that all of Consilex's certified and other business processes are now completely digitalized.

Now the company is in new hands. As part of the succession plan, the areas of responsibility are divided among the three new owners as follows: Reto Schneider in the role of CEO is responsible for marketing and sales, Stefan Schürch for operations and finance, and Andreas Gerber takes over responsibility for human resources, administrative activities and quality management.

With the certification of its quality and environmental management system in accordance with ISO standards 9001 and 14001, Consilex documents its progressive corporate structure with two standards that are relevant to customers. ISO certification is not only a commitment on the part of Consilex to continuously improve its performance towards customers and employees - the certification also expresses the company's desire to make its contribution to sustainable business practices.

More information

This article originally appeared on m-q.ch - https://www.m-q.ch/de/consilex-iso-zertifiziert-und-unter-neuer-fuehrung/

No, we're not talking about the lifestyle pants that make men and women look like they have to do handyman things and carry all the tools it takes in their pants. Nor the trucks that blocked your free passage while driving to and from the vacations.

No, the application in the business and work setting is much uglier than in the fashion or logistics industries. It comes from a corner that had previously been considered the North Star for the working world: from the tech companies. At the beginning of the year, as is well known, what was decided in the management of these hegemons over the holidays was communicated. In order to prevent their returns from collapsing after all those fat years and their share prices from plummeting, they had to throw something to the greedy (financial) market monster. And what is best suited for this: common employees. And in large numbers.

When employees become a burden

In the first week of January this year alone, it was announced that Google - or Alphabet - would be laying off 12,000 employees, Microsoft 10,000, Amazon 18,000 and Salesforce 7,000. Facebook (Meta) followed suit in March with 10,000 layoffs. When Apple at least described such measures as a "last resort" in May, but did not prevent them from implementing them consistently, it was clear to everyone that tougher times were coming. Layoffs, redundancies, layoffs, cutdowns or whatever the official wording was. Among decision-makers and analysts (sorry, still mostly very male), the order was: "Get rid of the cargo."

Ouch! For decades, these same corporations have been showing our old-school companies in Europe how it's done with employer branding and "best workplace to be" - and then this: Calling employees cargo. Freight, baggage, general cargo or whatever the German words for it are. Simply things that travel with the company and do not contribute to it.

Why does all this concern us? Buzzwords from the Anglo-Saxon tech industry or finance industry - in this case from both - have still made their way into the offices of marketing departments and agencies in the DACH region. FTE and headcount are two examples on the same topic. In an industry where fluctuation repeatedly reaches peak levels, people then talk about cargo behind closed doors and with an apologetic "excuse my french" when employees in general are meant.

We are familiar with this form of distancing and relativization of discriminatory and unsavory statements in Switzerland despite Gisler Protocol still well from the gender and/or woke discussions. The excuse usually given is that in times of stagflation, that ominous mixture of stagnation and inflation, namely the standstill of economic growth with simultaneous currency devaluation, a harsher choice of words is permitted and the cuddly language is now over. By contrast, "Bad News für dich" was downright affectionate as an opener at staff meetings in the noughties to announce a dismissal.

"We are very pleased to have Gübelin, a Swiss family-owned company, as a co-partner whose quality standards are a perfect fit for the festival," Jennifer Somm, managing director of Spoundation Motion Picture, was quoted as saying in a statement.

The management and selected talents will showcase Gübelin's jewelry in the fall. "With our partnership with the Zurich Film Festival, we want to make a lasting contribution to promoting talent, supporting cultural exchange and celebrating films," says Raphael Gübelin, President of the House of Gübelin.

Since the company OpenAI released its ChatGPT program for general free use at the end of 2022, a hype has arisen around the topic of artificial intelligence (AI). The consulting scene has also recognized the benefits of chat programs such as ChatGPT - and rightly so, because they can be used to quickly and easily generate at least initial drafts of such advertising texts as blog posts, advertising letters or posts for social media, which can then be further edited.

Consultants often have texts written by ChatGPT

Sometimes, however, the consultants' use of ChatGPT takes on strange forms. For example, when we as a PR and marketing agency are asked to write an article for consultants on a current trend topic - such as artificial intelligence, transformation, hybrid teams, sustainability, blended learning, Generation Z, etc. - and place it in print and online media, for example because the consultant in question has just developed a new product on this topic and wants to promote it.

Suppose we then say to the consultant "We'd be happy to do that. But please give us some input beforehand, so that we know your core messages and the direction of your content". Then, not infrequently, a text is sent to us a short time later that was recognizably created by ChatGPT. That is, ideally it consists of some rather general statements, for example, on the topic of "artificial intelligence" or "transformation", which we ourselves would have found by googling on the net. However, there is no trace of the consultant's own thoughts in the texts.

Consultants often do not think through issues

Quite often, if we were to offer the texts to trade journals without a new focus in terms of content, they would even be absolute nonsense from their point of view - for example, because they do not reflect the fact that small companies have fewer resources than corporations and that the logistics sector, for example, ticks quite differently from the financial sector, which is why different solutions are also required for many problems. In other words, there is no differentiation in the articles, even though this is precisely where a consultant's expertise can be seen.

Here's an example. A few weeks ago, a personnel consultant specializing in SMEs, who had obviously also read somewhere "The future belongs to AI", asked us to write an article for him on the topic of "AI use in the personnel selection process". After I had asked him to send me some keywords in this regard, I received a text of about 30 lines a short time later. It described a possible AI application in the personnel selection process for applicant pre-selection - without any reference to small and medium-sized enterprises.

The consultant had told me in advance that most of his customers were currently struggling with the following problem: they were receiving a maximum of 1 or 2 applicants, if any, in response to their job postings and therefore, due to a lack of alternatives, they often had to hire applicants who only partially met their requirements in order to retain their ability to work. When I called the consultant and asked what benefit an AI system for pre-selecting applicants would offer SMEs in such a labor market situation, his answer after a moment's thought was: "Actually, none - because if there is only one applicant at the door, then..."

Consultants often regurgitate phrases and clichés

I had a similar experience when we were asked to write an article on the topic of "Intergenerational Collaboration" for a larger consulting firm. The draft text I received suggested the impression: The majority of employees and managers in companies today are still digital immigrants who are at war with IT and have strong emotional reservations about IT solutions, resulting in problems in collaboration with digital natives.

When I then asked the text supplier to what extent this was still true today, since many members of the generations X and Y quoted in the article were already 35 or even 40 years old and had not infrequently been among the top performers in companies for years, his answer was: "You could be right about that. Obviously, however, he had never thought about the extent to which these clichés, which were valid a decade or two ago, are still true today. So they didn't bother him in ChatGPT's draft text either.

Consultants reflect too little: Who are my addressees?

We also gather similar experiences more and more often when we are asked to write new pages for consultants' homepages and articles for their blogs, for example because they have developed a new product or want to be found by their potential customers on the web for a certain keyword that is "in" at the moment. Even then, when we sift through their copy, we often find ourselves asking, "What was the consultant thinking here?" And quite often the answer is, "Nothing, because he just entered some prompts at ChatGPT."

The reason for this: The texts are so banal and general that one senses nothing of independent thinking on the part of the consultant or even of his field and practical experience. The only thing is, why should potential customers who come across the consultant's website while Googling contact him at all? Many consultants obviously don't ask themselves this when they use ChatGPT. They don't ask themselves this any more than they ask themselves when writing articles: Why should a professional journal publish an "expert article" by me, which their editorial staff could also create themselves by entering certain prompts in ChatGPT?

ChatGPT cannot think out of the box

The above lines are not meant to be a vote against the use of the program ChatGPT by consultants of any kind. It is and remains a very helpful tool. What ChatGPT cannot do for consultants, however, is to think (in all its facets such as think-through, think-about, and think laterally) and to develop tailor-made problem solutions for their target customers.

Ultimately, this program can only reproduce a more or less meaningful substrate of the information it finds on the web. It cannot (to use a current consultant buzzword) think "out of the box" and find completely new solutions to problems. That is and remains the job of the consultants (alone or in dialog with their customers).

What applies to the consulting guild naturally also applies to the use of AI in companies. Here, too, there is a danger that users will become lazy and blindly trust the solutions proposed by AI systems instead of asking themselves: To what extent are these goal-oriented?

Qualify for adequate AI deployment

Incidentally, sensitizing and training the employees of the companies in this regard could be a consulting or training offer of the providers in the education and consulting sector. I have not yet found such an offer when googling on the net. However, at the latest after the publication of this article, this is only a question of time - if only because a corresponding reference appears in a text created by ChatGPT for consultants.

To the author:
Bernhard Kuntz is managing director of the marketing and PR agency Die PRofilBerater GmbH, Darmstadt, which specializes in consultants. He is the author of, among others, the books "Selling a Cat in a Bag," "Fat Booty for Trainers and Consultants," and "Why Does Everyone Know Him?" (Internet: www.die-profilberater.de).

This article originally appeared on m-q.ch - https://www.m-q.ch/de/ki-bzw-chatgpt-macht-nicht-nur-berater-denkfaul/

Gesture of appreciation and commitment

The gifting of a calendar by a company goes beyond the surface of the business relationship. It is a gesture of appreciation that shows that the company values its customers as individual partners. This appreciation can strengthen the emotional bond between customers and the company. By showing interest in customers and caring about their well-being, a company creates a positive experience that can strengthen customer loyalty.

Sustained brand presence

A gift calendar is an effective way to maintain brand presence throughout the year. Each time the calendar is used, the company's logo and name are integrated into the customer's daily life. This creates a lasting reminder of the brand and its values. When the customer or business partner uses the calendar, the company is constantly remembered, increasing the likelihood that it will be considered the first choice for future needs.

Effective advertising and information dissemination

A calendar offers a subtle way to advertise and convey information. Companies can cleverly integrate important dates, events, product launches or special offers into the calendar design. This makes it possible to highlight upcoming events or developments without being obtrusive. A well-designed calendar can draw customers' attention to important aspects of the company without being intrusive.

Useful everyday companion

A calendar is not only an advertising platform, but also a useful companion in everyday life. Customers can use the calendar to organize appointments, meetings and tasks. Daily use unobtrusively reminds the customer of the gift-giving company and creates a positive association with its services or products. The practical functionality of the calendar ensures that it is not simply put aside, but actively used.

In summary, calendars as corporate gifts are a powerful way to strengthen customer loyalty and brand awareness. They represent a gesture of appreciation and show that the company values its relationship with its customers. Through continued brand exposure, subtle promotion and practical usefulness, calendars create a positive connection between customers and the company. At a time when personal connections and customer satisfaction are critical, giving calendars as gifts is a smart business strategy.

Are you still looking for a suitable partner for the individual printing of your calendars? Flyeralarm offers you a large selection, which you can perfectly adapt to your company. Discover and order all calendars here.

www.flyeralarm.ch