The move from Kriens to Rothenburg has paid off. The first full business year at OpaccCampus Rothenburg was the best in the company's more than 30-year history. This is according to the Swiss software provider, which has been developing its own enterprise software platform (Opacc OXAS) developed with. Sales increased by more than 10%, 17 new jobs were created and more than 1500 new users were acquired for Opacc. Beat Bussmann, founder and CEO, sees more than just the bare figures: "Even nicer for us is the realization that larger companies in particular are increasingly considering us as a partner. The OpaccCampus virtually opens up new business potential for us in a different segment."

Personnel market remains dry

Opacc is - as in previous years - one of the most popular employers in Switzerland and has received several awards. The rating platform kununu.com has determined which Swiss companies are the most popular employers. Opacc, with its approximately 150 employees, has occupied top positions for years. The software provider also achieved 2nd place in the Swiss Employer Award and also 2nd place in "Best Workplace 2019". Opacc responded to the shortage of skilled workers last year with a wide range of measures. The pleasant working atmosphere in the brand-new OpaccCampus is just as much a part of this as flexible working hours, fair application processes and the "Friendly Work Space" initiative.

Work-life balance as well as ongoing support for training and development are further cornerstones for good and stable employment relationships. Two broad-based recruitment campaigns generated a gratifying number of inquiries.

Events on our own campus

The new building in Rothenburg opens up new perspectives for in-house events. The various event formats enjoyed great demand in 2019, especially the OpaccTalks at the end of the day with up to 50 guests and exciting speakers. But also the morning events Early Bird and the in-depth seminars OpaccTracks for customers were very well attended. The company from central Switzerland has been building on experience in the development and implementation of enterprise software for over 30 years. In 2019, numerous new installations were completed and two major software updates were delivered. Thanks to Opacc's unique upgrade guarantee, customers are automatically kept up to date.

Source: Opacc

As already known, the Federal Office of Public Health advises against travel to the province of Hubei/China as a result of the coronavirus and many airlines have temporarily suspended their flights to and from China. The Swiss Travel Association is now drawing attention to the fact that more and more countries are imposing restrictions or even entry bans on travelers who visited China in January. This may therefore also affect travelers from Switzerland who have recently been there on business. According to the Swiss Travel Association, entry is being denied by the following countries, for example: the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam, the Philippines, South Korea, Indonesia, Japan and Israel. Other countries have entry restrictions such as body temperature checks or quarantine requirements. This information is currently changing almost hourly. The Swiss Travel Association therefore calls on travelers who spent a stay in China in January to contact their travel agent or booking office before the next trip or to obtain information about the current entry formalities from the embassy of the new country to be visited.

Source: Swiss Travel Association 

The spread of 3D printing in Switzerland began after the turn of the millennium and has picked up speed since 2010. While in 2012 just under five percent of all companies in Swiss manufacturing with 20 or more employees used 3D printers, this figure has already risen to 24 percent. By 2021, this figure will be 31 percent. This is shown by the study "European Manufacturing Survey - Switzerland", which has been conducted regularly by the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts since 2001. 3D printing is used most frequently in the electrical and electronics industry and in vehicle and mechanical engineering. There is catch-up potential in the food, wood and paper, and chemical sectors. In many cases, 3D printing is used in prototyping. "Regular use in prototyping lowers the barriers to entry for implementing this technology in manufacturing as well," explains Jan Kraner, head of the study and lecturer at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts. In manufacturing, the technology enables low-volume production. "This makes 3D printing suitable not only for mass production, but also increasingly interesting for small businesses," says Kraner.

Relocation of production back to Switzerland?

3D printing allows three-dimensional objects to be produced layer by layer from liquid or solid materials such as powder, plastic or metal. As the cost and performance of 3D printers fall, the technology could replace many traditional production processes, especially where complicated structures are created. "This would allow the production of completely new products and open up new market opportunities for companies," says Kraner, adding, "3D printing has the potential to change the rules of the game in business." According to Kraner, one consequence of the increased use of 3D printing technology could be that Swiss production locations are once again increasingly preferred over low-wage countries. "The general trend in the Swiss machinery, electrical and metal industry points to the increased relocation of production back to Switzerland," Kraner says. Since 2015, outsourcing to favorable foreign countries has declined in this industry, he said. "New technologies such as 3D printing and their proliferation over the same period can play a crucial role in such developments."

Potential is not yet fully exploited

According to the study authors, there are still some technological challenges to overcome before the full potential of 3D printing technology can be unleashed. This is also confirmed by Marco De Angelis, lecturer in product development at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts and head of the hi-tech "FabLab" workshop, where work is also done with 3D printers. "Especially with precise manufacturing tolerances and with metallic materials, a high degree of reworking is still necessary when working with 3D printers," says De Angelis. So after printing, the parts still require extensive machining. This step is difficult to automate and therefore expensive.

3D printing requires special education and training

Additive manufacturing - as 3D printing is also known - has great potential whenever quantities are limited but with individual or customer-specific properties. "The generative construction of components allows for arbitrary and complicated shapes," says Carsten Haack, a lecturer at the Institute of Mechanical and Power Engineering at Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts. "This is particularly exciting for lightweight construction or for applications in fluid mechanics, for example in the production of nozzles and complex cooling channels." As with other manufacturing processes, various basic rules must be observed when dealing with 3D printing technology in order to fully exploit its potential. Carsten Hack: "In the future, the education and training of specialists will also be specifically required here."

Source and further information: www.hslu.ch

Robots in retail are no longer news, at least as far as the automation of warehouses and logistics centers is concerned. Automation is already in full swing there. E-commerce retailers, who are investing heavily in robotics, are also exerting enormous pressure on the industry in this area. This is evident not least from the market trend: by 2025, the global robotics market is expected to reach US$87 billion, according to the Boston Consulting Group. More than half of this will be for the retail sector. This is because robotics can, in principle, be integrated into every stage of the retail value chain. This way of using robotics for more than just distribution processes is increasingly coming into focus.

Service robots in use

Thus, at the point of sale, humanoid service robots can completely change the customer experience and customer interaction. For retailers, the innovative applications and effects of robotics offer many new communication and business opportunities. But what about customer acceptance of service robots and what is important to consider? We investigated this question in a survey of 156 participants of different ages.

Service robots, such as the AI-driven humanoid service robot Pepper, can interact with customers in brick-and-mortar retail by greeting customers, advising them on a product level, answering questions, capturing customer feedback, providing entertainment, or assisting with online orders. Whether this succeeds and is positively received by customers depends on several factors. Based on our previously published Study "Robotics in Retail and the results of the current survey, we have come up with five tips for retailers thinking about using service robots in stores.

5 tips on how service robots can be used in the retail sector

• Tip 1: Benefit: For acceptance by customers, a service robot must first run without errors and perform meaningful tasks independently.
• Tip 2: An important key component is the distribution of roles between sales staff and service robots. A service robot will only be accepted if cooperation is harmonious and clearly structured.
• Tip 3: Customer participation is key to identifying meaningful tasks for the service robot.
• Tip 4: Women in particular value the empathy of a service robot. Authentic and sympathetic behavior is significantly more important for women than for men. The empathy of a service robot will also become increasingly important in the future, because this factor is also significantly more important for digital natives than for other age groups.
• Tip 5: The appearance and empathy of a service robot are significantly related. Both aspects must be considered together in order to inspire customers.

Humanoid service robots offer retailers considerable advantages. To ensure that customers also see an advantage for themselves in these new types of "salespeople" and accept them, their use must follow a clear benefit strategy. If a win-win situation can be created, both sides benefit.

More information on the topic: www.elaboratum.ch/studie-robotics-in-retail

As of June 30, 2020, another milestone on the way to the new payment traffic will be implemented with the introduction of the QR bill. From this date, the new QR formats can be used officially. Thanks to the QR code, additional information such as address or references can be added to a payment in the future in addition to the structured payment information.

Ready for the QR bill

With the new version of Sage 200 Extra, Swiss SMEs are ready at an early stage to create QR invoices (accounts receivable process) and process them (accounts payable process). Vendor invoices are scanned in using drag-and-drop, via an external document reader or automatically by recognizing scanned documents from DocuWare. Tobias Ackermann, Country Manager of Sage in Switzerland: "The established financial and HR software for Swiss SMEs, Sage 200 Extra, is experiencing a real development boost thanks to the strategic bundling of our resources. In addition to numerous innovations for digitized business processes, we were thus able to complete another milestone in Swiss payment transactions early on. This creates compliance security for our customers and sufficient lead time for the implementation of the most important steps towards QR billing."

Central liquidity overview with new e-banking tool

With the new e-banking tool, SMEs have an overview of all balances and transactions in their bank and postal accounts, grouped by institution. Based on the open items from accounts receivable and accounts payable, Sage 200 Extra creates an interactive forecast for liquidity. This supports the CFO and CEO in making fundamental business decisions. Furthermore, important enhancements, such as the automatic posting of the entire account reconciliation, create a completely new user experience. With a double-click on the graphical history curve of the bank or postal account, users get a detailed overview of all deposits and withdrawals. If several accounts are held at the same institution, these can be selected via filters.

Updated user interface and new dashboard

The look and feel of Sage 200 Extra has been renewed. At the same time, version 2020 provides a customizable dashboard that users can put together themselves using so-called widgets. For example, management can view the sales trend in a time comparison or the largest open items, thus providing an overview of the liquidity trend.

Expanded e-dossier for Sage 200 Extra Personal

Since the 2019 version, users have been using the e-dossier to digitize important documents such as contracts, references, and salary documents and to comply with central compliance requirements. Thanks to further expansion, documents from the e-dossier can be accessed directly from the DocuWare archiving system in Sage 200 Extra Personal without having to leave the Sage application. When sending pay slips or wage statements electronically, additional documents such as time reports, invitations and PF cards can be attached to e-mails for each employee or organizational unit. In this way, companies can inform their employees quickly and easily as part of the regular wage dispatch process.

Extension for use in heterogeneous system landscapes

Companies can seamlessly integrate web-based third-party applications and mobile apps into their business processes and exchange data with Sage 200 Extra. Web services are now available for HR master data and payroll data, in addition to the already included web services for financial accounting (general ledger entries, financial master data, customer/vendor addresses, customer/vendor documents). Sage simultaneously delivers a special setup for the installation of REST API for customers and implementation partners, which includes a separate tool for testing interfaces as well as comprehensive documentation.

More information: Sage Switzerland

The study "Swico House View 2020" provides interesting insights into the state of digitization in Switzerland: The industries invest in almost all technologies. However, they place different emphases. "The industries are making very targeted investments," says Judith Bellaiche, Managing Director of Swico, the trade association for the ICT and online industry. "Cloud is the real game changer.  - Around 26 percent of all investments flow into cloud technology. Cloud enables the digitization of Switzerland, so to speak," she continues. The information and communications technology sector (9 percent) and financial services providers and insurance companies (9 percent) invest the most in cloud. Transport and logistics and public administration also rely heavily on cloud projects, with 8 percent each.

Potential of the platforms recognized

Another ICT trend is "platforms": Around 19 percent of all current projects of the Swico members surveyed are based on platform technology. The financial services and insurance industry recorded the most projects (12 percent), followed by public administration (10 percent) and information and communications technology (9 percent). "The service industries have recognized that platforms offer enormous potential," Bellaiche comments.

Global ICT trends do not always coincide with Switzerland

A comparison with global growth trends shows: Switzerland is not investing in all technologies in sync with the rest of the world. "We are lagging behind in certain technology trends," says Bellaiche. For her, the study also shows where industries need to catch up: "Individual industries - agriculture, for example - are still making far too little use of the opportunities offered by digitization," Bellaiche is convinced.

Switzerland lags behind in IoT and Big Data

Overall, growing sales are forecast in the coming years for all eight technology trends examined. Most impressive is the huge volume of "Internet of Things" with over 800 billion US dollars in 2020. In Switzerland, "Internet of Things" accounts for 11 percent of the pie.

Switzerland also lags slightly behind in "Big Data": After "Cloud" in third place worldwide, "Big Data" is (still) in fourth place in this country. According to the study, however, "big data" will gain in importance: In 2021, global spending on Big Data solutions is already expected to amount to 231 billion US dollars (2018: 164 billion US dollars). This represents a doubling since 2015, with growth driven by rapid advances in machine learning and artificial intelligence. In Switzerland, the energy and transport sectors, the medical sector, Industry 4.0 application industries, financial services, telecommunications, and agriculture are particularly promising in terms of short- to medium-term market potential.

"Augmented reality" is becoming increasingly important

An above-average growth trend is evident in the global market for augmented, virtual and mixed reality technologies: Here, the growth rate is expected to increase tenfold in the next three years, as shown by the approach of a veritable "field hockey stick" (see graphic on global development).

In Switzerland, the mechanical engineering and vehicle construction sectors, as well as transport and logistics, are the main users of augmented reality. The technology trend "Blockchain" is by far the most frequently used by financial services and insurance, followed by services. "Cognitive Computing" (AI) is again most frequently used by financial services and insurance, ICT, and transport and logistics.

Source and further information: www.swico.ch

The Swiss mobility market is growing between 4 and 5% annually. An upward trend that is also reflected in Enterprise Switzerland's annual figures. "The utilization of our fleet was around 84% in 2019. We were able to increase sales and rentals by 15% compared to the previous year," says Marco Venturini, CEO of Enterprise Switzerland. The company felt a particular increase in direct customer business, as Venturini elaborates: "We are seeing a 50% increase in customers booking directly through us. We want to increase this and have developed new business models for 2020 that are even more responsive to the needs in the market."

Digitization and car sharing change rental car market

MSS Holding has taken a stake in a startup that has developed what it says is a unique car-sharing platform. The goal is to automate the entire car rental and car sharing process, from booking to return, via this app technology, according to reports. In doing so, Enterprise Switzerland wants nothing more than to turn the industry on its head. The correspondingly self-confident credo is: spontaneous, simple, transparent and uncomplicated. "We offer our corporate customers a new car sharing model, which gives you demand-oriented access to our entire car fleet. Business vehicles can now be obtained from us on a subscription basis. This benefits our customers significantly," explains Venturini.

Novel app for counterless access to rental cars

In addition, Enterprise Switzerland is launching a new type of app in May that will give business and private customers counterless access to rental cars. Venturini emphasizes: "We are convinced that we will have a massive impact on the Swiss car rental and mobility market in the coming years thanks to our innovative technologies, a flexible and simple rental process, automatic damage detection and control."

More information: MSS Vehicle Rental AG

According to Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report 2019 ransomware attacks account for 24 percent of the analyzed malware incidents. In Switzerland, too, the number of attacks continues to rise: as recently as July, the ransomware trio Emotet, Trickbot and Ryuk crippled the IT systems of the Offix Group. It is therefore becoming increasingly important for corporate decision-makers to put business continuity and data protection at the top of the agenda in order to remain operational in the event of a disaster. Against this background, a disaster recovery strategy is urgently needed. We show the five steps companies can take to prepare for a disaster scenario.

1. Set RTOs and RPOs

Not all business applications are equally relevant for companies. The requirements for recovery times are therefore individual. IT decision-makers should assess in advance which applications are mission-critical: If a business cannot function without a particular service, it should not be down for more than 15 minutes. The Recovery Time Objective (RTO) defines the maximum time that should elapse before all elements of an application are operational again. The Recovery Point Objective (RPO), on the other hand, specifies the maximum amount of data loss to maintain business continuity. Any recovery strategy must be guided by the defined RTOs and RPOs.

2. Automate processes

Automation is the be-all and end-all of a successful disaster recovery strategy. Recovery processes that are executed manually carry a significant risk of error. Companies should therefore establish failover and failback processes that run automatically, for example. Automated failover is particularly important for business continuity. If a mission-critical application fails, it ensures in the best case that the user does not even notice the system failure. Instead, failover initiates a switchover to another system that takes over for the failed one. Once the original system has been restored, failback involves switching the service back to the initial situation. The primary system is updated with the workloads that were produced in the secondary system in the meantime.

3. Evaluate failure scenarios individually

Depending on the situation, companies must flexibly decide which applications and systems should be restored. This may involve virtual machines, a large number of complex applications or an entire data center. The company's recovery strategy must be so adaptable that different scenarios can be handled smoothly and work operations can be resumed quickly. A detailed and comprehensive emergency plan helps with this.

4. Create unified policies for multi-cloud environments

If several different cloud environments are affected by a failure, the complexity of the recovery processes can increase - for example, because several employees who are familiar with the individual clouds have to be involved. The result is higher operating costs and longer downtimes. In addition, the probability of data loss increases. Multi-cloud environments should therefore be controlled centrally. Snapshot-based cloud backup solutions, which have been specially developed for dynamic multi-cloud workloads, can help here. With a suitable snapshot solution, companies can apply uniform policies for seamless backup of different clouds.

5. Regularly put processes to the test

This step in particular is often neglected in practice. Companies must regularly test whether the established disaster recovery process works and how much time it takes. The test phases run in the background and do not disrupt ongoing operations. The Veritas Resiliency Platform, for example, allows customers to set up the entire disaster recovery process with drag-and-drop ease. Real-time analytics can be accessed via an integrated dashboard. This allows organizations to monitor whether timeline targets are being met. At the click of a mouse, they receive reliable values on how long the entire switchover process takes and how much productive data is lost. This means that IT managers can use values determined under real conditions to describe the worst-case scenario, and crisis situations become calculable.

Author:
Sascha Oehl is Director Technical Sales DACH at Veritas

The cooperation of the three leading HR education providers in Switzerland, which has been in place since summer 2019, is the answer to the strongly increasing demand for needs-based and in-service training for HR experts at all levels. The Swiss HR Academy is continuously expanding its range of practice-oriented workshops and seminars with a university option:

• HR Essentials seminars are designed for all HR managers who want to supplement and deepen basic competencies. Newcomers acquire specific professional competencies, deepen their basic knowledge and thus promote their professional career
• HR Advanced seminars offer new offerings for professionals in the field of Strategic HRM. The three most important keywords are: HR Transformation, Employer Branding and Culture Change. Here, HR professionals will find compact and practice-oriented focus topics to optimally position their area strategically.

The joint venture partners are pursuing the same goal: "Our seminar offerings are part of a long tradition of HR training in Switzerland. The focus is on Switzerland's dual education system, the diversity of topics, and the fit of our educational offerings, including the university option. The Swiss HR Academy aims for an integrated approach that consciously uses synergies," says Daniel C. Schmid, Managing Director of the Swiss HR Academy.

Since January 2020, the educational institute presents itself on its own homepage: www.swisshracademy.ch

It's not too late: at the end of January, you still have every chance to set the course for making 2020 something very special. And you've probably already heard all kinds of well-intentioned advice on how to do just that. I don't want to repeat them here.

More courage to make changes

When I look at the projects and coaching sessions I have done with my clients over the past few years, however, there are certainly some things where I would like to see more courage to make significant changes.

The old truth that if you do almost the same thing every year, you'll always get the same results, just holds true in the new decade. And minor improvements (which everyone makes) are also "the same" in this sense.

How 2020 will be better: 5 ideas

Here are five ideas for a very different (and therefore an even better) 2020, one or two of which will hopefully get you thinking and acting:

1. Seriousness. Don't always take yourself so damn seriously. We are all fallible individuals trying to make the best of our lives. The world turns without us. Looseness is often good for us.
2. Finiteness. Your life is finite. Finally, stop putting things off and start! Or at least plan a fixed start date in your calendar. Make the most of every day!
3. Thickness. You have all the power. They are incredibly powerful when it comes to positively influencing others. It's just that most people suppress that for fear of standing out too much. My tip: make the lives of at least three people a little better every day, specifically.
4. Determination. You decide about everything. Only over 95% of our decisions are unconscious, controlled by our programming. Make more conscious positive decisions in 2020 instead of getting lost in habits.
5. Speed. Action beats knowledge every time. Many people know a great deal, but make little of it. Others know less and create facts and successes instead. My tip: generate positive momentum for action, every day.

Well then, it's up to you! And if you've always practiced these suggestions anyway (which should make you less than one percent of my readers), pass these tips on to your teams and colleagues.

To the author:
Volkmar Völzke is a success maximizer. Book author. Consultant. Coach. Speaker. www.volkmarvoelzke.ch

If new entrepreneurs dare to become self-employed, they start with a lot of commitment and ambition, but often without sufficient experience. "If you don't want to start your business from scratch, you can secure the rights to existing business concepts and enter the licensing or franchising business. This model is familiar to many from the system catering industry, but it is also represented in numerous other industries," knows Mike Warmeling, speaker and success trainer from Osnabrück and founder of Warmeling Consulting. But how does a license agreement differ from franchising and which form is best suited for inexperienced founders? Mike Warmeling knows the answers and clarifies the most important points below.

1. How are licensing and franchising related?

"Whoever purchases a license receives permission to use industrial property rights and special knowledge, a patent or work. With the purchase, the licensee obtains from the licensor, for example, the right to use a specific sales tool or business concept. Depending on the subject matter of the agreement, this permission is either tied to a specific period of time or is of permanent validity. Franchising, on the other hand, represents a type of cooperation between two independent companies. Every franchise agreement always includes elements of a license agreement, but goes far beyond this with differentiated rights and obligations for both parties. For example, founders not only acquire the rights to use a company and brand name in return for payment, but also an overarching marketing concept. This links all participants in the system and enables a uniform market presence. Franchisees also have a duty to implement the relevant business concept, while franchisors support them in doing so."

2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of these business models?

"As a rule, a pure license agreement only involves rights and no obligations other than the payment of a fee. Founders thus acquire tried-and-tested business models with which, on the one hand, they can also take off in a second career and, on the other, retain their entrepreneurial freedom. The situation is different with franchising, because here the contracts contain detailed specifications from the franchisor. This entails strict guidelines, and entrepreneurs cannot simply discontinue the business if they are not satisfied or if it fails to be commercially successful. Due to the strictly regulated implementation obligation, the franchisee is often limited in his own creativity. However, founders also benefit from this business model, as they receive support and backing from the franchisor."

3. Which model should founders choose?

"Anyone who decides to enter into a franchise or licensing system should first and foremost pay attention to the specific content of the contract to be signed or find out what rights and obligations they are entering into and what services the respective system provider offers. Which business model is the right choice for prospective self-employed persons depends on many factors, such as the industry or one's own objectives. For those who want to build a career on the side and make independent decisions, a pure license agreement can be advantageous. Franchising, on the other hand, is an option for founders who want to implement proven concepts one-to-one and as part of a successful company. In any case, it is advisable to seek an external and experienced opinion and not to make decisions too hastily."

Further information on franchises and licenses at www.warmeling.consulting

"For the 5th year in a row since 2016, we've been keeping a very close eye on what the world's most innovative brands and companies are doing right now. We wanted to know which new tools and
techniques are being experimented with and what became of those trends we had identified in recent years," says Birte Schnellen, Managing Director Grayling Switzerland. "The majority of the successful recipes from our trend research came from companies and brands that primarily target end consumers. This is because these brands are traditionally more likely to make their communication activities public than others. However, the insights gained are also valuable for B2B communications, stakeholder engagement or the public sector," Schnellen says.

Grayling's #5×20 - the five marketing and communication trends for 2020

• Trend #1: Better real than perfect. Authenticity and credibility are more important than perfection, especially for younger target groups. Brands are responding to this: they are relying more frequently on unvarnished content, unvarnished information, and full transparency. From a fully documented supply chain to insider Instagram stories to clear admissions and credible apologies. Honesty and credibility are also increasingly important for decision-makers in politics and business.
• Trend #2: Here and now. Campaigns for mobile devices - i.e., cell phones and tablets - work particularly well when the mobile takes center stage. That is, when they provide users on the move with information that is important and interesting for their particular location. For example, location-based stories and promotions or augmented reality overlays and PIN codes. Such offers bridge the gap between the physical and the digital world and reach people everywhere and at all times. For more attention and interaction.
• Trend #3: Together we can do it. Companies demonstrate what their values mean in real life. They use their moral influence to promote positive behavior among their customers. This involves incentives and tools for changing behavior or promoting new role models in society. Brands make decisions easier. Positive behavior change is not only of interest to brands, but also to governments and public authorities: campaigns by companies can therefore also serve to attract more attention and commitment from political decision-makers.
• Trend #4: Catch me if you can. Consumers of self-aware brands often have to work harder to get messages, special offers or products. The idea of fairness is increasingly central to this. Bored of intrusive, uncharitable advertising, many consumers appreciate this new kind of customer relationship, where you have to be more active yourself than usual, but are rewarded for it. Conversely, this gives companies the chance to build real relationships.
• Trend #5: Glad you're here. Communication is becoming increasingly fragmented. Digital platforms are losing trust. That's why companies are investing more frequently in real brand experiences, i.e. in real places and events. This creates proximity and trust. The well-being of customers and stakeholders increases due to the friendly and personal atmosphere. It also creates the feeling of being part of a brand family that people are happy to be involved with.

Source: www.grayling.com