Newsroom

What users of news portals have known for a long time is now being used by the destination Davos Klosters for its tourism website for the first time: The new website www.davos.ch not only has a very modern, tidy look, the relaunch is a paradigm shift. Instead of being sender-oriented, the new site is user-oriented.

Despite social networking, personal contacts have not had their day: Anyone who wants to be successful not only cultivates their Internet network for themselves, but actively connects their contacts.

The holding of the Winter Olympics in Grisons is being examined in a comprehensive feasibility analysis. In addition to sporting, logistical, safety-related and financial aspects, the sustainability and long-term effects of the games are examined in particular. An innovation dialogue should ensure positive effects for Grisons and Switzerland, even if a candidacy before the IOC fails.

Christian Gartmann assumes overall responsibility for communication and marketing and becomes media spokesperson.

Christian Gartmann interviewed by Engadiner Post

Social media have become an important tool for private and corporate communication. They have changed our communication style, but one thing has remained the same: It is the content that counts.

Friendliness and attention are not an end in themselves. In contact with customers, they create trust — in times of Internet reviews, the currency of the future.

Hardly a day without a report about the success of “social media” rushing through the media. SMEs in particular are wondering whether and how they should take action here. Hotels are already one step ahead.

Today, users of social media mercilessly evaluate products and services of all kinds and thus create new market transparency. In addition to clearly measurable and comparable variables, soft and human factors, i.e. play a major role in their assessments. The latter two are particularly interesting because they make companies and products unique.

Traditional media are becoming animators for “social engagement”: Pepsi sees TV advertising in a new function — the traditional role as lead medium is being questioned. What applies to Pepsi and TV can also apply to European and much smaller companies — as well as the use of other media.

On November 17, sports activists and decision makers will get an overview of the changes that the new media world is bringing to the sports business. As part of sport.forum.schweiz in Lucerne, ESB European Sponsorship Exchange and medienseminar.com are holding the special seminar “New Media Literacy in Sports Business” for the first time. The seminar is led by Christian Gartmann — it is open to anyone interested.

Social media in sports business is the main topic of sport.medien.forum 2011 at KKL Lucerne. Top-class experts from sponsors, associations, organizers, agencies and media will present their topics on 16/17 November. The practical presentations highlight the possibilities, but also the limits of social media in use for sport.

Almost half of European executives fear that they will miss out on technology; they are uncertain whether they will be able to keep pace with developments in their sector. The changes in the information and media sector are also unsettling them: Although 70% of top managers use social media themselves, its impact on their business is still largely unclear to them.

Companies have discovered social networks across the board and are actively using them in contact with their B2C customers. But when it comes to B2B customers, many companies still find it difficult on social media. Computer giant Dell shows how it works. An example that smaller companies can also benefit from.

Social media users are changing their shopping habits. A new European study by IBM shows that social media and the reviews it contains from end users are also having a growing influence on purchasing decisions in Europe. Yet 40 percent of those surveyed say they end up buying in stores.

In an unusually severe reprimand, the German Council for Public Relations (DRPR) castigates an action from 2010 carried out by the agency Jung von Matt (JvM) for the customer Mercedes Benz and awarded a golden lion in Cannes. The DRPR in sharp terms complains of lack of transparency and even demands that the golden lion must be withdrawn from JvM.

The continued boom of Web 2.0 and its social networks (social media) is about to create new market transparency in all industries and countries. Everyone and everything can — and is — compared. Managers from all levels and industries are required to adapt their communication and leadership behavior: New media skills are required in management.

The UK government has announced that it will no longer support the national system for classifying hotels. Appropriate funding for the tourism organization would be cut. The government is thus following a trend that has been apparent on the market for years: More and more tourists are searching for and rating hotels and restaurants on social media.

The variety of sources on the Internet presents news media with new problems: Many reports are difficult or impossible to verify; new skills in research and news selection are required. Just like journalists, executives must improve their media skills if they want to use social media professionally.

The gartmann.biz website is entering its second year of operation with a revised website: In order to further strengthen user loyalty, the readability of the texts has been increased, the overview has been improved and handling has been simplified. At the same time, technical improvements were implemented in the background. Spot advertising in St. Moritz is responsible for implementing the soft relaunch of gartmann.biz.

With a national social media day for all its real estate agents, RE/MAX Switzerland has launched its presence on social networks. The Social Media Day marked the preliminary highlight of the launch and aimed to inform the independent agents of Switzerland's leading real estate agent and to get them in the mood for active use of social networks. In addition to the specialist presentations, local brokers also received practical support from internal and external specialists in designing their own presences.

With the targeted killing of Osama Bin Laden, the Obama administration has not only achieved a long-awaited military victory. The report — announced by the president himself — should have been the biggest PR scoop of the decade. A few overzealous officials screwed it up for the President.

SOCIAL MEDIA: Over a million users are over 30

Domino's Pizza's Pizza Turnaround was awarded a Grand Prix at the New York “David Ogilvy Awards for Excellence in Advertising Research.” The award-winning fast food chain won the prize for a “turnaround” plan