Cases:
The Zürcher Freilager rezoning vote
City of Zurich voters were asked to go to the polls to approve or reject rezoning the Zürcher Freilager bonded warehouse site. Our task was to design and execute a campaign favoring rezoning.
Based on an assessment of the as-is situation we came up with a comprehensive communication concept, determined a viable campaign strategy, along with all requisite communication measures. Our public affairs experts developed a persuasive argumentation document, established a cross-party committee, created and ran a billboard and ad campaign, managed the campaign website and staged an open day.
- The result: A resounding endorsement
We concentrated our main effort on reaching undecided voters and persuaded many of the need to rezone the site. On November 30, 2008, polling day, the ayes had it with a sweeping, 78.2-percent majority.
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Sparkasse Schwyz – public vote on new legal form
Sparkasse Schwyz (sks), a cantonal savings bank, has always been an institute under public law. Its board of directors, along with the town council of Schwyz township, recently proposed changing the bank’s legal form to that of a limited company, with Schwyz township as the principal shareholder. The two entities commissioned us to handle change communication and persuade the public of the merits of the proposed change.
To motivate the voting public toward that end we created basic argumentation, a generic presentation, a Q&A list, editorial contributions to the papers, advertorials, as well as ads on the internet, in the bank’s customer magazine and in the regional press.
- The result: A majority voted yes
A big, 65-percent majority of Schwyz township voters came out in favor of the proposed change to the legal form of Sparkasse Schwyz.
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Forum Swiss Financial Center – strengthening the financial center’s roots
The Forum Swiss Financial Center asked for our support in raising public awareness of the close ties the Swiss financial center and its representatives enjoy in Switzerland’s regions.
At our suggestion, in the run-up to National Council elections the Forum supported candidates favorably disposed toward the Swiss financial center. In Confidence, the Forum’s regularly published newsletter – which we edit – is widely read in financial, political and media circles as the Forum’s official voice. We also organized special events in Switzerland’s regional centers featuring talks, presentations and podium discussions, with representatives of supra-regional business, banks, trade, science and the body politic participating.
We were responsible for all sort of publications, we conducted an ad campaign, created the event format, assisted as ghost writers for speeches, booked speakers, generated invitation address lists, distributed invitations and took care of all other media work.
- The result: Full acceptance achieved
Appearances by regional personalities in business, politics, finance and the media helped sensitize local voters to the needs and interests of the Swiss financial center and created a better appreciation by the export industry of the financial center, and by SMEs of the national economy.
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SwissBanking image campaign
In taxation-of-interest negotiations with the EU, the Swiss financial center and financial privacy have given rise to much controversy. On the other hand, a vast majority of Switzerland’s voting population came out in favor of banking secrecy. Against this background, the Swiss Bankers’ Association asked Farner to develop a communication-strategy, define tactics and implement them to boost confidence in the Swiss financial center and raise awareness of the contribution of Switzerland’s banks to the national economy.
- The result: Prize-winning campaign achieves objective
Our pro-active campaign countered the defensive basic attitude. The formerly taboo subject of banking secrecy was openly discussed. The campaign, which successfully combined print and online advertising, garnered the Best-of-Print award for 2003.
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Tax revision vote in the Canton of Aargau
A revision of the canton of Aargau’s tax law, already approved by the cantonal council, encountered sufficiently strong opposition to make its failure a real possibility. A supra-party committee asked Farner PR to help turn things around.
We advised the committee on its voting campaign and proposed a communication strategy and plan of action that included a broad-based media campaign to raise public awareness of the issue, an argumentation catalogue and a generic political speech. We solicited testimonials and produced and placed posters and ads. In short, we coordinated all media work, including a media conference, performed comprehensive monitoring of the political situation, acted as consultants on several events and booked event speakers.
Farner organisiert eine breite Medienkampagne zur Sensibilisierung der Öffentlichkeit und berät das Komitee bei der Führung des Abstimmungskampfes. Die Agentur erarbeitet ein Kommunikationskonzept mit Vorgehensplan, Argumentarien und einem Musterreferat. Sie produziert Testimonials, Plakate und Inserate und koordiniert die Medienarbeit. Sie organisiert eine Medienkonferenz, stellt das umfangreiche Monitoring sicher und leistet Beratung für mehrere Anlässe und für die Vermittlung von Referenten.
- The result: Comfortable yes vote
The committee’s highly persuasive campaign led to a comfortable, 56-percent majority voting in favor of the revised tax law.
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santésuisse – Campaign opposing a single public health insurer /a>
Santésuisse, Switzerland’s health insurer association, asked us to mount a campaign against a ballot initiative in favor of government-supplied health coverage. To better reach individual target groups we proposed a preliminary and a main campaign.
The preliminary campaign addressed multiplicators in politics, healthcare and the media. We created a basic argumentation and core messages, supported Forum Health Switzerland and coordinated its information platforms (events, website, newsletter, brochures).
We also solicited and ran testimonial and government ads to sensitize the population, two sets of ads to raise the image of health insurers and an argumentation catalogue for their employees.
As a consequence, a strong majority of Switzerland’s parliament came out against the initiative and the ad campaign raised the image of the health insurance industry.
The main campaign we produced and implemented was directed at the voters. We also coordinated all information activities on behalf of the supra-political-party committee in charge. We provided Santésuisse and the lead party secretariat and its support offices throughout Switzerland with advice and support and created and produced the main campaign posters, ads and printed material.
- The result: Ballot initiative firmly rejected
A 71.2% majority voted down the ballot initiative for a single public health insurer.
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In-house and external communication for the Canton of Geneva’s Justice Department
In 2007, the Canton of Geneva’s employee health service conducted a survey of the physical and mental fitness of Justice Department employees. Farner’s task in the summer of 2007 was to communicate the survey results in-house and externally. In close cooperation with the Canton’s Health Department and its HR manager, we produced a study summary, a press release, took care of employee communication and staged a press conference.
In the same year and for the fourth time since 1995, the Justice Department conducted a survey to determine the level of satisfaction among the public and Geneva’s lawyers. We were also asked to publish the results of this survey, stage a press conference, and produce a press release and media documentation.
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Renovation of Lausanne’s Beaulieu Congress and Exhibition Center
The Beaulieu Congress and Exhibition Center has been the subject of renovation and reconstruction work since 2000 as a project of public and private partners (Canton of Vaud, City of Lausanne, the Beaulieu Foundation, Beaulieu Exploitation SA, private investors in the hotel project and the winners of architecture competition). In 2009, milestones were the appointment of Basel’s MCH Group as general contractors, reconstruction of part of the building and construction of a hotel high-rise. Because of the many project partners, communication work – a task Farner accepted in January of 2009 – required a great deal of coordination.
- The result: A dialogue-oriented web presence
We coordinated the creation and deployment of the beaulieu2020 logo and the
www.beaulieu2020.ch website with all involved parties. New sections keep being added to the website, including a video space entitled Dialogue with the population which provides project initiators and experts with a platform for answering questions from members of the public recorded in street interviews.
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