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Leadership health: the invisible link in governance 

Long considered a taboo, leaders’ health is now a key issue in governance and communication. How can a leader’s vulnerability be addressed without weakening the organization? This article offers practical guidance for balancing human dignity, stakeholder trust, and business continuity.
  • 26.01.2026|·

Agency exchange: PR in Switzerland vs the UK

An agency exchange between Prova in the UK and open up in Switzerland revealed many similarities — and a few subtle differences. In this audio feature, Evelyne Oechslin and Ryan Witton share their impressions.
  • 22.10.2025|·

What we can learn about communication from using AI

We optimise prompts for AI chatbots right down to the smallest detail, but send contradictory emails and are surprised if the recipient misunderstands them. Many basic rules for using AI also apply to interpersonal communication.
  • 28.07.2025|·

The Overton Window: when the unthinkable becomes acceptable

This concept describes how once marginal ideas gradually become debatable, accepted, and eventually dominant in public opinion. This dynamic is leveraged in politics, in the media and even in business to shape perceptions and debate, often without us even realising it. As public relations specialists, it is our duty to remain vigilant.
  • 13.02.2025|·

The power of iconic images

Whether they depict historic situations like the attempt on Donald’s Trump’s life or major global events such as the Olympics, images that capture special moments and emotions remain in our minds for years and shape our collective memory. To make an impression these days, they should be memeable.
  • 15.10.2024|·

Ignoring the news is no solution

Quite a lot of people deliberately avoid the news. What does that feel like? A self-experiment and a call for the critical consumption of information.
  • 27.11.2023|·

Do we still need photo shoots or is artificial intelligence taking over?

With the advent of generative AI in everyday creative life, a completely new category of visual material is available. But what does that mean for corporate communications? And what’s the raison d’être of the original sources of photos, in other words professional photographers, stock agencies or your own smartphone? Here’s a survey of the field.
  • 05.09.2023|·

The media need more women

Women are still underrepresented in the Swiss media. A look at the figures shows just how significant the media gender gap is.
  • 25.07.2023|·

I also expect an agency to take a critical stance

What’s our clients’ experience of working with open up? We asked Angela Scalese. She’s the media spokesperson for Senevita, a provider of nursing care to the elderly that we’ve been helping with media relations since 2022.
  • 12.07.2023|·

It pays to be brief

If you master the art of keeping a topic short and presenting a complex issue so that even a layperson can understand it, you’ll never get bored and you’ll reach your goal faster.
  • 28.06.2023|·

PR-agencies and lawyers: a strategic alliance

It’s often thought that public relations and legal departments are always at odds. The classic cliché is of a PR person suggesting an idea only to be rebuffed by the lawyer in the room because it could, from his or her point of view, expose the organisation to enormous liability.
  • 21.02.2023|·

What does the giraffe say?

What first comes to your mind when you see a giraffe? Probably not “nonviolent communication”. What giraffes have to do with communication and what we can learn from them.
  • 16.01.2023|·

Breaking with stereotypes

Many conceptual ideas start with psychological personas. They’re a good way of simplifying things and firming up the audiences you’re targeting. This is why it’s worth questioning personas and giving them greater depth.
  • 24.11.2022|·

Portraits: we love them because they’re so human

We humans are curious and interested in our fellow humans. Sometimes we like to put ourselves in other people’s shoes, understand them and learn something from them. Journalistic portraits cater to this need. They also have a firm place in corporate commu-nications.
  • 20.09.2022|·

Images and the stories they tell

Whether they’re spectacular wildlife shots on Instagram or creative portraits on a business website, images exercise a fascination. It’s hard to imagine life without them, either on social media or in corporate communications. Even so, people still underestimate their power.
  • 09.08.2022|·

Only a gentle nudge!?

When my daughter pushes someone I feel it’s wrong. But there is a behavioural theory that recommends a form of pushing as a means to an end. So is it okay for her to do so?
  • 31.05.2022|·

Public service media under pressure

The traditional media landscape is under serious threat. Public service media in particular are under pressure from all sides, from authoritarian and populist governments, purely profit-driven media companies, and internet and social media giants. High time, then, to take up the cudgels for media diversity.
  • 11.04.2022|·

Writing text with figures

Figures enrich storytelling and can arouse emotion. Rounding, comparing and putting them in context can multiply the impact of your writing.
  • 02.03.2022|·

Youth language: remaining open to new things

The power of youth language to stir the emotions is evident in the comments on newspaper articles about young people’s use of language and in conversations with friends or work colleagues. Among the people around me, the debate reaches its peak every year when the Langenscheidt publishing house announces its Youth Word of the Year.
  • 19.01.2022|·

Converting responsibility into positive energy

We’re taking the 20-year anniversary of our agency to share some thoughts about what it means to be self-employed, entrepreneurial and in business. To make things clear from the outset, neither Melanie or Kilian had the declared aim of becoming an entrepreneur.
  • 02.11.2021|·

Let’s talk about Hashtags

According to Wikipedia, a hashtag is a metadata tag that is prefaced by the hash symbol “#”, Hashtags are widely used as a form of user-generated tagging that enables cross-referencing of content sharing a subject or theme. But the hash also has other functions. I embarked on some research.
  • 06.09.2021|·

Freedom of the press under pressure. What comes next?

The number of countries where journalists can exercise their profession without repression saw yet another decline last year. In the annual index produced by Reporters without Borders, the situation in only 12 of the 180 countries surveyed ranked “good”.
  • 22.07.2021|·

Keeping the conversation going

Directly or indirectly, thought leadership is often the top priority in corporate communications. But it requires expertise as well as having the courage of your convictions.
  • 02.03.2021|·

Something for the ear

In recent years the podcast trend has arrived in Switzerland. Many are now asking whether their organisation also needs them. Our audio piece provides some answers.
  • 04.02.2021|·

Digital overtransformation in corporate communications

In recent years we’ve kicked off articles for many customers in a whole range of industries with sentences like “Digital transformation is changing the Swiss market more and more rapidly...,” or words to that effect. What companies should be aware of when it comes to communicating about digital transformation.
  • 16.12.2020|·

Fact-checking social media

COVID-19 has turned the world on its head: in the flood of facts, theories and wild speculation, it can be hard to know what is true. Fact-checking has become more important than ever.
  • 05.08.2020|·

Home alone in the office

Despite the home office revolution of recent weeks, it’s too early to speak of the death of the of-fice. In the long run, humans are social beings who need personal contact.
  • 04.06.2020|·

Does AI write better copy?

Machines are making inroads into our lives and turning everything on its head. What about communica-tions, where the interpersonal dimension is apparently so important?
  • 15.01.2020|·

Infectious enthusiasm

open up might not be a bookstore, but we do deliver exciting content. Since time immemorial people have always wanted to listen to a good story.
  • 15.10.2019|·

Video killed the radio star?

Moving pictures are the king of content. Thanks to digitalisation, videos are available everywhere. By 2021, video content is set to make up 82% of all internet traffic.
  • 15.10.2019|·

It’s all in the mix

The fact that there’s less and less diversity, both in nature and the media landscape, is worrying. But if you look you’ll find projects that promote and encourage diversity.
  • 15.10.2019|·