2009 we re off to circus knie diary by about_swisscom

THE 2009 ANNUAL REPORT presents:

SWISSCOM AND CIRCUS KNIE â&#x20AC;&#x201C; ......................... ......................... two Swiss institutions meet. Group of companies or big top â&#x20AC;&#x201C; both stand for communication, quality and tradition. Both create experiences. Offering us a very special experience, the Knie family take us on a guided visit behind the scenes at their circus. Diary of a tour.

The Knie Family Swiss National Circus St. Wendelinstrasse 10 8640 Rapperswil

Worblaufen, 2 June 2009

Dear Knie Family, For 200 years, childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s eyes have lit up, mothers have been enchanted and fathers astonished at your shows. You are experts in audience rapture. That is why we are writing to you today. Like Circus Knie, Swisscom is a Swiss enterprise with a tradition. When we started up in business, 150 years ago, people viewed telecommunication as a fascinating novelty. Nowadays telecommunication is taken for granted. So what does get our customers excited these days? Habits have changed, in our industry and among our customers. Mobile telephony and the Internet have become constant companions as means of global networking. Today we have more opportunities than ever before to make contact with our customers and persuade them of the merits of our products. Swisscom has not yet exploited its full potential. That is why we would like to ďŹ nd out better what makes you, the Knie family, tick. We would be very grateful to gain an insight into the world of the circus. Could you allow us a look behind the scenes?

Yours sincerely, yy,,

Anton Scherrer Chairman of the Board of Directors Swisscom AG

Carsten Schloter CEO Swisscom AG

CIRCUS LIFE ...................

We live together for eight months, day and night, round the clock. There are 200 of us, from 16 nations. It warms the cockles of my heart when I step out of my caravan in the mornings and look across our little town. The Chinese acrobat is already hanging out her washing. The children are off to school, right here in the circus caravan opposite. It's something really special. Everyone sees everyone else; everyone listens to everyone else. Big worries, little worries, big joys, little joys – all are shared. We often have a barbecue together on nights when the weather is ﬁne. Of course we're tense after the show, and I get far less sleep than I should. I rarely get to bed before two in the morning, and it's time to rise at eight: off to the stables, to my horses. Rehearsals in the ring. The circus is a hard life. But I'm a fanatic. I love the circus. You have to be tolerant, otherwise nothing works out. An important guiding principle is to keep off religion and politics. The Moroccans unroll their prayer mats in front of their caravan. While they are in Ramadan, the vodka ﬂows among the Poles alongside until dawn... Many cultures clash in our community. Mutual respect is the be all and end all. I'm on familiar terms with most of my staff. I remember when an employee once addressed my father as "Herr Direktor". cen p His reply was, "I'm not Herr DIREKTOR – I'm a decent person!"

* * * Fredy Knie Jr

F PA R T O L I F E ! Y A D E V E RY THE T H AT ’ SC O M S W I S S , TO O M OT TO

The C I R C U S F A M I L Y ..................

Circus life is a life on wheels. You travel from place to place. The caravan is our home. My son Franco, for example, lives with his family in a caravan, even in winter. I spend the winter in my house but, after a while, I get the itch and start looking forward to the tour, to my circus family and to my elephants. Indeed I grew up with elephants, as other children do with a dog. D E L H I , for example, is now 40 years old. She was already with me in England, when I was a young man. We swam together in the sea every morning. These are memories which I do not forget. Delhi does not forget them, either. The relationship between man and elephant endures for a lifetime. Franco, my son, is now building this relationship up. That is now Fredy's main task, and mine too: to pass on the baton to the next generation. Increasingly, I am withdrawing from elephant dressage, while Franco Jr is following in my footsteps. He is doing a very good job of it. He is also my deputy in the technical management of the circus. The same applies in Fredy's family: GĂŠraldine already gets on very well with horses, and her father is delegating a great deal of responsibility to her in the artistic management. The youngest generation, Ivan and Chris, are already on the starting grid. Circus Knie is a family business. T R A D I T I O N is important to us. Switzerland is our home, and we are a national circus. At the same time, all of us who live in this little circus town are an international circus family. * * * Franco Knie

SWISSCOM AT HOME IN SWITZERLAND 158 SHOPS SWITZERLAND-WIDE 12 MILLION CUSTOMER CONTACTS PER YEAR WORKING BASES IN ALL 26 CANTONS

Switzerland is our home base. Just as Circus Knie travels to its audiences all round Switzerland, closeness to customers is important to Swisscom, too. With shops, we are present in all the Swiss regions. We are the only telephone company with call centres all over the country: from Chur to Bellinzona, Olten to Sion, our call centre staﬀ advise our customers. Being at home in Switzerland also means we are there for Switzerland. Swisscom is proud to hold the commission of the Swiss Confederation to provide Switzerland’s basic telecommunications infrastructure. Unique in the world, we are thus able to guarantee broadband access for the population. Switzerland is a wonderful country, and we would like future generations to know this country as we love it. So we are working to reduce our environmental impact. One way is by using more solar and wind-generated electricity than any other company in Switzerland.

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T To o my kn k now own aatt the e tim mee,, wer ere tth he Po he Posstt ow own asstto oni nishm sh hme ment nt,, th they ey qui uicck kly ly O fi Of fice ce Teellep ce epho honees’ s’ an nsswer wer to we to th he e ssw waalllo ow we ed tth ed he ne news ws wiittho out ut a ciirccus circ u num mbe berrss gir irls rls ls. mu m urrm mur ur..

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CIRCUS IS COMMUNICATION

I speak a mixture of Hindi, English and German to the elephants. My son Chris already understands Chinese, Swiss German and English – and he is only three years old. That's how it is in the circus: you grow up multilingual. Russians, French, Moroccans, Italians, Poles – they all chatter away cheerfully, and something rubs off. Sometimes gestures are the only way to communicate. Languages are one aspect, then there are the different manners and customs: the Moroccans like a different diet from the Poles. So we have two different cooks, plus a third for the artists who come from China, for example, whose eating habits are different again. We pay attention to this quite naturally. Making allowances for each other is the ﬁrst step towards understanding each other. We not only work together: we live together. It only works if you can be open. Where people are open, communication takes place – overcoming all linguistic barriers and cultural divides. We play music together, we play cards together, we fall in love... all this is human.

SWISSCOM COMMUNICATION IS OUR PASSION

***

2.6 BILLION SMS MESSAGES SENT EACH YEAR

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TIMES ARE CHANGING

The electronic media play a major role in communication nowadays, even in the circus. The artists sit in front of computers in their free time and chat with their communities via Facebook or Twitter. Skype is quite important too, of course. Many of our staff keep in touch with their families in the outside world this way. A satellite dish now stands in front of every caravan. At night the televisions come on, and Moroccan or Russian television ﬂickers on to the screens. Sometimes I feel a little regret at this. It detracts from a sense of community if everyone withdraws and communicates electronically. On the other hand, I am very interested in new technologies myself. I even worked in telecoms for a while. Actually, it was at Swisscom.

Franco Knie Jr

34 MILLION MMS MESSAGES SENT EACH YEAR MORE THAN 350 MILLION PEOPLE WORLDWIDE ARE FACEBOOK MEMBERS

Every 12-year-old schoolchild already knows the word “communication”. But what exactly does it involve? To communicate (Latin: communicare) means to share, to inform, to allow participation, to unite, even to pool. Thus understood, communication is our core business. Via telephone, e-mail, blog or Twitter: we make communication possible so that experiences can be shared. Often this goes unnoticed. Do you think of Swisscom when you send a romantic SMS, spend a football evening in the company of friends and Swisscom TV, or receive a job offer by e-mail? Everything passes via our networks. Like nerves, they keep Switzerland in touch. In fact “The Economist” weekly has endorsed Switzerland as possessing one of the world’s finest telecoms infrastructures. To keep it so for the future, we are driving forward the expansion of our infrastructure. In the next few years, Swisscom is to invest up to CHF 8 billion in Switzerland, one-third of it in the fibre-optic network. By expanding optical fibre, we are laying the foundations of the network of tomorrow.

DOORI RISS DÉ D SI S RÉÉE KNNIE I

visi vi isi site teed th thee fa fami mili liies e in th thei er ei home ho mee ccou ouunt ntry ryy. Th hey all come ome om ffrrom the same am me re regi gion gi o of Mo on M roocc cco. o. Tha o. hatt is ssom om met ethi hingg ver hi ey sppecia ecia ec ial. l. IItt cr crea eate ea tees a bo bond ndd bee t ee tw eenn us us..

Whaatt a cir What Wh i cu c s! Su ucch ch thou th o gh g ts ts run throu hrrou o gh gh manyy a per ma erso sonn so onn nnel el man ma nage na ger’ ger’ r’ss he head a at ttiime mes, s witth a sh shak akee off ak tth he heeaad he d. Doorriis Dé d. Déssiiré réee K ie Kn ie, F Frran nco o Kni nie’ ie’ es d ugght da hterr, alwa allw waayss th hin inks kss tha hat wa wayy – but but bu with wi t plleeeas asur as u e. ur e. You Yo ou w wo orkk in th he pe pers rrsson nne nell de d pa art r me ment n of nt of a cco omp mpa an ny ny wh w ic i h eem mp plloyys 20 00 pe peop op o ple froom 16 16 cou coun co un nnttr triees. s. How ow do yo you u co commmmu m uni nica icca ate te? ? Som omet etim et imes eess wiitth ha hand nd n ds an nd feeet et. Re Receent Rece n ly a Chi hine neesee lad dy c me ca m iin, n, wan n, a ti ting ng g dir irec ection ecti ec tiionns f r th fo t e su supe p rm pe mar arke keet in Sol k o o-th hur urn n.. The hen n th ther eree wa er was as a Ru Russ-sian si an n wh ho o had ad tto o ge g th hiis caar re re-paairred ed, an nd ne neeed eded ed ed d the addre dd dre ress ess ss off a gaarrag age.. The The h y al all co ome me in to o o our u off ur ffic icee iff tthe ic h y ha he h vee a p ob pr oble lem. le m.

SWISSCOM & CIRCUS KNIE A SHARED PASSION FOR COMMUNICATION

Some S So ome meon on ne to tur urn n too at C rcus Ci rcus rc u K Kni niie Thhey saayy yoouu’re ’re a peers ’r rson oonn to t rrnn to att Cirrcu tu cuss Kn nie ie. e. You cou o lld d put putt it tth haatt way ay. A go good o siidde ooff thi his jjo ob iss tha hatt yyoou can can he ca help p. Yo Y u aarre trrus uste t d byy the he sta taff fff. Ma Many ny Morroocccanss, fo ca forr ex exam ampl am p e, e, aree allrreaady th h e se seco c o ndd g en co e err atio att io o n em em-p oy pl oyed ed wit ed ithh uss. Th heiir fa fath t eerrs th weree herre; nnow we ow w it’ t s th he tu t rn ooff th he soons ns.. So S m mee hav avee knnow o n me sin incee I was bor orn. n I hav n. a e

A ve v ry r eemo mooti t onal onnall joobb. b. Yes es,, in nde deed ed d. I on once cee hhad ad d to b ea br eakk th thee ne news ws ttoo a cr craf aftssafts af mann th ma that at his i mot othe h r ha he hadd d ed di ed.. A Annd whhen e a big g, st stro r ng ro ng maan is i ffig i ht ig htin ingg ba b cck k tthe he tear te arrs, s I am de deep e ly afffec ep ectteed. ecte d. Youu ha Yo have vee to li list list s en en,, co comf m or mf ort an nd en enco cour co urrag a e. e Evveeryy hum man an bein be in ing ng ha hass hi h s or or herr own wn sttor ory. y. We ar a e a bi b g fa fami m ly mi ly. Huusssseiin, n, in th he teent n s ga gang ngg, haas been beeen n witth us forr 3300 ye year ars. ar rs. s. H goo, in the Hu he tai ailo lori ori ring ing n worrkshhopp, ha had be been en n wit ithh uuss moorre than th an n 50. 0. He di died rec died ecen en ntl t y, y durriing du ingg the he hol holid olid ol iday aayys. ys. s Have Ha ve you nev ever err fan fannciied app arrin pe ing ng in i tthe he rrin ing? in g?? No, I nnev eev ver hav ave. e I hav e. ve my m drreaam jjo ob. b I aalw lway lw ayss sa ay sayy th he oofff cee iiss my fi my areenaa. Th T is i is is wh wher ere er ere I pe perf rfor rf orm. or m.. m

DICTIONARY F ELEPHANT E LE E PH P AN ANT T LA LANG NGUA NG UA UAGE A GE G OF LANGUAGE

â&#x20AC;&#x201C; COMMUNICATION BETWEEN MAN AND ANIMAL Patience is very important in dressage. Psychological sensitivity. Elephants are very clever and very intuitive, but they are also minimalists. They only make the effort if it's absolutely necessary. They think: let's see if that command is really meant seriously. So: be rational. Don't let things get out of control. Be credible.

Franco Knie Jr

WHERE WOULD I BE WITHOUT MY MOBILE?

The audience want to dream, be surprised, share the thrills, laugh. To me a programme which meets these high expectations has quality. We want to transport people out of their world into another world, just for 2Â˝ hours. They should forget everyday life, the stress, the recession. That is our goal.

We must never let the public down. That is the golden rule. One disappointment, and loyalty goes out of the window. We go to the same towns every year, and we want people to come back every year. That only works if their loyalty is rewarded. With quality. QUALITY ALSO MEANS QUALITY OF LIFE ......................... ...............................

A distinctive feature of our company is the large number of four-legged members of our staff: our animals. My philosophy is that only happy animals do good work. We are under an obligation to offer them pleasant, stimulating lives. Much less thought used to be given to keeping the animals. Monkeys wore costumes, horses were ﬁrmly tethered in their boxes, and so on. I rebelled against this as a young man, and they thought I was mad. I was the ﬁrst to open out the horse boxes, for example. Horses need free space. "How is that going to work?" they asked me at the time. "We're a travelling company. Boxes are simple. All these enclosures are far too complicated." But it worked. Of course it meant a rethink. But it worked. The animals like to be with us. They are under no stress. I have been closely involved with animal welfare for many years, and have worked with behavioural researchers. I want our animals to be as happy as possible. To me, that is a matter of quality, too. Quality of life.

SWISSCOM WE STRIVE FOR QUALITY WE WANT TO OFFER THE BEST SERVICE, THE BEST NETWORK AND THE BEST PRODUCTS.

“Never let the public down” is Franco Knie’s golden rule. Swisscom, too, does its utmost not to let customers down. Indeed it goes further, seeking to delight them. The Swiss telecoms market is on the move, and providers are vying for customers’ favour with ever more attractive offers. Perhaps quality is the key here. Often not consciously perceived, quality is immediately missed when it is absent. At Swisscom, 19,479 are at the service of the customer. Because all our staff work for the constant improvement of the quality of our networks, our products and our services. From network technician to customer adviser, Swisscom employees are quality-aware. Service orientation is a vital element of our corporate culture. In December 2009, we presented the Swisscom Champion Award for the first time. This is an internal distinction for employees who have provided outstanding service to our customers. One winning team developed remote fault diagnosis for Swisscom TV, making fault repair much simpler.

*** Fredy Knie Jr

CO M & SW I S S S K N I E CI RCU OT TO O U R MA L I T Y IS QU

The circus is teamwork. It starts with the teams who put up the big top. Then there are the orchestra, the acrobats and the artists and so on – they all rely on each other. If the show is to go down well, each individual must go down well. We all give of our best, and the audience notice this. In the ﬁnale, the whole troupe comes back into the ring together, because the applause of the audience is meant for all of us. What do the public expect of us? Do we live up to it? These are questions which my father and I ask ourselves when we are choosing the programme. We are highly self-critical. The public deserve the very best. If our spectators leave the big top with gleaming eyes at the end of the show, that is our ﬁnest reward. We want to wow our audience. Now I'm going to introduce 13 members of our troupe to you.

*** Géraldine Knie

R O D R I Q U E F U N K E Profession: trapeze artist / Born in Berlin, 1978 / Highlight: Bronze Clown at the Monte Carlo Circus Festival "We e work at a height of eight metres, with no net, with tempo and with verve."

Hanging at Rodrique's ' feet is Christophe Gobet, his partner in their trapeze duo, The Sorellas. ll

K R I S K R E M O Profession: master juggler / Born in Paris, 1951 / Highlight: 11 years in Las Vegas "I give myself heart and soul to this work. Not to mention my bones. I have to practice my act 30 or 40 times daily. It takes its toll on the back and the knees. My meniscus is compressed, with only y a q quarter left on each side. That's the p price y you p pay." y

CO M & SW I S S S K N I E CI RCU E ARE PEOPL TRE OF N T H E C ET W E D O A H W AHMED HAMZI Profession: elephant keeper / Born in Taroudant, Morocco, 1970 / Highlight: the birth of baby elephant Sandry in 1999 "Elephants are sensitive animals and easily startled, especially if mice pop out. An elephant is afraid a mouse may y slip p up p its trunk when it is lying y g down."

HE YING Profession: monocycle acrobat / Born in Tong Liao, Inner Mongolia, 1986 / Highlight: gold medal in the Chinese national championship, 2004 "QQ is the largest online community in China, similar to Facebook. So, wherever I am in the world, I am never lonely. I switch on the computer, mputer, and QQ connects me to my family and my friends back home."

Y E L E N A L A R K I N A Profession: hula hoop artist / Born in Moscow, 1971 / Highlight: married to Kris Kremo for 14 years "Kris and I want both our children always with us, even on tour. We give them private tuition. I am their maths teacher; Kris teaches them German."

SWISSCOM EMPLOYEES MAKE THE DIFFERENCE 19,479 EMPLOYEES, INCLUDING FASTWEB PEOPLE FROM 79 NATIONS WORK AT SWISSCOM SWISSCOM HAS 842 PEOPLE IN TRAINING

Tenero, 4 September 2009. 3,850 employees are playing pétanque and volleyball at the Swisscom Games. They may be laughing, cheering, putting up a tent, or simply watching. The Swisscom Games are the biggest event in Swiss corporate sport. So what makes Swisscom stage such an event? The answer lies in our conviction that the foundation of every company is its staff. The employer’s long-term success is only possible with happy, healthy and motivated employees, who identify with, and are proud to work for, their employer. Then they become ambassadors for the company and dedicate themselves to it with passion. We create attractive framework conditions for our employees and thus invest in the sustainable success of Swisscom itself. These conditions include freedom for staff to tailor their working hours flexibly. Swisscom has many employees who work part-time. We also promote vocational and personal development by our training courses. Our employees make the difference.

N O U R E D D I N E O U L O U D A Profession: chef / Born in Rabat, Morocco, 1959 / Highlight: the egg for Prince Rainier of Monaco "We cook 70,000 meals in our mobile kitchen every season. In January I'm always at the International Circus Festival in Monte Carlo and cook for the staff and the artists. artists."

SERGEY DIMITROV Profession: acrobat / Born in Orenburg, Russia, 1975 / Highlight: Circus Knie "At the age of 14, I joined the Bulgarian national acrobatics team. My son is now the age I was then. He goes to school in Moscow."

ergey Dimitrov is supporting himself on the head of Yani Stoyanov, his partner in the Duo Ser Sergey Serjo.

Y A N N R O S S I Profession: white clown / Born in Lyon, 1967 / Highlight: performance at the Danish royal court, 2004 "My father was an Auguste, my grandfather was a white clown. I come from a circus dynasty, stretching hin ing g ba back ck t to o th the e 18 1 18th 8th th c cen century. entu tury ry y. My f for forebears oreb ebea ears rs p per performed erfo form rmed rm ed b bef before e or ef ore e Lo Loui Louis u s XV ui XV. XV." ."

M A U R I N R O S S I Profession: Auguste / Born in Loano, Italy, 1952 / Highlight: joint act with grandfather and father, 1963 "I play the saxophone, guitar, piano, trumpet, accordion, drums, clarinet, mandolin, violin, ďŹ&#x201A;ute, xylophone â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and my harp, which I made myself."

P A T R I C K R O S S E E L Profession: stage manager / Born in Saint-Laurent-du-Var, France, 1954 / Highlight: every day "I was still half a child when I came to Circus Knie. My father was the tent foreman, 40 years ago. I used to help out, sometimes as s an electrician, other times at the buffet. Today I'm in charge in the ring."

D A R I U S Z K O K O S Z E W S K I Profession: violinist / Born in Brenna, Poland, 1965 / Highlight: Grace "I was a violinist in the Katowice Symphony Orchestra with a lady musician who then broke my heart. I just wanted to get away. That was how I came to Circus Knie, twelve years ago. n Then came the enc unter of f my life. ife I met a y ung w m Heartbroken. encounter young woman named Grace, a Filipina, y then was Franco Knie's dresser. We have been happily mar who already married for six years."

AOMAR HABBOUN Profession: usher / Born in Oulad Berhil, Morocco, 1975 / Highlight: holidays at home "Many men come from my home village to work in C ircus Knie. My father worked here for 25 years, and both my uncles worked here for nearly 30 years."

P E T E R W E T Z E L Profession: "Spidi" the Clown / Born in Sursee, 1966 / Highlight: meeting Bryan Adams at Circus Knie "I have been a circus clown for 40 years, 15 of them at Circus Knie. You have to enjoy making people laugh." The lady on the right of the picture is called Neilya Gabdurakhmanova and is a dancer in the Bingo troupe.

A RACE AGAINST TIME .........................

The evening show begins at 8 p.m., and at 8.30 p.m. the dismantling is already under way, though the audience do not realize this. Behind the scenes, everything that is no longer needed is being loaded up. Elephant act over – straight into the wagons and away. Buffet area after the intermission – pack up and away. Everyone does their bit. In the next few hours, a total of around 2,000 tonnes of equipment has to be removed. It is a race against time. The ﬁnal applause has barely died away and the big top is already being dismantled. Traditionally we proceed as follows: half of the top is taken down by the Moroccans and the other half by the Poles. Both teams also share the dismantling of the spectators' seating. The competitive rivalry is incredible. The fastest time is less than four hours – for the whole big top! Laughing and joking all the way. Shortly after midnight, the convoy moves off by road and rail. It makes a short night. At six o'clock in the morning the erection work starts again. The elephants are hungry: an elephant eats 200 kilos a day. Local farmers supply hay in each place. And again, it's a race against time. 12,000 metres of electric cable have to be laid. That – and much else – has to be well organized. Everyone knows: promptly at 8 p.m., the show is on again. *** Franco Knie

SWISSCOM BEHIND THE SCENES DEMAND FOR BANDWIDTH ON THE LANDLINE NETWORK DOUBLES EVERY 18 MONTHS DEMAND FOR BANDWIDTH ON THE MOBILE NETWORK DOUBLES EVERY 7 MONTHS

Whenever Circus Knie pitches its tent at a new venue, Swisscom has already set up the Internet connection. But our service is not to carry gear, but to convey and deliver data, e.g. in the form of e-mails, SMS messages and music downloads. The digital world is playing a growing role in the lives of many Swiss people. More and more of daily life passes via the Internet: banking, shopping, communication and entertainment. And it all works like clockwork. Hardly anyone realizes the distance data packages cover. An e-mail from Switzerland to Switzerland may well get there via a server in the USA. The data package may travel from the iPhone over the ether to the next base station. From there it proceeds to the exchange via ﬁbre-optic cable. Then there’s a journey across Europe and the Atlantic. The route takes the data package along an undersea cable, 2,000 metres below the ocean surface. From the USA, the route runs back to Switzerland. If the recipient is in a very remote location, the data package may divert again to a satellite, 35 kilometres up, before dropping straight in to the living room. The whole trip takes a matter of seconds.

SWISSCOM DATA PACKAGES TRAVEL

CIRCUS KNIE IN FIGURES

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2,500 square metres is the surface area of the big top 120,000 metres of yarn are sewn into the tent 4,500 is the number of of seating components 6 hours is the time it takes to erect the big top 17,000 square metres is the area occupied by the circus town 200 litres are what an elephant needs to drink daily 700 kilogrammes of straw are the daily requirement for the stables 70,000 meals are served each season in the circus kitchen 60 transporters make up the road convoy 70 transporters go on two SBB special trains 3,000 kilometres is the distance the circus travels in Switzerland

– LOGISTICS – TIMETABLE FOR 26 AUGUST .................. Departure / tent dismantling / transport