KfW

Huth+Wenzel wins Stada's Elotrans Reload account

Frankfurt-based agency Huth+Wenzel has won the creative account for Stada's Elotrans Reload. The first joint campaign is running immediately through mid-October across social media, Connected TV, linear TV (channels like RTL Zwei), digital out-of-home and ambient placements. The account move ends the prior cooperation with Schmittgall Health, which had handled the brand since the product launch in 2023. The campaign centers on a humorous fictional character named "Stefan" and the agency says it used artificial intelligence as a creative tool to develop Out-of-Home motifs. Claudia Rodrigues (Brand Manager at Stada) and Andreas Liehr (Huth+Wenzel managing director) are quoted on the campaign approach.

SME Business Climate Brightens in July 2026

Sentiment among German small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) improved notably in July 2026 according to the KfW‑ifo SME Barometer. The business climate index rose by 4 points to -17.3, driven mainly by stronger expectations and somewhat better current assessments. The improvement was broadly visible across sectors, led by manufacturing (+9.7 points). Employment expectations climbed, while price expectations fell again. The monthly survey covers roughly 9,500 firms (about 8,000 SMEs). Policymakers’ reform plans and a temporary easing of geopolitical tensions are cited as supportive, while export risks and a fragile international environment remain downside risks.

AI Helps Solopreneurs — But Has Clear Limits

This t3n article (published 2026-07-25) discusses how AI tools can support self-employed people with tasks like invoicing, idea generation, and social media, while highlighting limits around creativity, interpersonal trust, and the risks of fully AI-generated work. Anna Burgess Yang, author of the "Work Better" newsletter and a longtime solopreneur, says she uses AI widely but draws firm boundaries between AI-assisted and AI-generated outputs. The piece cites a KfW study showing a falling average founder age in Germany and a Randstad survey about Gen Z entrepreneurship, and it notes concerns such as model hallucinations and the potential reputational harm from over-reliance on AI.