Flywheel vs Roche

Amazon AI Tools Launch, Brands Cheer Review Requests

Amazon's unBoxed event showcased AI-driven advertising tools like Amazon Ads Agent, Full-Funnel Campaigns, and conversational analytics, but advertisers were more excited about Review Requests, which tripled product reviews in testing. Amazon also launched Branded Conversations within Alexa for Shopping and rebranded its DSP to DVA+. The company reported Q3 2026 revenues of $201.9 billion, up 12% year-over-year, with advertising revenue at $19.64 billion, also up 12% but slightly down sequentially due to Prime Day timing. Amazon is betting on agentic AI with Amazon Ads Agent. However, the FTC and 22 states sued Amazon in August 2026 over alleged deceptive auction practices, raising transparency concerns. Industry developments include Apple's stricter tracking protections in WebKit, blocking The Trade Desk's domain, and OpenWeb's receivership due to a $20 million loan default. Bain & Company and eMarketer confirm onsite formats as top growth drivers for retail media networks.

• Amazon launched Review Requests, which generated three times more product reviews in testing, and opens in US beta in late October 2026.
• Amazon rebranded its DSP as DVA+ and introduced Branded Conversations for advertising in Alexa for Shopping.
• Apple blocked The Trade Desk's ad serving domain in WebKit, affecting 34% of US web traffic and 21.7% worldwide.

Wirz Launches Healthcare Consulting Unit Wirz Pulse

Swiss agency group Wirz has launched 'Wirz Pulse', a specialized consulting offering for the healthcare market, targeting hospitals, insurers, and pharma/medtech companies. The service aims to support healthcare organizations in positioning, change management, and growth. Wirz will collaborate with organizations to develop a strategic direction translated into positioning, culture, offerings, communication, and experiences. Six programs cover transformation, brand identity, patient journey, work culture, innovation, and digital experience. The launch responds to labor shortages, cost pressure, digitalization, and evolving patient needs, as well as new fields like personalized medicine and longevity. Existing healthcare mandates include Roche, University Hospital Zurich, CSS, Interpharma, and Rheumaliga Schweiz, from which Wirz derived recurring challenges and success factors.

• Wirz Group launches 'Wirz Pulse' consulting service for healthcare sector.
• Targets hospitals, insurers, pharma, and medtech companies.
• Offers six programs: transformation, brand identity, patient journey, work culture, innovation, digital experience.

Roche and Ypsomed Stay Top in Swiss Reputation Ranking

Swissreputation Group and Pressrelations Schweiz analyzed nearly 90,000 reputation-relevant statements from about 4,000 Swiss online and print sources using an AI-supported method to evaluate media reputation for 40 pharma and medtech companies. The study measured presence (coverage and reach) and tonality (positive/negative reporting) and calculated a Reputation Score (0–100) for each company across six reputation dimensions. In Pharma & Biopharma, Roche ranks first (ahead of MSD, Novartis, Sandoz and AstraZeneca). In MedTech & Diagnostics, Ypsomed remains first (ahead of Medacta, Straumann Group, Alcon and Sonova). The study notes products/services, innovation and economic performance tended to improve media reputation, while workplace issues (layoffs, relocations) and ESG/legal problems harmed reputation. The article was published on 2026-08-13.

• Swissreputation Group and Pressrelations Schweiz analyzed nearly 90,000 reputation-relevant statements from about 4,000 Swiss online and print sources using an AI-supported method.
• The study measured presence and tonality for 40 pharma and medtech companies and computed a Reputation Score between 0 and 100 across six reputation dimensions.
• In the Pharma & Biopharma category, Roche ranked first, followed by MSD, Novartis, Sandoz and AstraZeneca.

Roche Pharma Day 2026 announced

Roche Pharma Day 2026 will be held on Monday, 28th September 2026, 09:00am BST. More details available via the investor update.