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For 5+ years, Adrian Bluhmky and his team have been behind some of digitalswitzerland’s most impactful digital campaigns — from Swiss Digital Days to HerHACK. This spotlight highlights the strategies, stories, and results behind the partnership and future outlook.
What began as a spontaneous conversation at the Digital Festival Zürich turned into a five-year strategic collaboration that helped shape Switzerland’s most influential digital campaigns.
Since 2019, Adrian Bluhmky has been a driving force behind many of digitalswitzerland’s most visible and innovative public initiatives. As the founder of the remote-first digital agency Ads and Ventures, and later the advertising powerhouse Ads Daddy (adsdaddy.com), Adrian has played a key role in enhancing the reach, clarity and impact of national campaigns — from Davos to Las Vegas, and from Swiss Digital Days to HerHACK.
This is the story of how one insight became a long-term partnership — and how a global team helped power Switzerland’s digital movement from behind the scenes.
(From left to right: Colin Wallace, Inès Jetzer, Emily Livingston, Melanie Holenweger, Eliane Panek, Sophie Bohnen, Adrian Bluhmky)
The Origins of a High-Impact Collaboration
The story begins in 2019 at the Digital Festival Zürich, where Adrian Bluhmky — founder of the digital agency Ads and Ventures — was contracted to drive ticket sales through paid digital campaigns. It was an ambitious project and his first major assignment in the Swiss tech scene. Working remotely with his small but agile team, Adrian deployed a conversion-optimised campaign structure, segmented targeting, and fresh creative formats that noticeably lifted both attention and event participants.
But the real turning point came during a networking lunch at the festival. In a spontaneous discussion with representatives from digitalswitzerland, Adrian flagged a critical insight: their Digital Days and the Digital Festival were unknowingly bidding on the same paid search terms, scheduled during the same week, and inadvertently cannibalising each other’s visibility, while actually targeting different audiences.
Rather than simply raising the issue, Adrian offered a fix: mutual keyword exclusions, real-time coordination across ad accounts, and a centralised campaign alignment strategy. It wasn’t just a tactical tweak — it was a systems-level optimisation that benefited both organisations.
The solution was implemented almost immediately. Costs dropped, click-through rates improved, and the campaigns stopped competing against each other. What began as a quick suggestion over lunch became the launchpad for a collaboration that has since supported Switzerland’s most visible digital initiatives.
“Adrian played a crucial role in developing and executing digital advertising strategies for high-profile campaigns such as WEF Davos and CES Las Vegas. His work consistently delivered measurable results and elevated engagement across platforms.” — Stéphanie Schenk, former Head of Marketing & Communications, digitalswitzerland
Global Campaigns, Remote Precision
In 2020, while enrolled in a Double Master’s degree and attending his second Master’s at Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia, Adrian led the digital advertising strategy for digitalswitzerland’s delegation presence at two globally significant events — the World Economic Forum in Davos and the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
Adrian supported the Swiss delegations participating in both events by creating and managing awareness campaigns across Meta, Google, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Twitter. These initiatives targeted global decision-makers and influencers, helping spotlight Switzerland’s digital ambitions on the world stage.
Despite the geographic distance from Switzerland, Adrian operated with remote precision while in Australia.
“Coordinating and launching the paid media campaigns for CES in Las Vegas and the WEF in Davos — all from my laptop in Brisbane, Australia — was surreal. I’d just hit ‘publish’ on the Davos ads, then watched Trump take the stage live at the event. That’s when it hit me: I was running campaigns on the world stage, halfway across the globe.” — Adrian Bluhmky, founder of Ads and Ventures & Ads Daddy
From Passive Event Pages to Scalable Digital Infrastructure
Between 2020 and 2024, Adrian and his team created the core digital infrastructure for the Swiss Digital Days, including landing pages, automated sign-up flows, advertising campaigns, and analytics dashboards. His introduction of the “All Access Pass” increased event sign-ups by over 300%, elevating the perceived value of free public events through structured engagement funnels.
“Adrian and the team at Ads and Ventures consistently delivered creative and results-driven solutions. Their ability to support major initiatives with flexibility, speed and accuracy made them a trusted extension of our digital team.”— Melanie Holenweger, former Communications & Marketing Manager, digitalswitzerland
(Left to right: Digital Trust Movement, Lina Alice Machts – Head of Design at Ads and Ventures, Swiss Digital Days All Access Pass)
Designing for Trust and Representation
In 2023, Adrian and his global team of A-players at Ads and Ventures delivered a rebrand for HerHACK, Switzerland’s leading female-led hackathon. From redesigning the website to deploying a high-converting media funnel, the campaign outperformed previous years’ events, generating more sign-ups than ever before.
Simultaneously, Adrian worked alongside the Swiss Digital Initiative to launch the “Digital Trust Movement” — a comprehensive brand identity and self-assessment ecosystem for organisations. This included developing the Digital Trust Compass: a publicly accessible online tool that helps companies evaluate their handling of privacy, security and data responsibility. All campaign elements — from visual identity to backend logic — were designed and implemented by Adrian and his team.
“His ideas were creative and practical, and his guidance helped me achieve my goals efficiently. Adrian is knowledgeable, professional, and brings valuable insights to the table.”
— Astrid Savouré, former Marketing Project Partner for HerHack
A Team Built on Delivery
Throughout the years, Adrian worked alongside internal and external teams, delivering reliable results while remaining flexible and efficient. From landing pages to analytics to creative consulting, Adrian and the Ads and Ventures team — a global unit of A-players — repeatedly adapted to tight timelines and complex briefs.
“From landing pages to lead gen — Adrian and the Ads and Ventures family always go above and beyond.”
— Emily Byrne-Livingston, former Project Lead at digitalswitzerland
Evolving the Vision
As the digital entrepreneurship landscape continues to evolve, so does Adrian’s focus.
Ads and Ventures has grown into a full-scale venture studio, acting as the plug-and-play marketing department for new ventures. Startups can instantly onboard a fully operational team of digital A-players, with Adrian stepping in as an outsourced Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), ensuring every campaign, brand asset, and funnel is executed with top-tier strategic oversight and startup speed.
One of the first startups to partner up with Ads and Ventures is Neuphoria: Neuphoria is a neurotechnology company based in Australia that combines AI-guided brain training with EEG-based biofeedback to help users achieve higher states of focus, flow, and self-awareness. Its wearable headband and mobile app platform are designed to make cutting-edge neuroscience accessible for personal growth, performance, and consciousness exploration.
(Neuphoria brain training device and app)
Ads and Ventures was never meant to be just an ad agency — it’s a fully equipped marketing department for startups, SME’s and new ventures. Fast, scalable, experienced, and remote-first, the team operates as an extension of the business, ready to build and launch without heavy overhead.
Meanwhile, Ads Daddy has emerged as the newly focused ads agency — a creative powerhouse fully dedicated to building high-converting paid media campaigns. What began as a personal brand is now a growing team of specialists in performance marketing, crafting scroll-stopping creatives and compelling ad funnels for rapid business growth.
“Ads and Ventures was never meant to be just an ad agency. It’s a venture studio that partners with businesses that have the potential to scale through digital processes and a remote-first team. The ad agency is now Ads Daddy — the easy and approachable partner for straightforward and profitable advertising.” — Adrian Bluhmky
Scaling What Works and Driving Digital Excellence
With digitalswitzerland entering its next phase of strategic development, Adrian continues to be a trusted partner in executing digital campaigns that prioritise trust, transparency and impact. His confirmed support for the upcoming HerHACK 2025 includes digital campaign strategy, website and branding updates, and mentoring support for the next generation of female-led tech talent.
From shaping Swiss Digital Days to establishing the self-assessment tools for the Digital Trust Movement, Adrian’s collaboration with digitalswitzerland, HerHACK and the Swiss Digital Initiative remains anchored in innovation, agility, and high-performance delivery.
“I want to reach the 10-year anniversary of collaborating with digitalswitzerland! That’s not far off — we’ll hit it by November or December 2029. Keen to see who’s still on the team by then!”
— Adrian Bluhmky
As part of our ongoing collaboration, this is a unique opportunity for members of the digitalswitzerland community to gain direct insights from someone who has helped shape initiatives like Swiss Digital Days, HerHACK, and the Digital Trust Movement.
Adrian is offering a limited number of free Strategy Growth Map sessions to share actionable insights and help you strengthen your digital marketing approach: https://get.adsdaddy.com/now
“Adrian is a genius when it comes to advertising and growing a business through online marketing. His Strategy Session is a must-do for every business owner!” – Henry Boulton, CEO of Neuphoria
You can connect with Adrian Bluhmky via:
It’s this time of the year again, where we search for this year’s 100 Digital Shapers. Thanks to our long-standing partnership with Bilanz, Handelszeitung and PME, and this year supported by Innosuisse – the Swiss Innovation Agency, we are able to celebrate these outstanding individuals once more. The 2023 edition of 100 Digital Shapers will be published in late August. Until then, our jury is putting their heads together to select the 100 Digital Shapers from the hundreds of nominations received earlier this year.
In 2023, visionary entrepreneurs and digital business leaders have continued transforming Switzerland into a leading digital nation. Groundbreaking ventures drive innovation, bridge the gap between research and applications, and elevate Switzerland’s position as a digital powerhouse. We eagerly anticipate celebrating their outstanding achievements, recognising their transformative contributions to the nation’s thriving digital ecosystem.
And now it’s time for us to introduce you to our esteemed jury members, who with their unique skills, extensive knowledge and finger on the pulse of digital change, can appoint our winners.
Marc Kowalsky has been Deputy Editor-in-Chief at BILANZ, Switzerland’s biggest business magazine, for 15 years. His journalistic focus includes digitalisation, IT and telecoms as well as the startup scene. He has interviewed personalities such as Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Elon Musk and Eric Schmidt. In the course of his career, he has written for Fortune Magazine, SPIEGEL and SPIEGEL Online, BILANZ Deutschland, Die Welt, Facts and Weltwoche, among others.
Stefan Metzger is the Managing Director of digitalswitzerland. Until 2021, Stefan was the Country Managing Director of Cognizant Technology Solutions, responsible for the company’s business in Switzerland as well as the Market Leader for the Insurance Vertical across Continental Europe. Stefan has worked in the ICT Industry for more than 30 years, with focused experience in Insurance, Technology and Consulting. Prior to his current position, Stefan held various sales management and consulting roles at IBM Corporation across different countries, including Switzerland, Germany, Austria and Central Europe.
Thierry Vial has been editor-in-chief of the French-language business magazine PME for seven years. He studied political sciences at the University of Lausanne before working in asset management (BCV), then as an economic journalist for Bilan. He then managed Inédit Publications SA, an SME active in custom publishing, which belonged to the Gassmann group before joining PME.
With a doctoral degree in law from the University of Zurich and postgraduate studies at Duke University Law School, Dr. Christian Wenger is an experienced partner at Wenger Vieli, specialised in private equity, venture capital, and start-ups. Christian primarily supports and coaches entrepreneurs and founders in all kinds of legal and entrepreneurial matters. In 2011, he launched the Blue Lion incubator for start-ups. In spring 2017, he was elected to the Board of Trustees of the UZH Foundation of the University of Zurich. Christian is also Chairman of Swiss Entrepreneurs Fund, which created a Swiss fund for venture and growth capital.
Katrin is a Council and Board Member of several mandates in Switzerland as well as in Germany. She holds a Master of Business Administration, multiple post-graduate certifications in business and IT and speaks six languages. Katrin is a Lecturer at the University of Technology Cologne and the Swiss Kalaidos University of Applied Sciences, lecturing the Masterclass Leadership in a Digital Age. She is an influential Keynote Speaker at corporate and industry conferences, encouraging AI, digital innovation, creativity and a data-driven approach.
Gabriele Dobenecker holds a Master in Computer Science from the University of Hamburg. She spent over 20 years in the IT and high-tech industries. At the beginning of 2007, she started at Empa, the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, heading their Marketing, Knowledge and Technology Transfer section. Today, Gabriele is responsible for Entrepreneurship & Industry Relations.
Alicia Mazzarella is Head of Digital Strategy & Solutions for the World Economic Forum. In her role, she leads the strategy, implementation, and continuous improvement of internal digital platforms. Alicia has 25 years of international business experience with expertise in project and product management, digital implementation, and internal and external communications. Prior to the Forum, she led initiatives and operations for multinational, private equity, and startup organisations. Passionate about the intersection between people and technology, Alicia also serves on several digital and cultural task forces, including Future Skills and Future of Work.
Caroline Widmer is the Director of -Pulse Incubateur HES, an incubator for talents coming from the six Universities of Applied Sciences of HES-SO Geneva. She previously held strategic positions in the public administration, in the areas of Security and Economic Development. She has conducted major digital transitions while also participating in the elaboration of the State of Geneva’s digital and innovation Policy.
Karin Taheny is an experienced independent board member and Chief Digital and Technology Officer, steering organisations successfully through the turbulent waters of digital transformation. Having worked both at Google in Dublin and San Francisco, as well as in executive roles in leading technology companies, Karin has an in-depth understanding of the digital global landscape, and the challenges companies are facing today. Karin has served on the non-executive board of Switzerland Global Enterprise from 2018 to 2022. Currently, as Chief Digital + Technology Officer and Deputy CEO, she continues to lead the organisation’s digital transformation strategically into the future.
Mike Baur is a Swiss venture investor and has been investing in startups for more than 10 years. With his long-lasting private banking experience, he introduces private and institutional investors to venture asset management. He is Co-Founder and CEO of Swiss Ventures Group, one of the most active venture platforms in Switzerland and is engaged as an Advisory Board member at the Startup Days to strengthen the Swiss Startup ecosystem.
Michael has published ten books and more than a hundred articles and case studies on a variety of topics, including digital business transformation, innovation, strategy, and digital leadership. At IMD, Michael directs a number of executive programmes related to digital transformation, including Digital Execution, Digital Transformation for Boards, Digital Disruption, Digital Transformation in Practice and The Digital Transformation Sprint. Michael provides consulting services, executive education, and expert evaluations to several public and private sector organisations on strategy and digital transformation, and he sits on a number of corporate boards as an advisor on digitization and business model disruption.
Once again, the Digital Shapers can be nominated within 10 categories. Digitalisation and its impact on our daily lives is in constant motion, and so are our categories. Among familiar categories, in 2023 you will find new ones as well. Along with our partners, we called upon the public on social media to nominate Digital Shapers from across Switzerland. The big question is: Which digital leaders will make it into the top 100 this year? Stay tuned, the result will be seen.
1. The Spin-off Founders
Entrepreneurs who carve out their idea from a big organisation into a startup
2. The Incubators
People who help digital startups to grow – with money, advice and connections
3. The Internationalisers
Founders and advisors who help their startups to establish a foothold in foreign markets
4. The Nature Techies
People who use digital transformation in order to protect, and preserve nature
5. The Decentralisers
They distribute data around the world leveraging technologies like Web 3.0, distributed ledger, blockchain, cloud & Co.
6. The eMedics
People who use digital transformation to improve various aspects of wellbeing, health and medicine
7. The AI Generators
Masterminds of putting Artificial Intelligence to use
8. The eTeachers
Helping to educate the world using digital tools is their mission
9. The Mobilisers
People who transport mobility into the digital age
10. The Smarties
Experts in the Internet of things that make dumb devices smart
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