Not well-behaved, but contractually compliant
Advertisements: Larger in-house publishing houses are considering introducing a direct-booking discount. And what about publishers managed by Publicitas? Most are (still) holding back—and sticking to their contracts.
Advertisements Larger independent publishers are considering introducing a direct booking discount. And publishers under Publicitas management? Most of them are (still) holding back - and sticking to their contracts. Since Ringier, like Tamedia, has been offering a discount for media agencies that book directly, an intensified print-internal battle for market share has been launched among publishers, which is likely to ultimately reduce the publishers' income. Publipresse General Director Otto Meier warned in an interview in the last issue of Werbewoche. "This battle for market share is not just limited to self-published titles," said Meier. "P-directed titles are also dealing with this issue in order to have a level playing field. "Werbewoche asked larger directed titles what they think about the direct booking discount. "We are looking into a discount. In particular, we are considering what to do if direct booking compensation becomes state of the art," says Daniel Ehrat, Publishing Director at St. Galler Tagblatt. Incidentally, the publishing house and P will meet this week and then present a "united opinion" on the subject.
There is no such date in Baden. "A direct booking discount is not yet an issue for us, but I understand all those who introduce it," says Ueli Eckstein, Head of Print Media at AZ Medien Group. And if there are disadvantages for AZ? "That's when you get creative," he says. In any case, he would then seek "rapid and intensive" discussions with P.
According to its CEO Erwin Bachmann, LZ-Medien is "not well-behaved, but faithful to the contract". "Our agreements with the P do not allow any unilateral changes, and we are sticking to them," he says. However, this does not prevent him from considering together with the P whether the Neue Luzerner Zeitung could suffer disadvantages from this situation - and how to react if so.
According to reports, this is also the case at Südostschweiz, but no official statement was available by the editorial deadline.
And at the NZZ? Publishing director Daniel Hofer "will certainly not ignore the multi-year contract with the P." Nevertheless, he emphasizes: "The discussion about whether and how advance services and various order channels are remunerated and to whom these fees belong is necessary."
Clear rules of the game requiredIn Hofer's opinion, such a compensation system should have three components: Firstly, compensation should go to those who provide professional advance services. Secondly, it should be compensated according to "transparent, clearly defined criteria" and also be openly disclosed to the advertising client. And thirdly, Hofer demands "conformity with existing legal provisions and with the constantly growing needs in the audit sector". "Increasingly, decision-making processes and remuneration channels need to be documented," Hofer warns.
But one thing is clear: the NZZ does not want to be at a competitive disadvantage either. That is why Hofer is in constant contact "with partner P". But there is no need to panic, he says, at least the NZZ has not felt the effects of Tamedia's and Ringier's discounts so far.
For the sake of completeness, we would like to mention two publishers with close ties to P, which Werbewoche reported on earlier: Basler Zeitung Medien is thinking aloud about the partial introduction of a discount despite its P lease (WW 41/06). Similarly, Edipresse: Although they are not touching the management contract with the newspapers, the Edipresse magazines without P management are examining the discount.
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There is no such date in Baden. "A direct booking discount is not yet an issue for us, but I understand all those who introduce it," says Ueli Eckstein, Head of Print Media at AZ Medien Group. And if there are disadvantages for AZ? "That's when you get creative," he says. In any case, he would then seek "rapid and intensive" discussions with P.
According to its CEO Erwin Bachmann, LZ-Medien is "not well-behaved, but faithful to the contract". "Our agreements with the P do not allow any unilateral changes, and we are sticking to them," he says. However, this does not prevent him from considering together with the P whether the Neue Luzerner Zeitung could suffer disadvantages from this situation - and how to react if so.
According to reports, this is also the case at Südostschweiz, but no official statement was available by the editorial deadline.
And at the NZZ? Publishing director Daniel Hofer "will certainly not ignore the multi-year contract with the P." Nevertheless, he emphasizes: "The discussion about whether and how advance services and various order channels are remunerated and to whom these fees belong is necessary."
Clear rules of the game requiredIn Hofer's opinion, such a compensation system should have three components: Firstly, compensation should go to those who provide professional advance services. Secondly, it should be compensated according to "transparent, clearly defined criteria" and also be openly disclosed to the advertising client. And thirdly, Hofer demands "conformity with existing legal provisions and with the constantly growing needs in the audit sector". "Increasingly, decision-making processes and remuneration channels need to be documented," Hofer warns.
But one thing is clear: the NZZ does not want to be at a competitive disadvantage either. That is why Hofer is in constant contact "with partner P". But there is no need to panic, he says, at least the NZZ has not felt the effects of Tamedia's and Ringier's discounts so far.
For the sake of completeness, we would like to mention two publishers with close ties to P, which Werbewoche reported on earlier: Basler Zeitung Medien is thinking aloud about the partial introduction of a discount despite its P lease (WW 41/06). Similarly, Edipresse: Although they are not touching the management contract with the newspapers, the Edipresse magazines without P management are examining the discount.
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