The P now also likes the specialty brokers

Advertising intermediaries The P has adapted its guidelines - after lengthy negotiations with the Competition Commission.
services that PubliGroupe settles with the Mediation Commission should be
soon become larger. However, if PubliGroupe is taken over by the
Competition Commission (ComCo) condemned or not? This question depends
since November 2002. At that time, the Competition Commission Secretariat announced after
of a one-year preliminary investigation that there were indications that the
PubliGroupe has found that the competition among the
ad intermediaries "inadmissibly restricted".

The Competition Commission therefore opened an investigation to clarify "whether the
PubliGroupe abused its dominant market position" by
discriminated against some competitors and restricted their access to the market by
blocked by "artificial barriers to market entry". Barriers are defined as
the ComCo Secretariat issued the so-called VSW guidelines, according to which the
PubliGroupe recognizes other advertising agencies as professional intermediaries and
their efforts with a so-called mediation commission.
VSW stands for Verband Schweizerischer Werbegesellschaften, an association,
which consists exclusively of the four wholly-owned PubliGroup subsidiaries
Publicitas, Publimedia, Publimag and Mosse Media.

First consequence apparent
Today, almost three and a half years later, the Weko proceedings against the
PubliGroupe has not yet been completed. But an initial
The consequence of the lengthy investigation is clear: the
mentioned VSW guidelines - they date back to the year 2000 - were
recently quietly removed from the Internet and replaced on February 8 by
replaced by a new, completely revised version, which is retroactively
is valid from January 1, 2006 (
www.vsw-assp.ch/d/berufsv.htm).
"We have adopted the new guidelines at the request of the ComCo Secretariat.
is now online," says Georges von Csernatony, member of the management board of
PubliGroupe, on request.

Competition Commission spokesman Patrik Ducrey confirms: The new version was approved by the
Competition Commission Secretariat actually approved as "compliant with antitrust law"
been made. However, both Ducrey and von Csernatony make a
clear reservation: the new version had only been approved by the ComCo Secretariat.
The decision has been approved, but it is only final if the higher-level Competition Commission also agrees. Theoretically
changes are still conceivable, which is why nothing has been communicated (yet).
When the "final disposition" exists and whether it is an actual
condemnation of PubliGroupe remains to be seen.
However, it is more likely that PubliGroupe's concession
was able to avert damage to its image.

Because this much is certain: with the new guidelines, the
PubliGroupe is moving away from the previous strategy in one respect in particular
position. On the other hand, the Competition Commission Secretariat obviously also
some points of criticism. And these are the main changes:
Until now, PubliGroupe has only granted the agency commission (AC) to
Intermediaries with an annual business volume of one million
francs in print media or 100,000 francs in VSW leased titles
were identified. The intermediaries also had to be universal intermediaries, i.e.
both commercial advertisements and classified advertisements
in a mix of 50 percent each. This means, for example
a pure employment agency never a UK from a VSW lease title,
despite delivered ads.

Generate more sales
These restrictions are now largely no longer applicable, only the
Business volume of CHF 100,000 in VSW leasehold securities remains as
However, this is no longer a prerequisite,
but must be achieved in the third year after recognition.
"This means that it is now also possible to commission
possible," confirms von Csernatony. The preamble to the new
guidelines explicitly state for the first time that VSW members may participate in the
cooperation with recruitment agencies, "in order to improve the
advertising market and thus generate additional sales in the
print media of their publishing partners".

Another controversial point, however, was included in the new directives
not only left in place, but in Csernatony's opinion even
strengthened. PubliGroupe therefore still only has to pay those intermediaries
which are "legally and economically independent" of all their advertising customers. With this
They prevent major customers such as Migros or Coop from having their own
set up advertising agencies in order to collect the UK through them -
in addition to the annual sales bonus. Should PubliGroupe nevertheless
If there are doubts about the independence of an agency, it can now
Request proof from a neutral body (lawyer or trustee).
"We didn't have this option before. The agencies decided
that it was none of our business," says von
Csernatony.    

David and Goliath
The impetus for the Weko investigation against PubliGroupe and thus also
on the new version of the guidelines was announced by the small intermediary AdX in
Zollikon. In 2001, the latter applied to the VSW for recognition as a
professional mediator and thus for the granting of the UK, which, however
was rejected. The reason given: AdX is a specialty broker, its
Sales mix of classifieds/commercial too one-sided, and the VSW also suspected that the
a connection to the major customer Mercuri Urval. AdX then filed a complaint with
of the Weko.

We learned of the publication of the updated VSW guidelines
AdX Managing Director Werner Baumann on Advertising Week. "Compared to the
The version that has now been published is a clear step forward compared to the previous guidelines," he acknowledges. He suspects,
that AdX should now be accepted by the VSW as a professional mediator.
However, he left it open as to whether and when he would submit a new application. Because
He still sees some need for correction. "I am certainly surprised,
that the new guidelines were published so quietly," says
Baumann. In December, he and other P-independent mediators had still
on a draft directive of the Competition Commission, which is now
However, AdX was no longer asked for the current version.
COMCO spokesman Ducrey confirms the "market test" at the time. Of this
still a lot has been incorporated, he says, "but now we don't do any
Consultation more."

Markus Knöpfli