Second poster research
Billboard Advertising The two Swiss billboard companies are each continuing their research independently. As a result, the market will likely have to decide which approach to take.
Poster advertising The two Swiss poster providers are each continuing their own research. APG, the employees of the SPR office and Professor Dr. Martial Pasquier remain fully committed to the SPR concept. APG will therefore continue the SPR project, realize it on its own and also finance it. All billboards, including those of competitors, will be included in the project." With this statement, APG CEO Christian Kauter clearly defined his position in the out-of-home advertisers' dispute over poster research in Switzerland at a media conference on August 17. He has the backing of the German Fraunhofer Institute for Autonomous Intelligent Systems in St. Austin, which works for both the German research organization AGMA and SPR. It concludes that the SPR database collected through GPS measurements is "attractive" and "homogeneously empirical" and that it is suitable "both for calculating weighted poster contacts for individual spaces and for calculating reach for networks." Urs Zeier, Research Consultant at Clear Channel Plakanda (CCP), disagrees. He told Werbewoche just as clearly: "The SPR approach did not meet the original requirements in terms of accuracy because it does not measure the pedestrian routes through the viewing area, but only represents the street route through the viewing area. We therefore believe that an empirical visibility study, as is common in other countries, is needed to determine the quality of contact. In addition, it has been shown in Switzerland and elsewhere that the mobility of the population cannot be measured in sufficient depth using GPS alone; we also want to use official data sets."
This clearly marks the divide between the two placard providers. On a second point, the positions of APG and CCP are similarly far apart - namely on the question of whether it would be possible to switch to the research design favored by CCP (see also WW 27/05) of the German research organization AGMA. This would require sufficient quantitative and qualitative mobility data for Switzerland. Zeier says: "Compared to Germany, we in Switzerland have a much deeper database for the mobility of the population." He refers, for example, to the commuter data in the census, to
30000 five-yearly microcensus interviews, official traffic counts and mobility models such as those currently being developed at Swiss universities and by specialized companies. Martial Pasquier counters that the data currently available cannot meet the requirements of poster research. This has been clarified in detail - also together with CCP. "Of course we will have new data at some point - but do we want to wait that long?" he asks.
So here, too, it's a case of statement against statement. There is no clear statement on this from the German side. Lothar Hannen, Director of Billboards at AGMA, simply said on request: "We cannot and do not want to evaluate the Swiss mobility data."
Agreement desired
In this almost hopeless situation, CCP is at least opening a small door: CCP is interested in standardized poster research for Switzerland and remains open to discussions. The prerequisite for this is that agreement can be reached on the basic requirements for the research concept - together with the clients. "This is an offer to everyone who is interested in market-driven, internationally comparable Swiss performance values for poster sites and networks," says Zeier.
However, it is questionable whether this offer will find an open door at APG, SWA or BSW. SWA Director Jürg Siegrist is "disappointed that CCP is not continuing with the SPR", but at the same time he is "glad that the project is being carried through by APG". In any case, it would make no sense to start again, especially as BSW and SWA had supported the SPR project from the outset as part of the SWA poster team and via the specially appointed SPR user commission.
The next steps are as follows: SPR will collect and validate the data from Geneva this fall. After that, a legal battle over the liquidation of the simple SPR company is likely to begin. However, APG has already announced that it will set up a new company and collect data for the other nine agglomerations by mid-2006 using an additional 150 GPS devices. A planning tool will also be available at the beginning of 2006, initially for WG 43 (Zurich) and from fall 2006 for the whole of Switzerland. This will also include data for CCP poster sites and other providers. APG will record their locations itself.
CCP is now also stepping on the gas and is holding further talks with AGMA. Zeier did not want to say anything about a time frame for the availability of figures and whether these will also include the APG positions.
Clear wordsThe Fraunhofer Institute has not only scrutinized the SPR approach, but also AGMA's poster research concept.
taken. However, it did not engage in any ranking, but came to the sibylline conclusion that "the approaches pursued in the respective countries represent the most plausible solution in each case". Both are "innovative solutions that are unparalleled worldwide". The Institute therefore hopes "that poster research in Germany and Switzerland will not jeopardize its innovative lead ... through discussions that are in no way expedient." (mk)
The opinions of Christian Kauter (left) and Urs Zeier differ as regards the original requirements.
Markus Knöpfli
This clearly marks the divide between the two placard providers. On a second point, the positions of APG and CCP are similarly far apart - namely on the question of whether it would be possible to switch to the research design favored by CCP (see also WW 27/05) of the German research organization AGMA. This would require sufficient quantitative and qualitative mobility data for Switzerland. Zeier says: "Compared to Germany, we in Switzerland have a much deeper database for the mobility of the population." He refers, for example, to the commuter data in the census, to
30000 five-yearly microcensus interviews, official traffic counts and mobility models such as those currently being developed at Swiss universities and by specialized companies. Martial Pasquier counters that the data currently available cannot meet the requirements of poster research. This has been clarified in detail - also together with CCP. "Of course we will have new data at some point - but do we want to wait that long?" he asks.
So here, too, it's a case of statement against statement. There is no clear statement on this from the German side. Lothar Hannen, Director of Billboards at AGMA, simply said on request: "We cannot and do not want to evaluate the Swiss mobility data."
Agreement desired
In this almost hopeless situation, CCP is at least opening a small door: CCP is interested in standardized poster research for Switzerland and remains open to discussions. The prerequisite for this is that agreement can be reached on the basic requirements for the research concept - together with the clients. "This is an offer to everyone who is interested in market-driven, internationally comparable Swiss performance values for poster sites and networks," says Zeier.
However, it is questionable whether this offer will find an open door at APG, SWA or BSW. SWA Director Jürg Siegrist is "disappointed that CCP is not continuing with the SPR", but at the same time he is "glad that the project is being carried through by APG". In any case, it would make no sense to start again, especially as BSW and SWA had supported the SPR project from the outset as part of the SWA poster team and via the specially appointed SPR user commission.
The next steps are as follows: SPR will collect and validate the data from Geneva this fall. After that, a legal battle over the liquidation of the simple SPR company is likely to begin. However, APG has already announced that it will set up a new company and collect data for the other nine agglomerations by mid-2006 using an additional 150 GPS devices. A planning tool will also be available at the beginning of 2006, initially for WG 43 (Zurich) and from fall 2006 for the whole of Switzerland. This will also include data for CCP poster sites and other providers. APG will record their locations itself.
CCP is now also stepping on the gas and is holding further talks with AGMA. Zeier did not want to say anything about a time frame for the availability of figures and whether these will also include the APG positions.
Clear wordsThe Fraunhofer Institute has not only scrutinized the SPR approach, but also AGMA's poster research concept.
taken. However, it did not engage in any ranking, but came to the sibylline conclusion that "the approaches pursued in the respective countries represent the most plausible solution in each case". Both are "innovative solutions that are unparalleled worldwide". The Institute therefore hopes "that poster research in Germany and Switzerland will not jeopardize its innovative lead ... through discussions that are in no way expedient." (mk)
The opinions of Christian Kauter (left) and Urs Zeier differ as regards the original requirements.
Markus Knöpfli
