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Daily newspapers In the search for new forms of financing, more and more publishers are turning to sponsorship.
Daily newspapers In their search for new forms of financing, more and more publishers are turning to sponsorship. Publishers cannot be quoted with new, but still half-baked business ideas. And if they do, then certainly not in their own paper. But this is exactly what Peter Wanner did when he announced via Mittelland Zeitung at the end of January that there was "innovation potential" in the area of sponsorship that the Swiss press had "completely missed out on".
When asked by Werbewoche whether and how he intended to embed this flourishing below-the-line discipline in the world of newspapers, Wanner was not very pleased: "I didn't really want to make a big deal of it, but wanted to try it out myself first." Blick and Tages-Anzeiger obviously also wanted to avoid a stir - among competitors due to the risk of imitation and among readers due to fear of loss of credibility. Both Zurich newspapers have already been practising their first sponsorship experiments on their sports pages for several months.
More lucrative than advertisements?
For example, the Monday results column of the Axpo Super League - still better known to many football fans as the National League A - in Blick has been dominated by the logos
of the energy provider. And when Köbi Kuhn and his boys produce headlines, the five sponsors of "Swiss
Soccer" under the respective article. "Axpo and the other sponsors of Swiss football want to communicate their commitment to a broad public," says Blick publishing director Bruno Blaser. The strongest sports newspaper in Switzerland offers the best platform for this - and in the neutral results section "an ideal environment for both sides because it is harmless".
Incidentally, Axpo knocked on Blick's door and not the other way around. Blaser is eloquently silent about the income from this exclusive (and nota bene without a clear declaration à la "powered by") permanent placement. However, as with the accompanying advertisements for weather forecasts and the title field, which only change seasonally, the price for table sponsorship is likely to be significantly higher than the normal rate.
Weather and stock market also conceivable
The "Facts and figures" page in the Tages-Anzeiger sports section has also been bookable since October. However, it is only in black and white, but with immediate effect according to the official rate schedule. This means that an advertisement costs between CHF 1,500 (one week) and CHF 900 (one year) per placement, depending on the duration. For Tagi publishing director Maili Wolf, an extension of the new offer to sections that cannot be influenced by the editorial team or sponsors, such as weather, stock market data or TV programs, is not only conceivable but also desirable. "However, innovative forms of advertising always require innovative customers," Wolf points out. In other words, there is currently a lack of the latter. And even if it were otherwise, sponsorship always carries the risk of self-cannibalization for the press. However, it can also generate new customers, as shown by the TV/radio double page of the Tagi, which has been selectively sponsored by Sat 1 (Switzerland) since the end of February.
Tobias Trevisan, Meili's colleague from the NZZ, has far fewer concerns about self-cannibalization than about loss of credibility. Which is why he has spared the main paper from having to deal with the new advertising trend and has chosen the NZZ-Ticket supplement as a field for experimentation. "If a patron were interested in the cinema program, for example, we would certainly be open-minded."
There is therefore potential for press sponsorship not only where the manipulation-resistant football, weather or market gods reign, but also in the notoriously low-advertising cultural section. There, however, it is likely to be even more difficult than it already is for advertisers and readers alike to differentiate it from the genre of "media partnerships".
Sponsor appearances in Blick (above) and in the Tages-Anzeiger (right) open up new sources of money, but are only suitable in the context of neutral sections that cannot be influenced by the editors and sponsors.
"More opportunities than risks "Advertising placed as if the reader personally owes the editorial news to it: Hanspeter Lebrument nevertheless sees press sponsorship, which is located in the no-man's land between media partnership and text ads, as an "important and correct innovation impulse for our industry". Now that red pencils and rationalization have had their effect, the publisher president and Südostschweiz editor believes it is high time to set an example for a creative departure. In addition, these and other long-term forms of advertising could provide newspapers with more planning security in the medium term. "As long as credibility is maintained, sponsorship offers far more opportunities than risks for the Swiss press," summarizes Lebrument - who, however, has not yet followed up these words with action in his own paper. (oc)
Oliver Classen
When asked by Werbewoche whether and how he intended to embed this flourishing below-the-line discipline in the world of newspapers, Wanner was not very pleased: "I didn't really want to make a big deal of it, but wanted to try it out myself first." Blick and Tages-Anzeiger obviously also wanted to avoid a stir - among competitors due to the risk of imitation and among readers due to fear of loss of credibility. Both Zurich newspapers have already been practising their first sponsorship experiments on their sports pages for several months.
More lucrative than advertisements?
For example, the Monday results column of the Axpo Super League - still better known to many football fans as the National League A - in Blick has been dominated by the logos
of the energy provider. And when Köbi Kuhn and his boys produce headlines, the five sponsors of "Swiss
Soccer" under the respective article. "Axpo and the other sponsors of Swiss football want to communicate their commitment to a broad public," says Blick publishing director Bruno Blaser. The strongest sports newspaper in Switzerland offers the best platform for this - and in the neutral results section "an ideal environment for both sides because it is harmless".
Incidentally, Axpo knocked on Blick's door and not the other way around. Blaser is eloquently silent about the income from this exclusive (and nota bene without a clear declaration à la "powered by") permanent placement. However, as with the accompanying advertisements for weather forecasts and the title field, which only change seasonally, the price for table sponsorship is likely to be significantly higher than the normal rate.
Weather and stock market also conceivable
The "Facts and figures" page in the Tages-Anzeiger sports section has also been bookable since October. However, it is only in black and white, but with immediate effect according to the official rate schedule. This means that an advertisement costs between CHF 1,500 (one week) and CHF 900 (one year) per placement, depending on the duration. For Tagi publishing director Maili Wolf, an extension of the new offer to sections that cannot be influenced by the editorial team or sponsors, such as weather, stock market data or TV programs, is not only conceivable but also desirable. "However, innovative forms of advertising always require innovative customers," Wolf points out. In other words, there is currently a lack of the latter. And even if it were otherwise, sponsorship always carries the risk of self-cannibalization for the press. However, it can also generate new customers, as shown by the TV/radio double page of the Tagi, which has been selectively sponsored by Sat 1 (Switzerland) since the end of February.
Tobias Trevisan, Meili's colleague from the NZZ, has far fewer concerns about self-cannibalization than about loss of credibility. Which is why he has spared the main paper from having to deal with the new advertising trend and has chosen the NZZ-Ticket supplement as a field for experimentation. "If a patron were interested in the cinema program, for example, we would certainly be open-minded."
There is therefore potential for press sponsorship not only where the manipulation-resistant football, weather or market gods reign, but also in the notoriously low-advertising cultural section. There, however, it is likely to be even more difficult than it already is for advertisers and readers alike to differentiate it from the genre of "media partnerships".
Sponsor appearances in Blick (above) and in the Tages-Anzeiger (right) open up new sources of money, but are only suitable in the context of neutral sections that cannot be influenced by the editors and sponsors.
"More opportunities than risks "Advertising placed as if the reader personally owes the editorial news to it: Hanspeter Lebrument nevertheless sees press sponsorship, which is located in the no-man's land between media partnership and text ads, as an "important and correct innovation impulse for our industry". Now that red pencils and rationalization have had their effect, the publisher president and Südostschweiz editor believes it is high time to set an example for a creative departure. In addition, these and other long-term forms of advertising could provide newspapers with more planning security in the medium term. "As long as credibility is maintained, sponsorship offers far more opportunities than risks for the Swiss press," summarizes Lebrument - who, however, has not yet followed up these words with action in his own paper. (oc)
Oliver Classen
