Order prevails!
Since the beginning of the year, the city of Zurich has been cracking down harder on illegal posters
Since the beginning of the year, the city of Zurich has been taking tougher action against wild postersThere is hardly a building site wall or house wall in Zurich that is not covered with small colorful posters. Whether they are up for a few days or just an hour, wild posters characterize the urban landscape. While uncontrolled proliferation used to be the rule, since the 1970s companies have been offering their services in controlled small posters. Alive and Propaganda, which claim to be the largest providers in Switzerland, are two of them. Their billposters put up posters on walls and walls and occasionally collected a "parking fine", as Propaganda owner Sandro Galli calls the police sanctions for unauthorized billposting. This "tariff" is likely to be massively increased in the near future. This is because the increased presence of the increasingly popular medium has long been a thorn in the side of Zurich city council. Enormous removal costs (one million francs per year) and increased pressure from private landowners and store owners have forced the city to take action, as Bernhard Liechti from the Office for Urban Development explains. Since January 1, billposters are no longer punished by way of administrative fines, but are instead reported to the police magistrate's office. In addition, the fine has been massively increased. Billposting is only permitted on officially authorized sites or city billboards. Agreements between wild posters and private individuals for outdoor areas are null and void.
The regulation does not only affect providers of wild posters. Small-scale organizers of cultural events also lose out: The restrictions have led to a massive reduction in stickers. In the area of culture, however, the city is offering around 120 special cultural pillars in return, and the funds for further expansion have already been allocated, says Liechti: "We want to promote cultural advertising."
As early as 1999, the authorities announced a tougher approach to wild posters. Since then, Steff Gruber, owner of Alive, has been working with six canvassers to set up Plakat.com - an approved network of sites for small posters. Gruber now manages around 1000 poster sites, comprising 800 indoor and 70 outdoor sites as well as 120 new waste containers. By the end of 2003, the aim is to have 2000.
Competitor Propaganda also offers its customers a good 1,000 small poster sites, but the proportion of sites approved by the authorities is negligible. But even at Rötelstrasse, the headquarters of Propaganda, efforts are being made to steadily expand such a network, after all, they want to avoid conflicts, assures Galli. The new regulation has already claimed its first victims: At the end of the year, Propaganda had to lay off 25 of its 75 employees. "Although we are active throughout Switzerland, Zurich is the largest market," explains Galli. For the current year, he also expects a "sharp drop in sales" in the Zurich area.
Propaganda and Alive also imagine collaboration
Meanwhile, Alive is looking forward to new customers, as Gruber reveals. He doesn't give a figure, but it includes major cultural event organizers who have previously refrained from using wild posters. Despite this trend in the customer sector, Gruber does not expect the official sanctions to have a rapid impact on his balance sheet: The acquisition of the Plakat.com sites has cost Alive around CHF 1.2 million to date. Gruber expects the additional expansion to cost "several hundred thousand francs".
If the city rigorously implements its efforts as planned, Propaganda in Zurich would also have to change its strategy. Galli and Gruber are open to a possible collaboration - as already exists for the management of the cultural pillars. A joint
Both can imagine using the infrastructure "very well". However, there are no concrete projects yet. Simone Keller
The regulation does not only affect providers of wild posters. Small-scale organizers of cultural events also lose out: The restrictions have led to a massive reduction in stickers. In the area of culture, however, the city is offering around 120 special cultural pillars in return, and the funds for further expansion have already been allocated, says Liechti: "We want to promote cultural advertising."
As early as 1999, the authorities announced a tougher approach to wild posters. Since then, Steff Gruber, owner of Alive, has been working with six canvassers to set up Plakat.com - an approved network of sites for small posters. Gruber now manages around 1000 poster sites, comprising 800 indoor and 70 outdoor sites as well as 120 new waste containers. By the end of 2003, the aim is to have 2000.
Competitor Propaganda also offers its customers a good 1,000 small poster sites, but the proportion of sites approved by the authorities is negligible. But even at Rötelstrasse, the headquarters of Propaganda, efforts are being made to steadily expand such a network, after all, they want to avoid conflicts, assures Galli. The new regulation has already claimed its first victims: At the end of the year, Propaganda had to lay off 25 of its 75 employees. "Although we are active throughout Switzerland, Zurich is the largest market," explains Galli. For the current year, he also expects a "sharp drop in sales" in the Zurich area.
Propaganda and Alive also imagine collaboration
Meanwhile, Alive is looking forward to new customers, as Gruber reveals. He doesn't give a figure, but it includes major cultural event organizers who have previously refrained from using wild posters. Despite this trend in the customer sector, Gruber does not expect the official sanctions to have a rapid impact on his balance sheet: The acquisition of the Plakat.com sites has cost Alive around CHF 1.2 million to date. Gruber expects the additional expansion to cost "several hundred thousand francs".
If the city rigorously implements its efforts as planned, Propaganda in Zurich would also have to change its strategy. Galli and Gruber are open to a possible collaboration - as already exists for the management of the cultural pillars. A joint
Both can imagine using the infrastructure "very well". However, there are no concrete projects yet. Simone Keller
