Something is striking: Of the 150 titles listed here, only a quarter are changing the rates for entire advertising pages: 36 titles - mainly newspapers - are increasing the page price, 11 are reducing it. The 7 supplements make no changes at all, and only 2 of the 44 magazines do so. In addition, there are hardly any adjustments in French-speaking Switzerland, with only 4 titles (Journal du Jura, Journal de Morges, Lausanne Cité, GHI) raising their rates slightly and 2 (Avant Première, Bilan) lowering them. All this shows: Publishers are more cautious than ever before. For three reasons: Firstly, the majority of their advertising revenues were down in 2013. Secondly, they know that this is unlikely to change much even if the economy picks up - for structural reasons. Thirdly, their readership and circulation figures, which were collected using a new methodology for the first time in 2013, mostly show lower figures. However, some are also taking advantage of this change: As the new figures are not comparable with the old ones and a comparison of the old and new thousand-reader price (TLP) is therefore neither permissible nor possible, it is possible to give the impression that everything is more or less staying the same by keeping prices the same. 

Hardly conducive to the print genre

This latter tactic is more pronounced and more common in German-speaking Switzerland than in other parts of the country. But at least in some cases it raises questions. For example, it is difficult to understand why the NZZ Folio is leaving its rates at the previous level, even though it has 242,000 fewer readers than before according to the new measurement methodology. The Beobachter, Schweizer Illustrierte, Das Magazin and Gesundheits-Tipp are similarly problematic, each reporting around 80,000 to 100,000 fewer readers. Weltwoche, Annabelle, NZZ am Sonntag and Bilanz (-60,000 each) and Basler Zeitung (-40,000) are not much better. To be fair, however, the opposite is also true: Titles such as Télétop Matin, the Migros and Coop press and Touring have increased their readership by six figures - and yet have not raised their prices. Even Le Matin semaine, which has 72,000 more readers than before, has not raised its rates.

Much that is new in (southern) eastern Switzerland
 
However, in addition to the many unchanged prices, there are also a few steep surcharges or discounts this year. Some of them are understandable. For example, 20 Minuten, Blick, Blick am Abend, Nordwestschweiz and the free out-of-home magazine 20 Minuten Friday are all increasing their prices. However, it is interesting to note that the Powerday combination of Blick and Blick am Abend is lowering its rates by 5% at the same time.

The St. Galler Tagblatt (SGT) is also raising its rates by 15%. The reason: SGT is integrating three former partner newspapers of Südostschweiz (SOCH) - Werdenberger & Obertoggenburger, Rheintalische Volkszeitung and Liechtensteiner Vaterland. The SGT circulation will therefore increase by 21%, the readership by 15%. The situation is similar for the Neue Luzerner Zeitung: it is replacing its Neue Schwyzer Zeitung edition with the Boten der Urschweiz and now has 10% more readers and a circulation increase of 12%. Zentralschweiz am Sonntag is also likely to benefit from this. However, its price increase is justified differently: According to the new measurement, it has 24% more readers than before and is therefore asking for 13% more money. The loser of the new constellations in eastern and central Switzerland is, of course, Südostschweiz: four of its partner papers have turned their backs on it, which is why it is now reducing its rates by around 30%.

Standard tariff still on the rised

4 titles - Aargauer Zeitung, Il Caffè, SonntagsZeitung and Anzeiger Luzern - are charging significantly more for their b/w ad pages than for 4c prices, by up to 58%. They are thus following the general trend and introducing a uniform rate for b/w and 4c ads. This simplifies their rate structure. 21 other newspapers took this step earlier. Another newspaper is about to introduce the standard rate: the young Ostschweiz am Sonntag has already reduced its 4c rate by 5%, making it just 230 francs higher than that for a b/w ad. Incidentally, the steepest price cuts were made by the cinema magazines Avant première (-38%) and Film demnächst (-22.5%). The reasons are interesting: In German-speaking Switzerland they are reacting - despite significantly higher readership figures - to competition from 20 Minuten Friday, and in French-speaking Switzerland, where they have a few fewer readers, they have "adjusted the rate to the market", wrote advertising manager André Cristin.
 
Like every year: hidden surcharges

Of course, there are also hidden rate increases: These include newspapers that leave the price per page unchanged but increase the price per millimeter. This makes small-format advertisements more expensive. The most "cheeky" in this respect is the Liechtensteiner Vaterland: it is raising its b/w millimeter price by 8.5% and the color millimeter rate by as much as 3%, while leaving the page price untouched. The Basellandschaftliche Zeitung is hardly inferior: although it is increasing its page rate by 6%, it is raising its millimeter rates by 10 % to 14%. Le Temps uses another variant of hidden price increases: The title lowers page prices by 3%, but the millimeter price remains unaffected. But the reverse is also true here: The Aargauer Zeitung is lowering its color millimeter rate by 9%, but not the page rate - which leads to a discount on small-format 4c ads.

Reasons and excuses

Precisely because the survey methodology for circulation and reach figures changed this year, Werbewoche asked the publishers what criteria they used to make their rate decisions this year. By no means all publishers provided information. AZ Medien even said quite directly: "We do not comment on this in detail." Tamedia stated that the new readership figures were "generally" not included in the pricing". La Liberté, La Gruyère and the Ticino newspaper publishers said similar things. However, Kimedia, which is raising the rate for Bon à savoir by 8%, took a completely different view: "As always, circulation and readership figures are decisive. " Freiburger Nachrichten also relied on "our stable circulation figures". Weltwoche, which has around 60,000 fewer readers, justified the unchanged rate with a single word: "continuity". Was the wish the father of the thought?

Migros was different: it commented on the fact that it did not decide to increase prices despite the higher reach of Migros Magazine and Saisonküche with the "keyword: market acceptance". Other titles gave concrete reasons for their decisions: "The price increase at the post office" was the decisive factor for Lausanne Cité and GHI, for example. The Zürcher Oberländer cited the rising price of paper, the Zuger Presse more households in its distribution area. The Zofinger Tagblatt pointed to the negative taxation in Switzerland, which did not impose a surcharge if circulation remained the same. And Le Temps cited a strategic argument: the aim was to maintain the gross CPM level below CHF 120. "The CPM level must be kept as low as possible."

However, the most honest argument is probably made by Zeitlupe: "The new survey method only shows 144,000 readers for Zeitlupe. However, as it is no longer possible to compare with the previous studies, an unchanged advertising price remains the most obvious pricing option for 2014."
 
Markus Knöpfli

All tables in the article can be found at this link (PDF)

Something is striking: Of the 150 titles listed here, only a quarter are changing the rates for entire advertising pages: 36 titles - mainly newspapers - are increasing the page price, 11 are reducing it. The 7 supplements make no changes at all, and only 2 of the 44 magazines do so. In addition, there are hardly any adjustments in French-speaking Switzerland, with only 4 titles (Journal du Jura, Journal de Morges, Lausanne Cité, GHI) raising their rates slightly and 2 (Avant Première, Bilan) lowering them. All this shows: Publishers are more cautious than ever before. For three reasons: Firstly, the majority of their advertising revenues were down in 2013. Secondly, they know that this is unlikely to change much even if the economy picks up - for structural reasons. Thirdly, their readership and circulation figures, which were collected using a new methodology for the first time in 2013, mostly show lower figures. However, some are also taking advantage of this change: As the new figures are not comparable with the old ones and a comparison of the old and new thousand-reader price (TLP) is therefore neither permissible nor possible, it is possible to give the impression that everything is more or less staying the same by keeping prices the same. 

Hardly conducive to the print genre

This latter tactic is more pronounced and more common in German-speaking Switzerland than in other parts of the country. But at least in some cases it raises questions. For example, it is difficult to understand why the NZZ Folio is leaving its rates at the previous level, even though it has 242,000 fewer readers than before according to the new measurement methodology. The Beobachter, Schweizer Illustrierte, Das Magazin and Gesundheits-Tipp are similarly problematic, each reporting around 80,000 to 100,000 fewer readers. Weltwoche, Annabelle, NZZ am Sonntag and Bilanz (-60,000 each) and Basler Zeitung (-40,000) are not much better. To be fair, however, the opposite is also true: Titles such as Télétop Matin, the Migros and Coop press and Touring have increased their readership by six figures - and yet have not raised their prices. Even Le Matin semaine, which has 72,000 more readers than before, has not raised its rates.

Much that is new in (southern) eastern Switzerland
 
However, in addition to the many unchanged prices, there are also a few steep surcharges or discounts this year. Some of them are understandable. For example, 20 Minuten, Blick, Blick am Abend, Nordwestschweiz and the free out-of-home magazine 20 Minuten Friday are all increasing their prices. However, it is interesting to note that the Powerday combination of Blick and Blick am Abend is lowering its rates by 5% at the same time.

The St. Galler Tagblatt (SGT) is also raising its rates by 15%. The reason: SGT is integrating three former partner newspapers of Südostschweiz (SOCH) - Werdenberger & Obertoggenburger, Rheintalische Volkszeitung and Liechtensteiner Vaterland. The SGT circulation will therefore increase by 21%, the readership by 15%. The situation is similar for the Neue Luzerner Zeitung: it is replacing its Neue Schwyzer Zeitung edition with the Boten der Urschweiz and now has 10% more readers and a circulation increase of 12%. Zentralschweiz am Sonntag is also likely to benefit from this. However, its price increase is justified differently: According to the new measurement, it has 24% more readers than before and is therefore asking for 13% more money. The loser of the new constellations in eastern and central Switzerland is, of course, Südostschweiz: four of its partner papers have turned their backs on it, which is why it is now reducing its rates by around 30%.

Standard tariff still on the rise

4 titles - Aargauer Zeitung, Il Caffè, SonntagsZeitung and Anzeiger Luzern - are charging significantly more for their b/w ad pages than for 4c prices, by up to 58%. They are thus following the general trend and introducing a uniform rate for b/w and 4c ads. This simplifies their rate structure. 21 other newspapers took this step earlier. Another newspaper is about to introduce the standard rate: the young Ostschweiz am Sonntag has already reduced its 4c rate by 5%, making it just 230 francs higher than that for a b/w ad. Incidentally, the steepest price cuts were made by the cinema magazines Avant première (-38%) and Film demnächst (-22.5%). The reasons are interesting: In German-speaking Switzerland they are reacting - despite significantly higher readership figures - to competition from 20 Minuten Friday, and in French-speaking Switzerland, where they have a few fewer readers, they have "adjusted the rate to the market", wrote advertising manager André Cristin.
 
Like every year: hidden surcharges

Of course, there are also hidden rate increases: These include newspapers that leave the price per page unchanged but increase the price per millimeter. This makes small-format advertisements more expensive. The most "cheeky" in this respect is the Liechtensteiner Vaterland: it is raising its b/w millimeter price by 8.5% and the color millimeter rate by as much as 3%, while leaving the page price untouched. The Basellandschaftliche Zeitung is hardly inferior: although it is increasing its page rate by 6%, it is raising its millimeter rates by 10 % to 14%. Le Temps uses another variant of hidden price increases: The title lowers page prices by 3%, but the millimeter price remains unaffected. But the reverse is also true here: The Aargauer Zeitung is lowering its color millimeter rate by 9%, but not the page rate - which leads to a discount on small-format 4c ads.

Reasons and excuses

Precisely because the survey methodology for circulation and reach figures changed this year, Werbewoche asked the publishers what criteria they used to make their rate decisions this year. By no means all publishers provided information. AZ Medien even said quite directly: "We do not comment on this in detail." Tamedia stated that the new readership figures were "generally" not included in the pricing". La Liberté, La Gruyère and the Ticino newspaper publishers said similar things. However, Kimedia, which is raising the rate for Bon à savoir by 8%, took a completely different view: "As always, circulation and readership figures are decisive. " Freiburger Nachrichten also relied on "our stable circulation figures". Weltwoche, which has around 60,000 fewer readers, justified the unchanged rate with a single word: "continuity". Was the wish the father of the thought?

Migros was different: it commented on the fact that it did not decide to increase prices despite the higher reach of Migros Magazine and Saisonküche with the "keyword: market acceptance". Other titles gave concrete reasons for their decisions: "The price increase at the post office" was the decisive factor for Lausanne Cité and GHI, for example. The Zürcher Oberländer cited the rising price of paper, the Zuger Presse more households in its distribution area. The Zofinger Tagblatt pointed to the negative taxation in Switzerland, which did not impose a surcharge if circulation remained the same. And Le Temps cited a strategic argument: the aim was to maintain the gross CPM level below CHF 120. "The CPM level must be kept as low as possible."

However, the most honest argument is probably made by Zeitlupe: "The new survey method only shows 144,000 readers for Zeitlupe. However, as it is no longer possible to compare with the previous studies, an unchanged advertising price remains the most obvious pricing option for 2014."
 
Markus Knöpfli

Subscribers can find all the tables in the article at this link (PDF at the end of the article)