I n every industry, elaborate, creative ideas are used to attract attention. A wine shop celebrates its anniversary with tattooed wine bottles in a church. Coop lands on the hit parade with its organic song. In order to be seen on television, not only Bohlen is needed, but also Michelle and Gottschalk. Red Bull is involved in all the weird sports. At the Formell 1 even in the double pack. H&M attracts attention with Lagerfeld, Madonna and now Versace. With exceptions like Toyota's Waku Doki, silence and restraint are the order of the day in national automobile advertising.

My theory for good and successful advertising is still the same as it was 20 years ago, with one small but important change: Concept, attentive creation, continuity.

At the moment, the automotive industry is again inactive on small to large billboards. I only noticed these posters because there are so many of them. The fact that they are different brands became clear to me only after closer and more intensive observation.

All of them had more or less the same layout, unattractive headlines, lots of glue and guarantees, low prices of 1 to 3 model illustrations and, for some, lots of small print. All on one billboard, and this in the age of the World Wide Web. The car advertising has not improved at all since my moaning a year ago, rather the opposite is the case. All posters are enlarged advertisements. If you don't understand the message on a poster within one second at the most, the advertising money is gone.

But the automotive industry is not the only one that has forgotten that advertising should be eye-catching, original, pared down and humorous to the consumer. Cosmetics suppliers, cigarette advertisers, furniture makers, the electronics industry - to name just a few - are sick in the same hospital. I don't understand why such actionitis and unadvertising culture could spread. Everyone I know from the advertising scene is known to me as intelligent and humorous women and men. Someone should explain to me how such a task or briefing reaches the agency and then results in such an advertising output. The opener of the week is that I was allowed to write this column last Friday here in Zurich in the garden in shorts, topless and in glorious sunshine and 20°. No reason to grumble.

At the "Device Days" on October 25 and 26 at Zurich Main Station and on November 2 and 3 at the Interdiscount Megastore in Geneva, around 150 Microsoft Switzerland employees will be demonstrating the latest hardware as well as the top local and international apps on an area of over 300 square meters. Microsoft wants to demonstrate the advantages of the new operating system to the hundreds of thousands of commuters at Zurich's main railway station. The highlight in Zurich is a 6×9 meter Windows 8 tablet on which visitors can play a game of Win Pong against each other - with a giant keyboard or touch fingers, depending on their preference.

With Windows 8, Microsoft is now also stepping into Apple's big shoes. Its app operation on its iPhone and iPad was so successful that the competition had to follow suit. Google has already done this with the Android system for cell phones and tablet computers. And now Windows 8 will be available in over 140 markets and 37 languages from tomorrow, Friday, as Microsoft writes in a press release on Thursday.

Windows 8 has the advantage that the apps run on both tablets and PCs, said developer Christof Zogg according to SDA. "We believe that we will catch up with the huge backlog of apps." Not exactly a modest vision for the future. According to Microsoft, there are just a few thousand apps available, of which around 100 are from Switzerland. In comparison: Apple's mobile operating system currently offers over 700,000 apps. But Microsoft obviously doesn't need to worry about that. Because, as the company writes: "Many more top apps such as Ex Libris, Local.ch, Search.ch and Zattoo are set to follow in the next few days".

Thanks to our mobile devices, we are always and everywhere online, but the majority of electronic media is still mainly consumed at home. This is shown by the results of our fourth survey, which is in direct comparison to the last survey conducted during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

TV evenings clearly on trend - radio on the rise

TV consumption increased by a total of 2.8 percentage points, particularly among women and the over-40s, while TV consumption among men fell slightly at the same time. Internet TV continues to record fluctuating figures. In the current survey, Teleboy stands out with an increase of 10 percentage points to a usage rate of 20.3%. Zattoo remains the leader with an increase of 3.6 percentage points and a usage rate of 30.5%, as does Wilmaa, which has a usage rate of 28.8% overall despite a drop of 2.5 percentage points. Radio also increased significantly and was listened to 6.5 percentage points more. Here, it is men and again the 40 to 65 age group that account for the increase in usage, with over 9 and 8 percentage points respectively. However, it is also clear that more and more women and young people are consuming music and information via the radio. Unsurprisingly, online reading of newspapers and magazines continues to increase, rising by 3.9 percentage points overall.

Network activities pick up - AdScreen at annual high

The bad weather also has a positive impact on online activity. Search engines and social media are picking up almost equally, gaining 3.6 and 3.9 percentage points respectively. Online games, on the other hand, only recorded a marginal increase of half a percentage point and online shopping improved by 2 percentage points, suggesting that users have not yet completed their winter wardrobe. What last month's Goldbach Electronic Media Index (GEMI) showed is also confirmed by the fourth comparative survey of the e-footprint study: AdScreen is at an annual high and continues to record an increase among almost all respondents. red

More information:
Goldbach Group AG
Paul Riesen, Karin Grimm
+41 (0)44 914 91 00
[email protected]

 

In future, more and more German daily newspapers want to charge for their content on the Internet and introduce so-called online paywalls. "Of course we want to," said Tobias Trevisan, spokesman for the management of Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung FAZ, on Wednesday at Medientage München, Europe's largest media congress. So far, however, there is no simple and cost-effective payment system for this.
 
The Managing Director of Südwestdeutsche Medien Holding, Richard Rebmann, also announced new paywalls. The previous business model, which relied on advertising, was not working, he said. The newspaper Die Welt recently announced that it intends to charge fees for online contributions.
 

Online appendage to print
 
Spiegel editor-in-chief Mathias Müller von Blumencron sees a lot of catching up to do in the online journalism of daily newspapers. Many newspapers are still too focused on their print editions on the web. The importance of smartphones is underestimated. "It's an incredibly dangerous competitor, and I don't think we realize that enough," emphasized Müller von Blumencron.
 

Overrated online media?
 
The editor-in-chief of the Berliner Zeitung, Brigitte Fehrle, warned against overestimating online media. "The decisive content that is still online today still comes from the print editorial offices," she said. In contrast to Twitter, it is the job of journalists not to pass on information one-to-one, but to check, evaluate, classify and provide background information. "Journalism is what we need to be strong in," emphasized Fehrle.
 
The Munich Media Days end this Friday. The motto is "Setting the course - the new laws of the media world". (sda)

The new newspaper model, which from the outset focused on a strong daily Internet presence, is working well, says co-editor-in-chief Urs Buess to the SDA news agency. However, his paper still needs to draw more attention in the print edition to the fact that everything is published exclusively on the Internet. Journalists came up with the model; they got the necessary money when the quarrels about the ownership and the line of the Basler Zeitung made waves. A foundation set up by the Roche mitebine Beatrice Oeri guarantees operation for four years without exerting any influence - a model that is unusual in Switzerland. Oeri shuns the limelight; she also declined to comment on the anniversary.

Own profile gained

Even south of the Jura, people know the TaWo: Around a fifth of subscriptions go to Zurich, Bern and the Mittelland. Occasionally, its reports are quoted by the Tages-Anzeiger and NZZ, for example. And when it comes to research, the people called usually know who you are, Buess continues proudly. But as a journalist, you're never satisfied. In terms of journalism, he is satisfied with the first year of Tageswoche. After a slow start, it has picked up speed and set many of its own topics. In particular, social issues such as the quota question or reports on urban planning were well received. That's why the team is not throwing a big party to celebrate its first birthday.

The TaWo is "not an anti-BaZ," Buess states. With only 31.4 full positions, 25.8 of them in the editorial department, no daily newspaper can compete. However, the special media situation in Basel has already helped despite active competition - for example with BZ Basel and Sonntag-Split; the model would probably have a harder time in Zurich or Bern.

Advertising boost hoped for thanks to WEMF figures

Emeritus media science professor Roger Blum also sees Tageswoche, which he praises for its good stories, as a "very good addition" to the media landscape: With its research, it is a challenge for Baz andBZ. Competition brings incentive and mutual control as well as a choice of stages, so to speak, for actors.

Despite the good circulation development with 18'600 subscribers, 3,000 individual sales and 1,000 free copies, the TaWo is not yet profitable. Today, it has only about six pages of advertisements per issue. For Buess, that's a lot of room for improvement. He is optimistic because certified WEMF figures are now available for the first time, which could open some advertising doors. Buess also explains his confidence with the boom in mobile telecommunication devices, which make the online TaWo available everywhere; longer analyses, meanwhile, would find space on paper. The paper has just been gently redesigned to make it more attractive to readers, unfolded and with a thicker cover. (sda)
 

The course is a practical and in-service training program. Course participants put the skills they have learned directly into practice on their own Internet video platform Sanktgallen TV and are supervised by media professionals. Additional knowledge is imparted in theoretical blocks. The training thus forms a basis for a later media career as a web or TV editor.

Another new addition is the multimedia course, which teaches radio and video skills. This imparts knowledge in the online, video and radio sector and is intended to create the best possible conditions for future journalists.

The first video and multimedia course starts on February 18, 2013.

How do I become a journalist? Which training is the most suitable? What is it like to work for medium XY? And how do I get a job? These and similar questions were on the minds of the 75 participants at the first Youth Media Days Switzerland 2012 (JMT.) They are between 16 and 25 years old, are studying or still at school, write for youth magazines, work as freelance journalists, present on the radio or make television. And they all have the same desire: to work as journalists in the future. The Youth Media Days offered them the opportunity to exchange ideas with both their peers and older media professionals. During tours of editorial offices at Radio 1, Blick, Tages-Anzeiger and Swiss television, among others, the participants were given an insight into everyday editorial work. In working groups, they were able to get advice from experienced journalists or listen to them talk from the inside.

A somewhat more official round took place with the panel discussion on Friday evening, in which Patrik Müller (Editor-in-Chief of Der Sonntag), Hansi Voigt (still Editor-in-Chief of 20 Minuten online) and Alexandra Stark (Director of Studies at the Swiss School of Journalism MAZ) discussed the topic of "Journalism 24/7". How have modern media changed the work of journalists? After all, today you can access media and work from anywhere and are always available. Moderator and multimedia journalist Konrad Weber kicked off the discussion by asking whether journalists are particularly prone to burnout. None of the panel participants felt they were at risk of this. They emphasized the additional freedom provided by the new technologies, for example by being able to work at home or use their time on the road.

Read more about this in the current print edition of Werbewoche.

Mayoris will use core components of Artegic's Elaine technology for its own email marketing platform in the future. In return, Artegic will expand its online CRM suite Elaine Five with functionalities from Mayoris.

For customers of their ad network, this gives them the opportunity to address the target groups of their online campaigns according to socio-demographics and product interests as well as consumer habits or intentions. "By working with Nugg.ad, we can optimally expand our interest-based advertising offering and provide customers with even more customized solutions," explains Alexander Horrolt, Managing Director Goldbach Audience (Switzerland). In addition to the development of solutions for target group-based display marketing, the issue of data protection and transparency vis-à-vis the user is also a top priority for both partners. In 2012, the European platform Nugg.ag was the only provider in the targeting market to be awarded the European data protection seal of approval "EuroPriSe".

Nugg.ad's predictive behavioral targeting technology combines on-site surveys with data from users' browsing behavior. The combination of these sources offers publishers and advertisers new insights into online target groups regardless of the environment and in real time, Goldbach Audience said in a statement Thursday. As a result, brand advertisers in particular have the advantage of being able to target, measure and increase their campaigns according to the criteria of the classic brand triad consisting of brand awareness, liking and buying interest with maximum reach. This is especially true for FMCG brands, which previously had considerable problems addressing target groups through environmental planning.
 

According to the agency, the poster campaign is based on the fact that younger people in particular like to follow role models and want to imitate them. This is why prominent role models from the worlds of music, entertainment and sport are shown making a simple and direct commitment to collecting and separating and encouraging imitation: "I separate. And you? Join in!" The first wave of posters in 2012 will feature ski racer Lara Gut, orienteer Simone Niggli-Luder and motorcycle racer Tom Lüthi.

In addition to the posters, advertisements, online banners and a specially created website are used.

Responsible at Swiss Recycling: Patrik Geisselhardt (Managing Director), Matthias Traber (Project Manager). Responsible at Prime Communications: Basil Hangarter (creative direction), Claudio Rotter (consulting management), Tom Zürcher (text/concept), Sylvie Saxer, Nicole Tschanz, Sandra Jerczynski-Koch (consulting), Sven Christinger (art direction), Steffie Huber, Erwin Lötscher (DTP).
 

The whole thing was perfectly orchestrated. The start was postponed three times and it wasn't until Sunday at 8:15 p.m. - prime time, that is - that the daredevil extreme athlete landed in the Nevada desert. The postponement certainly didn't hurt the suspense. But anyone who thinks that's a bad thing is in for a surprise. More than 200 broadcasting stations worldwide are said to have transmitted the spectacle live. The pictures were provided by the Red Bull team. The journalists who reported on the world record in the run-up were "embedded" and thus part of a gigantic PR machinery. Anyone who would now think that a storm of indignation would have raged in the media is very much mistaken. There were isolated negative voices, but they were really very isolated and very restrained. Only the NZZ am Sonntag published a major critical article. Even respected press titles euphorically joined in the jubilation. The FAZ headlined "A case for eternity" and also the NZZ could not hide its enthusiasm: "A gladiator of modern times" was the title here. Other examples: "Jump from stratosphere: the leap of leaps becomes fact" (20 Minuten), "He has brought us heaven on earth" (SonntagsBlick). The fact that the Kronen-Zeitung, the tabloid from the Red Bull homelands, even blamed the "dear God himself" for the windless ascent was in keeping with the mass euphoria.

Austrian media psychologist Peter Vitouch said in the online portal Futurezone.at that Red Bull's PR department had led all the media into a trap with lures. The lures were apparently so tasty that everyone was still so happy to be seduced.
Dietrich Mateschitz, Red Bull owner and gifted marketing and PR man, has put a small part of his huge marketing budget of 1.3 billion euros - this figure he announced in an interview with NZZ-Folio - into Felix Baumgartner's record attempt. The 50 million euros that the stunt reportedly cost were truly money well spent.
Pierre C. Meier, Editor-in-Chief
 

What do advertisers come up with to get large advertisers to place an ad in a newspaper like WoZ? For example, sending a mailing to the advertising managers. Or create an ad. Or something completely different. For example, send a spokesperson out onto the street and have passers-by read out the ads from Migros, Coop, SBB and the like, film the whole thing and send it to the companies. With the note: "We advertised for you for free. Next time it will cost you." In other words, the price of the ad. This is advertising in a way that addressees do not expect. And that is exactly what Johannes Raggio expects from his work. Advertising ideas should go beyond the obvious. "Of course it's cool to be briefed to realize a beautiful film. But excellent advertising often finds its way to consumers in ways they don't expect." When the creative talks about advertising, he leans forward and focuses on his counterpart with his bright gray eyes. "I really like my job. It's a wonderful way to make a living."

However, Raggio first had to find out that he was in the right place in creation. After high school, he began studying law. A subject that interested him alongside business. During his studies, however, it became clear to him that he would not find his home in law. Perhaps he would prefer architecture or medicine or even graphic arts? He was so volatile on the road that he wanted to at least have a degree in his pocket. "I thought, Finish something, then try advertising." He found advertising exciting as a consumer. Seeing the first Lovely commercials in theaters was something. He would have been interested in working as a graphic designer. But studying again after graduating was out of the question. So he became a copywriter. He "liked" the language and found the play with words funny. Raggio only really realized in retrospect that he had made the right choice. "Sometimes it steers you somewhere." Being guided is something the creative likes more than planning anyway. He enjoys it when things just happen, when things roll. An internship at Wunderman was followed by a temporary contract, and finally a permanent one. He then moved on to Advico Young & Rubicam, Jung von Matt/Limmat and back to Advico. Since spring 2010, Raggio has been with Spillmann/Felser/Leo Burnett SFLB as Creative Director. He still thinks of his law studies often - but without melancholy. "I'm extremely glad I'm not in law - and law probably is."

Playing ideas back and forth

Peter Brönnimann, with whom Raggio has been sharing the creative reins for a few months, sees the 37-year-old as the "perfect creative". "Johannes has amazingly good ideas and is a stand-up guy. He never lets up and always tries something new again." And Raggio himself also raves about his job. "The nice thing is that we work in a team-oriented way." Team-oriented, a word that is often used as a phrase because it sounds nice. Yet when you hear the creative talk, it seems right in place. "We meet again and again, discuss ideas, give criticism, develop yet another new idea. Everyone is involved. In the end, all that counts is finding the best solution to a problem."

Raggio is not someone who retreats into a quiet room to come up with ideas. His advertising ideas usually emerge in conversation. Of course, you can come up with ideas on your own, he says. But: "It's easier in a team." He bounces ideas back and forth with his creative partner Pablo Schencke, with whom he also shares an office at SFLB. "We ping-pong away. It's fun." One idea emerges, another comes along. And then everything is questioned again and something completely new is sought. "Let's still see if it can't be done differently. If you look at it completely differently." And the whole thing always in Spanish. Raggio, who grew up in Zurich, has Spanish and Argentine roots. And Schenke, for his part, comes from Chile. When the two work on concepts together, international flair comes to the Swiss advertising agency. "I like to see the two of them doing their ping-pong in Spanish fire. You only understand every tenth word," says Brönnimann. "It's almost like you've landed in a top Spanish or South American creative agency." Currently, the creative duo is busy working on a new campaign for Ovaltine. It's an amusing idea that a concept for a traditional Swiss brand is being created in "Spanish fire."

In his new job as Executive Creative Director, Raggio continues to work conceptually with Schencke and is involved in the development of campaigns. In the future, however, he will give birth to somewhat fewer ideas, but will assess those of his colleagues a bit more. Conversely, Brönnimann, who was previously the sole ECD, is pleased to have less to do with management tasks and "to be able to be more creative again as a creative." Taking on the boss role is a big challenge for Raggio. "Being a good boss is not easy. It takes tact. Everyone in the team rehearses, everyone has their ideas. And at the end of the day, everyone should be happy with what they do." The creative wants to be part of the team to come up with a good solution together. Likewise, as an ECD, he has to take the lead. "You have to be receptive to everything and still know what you want." As creative director, Raggio wants a good statement above all else. That's what he focuses on when conceptualizing. Are we making a good point? Advertising needs a relevant message, not only from the customer's point of view. Equally, the message must be meaningful to the consumer, he says. "I know that's not a new insight. The focus on the message is very pronounced with me, I think. In the first moment, I usually don't care what the implementation is. I just want to know: What are we saying? What might work?" It's a way of working that was further solidified by advanced training in screenwriting. Because, whether it's a 30-second commercial or a 15-minute film, the first thing is to describe what the idea is, what should happen in the film - without getting lost in the details.

Inspiration from Spain and the world

For his concepts, Raggio likes to look outside the box. "I look a lot at how advertising is done in other countries and get inspired." He wants to bring the international focus into his work. Also for SFLB's "Swiss" customers, which in addition to Ovaltine include Switzerland Tourism or Migros customers, among others. In the current campaign, for example, the chocolate creations of the Migros subsidiary Chocolat Frey are praised by Chinese and Mexicans as the best in the world. The strong reference to Spain also comes into play here and there. For example, in the name promotion for Micasa. SFLB was to realize a tag-on for the new catalog of the furniture store, at least that was the briefing. "We looked at the catalog and noticed that a lot of the furniture had people's names on it, and thought a promotion had to come out of that. If you find a piece of furniture that has the same name as you, you get it cheaper."

The idea quickly took hold that Spaniards, who traditionally keep the surnames of their mother and father and thus have at least three names in their passports, are promising candidates. In the spot, Antonio Orlando Julian Oscar Samuel Molina Salamanca, standing in front of the checkout with a fully loaded shopping cart, is looking forward to the fat discounts he is about to get. Despite international roots, Raggio has never lived abroad for any length of time. He did visit Spain an average of five times a year until his student days, but he never spent a Christmas there. A longer stay, on the other hand, "unfortunately hasn't happened yet." "I would have loved to do that," he says. "On the other hand, I also have the confidence that it will still happen." For the moment, at any rate, his place is with SFLB. The creative finds working with Brönnimann very rewarding. "I walk into his office, he walks into my office, we exchange ideas and bring each other new ideas. We benefit each other." And he also feels very comfortable at the agency in other respects. "The people here have their feet on the ground." That's something Raggio appreciates, describing himself as a down-to-earth, "grounded" guy. "I've found something like my home here. When you have people around you who make it fun, you have to stay."

Isabel Imper

In a nutshell

Johannes Raggio (37) grew up in Zurich and studied law after high school. The Swiss with Spanish and Argentinean roots got his start in the advertising world as a copywriter at Wundermann. Further stations were Advico Young & Rubicam and Jung von Matt/Limmat. Since spring 2010, Raggio has been working for the advertising agency Spillmann/Felser/Leo Burnett as Creative Director and, together with Peter Brönnimann, has recently been heading the agency's creative team as Executive Creative Director.