At the 2009 annual meeting of the Swiss Press, Chairman of the Board Pietro Supino made it clear that Tamedia's focus is on print and online. The electronic media are therefore rather tolerated - as long as they do not incur major losses. If Tamedia is now considering a sale, this can only mean that there will be losses. At the presentation of the half-year figures for 2010, Martin Kall stated that the radio and TV activities were below expectations and would not contribute to earnings. And in the 2009 annual report, an operating result of -1.41 million Swiss francs was reported for the entire electronic media division (i.e. including the online business, which was presented as successful). It is obvious that the losses do not come from Radio 24, but from TeleZüri. And this despite the relatively great freedom that the station, which is no longer licensed, enjoys with regard to distribution and advertising.

Tele Züri - Europe's most successful local station
Andrea Haemmerli, Commercial Director of TeleZüri and Radio 24, does not comment on the sales rumors. But she points out that in 2010, Tele-Züri had the third-highest net reach in the greater Zurich area between 6 and 11 p.m., behind SF 1 and SF 2. In the first hour of broadcasting alone (6-7 p.m.), TeleZüri reached a good 100,000 viewers. That's about 48,000 fewer than SF 1, but still about 28,000 more than SF 2, which ranks third with 73,000 viewers. And the viewing time of 19 minutes per viewer is on a par with SF 1 in this hour.

Haemmerli adds to these figures that TeleZüri is also by far the most successful local station in a Europe-wide comparison - both in terms of viewer numbers and advertising revenue. However, the advertising revenue apparently only covers the costs in years without extraordinary investments. Such investments were made in 2010 by the Swiss Sports Television (SSF) project and in 2011 by new, but also cost-saving technology. Andrea Haemmerli is also very positive about the prospects for 2011, as the earnings situation will improve as a result of additional broadcasts (some outside prime time) and synergies with SSF. In the lucrative primetime, however, the hourly loop is a sticking point. On the one hand, the hourly repetition is the recipe for success in the audience market, but on the other hand it limits the possibilities in terms of advertising time sold. Since the station is very busy, additional revenue can really only be recouped through corresponding price increases. The open question is therefore whether a correspondingly higher price will find acceptance in the market.

A sale of the Zurich stations would be a problematic decision, and not just because of their success in the audience market. It would also immediately raise the question of what to do with Capital FM and Tele Bärn. The situation there is not much different than in Zurich. At least Tele Bärn can benefit from fee-splitting. In the advertising market, however, the Bernese station is heavily dependent on the locomotive TeleZüri. This is because national advertising practically only comes in via Tele Regio Combi (TRC). And here TeleZüri "supplies" almost 40 percent of the viewers. If a new owner were no longer to join the TRC, this would also be a heavy blow for Tele Bärn (and the other stations united in the TRC: Tele Basel, Tele M1, Tele 1 and Tele Ostschweiz), which the TRC could hardly survive.

Tamedia without TV/radio at all?
The bottom line, then, is that the sale of TeleZüri would at best shift the problem to Bern and raise the question of the future of Capital FM and Tele Bärn. Whereby a sale of the two studios fully integrated into the media house on Dammweg would probably be a rather difficult undertaking. However, Martin Kall, the strategic head of Tamedia, would probably want a fundamental decision for the group. And that could only mean: Tamedia would give up its TV and radio activities completely. This would also affect Edipresse's minority holdings in La Télé, the largest regional TV station in western Switzerland, and (indirectly) in the Geneva regional radio station Yes FM.

Should this scenario become fact, the future fate of TeleZüri in particular would be of great interest. For example, Blick am Abend asked the question "Will the SVP buy TeleZüri?" on February 10. That is hardly likely to be the case so directly. But a consortium of Weltwoche (with the right-wing polemic editor-in-chief Roger Köppel), Basler Zeitung (with the editor-in-chief and Blocher's self-appointed deputy Erwin Somm) and Schaffhauser Nachrichten, on whose website Tele Blocher is broadcast, would be conceivable. However, the financing would presumably run through financially strong sympathizers in the background along the lines of the Basler Zeitung. After such a takeover, TeleZüri would certainly become a Swiss-German station, in which the already much-cited "Gegen-Arena" could also have a home. Such a scenario cannot be ruled out. But it is unlikely to be successful. The time of the political media has already expired in the last century. And what the SVP strategists have not noticed: It's precisely the unspeakable "punch-up debates" that have caused the market share of the "Arena" to shrink continuously. What's more, in today's media market, political ambitions are the surest guarantee of failure. The best example of this is Ringier, which had enough bad experience with the politically motivated advice of an employee who has since moved to Berlin, especially in the 1990s.

What does Ringier do?
Ringier, however, could be a hot contender for the purchase of TeleZüri. Only the infrastructure would probably be taken over. Because the current concept does not fit in with Ringier's strategy (see Werbewoche No. 2/2011, page 23). However, Ringier could turn TeleZüri into Blick TV, which would broadcast soft news in the style of "Glanz & Gloria," but also sports news. After all, Swiss Sports Television (SSF) has already been produced by TeleZüri since August 2010. So there could certainly be further synergies. And if Ringier were to acquire broadcasting rights for soccer and/or ice hockey, it would also have a channel that could very quickly expand its presence in the cable networks to the whole of German-speaking Switzerland.

Such a scenario is interesting, but according to Head of Communications Edi Estermann, it is not an issue at Ringier. Perhaps Ringier's thoughts in this context are more in the direction of the successful 3plus station, which would be an excellent fit for Ringier in terms of content. However, owner Dominique Kaiser has always emphasized that his station is not for sale. Whether that will still be the case if the price is high enough remains an open question, of course.

Ueli Custer

This article is from the current Print edition of the advertising week.

As an artist's daughter and advertiser, the Zurich-based Tabea Guhl In her career, she has repeatedly found that "advertising and art have far more to do with each other in terms of idea generation and production than would appear at first glance." In both cases, it is about extracting a message from existing content and then packaging it: what media and in what form do you want to communicate? In art, however, the form of the media and the way it appears is "much more unusual, unfamiliar, unique and playful, as the target group is also much more diverse", believes Tabea Guhl.

Interesting request

Due to her international experience not only in advertising, but also as a graphic designer for the artist duo Com & Com, Guhl received a request in January 2010 to support the media art group Etoy with her skills in a first solo show in South Korea. The Etoy team has the philosophy that a group with different skills produces art and that there are no individual artistic geniuses. This is why Guhl, as a direct part of the group, namely as Etoy.Tabea, was able to help conceive and produce the solo show through various phases. "This direct personal involvement, which made me part of the artwork myself, had a particular impact on the collaboration and development." Every move, every sketch and consideration, even every session subsequently became part of a complete work of art. "We followed the rules of Etoy's corporate identity in every form - our sketches were orange, our suitcases were orange, our uniform was always black, white or orange. This strict visual appearance makes identity disappear - in favor of a very diverse unit." The only difference between the individual creators of the group was their different skills and thus different perspectives: Etoy.HG is a new technology expert, Etoy.Vincent a chemist, Etoy.Zai a new media artist, plus a web designer, an open source developer and an interaction designer. This collaboration resulted in an exhibition as an interactive tool. 300 images were made available online on a CSS interface and also shown physically as part of the exhibition.

Art is free and the work was play

Using large screens and small cameras, Etoy processed live Skype sessions into integrated elements of her art or, for example, mounted sensors and microphones on tubes where the children crawled through and transferred these recorded sounds directly to a computer, where they were simultaneously mixed with films. The Swiss installation is now to become part of the Asian Culture Program, which will open in 2014 in the heart of the city of Gwangju. The pavilion is sponsored by Pro Helvetia, the Swiss Embassy, Soul, Lista Office, Bernina and Liip. pan

Tabea Guhl

As an art director, Tabea Guhl has developed and realized numerous campaigns at agencies such as Spillmann Felser Leo Burnett and Exxtra Kommunikation. She has won international prizes such as FAB Awards in London, Eurobest, Global Awards and Cannes Lions. Tabea Guhl has also worked as a graphic designer for the artist duo Com & Com, creating corporate designs, websites and books, as well as producing international projects such as road movies in California and exhibitions in the United Arab Emirates. After training as a graphic designer in St. Gallen, she studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdansk and gained further experience as an AD at TBWA/Chiat Day in Los Angeles. Since 2008 she has been working as a freelance graphic designer in Zurich, implementing corporate design and homepages and is image agent for the media art group Etoy, where she helped conceive and realize their first major solo show in South Korea in 2010.  

 

Will EgoKiefer AG come out on top with its new window line? Will ISA Sallmann AG come out on top with its new Schwinger collection? And who will win the new "Special Prize" category? Where the coveted trophies will go in the annual Marketing Trophy is just one of the many questions that everyone will be asking themselves on March 8 at the Swiss Marketing Day. Who will I get to know, meet again, win as a new customer - these could be other interrogatives in the run-up to an event that this year has a question of its own: "Valuable or worthless? Marketing for marketing" is the motto of the hotly anticipated industry summit at the KKL.

Trendspotter in Lucerne

Once again this year, a top-class panel has been put together in the city of lights. Marketing veteran Prof. Dr. Philip Kotler, for example, will be connected via video webcast, while Jeremy Gutsche, known for his worldwide network of trend scouts, will be appearing sur place. The line-up is completed by luminaries such as Christian Belz from the University of St. Gallen, the German economic sociologist Holger Rust and Thorsten G. Truijens, an authority in the field of value-oriented management and the balanced scorecard. The event will be hosted by TV anchor lady Susanne Wille, who already proved last year how to be both brash and fair with the speakers.

New networking area

What characterizes the Swiss Marketing Day - that everyone can be not only a consumer but also a producer - will be optimized once again this year. In the knowledge that personal networking is always high on the agenda of those attending, the entire networking area will shine in new splendor. It has been designed in a lounge style for the first time for the Swiss Marketing Day 2011 and will thus provide even more stimulation for networking. All in the spirit of the inventors, who want to make March 8, 2011 at the KKL a hotspot for inspiring encounters. And they will. www.marketingtag.ch

 

At the 2009 annual meeting of the Swiss Press, Chairman of the Board Pietro Supino made it clear that Tamedia's focus is on print and online. The electronic media are therefore rather tolerated - as long as they do not incur major losses. If Tamedia is now considering a sale, this can only mean that there will be losses. At the presentation of the half-year figures for 2010, Martin Kall stated that the radio and TV activities were below expectations and would not contribute to earnings. And in the 2009 annual report, an operating result of -1.41 million Swiss francs was reported for the entire electronic media division (i.e. including the online business, which was presented as successful). It is obvious that the losses do not come from Radio 24, but from TeleZüri. And this despite the relatively great freedom that the station, which is no longer licensed, enjoys with regard to distribution and advertising.

Tele Züri - Europe's most successful local station

Andrea Haemmerli, Commercial Director of TeleZüri and Radio 24, does not comment on the sales rumors. But she points out that in 2010, Tele-Züri had the third-highest net reach in the greater Zurich area between 6 and 11 p.m., behind SF 1 and SF 2. In the first hour of broadcasting alone (6-7 p.m.), TeleZüri reached a good 100,000 viewers. That's about 48,000 fewer than SF 1, but still about 28,000 more than SF 2, which ranks third with 73,000 viewers. And the viewing time of 19 minutes per viewer is on a par with SF 1 in this hour.

Haemmerli adds to these figures that TeleZüri is also by far the most successful local station in a Europe-wide comparison - both in terms of viewer numbers and advertising revenue. However, the advertising revenue apparently only covers the costs in years without extraordinary investments. Such investments were made in 2010 by the Swiss Sports Television (SSF) project and in 2011 by new, but also cost-saving technology. Andrea Haemmerli is also very positive about the prospects for 2011, as the earnings situation will improve as a result of additional broadcasts (some outside prime time) and synergies with SSF. In the lucrative primetime, however, the hourly loop is a sticking point. On the one hand, the hourly repetition is the recipe for success in the audience market, but on the other hand it limits the possibilities in terms of advertising time sold. Since the station is very busy, additional revenue can really only be recouped through corresponding price increases. The open question is therefore whether a correspondingly higher price will find acceptance in the market.

A sale of the Zurich stations would be a problematic decision, and not just because of their success in the audience market. It would also immediately raise the question of what to do with Capital FM and Tele Bärn. The situation there is not much different than in Zurich. At least Tele Bärn can benefit from fee-splitting. In the advertising market, however, the Bernese station is heavily dependent on the locomotive TeleZüri. This is because national advertising practically only comes in via Tele Regio Combi (TRC). And here TeleZüri "supplies" almost 40 percent of the viewers. If a new owner were no longer to join the TRC, this would also be a heavy blow for Tele Bärn (and the other stations united in the TRC: Tele Basel, Tele M1, Tele 1 and Tele Ostschweiz), which the TRC could hardly survive.

Tamedia without TV/radio at all?

The bottom line, then, is that the sale of TeleZüri would at best shift the problem to Bern and raise the question of the future of Capital FM and Tele Bärn. Whereby a sale of the two studios fully integrated into the media house on Dammweg would probably be a rather difficult undertaking. However, Martin Kall, the strategic head of Tamedia, would probably want a fundamental decision for the group. And that could only mean: Tamedia would give up its TV and radio activities completely. This would also affect Edipresse's minority holdings in La Télé, the largest regional TV station in western Switzerland, and (indirectly) in the Geneva regional radio station Yes FM.

Should this scenario become fact, the future fate of TeleZüri in particular would be of great interest. For example, Blick am Abend asked the question "Will the SVP buy TeleZüri?" on February 10. That is hardly likely to be the case so directly. But a consortium of Weltwoche (with the right-wing polemic editor-in-chief Roger Köppel), Basler Zeitung (with the editor-in-chief and Blocher's self-appointed deputy Erwin Somm) and Schaffhauser Nachrichten, on whose website Tele Blocher is broadcast, would be conceivable. However, the financing would presumably run through financially strong sympathizers in the background along the lines of the Basler Zeitung. After such a takeover, TeleZüri would certainly become a Swiss-German station, in which the already much-cited "Gegen-Arena" could also have a home. Such a scenario cannot be ruled out. But it is unlikely to be successful. The time of the political media has already expired in the last century. And what the SVP strategists have not noticed: It's precisely the unspeakable "punch-up debates" that have caused the market share of the "Arena" to shrink continuously. What's more, in today's media market, political ambitions are the surest guarantee of failure. The best example of this is Ringier, which had enough bad experience with the politically motivated advice of an employee who has since moved to Berlin, especially in the 1990s.

What does Ringier do?

Ringier, however, could be a hot contender for the purchase of TeleZüri. Only the infrastructure would probably be taken over. Because the current concept does not fit in with Ringier's strategy (see Werbewoche No. 2/2011, page 23). However, Ringier could turn TeleZüri into Blick TV, which would broadcast soft news in the style of "Glanz & Gloria," but also sports news. After all, Swiss Sports Television (SSF) has already been produced by TeleZüri since August 2010. So there could certainly be further synergies. And if Ringier were to acquire broadcasting rights for soccer and/or ice hockey, it would also have a channel that could very quickly expand its presence in the cable networks to the whole of German-speaking Switzerland.

Such a scenario is interesting, but according to Head of Communications Edi Estermann, it is not an issue at Ringier. Perhaps Ringier's thoughts in this context are more in the direction of the successful 3plus station, which would be an excellent fit for Ringier in terms of content. However, owner Dominique Kaiser has always emphasized that his station is not for sale. Whether that will still be the case if the price is high enough remains an open question, of course.

Ueli Custer
 

The story was almost two months ago, but after reading at the beginning of the week that Cablecom had sent data at the incredible speed of 1.37 Gbit/s via a conventional coaxial TV cable as part of a record attempt, the memory came flooding back. But first things first.

I've owned an HD television for some time now, but I still had the old, non-HD-capable box from Cablecom. So I couldn't enjoy the brave new world of HD television. On January 30, I decided to replace the box in question. I packed it in a carrier bag and drove to the Cablecom Service Center in Zurich. I realized that I had perhaps not chosen the most suitable day when I took my number in the waiting area. There were ten other customers waiting in front of me. But it went relatively quickly and soon a charming young lady asked me what I wanted. The deal went through quickly and after a short time I left the service center with a new HD-compatible box.

When I arrived home, I unpacked the device, connected it without any problems and after entering the activation code I had received, the installation began. A short time later I was told "reception is very good", but then nothing worked. After two more unsuccessful attempts, I picked up the phone and dialed the hotline number. After a short wait (Cablecom has learned from past mistakes), I had someone on the line who took care of my problem. It soon turned out that everything was correct, but that the activation of the box had apparently been forgotten. When I asked whether it would be possible to contact the young lady whose name was on the delivery bill by phone so that she could make up for the forgotten activation, my helper said that this would not be possible, but he could send an e-mail to the service center. However, if I wanted to be on the safe side, I should go back in person.

Okay. Into the car and back into town. When I arrived at the service center, after a short wait I was assured that everything was fine. Back home and another attempt. Nothing! Another phone call to the support team. This time it was a lady who tried to help me. She said everything was OK now, so it should work. But it didn't. After a short time, I decided to install a newer version of the software on my box. (Why does a new device need a newer software version?) But what the heck. Now it got a bit complicated, because you had to press two buttons on the front with two fingers at the same time (and keep them pressed), then turn off the power switch on the back of the device and only after turning it on were you allowed to release the two buttons on the front. Sounds simple, but it's not that easy from a purely motorized point of view. But it worked and the installation began. Nothing again. A lot of guesswork. Then the hesitant question: What activation code do you have? It turned out that the code printed on the delivery bill was wrong. I entered the correct code and - wonder of wonders - everything worked.
 

He will focus the marketing of Doodle as an advertising platform more internationally and towards French-speaking Switzerland. The German market, with its rapidly growing Doodle user numbers, will be a particular focus in the coming months. Doodle writes this in a press release.
 
In Switzerland, Doodle is already one of the ten most important advertising platforms and in Germany, the company is already among the top 50 online advertising providers in the AGOF ranking. Obrecht aims to further expand this position.
 
Tiziano Obrecht has more than eleven years of industry experience in the digital advertising market and knows both the marketing side and the agency business from leading positions. Most recently, as a member of the management team at Mediaedge:cia in Zurich, he managed the development of Group M's digital orientation.
 
SAP relies on Doodle
Now SAP is also relying on Doodle. The provider of business software is now making Doodle available to its users: on Wednesday, SAP announced that it was adding OpenSocial applications to its SAP StreamWork collaboration solution. Alongside Google Translate, MindMeister, Atlassian and CS Odessa, Doodle is one of the first five web services that the software group is offering its users in the SAP StreamWorks catalog.

The technology closes a gap in the system offering due to its suitability for SMEs, as it helps companies to achieve more impact with less effort in a simple and clear way. For Switzerland and Germany, the company sees great potential for application within the scope of its own offering, but also with regard to course and training offerings, according to a press release from the company.

Hans-Peter Rest, PR consultant and Head of Corporate Communications at Graubündner Kantonalbank GKB, published his communication technique in 2008 in his practical guide "Als Firma auf- oder abtreten". Just one year later, he realized 30 GKB SME communication seminars on behalf of his employer and inspired around 300 Graubünden SMEs with the practical text, mission statement and communication technique, as the press release explains further.

Nicole Di Vizio, Managing Director of ProzessPiraten and co-founder, takes over the communication technology under license from Hans-Peter Rest (from left).

With spring comes the BEA. With a quarter of a million visitors, it is the largest public fair in the capital region and a proven Bernese value. City and country meet to shop, marvel and celebrate. The BEA is promoted by the Bernese agency Polyconsult.

Responsible at BEA bern expoChristine Lerch (Head of Exhibitions BEA & PFERD), Francine Thurnher (Head of Communications), Roger Fuchs (Head of Communications). Responsible at Polyconsult: Silvio Truffer (CD), Ramon Niederhauser (graphics), Caroline Bühler and Jasmin Stadelmann (consulting), Croci & du Fresne (photo).

The Spanish car manufacturer SEAT wants to pick up its customers in an emotional way. And you can be part of it when the Seat Club Switzerland provides a glimpse behind the scenes of the latest TV commercial. And with none other than the actor and SEAT ambassador Anatole Taubmann.
 
You can see the funniest bloopers and most exciting background information tonight at 19:45 in the magazine "Die Werbewoche". Of course only on Star TV.

The company was pleased with the market launch in Switzerland and, together with partners, presented three new major apps for the local market. The intelligent design with its integrated functions enjoys an excellent reputation and customer satisfaction is above average at 93 percent, according to a press release. Microsoft has already sold around two million licenses worldwide. The focus is now on expanding the market among the 80 percent of consumers who do not yet use a smartphone.

Over the next twelve months, Windows Phone 7 will be enhanced with a wide range of functions and services: Copy & Paste, Twitter integration in the People Hub, support for Office documents in the cloud, a significantly faster Internet Explorer 9 and a long list of new multitasking applications are just a few examples. Last Friday, Nokia and Microsoft also announced a close partnership. This will combine the skills and expertise of both companies to create a new global smartphone ecosystem.

The Windows Phone 7 Marketplace already had more apps at launch than any other platform. And the trend is rising sharply, as the Microsoft press release goes on to say. There are currently over 8,000 apps on offer, with around 100 new ones being added every day. Microsoft has also counted over one million downloads of the Windows Phone 7 Developer Tool to date, with around 2,000 developers registered in Switzerland.

Gygax had previously headed both editorial offices. He will retire at the end of June. This was announced on Wednesday by the Berner Oberland Medien as publisher
 
Stefan Geissbühler is currently Head of News and Editor at the Berner Zeitung. He also hosts the discussion program BZ-Talk on regional broadcaster Tele Bärn. Bruno Stüdle has been Editorial Director of the Berner Oberländer since 2006. He previously worked for this newspaper as a page maker and reporter.
 
Until now, the editorial offices of the Bernese Oberland were based in Thun and Interlaken. It will now be consolidated in Interlaken: the editorial team of the Thuner Tagblatt will remain in Thun. Berner Oberland Medien writes that these steps will enable the regionally based daily newspapers to emphasize their proximity to their readership.

The declared goal is to unite all hobby cooks. The centerpiece of the new platform is the first interactive cookbook, which is to grow steadily through users, according to a statement from the agency. A basic stock of recipes is available - but the cookbook is to grow steadily through the users. Users can enter their own recipes and review, rate and comment on the recipes of their friends. In addition, favorite recipes can be printed out as PDFs. After one month, the brand can already interact with 750 fans.
In addition to the expansion of the cookbook, promotional events and advertisements are planned for the future.
Responsible at McCormick: German Iwona (Product Manager McCormick Switzerland). Responsible at Futurecom, Zurich: Pavic Milan (Art Director), Rufer Sven (Text), Läubli Oliver (IT), Remmers Nina (Consulting).