The advertising market grew slightly in August for the first time in five months. Advertising was placed in the media for CHF 256.6 million, which is 0.8% more than in the previous year. However, the steep decline in print media continued.
According to the market research institute Media Focus on Wednesday, TV, radio and posters were the main media to make gains. In July, the advertising market had declined by 1.0 percent. The "Tages-, reg. Wochen- + Sonntagspresse" media group has now recorded gross advertising losses of CHF 85 million since the beginning of the year compared to the same period last year.
Vehicles in particular were advertised more in August (+ almost 46%). According to Media Focus, more advertising appeared for mid-range and small cars in particular, but also for sports utility vehicles (SUVs). The IT segment also increased significantly (+30%), in particular because laptops were advertised more. Media Focus also registered significantly more advertising in the energy, non-profit campaigns, political campaigns and pharmaceuticals segments. Advertising activity for watches/jewelry declined most significantly (-43%), mainly due to the decline in watch advertising.
Media Focus compiles monthly gross advertising statistics. This means that all advertising placements are valued at the official rates of the advertising medium - newspaper, poster, cinema and so on.

The Swiss pharmacy network Amavita has a new customer magazine. The magazine was produced by Swisscontent Corp. The first issue was published at the end of August and is available free of charge in over 130 Amavita pharmacies. Editorial content on the topics of health, fitness and beauty is supplemented by promotions, competitions and offers for "StarCard" holders. The new magazine, which has a total circulation of 260,000 copies in German, French and Italian, is part of the strategic repositioning of the Amavita brand, which was developed by Galeni Care Management in collaboration with the brand agency Brandpulse.

In France, pirates must fear having their Internet access blocked. On Tuesday, the French National Assembly voted in favor of a bill that offers new possibilities in the fight against the illegal downloading of films, music or software. Among other things, judges are to be allowed to cut off repeat offenders' access to the global data network for up to one year. Heavy fines and even prison sentences are also possible.
The law has not yet come into force; it still has to go through the Senate. However, in view of the majority, its approval is considered certain - at the National Assembly on Tuesday, 285 MPs voted in favor of the law and 225 against.

In future, the BBC wants to do without any support from companies when broadcasting live events and producing series. The British public broadcaster has banned commercial sponsorship in its radio and television programs. According to a guideline published on Tuesday, only the advertising of charitable organizations is permitted for a small number of programmes such as concerts or award ceremonies. Strict rules also apply to BBC events that are not broadcast. This is intended to strengthen the independence of the fee-financed BBC.
On the other hand, the targeted placement of products will soon be permitted for the first time in private broadcasting. A law is to be presented on Wednesday that will allow certain product advertising outside of breaks in the program for advertising. According to the British government, this is intended to allow more competition between private radio and television broadcasters. They have been suffering from massive losses in advertising revenue for the past six months.

From now on, the Engadine Hotel Paradies will be supported by the agency Textnaht in the area of communication and media relations. Together with the media office in Hamburg, represented by Ulrike Mann at the sister hotel Louis C. Jacob, Simona Bosshart from Textnaht is coordinating the media work in Switzerland, according to a press release. Synergies are used and ideas and events are implemented across national borders: "Grüezi and Moin join hands and allow the two hotels on the Elbe and in the Engadine to present themselves individually, but still based on the same philosophy; namely to be small, fine retreats with a cultural past."

Face, based in Frauenfeld, is defying the current crisis. With its below-the-line measures and POS solutions, the communication design agency achieved excellent results in the first half of 2009, according to a press release. The result is 6 percent above the previous year's level. Managing Director Christoph Jud sees the reason for this on the one hand in the strengthened team with four new co-thinkers. On the other hand, consumer behavior during times of crisis plays a role: due to the constant bad news in the media, ambient media and below-the-line measures can continue to address consumers effectively.

The main editorial offices of the Aargauer Zeitung (AZ) and the Mittelland Zeitung (MZ) are moving from Baden to Aarau in November. In the AZ media center, where the newspaper has been printed for a long time, the editorial team will work in an open-plan office. The heart of the editorial office will be a newsdesk for the newspaper, the online portal A-z.ch and the regional broadcaster Tele M1, as AZ announced in Wednesday's edition, according to SDA. This will keep distances short and allow reporting on all media channels. Tele M1 will move into new studios in the media center. The center is located in the Telli district just outside the city center. The rotary press for printing the newspaper is located here.
The editorial offices of the Sonntag newspaper and the AZ Foyer department as well as the local editorial offices in Baden, Brugg and Zurzach will remain in the AZ high-rise building in Baden, which was once built for the former Badener Tagblatt.
When the Aargauer Tagblatt and the Badener Tagblatt merged to form the AZ in 1996, the cantonal government described it as a "political mistake" that Baden had become the seat of the central editorial office and not the cantonal capital.

The culture section of the Basler Zeitung will once again be published in large newspaper format from September 25, 2009. Since the end of 2004, it had been attached to the Baz as a separate magazine. In addition to technical printing advantages, this change offers more generous design options and more space for advertisers' ads, according to a press release issued by Basler Zeitung Medien on Wednesday. The editorial scope will not be changed. The weekly culture and leisure agenda will be called "kultur.woche" and will continue to be part of the Baz offer on Thursdays.
As part of a periodic review of the various Bund concepts, the Basler Zeitung commissioned a market research institute to examine the popularity and acceptance of the culture section among its readers in spring 2009, according to a statement. The results showed that over two thirds of the readership use the cultural section of the Baz. At the same time, respondents stated that the content was more important to them than the form. Based on this initial situation, the Board of Directors of the Basler Zeitung decided at its meeting on September 14 to reintegrate the culture section into the newspaper.

The statements made by former "Tagesschau" boss Heiner Hug in his book "Fernsehen ohne Zuschauer" are explosive. The TV magazines Tele and TV-Star have already printed exclusive excerpts in advance. For example, Hug's assessment of the "Tagesschau": It is "the biggest senior citizens' club in the country" because it no longer reaches young viewers. The entire industry is suffering from this problem and the cause is homemade. Hug continued: "Everything is adjusted and balanced, everything is officially powdered. [...] Young people like this court reporting less and less. It bores them and so they dive into the Internet with its fast and free reports." A problem that, as Hug writes, is exacerbated by politicians. They still have a tense relationship with television today. Hug recalls how a female politician said to a "Tagesschau" reporter: "Standing in front of a camera is like prostitution. And I'm not a prostitute."

There is more construction going on in Zurich than there has been for a long time. From Hardbrücke to Sechseläutenplatz and Seefeldstrasse, there are currently dozens of major construction sites in the city. These are not only a topic in the Tages-Anzeiger, but now also in its advertising. On Werdstrasse, work is also in full swing on a renovation project - that of the Tages-Anzeiger. Unlike many other renovations, however, this one will be completed on September 29, according to the new campaign.
In addition to advertisements, posters are used on Zurich's building walls. And there are a lot of them at the moment.
Responsible at the Tages-Anzeiger: Marcel Tappeiner (Publishing Director), Cyril Hänggi (Brand Communications). Responsible at Spillmann/Felser/Leo Burnett: Beat Egger (text), Dana Wirz (AD), Peter Brönnimann, Martin Spillmann (CD), Mirjam Eberle, Andy Stäheli (consulting), Sabine Bechtel (art buying), Hanspeter Hunger (production). Photos: Alessandro Fischer.

Madeleine Linter, Head of International Business at the listed company Affichage Holding S.A., will be leaving the company at the end of October 2009 after five years with the company. Linter will continue to be available to the Group as a member of the Board of Directors of individual subsidiaries and for special tasks and will contribute her experience in the development and implementation of corporate strategies, according to a press release issued on Wednesday.
Madeleine Linter joined the company in 2004 as Head of Corporate Development. In 2007, as a member of the newly formed Group Management, she took over the Affichage International division and thus the integration and management of the subsidiaries in the new markets, which now account for over 25 percent of Group sales.
Group CEO Christian Kauter will now personally manage the "International" division.

Phonak, the manufacturer of hearing solutions, is teaming up with Disney Pixar for a promotional campaign in the Swiss, French, Austrian, Dutch, Polish, Indian, Australian and New Zealand markets to mark the release of the latest film production "Up". The film will be released in German-speaking Switzerland on September 17, 2009. It is the story of a 78-year-old balloon salesman and hearing aid wearer who fulfills his lifelong dream of a great adventure: He ties thousands of balloons to his roof and flies away with his house.
As part of the promotion, Phonak and Disney Pixar are providing participating acoustic partners in the target markets with POS material, direct mailings and the "Up Adventure Sweepstakes" competition format. To enter the sweepstakes, customers have a free hearing screening at their acoustician. In addition to numerous daily prizes, the grand prize is a balloon ride for four people. Exclusive previews of the film complement the promotional program.