Planning with 250 Swiss websites
Visually, the Ad Planner is an attractive tool. The user interface is simple, intuitive and well structured. Two main functions are available for planning an online campaign:
- Campaign planning on the basis of target group profiles
- Evaluation of websites that display advertising based on performance data.
The Ad Planner currently lists 250 websites for the Swiss market that display banners and AdWords. Only those advertising media that achieve minimum traffic and meet certain Google quality standards are shown.
Planning functions not yet fully developed
For media planning, the website universe can be narrowed down using target group parameters. These include websites that the target group has visited or keyword queries that the target group has sold. As the number of cases for narrowed target groups is (still) too low for Switzerland, the Ad Planner often does not deliver any results. After planning, the individual websites can be analyzed on the basis of their quantitative and socio-demographic usage data. Among other things, the Ad Planner presents the keywords used by the target group to reach the website, as well as websites that are also accessed by the target group.
No binding information on data sources
The usage data in Ad Planner represents a specific, undefined month; no back data is available. Google does not disclose exactly where the data comes from.
It can be assumed that the Google Toolbar, search queries, Google Analytics and external consumer panels, among others, provide the usage data for the Ad Planner.
No direct booking in the Ad Planner
A large number of advertising spaces can be booked via Google, but not in the Ad Planner. To do this, the media plans must be transferred to the AdWords tool via export/import functions. If you want, you can also produce your banners with the free Display Ad Builder.
The Ad Planner is still in its infancy
Nothing is yet known about the quality and reliability of the Ad Planner data. The filter functions are not satisfactory. As soon as the Ad Planner reaches the quality standard of Google Analytics, it will take online advertising one step further in conjunction with the AdWords tool and Analytics. The combination of the three tools will then enable the planning, purchasing, controlling and optimization of online campaigns.
Despite the bright prospects, the question arises as to how far you can trust a tool that is provided by a company that makes money from selling advertising space.

Thomas Back (33) likes things to be clean and tidy - not only in the agency, but also in his projects. That's why not only the black marble worktop in the kitchen shines at Streuplan, but also the business. Streuplan specializes in below-the-line advertising (BTL). BTL means addressing your target group directly and personally using unconventional communication channels. The advertising measures are also undercover and are not always immediately recognizable as advertising. However, Back and his team do not want to advertise "through the back of the chest into the eye": "We see BTL as an indispensable part of every campaign. I'm not a fan of taking consumers by surprise through the back door," says Back. "That backfires. The more clearly and transparently a company says 'we're advertising, we want to sell', the more successful a campaign will be. There's no point in deceiving people."
This approach has already won over customers from A for Apple to B for Beiersdorf and C for Credit Suisse to Z for Zweifel. And all this without Streuplan ever having advertised its services. The agency looks after a total of 14 large and medium-sized companies that are well-known in the Swiss and international arena. In addition, advertising agencies regularly involve Streuplan in their projects as a specialist for BTL: "We are always on board with campaigns from Wirz in particular, but we also work with Assai, Spillmann/Felser/Leo Burnett and Matter & Gretener." Back prefers to be at the table from the very first meeting: "Projects run best when everyone involved is on board from the outset. Above all, it is important that those responsible for BTL and traditional advertising work closely together and draw up the media plan jointly. Print, radio, poster and TV advertising and BTL measures must be coordinated. This is the only way for a campaign to be effective."
Of trees and cows
Streuplan masters the entire BTL range: the agency does ambient, conversational and cross-marketing, runs guerrilla and viral marketing, has expertise in product placement, sponsoring and sampling, understands mobile and point-of-sale marketing, builds communities and organizes events and promotions. Thomas Back loves the night-and-fog campaigns that convey their messages with a wink and still deserve the name guerrilla. In 2008, the agency worked with Wirz to hang coconuts in the trees on Bahnhofstrasse for Kuoni. A poster with the slogan: "What's wrong here?" was emblazoned on the trunk. Anyone who didn't notice the mistake was clearly ready for a vacation. Around Euro 08, Streuplan put brown cows in red robes for Mars. On their bellies, the cozy ruminants bore the message: "Hopp. Power to the fans." Unfortunately, guerrilla advertising like this is rare, regrets Back. "Many companies lack the courage to pull off such campaigns, even though they have a strong brand and good products. A little more cheekiness and self-confidence would be nice."
Often all it takes is a clever idea that demonstrates a keen eye for the target group: On the Nivea website, young girls can design a top entirely according to their own ideas. The best design is selected, mass-produced and sold via the Chicorée fashion chain. The campaign hits the mark, as many young women dream of becoming a star and making it big. With the "Be a top designer" promotion, they see their chance. The campaign is the most successful online campaign of the Beiersdorf cosmetics group worldwide and was developed and implemented by Streuplan. The design tool has been running in Switzerland for several years.
The proof of the pudding is in the eating
Streuplan is also strong in sampling and product testing. The agency cooperates with fashion store chains, associations and hundreds of other advertising partners, where it regularly places products to try out. Streuplan has just devised a promotion for a new Nivea deodorant: Volunteer testers are encouraged to compare the new deodorant with their previous one right under the armpit - one on the left, the other on the right. "We want to convince people, not promise them the blue sky," explains Back. "And the best way to do that is to let people try out the new product." Streuplan also operates close to the consumer in mobile marketing: "In the past, if you wanted to take a test drive, you went to the car dealer. Today, you see a poster with a dashing convertible, send a text message and receive a serious offer for a test drive within 24 hours. Back and its ilk make sure that this works. Streuplan is working flat out on MMS services. "However, MMS campaigns are not yet really accepted," admits the Streuplan boss. "They simply cost too much and are usually more complicated to implement than SMS or online measures."
The distribution planners also know their way around media creation: With a keen nose and the necessary specialist knowledge, they develop ideas as to which media their clients could still earn money with. The fact that airlines could sell advertising space in loudspeaker announcements or in live commercials played by the flight attendants are just two of Back's ideas.
At universities, Streuplan employs so-called brand ambassadors. These are usually marketing students who regularly drum up publicity with targeted campaigns. "At Easter, for example, we hide Apple products throughout the university, and at Christmas we offer a kind of Advent calendar with a chance to win," explains Back. "The campaigns follow a plan that we work out with our customers beforehand."
A feel for people
Thomas Back is a trained psychiatric nurse. He is good at empathizing with people and their needs. It's not that difficult, he says, you just have to look closely: "Why, for example, are giveaways always distributed at Zurich main station? There are dozens of train stations in the canton. Passers-by in Zurich get something pressed into their hands every day, they don't even care anymore. Wouldn't it be cleverer instead to have a quick chat with a lady or gentleman at Freienbach station, who are always at the platform a few minutes early anyway, and hand them a product sample? Then they get on the train to Zurich and have 15 minutes to get to grips with the product and our message."
Back and his team scrutinize every step they take with the question of whether and how their campaigns work. They not only want to create funny and exciting campaigns, they also want to prove to their customers that the measures work. Back has just hired a neuropsychologist. He is familiar with the direct and indirect effects of advertising and will support Streuplan in measuring success and developing new communication tools in the future. "We try to understand consumers," explains Back. "We want to know what makes people tick when they walk into Migros or the Coop and what they expect from companies and products."
Advertising through the front door
Thomas Back ended up in advertising by a roundabout route. After training as a psychiatric nurse and working in psychiatry for three years, he longed for a new challenge. In 2000, he joined Face, an agency for communication design. "Face was a pioneer in the development and marketing of ambient media," says Back. However, clients wanted more: integrated overall concepts, bolder advertising that left the classic paths and brought added value to those being advertised. "Face was unable to fulfill these wishes," recalls Back. "But I was interested in this area. That's why I founded Streuplan." In 2004, Streuplan was the first agency to combine BTL with classic advertising. Today, the creatives are either hired as BTL experts or they take on the development of a campaign as a general contractor, from the idea to consulting and conception through to implementation in classic and BTL, including performance measurement. "With our own in-house creative department, we have recently been able to design the promotional materials, advertisements and online presence for the concepts we develop ourselves," says Back. "This meets a major need of our direct customers."
Thomas Back taught himself the knowledge he needs as an advertising guerrillero. Nine years ago, there was no training, let alone in-depth reading material on BTL. "I gleaned a lot of theoretical knowledge from the Internet, often visited America and looked at how they do it there," says Back. "I also owe a lot to my first customers. They had courage and trust in me. This allowed me to gain experience and learn a lot while implementing projects."
Involving consumers
Streuplan has had great success with its way of appealing to consumers - despite the flood of advertising that inundates us every day. Back's secret: "Consumers know exactly what they want and what they don't want. That's why companies need to involve their customers and ask them: How do we reach you? How do you want to be addressed? Do you want a poster or a newsletter? Do you want to test products before you buy them? Do you expect vouchers, discounts? Companies need to find out all this about their customers. It takes a little courage, but on this basis a successful campaign can be developed - and a lasting relationship with the customer can be built."
Thomas Back counts finding the right employees for Streuplan as his greatest success to date: "It took me a lot of time and energy, but now I have ten super motivated and creative minds. And with Oliver Schwab and Christoph Oertli, who recently joined the company as partners, the agency management is now also excellently organized." Back is only satisfied when everything fits together one hundred percent.
Anne-Friederike Wilhelm
In a nutshell
Thomas Back
* 27.7.1976 in Münsterlingen
1994 - 2000 Training and
Working as a psychiatric nurse
1998 - 2000 Higher technical college/management in healthcare
2000 - 2004 Face AG for communication design, Frauenfeld
since 2004 Streuplan AG, Zurich

Old hands will remember: Mediaplan used to be called "Streuplan" - hence the name of the agency. Streuplan has been a public limited company since June, and Back's partners are Christoph Oertli and Oliver Schwab.
Thomas Back likes to work. And he likes being at home. "When I come out of the office and see my daughter, all stress is gone immediately," says the father of fifteen-month-old Seraina. "There's no quicker way to switch off."

If I were Nik Niethammer, I'd be spinning at full speed. The Federer twins have been in the world for three weeks and they still aren't beaming from the cover of his "Schweizer Illustrierte" magazine. What's going on? It looks like the clever tennis champion also has the better serve in the match with the people media.
Let's put it this way (and of course this is just a guess, but probably not an unfounded one): Roger Federer and his Mirka are a tad too normal, too well-behaved and too decent for the international celebrity business. Because the two of them are also intelligent, they have long since realized this. A Boris Becker (with his first marital spat) or an André Agassi (with Steffi Graf as a flavor enhancer) would have achieved much higher sums in the international baby picture market. But Federer doesn't like being second or third, and he doesn't care about the money. He would have to donate it anyway. So why should he get involved in comparisons? He'd rather keep the tabloids on their toes and show them who's the boss when it comes to Federer's perception. Public relations work at these heights is a power game, and the strongest makes the rules. At the moment, Roger Federer decides what Roger Federer and his family should look like.
During the summer slump in television, Swiss television made a strong brand with the docu-soap Reduit - and this is probably the right decision - and achieved corresponding ratings successes. These are at least partly a direct consequence of the dogged protests against the series by ideologically driven administrators of the past. The more controversial, the more respected!
For many years, the GSoA (Society for a Switzerland without an Army), as a genuinely left-wing organization, has repeatedly claimed freedom of opinion and laid claim to it - rightly so, in my opinion, although I do not remotely approve of its goals and consider the GSoA to be a particularly bad and treacherous organization that must be confronted wherever it is encountered. But please: In this country, everyone has the vested right to make a fool of themselves, and as incorrigible fucking liberals we want to insist on that, even at the risk of something like the GSoA scoring points in the process.
But now the GSoA has demanded in all seriousness that the Reduit series be canceled immediately. Are we hearing correctly? A political lobby is attacking the programming sovereignty of Swiss public television.
Let's imagine for a moment that the cute party president actor Toni Brunner had demanded something similar. How the journalistic mainstream would have howled, how the de Wecks, the Meyers, the Britschgis and the whole gang from Werdstrasse would have protested. Prof. Georg Kreis and Prof. Kurt Imhof would have rolled their eyes. The SP Switzerland and the Olten group would have been dutifully outraged. But what now, in view of the sheer embarrassment of the GSoA? Silence is once again the safest form of execution. And next week they'll be driving another pig through the village. Never speculate on the stupidity of the public, better try their forgetfulness!
Frankly, the TV series from the Nidwalden region just doesn't do it for me. My father, who served as an active-duty soldier on the Gotthard line and in Ticino, told me much more vivid and entertaining stories back then: about the partisans, whom they naturally helped as Swiss proletarians in solidarity, against all orders. And of the smugglers who were able to do business in the slipstream of politics because the profits went to the right side.
They liked Guisan, my father and his comrades, and they made fun of him: "LMG" was his favorite weapon: Spoon, knife and fork. We have known since Willi Gautschi's biographical work that Guisan was an anti-Semite and contributed significantly to the tightening of Switzerland's defensive stance against Jewish immigration, but nobody is interested. It could scratch familiar images and confirm the old historical truth: There is neither black nor white, there are only shades of gray in various hues.
Karl Lüönd

Since this week, the late-night edition of "Tagesschau" has had a new look, and the concept has also been secretly revised. They don't want to make a big deal of it, says "Tagesschau" boss Thomas Schäppi to Tele und TV-Star. The program now offers a different atmosphere with a background image of Zurich at night. In addition, the presenters greet their viewers in front of the desk and not behind it, as in other programs. They now want to position "Tagesschau Nacht" as an independent program.

www.tele.ch
www.tvstar.ch

The first certified readership figures for 20 Minuten Friday are in. The WEMF-certified media analysis covers the period from November 24 last year to July 7, 2009. 20 Minuten Friday has a total readership of 412,000 for this period. 20 Minuten distributes the Friday paper with a print run of 155,000 copies in more than 900 of its boxes. The magazine is also distributed via other distribution channels in the Basel, Berne, Lucerne, St. Gallen and Zurich regions.
More information.

SBB has sought new lead agencies for SBB Passenger Traffic and SBB Cargo in a two-stage invitation procedure. At the same time, a direct marketing agency was selected in a second procedure for passenger traffic. As the lead agency for SBB's freight subsidiary, SBB Cargo, Euro RSCG will continue to be active in the future, providing support for communications strategy, market presence and marketing communications measures.
The Bernese agency Contexta was able to assert itself as the new lead agency for SBB Personenverkehr and will take over this mandate as of January 1, 2009. Contexta convinced with its creative implementation of the mandate and its media strategy. In addition to SBB Personenverkehr, Contexta also serves clients such as Swisscom and Appenzeller Käse.
Alex Schmid Direct from Zurich acts as the new direct marketing agency of SBB Personenverkehr: The agency prevailed with a concept for the new challenges in regular customer marketing. Alex Schmid Direct serves clients such as Migros, Swiss Post and Basler Insurance.

www.sbb.ch
www.contexta.ch
www.alex-schmid.ch

The fifth Markom admission examination, in which the basic subjects of marketing, sales/distribution, advertising and PR are examined together, was also completed with a pass rate of 86.5 percent. A total of 4,040 graduates have obtained the MZP certificate since this examination was introduced.
At today's certificate presentation at Suisse Emex, the president of the examination board, Heinz Egli, will be able to announce that a total of 1,117 graduates (634 women, 483 men; 587 from German-speaking Switzerland, 60 from French-speaking Switzerland and 11 from Ticino) took part in the Markom admission test (MZP) held in the first week of August, the Markom association said in a press release. Of these, 966 successfully passed the examination held on the internet platform. The success rate of 86.5 percent is slightly lower than that of the exam held in January.
Since the introduction of the MZP two years ago, 4,040 graduates have thus either fulfilled one of the admission requirements for completing the professional examinations for marketing, sales and PR specialists and communication planners, and a number of young professionals have provided proof of their basic specialist knowledge in the Markom areas.
The names of all certificate holders are listed on www.markom.org published. The next examination will take place from January 25 - 29, 2010; the registration portal will be open from October 19, 2009; the deadline for registration is December 23, 2009.
The Markom association, founded in 2002 and comprising the industry associations Swiss Marketing SMC, Schweizerische Gesellschaft für Marketing GfM, Verkauf Schweiz VS, Schweizer Direktmarketing Verband SDV, Schweizer Werbung SW, Schweiz. Public Relations Gesellschaft SPRG and KV Schweiz, has set itself the task of conducting a joint admission examination for the new examination regulations in force since January 1, 2009 at the professional examination level (with federal certificate), in which the basic subjects are tested.

Shorter TV commercials just as effective
Short TV commercials with a length of 15 seconds are just as effective as the common, established format of 30 seconds. Researchers say that shorter spots have been vastly underestimated. There has been a belief in the industry that shorter spots are less successful, writes Pressetext. However, a recent Australian study has now dispelled this prejudice. As researchers from the Ehrenberg Bass Institute for Marketing Science have discovered, the short 15-second TV spots are basically just as effective as long spots. They are also usually remembered in the same way.
The study participants watched various TV commercials under natural conditions and were then tested for recall, liking and correct brand identification. The shorter commercials scored 80 to 90 percent as successfully as the longer ones in terms of recall and likability. Brand identification even achieved an equivalent result.
According to researcher and study author Kate Newstead, the shorter spots could be used to present a brand even more frequently than with longer advertising placements. However: the study results could theoretically also be due to poor brand management in the longer spots, she warns. In any case, the study shows that advertisers should reconsider the 30-second spot as an absolute must in their campaigns.

www.marketingscience.info
pressetext.com

The development of feature-length documentaries will be supported by SRG with CHF 80,000 per year. This is provided for in the initiative of SRG and its business units Schweizer Fernsehen (SF), Télévision Suisse Romande (TSR) and Radiotelevisione svizzera di lingua italiana (RSI). The initiative is part of the " Pacte de l'audiovisuel " and, according to the press portal, provides for a contribution of CHF 80,000 per year for a total of seven projects, which will be selected from all applications.
be selected.
The experts of the "Pacte documentaire" of SF, TSR and RSI examine the applications submitted twice a year and jointly decide which projects should receive financial support in the development phase on the basis of the criteria listed in the regulations. Grants are allocated according to the needs and specific characteristics of the projects submitted. The need for intensive preparatory work (research, in-depth study, contacts, financing, etc.), the commitment of the applicant and the project itself are taken into account.
of the responsible producer and the possible interest of other institutions that are eligible for financial support for the development project.
The first submission deadline for projects is September 30, 2009.

www.srgssrideesuisse.ch
www.presseportal.ch

Siemens Switzerland is targeting potential employees with a new job portal. The Zurich-based design agency Eyekon designed and implemented this in collaboration with the Zurich-based communications agency Seed. On the four most important web pages, viewers are shown short videos in which employees talk about their employer and their job. The user gets a look behind the scenes - and gets to know future colleagues who work for Siemens. The films are fully embedded in the website design.
The portal also includes current vacancies, the option to set up a search agent and further information about the company. Eyekon is responsible for the overall concept. The videos were realized by Seed. The implementation on TYPO3 was carried out by RTPartner.

www.siemens.ch
www.seedcom.ch
www.eyekon.ch

Last year, the Federation of Migros Cooperatives geared the 200 or so Migros restaurants towards extended target groups by introducing national offers and uniform interior design measures. Following a tender, TBS Identity won the mandate to design the identity and information strategy, from the promotion of offers in the entrance area to the product labeling at the POS. The corporate design program developed in a first step served as the basis for the realization of all communication media. Uniform information boards were developed for the daily notice board and a labeling system for the buffets and counters. A detailed CD manual, which precisely regulates the appearance right down to the decentrally produced displays, ensures a high level of design consistency within the federal Migros system, writes TBS Idetity in a press release.
Responsible at TBS Identity: Beat Aeschlimann (communication consulting), Daniel Leber, Christian Tobler (CD), Marco Donada (AD), Nadia Ermert (polygraphy), Anka Refghi, Marlen Gassler (project management).

www.tbs-identity.ch
www.migros.ch

The seventh edition of Fantoche, the international festival for animated film, will take place in Baden from September 8 to 13, 2009. Grünbaum Koblasa Livingmedia is responsible for the opening ceremony and the award ceremony of Fantoche 09.
The International Animated Film Festival is one of the world's outstanding festivals for animated film and is a cultural event in Switzerland dedicated exclusively to animation in all its technical, content-related and media facets.
Livingmedia, the specialist for live communication, was commissioned to create and design the opening night and the award ceremony in the Trafohalle in Baden together with the festival directors Duscha Kistler and Andrea Freund.

www.livingmedia.ch
www.fantoche.ch