Retarus, a provider of professional messaging solutions, is expanding its team in Switzerland following an operational growth of over 80 percent in the last twelve months. Sandra Keller is taking over as Sales and Marketing Assistant with immediate effect. The 27-year-old has experience in the travel, finance and consulting industries and will focus primarily on expanding sales and marketing activities. Martina Bolognini takes over the newly created position of Account Manager Electronic Marketing. The 25-year-old has been working in marketing at Retarus for three years.

(Caption from left to right: Sandra Keller and Martina Bolognini.)

The agency Adivco Young & Rubicam has created new packaging designs for Menu and More. The company supplies Pro Senectute, Spitex and retirement and residential homes, among others, with ready-to-eat menus. The design of the new packaging should therefore not only whet the appetite for food, but also be tailored to people over the age of 85. The packaging therefore features extra-large lettering and clear preparation instructions. Clear color codes also indicate the different categories: "Active Menu", "Care Menu", "Vegetarian Menu", "Diabetes Menu", "Spicy Dinner" and "Sweet Dinner". The colors are intended to help prevent mix-ups during delivery.

Responsible at Menu and More: Frank Forster (Marketing & Sales Care and Business), Markus Daniel (Managing Director). Responsible at Advico Y&RMarkus Gut (CCO), Isabelle Hauser (AD), Annik Weber (graphics), Julia Brandstätter (text), Julia Kull, Sandro Breu (consulting).

As of Monday, August 31, 2009, the commuter newspaper News will concentrate on the News Tagesanzeiger edition. The editions News Basler Zeitung and News Berner Zeitung will be discontinued and will appear for the last time on Friday, August 28, 2009. Basler Zeitung Medien has reassessed its participation in NP News Print AG as part of the cost review and has decided to transfer its shares to Tamedia. Espace Media is also transferring its stake in NP News Print AG to Tamedia. With the continuation of the daily newspaper Der Bund, Espace Media is already represented in Berne with two daily newspapers. Together, Berner Zeitung and Der Bund achieve a high reach of over 45 percent in the Bern region, as Tamedia writes in a press release on Monday.

Increase reach in the greater Zurich area
News is primarily intended to attract additional readers in Zurich for the "Tagesanzeiger" media network. The commuter newspaper is distributed with a circulation of 100,000 copies in the canton of Zurich and in the central stations of the S-Bahn network in the neighboring cantons. In the medium term, the publisher is aiming for 150,000 to 200,000 readers. According to readership research by Wemf AG für Werbemedienforschung, News reached 276,000 readers with all three issues in the first few months after its launch (Mach Basic 2009-1).
The concentration on News Tagesanzeiger will not result in any reductions in the editorial team. Stefan Regez will remain editor-in-chief. As announced, the editorial team of the commuter newspaper will move into a joint newsroom with the Newsnetz editorial team at the beginning of September 2009. The collaboration between the editorial teams, which will remain independent, will then be gradually expanded.

The Comedia and Kommunikation trade unions have announced that they will be taking action against the delivery organization Zuvo in the coming days. The management of the delivery and distribution organization, which belongs in equal parts to Tamedia and the NZZ Group, has rejected serious negotiations, the unions announced on Monday. Specifically, the negotiations are about new contracts with low wages. Last week, Zuvo reached an agreement with the employee representatives. Agreement The two parties agreed on a one-off payment of CHF 450,000 to those affected by the pay cut. With this amount, the more than 1,300 people affected would only receive 342 francs each. According to the communiqué, this amount is puny and hurts the pride of those affected.
The unions are appealing for understanding and solidarity from the subscribers affected by the strike action. A pay cut of up to 20 percent could lead to serious problems for people in a low-wage area, especially in the current economic crisis.

The Vaud-based advertising broker Publigroupe is facing its worst crisis in 50 years and continues to make a loss. In the first half of 2009, it suffered a 28 percent drop in sales to CHF 798.4 million. At the bottom line, the company posted a loss of CHF 8.5 million after a profit of CHF 43.9 million in the same period last year. According to a press release issued on Monday, the economic trend is hitting the advertising markets ever harder and accelerating their structural changes.
The operating loss (EBIT) amounted to CHF 3.5 million after a plus of CHF 61.9 million in the previous year. At that time, Publigroupe had benefited from a pre-tax profit of CHF 42.5 million from a real estate sale, according to the statement.

Media Sales-Publicitas hardest hit
The Group's press activities were most affected. Media Sales-Publicitas recorded a 28.8 percent drop in sales to CHF 658.3 million. Sales generated in press advertising (CHF 530 million) fell by 27%, with the slump affecting all regions and advertising categories. Commercial advertising fell by 20.3 percent. The most significant losses were recorded in the financial sector, large-scale distributors, industrial equipment, recruitment agencies and the luxury sector. Job advertisements, which are dependent on the economy and the labor market, continued their downward trend. At the end of the first half of the year, the decline amounted to 41 percent.
Display online advertising sold by Media Sales in Switzerland - including category ads on the Internet - fell by 8% to CHF 7.6 million. Television advertising fell by 4% to CHF 15.9 million, while radio advertising remained stable at CHF 3.1 million. Sales of advertising for cinemas are 32% below the previous year's figure (CHF 8.1 million).

On Monday, the Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC) submitted a revision of the Television Ordinance (RTVO) for consultation. This provides for the rules for Swiss programs to be relaxed. According to the Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM), foreign television broadcasters in neighboring countries Germany, France and Italy currently have more freedom than Swiss TV stations.
For example, all television stations are to be allowed to broadcast more interstitial advertising. The ban on advertising and sponsorship in SRG's online offering and the provisions on advertising interruptions in SRG television programs are to be abolished. Films and news programs - including programs on current political events - may be interrupted by advertising once for every 30 minutes of programmed broadcasting time. Advertising is prohibited during the transmission of church services and children's programs.
According to European regulations, commercials may not exceed 12 minutes per hour. The legal restriction that advertising may not take up more than 15 percent of daily broadcasting time remains in place. The consultation process, which will also include a discussion on advertising in SRG television programs, will run until 23 October.

Since this week, Swiss cities can also be explored virtually with Google Street View. According to a statement from Google, the volume of Google Maps usage in Switzerland has increased by more than 80 percent thanks to the new function. In the Sunday press, however, the topic is the lack of data protection: although Google has promised to use software to make people and car license plates unrecognizable, numerous images have already emerged in which faces and car numbers can be identified. The first prominent victim is FDP National Councillor Ruedi Noser, who is recognizable in a photo taken in Bern. Not only data protectionists, but also an increasing number of citizens, are resisting the new online service. Around 300 complaints have been received in the last four days, as Switzerland's top data protection official Hanspeter Thür told the Sonntag newspaper.
Google speaks of individual cases and refers to the possibility of reporting such images and having them removed. "The product is clearly not fully developed," writes the Sonntagszeitung. The fact that such "system errors" are tolerated until revoked by those affected does not comply with Swiss law. Hanspeter Thür had provisionally approved the service. However, he is now threatening to take the internet company to the Federal Administrative Court if Google does not comply with the requirements for the protection of privacy. Thür was unable to explain to the Sonntagszeitung why he did not ask Google to show him the service before publication.

Martin Knoll, Managing Director of McDonald's Switzerland, was killed in a tragic mountain bike accident last Friday. He lost his balance and fell down a steep slope. He succumbed to his injuries on the spot. Martin Knoll is survived by his wife and two children.
Knoll started as Marketing Manager of McDonald's Austria in 1993. In 1997, he was promoted to Managing Director of McDonald's Austria. Four years later, the Austrian was appointed Vice President Marketing Central Europe/Central Asia and was responsible for marketing in 18 countries. In May 2003, Martin Knoll took over the business in Switzerland as Managing Director of McDonald's Switzerland.
His successor will be decided internally, the company announced on Sunday. The six-strong management team at McDonald's Switzerland is currently continuing to run the day-to-day business.

SF editor-in-chief Ueli Haldimann and four employees have been found guilty by the Zurich District Court of multiple counts of eavesdropping and recording other people's conversations in connection with hidden camera reports on the subject of cosmetic surgery on "Kassensturz". However, they were acquitted on the charge of trespassing.
All five defendants were sentenced to conditional fines. For Haldimann, this amounts to around CHF 8,000, as spokesman David Affentranger told SDA on request. According to Affentranger, the total amounts for the other four defendants are between around CHF 1,000 and CHF 5,000. Prosecutor Lukas Wehrli had requested conditional fines of 10 to 30 daily rates of varying amounts as well as fines. For Haldimann, he demanded 30 daily sentences of 560 francs each - a total of 16,800 francs. According to the press release, Schweizer Fernsehen is considering an appeal to the Zurich High Court.

Previous case pending in Strasbourg
This was not the first time Haldimann had found himself in court for secretly recording
to answer for. In 2006, the Dielsdorf district court acquitted
came. This judgment, which was opened shortly before the new recordings
The defendants also appealed. However, the first-instance verdict was overturned by the Zurich High Court and the Federal Supreme Court, both of which found the defendants guilty. The case is pending in Strasbourg.

Swiss Television's living history project "Alpine Fortress - Life in the Réduit" was not too badly received by the Public Council - despite initial teething troubles. It judged the format to be "interesting and well made". However, the Audience Council found the images of the farm and the discussions between presenter Oliver Bono and experts and contemporary witnesses particularly "interesting". In contrast, the reporting from the Fürigen fortress was rather poorly received. The project had reached its limits here. It was not possible to convincingly present a serious approach to everyday problems. Big surprise: there were no "really exciting stories" and the "soldiers" were not really able to mentally empathize with the time with all its threats, fears and problems. Apparently it takes more than just a bunker and a few old uniforms.

(Image source: Swiss Television)

The Federal Council has granted an additional credit of two million Swiss francs for external PR assignments in order to polish up the tarnished image of the Swiss financial center in the USA. Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey told the Sonntagszeitung newspaper that trust in the banking center had suffered greatly under UBS. For this reason, a large-scale lobbying and image campaign is now being carried out. Embassies and all state marketing agencies are to take part in the campaign. The Federal Councillor also wants the UBS management to be prosecuted. Calmy-Rey went on to say that anyone guilty of wrongdoing must be held accountable.

(Image: Keystone)

Following discussions, the employee representatives and the management of the Zuvo delivery and sales organization have agreed on a one-off compensation payment for employees with more than five years of service. Zuvo has voluntarily made CHF 450,000 available for the creation of a corresponding fund.
The company announced at the end of March 2009 that it would be massively reducing the wages of its carriers. In future, the wage level will be at the level of other delivery organizations operated by publishers and Swiss Post in German-speaking Switzerland, as Zuvo announced on Friday. The measure is part of a larger cost-cutting package that also includes various optimizations in Zuvo's administration.