To ensure that as many young filmmakers as possible take part in Talent Screen again this year, Wirz Werbung has produced a commercial together with WirzFraefelPaal, which can now be seen in all Swiss cinemas. The spot
takes the piss out of a great cinema classic and gets to the heart of why it's important to take part in this year's talent show.

> To the spot

Responsible at Talent Screen: Olivier van der Hoeven, Mike Bucher, Reta Guetg. Responsible at Wirz: Raul Serrat (AD), Tom Zürcher (lyricist), Matthias Freuler (CD), Manuela Brunner (consultant), Cello Schnyder (director), WirzFraefelPaal (production), JingleJungle (sound design).

The two young Zurich-based financial services providers Prosperis Sustainable Wealth Management and Gallati Vermögensberatung are relying on Hesskiss. The agency was entrusted with the development of their websites.

In the first six months after its launch, the free people magazine 20 Minuten Friday reached 412,000 readers every week. 53% of the readership is female. The average circulation was 141,000 copies, meaning that one issue is read by just under three people on average. This is shown by a special analysis by AG für Werbemedienforschung Wemf, which covers the period from November 24, 2008 to June 7, 2009.
Within the target group of 14 to 34-year-olds, 20 Minuten Friday reaches 239,000 people every week. The magazine was launched on October 31, 2008 together with the women's magazine Annabelle and the dating platform Tilllate.com with an initial circulation of 137,000. In February 2009, circulation was increased to 155,000 copies.

Radio 24 is celebrating its 30th anniversary with an open day. On Saturday, August 29, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., the Radio 24 team will be giving quarter-hourly tours of the studio premises at Limmatstrasse 183. Interested parties can now register for the studio tours at Radio24.ch.

Since Monday, Blick am Abend has also been available in Lucerne, Zug and St. Gallen as well as in the surrounding communities. The evening newspaper has thus increased its circulation to 260,692 copies and now has a readership of around 450,000, according to Ringier. Despite the increased reach, advertising rates in the national section will remain unchanged, as Ringier announced on Monday.
The territorial expansion in Central Switzerland will extend from Baar to Horw/Emmen, with a focus on Lucerne and Zug, and in Eastern Switzerland from Wil to Lake Constance, with a focus on St. Gallen. Two new journalist positions have been created in the cities of St. Gallen and Lucerne for regional reporting, which will average one and a half pages per issue.

APG has revealed the secret of the "Ali Kebap" teaser campaign. Beat Holenstein, Head of Marketing and Acquisition at APG, was quoted in a press release on Monday as saying that the story of the - fictitious - businessman Ali symbolizes companies that achieve lasting success by using the poster medium. The message: business success thanks to APG. The Zurich advertising agency Publicis is responsible for the idea and implementation of the campaign. The current motif will be displayed in all parts of the country until September 14. The story of Ali's "dishwasher's career" is set to continue, with the sequel starting in a few weeks, Beat Holenstein told Werbewoche on request.

Responsible at APG: Beat Holenstein (project management), Sascha Hardegger (media). Responsible at Publicis: Martin Denecke (CCO), Peter Rettinghausen (CD), Serge Deville (text), Ondrej Maczko (AD), Barney Rees (graphics), Christian Siegrist, Margrit Weber, Sina Loosli (consulting), Vera Schmid (art buying), Dan Cermak (photos), Patrik Rohner (retouching).

A new trend is currently beginning to emerge in the USA: More and more companies are turning to multiplayer online games to combat communication deficits and strengthen team spirit. Senior management is also participating extensively in the virtual battles between employees, helping to break down fears of contact between management and staff. First-person shooter games are particularly popular. "During gaming sessions, the company hierarchy loses its validity and individual skill is the only thing that counts," Ross O'Dwyer, Head of Professional Services at US software company Havok, is quoted as saying on Pressetext.ch. This is precisely what is important, as the "walls" that exist in reality between employees and management can be torn down very quickly. Staff also see this as a welcome opportunity to reduce their own stress levels. "You don't usually have the opportunity to shoot your own boss very often. It gives you a good feeling," says one of the employees. Whether this trend will make it to Europe remains to be seen. Perhaps the company outing will soon be a thing of the past - why travel far and wide when the team can be strengthened by a few well-aimed shots from the comfort of the computer...

Radio 1 owner Roger Schawinski is accusing the Ringier Group's Energy Zurich station of damaging business, defamation and anti-Semitism. As the Sonntagszeitung reports in its current edition, the case concerns a presentation that Energy Zurich sent to advertising customers. According to the Sonntagspublikation, Schawinski complained to Marc Walder, head of Ringier Switzerland, that the eight-page document used false figures and a photomontage portrayed him as a money-grubbing Jew. The fact that the "leading figure of a competing medium was polemicized" in such an "offensive form" was outrageous.
In the controversial presentation, the listener figures and advertising prices of the two stations are compared in detail: Radio 1, according to the message to the advertising industry, offers poorer value for money than Energy Zurich. Schawinski promises too much. Radio 1 now wants to file a lawsuit against Ringier for violation of the law against unfair competition. Walder, for his part, sees no reason to apologize for the presentation, and he is relaxed about a possible lawsuit.

Companies and organizations also placed fewer advertisements in July. The Publicitas index fell by 1.2 points to 77.6 points. However, this slight decline is due to the summer vacations, Publicitas announced at the weekend, according to SDA. Traditionally, fewer advertisements are placed in July than in other months. Nevertheless, there is still no upturn in sight.
Not all advertising categories have developed in the same way. For example, political parties and organizations placed more advertisements, while "political and official advertisements" increased accordingly. Large companies, on the other hand, were more cautious. According to Publicitas, so-called "national clients" reduced their advertising investments. This was particularly noticeable in newspaper supplements. The tight labor market is also reflected in the advertising business: the number of job advertisements fell again. The sub-index for job advertisements fell by 5.4 points to 132.2 points in July.

Swisscom wished the Swiss people a happy August 1 with a spontaneous online campaign. Under the slogan «A Full Charge for Your TV,» the Bern-based agency Contexta teamed up with Peek Productions to create a viral ad. The video invites viewers to “set their TV on fire” with Bluewin TV—the family takes this literally and blows up their old TV with fireworks.
According to the agency’s announcement, over 40,000 people have clicked on the video so far. In addition, a heated discussion has erupted in the YouTube comments section over the question ’Real or fake?«—the answer can be found in the »making-of” video: in fact, (almost) no special effects were used during filming.
Responsible at Contexta: Bene Abegglen, Nadine Borter (Overall Responsibility), Moritz Staehelin (CD), Patrick Ryffel (Copywriter), Christian-Kumar Meier (Head of Consulting). Person in charge of production at Peek, Zurich: Tobias Fueter (Screenplay/Director), Verena Zollinger (Producer), Tobias Dengler (Cinematographer).
Viral Ad:

Behind the Scenes:

Burson-Marsteller enters into a strategic partnership with three Baltic agencies. Through the partnership with BVRG in Lithuania, Hamburg & Partners in Estonia and Mediju tilts in Latvia, the agency is establishing a new presence in this region. The agreements with the three new partners represent an important strengthening of the EMEA network, as Burson-Marsteller writes in a press release. With the highest European growth rates between 2000 and 2006, the Baltic states are an increasingly important region.
says Roman Geiser, CEO Burson-Marsteller Switzerland and Managing Director Affiliates & Acquisitions EMEA.
BVRG was founded in 1998. It has experience in the Lithuanian PR market and has implemented numerous public relations projects for Lithuanian and international companies and organizations. The agency is mainly active in the field of public institutions. BVRG's clients include the Government of the Republic of Lithuania, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Education, Social Security and Labor; Apple, Carlsberg Group, Erovaistine, Mepha, Letuvos draudimas, Lietuvos Energija and Tall Ships Races Baltic 2009.
Hamburg & Partners is active in communications consulting in both the public and private sectors. Based in Talinn, Latvia, the company was founded in 2005 and has since been one of the fastest growing agencies in Estonia. The company is active in the fields of business, public affairs, media and PR for local and international clients such as Tallink, Renault, Pernod Ricard, NCC, K-rauta and others.
Mediju tilts was founded in 1996 as one of the country's first political consultancy agencies. Today, it is one of the oldest PR agencies with the largest team in Latvia. Clients include Accenture, Cisco Systems, Panasonic, Roche, JTI, University of Latvia, Baltkom TV, Low office Raidla, Lejinš & Nourcous, Latvia Post, Riga municipality and Riga city Transportation Company.
Burson-Marsteller is a public relations and communications consultancy in Switzerland with offices in Zurich, Bern and Geneva. With around 60 employees, the agency offers services in the areas of corporate communications, financial communications, public affairs, health care and science communications, media relations and cross-media communication design. The company is managed by Roman Geiser.
Burson-Marsteller international was founded in the USA in 1953. The global network comprises 72 branches and 59 affiliated offices, which together operate in 84 countries on all continents. Burson-Marsteller is part of the Young & Rubicam agency network, a subsidiary of WPP plc (NASDQ: WPPGY), a provider of communications services.
www.b-m.ch
www.bvrg.lt
www.medijutilts.lv
www.hamburg.ee

After 37 years as Managing Director, André Béchir is handing over the operational management of Good News Productions to Thomas Kastl on March 1, 2010. Kastl will thus take over the management of the three divisions Good News Concerts, Good News Classic and Good News Events. Ringier Switzerland's Good News commitment is embedded in the new "Entertainment, Electronic Media & Events" division.
André Béchir took over the management of Good News in 1972. Following the change, he will continue to work for Good News as Senior Advisor. He will remain a link to important partners such as agencies, event organizers, artists' agents and venue operators, Ringier writes in a press release.
Thomas Kastl has been the sole owner of Levent since 2006 and was responsible for the St. Jakobshalle's position in the international event market. Prior to that, he organized numerous major events in Zurich and Basel.

www.goodnews.ch