The Zurich-based brand development and brand management agency Reach has been awarded the contract to revise the corporate design of the Lucerne-based company Pistor following a selection process with competitor presentations. The new image has been gradually introduced to the market since the beginning of August.
Continuity and the recognizability of their brand values were important to those responsible at Pistor. The identity developed by Reach takes into account Pistor's tradition and history dating back to 1916. The new claim "faster is fresher" sums up Pistor's brand promise in a nutshell. The new company logo is now being implemented on Pistor's communication tools, such as the large fleet of trucks and customer and employee magazines.
Reach is an owner-managed agency for brand development and brand management. The agency was founded in 2003. It specializes in the conception, development and implementation of brand and communication strategies.

New logo, new website, new address, own post-production, new people and lots of new plans: Manifesto Films has upgraded. A visible sign are more than half a dozen spots that are currently waiting for their premiere in cinemas and on television. The film production company, founded in 2001, moved into new studios in Zurich's Mühlebachstrasse at the beginning of the year. The founder and creative head of Manifesto is the award-winning director and writer Reto Salimbeni, who "directs" the strategic implementation of the numerous projects and future plans.
A producer by training, she was born in Canada and raised in New Zealand from the age of seven. There she studied Film & Communication at Auckland University. After graduation, Shannon Mildon gained her first experience in national television in New Zealand. She participated as a production assistant on various shows. "I was still very young and enjoyed MTV-style musical shows as well as television series." But soon Mildon was looking for development opportunities in the direction of feature films and got her chance as an assistant at Company Communicado. This produced "Once we're warriors," the first film from New Zealand to win a Palme d'Or at Cannes.
The international appearance also encouraged Shannon Mildon. "In New Zealand, the industry is still very small. So I wanted to come back to North America to further my education." So, with her Canadian passport and the knowledge that one of the biggest film industries awaits in Vancouver, she returned to the country of her birth at age 23. After three weeks in Canada, she applied to Reto Salimbeni's then-partner Mike Collier and his Yaletown Entertainment. Mildon became first production manager and then producer. Over the next four years, she was given responsibility for three longer-running TV series for the LIVE network. During this phase, Shannon produced 54 half-hour shows - per year. "Weird Homes," one of those series, won several awards and was broadcast worldwide.
In Vancouver, Shannon Mildon soon met Reto Salimbeni because he often shot with Yaletown. Their first joint work was a spot for Cablecom. "Isn't that an interesting coincidence?" she laughs today. Daniel Meier of Zurich-based Unikat - still a good client of Manifesto today - was the client and indirectly the "matchmaker" at the time. In the following years, Shannon produced many commercials for Salimbeni - and she reveals with a meaningful look, they still had nothing to do with each other privately, however. "Of course, I tried to flirt with the handsome guy from Switzerland. But he didn't notice," she smiles. Instead, the production company of the David Letterman show became aware of her qualities and made her an offer to produce a new show in Vancouver. Just at that time, however, Reto Salimbeni also made her an offer - privately as well as professionally - and Shannon turned Letterman down. And so finally the first flap had fallen for the further story development of the intercontinental Manifesto Films - with seats in Zurich and Vancouver. "The decision was easy for me." She was convinced that Reto is "simply a great director" with a clear vision. "In our profession, it's best to work together anyway - otherwise you see far too little of each other because they're both always on the road." Two days after Shannon's decision, she was on a plane to the Maldives for a spot for Ladival sun cream. "Reto didn't tell me where the first shoot was until after I had accepted, but it was a nice surprise," Shannon laughs. She became the producer in charge at Manifesto and often lived out of a suitcase with Salimbeni for the next few years, sometimes for months at a time. Shoots in many countries had to be organized and handled. In the meantime, the producer and the director have been working together for six years, and they have been married for five years. "It's just perfect," says Shannon Mildon.
Manifesto's core competence is large A-class spots with international quality requirements. "We want to be able to serve markets outside of Switzerland," Mildon explains. "We are one of the few companies that has an office in Europe and North America. Our Vancouver office provides direct access to one of the largest film infrastructures in the world with a fantastic pool of actors. Our own resources allow us to offer productions at very interesting conditions, which is a great advantage in today's market." Clients from Germany, Italy, Switzerland or even the USA regularly have their spots produced by Manifesto Film Vancouver.
Shannon Mildon loves producing commercials. "Commercials are extremely to the point, the storyline has to be right, visual direction is very important, you gain experience with the newest post-production techniques and you have to constantly keep up with future trends." Since the beginning of the year, Manifesto has also had an in-house post-production department that covers all needs up to 3D animation. In recent months, spots for ViznerBorel, Unikat, RufLanz, Ogilvy, Büro Reinhold, among others, have been post-produced in-house. "Having our own technology gives Reto as a director the opportunity to tweak the films until he is happy, without us having to watch the clock to stay within a budgeted effort. Reto cares a lot about post-production, so we set him up with this toy," Mildon explains.
Manifesto has set itself the goal of making a feature film at least every two or three years. After Salimbeni's comedy "Was ist bloss mit meinen Männern los?" for ProSieben, Shannon Mildon took on the role of executive producer for the first time two years ago on Salimbeni's $12 million film "One Way" with Til Schweiger. Universal International Pictures as well as Til Schweiger were her partners. Shannon Mildon was responsible for cas-ting and all shooting in Toronto, Vancouver and New York. Mildon: "I learned a lot from producer Til Schweiger, he lives film 24/7 and his trust in me was a great compliment."
Reto Salimbeni is currently writing a new comedy with Til Schweiger on behalf of Bernd Eichinger's Constantin Films. Another major project in English is in development with Universal International Pictures in Los Angeles. Being able to work with "really good people" has always been Shannon Mildon's goal. She also wants to bring out the best in herself and knows that in film, you often have to be hard on yourself. "There's no such thing as a regular workday," she explains, "I'm constantly thinking about how to make something even better." If you're willing to go "that extra mile," it will show on screen later. "You get rewarded if you never give up and look at a fortieth location after the 39th."
In order to cope with the large amount of work and to be able to serve the advertising agencies even better, Shannon had been looking for another producer in Switzerland for a long time. At the beginning of the year, she pulled off the coup of recruiting a renowned team for Manifesto: producers Daniela Berther and Barbara Waldvogel for production and administration. "We have produced eleven commercials together in the meantime and it is an excellent collaboration. Daniela and Barbara think internationally and know the national scene inside out. With their rich agency experience, they know spot production from both sides and are the perfect complement for our teams."
Shannon Mildon loves communicating on set. She can be just as attentive to the lighting guy as she is to the financier. And even though she's worked with Oscar winners and other stars, the producer still isn't above keeping the whole crew in good spirits by personally serving coffee during a commercial. "I earned my film degree back in New Zealand as a waitress on the side, and I'm not afraid to lend a hand wherever it's needed."
Andreas Panzeri

Ackermann's New Clothes
One swallow doesn’t make a summer—but it does bring the new fall and winter fashions right to your door. Get dressed in a flash. That’s the message Ackermann-Versand wants to convey with its new logo, which features an abstract red swallow. «Whether by catalog or online: The items you order »fly’ straight to your home,” explains Karin Müller from Ackermann-Versand’s press office. In addition to fast delivery, the swallow also symbolizes the mail-order company’s clear commitment to Switzerland: it bears a Swiss cross on its wing. The St. Gallen-based agency Kremer und Konsorten brought the little bird to life.

Who wants to play with me?
Platforms are the modern-day village wells—and the new Familienleben.ch website aims to establish itself as just such a meeting place in the future. On the platform, modern families can find targeted information, support, opportunities for exchange, and networking in their region to make everyday family life easier. The editorially managed online medium, which features a service platform and Web 2.0 elements, was launched by Carpe Diem and already has numerous partners.
Space Travel in Fribourg
Just in time for the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, Wapico has created a fitting mailing campaign for its client, La Liberté. The Bern-based agency isn’t just sending the winners of a contest to the moon—it’s sending them all the way to Mars. This isn’t an April Fools‘ joke in the middle of summer—15 nights for two to six people in a futuristic space capsule are actually up for grabs. The capsule, built by Agence d’Architecture in Paris, awaits its guests in a field near Fribourg.

The media industry is facing an economically tough, but also an exciting second half of the year. Long-standing business models are being questioned, new ones are being planned. Old alliances are being terminated, new ones forged in the background. Production processes are being scrutinized and streamlined. Staff are being laid off, and cost-cutting is being practiced. But that's not all: redesigns and relaunches are the order of the day.
Work is underway on Falkenstrasse and Werdstrasse, among others, but there also seems to be some activity on Seefeldstrasse.
The Neue Zürcher Zeitung is giving itself a new look in the 230th year of its existence. But it is not just the design that is to be new; there will also be changes in the paper's architecture and in the sequence of pages. New sections, new supplements and an upgraded stock exchange and opinion section are intended to satisfy the readership of the traditional paper. A rather comprehensive relaunch, perhaps even more comprehensive than the one half a century ago, when the old aunt said goodbye to the Fraktur typeface. The new NZZ is to be launched on September 23.
Also in September, the Tages-Anzeiger is planning a new concept. The lurching flagship is to get going again with a 4-bundle concept. Res Strehle, co-chief editor of the Tages-Anzeiger, revealed some details in an interview with the newspaper Sonntag. The front page is to be "generously laid out," look new every day, and be designed "in such a way that you would prefer to hang it on the wall as a poster." The daily commentary will be moved from the first to the second page. But the Tagi will not become less political as a result - on the contrary. The aim is to "gain more weight as a political newspaper. Instead of short commentaries, the first Bund will increasingly contain "slightly ironic" short surveys and short stories. In the future, the opinion column will be on the second-to-last page of the first Bund. The second Bund is intended to cater to both the typical rural newspaper reader and the urban reader, Strehle added. The previous regional editions will be integrated into it. The third bundle covers culture, life and knowledge. The key departments of sports and business form the fourth bundle.
The new Blick, which Ringier is planning for the 50th anniversary of the tabloid in October, is to be published again in the large format as a two-page newspaper. Harder tabloids and a renunciation of a course that is all too politically correct should, after countless relaunches, finally bring new readers and Blick back to its former glory.
We are curious!
Pierre C. Meier, Editor-in-Chief
[email protected]

The tougher the times, the more people move closer together - while young people used to leave their parents' home more quickly, fear of losing their job often prevents them from becoming independent, writes the visual media agency Corbis in a press release. But even those who already have their own apartment and are affected by unemployment flee back into the "nest" of their parents' home. The former "empty nests" are thus becoming "open nests". Multi-generational households are on the rise.
Corbis has translated this trend into numerous images that have found their way into both advertising and the media. The visual media provider for companies in the advertising, marketing and media sectors offers a comprehensive selection of photos and illustrations. Headquartered in Seattle, Corbis has offices in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia, providing services to clients in more than 50 countries worldwide.

pro.corbis.com

Publishers Marie-Luise Flammersfeld and Egon Ammann announced yesterday, Monday, that they will cease their publishing activities at the end of June 2010. In an interview with the NZZ, the publishers said that a worrying decline in income had become apparent. According to Egon Ammann, he no longer had the strength to face up to the difficulties. On the other hand, they had not succeeded in finding a successor who would have continued the publishing house in the long term with similar commitment and in their interests. A sale to a larger German group publishing house was out of the question in order to prevent dilution of the publishing name.
The closure affects seven employees in Zurich as well as authors from Switzerland and Germany - including Ruth Schweikert, Matthias Zschokke and Thomas Hürlimann, Ulrich Peltzer, Navid Kermani and Ulla Lenze. They will have to find a new publisher. The extensive backlist, on the other hand, will be sold to interested publishers as far as possible or will continue to be managed. In spring 2010, the publishing house will publish its final program, including a volume of material on Thomas Hürlimann, which will also reflect the history of the publishing house, as well as the last volumes of the Machado edition and the new translation of Dostoyevsky by Svetlana Geier ("The Gambler").

Last Friday, the presidents of the most important audiovisual production associations in Switzerland and SRG Director General Armin Walpen signed an agreement governing cooperation between SRG, its business units and the various players in the field of television production and technical assistance. In the agreement, the parties reaffirm their intention to promote high-quality audiovisual production in Switzerland, to stimulate competition between independent producers of television programs and to promote the diversity of offerings. In particular, the parties have decided to outsource technical production services and the production of so-called turnkey programs by mutual agreement, thereby supporting the audiovisual industry in Switzerland, as SRG announced on Tuesday.
Since 1998, SRG has invested almost CHF 220 million as part of the Pacte de l'audiovisuel. This contribution will be increased by CHF 1.5 million in 2009 and by CHF 500,000 each in 2010 and 2011. This means that the Pacte will have an annual support contribution of CHF 22.3 million in 2011.

The contracting parties
The contracting parties include the Association of Swiss Film and Audiovisual Industries (FTB/ASITIS), the Swissfilm Association (SFA), the Syndicat Suisse Film et Vidéo (SSFV), the Group of Authors, Directors and Producers (GARP) and the Swiss Film Producers' Association (SFP). On the SRG side, these are the SF, TSR, RSI and RTR business units, the TV Productioncenter Zürich and the MSC organizational unit.
The agreement refers to the cooperation required by Art. 17 of the SRG license of 28 November 2007 and supplements Art. 16, 18 and 19, which provide for comparable services for Swiss music and film production.

Berner Übersetzungs-Service (USG) has won a silver "Triple A" award at the Forum Industrie Kommunikation in Germany for its own advertising campaign "Schneewittchen & Co. As befits a translation service, the award-winning double-page advertisements feature a high proportion of text. The Bern-based translation agency was founded 30 years ago by Adrian Peter and employs over 100 people. The team translates texts into 33 languages for more than 1,000 clients and provides advertising benchmarks in BtoB communication.

"New shape, same content" is how many companies advertise when they change a product design or name. After all, consumers want to know whether their cherished product is still as good as before now that it looks different. The rebranding of the Bounty kitchen roll to Plenty was advertised accordingly. The commercials, in which the cleaning paper is tested for its quality, are intended to dispel the last doubts that anything has changed in the quality of the product.
Rivella Yellow is taking a completely different approach. The Rothrist-based company has not only spiced up the appearance of the fizzy drink, but has also changed the taste. "Rivella fans can rejoice!" says a press release. The new Rivella is rounder and more balanced, but remains the "other" Rivella and is characterized by its "unique and independent taste". That is well known. It is also no secret that this "unique taste" was not well received by everyone. Why else would the taste of the relatively new Rivella be changed if not because it failed with consumers? Is the supposed relaunch an attempt to remove a failed product from the market as inconspicuously as possible and at the same time, with little effort, try your luck with a new one? It remains to be seen whether Rivella fans will give the "yellow one" a chance and enjoy the improved taste, as promised by the manufacturer.

For the first time this year, the film that will represent Switzerland at the Oscars will be chosen during a special week during which the public will judge a total of nine candidate films. From September 15 to 19, they will be screened in cinemas in Delémont and also shown to numerous school classes elsewhere in the Jura. A jury of independent experts appointed by the Federal Office of Culture will judge the films. The public can also vote for their favorite via blogs and text messages as well as on the Quotidien Jurassien website.
The new mayor of Delémont and former Jura councillor and National Councillor, Pierre Kohler, initiated the project with the aim of raising the profile of Swiss film. The idea received support from the Jura authorities (Republic and Canton of Jura, City of Delémont) as well as the Federal Office of Culture and the Film Section.

The movies
Seven feature films and two documentaries were submitted for Oscar consideration. They had to have been shown in Swiss cinemas between October 1, 2008 and September 30, 2009 and have been filmed in a national language. The nine candidate films include Marcello Marcello (by Denis Rabaglia ), Home (by Ursula Meier), Die Standesbeamtin (by Micha Lewinsky ), Happy New Year (by Christoph Schaub), Pepperminta (by Pipilotti Rist), Dirty Money - l'infiltré (by Dominique Othenin-Girard), Luftbusiness (by Dominique De Rivaz), Nomad's Land (by Gaël Metroz), Die Frau mit den 5 Elefanten (by Vadim Jendreyko).

Jury

• Frédéric Maire (Jury President, Artistic Director, Locarno International Film Festival)
• Philippa de Roten (Head of the Culture section at TSR)
• Francine Brücher (Swiss Films)
• Beki Probst (Head of the European Film Market, Berlinale)
• Céline Bolomey (actress)
• Christian Jungen (Film Critic)
• Frank Braun (Cinema operator)
• This Brunner (cinema operator)
• Nicolas Bideau (Head of the Film Section, Bak)

Hesskiss has solved the mystery surrounding the poster campaign with the kebab Turk. A black and white spoiler was stuck on various "Ali" posters in Zurich districts 3 and 4. "Eat better with us: Restaurant Köchlistube" can be read on it. So is Ali really advertising a Zurich restaurant throughout Switzerland? Hard to believe, said one commentator on Werbewoche.ch. It is now clear that the Zurich agency wanted to profit from the attention-grabbing poster campaign as a free rider and used this guerrilla campaign as an opportunity to advertise the restaurant with little effort. There has been no response to the advertising idea so far, said Dieter Boller from Hesskiss when asked by Werbewoche. However, the agency does not expect the campaign to have any repercussions. After all, it was a small story, as the stickers were only scattered in District 4.

APG as the main suspect
So far, the poster company has been the main suspect: ten years ago, it launched a campaign featuring an unknown woman, Angie Becker, and examined the effectiveness of the poster campaign. The result: 75 percent of those surveyed remembered Angie Becker very well, and she was particularly well received by the young audience.

Responsible for the guerrilla campaign at Hesskiss: Roland Hess (CD), Dieter Boller (text), Pascal Herzog (graphics), Nathalie Zeller and Matthias Städeli (consulting).

Swiss Television has launched a video portal on which all videos that can be found on the Sf.tv website are available free of charge. Contributions can be selected using the search function. The portal also provides automatic video suggestions. The "This might interest you" function suggests contributions that might be of interest to visitors based on their previous video usage. By clicking on the "Missed program" function, videos from the last few days are displayed. A personal play list also saves videos that have already been watched. Videos found can be commented on, sent by email or integrated into your own website using embed code.