From April 14 to 17, 2009, the oral examinations for marketing specialists with a federal certificate (formerly marketing planners) will be held for the first time according to new examination regulations at the cantonal school in Reussbühl LU. One of the new subjects is presentation and communication techniques (see report in Werbewoche of 15. 1. 09 about the first part of the experts' exam preparation). In a second part, the oral examination was simulated in the presence of all experts with candidates drawn by lot.
Peter Gilli, Technical Director:
"It was a matter of all the experts, who had already been brought up to a uniform audit standard in November, now applying it in practice to a 1:1 audit situation and optimizing it further. The goals set were achieved, and in some cases even surpassed, so I am sure that the upcoming audit will be conducted in perfect quality. All exam experts are now 'exam ready' and at the same high level."
Nina Jordi, Audit Expert:
Although I have been working as an examiner for more than two years, I am completely new here with the marketing specialists. The event was therefore a very good preparation tool for me. The mock exam also ensured that the assessment criteria for the performance of the exam candidates could be further refined. The fact that the whole thing was accompanied by an accomplished moderator rounded off the professionally designed workshop."
Robert W. Zurbriggen, Audit Expert:
"I have been an exam expert for 15 years and have benefited a lot from the workshops because the exam situation was really simulated 1:1 and perfectly exam-related. It was an excellent idea of Peter Gilli to do it this way. The competent moderation by Dr. Walter Koller and the smooth organization by the examination secretariat of Swiss Marketing in Olten were also super."
Dr. Walter Urs Koller, moderator and expert for quality assurance:
"Peter Gilli had already informed, instructed and documented his team of experts very well in November. The different performances of the three exam candidates were very fruitful for this mock exam because it challenged the experts in the most different ways. This is exactly what we wanted to achieve. I have now been involved in higher professional examinations and examination quality both orally and in writing for almost 20 years. What was organized here, shown by the experts and reflected and discussed in the team, belongs to the top class."
Claude J. Dubois, Head of Examinations for Marketing Specialists and Head of Examinations at Swiss Marketing:
"Because this is a federal professional examination, the quality of the examination must be guaranteed from the outset, even in subjects not previously examined, in accordance with the examination regulations approved by OPET. The training and workshops conducted by Peter Gilli guarantee this quality and thus the correct assessment of all examinees."
Karin Greuter from Uster, one of the three drawn examination candidates:
"The experts were friendly and correct, which helped to reduce my nervousness. The challenge for me was that you not only have to present the topic to be presented convincingly, but you also have to be proficient in the subject. A difficult point was time management, so one should have a wristwatch with him. I found the experts' assessment of my presentation to be very objective and fair."

Publicis Modem and the online marketing agency Nemos are merging their businesses. Publicis is taking over 100 percent of the share capital of Nemos GmbH, based in Zurich, and will fully integrate the ten employees into its digital division Publicis Modem at the beginning of May. Pascal Urscheler, Managing Director of Nemos, will head the division together with Marion Marxer and will also be a member of the Executive Board of Publicis Switzerland. Nemos specializes in multimedia and Flash programming.
By merging the two companies, Publicis Switzerland aims to expand its technological expertise in the field of digital marketing communications, which is in line with the global strategy of Publicis Worldwide, as the company writes. "The advertising industry is facing far-reaching upheavals - less due to the economic crisis than to the changing media usage towards a digital lifestyle and the new ways in which companies communicate with their customers online", Publicis CEO Fredy Collioud is quoted as saying in the press release.
Publicis Modem's clients in Switzerland include Nestlé, Swiss, UBS, Chocolat Frey, Postfinance, Postmail and Microsoft. The agency was awarded a Cyber Lion in Cannes last year.

The Swiss market will be opened up to all agricultural products from European Union countries by 2013 or 2015 at the latest. The falling barriers will lead to increased competition. It is foreseeable that, in this specific case, meat can be produced more cheaply abroad. Imports will increase because Swiss meat is more expensive due to the local structures. On the other hand, Swiss meat offers the guarantee that the animals grow up visibly before our eyes in the open air around a farm and are not bred in gigantic meat factories. Our animal welfare laws are stricter than in many other countries. The word organic has acquired a lasting meaning in Switzerland. This should now be communicated.
Until now, the Polyconsult agency, which is now in its tenth year of managing the budget for Swiss meat, has primarily promoted the species in its campaigns. Swiss meat is valuable, healthy and good. With the current campaign, the aim is now for the first time to "stand out from the foreign competition", as head of consulting at Polyconsult Michael Brodbeck explains. Swiss meat is to be "established as a brand". This will also sharpen the profile for clear recognition and recognition. The campaign does not primarily argue with homeland protection, but rather highlights the strategy: Those who consume Swiss meat receive better quality and therefore greater enjoyment.
The CI of the campaign is a continuation of the existing imagery. With ten new subjects, 20 different "pieces of meat" are now ready to be served. They were photographed by Julien Vonier with the aim of making the viewer's mouth water, as CD Jürg Tscharner hopes. In addition, the newly created logo with the white cross in the red chop will be used in all publications with immediate effect to support the message. For use at the POS, Polyconsult has had special pins made with the logo, which can be used to mark the quality of the cuts of meat on display with the Swiss designation of origin. The logo will also be used on various advertising materials such as Rotair, napkins, shopping bags and barbecue utensils.
The advertisers have come up with a particularly clever mechanism for using the spots. For example, one is only shown during the breaks in a sports program and is split into three parts. A bratwurst is consistently placed on the grill as the first film of an advertising block, briefly turned over in the middle of the block and then removed from the fire in the last segment - with the indication that the program will continue immediately. The media planning team also aimed to create such meaningful connections with the editorial environment when using the print subjects, as the examples below show with the witty allusion in a program guide or an advertisement in the green Beobachter.
Andreas Panzeri

Now even people in the remotest corners of the world know it: The global economy is in crisis. When sales of goods and services shrink, the number of good and well-intentioned recipes to get out of the crisis grows. The sales crisis is also being declared a crisis of values. A new sense of responsibility, a new management culture, a new business ethic, etc. are needed. "New" always sounds good, "innovation" even better. So how about value innovation?
Not everything that sounds good is necessarily beautiful. We marketers know that. I, for example, don't believe that we really need new values. Just as I don't believe that we can create the new human being. I believe that the values we need to follow have long since been invented. We just have to make use of them. It is not simple recipes or restrictions on freedom that will get the economic engine humming again. Growth needs movement and space. If we limit space and hinder movement by further increasing the number of restrictions and prohibitions, we will become increasingly entangled. I am not saying that social norms and rules should not be changed. New things can replace old ones. That has always been the case.
There is a demonstrable causal link between freedom and prosperity. The Enlightenment marked the beginning of a breathtaking success story for those peoples who acted in an enlightened manner. Of course, the increase in prosperity was not linear, but on the whole it went up more than it went down. Because people no longer just wanted to believe, they also wanted to know. It was not acting according to simple recipes and beliefs that got us further, but the courage to engage with the unknown and to learn. Today, we do not yet know how we will work our way out of the economic crisis. How about the following simple recipe: let's educate ourselves and learn. This will not immediately solve the problems we face. But we will expand our behavioral repertoire and thus the probability of productively shaping what lies ahead. The path to the future leads forwards, not backwards.

Saving energy is "so easy"! Or who doesn't know that you can save up to 3 percent on fuel by inflating your car's tires 0.5 bar above the manufacturer's recommended tire pressure, thereby improving the vehicle's handling and reducing the risk of a blowout. And everyone also knows that you can reduce water and energy consumption by up to 50 percent with an energy-saving shower head.
It would be nice if everyone knew this. After all, the numerous tips on saving energy from the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) really are watertight. They just need to be communicated to the general public in a way that is easy to understand.
Not with a moralistic appeal, however, but with surprising wit. Numéro 10 developed the idea and won this important pitch at the SFOE. Strategist Gilles Aeby came up with the idea: If I have people give me tips on how to save energy, it comes across as stale pointing fingers. But the same messages spoken by a clever monkey can trigger a wave of sympathy. Since the end of March, SwissEnergy, the program for energy efficiency and renewable energies, has been broadcasting a new one of a total of eight funny TV commercials every month until the end of November 2009. With animal humor, these short sketches propagate that it would be "so easy" for each and every one of us to save energy and money. Without any effort and without having to give up the comfort we are used to. The monkeys' tips revolve around exhaust fumes, hot water, tire pressure, stand-by appliances, energy-saving light bulbs and heating. A special campaign in the fall offers an energy check-up for homes for CHF 200 instead of CHF 1200. A national energy day is also being held on October 24.
The concept of the films is based on the fact that one monkey is particularly clever and wants to teach a somewhat lazier fellow monkey. However, these seemingly stupid energy sinner monkeys refuse to understand, even though the arguments of the clever know-it-all would be convincing.
For the eight scenes, Numéro 10 had many archives around the world, such as National Geographic, searched for monkey films. From the documents found, the weirdest situations and the most ridiculous gestures were then edited and accompanied by a dialog. The agency now hopes that the content will soon be "mimicked" by schoolchildren, for example, and thus understood.
The TV commercials will be broadcast during prime time on the three national channels. In addition, www.so-einfach.ch offers even more information on the topic with numerous energy-saving tips. You can also re-watch the commercials that made you smile in front of the TV the night before.
Andreas Panzeri

The eight commercials each follow the same dramaturgy: one monkey is the smarter one and explains to his still bucking dialog partner how to save energy.

In future, the Mediaforum press review will regularly include press releases from the Swiss Advertising Association SW. In an association window within the press review, Schweizer Werbung SW will provide information on topics relating to fairness in commercial communication, further training and issues relating to political framework conditions, in particular advertising bans. In addition, once a month there will be a report on the election of the "Communicator of the Month".
The association, which summarizes industry events in the media and communications sector on a weekly basis, represents the interests of advertising clients, communications agencies and advertising media. The association now has around 1000 members.

Following the lead of the Council of States, the Foreign Affairs Committee (FAC) of the National Council now also wants to ban alcohol advertising in domestic and foreign television programs aimed at the Swiss public. This explicitly includes foreign advertising windows. This brings the legislation another step closer to a total ban on alcohol advertising on television. The Federal Council, on the other hand, proposed a limited liberalization.
The background to the discussion about alcohol advertising is the media-film promotion agreement with the EU. If Swiss film wants to continue to benefit from this program, Switzerland would have to relax its advertising bans as a political price. This does not look likely for the time being. The Council of States' decision was motivated by the idea of prevention and the protection of minors.

On April 1, 2009, Daniel Flück took over the management of the Affichage subsidiary APG Traffic. The 43-year-old replaces Hans Peter Mueller, who has been appointed Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of APG Traffic AG. Andreas Steltzlen has also been appointed Deputy Managing Director in addition to his previous role as Team Leader of APG Traffic Bern-Solothurn. Flück held various management positions before his election. Among other things, he was Commercial Director of Radio Canal 3 and Managing Director of Conradio-TV, which belonged to the Espace Media Group.

Powerful Voices
What does the future hold for Bern’s media scene? The «Save the Bund» committee remains active and even plans to launch another supporting organization in May. Among its well over 13,000 members to date are numerous celebrities, such as Kuno Lauener, the lead singer of Züri West. If on the site Save-the-federation.ch If enough momentum builds, establishing a foundation would be the logical next step. This foundation could then serve as the governing body for the alliance or a successor organization.

Many ideas at a glance
Issue 46 of the Advertising Yearbook has just been delivered. This standard reference work in the German-speaking media and communications industry documents the best ideas submitted annually by more than 300 agencies, with over 1,000 entries in the competition for the Silver Megaphone. The yearbook now features detailed profiles of all shortlisted entrants and winners of the competition across more than 800 pages. This includes the winning agencies, such as Rod, which was named the best newcomer from Switzerland. The book, published by Econ Verlag, is available via www.jdw.de be ordered.

A long-standing collaboration continues: Stämpfli AG has worked with various Bernese advertising and communications agencies in recent years, but always with the same contacts. They founded Wapico two years ago, and the agency has now been given the mandate to create a new visual world and the communication media to be realized from it. Stämpfli brings together five companies for electronic and printed publications and publication systems.
CD René Walker has implemented specific Stämpfli character traits with employees who pursue their hobbies at work, true to the motto "place of work is place of life". This documents genuine closeness and identification with the 200-year-old family business. The result is a series of portraits that sensitively implement the specifications and aptly reflect the lived family style of the company, which has around 300 employees.
The photos, by Charlotte Walker from Lausanne, were subsequently used for the image brochure, for a series of advertisements in specialist and other media, for product brochures and for other advertising materials.
Independence and unity - these were the guidelines for creating a visual world that can be used (almost) everywhere. Peter Stämpfli, member of the Board of Directors and Head of the Publications department, says: "The photo concept has also made a difference internally and has been well received by both employees and customers." (pan)

The international journalists' association Reporters Without Borders (RSF) reported on Wednesday that the newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche and the magazines L'Express and Marianne were not allowed to appear in Algeria due to preliminary reports on the presidential election on Thursday. The association described the censorship as a scandal. This censorship denies the freedom of the press and thus democracy, explained RSF.
President Abdelaziz Bouteflika is considered the absolute favorite in the election. Major opposition parties are boycotting the vote. The number of non-voters is seen as a barometer of the mood.
The Express took a critical look at Bouteflika under the title "Abdelaziz and his own", as did Marianne with the article "Bouteflika, the last sultan". The Journal du Dimanche titled its report: "Algerians vote. The despair of the ballot box."
Previously, Afrique Magazine had already been unable to appear because it contained the article "Algeria: Twilight of the Generals".

Travel broadens the mind. And you’ll learn even more—while having a lot of extra fun—if you stop by the Travel Book Shop for a last-minute check before your trip. This little shop in Zurich’s Niederdorf neighborhood has become something of an institution. No matter where your journey takes you, the Travel Book Shop has the right travel books, photo books, guidebooks, maps, and schedules for every conceivable destination.
This huge selection and the extensive expertise of the staff led by owner Gisela Treichler inspired the creative team at Wirz to come up with the idea for a small, sophisticated, and rather cheeky campaign. The campaign features travelers in extremely uncomfortable situations, making it immediately clear: Someone here failed to pay a quick visit to the Travel Book Shop before their trip. The visuals are used in classified ads, store posters, postcards, and T-shirts.
The whimsical characters were designed in-house at Wirz by Iwan von Rickenbach. The graphic designer, who earned his degree in illustration at art school, was discovered at Wirz when he was asked to design an invitation card for the annual cocktail party. Now von Rickenbach has created an entire family of characters. But this isn’t the only style he works in. A children’s book he’s already working on will have a completely different look.
Andreas Panzeri