For the fourth time in a row, a work by the Cosmic Bern graphics team has been selected as one of the "100 best posters". The international jury of the Berlin-based association chose Agentur-entscheider.cha poster for the agency's self-promotion of the same name.
Over five hundred graphic artists, designers and advertising agencies from Austria, Germany and Switzerland took part in the transnational competition. The best one hundred of the 1521 works submitted will be published in the yearbook "100 best posters 08 Germany Austria Switzerland", which will appear in June 2009.

Responsible at Cosmic: Thom Pfister (CD), Julien Junghäni (AD), Philipp Lüthi (AD), Tamara Janes (graphic designer), Roland Zenger (graphic designer), Louis Werder (apprentice graphic designer), Marc Zenhäusern (apprentice graphic designer), Isabella Jungo (text), Simon Schatzmann (head of consulting), Fabian Häfeli (photographer).

Despite the economic crisis, providers of direct marketing services are confident about the future. Although the latest economic barometer is more subdued than the survey at the beginning of 2008, it clearly shows that the direct marketing sector has been able to further expand its position.
Members of the direct marketing associations from Germany, Austria and Switzerland were surveyed online in January and February of this year on current sales and industry trends, the personnel situation and perceptions of political and consumer attitudes towards direct mail.

Slight sales growth in 2008
Almost half of Swiss companies saw their turnover increase in the past year, just under a third saw their turnover remain constant and only a good fifth saw it fall.

In Germany, direct marketing professionals want to keep on fighting (Sms-news.de).

Nine out of ten members of the Swiss Direct Marketing Association (SDV) who were able to increase their turnover in the past year attribute this to the shift in their clients' budgets in favor of direct marketing. Other reasons cited by those surveyed include the acquisition of new customers (82%), the success of their acquisition efforts (59%), the general increase in direct marketing clients (41%) and the increase in sales per customer (41%).
For those companies that recorded a decline in turnover last year, this was due to the significant reduction in budgets from individual customers, but also to the loss of orders (61% each) and the increase in competition within the industry (25%). The direct marketing activities of financial service providers in particular have declined.

2009 - cautious optimism
Three quarters of all Swiss companies expect at least satisfactory development in 2009. Only around a quarter of those surveyed are of the opinion that their company will develop less satisfactorily at present.
Swiss dialog marketing providers expect the employment situation to remain stable. In Switzerland, one third of the companies surveyed were able to increase the number of employees in 2008. For the current year, 27% also expect an increase, with only 18% expecting a reduction.

Internet remains the driving force
The industry expects to develop further in the coming years, particularly thanks to the increase in orders in the direct marketing channel "online/Internet" (77%), "e-mail and mobile marketing" (61%). Unlike in Germany and Austria, the importance of addressed advertising mailings (53%) and telephone marketing (27%) is estimated to be higher in Switzerland.

Politicians and end consumers remain skeptical
Half of the companies continue to rate the perception of direct marketing by politicians as rather poor, a third even as very poor. Around half of Swiss companies are of the opinion that consumer attitudes towards the direct marketing industry have not changed significantly.

The Faspo Sponsoring Association of German-speaking countries presented the 16th International Sponsoring Award (ISA) to the best sponsoring projects of the past year on March 10, 2009 in Hamburg. All three awards were presented this year in the category of sports sponsoring. In addition, one Swiss project was considered for the awards: The ÖKK Comedy Breakswith which the health insurance company ÖKK brings comedy to local radio stations, received honorable mention in the media sponsorship category.
The expert jury was overwhelmed above all by the large number and quality of the sports sponsorships submitted, Jean-Baptiste Felten, chairman of the jury, was quoted as saying in a media release. That is why all three awards were presented in this category. However, there was a contrary trend in the categories of cultural, public and media sponsorship. Felten added that the association would take this into account in its future orientation and place greater emphasis on the area of corporate responsibility for the next ISA.

Sports Sponsorship Category:
The integrated sports marketing concept "From T-Com to T-Home" by Ledavi (Munich) received an International Sponsoring Award as a good example of measurability and impact control. The sports sponsorship project "EM 2008 Credit Suisse bekennt Farbe" (Credit Suisse shows its colors), implemented by McCann Erickson (Frankfurt), received an award for clever networking of communications around the 2008 European Football Championship. The Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe was also rewarded with an award for its "Olympia-Partner Deutschland" project.
In addition, two other projects received an award in the same category: Millhaus was honored for its "Fiat Freestyle Team Germany" project and the successful repositioning of the Fiat brand among young audiences. 1. FC Kaiserslautern, OF Consulting and BFW Tailormade Communication received an award for their emotional campaign "Lauter Herzblut".

Innovative Concepts Category:
The City of Munich and Actori (Munich) received an award for the "850 Years of Munich" project with its innovative marketing concept. T-Mobile was honored for the projects "T-Mobile Local Support" (Millhaus, Munich) and
"T-Mobile Extreme Playgrounds" (The Sponsor People, Hamburg) rewarded.

Cultural Sponsorship Category:
No awards were presented in the cultural sponsorship category this year.

Public category:
The campaign of the child and adolescent psychiatry and psychotherapy at the Oldenburg Clinic, which is supported by Freese and Wolff free of charge, was praised in the Public category.

Special Award:
The "Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin" realized by Radiate Experience (Frankfurt) received a special award outside of all categories, which was able to reach the female target group via a new communication platform.

The jury of the 16th International Sponsoring Awards:
Jean-Baptiste Felten (Chair), Faspo Vice President (Felten & Cie., Winterthur)
Christine Angenendt (Pilot Group)
Marco Bernasconi (Wemf, Zurich)
Miriam Hebben (Horizon)
Oskar Gut (Switzerland)
Prof. Arnold Hermanns (University of the Federal Armed Forces, Munich)
Brigitte Kössner-Skoff (Initiatives Economy for Art, Vienna)
Jens Krüger (TNS Infratest)
Dr. Dieter Mussler (Mussler & Felten, Frankfurt)
Bernd Reichstein (Faspo President)
Prof. Manuela Rousseau (Beiersdorf)
Lutz Weidner.

The fashion magazine Bolero has been given a makeover for the spring season. In addition to the layout of the print edition, the online presence has also been revised and the claim changed: "Bolero, the Swiss magazine for fashion, beauty and culture". With its new look, the Ringier publication with a circulation of 23,055 copies aims to position itself as a high-quality and informative magazine.
More than half of all issues are published with a supplement this year. BoleroMen, the magazine for men, is enclosed with the magazine three times a year. In addition, readers will receive the new international jewelry magazine Rock & Stones twice a year. To coincide with the major exhibition of Swiss photographer Michel Comte's work at the Museum für Gestaltung in Zurich, a special edition entitled "30 Years of Michel Comte Photography" will be enclosed with the magazine in August.

Condor Films has once again produced a product film for the Schaffhausen watch manufacturer IWC this year. In 2008, the corporate department headed by Dominik Stibal and Olivier Egli won the pitch for the film budget. The aim was to showcase the new edition of the Aquatimer product family and link it to the partnership between IWC and the Charles Darwin Foundation.
The result is a hybrid production of documentary film and product spot. Over the course of a day, the camera follows the work of researchers from the Charles Darwin Foundation in their efforts to preserve the unique fauna and flora of the Galapagos Islands. The scientists are equipped with a functional and, of course, water-resistant IWC watch around their wrists, as demonstrated during a dive. The film was directed by well-known Swiss director Luki Frieden and co-written by Academy Award nominee Christian Frei.
The film is introduced by a quote from Darwin that seems more relevant than ever in view of the economic crisis: "It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the most adaptable to change."

>Link to the movie

Ruf Lanz has created an ad for Condor Films that exploits the blackmail affair involving German billionaire Susanne Klatten. The subject shows a video cassette that allegedly comes from Klatten's ex-lover and current blackmailer Helg Sgarbi. The cassette lies on a torn open envelope and bears the caption "Schäferstündchen in Hotelzimmer 629." Under the picture is the laconic resolution: The wrong film producer can cost you dearly.
With this advertising motif, Condor Films wants to present itself as the right partner for TV and cinema commercials, for corporate and product films as well as for digital video and film applications. The subject appears in the trade press.

Responsible at Condor Films: Philipp Petersson (Head of Commercials). Responsible at Ruf Lanz: Markus Ruf, Danielle Lanz (CD), Grit Wolany (AD). Photography: Tobi Kleiner.

Mitlinks has won the account for the visual overhaul of Teletext.ch from Swiss TXT. Under the same mandate, the agency on Limmatstrasse is to merge the existing websites Teletext.ch, Teletext-travel.ch, 898mobile.ch and Mobile.teletext.ch under the umbrella brand "Teletext by Swiss TXT". A uniform strategic framework that applies to all online products will visually link the products. However, the image of the familiar TV teletext page will remain at the heart of the website. The launch of the new Teletext website is planned for the last quarter of 2009.
Responsible at Swiss TXT: Philipp Mason (Product Manager Online) and Patrick Lüthi (Project Manager Multimedia Solutions). Responsible for co-links: Patrizia Lehmann (project management) and Lorenzo Mutti (CD).

They still exist, the friends of the black art, the lead typesetters and book printers who are still carrying on Gutenberg's craft after 550 years. The Gutenberg Guild in Zurich, for example - an association of former typesetters and book printers - has just published a directory with portraits and addresses of 29 workshops and museums in Switzerland where lead typesetting and letterpress printing are still used. The resulting pieces are almost unique and, we are assured, are also ideal for advertising purposes.

The Switch Foundation, the official registry for Internet addresses in Switzerland and Liechtenstein, is warning against dishonest methods of registering domain names. The foundation announced on Monday that its customer service was receiving an increasing number of inquiries from insecure customers who had been offered the registration of one or more internet addresses by telephone or email.
Fraudulent companies offer holders of a domain name other, similar-sounding Internet addresses at inflated prices. The person concerned is often put under pressure in terms of time. Switch criticizes these advertising methods as aggressive and unfair. It should be noted that people who have fallen victim to unfair advertising can lodge a complaint with the Swiss Commission for Fair Trading.

Axel Springer and Publigroupe have agreed to continue to manage the online marketing service provider Zanox.de as a joint, uniform holding. This decision will result in an adjustment of the ownership structure: Axel Springer will relinquish 7.5 percent of its shares and will hold 52.5 percent in future, while Publigroupe will now have a 47.5 percent stake.
The shareholders, who jointly acquired Zanox in July 2007, are thus abandoning the originally planned formation of a structure with two regional subsidiaries with mutual shareholdings. In future, the partnership will be reflected in Publigroupe's specific participation rights as well as in the composition of the Supervisory Board, on which both shareholders will be represented with three seats each.
The previous transaction-oriented business model has proven to be forward-looking in a difficult economic environment, according to a press release issued on Monday. The two shareholders have therefore come to the conclusion that the formation of the planned business units should be abandoned and Zanox should continue to develop as a partnership.

SF chief reporter Christoph Müller, who was arrested in Thailand, is not allowed to leave the country for the time being. Müller had filmed a report in 2002 about the Swiss Roland Mösch, who appeared in Thailand as a fake doctor and ran controversial aid organizations. Now the 58-year-old reporter is stuck in Thailand and has to report regularly to the court. On Thursday, the judges will decide whether he must continue to be available to the authorities.
Now it is clear who is behind Müller's arrest: Suthasinee Norasing, vice president of the aid organization Care Asia International, which appears in the film in connection with Mösch's machinations, has filed a complaint. Plaintiff Norasing claims to have seen the film "The Very Talented Dr. Roland" in August 2005 in the resort town of Pattaya and considers it defamatory, as reported by the Sunday newspaper.
In the meantime, Müller has been given access to a small part of the files and now has verbal knowledge of the accusations made against him, SF media spokesman David Affentranger told SDA. From the point of view of Swiss television, the accusations are "incomprehensible and not comprehensible," Affentranger said.

Müller is not the first case of a defamation suit
That Thailand does not treat foreigners squeamishly in defamation cases is shown by the case of journalist Hansruedi Fritschi. In 2002, he had published an article about Roland Mösch in the Sonntagszeitung and put copies of it on display at an event of the Swiss Society in Bangkok in April 2003. The article was thus considered to have been published in Thailand and was subject to Thai law.
Like Müller, Fritschi was also charged with defamation by Mösch's entourage. He was not allowed to leave Thailand for 20 months before he was sentenced in 2005: to a conditional prison term of nine months, a fine of 130 francs and 20 hours of community service. The punishment was symbolic, Fritschi tells the Sonntagszeitung, but the proceedings were unpleasant and he had not known for a long time how dangerous his situation was.

TBWA\Zurich, together with APG Affichage, is organizing a one-off poster campaign for McDonald's Switzerland on Wednesday, 11 March 2009, in front of Zurich Oerlikon station. The poster display on Hofwiesenstrasse will be renewed every few minutes or seconds. A poster will only remain up for as long as the product advertised on it is allowed to remain in the McDonald's branch after preparation.
A McFlurry, for example - just like the accompanying poster - is only allowed to stay for a few seconds. For a burger, it's a little longer, with the appropriate message: "Our burgers are always fresh and never last longer than 10 minutes. Just like this poster."
Around 100 posters with eight different subjects will be used at the poster site in Zurich on Wednesday from 8 am to 6 pm.

Responsible at McDonald's Switzerland: Thomas Truttmann (Marketing & Communications Director), Nicole Schöwel (Communications Manager McDonald's Switzerland). Responsible at TBWA\Zurich: Urs Schrepfer (CD), Martin Friedlin (AD), Simon Smit (text), Attilio Leonardi (graphics), Toni Rubera (image editing), Claudia Beck (consulting). Media: Allgemeine Plakatgesellschaft (APG), Astrid Kägi (Key Account Consultant).