In agreement with his shareholders, Swiss concert promoter André Béchir has decided to leave the Good News agency at the end of the year. This was announced by Good News to the media. However, Béchir will continue to work for Good News in an advisory capacity in 2009 in order to ensure continuity. As soon as the evaluation process has been completed, the agency will also announce the succession arrangements.
The move was foreseeable, said Béchir when asked by SDA. He now wants to take a break and devote himself to his private life. He also wants to think about his professional future. He has ideas, but they are not yet ready to be decided, said Béchir.
André Béchir has been Managing Director of the agency for 36 years. He has been awarded the title of "Organizer of the Year" several times and was also Director of Zurich's Hallenstadion from 1997 to 2003.

Edipresse announced at the end of August that it intended to cut 50 jobs in order to reduce costs and offset falling advertising revenues. The group, which publishes the newspapers Le Matin, 24 Heures and Tribune de Genève, among others, expects 25 redundancies, according to an SDA press release.
A solution has been found for several of the 14 editors who are being made redundant at the Edipresse media group in French-speaking Switzerland, according to an SDA press release issued on Thursday: Some would be given another job internally or externally. The group is also relying on natural departures. The general management of Edipresse also undertook on Thursday to give preference to the dismissed editors in the event of future vacancies.
This agreement was reached at a meeting in Lausanne with the Edipresse editorial coordination team.

Remo Uherek and Alain Aubert recognized the marketing potential of blogs two years ago. Via their platform Trigami, which has now been online for over a year, they place bloggers with advertising clients for corporate campaigns.
According to Uherek, a campaign starts with an application process. The objectives and main criteria are worked out and the campaign is then put out to tender for bloggers to apply. On the one hand, these are selected according to thematic criteria, in relation to the topics of the blogs. A second criterion is the reach.
Last month, Trigami placed bloggers for a McDonalds campaign. "We selected 200 blogs for this," says Uherek. Trigami has generally specialized in larger campaigns. On average, 50 blogs are placed per campaign, as Uherek explains.
The prices charged for Trigami's services cannot be expressed as a simple percentage, says Uherek. They depend on the size of the campaign and the needs of the client. Depending on the order, there are different processing fees for briefings, fees for campaign management and support, as well as for individual reporting. Individual consulting services are also often added per campaign. The final cost of the campaign ranges from a minimum budget of CHF 1,500 to up to CHF 15,000.
According to Uherek, the bloggers themselves receive a fee for their marketing services in the form of test products and an expense allowance of 50-100 francs per campaign. The blogger's fee is included in the price charged to the customer. After Trigami entered the market, a lively discussion arose among bloggers as to whether a neutral, authentic view of things could be described despite the fee offered, or whether a blog would lose credibility as a result. In the meantime, most people have come to the conclusion that this can be regulated by a clear declaration of the circumstances.
The Trigami platform is growing
The idea for Trigami was born in October 2006 at the first Swiss Bar Camp in Zurich, following a lecture by Dominik Tarolli entitled "Quo Vadis Blogging - Money-making machine or fun hobby?". "The topic of this lecture was an additional impetus for my project," Uherek explains to Werbewoche. He then developed his idea further and put it into practice together with Alain Aubert.
Trigami was finally founded in Basel on June 12, 2007. Alain Aubert as Chief Financial Officer and Remo Uherek as Managing Director played a key role in the development of the prototype, with David Burkardt and Dominik Tarolli providing support.
So far, Trigami has already placed over 200 campaigns with bloggers, says Uherek. Over 5000 bloggers are currently offering their services for campaigns on the website. So far, the platform has mainly focused on Germany. 80 percent of the bloggers are based there, the rest in Switzerland. Expansion into other countries is being considered. On a recent business trip, Uherek sounded out the possibilities of the American market. Perhaps that is where Trigami's great future lies.
(Image: Remo Uherek (left) and Alain Aubert)

The former Managing Director of MTV Central & Emerging Markets, Catherine Mühlemann, is joining the Zurich advertising agency Rod Kommunikation as a member of the Board of Directors with immediate effect.
For founders Regula Fecker, David Schärer and Oliver Fennel, this is a decisive step for the further development of their agency. They see the 41-year-old from Bern as the perfect fit in many respects: "We experienced rapid growth in the first year. As a successful entrepreneur with a sober view, Catherine Mühlemann is a valuable addition for us," explained the owners in a press release on Friday. She has developed strong, cross-platform brands from TV channels. The agency wants to design and implement media-neutral concepts for its clients. It is therefore interesting for them to work with experienced creatives from other disciplines and invent new communication products with them. MTV Networks has always developed formats that are ahead of their time, the three owners added.
Rod Kommunikation was founded in July 2007 by strategic planner Regula Fecker, art director Oliver Fennel and PR consultant David Schärer and employs 12 people. The agency in Zurich works for clients such as the health insurance company Sanitas, 20 Minuten, Ikea, Knorr, Informatica08, Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders, Weleda and many more. The partners previously worked at Jung von Matt/Limmat for several years

The Schauspielhaus Zürich uses posters and billboards to advertise its performances and subscriptions. As part of an umbrella campaign, TBWA/Zurich developed two subjects for the theater's subscription offer.
According to TBWA/Zurich, the motifs are intended to create the impression that something exciting has just happened that has been missed. The viewer's curiosity generated in this way can then be satisfied in the performances at the Schauspielhaus.
The billboards and posters will be followed later by advertisements.
Responsible at Schauspielhaus Zürich: Markus Sulzer (Head of Marketing), Tina Kornfeld (Marketing Assistant). Responsible at TBWA/Zurich: Urs Schrepfer (CD), Martin Friedlin (concept/AD), Simon Smit (concept/text), Matthias Kiess (overall responsibility), Duri Sulser (consulting), Diana Magnaguagno (art buying), Andrea Vedovo (photography).

The 3+ show "Bauer sucht Frau" is now also being advertised online. An animated fly brings the world of the farm directly onto the screen. The animal can also be clicked away directly with the mouse, reveals the agency responsible, Advico Young & Rubicam.
The advertising banner can now be seen on various websites.
Responsible at 3+: Dominik Kaiser (main responsibility). Responsible at Advico Y&R: Philipp Skrabal (ECD), Christian Erni (ECD), Christo Margaris (Flash), Ruben Feurer (graphics), Dario Bernardi (consulting).

The Zurich-based communications agency Mediascope has gained initial insights from a survey on the credit crisis and the information behavior of banks. Journalists do not trust the banks, the agency concludes.
In July, the agency launched a survey of journalists from German-speaking Switzerland. The focus was on Zurich. Mediascope has now presented the results of the first round. However, due to the small sample size, the results do not include percentages and do not claim to be representative, Mediascope wrote in a press release on Friday.
The initial findings of the regular survey are clear: The vast majority of journalists surveyed are of the opinion that the credit crisis triggered by the US real estate crash will not be over until mid-2009. With regard to the communication of the Swiss banks, the results were equally clear. Nobody believes that the banks communicate transparently, Mediascope continues. Just over half of those surveyed believe that the Swiss banks are not currently communicating openly. The other half were unable to assess the situation.
The journalists surveyed work for a wide variety of media and at different levels of responsibility. None of them were members of a political party, although more than half favored a particular party.

Top sporting performances such as those of Michael Phelps or Usain Bolt attract a large audience: Thanks in particular to the Summer Olympics in Beijing, Swiss television achieved an average market share of 35.2 percent for the whole day in August 2008. This puts the channel's ratings 2.6 percentage points above the same month last year.

Future Connection has been commissioned by Viseca Card Services to redesign and conceptualize its website. The Zurich-based full-service communications agency won a pitch against three agencies and can thus continue its 6-year collaboration with Viseca.
The new website is being implemented by the company Additiv. According to a statement from the agency, the relaunch is intended to make the website of Switzerland's second-largest credit card company "more contemporary, fresh and interactive". E-marketing activities are also planned.
Responsible at Viseca: Karin Wüthrich, Sasa Grzinic. Responsible at Future Connection: Martina Waser (project management), Davor Radisic and Karin Gleichner (design), Daniel Tschanz (e-marketing).

The advertising agency Megura has moved from Baden to Wettingen. The reason for this is the company's strong growth, according to a press release issued on Thursday.
René Utiger founded the one-man company Megura Werbung+Produktion in Baden almost five years ago. The "one-man show" has grown into an agency with seven employees. At the same time as the move, Megura Werbung+Produktion was transformed into a public limited company called Megura AG Werbeagentur.

The old aunt on Falkenstrasse is always good for a surprise. Only a few people were surprised when Conrad Meyer, Chairman of the Board of Directors, announced six months ago that a CEO was being sought. This was a position that had never existed before in the history of NZZ. The pressure of suffering must have been very great for Meyer to decide to take this step. After all, he was shaking up a management tradition that had lasted for decades. However, this long overdue step had only become possible when the NZZ's father Hugo Bütler retired. With Daniel Hofer, the publishing director, and Markus Spillmann as editor-in-chief, a new, young management team was hired. They were, and still are, faced with the enormous task of leading the Neue Zürcher Zeitung into the modern era, dissolving encrusted structures, preserving what was good and changing what was not so good.
But there is not only the NZZ, there is also the NZZ Group. In addition to the Neue Zürcher Zeitung, this includes Freie Presse Holding with its significant holdings in the media houses St. Galler Tagblatt, LZ Medien and the Zurich regional newspapers. These have a strong position in their respective regional markets and also make a significant contribution to the financial success of the NZZ Group.
The strong position of the subsidiaries meant that NZZ had relatively little influence on these titles. There was no sign of a joint strategy, and the company was kept on a long leash. It was clear to all industry insiders that this laissez-faire attitude could not be a successful model in the long run. The challenges posed by aggressive competitors, whether in print or online, are constantly increasing. A change in strategy is overdue. But this requires someone who can lead the entire Group operationally. A CEO, in other words.
For a long time, there was speculation about who would take over this responsible post. Names were bandied about, the rumor mill was bubbling. The choice of Albert P. Stäheli seems to me to be an excellent one. On Monday evening, I happened to meet Maili Wolf, the former Tamedia and long-time Ringier publishing director. She spontaneously said: "One of the best decisions Conrad Meyer has made for the NZZ. Polo Stäheli, a man with bite and the appropriate experience. The NZZ could do with such a lateral thinker."
Polo Stäheli now faces the major task of leading the NZZ Group into the future with a stringent strategy. It won't be easy, but Stäheli has proven in his long years in Bern how he can whip a sleepy store into shape.
Pierre C. Meier, Editor-in-Chief
[email protected]

Swiss Animal Protection is opposing the use of a costumed chimpanzee in the entertainment program "Upps! Die Schweizer Pannenshow" on the TV channel 3+. The monkey is always used as an animal co-host.
This "humanization and exploitation" of the animal is a violation of the Animal Welfare Act, writes the Swiss Animal Protection STS in a press release on Wednesday. The dignity of the ape is clearly being disregarded. Chimpanzees are highly developed mammals that differ only marginally from humans. They are highly socialized and have complex communication skills. The training of chimpanzees should be firmly rejected. The fact that 3+ uses the animal to entertain the audience is absolutely incomprehensible.
The association therefore protested to the private broadcaster and demanded that the editors responsible refrain from using the monkey in future.

3+ defends itself against accusations
The TV station defended itself against the protests of the STS in a statement on Wednesday evening. The production complied with the legal requirements for filming with animals, said station boss Dominik Kaiser. No pain, suffering or harm was inflicted on the monkey.
The broadcaster also assured that the chimpanzee used was an animal that had been specially trained for filming by an animal trainer and had a wealth of experience in this field. The animal trainer actively accompanied the filming. In addition, care was taken to ensure that the filming times were appropriate for the animal and in line with its needs.
They are convinced that the use of Jean-Luc does not violate his dignity and he will also be integrated into further episodes of the show.