In many cases, the magazines present themselves as a potpourri in which texts and images are filled without a clear structure and with a lack of content dramaturgy. As a result, companies miss their chance to reach employees with relevant topics in an attractive presentation. There are enough approaches for fresh ideas - for example with the tabloid concept.
The Internet and free newspapers have greatly changed our reading habits. Short, digestible and consumable "reading snacks" are increasingly taking center stage. In print and online, we intuitively select content thanks to various entry points - for example, quotes, text boxes and links. The high proportion of images creates a visual stimulus for readers. Another special feature of the Internet and free newspapers is that both rely increasingly on dialog and interaction - be it with surveys, chats or competitions. The tabloid concept takes these strengths and adapts them to employee publications. The approach is supplemented by "anteasing" topics on the company's intranet.
The boulevard concept impresses with short, concise and comprehensible texts. Lead deserts are a thing of the past. Picture galleries underline the visual emphasis. Dialogic elements are also in the foreground. Calls to publish one's own opinion or send in pictures support reading enjoyment and reader loyalty. The clear design and clear reading guidance are convincing.
Schneiter Meier Külling expressed the advantages of the boulevard concept in a concept study. This showed that the concept works if the framework conditions are right. This means that the internal target groups could react with affinity and that the company's topics can be attractively implemented in text and images in a tabloid medium.
Big challenge
The tabloid concept is a particular challenge for the text and picture editors. The title is also a challenge: thanks to its conciseness, it ensures the reader's attention. The image selection is also crucial, so that the meaningful and dynamic images round off the overall presentation of the publication. The focus of the content makes a significant contribution to this. Current surveys show that in addition to employee news (anniversaries, birthdays, etc.) and internal events, employees also want information and background information on new products or services, organizational changes, the company's vision, strategy or goals.
The tabloid concept consistently implements these expectations by presenting relevant content to employees in a thematically varied way. Together with the exciting overall staging, the publication creates employee proximity and reading pleasure.
Christoph Tagliavini

Only if employees are convinced of the sense and purpose of a change and see it as an opportunity will they support the process and thus enable the success of the project. Unfortunately, for many employees, change initially triggers more uncertainty than a spirit of optimism. While management is convinced of something and often displays a pronounced forward momentum, employees often display defensive reflexes and fear of the future. This discrepancy is one of the major challenges of internal communication work in the change process. Change communication must therefore take account of employees' increased need for information and their desire for transparency.
Employees want to have access to tangible and binding information, especially when it comes to changes. Corporate publishing plays a central role in this context. The example of Abraxas Informatik AG shows how successful change communication is possible thanks to innovative measures tailored to the needs of the company and the inclusion of corporate publishing
Clear communication strategy as a starting signal
Last year, Abraxas Informatik AG was faced with the challenge of providing information about a planned change project within a short space of time. At the same time as developing an integrated communication strategy, in which each medium of the internal communication mix was assigned a specific function, the first corporate publishing measures had to be implemented.
Despite the high time pressure, the aim was to achieve the best possible coordination of the content and timing of the measures and to ensure that the initial information provided to employees was appropriate for the target group and comprehensive. This was achieved by supplementing Abraxas' existing communication mix with innovative, flexible corporate publishing tools that could be implemented quickly. The communication mix included the following measures:
- Squad presentation
- Management presentation
- Electronic newsletter
- Employee event
-Information package
Electronic newsletter for initial communication
Senior management employees were initially informed personally about the project in order to win them over to the chosen path. In order to ensure consistent communication with employees during the information cascade, a management presentation was prepared in which the wording of the key messages, the objectives and the next steps were defined.
The starting signal for informing all employees was then given with the announcement of the project by the CEO in the form of the internal electronic newsletter. This is now an integral part of regular internal communication at Abraxas. During the change process, "abraxas.update" guaranteed that employees received quick and comprehensive first-hand information thanks to its thematically concise texts and reader-friendly design. It also served as an invitation to the upcoming information events at two locations.
Information package provides security
A basic information package was produced for employees following the information events. The most important information about the change was summarized on eight pages in condensed form. In addition to information on the objectives and the next steps, employees found answers to the most pressing questions in the detailed Q&A. Thanks to the clever modularity of the package - individual inner pages could be omitted or supplemented with new pages at short notice - maximum flexibility could be achieved. It was a central concern that employees could take the information home with them and read it again if necessary. The information package thus made a significant contribution to anchoring the core messages in the company and preventing rumors and ambiguities at an early stage. Thanks to the information on contact persons and further resources, employees also knew who they could turn to if they had any questions.
Integrated communication pays off
This example shows how the integrated use and optimization of existing communication channels and targeted supplementation with corporate publishing measures can enable comprehensive and coordinated communication during change processes in companies. Specialized service providers can make a significant contribution here by supporting companies throughout the entire project: from the development of the communication strategy to the implementation of specific, innovative corporate publishing tools.
Philipp Bircher

Publicis for particularly active Internet users
The new generation of cell phones is here. With the state-of-the-art devices from Nokia, Samsung, LG, and Sony Ericsson, you can surf the web just as easily as on your home computer—but from anywhere.
Publicis and Studio Garrigosa have brought the message «The Internet, wherever you need it» to life in four exciting designs.
The print campaign is accompanied by various point-of-sale initiatives and online support from Publicis Modem.

Buckle up for Screen-Up 08!
On October 7, 2008, it’s that time of year again: All the leading TV networks will present next year’s programming highlights at Screen-up & Congress 08. Likewise, the congress taking place as part of Screen-up will once again provide a platform for high-caliber presentations and discussions with prominent experts from Switzerland and abroad. At Switzerland’s most important industry event, visitors will learn about the latest trends in the world of electronic media and the visions for the Swiss TV market. And, of course, they’ll find out which TV programs will blow consumers away next year. The Zurich-based agency Cavegnwerbung highlights just how dynamic the medium of TV is today—and will continue to be tomorrow. screen-up & congress 08 will take place on October 7 at Sihlcity in Zurich. For more information, visit: www.screen-up.ch.
The First Campaign Exclusively for CEOs
The new Radisson SAS Hotel, Zurich Airport is currently making headlines with an extraordinary campaign created by Matter & Gretener: On mobile billboards set up in front of a total of 29 company entrances, Zurich Airport’s first hotel is promoting itself as the ideal location for international meetings. The fact that the pointed headlines are directed specifically at the respective CEOs naturally draws special attention.

Although Switzerland is one of the technologically leading nations, has an attractive online landscape and this is also reflected in media usage, online spending remains at a very low level. Although online has also found its way into practically every media plan in Switzerland, it is still relatively restrained and unfortunately often with a style of performance that "only exploits a fraction of the medium's potential and does not fully take its use into account", as Yvan Piccinno from Plan.Net Suisse says. The Zurich branch of the Munich-based Plan.Net Group therefore wants to be a pioneer in the field of generic advertising and prove to the Swiss advertising world in the coming days how online advertising can be more than just boring banners and a bit of animated streaming.
"Creative week" is the promise above the project. Plan.Net was able to inspire Ringier with its Blick Online as the ideal media partner. "We were looking for a publisher that was open to new ideas and found the ideal partner in Oliver Schibli at Blick Online," says a delighted Yvan Piccinno from Plan.Net Suisse.
A cash-rich experiment
During the "creative week" on Blick.ch, the online advertising specialist will present a new "special production" with a different client every day from Monday, September 8 until the following Friday. These creative gimmicks with the latest technical possibilities are intended to turn the website into a vehicle for brand communication as well, as international studies and markets already prove with hard facts that the online medium has also become "extremely well established for brand communication and is even the leading medium depending on the target group", Piccinno knows. With creative rather than standardized online advertising, "companies can position themselves as innovation leaders". For the Plan.Net week on Blick.ch, the agency has been able to attract such well-known Swiss brands as Swiss, Sunrise, Hotelplan, Jobscout24 and Preisauskunft.ch. These customers "are enthusiastic" and are paying for the experiment, because generic advertising for new online developments is ultimately also their own image advertising.
In Germany, Plan.Net has been placing such innovative online advertising for product launches by major brands such as Apple, electronics giant Mediamarkt and BMW for some time. Plan.Net has been looking for new ideas with unusual key visuals or animated eye-catchers for these car brands for eight years. Depending on the target group, Yahoo Germany, MSN or Autoscout24 are suitable portals for such online presentations. But Spiegel Online and Stern are also open to new forms of advertising. On Stern.de, Plan.Net once covered the entire homepage with a semi-transparent film. The messages could still be read. Only when a visitor to the website hovered over it to show interest in more did the film switch from the background to the whole screen.
Publishers clearly see the opportunity for additional revenue. Conversely, the creative media people at Plan.Net are aware of their responsibility not to bombard visitors to an informative website with intrusive advertising. "There is a tolerable level, just as there is for TV commercials as an interruption in the program," says Piccinno.
Support for classic advertising
In such online productions, a spot is limited to seven seconds in its function as a teaser. If you want, you can zap away beforehand. But anyone who is thinking about buying a new car in the near future, for example, will certainly take in the offer behind the strikingly staged eye-catcher. They can then click on a button for further information. The advertising is therefore very targeted. In its previous placements for BMW, however, Plan.Net deliberately did not redirect website visitors to the car brand's own portal. The surfer should remain on the selected page. Here they are offered further opportunities to play - always only in the sense of brand advertising - because only a positive surfing experience can also leave a positive brand experience.
With online advertising designed in this way, BMW has achieved a 300 percent increase in brand awareness in Germany. Online advertising supports traditional advertising, as the basic material for the staging is taken from print or TV campaigns. The most important element for BMW's xDrive all-wheel drive system was a jumping jack. His movable arms and legs symbolize the four individually controllable wheels. On the websites, this jumping jack appears as a kind of funny animator. On AutoScout.de, for example, he plays with the news, kicks it away - and the BMW advertisement appears briefly underneath. At Spiegel.de, the jumping jack remains in the visible area of the page while scrolling. At MSN.de, it leaves a large advertising space and reappears in synchronized individual advertising spaces.
The "creative week" on Blick.ch will be accompanied by media coverage in the print edition. Blick am Abend will include editorial contributions on each production. In addition, the online team will prepare suitable topics editorially with the use of pools, ratings, forums and separate galleries. It is also conceivable to interactively link the rating with a competition and thus further increase user involvement and generate addresses.
Andreas Panzeri

The client list of Zurich agency Weber Harbeke has grown: The 10-man office on Limmatquai is now advertising for the Swiss Ice Hockey Association. As the agency announced on Wednesday, it was able to prevail against three competitors in a competitive presentation.
The first phase of the contract includes the communication of six friendly matches in the run-up to the 2009 Ice Hockey World Cup in Switzerland. The first work will be shown for the Switzerland-Canada game on November 4, 2008.

Do we have corrupt thoughts? Could it be that the relocation of our offices from tranquil Rüschlikon to the vibrant fifth district of Zurich is already having an effect? Or are we not alone with our ambiguous interpretations after all? In any case, when reading the following press release from the Hubert Burda Media Group, we were reminded several times of the localities and the acts of our new surroundings:
Awarding of the "Golden Whip
The most important honorary prize in gallop sport was sponsored this year by Bestwetten.de and Deutsche Post
The race for the "Golden Whip" is the most traditional competition of the Baden-Baden International Gallop Races. For the 138th time, this important sprint race was held on Sunday, August 31, on the racecourse in Iffezheim in front of many thousands of enthusiastic spectators.
The outstanding winner by two and a half lengths this year was the super horse Overdose, who has now remained unbeaten in 10 starts! The owner, the S. C. H. Racing Team from Hungary, received this honorary prize worth 12,000 euros, on which all previous winners of the "Golden Whip" are engraved.
This once again underpinned the close cooperation between Bestwetten.de and the International Club Baden-Baden. The cooperation of the online betting portal with the leading organizer of gallop races in Germany has been significantly expanded since the beginning of the cooperation in 2006. The club's betting customers are looked after via bestwetten.de, and many marketing activities are implemented jointly. "The cooperation between bestwetten.de and the International Club supports racing and integrates this historic sport into the future medium of the Internet," says Jürgen Siegloch, Managing Director of the Burda Direct Group.
And so we now make our way home, passing establishments called "Ritze", "Lambada" and "Massage Studio - top serious".

Irritating words such as "networking" or "socializing" have been thrown at us one to two thousand times too often. The organizers of the Spinnernetz.com events, which aim to bring together passionate advertisers, event organizers and media people, even claim that these terms have been used to commit more fraud than Amy Winehouse's liver.
The organizers also promise that you won't just be among people you already know, that you won't be "bombarded" with hours of lectures and that you'll still be offered everything that makes socializing enjoyable - nice music, good conversation and a pleasant atmosphere.
This Thursday, September 4 at 6 p.m., the event, which takes place on the first Thursday of every month, will resume after the summer break. This time, Frank M. Rinderknecht, founder and CEO of Rinspeed, will be giving a talk. On October 2, Stefan Berger, publisher of Faces magazine, will give a talk.

The new SF series "Day and Night" has not even started yet and there's already a row behind the scenes. As the TV magazine TV-Star reports, creator Katja Früh has turned her back on the permanent art series even before it starts on September 5. The reason for this is the tight budget provided by SF. "I want to make something at a high level, in our language, our way of thinking. But we have to strike a balance between the budget of a telenovela and the quality of a drama series," Früh told TV-Star. According to Früh, too many people have tinkered with the manuscripts.

Not only Zurich adults, but also the people of Basel love a good mix from the airwaves. Since September 1, Radio Basel 1 has been sounding different. With a fresh program under the slogan "Your radio - closer to you", the local radio station is responding even better to listeners' needs. The relaunch is accompanied by an image campaign with the campaign claim: "It's all about the right attitude: 101.7 MHz."
The ideas were created by the Basel agency Kreisvier. They feature people who show the right attitude even in unfavorable situations. Product advertisements are used to substantiate the offers, such as the new morning show "Born und Bachmann".
The adaptation of the program was preceded by extensive studies in all areas of activity. This resulted in a stronger focus on listener proximity, information and service. The campaign, which aims to position the station close to listeners and specifically promote the new program, works with advertisements, posters, cine-picture, radio and TV commercials. Radio 1 is now a company of Basler Zeitung Medien. (pan)

The new campaign by Agence Trio promotes Banque Cantonale Vaudoise (BCV). The image of Thabo Sefolosha, a basketball player with Vaud roots, serves as the hook. As the first Swiss player in the NBA, the Chicago Bulls player embodies youth and professionalism, writes the agency, which is based in Lausanne and Zurich, in a press release on Wednesday.
The campaign revolves around the game "Spin Ball", in which the user can test his skill. The player has to keep the ball spinning on Sefolosha's index finger for as long as possible.
The campaign can be seen on posters, in bank branches, in the printed press and on the Internet.
Responsible at Agence Trio: Sonia Pardo (customer service), Aline Di Silvestro (concept/text), Christophe Lacorbière (graphics/multimedia), Laurent Huwyler (multimedia)

People need luck in accidents or, even better, a prevention campaign from Suva. The luckiest accidents are the ones that never happen. Suva has been committed to this for 90 years. By combining prevention, insurance, claims management and rehabilitation, Suva offers a range of services that is unique in Switzerland. Within this, the SuvaLiv and SuvaPro brands are responsible for prevention.
Safe even after work
SuvaLiv is involved in the area of leisure safety. Among other things, it promotes the wearing of bicycle helmets, a considerate driving style on the ski slopes and fair play in football. These prevention campaigns have borne the signature of Ruf Lanz since fall 2001. The creative agency has received over a hundred national and international awards to date. These include two "Campaign of the Year" awards from the readers of Werbewoche magazine. SuvaPro, on the other hand, stands for Suva's comprehensive commitment to health and safety in the workplace. Ruf Lanz has already created the TV commercial "Nurse" for this brand. This shows that accidents can happen at any time. Often when you least think about it.
New on offer: Specialist campaigns
Ruf Lanz has now also been commissioned for the specialist campaigns. These are aimed at specific occupational groups. The campaigns, which were previously produced in-house, are very important because Suva insures numerous sectors with an increased risk of accidents. For example, companies in the construction and installation trades, industrial companies and forestry operations.
Two specialist campaigns are being launched this fall. The first is aimed at the construction industry and is dedicated to the topic of "safe scaffolding". The renovation of Rio de Janeiro's landmark is a photographic stroke of luck for the implementation of a striking idea. A patron saint is not always so close to the work. The advertisement appears in magazines such as Dach & Wand, Baublatt and Schweizer Holzbau. The second specialist campaign is dedicated to the topic of "manipulated protective devices". In every second company, protective devices on machines and systems are manipulated or "tampered with". This is done to gain time when working. However, this often results in serious accidents. Ruf Lanz uses the "moped" motif to show that at some point you are too old to tamper with machines. Advertisements are placed in media such as Der Organisator, Metall and Schreinerzeitung.
Andreas Panzeri