PubliGroupe PubliGroupe remains vague in its dispute with Basler Zeitung Medien. But subliminally it repeats its accusations against BZM. 
P Basel kept back 2.5 million francs in January - money that should actually have gone to BZM. This was the accusation leveled at PubliGroupe by BaZ publisher Matthias Hagemann in March via persoenlich.com. Conversely, Thomas Bargetzi, CEO of Media Sales Switzerland, accused BZM at the time of dumping offers on the market. "Start-up difficulties "In a few days, the two parties will separate physically (see box). Werbewoche therefore wanted to ask both sides about the current situation. However, Bargetzi preferred to answer in writing. He did not say a word about the amount of 2.5 million francs. He merely confirmed that there had been "teething problems between BaZ and Publicitas" after BZM switched to its own management - despite the standardized handling procedure that had been in place for years. As is allegedly customary, P only retained "a low single-digit percentage of the turnover". He thus indirectly denies the amount mentioned by Hagemann.
Thomas Bargetzi explained the processing procedure as follows: "Publicitas routinely checks all published advertisements in terms of size, color, placement, etc. They are compared with the invoice issued to the customer and the invoice issued by the publisher to Publicitas. They are compared with the invoice issued to the customer and the invoice issued by the publisher to Publicitas. This quality control revealed a considerable number of differences. As always, Publicitas is holding back a small sum until these differences have been corrected or cleared up in the interests of customers. This is a low single-digit percentage of turnover, which only partially covers the difference. The process for eliminating the differences is going very well at Baslerstab and, more recently, at BaZ as well, so we assume that Publicitas will not need to make any more provisions in this regard in the foreseeable future."
He was still unwilling to comment specifically on the sweeping accusations of dumping made at the BZM address at the time. However, he did hint that all is obviously not yet well. Here is the answer: "A level playing field is an elementary prerequisite for constructive coexistence. Publicitas will do everything in its power to ensure that this can be achieved as quickly as possible. That is why we prefer to clarify this issue directly with BaZ and not via the media."
Markus Knöpfli
P Basel moves to the stationThree years ago, P Basel moved to BZM
to the banks of the river Wiese. At the time, this was intended to underline the mutual partnership. However, a dispute soon arose, which is why P Basel is now moving out again - to two new locations in Basel. From June 16, it can be found at Kornhausgasse 5/7 and at Nauenstrasse 30, in a former post office counter in the station building. "At this very central location, we will primarily advise our local direct customers in print and other media", writes Thomas Bargetzi, CEO Media Sales Switzerland. At Kornhausgasse, on the other hand, an Allmedia House will be created, where the expertise of all the specialized Publicitas units Publimedia, Publimag, Cinecom, Publiconnect and Publicitas itself will be brought together under one roof. This is where "the all-media expertise that is in high demand from customers" will be developed. The sales team will also be expanded with a sales manager and an additional salesperson. Bargetzi: "With the opening of two offices, Publicitas is underlining the strategic importance of the Basel location." (mk)

 
Radio The alternative local radio station LoRa is 25 years old. To mark the anniversary, Publicis is donating a completely non-commercial free poster. It features a home-made radio set - an allusion to the station's style.

 
René Worni on free quality journalism. 
Shortly after this issue of Werbewoche is published, the German journalistic community will meet at the annual conference of the Netzwerk Recherche in Hamburg to "sound out the inner workings and quality" of German journalism. Those gathered (including over 100 speakers) want to celebrate journalistic research "as an instrument for improving all journalistic genres". This is no coincidence. The German journalists are reacting to the apparently catalytic effect of "Flat Earth News", a recent all-out attack on the British media by Guardian special correspondent Nick Davies. In it, he states that journalists trapped in the "professional cage" of their "news factories" only rewrite agency reports without doing any research themselves. Sixty percent of over 2000 reports from Britain's quality newspapers (Guardian, Independent, Daily Telegraph, Times etc.) analyzed for Davies' book were practically PR material. Only twelve percent of the stories were actually researched. "The basic problem is that commercial logic has replaced journalistic logic," says Nick Davies.
In America, the beleaguered publishers are going one step further. International reporting and investigative research are increasingly seen as a luxury that is no longer affordable.
Ex-WSJ editor-in-chief Paul Steiger has therefore launched the Pro Publica project. It is dedicated exclusively to investigative research and is financed by two billionaires (see page 16). This means that these stories - a delicate flaw - remain disconnected from the value chain and thus from publishing responsibility. Then you can only speak of "free quality journalism" and thus undermine its value.
This should give local publishers pause for thought. How much longer will it be before revenue models collapse in times of forced free content and private sponsors have to step into the breach?
René Worni, Editor

 
Column A birthday greeting to the radio pioneer with a request that he should stick to his core competencies in future. By Oliver Classen. 
After German telenovelas and Moritz Leuenberger's psyche, jack-of-all-trades "Roschee" now also analyzes Swiss media criticism - and once again confuses (self-)marketing with journalism.Cobbler, stick to your last: Roger Schawinski considers himself a vox populi and is an avowed Berlin fan. (However, he has always studiously ignored this warning from the German vernacular). In his in-house magazine Persönlich, Mr. Forever Young, who is celebrating his 63rd birthday this week and has been pretending to make radio for adults for several months now, has recently taken stock of Swiss media journalism. The result is a eulogy peppered with anecdotes and personal settlements at the level of reflection of the free press, which he considers to be so "faceless and uninspired" that it is not suitable for media criticism. Which brings us to the first basic misunderstanding: Media journalists do occasionally discuss media content, so they also act as media critics. However, it is far more important for media journalism to see itself as a meta-department in the sense of an internal interface between politics, business and culture and to see its task (as a quasi-fifth) as keeping an eye on and tapping the fingers of the fourth estate in our democracy.
Here in Switzerland, this sophisticated form and function is currently only cultivated by the NZZ. The editor in charge, Rainer Stadler, was recently awarded the Zurich Journalism Prize, and rightly so. Schawinski interprets this gesture as a "swan song to a previously flourishing genre". As proof, he cites the fact that several quality newspapers run daily media pages in the northern canton - knowing full well that the German market is more than twenty times larger, also in terms of serious media journalism. Mind you, this limping comparison does not release Tagi & Co. from their journalistic duty to return from selective, people-oriented media stories (e.g. about Schawi) to continuous and competent media monitoring. In this case, competition not only stimulates self-reflective business, but also brings mutual control and, in the medium term, higher industry standards.
At the end of his elaborate piece, the marathon opinion man then hands out the usual roses and cacti. His bashing of the excellent media page of the Süddeutsche Zeitung is based on equally private motives ("a malicious article by the head of department") as his praise of Kurt W. Zimmermann as the "Swiss standard bearer of the guild". There is no question that Zimmermann was a serious journalist with a killer instinct for good stories, which is rare in this country, until he changed sides. The current advisor's columns in Weltwoche - for which Schawinski himself conducts interviews - are often enjoyable reading, but are about as far removed from relevant media journalism as Roger Köppel is from professional objectivity.
In short: the best, because most credible, media journalism still comes from ordinary journalists - and not from media entrepreneurs and/or their whisperers. Nowhere is the boundary between marketing and journalism as delicate and sacred as in this secret supreme discipline.
It's just a shame that journalism is no longer a profession in which you can grow old gracefully. This is probably one of the reasons why Schawinski (like Zimmermann) switched to entrepreneurship in good time, which he has mastered brilliantly. But please let him stay there and leave it at his Sunday excursions into the old profession. Because admittedly: When the boss personally picks apart this or that politician on Radio 1 on the Lord's Day, I don't switch off either.
Oliver Classen was a media editor before moving to the development policy organization Berne Declaration as press spokesman.

 
Spillmann/Felser/Leo Burnett has won Micasa as a new client in a competitive presentation. According to a press release issued on Wednesday, the agency was successful with its concept under the claim "Made for life". The agency is already working intensively on the new brand identity, which extends from the POS to the catalog and image advertising.

 
 
Corporate publishing is a growth market, now more than ever. Wish and claim have become reality. 
More and more companies are opting for corporate publishing, both offline and online. The latest baseline study for Germany, Austria and Switzerland commissioned by the Forum Corporate Publishing association, which covers all three countries, provides statistical evidence of this experience. The growing trend is also evident in other countries, such as those in which the specialists formed customer publishing associations years ago, i.e. in the USA, England and the Netherlands, both in the B2B and B2C sectors. Countries with relatively young customer publishing associations, such as Sweden and Norway, or with recently founded associations, such as Belgium, are even more indicative of growth - because what grows calls for structure. In other countries, such as Slovenia, where a customer publishing association is currently being founded, the Czech Republic and Turkey, corporate publishing and customer publishing are increasingly attracting interest. The fact that associations, i.e. competitors, are forming and that the associations are organizing among themselves - the loose association of the International Customer Publishing Forum (ICPF) has existed for several years - are all unmistakable signs of quantitative growth; more and more companies are focusing on corporate publishing and the number of specialized service providers is growing. In September 2007, following the ICPF conference in Zurich, the Financial Times published an article with the self-explanatory title: "The Glossy and Growing World of Customer Magazines".
Growing print runs? Publishers and service providers of corporate publishing products in the print sector often like to talk about high print runs with pride. Significantly, this is primarily an issue in countries with large home markets, such as Germany, the UK or Spain, and less so in Switzerland, the Netherlands or Sweden. Large print runs are generally associated with sophisticated publishing management, a publishing mindset and (partial) refinancing. However, distribution costs often put a stop to circulation growth. Apart from the costs, the quality of distribution is also a decisive factor: address files in poor condition or insensitively chosen distribution channels have become sacrilege in today's communication overload. Appropriate and innovative distribution is an indispensable part of successful corporate publishing: In which situation does the addressee receive the corporate publishing product (e.g. at the POS), or is it placed in the mailbox or at the workplace? A communicatively coherent solution to these questions - this also applies to online publishing! - is often not associated with growth in circulation and the number of recipients, but with their reduction. Similar considerations apply to the number of pages and publication intervals of a print product. Growth is counterbalanced by the principle of balance. Less is often more.
Growing internationality Especially in countries with small domestic markets, such as Switzerland, internationality has long been an issue in corporate publishing work. Whether it be communicative solutions for international giants with a head office in Switzerland or for smart middle-market companies with international roots - interculturally and multiculturally sophisticated corporate publishing has provided proud examples. In the meantime, internationality has become a priority topic and highly valued asset in corporate publishing everywhere; it has long been about much more than the commonplace of multilingualism and multilingual editions or language versions. It is about international standards in daily work, international journalist networks and the competitiveness of international competitors. The growth of internationality and internationalization has begun and is continuing.
Growing cross-media publishingWhat "traditional" publishing houses struggle to achieve under great pressure to change, namely cross-media publishing (often with obstructive competitive thinking between print and online editorial teams in the same company), is much easier to achieve in the corporate publishing scene. Integrated editing has become a well-functioning reality in companies and in cooperation with corporate publishing service providers. The cost-efficient and communicatively strong principle of one-off research and multiple use for various communication platforms has become established. It is no longer a question of "if", only "how much and where else". Thanks to its cross-media predestination, corporate publishing has now gained even more ground compared to other communication disciplines; authentic and credible content on all "channels" is outstripping traditional advertising and conventional direct marketing. And the trend is growing.
Growth in quality and creativityThis last perspective is probably the most important. Only what is unmistakable and really strengthens a brand, only what benefits the addressee, only what is optimally and creatively distributed and skillfully prepared cross-media, has real value in corporate publishing and will endure or have potential for further development. Even if all industries tend to focus on authenticity and journalism or credibility, if well-trodden paths of "classic" communication are abandoned in favor of storytelling, even if the image brochure is replaced by a corporate publishing annual, the catalog by a magalog or the commercial by a documentary short film - corporate publishing in its quantitative growth is itself about to become a juggernaut of confusion, mediocrity and repetitive staleness. Corporate publishing, produced according to a pleasing and reproducible convenience recipe, is working less and less. Corporate publishing offline and online will only continue to grow in the medium term where the zero-eight-fifteen mark on the quality barometer is overcome. The call for quality growth is not elitist posturing. Quality and creativity are essential for survival in the battle for the attention of target groups and communities.
Viviane Egli, Primafila AG

 
Lifestyle KSB/SJ has created a new brand image for Similasan with a special focus on the Lohas target group. 
Lohas stands for "Lifestyle of Health and Sustainability". The members of this lifestyle group basically want to consume and live "ethically and ecologically correct". However, they do not want to be confused with the first generation of fundamental ecologists. Lohas attach great importance to good design and enjoyment. It is no coincidence that "lohas" also means "happy life" in Chinese. In the USA, around 30 percent of consumers are said to be of this type, in Germany 15 percent and in Switzerland probably a similar proportion to the USA, according to estimates by Krieg, Schlupp, Bürge / Springer & Jacoby. For the advertising agency, Lohas are therefore more than just a target group, they are a growing social majority, and it is precisely this zeitgeist that KSB/SJ's campaign for Similasan is aimed at.
Similasan is based on the findings of the German doctor Samuel Hahnemann, who founded homeopathy between 1755 and 1843. Homeopathy does not follow the formula or drug dosage "the stronger, the more effective", but uses massively diluted and simultaneously potentized active ingredients.
 
Health megatrendThe low dosage of active ingredients meets a major need. Or to put it another way: "It fully meets one of the most important components of the health megatrend, which in turn has a decisive effect on the new Lohas target group", as the two CD Flo Wacker and Uwe Schlupp explain.
More and more people are looking for unproblematic yet effective means of treating an ailment. In other words, they are looking for medicines that have no side effects and are not harmful and that are compatible with other medicines that may need to be taken.
Similasan medicines meet precisely these contemporary Lohas requirements. The word Similasan comes from the Latin words "simile" and "sanum" and means "something similar that makes healthy". More and more people are realizing that this is not an empty promise. And so Similasan has become the market leader in the field of homeopathic remedies in Switzerland and is also extremely successful in the USA, Austria and Holland, for example.
The success story began in 1975 with the first product, a hay fever remedy. Similasan now offers 80 medicines and 33 individual remedies for a wide range of everyday complaints. The fact that Similasan is easy to use yourself - the technical term is self-medication - also contributes significantly to Similasan's success. "And, of course, the fact that Similasan works even if you don't believe in it", as the advertisers are convinced.
This central insight was also the springboard for the new brand identity, which consists of a large number of motifs. For the time being, eight motifs are going on air, with more to follow.
Atmospheric imagesThe motifs use atmospheric images by Frédéric Auerbach to gently suggest topics such as hay fever, travel complaints, skin irritations in summer or flu and colds in winter. This is contrasted by headlines that confidently and clearly refute the common prejudices against homeopathic remedies or play with these prejudices. Each appearance is rounded off by the new brand claim: "Strong, because it's gentle."
Special product advertisements and a variety of POS measures have been created to match the brand image: from street stands, displays and floor stickers to counter mats and change plates. The motifs have recently been seen nationally in consumer magazines, special interest titles and in pharmacies and drugstores. The campaign will continue with seasonal highlights throughout 2008 and 2009.
Andreas Panzeri

At the beginning of July, Marcel Baumann will take over the management of the reorganized APG Montagne profit center, which was created from the merger of APG Montagne and Visiorama. The 33-year-old Baumann joined Allgemeine Plakatgesellschaft in February 2000. After various years in management positions in the areas of procurement and sales, he has been working as a key account consultant in Zurich since May 2007. As an out-of-home specialist, APG Montagne is responsible for outdoor advertising in the winter sports regions of Switzerland.

 Blick.ch will join the superpool launched by AdLink Media on July 1, 2008. According to a press release from AdLink Media, this addition means that the online pool now reaches 83% of all Swiss Internet users, not least thanks to the latest publication Blick am Abend, the tabloid is able to unite a wide-reaching user base both offline and online on its news offerings. This starting position is ideal for inclusion in the Superpool.
AdLink launched the Superpool around two years ago. It bundles Swiss portals into a single offer that achieves maximum reach within the Swiss online user community.

 
Company At Attilio Meyer AG, everything revolves around advertising and presentation materials. "Nothing is impossible" is the credo of the family business. 
Attilio and Elsa Meyer already had their sights set on the image as an advertising medium when they set up their own business with a photo laboratory in 1945. Today, Attilio Meyer AG employs around 50 people. Customers come from practically all sectors. The company is able to meet all image-related needs. This applies not only to image printing on a wide range of materials, but also to the various presentation options. This is what sets Attilio Meyer AG apart from its competitors. Image-related servicesSpectacular façade cladding, attractive illuminated advertising, modern lettering systems, unusual displays and awnings - the stuff advertising dreams are made of today has many faces. Marco A. Meyer knows them all. Having joined his parents' company in 1961, he has experienced the rapid development in the image sector at first hand. Today, together with his wife Monika, he only performs selective management tasks in the general company for digital large-format printing and illuminated advertising. The generational change at the Meyers is practically complete. Daughter Marina and son Marc manage production independently. Marina M. Meyer is responsible for work preparation and image production, Marc A. Meyer for light box and metal construction.
Everything from a single sourceUnlike its competitors, Attilio Meyer AG has integrated metal construction into the company as an independent department. For Marco A. Meyer, this was a forward-looking decision. "This puts us in a position to offer customers complete solutions from a single source, from the initial idea through to complete production and on-site assembly." A modern infrastructure and a well-trained team of employees, consisting of advertising technology designers, seamstresses, saddlers, locksmiths, plumbers, electricians and metalworkers, are available for this purpose. Customers also benefit from the comprehensive expertise and many years of experience in the individual areas. "It is the professional mix of different service areas that defines our profile," says son Marc A. Meyer. Today, many different advertising and presentation solutions are used in a single property. One example of this is shopping centers, where visitors encounter customer guidance systems, illuminated lettering, advertising flags, large posters and displays. Giant posters and light boxes also need to be professionally installed and maintained. Customers appreciate it when a contact person is available to whom they can turn with any questions.
Spacious new buildingBecause the company was literally bursting at the seams at its old production site in Bertschikon, the decision was made two years ago to build a new building on a greenfield site. An ultra-modern two-storey production building for advertising materials, equipped with the latest technology, was built on an area of approx. 5300 m2. The company moved into its new headquarters at Industriestrasse 57 in Gossau/ZH in February 2008. A 1600 m2 land reserve is available for further expansion, which is to be completed in a second stage by 2011.
High quality at favorable conditionsThe outdoor advertising projects realized by Attilio Meyer AG cannot usually be overlooked. Giant posters on facades, illuminated lettering on buildings or printed truck tarpaulins attract the desired attention. One of the particularly spectacular projects is the 7500 m2 megaposter that was used to cover part of the façade of the Glattzentrum. In the display sector, the company concentrates mainly on the processing of metal and Plexiglas. In addition to customer-specific orders, an in-house developed display line is also produced.
Asia-line.ch "After realizing that the market was flooded with inexpensive imitation products from Asia, we decided to stop investing in our own display line and instead purchase our own products in China. We now have various mobile support systems, illuminated panels and snap frames manufactured in China and sell them under the name Asia-line. "All products are strictly controlled by us and improved, adapted and reworked if necessary. The customer benefits from a lower price with the same high quality," says Marco A. Meyer. Because better conditions can be achieved by purchasing larger quantities, Attilio Meyer AG was able to convince nine competitors of the benefits of a joint purchasing partnership. A system that has now proven its worth.
The Meyers describe the trend towards fabric image printing - digital printing on various materials - with the associated different presentation options as the most important area in the company today. Without metal construction, which was integrated with the production of light boxes, the company would not have been able to develop to its current size, they are convinced. To this end, the company has invested heavily. Last year alone, one million Swiss francs were invested in a modern flatbed printer and a waterjet cutting system. The materials used in advertising are becoming increasingly diverse. "We are seeing a trend towards fabric printing and want to specialize in this, among other things," explains Marina M. Meyer. Today, fabric advertising materials are mainly used as flags, sails, in store and trade fair construction and create a particularly pleasant atmosphere. It is also possible to backlight the motifs on the transparent advertising media.
Fabric printing is a very complex process. "In recent years, digital printing technology has been greatly improved so that we can now offer customers the highest print quality, even on fabric," says Marina M. Meyer. With the flatbed and roll printer, it is possible to print on different materials such as fabrics, woven fabrics, vinyl, leather, glass and much more up to a material thickness of 100 mm, so that there is also a very high degree of flexibility on the material side. The water jet cutter also enables customized design. It can be used to process materials such as metal, Plexiglas, stone, but also plastics and rubber. Depending on the order, letters, figures or other shapes can be produced from such materials.
In order to stand out from the multitude of different advertising materials, the demands on design and production are increasing. "As a family business with a full service, we are very flexible and able to realize even unusual ideas. This presents us with new challenges every day and is part of our success strategy," concludes Marco A. Meyer.
Sabine Flaxman
 
 
Attilio Meyer AG Digital printing & illuminated advertising
Industriestrasse 57, 8625 Gossau ZH
Range of services: digital printing, advertising technology, illuminated advertising, metal construction, installation, service and maintenance
[email protected]

 The Anzeiger von Uster (AvU) is making a change at the front of the editorial team. Christian Brütsch is replacing Christian Brändli as editorial director as of June 16, as reported by AvU on Wednesday. Brändli is moving within Zürcher Oberland Medien to Wetzikon and will take over the position of chief editor at Zürcher Oberländer (ZO). He had been editorial director at AvU since 1996. Brütsch had been head of the Glattal department since mid-2002 and was responsible for the municipalities of Dübendorf and Fällanden. From the fall of 2006, he also acted as editor for ZO and AvU. At this time, he was appointed deputy head of the AvU editorial team.

 
Location marketing The Bern region also wants to use Euro 08 to promote itself. Contexta has designed a case for this purpose. 
Uefa's Euro 08 is a unique opportunity for the Swiss host cities. Bern has already made professional use of it - not only with the help of the Dutch - for active location marketing.In Bern, it was realized relatively quickly that the awarding of Euro 08 to Switzerland and Austria is of importance for the tourist development of the city and region beyond the event.
Thus, as early as 2006, the city and canton, together with business representatives, founded the Euro 08 Bern Association to plan, organize and coordinate a wide range of activities: Starting with the ceremonial resurrection of the old Wankdorf stadium clock in December 2007 to the street soccer tournament and the Euro 08 welcome festival "FussBall & MundArt" on the Bundesplatz.
In the fall of 2007, Contexta, which as the largest advertising agency in Bern is of course also a member of the association, was commissioned to communicate all these activities. And under a unified visual and content umbrella, so that they receive the attention they deserve despite the Euro 08 advertising flood, as CD and partner Bene Abegglen explains.
The result is an intelligent and modular location marketing campaign with exemplary character, which involved the population already in the run-up to Euro 08 and marked its presence - also on advertising material of the individual association members.
During the games, the campaign is now developing into pure tourism advertising, which is intended to draw the attention of guests from all over Europe to the highlights of the Zähringerstadt and to inspire them to visit Bern as a destination. After all, at the end of the campaign, it is not football that should stand out as the winner, but the city.
In creating an all-encompassing communication platform, Contexta was also faced with the challenge that a wide variety of preliminary work already existed that had to be integrated. For example, there was already the logo with the football in the form of a speech bubble by the Bernese graphic designer Balsi, which had emerged as the winner from a competitive presentation. In addition, a Euro-08 slogan for Bern had been chosen in a public competition: "Bern works wonders."
The agency gratefully accepted these two steep passes: Contexta integrated the logo into an unmistakable layout and made the slogan the common denominator of a text campaign in which each subject becomes one of many numbered wonders of Bern. The text campaign also makes it possible to react quickly to current events. Further subjects can be realized at any time at low cost.
Speaking of costs: "Contexta consistently uses the synergies that arise with the various members of the Euro 08 Bern association," explains the new CEO Nadine Borter. Thus, one encounters the countless subjects not only on municipal billboards, but also in the customer magazines of BKW and BEKB or the press titles of Espace Media Groupe - of course always with a reference to the website www.bernwirktwunder.ch, where all details on all activities can be found.
Under the umbrella of the campaign, however, individual members can also advertise on their own behalf and thus communicate their commitment to the outside world, as an example of the Coop paper bags shows.
Andreas Panzeri?