Sony Ericsson is placing dynamic in-game advertising in collaboration with the agency Mediaedge:cia and the Goldbach Media subsidiary Game Mediarep. The aim is to attract potential buyers of the new Walkman phone W890i. The advertising subjects appear for Swiss gamers on virtual billboards in over ten different games. The campaign runs until May 31, 2008.

 Edith Weibel Public Relations now looks after the fashion label Leonard Paris. Since March 1, 2008, the agency has been acting as the official press office for the company in Switzerland and Austria, according to a statement issued on Thursday. The mandate includes support and consulting for all communication and PR activities as well as professional support for the expansion course.

 Advertising pressure increased significantly in April compared to the same month last year. The value of advertising placed rose by 15.2% to CHF 410.2 million. The cumulative increase since the beginning of the year is 10.0%, as Media Focus reported on Thursday. The most advertised product in April was Tele 2's new mobile phone subscription, followed by Ikea fabrics, Bluewin TV, Peugeot 207 CC and Kuoni Travel. As usual, Migros and Coop placed the most advertising, followed by Nestlé in third place last month.
Among the key markets, political campaigns recorded the largest increase, up 53.7% to CHF 5.5 million. The "consumer electronics, photo, film" advertising market also stood out with an increase of 43.4% to CHF 15.4 million.
Data and information processing companies booked significantly less advertising. The value of advertising placed in the IT sector fell by 35.1% to CHF 3.5 million.

 The "Gesundheit Sprechstunde" program broadcast on SF 2 is once again being targeted by OFCOM due to suspected surreptitious advertising. It was alerted to possible breaches of advertising regulations by an external third party, as reported by 20 Minuten on Thursday. "We are currently in the process of reviewing and evaluating the very extensive material," said Caroline Sauser, spokesperson for OFCOM, confirming the preliminary investigations into the health program. A decision as to whether there will be an official investigation will be made in two or three weeks. 
Fibo Deutsch, Head of the Ringier Health Unit, tells 20 Minuten that he is confident that Bakom will not initiate proceedings. He had become very cautious after the last fine. He suspects a personal act of revenge as the motive for the appeal to Bakom.
 
The television format produced by Ringier was already fined at the end of 2006 for violating advertising and sponsorship regulations (
).

 
The Zurich agency JWT+H+F has created an advertisement for its client Clear Channel Plakanda. It shows an overripe, brown banana, which, according to the press release, is representative of all shopworn goods. There is an effective way to boost sales, namely POS posters from Clear Channel. The advertisement appears in the advertising trade press and is aimed at company marketing and communication managers.
Responsible at Clear Channel Plakanda:
Alfred Bieri (Marketing), Verena Durrer (Marketing/Executive Assistant). Responsible at JWT+H+F: Mike Krüll (Creative Director/Text), Isa McInnes (Art Director), Franco Elsener (Consulting), Harry Burst (Photography).

The rumors have come true: Beat Mühlemann is to become the new CEO of McCann Erickson, as Chairman of the Board Helmut Sendlmeier confirmed to Werbewoche. "I am very pleased. Beat Mühlemann is a very experienced man and he was our preferred candidate." The leading figures in the management team of the two Swiss agencies also opted for the former Migros advertising manager, Sendlmeier continued: "I have rarely experienced such chemistry - they all raved about each other."
In addition, McCann Erickson is currently setting up two new units in Switzerland, Momentum and MRM. The international agency network already operates both units in countries with larger advertising markets. "The aim now is to complete the offering in Switzerland," explains Sendlmeier.
Momentum offers services in the areas of promotion, sponsorship, events, branded entertainment and retail. The Swiss version will be based in Zurich and will start with three or four people. "We want to start small and with high quality - if large customers come on board quickly, we will naturally grow faster. In Germany, Momentum also started with just a handful of people and now has around 60 employees." The second new unit, MRM, specializes in digital and dialogue marketing. It will probably be based in Geneva in this country and will also start small. "The development potential is also huge, with 170 people now working at the German MRM," emphasized Sendlmeier. The two new disciplines will not have their own heads for the time being, but will be managed directly by Beat Mühlemann. With the expansion, McCann Erickson wants to be able to offer clients all services from a single source.

"People are amazed at how big we are "With the new CEO and the two new disciplines, McCann Erickson is now set to take off. Sendlmeier emphasizes that the two Swiss agencies were already bigger than many in the market thought. "I often heard that people didn't realize how big we were. Or that there are around ten blue-chip companies among our clients." He is aware that many people had the impression that McCann Erickson was trolling. "There was a lot of false information. Perhaps competitors fanned the flames. Once it was said that six CEOs had been in and out of our office in the last ten years - when in fact there were exactly two." However, Sendlmeier explains that he doesn't want to sugarcoat things: "Perhaps we should have done more PR and informed the market more actively." But now everything is in place: Beat Mühlemann is due to come on board on July 1 and a good team has been put together with Timo Kirez, Yannick Chevailler, Susanne Jungbluth and Monica Fischer. They are still looking for a Creative Director.
Given the development of the new units, Beat Mühlemann will hardly be bored in his new post. He will receive support from Sendlmeier, who is responsible for McCann Germany, Austria and Switzerland. However, he defends himself against the accusation made last year by outgoing CD Peter Rettinghausen that McCann Erickson is being trimmed to fit the orientation of the Frankfurt agency: "That's a low-level, clichéd assessment. I help the Swiss agencies, but I don't dictate," is how Sendlmeier describes his role. In the end, the Swiss management team was also the deciding factor in the selection of the new CEO. According to Sendlmeier, six people were evaluated: "At the beginning, I asked Swiss friends if they would consider us suitable. We took our time with the selection, as we had announced. In the end, Beat Mühlemann was our clear favorite."
Carole Scheidegger

 
Business press The Swiss business magazine Bilanz improves its layout and page architecture. The recipe for success remains unchanged.  
The relaunch of Switzerland's largest business title Bilanz, scheduled for May 23, is not a revolution. With subtle adjustments to the signs of the times, with a revised paper architecture, with new sections and new journalistic vessels, the successful title wants to set off into the next decade. The relaunch at Bilanz is primarily a visual matter. The core competence must not be touched. "People want to see stories and interviews with the top shots in the Swiss economy and read well-researched stories," says Editor-in-Chief Dirk Schütz. So far, the quality of the paper is already at 80 percent. With the relaunch, Schütz and his crew want to reach the 100 percent mark, and Wernie Baumeler, the new art director responsible for the new look, has joined Bilanz. The creators have opted for an in-house solution. This guarantees continuous support. The elegant look of the glossy magazine has been retained, but the dramaturgy of the new Bilanz has been improved and is more varied, modern and fresh.
"We want to strengthen the balance sheet as a brand," says Schütz. Even the front page of the magazine makes it clear what it is all about: more flexibility. The title lettering has been significantly enlarged and the restrictive graphic grid has been broken up. The cover image has been freed up and the content references can be freely positioned. This creates more dynamism.
New page structureThe main feature of the gentle change, which has already been perceived by test readers here and there as a striking intervention in the previous appearance of the paper, is the change in the page structure. Previously, there was the Top Stories section, which featured a wide variety of stories. "In recent years, Bilanz has increasingly had the reputation in the industry of having moved away from business and more towards lifestyle," says Dirk Schütz. Schütz blames the accentuation in the previous magazine structure for this. The main aim of the redesign is therefore to break up this block in the middle and introduce the new "Luxury" section. "In my opinion, a business magazine has to ask what the economy actually does, and that's the companies," says Schütz. The new Bilanz therefore has its own corporate section, where you can see what role companies play. They have always played a role, but until now you had to search for them in the paper. The paper is thus further expanding its reporting on international and Swiss companies.
The "Trends" section is also new, covering economic policy, the economy and careers, which Schütz sees as a kind of mixed department. The "Invest" section has been slightly expanded and the previous "Savoir vivre" has been renamed "Luxury", which deals with lifestyle topics.
The proportions have also changed somewhat in terms of content: more investment topics, while start-ups are covered as before. There are also new, smaller sections, such as a double-page Society with business events. This was previously missing, says Schütz.
To structure the magazine, the sections have their own opening pages with short reading material, "because people always like to read short texts". This is followed by the story section, which is then lavishly laid out. "The clear structure will make Bilanz feel more like a business magazine again," Dirk Schütz is convinced.
René Worni
 
 
 
Number one among the top leadersAt the end of 2007, Bilanz celebrated its 30th anniversary
. Today, the paper has a certified circulation of 38,660 copies with 223,000 readers, making it the most widely read publication in the Swiss business press. Among the top leaders, Bilanz is number one. 30 percent of Swiss business leaders read the paper. Over 50 percent of readers have a high level of education and 44 percent have a gross monthly household income of more than CHF 10,000. Bilanz has been published fortnightly since 2007. (red)

 The volume of advertising in the Swiss press increased by 5.3 percent year-on-year to CHF 190.4 million in April 2008. The increase is mainly due to this year's public holiday calendar: because Easter took place in March, three additional editions of the daily press were published compared to last year, as Wemf announced on Wednesday. Daily newspapers increased by 11.9 percent to 100.8 million francs. The regional weekly press also recorded strong growth with an increase of 20 percent to CHF 5.5 million. By contrast, the Sunday press recorded a decline in April due to one fewer issue than in the same month last year: the volume fell by 5.2 percent to CHF 20.5 million. The general press also sold significantly fewer advertisements, with a drop of 9.3% to CHF 27.2 million.
Expenditure on job advertisements increased the most. They rose by 28.6% to CHF 26.5 million. Advertisements, which account for around three quarters of the advertising volume, increased by 4.8% to CHF 146.9 million. In contrast, real estate advertisements (-14.3 percent) and brochure inserts (-15.5 percent) declined.

 
Even after its major buying spree in December 2006, the Axel Springer Group is still very interested in the Swiss market and is "not ruling out further acquisitions if interesting opportunities arise", as CEO Mathias Döpfner told the Handelszeitung on Wednesday. This could take place in both the print and online sectors. However, the focus is on organic growth of the Swiss brands that have already been acquired. The Group intends to continue investing in this area, both on paper and online. Döpfner also said that the growth of the future lies in internationalization and digitalization. In addition to Switzerland, the Group wants to grow in Eastern and Western Europe, for example in Spain and France. 

 
Travel Euro RSCG Dialog & Digital makes the dream of flying come true for Swiss. 
The quality of the premium airline Swiss at a special price: the "Summer promotion, Swiss made" is available for two weeks - the lowest booking fares are being reduced even further for a short time. If you book quickly, you can fly more cheaply and with the full Swiss service The Swiss subsidiary of Lufthansa has established itself as a premium airline and is perceived accordingly. However, many consumers do not realize that Swiss has a decisive advantage over other premium airlines: Bookings can be made all year round at fair prices.
Euro RSCG Dialog & Digital gets to the heart of this summer campaign with a simple campaign: "Only flying yourself is cheaper", argues the team around Captain Frank Bodin and CD Jürg Aemmer as co-pilot. Graphic Attendant was Sarah Kahn.
At Swiss, quality is not tied to price - if you want to beat this offer, you have to be able to fly yourself. This focuses on the human dream of flying and places a tried and tested image in a new and obvious context.
Since the advertising agency Jung von Matt/Limmat is no longer working for Swiss, Euro RSCG is also handling the classic work in addition to the below-the-line and dialog measures that have been awarded until the final pitch is decided. Of the five agencies previously on the shortlist, Publicis and Advico Young & Rubicam are currently still under discussion.
The campaign can now be seen on national billboards. (pan)

 
On Tuesday evening, Mittelandzeitung publisher Peter Wanner and Basler Zeitung publisher Matthias Hagemann met in a panel discussion in Basel. It was the first public meeting between the two since Wanner encroached on Hagemann's territory in December 2007 with the purchase of Basellandschaftliche Zeitung, after which their relationship became rather strained. As reported by the Basler Zeitung, the publishers offered the audience a lively exchange of blows, the entertainment value of which clearly overshadowed the actual topic of the discussion (Basel as a media city: new beginnings or demolition?). Apparently, Wanner accused Hagemann of wanting to damage him directly with the free newspaper "News". Hagemann, however, countered and called it a "fairy tale", as Wanner justified his takeover of the Basellandschaftliche Zeitung.
Wanner apparently once again offered Hagemann an alliance against the expansive Zurich publishing houses ("an alliance against the Zurich-Bern axis", as the Aargauer Zeitung quoted), to which Hagemann replied that he himself would choose who he considered suitable as a partner. In summary, the Basler Zeitung said that behind all the animosity, however, it had become clear that although there was no agreement on the path, there was agreement on the goal: both publishers wanted to maintain their independence.
 

 
Together with Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Switzerland, the Bern-based advertising agency Polyconsult has realized an overarching promotion for three Hollywood films. The aim is to publicize the action flick Hancock, the second part of The Chronicles of Narnia and the animated film Wall-E. All three films will be shown in Swiss cinemas between June and October. According to the press release, the main component of the promotion is a key visual that runs through all measures: special cinema posters, competition flyers, a dedicated website and a one-minute cinema spot produced by Frame-eleven in HD quality. In addition, cinema staff have been provided with over 3,000 matching T-shirts. Additional media partners are 20 Minuten, Cineman.ch and Cinecom.
The multi-stage promotion, in which more than 50 cinema groups with around 300 screens are participating, starts on May 21, 2008 and runs until October.