Radio Zürisee welcomes a new face to the Board of Directors and pays out an "anniversary dividend". The General Assembly of the Rapperswil-based broadcaster approved an increase in the Board of Directors from six to seven members on Tuesday. CVP National Councillor Barbara Schmid-Federer from Männedorf has been elected for a three-year term of office. Theodor Gut will continue to chair the Board of Directors of Radio Zürisee and has been elected until 2010. Due to the good business performance in 2007, the Annual General Meeting approved a dividend of 14 percent of the share capital. In total, Radio Zürisee is thus distributing CHF 252,000 for the past financial year. The station, which is celebrating its 25th birthday this year, generated a record profit of CHF 397,000 in 2007 (see
).

Daniel Jörg grew up with the Web and, as Head of Crossmedia, wants to help lead Burson-Marsteller into a more digital future.
Digital, integrated and strategic: these are the core concepts of alignment in the Burson-Marsteller network. This strategy has been defined for some time. Now the individual agencies are in the "roll-out" phase. In all countries, people are therefore being brought on board who have the newly required know-how in the "digital" area and can also implement the theoretical ideas in practice. At the advertising department of Burson-Marsteller in Bern, this new man has been called Daniel Jörg since the beginning of this year. He has found a task here in which he can fully contribute all his talents, from the digital world to classic communications to managing a unit.The international network means a lively exchange for the newly appointed Head of Crossmedia "on a daily basis." For Jörg, this was an important reason why he switched to Burson-Marsteller. The agency is currently involved in many international pitches. It has just pitched for a Russian branch in Bern, because the Swiss have more expertise in a certain area than their colleagues in the East. Other specializations are more developed in the USA. Online campaigning, for example. "Through Burson-Marsteller's international network, I can follow exciting projects up close," Jörg enthuses.
In the more day-to-day business, Burson-Marstelller in Berne wants to round off its range of services for existing customers. The long-established competencies in advertising, editorials/corporate publishing and corporate design development will be supplemented by a whole range of new digital services.
Integrated communication design: Off- and online, that's where Burson-Marsteller Crossmedia wants to go. A good example of this broadening of the range of services offered to customers is a major European car company, for which the company has so far primarily managed corporate publishing projects, but is now also responsible for a significant part of the web area.
Another project in the implementation phase is a new web portal with a Web 2.0 character. This is intended to help make the subject of science and scientific careers attractive to young people. "We are creating a portal with a video blog, our own MySpace-style social network, and we will link the website to the most important social network platforms," explains Jörg. For him, the most important thing is: "The main work starts after the launch. We will expand the content and also conduct active social media marketing to ensure that the site is well networked in the relevant target group." The long-term project will be supplemented by classic measures and campaigns at schools, such as vacation camps.
Daniel Jörg studied journalism, business administration and international relations in Zurich. He "slipped into PR" while still a student. He worked for the Bütikofer & Company agency in Zurich as an "assistant for everything. Soon, the side job developed into a mandate as a consultant. The smart student also played a key role in an internal agency "think tank.
Here, a group of like-minded people researched what new developments, tools and publications were available in the world. At the same time, an online unit was founded at Bütikofer on a second track. This was given the programmatic name "Newland". Shortly after the brand and direction of the new department was set, a position became available there, and Jörg was able to take over the job. "It was exciting to integrate the pioneering company in online PR into the world of communications." Jörg worked there from 2002 to 2006, at the same time as he was able to complete his degree. Thesis topic: "Attention economy and weblogs."
Setting up weblogs not only became his profession, but was also Daniel Jörg's great passion. He created interactive meeting places for lawyers, bankers and CEOs. He set up his own panels, initiated surveys and developed into an expert for online & weblog monitoring as well as social media marketing.
After five years, however, Jörg also wanted to get to know the classic side of advertising. He moved to Berne to join Contexta. Here, he worked as a consultant on three Swisscom brands in 2007 before he was lured by an inquiry from Burson-Marsteller.
This contact came about, among other things, because Jörg was still running the agency blog at Bütikofer and posted "a critical article" about Burson-Marsteller and their method for measuring online perceptions on the web. "Now they remembered the know-it-all again - and actually wanted to know," laughs Jörg.
When it comes to the Internet and especially weblogs, everyone wants to have their say. And how does an early expert actually define the new tool? "Normal websites are like island media. Nice content and maybe a few interesting links. But otherwise relatively static and standing on their own. A good weblog, on the other hand, is lively, fast, personal and well-connected," explains Jörg. Most important is good content and the exchange with other blogs.
"That's why the links have to be maintained." Jörg estimates the maturing time for a good blog at two or three years. Then it becomes apparent what the hard writing work can achieve. "Just blowing off steam or writing a superficial diary won't do much," the specialist knows. If you want to see more, you should take a look at
take a look. The creative play opportunities around the meshes of the Internet naturally fascinate Jörg in his free time as well. He is tinkering with his own music project, and the band is using all technical channels to drive awareness forward. "Here I can try out a lot, without commercial aspects and other restrictions," says Jörg. The garage-pop band calls itself "Choo Choo." A CD was released in April, and in July the Bernese poppers will play at the Gurten Festival. Otherwise, every weekend goes to a gig. You can blog with his band and see a sample of Jörg's work at the same time at
.
Andreas Panzeri

 
Finances The Basel agency Favo has given the Schaffhausen savings fund a new look. 
Ersparniskasse Schaffhausen, the oldest bank in the city, has a new look from head to toe. Everything was changed: house lettering, business cards, product brochures - the basis for an image campaign. A process that was accompanied throughout by the Basel agency Favo. The brief was to "develop a new brand strategy and design a completely new image", as CD Daniel Comte at Favo explains. The aim was to demonstrate independence after leaving the Clientis banking group. Especially in the current turbulent banking sector, values such as trust, solidarity and reliability cannot be valued highly enough. And this is exactly what needed to be communicated to the outside world. "The change should be tangible."
Strengthening the region "This case is a stroke of luck," says Favo Managing Director Heike Rindfleisch. "Because it proves that the earlier an agency is brought in, the more precisely the communication measures can be developed." And there are many measures.
Long before a brand strategy was presented, Favo worked with Ersparniskasse Schaffhausen to develop several tools for internal communication, as well as for communication with representatives of the press and the EBK. "At the time, even the name of the bank was up for discussion," recalls Heike Rindfleisch. The name remained. Everything else was new and strictly aligned with the new strategy: Ersparniskasse Schaffhausen makes the people in the region strong.
 
Under the direction of CD Daniel Comte, a logo, posters, advertisements, brochures, a radio spot, POS measures and a new website were developed and realized. The result is a campaign that is pleasantly different in style from other bank advertising, without losing any of its seriousness and credibility. It dramatizes the affiliation to the region and interprets the bank's old strengths in a modern light. Dynamism and progress should be tangible "both internally and externally". The response from customers has "already been very positive", as the regional bank is pleased to report.    
Andreas Panzeri

 
Football As part of the Uefa Euro 2008, Adidas and Intersport ran a print and online campaign in various European countries to find ball kids. In Switzerland, over 1,200 entries were received from youth teams and children. For some football-loving children, a big dream is now coming true. The 12 to 16-year-old boys and girls will be able to watch one of the matches in Switzerland live on the pitch and throw the balls to the stars.

 
The Publisuisse Media Usage Study 2008 broke new ground. It asked in great detail which social groups use which media, using the ten categories of Sinus, the so-called Sinus-Milieus, for the social groups. Companies or sectors that have worked with the Sinus-Milieus as a marketing tool now have an initial detailed media usage profile of the milieus at their disposal. It is possible to say, at least for Switzerland, which milieus have which media mix. Conversely, it is also possible to say which media are used by which milieus and to what extent. This linking of Sinus-Milieus and media usage data offers new insights for marketing and media planning. Publisuisse, which commissioned the study, will be publishing the results in more detail in Publisuisse.news and on the Internet in the coming weeks.
The Sinus-Milieus group people in Switzerland into ten groups of like-minded people who have a similar relationship to fundamental values in life and exhibit comparable consumer behavior. In recent years, the SRG marketing unit Publisuisse has repeatedly initiated studies on the Swiss Sinus-Milieus. These have examined the areas of health, medicine and nutrition as well as the automotive market, among others.
In the automotive market, for example, the question was which milieus exhibit which car buying behavior so that they could be specifically targeted in advertising and the car ads could be placed more precisely. The study now closes a gap here by showing in more detail than ever which milieus use which media. The accuracy of advertising placement is therefore likely to increase.
For the study, a total of 7,309 individual web-based interviews were conducted with consumers aged between 15 and 74 over a two-week period, as detailed in the press release. In terms of content, the study covers various media groups, including TV, teletext, radio, the Internet, daily, free and Sunday newspapers, the financial and business press and magazines. It provides information on the use of these groups as well as on the most important advertising media, such as individual radio stations or newspaper titles. The authors of the study are Dr. Kerstin Schoegel and Dr. Clemens Koob, Managing Directors of the strategy consultancy Zehnvier in Zurich.
The 10 Sinus-Milieus:

 

 
Branded Entertainment On June 13, Sawi is offering a premium seminar on advertising with entertainment value. The course will be led by Manuel Nappo from the Creative Assets agency.  
WW: In times of advertising overload on the TV screen, new and entertaining concepts are in demand. What can the course at Sawi offer here? Manuel Nappo: Our offer is an in-depth look at successful cases from the field of branded entertainment. What is this anyway? Where does the trend come from? What does it involve? How does branded entertainment differ from sponsorship, media and PR? What can a company use for itself? We show that ideas are already being realized not only in the USA, but also in Switzerland. What's going on in Switzerland? Even though Switzerland is a small show nation, there are already some great successes to report. "Beck&Bondi" is a great example. Likewise "Supermodel" on 3 Plus or "Joya rennt" with its various product placements. One very successful example was the film "Mein Name ist Eugen", which was supported by Mobiliar. The insurance company got involved because in this comedy - due to the youthful pranks - the topic of damage was addressed in a very original and likeable way. A more personalized form of branded entertainment is repeatedly presented to us in various campaigns involving Melanie Winiger. At Creative Assets, we launched Fiona Hefti as the first ambassador for the Swedish fashion label Filippa K, placed Maserati in films and set up a YouTube channel for the luxury club Saint Germain.
I am delighted that we have been able to engage two prominent and very competent guest speakers for the premium seminar. Adrian Brugger from Swiss television wants to show what opportunities there are for SMEs too. Nägeli removals, for example, had a placement in the program "Tapetenwechsel". What is the benefit for such companies if they are featured in a national program? How can such a commitment be exploited? There is much more than the popular option of inviting customers to a set. The second speaker is Antoine Monot Jr, former program director at the Zurich Film Festival. He will explain the benefits of a local flower shop sponsoring an international film festival. The benefits for L'Oréal are clear. But what, for example, can a Baur au Lac hotel gain from such a commitment? The surprise guest from the world of entertainment will answer more exciting questions.
How interested are such celebrities in working in advertising? Of course, it has to be right for the celebrities. You can't turn them into shooting gallery figures. Some will do anything if the money is there. But the majority think carefully: what's in it for me apart from a few thousand francs? You have to look at it in this context: Even Madonna, the Queen of Pop, can hardly find her way to the public today without branded entertainment. She has teamed up with a mobile provider for her latest CD. Verizon makes billions with music downloads and ringtones. So it only makes sense for prominent musicians to tie up with these channels. I find it very symptomatic. It's profitable for both sides.
An example from Switzerland? personally, I think Stress does it very well. He was a successful rapper. But it's only thanks to his credible partnership with Coop that he's in a league where he can pursue a professional career on a broad scale. Thanks to the Coop commercial, even my mother now knows who Stress is. Conversely, Stress is achieving a lot for his honest cause of environmental protection because he has entered into a partnership with the right brand for his commitment.
Which industries is branded entertainment suitable for? If there is no way, it's because you haven't found one yet. Industries that have to do with lifestyle are certainly predestined. Luxury goods are well suited to testimonials. Consumer goods and the automotive industry have also come a long way. But I believe that the future belongs to pharmaceuticals and service providers.
Certain rules must be observed for sponsorship and product placement. Will the course also provide legal tips? The new RTVA is relatively friendly for developments in the area of branded entertainment. Product placement is possible if it is declared accordingly. We will address the issue, but it is not a focus. We are more interested in the creative side. We want to take a very "American" approach to this. At the end of each chapter, we define a few important points to remember. Everyone knows this situation: at the end, you end up lugging home a thick folder that is then stored somewhere and never looked at again. We want our participants to leave with a few focused answers that they can apply.
Is there already a lot of literature on the subject of branded entertainment? A lot has been written. But you can sense that this area of communication is still young. There are still no official definitions or clear values such as the four Ps - product, price, place, promotion - in marketing. I find it very exciting. We can define the boundaries ourselves. Until a clear standard has been established, we can only show the cases in training. Everyone has to work out for themselves what makes sense for them. There is also no recipe, because every brand is different. Every market is different, every integration option is different. It therefore makes little sense for potential clients to want to do "something like Mobiliar" with us. This cannot simply be adapted to another product. This is where the specific know-how and network of an agency can help. They can reinvent the win-win situation in each case.
You have been teaching sponsorship at Sawi for two years now. What is the difference between this and branded entertainment? But there is an overlap. We define everything as sponsorship where there is a cash flow, service flow or barter deal between a company and any format. The main idea with branded entertainment is that you think about how you can credibly influence the content. If Migros sponsors an open air festival, that is pure sponsorship. However, if Migros puts its own retort band on the program for this festival, for example, the commitment becomes branded entertainment. The Fan Championship M'08 was also branded entertainment - an entertaining TV format was created especially for Migros' advertising and sent with content via the channel.
How do you experience the recognition from customers - do you already see a useful tool here? Yes and no. Customers find us interesting, they want to get to know us. They want to use this new area before the competition. But there is still a lot of potential for brands in this area. That's a bit of a problem in Switzerland. There's Omega, Nespresso with Clooney, IWC with Kevin Spacey or Jura and National Insurance with Federer. They do really tangible branded entertainment. Brands that operate in a smaller environment, on the other hand, are hardly making use of the opportunities in their media mix. Although the costs are much lower compared to traditional advertising and the impact is sometimes much greater. This is where we want to raise awareness, for example with this course at Sawi. Here we can show who branded entertainment can be good for and how it can become a success factor in its own right.
 
Interview: Andreas Panzeri
 
 
Stars and brandsSawi premium seminar "Branded Entertainment - Give your brand sex appeal". Does your brand already have the necessary entertainment value to stand out from the crowd? Or are your expensive advertising customers flickering towards empty sofas?
Friday, June 13 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. with Manuel Nappo, Managing Partner Creative Assets (seminar leader), as well as Adrian Brugger, Head of Sponsoring Swiss Television, Antoine Monot jr, Head Development Condor Films. Info and registration at
(premium seminars).

 At Microsoft's annual event for the advertising and publishing industry, the software company unveiled its new brand name, Microsoft Advertising. From now on, this name will stand for all of Microsoft's advertising offerings, according to a statement on Wednesday. All of the digital platforms, technology services and advertising opportunities Microsoft offers to advertising agencies and publishers are thus combined, it said. These include Atlas, Ad ECN, Ad Center, Drivem, Massive and Screen Tonic, as well as the media offerings MSN, Windows Live, Xbox and Office Line.

 
Customer care Young people have high expectations of their account: no charges and as many goodies as possible are desirable. With the go4free youth account, Raiffeisen offers its young customers both. The Erlenbach-based agency Metzgerlehner worldwide partners conveys this message in the current go4free mailing, which is sent to young people throughout Switzerland. The teenagers should not only be attracted by the cheeky colors, the playful graphic elements and the fresh, youthful language, but above all by the goodies. New customers will receive an MP3 player or loudspeaker, while existing customers will be given various vouchers. The main prize is a training account with CHF 1,500 starting credit.

 
Agriculture The Wapico agency in Berne has developed a new communication concept for IP-Suisse farmers. 
With numerous celebrities from the worlds of culture and sport proudly representing Swiss farmers, Wapico has been promoting the image of Swiss agriculture in its latest campaign. As the lead agency for IP-Suisse, i.e. for 21,000 farmers, the advertising agency in Bern has tackled a number of new tasks since the beginning of this year. Among other things, a new communication concept has been developed, which must do justice to the upcoming changes. For example, IP-Suisse products are no longer available in Migros under its own label, but exclusively under the new TerraSuisse label, and with this background in mind, Wapico has no longer focused its communications on IP-Suisse products, but has instead increased its image advertising. This emphasizes the achievements of IP-Suisse. These are organic farming, animal welfare, the promotion of biodiversity, in short: the preservation of our habitat. The results include a TV commercial, posters and advertisements.
For the spot, Wapico once again decided to work with BUF in Paris. BUF is active worldwide and specializes primarily in animations with animals and people. BUF in Paris and Los Angeles have produced entire sequences for hit films such as "Troy", "Asterix", "Harry Potter" and "Batman". In close collaboration with CD René Walker, a studio film "of paradisiacal charisma and great naturalness" has now also been created for Swiss farmers, as Wapico is proud to say. A corresponding poster motif was photographed on the set and completed in Bern.
The first advertising campaigns have been running on Swiss TV stations and billboards since the beginning of May.    
 
 
Andreas Panzeri

 Werbewoche is now supporting the Freelancerportal.ch platform launched in January 2008, where freelancers in the communications industry can present themselves for a fixed half-yearly or annual fee. So far, around 20 freelancers have taken the opportunity to showcase themselves and their best work, including award-winning creatives and ADC members. A good thing for potential clients from the advertising industry. Markus Gut, CCO of the Young & Rubicam Group, for example, says: "The concept and design of this platform are very professional. Because nobody can remember the individual homepages of the freelancers." The platform founder is Monica Miraldi, a trained marketing communications manager who now works as a freelance consultant. She is convinced that the portal can be advertised sustainably thanks to the cooperation with Werbewoche: "All freelancers who are represented on it benefit from this." Anyone registered on Freelancerportal.ch also receives a free subscription to Werbewoche.

 
After three months as Head of Market Development at Publicitas, former Migros advertising manager Beat Mühlemann is already leaving the marketer again: he wants to take over the management of an international advertising agency. When asked by Werbewoche, the former Advertiser of the Year did not want to reveal what this will be: "Out of consideration for my future employer, I can't say yet." The secret is to be revealed on Thursday. Industry insiders have thrown the names of various agencies around to which Mühlemann could be drawn: McCann Erickson, Publicis or an agency from the Y&R Group. However, Publicis and Y&R denied these rumors to Werbewoche and McCann Erickson could not be reached.
Beat Mühlemann did not comment on the speculation either. However, he emphasized that his departure had nothing to do with Publicitas and all the changes at the marketer: "That's not the point. Although there is a lot going on at Publicitas, it is also good that it is reforming. My decision has nothing to do with Publicitas, my work there or my superiors. For me, running an advertising agency is the fulfillment of a childhood dream. I know that I'll blame myself for the rest of my life if I don't seize this opportunity." The request from his future employer came at very short notice. Mühlemann is aware that his departure from Publicitas will be a talking point after just a few months. "There's a lot of talk about Publicitas on the market at the moment. Anyone who works there also knows how much of it is hair-raisingly wrong. The reform is on the right track."
Publicitas regrets the decision, but can understand it in view of the new challenge, according to a press release. "Not only are we losing an accomplished media professional, Beat Mühlemann's departure is also very regrettable on a personal level," summarizes Christian Gartmann, Director Media Partner Relations & Marketing. "Beat got to grips with the company very quickly and immediately contributed to our reorganization with a great deal of expertise and prudence. There was hardly an area in which we couldn't get valuable advice from him."
Publicitas announced at the end of October 2007 that Mühlemann would be joining the marketer in February 2008 (see
).  
 

 
Direct booking discount The discount is also rampant online - and apparently the advertising clients are not being informed. 
When Tamedia announced last week that the Group would in future be relying on self-marketing not only in print but also in the online advertising market, a small bombshell was dropped in passing. "Tamedia is also introducing a transparent commission policy for all online offerings, whereby the intermediary commissions are to be gradually brought into line with the level of online direct booking compensation within three years," it said in the third paragraph. But it is not. "This is new to me. Until now, we have not been informed by Tamedia," says Jürg Siegrist, Director of the Swiss Advertisers Association (SWA). And he adds angrily: "But I'm not surprised."
In fact, publishers have never spoken of an online DBE. Exception: Espace Media was the only publisher to announce at the beginning of 2007 that it would grant a DBE for both the Berner Zeitung and its portal Espace.ch, namely a uniform 1.5 percent. The other publishers, on the other hand, had even excluded the online sector. Officially at least.
In the meantime, it is clear that the first DBE agreements between individual Tamedia websites and individual media agencies already existed around two years ago. "They arose individually, and in contrast to DBE for print, one cannot speak of a uniform offer," says Tamedia spokesperson Christoph Zimmer. He does not want to mention the names of websites with DBE agreements, nor individual conditions. Just this much: "The conditions have varied so far, but the DBE is around 15 percent. Now we want to gradually create a company-wide offer." Zimmer's statements are roughly in line with industry information: There it is said that the discount is 15 to 20 percent - depending on the website and media house. In any case, not only Tamedia websites have concluded DBE agreements.
But who else? Clear answers came from Basler Zeitung Medien and Edipresse: No such offers are known there. Not even at the NZZ. Markus Ehrle, Head of Advertising Market, added: "We also see no reason to join in, as there are differentiated value chains and marketing models in the various media categories and Tamedia's offer is more likely to amount to a kind of group discount."
Ringier, on the other hand, had not responded by the editorial deadline and Axel Springer Switzerland made a secret of this. CEO Ralph Büchi wrote: "Due to the limited volume of online business for the time being, we have no general solutions, only individual ones. And we do not publish them."
This annoys the SWA. "If someone offers a DBE, we want to know about it. We demand that this is also noted in the tariff documentation," says Siegrist. The SWA takes the view that all discounts, including DBEs, belong to the client, unless the agency and client have contractually agreed otherwise.
But an estate that is not known cannot be settled. The industry is not only pleased about Tamedia's "confession", as it once again puts media agencies in a predicament. Only recently, Carlo Schmid, President of Schweizer Werbung (SW), called for more transparency in the media business and set up a new commission for this purpose - whereupon the BSW referred to its industry principles and insisted on transparency and fair fees. And now Tamedia is once again directing suspicion at the media agencies, which is described as "sensitive" in the industry. BSW Managing Director Walter Merz did the same when asked by Werbewoche.
The question also arises as to why Tamedia is now, of all times, making a veiled and meek confession. Is Carlo Schmid's loud rumbling already having an effect? No, says Christoph Zimmer, the decision to introduce a transparent DBE and commission policy is the result of a lengthy process involving all those responsible - and such a process takes longer than two weeks. "Transparent communication was important to us right from the start."
And how does the Swiss Press Association view the new DBE form? After all, a "Market Transparency" project group there has been working for a year to compile an overview of the discount and commission models in use today, as well as their conditions and cash flows. Has an online DBE ever been an issue there? Toni Vetterli, Head of Marketing at the Publishers Association and member of the project group, says: "No, not yet. We are currently still in the middle of the work and have made an overview for print. In a further phase, however, we also want to include other media types, including online. Ideally, the second step will be successful in cooperation with the other industry associations and genre marketers."
Markus Knöpfli
Major differencesWhile the DBE for print
While the online segment accounts for between one and two percent of the gross volume, depending on the publisher, the online segment should account for between 15 and 20 percent. Why is there such a big difference? The reason: online volumes are at a much lower level than print volumes - the margin is correspondingly higher. The agency commission (AC) is also correspondingly higher, at 30 to 50 percent. Tamedia's proposal to align the VC with the DBE therefore comes as no surprise to the industry. With growing online volumes, this is normal. The only ambitious aspect is that Tamedia wants to achieve this alignment within three years. According to an insider, a 20 percent UK is justified from an online gross volume of 150 million francs. In 2007, however, only 52 million francs were invested in online advertising, 10.1 percent more than in the previous year.No problem for AdlinkThe fact that Tamedia also relies entirely on its own resources in the online sector
has consequences for Adlink. The Goldbach Media subsidiary is losing three of its 150 exclusive leases, namely those for the Tamedia sites Sonntagszeitung.ch, Radio24.ch and Telezueri.ch, and can now only book these in mediation. "That doesn't hurt us any more," says Adlink Managing Director Stephan Suter calmly. "Although we are losing individual titles within our topic pools, these are of little consequence in terms of overall reach." In addition, the Tamedia sites can still be occupied. The online DBE hardly affects Adlink either, says Suter. This is because advertising customers primarily use Adlink's help when they want to book online advertising pools or several titles at the same time, which is complex and time-consuming for technical or logistical reasons. Tamedia's online DBE is therefore more likely to hurt Web2com and Admazing in particular, says Suter. (mk)