Advico Young & Rubicam's campaigns are also making an impact under the Florida sun: a few days ago, the Swiss agency was awarded a bronze Clio in South Beach for its campaign for Rowen Loudspeaker and, as Markus Gut, CCO of the Swiss Young & Rubicam Group, announced on Monday, the agency was also able to secure two merits at the One Show Awards. The campaign work for Leica and NJP Print was recognized.

 Cihan C. Cebec has joined St. Gallen-based Aurum Communication AG as Sales Manager as of June 1. Cebec previously worked throughout Europe for international companies such as the Deutsche Bank Group and media companies, as detailed in a press release. Cebec has many years of experience in sales management and personnel management. His tasks at Aurum include coordinating the various channels such as promotion, advertising and events, acquiring new customers and getting customers excited about the company concept.

 An average of 810,000 viewers tuned in to SF 1 on Friday evening to watch the ’Arena« program featuring Christoph Blocher and Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf on the naturalization initiative. That’s more than ever before, SF spokesperson Urs Durrer announced on Saturday. The program achieved a market share of 61 percent. »Arena« had previously recorded an exactly identical share only once, on October 5, 2001. The topic at that time was the grounding of Swissair, which had occurred just a few days earlier. According to SDA, the discussion drew 679,000 viewers to their TV sets.

 Niklaus Zeier is the new president of SRG Central Switzerland. At the delegates' meeting in Altdorf on Saturday, the 54-year-old head of communications for the city of Lucerne took over from Viktor Baumeler, as reported by SDA. Baumeler is stepping down after 13 years.The former state secretary of the canton of Lucerne has headed SRG Deutschschweiz since the beginning of 2008 and is chairman of the board of Schweizer Fernsehen SF and Schweizer Radio DRS. His successor has worked in various functions for SRG Central Switzerland since 1995, currently still as president of the Public Relations Commission.

With around 4,300 members, SRG Zentralschweiz is the largest member society of SRG Deutschschweiz. It consists of six cantonal sections.

The existing real estate platform Nzzdomizil.ch has been expanded and given a comprehensive redesign. In addition to real estate, the site now offers information, tips and news from the field of interior design in the form of an edited online magazine. In the real estate section, advertisers also have the opportunity to present their properties in the form of special placements. According to a press release, this will enable them to reach not only active but also passive property seekers even more effectively. Users can not only obtain information on the new platform, but also become active players themselves: They can rate products, associate products with terms, write reviews, comment on articles or add products to their personal hit list.

 Photographer Christian Lutz has received the Ewz.selection Award 2007 for his work "Protocol". The Geneva-based photographer spent three years following the Swiss diplomatic corps. According to the organizers, Lutz succeeded in capturing gestures, situations and moments up close, surprisingly and precisely. The prize for contemporary Swiss photography is endowed with 15,000 Swiss francs and was awarded for the tenth time. The other prizes went to Betty Fleck, Zurich (Photo Prize of the Association of Photographic Designers in the "Advertising" category), Fabio Biasio, Lucerne (Photo Prize of the Sonntagszeitung in the "Editorial Photography" category), Nathalie Bissig, Zurich (Photo Prize of Blick in the "Fine Arts" category) and Philip Schaerer, Zurich (Photo Prize of the culture magazine Du in the "Free" category). The category prizes are endowed with CHF 5,000. Noe Flum from Zurich received the Audience Award of the photography magazine "Fotointern" in the amount of CHF 1,000.

The award ceremony took place at the Night of Swiss Photography in Zurich. The Swiss Photography exhibition, which showcases advertising, art and editorial photography, was also opened at the EWZ Selnau substation.

  Another success for the Migros models campaign by Spillmann/Felser/Leo Burnett: the "singles in underwear", who advertised Migros underwear and themselves a year ago, have been awarded a silver medal at the American Clio Awards.  

Let's ask ourselves the incredibly complex question of what the point of an advertising campaign actually is. The question is actually so complex that we'll even save the question mark. But let's get on with it: an advertising campaign is of course intended to increase awareness of a particular product brand. And if the brand aura is given a cool, original touch, art is created, irony is used and even the model depicted is allowed to rehabilitate her reputation, then the advertising campaign in question has more than fulfilled its purpose. The current Marc Jacobs campaign is one that can justifiably be said to have done all of this. It features Victoria Beckham, the footballer's wife who is repeatedly voted the worst dressed woman in the world. But not always clearly: in the best picture, only her wide-spread legs hang out of a crumpled shopping bag. On her feet are pumps with pink heels, the cord of the bag deformed into a smiley face. "The woman is a total product. And advertising is all about products. It's like we're saying: We put her in a bag!", photographer Jürgen Teller told German music magazine Spex, explaining the concept behind the ingenious campaign. Alix Sharkey, the English fashion and style expert at Weltwoche, unfortunately has a very different opinion. "Teller's previous advertising campaigns for Marc were brilliant. The Beckham series, on the other hand, is clearly bitter and sinister." In this case, the bitterness is probably more to be found in the critic.

Roger Schawinski's Radio 1 is entering into a collaboration with Mark van Huisseling. The Weltwoche columnist and book author ("How to be a Star") will be in charge of a society column, as the station writes in a press release. Van Huisseling will report on the world of celebrities every Monday, Wednesday and Friday in the morning show.

 
Upfronts The annual presentation of new TV series in New York is taking place this year in a slimmed-down version and with a lot of foreign influence. 
As every year in May, the Upfronts have just ended in New York. At the upfronts, American television stations present their new series for the coming TV season to advertisers in order to sell advertising time early on. However, what traditionally takes place with great fanfare, for example with music and dancing and the appearance of top-class actors, was significantly scaled back this year. The reason: the effects of the writers' strike, which completely paralyzed parts of the television industry last winter and interrupted the production of popular series such as "Lost" and "Desperate Housewives" for months. "Upfronts have gotten more and more expensive and elaborate every year, the networks wanted to outdo each other, and many have long grown tired of this trend," says Brad Adgate, vice president of New York-based media research firm Horizon Media. "The strike gave them a welcome reason to cut back." The trend, underpinned by the current recession, will also have a financial impact, according to Wall Street analyst Jessica Reif Cohen. She predicts that advertising revenue for the networks will slump by two percent this year, accounting for a total turnover of eleven billion dollars. The writers' strike, which lasted for over three and a half months, forced TV bosses to pause for thought about how the economic model they have been practicing up to now can be continued. The TV network NBC, which belongs to Universal, went the furthest and began to significantly shorten the so-called pilot season and to spread the launch of new series over the entire year rather than in the fall as before. In addition, NBC is putting together entire packages for advertisers that include not only TV series, but also so-called webisodes and streaming content on the company's own website Hulu.com. Each show will also have its own website with blogs, games and additional scenes for fans. "We're still seeing a dominance of traditional TV at the upfronts," says Chris Allen, director of video innovation at the Starcom agency. "But more people are definitely moving into digital now who were hesitant in the past."
Instead of using expensive pilots, which can easily cost over seven million dollars, the broadcasters want to launch new series that have proven authors or stars or have already been successful abroad. This is why only 30 pilots were produced this year instead of the usual 70. The number of new productions also fell from the usual 100 to 70.
New productions at the upfronts include the drama "My Own Worst Enemy" (NBC) with Christian Slater and the series "Dollhouse" (Fox), which is being developed by the "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer" producer. "Kings" (NBC), a modern version of the story of the biblical David, devours the usual production budget of seven million dollars for a pilot, but is to run for two hours instead of one, so that the show can stand on its own if it does not achieve the desired ratings. NBC is also backing a remake of the car series "Knight Rider", while the CW network is reviving the primetime soap "Beverly Hills 90210" and Fox the family comedy "The Pitts".
Thanks to the trend of relying on the tried and tested, even foreign productions are getting a chance. "We are seeing more and more shows that are not from the USA," says Dom Serafini, editor-in-chief of the industry magazine Videoage International, referring to imports such as the BBC productions "Merlin" and "Crusoe". "Even English cartoons have been provided with American voiceovers." However, other internationally successful shows have been newly produced, including the Australian mother-daughter comedy "Kath & Kim" (NBC), "The Inn", a copy of the English ITV production "Upstairs, Downstairs" (Fox), as well as the BBC series "Life on Mars" (ABC), "Ny-Lon" and "Worst Week" (both CBS). Costs are also to be saved by giving last season's new launches, including "Life" (NBC) and "Pushing Daisies" (ABC), which had to be canceled after just a few months due to the strike, another chance.
Successful new shows with brand new concepts, all in the thriller and supernatural genres, include Jerry Bruckheimer's "Eleventh Hour" (CBS), about a secret agent, the CBS series "The Mentalist" about a detective with unusual talents and "Fringe" (Fox), a production by "Lost" director JJ. Abrams, in which a mother-son team investigates unusual phenomena. The only promising comedy is "Starting Under" (Fox) with established comedy star Bernie Mac.
 
Despite the current mood of optimism for the coming season, TV broadcasters could find themselves in trouble again in a few weeks' time. The actors' union, which is also demanding a share for its members from the income from digital properties, has announced a strike for July 1 if no agreement is reached in advance. The TV bosses are under intense pressure to avert another strike. "The writers' strike has hit the networks hard," says Adgate. "The last thing they need now is another work stoppage."
Gerti Schön, New York

 
Column Paris wanted to incorporate TV5 into its foreign service. And failed due to resistance from Switzerland. 
Mid-April: France had just forced the director of the Francophone world broadcaster TV5 Monde to resign prematurely. The new organizational model for TV5 was to be adopted at the meeting in Paris that had been scheduled for the resignation. But the French sat alone at the table. The representatives of Switzerland, Canada, Belgium, the European cultural channel Arte and the delegates of the employee associations had left without having achieved anything. The new head of the French holding company France Monde had to present himself to the media in a meek manner. The holding company is to include the French news channel France24, the short-wave programs Radio France International and TV5. "We have been trying to talk to our francophone partner countries for two months. We are not succeeding," explained Alain de Pouzilhac. But the former journalist turned top official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs cannot be quite so naïve. The Grande Nation has long since made unacceptable concessions, he must have thought. The French newspapers also reported on the anger of the francophone partners and demonstrated a great deal of understanding.TV5 is a gem. You can receive the channel almost anywhere in the world. With a bit of luck, you can watch the daily news on French-speaking Swiss television in New York when the Belgians are not on.
The French control 66% of TV5 and provide the program director. Canada, Switzerland and Belgium each have a blocking minority of 11.1%. Because French-speaking culture is still held in high esteem in many parts of the world, while that of France can change very quickly, the Grande Nation also benefits from this constellation. But the memory of this lost "grandeur" comes up again and again.
 
President Nicolas Sarkozy wants to merge all foreign channels. That makes sense. But at the same time, he wants only French to be spoken on France24 (CNN's competitor). English and Spanish will be abolished and, contrary to the original concept, Arabic will not be included at all. At Radio France International, the number of languages is to be drastically reduced. This has caused displeasure in the editorial offices and is also nonsensical from a diplomatic point of view. The francophone partner countries have only become more sensitive. They suspected that France was planning to replace TV5 in hotels and cable networks in major cities with France24 - not to mention the editorial influence exerted by the state holding company France Monde.
We know about Sarkozy's relationships with media bosses and the dependence of public broadcasters on the government. France is known to pursue its own interests in Africa and is involved in conflicts. The planned incorporation of TV5 Monde was therefore perceived as arrogance, an unfriendly annexation and a threat to editorial autonomy. To top it all off, the wife of Foreign Minister Kouchner, the former news presenter "Queen Christine" Ockrent, was to take over the overall supervision.
But Switzerland is standing in the way. Normally, the affairs of the French-speaking world are systematically underestimated and neglected in Swiss politics. This time, however, the request from a Neuchâtel socialist in parliament received a swift response: the Federal Council threatened to withdraw Switzerland from TV5. The "ultimatum from Bern" once again brought our country into the columns of the French press. The "empty chair policy" was successful. After the embarrassing meeting in Paris, a solution was reached surprisingly quickly. France relinquished its majority stake. TV5 Monde will not become a subsidiary of the French holding company - it will remain a partner with guaranteed independence. Incidentally, this is also better for France and its reputation in the world. The French are right in one respect: it is not just a question of mere receivability, but of Francophones in all countries actually tuning in to the channel. The lack of program quality can still be improved.
Jürg Altwegg is a correspondent for the Frankfurter Allgemeine in Geneva.

 
Study Today's retailers not only demand attractive, sales-promoting packaging, but also easy handling.  
EHI, ProCarton and the Pan-European Association of Designer Agencies (PDA) presented the entire complexity of modern retail packaging in five different subject areas at the Interpack trade fair. In competence islands, the exhibitors presented solutions on the topics of sustainability (disposal, environment and sustainability), convenience (functionality and design), consumer insights (effects of demographic change, emotionality and multi-sensory), imagination (design aesthetics and point of sale, efficient handling and customer-oriented presentation). In addition, EHI conducted a survey of leading companies in the retail, consumer goods and packaging industries on behalf of Messe Düsseldorf for the study "Packaging as a field of tension, expectations, trends and areas of conflict from the perspective of retailers and manufacturers" and presented the results in a special show at Interpack.
Transport packaging more importantThe importance of packaging, both product and transport packaging, has increased significantly in recent years. The respondents are unanimous, particularly with regard to product packaging. Those who deal with transport packaging as a shelf carton also attribute increasing importance to it. Today, packaging no longer functions solely as a protective and transport instrument, but also fulfills additional tasks and expectations due to increased process thinking on the one hand and its increasing function as a marketing and communication instrument on the other.
Different demandsThe retail sector demands efficient handling to optimize work processes in logistics and at the point of sale. However, according to the study, the demands in logistics and retail stores are sometimes conflicting.
In logistics, optimum protection and transportability and therefore a stable design are crucial. In the retail outlet, easy handling means that the transport packaging of the respective goods is easy for the sales staff to identify by means of clear labeling with product-specific information, can be opened easily and without a knife by means of pictorial labeling of opening mechanisms and, if possible, can be put away on the shelf with a single movement. At the point of sale, the packaging should offer a sales-promoting product presentation with a clear view of the products. Retailers expect not only an attractive design for product presentation, but also a shelf-ready construction. In addition, independent retailers in particular are critical of the use of transport packaging on the shelf for image reasons. As a result, retailers can hardly agree on uniform criteria, a demand that manufacturers producing throughout Europe are urgently making.
Senior-friendly packagingThe customer-friendly design of sales packaging also involves various areas of conflict. Due to the large amount of necessary information, it is becoming increasingly difficult for consumers to recognize it. Packaging is often overloaded with information, so that the fonts are getting smaller and smaller and the essentials, such as the best-before date, are barely recognizable. The consumer demand trend for smaller packaging units, environmental reasons and space problems on the retail shelf show that larger packaging is no solution. Opening aids integrated into the packaging, such as tear tabs, must be easily recognizable to the consumer, stand out from the rest of the packaging design in terms of colour and, above all, function well. Other innovative functionalities such as resealability, dosing function, portioning and removal aids are becoming increasingly important. Sales packaging should also be well sealed for product and hygiene protection, but still be easy for the consumer to open without any aids. Due to the increase in the number of older people, expectations of packaging are increasingly under discussion. Difficulties in recognizing graphics and text on packaging, as well as problems in opening it without aids, often give rise to criticism. Questions of packaging technology and packaging design are therefore becoming increasingly important for senior-friendly and generally customer-friendly design.
Taking environmental aspects into accountThe development of the importance of environmental aspects along the packaging value chain is assessed differently. Most take the view that consumers' environmental awareness has increased significantly, particularly as a result of the current climate debate, while others believe that Germany has already come a long way in terms of environmental issues and packaging requirements. Environmentally friendly packaging should use as little material as possible but as much as necessary in order to find the optimum balance between product protection, convincing marketing, legal requirements and environmental justice. This is an idea that has led to significant reductions in transport packaging, whereas in primary product packaging, marketing aspects and therefore excess often continue to dominate.
Sabine Flaxman