Cablecom, the cable network operator, increased its revenue in the first quarter of 2008 by 5.2 percent year-on-year to CHF 269 million. In digital TV, the 300,000 customer mark was exceeded at the end of March. Compared to December, Cablecom now has 47,000 more customers in this area. However, as Cablecom announced on Thursday, for the first time not only the rented but also the sold set-top boxes were included.  
In contrast, the number of analog TV customers fell by 41,000. Cablecom explained that the majority of these had switched to digital television. All in all, the number of all TV customers increased slightly. The number of Internet customers rose by 13,000 to 468,000, while Cablecom recorded an increase of 10,000 to 298,000 fixed-line telephony customers.

 
The Y&R Group was able to prevail against the competition in a multi-stage presentation and will now manage the entire communications budget of the new Publicitas. According to Michael Schaefer, Head of Marketing Services at Publicitas, it was not only the innovative idea but above all the integrated proposal that was convincing, according to a statement from the group.PubliGroupe's worldwide media marketing activities will operate under the new Publicitas brand from 2008. The "new" Publicitas comprises the former Publicitas, Publimedia, Publimag, Mosse, Publiconnect, Radiotele, Cinecom and Web2com in Switzerland and the companies of the Publicitas Promotion Network abroad.

 
The Zurich agency Ruf Lanz has developed numerous public campaigns for Suva since 2002, for example to promote the wearing of bicycle helmets or against speeding on the ski slopes. Suva is now also working with the agency on specialist campaigns, as detailed in a press release. Specialist campaigns are aimed specifically at certain occupational groups in order to increase safety in the workplace. The first example will be the "Safe working scaffolding" advertising campaign, which will be launched in September.

 Despite more customers, the Sunrise telecommunications group is losing out on profits and sales. Net profit plummeted by 40 percent to CHF 27 million in the first quarter. Sales fell by 4.9 percent to 447 million. Sunrise announced in a press release on Thursday that price cuts in mobile telephony and customer losses in the fixed network business were to blame for the decline in business. Sunrise blames Swisscom for the losses in the fixed network business. The latter is still charging excessive prices for network access, for example for broadband access for fast Internet. However, direct payments to Swisscom fell by 12.2 percent to CHF 77 million compared to the same quarter last year. 

Only the number of customers developed positively compared to the same quarter of the previous year. It increased by 1.8% to 2.28 million. Growth was particularly strong in the mobile telephony segment. Following an increase of almost 10 percent, Sunrise now has 1.55 million customers to serve. The company attributes the growth of 138,000 customers to the abolition of the basic fee for mobile telephony. 

On Thursday, Sunrise also reaffirmed its intention to further expand its infrastructure. However, investments fell by 17.2 percent in the first quarter of 2008. According to the Swiss company, which belongs to the Danish telecoms company TDC, the reasons for this were the more difficult construction conditions for mobile phone antennas and the more difficult access to the data network by Swisscom. In order to ensure the rapid liberalization of the telecoms market in Switzerland, Sunrise is now calling for the establishment of a company to ensure non-discriminatory access to Swisscom's network.

 At its 33rd general meeting on May 7, 2008, the Art Directors Club (ADC) Switzerland responded to criticism of its last awards ceremony and decided to make corresponding changes to the jury regulations. Among other things, in future only works for which a Swiss agency is clearly responsible will receive an award, and this also applies to entries to foreign festivals. According to the press release, this is intended to prevent works that have little to do with Swiss advertising or were not even used in Switzerland from distorting the comparison of performance.The number of renowned sponsors, led by general sponsor Publigroupe and multi-sponsor Publisuisse, increased by three to 18 in the 2007/08 association year, including Axel Springer with Handelszeitung and Bilanz. In addition, ten new supporting members were acquired, as the press release explains. This means that 25 companies now actively support the club.
Cash contributions from sponsoring, supporting memberships and event participation increased to CHF 310,000 in the reporting year, while free services from media and realization partnerships plus sponsoring activities rose to CHF 210,000. In total, this represents additional financing of around half a million francs compared to the time before the ADC opened its doors in spring 2006.
Marion Marxer was appointed to the Board in place of Beat Mühlemann, who stepped down for professional reasons, and the entire Board was confirmed.

  20 Minuten is read by more than one and a half million Swiss people every day. This makes Switzerland's largest commuter newspaper an important source of news from all areas of daily life.
 

The Zurich-based advertising agency Rod Kommunikation has been trying to highlight this fact since the beginning of this year in the "Bringt Gesprächsstoff" campaign for 20 Minuten. The agency has now developed a TV and cinema spot that can be seen immediately at various festivals, in cinemas and on TV in German-speaking and French-speaking Switzerland and shows how tragic it can be when men and women simply have nothing to say to each other. 
Responsible at 20 minutes:
Marcel Kohler (Managing Director), Annina Flückiger (Head of Marketing), Xavier Müller (Head of Marketing 20 minutes). Advertising agency: Rod Kommunikation, production: Visualpark, director: Alex E. Kleinberger. 
>> to the
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 On Thursday, May 8, 2008, Coca-Cola celebrates its 122nd birthday. To mark the occasion, the Zurich agency JWT+H+F developed a two-page advertisement. As Euro 08 is about to start and Coca-Cola is a sponsor of this event, it made sense to look back at the history of football and Coca-Cola. The similarities were emphasized: the agency's press release states that there are almost 14 years between the invention of football and that of Coca-Cola, and that both have moved and changed the world. In addition, both have been partners for decades. So for once, comparative advertising is allowed.
Responsible at Coca-Cola:
Alessandra Nicoletti (Senior Brand Manager Sparkling Beverages), Barbara Hagmann (Brand Manager). Responsible at JWT+H+F: Mike Krüll (CD/Text), Paolo Tonti (AD), Sebastian Day (Graphics), Vanessa Lehmann-Spalleck, Franco Elsener (Consulting).

 
Fachzeitungen Finanz und Wirtschaft looks through to the detail: Wirz stages this core competence. 
 
To understand the complex interrelationships between economic mechanisms and financial markets, you need to know the details. Finanz und Wirtschaft, Switzerland's leading investor newspaper, "knows them all. At Wirz Werbung, this requirement was taken literally and implemented in a provocatively surprising way: representing finance, investments, real estate, art and antiques or other areas that Finanz und Wirtschaft writes about, the creative team from Uetlibergstrasse neatly dismantled everyday objects into their individual parts.
And not in the way we are familiar with from technical exploded views, but photographically. The team of CD Matthias Freuler and AD Kim Sokola have created fascinatingly irritating images that you will enjoy looking at for longer and, above all, in greater detail. In the spirit of: To understand the whole, you have to know the details. The photographs were taken by Roger Schneider. The model was built by Gruber Forster. The pictures have been edited by Andreas Roovers.
The elaborate advertisements have been running since mid-April in various business publications, in the Tages-Anzeiger and also in the Sunday press.
The newspaper Finanz und Wirtschaft from Tamedia offers decision-making aids for private and institutional investors. Twice a week - on Wednesday and Saturday - the newspaper reports on stock market developments and comments on events and trends. In order to meet the growing demand for information, the publishing house has its own editorial offices in Berne, London, Paris and New York in addition to the largest specialist editorial office at its headquarters in Zurich. Long-standing, well-known correspondents all over the world complement the in-house editorial work of Finanz und Wirtschaft. It is the only financial newspaper in German-speaking Switzerland and is represented in 64 countries worldwide. The circulation is 34,803 according to Wemf 2007.
Andreas Panzeri

 
Local strategy Subscription newspaper, large weekly circulation and five small weekly papers: The Zürcher Oberländer now wants to cover its territory on three levels. 
Most people probably think of a bird species when they hear the word lapwing. But Kiebitz is also the title of a small weekly newspaper that is currently distributed in the municipalities of Illnau-Effretikon and Lindau in the Zurich Oberland. This Kiebitz has a circulation of 9,500 copies and is wholly owned by Zürcher Oberland Medien (ZOM). But only since last October. Previously, the Landbote publisher Ziegler Druck und Verlag in Winterthur also held a half share. "We used to print the Kiebitz. But since we sold the newspaper printing business to Tamedia, it no longer made strategic sense for us to retain a stake," says Lothar Dostal, Ziegler's Managing Director. He doesn't shed a tear for the little lapwing. For Dostal, the title is a "marginal matter." ZOM Director Peter Edelmann sees things differently. Economically, the paper is "not exactly famous", he admits. "But it is self-supporting and generates a small profit." Acceptance is also very good. "As the official publication of Illnau-Effretikon, the Kiebitz is read," Edelmann knows. He is also convinced: "The Kiebitz still has a lot of potential, all the more so as we haven't worked the market very hard so far."
Seven at a strokeThe functioning "Marginalie" therefore inspired ZOM to develop a concept with which it intends to support itself and its daily newspapers Zürcher Oberländer and Anzeiger von Uster even better in the local market from fall 2008 - on three levels, so to speak. The Zürcher Oberländer (ZO) already covers the first two levels by reaching part of the audience in its area as a subscription daily newspaper - with a total paid circulation of 38,663 copies. However, it also reaches all households once a week thanks to its large circulation (102,063 copies). The third level, which ZOM now envisages, is smaller-scale. It has divided the ZO distribution area, which stretches from Dübendorf to Bauma and from the Winterthur city limits to Bubikon, into seven small regions. "Each of them consists of several municipalities that are connected to each other: geographically, politically, in terms of transport and economically. For example, in terms of shopping flows," says Edelmann. Care has been taken to ensure that there is at least one larger, urban municipality in each region.
For five of the seven small regions, ZOM plans to produce a free newspaper in tabloid format once a week from the fall, which will also be distributed to all households. In addition to the daily newspaper and the ZO website, these will then report on what is happening in their clearly defined area. "In addition, important local topics that have already been published in ZO-Online and the daily newspaper will be reworked and expanded on for the small region in question," says Edelmann. Minimal consultation with the ZO editorial team and with each other will therefore be essential.
Two local titles already existOne of the five newspapers involved will be the Kiebitz. "However, it will be expanded to include the municipalities of Weisslingen and Kyburg," says Edelmann. Whether it will retain its title and layout, however, remains to be seen. In the town of Wetzikon, there is a second ZOM-owned title, the Wetziker Spiegel (11,000 copies), which will also be integrated into the new concept. This is currently only published once a month and will therefore be published on a weekly basis from next fall and distributed in five additional municipalities. In the three other small regions, new publications are to be founded, all of which will function independently - if possible also as official publication organs of the respective municipalities. Negotiations are currently taking place with the authorities.
When it comes to the advertising market, Edelmann is naturally thinking of local businesses, SMEs, municipal authorities and associations, i.e. advertisers who only advertise on a small scale and for whom the ZO causes too much wastage. They can be better targeted with the small weekly titles. Of course, the five titles will also be bookable in combination. The combination options and tariffs have not yet been finalized, but Edelmann wants to make the combination system as open and flexible as possible. The tariff will also be "extremely affordable". For orientation: a four-color page of the Kiebitz currently costs CHF 2,782.80 gross. The fact that the Wiler free newspaper publisher Zehnder is discontinuing its Uster Rundschau this week (see page 1) is very convenient for the ZOM project. "It's surprising after such a short time, but it makes things easier for us," says Edelmann.
Consideration for potential partnersWith the weekly newspaper project, ZOM is creating several new jobs. According to Edelmann, there will ultimately be around 13 full-time positions, 7 of them in the editorial department, the rest in sales. This is because the newspapers will be marketed independently, like the ZO, which only works together with the P in the national and supra-regional markets. There is a clear reason why two small regions - the lower district of Uster and the Tösstal - are excluded from this concept: the Glattaler and Tössthaler newspapers, which are similar in nature, already exist in both areas. "Although they are not part of ZOM, they fulfill a similar function to our weekly newspapers," says Edelmann. The Glattaler, which distributes almost 26,000 copies a week free of charge, belongs to Zürcher Unterland Medien, with which ZOM works closely in the Zürcher Landzeitung association.
is involved.
The Tössthaler is published three times a week with almost 4,500 copies and is owned by Buchdruckerei Turbenthal. Obviously, ZOM does not want to put pressure on the two titles and possibly even integrate them into the concept. "Certainly not at the start, we haven't put out any feelers yet," says Edelmann, leaving all doors open. In any case, both publishers are aware of ZOM's plans.
Tailor-made conceptEdelmann does not want the new ZOM concept to be seen as a counter-reaction to the large circulation of the Tages-Anzeiger and its regionalization strategy. Especially as the potential advertisers who are to be addressed with the new weekly newspapers hardly want to advertise on a large scale anyway - neither in the ZO nor in the corresponding Tagi split. "No, we simply want to penetrate deeper into our market and have an even stronger presence here," says Edelmann.
In some respects, the concept is also reminiscent of Urs Gossweiler's micro-newspaper concept in Brienz with his JungfrauZeitung (see box below). But Edelmann waves it off this time too. He has had no contact with the Bernese Oberland, so he cannot comment on parallels or differences with Gossweiler's idea. "Our project is tailored to our situation and is essentially derived from our experiences at Kiebitz," says Peter Edelmann.
One person who is very familiar with Gossweiler's concept is Beat Lauber, Head of Regional Media at the NZZ Group and a member of the ZOM Board of Directors. However, he did not work on the ZOM concept, says Lauber. "But when I read it, I also thought of the JungfrauZeitung at first." However, there is an important difference to Gossweiler's idea: "His micro-newspaper concept does not have an associated regional newspaper." The ZOM concept is locally oriented, based on the realization that the local market is absolutely the most important thing for a regional newspaper. "It's about not letting anyone in there and taking good care of the local readership and customers," says Lauber.
Will the Zürcher Unterland Medien or the Zürichsee-Zeitung, where Lauber also has a say, soon join the ZOM concept? Lauber's answer is pragmatic: "Of course we're keeping an eye on what happens at ZOM. If the idea proves effective there, we can cooperate relatively quickly or implement the concept at other titles."
Markus Knöpfli
Every little helps "Publishers, look after your local customers in good times.
Because they are your foundation in times of crisis." This was one piece of advice that publishers have heard from Publicitas circles from time to time in recent years. Also from today's NZZ publishing director Daniel Hofer. At the P-Verlegertagung 2002 in Bern, he said - at the time as CEO of Publicitas Promotion Network: "The times are over when you could generate 40 to 50 percent of sales with 10 or 15 top customers." Hofer therefore recommended that the publishers' guild should seek contact with local customers even during the economic boom, when asked about his presentation at the time,
Hofer says that he still firmly holds the same opinion. "Ultimately, a regional newspaper has to refinance itself from its region. Anything that comes from the national market is just nice to have." Hofer is not familiar with the ZOM concept in detail. Nor does he see any direct connection with his appeal. "Nevertheless, I'll be pleased if the seed grows," he laughs.
something of the most innovative that has been conceived by publishers for local market cultivation in recent years. Provided it works out, it could also serve as a survival model for other regional newspapers in difficult economic times. (mk)The micro-newspaperThe micro-newspaper was created and shaped by Urs Gossweiler
the busy publisher of the JungfrauZeitung in Brienz. His concept concentrates the journalistic content rigorously on the local area, on the so-called Jungfrau microcosm in the Bernese Oberland, and interlocks online and print almost seamlessly. Now in its eighth year, the paper is published online and in printed form on newsprint as a so-called printout twice a week. 67 percent of the region's 50,000 inhabitants have established themselves in the JungfrauZeitung market and it has proven to be comparatively crisis-resistant even in the most difficult years of the print industry.
At the end of 2006, Gossweiler finally abandoned the idea of finding partners for his concept outside the Jungfrau region (including the NZZ). This was after three years of intensive but fruitless searching. (rw)

As the new Client Service Director and member of the Executive Board at Euro RSCG Zurich, Walter Tagliaferri is convinced of the "Power of One".
He has only been working in-house for a few weeks and already has three competitive presentations under his belt. "Things are running at full steam at the moment," says the new Client Service Director at Euro RSCG Zurich happily. "Exactly the right agency" Walter Tagliaferri has found, according to the report, to move from the client side as communications director at Manor back into advertising. A happy ending after a lengthy maturing process. But let's take it one step at a time. "What convinced me about Euro RSCG were the discussions with Frank Bodin, then the views of the people I had the opportunity to get to know in the course of the lengthy evaluation, the competent, broad-based management team, and finally the unique agency model," says Tagliaferri, explaining why he has now landed in the right chair after more than 20 years in the communications industry.
At Euro RSCG, he likes "what this agency embodies and how this is carried both internally and externally. We are talking about an agency model with a new system of cooperation. Following the concept of "The Power of One" (Po1), there are integrated units for Dialog & Digital, Media and Production in house, which collaborate across all work processes right from the start. "A guiding idea is declined to all communication disciplines," the new man at Euro RSCG enthuses about this concept. In implementation, there is a so-called product group for each customer. This consists of an account manager, a creative team, a planner and a specialist who brings the ideas "through the line.
As Client Service Director, Tagliaferri has overall responsibility for consulting - which means customer contacts, organizational, personnel and budget responsibility. In addition, he manages a consulting group with the two key accounts Swiss and SBB. His third task is to share responsibility for new business. Here, the new man in the management has been able to convince thanks to his many years of experience in the industry as well as many contacts. In the past, he was involved in the admission committee of the BSW and was also involved in the jury of the Crossmedia Award again these days.
Euro RSCG Dialog & Digital handles all below-the-line activities for Swiss. Currently, a few classic tasks are pending until the pitch for the classic mandate is decided.
Tagliaferri is also particularly looking forward to his future involvement with Hyatt International Hotels. Together with Euro RSCG New York, Euro RSCG Zurich is responsible for this client worldwide.
Doing this kind of advertising was his dream from an early age. Tagliaferri started at the cantonal commercial school in Zurich. But after 13 years of school, the first thing that came to his mind was practical experience. At a trading company that imported shoes, he was allowed to complete a training program through all departments. The goal was to become a sales representative. But when the change came after two years, the barely twenty-year-old still felt "too young" for such a career. He wanted to get to know other industries and took on temporary jobs. As "casual, uncomplicated and certainly more relaxed than a bank," he also discovered the world of advertising.
His entry into the communications industry opened up at the Israelitisches Wochenblatt. After the publishing house, a real advertising agency followed with J. Walter Thompson. Tagliaferri was trained in media by Ronny Schmid. When his mentor left the agency on Zurich's Weinplatz after two years, Tagliaferri also wanted to broaden his horizons. He switched to Wirz and thus to consulting.
Over the next five years, he looked after clients such as Eurocard (Switzerland) SA, Toyota and the Association of Swiss Cantonal Banks. He continued his training as an advertising assistant and, one year after graduation, added the marketing planner qualification. This was followed by an intensive seminar in communications management at the University of St.Gallen. In the last two years, Walter Tagliaferri has also completed a postgraduate course in Executive MBA Marketing, which he successfully completed in 2007 with his thesis "Integrated Communication for the UBS KeyClub".
Prior to this time, Tagliaferri worked for Lesch+Frei for a total of eleven years, interrupted by one year at Weber, Hodel, Schmid. This "exciting detour" was a "career decision" because WHS was looking for a consulting group leader. When the opportunities for advancement suddenly became more open at Lesch+Frei as well, Tagliaferri let Peter Lesch bring him back and spent the second half of his time at this agency as Managing Director Consulting. Bucherer, Panalpina or Eichhof were a few of his clients. During this phase, Tagliaferri also started his postgraduate studies. "At the age of 40, the feeling comes that you should try something new again." He wanted to update his knowledge, meet new people and test his ability to "do a classroom once again." Today, Tagliaferri is proud of his discipline, because it was indeed not always easy to find time for the exams in addition to his job and family.
The "change of scenery" he envisaged with his studies first led him to the creative boutique of Ruf Lanz, before "a particularly attractive opportunity" beckoned as Head of Marketing Communications at Manor.
Walter Tagliaferri, who as an Italian "has always had a great affinity for fashion," had the privilege of overseeing the recent brand relaunch, with which the department store intends to position itself increasingly in the fashion sector. The branding for the new Manor was created by a branding agency in London. Tagliaferri's task was to implement these new ideas and to find a fashion-savvy lead agency to do so. In an international pitch, Wirz finally won the budget in 2007. "It was an exciting starting position, because until then, high-end fashion advertising had been designed mainly abroad."
Tagliaferri, however, wanted to let the continuation of this story out of his hands. "I underestimated the daily three-hour commute from Zurich to Manor to Basel and back again." After an already grueling time with the MBA, he didn't want to make his family life suffer even more. His wife is also passionate about still working 40 percent in the marketing department for a social institution. And watching his two children grow up means a lot to the secondo.
Since the mother is also a seconda, Italian is spoken with the little ones at home for the time being. Unlike Mamma, Papà has not applied for a Swiss passport. "But that came about more by chance than anything else, and the marriage has taken care of that in the meantime anyway," says Tagliaferri in his broad Zurich dialect. And he adds with a smile that it is more of an advertiser's lifestyle gag than convinced patriotism when, after this interview, he will now drive in style on a Vespa to the Zucchero concert in Oerlikon.
Andreas Panzeri

 The Federal Council wants to revise the criminal provision that criminalizes the publication of secret documents. However, it does not want to completely abolish the notorious Article 293 of the Swiss Criminal Code. A motion tabled by Josef Lang (Greens), a member of the National Council from Zug, to abolish this section of the law was rejected by the state government (see ). The article in the law threatens media professionals who publish "official secret proceedings" with imprisonment or a fine. This means that not only the leaker but also the publisher risks punishment.
In its statement published on Wednesday, the Federal Council writes that freedom of expression is not absolute. For example, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg has ruled that a fine imposed on a journalist on the basis of Article 293 does not violate freedom of expression. However, the considerations in the judgment show that the current interpretation of Article 293 is hardly tenable, the Federal Council continued. The Federal Council is therefore considering a revision of Article 293: the criminal provision should be better aligned with the case law of the European Court of Justice, thereby increasing legal certainty.

 
The Zurich-based agency Contract Media is now handling communications and PR for the French-American fashion company Dim in German-speaking Switzerland. The lingerie and hosiery fashion of the company, which belongs to the US group DB Apparel Company, stands for Parisian chic and is currently represented in over 60 countries, according to the press release issued on Wednesday. Dim products are available in German-speaking Switzerland at Manor, Globus and Coop City.