The Zurich agency Rotor has taken on various communication tasks for the association of independent pharmacists, TopPharm, following a competition presentation. The magazine, renamed TopPharm Ratgeber, was completely revised with the aim of improving reader guidance and modernizing the overall appearance. The magazine is published six times a year with a circulation of around 450,000 copies, and the campaign image was also redesigned at the same time. The aim was to establish TopPharm pharmacies as the ideal source of health advice, achieve genuine brand loyalty and attract new customers. The advertising materials range from posters, shop window stickers and advertisements to flyers and textile stickers for POS use.
Responsible at Toppharm:
Judith Lanz (Head of Marketing and Communications), Karin Walder (Head of Training and Campaigns), Simone Stucki (Marketing and Communications Officer), Andrea Oesch (Training and Campaigns Officer), Christoph Baumgartner (Editor). Printing: Birkhäuser + GBC AG. Responsible at Rotor Agentur für Kommunikation: Alexander Gessert (CD), Sascha Kieslinger (AD), Sandra Eichenberger (Desktop), Nastja Burger (Consulting), Suzanne Regez (Consulting Assistant), Martin Hauser (Production).

 
Company Roger Wessner's young company Printzip develops and produces solutions for business and advertising print products.  
Roger Wessner is a newcomer with his company Printzip, but not a newcomer. As a trained offset printer with further training as a TS technician and marketing planner, the 42-year-old is very familiar with the printing trade. Over the past few years, he has gained extensive industry experience as an employee in various functions and at different printing companies. "For example, I was responsible for order processing, worked as a marketing manager and also as a plant manager and know the processes," he says, describing his career. "In my work, however, I have repeatedly found that special print jobs challenge or overtax one print shop or another in terms of the material to be printed or the demanding processing. They often don't have the time or interest to deal with such technical printing challenges in detail, so they prefer to stick with conventional print products." Wessner has identified a gap in the market for the development and realization of creative print products, which he has been trying to close with his company Printzip since 1 May 2007. "We offer a comprehensive range of services, from brainstorming and product development to production and dispatch, which takes into account the different needs of customers," he says, describing the range of services. Wessner has no reservations about working with different materials. "I'm a tinkerer for whom the result is important. That's why I sometimes go to a DIY store for inspiration," he says. The orders are mainly specialties such as mailings, flyers, invitation cards, POS materials, gift packaging, brochures and annual reports, which are out of the ordinary due to the choice of material, printing process and design and are usually only produced in small runs. Most orders range from 500 to a maximum of 50,000 items. Many of these print jobs are personalized and aimed at a selected target group. "In addition to direct customers, our customers mainly include advertising agencies that commission us with the technical implementation of the idea."
A solution for unusual packaging or an eye-catching mailing is often only developed in discussions with the agency commissioned. One example of this is the Sunrise Take-away bag, a laminated paper bag with a grip hole and adhesive strip for sealing, which was also used as an oversized display for Sunrise. The cover of Affichage AG's annual report and Swisscom's Christmas card, which Printzip produced in a print run of 48,000 copies, are also real eye-catchers. Lenticular printing with changing image motifs was used to great advertising effect for both orders.
Partnership networkBut print shops also take advantage of the opportunities that Printzip can offer them. They outsource jobs that are too small or too costly and can thus offer their existing customers a service. This in turn creates customer loyalty. Printzip does not have its own printing and finishing machines. "With such investments, I would be under the same cost pressure as most companies in the industry," says Wessner. "We therefore work with various partner companies, which are selected depending on the order." The network therefore includes companies that cover very different areas with their machines and expertise. This ranges from cardboard processors to digital printers. A model that has proven itself so far. "Because we don't have to amortize high infrastructure costs, even complex orders pay off for both sides," he explains. "With large printing companies, the focus is on the processes; with me, it's the customer's wishes."
Good opportunities in the nicheWessner is convinced that, despite structural adjustments in the printing industry, the opportunities for niche players such as Printzip will remain good in the future. In addition, although many companies are spending more and more on advertising today, a large proportion of mailings are not noticed because they do not stand out enough in the flood of advertising. This also applies to packaging. There are therefore more and more companies that are looking for special and unique ideas and are prepared to dig a little deeper into their pockets to implement them. www.printzip.ch
Sabine Flaxman

 
Online research The finale of the research race is approaching. However, the results of the providers will vary. 
The announcements in Internet research keep coming: no sooner had Nielsen Online announced that it would increase its home panel fivefold and also produce a work panel than Net Metrix, the Internet research arm of Mediapulse and Wemf, followed suit. Their panel, known as Net Metrix Tracking, is now also measuring and will release its first data in mid-July, they announced. But beware: both are just announcements. The industry knows that Net Metrix in particular has often made promises that have not been kept, but it is clear that a race is already underway between two research systems that - if they work - will also have two different currencies. In terms of the system, the two measurement approaches and what they show as coverage will not be comparable.
The differences are manifold. The different panel sizes (Net Metrix: 3,000 panelists; Nielsen: 15,000 panelists) are not even among the most significant. This is because Net Metrix tracking is not isolated, but is part of an entire research system. Its results are combined with those of Net-Metrix-Profile, which in turn is based on around 15,000 to 20,000 online surveys every six months. This means that the results should one day have a similar depth of focus as Nielsen.
Both providers also take a similar approach to measuring internet usage at home: The panelists must install measurement software on their home PC, which collects the data and sends it to a central office. When measuring Internet use outside the home and at work, however, the methods are very different. Nielsen requires panelists to install the measurement software on laptops and PCs at work. Whether this will also be possible for banks, insurance companies and public administrations is questionable. However, this would be essential for representative usage behavior. Jörg Dietz (photo), Director Sales and Marketing at Nielsen Switzerland, is confident. Nielsen has also succeeded in other countries such as the UK and Italy. Net Metrix chose a different approach: panelists were always asked to access the Internet via a specific web portal when on the move or at work. It remains to be seen whether they will take this detour every time. And whether employers are more likely to tolerate this. In addition, the web portal only measures the use of those sites that also participate in Net-Metrix-Audit. Other sites - such as Google - are not included in Net Metrix's out-of-home measurement.
Understandable for laypeopleAnother difference: Nielsen's research system is easier for laypeople to understand than that of Net Metrix, where the results come from different measurement methods (Net Metrix audit, profile survey, panel). And Nielsen's currency is internationally comparable, at least with those countries in which the same measurement system is in place. Net Metrix, on the other hand, primarily provides market data for Switzerland.
Last but not least: At Net Metrix, the industry has the opportunity to find out details about the measurement process via a user commission. There is currently no such commission at Nielsen Switzerland. However, Dietz emphasizes that Nielsen also allows comparable committees abroad, for example in Italy, to have a say. The company is also prepared to disclose details of its measurement at any time.
These are just a few of the many differences. It remains to be seen how the industry will react. Two important data providers, the online marketers Web2com and Adlink Media, were cautious at first. Vanessa Marr, Head of Research at Adlink Media and member of the Net Metrix research committee, did not yet want to commit to a provider. Although Adlink Media currently obtains data from Nielsen, Net Metrix tracking will be examined in detail as soon as it is introduced to the market. The latter's transparency, the Swiss solution and the fact that it is compatible with Net-Profile in terms of currency speak in its favor. Nielsen, on the other hand, has been systematically mapping Internet usage in an international comparison for years, says Marr.
Ueli Weber, Head of Electronic and Interactive at PubliGroupe, also did not want to commit himself yet. Although he generally prefers Net Metrix, he still wants to compare the differences and prices. "The future will show which of the two currencies can prevail in the long term," he adds.
Markus Knöpfli
 

 
Company III The Behr Bircher Cellpack BBC Group has increased and specified its takeover bid for the Baumgartner Holding AG Group, Crissier. BBC wants to merge Baumgartner Holding, which is active in the flexible packaging sector, with its packaging subsidiary Cellpack Packaging. The offer price has been increased to CHF 460 per Baumgartner share. The Baumgartner Board of Directors also considers this price to be too low. The Baumgartner Board of Directors intends to submit a report on the offer by April 15. Negotiations on the takeover of two companies in the flexible packaging sector are also being actively pursued. According to the Board of Directors, the two companies would strengthen the Group's position on the European market and improve profitability.

 
Around two years ago, there was a campaign against outdoor advertising in Zurich. And seven months ago, a group of people roamed the streets of Berlin-Kreuzberg, attaching "spam" stickers to advertising posters in order to counter the "nuisance" (original quote) caused by outdoor advertising (see: ). Now in Copenhagen, members of the anti-advertising alliance "Citizens for an advertising-free city center" have taken action in a night campaign. They have covered 250 advertising posters in the city center with oversized stickers, which are normally stuck to letterboxes in Denmark. The message: "Ingen reklamer tak" (no advertising please). According to the Tagesspiegel, the inflationary spread of advertising in Copenhagen is a thorn in the side of the organization. The angry citizens are particularly opposed to the fact that advertising in public spaces cannot be "unsubscribed". "At home, you can say 'Advertising, no thanks!' to letterbox advertising by sticking a sticker with these words on it. To remind people of this right, we have stuck similar stickers on advertising posters all over the city," an anonymous participant told the Tagesspiegel.
The Danish advertising industry was of course "not convinced" by the campaign, to quote former German Foreign Minister Fischer. According to the Tagesspiegel, it is an essential part of the free market that companies can provide information about their products in the prevailing competitive situation. Even newer suppliers would have no chance against the established ones if they could not even inform consumers of their existence. However, the anti-reclamation alliance's question as to why this communication should take place in the public sphere of all places when there are so many other channels was not addressed.
The Copenhagen Citizens' Proclamation Brigade appears to be fundamentally unimpressed by any criticism. After all, the group members are prepared to take a lot of punishment if they are caught: In Denmark, there are heavy fines for damaging outdoor advertising. On the contrary, the group sees itself as being in the right and considers its actions to be civil disobedience rather than a criminal offense. After all, the city council had simply sold outdoor advertising space in the city to advertisers without asking the citizens for their opinion. What the group cannot be denied is a sense of democratic co-determination.
 

 
Within four weeks, the Swiss Cancer League and the Swiss Cancer Research Foundation have collected 21,355 signatures in favor of a cancer gala on SF 1. The petition was presented to Armin Walpen, Director General of SRG, on Tuesday. "With their signatures, the signatories are calling on the public broadcaster to create a platform for the highly topical health policy issue of cancer," writes the Cancer League in a statement, according to SDA.SRG Director General Armin Walpen has assured that the SRG management will discuss the issue in detail once again, according to the Cancer League. SRG had not responded to earlier demands. "We receive an enormous number of requests from organizations that would like to host a fundraising gala," explained SRG spokesperson David Affentranger.
The petition was the Cancer League's response to criticism of its contribution to the production costs of a fundraising gala that was previously broadcast by PresseTV as a special "Gesundheit Sprechstunde" program on SF 2. Kassensturz" had accused the Cancer League of using donations for the program. The Cancer League replied that as long as SF 1 did not produce its own cancer gala, it would be forced to continue to switch to a private channel and contribute to the production costs.

 
For 14 years now, the Swiss and European judicial authorities have been dealing with a ban on broadcasting an advertisement by the Association Against Animal Factories (Vgt). Swiss television refused to broadcast the commercial in 1994. Using images that are comparatively harmless by today's standards, the Vgt denounced the industrial farming of animals, especially pigs. This was linked to the recommendation to eat less meat, and the legal wrangling that began back then is now entering another round. The judges of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in Strasbourg approved Switzerland's application to bring the case before the Grand Chamber of the ECtHR. This application is a reaction to the condemnation of Switzerland by the ECtHR in September 2007, when the judges came to the conclusion that freedom of expression had been violated.
The dispute began in 1994 when Vgt wanted to broadcast the TV commercial via SRG, the only television station on Swiss soil at the time. However, Vgt was denied this by television. The AG responsible for commercial television justified the rejection by claiming that the commercial was political advertising and would damage business. This position was confirmed by the Federal Council and in 1997 by the Federal Court. As early as 2001, however, the ECHR upheld a complaint by Vgt and found a violation of freedom of expression.
The Vggt subsequently asked the Federal Court to review its 1997 decision, but the Lausanne judges rejected this request in 2002, whereupon the Vgt once again appealed to the ECHR, which again upheld the complaint in the fall of 2007. Erwin Kessler, President of the VgT, is still campaigning for the broadcasting of images from industrial animal farms. However, the commercial will not be shown on television until the Grand Chamber of the ECHR has issued its ruling.
Looking at the advertisement today, thanks to the Internet, it is hard to understand why it was rejected by Swiss television in 1994 and subsequently by the Federal Council and the Federal Supreme Court. Also incomprehensible is the passage in various news reports on Tuesday that the commercial contained harsh and sometimes shocking images. It seems as if the dispute over the Vgt ad has long since taken on a life of its own and is about everything other than the ad itself.

 
Advertiser and presenter Frank Baumann returns to the screen on Wednesday: He can be seen in the new series "Ein Fisch für 2" on 3sat. The concept of the program is as simple as it is unusual: Baumann goes fishing with a celebrity in each episode. Guests include castle actor Peter Simonischek, cabaret artist Marco Rima and record star DJ Bobo. Now Baumann has to put up with journalists constantly asking whether there can be anything more boring than watching two people fishing. "It really is murderously boring," Baumann explains to Werbewoche. Nevertheless, he is "really enjoying" his new show. Why will it captivate viewers? "Because it shows people in absolute privacy," says the TV personality. "My guests don't come because they want to do PR for themselves, a new movie or a new record. They are simply there with me, fishing." The show also offers additional levels: It is accompanied by special music, while a literary text by Sigmund Tischendorf is read aloud at the same time. At some points, excerpts from films can be seen: "At one point, I have to get a permit with my guest. We go into a house, wait in front of the elevator - and when it opens, you see a couple having sex.

For the time being, six episodes are in the can, which will flicker across the screen on three consecutive days within two weeks. The program planners at 3sat want to launch the show in a concentrated manner, as Baumann explains. It will then be decided whether the series will continue. It is clear to him that the audience will have to adjust to an unusual format: "People have to get completely involved with the show, but then they will also be rewarded." He says that "Ein Fisch für 2" is fully in line with 3sat's claim of "different television". And hopes that those responsible at the broadcaster will provide proof of the slogan. "Of course, the station management is looking at the ratings. But I say: Leave the ratings out of it! Maybe not many people will watch, but those who do are guaranteed an experience."
He is aware that viewers might expect something different from the former "Ventil" and "Streetlife" presenter than him sitting quietly in the boat waiting for the catch. "But it amazes me how much I'm reduced to 'Ventil' in people's minds - that was a different time. Now they get to see something new!" He characterizes his show as a format that fades out superficialities and is still cheerful - but without thigh-slapping humour.
And how would the advertiser promote his own show? "That's very difficult. Fortunately, I was able to leave the media work to the professionals at the broadcaster - they do it well. You just have to take people by the hand and explain the concept of the show to them."
"A Fish for Two" starts on Wednesday, April 16, at 10:25 p.m. on 3sat.

Carole Scheidegger

 
SFLB is launching its own European Championship commercial for the generics manufacturer Helvepharm in the run-up to the European Football Championship. In a humorous way, it takes aim at the major event with the Helvepharm-sponsored team, the senior players of FC Münchwilen. The message of the short commercial is, according to the press release: FC Münchwilen fans don't have to be lucky to get a ticket, unlike at European Championship matches. The commercial is now running on SF 1, with Helvepharm responsible:

Christoph Stoller (Managing Director) , Christina Kobi (Head of Marketing). Responsible at Spillmann/Felser/Leo Burnett: Barbara Hutter (Text), Cornelia Wenk (AD), Martin Spillmann and Peter Brönimann (CD), Fabienne Brunner and Rolf Zimmermann (Consulting), Sebahat Derdiyok and Bettina Sorg (Art Buying). Film production: On-Film. Director: Michael Steiner

 
This spring, SBB Railcity's umbrella campaign is all about the sporting event of the year. The subjects created by the Basel advertising agency Crome for this purpose are intended to illustrate the "longest opening hours" and the "widest range of products" of "Switzerland's largest shopping center" using objects from the world of football. Railcitys are the shopping miles in the seven major train stations of Zurich, Bern, Basel, Lucerne, Winterthur, Geneva and Lausanne. Likewise, Crome created the "football heart" as a visual leitmotif: it comes into play as a logo addition and is intended to reinforce the football enthusiasm of the Railcity stores as décor, according to the agency's statement. The campaign will begin in mid-April with posters, ads, banners and an e-board clip, followed later by giveaways for fans. Responsible at SBB / Railcity:
Christine Leuenberger (Marketing and Communication) and Hans Zimmermann (Head of Railcity). Responsible at Crome: Bernhard Wenger (CD), Thomas Strecker (AD), Zoe Gunzenhauser (graphics), Philipp Brogli (desktop), Enno Wassmer (text/concept), Mireille von Heeren (consulting) and Salome Wiesli (consulting assistance).

The Tages-Anzeiger is launching a new advertising campaign and is showing a very special form of advertising in its own paper as a prelude: a running advertisement spanning 14 pages and 3 frets that is entirely dedicated to the claim "Stay tuned". In the style of previous Tagi advertisements, the SFLB-created ad raises questions ranging from Charles Darwin and Pastor Sieber to Britney Spears. In the "Zürich" bundle, the font even runs vertically next to the editorial columns. "This marks the start of the new campaign and at the same time we want to reinforce the claim "Stay tuned"," explained Tagi advertising manager Dominique von Albertini to Werbewoche. The advertisement is intended to clearly differentiate the Tages-Anzeiger from the free newspapers and emphasize the importance of research and background reports. In addition, the in-house advertisement is of course also intended to send a signal to the market, continued von Albertini. "We want to show that we are flexible and open to eye-catching placements. It doesn't always have to be a 1/1 or panorama page." The market has become more open to special placements in recent years: "More and more customers and agencies have advertising ideas that go beyond the classic advertisement. This has also led to greater flexibility on the media side. Competition has become tougher. In the past, selling the front page of the Tagi was not an issue - today it is possible," explains the advertising manager.
The self-advertising campaign in Tuesday's Tagi was agreed with the editorial team. The feedback from journalists has been good so far, said von Albertini. However, the running text ad is also in line with the newspaper - what would the editorial team's attitude be if the same placement, which ultimately takes up editorial space, were sold to a commercial client? "We would definitely discuss this with the editor-in-chief. If it is implemented well, I am convinced that our advertising market could warm to it," says von Albertini. "After all, everyone knows how a newspaper like the Tagi earns money." However, there are still restrictions: a so-called jacket is probably out of the question for the foreseeable future.

 
The Lausanne agency Angebaultportenier launched a major image and subscription campaign in French-speaking Switzerland to accompany the relaunch of the French-speaking Swiss women's magazine Femina. The high-circulation magazine from Edipresse, which is enclosed with the Sunday edition of Le Matin, can now be subscribed to separately. The campaign is therefore primarily aimed at attracting new readers. The focus is on a TV and cinema spot, but advertisements will also be placed in French-language newspapers and magazines, on the Internet and on public transport in Geneva. The central theme of the campaign is the game between mother and daughter, which the agency portrays sometimes humorously, sometimes complicitly, and which naturally revolves around Femina. The claim is also called: Femina - ça sera pas le premier truc que tu piques à ta mère (Femina - it won't be the only thing you steal from your mother). The commercial was realized by the Zurich film production company Snap Film. It was directed by Luzius Rüedi, who has already made commercials with Snap Film for the Swiss Insurance Association, Carlsberg, Incarom and Media Markt.