Erdgas II Startbahnwest steps on the gas for the PGO Cayenne Turbo-CNG roadster. 
 
The natural gas stand at the 78th Geneva International Motor Show also showcased a selection of the latest natural gas vehicles. The highlight was the PGO Cayenne Turbo-CNG roadster with a 150 hp turbo natural gas engine. The prototype was developed under the leadership of Gasverbund Mittelland AG from Arlesheim. The French small series manufacturer PGO Automobiles supplied the vehicle and the Bavarian innovation forge BRA supplied the engine. The project was also supported by Swiss Energy. In terms of communication, the natural gas roadster was put in the spotlight by Startbahnwest for the Motor Show. This agency will now continue to provide communications support for the project.
The idea for the advertisement is based on a quote from James Bond. This was modified into "Natural gas - never say never". The natural gas vehicle was staged in style on the streets of Nice. The retro look of the vehicle was implemented in brochures, DVDs and an animatic. The decisive factor was to clearly express that the vehicle is one of the clean guys at the Motor Show.
The response at the Geneva Motor Show was very positive. And so it may well be that the climate-friendly sports car will soon be available to buy.
After the Motor Show, the vehicle and the accompanying communication measures will continue to be used.
Andreas Panzeri

 
Cinema reach Mach Basic 2008-1 shows stable figures for cinemas, albeit still at a historically low level. 
The fact that the medium of cinema was not doing well last year has been known since the presentation of the PubliGroupe balance sheet on March 19 at the latest: as is well known, the turnover of the cinema marketer Cinecom collapsed. The box-office figures for Mach Basic 2008-1 now confirm the decline in interest from an audience perspective - even if the current Wemf figures do not reflect the whole of 2007. But this much is clear from the reach survey: after the significant drop in attendance for Mach Basic 2007-2, weekly cinema reach is now at around its lowest level. In short: they are practically stable at a historically low level. One small consolation remains for the industry: at 0.7 percent, the renewed decline is the smallest since the peak in reach in 2003, when the Wemf reported 486,000 weekly moviegoers across Switzerland. Cinema currently only has a weekly reach of 381,000. According to Mach Basic 2008-1, the following cinema regions were the most stable: firstly the whole of western Switzerland, especially Lausanne, then the Zurich and Schaffhausen/St. Gallen regions. The figures in Basel are rather disappointing: the first multiplex cinema to date was opened there in the fall of 2006 and is now almost completely included in the Wemf figures. Nevertheless, the trend on the banks of the Rhine is pointing downwards. Incidentally, a slight upward trend can only be found in Lucerne with + 8.7 percent.
The all-clear has been given to some extent for young people. While Mach Basic 2007-2 still showed a particularly dramatic slump in reach among this target group, the figures are now largely stable and even rising slightly in German-speaking Switzerland. The only slight losses were recorded in French-speaking Switzerland.
Cinema magazines: Avant Première with a larger market shareIn contrast to cinema admissions, the reach of free cinema magazines is once again falling drastically. Compared to Mach Basic 2007-2, all titles remain in the confidence range, but in a comparison over twelve months, the loss of readership for Film demnächst and Avant Première is significant. Only Close-up lost only moderately. However, because the Geneva-based Quorum Group discontinued the French-speaking Swiss cinema magazine Live at the end of September 2007, the cinema titles now have almost 100,000 fewer monthly contacts than six months ago. However, this hardly reflects the current situation. Live has not simply disappeared: Avant Première, which is also published by the Quorum Group and increased its circulation by 20 percent, jumped into its gap. Avant Première, which currently has a reach of 12.2 percent in French-speaking Switzerland, is therefore already likely to have higher figures. Incidentally, all three free cinema magazines have been marketed by the Lausanne agency Mediapresse since last December, including Close-up, which was previously managed by Cinecom.
Pro Cinema sold 16 percent fewer tickets Pro Cinema, the Swiss Association for Cinema and Film Distribution, reports completely different figures as usual. For the 2007 calendar year, only three-quarters of which is covered by Mach Basic 2008-1, the association has recorded a total of 14.187 million tickets sold, 15.8 percent fewer than in the previous year. According to Pro Cinema, the people of Zurich seem to be particularly fond of cinema. 4.6 percent of the city's population went to the movies once in 2007. In Aarau and Baden, on the other hand, the figure was just 0.2 percent each.
Markus Knöpfli
 
 
 

 
Printing technology HP presented new products at the Predrupa press conference. From the perspective of the graphic arts industry, the Indigo 7000 is probably the most interesting innovation.  
Back at Drupa 2004, Hewlett-Packard (HP) set out to become one of the world's largest suppliers of printing systems for the graphic arts world within just a few years. This had to be taken seriously, as HP had previously acquired and integrated the high-end digital printing pioneer Indigo. Today, four years later, HP has come much closer to achieving its goal: Through organic growth, an emphasis on innovation and targeted company acquisitions, the company has strengthened its own position. Due to the figures available, it is difficult for an outsider to break down the individual areas in detail. However, the figures announced by HP are impressive: around 5,000 HP Indigo systems are in use worldwide, producing more and more pages. According to HP, the number of pages printed on Indigos rose by 45 percent in 2007 alone. HP can also boast high growth rates in large-format inkjet, with last year's growth amounting to 25 percent. HP now sees itself as the market leader in various market segments:- High-end digital printing systems
- Large format inkjet systems
- Direct mail addressing
- Digital label printing
- Large format plotter for technical applications
- OEM inkjet printheads
This is all the result of a strategy called "HP Print 2.0". The key elements of the strategy are: the development of the latest generation of digital printing platforms, the simplification of printing via the web and the increasing distribution of digital content.
The classicSince the introduction of high-end digital printing systems, experts and, of course, printers who want to know which technologies they should invest in, have been asking the following questions: Will digital printing replace classic offset printing, and if so, when? Stephen Nigro, Senior Vice President of HP's IPG Graphics and Imaging Business Division, had clear answers at the Predrupa press conference: "Yes, we at HP are convinced that digital printing will replace offset printing. There is no reason to assume that things will develop differently in the printing sector than in photography, for example. However, nobody knows today when this will happen - in ten, fifteen or twenty years?" And that is precisely the problem for the many offset printers. The fact that they are not investing in digital printing on a large scale has nothing to do with obtuseness, but with business realities. And offset printing is still the cheapest printing process. Anyone whose business is to produce print products at the best possible price cannot wait years for the prediction of digital printing to come true. Various manufacturers of digital printing systems have recognized this and are working on systems that will not only open up new markets such as personalization or web-to-print, but will also at least keep pace with A3 offset presses in terms of print quality and productivity. It is precisely this mass business that is also attractive for manufacturers. HP backed this up with figures: in 2007, according to one estimate, 2 percent of all A4 pages produced in the industrial sector were produced on digital printing systems, with the remainder being produced using traditional printing processes. However, the value of printed matter produced using digital printing amounted to 16 percent of the pie. This can only mean one thing for a manufacturer like HP: Why do one thing (personalization, individualization, specialties, web-to-print) and leave the other (production of conventional print products)?
The HP Indigo 7000HP Indigo has been pursuing precisely this philosophy for several years now. If a print shop opts for a digital printing system today, it must also be able to produce not only personalized or individualized print products, but also so-called "08/15 jobs". With the HP Indigo 3500 and the HP Indigo 5500, which was launched on the market just last year, HP has brought systems onto the market that already largely meet these requirements. With the HP Indigo 7000, HP intends to significantly increase the performance of the Indigo series once again. At the press conference, the company spoke of a doubling of pure printing speed compared to the predecessor model, while overall productivity is expected to increase by a third. Interesting: nobody is talking about quality anymore. This is always a sign that a technology is perceived to be suitable enough. In terms of printing technology, the HP Indigo 7000 is based on its predecessor, the HP Indigo 5500, but the so-called print engine has undergone numerous minor and major improvements to achieve a significantly faster printing speed. The specifications of the HP Indigo 7000 at a glance:
- 7200 A4 4/0 per hour
- Image sizes of 317 x 464 mm possible
- Improved serviceability and increased uptime with diagnostics and troubleshooting functions in the machine
- Fast exchange of printing inks to enable changes to the 5th, 6th and 7th color while still in the machine and almost without interruption
- Media format: 330.2 x 482.6 mm
- Grammages from 60 to 350 g/m2 printable
Together with the presentation of the HP Indigo 7000, which is intended for commercial printers (the machine is to be available as early as this year), a new web press, the W7200, is to be launched on the market at a later date (mid-2009). Interesting: In contrast to the currently marketed w3250, where the two printing units are directly coupled to each other, the paper web transfer on the W7000 takes place via a so-called buffer construction.
HP SmartStreamUntil now, HP has lacked a cross-platform digital workflow for the various print systems. This is now set to change with the introduction of HP SmartStream workflows. HP SmartStream is a portfolio with various workflow components that allow customers to support the development of solutions for digital print production. According to the manufacturer, HP SmartStream Workflow was designed as an open environment. This allows the integration of third-party applications. The most important advantages of the solution are
- Large file processing, variable data management, imposition and image management for commercial printers as well as for direct marketing, photo book printing, the label segment and packaging
- Shared data usage and feedback between the workflow components from the preparation of print jobs to their processing.
- A central element of HP SmartStream is HP's partnership with various partners - HP calls these "HP Smart-Stream Partners". In terms of prepress workflows, Agfa Apogee X, PODS Creo-Prinergy, Heidelberg Prinect and Screen Trueflow are currently supported. As already mentioned, HP SmartStream is to become the digital workflow for the entire HP product range (HP Indigo, HP Inkjet Webpress, HP Designjet and Scitex). The only exceptions are the controls for the plotter systems in the technical area and the niche market printing systems (special direct mailing applications and CD/DVD printing systems).
Latex and high-speedIn addition to products that are already close to production readiness, HP also presented new technologies and systems that can only be seen in full configuration at Drupa 2008. Nevertheless, these are exciting technologies that could shake up the respective markets. Fascination number 1 is the HP Latex printing technology. This ink was developed for large-format inkjet printing. Both indoors and outdoors. The highlight: the latex ink is water-based, but thanks to the specially developed latex technology, it is said to have many of the advantages of solvent-based inks. According to HP, printouts produced with latex ink only release volatile organic compounds in very small quantities. This eliminates the need for the ventilation required when using solvent-based inks. Nevertheless, latex inks are said to achieve the best results even on difficult substrates. HP promises its customers that such prints, unlaminated, will have an outdoor durability of around three years. During the Predrupa demonstration, the trade press in attendance were not yet able to inspect an operational printing system with latex ink. However, print samples were handed out to demonstrate the results of the technology. In addition to the latex technology, another announcement captivated the trade press representatives: It is the new HP Inkjet High-Speed Web Press. According to HP, the continuous feed machine will set new standards with a web width of up to 762 mm. In CMYK mode, the machine is said to have a printing speed of 122 meters per second (that's around 2600 4/0-A4s per minute). The machine is designed for applications with around 70 million impressions per month. Thanks to the "Bonding Agent" technology, the system should not be dependent on special print media. HP is not yet able to say exactly when this system will be available on the market, but is currently expecting it to be available in the second half of 2009. Just how serious HP is about this system can be seen from the fact that it is already giving details of the price at an early stage: the new machine is not expected to cost more than 2.5 million US dollars.
Paul Fischer

 Although the advertising industry is looking to the future with confidence, expectations are more subdued than last year. And the financial crisis is also causing problems for advertisers. These are the findings of the "Advertising Trends 2008" study published by Handelszeitung. For the current year, a good one in two agencies (57.4 percent) still expects billings to rise. Compared to 2007, however, a slowdown is noticeable: Back then, eight out of ten agencies expected an increase. Among the 500 companies surveyed, 30.5 percent of advertising clients have an increasing communications budget. The proportion of clients who have to make do with a smaller budget rose from 15.7% in the previous year to 22.1%. Around half (47.5%) have roughly the same amount of money available for communication as before. Expectations are particularly subdued for the second half of the year.
A slump is noticeable in the financial industry: last year, 52.2% of the financial service providers surveyed expected their budgets to increase. This year, the figure is just 23.8 percent, or around half. Among banks, the proportion of companies with a budget of more than CHF 5 million is falling, while the proportion with a budget of less than CHF 1 million is growing.
Shifts can also be observed in the media mix: While newspapers were able to increase their share to 32.6% in 2007, they can expect a decline of 6% this year. For 2013, advertising clients estimate the share of newspapers at 23.1%. TV advertising has also lost ground, with a decline of 1.6% in the forecasts for 2008. The winner of this shift is the online and mobile media category, which is up 4.9 percent in terms of the advertising pie. According to the Handelszeitung, this picture is not only evident among the advertising clients surveyed, but also among the 60 or so advertising agencies surveyed. Poster advertising also saw a slight increase.

 
Soccer Wirz, Mars and Polo Hofer want to join forces to boost the power of our national soccer team fans. 
In a one-off campaign lasting from now until the end of the European Championships, Mars is renaming its energy bar "Hopp". The campaign was devised by Wirz Werbung, which has been in charge of the Mars budget for two years. Up to now, this has mainly involved adaptation work. Now, for the first time, the agency has been able to launch a major "local campaign", as CD Thomas Kurzmeyer explains, and this is the first time that the best-selling Mars bar has been offered under a new name in Switzerland. In England, the bar was sold once before in the summer of 2006 with the imprint "Believe" - because at the time, Mars wanted to "encourage" England fans to believe that their team would become world champions. In Switzerland, Mars wants to use this campaign and a slightly different tactic to "reflect the enthusiasm for the European Championships in our own country", as Group Account Director Petra Dreyfus explains. The energy bar is intended to give the fans the power they need to sing the national team to victory with a new fan anthem "Hopp Schwiiz 08".
This anthem was re-recorded by Polo Hofer on behalf of Mars. Polo National has added new lyrics to a song from 1984. In it, he sings the praises of the combative Swiss national team and the fans who help the team to victory. The song "Hopp Schwiiz" has already been adapted with new words for a World Ski Championship, as Polo Hofer explained at the kick-off of the campaign.
This kick-off took place on Thursday, March 27 in front of Zurich's Stadelhofen train station on an improvised stage. This was driven up on a truck, on which Polo and the band presented the new anthem in a spontaneous concert. "The fan anthem has the potential to become the unofficial European Championship song", agreed the equally "spontaneous" and large number of media people at Stadelhofen station. The single can now be found on every Mars- Hopp 5-pack and other large packs, which are available in special displays at the POS. The fan anthem can also be downloaded free of charge from www.marshoppschwiiz.ch.
Wirz has also organized a tour for Mars to get as many fans as possible excited about the national team. Polo Hofer will be touring Switzerland in a bright red "Hopp Schwiiz 08" bus. The VW from 1974 is equipped with a karaoke system and will be raffled off among the fans after the tour.
The idea is being promoted with a TV commercial by Markenfilm Schweiz, various measures "below the line" and, of course, a lot of media work.
Andreas Panzeri

 
Schweizer Werbung SW has named TBWA CEO Andy Hostettler as Communicator of the Month for April. The advertiser received the honor for a rather unusual communication achievement: together with the program Swissdate, he was looking for advertisers who have had enough of the sad single life and want to be brought together in front of the screen. On the one hand, Hostettler was thinking of the lonely hearts of advertisers who need help. According to a survey and estimate by Werbewoche, around 40 percent of advertisers live alone. On the other hand, as a new board member of the Zurich Advertising Club, he was also able to promote its social industry get-togethers, which can certainly act as a platform for people looking for contacts.
The campaign was launched using leaflets, advertisements and editorial articles in the trade press. Those interested - and the response rate is said to be considerable - receive free membership of the Zurich Advertising Club for three months. But even if the Swissdate advertising special fails to find a couple willing to commit: The campaign, which Hostettler ran together with the new president of the advertising club, Carlo Steiner, has caused a stir. And that is why, according to SW, Hostettler is communicator of the month.

"Switzerland are European champions". A few weeks ago, Swiss national team stars Ludovic Magnin and Philippe Senderos confidently and somewhat prematurely proclaimed this message from billboards all over Switzerland. The portraits show the two of them in red kit surrounded by the most beautiful Swiss landscape. It was not until the resolution phase that the focus changed and the poster campaign's sender was revealed. Behind the now blurred portraits of the football stars, a composition by SBB can now be seen. The headline "Switzerland is European champion" is supplemented with the addition "On the train". With the confusion game realized by Jung von Matt/Limmat, SBB presents itself as a partner of Euro 08 and draws attention to its many additional services and special offers in connection with the games.
Responsible at Swiss Federal Railways SBB:
Reto Meissner (overall responsibility), Eliane Tschudi (project management), Franziska Pasqua (media). Responsible at Jung von Matt/Limmat: Lukas Frei, Alexander Jaggy (CD), Livio Dainese (text), Inken Rohweder (AD), Rolf Helfenstein, Fabian Röthlisberger, Simone Jehle, Jonas Brändli (consulting), Noë Flum (photography), Didi Knall, Erasmo Palomba (art buying). Süsstrunk & Jericke (image processing).

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Paper I Antalis binds a colorful spring bouquet consisting of different paper qualities for its customers. 
The new Antalis product range includes the well-known and proven Magno paper quality, a coated paper that is available with a matt or glossy surface. The wide range, consisting of various basis weights from 90 to 400 g/m2, is available from stock in Lupfig. Magno Satin is also available from stock in FSC-certified quality at no extra charge. One of the highlights in the cardboard sector is Trucard Ice, a new, high-quality and bright white chromo sulphate cardboard from Antalis. The FSC-certified quality has the smoothness and appearance of a cast-coated cartonboard. Trucard Ice also scores with its optimum price/performance ratio. It is available in basis weights of 240, 280, 300 and 350 g/m2.Antalis is offering a very special gem with Gmund Stone, the third paper quality from Gmund that Antalis is launching exclusively in Switzerland. Gmund Stone is a paper full of character for heavy use and many curious hands. The latest product development from the laboratory of the Gmund handmade paper mill is called Stone Robust and has a magical paper surface that does not allow liquid or greasy substances to penetrate the paper immediately. Nevertheless, it is a real paper with an inviting feel, without plasticization or lamination. The exceptional feel is complemented by harmonious paper colors and a stone-like texture, which together offer a sensual overall experience. The magenta-colored "Ruby" lends the collection a fresh accent, while Brilliant and Diamond allow you to shine in the truest sense of the word. Classic grey and black as well as elegant dark blue round off the color spectrum. Gmund Stone is suitable for presentation folders, menus, envelopes, certificates and even luxurious packaging.
Attractive and ecologicalThe supply of and demand for ecological papers has risen steadily in recent years. Antalis has also adapted to this development. The range of FSC-certified grades in particular has been steadily expanded in recent weeks and months. The new FSC products include Edixion, Novatech Satin, Magno Satin and many others. Antalis is continuously expanding its range of FSC-certified papers, particularly in the creative papers segment. All Gmund papers, the entire Arjo Wiggins range such as Conqueror, Curious Collection Skin, Curious Transluscent and other creative papers will be converted to FSC-certified qualities within the next few months. The latest product brochure "The ecological product range from Antalis" provides an up-to-date overview.
 
Sabine Flaxman

 
Column The consultation on the distribution of radio and television licenses is purely a question of power, which is currently being played out in front of and behind the scenes. 
The uptight relationship between many politicians and the media has once again been exemplified, this time on the occasion of the consultations on the distribution of radio and television licenses. In a democratic state in which the media are supposed to control the powerful, it is actually quite absurd that these powerful people should also decide on the distribution of control mandates. It would be like Euro 08, where the referees change the rules during the match so that they can score goals themselves. It was striking how badly the stations of the major publishers Ringier (Energy) and Tamedia (Tele Züri, but above all the highly profitable and market-leading Radio 24) came off in this consultation concert and who received credit and praise for this: the still blameless Radio 1 of Roger Schawinski (probably for future good conduct) and the Winterthur Top Group (for proven good conduct, as one must assume).) In the background of these statements, you can sense the two forces that are always at work when politicians deal with the media: Fear and envy.
Markus Gilli has long been regarded as the most powerful man among Zurich politicians, as he determines access to "SonnTalk" and therefore to one of the most effective self-presentation stages for anyone who wants to be elected. Jealous party strategists have long since done the proportional calculations, but nothing countable has come of it. Only the CVP cantonal president has so far gone out on a limb and accused the Zurich TV station of partisanship. Gilli was able to counter easily, and when viewed in the light of day, there is no doubt about his journalistic, effect-driven approach and therefore his integrity. Gilli confidently and unwaveringly pursues his course and tackles interesting topics with polarizing discussion partners. He is concerned with his quota, the politicians are concerned with theirs - the rest is a question of power, and that is exactly what is now being played out in front of and behind the scenes.
Politicians of all colors should actually know how communication works and how it works, because their job is by definition communication. They have to find majorities for their projects and for themselves. In our circumstances, this always means having to convince those of other faiths of their projects. In the run-up to the National Council elections, SP politicians Chantal Galladé and Daniel Jositsch demonstrated beautifully and successfully how this can be done. Their spectacular pirouette on the issue of youth violence paid off immediately. They used the media with aplomb: they said the unexpected, created news value and associated their names with content that has positive connotations for a large majority.
It is not the problem of Tele Züri, Radio 24 or any newspapers that only a few politicians master their communication job with a similar mixture of opportunism and professionalism and know how to make their content marketable in the media. Most still try the old method of treats and sticks, familiar from the long-gone days of the party press and dog training: Incentive and threat for the purpose of appropriation. The politician is the master: He calls, he lures and feeds - and if the puppy doesn't parry, he is threatened or given a slap.
First and foremost, of course, it is about the profitable radio frequencies in the greater Zurich area, and less about television, which will never be big business under the current circumstances. The largely depoliticized programming output of Radio 24 and Energy cannot be the real reason for the magisterial act of punishment. The intention is simply to show the corporations behind it - the all-powerful Tamedia in Zurich and the large Ringier with its unpredictable Blick Group - once again who holds the power.
It will be amusing to see how Media Minister Leuenberger decides. He is known to be a touchy gentleman who likes to pick up sticks, and not just rhetorically. The listeners will not be asked here; they have long since decided, with remote control and channel selection.
Karl Lüönd is a freelance journalist and author

 
Food Emmi advertises its ice cream varieties in the retail trade. An ice cream fairy cast exclusively for Emmi Ice Cream serves this purpose. The young woman with the cheeky look and the fashionable retro look carries the message "Ice cream made from pure Swiss milk" throughout the country. She appears on flyers, POS posters and advertisements. But what is it called? Name suggestions can be submitted until April 7. And people are eager to do so: after just three days, over 3,000 ideas have already been submitted.

 
The Swiss mountain sports outfitter Mammut is looking for volunteer testers for an underwear test with a photo shoot in the Swiss mountains and is launching an online qualification process. Interested parties can apply to take part on the microsite Testevent.mammut.ch. The agency Unic Internet Solutions, based in Zurich and Bern, has created a viral campaign for this purpose, as detailed in a press release issued on Wednesday, and applicants can get directly involved in the event via blogs, Flickr, YouTube, etc. to increase their chances of taking part. This viral campaign is integrated into traditional communication with advertisements and supplements as well as at the POS. The pictures for the next classic campaign are then also collected at the photo shoot.

 
Mach Basic In the overview of the reach figures with the changes to 2007-2, we made two errors: Firstly, titles from German and French-speaking Switzerland are listed in mixed form, which actually makes the intermediate title "German Switzerland" superfluous. Secondly, the values for 2008-1 and 2007-2 have been swapped in today's free evening paper. As a result, the index is negative (89) instead of positive (113). We apologize for this oversight. The editorial team