The two media companies Edipresse and Tamedia will in future hold a majority stake in the real estate portal Homegate.ch: both are increasing their previous holdings from 16.5% each to 45.0% each. The seller is Zürcher Kantonalbank ZKB, which will retain a 10 percent stake. This purchase had already been contractually agreed in 2004. The media companies want to strengthen their online offerings, as they announced in a joint press release on Wednesday. Homegate.ch was already integrated into the real estate sections of Edipresse and Tamedia products. With around 780,000 unique clients per month (Net-Metrix audit February 2008), Homegate.ch is the leading real estate portal in Switzerland and one of the most visited websites in Switzerland. The management team under CEO Urs Hügli will remain responsible for the management of the company.

 
In collaboration with the advertising agency Spillmann/Felser/Leo Burnett, the Zurich-based internet and communications agency Update created a microsite to accompany Volvo's new "Flower Power" campaign. It features the rock song "Flower Power", written by Volvo ambassador Chris von Rohr and Volvo Marketing Director Georg Redlhammer, and interpreted by the newcomer band "Myron". According to a press release on Wednesday, the microsite is the third project that Update has realized for Volvo together with SFLB, following two banner campaigns in January and February:
Oliver Arnoczky (project management), Philipp Urlich (Flash programming). Responsible at SFLB: Aurelio Burgdorfer (AD), Cyrill Wirz (text), Audrey Isaak (consulting). Responsible at Volvo Automobile Switzerland: Peter Rask (CEO), Georg Redlhammer (Director Marketing and PR), Eveline Bauert (Communication Manager) and Sabrina Pizzolato (Offer Manager).

Publicis« viral campaign surrounding the stolen Cézanne painting *The Boy in the Red Vest* has caused quite a stir. The two creatives, Raphael Monsch and Res Matthys, discuss the positive impact on the ad agency, the gullibility of some journalists, and the fact that the city police have yet to call. Werbewoche: Did you expect the hype surrounding the campaign? What did you do to promote the clip? Raphael Monsch and Res Matthys: We didn’t expect it, but we worked toward it. We were certainly surprised by the scale of the reactions. After the Bührle heist, the media reported on everything that was in any way related to the art theft. We took advantage of that extra attention. And we thought about the best way to get the clip into the media. We made sure it became a trending topic online and that we got a lot of views on YouTube. And we hoped that a journalist would pick up on the story—which worked out well and surprisingly quickly. The rest just took off on its own. After the first article, other media outlets followed in droves. What do you say to the accusation that you misled the public with the clip? We had, of course, already anticipated that some people might believe the image in the clip was real. But the nature of the media coverage did surprise us. The fact that it’s a clip of dubious authenticity—one that, in theory, anyone could recreate with the simplest of means—was either not mentioned at all by many or was lost over time. Suddenly, the headline read: »The boy in the red vest has appeared online.« Yet we deliberately chose a different frame so that an expert would immediately realize it wasn’t the original image. And then the police said they would include the clip in their investigation. This statement and the nature of the media coverage certainly contributed significantly to the story’s spread. And suddenly, speculation about the mysterious Cezanne clip was rampant throughout Switzerland.
The practical aspect: Everyone who had reported on it then had to follow up with the reveal. Various print media outlets and television stations reported on the reveal, and several online newsrooms linked to the clip on their sites. Meanwhile, numerous blogs and media outlets that hadn’t even touched on the topic before have also written about the reveal video. That’s a nice outcome, of course, and we also believe that most people found this campaign amusing.
Did it take you a long time to convince the customer to go along with this promotion? Not at all. The owner of the Art Poster Gallery was on board right away. The whole promotion didn’t cost her more than a few phone calls and a frame she can reuse. She was, of course, surprised by all the buzz. But as a business owner, she must be extremely satisfied with the result. After all, her business achieved an advertising effect at a cost of 0 francs—something many companies with large budgets try in vain to accomplish.
Who are the two people in the clip—is that the two of you? Yes, that's us.
The city police want to investigate whether you’ve committed a crime—have you heard anything from the city police yet? No, not yet. As city police spokesperson Marco Cortesi told Tele Züri, there probably won’t be any consequences. We probably would have heard something by now. We’ll wait and see, but we hope the police will turn a blind eye and that we haven’t disrupted the investigation too much. We hope the Bührle Museum, which was affected, will have the two paintings recovered soon.
Email Interview: Carole Scheidegger

 
Internet Schellenberg + Benz has developed a WebTV for the insurance company Sympany. 
New media are shaping our times. MicroTV is a revolutionary example. The unconventional channel on the Internet offers an ideal vehicle for communicating with customers and employees. Unlike conventional Internet TV, where content can usually be retrieved from the archive of "real" stations, MicroTV is defined as a specially produced channel for companies or other organizations. The "broadcasts" on MicroTV can also be enriched with interactive elements, making the insurance group Sympany the first Swiss company to launch such an interactive TV magazine. The project is being realized by Schellenberg + Benz, an agency for corporate design and advertising in Zurich. The program, designed for four updates per year, can be accessed via www. sympany.tv. The programs include various sections ranging from a focus interview to comedy with Beat Schlatter, wish fulfillment with Melanie Winiger as well as factual information and, of course, advertising on their own behalf.
The constant technological development makes it possible for MicroTV to become financially feasible not only for large corporations. A wide variety of formats can be accessed "on demand", from small trailers to large programs. A boom is therefore near and not just in the distance.
 
Andreas Panzeri

 
Anniversary D'SIGN Bringold & Cueni AG has been successfully writing packaging design history for 25 years now.
 
The internationally active design agency offers expertise in the areas of packaging, corporate and brand design, in the form of creation, naming, communication and photography. The owners and managing directors, Röné Bringold and Christian Cueni, always ensure that they are able to combine their growing expertise and experience with passion and commitment. Curiosity and freshness in their work is also transferred to the team of 15 employees, who put their hearts and minds into their work. Packaging design for brandsD'SIGN Bringold & Cueni demonstrates its feeling for visual and tactile sensuality time and again, particularly for clients from the cosmetics and food industries. Long-standing clients include Bell, Coop, Hengstenberg, Procter & Gamble, Piasten and Ricola. The development of new product shapes is just as much a core task of the design agency as the creation of a concise corporate or brand design. In packaging design, the result should be a product that is highly recognizable at the POS and has a credible appearance. The most recent example is the brand development of the new Winston Churchill premium cigar line from the Oettinger Davidoff Group, for which D'SIGN Bringold & Cueni is responsible.
Wrapped cigar culture The new premium line "Winston Churchill" comprises four varieties of handmade cigars from the Dominican Republic. "Blenheim Palace" refers to the Churchill family residence, "Marrakesh" to a picture by Winston Churchill, "Chequers" to the official country residence of British Prime Ministers since 1921 and "No. 10" to the official residence on Downing Street. The packaging design was developed by D'SIGN Bringold & Cueni. The product name and Churchill's family crest were specified as design elements in the brief. However, the agency was involved in defining the four reference names. The brief included brand development, the design of the cigar boxes and the cigar rings. The chosen color scheme follows the family crest by concentrating on muted shades of brown, beige and red. The atmospheric images on the boxes, which reflect the respective reference name, convey an elegant understatement. The graphic treatment - softly drawn with low contrasts and in sepia - is reminiscent of photographs from the early 20th century. The graphic ornaments and a framing dark brown repeat reinforce the self-confident elegance of the brand image.
In the D'SIGN workshop, the design agency demonstrates in a practical way what is important in the implementation of design assignments. This one-day seminar (dates have not yet been set) offers in-depth insights into the work processes and technical language of the design world. The reference work, the D'SIGN Coach, which serves as a course document, provides confidence in dealing with service providers from creation and production. On 48 pages, technical aspects from the areas of design, pre-press and printing are explained.
Sabine Flaxman
D'SIGN Bringold & Cueni AG, Biel-Benken
Specialized in branding, packaging, corporate, forming and communication
Foundation:
1982Owner:
Röné Bringold, Christian CueniEmployees:
15

 
René Worni on bidding farewell to the radiophonic international connection. 
The Zurich radio war has startled Natalie Rickli. Rickli is a newly elected member of the SVP National Council in Winterthur and is concerned about the diversity of radiophonic coverage under the new radio and television law. That is why she immediately resorted to political means and proposed to the Federal Council in an interpellation (supported by publisher and fellow FDP councillor Filippo Leutenegger) that it should make an effort to ensure that more private radio stations could broadcast on FM. In the case of Zurich, the stations Radio 24 and Energy (formerly Radio Z) are on the brink. In order to free up the frequency band, Rickli would like to take the programs of the SRG stations in French-speaking Switzerland and Ticino off FM and broadcast them via the still underdeveloped DAB. This is unlikely to knock anyone's socks off, as Rickli's and Leutenegger's proposal comes a little late and has little chance of being heard (the Uvek is unlikely to listen after an expensive but possible expansion of the FM band was finally buried some time ago).
But apart from the lack of political explosive force of the request, if, hypothetically, Rickli's idea were to come to fruition, a valued achievement of multilingual and multicultural media Switzerland would disappear. This would mean the greatest luxury for radio listeners. Anyone who has ever approached the Liechtenstein border by car from Munich and unexpectedly been able to receive Radio Suisse Romande knows what we are talking about here. Anyone who is desperately looking for alternatives after the disappearance of Radio Tropic, the only ever urban (Zurich) radio station with regular news from all over the world (BBC, Radio France), will also understand this. This is understandable for anyone who feels pushed into a corner by the overly ambitious adult radio station and doesn't really feel at home. Although, for example, the Romands are accused of stubborn blindness when it comes to German-speaking Switzerland - the press review on RSR regularly quotes the Swiss-German press at length. The reverse is never the case.
 
René Worni, Editor

Ringier's health platform Health Unit is getting a new publishing director in Ratna Irzan. The 46-year-old will replace Bernadette Studer in mid-April, who plans to start her own business, Ringier announced.
Ratna Irzan is an ETH engineer and, according to the press release, has many years of experience in the media and advertising industry. She was primarily active in the field of consumer magazines. For example, she worked at KI Konsumenteninfo AG and Editions Plus Sàrl with titles such as Bon à Savoir, KTipp and Puls Tipp. Irzan also built up Specter GmbH, which she sold to Ringier Print in 2000.

 
Media policy A Goldbach employee is campaigning for more FM frequencies in Bern. Out of self-interest? What the Federal Council rejected about two years ago for cost reasons, it should now examine again: a reallocation of FM frequencies. This is the demand of an interpellation recently submitted by the young SVP National Councillor Nathalie Rickli. However, Rickli would also like to see measures that could be implemented more quickly: For example, the first SRG radio stations (DRS1, RSR1, RSI1) should no longer be broadcast outside their language region on FM, but only via DAB or DAB+. This would free up FM frequencies, which could be used to eliminate bottlenecks in FM coverage.so far, so proactive. The only thing that seems strange is that Rickli, manager at Goldbach subsidiary Adlink Media Switzerland, of all people, has taken this initiative - and right now. After all, her employer Goldbach Media has strong vested interests in the radio sector. It is the exclusive marketer of Ringier radio station Energy Zurich - a central pillar in the radio market for the Küsnacht-based company. However, this mainstay is shaky, as the canton and city of Zurich as well as various municipalities prefer other projects to the Ringier station in their comments on the radio license applications.
Rickli is also aware that Energy Zurich could lose its FM frequency, as she confirmed on request. But could it also be that she submitted the interpellation on behalf of or in consultation with Goldbach CEO Klaus Kappeler? Rickli denies this. "I am an independent politician, I am not employed by a media company and have no such vested interests," she says. Nor does she have time to discuss such matters with Kappeler. The interpellation has been planned for a long time and aims to increase media diversity. "If someone wants to do radio, they should be able to do so," she says.
Markus Knöpfli

 
Energy For natural gas, Matter & Gretener has created a presentation that makes the environmental benefits tangible. 
A flock of sheep forms itself into a green leaf. After a few "loops", which are cut as if dancing to graceful, beautiful music, a flock of birds also joins the natural gas logo. Finally, taken from the air, a mountain lake also appears in the form of the familiar emblem. This "green leaf" was originally developed by Edelweiss Advertising for the Swiss Gas Industry Association. When Ernst Meier wanted to cut back, he transferred this client to the Matter & Gretener agency. Together with the association, the agency recognized the great value of the icon and adopted the key visual for its new campaign. "Evolution instead of revolution", says concept designer Dominik Imseng about this "otherwise completely new image presence".

This dramatizes the environmental friendliness of natural gas even more clearly and emotionally than before. Two TV commercials were produced in the style of impressive nature documentaries that "celebrate the beauty of the Swiss Alps" and remind us that reduced C02 emissions help to preserve them. This is because less exhaust gas thanks to more natural gas counteracts the melting of glaciers and the natural disasters caused by climate change.
The films were designed by Panimage Zurich. The 3D animation was created by Südlich-t in Munich. The music was composed by Alex Kirschner in Zurich. An advertisement and poster motif, which takes up the visual idea of the TV commercials, was realized with photos by Scheffold Vizner.
Andreas Panzeri
Natural gas is the energy of the future, especially as a source of heat and process energy.
has gained considerable importance for Switzerland's energy supply. This is also reflected in the fact that natural gas plays a key role in energy policy decisions. Since its introduction, the share of natural gas in final energy consumption has risen continuously. A trend reversal is not to be expected. Natural gas can be used for heating, heating water, cooking, barbecuing, cooling, producing electricity and even driving. The use of natural gas as a fuel will further strengthen this trend. To reduce CO2 emissions
In Switzerland, a reduction in the mineral oil tax on natural gas and biogas used as fuel is being prepared. This is intended to promote the use of these gas fuels instead of liquid fuels. The corresponding revision of the law is due to come into effect in July 2008.
in Iran this week for the signing of a new gas contract. From 2012, the Iranians want to supply 5.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually. Part of this gas is to be sold to Switzerland. (pan)

 The NZZ Group once again significantly increased profits and sales in 2007. Thanks to higher advertising sales, increased sales in electronic media and acquisitions, the company achieved a turnover of CHF 551 million. This is a good 9 percent more than in the previous year, as the media company announced at the same time as announcing a new management structure. The bottom line was 45.5 million francs. The profit is thus over 45 percent higher than in 2006, which was mainly achieved operationally, as earnings before interest and taxes also rose by 62 percent to almost 41 million francs.
Both business divisions grew: The NZZ division (with the media Neue Zürcher Zeitung, NZZ am Sonntag and NZZ Online) and Freie Presse Holding (FPH) with its holdings in regional publishers in central and eastern Switzerland as well as in Zurich. Having returned to profitability in 2006, the NZZ division was able to improve its divisional result from CHF 4.7 million to CHF 13.1 million last year. According to the press release, both the main newspaper NZZ and NZZ am Sonntag contributed to this thanks to efficiency gains.
FPH exceeded the previous year's turnover and divisional result (+6.9 million francs to 34.2 million francs). According to the press release, Tagblatt-Medien took "a big step forward" in terms of earnings, while LZ-Medien confirmed its profitability.

 
As part of the "Airline for all fans" campaign, Maxomedia has produced a fan website for the airline Swiss for the period during the European Football Championship. According to the cross-media communications agency, the website will contain a wide range of offers for fans of the game. For example, information about the Fantrams and the A380 fan plane labeled "Hopp Schwiiz". Visitors can also play various online games and win prizes. A Swiss Euro TV clip will also be pre-released. 

 
Smaboo universities turn students into brand ambassadors. Their notebooks are covered with advertising. 
Advertising is no longer a taboo subject at German universities. Perimeter advertising in the auditorium, advertising pillars in front of the canteen, commercials during breaks or the orange and blue lecture hall named after a discount store are all part of life at universities. In times of financial scarcity, students are expected to endure a flood of advertising. In Switzerland, teaching and learning zones are still free of advertising because they are protected by strict restrictions. However, this could soon change. The company Smaboo, founded in November 2007, wants to advertise in Swiss lecture halls. The Zurich-based start-up has developed a form of advertising that cleverly circumvents the ban. The idea is simple: the back of a notebook is covered with a specially developed advertising film. The Smaboo medium does more than a simple poster. The student behind the device is both brand ambassador and salesperson. In Switzerland, 75 students were recruited for the project.
Such advertising concepts usually come from abroad and are copied by local marketers. In the case of Smaboo, it is the other way around. The idea came from the German Christoph Magnussen and the Swiss Adrian Locher. After studying together at the University of St. Gallen, they were inspired by the idea of "embedded branding". This marketing method attempts to make brands part of the everyday environment of a target group. A related variant of this idea is the widely known product placement. In the online sector, embedded branding has so far found its way into the placement of interactive brand logos in digital city maps or computer games.
Founders Magnussen and Locher were able to convince Germany's largest mobile phone company Debitel of their idea as their first customer. At the beginning of the year, around 300 students were out and about at German universities with their branded notebooks. According to Smaboo co-founder Christoph Magnussen, the response was very good. The tests show that the advertising model is well accepted by students. Thomas Bruker, brand manager at Debitel, is also convinced by the Smaboo concept. On the one hand, because the notebook branding is credible. Secondly, because the quality of contact is many times higher than with the usual measures in the student environment. Today, 900 students in Germany are already on the road as so-called brand promoters. In addition to Debitel, the online exchange platform Hitflip also advertises on students' computers.
The Tages-Anzeiger is the first customer in Switzerland to opt for a campaign with Smaboo. Dominique von Albertini, Head of Marketing at the Tages-Anzeiger, talks about a "test run" that the newspaper has launched. Since the beginning of March, around 20 students have been working as brand promoters at Zurich universities. The Smaboo campaign is one of many advertising measures currently being run by the Tages-Anzeiger at Swiss universities. Von Albertini: "We are always on the lookout for new ways to appeal to students. Advertising at Swiss universities is a tricky subject."
In Switzerland, Smaboo is marketed exclusively by Go! Uni Advertising. As the agency writes in a press release, a campaign costs 16,500 francs. Then 75 students stick the company's advertising on their laptops for two months and present it at the university, be it in lectures, in the library or in the canteen. The students do not go away empty-handed. They enjoy a small financial bonus. Incidentally, the founders of Smaboo do not want to limit themselves to notebooks as advertising space. Bags, jackets and cars are also to be covered with advertising. The experimental student body is certainly an ideal testing ground for this.
Christian Lüscher