News from the Goldbach Media Index (Gemi): Television shines with a further increase in advertising pressure in the reporting month of February by 7 to a total of 443 index points. This means that television also contributed to the growth of e-media by 5 index points to 418 (413) and to the overall growth of the media covered by Media Focus by one index point to 199. In contrast, the advertising pressure of the Internet and radio remained below expectations at 253 (256) each, while teletext lost 3 index points and now stands at 125. According to Media Focus, data from one supplier is missing for the Internet. 

 
Printing Increasing demands on quality and shorter production times call for reliable color management. 
Increased demand for standards in offset printing will determine the way modern print shops work in the coming years. Predictable results, comparable quality at different locations and output devices are some of the reasons for this development. But agencies' desire for more independence from the print shop and, last but not least, price will also be decisive factors in the awarding of contracts in the future. Protection against complaintsThe conventional and widespread approach to color management is often limited to somehow fulfilling the specifications of the proof on the press. However, on the way from the digital design to the printed sheet, there are already numerous factors that can influence the coloring result. Be it the dot gain resulting from a new ink series, a different paper quality or even a printing plate with a different ink acceptance behavior. Often, data and proofs are also supplied by the customer, where the printer has to deal with color specifications that are almost impossible to achieve on the press. "Lithography" on the press costs time, and waste is the most expensive and inefficient way to find out in the end that a desired result cannot be achieved at all. Reliable color quality is also one of the top priorities for every printer in order to protect themselves from customer complaints.
Simple color workflowMany customers have long been familiar with Heidelberg's Print Color Management service. Experts for prepress and printing carry out the binding adjustment and optimization of all parameters that have an influence on the print result. This is the only way to ensure that the desired coloring standards are always achieved and that production costs can be saved at the same time. With Prinect Color Solutions, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG offers the key to modern color management through the digital integration of production resources in prepress and pressroom. Reliable and precise coordination between proof, plates and print can only be achieved with an end-to-end color workflow.
Prinect Color Solutions products allow processes to be designed more flexibly and automated to a greater extent. Prinect Color Solutions include a wide range of products and functions for color-safe and more economical production in the digital workflow. Thanks to coordinated color management, they ensure reliable quality at a high level. All color-relevant Prinect products have been specifically equipped with enhancements that make the workflow even simpler, more reliable and more secure. Each function brings considerable benefits in its own right. For example, each individual function in the Prinect CP2000 Center significantly reduces the effort involved in changing jobs. Each additional Prinect product makes handling color data easier step by step. The precise coordination of the products and the intelligent functional enhancements result in maximum color reliability and significant production benefits for Heidelberg printers.
Step by step to successThe PDF documents supplied by the customer are checked for completeness and printability by the Prinect Printready workflow system. All colors can be adapted to the current color space of the printing process using the ICC (International Color Consortium) profile. The print-ready document is then output to a proofer via Prinect Meta Dimension for checking. If the proof meets expectations, Prinect Meta Dimension forwards the data to the platesetter for production of the printing plates. The characteristic curve for the desired printing process is selected automatically.
At the same time, Prinect Meta Dimension generates data with presetting parameters for the press and digital reference values for checking the printed sheets with the Prinect Image Control color measurement system. Proof, printing plates and presetting data are forwarded to the pressroom in parallel. Calibration characteristics for various output conditions and ICC profiles are generated with the Prinect Calibration Toolbox or the Prinect Profile Toolbox and implemented in Prinect Printready System and Meta Dimension. Prinect Image Control is available for the necessary measurements, which can also be carried out with color measuring devices from other manufacturers.
Changes at the touch of a buttonIn the next step, Prinect Prepress Interface calculates the zonal area coverage values for the press from the prepress data and transfers them together with the required ink and paper specifications to the Prinect CP2000 Center, which has been expanded to include a characteristic line database. The printer can now store any number of presettings for different paper classes, inks and coloring standards. Instead of manually changing the color presetting, a single button press is now all that is needed to change the paper type. The production parameters for selecting the presetting are then automatically transferred to the Prinect CP2000 Center. The optimum coloring can then be achieved very quickly by taking the consumables into account. At the same time, Prinect Image Control receives the reference values from prepress to generate a digital OK sheet. The measurement results of the print run can be returned to the prepress stage for adaptation to changed production conditions.
The use of Prinect Color Solution offers numerous advantages: Improved productivity across the entire value chain, detailed coordination of the entire process - from prepress to press -, true-color proofs, increased process reliability and consistency in print quality thanks to systematic quality control, improved ink presetting on the press, and profiling and control of the overall process. www.heidelberg.com
Sabine Flaxman
Prinect Color Solutions for prepress and pressPrinect Color Solutions in prepressPrinect Printready System
Fully JDF-based preprint workflow, parameterization and execution of all necessary color transformations for printing.
Prinect Meta Dimension
Raster image processor system. Performing color transformations for the proof and calibrations for plate exposure.
Prinect Calibration Toolbox
Software for linearization of printing plates in CtP systems and adjustment of printing characteristics.
Prinect Profile Toolbox
Software for creating ICC profiles and for quality control of proofs and prints.
Prinect Color Solutions in the pressroomPrinect Prepress Interface
Software for generating color preset data.
Prinect CP2000 Center
Machine operation for Speedmaster presses. Automatic display of the preview image of the print sheet. Easy creation and management of characteristic curves for different papers, colors or printing standards. Automatic characteristic curve selection for color presetting
Prinect Image Control
Color measurement system for Speedmaster presses with the option of color measurement across the entire print image. Precise control and regulation of the desired target coloration. Measurement of predefined test forms and control elements and provision of data for Prinect Profile Toolbox and Prinect Calibration Toolbox.

 Not only the Publicitas index for advertising in daily newspapers is pointing upwards, Wemf is also delivering positive news: Advertisements in the Swiss press have continued to increase since the beginning of the year. In February, advertising revenue increased by 5.9 percent year-on-year to CHF 152.1 million. Income from job advertisements increased significantly once again, rising by 11.2 percent to CHF 27.9 million, according to the Wemf advertising statistics published on Wednesday. However, there was another decline in property advertisements, which fell by 10.2 percent to CHF 6.8 million.
Commercial advertising (+4.8 percent to CHF 109.0 million) increased significantly. Income from brochure inserts rose by just over a fifth to CHF 8.4 million.
All print media categories benefited from the additional advertisements, with the exception of the specialty press (-2.4%). The Sunday press (+16.0 percent), the specialist press (+12.5 percent) and the financial and business press (+6.1 percent) gained the most. The daily press, which accounts for the largest share of advertising revenue at CHF 89.8 million, also increased by 6.1%. Growth was somewhat lower in the regional weekly press (+2.6%) and the general press (+4.7%).

 
Just in time for Easter, Postshop.ch is launching a campaign about eggs and heads. Under the motto "Become more famous than the Easter bunny", a competition is being held to find the best photo on the theme of "egg heads", with the best picture being awarded a prize and made famous. The egg-headed masterpieces can be uploaded to the site www.postshop.ch, where the best will then be chosen by a user vote. The campaign was created by Renzen Communications.

The Zurich agency Publicis is bringing Peter Rettinghausen onto the team as a new senior copywriter. Rettinghausen previously worked for twelve years at Advico Young & Rubicam, five years at Wirz and three years as Creative Director at McCann Erickson Zurich, where he left at the end of last December (see ). The 44-year-old is a long-standing member of the Art Directors Club Switzerland.

 
Column The end of a political culture: Newspapers are disappearing because they are no longer needed by advertisers. 
Our Federal Councillor Delamuraz asked incredulously whether Auschwitz was in Switzerland when, in the mid-1990s, our country's wartime past found itself in the dock of international public opinion. Our national conscience Adolf Muschg wrote a book about this self-judgment. He demanded that the unpaid bills - not just the symbolic ones - be settled. Switzerland paid them and received the Bergier Report. But what has remained of the whole debate since then? Obviously not much. This became clear when Federal Councillor Couchepin confused and compared National Councillor Dr. Mörgeli with the Auschwitz doctor Joseph Mengele. Mörgeli was even more blatant when he ordered Swiss television to Buchenwald for his statement as a victim. All this is well known - with the well-known consequences - but far too little has been said about television. How is it that a German correspondent is prepared to film Mörgeli in Buchenwald? And then also explains that it happened in the parking lot, where there is no filming ban. Is there now a lack of historical sensitivity? Has even a concentration camp become acceptable as a backdrop for a self-promoter? The political ignorance revealed here is frightening. And even more frightening is the fact that no one in the editorial team recognized the barbaric frivolity of Mörgeli's appearance at the wire fence. His smiling triumph - against Couchepin - at the expense of the concentration camp victims?
SF editor-in-chief Ueli Haldimann managed the scandal outwardly very skillfully. The media are never really ready for public self-criticism anyway. But there is much more at stake in this case. This should be acknowledged without apportioning blame or being opinionated - and thoroughly discussed once the individual outrage and public uproar have subsided. Perhaps this (so far) unique blunder is actually a symptom of the coming journalism of a new generation - and of a new era: that of the Internet, which is replacing the age of the printed book and the newspaper.
His end is currently being debated in France. Firstly, because of Sarkozy, who has ruled the country in recent months with stories from his private life. This is called "storytelling", and there is a method to it. It's about the fairy tales of power that distract from everything else. Even the serious media are not spared. During the election campaign, the disempowerment of journalists was lamented - and things have not improved since then. The fact that the media are currently turning their backs just as brusquely on Sarkozy, at whose feet they lay, ultimately points to the same mechanisms. Hysteria and gossip on all fronts. No time for reflection, no distance.
News, commentaries and background reports are playing an increasingly minor role in the journalistic business. This is the finding of two media experts who proclaimed the end of newspapers in the magazine Le Débat, thereby also referring to the cultural upheaval. The provocative essay became the occasion for a colloquium at the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris. It is true that the newspapers presented slightly better balance sheets for the past year. Circulation increased - also thanks to the election campaign. Deficits were reduced. For the Débat authors, this does not change the structural findings: it is a myth to believe that new media do not replace the old media, but complement them.
In France, only four political daily newspapers still reach a circulation of 400,000 copies. At the beginning of the 20th century, several million newspapers were sold every day; after 1945, there were dozens of titles. Television, the "last mass medium", is also losing its reach. Interest in information is waning dramatically - it is no longer needed as a means of transportation for advertising. Consumers can be addressed more cheaply and attractively via the Internet. Yahoo, Google and YouTube individually reach more contemporaries than all newspaper portals put together.
Springer had carried out extensive market studies in order to launch a tabloid newspaper like Bild in France. There is a gap in the publishing market and the newspaper could be successful. One problem is distribution: There are too few sales outlets. Springer decided against it - and bought the internet portal aufeminin.com for 284 million euros. This has nothing to do with journalism, neither in publishing nor in journalistic terms.
 
Jürg Altwegg is a correspondent for the Frankfurter Allgemeine in Geneva.

 
Event Drupa is the most important trade fair for the graphic arts industry. As a platform, it informs visitors from all over the world about the latest developments and trends in the industry. 
A visit to Drupa needs to be well prepared. The trade journal "viscom print & communication" is therefore organizing a half-day event in the Culturarena in Biberist on May 8, 2008 from 2 p.m. to around 8 p.m.. In addition to an introductory speech by an official representative of Messe Düsseldorf, competent speakers and editors who have been intensively involved with the industry event in the run-up to Drupa will provide information on important Drupa topics. Panel discussions will present Swiss viewpoints from industry personalities and promise interesting impulses.

Program Predrupa.chAfter the welcome address, trade editor Daniel Bischof, "viscom print & communication", will discuss with participants from the Swiss graphic arts industry the extent to which companies need to invest and what role trade fairs play in this. In the first presentation, Editor-in-Chief Paul Fischer introduces selected innovations that will be shown to the industry for the first time in Düsseldorf. The panel discussion chaired by Jürgen Franck, "viscom print & communication", will be no less technical. Among other things, the specialist editor will explore the question of whether and what gap there is between vision and practice when it comes to process networking and process integration; practitioners promise interesting statements. After the coffee break, Franck will present further Drupa highlights in the second presentation.
Exciting panel discussionThe panel discussion known as the "Elephant Round Table" is set to be a special treat. Moderated by Fischer, the most important CEOs of the Swiss print media industry from the supplier side will be present. This is a unique meeting that is eagerly awaited. Another and no less important item on the program is the get-together, which will culminate in an Italian buffet. An event that you should not miss.
More info:
Jürgen Franck

 
Internet: Netlog is where today's teenagers hang out. But in the Swiss media industry, the site is virtually unknown. 
Recently, the administration at the Büelrain Cantonal School in Winterthur was forced to block access to the Netlog website. The students had apparently become addicted to Netlog. As the 16-year-old high school student
Ricardo Garcia says the community site is all the rage and a hot topic of conversation around the clock. «There’s practically no one at my school who isn’t on it,» says the student, who goes by the username Daddy_Rico_1991 in the digital world.
Netlog (in German: de.netlog.com) is a social network similar to MySpace or Facebook. The site is one of the internet’s rising stars. At the end of December, 500,000 users in nine European countries voted Netlog ’Website of the Year” in five categories. For months, the number of members worldwide has been growing steadily. This is also the case in Switzerland, as the latest Net-Metrix study shows. None of the more than 200 websites surveyed recorded as many page views as Netlog.
To put this in numbers: The interactive site generated 350 million so-called page impressions in January. Netlog also performs well in terms of visits. The site was visited about nine million times in January. That puts it in fourth place in the Swiss market. Only in the «unique clients» category does the community platform fail to rank among the top ten in the country. Nevertheless, experts agree: Netlog is one of the websites with the widest reach in Switzerland—but with one drawback: it’s virtually unknown. Mirco Marrone of Net Metrix: «We hadn’t heard of Netlog until recently. In fact, the website is virtually unknown in the industry.» Netlog is not insignificant, as the Wall Street Journal sums up in a single sentence: «Netlog has truly become a Tower of Babel.» The community now has 34 million members worldwide. And the Belgium-based social networking company plans to expand further. “We have global ambitions,” says Lorenz Bogaert, who founded Netlog with his partner Toon Coppens in 2000.
Clear Focus on Target Audiences: Unlike its U.S. counterparts, the Belgian company has successfully expanded into non-English-speaking markets. Netlog operates in more than 15 countries. Communication takes place in 19 different languages. The frequent message «The site is temporarily overloaded» makes it clear that a veritable Netlog boom has taken off.
There are many reasons for its rise. The most important one is likely its clear focus on a specific target audience. The majority of users are under 18 years old. According to Nielsen Online, 12- to 17-year-olds account for 40 percent of Swiss users. Netlog is also a hub for linguistic minorities, which could further explain its success in Switzerland. A striking number of Swiss users with foreign roots connect on Netlog. Mirco Marrone of Net Metrix speculates that the website functions as a «word-of-mouth network,» allowing users to maintain contact with relatives abroad. In countries such as Italy, Romania, and Turkey, Netlog is very widespread and is considered the market leader.
According to experts, however, the number one driver of growth is likely to be many users« desire to showcase themselves. A glance at the unblocked profile pages strikingly reveals how much young people love to put on a show online and have found something like a digital runway on Netlog. High school student Ricardo Garcia says: »Netlog is all about muscles and skin. It’s a showcase. Everyone acts like a star. It’s actually really pathetic. But the girls like it.« Ricardo easily spends three hours a day in front of the computer, at the expense of »watching TV and reading the newspaper,« as he puts it. The student doesn’t have much free time. He practices soccer four times a week. Marcel Meier of Youme.net, a Swiss community platform, confirms that young people are increasingly using such social networks: »It’s even more extreme than usage studies have already shown. The younger generation practically only meets online anymore.”
Pushing the Boundaries of Decency—This Works in the Favor of Online Marketers. Adlink has secured the rights to exclusively market Netlog. «With Netlog, we reach the attractive target group of trend-conscious teens in a modern and reputable environment,» Adlink Managing Director Stephan Suter stated in a press release. The fact that young people present themselves in a revealing manner online does not bother Suter. Netlog communicates codes of conduct and takes a stand against offensive content. Other marketers, however, steer clear of such platforms because of this tendency toward openness. Web2com CEO Philipp Scheidegger: «Netlog isn’t on our radar because we’re rather skeptical of such community sites, which are popping up like mushrooms.»
Scheidegger refers to the Seebach case, which made headlines across Switzerland in November 2006. At that time, teenagers were alleged to have raped a 13-year-old schoolgirl. Recently, the Seebach victim made headlines again after reaching out to old friends via Netlog. The girl was seen in photos striking suggestive poses. Ultimately, marketers probably don’t care how young people present themselves on such social networks. «For them, what counts first and foremost is quantity—that is, reach. It’s basically a simple horse-trade,» says online expert Markus Gabriel of Angelink.

Christian Lüscher

 
Packaging For the first time, Interpack is making carton packaging the central theme of the trade show. The folding carton as a marketing tool will also be thematized. 
Interpack, which will be held in Düsseldorf from April 24 to 30, 2008, covers the entire value chain: From the production and finishing of packaged goods and packaging materials to packaging and distribution, quality assurance and consumer protection. The fair is mainly aimed at the food and pharmaceutical industries, as well as the confectionery and bakery industries.Innovationparc noveltyOn an area of more than 1,000 m2, Innovationparc Packaging shows the different sides of carton packaging and the innovations that lie in this marketing tool. Pro Carton is responsible for the Innovationparc in cooperation with the EHI Retail Institute and the Pan-European Brand Design Association PDA. Almost 30 Pro Carton member companies will demonstrate the factors that make the folding carton a successful instrument in brand communication and product advertising. At the five competence centers Sustainability, Convenience, Consumer Insights, Point-of-Sale Advertising and Imagination, companies will be able to exchange ideas with trade show visitors from the entire value chain on the respective key topics.
Pro Carton with anniversaryInnovationparc Packaging in Hall 7A, Pro Carton itself is represented as an exhibitor. On the evening of April 24, 2008, Pro Carton will celebrate its 20th anniversary. Pro Carton will demonstrate the core competence of the international association of the cartonboard and folding carton industry right on the occasion of the anniversary celebration and will present the results of the new Recognition Study to the guests. This study investigated brand recognition at the point of sale and reveals that brands on a cartonboard package are recognized faster and better than is the case with other packaging materials.
Sabine Flaxman

 Publigroupe increased its sales by 3.6 percent to CHF 2.16 billion in 2007. According to the company, all areas contributed to this positive development, with particularly dynamic growth of 12.7 percent in the international business. Activities in digital and interactive media were the fastest-growing areas. The operating result (EBIT) grew
According to the press release, the company's turnover increased slightly by 0.4 percent to CHF 68.9 million. This was due to profits of 10.3 million francs from the sale of investments and the positive development of Publipresse, the press release continues. According to the company, the result would have been higher had it not been for the costs and provisions in connection with the company's realignment and a 40 percent increase in R&D expenses totaling CHF 10 million. In addition, Cinecom's cinema business experienced a real slump in sales in the 4th quarter. Net profit, on the other hand, rose by 35.6 percent to 73.1 million francs. The increase was strongly influenced by the sale of the 4.5 percent stake in the American company 24/7 Real Media. Earnings per share rose to 30.50 francs, with the strongest growth at PPN The international activities supported by Publicitas Promotion Network (PPN) grew the most, with an increase of 12.7 percent to 423.5 million francs. However, EBIT fell by 44.8 percent to 5.3 million francs. According to the press release, this is due to the expansion of online sales structures and one-off costs resulting from the restructuring of the US business.
The advertising business in Switzerland (Publipresse) increased by 1.1 percent to CHF 1,512.1 million, mainly thanks to job advertisements. Thanks to cost reductions and structural optimization, EBIT in this area increased by 17.4 percent to CHF 22.3 million. This was despite one-off costs of CHF 5 million for the expansion of the new "Media Sales" segment.
Sales of directories (Publidirect) rose by 2.6% to CHF 132.8 million. While sales of print products leveled off, online products grew and thus benefited from the intensified cooperation with Swisscom Directories in the online sector. EBIT decreased to CHF 47.7 million (2006: CHF 51.0 million).
Slump in cinema advertising weighs on result Sales in the "Business under construction" segment developed above average with growth of 15 percent to CHF 124.5 million. However, the weak development of cinema advertising in the 4th quarter led to heavy losses at Cinecom and pushed the result in the "Business under development" division into the red with a loss of CHF 8.3 million. Cinecom's loss is a burden on the result of the entire Group. It is responsible for the 7.6 percent decline in EBIT in the pro forma financial statements (excluding one-off special effects). However, Publigroupe announced that corrective measures had been taken to make this division profitable again.
TV and radio sales, on the other hand, increased significantly by 44.8% in the TV segment and 58% in the radio segment. The online marketing company Web2com (up 9.4%) and Namics, which offers e-business consulting services (up 37.6%), also performed very well. The online marketing company Zanox, which Publigroupe acquired together with the German Axel Springer AG in 2007 and which grew by 55.0 percent in 2007, performed well above expectations. However, it did not yet have any impact on Publigroupe's EBIT in 2007, as the investment was initially consolidated as an associated company.
New strategy to be implemented quickly Publigroupe says it has made a rapid start on implementing the strategy adopted in March 2007 to position itself internationally as a multimedia service provider with a focus on the digital sector. As announced, the Group's organization has now been restructured and since the beginning of this year has been based on the four pillars of "Media Sales" (media marketing), "Search & Find" (directories), "Digital & Marketing Services" (consulting and services) and "Custom Publishing". The new management organization under CEO Hans-Peter Rohner has also been in place since the beginning of the current year.
Eight acquisitions have been made in the last twelve months. These include the German company Zanox, the largest acquisition ever made by Publigroupe. Other strategically significant acquisitions include the Dutch marketing and media services company Schreiner & Van Bokkel Group B.V., India's Mediascope Publicitas and Canada's APR Media. In China, Publigroupe entered into new alliances with Huashang Interactive Media and the advertising sales company City Media at the beginning of this year. With the acquisition of the French company Bégécom, which publishes telephone directories, Publigroupe became the second-largest provider in the French directories market. Finally, the acquisition of the Swiss Denon Group provided the custom publishing segment, which had previously only been active in Asia, with a platform for its planned European expansion.
Outlook for the current financial year With the acquisitions made, Publigroupe is becoming an increasingly international group. The newly acquired companies are expected to generate sales of around CHF 350 million, 97 percent of which will be generated outside Switzerland. Publigroupe remains very solidly financed overall with equity of CHF 596 million and an equity ratio of 44.7 percent, the press release continues. Subject to "unforeseen developments", the Group also intends to significantly increase its operating income in 2008. For 2008, Publigroupe expects double-digit growth in sales and earnings without any further acquisitions.

 The NZZ Group is giving itself a new structure and intends to introduce the post of CEO. It is not yet known who will hold the position. However, the current Chairman of the Group Executive Board and CFO Alfred Hümmerich will be leaving the company. He supports the new management structure decided by the Board of Directors, but is taking the change of course as an opportunity to return to independent consultancy work, the publishing house announced. During the transition period, he will be available to coordinate the implementation of the new management structure. In the communiqué, the Board of Directors points out the "milestones achieved in the management structure and in improving the earnings situation" and thanks Hümmerich for his work. Hümmerich became Chairman of the Executive Board last year following the resignation of Hugo Bütler (see
). According to the press release, the decision to introduce the position of CEO is the result of a review of the strategy and management structure. The CEO should contribute to a clearer division of tasks and reduce the workload within the company management. The media company wants to have a contact person for Group matters and a defined person responsible for implementing the Group strategy. The Board of Directors will continue to attach great importance to journalism and this will also be maintained within the new structure. The new management personality will be sought in a multi-stage evaluation process.

 
Location marketing The leitmotif of the current government program in Appenzell Ausserrhoden is also reflected in tax policy. With a cantonal profit tax rate of six percent, companies in Ausserrhoden have enjoyed the lowest tax rate in Switzerland and one of the lowest burdens in Europe since January 1, 2008. The favorable tax climate is also the subject of the new location campaign. The text subjects designed by Festland position Appenzell Ausserrhoden as a small location with great attractiveness for companies. The campaign media are various small advertisements and online advertising media in Swiss and German business and trade media. A mailing to opinion leaders is also used. The "small but" communication platform is based on the cantonal image introduced in 2006, which was also developed by Festland. It serves as a uniform framework for future location marketing messages. An initial measure was implemented in the area of residential location promotion with a mega poster at the Immo trade fair in 2008.