Another departure at Radio 24: Program director Markus Mager is handing over the journalistic management of Radio 24 and will be leaving Belcom in the coming months. Mager, who joined the station in 2005, wants to reorient himself professionally after three years as program director, as Tamedia announced on Thursday. A successor has not been named. There have been a number of departures at Radio 24 in recent months. In June 2007, Editorial Director Iwan Santoro and Head of Presentation Marc Jäggi left the radio station. They were replaced by Reto Schärli and Andreas Meier. There were also personnel changes on the sales side: Sales Manager Tarkan Özküp and his deputy Marco Genepretti left the station (see
and ).
However, his departure has nothing to do with this, said Mager when asked by Werbewoche: "The reasons for my departure are purely personal." He had three very intensive and exhausting years behind him. Although most of the departures have now been replaced and the budget has been finalized, the time has come for him to take a new path: "The coming years will also be very intense at Radio 24. I asked myself whether I still have enough energy for these tasks. And I've come to the conclusion that I want to put the station in new hands." He strongly denies that Radio 24 is in trouble: "Of course the last few months have been difficult, the changes have brought unrest. The commercial situation has not always been easy over the last few years either. After all, Radio 24 is not a cheap product, and the quality of the station also has to be financed. However, the station is now well positioned for the future, says Mager.
Turbulent situations have not only occurred at his station: "The entire industry is in a phase of change, and that is not just down to Schawinski. Before that, for example, there were already waves of recruitment by DRS for the new info channel, which also had an impact on us.
The restructuring at Tamedia was part of the change process. However, Mager denies that there were any disagreements with his new boss Rolf Bollmann about the journalistic direction: "The new structure has only been in place since the beginning of the year, only a good month has passed. In addition, the new budget was approved on the condition that we continue our program as before."

Mager himself does not yet have any concrete plans for the future: "I have six months' notice and will carry out my duties over the next few months until a successor takes over." What will happen then is still completely open - including whether he wants to continue working in radio. He is also familiar with other media genres: after starting his journalistic career at Radio Z in 1993, he later worked for RTL/Pro 7 Switzerland and Sat.1 Switzerland, among others, and was deputy editor-in-chief of TeleZüri from 2002 to 2004. Before joining Radio 24 in May 2005, Mager was a reporter at Sonntagsblick.

 In Trend Radar 1.08, researchers at the Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute (GDI) now describe the most important influences and developments for the retail sector, following on from social trends.  
It can be observed that customers have had enough of mass-produced products and marketing lies. They are fighting back by seeking information from other customers rather than from the retailer or manufacturer before making a purchase. Forums, review and comparison sites help them to do this. Providers are thus losing control over their communication.
 
Another development cited by the institute is the migration of wealth to the east. In India, four fifths of the population are employed. There are 3.5 million university graduates there every year, around half a million of whom are engineers. Wages are rising rapidly and the focus is shifting from exports to consumption. China is hiring Indians, while India is producing in Vietnam and Romania - an "outsourcing of outsourcing" is being observed, according to the GDI press release.
The institute also speaks of a return to basic needs and a resulting grounding of consumption: because prices for basic foodstuffs and energy will rise massively in the near future, consumers will have to spend a growing proportion of their income on everyday goods - and will be able to afford less overall.
 
Another trend cited is an increase in value orientation in society. The market for sustainably manufactured products will experience a boom as more and more sections of the population want to consume consciously. Suppliers will have to raise their profile in terms of credibility, transparency and trustworthiness. The traditional price war for customers will be replaced by competition based on trust.
 
Furthermore, a shift from shopping streets to meeting places - so-called social hubs - is to be expected in city centers. In an increasingly anonymous world, social hubs will replace the village and market squares of the past.
 
The last point mentioned in the trend radar is the customer's need for tangible quality: While for years only the brand was important, customers now want real value for their money again. As a result, classic brand bait from providers is increasingly being seen through.

The Swiss retailer Spar has done a great job and landed a «desperate housewife» as its spokesperson. Marcia Cross, known for her role as the slightly neurotic and cleaning-obsessed Bree in the U.S. series «Desperate Housewives,» is promoting the company’s private label, Splendid. In Switzerland, she appears in various advertising materials such as posters, print ads, the Spar magazine, and at point-of-sale displays. In a commercial—which, however, isn’t airing on Swiss television—she plays a dual role, portraying, just like in the series, a meticulous, eccentric housewife obsessed with perfection. The campaign’s headline is, accordingly, «The Secret of the Most Perfect Housewives.» As Jürgen Egger from the retailer’s marketing department explains, this is the first time Marcia Cross has ever promoted Splendid in Switzerland. The commercial was produced by Spar’s Austrian branch; it also aired on television in Switzerland’s eastern neighbor. In Switzerland, the commercial can be viewed on Spar’s website. As Egger further explained, the campaign was developed without the involvement of an advertising agency.

The Basel-based agency Dialog Lucky Lack has developed a new communication concept for the Danfoss building technology division for the Swiss and Austrian markets. In addition to product brochures, advertisements will also appear in the general and trade press, as detailed in a press release issued on Thursday.  
For Hilsa 08, the Swiss trade fair for building technology, Dialog Lucky Lack also further developed the new appearance of the company for the heating, air-conditioning and ventilation industry and implemented the trade fair stand.
Responsible at Danfoss:
Benno Kollmann (Managing Director), Daniela Buser (Marketing Director). Responsible at Dialog Lucky Lack: Carmen Bregy (concept/text, consulting), Patrick Lack (consulting), Friedrich Glatt (AD, graphics), Matthias Triet (illustrations), Roman Buikema (DTP). Stand construction: Heuberger Form Creation. 

 It was announced not so long ago: Volkswagen had won a showcase celebrity couple in Heidi Klum and Seal that could hardly have been more radiant. The supermodel/supermom and the super-soul voice wanted to advertise for the car manufacturer for three years. The two beaus were soon to be seen in the campaign for the VW Tiguan - which was launched at the beginning of November. However, VW has now announced that the campaign was canceled at the end of January after just three months. The campaign created by Grabarz & Partner apparently worked well - too well for the producers of the car, who seem to be completely overwhelmed with the building process: According to Werben & Kaufen, anyone ordering a VW Tiguan currently has to wait eleven months before the vehicle can be delivered due to the high demand - everyone wants to be like Heidi and Seal.
 
The attentive Zu guter Letzt reader will know: This is not the first time that Heidi is no longer wanted as a testimonial (see
). Perhaps in future she should just waddle down the catwalk and enjoy her picture-book marriage with Seal - if the one with VW has already failed.

 The agency Metzgerlehner Worldwide Partners, based in Erlenbach, is realizing the new overall appearance of the Neidhart+Schön Group. The core message "Neidhart+Schön=" extends across all disciplines and uses examples of the company's offerings for printed and digital communication solutions in a playful way, according to a statement from Metzgerlehner. The activities were launched last week with a mailing: a puzzle led customers to the company's new website, where they could enter a competition using a personal code and order the four newly created image brochures at the same time.
The agency is also responsible for various BTL advertising materials, which have also been in use since the beginning of February.

 
Responsible at Neidhart+Schön Group Zurich:
Joelle Loos (Head of Marketing), Cornelia Dürst (Marketing). Responsible at Metzgerlehner Worldwide Partners: Felix Dammann (CD), Marco Lehner (Strategy), Patrick Meyer (Text), Gian-Andrea Maurizio (AD), Thomas Hinderling (Consulting), Balint Dobozi (Metzgerlehner Digital), Jonathan Heyer (Photography). Pixelpolish (creative retouching), Neidhart+Schön Group (litho and printing). 

 The people and lifestyle show "Faces TV" in the Swiss program window on ProSieben enters its second season on Friday. Another 20 episodes are planned. In a press release, ProSieben (Switzerland) Managing Director Mike Gut expressed his satisfaction with the ratings for the first season: Since its launch on August 31, 2007, the magazine show has seen a steady increase in viewer numbers and now has an average market share of 5.0 percent among 15 to 49-year-olds. Each episode is watched by an average of 45,000 people. Since December 2007, "Faces TV" has also been shown on Saturdays in the early evening program, which has proved successful, according to Gut. Saturday broadcasts achieve an average market share of 10.8 percent in the aforementioned target group.
In addition to presenter Claudia Lässer, Faces ambassador Catherine Amoroso will appear as co-host in the second season. Amoroso emerged as the winner of the model and presenter casting "Face of Faces 07" on ProSieben in the fall (see
). The program will continue to be produced by Fairlane Consulting (publisher of Faces magazine) in close collaboration with Claudia Lässer.

 865 candidates took part in the Markom admission test, which was held for the second time. Of these, 754 passed the exam. The exam was held from January 21 to 25, 2008 in Zurich, Bern, St. Gallen and Lausanne. Successful graduates receive a certificate, which is one of the admission requirements for taking part in the five professional examinations in the fields of marketing, sales, direct marketing, advertising and PR from 2009. The success rate this year was 87.2 percent, with an average grade of 4.3. 865 of the 899 registered candidates ultimately took the exam. Of these, 513 were women and 352 men; 832 from German-speaking Switzerland and 33 from French-speaking Switzerland. The names of the graduates who have been awarded the MZP certificate will be published shortly on Markom.org. The next examination will take place from August 4 to 8, 2008.
The industry associations Swiss Marketing SMC, Schweizerische Gesellschaft für Marketing GfM, Verkauf Schweiz VS, Schweizer Direktmarketing Verband SDV, Schweizer Werbung SW, Schweizerische Public Relations Gesellschaft SPRG, Schweizerischer Arbeitgeberverband and KV Schweiz are members of Markom, which was founded in 2002.

 Abendzeitung Heute is now offering a new e-paper version. Users can not only browse through the newspaper virtually, but also link to individual Heute pages and integrate the e-paper into their blog, Facebook or Myspace account. It is also possible to add virtual Post-It notes to articles and send them on, as the free newspaper announced on Thursday. The technical infrastructure is provided by the Danish company "Issuu", which was founded in February 2006 and implemented the new format in collaboration with Heute Online chief developer Benjamin Rüegg and digital editor Thomas Benkö. The existing e-paper as a PDF file will be retained. Both formats will be offered in parallel in future. The new regionalized edition is available for free download daily from 3 pm.

 
Law The EU is stepping up the fight against obesity and wants to standardize food labelling. 
The EU Commission has presented its long-awaited proposal on nutritional information for food. It has met with criticism not only from food manufacturers, but also from retailers.rules down to the last detailImportant information on the nutritional value of pre-packaged foods should now appear on the front of the pack. This includes information on energy content, carbohydrate content with specific mention of sugar, salt, fat and saturated fatty acids. All of this information should relate to the average daily requirement of nutrients, based on 100 grams or milliliters or on one portion, and should have a clearly defined font size. The graphic implementation, i.e. the use of certain symbols, is a matter for the individual member states, which must make individual arrangements in national recommendations.
"Inflexible requirements""The EU Commission is overstepping the mark," said Stefan Genth, Managing Director of the German Retail Federation (HDE), on January 30 in Berlin without any ifs or buts. "The requirements are so inflexible that companies have little to no leeway when it comes to the actual implementation on the packaging. The threat of different implementations in the member states is particularly critical. This helps neither customers nor internationally active retailers," said Genth.
Due to the new regulations, companies would not only face more bureaucracy, but also significantly higher costs. The EU Council and EU Parliament still have to approve the draft regulation. If the new regulation comes into force, Swiss manufacturers will also have to comply. They will also have to adapt their labels in future.
Sabine Flaxman

 
The German public broadcasters ARD and ZDF will cooperate in the sale of advertising time in future. The Federal Cartel Office has confirmed the notification of the sales cooperation. According to a report in the online magazine Horizont.net, a joint subsidiary will be responsible for the sale of TV commercials. However, the offer, pricing, scheduling and research are to remain independent.ARD and ZDF "do not wish to comment" on the plans, as the report continues. The cooperation is welcome among buyers, but more than just advantages in administration and sales processing were expected, according to Christof Baron, COO of the Frankfurt media agency Mindshare. However, he sees things differently for the license fee payer: "From an economic point of view, the marketing of ARD and ZDF under one roof is the best thing that can happen to the license fee payer".
The proposed cooperation is unlikely to go down well with the private competition and resistance is also to be expected at a political level: only last week, the SPD's media commission renewed its call for the gradual abolition of advertising and sponsorship on ARD and ZDF. Cooperation between the two broadcasters already existed last summer with a joint image advertisement (see:
).

A nationwide siren test took place on Wednesday. The Bern-based agency Stoll, Traber und Partner (STPAG) was tasked with drawing attention to the event in all parts of the country on the day. A full-page advertisement can be seen in commuter newspapers as an accompanying measure alongside radio and TV commercials. The main focus is on the younger target group in the conurbations, according to a press release. The aim is to inform people about the upcoming siren test with a bright appearance and a target group-appropriate approach. The test is carried out annually by the Federal Office for Civil Protection (FOCP) on the first Wednesday in February.
Responsible at the Federal Office for Civil Protection FOCP:

Dr. Kurt Münger (Head of Strategy / Communication). Responsible at STPAG: Matthias Lanz (Creative Director) and Peter Brunner (Graphics).