A study commissioned by IP Multimedia shows that adscreens are an advertising medium with a high level of acceptance and impact. According to the study conducted by Demoscope, adscreens achieved high attention ratings at all 16 survey locations. Acceptance was also very high, IPM reported. On average, 70 percent of respondents think that advertising on adscreens is a good or very good idea. The study also gave adscreens a good rating in terms of advertising recall: For one commercial, aided recall values of up to 36 percent were achieved, while unaided recall of advertised brands was up to 18 percent. The survey collected extensive customer structure data from most networks. Together with the results of the Wemf Mach Consumer study and the Demoscope Market Radar study, a sound basis is now available for planning and implementing campaigns in a target group-oriented manner, the press release continues. The results can be viewed on the IPM website.

Media Focus has strengthened its team with Adrian Thomann and Sara Landolt. Adrian Thomann will strengthen the team as project manager. His main tasks will include carrying out market analyses and managing and designing projects to strengthen Media Focus's market position. The 34-year-old has many years of experience in the media and advertising landscape. He has worked as an account director at Carat Switzerland, as a media planner at Mediaedge:cia and at Publimedia in Zurich.
Sara Landolt is responsible for customer service at Media Focus. Her activities include preparing quotations, invoicing, quality assurance and planning and organizing events.

 There may soon be an elephant wedding in the digital world: the software giant Microsoft wants to take over the weakening search engine operator Yahoo. The Windows manufacturer submitted a takeover bid on Friday afternoon. It wants to pay 44.6 billion dollars for Yahoo. Shareholders are to receive 31 dollars per share. Microsoft is thus offering a premium of 62 percent on the last share price on Thursday. The deal is causing euphoria among investors, as various media report. Together, the two companies could move closer to market leader Google in the Internet search engine business. Yahoo has been struggling with numerous difficulties in recent times. Yahoo's share price had been falling practically without interruption for two years. Profits fell by almost a quarter in the final quarter of 2007 and Yahoo is also expecting difficulties in the current year. The company plans to cut around 1,000 jobs internationally. Former CEO Terry Semel also stepped down as Chairman of the Board of Directors on January 31.

 
Neue Lgk from Bern and Zurich won the pitch for the communications budget for the relaunch of the Freiburger Nachrichten. This spring, the paper is expanding its editorial team and undergoing a redesign. The first works will be on display at the launch date in March 2008. Freiburger Nachrichten is the only German-language daily newspaper in the canton of Fribourg.

 Tradedoubler reports a whopping 53 percent increase in turnover for 2007 to around 282 million euros (2.66 billion Swedish kronor). According to the press release, profits rose by 32 percent to around 67 million euros. In the fourth quarter, sales rose by 69 percent to around 92 million euros and the company recorded a 34 percent increase in profits to around 20 million euros. Tradedoubler is active in digital marketing in 18 European countries. The group of companies is headquartered in Sweden and has a branch in Zurich, Switzerland. Its Managing Director is Catrin Rubenson.

 The jury for the Marketing Trophy industry award has met and selected twelve finalists. In the Large Companies category, Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Sia Abrasives Industries, Sandoz Pharmaceuticals, and the Migros Cooperative Federation have been nominated. The finalists in the Small Businesses category are Present-Service Ullrich & Co, Liechtensteiner Brauhaus, LSE-System, and Le Sauvage. In the Nonprofit Organizations category, UNESCO Biosphere Entlebuch UBE, the PRS PET-Recycling Switzerland Association, Zepra, and Best of Swiss Gastro are in the running for the top prize. The jury’s assessment of the nominated projects can be found here. The winners will be announced during Swiss Marketing Day on March 4, 2008, at the KKL Luzern.

 The retail group Migros has chosen a successor for the departing Head of Marketing Urs Riedener, but does not yet wish to disclose the name. The head of the newly created Retail department has also been appointed: Ernst Dieter Berninghaus will take over the post. Migros will not announce the name of the newly elected head of the Marketing department until later, as it announced on Friday, out of consideration for the internal communications of his current employer. Whoever it is, he will succeed Urs Riedener, who is moving to milk processor Emmi as CEO.
Ernst Dieter Berninghaus, the second new member of the Executive Board of the Federation of Migros Cooperatives, has played a key role in the merger between Migros and Denner as an advisor to Denner CEO Philippe Gaydoul and as a member of the Denner Board of Directors, as the press release explains. Prior to this, he held management positions at the international retail group Metro for several years and was spokesman for the board of the Rewe Group.
Office World, Interio and the Globus department stores, as well as Denner, Ex Libris, Migrol (incl. convenience stores) and Le Shop, which were combined under the Globus Group umbrella until a year ago, are now part of the newly created Retail department.

 
The content and design of the French-speaking Swiss business magazine PME Magazine has been completely revised. The first issue with a new look will be published on February 1, 2008, and the Invest section in particular will have a new look. The pages of this section, which has also been greatly expanded in terms of content, are now salmon-colored. According to a press release issued on Friday, this will clearly identify them as the financial section. From now on, the front pages will be reduced to the title topic and will appear clearer and more modern. The division into four sections is also new: In addition to "Invest", which offers many tips for investors thanks to the cooperation of the Axel Springer business publications Bilanz and Stocks, readers will find personalities and current information from the business world in "En vue". "Stratégie" contains reports from the companies as well as interviews with leading business representatives and "Privé" offers lifestyle topics such as travel and shopping. The monthly title has a reach of 56,000 among decision-makers and a circulation of 12,053 copies. A broad advertising campaign in print media accompanies the revision.

 Following a relaunch, Ringier's Go4media media platform now offers various new services in addition to a refreshed visual appearance. According to a press release on Thursday, the member zone of the Blick publishing house is now integrated, in which more competitions are taking place. The new top links guide users through the site and make it easier to search for information. The microsites, which are also new, serve as pages within the title with space for exclusive information. A regular newsletter also informs recipients about news and specials from Ringier.Go4media was launched in 1999. Since then, the platform has provided visitors with information on the media landscape, such as an overview of official studies or overviews of the readership and reach of press titles.

 The "Best of Swiss Web" jury met last week and assessed 107 projects. Around half of the projects submitted under the motto "The web is round" made it through to the final round and have therefore already secured a prize: recognition as a "solid swiss made project", as reported by Netzwoche. As a number of projects have only been completed in the last few weeks, the deadline for entries has been extended until March 1. Immediately after the closing date, a public online vote and a prominent jury of football and advertising experts will decide the winners of this special prize.
The award ceremony will take place on March 11 at the Kongresshaus Zurich. Tickets can be ordered via Bestofswissweb.ch.

 
The NZZ am Sonntag newspaper reported on SRG's plans to merge Radio DRS and Swiss Television (see ). One option would be a joint editorial office at the Leutschenbach television studio in Zurich. This raises the issue of the location of the radio studios in Basel and Bern, but Bern is not enthusiastic about the merger plans. For Andreas Rickenbacher, Director of Economic Affairs of the Canton of Berne, the capital needs a radio studio. If you want political reporting, you have to be present where politics is done, he is quoted in the Aargauer Zeitung. Mayor Alexander Tschäppat is also anything but enthusiastic about the plans: "It is unacceptable that television, radio and, to a certain extent, the press are centralized in Zurich, which is not even in the middle of Switzerland. Tschäppät also refers to the recent refurbishment of the Bern studio at a cost of CHF 20 million.
Basel is also critical of the SRG's plans. Basel Councillor of States Anita Fetz fears negative consequences for reporting from the Basel region, according to the Basler Zeitung. SRG still has a public service remit that is not limited to the Zurich region. Claude Janiak, member of the Council of States for Basel, also criticizes the concentration plans: SRG radio stations are financed by fees, a large part of which comes from the Basel region. He will therefore discuss "a coordinated approach in the interests of both Basel regions" with Fetz in the near future.
Niggi Ullrich, President of SRG Region Basel and, since the beginning of the year, also a member of the Board of Directors of SRG Deutschschweiz, does not yet wish to comment on the plans, according to the Basler Zeitung. He is not yet aware of the details of the ongoing structural review. However, what he said before taking office still applies: he is committed to maintaining the studios and media jobs in the regions.

The winners of this year's Yearbook of Advertising competition have been announced. A total of 362 agencies from Germany, Austria and Switzerland submitted around 1,350 entries. The jury selected four megaphone winners from 41 industry winners and six sector winners, including agencies from Switzerland. Polyconsult from Bern, for example, was honored for its advertisements for Swiss meat in the food and enjoyment category. Neue Lgk from Bern was honored for its TV commercial for Swiss Post in the Transport and Logistics category. Ogilvy & Mather from Zurich was honored twice: Once in the Personal Needs category for the ads for Mattel and once in the Insurance category for the ads for Alliance Suisse.
The Berlin agency Heimat received a megaphone for Hornbach in the category "Communication Strategy of the Year 2007". In the category "Integrated Campaign of the Year 2007", DDB Berlin and Tribal DDB Hamburg were awarded a megaphone for VW Golf. The agency Kempertrautmann from Hamburg won a megaphone for a commercial in the category "TV appearance of the year". The agency Denkwerk received the megaphone for BMW-web.tv in the "Website of the Year" category.

All winners will be profiled in detail in the 2008 Yearbook of Advertising. The award ceremony and book presentation will take place on February 28, 2008 in Berlin.