Slow Food Coop has been working with the Slow Food association since 2006 to ensure that biological and traditional diversity is preserved in our food range. The range is constantly being expanded and now includes around 60 products, including new products from Switzerland. The international non-profit association Slow Food was founded in 1986 in response to the fast food movement and thus to the loss of food culture and diversity of taste. The association supports producers who use traditional artisanal cultivation and production methods. Together with KSB/SJ, Coop is drawing attention to the expanded range with two new Slow Food subjects, thus continuing the successful series. The pictures were taken by Hamburg star photographer Reinhard Hunger. 

 The Commission on Fair Trading has upheld a decision against Passugger in appeal proceedings. Last year, Coca-Cola submitted a complaint to the Commission against the Swiss drinks manufacturer, which was upheld. The reason for the dispute: Passugger advertises with the claim "Passugger No. 1". This does not suit Coca-Cola because the slogan gives the impression that Passugger is the Swiss market leader. Nevertheless, the traditional Graubünden brand continues to advertise with the slogan and, according to Cash Daily, has no plans to move away from it even after the appeal decision. As Passugger boss Urs Schmid told the business newspaper, the claim refers to the quality of the water, not the quantity sold. He believes it is exaggerated for an international group to take on a much smaller competitor in this way. Legally, Passugger can certainly continue: The decision of the Fair Trading Commission is not legally binding. According to Schmid, the advertising campaign will be discussed at a meeting of the Board of Directors in April. However, according to Cash Daily, Coca-Cola does not want to wait that long: they have given Passugger a short period of time to react.

 
Sunday press The NZZ Group is refraining from a regionalized NZZ am Sonntag. 
When the AZ media announced last spring that the Aargauer Zeitung would be launching a Sunday title, alarm bells rang at the NZZ. Felix E. Müller, editor-in-chief of the NZZ am Sonntag, publicly considered regionalizing his paper and at the same time put a question mark over the fact that this would not necessarily be economically viable. When publisher Peter Wanner's seventh edition of the Aargauer Zeitung was launched last fall, there was probably a brief and cautious cough behind the doors of the two Zurich publishing houses NZZ and Tamedia. Because Wanner's Sonntag is a veritable fourth Sunday title. "More of the same", commented Felix E. Müller on the paper, adding that even more Federal Councillors would now have the opportunity to give interviews in the Sunday press. And Falkenstrasse adopted a wait-and-see attitude, but kept the idea of regionalization up its sleeve as a small threat scenario. Since then, the feared cooperation between other titles in the Sonntagsmarkt and Wanner's new paper has not materialized. Hanspeter Lebrument remains the only one so far with his Südostschweiz am Sonntag. But that could soon change this fall, when the Neue Luzerner Zeitung, a wholly-owned NZZ subsidiary, will produce its own seventh edition.
NLZ rebuffedThe Lucerne newspaper had already put out feelers in Aargau once and examined cooperation with the Aargau publisher in a joint Sunday title, but was rebuffed by the NZZ Group management. But now it is clear: "If the NLZ brings out a seventh edition, then that is also okay at NZZ Group level. It will make its position clear on Sunday," says Alfred Hümmerich, Chairman of the NZZ Group Management. For Hümmerich, one thing is clear: the media market in Switzerland is becoming ever tighter. That is why the NZZ wants to become more active as a group. The planned seventh edition of the NLZ fits perfectly into the strategy and was developed significantly within the Group framework. This means that the idea of a regionalized NZZ am Sonntag has clearly been abandoned. At Falkenstrasse, preference is obviously being given to regional solutions for the traditional papers in which the NZZ has a strategic stake. The St. Galler Tagblatt, which is 95 percent owned by the NZZ, therefore also sees potential for a journalistic expansion into Sunday. "We are looking into it, but not this year," says Hümmerich. This is because the conditions in St. Gallen are different to those in Lucerne, he says.
Search for synergiesFrom the point of view of those responsible at NLZ, the extension to Sunday is a logical consequence of the continuing trend in the industry. The decision may even come a little late, as the figures in the reader and advertising market have tended to calm down. "The trend is not over yet," says NLZ Managing Director Jürg Weber with conviction. His company also wants to put out feelers for potential cooperation partners on Reading Sunday in future. "We are open to various partners and are looking for synergies," he says. Weber is thinking of combining advertisements and exchanging articles with the editorial offices of other newspapers, namely Sonntag and Südostschweiz am Sonntag. This will give NZZ am Sonntag the competition it actually wanted to avoid. However, the competition is partly home-made and some of the income from the possible combinations flows back to the NZZ Group, which owns NLZ in its entirety. Those responsible are currently working on the concept.
René Worni

 
René Worni on the beauty ideals of media managers An accomplished journalist offered Die Zeit in Hamburg an elaborate background story and was told: "We'd be happy to print your text, but we can't pay you a fee." Five years must have passed since then, and the media landscape has changed considerably. But you hear jokes like the one described more often now. This has to do with so-called quality journalism. Because in an age of free content on paper and on the Internet, shareholder-conscious media managers are once again back in favor of quality. Less is more. But where once the world paper Le Monde was one of the journalistic references (a conspicuously thin postille for its importance), today economic constraints alone dictate this less. Le Matin boss Peter Rothenbühler, for example, pitted the Tribune de Genève (12 regional journalists) against Le Temps (2 regional journalists) at the start of the year and concluded that Le Temps clearly has the better quality regional stories. So slim down and make savings. Less is more. Tamedia CEO Martin Kall agrees. He bought the Bern-based Espace in order to synergize with it. He and his new subordinate Albert P. Stäheli are faced with the paradoxical question: is it possible to produce even better journalism with even fewer resources? Last year, there were 770,000 more readers in Switzerland than the year before. That makes sense.
In 2000, newspapers earned 663 million francs more from advertising than in 2006. In the case of regional newspapers, advertising and readership are in continuous decline. The pressure is mainly on the expensive editorial offices, because they are the easiest to save on. The constant upholding of journalistic quality is therefore no coincidence and is intended to conceal the actual misery. The lean editorial team has become the undernourished beauty ideal of managers and is slowly threatening to starve to death.
By the way, have you heard of him? An experienced journalist recently offered a major Zurich regional newspaper relevant research. The editor reflexively asked: "Do you write for free?" And when he contacted the magazine of the same paper with another story: "Come back when you have an interview with Hillary Clinton!" That can't be right.
René Worni, Editor

 
Ranking The ADC jury rolled 5 gold and 12 silver dice and took a risky gamble. 
"One thing in particular should be noted: Switzerland seems to be turning more and more from a print country into a film country," writes the ADC in its media release on the judging of the best of 2007. When the proud realization was sent out, it was probably not yet considered what discussion would be triggered by the fact that two of the three spots honored with gold were conceived and realized in Germany and not in the "film country Switzerland". The summary of the controversy that has since boiled over: The gold for the Mercedes spots for Jung von Matt/Limmat is legally valid. However, a bit of anger remains - not only for Zurich CD Alexander Jaggy, because his third gold spot for Smart, which was actually created on the Limmat, was somewhat overlooked in this polemic, but otherwise the judging was a worthy "Chästeilet" of Swiss creatives. Andreas Prokesch, as chairman of the jury, led the always factual arguments purposefully and competently to the point. ADC President Jean Etienne Aebi, who after 32 years of voting once again only acted as a neutral supervisor this year, judged the results to be good. The judging was fair but tough. "The shortlist did not exhaust the possible contingent, but the selected works can also hold their own internationally." Aebi found the discussions at shortlist/bronze level almost more exciting than at silver and gold level. "Here the ideas were still polarizing, and the polarizing is the more interesting thing about advertising."
And so to the equally polarizing ranking list: The big winner this year is the advertising agency Jung von Matt/Limmat with three gold films. Gold was also awarded to Ruf Lanz with the posters for ricardo.ch. The fifth gold was awarded in the photography category for Studio Achermann and the photo series "Saisonvorschau" (Schauspielhaus Zürich).
In addition to the silver-winning work shown here, there is also the poster version of the Suva saw (the ad is shown here) by Ruf Lanz and a radio spot for CP helmets by the Young & Rubicam Group. Spillmann Felser Leo Burnett won silver in the overall campaign category for Helvepharm.
More details, rankings and comments can be found at www.werbewoche.ch. The spots can also be downloaded there.
Andreas Panzeri

 
Outdoor advertising The Publiscreen is both entertainment and advertising space. The interactive screen will be used in restaurants for the first time at Euro 08.  
They are now everywhere. Mainly in supermarkets, in waiting areas at airports or in movie theater lobbies. We are talking about large flat screens, known in advertising jargon as adscreens. Just in time for Euro 08, catering establishments are to be equipped with them on a grand scale. The project is called "Publiscreen" and is not an electronic poster but, according to its own description, "an interactive screen for restaurants, bars and pubs".
Multimedia is the magic word. At the heart of the flicker board is an "interactive service". Rather than simply bombarding customers with advertising, as is usual at POS points, the Publiscreen aims to offer more. Guests can download music or play music videos via their cell phone. The screen also offers wireless Internet access and shows non-stop news from politics, sport and entertainment on the lower part of the screen.
Publiscreen is an ambitious project backed by a broad community of stakeholders. One of the reasons for launching such a multimedia product is the sharp rise in mobile content expenditure. It has been growing at double-digit rates for years, as various studies have shown. People pay for information services, downloads, ringtones and games. It is not only the heavy use of cell phones that is the reason why interactive ad screens in restaurants are on the rise. The shift in sales from traditional poster advertising to ad screen solutions has also led to the further development and development of a new market.
Supported by event cultureWhile attractive ad screen locations are already occupied, the hospitality sector is predominantly free advertising territory. Only Screen Image Media operates a network in 50 well-known bars and clubs that reaches around 300,000 people per month in German-speaking Switzerland. With the Publiscreen project, the creators are targeting the entire hospitality market, which is extremely lucrative due to its small-scale nature. In addition, more and more establishments are positioning themselves in the entertainment, fun and games sector, which suits the concept. The Swiss restaurant universe currently comprises 30,000 restaurants and hotels. According to the communications consultants from Greenwich Consulting, who carried out a market analysis for the project, 5,500 of these are suitable for ad screens. Of these, 1,000 are to be equipped this year.
In addition to the strong multimedia focus, landlords can select three operating modes during the launch phase. What they all have in common is the division of the screen into three content areas (see image on page 9). The bottom of the screen shows news, the right-hand side of the screen is reserved for advertising, and the main screen can show either TV, radio with a picture or an interactive application such as a jukebox. For the time being, a few basic products are available on Publiscreen, but these will be continuously expanded as the project progresses.
In future, the aim is to earn money not only through advertising, but also through the clever networking of content and the strong involvement of cell phones. The focus is on so-called value-added services, which generated revenues of CHF 200 million in Switzerland last year. In addition to erotic offers, the main revenue drivers are sports and health topics.
Not only restaurant guests, but also content providers such as 20 Minuten or Swisslos should be able to benefit from the concept. Gambling in particular could prove to be a lucrative source of money. As can be read in the Publiscreen concept, the aim of the product is to attract target groups with an affinity for gambling who are spontaneously tempted to play. Studies have shown that impulse buyers spend up to 20 francs.
Investors wantedIn order for the project to be realized in time for Euro 08, however, investors are still being sought. "Financing is still in progress," says Manuel Küffer from Greenwich Consulting. Installation work is to begin in April at the latest, once the project is financially secured. There are various reasons why investors are still reluctant to invest in Adscreens. Industry experts believe that people are still skeptical about the young advertising medium. Coop, for example, is restructuring its ad screen network in the Coop front stores and is going over the books again. The company Point.com with its White Night Screens in 21 toilets in bars and clubs has also discontinued its activities. The investment costs were to blame. Not least because of such failures, ad screens do not enjoy the best reputation in the advertising industry everywhere. In terms of costs, Manuel Küffer says: "Hardware prices are now at a level where investments pay off."
In addition to the lack of funds, the acquisition of restaurant operators is proving to be a sticking point. Since the beginning of January, Network 41 has been working on convincing restaurateurs of the Publiscreen concept. As Küffer told Werbewoche, it has already been possible to win over almost 100 restaurant operators for a screen in three weeks with reasonable effort, but the acquisition is very time-consuming. On the one hand, because there are few large restaurant chains in Switzerland that can be approached. Secondly, it is not easy to negotiate with landlords because many restaurants already have TVs, screens or projectors. Added to this is the fact that there are many changes of tenant in Switzerland.
Eugen Studer, who runs a pub in Horw, will have a public screen at Euro 08. Why he is making room for a screen in the pub is easy to say: "Because it's free." He is also hoping for additional income. It is not possible to say how much this will be in the future.
The Publiscreen has also met with interest from customers. The only point of criticism is the size of the screen (126 cm screen diagonal), which is criticized. On the other hand, advertisers are very enthusiastic. Two advertising agencies with national and regional clients are very positive about the concept. They particularly welcome the possibility of placing advertising depending on the context.
Christian Lüscher
 

 
 
 
PubliscreenBehind the concept
Publiscreen is a consortium made up of the marketer IP Multimedia, the hardware supplier PC Ware, Network 41 and Materna Communications. Greenwich Consulting Switzerland and Zölch & Partner were commissioned to carry out the detailed study. The news on the Publiscreen network is supplied by 20 Minuten (Tamedia). 
 
 
Adscreens on the riseIn Switzerland
the market for adscreens is growing. In 2006, twelve million francs worth of advertising was placed on this audiovisual medium in Switzerland. Fredy Grau from IP Multimedia estimates that 35 million will be spent by the end of the current year. This is roughly equivalent to the amount invested in cinema advertising. With 16 networks and a market share of around one third, IP Multimedia is the largest marketer of adscreens. IP Multimedia is particularly strong in the Mittelland and Zurich regions.

 
Newspaper 20-minute readers know what to talk about: The list of topics provides them with Rod Kommunikation. 
20 minutes is always something to talk about. In the morning, because the streetcar resembles a waste paper dump. In the evening, because you miss the variety of free newspapers. During the day, because the commuter paper turns the silence in the office into a discussion arena. If you want to have a say, you have to read 20Minuten, if you miss an issue, you have nothing to say. This is one way of describing the development of the initially reviled paper into a leading medium. The Zurich agency Rod Kommunikation sums up this fact for 20Minuten in its new campaign with the claim "Bringt Gesprächsstoff". The campaign subjects show a collection of shortened original headlines. To underline the leading position of the most widely read daily newspaper - around half of the articles are original editorial work - readers are sometimes asked to chat with the gardener about "corpses in the garden".
The agency developed 20 subjects for the launch of the campaign, which also provided a talking point for the 20 Minuten editorial team. "The fact that we always have to expect to find our stories in advertising has an inspiring effect," says Editor-in-Chief Marco Boselli. The campaign is currently present in the Swiss press, on B2B advertising media, in several radio spots and numerous web banners. The advertisers on Neugutstrasse in Zurich have also come up with a sweet guerrilla campaign to communicate the new direction of the free newspaper on the agency side. Rod Kommunikation sent a cake designed with the campaign motif to those agencies that were shortlisted at the ADC awards last weekend. Rod boss David Schärer: "We see the cake as a conversation starter. People are known to get talking over coffee and cake."
The cake campaign was a success. At the request of Werbewoche, the sweet pastries were eaten by the Bern agency Contexta, Spillmann Felser Leo Burnett and Ruf Lanz on the day of delivery. Only Walker is still waiting for dessert. Pius Walker: "Unfortunately, I couldn't find anything in the fridge."
Has Rod Kommunikation forgotten the advertiser of the year?
Christian Lüscher

 
Magazine Two sports journalists launch the "Basler Fussball" newspaper and expect to be in the black as early as this year Is the Basel region so obsessed with football that it wants to read a newspaper three times a week devoted exclusively to the game? Some may doubt it, but Michael Martin and Daniel Schaub, the initiators of the new newspaper "Basler Fussball", which will be published three times a week from February 2, are convinced otherwise. According to a survey, around a third of the 600,000 inhabitants of north-western Switzerland have an affinity for football, says Martin. That makes a potential audience for the new newspaper of around 200,000 people. If only 5 percent of them order a subscription for 140 francs (or 125 francs until the end of March) or regularly buy a copy for one franc at the kiosk, the business plan could work out for the two publishers. Of course, this also depends on advertising revenue. But in this respect, the new paper is off to a moderate start: a full page in four colors costs 1,750 francs for Basel Football. Advertising sales via Publicitas Basel appear to have got off to a good start. "We hope to be in the black as early as 2008," says Martin.Enthusiasm among the clubsThe tabloid newspaper will kick off with a circulation of 20,000 copies and an expected 32 pages (one third of which will be advertisements). Martin and Schaub, both long-standing sports journalists at the Basler Zeitung and editors of "rotweiss", the monthly magazine of the Swiss Football Association, have been relying not only on their expertise, but also on their network of contacts in north-western Switzerland: with presidents of regional clubs, coaches, FCB greats and officials. Basler Fussball not only focuses on the FCB, the national team or the current Euro 08 (although this is certainly not neglected), but the newspaper also reports on the approximately 105 local football clubs in the region. Accordingly, the clubs and associations are downright enthusiastic about the project, says Martin. Many clubs have spontaneously pledged their support, be it with subscription advertising and distribution among members, or by sending regular information to the six-strong Basler-Fussball editorial team.
Incidentally, those who subscribe to Basler Fussball do not receive the newspaper by post, but in their letterbox early on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays - thanks to cooperation with Prevag, the delivery organization of Basler Zeitung Medien. The paper is also produced at their printing center.
Expansion conceivableThe fact that Schaub and Martin are launching the first football newspaper on the Rhine knee of all places has primarily to do with their own local roots. But they are not ruling out the possibility of expanding the concept - assuming it is successful in Basel. "It is quite conceivable that the concept could also be implemented in a second region," says Martin. At the moment, however, this is still a step too far. "But we will be the first to expand when we see the signs," he adds.
And another expansion option was mentioned at the press conference by inquiring journalists: that Basel football could one day serve as a supplement to a larger daily newspaper if it is successful. Although the initiators themselves have not thought about this, they say, they obviously do not reject this idea outright.
Markus Knöpfli

Goldbach Media is bringing in Thomas Landolt as a prominent reinforcement for the development of its business in Eastern Europe, where the group apparently has plans to make acquisitions. Landolt was Managing Director for Ringier in the Czech Republic and Romania for six years before being appointed to the top of Ringier Switzerland at the beginning of 2007. However, his time as Head of Publishing Switzerland was short-lived: after six months he resigned his post (see Landolt leaves
). He worked for Ringier for a total of eleven years. Goldbach Media announced at the time of its IPO last year that it wanted to enter Eastern European markets, possibly together with the Adlink Group. Now the marketer seems to be in a shopping and bargain mood: The current situation on the financial markets "favors acquisition-driven growth at more interesting conditions from a business perspective", the communiqué states in somewhat disguised terms.
Landolt will join Goldbach Media on March 1, 2008 as Head of International Business. At the same time, he complements the existing six-member management team.

 The consumer magazine Beobachter is still prohibited from publishing a whole series of allegations against a Thurgau construction company. This was stated by the Arbon District Court in two rulings. At the same time, it lifted a distribution ban for the Beobachter from December 2006. At that time, the construction company had obtained a super-provisional injunction against the magazine because it had published a critical article. However, the distribution ban imposed remained largely ineffective because the issue in question was already in circulation (see
). Two months earlier, the Beobachter had already been banned by the court from publishing accusations against the construction company in its magazine. The magazine then published the incriminated allegations indirectly: it posted the full wording of the superprovisional injunction on the Internet. It listed the statements that were not allowed to be printed. In the order published on Tuesday, the court described this approach as "cunning".
The observer now has to pay around CHF 10,000 for the construction company's legal fees following two rulings that are not yet legally binding. He also has to pay around 3,000 francs in court costs. The court also meticulously lists on more than five pages which statements the Beobachter is still not allowed to print.
In one of the two rulings published on Tuesday, the president of the Arbon court also defends himself against accusations against him personally. The observer had accused the court president of having personal relationships with the opponents in the proceedings. However, an application for recusal by the observer was rejected by the Thurgau High Court in 2007.

 In 2008, the Zurich Press Ball will be expanded into the Swiss Media Ball and will boast all kinds of new features. The Press Ball and Media Ball combination will take place on October 25, 2008 and will be held in the renovated Dolder Grand Hotel in Zurich. This was announced on Tuesday by the Zurich Press Association as the organizer and Frey Communications as the organizer of the Zurich Press Ball. The NZZ will act as media partner, producing the ball newspaper in the layout of the Neue Zürcher Zeitung. The partnership with the Media Ball is open to interested media organizations, and an agreement with the Swiss Press Association has already been signed. The concept of a guest country, familiar from the Press Ball, will be continued. The first guest country at the Media Ball will be France. Another innovation: the prices for the ball have risen sharply. The dinner ball ticket has gone up by 200 francs and now costs 690 francs. The champagne ball ticket, which entitles the holder to entry after dinner, costs 390 francs. The night owl ticket, which gives admission from midnight, is still available for taster guests at a price of 290 francs. Members of the Zurich Press Association receive a CHF 100 discount on each ticket for themselves and their personal companions.

 
This year's ADC judging has caused a row in the industry: it caused a stir at the ADC Festival, those involved and directly affected expressed their opinions in the press, and even anonymous letters were sent. The fact that the two gold-winning Mercedes commercials by Jung von Matt/Limmat were created in Germany is a source of irritation for some creatives. The Swiss Jean-Remy von Matt, who is a minority shareholder of Jung von Matt/Limmat and a regular jury member of ADC Switzerland, was also involved in the development of the commercials. But they were largely conceived in Germany. And that led to harsh reactions. There is talk of distortion of competition and, behind closed doors, even of unfair competition.
ADC President Jean Etienne Aebi is of the opinion that the two Mercedes commercials comply with current ADC regulations and that the jury's decision is therefore justified. This may be true, but the decision somehow leaves a stale feeling.
Critics are already warning that in future all network agencies will send in the best spots from their colleagues in Paris, London or elsewhere. Some alibi Swiss will surely be found, the submission will be legally flawless and the gold cubes will come. It probably won't be that bad, but the credibility of the ADC is at stake.
ADC Switzerland wants to promote awareness of creativity in advertising. This is extremely important for the industry, because only creative advertising can counteract the latent anti-advertising reflex in politics. The ADC is therefore well advised to go over the books as quickly as possible. A debate on whether the entry conditions are correct and still up to date is urgently needed. This is the only way to avoid such unpleasant cases in the future. Cases that are bad for the reputation of the entire industry. And nobody wants that.
Commentary by Pierre C. Meier, Editor-in-Chief of Werbewoche