Former Weltwoche advertising manager Michael Hermann will become the new managing director of the media company IDG Communications on March 3, 2008. He succeeds Gebhard Osterwalder, who is retiring in the middle of the year. Osterwalder will, however, remain at the company's disposal as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors until September 30, 2008. The 39-year-old Michael Hermann was previously Head of Marketing and Sales at Engeli & Partner Verlag. He can look back on many years of experience in the media industry, as IDG announced. After holding various positions within Publigroupe, at Travel Inside, NZZ and Berner Zeitung, he worked for the former Jean Frey as advertising manager for Weltwoche, among others. He left there in the summer of 2006.
IDG Communications is a subsidiary of the IDG International Data Group and publishes the titles PCtipp and Computerworld in Switzerland.

 Smokers among media professionals smoke an average of 16.5 cigarettes a day. This was revealed by a survey of over 1,000 journalists in Switzerland conducted in November. 231 of them stated that they smoked at least one cigarette a day. 269 described themselves as ex-smokers. 43 percent of journalists who smoke consume eleven to 20 cigarettes a day. On average, they have been smoking for almost 22 years, and the misjudgement of their own willpower that is common among smokers does not seem to stop at media professionals: After all, 33 percent of smokers are convinced that they could give up their vice if they only wanted to. Strangely enough, however, almost two out of three smokers surveyed have already tried to quit without success. 11 percent have even tried more than five times.
Nevertheless, compared to the rest of the Swiss population, the journalists are not really addicted to nicotine - according to the Federal Office of Public Health, around 29% of the population of smoking age smoked in 2006. Among journalists, the figure is significantly lower at 23 percent. So it seems that the cliché of the journalist who smokes all the time needs to be reconsidered.

 
Outdoor advertising The growing number of air passengers is playing into the hands of airport advertising. The three most important Swiss airports again reported higher passenger numbers last year. Zurich Airport had 20.7 million passengers in 2007, 7.8 percent more than the previous year and about the same as in 1999, but still below the record set in 2000 (22.7 million passengers). Geneva-Cointrin, the only airport that has been growing steadily for years, is a different story: There, the 10 million mark was exceeded for the first time and an increase of 9.5 percent to 10.8 million passengers was recorded! EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse also reached a record level with 4.2 million passengers (+6 percent). Alpar Airport (Bern-Belp), on the other hand, suffered a decline of 9.4 percent with 106,619 passengers.The following profited: Clear Channel Outdoor Plakanda, which services Unique and parts of EuroAirport, APG, present in Basel and Geneva, JCDecaux, which is also active at EuroAirport, and Baracom, which markets Bern-Belp. (mk)

 45-year-old Jann Jenatsch from Graubünden is the new CEO of the Keystone photo agency. He takes over immediately from Walter Grolimund, who will become the new Chairman of the Board of Directors of Keystone. Jenatsch was previously the COO of Keystone. With Jenatsch, the new owners of Keystone, Austria Presse Agentur (APA) and Schweizerische Depeschenagentur (SDA), want to ensure continuity. Jenatsch is a trained architect and has been with Keystone for 22 years.
APA acquired 60 percent of Keystone's shares at the beginning of the year, SDA 40 percent (
). The previous majority shareholders of the photo agency were Walter Grolimund and Thedy Hummel. The sale of Keystone was completed at an extraordinary general meeting on Tuesday. Thedy Hummel and Philippe Perraud left the Board of Directors, while Wolfgang Vyslozil and Peter Kropsch were newly elected as APA representatives and Markus Schwab and Bernard Maissen as SDA representatives.

 
The readers of Tele and Werbewoche voted Wirz's creative work for Mobiliar as the campaign of the year. The witty damage reports won around 20 percent of the readers' votes. The award was presented on Wednesday evening in Zurich's Kaufleuten by Werbewoche editor-in-chief Pierre C. Meier and presenter Sven Epiney. Managing Director Geri Aebi and the two chief creatives Matthias Freuler and Hanspeter Schweizer accepted the award to the applause of the assembled advertisers, with the Chirat campaign by advertising agency JWT+H+F taking second place (16.6 percent). In third place was the campaign for Switzerland Tourism by Spillmann/Felser/Leo Burnett, with a good 13.5 percent of the vote.
You can read more about the campaign of the year in the current Advertising Week No. 2 or on
Mobiliar becomes Campaign of the Year 2008

Furniture
Unikat organized the first Christmas tree toss in Switzerland for the furniture store Ikea. And that's: customarily different. 
The young man looks intently at the ground. Then he takes a running start and, after three turns, hurls a Christmas tree through the air in the manner of a hammer thrower. The spiky greenery lands eight meters away and in the middle of the audience. The people applaud. "Also a possibility," comments David Karasek. The referee has the throw repeated. This time the man throws the tree like a javelin. Six meters away. "Very bad, but thanks for taking part," the Radio 24 presenter tries to console him. The scene took place at the weekend in the station hall in Zurich and was part of a marketing campaign by the Swedish furniture store Ikea called Knut. This is the winter sale at Ikea.
Swedes celebrate longerKnut was once a Scandinavian king who allegedly died tragically in 1086. While in Switzerland Christmas ends on Epiphany, the Swedes celebrate until the anniversary of Knut's death on January 13. Then they dance one last time around the Christmas tree, which is then catapulted out of the window in a high arc, as the Ikea TV commercial shows these days.
Hundreds took partBecause the trees are falling, the prices should fall too. To publicize the sales campaign, Ikea is using the Christmas tree toss. Despite wintry temperatures, hundreds of people gathered in the Ikea arenas in Zurich, Lausanne and Lugano to prove themselves in this young discipline. Not unimportant: in addition to fame and honor, prizes worth 36,000 francs awaited the winners. Athletes could compete in the categories of men, women, young people and children.
The campaign was launched by the Küsnacht-based advertising agency Unikat, which has been advertising for the Swedish furniture store since 2003. The agency shares the Ikea budget with Vizner Borel. In the first phase, the advertisers set themselves the goal of establishing the name of the winter sales. To this end, the German TV commercial was adapted for Switzerland and used between Christmas and New Year. As the name Knut had become very popular due to the media frenzy surrounding the Berlin polar bear, the first Swiss Christmas tree throwing championship was launched and advertised in advertisements, flyers and on the Internet.
Looking back, Unikat owner Jan Mauerer draws a positive conclusion. His agency was able to persuade a total of 1,300 participants to compete in the young long throw discipline. Waiting times of up to 30 minutes were accepted. The only rule was not to put your foot on the other side of a red line. The audience therefore witnessed the most creative throwing techniques. Some catapulted the saplings into the field like Scottish tree trunk throwers, while others were inspired by javelin or hammer throwing.
Javelin thrower with best distance The campaign ends on January 19 with the award ceremony and presentation of prizes and medals in Spreitenbach. The winner of the competition is Partrick Bütikofer. As Jan Maurer told Werbewoche, a former javelin thrower set the record. The man threw the green almost 14 meters. For comparison: according to Maurer, the average distance among the men was six meters. The Christmas tree throwing is not over yet. Unikat created a game for the Ikea website, which is currently being advertised on high-reach Swiss internet sites. The record there is almost 160 meters.
Addendum: What works with trees also works with Ikea furniture. The author recently had to dispose of a rack. According to his own estimates, he took a running jump and transported it four meters and ten meters deep into the skip of a Zurich waste disposal facility. The fact that the laborious assembly of the furniture once got him into an argument with his girlfriend has nothing to do with the throwing performance.
Christian Lüscher
Curious world of long throwingYou can throw pretty much anything that your muscles can handle. While the Greeks threw javelins to compete in the Olympic Games, today - in keeping with the spirit of the times - people throw cell phones or cow pats. At the cell phone throwing Olympics in Finland, participants threw their devices up to 90 meters. One of the most bizarre competitions is held every year in Beaver (USA). People compete in the cow patty long throw. The world record in this discipline was allegedly set by Steve Urner in 1981 with 81.1 meters. The Ikea Christmas tree championship is not the only one. In Germany, entire village communities have been gathering for years to compete in the Christmas tree competition. The disciplines: High throw over a pole, long throw analogous to the well-known javelin throw and sling throw, which is similar to the hammer throw. (cl)?

Abroad
Young creatives in crisis now have a TV series and a social network. We're talking about "Quarterlife".  
The life of a young creative is not easy. The track record is still short and working with the industry's old hands is often associated with frustration. This can sometimes plunge young free spirits into a crisis of meaning. In the USA, the series "Quarterlife" has been dealing with the worries and fears of young creatives since November. The series tells the life stories of six creative people in their mid-20s. The story begins with Dylan (Bitsie Tulloch), who blurts out her friends' most private secrets in her overly honest video blog. Incidentally, they are sounding out their future as filmmakers, actors, journalists or photographers. As you might expect, not everyone is enthusiastic about the blog. A total of 36 episodes, each eight minutes long, were produced. With "Quarterlife", the film business presents us with a premiere. For the first time in film history, a series is moving from the online world to the TV screen. Three months ago, the project was launched on the Internet portal Myspace.com. Following its success on the web, it will be broadcast on NBC's US network in the spring. The television company acquired the rights from the well-known screenwriters Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick. As soon as all episodes have been shown on the network, NBC will begin broadcasting.
According to NBC, the eight-minute episodes will be packed into a TV-compliant 60-minute format, which the makers don't mind. Quarterlife" was originally intended for television. Three years ago, Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick peddled their series concept to ABC - but were rejected by the Disney channel. The authors claim that, apart from the name of the series, everything was completely rewritten and tailored to the Internet. However, critics openly question this. The pointed remark: with the best will in the world, no interactive elements or other Internet-specific narrative forms can be found. Rather, "Quarterlife" is an attempt to bring an idea that failed at the first attempt to television.
Space for self-expressionAlthough there is no "Internet-specific narrative form" to be found, the project nevertheless sets a milestone in the film business and on the Internet. Parallel to the series, the makers of "Quarterlife" have set up a so-called social network in the style of Myspace. Young creatives, whether aspiring ADs or copywriters, can create profiles on the platform and network with each other. The website also allows young creatives to publish their work in the form of MP3s, videos and photos. In their blogs, young artists ponder copyright issues on the Internet or discuss scripts uploaded by others. In addition to blogs and forums, Quarterlife.com is also an information platform with editorial articles on training opportunities and helpful link lists.
For the creators of the series, building a community of artists has another purpose than offering the young people a platform for self-expression. The concept allegedly envisages that the users will later have a say in the further course of the series. This protects the project from the scriptwriters' strike in two ways. Firstly, because "Quarterlife" is an internet project and the production company is not a member of the currently striking producers' association AMPTP, and secondly because the community is actively involved in writing the story. It remains to be seen whether "Quarterlife" will lead to a rethink in the TV business.
Christian Lüscher

The readers of Werbewoche have voted. This year, the founder of what he defines as the "smallest advertising agency in the world" has won over the largest fan base within the Swiss creative industry.
WW: The "smallest advertising agency in the world" - how long can Walker keep this title? Pius Walker: (laughs) This question is now almost as old as our agency. But fortunately, as citizens of this country, we don't have to ask ourselves whether we will be forced to enlarge Switzerland after a positive economic development.
What is the advantage of a small agency? Interestingly, the size of an agency is limited at the top. You won't find an agency anywhere in the world that employs more than a few hundred people in one building. Yet the other would be perfectly feasible. So if the quality of an advertising agency increased with its size, our industry would look very different. But agencies have realized that growth reduces creativity, so they automatically split up into smaller units. The connection between these units is then called a network. And it is precisely this form that we are also adopting. Perhaps with the difference that we are trying to use this principle even more consistently. But we didn't set up this agency to introduce a new agency structure, but because we have set ourselves the goal of creating exceptional advertising. The structure merely helps us to achieve this goal.
Are there any disadvantages? Let's wait and see.
As the new number 39 in the world, are you also interested in budgets abroad? Ironically, the majority of our campaigns are now also being used outside Switzerland. This also means an increasing number of inquiries from abroad. This was never planned, but of course we are still pleased.
The agency is always in the media with creative awards. In concrete terms, does this also bring new orders? We were able to acquire eight new clients last year. A fact that perhaps has less to do with creative awards than with the proven commercial success of the award-winning campaigns. However, creative awards are certainly a nice acknowledgement of the work we have done.
How often is the agency invited to pitch? It's a remarkable thing with these pitches. So far, we have been able to win all our new clients on the basis of a customized strategy presentation. Not once, however, has it been as part of an agency pitch. Two to five agencies usually work superficially and under surreal conditions towards a client presentation within such a pitch round due to the limited time available. Is this really the best way to find the best campaign and the right agency? Or is pitching now a discipline in its own right - a show that can't really do justice to solving the actual communication task? I have to admit that we are becoming increasingly skeptical about this process.
You do communications for Amnesty International, Max Havelaar and Rega: how attractive is the agency to more commercial clients? at the moment, almost a third of our clients are charities in some way. That's a nice feeling and we can well imagine maintaining this relationship in the future. However, we are primarily interested in a customer's mission; the sector is of secondary importance. Ultimately, there are no non-commercial clients, because even NGOs are primarily interested in the success of a campaign at the end of the day.
How much does the growing economic success of your agency mean to you? Success secures us the funds we need to continue on our path and maintain our independence. And it also pays for a few nice things from time to time, such as our new espresso machine, which we are all very proud of.
There is a new ranking with fewer festivals in Werbewoche's creative ranking. What do you think of this development? You don't give yourself the title of creative agency, it's awarded to you. That's what gives the competitions their legitimacy. The competition organizers are actually handsomely compensated for this achievement. The new rating is a major step forward. In future, agencies will have to spend significantly less time and resources to achieve the same year-end result in the creative ranking.
How should you imagine the work process at the smallest agency in the world? perhaps not so different from anywhere else. Different people work on a customer's task until they have found the solution. Our telephone costs are probably a little higher because our employees are not necessarily based in the same building.
What did you want when you chose the advertising profession? I like to seduce and I am fascinated by the search for ever new ways to do this. The longer I've been doing advertising now, the more my job has become what I dreamed of back then. It's a privilege to develop an idea for our customers or to be there when it comes into being. An older midwife once told me that even after hundreds of births, the fascination of this one moment has never left her.
What annoys you about your job? People who don't take their job seriously. Cheap tricks and showmanship. Advertising that insults the intelligence of the viewer.
As "Advertiser of the Year", what do you think of the threat of advertising bans? Advertising bans are a capitulation to the task of preventing such bad advertising. I've never heard anyone say: "I saw a good advertisement yesterday, but it bothered me." Everyone likes to be courted. But nobody likes to be bothered.
Most media such as commuter newspapers, private TV and radio are now financed exclusively by advertising. What do you think about this situation? The problem lies in the mixing of editorial content and advertising. I believe in a clear signature for each message. They want to know who is speaking to them and with what intention. I see a logo at the bottom right of an ad and I know that this brand wants to win me over. That's what I like about good advertising; it's open and honest. It is a disadvantage for everyone involved if I no longer know who paid for the editorial content. The editorial team loses its credibility and the reader feels cheated. But the brand also loses favor when you realize that it has tried to impress me with a trick.
There are shifts in budgets between traditional advertising and new forms. How do you assess this development? The range of possibilities available to us creatives is growing all the time. This gives our paintbox new and fascinating colors. But the idea itself is and remains the decisive factor. A bad movie is not suddenly good because it is sent to my cell phone. What is also certain is that more and more is being communicated and advertised. Only the really best ideas stand out from the crowd. With our agency form, we want to keep our agency fit in order to find them again and again.
What are your goals with your agency? We have a long road ahead of us. We are not yet where we want to be in terms of creativity and quality.
What criteria do you use to judge a campaign? I think it's wrong to look at advertising solely from the advertiser's point of view. The consumer's eye is more important. This raises the question: Would I open an account with this bank? Would I wear this sneaker? Can I make my girlfriend happier with a bouquet of flowers than with a box of chocolates? As soon as I answer these questions positively, I have achieved my goal. That's why I attach great importance to the judgment of people outside the industry.
What makes you a proud agency owner? We are delighted to see what we achieve together with our clients. Amnesty International, for example, recorded a twenty-fold increase in website visits immediately after the first poster campaign and the donation figures for 2007 have just been published. Following the new TV commercial and mailing, these have risen by a further 10 percent, giving Amnesty its most successful year of donations ever. Fleurop was able to celebrate the best-selling Mother's Day in the company's history in 2007 and Maxiprint was delighted with a 44 percent jump in sales compared to the previous year immediately after the Newskweek campaign. Of course, the success of a company does not depend solely on marketing measures. But it is nice that we can make a contribution to this.
How do people manage to get a job at your agency? We always look at all applications with great interest. We want to remain the smallest agency in the world and keep our base lean. Nevertheless, there is always someone who fits in so well with us that we simply have to say yes. For example, Nik Hodel joined our creative team at the beginning of the year. We are also increasingly looking for a consultant and project manager to complete our small team.
At the age of five, my son is still at the age where he wants to be the same as his dad. To avoid the guaranteed disappointment later on, I'm now getting more involved with the next generation of creatives as a precaution. For example, I was recently allowed to join the committee of the ADC Young Creatives competition. Our agency is currently helping to realize the winning entries
Interview: Andreas Panzeri

 Publigroupe subsidiary Web2com is now marketing Ki Media's online platforms. These include Ktipp.ch, Kgeld.ch, Hausundgarten.ch and Gesundheitstipp.ch. They have emerged from the respective print titles and provide consumers with practical tips and advice on the respective topics. Web2com is supplementing its Premium Network with these titles, according to a press release.

 
Advertising rates The Tages-Anzeiger is significantly increasing the rates for its split editions and in some cases almost bringing them into line with those of the Zürcher Landzeitung in terms of TLP. 
Just over a year ago, the Tages-Anzeiger realized its strategy with five regional editions in the canton of Zurich. And at the end of February 2007, it doubled its circulation in these areas (except in the city of Zurich) with a large weekly edition. In terms of rates, he chose a low-price strategy, which was promptly described as dumping by the other side, the partners of the Zürcher Landzeitung (ZLZ). In fact, last year a full-page four-color Tagi split page (normal circulation) cost between 7 and 71 francs less per thousand readers (TLP) than the corresponding ZLZ partners. With one exception: in the district of Meilen, the Tagi had set its rate 34 francs higher than the local edition of the Zürichsee-Zeitung, but the new year changed everything. Although the Tagi did not change the rate for its main paper, it did change all split prices. These were increased by 10 percent across the board, both in the normal circulation (NA) and in the large circulation (GA), while the ZLZ partners kept their rates at the previous level. As a result, the TLPs of the Tagi splits are now a maximum of 40 francs cheaper than those of the ZLZ partners. In the Zurich Oberland and in the district of Horgen, the Tagi TLP (NA) is now only CHF 1.40 and CHF 5 less than the corresponding ZLZ partner paper respectively. The situation is different in the district of Meilen: There, the Tagi-TLP is now CHF 54 more expensive than the local edition of the Zürichsee-Zeitung.
The situation is similar for large circulations, with the Tagi still in pole position in the districts of Horgen and Meilen with its GA. This is because the Zürichsee-Zeitung does not have a weekly GA there. And according to Managing Director Erland Herkenrath, it does not intend to change this for the time being.
The question remains as to why the Tagi has now increased its split rates by 10 percent. Instead of a short-term introductory offer, the Tagi splits were deliberately priced "relatively low", says Stephan Gartenmann, the advertising manager responsible for the regional splits. "But now we have seen that local businesses are booking our splits and that we are also successful in terms of readership." That's why the rates were raised.
The competition, on the other hand, doubts the new Tagi self-confidence and sees it as optimism for a purpose. "The volume of advertisements in the Tagi splits is very modest," says Herkenrath. Presumably behind the rate surcharge is the view that it will increase revenue in any case. "Because the volume is so low that it will hardly be reduced by the price increase," says Herkenrath.
Gartenmann is not prepared to accept this. "We have more than achieved our goals, in some splits we have even far exceeded them," he counters. He also notes that the other side is obviously keeping a close eye on Tages-Anzeiger's performance - a conclusion he draws from the swift and sometimes harsh reactions with which some ZLZ partners have responded to Tagi marketing campaigns.
Markus Knöpfli
Caution when comparingComparing the ranges and TLPs
ZLZ partners with those of the Tagi splits, caution is advised, as the distribution areas are not always identical. Here is just one example: the Tagi split on the left bank of the lake serves all the municipalities in the district of Horgen, whereas the left-bank edition of the Zürichsee-Zeitung is different: it is not distributed in the municipalities of Rüschlikon, Kilchberg and Thalwil and only partially in Oberrieden. The Zürcher Landzeitung association therefore has a blind spot there. In order to cover these four municipalities, the Thalwiler Anzeiger must be added to the Zürichsee-Zeitung or the ZLZ. (mk)

 An image film produced by the Biel-based film production company Twin Productions for the Grenchen watch company Titoni has been shortlisted for the prestigious New York Festival. It is therefore a finalist. The image film "The Elements" has already recently received an "Award of Master" from Corporate Media in Munich, a major commissioned film festival in German-speaking countries. Twin Productions' Urs Frey (concept) and Alfonso Gordillo (director) are responsible for the production. "The Elements" will be used by Titoni worldwide, with a focus on China and other Far East countries.

 The Zurich agency Spillmann/Felser/Leo Burnett is entering the third round for the group of cantonal banks and is presenting two new commercials. Like their predecessors, they revolve around the first self-earned money. For example, the story of three girls who organize a fashion show with their mothers' clothes. And a few decades later, thanks to the right investment strategy, they are able to go shopping in expensive boutiques. Or three friends who earn their first money with a street concert and have retained their love of music many years later. The films are now being shown throughout Switzerland. According to SFLB, the commercials for the group of cantonal banks achieved "fantastic results" in the tests that the market research company Demoscope carries out every year on TV commercial productions with a large audience. Responsible at the Association of Swiss Cantonal Banks:

Elisabeth Bürgin (Head of Marketing Communications). Responsible at Spillmann/Felser/Leo Burnett: Martin Spillmann (CD), Diana Rossi (text), Matthias Babst (AD), Rolf Zimmermann, Charlotte Gut (consulting), Sebahat Derdiyok (TV production). Director: Will van der Vlught.