Food Who will be the worst chef in Switzerland? The readers of 20 Minuten, AZ and Cash daily can vote online. The "Men to the stove" campaign for the magazine "Annemarie Wildeisens Kochen" has entered its final phase. Since May 2007, "Annemarie Wildeisen's Cooking" has been appealing to the weaker sex at the stove every month, motivating them to send in their worst kitchen stories and order trial subscriptions. Now the public can choose between Rubber Patrick, Puddle René or Gala George. In March, the winner will be chosen and invited to a big cooking course together with a group of guests selected by the winner. Annemarie Wildeisen, the AZ Media Group and her agency Reinhold will of course be reporting on the event.

 
Car advertising Once upon a time, there was a nasty myth about advertising clients who were under the mistaken impression that a successful price campaign had to consist of a big price, a big packshot and a very small idea at best. Of course, this is just as much a fairy tale as "golf is expensive", according to the creatives at Krieg Schlupp Bürge/SJ in Zurich. We actually noticed how KSB/SJ creatively combats this preconception of the unimaginative price campaign with humor, creative sophistication and a fine advertising blade. And if the Golf isn't sold out yet, it's still available today. At VW dealers throughout Switzerland. (pan)

With a new business-to-business ad, the Zurich agency Cavegnwerbung shows that advertising clients as well as media and advertising agencies do not risk wastage with advertising on TeleZüri. The motif dramatizes the fact that spilling the beans is useless. TeleZüri is still the number 1 private broadcaster in Switzerland's largest economic area. That's why no one in the extended Zurich metropolitan area can ignore the channel, according to a statement from the agency. Especially not anyone who wants to advertise efficiently in the broadcasting area. The new advertisement can be seen in the trade press from mid-January.
Responsible at Belcom, TeleZüri:
Tarkan Özküp (overall responsibility), Roman Louis, Beat Staege (project responsibility). Responsible at Cavegnwerbung: Markus Cavegn (art director), Marco Huber, Daniel Soldenhoff (graphics), Julien Vonier, Nora Fehr (image processing).

Column
Journalism is competing to provide information - a sporting challenge, says Josefa Haas.  
The mood of the journalistic industry is reminiscent of the hormonal fluctuations of adolescents: At one moment it confidently reminds us of its function as the fourth estate, at another it tries to sell cheaply swept-up content. The free culture on the Internet and in commuter newspapers shows once again that money can be made even with modest editorial investments. Journalists need to ask themselves why their services have a price, what the purpose of their existence is and what their professional standards are. Despite all the doom and gloom, there are positive answers to this, and not just from within their own guild. In business and politics, almost everything revolves around questions of knowledge management, communication and decision-making skills. The ability to generate information, place it in context and draw conclusions from it is therefore more in demand than ever. The media, and therefore journalism, are among the most important authorities for this task. For systems theorist Maria Pruckner, journalism and management are the most important professions of the 21st century. In the information society, information workers ensure the highest productivity - relevant knowledge at the right time is the most valuable commodity today.
This would boost self-confidence. However, those who use their press card alone to lay claim to providing information to the public must be prepared for pitying reactions. Journalists, who like to dish it out unsparingly, often only react insultingly to criticism of their own work. In today's knowledge society, however, the fourth estate has also lost its authority. Although the media play a key role in communicating content, they are in competition with the offerings of business, politics, culture and the contributions of many individuals. And this competition is not a war, but a sport - competing for the best content and arguments. It is not about winning with a supposed truth, but about maintaining an exciting debate. Journalistic media will thus continue to set topics and become the subject of discussion.
Socrates compared his technique of dialog with the art of midwifery. A natural process achieves a better quality through professional support. In this sense, journalism provides proof of a valuable service. Professional qualifications include special skills and knowledge. A professional invests time in the development of his skills and in the production of his products. In addition, he always subjects his performance to a critical eye, carefully observes the best in his field and constantly works to improve.
The media industry itself can demonstrate its expertise with a new awareness. Of course, it must not just fall back on tried and tested recipes. The focus must be on the joy of discussion, the fun of recognizing connections, the awareness that it is not the only, but a prominent contribution to the interpretation of the flow of events. The more exciting and relevant their services are, the more indispensable and valuable they become, not only for users but also for media companies.
Josefa Haas is Head of the Media Institute

 Since her liaison with Sarkozy, she has been the talk of the town and now we will soon be able to admire her on posters: 39-year-old Carla Bruni will soon be appearing as a testimonial for the revamped Lancia Musa minivan. But anyone who thinks that the reason for this choice lies in the lady's current media presence is mistaken - the company is said to have signed the corresponding advertising contract with Bruni last September, even before her relationship with the President of France.
Lancia boss Oliver Francois commented on the unexpected hype surrounding his brand's testimonial with a quote aimed at his French compatriot Sarkozy: "I was quicker than Sarkozy. I was able to win Carla Bruni as a muse for Lancia months ago," he said in an interview with the Italian newspaper Il Giornale.

 
Press: SonntagsBlick Editor-in-Chief Marc Walder explains the current state of affairs at his newspaper in light of recent events. 
Last week, our columnist Hans Stutz referred to the SonntagsBlick magazine as “SchrottBlick,” claiming it largely lacks journalistic content. SoBli Editor-in-Chief Marc Walder strongly disagrees. In the following interview, he explains where SonntagsBlick and its magazine currently stand. WW: What went through your mind when you read Hans Stutz’s column? Marc Walder: I was both appalled and outraged. Not so much because the journalist didn’t like the magazine, but rather because of the choice of words and the disrespectful manner in which he judged the magazine of Switzerland’s largest newspaper.
Less journalistic content, but more commercial features, product placement, and a product showcase. That’s what the criticism is aimed at. Does this observation correspond to the facts? The structure of the new SonntagsBlick magazine features several pages in the first section dedicated to lifestyle topics—namely, fashion, beauty, electronics, cars, and other consumer goods news. It’s certainly fair to say that consumer goods are presented here in a journalistic manner, just as many other magazines do. The opening sections of many magazines today are structured this way and cater to the needs of both the readership and the advertising market. The main body of the magazine features extensive classic magazine stories—including feature articles, profiles, interviews, photo essays, as well as exposés and investigative pieces with underlying current relevance. The third section wraps up with the successful «Sonntags bei» feature, a blend of home stories and «the good life.» It showcases the lifestyles of personalities with a flair for interior design and is extremely well-received. This is followed by cinema, film, DVDs, books, and television with Kurt Felix, and so on, right up to the TV schedule. This structure is state-of-the-art for a magazine today.
What became of the ambitious goals of its predecessor, *Sie und Er*? Is today’s *SoBli* magazine a step back from the journalistic standards expected of a premium magazine? *Sie und Er* was a good magazine from a journalistic standpoint. But it failed because it never gained acceptance in the commercial market. It certainly had its success in the reader market, and that success could have been even greater. Based on these factors, I decided to bring the new magazine closer to *Sonntags-Blick* again, without sacrificing the journalistic features in the middle section. In this central section, we have topics that used to appear in *Sie und Er* as well. The overall mix is new. And so are the graphics, the layout, and the cover concept.
Have you managed to strike a balance between being an ad generator and maintaining journalistic standards? Yes, we have. The success of any journalistic product always depends on acceptance by both the readership and the commercial market. The readership figures for SonntagsBlick magazine have risen dramatically compared to Sie und Er. We’re also seeing tremendous growth in advertising compared to Sie und Er. Publishing Director Thomas Passen is very satisfied. We view this as a tremendous turnaround achievement by everyone involved here at the company.
Does that also apply to the revamped SonntagsBlick? We’re actually doing very well. I attribute this to the change in direction at SonntagsBlick and, I believe, at SoBli Magazine as well: a new focus, new storytelling, a new layout, a new mix—plus many editorial efforts that are paying off. Things are also going well in the advertising market.
On SonntagsBlick online, readers can comment on articles however they like. Why does SoBli need a readers’ council of all things right now? The readers’ council is a little hobby of mine. It’s a place to gather ideas, get a feel for what’s going on—and besides, it’s a good marketing tool. I’ve attended many focus groups over the past few years. They’re very expensive. So I figured we could do this much more simply—less scientific, sure, but still. Readers should feel taken seriously, especially in the age of user-generated content. We already have well over 200 sign-ups—a nice success. What ultimately comes of it, of course, depends on the workshops. I’m looking forward to meeting these 25 people. That’s why I’m personally overseeing this together with Christian Dorer, one of my deputies. I had already made it a rule of mine at Schweizer Illustrierte to actually respond to letters to the editor addressed to me. So if Mr. Stutz were to write to me saying that SoBli magazine is rubbish, I would respond to such a letter as well…
Are you a “participation enthusiast”—a term that recently appeared in the NZZ? Quite possible. My biggest fear is that at a major newspaper, there’s a team whose members get into their cars in the underground parking garage at home in the morning, pop in a CD, and then drive to the underground parking garage at the Ringier Press House, take the elevator up to their office, and then feel as though they know what really matters to people across the country.
To what extent do the experiences from *SonntagsBlick* influence the *Blick* concept? *Blick* Editor-in-Chief Bernhard Weissberg and I have known each other for many years and have worked together time and again in various capacities. We talk to each other every day for anywhere from ten minutes to an hour. So there’s a constant flow of information that’s reflected in our daily newspaper production as well as in the Blick 2010 project. Together with Daniel Pillard and Thomas Passen, we already have several new project ideas related to Blick. It’s working well, and you can already see that in Blick. The Blick team under Weissberg is off to a good start, even though there was a minor setback with the departure of the sports editor—a setback that has already been offset by the arrival of Walter de Gregorio. We’re all confident and convinced that we’re on the right track.
Interview: René Worni

René Walker, Olaf Pilleri
and Claudia Connor-Jordi have founded an agency in Bern and now call themselves Wapico. 
It was a medium-quick decision, not matured for seven years, and also not stomped out of the ground in seven weeks. "In the middle of last year, it kind of took shape for us," the Wapico partners explain. All three were working at Burson-Marsteller in Bern at the time. René Walker was a CD, Claudia Connor was a consulting group leader, and Olaf Pilleri was the agency's head of copywriting. Pilleri was there for nine years, Walker for eight and Connor for seven. "The time was ripe for a change. But we didn't want to just go to the competition, and we didn't want to lose each other either." So over lunch and later late at night, they talked more and more about the idea of their own agency. The decision was made easier for the advertisers because Burson-Marsteller specializes primarily in public relations. The team at the new Wapico therefore felt a bit removed from the company's core competency. "At Burson-Marsteller, our very good PR brand didn't help us much as traditional advertisers. Now we want to fully distinguish ourselves as creative advertisers. We are open to everything. But we prefer to do classic advertising. Good quality work that can also be submitted to an ADC," says Pilleri, explaining his ideal ideas.
Today's Wapico has already functioned as a team in the past and has always worked together on presentations. The team's successful work for Swiss farmers is still well-known. In the image campaign, personalities such as Michael Schumacher, Stephan Eicher or Stephanie Glaser have been involved as sympathizers of Swiss farmers. The current spots for Gerber fondue or the rapeseed oil campaign with the yellow rapeseed fields are also proudly referred to. Every year, a new image campaign for the Berner Kantonalbank has also attracted attention in Bern. "We are convinced that we can also develop such ideas in the new, smaller team," reckons Connor.
At the old location, the advertising department had around eight people. Now that they are self-employed at wapico, there are four. They want to grow "slowly and healthily," as the somewhat more mature young entrepreneurs put their goal in a down-to-earth and realistic way.
In this context, Bern as a location is obviously more to be reckoned with in the future, as other agency developments there also show. The wapico team feels at home in the federal capital in terms of quality of life and deliberately does not want to move to Zurich. However, they want to win national campaigns and, above all, look after important clients in French-speaking Switzerland from Berne. René Walker is from Fribourg, which opens up access to clients such as the current French daily newspaper La Liberté.
Wapico has been able to take over a few of the former major customers in agreement with the old employer. In addition, there are already three new ones, such as Yellowworld, where Wapico won all offline measures in a pitch.
With Wapico, the new Bernese competitors are positioned to offer all operations in-house. "With our background, we cover all needs."
After studying German and making his first attempts at writing as a local journalist, Pilleri ended up in advertising. He got into advertising because, among his various odd jobs, he had written an apparently useful brochure for the "Eigerblick" hotel in Grindelwald. This was followed by an internship at an agency with the beautiful name WellCome Advertising. He didn't learn anything there, but eventually realized that he had to switch to a real agency. So Pilleri ended up working for ten years as a copywriter and concept developer at Christian Jaquet's then respected agency in Bern. The last two years he acted as managing director after the agency was sold to Herbert Seiler's network. In the final phase, Pilleri was also in charge of the worldwide Bally mandate as well as the then first cell phone budget of the Swiss Post and its telecom, which later evolved into today's Swisscom. After a year of independence together with Daniela Camponovo, Burson-Marsteller finally followed. Still with Dieter Jäggi, Pilleri started as a concept developer and was appointed to the executive board after just eight months. Pilleri still works as a lecturer in the graphics class at the School of Design in Bern/Biel.
René Walker graduated from art school in Geneva and then started working in a small advertising agency in Berlin. After this entry via direct marketing, he moved to GGK international Paris as an art director and later worked as a freelancer for various GGK agencies as well as Weber Hodel Schmid or Atelier Jaquet. It was there that René Walker finally met Olaf Pilleri, who brought him to Burson-Marsteller in 1999. In between, Walker worked for two years in Montréal as a freelancer, for example for Young & Rubicam. In his spare time, he still does a lot of work for cultural organizations such as the Swiss Cultural Center in Paris, for which he oversees all graphic work as CD. He also works for the Fribourg cultural festival Belluard.
Claudia Connor, whose name was still Jordi until February, graduated from high school in Bern and trained as an advertising assistant at Sawi in Biel. Her first job followed for two years at Rüegg Fontana Heiderich in Zurich. Then she wanted to explore the world a bit more and traveled to North and South America for a long time. On her return, she spotted an ad in Werbewoche and thus joined Burson-Marsteller in August 2000 as assistant to Olaf Pilleri. Connor also completed her two-year training as communications manager here from 2003 to 2005. In her free time, the soon-to-be wife of an Australian still loves to travel to visit "friends all over the world".
All three Wapicos assess the time for a start-up as "fantastic". They say they sense a trend toward smaller, owner-operated agencies. "Anyway, a lot of people we've told about our plans already want quotes."
Andreas Panzeri

 
Media magazine Der Klartext, the pioneer of critical media journalism, is considering its future. 
Two and a half years ago, Klartext, the "first independent and non-profit media magazine" in its own words, celebrated its 25th anniversary. "It is an achievement that Klartext still exists," said Editor-in-Chief Hans Stutz at the time. A short time later, Swiss media journalism gained a new product. The Swiss journalist from Johann Oberauer in Austria appeared on the scene and, like Klartext, has been published every two months since December 2005. Since then at the latest, it has been clear that the traditional media magazine, which has cultivated a critical style over the years and, in contrast to its new competitor, a more analytical and intellectual style, is in need of change, even though (or perhaps because) one of the title's most outstanding achievements is its continuity. Where its competitor prints in the best magazine style, Klartext has stuck to black and white images and a comparatively bland layout. "We are currently examining various changes to the magazine, including color printing," explains Adrian Scherrer, member of the Klartext Foundation Board. The online presence is also being revised. Nick Lüthi, the new editor-in-chief since November 2007, has already launched a weblog on Klartext.ch. Further innovations are to follow. According to Scherrer, the change in the editor-in-chief has made Klartext noticeably more dynamic. Another innovation is a change in the advertising business. Publishing consultant Kilian Gasser, whose portfolio includes the weekly newspaper (WOZ), will take over the advertising acquisition mandate.
Mainstay at riskIn the medium term, additional pressure to find new ways forward will come from the Comedia trade union. The union finances over half of the subscriptions to the media magazine through its members, who automatically receive Klartext with their membership. With a circulation of 3,500 copies and a large print run of 8,200 copies twice a year, the magazine is not very large. However, the union subscriptions represent a solid pillar. This mainstay is in danger of being lost in the medium term. It is well known that Comedia is considering a merger with Unia or the communications union (GeKo), for example. Another project is considering a new trade union for SMEs, consisting of GeKo, Comedia and VPOD. In any case, the question of new sources of revenue is likely to become urgent for Klartext in a year's time. That is when the Comedia Central Board will present its report. WOZ editor and Comedia president of the press sector, Stefan Keller, denies that the termination of the corresponding contract with Klartext is already planned: "This is not an issue for us at all at the moment." For Keller, the long-established media magazine is part of his legacy, so to speak. However, if the union merges, the new partners would probably no longer be interested in the traditional title, which wants to retain its well-established Klartext brand in any case, as Adrian Scherrer confirms.
The Board of Trustees has been in contact with Impressum, the largest professional association of media professionals, and the Swiss Syndicate of Media Professionals (SSM) for around two years. "We have been in talks with Klartext for some time and are considering the possibility of issuing a publication together," explains Central Secretary Urs Thalmann. So far, no results have been achieved. Impressum is currently considering a facelift for its own association organ. According to Thalmann, they are even thinking about launching an independent media magazine, either alone or together with another partner.
Brand to remainThere has also been regular contact with the SSM since 2005 and the two titles were considered merging. "But Klartext was never prepared to give up its brand," says Philipp Cueni, Gazette publisher and SSM Secretary for Media Policy. Over the past two years, the Gazette has continued to develop and has been moderately expanded, has advertising revenue and cooperates with a German publisher that supplies supplements after a supplement concept was rejected by the Swiss journalist. According to Cueni, the Gazette is no longer urgently dependent on a partner. Nevertheless, he is also in contact with Impressum (which occasionally buys journalistic articles from the Gazette) and is keeping his options open. In the case of a solution with Klartext, the proximity to the Comedia trade union would probably have gone a little too far for the SSM, says Cueni.
You would think that cooperation between the trade unions on this issue should not be particularly difficult. However, sensitive sensitivities obviously also play a role. For example, there are differing opinions as to whether the negotiations between the SSM and the Klartext Foundation Board in particular are still ongoing or have already been concluded. For the Foundation Board and Editor-in-Chief Nick Lüthi, however, one thing is clear: "We are always open to negotiations, but the Klartext brand should be retained."
René Worni
Keeping critical discourse aliveThe Klartext was created out of concern for the continued existence of critical journalism
at a time of youth unrest, advertising boycotts and dismissals of critical journalists and editors-in-chief. In October 1980, the first issue was published by the Swiss Journalists' Union (SJU) in order to take the critical discourse on media policy beyond the trade unions. The new magazine was taken to the streets and quickly gathered enough subscribers. The revealing reports on the inner workings of the media quickly attracted attention in the boardrooms, where reports were diligently copied out.
the Klartext Foundation was established. From January 1985, Max Jäggi was editor-in-chief of Klartext for almost ten years, an era that many see as the reason for the paper's continuity. (rw)

The 32nd Advertiser of the Year has been chosen: The readers of Werbewoche voted Pius Walker as their favorite. He was honored on Wednesday evening at the Egon Awards in Zurich's Kaufleuten. Last year's runner-up reaped numerous national and international awards with his Walker advertising agency last year, especially for his work for Fleurop and for Amnesty. At Cannes, he won two Gold Lions and one Silver Lion, as well as a D&AD Silver Pencil, three OneShow Silver Pencils, Gold and Silver at Eurobest and two Cup Awards. And the Gunn Report, which lists the best creative agencies from around the world, lists Pius Walker's small advertising agency in 39th place.
On the increasing success of his agency, Walker says in an interview with Werbewoche: "Success secures us the funds we need to continue on our way and to be independent. And along the way, it pays for some nice things now and then, like our new espresso machine, which we're all very proud of." Walker is convinced that, in the end, a successful campaign is always based on a simple basic idea.
The vote for Advertiser of the Year was quite clear: Almost 40 percent of all votes went to Pius Walker. Pedro Simko from the Saatchi & Saatchi Simko advertising agency came in second with 14 percent of the votes, while Valentina Herrmann, in third place with just under 12 percent of the votes received, is finally a woman on the podium once again.
Read more about the Advertiser of the Year in the current Werbewoche No. 2 or at
Pius Walker is Advertiser of the Year 2008
.

 
Public vote The readers of Tele and Werbewoche liked Wirz's campaign for Die Mobiliar best. 
 The campaign has been running for over ten years and has now topped its success by being voted "Campaign of the Year". Each of the filmed claims begins with the salutation "Dear Mobiliar...". On average, the production company Wirz & Fraefel realizes two such witty film sketches per year, based on the campaign idea of Wirz Werbung with the team around CD Matthias Freuler. These large films are accompanied in the print media by well over a hundred "damage sketches" on squared paper. And an end to the successful campaign is hardly up for discussion after this great show of public sympathy, although it is "becoming increasingly difficult to top the previous ideas", as the creators say.
TV commercials from Wirz in 2007
 

As ringtones for cell phones, screensavers, e-cards and viral commercials, Chirat's super cucumbers have once again found an ever-growing audience following their premiere on television. The singing cucumbers were the top sellers in the commercials for popular casting shows. Now the colorful cucumbers from the agency JWT+H+F have also come second in the casting for the "Campaign of the Year".
With their sexy ski instructors, Spillmann Felser Leo Burnett can be pleased to take third place on the podium for the most popular advertisement for Switzerland Tourism.
Andreas Panzeri

 Google is launching an Online Marketing Challenge worldwide. This is aimed at Bachelor's and Master's students and is intended to give them practical experience in online marketing during their studies, as the company announced on Wednesday. The participating groups each receive a budget of 200 dollars. Each team will develop an online marketing campaign with a company that does not yet use Adwords. The students have three weeks to work out their strategies. Each team has to write two reports, one at the beginning of the project and one at the end of the campaign. The submissions are evaluated by an international jury of professors. Based on the success of the campaigns and the quality of the reports, the winners are finally determined.
The Universities of St. Gallen, Bern and Geneva, the University of Applied Sciences in Lucerne and the University of Applied Sciences in Rapperswil have so far registered around 120 students for the competition.
The challenge starts in February 2008 and is open to all higher education institutions around the world.

 
Marketing Direct booking is more profitable: because publishing offers have been merged or others expanded, agencies are more likely to achieve the minimum volumes. 
Media agencies that book directly with the publisher instead of via Publimedia incur additional costs - not only for the booking itself, but also for controlling and billing. Three years ago, Tamedia began to reward large agencies that book directly with Tamedia titles for their additional work. Since then, Tamedia has granted a "direct booking fee" (DBE) of 1.5 percent if the agency places a minimum volume of one million francs per year with Tamedia titles. If the agency also exceeds the previous year's volume, Tamedia pays two percent on the additional turnover.Innovations at TamediaTamedia will continue this offer in 2008 - with some significant changes: Because the Zurich-based group acquired 100 percent of Bern-based Espace Media last year, its DBE offering will now also be integrated into that of Tamedia. In addition, Espace Media is extending its offering to its magazines Automobil Revue, Revue automobile, Motosport Schweiz and Motosport Suisse for the first time, according to Tamedia spokesperson Christoph Zimmer. The commuter newspaper News will also be included for the first time. However, the three free newspapers from Tamedia and Espace Media and other titles in the Espace Media portfolio are still not included.
Also part of Tamedia's DBE-eligible sales for the first time is the volume booked in the newly established Northeastern Switzerland network. This is confirmed by NOS advertising manager Peter Menzato. Even though the NOS is marketed by the Tamedia title Thurgauer-Zeitung, this integration is nevertheless remarkable: firstly, because the NOS partners Landbote and Schaffhauser Nachrichten are now even more closely aligned with Tamedia. And secondly, because the two titles that previously did not grant DBE have at least partially switched camps. Schaffhauser Nachrichten, however, only partially: because it continues to keep solo bookings out of the DBE-eligible volume.
Basler without minimum volumeAmong the DBE newcomers is Basler Zeitung Medien (BZM), which has recently become self-managed. It does not stipulate a minimum volume. There are no changes at all at Walliser Boten, which also does not require a minimum volume. Edipresse is also remaining true to itself, while Ringier and Axel Springer Switzerland are keeping their offerings as before - although Axel Springer Switzerland is now also integrating those of the former Jean Frey. "We are currently taking stock of 2007 and are in talks with the media agencies for 2008. The experience so far has been positive throughout and we intend to conclude the new agreements for 2008 on the same basis as in 2007," writes CEO Ralph Büchi in response to an inquiry from Werbewoche.
It remains unclear how Weltwoche will deal with the issue. "We are very cautious about the topic and do not wish to comment on it," says publishing director Maike Juchler. However, this answer is unlikely to be enough for the agencies.
Of the titles with a P lease, the NZZ is still the only one to grant a handling fee (HE) accepted by the P (see box). But how much longer will it remain alone? The Edipresse newspapers, all with a P lease, have been waiting for a similar contract adjustment for a year now and are not letting up. "As part of the total reorganization of Publicitas, we hope that it will also offer its market partners and direct publishers an acceptable solution in this area. Preliminary talks to this effect have already taken place," writes Marcel Siegenthaler, Head of Advertising Market Edipresse Switzerland. It sounds similar in Aargau. "The topic is still under discussion. For the time being, however, we are refraining from introducing a HE," says AZ Medien spokeswoman Eva Keller. She adds: "We grant discounts on an individual and situational basis for both customers and media agencies." From which one can probably conclude that discipline is crumbling.
"Partial direction" at SüdortschweizGrowing disagreements are evident at Südostschweiz. When asked by Werbewoche about a possible DBE/HE offer, Susanne Lebrument, Managing Director of SO-Publicitas, answered briefly and concisely with "no comment". The background: despite the lease agreement with P, the SO-Medien Group has been marketing its titles itself for just under a year - "under partial management", as they call it.
The NZZ subsidiaries in Lucerne and St. Gallen, on the other hand, show no signs of dissatisfaction. "As we regard the Publicitas Neue Luzerner Zeitung advertising department as an integral part of our publishing house due to our cooperation agreements, every booking with our advertising department is actually a direct booking with the publisher, which does not have to be additionally discounted due to the attractive price-performance ratio of the title," states Erwin Bachmann, Board Delegate of LZ Medien, for example. An almost identical statement comes from Daniel Ehrat, Publishing Director of the St. Galler Tagblatt, and Erland Herkenrath from the Zürcher LandZeitung.
Markus Knöpfli

The NZZ is sticking to its regulationA year ago, the NZZ
introduced a kind of DBE for most of its titles. However, because Publimedia and Publicitas were not to be bypassed, but on the contrary, bookings via the two Publigroup subsidiaries were also rewarded, the discount at Falkenstrasse was called handling compensation (HE). The HE was a reaction to the situation that from 2007 all major business publications, including Sonntagszeitung and SonntagsBlick, granted a DBE. As a result, NZZ was practically the only title in the business press segment and the Sunday market in Zurich without a DBE, and the HE remains at one percent
and is paid out to customers and agencies whose annual BK/ JUP-eligible commercial advertising and insert sales in NZZ titles amount to at least CHF 500,000. The HE applies to bookings in NZZ, NZZ am Sonntag, Magazin Z and now also NZZCampus and Bücher am Sonntag, but not to bookings in NZZ Folio. (mk)