Zürichsee Presse will take over the operational management of the Thalwiler Anzeiger from the beginning of 2008. It is planned to acquire the publishing rights in the course of the year. The three weekly editions and the content of the paper will not change, as Benjamin Geiger, Editor-in-Chief of Zürichsee-Zeitung, confirmed to SDA Medienberichte on Wednesday.
The publisher of the Thalwiler Anzeiger, Hans Fritz Tellenbach, passed away a year ago. The sales agreement with Zürichsee Presse, the publisher of Zürichsee-Zeitung, had already been concluded before his death. The takeover was the logical next step, Geiger continued.

The news network planned for this spring by the *Tages-Anzeiger*, *BaZ*, and *BZ* is beginning to take shape. Project manager Res Strehle explains his vision for Switzerland’s largest media portal and where the project currently stands. WW: What are the challenges facing the online portal planned for this coming spring? Res Strehle: We’ve already announced it as a news network and have since fleshed out the details. At its core, the portal is a collaboration among the participating publishers in the national sphere, with a shared national section produced from Zurich. At the same time, it’s also regionalized. So in Zurich, we’re producing online regional journalism for the websites of the Tages-Anzeiger, Radio 24, and Tele Züri. The teams in Basel and Bern are doing the same for their respective publications. However, the central editorial team has no direct control over the print editorial departments. These have their own page editors, who report to the respective editorial department and are connected to it via shared newsrooms. They can, however, also intervene in the central articles and adjust the hierarchy according to their region-specific needs.
How are the individual publications integrated into the platform? The whole thing is structured so that there’s no need to create a new brand, such as «Der Westen» from the Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung. Users access the portal through their respective brands, such as the *Basler Zeitung*. But we share a common structure, a common technology, a common framework module, and ultimately a common philosophy when it comes to interactivity. That’s the basic idea.
In addition to the Tages-Anzeiger, Basler Zeitung, and Berner Zeitung, the Landbote and the Thurgauer Zeitung are also participating. Are there any other publications? We don’t yet know for certain whether the Landbote and the Thurgauer Zeitung will be participating. Naturally, we have invited both newspapers. We have also reached out to the Sonntags Zeitung. We would be delighted if these publications were to participate.
So is the network a potential hub for content from the participating publishers? Absolutely. The platform is open to all media outlets that share a similar understanding of quality and focus on news produced in-house, particularly in the Switzerland section and in regional coverage.
How are the headlines formally linked to the platform? There are various proposals regarding the visual aspects. Information designer Oliver Reichenstein, for example, suggests that the site should closely mimic the visual appearance of a newspaper, so that—visually speaking—a single cohesive world is created. On the one hand, this appeals to me; on the other hand, if the website is to have a uniform structure, it will be difficult for it to look like the BaZ, Tagi, Berner Zeitung, or Radio 24 at the same time. We intend to address these issues as we continue to develop the site.
When will it be ready? By Euro 08 at the latest. That’s obviously a time when a lot is happening. It’ll be a great opportunity to try out a lot of things—with webcams, for example. It also has to do with the fact that the editor-in-chief-designate, Peter Wälty, can’t leave 20 Minuten any sooner. He won’t be able to start working for the news network until January and will be fully employed starting in March. Of course, we’ll have to make decisions—for example, regarding technology—earlier than that.
Does Axel Springer’s newsroom in Berlin serve as a model? I wasn’t in Berlin myself, but we looked at many models from abroad, including the one in Berlin. We decided against such a newsroom for two reasons. For us, Axel Springer’s model strays from our conceptual vision and is likely more of a marketing concept. In contrast, we want to combine the strengths of both cultures—print and online—for our news. We don’t want a hybrid culture that merely combines the weaknesses of both. We’re convinced that the online editorial team must have its own space, its own editorial board, and not be subordinate to print. It should have its own spirit—young, dynamic, bold, and unconventional. Alongside that is the print culture, which in turn has its own strengths. Both cultures need to exist side by side, naturally engaging in close collaboration with one another.
What is the second reason? Well, we don’t have the structural capacity, and we want to first gain experience in how the two cultures get along—also with a view to a possible new Tamedia building at the corner of Werdstrasse and Stauffacherquai in Zurich. A large newsroom could be created there as part of the project, because radio and television are also to be integrated into this new building. In the current print newsroom—the so-called “Tagi-Schiff”—we wouldn’t be able to build the entire online editorial team according to our envisioned scale. We’re currently considering whether we should set up a news desk in the “Tagi-Schiff” to serve as the hub for coordination and collaboration. This would involve, for example, how a story that began in print is continued online, or how it feeds back into print, and so on.
So the editorial concept isn't finalized yet? Whether this model is the right one in the long run, or whether it will evolve more toward a newsroom format, depends on our practical experience. The Berner Zeitung will implement this newsroom with its local online editorial team starting this spring. The Basler Zeitung is also moving in this direction.
The name “News” says it all and implies concise content, especially for the commuter newspaper of the same name. Is it possible to produce high-quality, in-depth journalistic content as well? It would be good if that could be done online too, but that depends on the available staff. At the Tages-Anzeiger, with an online editorial staff currently consisting of 8.5 full-time positions, that’s not possible at the moment. That’s why Tagesanzeiger.ch is very limited in terms of original content. By the end of 2008, however, we’ll have 35 full-time positions. Then, certainly, more will be possible. But that’s still not enough when you consider how important timeliness is and how fast you have to be. We work two shifts a day, seven days a week. In-depth research is only possible if a few people are given time off to work on it. However, the online platform is very attractive as a venue for well-researched stories. Spiegel Online, for example, produces a lot of its own content. If we’re successful, we’ll also become stronger in terms of research and original content. That will then pose a real challenge for print.
Seen this way, the content-poor commuter paper *News* falls between two stools. Behind *News* lies the question of what content can be given away for free. That’s primarily the news. It’s, so to speak, the foundation—the thing people no longer want to pay for. The name *News* therefore says it all. This is a clear focus and meets a need. Producing original content becomes very expensive relatively quickly. It involves work, research, and resistance. Normally, you can’t offer that for free in print. But online, it’s mostly possible. On the internet, you have a different user base, and printing and distribution costs are eliminated.
What happened to the Tagi Kompakt concept? This had been discussed much earlier, but it didn't go through for the simple reason that we can't just give away a newspaper that's labor-intensive and relatively expensive to produce as a "Best of" edition for free.
If you look at Ringier’s Cash Daily platform, “online first” is no longer the question—instead, the question is: through which channel should information be disseminated? What about electronic media for news? We have to use them; they’re also attractive, and that’s what we’ll be focusing on. It makes sense to ask which channels to use to distribute content. For us, however, the question is a bit more complex than it is for Cash, because we still have a paid print publication in our portfolio.
What’s next for the Tages-Anzeiger? Tagesanzeiger.ch is the core and part of the network. Until the news network launches, we plan to continue operating the website in its current form. It will then be integrated into the new portal.
Interview: René Worni

 
Crossmedia The Eventbooster is designed to make advertising easier, cheaper and more efficient for cultural event organizers. 
The Zurich-based cross-media publisher Cinergy has been operating the largest event database in Switzerland for years. Now it is adding a web tool for classified ads to its offering. With the specially designed "Eventbooster" tool, the Zurich-based publishing house wants to make media distribution and promotion easier for event organizers and cultural professionals in the future. Since 2001, the Swiss Event Database (SEDB) operated by Cinergy has become a comprehensive source for the local media landscape. Publications as diverse as Bluewin.ch, Neue Zürcher Zeitung, DRS3.ch, Blick.ch, 20 Minuten and Usgang.ch obtain their event data from it. The offer for cultural event organizers is now to be expanded to include a central promotion platform. Until now, two things were missing: "On the one hand, we could never definitively guarantee smaller event organizers that we would be able to record their events, because there really are a lot of them. On the other hand, professional event organizers could only book their promotions in a cumbersome way using traditional forms of advertising, often with a considerable loss of coverage," Jenny Chi, Head of Events Editorial, explains to Werbewoche.
The Eventbooster is intended to provide a remedy. For example, if an event organizer cannot find their event among those already entered by the Cinergy events editorial team, they can enter it themselves. Existing entries can also be supplemented with details or images. Changes can also be made at short notice, centrally in one place for a whole range of media. "The editorial team still checks and edits every entry and passes it on to the associated media," says Chi.
Although the basic entry in the event agenda remains free of charge, further publication is not guaranteed as it depends on the respective editorial selection criteria. However, every organizer can now book publication guarantees, highlights and promotions in Eventbooster and pay for them online with Postcard or credit card. Chi sees three main advantages over the previous options: "Firstly, organizers can cover numerous affiliated media with one entry. Secondly, they can select the publications that best suit their target group for highlighting or promotions. Thirdly, they can choose the form of advertising with the least wastage, as readers are already filtered by region, date and interests." For example, for a specific event with regional appeal, only a regional highlighting can be booked.
"In this respect, these new forms of promotion differ significantly from conventional advertising options," says Martin Glauser, Publishing Director of Cinergy. "They are also significantly cheaper. A publication guarantee costs about as much as a beer in a pub. But most of the other rates are also in the double-digit range," explains Glauser. This is possible because the Eventbooster has a high degree of automation and because the highlights do not have to compete with the prices of standard forms of advertising. They are not just pure advertising for a product outside the industry, but also have an information value that corresponds exactly to that of the environment.
While traditional classified ads such as job ads, contact ads or real estate have long since migrated from the newspaper to the World Wide Web, this development is also noticeable in the event sector, albeit without a clear refinancing model. Eventbooster aims to close this gap. Although it is a web application, the event data is distributed cross-media. Print media should not be neglected.
The classified ad tool was developed by a Cinergy working group over the past two years. The Eventbooster will be launched on Friday, November 9, 2007, and during a three-month pilot phase the web application will be further optimized based on experience and feedback.
Rona Grünenfelder
 

 
Most important provider of event informationCinergy is a cross-media agency
for entertainment and culture. As a content provider, AG supplies, produces and markets program data and editorial content; as an independent media company, it publishes its own titles. Founded in 1999, the Zurich-based company is the leading provider of cinema, TV, event, music and games information in Switzerland. Cinergy supplies well-known Swiss online, mobile and print media and publishes Cineman.ch and Teleboy.ch, the market-leading cinema website and the most widely used TV guide in Switzerland respectively. Since 2001, the company has operated the largest event database in Switzerland. Moonwalk.ch, a party portal with moving images, was added in 2003. Last year, Cinergy also took over the operation of the Events.ch platform. (rg)

A new campaign by Spillmann/Felser/Leo Burnett for Aids-Hilfe Schweiz addresses the problem of discrimination against HIV-positive people. Not only do they have to struggle with health problems, they also suffer from prejudice and exclusion. For fear of social exclusion, they do not tell anyone about their HIV infection; they withdraw and hide from their fellow human beings. The SFLB campaign addresses this problem and shows an HIV-positive girl trying to hide from our gaze behind the billboard. For this purpose, cardboard boxes with the silhouette of the girl were placed at 60 selected poster sites throughout Switzerland. The same mechanism was used for the mailing - here the girl hides behind the window of the envelope. The campaign was launched throughout Switzerland and was actively supported by APG.
Responsible at Aids-Hilfe Schweiz:
Silvia Schorta (Head of Communications & Fundraising), Angela Hartmann (Direct Mail Fundraising), Bettina Maeschli (Fundraising). Responsible at Spillmann/Felser/Leo Burnett: Martin Spillmann (Creative Director), Simon Staub (Art Director), Moritz Stillhard (Graphics), Cyrill Wirz (Text), Rolf Zimmermann, Charlotte Gut, Karin Altoe (Consulting), Bettina Sorg (Art Buying), Lioba Schneider (Photography), Schellenberg Druck Kommunikation (Image Processing).

 
Customer loyalty After the topics Asia, Engagement, South and Autumn, the new issue of Più is already dedicated to Christmas preparations at the beginning of November. The result is a comprehensive magazine. On 48 pages, readers will find lots of ideas for baking and decorating as well as creative ideas for unusual Advent calendars, an ABC of gift-giving and an overview of the wide range of Christmas gifts.
lighting. This mixture of magazine and catalog was created by Weber Harbeke. The images were created by Biglife-Production, while Christian Splettstösser contributed the food styling.

 The local station Radio Emme is realigning itself: It is becoming a rock and pop station for 15 to 49-year-olds. In addition, the station's creators want to launch a second program with popular content that will be broadcast via cable TV, satellite and the Internet. According to the press release, the reason for the change of course taken by the station's Board of Directors and management is the past ten years of "moderate success, dwindling listener numbers and a poor financial basis". With the repositioned FM program, which according to the press release is "clearly structured and easy to listen to", Radio Emme intends to apply for the "Emmental" concession put out to tender by the Federal Office of Communications. The central element will continue to be regional reporting.
The changeover will probably not be met with enthusiasm everywhere: Radio Emme co-founder Niklaus Blaser already spoke out in a press release in September, announcing his resignation from the board of directors and accusing the station operators of planning a program "that thousands of stations are already producing" with the repositioning. At the time, Blaser complained that instead of folk music, "generally English, often annoying and melancholy catcalls and whining" would be broadcast around the clock in future (see
). Outsourcing of folk music With the changes announced on Wednesday, Radio Emme apparently does not want to get rid of folk music completely: However, it will now be outsourced to a second channel - similar to what Radio DRS was planning. However, the public broadcaster postponed its plans for the time being after strong protests (see
). Although the broadcasters at Radio Emme do not directly address Blaser's accusations in their communiqué, they seem to be aware that accusations are being made. Daniel Ruch, commercial director and member of the management, is quoted as saying: "It's not that we don't understand the needs of the population and that we no longer pay attention to our region! On the contrary, with a second station chain, we will be able to offer the popular listeners - who, incidentally, are in the minority in terms of the overall listenership - a much wider range of their favorite music."
According to Jüre Lehmann, Chairman of the Management Board, the original concept, in particular the diversity of sectors, was not commercially successful. This is now to be changed by the repositioning. It is underlined by a complete rebranding and a planned internet communication platform.

 
Digital radio DAB opens a back door to the radio market for financially strong media companies: they can decide on the available broadcasting slots themselves. 
DAB digital radio has been on the upswing since the variety of programs began to grow. On the one hand, Swiss Radio DRS recently launched its news channel DRS 4 in the existing first program ensemble on 5 November. Secondly, eight private broadcasters were awarded a license last July. These channels will be broadcast in a new, second ensemble, which will initially go on air in the metropolitan areas of the Mittelland in autumn 2008 - at least according to current planning. However, there are still a number of unknowns. This does not mean that building permits have to be obtained for the new transmitter network, which could possibly be delayed. The program offering itself is the biggest unknown since it was decided that the program ensemble will be broadcast in the new DABplus standard. DABplus, which cannot be received with the currently available DAB devices, offers the possibility of packing around twenty stations into one ensemble - around twice as many as in the conventional DAB technology with which the existing SRG ensemble is broadcast.
Ten program slots have been allocated on DABplus so far. Firstly, two stations will come from the SRG: One of these will be "World Radio Switzerland", which cannot currently be received in German-speaking Switzerland. It is not yet clear which will be the second. Secondly, the eight newly licensed private stations will be broadcast via this second layer: Radiolab, Radio for Youngsters, Swiss Mountain Holiday Radio, SoundCity, Radio.ch, RadioJay, DJRadio deluxe and Radio Eviva. The programs are mostly backed by established radio operators and large media companies. Radio for Youngsters comes from Energy Zurich and thus from Ringier, RadioJay is also indirectly linked to Ringier via Freeflow AG, Radio.ch will be a cooperation between Radio Zürisee and the radio stations aktuell, BE1 and Pilatus, which are part of the Freie Presse Holding of NZZ, and Swiss Mountain Holiday Radio is operated by Radio Rottu Oberwallis and the Südostschweiz Media Group.
Station operator decides on programsPreparations for the new program ensemble are now well advanced. An operating company has been founded under the name SwissMediaCast AG, which will set up and operate the joint broadcasting network. Not only the companies behind the licensed channels, such as Ringier, NZZ and SRG, are involved. Other interested parties are also involved, namely radio operators from the greater Zurich area such as Tamedia and Radios Argovia and Top.
The ten licensed stations have a guaranteed right of access to the second DAB layer, which is distributed by SwissMediaCast AG. However, this is just half of the twenty channels that are technically possible. In practice, SwissMediaCast AG is free to decide on the other ten channels. By law, no licenses have to be put out to tender if more than half of the channel slots have been allocated. This is the reason why the Federal Office of Communications (Bakom) has licensed exactly eight private and two SRG channels. "The operating company should have commercial leeway in order to be able to refinance the network expansion," confirms Matthias Ramsauer, Head of the Radio and Television Division at Bakom.
SwissMediaCast AG has not yet decided which criteria it will use to allocate the available program slots. "The rules will be drawn up by the end of this year," says Günther Heuberger, Managing Director of Top-Medien and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the new operating company. However, it is already clear that the founding shareholders of the operating company have each guaranteed themselves one program slot. In fact, Tamedia will therefore also be able to broadcast a program on DABplus. However, existing FM private stations such as Tamedia's own Radio 24 will hardly be able to benefit from regional language digital broadcasting. "We are talking about digital programs," says Günther Heuberger. Preference is therefore likely to be given to programs that are based on existing programs, such as Heuberger's Top Two or the Internet music channels of Energy Zurich, but are put together specifically for digital broadcasting.
Adrian Scherrer

Design The Hardturm Stadium has been officially closed since September 2, 2007 due to dilapidation. However, the sponsors of the Zurich stadium still cannot think about breaking ground, as the Administrative Court has upheld appeals. A decision that is now being challenged by the City of Zurich and Credit Suisse before the Federal Supreme Court. Among other things, this concerns the much-discussed shadows cast by the new stadium, which have been objected to by local residents. It is high time to put the whole issue into perspective. With an up-to-date mega poster from the Unikat agency, which has been hanging right next to the old Hardturm stadium for a month since this Monday. With this poster, Ikea is offering a solution that should make sense to even the most light-sensitive resident and perhaps even lead them in the right direction. The one to Spreitenbach, of course.

Agencies: The BSW has once again published a ranking. Publicis is the leader. «Integrated creativity leads to success,» said BSW President Frank Bodin in his opening remarks at the media briefing held by the Association of Leading Swiss Agencies on Monday of this week. In any case, the leading agencies—which are now listed in a ranking for the first time in five years—operate according to this concept. For BSW Managing Director Walter Merz, this ranking is particularly important for creating transparency within the industry. This ranking of Switzerland’s agencies with the highest revenue in 2006 was made possible thanks to a somewhat more flexible interpretation of the rules under the «Sarbanes-Oxley Act.» The agencies were no longer required to provide exact figures but were allowed to be categorized into ranges from 2 to 40 million Swiss francs. Nevertheless, major agencies such as Advico Young & Rubicam, Burson-Marsteller, Grendene Ogilvy & Mather, Grey Worldwide, JWT+H+F Werbeagentur, and TBWA Switzerland have not yet participated. Advico had still ranked second in the last ranking in 2002. TBWA Switzerland came in fifth, and Grey Worldwide ninth. «I’ll leave it to the trade media to investigate the reasons for their absence this year,» said Bodin, pointing out that Coca-Cola Switzerland, for example, can disclose its figures publicly, even though that company isn’t exactly considered «un-American.».
Krieg Schlupp Bürge/Springer & Jacoby has only been a member of the BSW since September 2007 and therefore appears in the 2008 ranking for the first time. In 2006, the agency achieved a BBE in the 7.5–10 million Swiss franc category and is thus currently ranked among the top 20 BSW agencies.
«An agency ranking is not a list of rankings like in a sporting event, but serves primarily as a guide. For clients, in addition to qualitative aspects, the relative size of the agency and the resources available can also be decisive criteria when choosing an agency,» said the BSW board, which was also represented at the meeting by Vice President Peter Felser and Dominique von Matt.
Regarding the «question of philosophy»—whether to take a traditional or integrated approach—it was noted that today, nearly all leading agencies offer both disciplines with a high level of expertise under one roof.
It is also noteworthy that, among the top 10 agencies included in the ranking, seven also appear in the top 10 of *Werbewoche*’s current creative ranking.
In other important news from the «BSW universe,» it was announced that the industry association has just entered into a partnership with the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (HWZ). The partnership covers the «Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) in Customer Communication.» The association will provide suitable instructors. The BSW’s close ties to Sawi remain unaffected by this new partnership.
Andreas Panzeri
 
 

 The Zurich agency Jung von Matt/Limmat has been nominated for the final in four categories at the Global Awards 2007 with its client Health Promotion Switzerland and therefore has a chance of winning bronze, silver or gold. The "Switzerland is getting fatter" campaign is among the finalists in the "Consumer: Outdoor" and "Photography" categories. The "SlowUp" ads are also nominated in the "DTC: Print Advertisement" category and the "Playground" TV spot in the "DTC: Television Advertisement" category. The Global Awards are part of the New York Festivals and honor the world's best health communication every year. According to Jung von Matt/Limmat, the final judging will take place on November 19, after which the winners will be announced.

Roger Schawinski announces the first appointment in the program area for his new station Radio 1: Head of music and presenter will be DRS 3 presenter Christian Stoob. From March 1, 2008, he will be on air daily from Monday to Friday and take over the management of the music editorial department. Stoob has experience in print, radio and television. He first worked as a presenter at Radio Zürisee, then for years in the same position at Radio 24. He was then Label Manager at Warner Music and Managing Director of Media Control Switzerland. He has been a presenter at DRS 3 since 2005.
Roger Schawinski is quoted in a press release as saying the following about his new head of music: "I have known and appreciated Christian since his time at Radio 24. For many people, Christian is now the most sensual voice on DRS 3. He sets the standard for our entire presenting and editorial team." Christian Stoob explains: "Everyone has their own things that they put their heart and soul into. Roger and I quickly came to an agreement."

 Since November 1, 2007, the management of the in-game marketing company Game Mediarep has been in the hands of Camille Zimmermann. The Goldbach Media subsidiary was founded in April of this year. The 29-year-old Zimmermann already has "immense experience" in the field of online marketing and online advertising, according to a press release. He was one of the first employees at Adlink Switzerland before devoting himself to online dialog marketing for three years. Back at Goldbach Media, he was responsible for the new Behavioral Targeting technology in the Business Development department and took over the development of the in-game advertising segment.