AZ publisher Peter Wanner confirmed to the Mittellandzeitung on Thursday that he intends to respond to the planned new free newspaper News (see ). The majority shareholder of the AZ Media Group is planning an "innovative offer with a completely new approach" in the free market. This offer will be launched within a reasonable period of time. Wanner told the Mittellandzeitung that the company wanted to become active in the free market without significantly affecting the subscription newspapers. Wanner did not give any further details, saying that the project still had to be discussed with the Mittelland Zeitung's partners. The planned free newspaper News, which is backed by the publishers of the Tages-Anzeiger, the Berner Zeitung and the Basler Zeitung, is to be launched under the title News Mittelland with a circulation of 132,000 copies in the cantons of Aargau and Solothurn. Wanner described News to the Mittellandzeitung as the destroyer ship of Tamedia boss Martin Kall's war fleet. He considers the announced attack to be quite perfidious.
 
 

 The new winter campaign by Zurich agency Spillmann/Felser/Leo Burnett for Switzerland Tourism is all about Swiss ski instructors. One reason for this is the 75th anniversary of Swiss Snowsports, and another is that ski instructors are often highly sought after not only for their skills, but also for their looks. And so Switzerland Tourism is advertising nationally and internationally in various channels with ski instructors and the motto: Switzerland has more to offer than just beautiful landscapes. The SFLB campaign includes a TV commercial produced by Wirz and Fraefel. It features a ski instructor being chased by hundreds of women on skis. The commercial will be broadcast in Switzerland as well as in the most important European foreign markets of Germany, Great Britain, France, Holland and Italy.
Myswitzerland.com is also running a competition to find the most beautiful ski instructor. The prize is a week's ski vacation including ski lessons. Posters featuring a well-built ski instructor draw attention to the competition. The posters feature a Bee Tag - anyone who takes a photo of this with their cell phone camera will be linked to a website where they can find out whether they have won a prize. The Bee Tag can also be seen on a stamp for the first time worldwide - a special stamp issued by Swiss Post in collaboration with Switzerland Tourism and Swiss Snowsports.
Responsible at Spillmann/Felser/Leo Burnett:

Peter Brönnimann (text), Dana Wirz (art direction), Martin Spillmann (CD), Rolf Zimmermann, Silvia Peter (consulting), Sebahat Derdiyok (TV production). Film production: Wirz und Fraefel, Ernst Wirz (director). Responsible at Switzerland Tourism:
Jürg Schmid (Director), Markus Rege (Head of Marketing), Nicole Diermeier (Head of Main Campaign).  
 

 Oliver Knick is moving from "Gesundheit Sprechstunde" to the AZ Medien Group on November 1. The 41-year-old will evaluate multimedia opportunities in the health sector and initiate corresponding projects, according to a press release from the media company. According to AZ Medien spokesperson Eva Keller, details of the planned projects cannot yet be disclosed: "We are now examining the possibilities. We already have experience with multimedia forms in the area of cooking". Now it's health's turn, as this is an exciting topic. Projects for all of the company's media genres are being examined. Knick worked for seven years as a TV editor, head of project management and sales manager and, since 2006, as a member of the Executive Board of Ringier's Health Unit. He was already editor of the "Aargau" section of the Aargauer Zeitung, formerly known as the Badener Tagblatt, from 1992 to 2000.

Feldschlösschen is handing over the management of its media budget to the agency Mediaxis from Zurich-Schlieren, which was founded in 2000 and now employs 15 people. After losing the major client in 2006, the agency was able to regain the mandate in a competitive presentation, according to a press release. Mediaxis founder Peter Hofstetter is happy about this, as Feldschlösschen had a strong influence on the agency as one of its first important clients. The new cooperation agreement will come into effect on January 1, 2008 and applies to all media types in question.

The Zurich-based BSW agency Grendene, Ogilvy and Mather has changed its name to Ogilvy and Mather as of November 1, 2007, according to a press release. This name change was planned earlier in consultation with Luigi Grendene, who has since passed away. After 10 years as Chairman and Creative Head, he wanted to retire from the operational business at the end of April 2007. His unexpected death shortly before this date led to the agency postponing the name change by a few months, but according to Gaby Zimmerli, Managing Director of the agency, nothing will change apart from the name - the philosophy and working methods will remain the same. The brand and the creative communication of brand values will continue to be at the center of the agency's activities.

Partnerships Norbert Neininger, publisher of the Schaffhauser Nachrichten (SN), explains why he is participating in the Kombi Nordostschweiz (NOS) initiative. 
WW: When the NOS press release came out, the immediate reaction in the industry was: The SN is moving closer to the Tamedia Group. What do you have to say about that? Norbert Neininger: We are continuing the Kombi 1B, which has been around for many years, under the name «Nordostschweiz.» The only change is that it will now be marketed by Thurgauer Medien instead of Publicitas. That’s all—there’s absolutely no question of a rapprochement with Tamedia.WW: Another change: The Landbote/Thurgauer Zeitung (TZ) combined module will be discontinued in the future, which will likely benefit the SN the most. So did you set any conditions as well? Norbert Neininger: In any case, we weren’t backed into a corner. On the contrary. But it would also be ridiculous to think we had the others cornered. As always in such discussions, it was a matter of give and take. One thing is clear: the NOS combo benefits all three newspapers. Especially when it comes to job listings, each of the three publishers expects higher volume because the job ads will now appear in all three titles. But the sub-combo had been bothering us for a long time. We’re therefore glad that we were able to get our way. WW: Why did the others agree? Because the NOS only reaches a circulation of 100,000 copies when combined with the SN? Norbert Neininger: Yes, of course. But also because of the new joint job section, the centerpiece of NOS: Sub-sections would hardly make sense there. Moreover, the switch from P to in-house marketing is a major step. From the perspective of TZ and Landbote, going it alone wouldn’t have made sense either. It’s better for them, too, to rely on a combination that has been well-established for years. So we’ve protected our interests. But we always do that whenever possible.
WW: On other levels as well—in sales, for example? For about a year now, Zuvo—the early-delivery service run by Tamedia and NZZ—has also been operating in Schaffhausen and competing with your Schazo. Is a change on the horizon there? Norbert Neininger: Right now, we’re only talking about the Kombi. But it’s clear that Zuvo’s presence here is a major disruptive factor for us.
WW: …was that an issue in the joint negotiations? Norbert Neininger: I won’t comment on that at this time. WW: Back to the NOS: You could have joined as early as April 1, 2007. Why are you doing it only now? Norbert Neininger: Because back then, the question was whether we wanted to join the NOS newspaper system. But that would have required us to standardize the layout and outsource certain editorial and publishing functions. However, we don’t want a one-size-fits-all solution, no standardization of the layout, and absolutely no downsizing of the publishing department. We remain an autonomous, independent newspaper that simply continues to collaborate with Kombi. WW: So you just wanted to be able to continue outsourcing national sales? Norbert Neininger: Yes. National sales, which primarily run through Kombi, have always been handled by P, which is better at it than we are. But unlike the *Landbote*, which was entirely under P’s management and is now transferring all of its operations to the *TZ*, we retained local sales and always kept a portion of national sales in-house. After all, customer relationships are vital for a publishing house. We’ll continue to handle it this way in the future, and we’re now fully committed to the cause. WW: Do you reject editorial collaborations? Norbert Neininger: No, but we only want them to the extent that we had them before Tamedia took over the Thurgauer Zeitung. Even back then, we had joint supplements, exchanged articles, and even had a joint editorial office at the Federal Parliament. We’d like to resume all of these activities.WW: Will there be rate changes in 2008?Norbert Neininger: The SN is raising its rates, while at the same time the combo discount will be significantly larger, so that the combo package becomes as attractive as possible compared to individual subscriptions. We want to generate momentum for the combined package. WW: What percentage of its revenue did the SN generate this year through the 1B combined package—that is, from the national market? Norbert Neininger: The share is less than 50 percent, but a combined package is extremely important to us. WW: Last question regarding the TV project with ZüriPlus, RingierTV, and Goldbach Media in the new Zurich-Northeast Switzerland TV region: Has it already
Submitted?
Norbert Neininger: "No, right now everything is in flux once again." Interview: Markus Knöpfli
 
See also
The biggest together
 
 

Mobile MoTV, television for cell phones, has a good chance of going on air. 
"We want to make mobile television, that is still our objective," says Bruno Bucher, the nimble Biel-based founder of Mobile TV Switzerland. Swisscom Broadcast was recently awarded the contract by Bakom to set up a network for mobile TV. Bucher was rebuffed with his model of producing customized TV content for the mobile network and considered fighting for access to the new mobile network via the competition authorities (see WW 37/07). In the meantime, however, the parties have entered into talks and Bucher has decided not to lodge a complaint, which would make neither strategic nor business ethical sense. "We expect Swisscom Broadcast to set up a network of 20 transmitters. We also want to be one of them on this DVBH platform," says Bucher. With his product MoTV, the Biel native sees himself as a program maker for mouse cinema and wants to produce audiovisual content. A normal television station with its programs is not always suitable for mobile broadcasting. Although the ball of a football match, for example, is recognizable, it is no longer legible when it comes to the players' numbers. For Bucher, it is clear that cell phone users follow a different profile than normal TV users. The first prime time for his broadcasting concept is between 6.30 a.m. and 7.30 a.m., when people travel to work on public transport.
In principle, the role of program maker is not the task of the network provider, says Bucher. That's why he and his company are taking on a new role. "We are now helping the operators to do the job," he says. The tense situation between him and Swisscom Broadcast has eased. A memorandum of understanding has just been signed with Swisscom Broadcast, Sunrise and Orange. The focus is on the joint development of a first transmission channel for mobile television.
René Worni

 Since 1999, Swisscom and Publigroupe have been publishing and marketing print and online directories in Switzerland as part of a joint venture. In order to be prepared for the growing international competition, the two joint venture partners Publidirect and Swisscom Directories want to continue these activities and intensify their cooperation in the area of Search & Find online services. This was announced on Wednesday. To this end, the Internet platforms Local.ch, previously operated by Publidirect, and Weisseseiten.ch and Gelbeseiten.ch, operated by Swisscom Directories, will be successively merged under the umbrella of Local.ch in the course of the coming year. This will be held by Swisscom Directories. Its shareholders Swisscom and Publigroupe will support the company with the aim of expanding its Internet and mobile services. The management of this project will be transferred to the current CEO of Local.ch, Dorian Selz. All Local.ch products will continue to be marketed by Publidirect.

 Since Wednesday, the Thurgauer Zeitung has had two regional sections: Previously, reporting on cantonal affairs and events in the regions were combined in one bundle. In contrast, the "Leben" bundle has disappeared. According to the Thurgauer Zeitung (TZ), the "Thurgau" section will contain cantonal reporting and will be organized according to the departments of politics, business, culture and sport. As before, the "Region" section will be dedicated to the regions of Frauenfeld, Untersee/Rhein, Kreuzlingen, Weinfelden, Bischofszell, Oberthurgau and Hinterthurgau.
The changes in Thurgau are partly related to the changeover at the Winterthurer Landbote, which works together with the Thurgauer Zeitung. In Winterthur, reporting from the city will be increased, which is why the "Leben" bundle will be discontinued (see
). The national and international reporting of TZ is produced by the joint editorial team at Landbote. The Thurgauer Zeitung is wholly owned by Tamedia, while the Landbote is partly owned by Tamedia. The two papers have been working together in the Nordostschweiz newspaper network since April 2007.

Cooperations The expanded Kombi Nordostschweiz shows: With its 24,000 copies, the Schaffhauser Nachrichten (SN) has only half the weight of its partners Thurgauer Zeitung (TZ, 39,000 copies) and Landbote (36,000 copies). However, SN has largely prevailed in the negotiations on the new three-way combination Nordostschweiz: in terms of appearance, editorial content and publishing house, they will remain independent, but above all Landbote and TZ will give up their sub-combination (previously known as Kombi 1A) - which will primarily benefit SN. Whether they will also benefit the most in terms of sales is unclear, as the internal distribution key is unknown. However, the SNs do not appear to be at a disadvantage here either. Two things point to this: although the NOS combined discount will be increased by 1 percent to 12 percent compared to the current discount in Combi 1B (Landbote, TZ, SN), this is still less than the 15 percent that TZ and Landbote offered this year for booking their two-syllable combination. The fact that SN is also increasing its single rate by almost two percent next year, while Landbote and TZ are maintaining their current price level, also indicates a certain degree of concession on the part of the Tamedia-affiliated titles. The NOS combined discount on job ads is now 19 percent (compared to 15 percent in the current Combi 1B), while the new combined discount for color ads in the Friday real estate supplement is around 37 percent (previously 11 percent).
But what are the trump cards that SN was able to play in the negotiations? Firstly, the fact that TZ and Landbote only reach a circulation of 100,000 copies together with SN - a figure that still counts in the national advertising market. But this figure is also important so that the NOS can step out of the shadow of the Zürcher Landzeitung, which is close to the NZZ and has a circulation of 107,000.
Another trump card was probably Schaffhausen television. Tamedia, whose Tele Züri wants to apply for the new TV region of north-eastern Switzerland, is probably interested in winning over Schaffhausen Television for the mandatory Schaffhausen window. More for strategic reasons than for reasons of content - to strengthen the relationship with the Schaffhausen media house. But the latter tended towards the project of ZüriPlus, Goldbach Media and RingierTV. At least so far. Whether it will stay that way remains to be seen. "Once again, everything is in a state of flux," says SN publisher Norbert Neininger. By which he is probably implying that the topic of TV was also discussed in the course of the NOS combination negotiations. Just like the issue of Zuvo's presence in the Munot town (see interview), where a change is probably already in the offing: either the early delivery organization of Tamedia and NZZ will withdraw from Schaffhausen or there will be a cooperation between it and Neininger's Schazo.
Markus Knöpfli
 
 
 
Strengthening localWhile the NOS
The editorial cooperation is limited to an agreement between Landbote and Thurgauer Zeitung on a joint cover section. However, there is a need for expansion at local and regional level. To this end, Landbote has created 3.5 new editorial positions and massively expanded the local section. "We are strong in the local and regional areas," says Editor-in-Chief Colette Gradwohl about the expansion, which she sees as a response to the impact of free titles such as 20 Minuten and heute. With the words "more Thurgau every day", Ursula Fraefel, Editor-in-Chief of the Thurgauer Zeitung, also makes a strong case for local news on the TZ website. The TZ readership has occasionally been observed picking out the local section and just skimming the rest of the paper. The paper wants to remedy this situation with more local topics from October 31. Following the change in layout of the TZ at the beginning of the year, which has become much more like the Landbote, too much local content has obviously fallen by the wayside. (rw)
 
 
 
 
 
See also
"We remain independent"

 On Wednesday, the 2nd Swiss Podcast Day organized by the Goldbach Media Group took place under the title "Downloadable Medias on the Rise". Around 50 participants attended the presentations, according to Goldbach Media. Media consultant Alex Wunschel addressed the question: "Podcasts: already over or on the verge of a breakthrough?". He also explained how the audience takes on the role of the creator. Marius Spika, TU Braunschweig, spoke about how technological innovations promote interactivity in his presentation "Closer to the audience with new applications". Thomas Ulrich, Head of Marketing Communications at Swisscom Fixnet, spoke about his experiences with the well-known Bruno Bondi show and community building thanks to podcasts. Finally, Achim Jenner, Managing Director of Jung von Matt/Digital Media, explored the podcast as a (still) undervalued advertising tool.
The discussions at Podcast Day 2007 confirmed that podcasts are now part of many advertising campaigns and media offerings, Goldbach Media continues. Like many market observers, the marketer assumes that media that users can access when they have time will continue to gain in importance.

Prevention Ruf Lanz warns for SuvaPro: Never underestimate the dangers in the workplace. 
Anyone who drives a forklift truck through the warehouse every day at work can also rewind this course in their sleep or in an emergency. We can only hope that the term "emergency" does not suddenly take on its true meaning in this case, as studies show that people very often misjudge the dangers in the workplace. "Most dangers are underestimated. People have the false sense that they can still react if, contrary to expectations, things become critical," says Urs Schaad, the head of advertising at Suva. Suva records over 245,000 accidents in the workplace every year.
"Never underestimate the dangers in the workplace" is therefore the message of a new TV commercial for SuvaPro. Ruf Lanz has come up with a surprising dramatization. It is set in a place where you would least expect something to happen: a hospital.
The story: A nurse pushes a badly battered patient through the corridor in a hospital bed. A voice is heard off-screen: "Never underestimate the dangers in the workplace." The surprise follows on the heels: at the intersection of the corridors, the nurse is brutally run over by another nurse with a hospital bed. Conclusion: accidents can happen anywhere and at any time if you're not careful.
The new SuvaPro commercial was realized by Wirz & Fraefel Productions under the direction of Ernst Wirz. It was filmed in a disused hospital near Zurich. "A surgeon realistically prepared the patient in the hospital bed to look like you might look if you fell from scaffolding, for example," explains CD Markus Ruf. He also reveals a juicy detail: "The nurse is played by stunt woman Simone Bargetze, who lives in Los Angeles." Her stunt skills will soon also be seen in "Avatar", the new Hollywood blockbuster by James Cameron.
In addition to the SuvaLiv brand, which promotes safety in leisure time (for example with the bicycle helmet campaigns), Ruf Lanz has also been responsible for the budget of the SuvaPro brand since 2002. Under this label, Suva promotes safety in the workplace and makes great efforts to prevent occupational accidents and illnesses. Prevention is achieved through direct measures in the numerous companies insured by Suva. These include advice, training, inspections, publications and information material. The second and very broad channel is the classic communication channels. The commercial has been running since October 29.
Andreas Panzeri