In a commercial produced with Snapfilm, Daihatsu Draftfcb shows how to save gas. 
What do you do when your car gets 4.4 liters per 100 kilometers? Fill up less often! That’s the message of the new commercial for the Daihatsu Cuore, in which the driver uses a miniature gas nozzle to fill up his car. The idea was developed at the new Draftfcb office in Wallisellen. Tolga Dilsiz directed the spot for Snapfilm. The 30-year-old German with Turkish roots has lived in Zurich since 2001 and successfully graduated from the Zurich University of the Arts with a degree in film. His graduation film, «Riza Kaptan,» was screened at numerous international film festivals and won the 2005 Kodak UFVA Directors’ Choice Award in the U.S. In addition to several short films, Tolga has also produced commissioned films for IBM, Colgate, 3+, the British Council, and Endress + Hauser.
The advertising agency Draftfcb has been working for Daihatsu for several years. The brand, which is still relatively small in terms of sales volume in Switzerland but is gaining popularity, is imported by Walter Frei and promoted throughout Europe with targeted local marketing campaigns.
Andreas Panzeri

 
Dental care For more than 40 years, Signal has stood for reliable caries protection here in Germany. Over time, the red stripes have evolved into a wide range of dental care products. Today, the right solution for daily dental care can be found for every need. Since March 2005, Signal has also included the former Mentadent toothpastes and brushes, which remain under the Signal name. For Signal's current image campaign, the creatives from HessKiss have surprisingly implemented Signal's protective function with crisp food eye-catchers that not only look good, but are also closely linked to the additional functions. The chocolate used in Anti-Caries, for example, naturally stands for sweetness, the salmon roll in care&fresh for what is more problematic from a respiratory point of view, and the corn on the cob in Micro-Granuli for the well-known phenomenon that fibers get stuck between the teeth when the corn kernels are eaten.

The Walker advertising agency shows that being rescued by Rega is 15,000 times more likely than winning the lottery jackpot.The figures are surprising: there is an 8.25 percent chance that a Swiss man or woman with an average life expectancy of 80 years will need to use the services of the Swiss Air Rescue Service at some point. In concrete terms, this means that one in ten people will owe their life to Rega at some point. With this strategic approach—derived from in-depth analyses—the Walker advertising agency was able to win Rega’s account following an agency evaluation and the subsequent strategy presentation. According to market research, ’Switzerland’s most popular brand« has 1.8 million supporters. Rega members need not worry—at least financially—in the event of an emergency.
Rega has «a phenomenal number of donors,» says Pius Walker. However, strikingly few donations come from French-speaking Switzerland. People there spend three times less on charitable causes than in the rest of Switzerland. On the other hand, they play the lottery three times as much. «A great angle,» Walker calculated. And he immediately turned the statistic into a slogan: «You’re 15,000 times more likely to need Rega than to hit the jackpot in the lottery. Protect your life—for the price of a lottery ticket.’
This information is dramatized in the truest sense of the word in a film that will premiere this year in French-speaking Switzerland and will be shown throughout the rest of the country in 2008. Filming took place over two days in Malaysia. In this exotic idyll, a young couple is spending their honeymoon. They love and tease each other and, by the pool, dream of spending the rest of their lives in this paradise thanks to a jackpot win. Eventually, however, the banter in the 50-second film escalates into an argument, prompting the young man to take refuge by diving headfirst into the water—and suddenly, the vacation fun turns into a drama.
Using underwater footage straight out of an action movie, Walker shows how the Swiss man sustained serious head injuries when he jumped from the edge of the pool. Bleeding from his ear, he lies dazed underwater. Then everything happens very quickly, until the injured man is flown by Rega to a hospital in Switzerland. «We used a generous amount of screen time for this opening scene,» explains Walker. The dramatic structure is designed to first captivate the audience with the love scene, so that the shock of the accident hits all the harder.
A direct mail piece also plays a central role in this cross-media campaign (see image below). It is distributed to all mailboxes in a gold envelope with no return address. Anyone who opens this enticing piece of mail will find a lottery ticket on which the campaign’s tagline has been scribbled into the little boxes like lottery numbers. The back of the lottery ticket then turns out to be a payment slip, complete with a golden coupon serving as proof of the new membership.
 
You can find behind-the-scenes photos from the commercial shoot in the latest issue of *Werbewoche*. It will be in your mailbox on Thursday.
 
Andreas Panzeri

 
Fundraising: The Walker advertising agency shows that a rescue by Rega is 15,000 times more likely than winning the lottery jackpot. 
The figures are surprising: There is an 8.25 percent chance that a Swiss man or woman with an average life expectancy of 80 years will at some point need to call on the services of the Swiss Air Rescue Service (Rega). In concrete terms, this means that one in ten people will owe their life to Rega at some point.
With this strategic approach—developed through in-depth analysis—the Walker advertising agency was able to win Rega’s account following an agency evaluation and the subsequent strategy presentation. According to market research, the «most popular brand in Switzerland» has 1.8 million supporters. Rega members don’t have to worry—at least financially—in the event of an emergency.
Rega has «a phenomenal number of donors,» says Pius Walker. However, strikingly few donations come from French-speaking Switzerland. People there spend three times less on charitable causes than in the rest of Switzerland. On the other hand, they play the lottery three times as much. «A great angle,» Walker calculated. And he immediately turned the statistic into a slogan: «You’re 15,000 times more likely to need Rega than to hit the jackpot in the lottery. Protect your life—for the price of a lottery ticket.’
This information is dramatized in the truest sense of the word in a film that will premiere this year in French-speaking Switzerland and will be shown throughout the rest of the country in 2008. Filming took place over two days in Malaysia. In this exotic idyll, a young couple is spending their honeymoon. They love and tease each other and, by the pool, dream of spending the rest of their lives in this paradise thanks to a jackpot win. Eventually, however, the banter in the 50-second film escalates into an argument, prompting the young man to take refuge by diving headfirst into the water—and suddenly, the vacation fun turns into a drama.
Using underwater footage straight out of an action movie, Walker shows how the Swiss man sustained serious head injuries when he jumped from the edge of the pool. Bleeding from his ear, he lies dazed underwater. Then everything happens very quickly, until the injured man is flown by Rega to a hospital in Switzerland. «We used a generous amount of screen time for this opening scene,» explains Walker. The dramatic structure is designed to first captivate the audience with the love scene, so that the shock of the accident hits all the harder.
A direct mail piece also plays a central role in this cross-media campaign. It is distributed to all mailboxes in a golden envelope with no address. Anyone who opens this enticing piece of mail will find a lottery ticket on which the campaign’s tagline has been scribbled into the little boxes like lottery numbers. The back of the lottery ticket then turns out to be a payment slip, complete with a golden coupon serving as proof of the new membership.

Andreas Panzeri

 
Publishers: Google News has recently begun offering more than just a news roundup; the search engine now also publishes news agency reports. The Swiss Press Association (VSP) most recently met with Google representatives on the sidelines of the publishers« conference held recently in Lucerne to discuss unresolved copyright issues arising from the publication of journalistic content on Google News.Among other things, the publishers are demanding compensation for this. However, as VSP President Hanspeter Lebrument acknowledged when asked, Google’s latest move is not currently exacerbating the situation between the American company and the publishers. According to Lebrument, all major publishers are »on board.« However, the decision on whether to take legal action has not yet been made. At present, the focus is on finding the right strategy, as Google’s proposals are insufficient. »The ball is now in the publishers’ court,” says VSP Managing Director Hanspeter Kellermüller.
René Worni

 Microsoft and Ringier are joining forces to address social issues. As Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announced, the software giant will begin supporting the Dariu Foundation, which was established by Ringier, effective immediately. The goal is to improve the social and economic conditions of people in need, Ballmer said during a meeting with Ringier Executive Board member Thomas Trüb. Specifically, Microsoft will provide software licenses to the schools established by the foundation in Than Phu, Vietnam.The foundation, based in Zofingen, was founded in 2002 and uses donations from individuals and companies to provide children with a school education.

 
Eye tracking A systematic study by the Poynter Institute aims to identify general reading habits in print and online. 
Eye-tracking studies have a long tradition at the Poynter Institute for Media Studies, a research and training center for journalists and people who want to become journalists. The first study at the Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida, was conducted in 1990. This study, in which star newspaper designer Mario Garcia played a major role, introduced design principles that are still valid today. Now the results of the third, most elaborate and probably most productive study to date have been published.
The scientific directors of this year's eye-tracking study, Sara Quinn and Pegie Stark Adam, set themselves the goal of obtaining scientifically relevant data on reading habits and news reception. "We want to help publishers and editors understand how deeply readers read, which navigation tools maximize reading comprehension and which story forms convey information most efficiently," said Sara Quinn in the run-up to the study.
To do this, the research team first had to define and precisely describe all possible journalistic forms. A total of 150 different elements were identified, ranging from captions and headlines to links and quotes. Day after day, stickers with the respective codes were meticulously attached to the newspapers that were to be tested. Only then could the actual work begin.
600 test subjects in four US cities were tested. The test subjects had to read their usual newspaper for 15 minutes without having held it in their hands beforehand. A pair of glasses with a small camera measured the number and duration of eye stops. The results were then decoded and analyzed.
In print media, large photos and headlines were noticed much more than small ones. Online readers, on the other hand, paid the most attention to navigation bars and teasers. In broadsheets, color photos attracted about 20 percent more attention than black and white photos. Documentary photos performed better than posed photos.
However, small portrait photos were usually overlooked. Alternative story forms, for example, texts prepared with graphics, quotes and short information, received 15 percent more attention on average than regular text presentations. In the broadsheet, the proportion even rose to 34 percent. Tabloid readers read more text overflow on average than broadsheet readers, namely 68 percent compared to 59 percent.
Short reports with illustrations worked better than text-only reports. Teasers with photos and other illustrations attracted attention in print. The arrangement on the page was essential. Text-image teasers received the most attention at the top right of a broadsheet newspaper. Teasers containing only text received the most attention at the bottom right of a page. In the tabloid, visual teasers at the bottom right of the front page received the most attention.
Another series of tests involved prototypes of a report prepared in six different narrative forms - three print versions (see illustration below) and three web versions - whereby the content was not changed. The main focus here was on how much of what was read was remembered and understood. Version 1 was prepared conventionally with a headline, running text and photo. Variant 2 also included a map and an info box. Variant 3 was alternatively designed with a sideline interview, bar chart and other graphic storytelling elements.
The test subjects were each given a version of the prototype to read, without comparing it with the other versions. The readers were not aware of the time limit or what would be tested. After five minutes, they were stopped and had to answer five questions about the content of the text. The result of this test run was that the readers who had read variant 3 were able to remember most of the facts.
156 test subjects answered seven out of nine questions correctly. 46 percent of them had read variant 3, 28 percent variant 2 and 26 percent variant 1. The online version with the more unconventional structure also had the highest recall value. Nevertheless, the results differed greatly from the print version. Only 25 percent of online readers were able to answer seven out of nine questions correctly. It is also interesting to note that although the content was the same, readers had the impression that the more structured story was better researched and therefore more credible.
The researchers were able to identify two different types of reading behavior: the methodical reader and the skimming reader. Methodical readers - around 75 percent of print readers and around half of online readers - read from top to bottom without skimming the page. They also read some text passages a second time. Online, they used drop-down menus and navigation bars to discover stories that interested them.
Skimming readers scanned pages for headlines and other highlighted elements, read parts of the story, skipped to the photo or other elements, and didn't go back to the same place in the text where they left off reading. Online, they jumped across the screen, looked at different elements and eventually clicked on a story to read.
Online, there was little difference in the amount of text read between the different reading types (around 77%). In print, the methodical reader read more (65% compared to 57%) in both broadsheet and tabloid. The skimming reader read the least in tabloid (45%). Future studies will be devoted to news on large format and mini displays.
Doris Oberneder
"Eyetracking the News - A Study of Print and Online Reading" can be ordered at:
http://www.poynter.org/shop/product_view.asp?id=1193
 
More on the subject:
"We need more information"
QuotesThe following quotes illustrate the complexity of the interplay between content and form in newspaper design.
"When you decide on a story form, you have to be guided by content."
Pegie Stark Adam
"All elements must work together to convey the message clearly."
Sara Quinn
"I want to encourage journalists, photographers, publishers and designers to work together to create packages and lead stories."
Pegie Stark Adam
The studyWho was tested:
Nearly 600 readers in four different American cities (readers of the Rocky Mountain News in Denver, The St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times, Star Tribune in Minneapolis and Philadelphia Daily News)Composition of the readership studied:
56% 18-41 years, 44% 42-65 years (average age 39 years). 49% men, 51% women. 29% of the readers tested read the newspaper 1-3 times a week, 71% 4 times or more. 87% have a degree, 75% are employed.

 
Suzuki Metzgerlehner worldwide partners sets the scene for the new Japanese models. 
Metzgerlehner has been looking after the Suzuki brand in Switzerland for around ten years. Suzuki has had a new CI for two years, which was developed in Germany for the entire European market. Metzgerlehner also does not take the pictures of the models itself, but has them taken by the parent company. However, CD Felix Dammann explains that the company's own ideas are required for everything else. Advertising for Suzuki in Switzerland differs from other countries in Europe since the Japanese brand has been imported here by the Walter Frei Group, and this year there is a particularly fresh look for the successful models of the compact number 1. After the previous models, which mostly looked like small jeeps, Suzuki has now styled three elegant small cars. An advertising campaign presents the advantages of the three models New Grand Vitara, New SX4 and New Swift in a sympathetic, surprising and tongue-in-cheek way. The price is also deliberately used as an argument, as this can certainly be a decisive factor for the new Suzuki. The campaign is stylistically "reduced and therefore also rejuvenating", as strategist Marco Lehner explains. It is now being used throughout Switzerland in magazines, daily newspapers and the trade press.
Andreas Panzeri

 Axel Springer Verlag has strengthened its position in Switzerland in recent months. Following the acquisition of Handelszeitung, the major German group, parent company of more than 170 newspapers and magazines in 33 countries, also took over the Jean Frey Group at the beginning of the year and is now grouping its activities under Axel Springer Switzerland. Now Finanz und Wirtschaft claims to have learned from three sources that Springer is interested in acquiring parts of the Valora retail group. According to insiders, the situation of this group, which has been a permanent construction site for years, will change fundamentally in the next six to twelve months after extremely slack business months. Springer is said to be particularly interested in the two group divisions Retail and Press & Books. These acquisitions would make perfect sense for the expansion of activities in Switzerland: With the newsstand business combined under Retail, the publisher could control an important distribution channel for its titles. The Press & Books division would also be interesting in this respect, as Valora already distributes 6,000 different press titles in Switzerland, Austria and Luxembourg through this subsidiary. So far, however, both sides have denied any contact.

 
Radio The night owl portal Tilllate launches an online radio station and breaks new ground. 
Tilllate thrives on the beauties of the night. At weekends, hundreds of photographers mingle with the party crowd and try to quench their irrepressible thirst for self-portrayal. Since the beginning of October, the night owl portal has been adding an acoustic component to the party pictures. With its own online radio station, Tilllate wants to make "clubbers' ears" vibrate and satisfy the "music hunger of its clubbing community", according to its own description. Three music genres are currently played: Urban, Trance/Progressive and House/Electro.
With the new offer, the night portal wants to clearly differentiate itself from other radio stations. Instead of compiling music lists and producing shows themselves, DJs and party organizers design the program themselves. Registered music producers can upload their soundscapes to the website and create profiles. If they meet the quality requirements of the party portal, the music goes on air. Apart from a few English-language radio shows, Nightlife Radio is not yet hosted. In terms of content, Tilllate only wants to focus on music in an initial phase. The range of shows will be continuously expanded.
For project manager Marco Rohr, the timing of the launch was just right. Tilllate had had such a project in mind for a long time, but had waited to realize it. "Two years ago, it would have been much more difficult to get started," says Rohr. The good relationships with artists and event organizers would have been missing then. Rohr is convinced that the radio will cause a stir among partygoers. "Music is probably the most important part of club culture. The community has been waiting for an offer like this."
The party portal got off to a good start with the new project. Partygoers and artists are showing interest. Rohr: "We already have the listenership that other internet radio stations in this genre only have after two years." The radio concept promises interesting opportunities for advertisers: "We are clarifying various sponsorship concepts," says Rohr. For example, the portal wants to open up the channel for commercials. However, Tilllate also wants to earn money with paid services such as podcasts and on-demand functions. Depending on the concept, the artists should also share in the success.
The online concept is likely to set new standards in the Swiss radio landscape. On the one hand, the community can create the music program itself, and on the other, the partygoers are closely linked to existing content such as event information, photo reports and artist profiles. These are advantages that FM or DAB radio programs have not yet offered in this form. To implement Nightlife Radio, Tilllate is working with Digital Media Distribution (DMD2), which is responsible for broadcasting operations. DMD2 is also responsible for the quality control of the music uploaded to the platform and will also support Tilllate in the acquisition of new content.
Christian Lüscher
Linking nightlife with advertisingTilllate reaches worldwide
1.8 million night owls per month in the 18 to 35 age segment. Around 500,000 people are currently members of the party community. The portal launched its photo service seven years ago. Since then, the online archive contains around eleven million images. Tilllate employs more than 1,100 photographers worldwide. In addition to party photos
Tilllate also produces the ten-minute television magazine "Nightlife TV", which can be seen on MTV at the weekend on Friday and Saturday at 8 pm. The lion's share of the income
is generated by Tilllate with advertising. Markus Popp, Head of Marketing at Tilllate, explains the business model: "We link the advertising industry with the nightlife industry." Founded in 2000, the platform
employs over 45 people worldwide and almost 100 part-time employees. The media company Tamedia recently acquired a stake in Tilllate. There are plans to increase the stake to 49 percent at the beginning of 2010. The cooperation with Tamedia is intended to strengthen the collaboration between 20 Minuten and Tilllate in the print and online sectors. Tilllate operates the business in Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Italy, Spain, Ibiza, the UK, France, the Netherlands, Turkey and Bulgaria. (cl)

The Zurich agency Ruf Lanz has made it to the final five times at the London International Awards. The nominees in the Outdoor category are the "George W. Bush" campaign for the Sport Factory Outlet. In the Print category, the "Computer Engineers recruiting" campaign for McKinsey & Company and the "Letters of application" campaign for Radio Energy Zurich are on the shortlist. In the radio category, the Hyundai radio spot "German National Anthem" has made it onto the shortlist. Ruf Lanz has already won gold four times in London. Whether it will be enough to win again this year will be decided on November 12.
Picture above:

One of four subjects from the nominated campaign "George W. Bush" for Sport Factory Outlet.
Picture below
One of four subjects from the nominated "Letters of application" campaign for Radio Energy Zurich.

The Freitag brothers are bringing in the agency Scholtysik Niederberger Kraft (SNK), which was founded in Basel in 1996, to further develop their brand strategy and visual identity, according to a press release. SNK worked closely with Freitag to develop the brand's strategic positioning and identity. Based on this, the visual identity was further developed and other brand-defining areas were analyzed. The result is a clear foundation for the Freitag brand and a set of tools that will allow the company to manage and expand its brand in a targeted manner in the future.