Online communities such as MySpace and Facebook are costing British entrepreneurs almost 200 million euros a day. This is the result of a study by the British employment law company Peninsula. In total, employees spend around 233 million paid working hours per month on social networks. According to Pressetext.ch, reactions to this result vary: Mike Huss, Director of Peninsula, appeals to companies to block access to MySpace and Co. "Why should employers allow their employees to waste two hours a day on Facebook when they are being paid to do their job?", Huss told the BBC. Gerhard Laga from the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber, on the other hand, believes that it should be in the employer's interest for their employees to network and present themselves online: "Of course, it depends on the industry, but social networking can contribute to efficiency."
Meanwhile, scientists at Sheffield Hallam University generally doubt the social benefits of online communities. Researcher Will Reader looked at the new types of friendship emerging on the internet and came to the conclusion that extensive contact lists say nothing about a person's actual social status. "Although the number of friends that appear on a profile can be huge, the number of close friends remains roughly the same as in real life," says Reader. Once again, this is an insight that only science can give us. And people used to think that if you had 2391 friends on Facebook, you could hardly sit down at the computer because of all the dates in real life.

Political Advertising: Ueli Haldimann, editor-in-chief of Swiss Television, is not in favor of the idea of providing political parties and committees with free airtime. 
As a result of an initiative by SP National Council member Andreas Gross, a corresponding bill is currently under public consultation (LINK).WW: National Council member Andreas Gross accuses the SRG—and Swiss Television in particular—of showing «no understanding of the issue» regarding his proposal for free political advertising in the run-up to referendums. What do you find problematic about this draft bill? Ueli Haldimann: We have a deep understanding of the issues. However, I do not view the ban on party advertising currently in effect in Switzerland as a problem. We always provide in-depth coverage of referendum proposals, presenting both the pros and cons. This means the public is perfectly capable of forming its own opinion. Furthermore, in Switzerland, referendum campaigns are usually led by the “pro” or “contra” committees, not the political parties. Parties often avoid taking a clear stance. Sometimes a delegate assembly decides on a different position than the party executive committee or the parliamentary caucus. Which one takes precedence then? Parties also often decide to allow members to vote as they see fit. I’m really curious to see what a commercial promoting a “vote as you see fit” stance would look like.
Andreas Gross believes that SRG and SF must comply with the legislature—as is only natural in a democracy—and accept political advertising. Of course, we will comply with the legislature’s will if it decides that SRG SSR should broadcast free party spots. Have we ever failed to comply with the law? But, dear Andi, it’s actually the other way around: The legislature has just debated and passed a new Radio and Television Act that specifically does not provide for such party spots. The law has now been in effect for exactly five months. But of course, you’re free to question it all over again.
What conditions would have to be met for political ads from political parties and interest groups to be aired on SF without any problems? As mentioned, the Radio and Television Act would have to be amended. Article 10, paragraph d, of the Act expressly prohibits advertising for political parties, for individuals who hold political office or are running for office, and for issues that are not the subject of referendums. This was decided by Parliament.
The law is intended to lay the groundwork for fair referendum campaigns. How can SF contribute to this effort, aside from the controversial political ads? As just mentioned, we provide in-depth coverage of referendums. The «Arena» referendum debate is always a highlight of the referendum campaign. There, we ensure that the diversity of views is appropriately represented, just as the Constitution and the law require. I don’t believe the referendum campaign will become fairer if the parties are allowed to air spots. Take, for example, the Mother-and-Child Initiative, which sought to ban abortion and, as I recall, was not supported by any major party. In that case, we would have had only anti-ads. Or with “Army 21,” all parties were in favor of it, so we would have had only pro-ads. Would that make for a fairer referendum campaign?
Are the media the appropriate means to achieve greater fairness in referendum campaigns? Even the major newspapers have long seen themselves as opinion-based publications and report on referendum proposals in a balanced, controversial manner. I agree with Andi Gross that our community has room for improvement in many areas. But even with the best will in the world, I cannot see a single problem that we would solve if political parties were allowed to include «handglismeti» spots in their campaigns in the future.
Email Interview: Nick Lüthi

 
Online Advertising: Publishers are astonished by SRG CEO Armin Walpen’s remarks regarding internet advertising on SF. The ban took effect on April 1, but it is by no means a joke—even if the SRG would like to think so. The new Radio and Television Ordinance states in black and white: «Advertising and sponsorship are prohibited in the SRG’s other journalistic offerings (…).» This makes it clear: The websites of the license-fee-funded broadcaster will remain ad-free. This is a provision that SRG Director General Armin Walpen cannot accept—and in fact has never been able to accept. «In the medium term, we will have to discuss online advertising again,» the NZZ am Sonntag quoted him as saying. With this, Walpen is once again sparking a debate that was actually supposed to have ended with the entry into force of the new broadcasting legislation. There was no specific trigger for this. The NZZ am Sonntag did not even explicitly ask about Walpen’s stance on the online advertising ban. The SRG chief raised this sensitive topic of his own accord. Publishers are reacting with astonishment. «In the interest of fair competition, legal restrictions on the SRG are necessary,» writes Hanspeter Kellermüller of the Swiss Press Association, adding: «A relaxation of the advertising ban is out of the question for us.» Walpen, of course, sees things differently. He sees the future of his company on the internet, not only in terms of journalism but also commercially. Walpen also seems convinced that the publishers« resistance to this will »not last forever.« An assessment that the Publishers» Association notes with some amusement. Hanspeter Kellermüller simply remarks that “eternity” is a difficult concept to grasp.
No one knows what the future holds—neither Walpen nor the publishers. But as far as the present is concerned, the Swiss Press Association is confident: «We are firmly sticking to our previous position and will take great care to ensure that the balance achieved with the revision of the Radio and Television Act is not thrown out the window.» Meanwhile, the SRG is trying to steer the debate in a direction that appeals to the public. The discussion about advertising on the internet must take place not least «in the interest of license fee payers,» says SRG spokesperson Daniel Steiner, elaborating on his boss’s remarks. Does this mean that higher revenues from online advertising will lead to lower license fees? Will the SRG even submit a proposal to reduce license fees «in the medium term»?
Nick Lüthi

 Ever since it was announced that the publishing house Tamedia was taking over Espace Media, there have been new plans for cooperation between the two companies: they want to publish a new free newspaper - together with the Basler Zeitung - and set up an online news network. Now there are plans for a quality newspaper in which the Tages-Anzeiger and the Berner Zeitung could be involved, as reported by Persönlich.com. When these plans are mentioned, there is never any mention of the second Bernese daily newspaper: the Bund. Editor-in-chief Artur K. Vogel is not acutely concerned about the new plans that the Tages-Anzeiger could be expanded into a new "big city newspaper" in cooperation with the Berner Zeitung. "I have spoken to my colleagues in Zurich and their plans are still so vague that there is currently no cause for concern," he told Werbewoche. He could not be worried about a matter that was not yet concrete.
Tamedia spokesman Christoph Zimmer is also defensive: "It is true that both editorial offices are considering how the Tages-Anzeiger and the Berner Zeitung could be developed further. We are considering various options. However, there is no concrete 'big city newspaper' project."
Bund is back in the blackVogel is building on what Tamedia Board Chairman Pietro Suppino and Espace Board Chairman Charles von Graffenried told him when they took over Espace Media: Bund will continue to exist as long as it is in the black and represents an independent journalistic voice. "And we are clearly in the black this year, for the first time in years," says Vogel.
The so-called Bern model has always been based on the fact that the Berner Zeitung (BZ) and the Bund are clearly different. The BZ is regarded as a local newspaper, while the Bund wants to position itself as a quality paper with background information. However, the latest plans from Tamedia seem to indicate that the BZ could be upgraded to a politically profiled, independent quality newspaper. "If developments go in this direction, we would really have to rethink the positioning of the two newspapers in Bern," said Vogel.
Members of the editorial team are concerned The fact that the Bund is not mentioned in the rumored plans is, in Vogel's eyes, due to the fact that it was still largely owned by the NZZ until recently. This is probably still firmly anchored in people's minds. "I now have to hammer home to my colleagues in Zurich that Tamedia owns two newspapers in Bern," said Vogel. He is also lobbying the Espace people Polo Stäheli and Franziska von Weissenfluh in Bern for his paper. "And it's important to remember that you can also talk a paper to death: If there is always talk that the Bund could be under threat, at some point a threat does indeed arise." However, his editorial team is very lively. "Of course there are members of the editorial team who are afraid. There have also been resignations," explained Vogel. They don't know exactly what will happen next, which causes anxiety.
In addition to the possible "big city newspaper", Tamedia wants to realize a new commuter newspaper and an online presence together with the Basler Zeitung. Here, too, there is never any specific mention of the federal government. "But if the Berner Zeitung actually benefits from the advertising revenue that the planned commuter newspaper is expected to generate, the Confederation will also receive a share of this through the joint advertising management," says Vogel. The federal government could also benefit from the online network. Its website is already being realized jointly with the Berner Zeitung; the Confederation has its own niches where it can operate as it wishes. Vogel assumes that this will remain the case in the future.
Incidentally, the Bund website also attracts readers who seem to be concerned about the fate of the two Bernese papers: in comments, they discuss whether two newspapers are needed in the capital. One user writes that he would immediately subscribe to the NZZ if the Bund no longer existed.
Carole Scheidegger

 
Cosmetic surgery A pet food called Fressnapf evokes a very precise brand promise. The label Smart for an intelligent car can also be understood as smart branding. Playboy as the title for a men's magazine is aimed precisely at more or less playful boys. In this circle of apt brand names, Mona Lisa has now also entered the media plan as a code name for a beauty clinic. The beautiful Lisa and her winning smile - that can only arouse the right desires. However, the full-page advertisement in the commuter newspaper Heute makes you suspicious. As we all know, it is aimed primarily at a young target audience. So are we on the trail of a new trend in which more and more young people want to go under the knife of cosmetic surgeons? The all-clear follows in the day after today. "Mona Lisa" is the title of a new radio soap. It can be heard daily at 7.20 and 9.30 a.m. on Energy Zurich. The author of the beautiful spoof is Roman Kilchsperger. (pan)
 

 The advertising and production agency Orcamedia in Niederrohrdorf was entrusted with the conception, organization and production of the celebrations for the 125th anniversary of Jura Cement Fabriken. The four event evenings in two different locations are designed for a total of 1640 guests; according to a press release, the client has invested a seven-figure budget in order to create a quality experience. Among those taking part are political satirist Andreas Thiel, the Top Secret Drum Corps Basel, Michelin-starred chef Helmut Zuber, sommelier Jörg Bühler and the Valais Irish folk band Glen of Guinness. Among the guests at the VIP evening were the Irish ambassador and the President of the National Council, Christine Egerszegi. The upcoming celebrations will be dedicated entirely to the employees from the companies of the entire Jura Holding, which belongs to the Irish building materials group CRH.

Public relations PR has many facets. One of these is so-called product PR, the theoretical and practical classification of which is not entirely agreed upon by experts. 
Why should a multimedia
journalist be interested in a rally through the delicatessens of Zurich? And why should a lifestyle journalist, who otherwise only has celebrities and fashion on his mind, deal with a multimedia computer and its functions? At first glance, the answer is not necessarily obvious: product PR.
While some consider it to be part of classic public relations work and therefore part of the PR department, others see it more as part of marketing and sales. But regardless of which internal or external department is responsible, product PR must always meet the requirements of the brand, market and topicality of the issues.
The latter is particularly important. In contrast to advertising, where you can pay to place the desired messages in the target medium at the desired time, product PR relies on intermediaries, i.e. journalists and editorial offices. And for them, the news value of press releases on products is usually limited.
Added value for companies and the media thanks to product PRThe term "news value" originates from communication science and attempts to explain which specific influencing factors give a news item publication value. The defined characteristics include topicality, proximity, prominence, novelty/innovation, conflict or negativity.
While in the past the work of journalists was seen merely as a reflection of such event characteristics, today the intermediaries between information and publication are seen as having a much greater, instrumental role. Science assumes that the journalist ascribes certain characteristics worthy of publication to an event/information. In other words, journalists select from the flood of information they receive the information that is relevant and interesting at the time. Through the selection itself, they define a news value.
In terms of product PR, it is no longer just objective, fact-oriented communication that plays an important role, but also emotional communication. At this point, journalists become a kind of consumer who needs to be convinced of an information offer on a factual and emotional level. Accordingly, it helps to systematically develop topics and tailor them to the needs of the media.
Emotionalization of product communicationThe identification of topics or the development of a thematic approach in product PR serves to emotionalize factual information and thus create greater news relevance. Which brings us back to the questions posed at the beginning and a practical example.
For the market launch of the new Nokia N95 multimedia computer, the task was to propose PR measures that would appeal to both specialist journalists from multimedia editorial offices and journalists from lifestyle media. For both, the product was to be brought to life and it was to be shown that the versatile functions are relevant to everyday multimedia and lifestyle.
Under the aspects of "multimedia, experience, lifestyle", the thematic hook "sensory experiences" and the idea for the Gourmet City Rally were developed. An exclusive restaurant in Zurich was chosen as the starting and finishing points of the rally, from where the journalists were sent on a shopping tour through the city after a short introduction. Equipped with the Nokia N95 multimedia computer, they were asked to find their way around using the integrated navigation system and to buy specific products in previously defined delicatessens. The completion of the tasks had to be documented with photos and videos and the recordings had to be transferred to a blog along the way - both of course with the Nokia N95.
Back at the restaurant, the participants were shown what the others in the group had experienced with the help of the recordings on the blog. And, of course, the delicacies purchased were sampled during dinner.
The implementation of the gourmet rally made it possible to turn a technology-oriented product launch into a story for journalists from various media categories and to create additional news value alongside the news criterion of "novelty". The lifestyle journalists on the one hand were able to talk about a gadget that enables their readers to find their way to the nearest store on a shopping trip in New York, for example. Or with which they can capture their experiences on the move and make them immediately visible to others via the Internet. On the other hand, the multimedia journalists were able to see the functionality of the Nokia N95 for themselves during the rally and test all the technical features in detail.
By taking part in the rally, the journalists from Germany, Austria and Switzerland became users who use a product in a real-life situation. The integration of an exclusive restaurant, gourmet delicacies and the opportunity to exchange ideas with others over dinner also created an emotional framework for the event.
Planning pays offThe example shows that new products do not just have to be presented in a dry, factual manner. On the contrary, the combination of information transfer and direct application has proven to be an extremely effective communication measure, resulting in over 50 reports on the Nokia N95 and around 4 million potential reader contacts.
Product PR makes it possible to present even more complex issues in detail and create a win-win situation for both sides. By planning topics, companies use their resources efficiently and can place the desired messages. On the other hand, journalists get a story that is interesting and relevant for readers.
However, it is not enough just to have the right topic, the right preparation and the right timing. Successful product PR, like classic advertising measures, requires detailed preparation and coordination. When selecting media, you need to know which media are used by the relevant target groups and what the editorial team's topic plan looks like. For research purposes, you should also make use of your personal network of contacts with journalists and editorial offices, as this allows you to gauge interest at the same time.
To ensure that product PR is not just short-term showmanship, it is important that marketing and communication managers coordinate their messages. This ensures integrated communication that has a long-term positive effect on the image.
Patrick Preuss and Marc Schlittler
> Marc Schlittler is Managing Partner and Patrick Preuss is Project Manager at PRfact AG, a young below-the-line agency specializing in public relations. PRfact specializes in integrated communications and marketing consulting, innovative product and lifestyle PR as well as events.

 
Daniel Pillard, interim head of Ringier Publishing Switzerland, believes that press magazines are the future for newspapers—including *Blick*. 
All free publications are in tabloid format. Why doesn’t *Blick*, as a paid newspaper, want to set itself apart in this regard? It’s not a matter of format. Tabloid is a magazine format that people like. That’s an advantage. But this format needs to be designed with specific considerations in mind.
Why not make it a little bigger, like *Metro* in London? Or like *El País*, or *Libération*, and so on—that would be nice. But we won’t have the right printing presses for that until 2009.
Or what about the late *Cash*? I hear there’s printing capacity available in Adligenswil again? *Blick* is already printed in Adligenswil. But we can’t use the *Cash* solution for *Blick*. The question is rather, what do we do with this tabloid format? How do you handle a two-page spread rather than just individual pages? Perhaps *Blick* and *Le Matin* haven’t worked with it consistently enough. We need to do something different from *20 Minuten* and *.ch*. We simply need to become more magazine-like.
Blick is supposed to become a magazine; your recent comments in the Sonntagszeitung have caused some confusion. What exactly do you mean by that? This reaction doesn’t surprise me. But magazines are the future for newspapers. Of course, there are limits. Becoming too much like a magazine is dangerous, especially for a newspaper like Blick. The days of just news and short articles are over—the free newspapers and the internet already offer that. Paid newspapers, on the other hand, must offer added value on every page, just like magazines. This requires better visual language and image quality, as well as better text quality.
How do magazines and tabloids work together? There are tabloid-style magazines. L’Illustrée, for example. They tell emotional stories that resonate with people. These stories can be both tabloid-like and magazine-like without coming across as intellectual or cold.
L’Illustrée is a weekly publication. Would that work for daily newspapers, too? Yes, I’m convinced it would! That’s what we want to prove.
Will the look actually be a bit more like a magazine? That general direction has already been decided, yes.
Wouldn't it have been better for *Der Blick* to become a free paper itself? I don't think so. We’ve already discussed this issue with Le Matin. Launching yet another free newspaper isn’t the answer. That would be an entirely different model. Besides, that battle is probably already lost. I’m convinced there’s a market for a paid tabloid. But it needs to improve drastically.
What became of the concepts developed by the former editors-in-chief of *Blick* and *Bild*, Werner deSchepper and Claus Larass? Of course, we will make use of their best ideas.
Blick’s readership is aging; we need a young, urban audience. I’ve analyzed the numbers. It’s not as bad as that. Blick isn’t an old-fashioned newspaper. We have both young and older readers. We’re not as strong in the middle. We’re strong in rural areas, and fortunately we have no competitors there. We can build on this strength. But we also need to return to the city, at least in part.
Why is there such a strict distinction between *Heute* and *Blick* among their readership? *Blick* will never be like *Heute*, but it can still become more urban. Marketing both titles together is also a challenge because media planners prefer to target the pure readership of a single title. *Heute* is still too small at the moment and needs to continue to grow.
So how much longer will the ad combo be around? We'll take our time to evaluate the combo and figure out how it works best.
These days, you can’t do without the internet. Can you draw on Cash daily’s multimedia expertise? Cash daily is a role model for us. Print and web absolutely must work more closely together. That’s our goal at Blick, too. Blick Online is already number one—as someone from French-speaking Switzerland, I didn’t even realize that at first! But you have to feel the web’s presence on every page of the paper. Ringier started out as a printing company. That mindset is still evident. That has to change.
Why isn't there a Blick TV channel yet? It's coming! It will definitely be featured on the Blick website.
I mean «real» television. A dedicated Blick-TV show, for example on Swiss TV or Sat 1? That’s still a long way off, but it would be great, of course. We’re—admittedly—a little late to the game with questions like that. But there are new people on the executive board who have a comprehensive view of this.
Have there been any discussions with TV stations yet? No, not specifically. We’re currently gaining valuable experience through Presse-TV, for example with sponsorship. Now that web TV is on the rise, a corresponding culture will develop over time.
When will the new issue of *Blick* be available for purchase? Probably next spring.
René Worni

Internet Facts, the news magazine, is dead. Facts, the brand, lives on in the Internet. 
 Two major weekly titles were laid to rest this summer - Cash and Facts. However, the Facts brand is not in the brand cemetery where Swissair, PTT or ABM rest in peace. Facts lives on. Not as a news magazine, but as a so-called community portal.
The publisher Tamedia recently launched Facts 2.0, a new website. Instead of conducting expensive research journalism, the platform collects content from all media and the blogosphere, organizes it and links it to its original source. Users can also comment on the articles and track who is reading them.
According to its own description, the platform is "a network for news producers, whether journalists or bloggers". In order to guarantee that only these people are on the portal, new members must be invited by a registered member. As initiator and project manager Christoph Lüscher says, this is to ensure the sustainability of the project.
More than just another cloneFacts 2.0 is nothing new in principle. In terms of design, the platform is a mixture of the well-known news portal Digg.com and the social network Facebook. However, the Tamedia project is not just another clone of successful US community sites. Facts 2.0 offers innovation. According to the architect of the platform, Oliver Reichenstein, the combination of the elements "news aggregation" and "networking" is unprecedented in this form. The aim is to show who the people behind the news are.
Although the creators of Facts 2.0 declare the project to be an experimental kitchen, Tamedia wants to earn money with the platform. How, however, is not yet clear at Werdstrasse. For Lüscher, however, it is clear that they want to offer advertisers large-scale banner advertising for image campaigns. However, this form of advertising has a handicap because online marketing primarily measures clicks and not impressions.
According to the initiators, the project needs to develop its own character before it is marketed so that it is clear to advertisers what they are buying. They want bloggers and other media professionals to share in the profits. "If profits are made, we will pay alpha benefits," says Lüscher. This means that texts that are widely read and discussed will be rewarded. "It's not acceptable for us to be highly profitable with a platform like this and not give anything away. After all, we don't produce any content ourselves."
Lüscher and Reichenstein also occasionally have to deal with criticism. For example, authors of weblogs have already complained because their texts are being teased on the platform. However, according to Lüscher, the aggregation and brief citation of articles is not a problem from a legal perspective. The conflict exists because many blogs protect themselves against the commercial distribution of their content. "However, quoting is not a breach of copyright," says Lüscher, "otherwise Google would not be able to operate a search engine."
However, the Tamedia man does not want to refer to the legal position. Anyone who does not want to be linked will be deleted from the list of sources without discussion.
Grace period until mid-2008Tamedia is the first Swiss media company to experiment with content from weblogs and place it in the context of journalistic products. Christoph Lüscher wants to expand the mix, because in the course of the "uniformization of the media", they want to try to create depth of content with different forms of news. The initiators are convinced that the truth lies somewhere between the content of traditional media and bloggers. Facts 2.0 has a reprieve from Tamedia's management until mid-2008, by which time the project must cover its costs. According to Oliver Reichenstein, one million page views per month would be enough.
Christian Lüscher

 The new media specialists at Mitlinks were commissioned by the Ruf Lanz advertising agency to create a banner for Hyundai that leads to a microsite. The internationally specified Hyundai i30 message "Soon to be your best friend" can be experienced and played interactively using Flash animations. Via a microsite, friends can be invited by e-mail to play with the Hyundai i30 as well.Responsibility Hyundai: Reto Stemmler (Marketing Manager); Olivia Sieber (Marketing Assistant); Responsibility Ruf Lanz: Danielle Lanz, Markus Ruf (Creative Direction); Marcel Schläfle (Art Direction); Natalie Schneider (Consulting); Responsibility mitLinks; Pius Kraushaar (Design and Animation); Romano Strebel (Project Management).

 Publigroupe's all-media sales organization Media Sales, which has been under development for some time, will in future operate under the Publicitas brand. This means that the nine names currently used for global media marketing will all be transferred to the Publicitas brand, the company announced on Wednesday. This affects Cinecom, Mosse, Publiconnect, Publimag, Publimedia, Publicitas Promotion Network, Radiotele and Web2com. The new brand structure will be introduced from spring 2008. "Various brands will disappear, but not the know-how and commitment of the specialist teams who are committed to the various media types and who today stand behind the nine brands and their value," said Hans-Peter Rohner, CEO of Publigroupe. The reason for the single-brand strategy and the consolidation of all marketing areas under one roof is that Publigroupe expects cross-media marketing to increase in the future, Rohner told Werbewoche. Mono-media marketing would continue to be the main focus, but cross-media combinations would gradually become more and more important. The company also wants to demonstrate this with its brand presence. "Brand decisions are known to be very long-term decisions. We were faced with the decision of using an established brand or a completely new brand as an umbrella brand. We decided to choose the very well-known Publicitas brand," says the Publigroupe boss. This brand is also very well established abroad "from Latin America to China". It is not in Switzerland, but in international business that Publigroupe intends to achieve significant growth in the future.
The challenge now is to radically reposition the Publicitas brand. The aim is to counter the risk of being reduced to the placement of print advertisements in terms of image. A completely new logo and a new corporate identity are therefore being created. This process is to take place in several stages. By the next annual press conference in March 2008, Rohner and his team will have created the new image and presented a roadmap of which brand will be transferred to the new umbrella brand and when. The name Media Sales merely refers to a business division and will not be used externally at all, as Rohner explained.
Media Sales' presence in Zurich, Switzerland's largest media marketplace, will also be reorganized as of spring 2008. The Media Sales units in the Zurich area, which are currently spread across five different locations, will be brought together at Baslerpark in Altstetten in future. "The completely new location policy in Zurich opens up completely new opportunities for cooperation," said Rohner. This is also intended to support the cross-media concept. From here, Publicitas will also ensure worldwide support for its subsidiaries in 21 countries.

 Alain Lamy will become the new Managing Director of Publigroupe subsidiary Publicitas International Switzerland on November 1. He replaces Daniel Schüpbach, who is stepping down from his post after six years and leaving the company. Lamy has been with Publicitas International since 1991. Since 2003 he has headed the Intermag sales and marketing unit, which specializes in premium and lifestyle magazines.