As the June figures from Angelink yourposition's Swiss Adex show, the number of advertising spaces booked on Google rose sharply last month and click prices remain consistently high. As in June 2006, the number of booked advertising spaces shot up, this time by almost 30 percent. Whereas in May there were just over 15 different companies with Google advertising per search query, this figure rose to over 19 in June. The dating industry in particular made gains: 32 dating agencies were now present in June, three times as many as in May.
There is no recovery in sight for click prices. For three months now, the average cost per click has remained at the very high level of just under CHF 2.

 Therwil-based WS Kommunikation has been the agency partner of the Swiss section of electronics manufacturer JVC since June. In the first phase, WS Kommunikation will design and implement all projects in connection with Euro 2008 and has already worked for JVC when the brand was still distributed in Switzerland by the former Spitzer Elektronik. The Swiss branch of JVC was founded last year and, as WS writes in a press release, the communications agency is looking forward to continuing its collaboration.

 The Zurich agency Publicis is the only Swiss agency in the running for a medal in the 24th international "Das Plakat" competition. The nominated works for Pastorini are among the twelve best posters in the German-speaking world. They have already won prizes in various international and national competitions, as Publicis announced. Whether they win gold, silver or bronze at "Das Plakat" will be announced in the fall. The award ceremony will take place on November 6, 2007 in Munich. Advico Young & Rubicam from Switzerland also made it onto the shortlist for the competition with its work "Interruption of the nerve pathways" for the Multiple Sclerosis Society.

 Energy Zurich has increased its listenership in the target group of 15 to 34-year-olds in German-speaking Switzerland by a quarter since it started broadcasting almost four years ago, the station has announced. According to the half-year figures for 2007 from Publica Data, the radio station is number one among listeners aged between 15 and 24 and among the target group aged between 15 and 34 in the greater Zurich area as well as in German-speaking Switzerland, according to a statement from the radio station. Energy Zurich has also made gains in the target group of 15 to 49-year-olds in German-speaking Switzerland and is now the number two private radio station in Switzerland, the statement continues. The program "Energy Mein Morgen" with Reto Peritz and Roman Kilchsperger gained 4 percent more listeners among 15 to 49-year-olds in the first half of the year.
Energy Zurich's web radio stations also gained listeners. Since the launch of four additional radio channels last December, the number of web radio listeners has increased by a double-digit percentage every month. According to Net-Metrix internet research, the station is the most visited website among Swiss private radio stations with 113,068 visitors in June.

 In the past, statesmen could become eponyms for states, cities, roads, even garbage dumps, poisonous plants or diseases, depending on their popularity. Times are changing, and a different fate beckons for the modern politician. In the brand world, he becomes the namesake for alcoholic beverages, cigars, weapons systems - and, more recently, eggplant ragout in a tin can. This is what happened to Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose name now adorns a wide variety of food products in Moscow supermarkets. The RKK canned food factory produces this new line, which is expected to triple the company's sales this year, according to General Director Sergei Sokolov. Businessmen like him use the frequent mention of politicians in the media to better sell goods with or without their approval. The right-wing populist politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky even makes money himself with his name, which has been protected as a trademark for more than ten years. The value of Zhirinovsky's cigarette, mayonnaise, tea, vodka and chocolate labels is estimated by the Russian trademark protection company Z&G at up to 3.6 million Swiss francs.
Putin himself is not suspected of making money with his name. He also doesn't seem to mind that his name is used for this purpose. Perhaps this is due to an unspoken compromise; the Kristall spirits factory publishes the vodka "Putinka," and the cans in question are not labeled "Putin" but "Puin," albeit with a sword easily readable as a T between U and I. Perhaps Putin also understands the commercial use of his name as a devotional trade translated into the world of brands. However, he might still have to ask himself whether he wants to go down in history alongside a George Washington and a Simón Bolivar as the namesake of an eggplant ragout in a tin can.

 Swissinfo is launching its own channel on YouTube, the best-known internet portal for online videos. The news portal, also known as Swiss Radio International (SRI), will mainly showcase Swiss peculiarities in its short films, such as hornussen, swinging and alpine hikes, as reported by SDA. At the moment, however, there are also contributions about a school exchange, the rebuilding of an old Grand Hotel and a night-time ghost walk through Zurich.Swissinfo is an SRG company and is intended to inform Swiss citizens abroad about events in their home country and to increase awareness of Switzerland abroad; it is published in nine languages.

 According to Publica Data, Radio 24 achieved a reach of 269,000 listeners throughout German-speaking Switzerland in the first half of 2007. This is the station's highest figure for the first semester since 2002. According to the communiqué, the market share is 2.8 percent. The reach in the 20 to 49-year-old segment increased by 2,500 to 179,900 listeners compared to the same period last year. This puts it well ahead of its competitors, the press release continues. Radio 24 thus remains the number one in German-speaking Switzerland.
The weekday program "Ufsteller d'Morgeshow vo Züri" with David Karasek increased by 4.6 percent to a reach of 113,000 listeners and a market share of 10.5 percent.
Since the launch of the program changes in April of this year, listening time has increased continuously, Radio 24 continues.

 Virtual advertising worlds such as advertisements in computer games or platforms à la Second Life will also develop into a serious component of the advertising market in Switzerland. This is the result of an expert survey conducted by the media consultancy Publicom. "There was a consensus among the experts that advertising in games or virtual platforms is not just a short-term hype," says Publicom CEO René Grossenbacher to Werbewoche. In fact, the media experts surveyed are convinced that this new form of advertising will soon meet with a greater response from the advertising industry in Switzerland.
In-game advertising, as advertising in computer games is called, can reach young men in particular. "Traditional forms of advertising such as TV commercials or advertisements are now bypassing many of them," says Grossenbacher. The growth potential of in-game advertising is estimated to be correspondingly high. A majority of those surveyed even believe that it will account for at least one percent of the entire advertising market within the next five years. That is more than is currently taken up by standard Internet advertising.
However, the experts are unclear as to which advertising media will be affected by the development of virtual forms of advertising. They consider a redistribution from traditional Internet banner advertising and television to virtual advertising worlds to be the most likely. Subscription daily newspapers are not among the endangered species, but rather commuter newspapers will have to let their hair down for once in the eyes of the respondents. "In general, very little research has been done into virtual worlds," explains Grossenbacher. That is why it is difficult to make reliable forecasts.
The survey conducted by Publicom as part of the Delphinarium Panel now goes one step further in this little-used field. The media company surveyed 27 professionals from the media, advertising and PR industries as well as from academic research on virtual advertising worlds. The survey did not differentiate between in-game advertising and advertising on platforms such as Second Life. As Grossenbacher says, it was primarily about a general impression of these new forms of advertising, not a detailed study.

 The EU Commission wants to enforce the DVB-H standard as the norm for television on cell phones. For the time being, it has only issued a recommendation for DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcast - Handheld), but binding regulations could follow in 2008, as EU Media Commissioner Viviane Reding said in Brussels on Wednesday, according to SDA. In view of Euro08 in Austria and Switzerland and the Olympic Games, Reding considers the coming year to be crucial for the introduction of mobile television. Switzerland is also backing DVB-H, as Bakom spokesman Bernhard Bürki told Werbewoche. Although no standard is prescribed, the Federal Office recommends this standard. The concession tender for mobile TV is currently underway. Bürki assumes that the applicants will use DVB-H, even if the DMB standard is also technically possible.

 The Zurich publishing house Tamedia has reorganized and created the position of publishing director for two of its magazines. Daniel Schnüriger will take over the position at Annabelle on September 1, 2007, while Markus Mehr will take over as publishing director at Schweizer Familie. The 41-year-old Daniel Schnüriger has been working for Tamedia in various functions since 1995 and was most recently in charge of the central advertising market for the magazines Annabelle, Facts and Schweizer Familie. During this time, he completed in-service training in the areas of marketing, advertising and sales. As Publishing Director, Schnüriger will be responsible for the further development of the women's magazine together with the Editor-in-Chief of Annabelle, according to a Tamedia press release.
Markus Mehr comes to the city on the Limmat from Südostschweiz Presse in Chur. Also 41 years old, he joined the media industry in 1999 at Südostschweiz and is now Head of Publishing Graubünden for all newspaper products. Previously, he worked in marketing at Credit Suisse, among other things. Mehr, a trained marketing planner and federally certified publishing manager, will take over as publishing director of the successful Swiss family magazine in fall 2007.
Mehr and Schnüriger report to Uli Rubner, Head of the Magazines division at Tamedia. Their positions were created through a reorganization: previously, one person was responsible for the central advertising market for the three magazines Annabelle, Facts and Schweizer Familie and a second position was responsible for the central reader market. Schnüriger had been responsible for the advertising market since January 2006, while Markus Will, who is moving to NZZ, was responsible for the reader market. "After the discontinuation of Facts, the previous structure no longer made much sense," explained Tamedia spokesperson Christoph Zimmer to Werbewoche. A publishing director now has overall responsibility for the advertising and reader markets of each title.

 Following the films on the topics of alcohol, cannabis, tablet and shopping addiction, the agency Matter & Gretener has produced another animation spot for the addiction prevention offices in the canton of Zurich. It is intended to encourage viewers to think about their Internet consumption. The clip is being used together with the alcohol and cannabis spot on TV and in cinemas, on the e-board at Zurich main station and on various ad screens. 
 
 
 

The creatives at Fisch.Meier.Direkt have designed a campaign for the Insieme Zurich association that revolves around the question of what is normal. What is normal or not is often only in the eye of the beholder, according to a statement from the agency. Optical illusions are used on F200 posters, advertisements and flyers to suggest a difference where there is none. It is precisely this statement that is at the heart of the work of Insieme Zurich, an organization that has been working to integrate people with disabilities into society for 50 years. Thanks to the support of Fisch.Meier.Direkt and other partners in production and media, Insieme was able to make itself heard by a broad public on the occasion of its anniversary under the motto "50 years completely normal".