Musik Stress is the most successful Swiss rapper. Futurecom has created a new website for the extremely prolific artist. The focus is on Stress as a personality and artist - not primarily as a rapper. Futurecom has integrated various elements into the website that allow Stress to maintain a direct line to his fans. For example, he regularly speaks to his fans via video streaming on the homepage - in German and French. The website also offers countless photos, exclusive music, videos and an online store. More information at www.stressmusic.ch

Print finishing The innovative print shop Kasimir Meier has developed and produced a finishing compendium worth seeing. Smell, feel, touch: a new book designed as a ring binder by Kasimir Meier AG appeals to many senses. This was also the declared aim: "When designing our work 'Trend.Sinn.Bilder', the focus was on demonstrating the possibilities and appealing to the senses in addition to a high practical benefit," explains Cyrill Heimgartner, Managing Director of the Wohlen-based printing and publishing company.  
However, it is the optic nerve that is most appealing in this work, which focuses primarily on the image. The use of intense fluorescent or metallic FX colors, applied foils and full or partial varnishes makes browsing an experience. In addition, the interested advertiser or print buyer is briefly and concisely informed about the production process - printing, finishing and substrate.
 
Direct comparison possible What is particularly pleasing about the "Trend.Sinn.Bilder" book is the opportunity for comparison. The side sections integrated on almost every double page, approximately half-page and with the same subject, also compare the different color or paint variants used. This allows the user to make direct comparisons and see for themselves how partial, matt or full-surface coatings present the subjects in a different light.
 
If you don't want to see, you can smell However, as mentioned, the work of Kasimir Meier AG is not only aimed at our eyes, but also appeals to our sense of touch and smell. The "Giraffe" motif printed on Velprint, a velour-like substrate, feels like the fur of this long-necked cloven-hoofed animal. Relief varnish finishes give the wings of a darter a tactile and three-dimensional effect. Many particularly high-quality papers are used - some pigmented, some with a high-gloss coating. If you rub the cherry motif, you will also notice a sweet scent reminiscent of cherries.
 
The only downside is that this work, which was realized with the support of partners in the supply industry, is limited to 1000 copies. "Trend.Sinn.Bilder" is also not available for purchase, but the managing director of Kaismir Meier AG will be happy to personally present it to interested parties - and hand it out.
 
Jürgen Franck

Print shops With a sensational poster campaign, Walker has brought the internet print shop Maxiprint into the spotlight. Bright, fast and cheeky: the latest campaign from Pius Walker's steam stove has not failed to make an impact. In addition to Blick, heute, Tages-Anzeiger, Neue Luzerner Zeitung, Zuger Nachrichten, Schaffhauser Bock and Kölner Express, numerous blogs have already reported on the campaign. For a whole week, Pius Walker and his team revived the tried-and-tested idea of the wall newspaper. Every morning, 31 posters with the latest news were put up at Zurich main station and Stadelhofen. Even faster than in today's commuter newspaper, these posters announced, for example, that UBS CEO Peter Wuffli would be replaced by his deputy Marcel Rohner. 
Walker heard the news in the shower at 7.30 am. By 3 p.m., five APG affichers had already gone on a pasting tour with the posters. The agency was able to demonstrate "No one prints faster" for its new customer Maxiprint with this quick turnaround. "The clicks on the Internet printer have skyrocketed since then," says Walker. After his campaign for Amnesty International and now Maxiprint, fans of beautiful poster art have been eagerly awaiting the next prank.
 
Andreas Panzeri

 Switzerland is bringing up the rear in the opening up of the European postal market. Nevertheless, its universal postal service is still functioning nationwide and in good quality. This is the conclusion reached by the Postal Regulation Authority in its annual report. As reported by SDA, the authority is concerned about the "flagging momentum in the postal sector". The Swiss Press Publishers Association echoes these fears in a communiqué issued after the publication of the activity report. It calls for the market to be opened up. According to the press release, Swiss Post is in an excellent financial position and continues to enjoy many legal competitive advantages, which puts potential competitors at a disadvantage.
It is also striking that the activity report notes a lack of transparency with regard to accounting. Transfer prices, compliance with the ban on cross-subsidization or the results of the individual services could not be conclusively assessed as a result. The opening of the postal market, on the other hand, brings price reductions and generally better value for money. As an important customer group in the postal market, Swiss newspaper and magazine publishers therefore support a rapid and comprehensive opening of the postal market, according to the press release.

Football The European Football Championship begins in 341 days. Will there be a fan zone in the old town? Where will the public viewing take place? How many visitors are expected in the city of Bern? Answers to these and other questions can be found at www.euro08-bern.ch. The official website of Host City Bern, realized by Maxomedia, recently went online. On the platform, visitors have access to information and the latest news about Euro 08. Every user can create their own profile, including photos and videos, and exchange information with other users. For example in the forum or on the marketplace. Bern's "Stapi" Alexander Tschäppät is also taking part. He regularly writes about the big football festival in his blog.

Coverage areas The way in which the Federal Council has defined the TV coverage areas is causing concern and annoyance, particularly in Valais, Vaud and Jura. The new division of television coverage areas recently decided by the Federal Council has one main aim: in future, the whole of Switzerland is to be covered by licensed private TV stations. This is not the case today. The Upper Valais, the French-speaking part of the canton of Fribourg and the northern Jura have so far had no or only rudimentary private TV coverage. However, as none of these regions will receive their own TV license despite the new rules, but will be merged into an area with existing TV providers, the interested parties will first have to come together.  
Despite the current ice age between Canal 9 in Sierre and Tele Oberwallis, this should be possible fairly quickly in Valais, for which the Federal Council envisages a single bilingual station. Christian Stärkle, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Tele Oberwallis project, has so far loudly demanded a separate license for the German-speaking part of the canton and was still rumbling last week that he would start without a license if necessary. In the meantime, however, his tone has become much more moderate. "I could imagine that we would apply for the entire concession, but cede the Lower Valais program to Canal 9," he says. Aline Nicol, Managing Director of Canal 9, does not rule out a cooperation either. She just has the impression that Stärkle's doors are closed to her. Stärkle, on the other hand, accuses her of never having contacted him at all. In short, there is a lack of communication. A little pressure from the authorities doesn't seem to do any harm.
 
Vaud-TV at risk The situation in the new Vaud-Fribourg region, where the Federal Council stipulates a Fribourg broadcasting window, is not unsolvable, but is likely to be somewhat more difficult. "We now have to start again from scratch," says Christophe Rasch, Head of TV at Edipresse. The reason for the disappointment: Edipresse had succeeded in painstakingly rallying the fragmented Vaud private TV scene behind the joint Vaud-TV project. Rasch now sees this unity in jeopardy. On the one hand, because francophone Fribourg, which has no TV experience, now also has to be integrated, and on the other, because he considers the costs for a Fribourg window to be higher than the amount he expects from the fee pot. "But if the project becomes too expensive, one or two Vaud players will jump ship again," fears Rasch.
 
Albert Noth, member of the Foundation and Board of Directors of Radio Fribourg, Freiburger Nachrichten and La Liberté, is not quite so gloomy. "Anyone who thinks they now have to start from scratch has had too many illusions," he says. In any case, he had expected this decision by the Federal Council. And he believes that people will find each other across cantonal borders. "I also think that the Fribourg media can definitely contribute something to the TV window."
 
Things are also getting exciting in the northern Jura: the Federal Council is planning to double the current territory of Canal Alpha (Neuchâtel) by adding the canton of Jura and the Bernese Jura, two previously untouched areas in terms of private TV. Pierre-André Léchot, Director of Canal Alpha, is not overly pleased about the enlarged playing field. He would have preferred a separate license for each canton. But Léchot wants to take up the challenge, even if he does not yet know whether he should serve the two new areas with window solutions or rather with alternating hourly loops. But he is already in contact with potential partners, such as the Quotidien Jurassien in Delémont.
 
Markus Knöpfli
 
 
Tipping the scales Dissatisfied with the Federal Council
is also the case in the canton of Schaffhausen. Both Schaffhausen Television (SHTV) and the cantonal government had wanted their own coverage area. Now, however, the canton has only been given its own broadcasting window in the Zurich-North-Eastern Switzerland area. The government regrets this, but expects SHTV to be included in the future window.  
This now gives the station an important position:
A project that has SHTV on board will at least score a plus point with the Schaffhausen cantonal government. So far, Tele Züri, Tele Top and a loose consortium around ZüriPlus have expressed interest in the Zurich-North-Eastern Switzerland region. SHTV has also been a member of the latter. However, SHTV boss Norbert Neininger expressly reserves the right to hold cooperation talks with the other interested parties. (mk)

 Hard disk recorders and MP3 players will probably soon be more expensive. The Federal Supreme Court has approved the introduction of the copyright fee on digital storage media in its planned form. This means that the consumer organizations and the collecting societies have failed in their appeals, and the Federal Supreme Court declared the tariff set by the Federal Arbitration Commission for the Exploitation of Copyrights in January to be lawful. The Commission had neither exceeded nor abused its discretion in determining the amount of the levy.
The losing consumer organizations are very disappointed. The Swiss Foundation for Consumer Protection (SKS) is indignant about both the ruling and its legitimacy as a complainant, which was denied by the Federal Court. According to the SKS, the Federal Court's ruling opens the door to levies on all kinds of devices. The Consumer Forum, which alone represents around one million consumers, is also unable to understand the denial of legitimacy.
The user organizations Schweizerischer Wirtschaftsverband für Informations-, Kommunikations- und Organisationstechnik (Swico) and Dachverband der Urheber- und Nachbarrechtsnutzer (DUN) were also unsuccessful. They had contested the fee in principle on the grounds that it was a disguised device levy - which the Federal Supreme Court denied.
The ruling is welcomed by the copyright societies Suisa, Pro Litteris, SSA, Suisseimage and Swissperform. According to a joint press release, the decision makes it possible to continue a system that has proven its worth for both artists and consumers.
The controversial tariff applies to both removable storage media and built-in storage devices, provided that the device is primarily used for recordings of copyrighted works. No levy is therefore charged on PC hard disks.
The introduction of the copyright fee, which has now been approved by the Federal Supreme Court, only affects consumers indirectly; the fee will be levied on manufacturers and importers, who may pass it on to their customers. The tariff comes into force on September 1 and will apply for 22 months thereafter.

Print Druckerei Flawil is separating its printing and publishing divisions and will be increasing its involvement in the print finishing segment in future. After 110 years, changes are taking place at Druckerei Flawil AG (DFAG). In future, the two divisions of printing and publishing will be managed separately in terms of organization and management. According to the press release, the company wants to "optimally meet market developments and increasingly individual customer requirements".  
Managing Director resigns The measures and changes associated with the restructuring of DFAG were apparently not supported by the previous Managing Director Erwin Lüber. Lüber has therefore left the company at his own request. In mid-June, Pascal Schwarz, previously Head of Marketing and Sales, took over the role of Managing Director on an ad interim basis.
 
In parallel with the recruitment of a new managing director, the company also intends to reorganize management responsibilities in the publishing division in order to "secure additional market strength for this important business division", as stated in the press release.
 
Aiming for market growth As Werbewoche already reported (Werbewoche 21/2007), the print shop wants to grow in the area of print finishing and has invested in a Hibis 104 UV varnishing machine from St. Gallen-based Maschinenfabrik Steinemann Technologies. As the company anticipates an increasing demand for high-quality and refined printed matter, it expects the activities in this new business segment to be a significant growth step. The new machine will be available for production from July 2007.
 
Jürgen Franck
 
 
DFAG in transition  
With an annual turnover
With a turnover of around CHF 20 million and 110 employees, Druckerei Flawil is one of the most important graphic arts companies in Eastern Switzerland. Among other things, DFAG produces commercial print products such as magazines, catalogs and financial reports as well as various publishing products.  
In addition to significant investments
DFAG recently implemented organizational changes in the new print finishing division: The publishing house, which produces the publications Wiler Zeitung, Gossauer Wochenzeitung, Allgemeiner Anzeiger and St. Galler Bauer, and the print shop will each be better able to respond to changes in the market. Both units will remain at their current location. (jf)

Kosmetik TBWA/Zurich reveals the secret to younger skin for Beiersdorf. Following the successful launch of Nivea Visage DNAge facial care last fall, Nivea DNAge Zone Action is now expanding this product line. The TBWA/Zurich agency, which was awarded bronze at the Swiss Dialog Marketing Prize for last year's campaign, has once again been commissioned to adapt the campaign for the Swiss market. To accompany the international campaign, the Zurich-based agency has once again come up with its own high-impact creations above and below the line. The campaign kicks off with two powerful 20-second TV spots and two 10-second reminder spots. The print campaign starts with a double-sided "door" ad, behind which the specific product benefits are highlighted. In combination with the ad, the respective publications are wrapped in a DNAge-branded film. As BTL measures, there are also folding cards with a "little door" mechanism in Switzerland. Together with a product sample, these are intended to explain the complex concept of zone-specific cell renewal in an impressive way.  
The blue ball, which "got under the skin" of so many women and won an award at the Swiss Dialog Marketing Prize, is also being relaunched. This summer, the extremely successful sampling campaign with mini product, Leporello and lucky number will once again take consumers directly to the Internet, where they can win attractive prizes and receive additional product information.
 
Andreas Panzeri

 Welt Online, the news portal of the Welt/Berliner Morgenpost newspaper group from Axel Springer, is reporting rising access figures. With more than 50 million page impressions, Welt.de has reached a new record level, according to a statement from the publishing house. The figures are based on a survey carried out by the German circulation certification body IVW. "The increase in page impressions and visits shows that the investments made in recent months have already paid off," says Robert Bosch, General Manager Welt Online and member of the Management Board of the Welt/Berliner Morgenpost newspaper group. The Welt Online news offering, the online TV news and the dialog-oriented offerings have been very well received by users.

 The third Werbewoche Guide will be published on Thursday. The brochure produced by the Advertising Media & Production department is enclosed with issue 28 of Werbewoche. Subscribers receive the 54-page publication free of charge. After offset printing and digital printing, the third edition is all about "Paper & Ecology". The guide takes a closer look at paper production and trade in Switzerland, introduces the most important suppliers, focuses on environmental protection and provides a detailed glossary on all aspects of paper. The "Paper & Ecology" guide, as well as copies of the previous "Offset Printing" and "Digital Printing" guides, can be ordered for a nominal fee of CHF 15. Special conditions are available to schools on request.

Fundraising Ruf Lanz visualizes for Tixi what it can mean in public transport if you are dependent on a wheelchair. If Tixi didn't exist, people in wheelchairs would have to make inhuman efforts to participate in public life. Based on this idea, Ruf Lanz has launched a new campaign to support Tixi Taxi. A clever TV commercial dramatizes with a surprising twist how difficult it could be for disabled people to get around without the Tixi transport service. A slightly aproned blonde stands at the side of the road and holds up her thumb to stop the car. A speeding sports car immediately slams on the brakes. But the blonde's reaction is stiff: accompanied by the sound of an electric motor, she slowly turns off, revealing herself to be a narrow-chested dummy and revealing a wheelchair user.  
A film with the best chances of going viral on the net, because the gag of the wheelchair driver attaching the eye-catching cardboard lady to the back of his wheelchair to get drivers to stop has cult potential. The movie only has one shot. Nevertheless, it says it all. The fade-in says: "Without Tixi, disabled people would have to come up with some ideas to stay mobile. Thank you for your donation: www.tixi.ch."
 
The actor playing the wheelchair user is actually a Tixi customer and not an actor. Next year, the wheelchair cab will be celebrating its 25th year in Zurich. There are currently 24 vehicles in operation every day. They serve 60,000 people per year with around 50,000 journeys. The budget amounts to 2.5 million francs. Half of this is generated by donations, the rest is income from rides, membership fees and contributions from the "solidary communities" served by Tixi. "Unfortunately, our largest municipality, the city of Zurich, is not one of them," regrets Stefan Del Fabro, Head of Communications at Tixi. The city of Zurich justifies its absence by stating that it offers its own service through VBZ, Behinderten Transport Zürich (BTZ).
 
In addition to the fundraising campaign, which was supported by Ruf Lanz with a film back in 2005, the Tixi association also organizes charity concerts. Percy Sledge performed at Circus Conelli two years ago and Bonnie M. performed at a gala for Tixi in the run-up to Christmas last year. And five ex-misses put on a fashion show at Lake Side. This year there will be an Oktoberfest with the Spider Murphy Gang at the Mövenpick in Regensdorf.
 
The new TV commercial is flanked by advertisements and posters. They also tell of the hardships disabled people would face without Tixi. Here, the muscular bodybuilder arms of an elderly wheelchair user make it clear that she would only be able to make trips with superhuman effort. This is clearly visible on the upper arms of the lady in the wheelchair.
 
The new Tixi fundraising campaign was able to count on the support of all those involved: Ruf Lanz and Tixi are grateful to Condor Film and director Patrick Senn as well as photographer Oliver Nanzig and Markus Graf from Bildwerk (image processing).
 
Andreas Panzeri