Espace-Media spokesperson Christopher Wehrli spoke to *Werbewoche* about Freie Presse Holding’s exit from Bund Verlag. He stated that there had been no negotiations with the NZZ subsidiary. The company remains committed to the Bern model, provided that *Bund* achieves its economic and editorial goals. Werbewoche: When did you learn of Freie Presse Holding’s (FPH) decision to divest its stake in Bund Verlag? Wehrli: We were just informed of the decision. There were no prior discussions or negotiations between FPH and Tamedia or Espace. Werbewoche: Espace Media Groupe states in its press release that it regrets FPH’s withdrawal. Why would you have liked to keep the NZZ subsidiary on board? Wehrli: We regret that the spirit of the NZZ is being lost—both on a business and editorial level. There was a very good relationship between Espace and FPH. Furthermore, such a change always leads to uncertainty among readers and in the market. For this reason as well, we regret the withdrawal. Werbewoche: But now that you are the sole owner, surely you have much more freedom to act as you see fit? Wehrli: There won’t be any significant changes. We’ve already been in charge of publishing management. We’ve been able to implement our vision up to this point. Aside from the change on the board of directors, there are no personnel changes.
Werbewoche: Will you definitely stick with the «Bern Model» featuring the two titles, the Berner Zeitung and the Bund? Wehrli: Yes, we want to maintain the current situation. As long as the economic and editorial goals we’ve already set are met, nothing will change. Werbewoche: And if those goals aren’t met? Wehrli: We don’t have a contingency plan for that. We’re doing everything we can to advance the Bund both economically and editorially.

 Beat Lauber, Managing Director of the NZZ’s Freie Presse Holding division, discusses the reasons behind the sale of the Bund stake to Espace Media. He continues to believe in the «Bern Model» and refutes the allegations made by the media union Comedia. Werbewoche: Why are you selling your shares in Bund Verlag?Beat Lauber: The main reason is that Tamedia is acquiring a stake in Espace. With its initiatives—such as increasing the circulation of *20 Minuten* and the announced new newspaper—it will have a significant impact on Bern’s media landscape. We therefore believe it makes the most sense for Tamedia to be able to fully integrate *Der Bund* into its strategy. *Werbewoche*: But that means you’re acting in the interest of your competitor. Lauber: Well, in Bern we aren’t direct competitors. Our move is in the interest of Bund. If we didn’t sell, we’d be sitting at the table with another shareholder—one that, while a minority stakeholder, is nonetheless a strong one. It seems more sensible to me that Tamedia be able to deploy its resources rather than having to steer the fortunes of Bund Verlag alongside two other shareholders.Werbewoche: Was it clear to you from the start that you would divest the Bund stake when Tamedia’s acquisition of Espace was announced? Lauber: No, that was still uncertain at first. We discussed it at length and gave the decision careful consideration. Werbewoche: Do you have any doubts that the «Bern Model» will continue to exist? Lauber: I can’t say. Unless the broader conditions become more challenging, I see no reason to upend the current situation. Of course, it matters how Tamedia proceeds in Bern with other projects, such as the announced newspaper or *20 Minuten*. But I’m not aware of the specific plans, of course. *Werbewoche*: Do you still believe in the two-title model in the capital? Lauber: Yes. After some initial difficulties, it has now developed well—the model works. Werbewoche: The media union Comedia criticizes Freie Presse Holding—and thus the NZZ—for shirking its journalistic responsibility through the sale. What is your response to this criticism? Lauber: I’m actually a bit surprised at how lightly Comedia makes such accusations. Our long-standing commitment to the federal government has always been driven by journalistic principles. And this announced move is also in the interest of ensuring the best possible further development of the journalistic offerings in Bern. Interview: Carole Scheidegger

 

If the public broadcaster wants to focus on the Internet, this will not go smoothly in either Switzerland or Germany. Similar to SF, ARD is finding it difficult to convince publishers to expand its Internet offering. ARD's new multimedia strategy does not suit German publishers, as the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports. The expansion of the Internet presence and the extension of the digital TV offering are making waves. Publishers fear for the competitiveness of their online offerings and are railing against cross-subsidization via TV fees. The public broadcaster sees itself as a partner of the publishers. The ARD directors now want to seek talks with the publishers, as they believe that they all want the same thing, namely a future for quality journalism on the Internet.
Criticism was also voiced in Switzerland when SF planned to expand its Internet presence, because many publishers felt it was unfair that SF was able to dispose of large amounts of subsidy money.

According to an SDA report, Yahoo has merged its search and display ad sales divisions and appointed David Karnstedt as head. In addition, the previous US head of sales Wenda Harris has left the company. She will become the new media president at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (MSO).Yahoo has recently suffered from Google's search advertising success. The internet company has been struggling with slowing growth rates in the display advertising business.

Following a comprehensive evaluation, the television channel 3+ has opted for a new creative agency. With immediate effect, the Zurich advertising agency Fasttrack, a Division of Publicis, will be in charge of the channel's advertising budget. Ruf Lanz was responsible for the launch of 3+ last year. Fasttrack has already designed the "Supernanny" campaign, which caused quite a stir in the media. Dominik Kaiser, Managing Director of 3+, is quoted in a press release on the change of agency as saying: "Good, creative self-promotion is very important to us. Fasttrack convinced us with outstanding ideas, a clear strategy and competent advice. We are also very pleased with the 'Supernanny' campaign that has just been launched and has already triggered many positive reactions."
However, the response to the advertising for the parenting show "Supernanny" has not been entirely positive. Sonntagsblick reported that various local radio stations only want to broadcast a censored version of the commercials. They fear negative reactions from concerned parents. In the commercials, children sing well-known songs - albeit with modified lyrics: They use foul language to defend themselves against eating vegetables or threaten to hit them. The situation is resolved with the claim "Fortunately, the Supernanny is coming now - every Monday at 8.15 pm on 3+".
While one user on Sonntagsblick Online classifies the advertising as "hilarious" and "first class", another surfer calls for the campaign to "simply be banned". A third user puts forward his own thesis: "The 'new' channel needs the press, because the program itself is obviously not enough to get the TV audience to switch to 3+."
Controversy or not, the Fasttrack team is already working on the next campaign for its own production "Supermodel". The advertising for "Supernanny" is already running as cinema, TV and radio commercials, advertisements and internet banners.

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After only eight months, Peter Kümmerli resigns from the management of Zehnder Print. Peter Kümmerli, who has been Managing Director of Zehnder Print in Wil SG since November 2006, has submitted his resignation at the end of July 2007 in agreement with the company owners.
According to the communiqué, Peter Kümmerli took over the operational and commercial responsibility of the various free weekly newspapers during a difficult phase and, together with the publisher and the management, revised numerous structures within the publishing houses.
As a result of differing views on the successful further development of the free weekly newspapers, Peter Kümmerli has decided to terminate his employment contract with Zehnder Print as of the end of July 2007 by mutual agreement with the publisher.
Before Kümmerli, Daniel Sommer, a publishing specialist, had also only been in office for just under eleven months. Apparently, the mood of change at Zehnder has not yet settled.

 Diego Quintarelli will become the new publishing director of the Sonntagszeitung on August 1. He has been Head of Advertising Market since July 2004. Quintarelli replaces Caroline Thoma, who will become publishing director of the new free newspaper .ch. Before joining the Sonntagszeitung, Quintarelli held various positions at the Aargauer Zeitung for five years, initially as advertising manager and from January 2002 also as deputy publishing director. With the launch of the Mittelland Zeitung, he advanced to become its advertising manager, where he managed the classifieds market as well as the traditional key account business. Quintarelli had already worked for Tamedia before that: From the beginning of 1997 to March 1999, he was deputy sales manager of the Sonntagszeitung, having previously been area sales manager at the Tages-Anzeiger for a good three years.

Cablecom's digital TV and Swisscom's Bluewin TV are growing at the same rate. Cablecom and Bluewin are gaining over 10,000 new customers every month for their digital television services, as reported by the Sonntagszeitung newspaper. From October 1, Cablecom will offer high-definition cinema television HDTV. The 2008 European Football Championships will be shown to subscribers entirely in HDTV, although viewers will have to rent a special receiver for CHF 16 per month. At the same time, Swisscom is also planning to introduce HDTV broadcasts on Bluewin TV.

God created the world, man created the television. And that's where he got stuck. While Grandma falls down the stairs, Scarlett Johansson sheds a tear: "Of course Grandma has to wait for the happy ending until you get the idea to call her an ambulance.I watch TV, therefore I am. If the TV, the games console and the computer are taken away from me, I am completely different, according to the British BBC. In fact, two dozen 7 and 8-year-olds were subjected to this tough test and lo and behold: suddenly they were doing their homework with great enthusiasm, they were more well-rested, board games were suddenly a hit with the family and the good old radio made a roaring comeback.
Oh how nice it is to return to true values. Mommy sings a lovely song while cooking, Daddy smokes his pipe while reading the newspaper and the children draw pictures for Grandma, who has just been accompanied down the stairs by the youngest. And I wish I had my beloved television back. Because it's not the TV, it's the people watching it. Anyone who is mentally nourished and doesn't want to do without virtual entertainment has already noticed that granny's vision has deteriorated; so, fully informed, he has chosen glasses for her so that she can see the stairs.

Henniez and the Geneva agency Saatchi & Saatchi Simko are giving the claim "Pure Life" a lively face in a new campaign. Human silhouettes formed from splashes of water take center stage. They were photographed in detail. According to the Henniez communiqué, great importance was attached to purity and authenticity when implementing the campaign idea: every single drop on the poster subjects is real, and computer animation was deliberately avoided. Instead, Henniez and Saatchi & Saatchi Simko were inspired by the natural dynamics of water. They threw glass balls of different sizes into an aquarium from different heights and angles and captured the water splashes in hundreds of images. These images were painstakingly put together on the computer to create the water figures. According to the press release, even the production of the TV commercial hardly required any computer animation; the moving water figures are almost authentic creations of the fascinating water feature.
Until now, the Henniez campaigns have focused on joie de vivre. It was supplemented by the brand values of naturalness, purity and authenticity and condensed into a modern advertising presence that focuses on water and its positive properties. The new campaign has been running throughout Switzerland since mid-June. It includes TV and cinema commercials, posters, advertisements and the Internet.

 The creative minds at Amrein-Pieren have prevailed in a multi-stage agency evaluation and will develop the new corporate design for Geneva-based asset and pension specialist Bluecap. The agency will renew the entire corporate identity, from the logo to the website, as detailed in a press release.

Martin Paff is to become Managing Director of Ringier Germany with immediate effect. This was announced by the German branch of the Zurich-based publishing house. Paff was previously Publishing Director of Cicero and Managing Director of Juno Kunstverlag, which publishes the magazine Monopol. As an authorized signatory, Paff was already responsible for the operational management of Ringier in Germany. At the same time, Ringier announced further new appointments: Dana Ifflaender will join the sales management team as a consultant for direct marketing as of August 1. Jeremy Higginbotham has been appointed to the newly created position of Advertising Director Art Market at Monopol. The Cicero Gallery for Political Photography, which opened in Berlin-Mitte in October 2006, will also be getting reinforcements from July: Melanie Müller joins Ringier as assistant to the gallery manager.
Ringier Germany has developed excellently in recent months, Martin Paff is quoted as saying in the press release. With the new additions, the publishing house will grow to 50 employees.