Column Spiegel will soon be venturing over to Switzerland. And thus follows all those Germans who have already "crossed over" to "Zureich" and the surrounding area - also because of the Fränkli. Time for a biographical market analysis.Monday has always been mirror day for me. Growing up in a border town in Thurgau, trips to the old town of Constance with its maze of alleyways and comparatively sophisticated student pubs inevitably had an event character. This was also the case when, at the beginning of the week, we took our father's hand and went to "Kreuzlingen Nord" (the Swiss version of the Constance license plate KN) for the ritual newspaper shopping trip. In the early 1970s, the news magazine from faraway Hamburg was only available on Tuesdays on this side of the turnpike, and the journalistic "assault gun of democracy" was part of the inventory of my parents' home, bringing a piece of voluntarily exchanged home to my old man's living room table week after week. In exchange for a material security and political stability that only existed and still exists on the Island of the Blessed. As a country with concordance and no opposition, Switzerland thrives on risk avoidance and consideration, even in journalism. The resulting boredom was probably the second reason, alongside the aforementioned patriotism, why there was only German press at home.
Apart from Köppel's editorial bodyguard, strikers and pushers with an investigative bite have remained an unknown species in Swiss writing rooms to this day. Karl Dietrich Seikel confirmed this when I interviewed him in the Spiegel Tower around three years ago. And the then head of the Spiegel publishing house (and Tamedia board member!) had a direct comparison, after all, at that time he was in charge of the penultimate Facts relaunch. For historical reasons, German and Swiss politics can hardly be compared, which is why the same applies to the type and content of reporting, Seikel aptly pointed out.
This difference in mentality could now prove decisive in the battle for the local magazine market. After all, what unique selling point does the orange Weltblatt have if not its myth of revelation? It is more likely that the foreign editorial team responsible for the CH split is blindly falling into the arrogance trap that is instinctively set here in Switzerland for everything that comes from the great northern canton. This will make it all the more difficult to provide journalistic proof that this "one-off" campaign is about more than a few extra advertising francs and/or the soft boiling of facts. In short, that even in perhaps the oldest, but certainly the most windless democracy in the world, storm guns are being deployed.
Not only in the publishing house, but also in the editorial department, Switzerland has so far been perceived - if at all - as a marginal economic phenomenon. In the last twelve months, for example, only "Sawiris' miracle in Andermatt", "Blatter superstar" and the "loss of customers from German casinos" to the new Swiss competition were considered worth reporting on. And Switzerland has never made it onto the cover of the news magazine. Even when the last frontal attack on banking secrecy was launched ten years ago, Der Spiegel ran the headline "The Liechtenstein Connection".
My father (and with him the growing community of homesick Germans) is certainly looking forward to the unexpected regional supplement in his favorite newspaper. Many of the war children who emigrated to Switzerland almost 50 years ago used the image of "expulsion to paradise". For most of them, but certainly for their descendants, this paradoxical step has worked out well. Let's see whether the same applies to what is probably the most German of all magazines.
Oliver Classen is media spokesman for the development policy organization Berne Declaration. He previously worked as a media journalist.

Lion hunt I Jury member Andreas Widmer reveals what you absolutely need to know as a submitter This year, for the second time, I had the honor of helping to decide the winners of the Cannes Direct Lions as a Swiss: As one of 30 jury members from all over the world, I was able to spend five days (and sometimes nights) marathoning through 1689 submissions from 80 countries. My personal conclusion: even though it should be obvious, being one of the best in Cannes does not primarily mean having submitted a particularly effective work. What counts first and foremost in the awarding of prizes is creativity - which, of course, usually automatically contributes to the success of a work in terms of impact. However, the focus is primarily on the creative idea and not on the response generated.
The best works all had one thing in common: they did not buy the favor of the target group, but won it through attractive and relevant content. They were so irresistible that the viewer wanted to see the commercial form of communication. Vive la Creativité.
However, creativity was also decisive for a second time: the way in which work is submitted has become even more important if it is to stand up to global comparison. We had to painfully realize this ourselves. Or to put it another way: submitting a good work on the familiar presentation board is no longer enough in Cannes. A campaign for the campaign helps, and a submission film has the potential to make the difference between getting in and getting out.
Another development worth mentioning concerns the Direct discipline itself: It has once again changed massively in Cannes; one could almost speak of a convergence of disciplines. On the one hand, this development is enormously exciting for agencies: everything is DM. On the other hand, the blending is likely to lead to a dilution of the category, which is something to keep a close eye on.
The golden rulesIn order to have the slightest chance in Cannes, I believe it is essential to observe the following five most important rules for lion hunting:
1. Cannes is and remains a creative award; anyone who feels that a brilliant result alone is enough urgently needs to rethink.
2. the familiar rarely has a chance; in the protected environment of the global "best of", only the new and innovative have a chance to stand out.
3. "Scam" (fake campaigns) is recognized; not always, but often.
4. the preparation of the cases is extremely important; a brilliant idea must be prepared just as brilliantly - only then will it stand out. Submissions are also the responsibility of seniors; anyone who delegates this unpleasant task to juniors as a side job will have little chance of success.
5. submit only the best works - but in several categories; brilliant ideas have the potential to succeed in several categories. With this in mind: It is better to be a little stricter when selecting projects, but submit them in several categories.
If you look at the current lion's share of Swiss agencies in Cannes, you can see that at least a few of our agencies have followed rules 1 to 3. And the most successful ones have also taken points 4 and 5 into account.
Andreas Widmer is CEO of Wunderman and CEO of Futurecom interactive in Zurich

 Maxomedia has won the website redesign for the top hotels of the Victoria-Jungfrau Collection. The Bern-based multimedia agency came out on top in an agency evaluation. Over the next few months, the five websites of the Victoria-Jungfrau Collection are to be placed on a new, modern content management system (CMS) platform. The website will be more service-oriented and bookings will be quick and easy in future. The Victoria-Jungfrau Collection includes the Victoria-Jungfrau Grand Hotel & Spa in Interlaken, the Palace Lucerne, the Eden au Lac in Zurich and the Bellevue Palace in Bern.

 From September, Daniel O. Hammer will head the French-speaking Swiss publishers' association Presse Suisse. He will take over from Alfred Haas, who is retiring after around 12 years. Presse Suisse has found a successor in the person of Daniel O. Hammer who has the right skills for the demanding and multifaceted position, Presse Suisse President Valérie Boagno wrote in a statement to the association's members, according to SDA. The 36-year-old Hammer is a lawyer and holds a diploma as Communications Director SAWI/SPRI.

 The advertising agency Walker continued its success at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity: It took third place in the «Media Agency of the Year» category. Walker shares the ranking with the Canadian agency Zig and Fire Advertainment from Argentina. The second spot on the podium went to the two Japanese agencies, Dentsu and ADK. First place went to OMD USA.

Sports «One smokes weed—the other scores.» The Bern-based communications agency Republica has hit the mark with its ads for Swiss Olympic and is producing the membership recruitment campaign for «cool and clean.» Using humor, the country’s largest national prevention program aims to inspire young people to embrace fair and clean sports and encourage them to join «cool and clean.» The target groups are 10- to 20-year-olds and youth leaders who participate in sports in Switzerland and are registered with Youth + Sport (J+S), as well as Swiss Olympic Talents and coaches.

Medicine The Startbahnwest agency designs a series of posters for the Rathaus pharmacy in Wettingen. Startbahnwest designed posters for the town hall pharmacy in Wettingen back in 2006. The humorous subjects helped the pharmacy to become known beyond the village boundaries. This year sees the second round of eight posters. The motifs address problems appropriate to the time of year. Three solutions are always offered - two of the alternatives are rather absurd, the third and best comes from the Rathaus pharmacy.

Nutrition Contexta demonstrates for Bio-Familia: If you eat the right things, you can also achieve more The crunchy müesli from Bio-Familia is the ideal basis for a healthy and wholesome diet. The muesli specialist's wide range includes classics such as the legendary Champion muesli, but also modern "lifestyle muesli" such as the new Familia BodyBalance, which ensures particularly good digestion thanks to the addition of figs and prunes. Either way, anyone who starts the day with an organic Familia müesli is more agile and has more stamina, and Contexta is now highlighting the performance-enhancing effect of organic Familia müesli in an original print campaign with the claim "There's more in you". The motifs showcase active people who demonstrate in a surprising way just how much they have in them: thanks to the consumption of Bio-Familia, they are capable of far greater performance. This is visualized with a shadow that makes the difference in performance clear with a tongue-in-cheek montage. For example, the Bio-Familia Champion motif shows a runner running on full of energy, while his shadow is left behind exhausted. Similarly, CD Bene Abegglen and AD Frederick Rossmann's advertisement for the new BodyBalance shows a young woman who outperforms her shadow in terms of energy and balance thanks to her optimal diet.
Bio-Familia in Sachseln on Lake Sarnen has been producing Swiss muesli, which is now sold worldwide, since 1954. The founding family's idea was to industrially produce the successful diet of Dr. Bircher-Benner, a Swiss doctor at the end of the 19th century. This idea became the Familia organic Bircher muesli - healthy nutrition for the whole family. The product was soon exported. The Swiss word "müesli" soon gained worldwide fame thanks to global exports.
With the Champion product, the company is also on board as an official supplier to Alinghi.
Andreas Panzeri

Poster advertising Will the new APF format F24 be a hit or a flop? APG is saying goodbye to the large GF format and introducing F24 instead. This poster is square. APG plans to make around 1000 spaces available for this "innovative" (self-promotion) format by the end of the year, and even 2000 spaces at a later date.
Matthias Freuler, CD, Wirz Werbung: "After decades of having to cope with the unspeakable F12 format in Switzerland, practically any other format is already a blessing. Even if the new format is nothing more than two F12 posters on top of each other. However, there will be problems with the conversion. This is because it is simply no longer possible to adapt a single image to the F12, F24 and F200 formats. In other words, a subject will have to be shot several times, which naturally makes the realization more expensive. Overall, however, I welcome the new format and look forward to the first good F24 campaign."
Alexander Jaggy, CD, Jung von Matt/Limmat: "Photographers produce their prints almost exclusively in landscape or portrait format. Square prints are rather rare. So this format could be quite a challenge when it comes to the composition of image and text. Meant positively. The format seems to me to be ideal for cropped objects or typographic solutions ... A square is larger and more visible. The square certainly fulfills the customer's primary desire for more visibility. Is there a specific need for the square? Sometimes an offer can also trigger a demand ... In the transition phase from GF 12 m2 to the square, additional costs are likely to be incurred, especially if both variants are booked. I see cost advantages more in production, as the new squares can obviously be glued on site."
Nicolas Vontobel, Art Director, Advico Young & Rubicam: "When we shoot motifs or prepare them in image processing, we usually do this separately for portrait and landscape. This results in two templates. The landscape format corresponds to a 2/1-1/2 ad format and also a 12 m2 format. The F12 format often requires separate processing or a separate shot. With the portrait format, 1/1 advertisement, F200 and F4 are the same image template ... A square format would require further image processing in certain cases. Although you have certain layout advantages with a square format (more space for the headline), the square format does not offer much more than the GF."
Isabelle Hauser, Junior AD, AY&R: "A square corresponds less to a person's field of vision and is generally more unfamiliar than rectangular formats ... But where a new shape is offered, new content is usually created."
Sarah Hiltebrand, CD, advertising agency: "The format naturally offers more. After all, it's twice as big. But I don't want to overestimate it: a good (advertising) idea is format-independent. If the idea is good, it doesn't really matter whether it's in F12, F200 or F24 format ... If APG introduces this new format, I hope that they have tested it with clients and agencies using Mafo. So I think the need is there. The question is, of course, what consumers think of it. After all, with F24 you have a bigger (advertising) board in front of your head than before."
Guillaume Borel, CD, Viznerborel: "As the advertising says: square, practical, good. It doesn't matter what format the poster has. The advertising on the poster must have format."
Bene Abegglen, CD, Partner Contexta: "Square, practical, good."
Markus Ruf, CD, Ruf Lanz: "There are many boring F12 posters, there are many boring F200 posters, and there will certainly also be many boring F24 posters. However, this is not due to the formats, but to the fact that they are used far too rarely in a truly surprising way. So let's come up with something - otherwise consumers won't just have square posters as long as they are wide."
Marcel Schläfle, Grit Wolany, Lorenz Clormann, Art Directors, Ruf Lanz. "The F24 poster format seems somehow neutered. Certainly ideal for the niche market "CD cover advertising", but rather problematic for classic advertising. Neither fish nor fowl."
Claude Catsky, CD, Catsky & Partner: "Our art director Claude Schaub, his graphics assistant, the telephone operator, the Kosovan cleaning lady and yours truly unanimously agree that the interesting and problematic thing about the new square poster is the fact that even with this format, you simply can't avoid having a brilliant campaign idea. It doesn't sound particularly original, but it is."
Philipp Skrabal, CD, Publicis: "It was high time for this format. Firstly, the models no longer have to duck their heads so that the headline still has room, and secondly, the poster now has dimensions that really deserve the name poster."
Survey: Andreas Panzeri

 Tamedia is now also using its web-based automation solution for the online placement of advertisements for small ads. The Online2print tool has already been in use for job advertisements for two years. With Adbox.ch, small advertisers can now also enter and design their ads themselves via the Internet and place them directly in a newspaper or magazine of their choice. Payment is also made online via an integrated e-payment module. Adbox.ch replaces the previous E-Inserat platform and, according to the press release, includes a significantly expanded range of functions. The tool covers the entire ad production process and also optimizes the publisher's internal pre-press. This enables Tamedia to save unproductive time and the associated costs. The technology partner for Tamedia's two online platforms is Unio. Its solution framework "UnioPalma" is currently also used by Basler Zeitung, Aargauer Zeitung, Schaffhauser Nachrichten, Südostschweizer Mediengruppe, Bilanz Homes and Baslerstab.

 Rainer M. Schaper is expected to become the new Head of Culture at Swiss Television (SF). The election will take place on Friday. This was reported by Weltwoche in an advance report. Kurt Nüssli, Head of the SRG German-speaking Switzerland office, confirmed the report to SDA. Schaper is currently one of the two directors of the 3sat magazine program "Kulturzeit". The 53-year-old German is the only candidate to succeed Adrian Marthaler, who is leaving SF at the end of 2007.

 The Lions Awards in the "Press" and "Cyber" categories took place in Cannes on Wednesday evening. None of the Swiss agencies won a Lion, although there were a total of 12 shortlist places for the Swiss in "Press". The Swiss had already missed out on the shortlist for "Cyber". The "Press" Grand Prix was won by Saatchi & Saatchi New York for Procter & Gamble. The Stockholm agency Farfar won the Grand Prix in the "Cyber" category for Diesel.