Column The bride is hectically adorning herself and losing weight, only to be handed over to the groom in her most beautiful dress. After the discontinuation of the business newspaper Cash and the sale of Tele, the rumor mill in the media scene is buzzing. The company itself is saying that Ringier is now going multimedia. The company now wants to concentrate on the Cash daily platform with its digital media. According to the Group, the free newspaper has 26,000 registered Livepaper users and offers WebTV as well as video and audio podcasts. The Cash Group also includes Cash.ch - according to Ringier, the largest financial platform in Switzerland independent of the banks with 220000 users per month, as well as Cash mobile and the television programs "Cash TV" and "Cash Talk" on SF 2.Is the decision to close the company just a first step in preparation for another deal with the German publisher Springer? Another indication: key positions have been vacant for months. We are thinking of the editor-in-chief of Blick or the head of Schweizer Illustrierte. These are all indications that a takeover is at least being discussed. Experience shows that a slow death is always much more agonizing than a short, clear cut. Instead of getting a deal like this over the line as quickly as possible, we wait instead for ... yes - what actually? What happens instead is exactly what always happens: Good journalists leave the sinking ship. A second guard keeps the titles alive. I don't want to diminish the achievements of those who persevere. However, these people usually pursue their own goals.
The sell-off of Ringier began years ago. The Group had failed to train young journalists in its strong Boulvard division and develop them into potential managers. Instead, the company increasingly relied on the "Säuhäfeli-Säudeckeli" principle when it came to recruiting managers. For decades, this company earned its money with tabloid journalism. Instead of reacting to this with pride, the role of CEO was taken by someone who would have preferred to run a chic art and culture publishing house. There would have been nothing wrong with that - if only he had given in to his passion! But he lacked the courage. A love-hate relationship developed between the former cash cow Blick and this sensitive man of the arts.
Every employee at Ringier began to feel this discrepancy somehow. In the 1980s, Blick employees still enjoyed going to work. The reporters from the regional offices went in and out of the homes of potential readers. It was a kind of "Blick bi de Lüüt". Then part of the Group's management decided to turn Blick into a quasi-smart tabloid and thus gave the starting signal for the newspaper's demise. The result: many good journalists no longer had any prospects. They migrated to neighboring sectors such as advertising and PR and began their campaign against former employer media houses as management consultants. But they remained journalists at heart. This was recently demonstrated by the passionate questions posed by the former editor-in-chief of Cash, Markus Gisler, in the SonntagsZeitung: Why is the monthly magazine Cicero allowed to get by without readers and produce losses, but Cash is not? Why not close Cash daily, which is already well over four million francs in the red, is three times behind budget and is not popular with advertisers? Why were the addresses of Cash subscribers sold to the competition? Why was a German publishing director with no knowledge of the local industry allowed to market the product half-heartedly? Why is Switzerland's largest publishing house giving up its only Swiss-German product, with which it was able to fulfill the desired intellectual standard to some extent? We'll know more by the end of the year!
Karin Müller is a communications consultant in Zurich.

Electronic publishing The strong increase in corporate publishing is an expression of the changes in the communications landscape. Customers demand authentic and credible information with added value. Thanks to new technologies, the range of CP media is constantly increasing. PostMail is also intensifying its customer dialog with the help of electronic media. Using DirectPoint as an example, PostMail sets the tone.The right communication strategy is crucial for the success of companies, products and brands. Today more than ever. The needs of consumers and companies are changing rapidly, and advertising messages are in danger of being lost in the flood of information in our communications society. With direct marketing, companies seek active dialog with their customers in order to learn more about their wishes and needs and to satisfy them individually. A wide variety of media such as mailings, telephone, fax, customer magazines, and dialog advertisements transport messages from the company to the customer and back again. Electronic publishing is also one of the dialog-enabled disciplines: Websites, microsites, e-mail newsletters, weblogs, but also podcasts are becoming increasingly popular due to the media behavior of the target groups.
Online competence center: Information for practitionersIn August 2003, DirectPoint, the online competence center for direct marketing, went online. And in the meantime, www.postmail.ch/ directpoint has become the first address on the Internet for successful direct marketing. Together with DM specialists, PostMail offers comprehensive information under numerous headings about the individual process steps, interesting facts about services and products. Advertisers receive tried-and-tested expertise and tools for planning and implementing profitable advertising campaigns. The practical tools such as the direct marketing calculator, the glossary with all the technical terms or the design templates and checklists for downloading are particularly popular. A number of sample letters and customer cases are available for copying ideas. And if you still have questions about direct communication, DirectPoint also provides e-mail support: [email protected].
First learn what moves the direct marketing worldUnder this motto, PostMail's strategic business unit Direct Marketing communicates with its business customers in a convincing way by means of the DirectPoint newsletter. With this form of electronic publishing, PostMail highlights its expertise, conveys specialist knowledge on the subject of direct marketing, and intensifies the dialog with customers. Over 18,000 subscribers receive electronic mail every month. Designed in HTML format, in squiggle-free text format or - brand new - as of June 2007, individual articles in the DirectPoint newsletter will even appear in audio format as podcasts. The topics and content of the DirectPoint newsletter are combined and coordinated with the quarterly DirectNews. DirectNews is PostMail's free customer magazine. In cooperation with Infel, it is published in magazine format and provides information on news, trends, know-how and new solutions in direct marketing. With a circulation of 44,000 copies, DirectNews reaches more decision-makers in marketing, sales and management in Switzerland than any other marketing magazine. This media mix is intended not least to increase demand for direct marketing products.
News at weekly intervalsThose who register at www.postmail.ch/directpoint will receive five course sections free of charge by e-mail at weekly intervals.
Andrea Hirschi, Product Manager DirectPoint at PostMail

Film The Italian sunglasses manufacturer Persol has a long tradition with film. Stars such as Marcello Mastroianni were already wearing Persol glasses in the 1950s. And even today, heroes such as James Bond in "Casino Royal" or Danny Ocean in "Ocean's Thirteen" still wear glasses from the cult Italian label. For a photo shoot parodying the theme of the movie "Ocean's Thirteen", Persol brought together 11 young, cool Swiss celebrities from a wide variety of fields. The idea was developed by Creative Assets - the agency that advises Luxottica, the manufacturer of Persol eyewear, on entertainment marketing.

 Publigroupe has terminated the framework agreement with Tamedia at the end of 2007. This was announced by CEO Hanspeter Rohner on Wednesday at the Publigroupe publishers' conference in Thun. His company is in negotiations with the Zurich publishing house. "But if we can't come to an agreement, we'll be fine without Tamedia," Rohner declared aggressively. "If you join forces with A, you may not also be able to join forces with B." Rohner was probably alluding to the conflicts that have existed between his company and Tamedia since Publigroupe became more closely linked to NZZ. Rohner also wants to defend his interests in relation to the press landscape in general: "The times when Publigroupe was the Mother Teresa of Swiss newspapers are over".
Rohner's less conciliatory attitude is perhaps based on his confidence that the newspaper business will regain strength. He expects a media landscape with 60 percent newspaper readers in the future. In 2010, newspapers may once again have the largest share of the advertising pie because the advertising volume will be distributed differently due to new media. Rohner believes in the power of newspapers: "Print is the main course on the cross-media menu and will remain so," explained the Publigroupe CEO at the publishers' conference.
 
Andreas Panzeri and Carole Scheidegger 

The Basel agency Bluegummy is advertising the new antibiotic from the Egerkingen-based pharmaceutical company Spirig Pharma. Azithromycin Spirig 250 stands out from the crowd thanks to its short treatment duration and once-daily intake, according to the agency report. The motif of a strong and powerful knight slaying a bacterium is intended to represent the efficiency and power of the antibiotic. A slogan was deliberately omitted with the aim of letting the image speak for itself.

Public transport The "Stadtfahrer" campaign designed by Ruf Lanz for VBZ has been running for three years. The texts appear every two weeks in 20 Minuten. They are written by former business journalist Thomas Schenk. Now the previous texts have been compiled into a book by Limmatverlag: "Im Tram - Anleitung zum Vorwärtskommen." The book was illustrated by comic artist Anna Sommer.

 Coop has commissioned IP Multimedia (Switzerland) with the exclusive marketing of Switzerland's first commercial in-store radio station. The project was jointly conceived by the retailer, the marketer and Radio Energy and successfully tested in a five-month pilot operation, as detailed in a press release. The station is expected to generate around 3.7 million gross advertising contacts per week. According to the press release, Coop Instore Radio allows advertisers to address their customers directly at the POS and deliver advertising impulses shortly before they make a purchase decision. IP Multimedia can now integrate the radio station into its media planning.
Coop Instore Radio is produced in three language-regional versions and broadcast in all sales outlets in Switzerland, including Bau+Hobby stores. Radio Energy Zurich is responsible for the production of the program section.

Internet usage The Net-Metrix-Profile study published on June 11 provides real reach data for Internet usage in Switzerland and Liechtenstein for the first time: Those from Net-Metrix-Audit and those from the MMXI panel. However, both had and still have their shortcomings. The main problem: they did not provide any real online reach. MMXI electronically tracks the surfing behavior of panel participants who have software installed on their PC. Although the panel provides socio-demographic information, the data measured is largely limited to usage from a home PC. Net-Metrix-Audit is different: it is not user-centered, but site-centered: On each site participating in the study, the effective number of visitors is measured electronically. It tells you which site was visited when, for how long and from which PC (unique client), but not by which people.Net-Metrix-Profile is different: for the first time, this study provides data on website usage in Switzerland and Liechtenstein, based on technical measurements and survey data. Specifically, the measurement data from the Net-Metrix-Audit web statistics are supplemented with socio-demographic data from an online survey and a telephone survey. In contrast to Internet studies, which are based exclusively on survey data, the inclusion of measurement data from Net-Metrix-Audit makes it possible to collect reliable reach data for websites and also for thematic sub-categories, writes Wemf.
The unit for this reach is the "unique user" (UU), a figure that indicates how many people use a website in a given period (see box). In the Net-Metrix-Profile 2007-1 study, the reach of unique users is published for an average month and an average week in the survey period of the study. The survey period of the Net-Metrix Profiles 2007-1 study covers the three months from October to December 2006. The first Net-Metrix Profiles study publishes the reach for a total of 44 websites or website combinations and for 74 sub-categories.
The published data shows that the Bluewin.ch portal is the most visited of the sites registered with Net-Metrix-Profile, with 39.9% of all Internet users visiting it. However, Bluewin.ch is more popular among German-speaking users (40.7 percent) than among Italian-speaking users (32.7 percent). Important: Google.ch, which did not take part in the study, is not shown, nor are SBB.ch or Post.ch. Naturally, foreign sites are also missing.
Nevertheless, it is interesting to note that Teletext.ch ranks quite highly for Italian-speaking users, while this site appears in eleventh place at the earliest for users of other languages. What is also striking is that Italian-speaking users often find their way to sites in other languages, whereas for German and French-speaking Internet users, sites in other national languages rank much lower.
In addition to the pure reach data, website operators can also analyze a range of target group information according to 35 different variables (socio-demographics, Internet usage habits and topic interests). Here is just a sample: 51.3 percent of Bluewin.ch users throughout Switzerland are female, whereas Cash.ch has only 32.9 percent female visitors. Bluewin also has the most highly educated visitors (38.4 percent), with search.ch a distant second (25.5 percent). Among young people (14 to 34-year-olds), Bluewin is also very popular (36.3%), but search.ch follows relatively closely with 28.6% - while 20minuten.ch still lags far behind with 14.9%.
Unique clients and unique users The basis for the new range of unique users is the measured unique clients (computers) via which a website is accessed. However, since a person can access a website from several locations (clients) and several people can use a website from the same computer (client), the number of unique clients (computers) cannot be directly equated with the number of unique users (people). The Net-Metrix Profile survey therefore collects various information on the Internet usage habits of the respondents, such as usage locations, number of computers used or number of people per computer. This information is used to estimate the number of unique users in a complex evaluation process based on the unique clients measured.
General information on Net-Metrix-Profile The Net-Metrix-Profile study is published twice a year. The data collection for the second study wave 2007 will be completed at the end of June and the results will be published in fall 2007. The basic population of the study consists of all persons resident in Switzerland or Liechtenstein who have used the Internet in the last three months.
The Net-Metrix-Profile study is a module of the Net-Metrix Internet research system, which includes the following additional modules: Net-
Metrix Audit (web statistics), Net-Metrix Tracking (Internet panel) and Net-Metrix Base (basic study on Internet use in Switzerland and Liechtenstein). (mk)
Markus Knöpfli

The Bern-based communications agency Republica is responsible for the overall communications for the MyCulture tour. This is the highlight of the MyCulture.ch youth competition organized by Migros Culture Percentage to mark its 50th anniversary.  
At the end of June, MyCulture shows will take place in 12 Swiss cities, where young people aged between 14 and 20 will present a program of dance, theater, literature, visual arts, fashion, film and music. The young creatives had previously worked on their project ideas in camps and developed them to the stage with the support of four professional directors and experienced cultural professionals from various disciplines. The result is three shows that are being promoted by Republica with posters, advertisements, flyers, Migros carrier bags, a website, a program booklet and direct marketing. The agency used the idea cloud from the MyCulture KeyVisual. The campaign will run until July 1.

Automobil Erdmannpeisker has developed an aftersales campaign for Smart: DaimlerChrysler Global Services & Parts is using an international campaign to advertise the services and offers that Smart customers can expect after the purchase. The campaign also targets owners of older vehicles, for whom the free service checks, original parts and new accessories are particularly interesting. The benefits are staged with scenes from everyday life.car advertising does not necessarily have to work with the image of the product, as creative ideas show. The comprehensive package of measures was developed and implemented by the Biel-based agency Erdmannpeisker. This creative agency emerged from Smart's first marketing department in Biel. In the current campaign, the country representatives now have the choice between two humorous key visuals.
The ideas are implemented as advertisements, posters, mailings, flyers, POS decorations and guerrilla campaigns.    
Andreas Panzeri

A new gastronomy magazine called Mein Restaurant is being launched on the Swiss market. The magazine, with an initial print run of 20,000 copies, is the official magazine for the Guide-bleu.ch gastro guide. It is dedicated exclusively to Swiss cuisine and Swiss products such as wine and cheese. The focus is not on recipes to cook, but on restaurants that offer fresh, regional and high-quality cuisine. The target audience is "foodies" and not primarily amateur chefs.
The new magazine is published by Apex Medienhaus in St. Gallen, which already publishes titles such as KMU Business, MEX, Womans, Consum and Golf/Lifestyle. The editorial director is Nicole Amrein.

Elmar Schäfer is in for a busy summer: In collaboration with SFLB, he’ll be organizing over 30 different events through his eventagentur.ch for the cantonal banks« Dreamcard. Enjoying »Breakfast at Tiffany’s« in Zurich, treating 5,000 rock fans in St. Gallen to performances by the Lovebugs and other Swiss bands, or experiencing a flight in the cockpit of the Super Constellation: In June alone, the Association of Swiss Cantonal Banks will delight the public in our country with over twenty different events. In total, there are expected to be over 100 events by the end of the year. Sometimes very large, sometimes small—but all the more personal for it. Elmar Schäfer and his company, Eventagentur.ch, are heavily involved in these surprises. The five-person firm in Zurich, serving as an event partner to the advertising agency Spillmann Felser Leo Burnett, is responsible for many of the ideas and, above all, »all the hands-on work« surrounding the larger events of the Dreamcard campaign. The 100th anniversary of the Association of Cantonal Banks is being celebrated with what is likely »Switzerland’s longest-running event« to date. It goes without saying that, for such a mega-party, the banks wanted to ensure the same level of security when celebrating with customers as they do when managing their money. In addition to his track record—for example, with Migros» «Feel Good» Day, where the action had to go off like fireworks simultaneously at 76 locations—Schäfer was able to impress his clients above all with his comprehensive mastery of the craft. And the event manager places great importance on this term, “craft.” “Many people still think that anyone who likes to throw parties can organize events.”
Elmar Schäfer entered the market shortly after graduating from high school. Although the Lörrach native had to complete a banking apprenticeship at his parents’ urging, he had already worked part-time at a concert agency in Basel while still in middle school. Instead of pursuing higher education, he was later offered a position as production manager at this concert partner of Good News. In his very first year, the newcomer was already in charge of a show featuring David Copperfield. Later, he was given the opportunity to organize all kinds of concerts. Through a partnership with Messe Basel, Schäfer gained early experience in organizing corporate events. He then began implementing new event platforms for Philip Morris.
For this job, Schäfer moved to Zurich to join Wunderman’s event unit. «It was very important for me to gain a deep understanding of traditional advertising at this agency,» says Schäfer. Even at his own agency today, all employees must have an understanding of traditional advertising. Otherwise, it would be impossible to properly understand and implement the ideas and requests of advertisers. «After all, events are also used to build brands these days.»
While still at Wunderman, Schäfer carried out the «Feel Good» project for Migros. It was during this work that he first met Martin Spillmann and Peter Felser. After leaving Wunderman, Schäfer worked on various projects for Philip Morris on a freelance basis for the next two years. Then SFLB reached out for their first joint project. Schäfer used this «Dreamcard» as the opportunity to «found a real agency.» Since then, his agency, Eventagentur.ch, has organized projects for SFLB including the «golden vault» event for the launch of Feldschlösschen Gold and, currently, the Bio Suisse promotion featuring the «Heroes of Nature.» At the same time, Schäfer is also working for other clients. Some of them are advertising agencies. Schäfer considers the collaboration with traditional agencies to be exciting and full of potential, as it allows him to be involved in the creative process from the very beginning and then implement the idea in a coherent and integrated way on the market.
Many event organizers view the event subjectively from their own perspective. As an event organizer, however, Schäfer has «learned how the market works» and how to view things from an outside perspective. He’s paid dearly for this in the past—to learn what resonates with which target audience and what doesn’t. «In that sense, we need to professionalize our field,» Schäfer insists. He considers his own agency to be just as advanced in this regard as his traditional partners. «We analyze our success and document all work for budget purposes using a time-tracking tool.»
For Schäfer, measurable success means, for example, when traffic in Bern comes to a standstill for ten minutes at Kornhausplatz, or when Zurich’s main train station becomes completely gridlocked because his company, Eventagentur.ch, opens a «golden vault.» In moments like these, he says, you’re «very close to the consumer,» and the impact can also be measured in the media. Instead of using the term «event»—a word he considers «overused»—Schäfer prefers to speak of «live communication.» He is convinced that an increasing share of what were previously traditional advertising budgets will shift toward this category. This is also relevant in light of looming advertising bans, which could further restrict conventional communication in the future. “That’s where clever solutions are needed.”
And there are always new ones, because, as Schäfer knows, many clients from banks, the telecommunications industry, or other large companies have «already seen it all.» You could almost only send people to the moon at this point. That’s why being able to offer new creations time and again here in the incentive sector is a particularly rewarding source of satisfaction for Elmar Schäfer in his «craft.».
Schäfer’s agency offers a special attraction within the realm of «live communication» through its specialized «Racing Division.» As the only organizer in Switzerland, Eventagentur.ch can offer interested clients a tour featuring up to 80 exclusive classic cars—an offering that has already earned the company an award from the Expo & Event Association. What makes this special is that guests are allowed to get behind the wheel themselves during this rally. Instead of an aperitif, there’s a vehicle briefing on the respective cars. Later on the tour, planned surprises—and sometimes even breakdowns—ensure that the experience is well-rounded. «Breakdowns are emotionally valuable,» explains Schäfer. But they have to be fixed. «Otherwise, the host has a problem.»
And for Schäfer, ensuring that there are no problems is supposed to be a hallmark of his Eventagentur.ch.
Andreas Panzeri