Distribution II The publishers' association wants information from Swiss Post about Sacha Wigdorovits' free newspaper Last week, Swiss Post CEO Ulrich Gygi received mail from the Swiss Press Association. The reason was Sacha Wigdorovits' new free newspaper, which is to be distributed by the Swiss Post subsidiary Direct Mail Company (DMC) in Zurich, Berne and Basel from September. Publisher President Hanspeter Lebrument confirms: "We have written to Mr. Gygi asking for a meeting." At the same time, Lebrument emphasizes that the association's initiative is not fundamentally directed against the new free paper or the early delivery competition. "Some of our members may be annoyed by the project, but as an association it can't bother us." Instead, they want clarity about the price of 7.2 centimes per copy that DMC apparently wants to charge for distribution. Outrageously low when you consider that sending a newspaper by post can easily cost five times as much, depending on the weight. "I also heard about this rate, but Swiss Post has not officially confirmed it yet," says Lebrument. "But if the information turns out to be correct, the association will be called upon to act."
The President refers to Article 15 of the Postal Services Act (federal press subsidies). "As long as newspaper transportation rates are dependent on political decisions, Swiss Post must apply roughly the same rates everywhere. It would be unacceptable to simply offer completely different prices via a subsidiary," says Lebrument.
Markus Knöpfli

Chewing Gum Extra shows how chewing gum from Migros does more than just clear your breath. There are many chewing gums. But there are hardly any differences in taste - almost all brands offer chewing gum for extra fresh breath, whiter teeth or a little more personal coolness in various flavors. This makes the brand image all the more important. Exxtra Kommunikation looked for a situation in which chewing gum could be presented in a surprising way.  
The new TV commercial is set in a cramped train compartment. A young woman finds her reserved seat opposite a young man with headphones. As she tries to immerse herself in her book, the man opposite her begins to sing off-key to music from his Walkman. She takes it in her stride and offers him a piece of Skai chewing gum. From then on, the young man is busy chewing and it is pleasantly quiet in the train compartment. The cover, which immediately proclaims Skai's positioning statement: "Skai makes you free."
Andreas Panzeri

Mediarena The future lies on the Internet. Opinions differ as to what it will look like. It will be difficult for publishers. How long will we still be holding paper newspapers in our hands? This existential question was not on the agenda at this year's Mediarena, an event organized by the Goldbach Media Group. Nevertheless, after the event, the invited publishers are likely to have questioned this uncertainty. After all, if you internalize the words of the Goldbach speakers, the future clearly belongs to the Internet. The web will continue its triumphal march. How quickly and in what direction was a matter of differing opinions. For the publishers, however, the messages sounded pessimistic in any case.one person who did not predict a rosy future for the print media in his presentation was media researcher Horst Stipp. He is a German who studies trends for the US media group NBC Universal. In elaborate studies, he investigates the question of how and what media Americans consume.
Right at the beginning of his presentation, Stipp made it clear that the discussions about the current development of the media were exaggerated. Many forecasts in the past proved to be wrong (see box). Horst Stipp: "The technologies may be able to meet the needs of users. Nevertheless, I wouldn't place any bets."
People are lazy about technologyIn a media usage study for NBC, the researcher was able to prove that even modern Americans are overwhelmed by the media. It is true that all generations are enthusiastic about technology. However, both young and old have lost track. Contrary to the euphoric media coverage, the spread of HDTV, DVR and other new technologies is only being experienced by early adopters. Headlines such as "Television was yesterday" or "The Internet Is About To Kill TV" are evidence of the uncertainty surrounding new technologies. The often predicted media revolution had not materialized. According to Stipp, people only change their habits slowly.
The hype surrounding the new web is also too much for the renowned NBC researcher. Using countless graphics, Stipp illustrated that although the web has developed into a mass medium, it is growing more slowly than believed. For example, a third of the baby boom generation still has no Internet access. According to Stipp, even broadband access is less widespread among the younger generation than assumed.
Although the media researcher explained the trends from a critical perspective and put some of them into perspective using statistics, Stipp is rather skeptical about the future of print. The generation of 15 to 27-year-olds in particular is increasingly relying on multimedia and mobility. The rule applies: technologies and media that you grow up with have an influence on your whole life. "There won't be a sudden and radical change in media usage behavior," Stipp is convinced. Nevertheless, Internet use will continue to increase at the expense of print time budgets.
And traditional TV? Everyone will continue to use it. Commercials, Goldbach CEO Klaus Kappeler must have been pleased to hear, remain the leading advertising medium. This is also because eye tracking studies (where eye movements are recorded) have shown that users of digital video recorders actively follow advertising very closely, even in fast-forward mode.
Schloter's explosive speech Swisscom CEO Carsten Schloter caused a stir among publishers and advertisers. In his speech, he was one of the few who dared to name specific consequences of current media developments, albeit very diplomatically. The Swisscom CEO did not predict a good future for traditional media: "Pull media will clearly prevail over push media." Schloter is convinced that traditional media will experience a significant decline in advertising budgets. For the CEO, companies with a business model like that of search engine giant Google are among the big winners. Customers' defensive reactions to advertising are becoming ever stronger, as rapid technological progress is creating more space and creativity.
However, Schloter also sees a dilemma in pull media. The number of advertising options is increasing, which means that advertisers are trying to differentiate themselves by addressing individual customers. This will make advertising more disruptive and intrusive in the future. This is a decisive success factor for advertising-financed business models.
Swisscom wants to offer contentBecause Swisscom is in an eroding market, the Group wants to earn more money with content. Schloter makes no secret of his intention to acquire the rights to exclusive content. The company wants to keep a close eye on the advertising market and its needs and participate where the number of interactive channels and platforms is growing in importance. Schloter left open what exactly this ultimately means.
              
Christian Lüscher
On the wrong track 
Many predictions about new media technologies turned out to be wrong:
 
1985
the invention of the video recorder was expected to cause great damage to commercial television. 1995
Negroponte (MIT) sees the Internet as the most used medium for the year 2000. 1998
it was believed that DVD player sales would be sluggish. The initial forecasts for sales of TiVo boxes (1999) were several times higher than actual sales.
The assumption of Businessweek "Blogs Will Change Your Business" (2005) also proved to be largely wrong.

Matthias Hagemann, Chairman of the Board of Basler Zeitung Medien (BZM), explains why he ended his partnership with long-time advertising agency Publicitas. WW: Just a year ago, you renewed your advertising contract with P. Have you now terminated it early? Matthias Hagemann: Yes. It would have lasted a few more years. WW: Based on the VSW advertising statistics, you can hardly be satisfied with the ad revenue trends for the BaZ and Baslerstab… Matthias Hagemann: That’s correct.WW: Was that one of the reasons for terminating the advertising agency contract early? Matthias Hagemann: It’s a chicken-or-egg problem. When the *Basellandschaftliche Zeitung* joined forces with the *Mittelland Zeitung*, we expected P to take our side. But it found itself in a conflict of interest between Basel, Liestal, and Aarau, which led us to take on certain tasks ourselves—such as marketing the new high-circulation edition of the BaZ. That’s why the P can argue that it was no longer able to acquire any more ads. But we say: Since P didn’t have our backs, we simply took matters into our own hands. WW: Does that mean that the ads acquired by BZM itself aren’t included in the VSW statistics at all, and that your ad revenue in francs is higher than what the statistics show? Matthias Hagemann: What is certain is that the VSW statistics do not include all ads. As for the financials: In the first nine months of the current 2006/07 fiscal year, our parent company’s advertising revenue was already significantly higher than in the previous year.WW: To mitigate its conflicts of interest, P has made several improvements in recent months: Publipresse CEO Otto Meier stepped down from the BZM Board of Directors; in northwestern Switzerland, P has disentangled its structures; and it has swallowed the bitter pill of self-management for the BaZ’s mass-circulation edition. Why wasn’t that enough? Matthias Hagemann: We both really tried to find a solution at the operational level. But we came to realize that the conflicts are too complex and have become too entrenched. WW: Doesn’t the root cause lie deeper? After the deal between P and NZZ, you were concerned that P might also transfer its 37 percent stake in BZM to NZZ. Does this concern still trouble you? Matthias Hagemann: I’d prefer to refrain from speculating about the future of P’s stake; however, I can speak with authority about the Hagemann majority, and that is secured for the long term. It’s important for me to say that, because that’s why the issue of the minority stake doesn’t concern me. WW: Do you have a right of first refusal regarding the P stake? Matthias Hagemann: The shareholders’ agreement contains the standard clauses. WW: And do you have enough money to buy it back? Matthias Hagemann: I don’t want to comment on that. P clearly stated in its press release that it remains our strategic partner. That is my current understanding of the situation. I’m sticking to that, even though our industry is undergoing tremendous change and none of us know what will happen in two or three years.WW: Well, there’s now an in-house production in almost every region of German-speaking Switzerland. Some form of collaboration might make sense.Matthias Hagemann: We have *Metropool*, which is very important to us. I can’t say whether anything else is planned beyond that. WW: *Assa*, now part of P, was originally a marketing organization for publishers. Under Tamedia’s leadership, the regional independent publishers could revive this idea and, in collaboration with the SRG marketing arm Publisuisse, even establish a cross-media presence—in competition with P. Matthias Hagemann: You should ask Tamedia about that. We must first build up our own operations—a challenging task. I’d like to put anything beyond that on hold for now.WW: Three years ago, P Basel moved in with BZM under the same roof. Will that remain the case?Matthias Hagemann: In any case, P is still welcome here.Interview: Markus Knöpfli

 Determined, energetic and completely full of himself, the newly crowned French President Nicolas Sarkozy presented himself at his inauguration in Paris on Wednesday. After the festive ceremony at the Elysée Palace, the little man marched straight towards the cheering crowd with enormous speed, without looking left or right. He didn't seem to care that photographers were falling to the ground in rows around him. With his egocentric, media-effective start, Sarkozy makes the balance of power clear right from the start and painfully demonstrates to the media what role they will play during his time in office...

With their campaigns for Ikea and other clients, Lajos Vizner and Guillaume Borel provide plenty of material to talk about.
"Communication without a spark cannot ignite a fire." According to this principle, the ViznerBorel agency wants to carry the "feu sacré" into every one of its jobs. The agency has been around for almost four years. During this time, it has grown from three to twelve employees. ViznerBorel has just caused a sensation with a highly visible campaign for fabrics from Ikea. Her ideas for Heineken beer are also currently plastered on Swiss billboards and a campaign for new customer Schild is coming soon. With several campaigns for Igora, ViznerBorel is calling on Switzerland to recycle 100 percent aluminum. All this creative communication is developed in the premises of the former Maternité in Zurich. Where children were once born above the Römerhof, ideas are now born. For Lajos Vizner and Guillaume Borel, however, the growth of their agency will be somewhat different from that of babies. The goal: "We want to stay small so that we can continue to be there for our customers personally in the future."
Vizner and Borel already had this idea of an agency in mind before they talked about such agency plans together for the first time. "We will continue to answer the phone ourselves, make the copies ourselves and, if necessary, draw in the advertisements ourselves," explains chief consultant and strategist Lajos Vizner. And CD Guillaume Borel says: "We work like a small circus, where you are a prop master in the morning and director in the evening." In the end, they both agree: "We want to have fun with creative work in all its facets."
Of course, such a spirit must also be reflected in the work. The event with 200 lengths of fabric, each 11 meters long, for Ikea in Zurich's main railway station also provided passers-by in the 36 lounge sofas with visible advertising fun. A similar sensation was once caused by an event where ViznerBorel, together with Stefan Merz Event, had Zurich's Rennweg cordoned off to celebrate the reopening of Kids Town with a free concert by the children's band "Schtärneföifi".
ViznerBorel calls itself an "agency for communication" and deliberately not just an "advertising agency". "Advertising is only a small part of communication," explains Guillaume Borel. And Lajos Vizner adds: "We offer everything that comes from the classic marketing communications sector. This increasingly includes events."
Their philosophy is to function as a general contractor and work with specialized partners as required. It is also important to them that these partners embody the same "lifeblood" as they do. However, they do the smaller things themselves; after all, the two bosses have already worked in all these disciplines in a wide variety of locations over the last twenty years.
He could "draw beautifully", the former careers advisor said to Vizner. However, he replied: "I can only draw well when I feel like it." In the end, he was recommended to become a structural draughtsman. After a short time, however, a commercial apprenticeship at Redifusion was more fun. This "valuable detour" then led Vizner to the School of Applied Arts and finally to a temporary job at a small agency. "I was already enthusiastically working overtime on my first day there - and that really introduced me to advertising."
Vizner went on to train as an advertising assistant and head of marketing communications, worked at J.W. Thompson and then got another opportunity at Advico Young & Rubicam. Here, Vizner was "a consultant by day and an art buyer by night", which really helped him to develop professionally. Nevertheless, he wanted a break and spent six months as a waiter at "Très Kilos" in order to somehow find himself anew. What do I want to be: a creative or a consultant? The decision: "You also need consultants who have an understanding of creation."
Vizner returned to Publicis, followed five years later by Ogilvy, GGK Basel and then Smart Factory at WHS, where he was most recently Managing Director. At Wirz, he built up the unit for Sunrise before another break. Vizner took over as Managing Director of the "Giesserei" scene pub in Zurich before making his second comeback in advertising.
In his last job, he worked for the first time with Guillaume Borel, whom he had known since his youth. When they both had to reorient themselves, the idea of founding their own communications agency came to fruition.
Guillaume Borel entered the world of media after art school with an internship at the youth magazine Team and later Magma. He then spent four years learning the art of graphic design with Domenic Geissbühler at the Zurich Opera House. He immediately entered the world of advertising with major agencies such as Wirz, Aebi, GGK Basel and then four years in Vienna with Demner, Merlicek and Bergmann. As CD, Borel was responsible for campaigns for ORF, Novartis, Media Markt, Swisscom, Euro Airport, Zurich Financial Services and McDonald's. Because his children had to go to school, Borel returned to Switzerland and worked at TBWA and smaller agencies, where he finally met Vizner.
"Playing in the top league, but not operating a bloated apparatus" is their joint agency credo. Both are equal partners and do not have a strict division of labor - "which is a strength". In many large agencies, they have experienced competing teams working against each other. "The client should be successful. Who has the idea doesn't matter."
Denner has been one of the key customers with whom ViznerBorel has been able to build its own success since the beginning. After the first radio commercials and brand development, the brand image was also characterized by rather cheeky films. Denner also plays a role in Lajos Vizner's leisure time. The former DJ regularly organizes parties for people over 30. Because Miller's Studio has become too small, these events, which have become a cult as the "Denner Party", are now held in the foyer of the Maag Music Hall. The next one is on May 19. Another of his hobbies is coaching the Herrliberg juniors, ever since one of his twins started playing football there.
Guillaume Borel also likes to switch on his computer in his free time. "My job is also my hobby," says the "doer type". So it's no surprise that his eldest son also wants to follow in his footsteps and has already passed the preliminary course for the School of Arts and Crafts.
Andreas Panzeri

 From the end of May, the Swiss private channel 3+ will no longer broadcast news. The 60-second short news bulletin and the weather news will be discontinued due to poor viewing figures. Viewership figures have fallen, 3+ Managing Director Dominik Kaiser confirmed to SDA in a report by the Abendzeitung heute. Even various changes to the short news bulletins have not changed this. According to Kaiser, the decision affects one or two part-time presenters. Some news presenters had already left on their own initiative. If the news had been retained, it would have been necessary to hire new people.  
The licensing conditions of the Federal Office of Communications (Bakom) require, among other things, the broadcasting of news. Kaiser is not worried about this, however. Since the new Radio and Television Act came into force, he no longer needs to do this. 3+ is listed as a regional language broadcaster without a license. Nevertheless, he is seeking talks with Bakom, says Kaiser. Non-licensed broadcasters can apply to OFCOM to have their channels broadcast.

 Vogt-Schild Druck AG, based in Derendingen, is now certified in accordance with the principles and criteria of the Forest Stewardship Council FSC. Vogt-Schild Druck can now offer its customers printed products on offset papers that originate from forests that are managed in an environmentally and socially responsible manner. This means that customers now have access to an environmentally friendly production process (from wood processing to the finished print product) that is certified in accordance with FSC criteria.  
The Forest Stewardship Council was founded in 1993 as a result of the Rio Earth Summit. The FSC is a non-governmental, non-profit organization that promotes the environmentally sound, socially responsible and economically viable use of the world's forests. The organization is supported internationally by environmental organizations, trade unions, representatives of indigenous peoples and numerous companies from the forestry and timber industry. Thanks to forest certification worldwide, forest management that is close to nature and socially acceptable is achieved. FSC is the only internationally valid label for sustainable timber management.

Agriculture Burson-Marsteller positions Swiss rapeseed oil as being of similar value to olive oil. rapeseed, which originated from a spontaneous cross between cabbage and turnip, was already known in the Mediterranean region 2000 years before Christ. This hybrid was processed into lamp oil and also used for human consumption. Thanks to crossbreeding, the undesirable components in rapeseed oil could be removed, enabling the production of a high-quality oil. Nevertheless, rapeseed oil is still overshadowed by olive oil, which owes its good reputation to the findings on the positive effects of the Mediterranean diet on health. Rapeseed oil not only has a high oleic acid content like olive oil, but is also rich in omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin E. Fatty acids play an important role as precursors for the synthesis of biological active substances in the regulation of cardiovascular and immune functions.
A campaign by Burson-Marsteller from Bern is now aiming to make the fact that rapeseed oil, like olive oil, should be on the shelves of health-conscious consumers more palatable. "The Power Flower" is the new slogan of the three-year communication campaign for the Swiss Rapeseed Oil Commission. It was launched with a media event, a poster campaign and field signs for the rapeseed fields themselves.
In the fall, advertisements in Annabelle and Femina will also draw attention to the healthy benefits of rapeseed oil.
   
Andreas Panzeri

Placements Attracting attention at any price is often a success story in advertising. Nevertheless, the question can sometimes be asked: How expensive can this price be so that it doesn't backfire? Contexta developed an idea for Calanda that certainly caught the eye as an "ad with text connection" in the Blick of May 10. Nothing is known about the price the brewers wanted to pay for it. But the price the editors had to pay for it seems to be quite a bit higher. How seriously does an editorial page want to be taken when it pandered to the advertising process letter for letter in this way? Whether readers will actually wash down their anger at such a horned-up sports report with a Calanda remains an open question. What is clear, however, is this: The intermingling of editorial text and advertisements must not be allowed to go so far that readers no longer even notice the forest of leaves because of this kind of tree-like creativity.   
Andreas Panzeri 

Elektronik Euro RSCG is profiling M-Electronics as a service leader with a new campaign. Anyone who buys a new plasma TV today can get great prices everywhere - but they have to do without competent advice, after-sale services or even fast and free home delivery. Not so at M-Electronics. In line with the philosophy "Shopping at Migros should be a pleasure", the customer comes first, alongside quality at reasonable prices. That is why M-Electronics has always offered various services. Now the specialist electronics store is expanding its leading position in the area of service competence even further, with Euro RSCG Zurich developing the communication for the entire presentation. The various services were summarized in a service package under the concise term "PlusPlus". As an invention of the agency, "PlusPlus" goes beyond pure advertising and presents itself cross-media as a customer loyalty program. The print campaign now uses tongue-in-cheek humor to communicate individual services such as free home delivery, a low price guarantee and a 2-year guarantee on all appliances.
The "free home delivery" plus also provides the basis for the first image spot. It was directed by Rick Lenzing. The film follows two likeable M-Electronics delivery men as they set off on their daily customer rounds. The viewer is in for a big surprise when it becomes clear where they have to deliver the plasma TV. But the professionals from M-Electronics offer an uncompromising service to the customer. They embark on the "customer service" adventure together with the television.
The claim, which has also been redesigned, sums up the service positioning in an emotional way: "M-Electronics. Guaranteed pleasure."
Andreas Panzeri

Roland Steffen, Head of Publishing at Basler Zeitung Medien, explains how he plans to build up in-house operations as a former Publicitas employee. WW: Taking on in-house operations is a Herculean task. How do you plan to tackle it? Roland Steffen: We’re currently analyzing which tasks P handled for us. When it comes to internal tasks, that’s certainly where we have the most work to do. Sales and marketing for the BaZ’s mass-circulation edition, the complete edition, Stellefant, and Immofant, on the other hand, we’ve already been handling in part at Basler Zeitung Medien Werbe AG. We also already have 34 people on staff here. So we’re not starting from scratch.WW: You yourself have primarily worked at P up until now. Do you feel confident about this sudden transition to running things on our own?Roland Steffen: (laughs) I was actually with P for 23 years, but I also spent five years at a publishing house. So I know both sides. Besides, there’s no better training for this business than P. So I know the requirements quite well. WW: It’s not just about know-how; you’re also expected to do it better. Roland Steffen: That’s only the second driver behind going independent. The main driver is the fact that P now has to market two daily newspapers in the same area. It’s an impossibility. Thanks to in-house management, we’ll now be able to better represent our interests. But we, too, know how cyclical the advertising business is. That’s why we don’t simply equate «doing better» with higher revenue. But our publications should at least keep pace with comparable titles in terms of market performance. WW: Will you handle all in-house management through BZM Werbe AG—or also through Key Media? Roland Steffen: Key Media is clearly positioned as an intermediary and will continue to operate in the national print business. It therefore handles advertising orders comprehensively for clients who entrust their advertising budgets to us. However, it has nothing to do with promotion, client acquisition, or sales promotion for BZM’s own publications—that’s handled by BZM Werbe AG. Any transfers of sales staff will take place to this company. WW: Will BZM Werbe AG market the BaZ, Baslerstab, and the local newspapers? Roland Steffen: In terms of overall responsibility, yes, but we’re planning a sales structure with a key account manager for the national market covering all products. In the regional market, we’ll divide sales between Liestal and Basel. And at a third level, there will be product-specific responsibility.WW: Will you continue to offer a direct booking commission (DBE)? Roland Steffen: The official rules will remain in effect until the end of the year. So there will be no DBE in francs or as a percentage for BZM titles. Starting in 2008, we’ll then assess what the market practices are.WW: Will anything change at Metropool? Roland Steffen: Collaboration among the three publications will certainly become easier, because now three independently managed organizations are working together in this market and share similar goals and perspectives. That wasn’t always the case in the past. WW: Now there are independently operated regional daily newspapers in almost all regions of German-speaking Switzerland. Are you considering collaboration, shared structures, or an association? Roland Steffen: I wouldn’t rule that out in the long term, but I’m not aware of anything at the moment. Interview: Markus Knöpfli