The senior citizens' group of the Unia trade union has launched a petition to have the Tagblatt der Stadt Zürich published daily again. In their eyes, the current form of publication as a weekly newspaper is unsuitable. The seniors' group does not want to wait any longer and is therefore diligently collecting signatures with the aim of reintroducing the tried-and-tested newspaper, as reported by the SDA news agency on Tuesday. The petition is to be sent to the mayor of the city, Elmar Ledergerber. He should use it to exert pressure on the newspaper's publishers, the Tagblatt is owned by Tamedia and NZZ. According to the signature collectors, the changeover to a weekly paper has met with widespread rejection. An official gazette only once a week is completely unsuitable. Death notices and funeral announcements must appear daily and be accessible to everyone free of charge. The seniors' group has already submitted a similar resolution to the mayor and Tamedia without success. If this petition is also unsuccessful, the group is considering launching a municipal popular initiative.

The Biel-based internet agency Orange8 Interactive designed the new Peugeot.ch website. With the aim of presenting the car manufacturer's product range in a simple and intuitive way, the agency developed an interactive showroom. Visitors can stroll through an online showroom with 3D effects based on Flash, in which the individual cars of the French brand are clearly displayed.

 The Lucerne printing center in Adligenswil is renewing its production facilities in the finishing department. With an investment volume of around 18 million Swiss francs, the Neue Luzerner Zeitung is bringing the mailroom up to date, thereby achieving greater flexibility and capacity, the newspaper writes in a press release on Tuesday. The company is investing in two new lines. The systems, which will go into operation at the end of 2008, will offer the newspaper various advantages in the dispatch of its printed products. The decision to make this investment coincides with Ringier Print Adligenswil's Rollenwechsel.ch project, which is investing in new dispatch lines and printing presses at the same site.

 The mobile industry is now also interested in senior citizens. Now that the market for young people seems to be more and more saturated with ringtones, pictures and games, the generation of grandma and grandpa is now being targeted. The product range is huge and has enormous potential. While young people tend to want small cell phones with lots of bells and whistles, the focus for senior citizens is on utility. Making calls and that's that. But that's where the problem begins: a cell phone suitable for seniors should be easy to use and fit securely in a shaky hand. The buttons should be large, the display large and the cell phones should not interfere with hearing aids. Problems that providers are becoming more and more aware of and cell phones with names like "Katharina the Great" indicate that senior citizens will soon be storming into stores and retirement homes with cell phone-free zones.

 The Bernese communications studio Balsi has won the pitch for the overall appearance of EURO 08. The mandate was awarded by the city and canton of Bern and includes all measures that the city, the canton and the Euro 08 Bern association will launch as part of the 2008 European Football Championships. The aim is to give Bern an independent and distinctive image as an event location and to position it as a versatile and interesting host before and after the games.

 Two Swiss agencies have made it to the final of the One Show Awards. In one of the largest and most prestigious creative competitions in the USA, Publicis wins an award for its "Drunk Navigation System" campaign for the Blue Cross. Spillmann Felser Leo Burnett also makes it to the final with the story of the 85-year-old would-be Everest conqueror for the Swiss mountain sports outfitter Mammut. The awards with which the two agencies will return from America will be announced on May 11. 

 Tilllate.com expands into the TV sector and launches its own broadcasting channel on MTV Switzerland in cooperation with Goldbach Media. Tilllate.com Nightlife TV complements the online offering in terms of content and enables advertising clients to realize cross-media campaigns. Marketing is handled by IP Multimedia, a subsidiary of Goldbach Media. Nightlife TV is broadcast every Saturday evening at 8 p.m. on MTV Switzerland. In the ten-minute broadcast format, viewers find out where the parties are taking place that evening just before they go out. Interviews with international star DJs and event organizers round off the content of the concept. tilllate.com Nightlife TV is hosted by Anne-Cécile Vogt.
Goldbach Media is taking over exclusive marketing through IP Multimedia, the subsidiary for the marketing and placement of all electronic offline media. With the new program, tilllate.com and IP Multimedia offer advertising customers additional opportunities for positioning their products. In addition to cross-media campaigns (TV and online), content sponsorship and the integration of existing TV commercials into the program are also possible, as the two companies write in a press release.

 Henkel Switzerland entrusts its media budget to OMD Switzerland. From April, the agency will be responsible for media strategy, media planning and media buying for Henkel's brands. Following a multi-stage evaluation process, Henkel has decided to place its media budget in the hands of OMD Switzerland, according to a statement from OMD. The creative approach was particularly convincing because OMD thinks beyond media strategy, planning and development. A good example is the new show on Sat1 Switzerland, "Say yes! Die Persil Traumhochzeit", which OMD helped to realize for Persil's 100th anniversary, says Irina Jermann, Marketing Manager at Henkel, in the press release. OMD Zurich City, and thus Georges Béraud's team, is in charge of the mandate.

 The PR agency Rochat & Partner, with offices in Geneva, Lausanne and Zurich, is experiencing strong growth. It is one of the largest Swiss agencies and employs 20 PR specialists. In 2006, fee income improved by 53 percent compared to the previous year to CHF 3.9 million, as the agency writes in a press release.  
The agency is also strengthening its team with additional specialists. Jérôme Koechlin is a new partner at the agency. He was most recently Director of Communications at Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch and is also a lecturer in Communications and International Relations at the University of Geneva. Together with Koechlin, Jean-Pascal Baechler strengthens the agency in Geneva. Baechler worked for many years at various newspapers, radio stations and news agencies. Most recently he was editor at l'Agefi. The Lausanne team will be strengthened by Daniel Abimi, who has worked as a journalist for various agencies and newspapers. He also has extensive experience in the humanitarian field thanks to his 10 years working for the ICRC. The agency in Zurich is also strengthening its team with Karin Eichstädter-Menzler, who most recently worked as Marketing Manager at Lufthansa.

 The St. Gallen military court acquits the Sonntagsblick journalists accused in the CIA fax affair. The court had accused them of publishing a document from Switzerland's strategic intelligence service about a fax from the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, thereby significantly disrupting the army's mission fulfillment. In the fax, a state confirmed for the first time the existence of secret CIA prisoner transports and secret prisons in Europe. The auditor demanded fines and penalties of between 14,600 and 45,600 francs for the editors. Following the acquittal, the costs of the proceedings will go to the federal coffers, as the SDA news agency writes in a report. The defendants will receive compensation of CHF 20,000.

 Advico Young & Rubicam is partly responsible for the fact that chip experts steal flavor combinations from a kitchen. In the commercial for the new Secrets snack line, the experts sneak into the kitchen of a restaurant through ventilation shafts and look over the chef's shoulder. The commercial has been running since mid-March.

The advertising agency S&W from Baden created the launch campaign for AZ Medien's new free newspapers. The traditional titles Aargauer Woche and Limmat Zeitung have been published in tabloid format as AZ Woche Plus and Liz Woche Plus since the beginning of March. With a new content structure, new layout and a clear profile as a free newspaper, the publisher and editorial team of Woche Plus are aiming to meet the needs of today's readers and, in particular, younger readers, according to a press release. Every Thursday, they will be served up compact information from the region, lots of tips for going out, a comprehensive events guide and an advertising marketplace. With the claim "The week brings it", the advertisements and radio spots from the S&W advertising agency are aimed at new readers and potential advertisers from the region, which Publicitas looks after.