Cult He made it after all. Adrian Hoenicke presents his second issue of FINGER "our favorites' favorites". The iconic scene magazine is now more stylish. In color, filled with advertisements for the first time and on quality paper. FINGER is aimed at an audience with an affinity for music, literature and culture, and sees itself as a guide in the consumer and cultural jungle. You can read interviews with various personalities. For musician Derrick Mays, however, there were too many questions: "Too many fucking questions." However, the new issue is worth reading and just as exciting as the first.

Column The media reality on the black continent contrasts sharply with everyday life. Impressions from Ghana. A word of warning: I am no expert on Africa. I just want to raise the question of what we, the reasonably interested and reasonably educated readers in Switzerland, still learn about Africa. How does the reality of the media contrast with your own impressions if you have had the opportunity to get to know a country on the black continent - in my case Ghana? To put this up for discussion, you probably shouldn't be too much of an expert. I was on the road for just ten days, not only in the capital Accra, but also in the hinterland - as a guest, invited to three panel discussions with Ghanaian journalists. It was all about press freedom. The occasion: 50 years ago, Ghana was the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to gain independence and was the nucleus of the pan-African movement at the time. Today, the country is one of a handful of states on the continent where democracy is functioning reasonably well. The economy is on the up and journalists do not have to fear for their lives if they risk a cheeky lip.
As we all know, Africa's media reality consists mainly of disasters, wars and diseases: Aids, as we all know, is a problem that Africans, not us, are struggling with. Instead, we have to deal with BSE, Sars and bird flu - even if the official statistics speak a completely different language.
What threatens to be forgotten is the everyday life that the vast majority of people in Africa have to cope with: unimaginable poverty, no drinking water supply, no electricity in many places or at least constant power cuts, no sewage system. Millions are crammed into shacks and corrugated iron dwellings in large, faceless cities in a very confined space. Only a few people can be productive under the given circumstances. Countless people, especially women, have to eke out a living as itinerant traders, selling a few pieces of chewing gum, nuts or bananas by the roadside.
It therefore seemed rather far-fetched to me, not to say out of place, to have to discuss press freedom under such conditions. But even here it is worth taking a second look, because the reality of the media and what we have experienced do not seem to fit together at all: According to the Reporters sans frontières ranking, Ghana is one of the top five African countries in terms of press freedom. In a global comparison of 168 countries, it ranks 34th - ahead of France (35th), Italy (40th), Spain (41st) and the USA (53rd).
But what does freedom of the press look like in practice? After all, everyone is allowed to say what they want. But on closer inspection, despite their remarkable diversity, the products of the press are just announcements.
And it seems to be the same behind the scenes: As we are about to start our panel discussion in Tamale, to which the journalists' association has invited media professionals, the governor turns up. The provincial politician turns the event into his own press conference. For an hour, he announces what efforts are being made in the region to celebrate the 50th anniversary. He lures the journalists with carrots ("my partners and friends"), he threatens with the stick ("we know all the troublemakers by name and we will take merciless action against them"), and he orders the cameramen from the local TV station which passages of his speech they should record as if they were his own PR crew.
Shortly before we landed in Ghana, the chairman of a regional journalists' association was murdered. At the time of our departure, nothing was known about the perpetrator or the motive for the crime. We can still hope that the murder was at least not politically motivated - unlike the recent executions of reporters in Russia, which our Western politicians so generously overlook (above all the former German Chancellor Schröder, who, as we all know, considers Putin to be a "flawless democrat" and, on top of that, is paid princely consultancy fees not only by Gazprom but also by Ringier).
It was my first time on the Black Continent, and I became painfully aware of how much we now lack reporters like Ryszard Kapuscinski or Werner Holzer - despite or because of globalization - observers who know their way around, who can communicate and who are not too shy to stay in shabby neighbourhoods to capture everyday life.
Unfortunately, freedom of the press is only a necessary, but not a sufficient condition for finding out what is going on in the world. We ourselves, the readers, listeners and viewers, may have to dig deeper into our pockets (and reach less often for free products such as 20 Minuten, heute or cash daily) to find out what is really happening in Africa and elsewhere. Otherwise, the bean counters among the media powers-that-be will rationalize away more correspondent posts - on the unfortunately not so erroneous assumption that most of us don't want to know "it" so precisely after all.
Stephan Russ-Mohl heads the European Journalism Observatory at the University of Lugano.

The Winterthur local radio station Radio Stadtfilter wants a fixed FM frequency. The association decided at the weekend to apply to the federal government, as the Tages-Anzeiger writes. The creators of the radio station want to offer an alternative to Radio Top as a cultural radio station by providing the city of Winterthur and a dozen neighboring communities with their program. The association had already submitted a petition with 2,500 signatures to the Federal Office of Communications in January, demanding a second frequency for a non-profit radio station. The city council and many politicians support the request.

Brain research How does advertising work? Neuromarketing should provide answers. The advertising week on the trail of the shopping button in the head.Tamara Garcia loves shoes. So do millions of women. But the 22-year-old flight attendant is a special case. Because she has no idea how many shoes she owns. She knows the exact number of her bikinis, sorted by color and fashion, her shoes are a mystery to her. "If I like a shoe, I buy it," she says, returning her attention to the 300 franc boots in the shop window. What makes the young woman buy is worth millions to companies. That's why they invest in market research studies. But market research is increasingly reaching its limits. Although thousands of studies exist and hundreds of new marketing books are written every year, many companies fail to sell more. Studies show that 80 percent of newly introduced products disappear from retail shelves after one year. Many campaigns and products fail to achieve their goals. Consumers assign incorrect or no brands to 48 percent of all products if the brand logo is missing. This was determined by the brand consulting firm Decode. Marketers are looking for new ways to solve their sales problem. Brain research is the trend.
Although brain research has reported great progress in recent years, no one knows exactly how the human brain works in detail. The famous buy button that you simply need to stimulate has turned out to be an illusion in research. Scientists are still scratching their heads over the rules by which our complex organ of thought functions. However, basic research at the level conventional marketing was at 50 years ago has come closer to understanding the "Mystery of Mind". The most diverse models have been questioned and
be put into perspective.
For example, the distinction between left and right brain. Left rational, right emotional. As well-known and popular as the formula is, it is wrong. And for anatomical and functional reasons. But the greatest insight of the researchers is the knowledge of a powerful subconscious that controls us more strongly than previously assumed. The researchers even give a clear rejection to the concept of homo economicus. And even Freud's "wet and happy" black box model is history according to brain researchers. Experiments show that decision-making processes take place unconsciously. In other words, secret and hidden. Psychologist and Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman distinguishes two systems - the implicit and the explicit. The former works highly efficiently and unconsciously. Loves emotions and stories. The explicit system thinks. Creates cost-benefit analyses and can plan for the near future. In consumer surveys, for example, the explicit system would respond, "I don't understand this ad." The focus of the research is on the implicit system. According to brain researcher and psychologist Christian Scheier, "Without the implicit, or intuitive, processes, humans would not be able to make decisions. That has been proven."
The importance of the implicit system has long been underestimated. The autopilot, as researchers also call the subconscious, takes the wheel for practically every decision. Especially under time pressure. "If consumers thought what they tell us in conversations, they wouldn't be able to make a decision," says Scheier, author of the book "How Advertising Works." Especially when time is short in the supermarket, emotions are the decision makers.
And time is the most valuable currency in advertising. On average, consumers should pay attention to a poster for 1.5 seconds. The ad takes 1.7 seconds. That may seem daunting at first glance. But for our thinking apparatus, that's enough. Our head stores 11 million sensory impressions (bits) per second. 40 bits correspond to a short slogan that we can think about. The rest is stored unconsciously. From research studies we know that customers do not know why they buy something. The real reason remains hidden from them themselves. "This shows that advertising must target the subconscious," says Christian Scheier. The brain researcher with a doctorate speaks plainly: "Around half of advertising money is still wasted." The head mechanism is a mystery to advertisers.
Neuromarketing is supposed to provide a remedy. It is not so much about the perfect lettering, the optimal tint or the best logo. Rather, it is about the psychological and cultural science context that interprets the results from brain research for marketing. "Neuromarketing is more than measuring brain waves and looking at scanned brain convolutions," says Werner Fuchs, author of "A Thousand and One Powers" ("Why We Buy What We Buy," Werbewoche, November 23, 2005). Fuchs is an expert when it comes to marketing and modern brain research. According to Fuchs, "If you want to influence human behavior, you have to learn and use the sign languages of the unconscious." Neuromarketing wants to make this sign language concrete. It is about the construction plan of the subconscious, about the mechanisms.
The Halle Berry experiment illustrates what neuromarketing can do. Researchers were able to observe that, regardless of whether the actress Halle Berry was shown to the test subjects in a catwoman costume or in writing, only the same neuron in the head reacted. Neurons are like small information centers that communicate with each other via a multitude of nerve fibers. When Halle Berry was shown with another celebrity, the neuron remained silent. The conclusion for marketing: A brand is not only determined by formal similarities, but also by content. Movie posters with one star are measurably more effective than posters with several main actors.
New approaches in advertisingMarketers and researchers see new approaches for advertising in such findings. For the first time, existing models can be scientifically questioned with the help of neuromarketing. What attracts or repels people to buy, fascinates or bores them, is also easily recognizable without brain scanners. Neuromarketing, however, questions the weighting in advertising. More text or image. Werner Fuchs explains, "As a copywriter myself, I always went into it with the conviction that the text sells the product. A mistake." Text, says Fuchs, can never stimulate the subconscious as effectively as an image. Motifs have changed dramatically in recent years. In the meantime, advertisers have realized that surreal motifs such as water bubbles or floating balloons, for example, influence consumers more strongly than a slogan.
What seems surreal is in principle a daydream made visible. The implicit system processes such sensory impressions more strongly and more intensively. According to the researchers, brands are not coded via the logo, but via non-linguistic codes. For example, a water bubble representing "freshness" or the color blue representing "coolness." "Banal," advertisers would say. They would have always known that. Neuromarketing, however, tries to concretely show the relationships, these codes in the mind. According to theory, strong brands are chameleons. They can be shown - encoded - in the most different facets, in the brain of the customers they are always decoded in the same way. Always with the same codes. "A strong brand is a chameleon," says Christian Scheier, "no matter what color, it remains a chameleon." And Fuchs is convinced: "If advertisers understood the networks in their heads, the advertising impact would be higher."
Creatives remain skepticalSwiss creatives are still skeptical about neuromarketing; the young discipline is a foreign word to them. Euro-RSCG head Frank Bodin is not averse to giving brain research more space in daily advertising work. But at the same time, he makes it clear: "Fortunately, research is not that far along. The human brain is so wonderfully complex that you can't just make the perfect direct mail with an integrated scratch-off luck game there with a little brain research." Pius Walker, an advertiser, has no use for the term neuromarketing: "Neurology is really not my area of expertise. We appeal to the gut." What triggers the gut has been well researched. Gut instinct is not simply an intuitive "tickle." It is the result of stored packets of information in the mind. Just codes or - stories.
For Christian Scheier, the "arrogance" of advertisers toward brain research is telling. According to Scheier, advertisers have the feeling that research is killing creation. Werner Fuchs sees neuromarketing as a win-win situation for customers and advertisers: "Neuromarketing doesn't bring any big surprises. A lot of things are already known. And intuitively, top advertisers do everything right. But customers need rational explanations.
For Fuchs and Scheier, it is symptomatic that the Swiss advertising industry complacently sticks to its agenda. Fuchs: "The Swiss advertising industry thinks clumsily and classically." He is convinced that advertising can be improved with the help of neuromarketing. Maybe not necessarily with the top creative people. But among the less resourceful, the wheat would certainly be separated from the chaff.
O2 uses the new possibilitiesHow advertisers are already taking neuromarketing into account is shown by a campaign from O2. The mobile provider reportedly managed to optimize online advertising with the help of a "limbic map." A consumer survey assigned O2 to a mental map developed by brain researcher Hans-Georg Häusel ("Brain Script," Werbewoche, December 9, 2004). His approach: brands can be classified according to the same grid as consumers on the basis of their emotional imprint. Limbically, the O2 brand was associated with the qualities of adventure and courage, extravagance and dominance.
An agency developed online banners that were oriented to the limbic control elements. According to O2, the click rate increased by up to 40 percent. Conclusion: The more authentic the campaign motifs, the more effective the campaign. Among experts, however, the O2 banner optimization campaign is pure neuro-etiquette. Linking a consumer survey with brain research is tricky, they say. Because: What a person says, he does not think. And what they think, they don't feel. Creatives in the Swiss advertising scene find messages à la O2 amusing. But that's all. For them, one thing is certain: "Advertising is a craft. We still do the work, not a psychologist."
Christian Lüscher

Chocolate It's here now. The new Cailler chocolate. In a "new, appealing dress in the familiar, intense colors" as the Swiss food company Nestlé writes. The reason for the new look was the unpopular PET packaging. The plastic packaging flopped with customers and reduced sales by 24 percent. Just in time for the Easter business, Cailler is now back in its usual guise. And just a "little" more modern.

Events On March 31 and April 1, 2007, the Snopenair will take place for the 10th time on the alpine stage in the Jungfrau region. Even the sponsors are satisfied.pop music on the edge of the glaciers, do we need that? Is this a scoop or a snatch idea? When Urs Kessler, Vice Director and Head of Marketing and Operations of Jungfrau Railways, confronted the Board of Directors of Jungfrau Railways with his "Snopenair" concept on Kleine Scheidegg at 2200 meters above sea level about ten years ago, he was met with skepticism. If music, then rather a kind of Musikantenstadel, he also heard from colleagues in the management, which would be much more in line with the taste of the regular customers. At the end of March, the snow conditions around the Jungfraujoch are still very good, but in the valley people are already thinking about daffodils and lilacs. To liven up the dull off-season, Kessler wanted to appeal to a new segment of guests with young music to fill rail cars and ski slopes. The enterprising manager did succeed in attracting many Indians, Koreans and Chinese to the Jungfrau region, and the Bollywood scenes filmed at the foot of the Eiger provided a boost for the Asian guest segment, which prefers to arrive in the off-season. But that was not enough. The Jungfrau Railways' marketing manager was determined to push through the Snopenair. Coordinator Hans-Rudolf Wyss evaluated the site near the train station on Kleine Scheidegg, and Kessler looked for sponsors and bands. The area on which the high alpine Woodstock was to take place is owned by an alpine cooperative. An agreement was reached on a rent of 3000 francs for the two concert days.
Initially, Urs Kessler wanted to go big and hire stars like Tina Turner. When the first Snopenair took place in 1998, everything was a bit smaller than planned. The total budget of 181900 francs at that time would not even cover half of the artists' fees today. The band Gotthard from Ticino and Floria Ast kept 3000 people happy in miserable weather. The first Snopenair seemed more like a weird bivouac in Antarctica than a serious pop festival in the wind and snowfall. The Green Party's criticism did not materialize; after all, the Jungfrau region may be pure nature, but it is also an Alpine region that has been opened up by rail for over 100 years, and on peak days it teems like Tokyo's Shimbashi station. The Lauberhorn race, a superlative sporting event with advertising messages along the piste, has also prepared the terrain for another major event.
The very special atmosphere of this "highest open air" in the world attracted more and more guests year after year, including an increasing number of repeaters. Perseverance was needed, because for four years in a row, the Snopenair was dogged by bad weather. Kessler: "We didn't give up, because we were convinced of the concept!"
Attractive showcaseFor the sponsors, the Snopenair is an attractive showcase to present their logos in front of a breathtaking backdrop. International labels such as Coca-Cola or Heineken and Swiss brands such as Rivella, Coop and Swisscom are joined by local companies such as the Interlaken-domiciled Rugen beer brewery and Jungfrau Railways. "We were involved in the Snopenair from the very beginning, because we want to support a cultural event and do something for our image," says René Urfer from the local company Lowa, which sells mountain boots and hiking accessories. And, "It's also important that we can invite customers to the VIP area of the arena."
Bruno Hofweber, Managing Director of Rugenbräu in Interlaken: "We are closely connected with the Jungfrau Railway, as we can deliver our beer to their guest establishments. So it was clear from the start that we would be involved in the Snopenair as sponsors. We have been happy to stay involved, because the event also brings in the right target group for our mixed drink Twister, which contains only a small amount of alcohol. The Snopenair is ideal for networking for our employees, by the way." 
The sponsors pay 12,000 Swiss francs for the basic arrangement. In return, their logo appears on all posters and advertisements, they can advertise with banderoles on the concert grounds, distribute giveaways and receive two dozen VIP tickets, the train ride, concert, entrance to the VIP area and a rustic dinner with the artists. For higher performances, the price can go up to about 20000 francs.
Ascent with setbacks Already in the second year, the budget doubled thanks to more sponsors and higher visitor numbers; the expenses for artists' fees, however, tripled to 214,000 Swiss francs; stars such as Status Quo and Polo Hofer were hired.
In 2000, the budget climbed to almost 400,000 francs. But in spite of Deep Purple and other bandwagoners, the number of spectators dropped by 1000 to 3500, and the festival, which was plagued by bad weather, seemed to be on the brink of collapse. After the stock market crash in the economic crisis year 2002 painful cuts in the budget were necessary, the three ensembles Gotthard, Core 22 and Second Hand Roses as well as the singer Sina made do with a total of 129000 francs; in bright weather the mood among the 4000 spectators was excellent.
In the meantime, the six-member OC team under the leadership of Urs Kessler was so well-rehearsed that only one meeting with all those responsible was necessary. Coordinator Hans-Rudolf Wyss has to consider "aller Gattig Winsch". Each band gets a railroad carriage as a backstage réduit; if desired also with a red leather sofa. Wyss: "We get 20- to 40-page manuals with instructions. For example, salami of a certain brand is to be provided for a band, as well as the best Bordeaux." It has happened that artists arrived without sweaters and with sneakers for the concert in the high mountains, and the organizers are prepared for that as well. The manager of a band demanded that his pampered protégés must travel the 150 meters from the Grand Hotel Regina to the train station by bus, which was shot down. There are also no helicopter flights to Kleine Scheidegg. Says Kessler, "The train ride is part of the experience, even for the artists."
In front of and behind the scenes there are 200 helpers. The second highest cost block, the stage, amounts to 55000 francs. Within 10 days, 25 people assemble and dismantle the high-tech stage, with everything having to be transported to the high-alpine concert venue by train.
Record budget in the anniversary yearThe budget settled around the 650000 franc mark and the total of the artists' fees between 350000 and 440000 francs. The organizers are not aiming for a large profit, a "black zero" is considered a success, because the Snopenair has become a first-class image carrier, it fills trains, hotel beds and restaurants and carries the aura of the Jungfrau region throughout the world.
In 2006, however, the shine peeled off a bit, because the singer Anastacia cancelled at short notice, whereupon the organizers hired two bands, Toto and Melanie C, which did not go down well with the audience. Instead of 8000 spectators as in the previous year, only 5500 came to Kleine Scheidegg. Such a slump, which was also not exactly flatteringly commented by the media, was not allowed to happen again. While the 9th Snopenair was still in progress, Urs Kessler called the manager of Bryan Adams, and soon received written confirmation that the successful Briton, who had thrilled the crowds in 2004, wanted to perform again in front of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau on Saturday afternoon, March 31, 2007. This year's Snopenair was already completely sold out two months before the event. 1500 packages including overnight stay went away, 50 journalists from all over the world will report on the anniversary event.
The budget for the 10th Snopenair is 900000 Swiss francs; 200000 are contributed by the sponsors, 650000 come from ticket sales, 50000 from the catering. On Sunday, Link and Plüsch will play for a family audience, and the train ride to Kleine Scheidegg and admission for children are free. Will there be an 11th Snopenair? Urs Kessler is keeping a low profile: "We'll wait and see how the anniversary Snopenair goes down. Then we'll decide." If it were up to the sponsors, the answer would clearly be yes.
Werner Catrina

Andreas Mossner is an advertiser and, in addition to his Advision and a successful postcard publishing company, he has also taken the time to invent a new kind of clock. A new era begins at the Technopark in Zurich. Or at least a new kind of clock will be installed in the transfer hall. This "world first" was invented and designed by Andreas Mossner. His "first large public clock in partime design" has a diameter of just 80 centimetres. However, the next clock with a dial over four meters wide has already been ordered by EWZ and other sponsors. This Mossner clock will be on display as "art in architecture" at Turbinenplatz in Zurich West. The advertiser with the tick for clocks - which, however, do not tick but work by means of a computer - has created a new time format design that displays the time on a round colored surface. The minute and hour scales are combined in such a way that the position of the two ends of the angle shows the time. "Partime is aimed at people who are looking for a playful approach to time and at the same time respond to futuristic design," explains Mossner. His clock is intended to inspire reflection "and can have a thoroughly meditative effect".
Mossner came up with the idea for this time display of the future "while weeding". In his garden just below the Waid restaurant - "with the most beautiful view of Zurich" - Mossner has seen many church towers, but has "never been able to tell the time from a distance". This is now set to change, although the watchmaker from Technopark knows, of course, that his idea will not adorn the towers of our historic churches tomorrow. But at least a prototype of the Partime has already been running for two months for test purposes at a potential sponsor in the former office of Ulrich Zwingli. For Mossner, this is "a symbolic place", as "a new era began" in these rooms with the Reformation.
Pastors, architects, entrepreneurs: more and more time-conscious people are becoming interested in Andreas Mossner's partime. However, time has not yet progressed so far that the advertiser could mutate into a full-time "artist on the building site" with this demand.
Mossner continues to finance his not so time-consuming hobby "with passion" as an advertiser. The two jobs can complement each other perfectly. It was not only the "small change" from a large design contract for Lindor that made the development of Partime possible without outside investors. The creative work with the chocolate balls also rubbed off on the ideas for the dial and vice versa.
Mossner and his Advision designed the entire guide line for Lindor by Lindt & Sprüngli, designed all the packaging and created the print data and binding color fans for franchise entrepreneurs all over the world. Print shops from Moscow to the Arab world to America now work with his data, which continues to fill the 20-year advertising veteran with pride.
Mossner started his career in 1988 with an internship at Advico as a consulting assistant. After recruit school, he worked in the same role at Wirz Werbung and then sought more responsibility in a small agency. Between his oral and written exams as an advertising assistant at Sawi, he set up his own office in Zurich's Seefeld district. In 1993, the company moved to the newly opened Technopark and has employed five people ever since. Mossner, who also graduated as an advertising manager in 1995, has no plans to grow any larger. The ASW sees such a size as "ideal for an owner-managed agency". With twelve employees, there needs to be a deputy boss - "and sooner or later he will set up his own business with the best clients and graphic designers ..." 
Advision was the first advertising agency in the Technopark, and it is one of the few that have survived there. The location is ideal for Mossner. In addition to clients such as Canon, Riederalp-Tourismus, Overnight-Kurier and others, he has also looked after many start-ups. He invented the name and logo for Nexus. He has been at Technopark for 14 years, where he regularly does "advertising for inventors and engineers". He is well practiced and knows how to reinterpret and present an idea so that it is understood by manufacturers or investors.
"With jobs like this, I've become an inventor myself," says Mossner. In the technology stronghold of Switzerland, people have tended to smile about his invention Partime until now. "Or the universities or engineering firms approached immediately wanted far too much money for further development," complains Mossner. So his nine prototypes were built in Slovenia, where the idea was immediately met with "great enthusiasm and commitment".
At the moment, Mossner sees a future for his clock primarily as "art in construction". Architects and sponsors are also the most pleasant clients because they are "looking for something individual". Although the market for wall clocks is broader in the furniture trade, it is already dominated by everything from Ikea to Theo Jakob. A wristwatch is "a dream of the future". In this market, which is boiling over worldwide, "the battle is very tough".
Mossner and his girlfriend find an alternative world to this everyday life in the market by wild camping. He "takes a lake", for example in Sardinia or the River Ebro in Spain. "It's then mine for a week." That's possible if you behave properly and don't leave any garbage behind. He enjoys similar adventures with his motorized rubber boat. For two days, he sailed like a fish through the canals of Venice.
The interview time is up when Andreas Mossner remembers as he leaves that he used to lecture at Sawi and now sits on the SW examination board.
How he found the time to found a successful publishing house with postcards of Zurich three years ago remains a mystery for a few seconds. But a person has to have some kind of hobby, after all. Mossner takes photographs. And his subjects, such as the crowded Bahnhofstrasse on the day of the inauguration of the new Christmas lights or a view from a very rare construction crane at the Urania, are now among the bestsellers in many Zurich souvenir stores.
   
Andreas Panzeri

Press The economic boom is causing advertising to pick up again at the beleaguered Bund. However, fears of falling circulation have not yet completely disappeared. Things have become quieter around the Bern media center in recent times, after, in the case of the Bund, the question repeatedly arose as to how many more rounds of austerity the editorial team of the Bernese quality paper would survive. This question is known to have tried the patience of long-serving editor-in-chief Hanspeter Spörri. For the time being, the joint production of the sports section of the Bund and Berner Zeitung is the last stage of visible downward movement. Successor Arthur K. Vogel, who has been in office as the new Editor-in-Chief since the beginning of the year, has the great advantage of being able to enter the budget rounds with Espace Media Groupe free of historical burdens.
The general weather situation in the media industry suits him: "The federal government is doing well, the economy is booming and job advertisements are picking up again," says Vogel. He sees the fact that Bern as a media center is hardly making a name for itself as a good omen. He has no news to report on the so-called Bern model, which unites the competitors Bund and Berner Zeitung under the umbrella of Espace Media Groupe. "If everyone sticks to the rules of the game, then it can work," says Vogel. To achieve this, the competitors must clearly differentiate themselves from one another so that readers can choose even more clearly between the two newspapers.
The editor-in-chief is more concerned about the slightly declining circulation of the Bund. On its homepage, the title has a circulation of 58,117 copies. The figure of 55,000 was recently circulated internally, although Vogel estimates that the actual circulation is higher. "We will have to think about this intensively in the current year," he says.
The newcomer, who has a respectable journalistic past (Tages-Anzeiger, Facts, Weltwoche) and has already established himself in the editorial team with articles and commentaries, wants to get his crew to "make a good newspaper". This year, a project group will investigate what this should look like in detail. In any case, the newspaper should become more modern. "We are still too state-oriented and close to the government," says Vogel, on the verge of bringing his paper into the 21st century.
Soon after taking office, he let it be known in the newsroom that newspapers cannot continue to exist without a strong foothold on the Internet. The Confederation's web presence should therefore become more attractive, although the resources are modest, as Vogel notes. A project group with people from the online editorial team is also to become active in this area and examine how the paper and the Internet can be effectively linked. "We need to manage the Internet much more actively," says Vogel. Up to now, the close link between the Bund website "eBund" and the Espace Internet platform has severely restricted the independence of the brand. Vogel therefore wants to decouple the Confederation from Espace.
Another editorial change Vogel has in mind is a kind of newsdesk. However, he prefers to speak of a control center. "Otherwise the editorial team will make a fuss." In a year's time, the Bern model will also be physically implemented when the Bund people move to Dammweg in Bern's Lorraine quarter under the roof of Espace Media Groupe. It will then make sense for the current department heads to do the day-to-day work together. The entire production team with daily managers, department heads and picture editors will then sit at the control center. Doesn't the almost physical proximity of the Bundr editorial team to that of the Berner Zeitung have an aggravating effect? Vogel has no concerns in this case. Moreover, there are no longer any cross-subsidies between the Berner Zeitung and the Bund. In the past, this had repeatedly led to tensions, with the Confederation being suspected of having its deficits financed by the flourishing Berner Zeitung. Espace now charges its customers for services, particularly of a technical nature. "We are charged standard market prices," says Vogel. Nevertheless, these are said to occasionally cause disgruntlement. With a few exceptions, this is not the case; there is just a lot of talking in the newsroom, Vogel waves away. The new editor-in-chief has few concerns about the practicalities of the Bern model for the two titles: "Le Matin and 24 Heures are also in daily competition and use practically the same infrastructure. And that works perfectly."
 
 
 
The bottom has probably been reachedBund and Berner Zeitung, the antipodes of the Bern model, are reportedly doing better than ever. This is according to media spokesman Christopher Wehrli. A positive trend is being observed in the circulations of both titles. This means that the Bernese titles may have already bottomed out. For the 2006/07 period, Espace reported a total circulation (uncertified for technical reasons) of 157,590 copies for the Bund and Berner Zeitung, compared to 166,965 copies in the previous year. Wemf's reach figures for the second half of 2006 will follow in the next issue of Werbewoche.
René Worni

Bell, Mammut Sports, Helvepharm and the Minergie association took home a gold trophy at the Swiss Marketing Day 2007. The award jury, headed by Marco Bernasconi, honored marketing achievements in four categories that are exemplary for the Swiss economy. The winners of the Marketing Trophy 2007 in the four categories are
Small Business Gold category:

Helvepharm, Frauenfeld, New packaging design and new CD/CI silver appearance:
Kertész Kabel , Rümlang, Caution High performance bronze:
Dileaa - Smart Gourmets, Augst, home delivery serviceCategory Medium-sized companies Gold:

Mammut Sports Group, Seon, Mary Woobridge Mount Everest Expedition Silver:
Rwd Schlatter, Roggwil, doors at the highest bronze level:
Goldbach Media, Küsnacht, To the competence center for electronic media in the large company category Gold:

Bell, Basel, Grillchef Silver marketing concept:
British American Tobacco, Lausanne, With Swissness to success Bronze:
McDonald's Suisse Restaurants, Crissier, Coca-Cola Glass Promotion Nonprofit Organizations Gold:

Verein Minergie, Bern, More quality of life, lower energy consumption Silver:
Switzerland Tourism, Zurich, World Cup alternative program for women special price:
Buchs Marketing, Buchs, We are Buchs - Buchs blossoms 2007! The Marketing Trophy is awarded at the Swiss Marketing Day, which is organized by Swiss Marketing. According to the organizers, over 800 people attended this year's industry event. The theme of the 2007 Marketing Day was: "Customer Insigth: Knowing what customers really want".

The St.Gallen Openair music festival will take place from June 29 to July 1, 2007. The organization has entrusted Adlink with the marketing of the website. The traditional festival features top acts every year in the Sitter river bend. This year, Placebo, Jan Delay and Beatsteaks are among those rocking the stage.

Christian Kauter, CEO of Affichage, on his company’s opportunities and plans in the emerging markets of Southeast Europe. WW: For years, the Southeast Europe business has accounted for about 10 to 12 percent of Affichage’s total revenue—including acquisitions. You now expect this figure to jump to 25 percent by the end of 2008. How is this possible? Christian Kauter: First, through the acquisition of companies from the Alma Group, Greece’s largest outdoor advertising company, with revenue of eight million Swiss francs. Second, as part of the market unbundling at EPI, we are taking over high-revenue countries such as Hungary and Serbia. Finally, there is Romania, where we expect to increase revenue from 3 to 5 million Swiss francs in 2007. All of these factors are contributing to the increase in our international share. WW: How much was Affichage’s purely organic growth in these countries? Christian Kauter: In Romania, we saw 12 to 15 percent growth in 2006, but on average, the markets grew between 6 and 8 percent. The outlook for 2007 looks similarly promising.WW: You won part of the Budapest city contract with the German company Wall. Will you also submit bids with Wall in Sofia and Bucharest?Christian Kauter: Certainly not in Bucharest, and we have no plans to team up with them in Sofia either. WW: JCDecaux holds a 35 percent stake in Wall, but only a 30 percent stake in Affichage. Can you still count on JCDecaux’s support when competing against Wall? Christian Kauter: In our cooperation agreement with JCDecaux, we stipulated that we can continue to take over its street furniture in the future if we need to—and that also implies its support. Of course, there will be some competition, but that’s normal. WW: Macedonia and Albania are still blank spots on your map.Christian Kauter: We’ve already had contacts in Macedonia, and we’re also keeping an eye on Albania, though from a distance. In these countries, legal certainty for international companies is still insufficient. Our priority is therefore to consolidate our presence in the other countries first. WW: Are further acquisitions planned for 2007?Christian Kauter: Perhaps in Romania. We’re currently in talks with one or two providers. We want to be able to offer a network of locations across the entire country there.WW: How is business developing in northern Italy? And what options do you have there with regard to Clear Channel Outdoor (CCO)?Christian Kauter: We assume that economic regions do not end at the Swiss border. That’s why we acquired a stake in a small company in Como. A month ago, I also signed a contract in Bolzano for 420 bus shelters. So we’re now advancing toward Milan from two directions. Incidentally, a withdrawal by CCO would indeed be an option to strengthen our position in Italy. However, JCDecaux also has a strong position there, and I can imagine that the group remains interested in the Italian market as well.Interview: Markus Knöpfli

Television The programming strategy of SF Director Ingrid Deltenre is putting Presse-TV under pressure: publishers' television is rapidly losing viewers, especially on Sunday evenings. "Gesundheit Sprechstunde" (GES), "Konsum-TV" and "Café Bâle", previously the most-watched programs on Press TV, have been given new concepts and relaunched in the last two years. Nevertheless, viewers are running away. In 2006, "Café Bâle" and "Konsum-TV" had an average audience of 30 and 22 percent less than in 2005, while GES lost 8 percent of its viewers. This has been the case for some time. GES is now 28 percent below the 2003 level, "Konsum-TV" now has 34 percent fewer viewers than in 2004 - and "Café Bâle" even has 40 percent fewer viewers.Most other PTV programs fared no better: 10 out of 13 programs showed declining ratings in 2006. Positive developments are marginal, but "NZZ Format" is still the third most popular PTV program.
The fact that the SF 2 channel, which broadcasts all PTV programs, was nevertheless able to increase its market share to 9.7% last year is all the more thought-provoking. The PTV programs have therefore contributed nothing to this increase, on the contrary: only GES is still slightly above the SF 2 average.
The publishers involved in PTV (including NZZ, Ringier and Basler Zeitung Medien) are not unaffected by this either. At their Annual General Meeting on March 19, they will therefore decide on some changes, but PTV Managing Director Hans Jürg (Fibo) Deutsch does not want to say anything about them yet. However, the losses come as no surprise to Deutsch: "It is mainly our Sunday evening programs that are showing losses. This has to do with the more aggressive programming on SF 1." He had already pointed this out earlier. Even back then, when Ingrid Deltenre brought popular programs such as "Musicstar", "Pisa" or "Traumjob" into the SF 1 program on Sunday evenings after taking office as SF Director. Previously, the PTV competition there consisted of cultural programs or crime thrillers with half the audience.
Since then, the situation has become increasingly difficult for PTV. "We sense that Ms. Deltenre sees PTV as a nuisance. She shows us this wherever she can," says Deutsch. He knows plenty of examples: Deltenre's strategy of rejuvenating SF 2 made PTV programs, which deliberately appeal to a more mature audience, look downright old. More recent decisions by Deltenre are also affecting PTV: from April, it will broadcast a business program on Monday evenings on SF 1 - parallel to PTV's "Cash-TV". Deltenre is moving the previous talk show "Vis-à-vis" with publicist Frank A. Meyer to early Sunday evenings on SF 2 - just before PTV's talk show Standpunkte. Two talks in a row - and both partly hosted by Meyer - does that make sense? SF spokesperson Urs Durrer explains: "We deliberately set the programming so that Meyer is never on twice in a row. We have therefore taken PTV into consideration as far as this point is concerned." He does not comment on the other points.
Deutsch sees it differently: "Ms. Deltenre has no consideration for us, we are the unloved louse in her fur," he says. He is neither against competition nor against changes to the program. However, the latter have so far only been made unilaterally and without prior information. Deutsch would therefore like to see a different approach. "It would be more collegial to talk to us before making such decisions," he says. However, the main problem remains and, according to Deutsch, is of a strategic nature: "It is the conflict of interest between the PTV program and SF 2 as a youth channel."
Markus Knöpfli