The Bern-based agency Contexta was commissioned to publicize Clariden Leu's new brand and its core values. Clariden Leu is the independent private bank into which Credit Suisse has merged its private banks. The first images from the campaign, which Contexta realized, can now be seen in the national and international press. The brand itself is at the center of the campaign. The logo is elaborately staged in full-page advertisements. Depicted as a group of islands, a race track and a flying formation in the shape of a lion's head, it is intended to reflect exclusivity, dynamism and individuality.

The American Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP) is calling on commercial producers to submit their work for the AICP Show 2007. The spots that convince the jury will be shown for the first time on June 5 at the New York Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), where the AICP Show will celebrate its premiere. The selected clips will then be shown in various cities around the world. Last year, the show made stops in Madrid, London, Moscow, Tokyo, Sydney and Prague, among others. The selected spots will also become part of the MoMa film department's collection. Successful entrants will receive a certificate. Works from outside the USA can be submitted in the categories "Advertising Excellence/International Single", "Advertising Excellence/International Campaign" and "Advertising Excellence/Next". "International Single" and "International Campaign" are open to commercials produced and shown outside the USA. "International Next" is an international category in which the country of production is irrelevant and is open to multimedia submissions.
Spots can be submitted online. The deadline is February 15, 2007.

A representative of the search engine giant Google is taking part in the "Advertising Conference & Expo" of the World Association of Newspaper Publishers. This will take place on February 22 and 23, 2007 in Zurich. According to the World Association of Newspapers (WAN), Rob Jonas, strategic partner and head of development at Google, will speak about his company's new newspaper advertising strategy. An online business model will enable customers to bid for the placement of newspaper ads: Advertisers choose a newspaper and the section in which they want to appear. They then declare how much they are prepared to pay. The newspaper decides which bid it accepts. Google hopes to expand the initial project further. It currently includes 100 advertisers and 50 US metropolitan newspapers.
The advertising conference in Zurich is organized by the World Association of Newspapers and hosted by the Swiss Press Association. It will focus on the latest ideas and strategies in the field of newspaper advertising. Registration details and further information can be found at
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The candidates for U1 TV's TV Star 2007 were supposed to be attractive and sporty. However, U1 TV's press service remained extremely vague about the design of this TV event. Only the keyword "adventure" was mentioned and that it was not a conventional casting show. There also seems to be some uncertainty as to when the TV star will go on air. However, it should be in the next two to three months. The TV star will then be shown daily on U1 TV throughout Switzerland for four weeks in 2007. The target audience is between the ages of 18 and 30. Anyone who feels called to make an adventurous TV appearance can apply by e-mail or post by next month with a photo, CV and TV job request.
 
Eva Meixner 

The European communications consultancy Pleon is further expanding its Zurich office, the Pleon C-Matrix. Alexander Fink, previously Managing Partner at Pleon Germany, moved to the Limmat city on February 1, from where he will be responsible for the "Change Communication" practice with national and international clients. At the same time, Fink supports the Swiss Pleon team in corporate communications projects for internationally active clients, primarily in Italy and Germany. Fink is also a lecturer at the Bavarian Academy for Advertising on the subject of "Change Communication", as was reported in a press release on Monday. For Alfred Köcher, CEO of Pleon C-Matrix and board member of Pleon Europe, the new addition is an important signal for the further strengthening of the Swiss organization. According to Köcher, corporate changes are currently leading to a significant increase in demand for professional internal and external change communication. The Zurich office is developing into a strong driving force for national and international change mandates, for example for company takeovers.
Pleon is a large European agency group with its own offices in 15 countries. In Switzerland, around 30 consultants support companies and institutions in Zurich and Geneva.

Smart Heads is expanding its consulting capacity: Since January 2007, Eveline Cornacchia-Zimmermann has been supporting owner Stefan Poth as an executive search consultant in the recruitment of specialists and executives in media, marketing, communications and advertising. The trained PR specialist brings from her several years of experience in marketing and communications in industry, pharmaceuticals and agencies sound knowledge for the selection of communications specialists, it says in a media release.The company Smart Heads - the expert and executive search consultants - is based in Zug and is active throughout Switzerland for recruitment and selection tasks of specialists and managers in the areas of communications, media, marketing, graphic industry and e-business.

On March 13, 2007, the Swiss Marketing Day 07 will take place in Lucerne on the topic of "Customer Insight: Knowing what customers really want".  
In order to understand people and their purchasing behavior, marketing and advertising define them as customers, package them into target groups and analyze them as objects of market research. Despite - or perhaps because of - this, the question remains: are traditional market and motivational research sufficient to understand the complex consumer in an even more complex market environment?
 
Marketing Day 07 shows how and what customer insight contributes to business success in concrete terms. For example, using concrete practical cases that illustrate the latest findings of brain research in relation to the true motives for buying. The aim is to present innovative strategies in product and communication development that show how to be successful even in saturated markets. Program and registration:

From the end of February, Zurich-based Tamedia will have the Tuesday edition of the commuter newspaper 20 Minuten printed in part by Basler Zeitung Medien, Espace Media in Berne and Ringier in Adligenswil. This is due to the new Tages-Anzeiger large circulation. The capacity at the Tamedia printing plant in Zurich is no longer sufficient. Tamedia spokesman Christoph Zimmer confirmed a report by the media service Kleinreport on Friday.  
The Zurich edition of 20 Minuten will continue to be printed in Zurich, the edition for the Bern region will be printed by Espace Media on Tuesday night, the Basel and St. Gallen versions will be printed in Basel and the copies for Lucerne will be printed in Adligenswil. The Tuesday edition of the Tages-Anzeiger is to be delivered to all households on the left and right banks of Lake Zurich, in the Zurich Oberland and in the Zurich Unterland from the end of February, as reported by SDA. These are the areas outside the city of Zurich that include a regional split.

From 2008, the federal government should no longer help to reduce newspaper transportation taxes. The National Council's Finance Committee FK is against an initiative by the State Policy Committee SPK, which would like to continue this indirect press subsidy. The decision was made by a narrow margin of 12 votes to 11 with one abstention, as reported by SDA. The opinion of the FK corresponds to the position of the Federal Council. The latter wants to discontinue the federal government's contribution to distribution costs next year, even though the councillors have passed a motion to the contrary.  
The majority of the Finance Committee warns against a watering can from which the large publishers would benefit more than the small ones. The diversity of newspaper titles cannot be equated with a material diversity of the press. The financial situation of the Confederation also speaks against a continuation of the regime. In the opinion of the minority, the previous system - despite reservations - has proved its worth. In the short term, it is the only way to continue supporting the local and regional press. Additional discounts for subscribed daily and weekly newspapers with a small circulation could mitigate the watering can effect.
 
The one-third model  
The so-called one-third model currently applies to indirect press subsidies, according to which the Confederation, publishers and Swiss Post jointly reduce newspaper transportation taxes. With the 2003 austerity package, Parliament reduced the annual federal contribution from CHF 100 million to CHF 80 million and limited it to the end of 2007.
 
According to the SPK's proposal, Swiss Post would continue to be obliged to grant preferential prices for the transportation of newspapers and magazines regardless of distance. In return, it would be compensated by the Confederation with a maximum of CHF 60 million per year. In addition, Swiss Post would receive CHF 20 million to make the transportation of small-circulation titles even cheaper.

ICC Switzerland, in cooperation with the Swiss-American Chamber of Commerce and Schweizer Werbung SW, is organizing a workshop to present the revised and consolidated version of its advertising and marketing codes to Swiss companies. The workshop will take place on February 8, 2007 in Zurich.  
In September 2006, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) published a new code of conduct to address the new ethical challenges in the marketing sector. The new version of the Code comprises a catalog of guidelines in the areas of marketing, advertising via the Internet, telephone and text messages, and communication with children.
 
The new version of the Code is intended to serve as a practical tool and reference for all marketing issues in day-to-day work. ICC calls on companies to seize this opportunity to improve their audience services. This is the 8th revision of the ICC International Code of Advertising Practice, which was first published in 1937.

Radio Zürisee has a new sound design. All 3000 transmitters have been completely renewed. According to the Radio Zürisee newsletter, the sound will remain true to the Radio Zürisee style, but will appear "fresher and more modern". The new acoustic layout was produced by Mike Fäh from Kreativklinik.ch and Radio Zürisee music director Roger Rhyner in collaboration with the international jingle production company TM-Europe.  
Since December, the Zurich radio station has also had a new voice. However, Martina Dal-Pont will not be presenting, but rather welcoming customers and guests on the phone. She is also responsible for receiving and processing Businessline orders.

Valentine's Day is just around the corner and Swiss milk producers are making "Recipes for lovers" available online in time for the celebration of love. These recipes are designed to awaken the spirit of love in your loved one. Ingredients are presented that are said to have love-promoting properties. If you feel butterflies in your stomach and would like to trigger this feeling in your loved one, you can download the tempting recipes here.