The Swiss only know their country by reputation. This is confirmed by a representative study by the LINK Institute on the subject of "Do you know your Switzerland?". For SBB, this is an opportunity to launch a twelve-stage voyage of discovery through Switzerland in the new year. Under the motto "Discover Switzerland", there are at least five places to visit each month at reduced prices in one region of Switzerland. The promotion is being advertised by the Zurich advertising agency Jung von Matt/Limmat with a campaign that focuses on the aspect of discovery. In original images, the times of unknown territories and the great explorers of world history are revived and transferred to today's Swiss conditions. In February, for example, the journey takes us far away to the far end of Switzerland, to the border town of Basel with its medieval past, to a world in which people still thought the earth was flat.
The campaign will continue throughout the year with ever new subjects. On posters and advertisements of all kinds, on e-board spots and every month with a new, up-to-date brochure for the respective region.
In addition, JvM/Limmat is now responsible for communication on the subject of organ donation. The agency is promoting the organ donation activities of Zurich University Hospital. The very first work shows a hospital room and an ECG line that is about to fade away. In the reflection in the background, a line can be seen rising again. The message: "Organ donation. And a life goes on." A movie is also planned for 2007.

The Swiss media weblog Medienspiegel.ch is bringing five new employees on board as of January 10. Peter Studer, journalist and president of the Swiss Press Council, NZZ Folio editor-in-chief Daniel Weber, Weltwoche culture and hiking editor Thomas Widmer, Oliver Classen, former Werbewoche media editor and currently press spokesman for the Berne Declaration, and Der unmündige Leser, co-founder of the now defunct Pendlerblog, have joined the team of columnists on the Swiss media weblog. Daniele Muscionico, Edgar Schuler and Martin Hauzenbeger are still part of the team. Peter Zeindler is available as a replacement. Authors Heribert Seifert and Max Mack are leaving the team.Medienspiegel.ch has been providing information on international developments and trends in the online sector for four years. The media weblog is aimed at media professionals, publishers and media junkies and provides a forum for a free exchange of opinions. Columns have been part of Medienspiegel.ch's offering for around two and a half years.

Since January 3, 2007, Grey customers have been able to find everything under one roof. The "classic" advertising agency Grey Worldwide and the direct marketing agency Grey Direct, which had been working together for a long time, have now been merged in Baden. In contrast to previous years, there are now exactly two Grey locations in Switzerland, namely in Baden and Geneva.Grey was founded in New York in 1917 and has grown over the decades, including in Switzerland since 1982, to become one of the largest globally operating networks. The company has been a member of WPP since 2005. In Switzerland, Grey manages advertising mandates for clients such as Nokia, Intras health insurance, British American Tobacco, Ambi Pur Car, Novartis Consumer Health, Loterie Romande and Manpower, as well as direct marketing mandates for clients such as ZKB, Ringier Verlag, Canon, Beiersdorf (Nivea), Aargauer Zeitung, Valiant Bank, Hero (Galactina), Tamedia (Facts) and Grand Casino Baden (Trafo). Grey is a member of BSW and employs just over 40 people in Switzerland.

Advertising Week receives dozens of media releases every day. There are always a few bizarre messages among them. For example, this advertising text for socks from Socks + Moré, based in Wilen: "The new sock models have arrived! No matter what you have planned for this year, we have the right socks for every project! We only want satisfied customers and therefore; 100% satisfaction guarantee with zero risk! The right sock for every occasion! Whether it's for WK, sports or in a fine pair of socks, this selection is complete! Sensational quality at an absolute spinner price!" Some advertising texts and slogans are poetic masterpieces, convey convincing and concise messages or, in the best case, encourage people to buy. This slogan will certainly not be forgotten in a hurry, because who doesn't want to celebrate the New Year in fresh socks?

Dirk Sturny (34) is now in charge of Logitech's press relations for the DACH region as PR manager. In this position, he is responsible for all of the company's press relations in the Germany, Austria and Switzerland region. In his role, Dirk Sturny reports directly to Guido Karbautzki, Marketing Manager Logitech DACH. Sturny was previously Head of Press & PR for the Parks & Resorts Division of the Walt Disney Company Germany and worked as a Public Relations Consultant at Pleon Kohtes-Klewes GmbH.
Logitech was founded in 1981. The company develops, produces and markets personal peripherals that help users work, play and communicate effectively in the digital world.  

At the traditional Epiphany Conference at the World Trade Center in Zurich, the Swiss media industry exchanged thoughts and experiences, took a look into the future and reflected on the past few months. What resolutions and forecasts were realized, what are the expectations for the new year? according to publisher president Hanspeter Lebrument, the Swiss press should reflect on its role as the fourth estate in the state. This status is jeopardized the more the press demands compensation from the state for its services. At a time when the Postal Services Act is being reissued and the Radio and Television Act (RTVA) is coming into force, the press should carefully consider its role, says Lebrument.
As the fourth estate in the state, the press forms a counterweight to the institutional powers: governments, parliaments and courts. Television and radio, with their great dependence on the state, had never achieved this status. Lebrument warned against giving up independence. Against the backdrop of the revisions to the Post and RTVG laws, the press is forced to lobby.
Publishers and advertisers agree code of conduct 
Newspaper editors, publishers and advertisers have agreed on rules of conduct for dealing with paid advertising. The aim of the code of conduct is to make a clearer distinction between advertising and editorial content. All players are fully committed to the principle of full transparency, as the initiators announced. Media consumers must be able to clearly recognize which content is editorial and which is commercially influenced.
Among other things, the recommendations stipulate that the design of advertisements must not give the impression that they are an editorial part of the medium. In particular, care should be taken to ensure that the typography is clearly distinguishable. Any form of sponsorship must be clearly declared. The code was agreed by the Conference of Editors-in-Chief, the Swiss Press Association, Presse Suisse, Stampa Svizzera, BSW Leading Swiss Agencies, the Association of Swiss Advertising Clients SWA and the Allianz Schweizer Werbeagentur.
A rapprochement: Publishers' seats on the Press CouncilIn addition, publishers and editorial teams have come closer together in the dispute over publishers' seats on the Swiss Press Council. Prejudices, for example, have been dispelled. The aim is to include publishers in the Press Council at the beginning of 2008.
There are signs of a rapprochement," Urs Thalmann, Central Secretary of the impressum journalists' association, told SDA. The trade unions, which are represented on the Press Council and rejected the publishers' initiative the year before last, have been open to talks since last fall. They still hold the same position, Thalmann continued. However, since the last quarter, the discussion has become somewhat more differentiated.

After reaching the highest October value since 2001, November also achieved an excellent value. The November index of Web2com AG rose by 4.8 points to 143.3 points. As the figures for December also promise good results, online advertising will perform excellently in 2006. Online spending increased massively last year. In Germany, it is even assumed that the trend in media spending in 2007 will be in favor of Internet advertising and clearly at the expense of traditional media. According to Norman Wagner, Director of Marketing and Sales at Thomson Media Control, German companies will invest 80 percent of their advertising budget in Internet advertising and 20 percent in traditional advertising in the future.
PubliGroupe's advertising marketer Web2com is also launching a white paper on "Streaming Video Ads". The most important findings on the topics of "online video" and "online advertising with TV commercials" and, in particular, data for Switzerland are compiled on over 40 pages. The paper is aimed at all those who would like to deepen their knowledge of the new advertising opportunities offered by the Internet as a communication channel. The publication is available in German and can be ordered via the online form www.web2com.ch/streaming.

In the canton of Aargau, sexist advertising will not be banned from public spaces by law. On Tuesday, the Grand Council rejected a motion from the ranks of the EVP by 93 votes to 28. The cantonal government spoke out against a ban, primarily for economic and legal reasons. However, it was clearly opposed to sexist advertising, said Kurt Wernli, the head of the cantonal government, and in the debate only members of the SP and Green parliamentary groups spoke out in favor of a ban. The boundaries between porn and eroticism were becoming blurred, emphasized one SP councillor. Women are portrayed on the posters as a commodity that is available everywhere and at all times. A CVP councillor opposed tabooing and a ban. The advertising industry's self-regulation worked, she said. The spokesperson for the SVP parliamentary group described it as dangerous to impose bans on everything, as freedom of expression exists in Switzerland.
In the motion, Lilian Studer, a member of the EPP Grand Council and motion author, demanded that the cantonal government take measures to ban sex posters on public property, on private property that can be seen from there and on public buildings. Her father, EPP National Councillor Heiner Studer, submitted a parliamentary initiative with the same demand in Bern last December. In December, the Young EPP also handed over a petition against sexist advertising signed by 17,735 people in Bern.

The Swiss Press Association awarded a very special prize for the first time at the Epiphany Conference. The two young creatives Stefania Tuskanovic and Sabrina Böni from GFS Communications St.Gallen received the winner's trophy for their entry in the public vote. They came out on top against 38 teams. The ad they created features a cat lurking in front of an ad for a golf club and the statement "Only an ad can captivate for hours." 
 
The audience liked this ad best. It had previously caught the eye of the jury. The panel was made up of ADC members Andreas Prokesch (jury president), Frank Bodin (Euro RSCG), Daniel Comte (Advico Young & Rubicam), Markus Gut (Publicis), Alexander Jaggy (Jung/von Matt Limmat), Daniel Matter (Matter & Gretener), Markus Ruf (Ruf Lanz) and Hanspeter Schweizer (Wirz). 
 
The jury honored Nick Hodel's contribution with first place. When television was looking for a successor after the resignation of Peter Schellenberg, it placed an advertisement - naturally. Hodel turned this into his contribution and also got to the heart of the idea with a pithy statement ("Even the competition says the really important things in an advertisement"). The jury selected 12 ideas from the 78 entries submitted and recommended them for implementation. Unlike in the past, it was not advertising agencies that were invited, but young creatives up to the age of 1978 who took part in a competition. 
 
Providing excellent advertising for the medium of advertising and promoting young creative talent at the same time. That is the idea behind "Only an advertisement can do that". It was supported by the advertising trade associations bsw swiss leading agencies, Schweizer Werbung SW and Allianz Schweizer Werbeagenturen ASW as well as Werbewoche and Publimedia.

The GlarusNord-Anzeiger, a new free newspaper for the Glarus lowlands, will be published from January 12. It is published by Südostschweiz Presse. The GlarusNord-Anzeiger will be published every Friday as a tabloid newspaper and will be distributed to all households in the Glarus lowlands (Bilten, Niederurnen, Oberurnen, Filzbach, Obstalden, Mühlehorn, Mollis, Näfels), mostly by early delivery. This means that the free newspaper reaches precisely those eight municipalities that will form a single municipality from 2011 as a result of the Glarus municipal merger. The circulation is 7000 copies.
 
The Glarus-Nord-Anzeiger is following in the footsteps of the Linth-Land-Anzeiger, which was discontinued by the publisher Küng Druck at the end of 2007. With the new successor product, Südostschweiz Presse aims to secure the traditional opportunity for communities to publish official announcements and offer regional businesses and associations an attractive advertising platform thanks to unrivaled low advertising rates. Südostschweiz Publicitas in Glarus is responsible for advertising sales.
 
Südostschweiz Presse has created a 50% editorial office for the editorial section of the 16-page weekly newspaper and commissioned freelance journalists. The GlarusNord-Anzeiger will differ from its predecessor, not least thanks to its own journalistic contributions. For example, regular portraits, columns, personalized surveys and a new front-page story every week will be published, according to a press release.

The Zurich-based communications and PR agency Open Up is expanding its consulting capacities. At the beginning of January, Kathrin Fischer joined the consultancy team, which now has seven members. Fischer has many years of experience in internal and external corporate communications. A graduate in journalism, she has also worked as a journalist for various media and has published two literary works. Fischer was most recently head of the online editorial team at Werbewoche. She previously worked as a PR consultant at a communications agency and as a content manager on the corporate side in Zurich and Bern. By strengthening its team, Open Up gains new capacity to handle the 2006
increased order volume. The agency was founded in 2001 by Urs Thaler and Kilian Borter and has since grown continuously from two to seven consultants. Based in Zurich, it advises its clients on all aspects of public relations. The focus is on media relations, corporate publishing and internal communications. Thanks to a dynamic network of partners, the agency offers a full range of services.

The daily online newspaper Polizeinews.ch now provides all police reports at a glance. In addition to a complete overview of all accidents and crimes in German-speaking Switzerland, the platform also offers a service section and background information on police topics. The web newspaper was launched on January 7, 2007. The editorial team accepts reports 365 days a year, processes them according to journalistic criteria and obtains additional information. A daily newsletter also helps to ensure that no crimes or accidents are missed.
In addition to the news section, Polizeinews.ch offers an extensive service section with information on crime and accident prevention, current police searches and missing persons cases. Background reports and interviews on police investigation methods, news from criminal research and other topics are also planned, according to a press release.
The online newspaper is fully financed by advertisements and is therefore free of charge for users. The idea and implementation of Polizeinews.ch came from the St.Gallen media agency Wortwerk Medien. Together with the media agency Insomnia, it had already launched Appenzell24.ch, a purely regional daily newspaper on the Internet, in September 2006 (see
). Further internet publications are planned.