Next Friday, December 8, 2006, the Forum Digitalradio Switzerland will be holding its first information event at the Hans Erni Museum in Lucerne. Over the course of a day, all the digital technologies currently under discussion will be presented. In addition, various representatives of the value chain and Switzerland's neighboring countries will have their say. Questions such as: Will the classic digital audio broadcast (DAB) prevail or already the new version DAB+, which allows more channels on the same frequency? Or is DAB+ merely an intermediate step towards digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB), which is well established abroad, particularly in Korea? Does the digitization of FM in the form of HD radio have a chance? Or will Internet radio and television develop differently with wireless anyway?
The Forum Digitalradio Schweiz was launched last summer. It is an internationally networked platform for digital technologies for radio stations and is intended to serve as a place for exchanging opinions. Registration for the event is possible until the start of the event at
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Toy II Publicis rummages through the good old toy box for Pastorini: Who remembers the days when an ordinary cardboard box became a castle, a stick became a laser sword or a wooden block became a truck? Compared to the present day, very simple toys have shaped the childhood of today's parents of our gamers. Thanks to Pastorini, the well-known Swiss supplier of educational wooden toys, you can still relive this time today. Pastorini stands for wooden toys that encourage imagination and are educational. For toys that give children freedom without dictating their play in a flashing, squawking way.Publicis, with a team led by CD Philipp Skrabal, dramatizes what Pastorini offers in the simplest possible way: Toys that come to life with the child's imagination. A simple wooden block becomes a radio for little spies on a secret mission. An inverted bridge becomes a carriage. A cylinder becomes the fastest rocket in the universe.
The realization is as simple as the toys themselves: simple blocks on a white background are representative of the many wonderful toys that can be used to create entire worlds with just a little bit of imagination.   
Andreas Panzeri

With a-zimmo, a-zjobs and a-zauto, the AZ Medien Group is launching the first three marketplaces under the newly developed a-z umbrella brand. This makes the AZ Medien Group, together with the partner publishers of the Mittelland Zeitung, the first media company in Switzerland to launch an independent brand in the classifieds market, which will be used consistently in the newspapers and on the Internet for all classified sections and with all partners. Anyone looking for a house or apartment, a new job or a car in the Mittelland/Northwestern Switzerland market area will find what they are looking for quickly and efficiently under a-zimmo, a-zjobs or a-zauto. In addition, you will find a lot of information and services related to the evaluation of offers.
Spillmann Felser Leo Burnett was commissioned with the advertising. In a print and web campaign, the agency addresses everyday problems faced by people looking for real estate, cars and jobs. The subjects show people who no longer fit into their apartment, car or office. They look out of the windows they are squeezed against because they have literally outgrown their house, their car or their job. But luckily there is now a-zimmo.ch, a-zauto.ch and a-zjobs.ch, where you can quickly find a larger apartment, a station wagon or even a job in which you can develop better.
a-z is to become the relevant brand for providers and consumers in the Mittelland/Northwestern Switzerland classifieds market.
Andreas Panzer

Senior citizens over 70 are currently in high demand: Profilwerk is looking for the Swiss equivalent of singer Reynaldo Creagh (89) for the vocal casting for the Cuban show "The Bar at Buena Vista" on behalf of Maag MusicHall. "The feedback so far has been very positive," Christoph Rüdt from Profilwerk told Werbewoche. The oldest man who has called so far is 85 years old and is keen to take part in the casting. For Rüdt, just 30 registrations would be a success - in addition to the information sent to the media, all retirement homes and choirs for the elderly were also contacted. In addition, all organizations such as Pro Senectute that deal with the elderly. The topic has also been well received by the media, with Blick, for example, devoting 3/4 of a page to the subject.  
"It's all about fun," continues Rüdt. Not only will the winner of the casting be allowed to perform the final song on stage among the Cuban stars, but Swiss television is also planning a contribution within an existing program. The casting will take place on January 16, the performance on February 6.

November also saw an increase in Google advertising. Advertising spaces are becoming increasingly popular: for the fourth time in a row, the index for the number of booked advertising spaces has shot up, by more than 25 points in total - in November alone, there was an increase of 7.7 points or 2.5 text ads per search query. The record set in October was easily broken: As a result, the index for the number of booked advertising spaces rose steeply - now for the fourth time in a row. The food, book trade and security sectors provided the biggest Christmas boost. In 11 of the 39 sectors measured, the number of AdWords rose by more than 10. Leading the way: food (+18 ads), reading (+17) and security (+16). The strongest decline was recorded in the tourism industry, where only around 35 text ads were seen per search query (previous month: around 46), with foreign providers accounting for 80% of the decline in ads. IT service providers and the vehicle markets also lost ground. And, as in the previous month, it is clear to see: Foreign pressure is falling. Swiss companies are almost exclusively responsible for the increase in text ads.
Contrary to popular opinion, this massive increase in competition has not hit the wallet: the index for click prices has fallen by 3.5 points or CHF 0.06. Overall, click prices have been falling for half a year now. Overall, click prices have been stagnating for six months now - companies seem to have gained experience and are no longer paying exorbitant click prices.
 
The monthly Swiss Adex published by Angelink yourposition measures how search engine marketing with Google AdWords is developing in Switzerland. All prices are based on the click prices that Google offers potential advertising customers online.

René Worni's commentary on the local lack of innovation The ideas workshop in the Jungfrau microcosm will remain closed to third parties from now on. Publisher Urs Gossweiler, who enjoys playing the court jester at the numerous relevant industry events and sometimes explains the tariff to the big publishers in the media city of Zurich on the edge of credibility, has tried in vain for three years to warm up publishers as partners for his micro-newspaper. It is difficult to say whether the Bernese Oberländer lacks negotiating skills. But a considerable number of publishers and media professionals have been working on a concept that cleverly dovetailed print and online even before anyone had given it much thought. The reason for the creation of the micro-newspaper, namely to keep the costs for printing and distribution as low as possible, in no way diminishes its innovative power. The crisis resistance of his project ultimately proved the Bergler right. Only Eugen A. Russ can say something similar about his Vorarlberger Nachrichten.
The Tages-Anzeiger is currently running what is probably the most significant local offensive of all. Since the launch of the new regional editions, as the sixth bundle of the Tamedia flagship, they are already much better in the hand, compared with the former tabloid on the left bank of the lake, whose appearance contrasted strikingly with the assurances of success from the editors-in-chief. Now even the regional section is more like a daily newspaper that you quickly pick up at the end.
But is that all there is to it? Why should the opponent (in this case the Zurich regional newspapers) be fought with the same means when it already enjoys a serious home advantage? The ideas for suitable strategies are practically on the street. People like Gossweiler or Russ have formulated proven entrepreneurial antitheses that could also be built on at Werdstrasse with little risk. Advertisers would certainly enjoy web TV, for example. And in the absence of obituaries in the paper (an expression of a lack of acceptance among locals), the virtual cemetery would certainly be the answer. Not to mention other (added value) features.
René Worni, Editor

Mysterium SFLB has launched an enigmatic campaign for an unknown client. This advertisement deliberately aims to be one: it is a 1/1-page advertisement consisting of nothing more than a riddle with lots of difficult questions. Advertisements that contain no customer logo and no advertising text and are therefore a real puzzle for every viewer. What is it all about? Only those who take the trouble to solve the puzzle will find out.slashes as a clue For advertising insiders, the enigmatic advertisement was also signed a little enigmatically, but only a little - the slashes in the signature refer to Spillmann Felser Leo Burnett. They confirm that they created the enigmatic advertisements, but won't reveal anything else. Martin Spillmann: "As our target group has extraordinary knowledge and great interest, we decided on this form. Anyone who can solve the puzzle really does correspond to our select target group. And they will also be rewarded."
The puzzles, which appear full-page in NZZ am Sonntag, NZZ Folio, Dezember-Du and WoZ, are not to be solved. Spillmann: "It is the first campaign that only our target group can decode. For everyone else, the riddle will remain a riddle forever."

Column Bikini Royal and the Sarkozy circus: the media play a new role in the French presidential election campaign When her children were born, socialist Ségolène Royal had herself photographed in childbirth for Paris Match. Last August, she showed that she still cuts a fine figure: photos appeared in the French tabloids showing Ségolène Royal in a blue bikini. Never before had a French politician been seen like this. Her comrades and opponents were fuming, and no one believed her assurances that the candid pictures had been taken by a paparazzo in an ambush. Sitting next to her in the boat was the party's Secretary General, François Hollande - her partner and the father of her children - and in response to Ségolène's breasts, the Minister of the Interior, Nicolas Sarkozy, flexed his muscles. The rival was photographed jogging topless on the beach - with sunglasses and an MP3 player. The bodyguards who accompanied him were all dressed in T-shirts. He showed off his taut stomach and published a book: a declaration of love full of kitsch to his wife Cecilia, who had returned home in time for the election campaign. A year ago, Sarkozy had banned a biography of his wife and had 20,000 printed copies destroyed. The editor-in-chief of Paris Match, who had put Cecilia on the front page with a lover, was dismissed - and Peter Rothenbühler's Le Matin was slapped with a lawsuit in Thonon.
Sarkozy is friends with all the important publishers and TV bosses. He was even able to prevent the renowned journalist Edwy Plenel from becoming head of the struggling Libération, where a Rothschild is now the major shareholder - with the concept of creating an "anti-Sarkozy newspaper".
He seems to stage his terrorist investigations exclusively according to the television broadcasting schedule, whose journalists outnumber the police officers on the ground. He is filmed at his election rallies by a private production company - whose sequences are also used by state television. Italy, Berlusconi? No, France with an interior minister who thinks he's Napoleon and wants to dominate the media. He stirs up fears and presents himself as the last resort to ward off danger.
Even more dangerous for Sarkozy than the Royal is Sarkozy himself. The announcement of his candidacy turned into an embarrassing flop. He had negotiated with the publishers of the regional press, six journalists were summoned to the interview, 61 newspapers were supposed to print it. But many refused, including Ouest France, which has a circulation of several hundred thousand. The newspapers that took part felt instrumentalized - and the others excluded. One of them leaked the interview to Libération - which had already posted it online the day before.
Ségolène's comrades and opponents mocked who would look after the children. But she survived three TV debates relatively unscathed. And several attacks on the internet. A scene from an interview with the long-dead sociologist Pierre Bourdieu was clicked on almost as often as Zidane's headbutt. She was not a leftist at all, but a conservative moralist, explained the sociologist of the class struggle. She joined the socialists because she recognized the better career opportunities here - especially for women. Friend films along: An appearance by Ségolène filmed on her cell phone at a non-public meeting was leaked online.
It was all to no avail. She knocked out the men of her party. And when it comes to dealing with the media, she is in no way inferior to Sarkozy. She has banned television from showing her eating. She opposes critical journalists almost as authoritatively as Sarkozy. She demanded a counterstatement "with a large photo that attracts the attention of readers". One media critic found that her TV appearances were staged like a "pagan cult": "Nobody shines the light as brightly as Ségolène."
She knows what the voters now also know: Programs are not implemented, promises are not kept - renouncing them does not have to be a disadvantage. The dream pairing of the dream couples turns the French election campaign into a power drama with great entertainment value: the nervous macho who can't keep himself in check versus the "big mother" without a concept who sells herself as a sedative.
Jürg Altwegg is the cultural correspondent for the Frankfurter Allgemeine in Geneva and an author.

Food With the new campaign, Excelcat wants to position itself as a down-to-earth cat food. Advertising for cat food knows no creativity. Most cat food manufacturers simply show an athletic cat with a shiny coat. That's all there is to it. Wirz Werbung has recognized the visual cat's meow and shows with the current Excelcat campaign for Masterfoods AG that ideas and humor do not have to fall by the wayside. Wirz Werbung plays with cats and dogs in the new Excelcat campaign. The invigorating properties of the cat food, which is sold exclusively in Migros, mean nothing pleasant for the dog. Because Excelcat turns the shy neighborhood cat into a winner who can handle anything.
Excelcat needs to reposition itself. With the variety of cat food available, ranging from super-premium products to normal budget canned food, consumers are quickly spoiled for choice. Excelcat wants to position itself as a down-to-earth medium-sized brand between Migros Budget and Perfect Fit. Excelcat has been available in Migros for more than 30 years and is the second best-selling cat food in Switzerland.
The Excelcat campaign was created by AD Barbara Hartmann and copywriter Thomas Kurzmeyer together with British photographer David Stewart. The campaign can now be seen on advertisements and posters. Further new subjects are being planned for the new year.
Christian Lüscher

Mathias Neu has been working as head of copywriting at the TV magazine TV-Star since December 1, 2006. The 43-year-old has been with the publication since September 2004, most recently as head of the proofreading department. Neu studied German, Latin and Roman law at the University of Zurich and taught Latin for four years. After a one-year journalistic internship, he entered the publishing industry in 1999 as a copywriter/concept editor at Weka Verlag in Zurich.

Spielzeug I SFLB has put an unsentimental Christmas film under the tree for Franz Carl Weber For generations of children, the excitement of Christmas was heralded when the postman brought the catalog in the first dark days of November. Not just any catalog - but the special one that came directly from the Christ Child for the kids back then. However, they didn't say "kids" back then - and so this catalog didn't have to be so cool and mega modern. Times have changed. The catalogs from the Christkind have become brochures from the DM specialists. And Spillmann (nomen est omen), Felser and Leo Burnett have turned the kitschy catalog into a kid-friendly animated commercial.
This new positioning is also necessary because Franz Carl Weber's former 50 stores have dwindled to just nine children's stores. When Denner tried to save the chain, the flagship store on Zurich's Bahnhofstrasse was renamed Kids Town. Even this did not bring the chain in line with the modern child. Sales have plummeted.
It was with real regret - "emotionally, the sale hurts me a lot" - that Denner boss Philippe Gaydoul sold his toy, which was no longer loved by others, to the French Lutendo Group on September 1, 2006.
Now the rocking horse is to be seen more again in Switzerland. Lutendo is the European market leader in the specialist toy trade with annual sales of 350 million euros and wants to revive the flagging Franz Carl Weber brand. The store network in Switzerland is to be doubled to 40 by 2010, and the retail space is to be increased from 400 to 1500 square meters.
New image with a techno songThere was a nostalgic anniversary catalog this year to mark the 125th anniversary of Franz Carl Weber. In it, the beautiful Christmas carol is sung: Franz Carl Weber Zurich is paradise for children and all those who have remained so. Nowhere else in Switzerland is there a greater selection of toys.
Spillmann, Felser, Leo Burnett set this song to music in a slightly cooler way. The modern arrangement of the song "Ihr Kinderlein kommet" is sung by the toys themselves in a cheeky and absolutely contemporary TV commercial for the agency. Each toy provides a sound: the station bell, the xylophone, the cash register, a locomotive and a Tamagotchi, for example, provide the high notes, a squeaky duck, a frog or an Indian the low notes, a truck, an elephant or an ocean liner the low notes. The TV commercial has been running on Tele Züri since November 16.
The commercial is an advertisement for Franz Carl Weber. But it also makes it clear that toys have also changed. More and more toys are being bought from electronics discounters. In the traditional sector, Manor and Migros are the market leaders ahead of Franz Carl Weber. It will be interesting to see what Lutendo's offensive will change here.
Founded in 1977, Lutendo has been expanding abroad since 2002. There are to be 100 stores throughout Europe within five years. In France, there will be 400 toy stores and 100 baby stores.
Andreas Panzeri

Food These days Migros is advertising two new Sélection products. As usual, in the style of a reportage. Migros is adding two new products to its Sélection range just in time for the holidays. This means that spoiled fans can now enjoy oysters from Cancale on the coast of Brittany or drizzle the fine Aceto Balsamico di Modena over their salad. Together with the advertising agency Exxtra Kommunikation, Migros is advertising as usual with harmonious black and white images reminiscent of reportages. The pictures are accompanied by interesting and surprising stories for gourmets. Exxtra Kommunikation tells the independent and long-standing story of each product, which is characterized by its geographical origin and the people behind it. This is how the following amusing oyster story reads:
"Enveloped by the haze of the sea, the silhouette of the Benedictine Abbey of St. Michel stands out against the horizon on some days. And perhaps the Benedictine monks would have thought twice about founding their abbey so close to the Baie de Cancale around the year 966 if they had been aware of the fact that oysters are transsexual. This means that they change sex within a season. Depending on the food supply and water temperature, they are either male or female. But the monks obviously turned a blind eye because they too were so enthusiastic about the oysters from the Baie de Cancale. Enthusiastic like Stephan Alleaume, the passionate breeder who named the best of them Tsarskaya, Tsarina of Oysters."
Aceto Balsamico di Modena is also advertised with a classic look and a little story. The story is about the "sanctuary" of aceto production and is no less entertaining:
"The oldest woman in the family always keeps the key to the Acetaia, of which there is only one. It is therefore closely guarded. It is occasionally lent out, but never to non-family members, who are only allowed into the acetaia when accompanied. The secret of a recipe never leaves the walls of an acetaia anyway: all knowledge about a fine aceto is stored in the minds and noses of the people. Over generations. Incidentally, Giacobazzi's Aceto Balsamico di Modena has been around since the beginning of the Novecento."
The Sélection campaign makes a coherent impression and will be seen in daily newspapers, magazines and special interest magazines. With its new premium lines, the wholesaler wants to appeal to a more affluent clientele and thus achieve better margins for itself.
Migros started with 35 products in the fall of 2005. The range has since been expanded to around 80 products. The Jamon Pata Negra ham is particularly popular with connoisseurs. But the expensive argan oil from Morocco is also appreciated by discerning customers.
Christian Lüscher