Edipresse's new Internet marketplace, which allows advertisers to place their ads in the print titles and on the Internet, has been online since November 15. The new platform has been integrated into the Edicom.ch portal. Classified ads for jobs and real estate can be placed for the Tribune de Genève and 24 Heures. It can also be used for the job platform Jobup.ch and the real estate platform Homegate.ch. A new solution for car ads is in preparation and will soon be integrated into the platform. Classified ads can be placed by category in the Tribune de Genève, 24 Heure, Matin Semaine and Terre & Nature as well as on Swissfriends.ch. The new platform was developed by IWARE in Morges.

This year, the Berner Zeitung (BZ) prize for local journalism remains in Bern: the two Bund journalists Richard Aschinger and Nicole Jegerlehner impressed the jury with their series about a primary school class in Bern, which they followed for a year. In her laudatory speech at the award ceremony on Thursday, jury member Silvia Egli von Matt praised the Bernese journalists' contributions as "the best journalism that demonstrates expertise, perseverance and passion". The juror told SDA that these are three things that are often lacking in today's journalism. Thierry Mertenant, journalist at the Tribune de Genève, accepted the corresponding prize for French-speaking Switzerland.
The Espace Media prize for the Swiss Press Photo 2006 also went to a Bernese photographer. Photographer Peter Gerber won the award with a picture of Muslims meeting for prayer on the Bundesplatz to demonstrate against the publication of the Mohammed cartoons. The picture was printed in both L'Hebdo and Sonntagsblick. The jury evaluated a total of 1,658 images from 128 photographers. The best photos will be published in a catalog and exhibited at a traveling exhibition in Zurich and Geneva.
 
550 invited guests were present, including guest speaker Roger Köppel, when the media awards of the Bern-based Espace Group, to which the BZ also belongs, were presented on Thursday evening.

On November 29, the first issue of Stadt Zürich was published in its new look. The complete redesign was tailor-made by the Zurich agency Bluish. After winning the pitch, Bluish ensured that the Tagblatt is now published once a week in tabloid format, in four colors and with a lot of magazine character. Bluish was responsible for the content redesign, including a people-oriented concept, from conception to the zero number.

Schweizer Radio DRS wants to finance the expansion of its journalistic offering from its own reserves. Additional income from the planned fee increase for SRG SSR idée suisse is to flow primarily into DAB technology. If the Federal Council approves the proposed fee increase of 6.5 percent, radio will receive CHF 13 million more money. Of this, CHF 3 million will be needed as compensation for the new Radio and Television Act (RTVA), as Radio Director Walter Rüegg told the media in Zurich on Thursday. The remaining ten million francs will be needed for the new DAB (Digital Audio Broadcast) technology and the development of World Radio Switzerland (WRS), among other things. The digital WRS will offer an English-language program for the whole of Switzerland and will be affiliated to Radio Suisse Romande.
However, Radio DRS is financing the planned expansion of the radio program itself. CHF 2.8 million has been budgeted for 2007 and CHF 4 million each for 2008 and 2009. DRS has had the same fee in real terms since 1995, continued Rüegg. It has been possible to increase services by improving production without increasing fees. The SRG management stands united behind the planned fee increase.
The fees for radio and television are charged separately. If the fee increases do not take place to the desired extent, the SRG Group would have to solve the problems together, according to Rüegg, and go over the books for the joint charges.
DRS in expansion mood As part of the expansion, plans for next year include more reporting on knowledge and education on DRS 2. Sport is to be repositioned: DRS 3 will become the leading program in terms of live sport. From 2008, the information programs on Saturday mornings and afternoons as well as the network of foreign correspondents will be expanded. The new "DRS 3 Wirtschaft" section has already been implemented. From next Monday, DRS 3 will provide information on companies, financial markets and economically relevant developments three times a day.

Anyone who did not manage to submit their work for the 14th International Sponsoring Award by Thursday has now been given a reprieve. The submission deadline has been extended until December 8, 2006. The awards will be presented in these categories: Sport, Culture, Media, and Public (Social, Environment, Education). There is also a special award for the most innovative sponsorship approach overall. The most important criteria are sponsorship success, innovative and strategic networking and the mutual benefit for sponsor and sponsored party.
The FASP calls on all market participants to propose sponsorship projects worthy of support. These will be added to the projects submitted by the jury itself. The tender documents with further details can be obtained from the FASPO website. The award ceremony will take place on January 16, 2006 in Hamburg.

The Swiss Cable Industry Association is launching a newsletter for cable TV customers. Four times a year, subscribers will receive information in German and French about useful facts and offers from cable TV companies. The association makes the newsletter available free of charge to its 250 members—though Swisscom is no longer among them (see )—in a ready-to-use, print-ready format. «Cable TV companies operate in an increasingly competitive environment,» says Claudia Bolla-Vincenz, managing director of Swisscable. With Swisscom’s Bluewin TV, serious competition to cable TV reception emerged at the beginning of the month, and satellite reception is also becoming increasingly attractive to many. That’s why customers should be kept up to date on the services available via cable TV. After all, the market is in flux and changing rapidly (see
). The first newsletter is therefore entirely devoted to the topic «Digital Television of the Future.» Swisscable was assisted in its production by the communications agency Open up and Sonja Studer Grafik
supported.

For the first time in its history, the Basel-based youth and culture station Radio X is presenting its listener figures: The station records over 33,000 listeners every day. The advertising-free station, which was launched in 1998, told SDA that it was satisfied with the figures collected by Publica Data. As Radio X is also listened to in neighboring countries and by migrants not included in the survey, the station estimates a total of 40,000 listeners per day. Either way, the good use of both the daytime program and the evening special shows is now confirmed, as the station commented on the figures.
Radio X gets its program up and running with a budget of just under 700,000 francs per year, one third of which is covered by fee splitting from the federal government, contributions to special programs and sponsorship and donations. The program, which comprises around 140 broadcasts, is produced by 140 volunteer broadcasters and around 20 people who are responsible for IT and audio - only eight people receive a fixed salary. In addition, the radio station offers ten to twelve internships each year and trains two commercial apprentices.

In next weekend's Sonntagspresse, the creative agency SFLB wein poses a riddle: Full-page and for a client who has to be found by solving a riddle. The agency doesn't want to communicate what it's all about, because otherwise the riddle wouldn't be a riddle. Everyone should find out for themselves what the message of the enigmatic campaign, which will appear in the NZZ am Sonntag, NZZ Folio, WOZ and DU, is.
This unusual form of advertising was chosen because the target group has a great deal of knowledge and interest. The puzzles were deliberately made quite difficult so that the target group would remain select. This ensures that only the target group can decode the campaign. There will be no solution to the puzzles.
Only one thing has been announced besides the advertising agency responsible: Daniel Krieg from Rätsel Agentur Schweiz is responsible for creating the puzzles.

Huge success for Swiss creatives: The prestigious advertising prize, which is awarded by 30 specialist magazines from 25 European countries - including Werbewoche - brought Swiss advertising agencies a lot of precious metal. Over 5,000 entries from 45 countries were represented. Gold was won by: - Advico Young & Rubicam: SMP Lovely/Obelix; Medium: Print
- Walker: Fleurop Mother's Day; Medium: Print
- Walker: Amnesty International; Medium: Print
- Walker: Fleurop Annual Report; Medium: Print
- Spielmann Felser Leo Burnett SFLB: Mary Woodbridge, Medium: Integrated
Silver went to: -
Advico Young & Rubicam: get close; Medium: Print -
Jung von Matt: size; Medium: Techniques -
Publicis; LTV Yellow Pages - Elevator; Medium: Film -
Publicis: LTV Yellow Pages Crossmedia Ads; Medium: Print -
Publicis: Zoo Zurich - Love; Medium: Print -
Publicis: Mosquito: Medium: Techniques -
Publicis: Zurich Because Change Happenz; Medium: Film -
Spillmann/Felser/Leo Burnett: Blackboard; Medium: Print -
Walker: Mother's Day Campaign - Kiss; Medium: Film -
Wirz: Photographer; Medium: Film Bronze went to: -
Advico Young & Rubicam: Don't be stupid!; Medium: Print -
Euro RSCG: Wave; Medium: Print -
LangGysiKnoll: HAIR; Medium: Film -
Lowe: A Town Called Today; Medium: Film -
Lowe: Ocean Defenders; Medium: Print -
Lowe: It should be banned; Medium: DM -
Publicis: Heineken Corporate Stars; Medium: Outdoor -
Publicis: Zurich Because Change Happenz; Medium: Print -
Publicis: Straumann Employees; Medium: Print -
Ruf Lanz: ?Red flag?; Medium: Print -
Ruf Lanz: Mühlehalde Home for the Blind; Medium: Film -
Spillmann/Felser/Leo Burnett: Soccer World Cup Alternative; Medium: Film-
Spillmann/Felser/Leo Burnett: Water; Medium: Film -
Walker: Annual report 2005: Medium: Techniques 
 

Distribution Andreas Zehnder, publisher of 22 free weekly newspapers, will have all his titles from eastern Switzerland to the Swiss Plateau distributed by Swiss Post from January 2007 - a good 740,000 newspaper copies per week. Previously, Zehnder had four to five titles, or around 20 percent of the total circulation, distributed by private delivery companies: Firstly, he was able to negotiate a more advantageous price thanks to the huge circulation - even if he lets it slip that he would have liked it to be even cheaper. Secondly, he brings the distribution quality and thus his range to the same level everywhere. And thirdly, he is standardizing the certification of editions. Previously, he had a handful of his titles certified by Wemf. This is now changing: "If someone wants to see circulation figures, I will present my postal invoices in future," says Zehnder.
The situation is different when it comes to range certification: Although Mach Basic 2006-2 only lists half a dozen Zehnder titles, the rest are registered.
Markus Knöpfli

Sponsoring What are the advertising trends for Euro 08? A look behind the scenes of the big business surrounding the green pitch. "These are no longer football tournaments, they are events!" Christian Mutschler, Tournament Director Switzerland for Euro 08, says what everyone should have realized since the 2006 World Cup at the latest. It's about more than just penalties, offsides and red cards - it's about a lot of money. In footballing terms, the World Cup in Germany may have been rather mediocre. Emotionally, communicatively and financially, however, it has been a hit. But what measures need to be taken to generate the same enthusiasm for football and the associated positive consumer sentiment at Euro 08? Which brands were successful with which strategies at the World Cup, and what trends can be derived from this with regard to the 2008 European Championships in Switzerland and Austria? At an event organized by the International Advertising Association (IAA), international experts from football and marketing gave their views on these questions.
World Cup with record incomeThe income from the 2006 World Cup in Germany reached an all-time record of an estimated 1.8 billion euros. The organizers, Fifa, earned 750 million euros from the sale of advertising rights to the official World Cup sponsors alone. However, not every advertiser received the attention they had hoped to buy at such a high price: in the highly competitive advertising environment of the World Cup, 80 percent of advertisers were not even noticed. "They simply burned their money," says sports scientist and economist Boris Hedde from the Cologne agency Sport + Markt.
One of the big winners, alongside McDonald's, Adidas and Deutsche Telekom, is the Coca Cola brand. Boris Hedde sees its success not only in the consistent target group orientation of the campaign, but also in the skillful construction of a story that inextricably links the drink with the event and, together with the claim "It's your home game", was able to generate the necessary sustainability among the fan base. In general, Hedde doubts that it is possible to achieve a breakthrough without sponsorship. He also sees the advertising packages that the organizers put together for their customers as promising.
The Nike brand's "Joga Bonito" campaign showed that there is no silver bullet when it comes to advertising. With its guerrilla look and the hottest world football stars as protagonists, Nike, as a non-official sponsor, was able to achieve a very high perception rate at the World Cup in Germany.
The wave of sympathy, excitement and devotion that swept over Switzerland during the World Cup surprised even the experts. It is the dream goal of every sponsor to be associated with this emotionality, which is almost uncanny by local standards.
However, critics point out that Switzerland is not a traditional football country. What will happen if Switzerland is eliminated early at Euro 08? Does the Swiss national team even have the potential to convey this current euphoric mood in the long term? Erich Vogel, TV commentator, media expert and football consultant, is optimistic: "Swiss football is more professional today than ever before, with around 50 Swiss professionals playing abroad." Vogel sees a willingness among the players to give their all for football. The mentality of the many secondos who play for Swiss clubs and the national team is particularly important for this development.
Game, fun and ...business "Where does all this business leave me?", many a fan at the World Cup in Germany may have asked themselves, having come into contact with Fifa's rigorous sponsorship protection program. The European Football Association (Uefa), which is organizing Euro 08, has also already had various names protected in Switzerland.
So who is more important, the fans or the sponsors? Fifa Head of Communications Markus Siegler: "It is imperative to protect the sponsors, because without the sale of television rights and marketing, there is no football tournament." Mass distribution of promotional items that are not officially approved must be prevented in the interests of the sponsors. However, Siegler emphasizes that these measures should not be seen as harassment: "Individual fans can wear what they want!"
Maila Bermejo

Mobile Advico Young & Rubicam brings the stars of urban music to cell phones for Sunrise The music market is experiencing three megatrends: more and more people are buying their music online, taking it with them everywhere as MP3 files and listening to urban music. That's why Sunrise and Universal Music are launching EAR'Dis, the first prepaid offer for mobile phones with a complete download platform for urban music. The project is considered so "sensational" by the industry that the agency was only able to work out its ideas in the strictest secrecy, and with Sunrise's new offer you can now literally get everything from a single source via your cell phone - from the latest tracks to virtual contact with the stars. And all this "at sensational prices", according to Norbert Egli, Head of Marketing Communication Mobile at Sunrise. The target audience for the new prepaid card is between 9 and 25 years old and will in future pay 5 centimes for a text message or 49 centimes for an hour of phone calls. The full tracks will be available from December 1.
Promoting such a music platform is naturally "an inspiring task" for the creatives at AY&R, as Urs Schrepfer and Daniel Comte are pleased to say as CDs. The benefit can be communicated very gratefully: With EAR'Dis, anyone can get the stars of urban music on their mobile. AY&R is now dramatizing this with TV and cinema commercials that bring this "Star Connection" to life. A virtual journey through a mobile whose inner life is a surreal world of stars is shown. We then exit the device through its screen and see one of the stars speaking to us from the mobile.
World stars appear in the Swiss campaign for EAR'Dis. This was possible because Universal Music has exclusive rights to these stars "and sees Sunrise as the right partner and because the company is strong in the prepaid sector", as consultant Lukas Tenger explains.
Parade of starsThe spot series starts with Akon and his hit single "Smack That", followed by Snoop Dogg with "That's That" and Rihanna with "SOS" and "Unfaithful", says Ivo Sacchi, CEO at Universal Music. Filming took place in Los Angeles, London and Copenhagen. Rihanna, for example, stood in front of the camera for EAR'Dis Backstage just before picking up her "Best R'n'B Act" award at this year's MTV Awards. The films were realized by Zurich-based Marco Lutz, a true insider of the video scene.
The campaign was launched on November 18 and can be seen on Swiss television, in the Swiss advertising windows of foreign private broadcasters and in Swiss cinemas. The campaign is accompanied by a national advertising campaign in youth-specific magazines and popular titles such as SonntagsBlick and 20 Minuten. There will also be a strong presence at Sunrise points of sale, including a star display featuring Snoop Dogg.
Andreas Panzeri