The Swiss Press Council has dismissed the complaint against a documentary broadcast by Swiss television SF as unfounded. The film about water in the program "Horizonte" did not promote a doctrine of salvation. The complainant complained that the Austrian two-parter "Top Secret: Water; on the trail of an inexplicable phenomenon" uncritically reproduced the scientifically unfounded theses on water revitalization by the Austrian Johann Grander. It also advertises a corresponding product. However, as the Press Council explained on Tuesday, this revitalization was referred to as a phenomenon throughout the film. There was also talk of borderline sciences. Viewers would have been able to form their own opinion. Achille Casanova, the DRS ombudsman, came to the same conclusion. Casanova also told the complainant that it was not the task of the Swiss editorial team to re-examine a report bought in from a renowned foreign broadcaster. The Press Council also stated that the documentary was of interest in Switzerland, as Grander's equipment was "surprisingly used in various swimming pools" in the country. The film explicitly points out that the processes in the "water revitalization device ... are hocus-pocus from a scientific point of view". Either the controversial invention is a sensation or a gigantic mass suggestion, the off-screen commentary continues.

Yesterday, Monday, Swiss Post sold its millionth digital stamp. The street marketing campaign promoting the so-called Webstamps has therefore been successful. From spring 2007, Swiss Post intends to further expand the range: It will also be possible to frank letters abroad and parcels with a domestic destination digitally. There will also be a new import option for address data and an image editing function. The previously fee-based business version will be discontinued at the end of February 2007. The web stamp service was introduced for business customers on February 15, 2006 and made available to private users on April 6. Swiss Post currently has 41,000 people using the web franking service. Billing is via the postal account.

The Bern-based advertising agency Polyconsult is delighted. It is now responsible for the BEA/PFERD consumer fair and Chio Chips, the German challenger in the Swiss potato chips market. Both mandates were won in competitive presentations. Work for BEA/PFERD for the 2008-2010 exhibition years will begin in spring 2007, and initial work for Chio Chips is already being planned.

Have you ever looked to see what comes up when you type your name into the Google search engine? This Internet leakage has recently been given the name Googlability. Connoisseurs of the industry know: If you want to be a right-wing "I" company, you also have to cultivate your digital image. Blogs are very much in vogue at the moment, because the prevailing opinion is that they help to achieve positive googlability. Other experts recommend putting as little personal data as possible on the Internet, setting up a permanent self-monitoring system and having compromising material deleted immediately. Links, on the other hand, they consider to be positive, so this increase should be actively worked on. Under the title "Career Killer Google," the German business weekly Wirtschaftswoche has reignited the discussion about the extent to which the urge for self-promotion and exhibitionism, especially in Web 2.0, can permanently ruin job opportunities. The argument: the downside of a CV, failed projects, youthful sins or even slander can be viewed on the WWW by anyone looking for it. Personnel consultants would regularly search for weak points in applications via the Internet. And: every third applicant falls through the cracks because of this web research. Whether however reputation damage was the cause of the displeasure releasing reflection essays to high percentage or other in various on-line guest books, no personnel consultant examines. And there is no patent remedy for enemies who become googlability murderers on the Web. Like much of Web 2.0, Googlability is not tamper-proof. If you don't believe it, google Reiner Fakeman. Profiles have been created for him at various Web 2.0 services and elsewhere on the Internet. There is also a blog, a wish list at Amazon or a Myspace account. Would you hire Reiner Fakeman? He has outed himself as a nerd, likes to cheat and was seen drunk at a party.

The supermarket launched in St. Gallen in January 2006 is going on the advertising offensive with Lammoth Mailkonzept. More discount campaigns and events are planned, especially in December. The latter will run under the motto: "First entertain the customer, then sell the goods." The direct marketing agency Lammoth Mailkonzept is helping the organic market to make the organic trend mainstream, just like in the USA. With experimental marketing, consistent dialog orientation and a holistic lifestyle strategy.

The young private station was delighted on Monday evening. A peak market share of 13.1 percent in the younger target group and an average market share of 9.4 percent in the target group of 15-34 year olds gave it its highest figure since the start of broadcasting. With the first broadcast of the fantasy action thriller "Van Helsing", the channel evidently hit the mark with the audience. In the target group of 15 - 49 year olds, the feature film achieved a market share of 6.3 percent and a peak of just under 10 percent. Monday and Wednesday evenings continue to be dominated by blockbusters and free TV premieres, the channel reports. Further feature film highlights and premieres are to be broadcast in the coming weeks.

As of January 1, 2007, Migros Betriebe Birsfelden AG will be operating under the new company name Delica and will have a new look. The entire corporate identity will be given a new corporate design. The new image is a further step on the road to a strategic reorientation as a pure food company that was initiated two years ago. The new company name Delica can be used internationally and is also reminiscent of terms such as delicatessen and delicious. From January 1, 2007, high-quality gourmet products are to be sold under this name in various sales channels and markets.
Migros Betriebe Birsfelden AG has been a Migros company since 1987. With a total of 358 employees, it generated net sales of CHF 213 million in 2005, exceeding the CHF 200 million mark for the first time. The company owes this positive development in particular to the successful development of the Delizio coffee capsule system.

Advertising on the Internet should influence users even if they do not click on the advertising banner. This is what the online marketing software company DoubleClick claims, citing a recent study. A total of 6,121 adults were surveyed online in July. According to the study, Internet users are reluctant to click on banners to reach a new website. Most would prefer to surf interesting sites on their own instead. Two thirds of those surveyed stated that although they did not react directly to online advertising, they might view the pages later. As a result, the understanding of online advertising is also changing within the advertising industry, writes the New York Times. Up to now, most advertisers would only pay if a banner was actually clicked on. However, this practice is now changing. More and more advertisers are now also paying for the number of users who see an ad, as is the case with television or print advertising.

The record for brand piracy is broken every year - and 2006 will be no exception. As the World Customs Organization (OMD) announced on the fringes of a meeting on the fight against brand piracy in Dakar, the damage caused by the global trade in counterfeit products and the infringement of intellectual property rights is estimated at more than 710 billion dollars. "The trade in counterfeit goods has gone from being a small market to a real industry that kills," said Michel Danet, Secretary General of the 169-member World Customs Organization, according to reports from the AFP news agency. Today, counterfeits already account for 8 to 10 percent of all goods traded on the world market. The chairman of Senegalese customs, Armand Jean-Jacques Nanga, emphasized that the extent of the phenomenon has dramatic consequences in some areas such as the health sector. According to estimates, the trade in counterfeit medicines amounts to around 6 percent of the global pharmaceutical market. The issue of counterfeit medicines, which primarily affects African countries, was therefore high on the agenda at the conference. Other important points included music piracy and the counterfeiting of everyday consumer goods.

Further development of digital radio is currently in full swing. In addition, a new audio coding process in MPEG-4 format for DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting) will soon allow even more programs to be broadcast on DAB than is already possible today. However, before programs or receivers in the announced new format can even be released, an international standard must be in place. This is to be applied for shortly by WorldDMB, the international organization for the promotion of DAB. For those Swiss people who already listen to DAB radio with enthusiasm, however, there is no cause for concern. SRG SSR idée suisse has declared that it will continue to transmit its DAB programs in the current DAB standard. More than that: even the new public service programs, such as the announced information channel of Swiss Radio DRS, are to be introduced in the current format. This will ensure that today's DAB receivers can continue to be used for a long time to come.

After last winter's huge success, Swiss television is launching a new version of the "Ski Challenge" game on its website on November 28. Fans of virtual skiing should get their money's worth again this winter. On offer are the downhill classics of Val Gardena, Bormio, Wengen, Kitzbühl and Are, as a spokesperson for Swiss Television (SF) confirmed on Tuesday at the request of SDA. The five virtual downhill races will be held simultaneously, just like the races on the icy slopes in the Alps and in Sweden. Between the races, the Internet runs can be practiced before qualifying runs are held to earn a starting place for the race weekend. Last winter, the computer game was downloaded 500,000 times from the SF website. 130,000 people actually took part in the races. "Ski Challenge" can also be played on TSR television in French-speaking Switzerland. In addition to offering the game on the Internet, TSR also plans to organize final competitions for the best virtual racers in Lausanne and Geneva at the beginning of 2007. Whether the German-speaking Swiss will follow suit and organize similar events remains to be seen, the spokesperson explained.

Two months after its launch on September 21, 2006, the daily online newspaper Appenzell24.ch has secured its place in the region: up to 2,000 readers visit the website daily, and the articles are accessed around 6,000 times a day. Appenzell24.ch is the first regionally oriented online newspaper in Switzerland that is managed 365 days a year by a professional editorial team. After two months, the media agency insomnia GmbH, as operator of the Internet newspaper, draws a positive conclusion: up to 2000 readers are counted daily, who read an average of three to four articles during their visit. The trend is clearly upward. For the advertisers on Appenzell24.ch, too, the calculation should work out. Since the launch, the ads have been displayed around 3.5 million times and clicked on over 5000 times. This means that more than 5,000 potential customers have been led directly and without media disruption to the company or product being advertised.
Docu-soap on the Internet On January 1, 2007, appenzell24.ch will premiere an "interactive docu-soap". In "The Test", everything revolves around four people who want to realize their New Year's resolutions within eight weeks - and do so before the eyes and with the participation of the readership. The tasks range from stopping smoking and losing weight to finding the woman of their lives. The appenzell24.ch readership is continuously informed about the progress and setbacks of the "examinees".
The online newspaper Appenzell24.ch is a product of the St.Gallen media agency insomnia GmbH and was designed as a complete daily newspaper on the Internet. The editorial team reports seven days a week on events in politics, business, culture, society and sports in the cantons of Appenzell Ausserrhoden and Innerrhoden. The online newspaper is financed entirely through advertisements.