The Swiss poster company APG has launched the first Rollingstar installation in wide format F12. The 3.5 square meter backlit advertising space is located in RailCity HB Zurich: in the station concourse, right next to the main entrance to ShopVille. In 2004, Rollingstar200L was introduced in RailCity stations, followed two years later by the first Rollingstar spaces in the street and pedestrian areas in the centers of Switzerland's largest cities. The realization of further F12 Rollingstar areas in major Swiss cities is planned for 2007.

The Zurich agency Spillmann Felser Leo Burnett SFLB wants to encourage Migros customers to get crafting. SFLB has developed a number of unconventional handicraft ideas to introduce customers to the Do it+ Garden Migros range of handicrafts. For example, a felted flacon, a knitted chicken, a painted window and a glass bead glove have been put together on various brochures. The detailed craft instructions, including material and quantity information, can be downloaded from the Internet. An advertisement and a flyer with material vouchers round off the presentation on the subject of "Creative handicrafts".

Digital radio After an unsuccessful advertising campaign a year ago, the SRG is making another attempt with posters and a cinema spot to make digital radio DAB palatable to the public.How many people in Switzerland listen to digital radio is not known. Based on two surveys, Swiss Satellite Radio only knows that ten percent of the 4,000 listeners surveyed own a DAB device. But even if this number is optimistically extrapolated, it results in an estimated value of a few tens of thousands of digital radios; however, this is only a fraction compared to the millions of FM receivers in use. In the course of the next decade, the ratio should turn in favor of digital radio, and FM should even be completely replaced by DAB in the medium term.SRG has a great interest in the early success of digital radio. Since the introduction of the technology seven years ago, the fee-financed broadcaster has invested tens of millions of euros in building up the transmitter infrastructure. Further investments of CHF 49 million are planned up to 2010 (see below).
"SRG is currently using a poster campaign and a cinema spot to draw attention to the benefits of digital radio. The core message is simple and straightforward: listen to pop (or classical, jazz or folk music) anywhere, anytime. "It's all about the initial spark," says Ariane Ehrat, head of communications at Radio DRS. The goal is to "make digital radio reception known and to anchor its advantages in the population.
The posters appear sober to unspectacular. Gray on white, the silhouettes of a jazz trumpeter, alphorn player, conductor, and pop guitarist can be seen in the form of a stylized loudspeaker hole grid. "We were looking for an element that would stay with us for future campaigns; a key visual that hasn't been seen before," says Andy Stäheli of Spillmann Felser Leo Burnett (SFLB), explaining the choice of motif.
With the campaign, the agency commissioned by SRG wants to appeal to people "who want to listen to radio in top quality not only on their stereo, but also when they're on the move". The musicians in the motif stand for the radio programs Swiss Classic, Swiss Pop, Swiss Jazz and Musigwälle 531, which can be received terrestrially exclusively in digital form.
TV commercials without effectA year ago, SRG already wanted to make the new technology palatable to radio listeners. But that went rather wrong. "The TV spots were a rather unfortunate start," confirms DRS communications chief Ehrat. The time was not yet ripe at that time. In addition, functions were advertised that DAB devices in the middle and lower price ranges do not have as standard, such as a pause button to interrupt radio broadcasts and listen to them later.
"With this, we wanted to appeal to technology-savvy early adopters who would then act as multipliers," explains advertiser Andy Stäheli. Apparently, that didn't work. That's why the current campaign does without references to technical bells and whistles. "We now deliberately want to break down potential inhibitions about the technology."
Fee increase due to DAB SRG wants more money
from fee payers: an additional CHF 72 million per year by 2010. The radio and television company recently submitted this request to the Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM). The Federal Council will ultimately decide on a fee increase. The broadcaster wants to use just under one fifth (17 percent) of the requested funds for the further expansion of digital radio. In order to achieve nationwide coverage with the radio standard of the future, the SRG expects total costs of CHF 49 million by 2010. In principle, digital technology is cheaper than broadcasting FM radio waves. What will cost money, however, is the parallel operation of analog and digital infrastructure during a transition phase of about ten years. During this period, listeners are expected to purchase equipment for digital reception and mothball their old radio sets. DRS still considers FM to be the main means of broadcasting radio programs until 2015. After that, DAB is to become the primary distribution vector.
Currently, 75 percent of the Swiss population can receive digital radio, primarily in the major conurbations and along the east-west axis from Lake Geneva to Lake Constance. The commissioning of new transmitter sites is not running entirely smoothly. Due to objections, some antennas could not be put into operation as planned.
 
Nick Lüthi

Gambling Contexta acts as an investment consultant for Swisslos with a campaign for the Euro Millions. Who actually chooses these numbers? Sometimes you have to ask yourself whether everything is above board when you compare your lottery ticket with the numbers drawn. But apparently no one is doing any better. Once again, the jackpot was not hit last weekend. Now 180 million euros are waiting for the next lucky faun.how to get rid of your moneyWhere to go with this money? There are many ways to make your life more enjoyable with such sums. Some particularly original suggestions can currently be read on billboards in German and Italian-speaking Switzerland. Contexta's Euro Millions campaign, for example, recommends that instead of getting annoyed in traffic jams, drivers should simply buy their own highway.
Another tip that Contexta bosses Bene Abegglen and Nadine Borter had no qualms about giving to their copywriters Moritz Staehelin and Samuel Wicki: "Stupid boss? Buy your own company." Why change? Abegglen and his agency also work successfully for the numbers lottery with the claim "Nobody makes more millionaires ...".
In the individual countries, the Euro Millions are operated by the local lottery companies for their own account. The numbers are drawn every Friday at 9.30 pm in Paris. The stakes in all participating countries are pooled. The target is 15 million francs per weekly jackpot. However, the record is now 285 million. In order to statistically crack this pot, 75 million lottery tickets would have to be filled out.
In keeping with the large numbers, Contexta's campaign can be seen not only on classic F12 poster sites, but also as mega posters at selected locations. The image campaign is supplemented by weekly jackpot advertisements and banners, each of which refers to a current topic.
Andreas Panzeri

Magazine The news magazine is visibly recovering after its relaunch The return of the only Swiss-German news magazine Facts to the groove of its founding days in terms of content and form seems to be proving its worth as a concept. In any case, the magazine's advertising market budget is up on the previous year, with a delay in the months of September to November due to the summer slump. "Advertisers have reacted positively to the relaunch," comments Editor-in-Chief Andreas Durisch on the current situation. Good customers have even returned. In the reader market, Durisch speaks of predominantly positive effects. With a stable reach, the trial subscriptions have converted well. Circulation is growing and there have been significantly fewer departures than when the paper was last lifted in 2004. "We are now in a growth phase," Durisch summarizes. However, it has not been possible to reverse the trend in individual sales.
The new Facts has also made good progress in terms of content and the fusion of culture and lifestyle in the new lifestyle section has been well received. "Facts can once again set the tone in terms of content," says Durisch, referring to the special issue on Nineeleven.
Compared to competitor Weltwoche, which Durisch sees mainly in the advertising market, the claim "first the facts and then the opinion" has positioned the paper well, which has proven to be strategically correct after six months. In contrast to Weltwoche, Durisch describes his paper as "more magazine-like". Whether the competition will also manifest itself in terms of content depends on the course taken by the new majority owner Roger Köppel.    
René Worni

Column Journalists never admit the consequences of their double role as information receiver and mediator.In the traffic between journalists and PR people, information is usually exchanged for attention. When economists analyze such "trades," they pay close attention to information asymmetries. They speak of "principal-agent relationships" whenever business partners are unequally informed about the terms of the deal.One side - the "agent" - usually has far more information and "expert knowledge" regarding the barter transaction than the other side - the "principal." Principals can be not only customers but also superiors. The formative aspect of the relationship results from the knowledge advantage of the agent.
If agents behave in a self-interested manner, they will preferably report positive things to their principals, while covering up failures or shortcomings as far as possible. If this happens across several (hierarchical) levels, a distorted, highly embellished image emerges at the top of an organization - in extreme cases, something like the "Honecker effect": As is well known, the last head of state of the GDR had downright Potemkin villages built by his lackeys to reinforce his belief in the country's economic power and leadership.
Similar information asymmetries also characterize the media business. Journalists can be seen - initially - as principals: They are dependent on information made available to them by public relations professionals as their agents.
Conversely, the publics are the principals of the journalists. Media users have little choice but to trust the news offered to them by their agents in the newsrooms. After all, they learn (almost) everything they know about society, and even about the world they live in, from the mass media.
Journalists hardly ever admit to themselves the consequences for the dissemination of information that result from their dual role as principals and agents. Especially when dealing with complex issues such as health care or pension reform, journalists maintain the fiction that they are independent and well informed. For the public, it remains opaque that journalists also understand much of the information only partially and are unable to judge it.
To round off the picture: PR experts also play dual roles as principals and agents. If they are agents with an information advantage in relation to journalists - and also to their superiors or clients - they slip into the "principal" role when they obtain information from specialist departments within the organization, for example, in order to respond to a press inquiry.
Similarly, publishers or top managers in media companies are the principals of their editors-in-chief, who in turn are the principals of department heads and editors. Conversely, journalists, who usually act as agents within the editorial office, become principals in their dealings with news agencies, but also freelancers.
Some of these principal-agent relationships are cascaded. Thus, a cumulative effect is to be feared. In summary, it can be expected that not only news values and audience desires, but also the self-interests of the various agents and principals determine the output - and thus the distortions, over- and underreporting and ultimately concealed facts in news production.
The "blind spots" in media coverage are not just random blind spots. They are usually the result of self-interested behavior. And it is by no means only the PR people, who are often chided by journalists, who have such self-interests.
Stephan Russ-Mohl heads the European Journalism Observatory at the University of Lugano.
The article is based on a lecture with which the author opened this year's Swiss PR Symposium in Zurich.

The Federal Office of Communications has drawn up a television landscape in which 13 concession areas have been put out to tender (see ) - Schaffhausen has been left empty-handed and will be subordinated to Zurich in media terms. A "scandalous proposal", according to Bernhard Seiler, Chairman of the Board of Schaffhausen Television. The proposal for the reorganization of the television landscape takes no account of established structures, regional circumstances and political conditions. It simply lacks an understanding of federalism. The Swiss Press Association presented its proposal for new regulations in the spring (see ). With 14 television licenses, one for Schaffhausen.

Fast food Being chauffeured by a rickshaw like in Thailand? McDonald's Switzerland offers this exotic lifestyle. Passers-by in Basel, Winterthur, Bern, Lucerne and Geneva can take a free rickshaw ride to the nearest restaurant to enjoy McDonald's new Asian specialties. The rickshaw driver will also chauffeur guests to any location in the city center. With this campaign, McDonald's is announcing its Asian weeks. The promotion lasts until November 12.

Airport advertising The advertising alliance of eleven major airports in German-speaking countries aims to create a new, standardized type of advertising. "Airport advertising represents a new, efficient type of marketing for brands and companies," says Jens Hassler. He is co-founder of the new initiative and Head of Advertising, Media and Marketing at Munich Airport. "We offer campaign presence for a target group of around 200 million passengers." In addition to the nine major airports in Germany, Vienna and Zurich also want to join the new advertising community. The marketing managers of the various airports plan to meet in Munich on November 9 for the inaugural meeting. Standardized format makes it possibleThe aim is to offer the national and international advertising market a new type of "airport communication" in the 4/1 format (1.75 m ¥ 3.6 m), the most common throughout Europe. Hassler: "This will make it possible to place advertising campaigns in all major airports in Germany, Austria and Switzerland." On average, these reach a target group of up to 20 million passengers per month.
This target group is highly sought-after in communications, as around half of passengers are high-income business travelers. The Munich business traveler, for example, has a monthly net household income of 3650 euros. By comparison, the target group of Managermagazin readers is classified as having a disposable monthly income of 3200 euros.
The aim is to market the new "Airport Connection" as an in-house solution. This means that one contact person in the group will be responsible for offers and bookings. It is not yet clear how many backlit CLP showcases the eleven airports will bring to the joint market.
The decision in favour of the standardized illuminated poster also meant the end of the famous parallelograms in Munich. Invented by German advertising guru Michael Schirner, the slanted billboards, inclined at 64 degrees, caused a sensation at the new Franz Josef Strauss Airport from 1992. "This creative idea has stood the test of time for 14 years," says Marketing Manager Hassler. "But we have to move with the times, and that means format standardization."
Double-digit sales growthThe new "Airport" advertising category gives the terminals at the eleven airports the opportunity to jointly generate new customers and sales. On the other hand, the community does not want to restrict the individual regional offers. Floor graphics, advertising on the baggage carousel and 3D installations are already generating good marketing sales at the airports.
A look at the airports' order books shows just how interesting airport advertising has already become for major international brands in the individual booking process. Frankfurt, for example, generated marketing revenue of around 18 million euros last year. Munich is in second place with around 12 million in advertising revenue.
Exclusive environment and well-off target groups: Frankfurt and Munich (50 and 30 million passengers respectively) lead the new "airport connection". With an annual passenger volume of 17.2 million, Zurich is ahead of Vienna with 14.8 million passengers. The founders of the advertising initiative hope that new, joint marketing will bring the individual members a double-digit percentage increase in turnover.

Lucerne at the Munich Airport AwardWith their campaign
"Travel refreshed" for Coca-Cola, the Lucerne agency Planet Kommunikation und Gestaltung caused a sensation at the Munich Airport Award 2006. The Munich Award honors the best advertising campaigns at airports in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The winners of the year were chosen on October 26, and the jury received a record total of 147 entries. Airport advertising is playing an increasingly important role not only in Switzerland," says Peter Frey, co-founder and creative director of the Lucerne-based full-service agency Planet. The Lucerne-based agency designed large illuminated panels for its client Coca-Cola at Zurich Airport. According to one of the jury members, the Swiss team came out on top with their "Travel refreshed" campaign. However, they were denied a shortlist or medal place.
For Peter Frey, who co-founded the Planet Kommunikation und Gestaltung agency in 1998, this is no reason for resignation. The agency has enough starting points for "advertising to take off". In addition to the Coca-Cola Group, its clients include Luzerner Kantonalbank, Bucherer and CSS Versicherung.
Peter Ehm

The Lausanne-based agency Trio has won the budget for the national launch campaign for the new CR-V, Honda's third-generation SUV (Sport Utility Vehicle). Trio was able to prevail against two major agencies. From January 2007, this new model will be promoted with a broad-based advertising campaign, direct marketing and PR. Trio has been handling all communications for Honda Motorcylces since 2005. One of the advertisements recently won the "Grand Prix de la Création Romande".

Campaign Whatever happens, whatever the viewers are interested in: TeleZüri's fast VJs are there to report from the scene. This is reflected in the rising viewer numbers. The good media figures and the current broadcasting environment guarantee advertising success on TeleZüri. The fact that TeleZüri is the station with the fastest news and the unbeatable advertising rates is dramatized by the Zurich agency Cavegn Werbung in the current advertising campaign in a way that is as convincing as it is surprising. Because the TeleZüri VJs are even faster than their shadow. Even the Daltons from the Wild West are amazed.

Airport The new airport outlet at Zurich Airport offers top brands at low prices. Ruf Lanz has come up with an ingenious new advertising medium to draw the attention of passengers and airport visitors to this inexpensive shopping opportunity: the pick-up sign. You are greeted by elegantly dressed gentlemen holding up a name badge. Only it doesn't say Mr. Meier or Mr. Müller as usual, but Mr. Scrooge McDuck. Or Mr. Lidl. Or Mr. Aldi. In other words, names that are known for their pronounced thriftiness. It's clear that everyone takes a closer look at such names. And reads the actual advertising message underneath: The new airport outlet offers top brands at low prices.