René Worni on the Mostindian press landscape. Almost exactly one year ago, the bidding process for the Thurgauer Zeitung (TZ) between the two competitors from Zurich, NZZ Group and Tamedia, was decided in favor of Tamedia. The NZZ was bitterly disappointed by the sudden greed for money of the TZ shareholders, who simply sold their paper to the highest bidder. The NZZ managers had already developed advanced models of how their St. Galler Tagblatt could cooperate with the Thurgauer Zeitung. And the Thurgau government would also have preferred to see its house paper in the NZZ environment rather than with Mr. Coninx and Mr. Kall. This is because the publishing house, which at least in the past was considered to have a tendency toward left-wing liberalism, does not really fit into the picture. This requires a tentative approach from Tamedia, which otherwise tends to expand rather relentlessly. Preserving the journalistic independence of the Thurgauer Zeitung as a governmental identification paper is therefore the top priority.
Now the cooperation plans between TZ and St. Galler Tagblatt are nevertheless to come true. But the expected synergy gain is not equally great on both sides. The St. Galler Tagblatt is withdrawing from its six-year offensive against the strongly anchored TZ and cutting about ten jobs. TZ is also cutting editorial resources. Instead, both papers are filling each other's gaps with articles from their core areas. 
But is the cooperation purely a matter between the two regional newspapers, as people in Zurich are trying to insinuate? From a journalistic point of view, hardly anything will change, but from an accounting point of view, it will. Tamedia needs favorable solutions for TZ. Coninx is said to have bought TZ for an expensive 60 million, which he cannot refinance with the paper alone.
Cooperation between the TZ and the neighboring Zürcher Landbote is therefore imperative. But before that happens, peace is needed in Thurgau. The cooperation between TZ and St. Galler Tagblatt is therefore nothing more than a - politically correct - non-aggression pact.
René Worni, Editor

The agency, which specializes in PR images, has been strengthened in its consulting team. Ralph Haubensak has been working at Photopress since the beginning of September. The 29-year-old PR specialist with a federal diploma has previously worked for FAF, among others, and most recently as a freelancer.

Agencies SDA is undergoing a process of realignment. It is also examining the NZZ Group's press network idea.Times are constantly changing in the media business. The traditional Swiss News Agency (SDA), based in Berne and run as a cooperative by the Swiss media houses, is also feeling the effects. Last October, something happened that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago. When the agency wanted to cancel the tabloid discount for Blick and SonntagBlick, the two Ringier titles put pressure on the agency and canceled their SDA subscriptions. Ringier would have had to pay double for continued use. The loss tore a hole of around CHF 1 million in SDA's coffers. The fact that a publisher can afford to take this step shows how the ways in which information is obtained have shifted. The exclusivity of news agencies' offerings, which they have by virtue of their networking with the media, is becoming increasingly less important in the wake of the possibilities offered by the Internet. "In the past, the agency was the only institution with such a network," says Bernhard Maissen, Editor-in-Chief and SDA Managing Director. This is why the agency is always looking for new business areas. However, the agency's core business, the basic service for practically all Swiss media houses, accounts for such a large proportion of the total annual turnover of around 28 million francs that it cannot be changed in the short term, says Maissen.
However, SDA's technical platform, which is very familiar in the editorial offices and integrated into the work processes, could be used more widely. Beat Lauber, Managing Director of Freie Presse Holding, a subsidiary of NZZ and PubliGroupe, came up with this idea. Last year, Lauber realized that his press network idea, which he had offered to the editorial offices, had received little or no attention. The essence of the idea is that editorial offices can help themselves to a pool of articles that they feed themselves. This was also intended to create competition among journalists in terms of content, which would increase the quality of the articles and thus go beyond existing manual solutions. The idea did not work because many editorial offices have already made a virtue of necessity due to scarce resources and exchange articles and contributions as required.
Technical stumbling blocksCost pressure and falling advertising revenues led to well-functioning cooperation models and mantel solutions in many places. An independent platform for exchanging articles seemed superfluous. Ultimately, the idea also failed due to its technical implementation. Lauber now wants to launch his press network a second time and has met with interest from the SDA. "We are always interested in new ideas and projects that are congruent with our customers," confirms Maissen. The SDA Board of Directors also recently discussed the idea at its regular retreat. They now want to clarify how great the need is among media companies for an additional service. 
"At first, we didn't think SDA was capable of this, otherwise we would have come up with the idea earlier," says Lauber. By offering journalistic articles via the SDA network, the agency would be bringing the competition into its own house, so to speak. However, Lauber believes that SDA has understood that the Pressenetz idea could enable a change from the traditional SDA offering to other forms of offerings.
Nevertheless, the agency is somewhat cautious. Above all, they do not see themselves in a position to pre-finance such projects. The skepticism is also based on the failure of the idea in practice so far. According to Maissen, the prerequisite would be that the SDA receives a positive response from the larger publishing houses. But Maissen emphasizes: "We might really be the partner that could get such an idea off the ground." 
René Worni

Edgar C. Britschgi, Chairman & CEO Young & Rubicam Switzerland, has been elected President of the Swiss-England Chamber of Commerce.WW: What led to this election? Edgar C. Britschgi: Because our parent company WPP is a British company, some of the agencies have been members of the British Swiss Chamber of Commerce for a long time. When I came back from abroad and joined AY&R, I "inherited" the company membership. And because I usually tackle things the right way or not at all, I soon became Head of the Marketing Committee, then Councillor and since September 1, President of the BSCC. I didn't seek out this responsibility, but I didn't avoid it either.WW: What does this chamber do? Britschgi: The BSCC is the official Swiss-UK Chamber of Commerce, based in Zurich and London. It was founded in 1920 to promote bilateral business relations. Today, the BSCC is one of the most important chambers of commerce and offers its members a wide range of services and advice.WW: Who is a member? Britschgi: Members are companies that maintain business relations in both countries or are planning to do so. These include banks, insurance companies, manufacturing and trading companies, as well as consultants, lawyers, auditing companies and communications agencies. They all benefit from an excellent network and events in the individual chapters. WW: Concrete benefits?Britschgi: In addition to the services for members, the Chamber of Commerce is committed to breaking down any barriers, harmonizing interpretations of laws and smoothing out unevenness in regulations. Members are also increasingly making use of the BSCC's relations with the EU. We maintain active relationships with government agencies, parliamentarians, embassies and business organizations in both countries. Interview: Andreas Panzeri

With five billion advertising francs, the Swiss economy spends comparatively little money on advertising. Despite this, Swiss agencies enjoy an international reputation and are showered with awards. The Handelszeitung got to the bottom of this phenomenon. The Swiss economy is not exactly flush when it comes to advertising budgets. In popularity surveys, the advertising sector always ranks somewhere between police auxiliaries and officers - instead of fines and harsh arrests, advertisers only distribute messages. But according to Markus Ruf from the creative company Ruf Lanz in an interview with the Handelszeitung, "nobody was waiting for this". And yet: Swiss advertising is more successful than ever before, bringing home five Lions from Cannes - more than ever before. The industry seems to have come to terms with the difficult conditions. "Minimize to the Max" was the slogan for the Smart - and it's a similar story for Swiss advertisers. The country's 400 agencies and their 2,500 employees know how to come up with fresh ideas for every budget and this has become their specialty: "The strength of the best Swiss advertisers lies in striking reduction," Markus Ruf sums up.  

Free press According to Wemf, Le Matin Bleu has 218,000 readers at the first attempt. According to a readership study commissioned by the French-speaking Swiss media group Edipresse from Wemf, the commuter newspaper Le Matin Bleu reached an average of 218,000 daily readers in French-speaking Switzerland in the first six months of this year. Its reach is 26.1 percent in Geneva (WG 11) and 25.7 percent in Vaud (WG 12). In the rest of French-speaking Switzerland, where the free newspaper was launched later and more selectively, it still has a reach of 2.2 percent. In terms of age groups, the daily newspaper, which is published five times a week, is particularly popular with the under-34s: 22.3% of them read it regularly and their affinity is high at 137 (compared to the average of 100). Among people aged between 34 and 54, 14.4 percent still pick up the paper from their boxes; among those over 55, 12 percent still do so regularly.
It is interesting to note that women make up 52% of Le Matin Bleu's readers, more than men (48%). This makes the paper "the first daily newspaper to have more female readers than male readers", enthuses Théo Bouchat, Director of Edipresse. According to him, the circulation has increased from an initial 130,000 to more than 150,000 copies per day, which means that Le Matin Bleu currently has 1.5 readers per copy.
Guessing about 20 MinutesThere are still no interim Wemf results from rival newspaper 20 Minutes. However, Wemf interim results for both commuter newspapers are expected for the first time in November.
A - somewhat daring - comparison is permitted at this point: In September 2000, Wemf published an interim study for Zurich lasting only four months, in which it surveyed the values of the then newly launched commuter newspapers Metropol and 20 Minuten as well as the Tagblatt predecessor ZürichExpress. If Le Matin Bleu is measured against the first Wemf figures for 20 Minuten in Zurich, the following can be said: 20 Minuten had 161,000 readers and a reach of 16.4 percent in WG 43 at the time.
Compared to this, Matin Bleu is in a much better position with its reach in WGs 11 and 12. Among the young target group (14 to 34-year-olds), on the other hand, the commuter paper from Edipresse performs rather poorly: 20 Minuten (and also Metropol) achieved a share of 55 percent. In other words: Le Matin Bleu still has potential here - if its competitor 20 Minutes has not already overtaken it in this target group.
The question remains as to how Le Matin Bleu will affect paid titles Le Matin Semaine and Le Matin Dimanche. It is clear that both titles are performing slightly worse than before the launch of Matin Bleu, but the losses are within reasonable limits. Strictly speaking, the figures are not comparable because Wemf now asks precisely for the colors of the titles (orange, blue) in order to avoid confusion.
Nevertheless, Edipresse director Théo Bouchat does not want to gloss over anything: "We don't want to hide behind this methodology: Of course the two Matin titles we sold lost readers. We expected that," he says. But the loss was less than expected. Bouchat: "On the one hand, we have 15,000 fewer readers a day, but at the same time we have gained 218,000. So the launch of Matin Bleu has paid off. The main thing is that we now reach more than 500,000 people every day as expected - except on Saturdays."
   
Markus Knöpfli

Mach Basic 2006-2 Jürg Marquard's Joy is finding more and more friends among Swiss women. In 2002, the German women's magazine Joy switched to pocket format (168 x 223 millimetres) and realigned its content. Since then, its paid circulation has skyrocketed from 200,000 to half a million copies per month. The mix of topics from fashion, beauty, people, men, sex and love, coupled with the practical format for every handbag, was so well received that publisher Jürg Marquard soon pushed ahead with expansion into other countries - including Switzerland. In 2003, Joy was given a Swiss split with its own editorial team, and two years later the magazine was listed in Mach Basic for the first time: With 133,000 readers, it was immediately able to place itself ahead of Ringier's Bolero (117,000 readers at the time). But now Joy has made further gains: Within a year, the readership of the monthly magazine increased significantly by 22.6 percent to 163,000 women, meaning that the small magazine was also able to overtake the larger-format Freundin from the Burda publishing house in terms of reach. The latter lost significant reach in the same period.
At the Freundin publishing house on Arabellastrasse in Munich, people are puzzled by the loss. Advertising manager Anett Hanck finds the result "strange", as nothing has changed in terms of distribution or the fortnightly Swiss split, and circulation is just as high as before. Hanck does not believe that the erosion at Freundin could have anything to do with the rise of Joy.
Albrecht Hengstenberg, Managing Director of Media Verlags Gesellschaft, a subsidiary of Marquard Media, works a few doors down. He also shies away from making a comparison between Joy and Freundin. However, the success in Switzerland shows what is already clear in Poland, Romania, the Czech Republic and elsewhere: "The editorial concept, tone and format of Joy hits the nerve of young, mobile women particularly well," says Hengstenberg.   
Markus Knöpfli

Snacks Advico Young & Rubicam has uncovered the secret of Zweifel potato chips, and surveys from schoolyards to retirement homes prove it: Zweifel potato chips are considered the best in Switzerland. But how does a product get this reputation? Of course: Zweifel attaches great importance to the best ingredients, absolute freshness and flawless processing. But that alone cannot be the reason. Advico Young & Rubicam has therefore gone on the trail of the secret. In a new campaign, the advertisers are now revealing what really lies behind the unique Zweifel quality. "According to an old musician's maxim, you can only play the blues properly if you've felt it yourself," says CD Urs Schrepfer at AY&R. The same wisdom should now also dispel any doubts about maximum enjoyment: "You can only produce absolute quality if you have experienced it yourself," say the bosses in the potato chips kitchen. And so, in the new commercials, Zweifel employees are sent out into the big world. The aim is for them to experience first-hand the absolute freshness or the absolute cracking that characterizes Zweifel potato chips and snacks. One commercial, "Eskimo", shows Zweifel "employees" jumping into a hole in the Arctic Ocean near the North Pole. The logical explanation: "Only those who have experienced absolute freshness can bake the best potato chips."
Another commercial shows an equally committed and curious "employee" somewhere in the hard East during a massage. There he is supposed to feel for himself how real cracking must work when in doubt.
The fact that these excursions are not always a walk in the park shows one thing above all: when in doubt, you really do everything for the best potato chips. And can therefore justifiably call themselves a potato chips expert.
And if you want to find out more about the secret of the potato chips: Zweifel first fried potato potato chips in Rümlang in 1950 and then in Höngg. A production plant from the USA was put into operation as early as 1960. Zweifel now employs 400 people. Every year, they process 17,000 tons of potatoes - mainly from Switzerland - into 5,000 tons of potato chips. They are roasted with sunflower oil.
The commercials will be in use from mid-September. At the same time, the Zweifel teams will also be seen for the first time in various POS measures. A viral version of the "Massage" commercial was launched at the end of August. The commercials were produced by Gapfilms/Nxtfilm and directed by Nic and Sune.   
Andreas Panzeri

Möbel Ikea has a new catalog and is sponsoring the show "Tapetenwechsel" on SF 2, with Unikat providing the communication. The expression "change of scenery" is a catchphrase and stands for a comprehensive change - you want to travel, look for a new job or at least redecorate your home. In a new TV commercial for Ikea, the Küsnacht agency Unikat has taken the word "change of scenery" extremely literally. It shows the living situation of a couple who have obviously been looking for a change of scenery for some time. Many things seem to have fallen asleep, become stuck and boring. "Revitalize your life" is now Unikat's message. It is formulated around a campaign for Ikea Switzerland.
Two humorous spots are used. The first will be used to support the nationwide distribution of the new Ikea annual catalog at the beginning of September. In a second season, the spots will underpin Ikea's TV sponsorship of the new show "Tapetenwechsel" on SF 2, although the "bedroom" idea conceived for this broadcast will remain under wraps until the premiere of the show next Tuesday, September 19. The commercials were produced by Wirz + Fraefel. The concept was created by CD Daniel Meier.
The first film "takes aim at men, who are often phlegmatic in their relationships, including when it comes to furnishing," says Daniel Meier from Unikat. Specifically: In the commercial, the man is once again bored watching TV while the woman studies the new Ikea catalog. Suddenly the woman has had enough and tears down the wallpaper with gusto. And while she is tearing it down, her husband is also drawn into the maelstrom of change. The boring man becomes part of this wallpaper - and is thus disposed of.
This first spot for the launch of the new catalog takes place in a living room. The second spot for the announcement of the Ikea sponsorship on the show "Tapetenwechsel" has the humor take place in a bedroom.
This sponsorship of a TV series is "a first for the furniture industry", says Marketing Manager Carlos Friedrich at Ikea Switzerland. The furniture store is correspondingly excited. For Ikea, this sponsorship is "a new way to reach many people".
New home, new life, new happiness: in "Tapetenwechsel - Das grosse Zügeln", people with housing worries receive help. In seven episodes, a TV team from SF 2, presenter Susanne Kunz and the expert duo Andrin Schweizer and Tatjana Glemser accompany seven very different families on their way to their dream home. The trio not only watches, but also spits into their hands.
Andrin Schweizer, a freelance architect who designed part of Expo.02 as well as Kurt Aeschbacher's "Labor-Bar", is "the interior design conscience of the show", while Tatjana Glemser has made a name for herself as a decorator and outfitter in various advertising films and music videos and, as a professional craftsman, "turns visions into reality". 
The first program portrays a patchwork family in the Basel region. They have to digest a hard blow: After years of living in very cramped conditions, they have barely rented and furnished a house in Münchenstein that suits them all when they are given notice to quit - the house is being sold. But the "Tapetenwechsel" team knows what to do. They join forces to look for a new home and finally find one in Reinach. What comes with them? What is definitely not? The actual moving and furnishing takes place without the family. The emotions are all the greater when the doors to the new home finally open.  
Furnished programIn the TV series "Change of scenery"
the furniture store Ikea can show which living ideas can be easily realized with its range. The contributions work according to the "before and after" scheme and the idea was developed by the people responsible for sponsoring at SF. Contacting Ikea was "obvious and there was immediate mutual interest", according to Ikea's marketing manager Carlos Friedrich. Similar programs sponsored by Ikea are already working with great success in Germany and other European countries.
Ikea was involved in the conception of the program from the very beginning. However, in order to remain independent in accordance with the sponsorship guidelines, the final form had to be developed independently of the TV and its managers.
A website will also be launched as a service to accompany the series. Information, tips and tricks relating to the dream of a new home will be collected here on an ongoing basis. Here the public can also find information on house hunting, tips on moving and ideas on furnishing.
Andreas Panzeri

Anti-ozone, the medicine against high ozone levels, was developed by the agency Startbahn West as the subject for the campaign for the advertising client Gasverbund Mittelland.
The reason for the box of tablets, which contains small natural gas cars instead of tablets, is the beneficial effect that natural gas has on ozone levels. This is because natural gas cars produce significantly less ozone than their gasoline or diesel counterparts.
The package insert lists the other advantages of natural gas: Natural gas also produces no particulate matter and is 40 percent cheaper.
The campaign consists of advertisements and flyers that are distributed at major train stations and squares as well as in parking garages. Reference is also made to the website specially developed for the campaign: Information on ozone and natural gas can be found at www.anti-ozon.ch.

Christoph Blocher is showered with malice in the French-speaking press after his attempt at censorship on TSR television in French-speaking Switzerland. The German-speaking Swiss are simply not used to harsh satire. Meanwhile, the Blocher camp is considering legal action. On Monday, the program "Infrarouge", a French-speaking television debate in the style of Arena, was recorded - the topic of the program was the asylum proposals. On Tuesday, Blocher tried unsuccessfully to remove the caricatures drawn live by Mix & Remix from the program before it was broadcast that evening (see
Christoph Blocher demanded changes to TV program). On Wednesday, the Minister of Justice was the laughing stock of the French press. Le Matin editor-in-chief Peter Rothenbühler told the SDA: "Blocher has completely overreacted, now he's getting his comeuppance". He himself had already been denigrated as a gutter journalist on the show. The German-speaking Swiss certainly don't simply have less humor, Rothenbühler surmises, but satire is already less biting there than in the French culture.
Federal Council spokesman Oswald Sigg confirms that Blocher is not ruling out the possibility of legal action. He could take his case to the Independent Complaints Authority for Radio and Television (UBI) or the Press Council. However, experts believe that the chances of a possible complaint are slim. Press Council Vice President Sylvie Arsever told SDA that Blocher was aware of the rules of the game. He therefore has little chance of being reprimanded, only if the caricatures were "really offensive or defamatory".

According to Nielsen Media Research, gross advertising sales in traditional media rose internationally by 5.2% year-on-year to EUR 12.15 billion in the period from January to August. This was reported by the German industry magazine Werben und Verkaufen. Television continues to be the medium with the highest turnover and even increased by 3 percent to 4.84 billion euros. Radio increased its turnover by 2 percent to 737.7 million. However, print media scored particularly well in the period from January to August: Newspapers increased by 7.3 percent to 3.3 billion euros, while consumer magazines increased by 8.1 percent to 2.54 billion euros. Trade journals also grew internationally, with an increase of 7.4 percent to 285.2 million euros. Posters also improved and climbed by 3.7 percent to 426.8 million euros in terms of gross sales.