In the battle for supremacy in the canton of Thurgau, the major Zurich publishers want to agree a territorial solution and even cooperate editorially. This comes as a surprise, as Tamedia's Thurgauer Zeitung (TZ) and the St. Galler Tagblatt, which belongs to the NZZ Group, have been engaged in a veritable feud for supremacy in the canton of Thurgau. Now the end seems to be within reach: According to research by the Aargauer Zeitung, a contract is to be signed on September 15 that will divide the territory between the rivals. The west, with the districts of Frauenfeld, Weinfelden, Münchwilen, Diessenhofen and Steckborn, is the catchment area of the Thurgauer Zeitung, and the east, with Arbon, Bischofszell and Kreuzlingen, that of the St. Galler Tagblatt. There are also plans for editorial cooperation on the basis of an exchange of articles or even pages.
Both companies are keeping a low profile. The Tagblatt at least confirms the contacts, but says that nothing is ready to be decided yet. The TZ is surprised. Previous developments would have suggested a closer cooperation with the Landbote, where Tamedia is already involved in advertising, printing and distribution - for reasons of economy (see
Thurgauer Zeitung and Landbote are negotiating a cooperation). If the deal between Tamedia and the NZZ Group comes to fruition, the savings potential would be extended to the editorial offices, which is why even job cuts would become an issue. The St. Galler Tagblatt would also have to say goodbye to its goal of becoming a major daily newspaper for Eastern Switzerland.

Television stations abroad have been doing it for a long time. The conflict between publishers and Swiss television SF regarding the Tagesschau news portal is currently simmering on the back burner. The parties are still waiting for a decision from Bakom, where a complaint from the Swiss Press Association is pending. In the meantime, SF has taken a step towards the publishers - albeit unintentionally and without ulterior motives.Since August 21, the night edition of Tagesschau has been showing close-ups of the front pages of up to four Swiss daily newspapers. "The introduction of this press review as part of the upgrading of the night edition of the Tagesschau did not happen against the background of the conflict between publishers and Swiss television," says Heiner Hug, Editorial Director of the Tagesschau. Rather, this was an editorial decision.
The idea of showing what the press writes the evening before or early in the morning is nothing new. Numerous foreign television stations, such as RAI or Euronews, have been doing this for years. According to Heiner Hug, SF simply didn't come up with the idea of introducing such a section earlier. "If the press review is perceived as advertising for the newspapers presented, I think that's great."
After all, up to 100,000 pairs of eyes watch the late edition of the news program on peak days. At present, around a dozen Swiss-German daily newspapers send the front page of the next day's edition to the Tagesschau editorial team by 11pm. There is simply not enough time for a profound analysis of what has been written before the broadcast starts at 11.45 pm. "Our press review is therefore not comparable to that on the radio," says editorial manager Hug.
Swiss press reacts positivelyThe Swiss Press Association is positively surprised by this new program element. "We appreciate this kind of coexistence," says Daniel Kaczynski, Managing Director of the publishers' association. After all, the press also regularly draws attention to the Swiss television program.
However, this "positive signal" does not change the fact that publishers are still hoping that Bakom will put Swiss television in its place and formulate clear rules on how far the content on the www.sf.tv website may extend. In this context, the ordinance on the new Radio and Television Act, which provides for a ban on advertising and sponsorship in "other journalistic offerings", i.e. on SRG websites, is entirely in the interests of publishers.
Ambivalent relationshipSRG and Swiss publishers have an eventful history when it comes to press reviews. When the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation was founded in 1931, the concession stipulated that SRG stations (at that time only radio) were only allowed to obtain the raw material for their information broadcasts from the Swiss News Agency. Swiss radio was prohibited from expressing opinions. This also meant that there was no scope for a press review - because such a review would have conveyed opinions, those of the newspapers.
When the licensing regulations were later relaxed and nothing would have stood in the way of a press review, publishers reacted with skepticism or even rejection. They feared that the excerpts of newspaper articles presented would deter radio listeners from reading the newspaper, as they had already heard the content.
Nick Lüthi

Bland uniformity, logistical problems and now an overburdened distribution system. The first casualty in the Danish free newspaper battle is quality. Denmark has 5.3 million inhabitants and four, soon to be five, free daily newspapers. The battle for readership and advertising figures is correspondingly intense. The publishers of the new free papers 24timer and Dato no longer just wanted to have their newspapers distributed, but to deliver them free of charge to 500,000 Danish households. But as Diepresse.com now reports, the publishers were unable to keep their promises - both distribution systems failed, leaving readers with nothing but frustration in their letterboxes. It would have been frustration in the letterbox if the distribution had worked - the newspapers are not even convincing their publishers and there is also a problem with up-to-dateness: not even the result of the international football match the previous evening was reported.
A bad start to the hot Danish newspaper fall for the two traditional publishers Berlingske and J.P./Politiken. Both free papers were launched when the Icelandic group Dagsbrun announced that it wanted to repeat the success story of the free paper Nyhedsavisen in Denmark (see
The international battle in the free newspaper market). The paper will be launched in a few weeks, until then the locals have time to fix their glitches 

Football HessKiss gives the FC Zurich Academy a grand entrance Where can the Dzemailis of tomorrow learn to kick a ball? Founded in spring 2006, the FCZ Academy is FC Zurich's youth development project. It offers young, talented footballers a holistic and comprehensive education both on and off the pitch. The aim is to prepare the stars of tomorrow in the best possible way so that they can one day make the leap into the national teams and the Super League. Bundle of measuresHessKiss, the long-standing in-house agency of the current Swiss champions, was commissioned to provide communications support for the forward-looking project. The result is a bundle of special measures for the special training program - all under the motto "Be the Best!". The main tool is an information brochure with the look of a slate, in keeping with the training theme.
The information about the Academy is peppered with spectacular photos of FCZ juniors in action. The boys and photographer Jonathan Heyer obviously enjoyed the additional shooting practice for the photos! In addition to the brochure, a homepage was designed in the same concise style and will be launched in the next few days:
www.fcz-academy.ch. Andreas Panzeri

Kunst Stroschein Kommunikation has created an imaginative campaign for the Museum Tinguely. "Museums are not really exciting very often and advertising for exhibitions in museums is even rarer," says Ann-Margit Stroschein from the communications agency of the same name in Basel. Either too much respect stands in the way of the advertisers. Often it is also because the budget is too small. Or the creatives are hindered by "overly stubborn curators and art historians". The "Bonnie & Clyde in Art: Niki & Jean" campaign has not had to overcome any of these barriers. The Tinguely Museum in Basel is also generally a little livelier, which is simply owed to the patron.
This museum is different: it rattles, squeaks, crashes and puffs. Colorful scrap rotates, lamps in all colors flash. Liveliness, laughter, amazement, discovery in a place that sets the senses in motion and where art comes to the viewer. The exhibition celebrating the tenth anniversary of the museum is all the more so: For the first time, the explosive artistic and romantic relationship between Jean Tinguely and Niki de Saint Phalle has been explored in an exhibition.
The highlight of Niki and Jean's life is their intensive artistic collaboration. Each is sometimes collaborator, sometimes advisor to the other, instigator and co-creator: Tinguely often assists Niki with technical support, while Niki spurs Jean on with creative ideas: "You could add a few feathers ..."
Both artists maintained a lively correspondence throughout their lives. These letters reveal the intensity of their relationship, but also the friendships that connected them with others. The exhibition is dedicated to the individual and joint life and work of Niki de Saint Phalle (1930-2002) and Jean Tinguely (1925-1991). It celebrates the "Bonnie and Clyde of art", as both artists were introduced by a TV presenter in the United States in 1962.
"Niki & Jean, l'Art et l'Amour" is a joint project of the Sprengel Museum Hannover and the Tinguely Museum Basel, with the support of the Niki Charitable Art Foundation San Diego. 
Museum director Guido Magnaguagno and curator Andres Pardey also chose "a battle-hardened team" for the communication, as they put it: Ann-Margit Stroschein and Urs Eberhardt from Stroschein Kommunikation were both previously the chief creatives at the Cash advertising agency.
They convinced the museum with an unconventional proposal: the explosive presentation of photos, joint works, happenings, love letters and jokes of all kinds from Niki and Jean are presented as if in a movie. Bonnie & Clyde, simply in art.
Instead of the classically dignified and boring F4 culture poster, four different graphic designers were allowed to create a total of six different motifs based on the commercial cinema look. And, of course, the cinematic advertising idea also goes into the cinema itself: Absolutturnus distilled an exciting 30-second clip from endless hours of film and TV footage shot about Niki and Jean in the 1960s.
The message was well received by the cultural editors and a large crowd at the vernissage. After just three days, the posters for the sold-out museum store had to be reprinted.   
Andreas Panzeri

The Aarau agency celebrated its 15th anniversary on August 31. The celebration also marked the start of a strategic repositioning of the popular agency. Over the past 15 years, the agency has made a name for itself with creative live communication concepts for Siemens, Rivella and FIFA, among others, and has now changed its name slightly: from Interaction Concept to Interaction Communications. While many agencies concentrate on essential core services, Interaction is expanding its services. Over the years, the classic communications services have been supplemented by others in the areas of marketing, advertising, public relations, executive coaching, management consultancy and graphics. The agency took the 15-year anniversary as an opportunity to redefine its services and its image.  

Cookbook Children and young people are getting fatter and fatter. That's why Schtifti, a foundation for social youth projects in Switzerland, has created a cookbook especially for young people. The collection of recipes was designed by the advertising agency Spillman/Felser/Leo Burnett AG. With the slogan "Now young people like to cook too. With our cookbook", Schtifti wants to sensitize children and young people to a healthier lifestyle.
The colorful volume contains a theoretical section that provides many tips on proper nutrition and sufficient exercise in everyday life. There are also recipes to help you eat a balanced and varied diet.

24% of the Swiss population will at least occasionally watch television on their cell phones by the end of 2010. According to a study by Mediareports Prognos entitled "Mobilkommunikation 2010", mobile TV is even more popular among Germans (26%) and Austrians (31%). However, a key prerequisite for growth in the number of subscribers is a rapid agreement between cell phone providers, TV broadcasters and politicians on viable business models, according to a press release from Mediareports Prognos. According to the report, there is hardly any competition for the TV in the living room from cell phones. The average daily viewing time on the small screen of a cell phone is likely to be 5 to 10 minutes.
However, Handy TV is set to become an important service in the mobile multimedia world by 2010. The average consumer is likely to pay 3 euros (4.7 francs) for the fun. Prognos estimates that mobile TV will account for just under 10 percent of mobile data revenues in 2010. However, growth is likely to continue at this time.

The advertising agency Jung von Matt (JvM) has been awarded the PR mandate for the lingerie brand Agent Provocateur in Switzerland. Following an agency evaluation, AP Fashion opted for the Zurich agency. The British label is opening its first Swiss store with seductive lingerie and sexy accessories at Bärengasse 10 in Zurich in October. In view of this, the five-strong public relations unit at Jung von Matt is working on the implementation of a PR campaign. 

The US film and television company Warner Brothers has founded a new unit for digital advertising. The unit, called "Studio 2.0", will create short-form content for broadband and mobile platforms. According to the American advertising industry trade magazine Advertising Age (Ad Age), Warner Brothers' entry into the digital advertising business represents the most aggressive move by a Hollywood studio towards the advertising industry to date. Richard Rosenthal from Young & Rubicam will take over the management of the new unit, it is reported. The strategy has not yet been determined. There is neither a concrete plan nor a business plan, Rosenthal told Ad Age. The advertising will presumably be placed on the US online service AOL and licensed for other websites and wireless providers. AOL and Warner Brothers are two of seven independent companies within the Time-Warner Group.

The St. Gallen direct marketing agency Lammoth Mailkonzept is advertising for the Intercantonal National Lottery Swisslos for the fifth time. The mandate includes TV commercials, advertisements, POS posters and PR in Blick, SonntagsBlick and Schweizer Fernsehen SF. The focus of the campaign is on direct marketing. The DM campaigns with mailings, inserts and insert ads will start in October. Swisslos launches sales on November 7, 2006.

A motion against sexist advertising in public spaces was submitted on Tuesday. It calls on the Aargau cantonal government to take measures to ensure that sexist advertising is no longer permitted on public property, on private property that can be seen from there and on public buildings.
The motion was submitted by EPP member of parliament Lilian Studer. She is referring to the rape of a five-year-old by two pupils in Rhäzüns GR. The reasoning behind the motion is obvious: how children and young people deal with sexuality also depends on what they are given. Parents hardly have any influence anymore, as children see almost everything in advertising messages.

Sexualized environment According to the motion's justification, the sexualized environment also includes billboard advertising, which is public, accessible to everyone and cannot be overlooked. According to the SDA news agency's report, society has recently been flooded with advertising that makes unrestrained use of sexual stimuli to sell its products.

Gender roles are presented on billboards - particularly offensive are those that show women as mere sex objects. Even if this advertising does not directly incite violence, it results in young people being overwhelmed by the sexualized environment. It is therefore important to draw boundaries.