Following lively discussions last week, German publishers have now decided to introduce seasonal advertising rates after all. According to a report in the industry trade journal Werben und Verkaufen, the pioneers include medium-sized companies as well as large publishers. The Association of German Magazine Publishers (VDZ) is now adapting the procedure for publishing prices due to the changed situation.
In future, there will be double-entry bookkeeping. In addition to the newspapers that operate as before, the magazines that charge seasonally will be marked separately in new overview lists. However, an average price calculated from two to three time zones will be shown.

The seasonal rates, which apply to all format sizes and special advertising formats, will be detailed from mid-September. The complete rate information should be available from October 1.

In future, local radio stations Radio Grischa and Radio Engadina will have to pay less for the shared use of Swisscom Broadcast's broadcasting infrastructure. The Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM) has reduced the prices for the Graubünden stations by 30 percent. The local radio stations had approached Bakom with a corresponding application after Swisscom had terminated the contracts at the end of 2000 and raised the prices for the shared use of the transmission masts and the associated infrastructure. In the first of several pending proceedings, OFCOM has now reduced the prices charged by Swisscom up to the end of 2000 by 30 percent. Swisscom Broadcast can appeal against the decision to the Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC).

International In the USA, outdoor advertising was long regarded as the poor relation of the advertising industry. More liberal regulations, TV spot fade-outs
TiVo and new technologies are helping the
Until recently, billboards along highways were not permitted in many US states. Television was clearly the most important medium for advertisers. But that is now a thing of the past. The industry's revenues have more than doubled in the last 15 years, reaching a record 6.3 billion dollars in 2005. And according to a study by auditing firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, business is set to increase by a further 26 percent over the next two years. "The stepsister has become a real Cinderella," says Stephen Freitas, Head of Marketing at the Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA), commenting on the development. Popular "street furniture "The reasons for the growth are manifold: in the TiVo age, where TV advertising can be easily skipped by using the digital hard disk recorder, advertisers are looking for new ways to reach consumers. And outdoor advertising is the only area that customers cannot avoid by zapping away or switching off.
The biggest players in the USA are ClearChannel Outdoor, the French group JCDecaux and CBS Outdoor, all of which are also active in Europe. However, outdoor advertising is much more widespread in Europe than in the USA. "Unlike many US cities, Europe's metropolitan areas have an urban center and a much better public transport network than in America," says Coline McConville, CEO of ClearChannel Outdoor Europe in London. "This has allowed outdoor advertising to establish itself earlier."
The new boom in the USA has been made possible above all by more technologically sophisticated forms of outdoor advertising. In addition to billboard advertising, which still accounts for 62% of outdoor advertising, the industry has now identified other advertising media: Transit advertising on means of transport such as buses and cabs now accounts for 19 percent of outdoor advertising, while so-called street furniture - i.e. advertising at bus stops, kiosks or in shopping centers - accounts for 14 percent. The remaining five percent is made up of alternative forms, such as digital displays in elevators, advertising in leisure resorts and colorfully designed manhole covers.
Striking response campaigns Industry representatives are particularly proud of the technological innovations that have found their way into advertising. Interactive technologies using Bluetooth software in particular are on the rise. One of the most spectacular campaigns last year was an award-winning electronic billboard from Nike iD, a Nike subsidiary, which allows customers to design a personalized shape for their sports shoes. The wall spanned 23 floors of the Reuters building in New York's Times Square.
Passers-by were prompted by a notice on the wall to dial a toll-free number and were then instructed to design their own shoe using their cell phone: they could select the model, color and size and then see the finished product on the billboard. "Pretty cool," recalls Matt Howell, Executive Producer of the project at R/GA in New York, the agency responsible for developing the technology. "It's fun and puts the client in control." Users then received a text message with a link to buy the shoes. Although the sports outfitter does not disclose exact user numbers, the project received enormous media coverage. "Nike iD is about self-expression and we used Times Square as our world stage," says Howell.
Accuracy has its priceA project by the leader ClearChannel Outdoor, which installed seven electronic billboards with an LED display on the highways around Cleveland/Ohio last summer, also caused a stir in the industry. In addition to ClearChannel, competitors CBS Outdoor, JCDecaux and Lamar Advertising have also used LED walls. The advantage of this technology is that the advertising on it can be changed continuously. It even changes every eight seconds during rush hour in the evening. This makes it possible for advertisers to display promotions that are limited in time or to advertise a sale or special offer. Local and regional marketers are particularly interested in this.
But it also has its disadvantages: "This technology is very expensive and therefore has to be set up in places that are frequented by a large audience," says McConville. After all, they cost between 200,000 and 600,000 dollars per "billboard", whereas a simple poster only costs 20,000 to 60,000 dollars. But for marketers who can afford it, LED offers an unbeatable advantage: "Companies can tailor their messages to a specific audience and really get them interested in their product," says Freitas. And the best thing about it is: "You don't have to build up a readership first. It simply already exists."  
 
Gerti Schön

Swiss television no longer has a late-night show. There will be no more episodes with immediate effect. The reason given is the lack of development after the summer break. It had been expected that the late-night show would take another step forward after the summer break. However, the slot on SF2 is now occupied by the series "Dr. House".
Gabriela Amgarten, Head of the Entertainment Department, made the right decision. Not only did the market share of the first episode after the summer break leave a lot to be desired, but the viewers who watched the show also expressed negative opinions about what they had seen in online polls and weblogs.
Like Fidel S. Stöhlker, for example, who posted the following on the Stöhlker blog on Wednesday morning: ""Black'n'Blond" was doomed to fail right from the start. Kilchsperger is a TV talent who really only lacks the polish and understanding for the general public. He is a little "Kuttner" for me, who must not miss his chance. Von Rohr's time is long gone. A bum look with a headscarf and super flat slogans don't belong on television. So, spare us von Rohr at last. Krokus was great, the rest was just "no Dräck"."

Just a few weeks after its launch on October 17, 2005, the self-produced show came under fire from critics. The Audience Council, for example, criticized the lack of wit and esprit. The sayings and gags were stupid, mostly of a questionable standard and sometimes inhuman. Nevertheless, the late-night show achieved an average market share of 12.4 percent and 96,000 viewers - not a bad result at all. 70,000 viewers watched the show on Monday.

The press release from Swiss television takes the tone of justification for trying again. "A late night is one of the most difficult formats and always an experiment. It was clear from the outset that "Black'n'Blond" would cause controversy," says Head of Entertainment Gabriela Amgarten. But they wanted to give the show the time it needed to develop.
However, the necessary time is now over. "We were not satisfied with Monday's show. "Black'n'Blond" did not develop as we would have liked", Amgarten is quoted as saying in the press release from Schweizer Fernsehen. After thorough analysis, Schweizer Fernsehen has drawn the line under the late-night experiment.

The time has come in a few hours. On Thursday, August 31, 2006 at 7:52 p.m., the new Swiss private channel 3+ will go on air. The first few seconds of broadcasting on 3+ will belong to presenter Viola Tami. After a first advertising block on 3+, "Goldeneye" is broadcast. At 22:12, the first 90-second "3+ News" with Eva Camenzind will be broadcast, followed by "3+ Weather" with Peter Wick.even more detailsBroadcasting boss Dominik Kaiser announced a few more details to the Aargauer Zeitung. For example, "Switzerlands Next Supermodel" will go on air in spring 2007. According to Kaiser, the program also includes a supernanny documentary soap, an improv comedy show and a knowledge show. When asked who was financing this mainstream program for the 15-49 year old audience, Kaiser replied that there was no "ominous investor". He himself owns 89 percent of the company. The only question that remains is who owns the remaining 11 percent.
New employeesShortly before the launch, the TV company announces new employees. Meteo man Peter Wick (Weather, TeleZüri) has been brought on board for the "3+ Weather" program. Wick will be supported by the two weather fairies Susanne Huber and Marisa de Vita.
The technical director is Steve Handke. He is the former Chief Operator and Head of Production at VIVA. Together with Swissmediapartners/Askforit, he has been responsible for the technical development and operation of 3+ since the beginning.
Stephan Klebe has been recruited as Head of Media Research. Klebe's career began at GfK Fernsehforschung in Nuremberg. He then worked as a media research consultant for various new broadcasters in Luxembourg, Sweden, Poland, Hungary and elsewhere. In his current role as Head of Media Research, he has already been responsible for RTL in Cologne and Sat.1 in Berlin.
Monica Gomez will take over the market management of 3+. She worked for almost four years at IP Multimedia as Product Manager for ProSieben and Kabel1 and most recently as Head of Product Management. Prior to this, she worked in back office and sales at Eurosport.
Claudia Wintsch is responsible for the media office. Wintsch worked for four years as a promotion manager at Sony Music and for a further three years as a press officer for the studio Sony Pictures (formerly Columbia Pictures) at the movie distributor Buena Vista International.

According to data from the Jobpilot index, job advertisements on the Internet reached a record level in July 2006. The index rose 16 points to 126 points compared to April. This is the highest level to date and clearly surpasses even the boom phase five years ago. Not only have job advertisements on Internet job exchanges increased (+ 11 points), but the number of jobs on companies' own websites has also risen massively (+ 26 points).
Online lead over print The print index calculated by the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland and comparable with the Jobpilot index fell by 3 points to 38 points in the current quarter. The reason given for the slight decline is that job vacancies in the print media tend to fall more sharply in the summer quarter than on the Internet.

Picture: jobpilot.ch

According to Valais cheesemakers and milk producers, there is only one raclette cheese. The one from Valais. Yesterday they went to the Federal Court to protect their cheese. This means that the nine-year-old tug-of-war over Valais raclette is now entering its final round. The Valais Milk Association appealed to the Federal Supreme Court against the decision of the Appeals Commission of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs (Reko EVD), which ruled that raclette was not a name for a Valais product (see Trademark dispute: The term "raclette" is not protected). The Federal Supreme Court must now decide whether "Raclette" should be protected as a designation of origin for Valais cheese or whether it should be downgraded to a generic term. The Valaisans are demanding that the term "Raclette" may only be used for cheese from the Valais in future - as "Raclette A.O.C". The Valais milk producers believe they have a good chance of getting their request accepted.

To mark its eleventh anniversary, Star TV is giving itself a new look. The completely revised CI was overseen by Jörg Rindlisbacher and designed in collaboration with Primetime. With its new image, Star TV wants to show "that we are still innovative, strong, fast and bold", according to CEO Paul Grau of Switzerland's oldest private broadcaster still in operation. The logo, the animation of the broadcast logo, advertising bumpers, trailers and program information have all been redesigned. The new appearance will be communicated with an image spot and a print campaign. The slogan is: "Five Star Entertainment". In addition to the commitment to quality, this is also intended to express the fact that Star TV divides its programs into five different focal points. The new design is intended to make this structure immediately recognizable for viewers and thus more visible on screen than before.

Regional press Tamedia's regional strategy for the Tages-Anzeiger becomes concrete in November - an interim assessment. "There is nothing that could stand in the way of our plans," says Rolf Bollmann, publishing director of the Tages-Anzeiger since January. The unruly former "Mister 20 Minuten", who turned the free newspaper into the most successful print title in the country within six years, was brought into the company management by Tamedia CEO Martin Kall at the second attempt. In line with the company strategy, he is to anchor the Tamedia flagship more firmly in the core area and boost its growth in the region. The procedure is familiar: Four new regional editorial offices based on the model of a crew that has been working on the left bank of the lake in Wädenswil since March 2005 - a total of 65 new jobs - are to be created in Bülach, Uster, Stäfa and at the headquarters on Werdstrasse in Zurich. Further Tagi local editions in the Limmat Valley and in Winterthur are conceivable, but are not currently under discussion, according to Bollmann. The editorial and publishing teams have largely assembled and the offices are ready to move into. "In a weekly interview with Werbewoche last January, the busy publishing director explained how he intends to bring his competitors, in particular the rural newspapers around the lake belonging to the NZZ, to their knees. However, he has not yet been able to push through the favored advertising combination of Tages-Anzeiger and 20 Minuten internally. "This combination would have an unbeatable reach and an excellent target group," says Bollmann. He wants to tackle the weakness of the Tagi in its core area, as 20 Minuten has overtaken the Tages-Anzeiger in terms of advertising in Zurich. In Bern, Basel, Lucerne and St. Gallen, on the other hand, the traditional newspapers are far stronger than Tamedia's free paper. Even today, Bollmann makes no secret of the fact that the decision-making processes at the Tages-Anzeiger are too slow for him - one of the reasons why the aforementioned advertising combination has not yet materialized. "If I take stock after more than half a year at the Tagi, I'm not satisfied with what we've achieved," says Bollmann, who used to "step on the gas" at 20 Minuten.
A fundamental difficulty of the forthcoming regionalization of the Tages-Anzeiger remains the triage between topics that appear in the regional sections and those that appear in the Zürich-Bund. This is particularly accentuated in the city of Zurich, where the Tagblatt also covers certain topics. "There will be discussions every day about what we should publish in the city split and what in the Zürich-Bund." Close cooperation between the editorial teams is a matter of course.
As Chairman of the Board of the Tagblatt der Stadt Zürich, Bollmann knows what he is talking about. "It's clear that we don't want to cannibalize the Tagblatt with the new local section," says Bollmann. Tamedia holds 60 percent of the Tagblatt, the rest is held by NZZ. Apparently, a solution acceptable to the NZZ has been found, as he expects the green light from the city authorities for a planned repositioning of the Tagblatt, which will continue to function as an official publication, by the end of August (see also WW 29/06).
The regionalization is accompanied by a revision of the Tagi appearance. An initial concept for changing the layout with new reader guidance, a completely redesigned culture section, new fonts and even a new title head was rejected by the Board of Directors as too progressive. "Readers are sensitive, the smallest change is difficult if it goes against their habits," says Bollmann. But the project remains topical. Readers should first get used to the new regional sections. As early as January, work will continue on a gentle renovation of the paper.
NZZ wants to launch press network againPressenetz,
The pool developed by the NZZ for the exchange and purchase of journalistic articles has not met with the intended response from regional newspapers in its current form. The idea is for interested regional titles to feed the pool with their own texts and cover a certain demand for content themselves.
On the one hand, this is intended to promote editorial exchange and, on the other, to make journalistic content more affordable for publishing houses that have come under increasing cost pressure in recent years.
So far, however, hardly any regional newspapers have made use of the newly developed electronic tool. "The editorial offices do not use the tools to automatically integrate larger circles of the regional press," confirms Beat Lauber, member of the management board of NZZ and head of the regional newspapers combined in the NZZ subsidiary Freie Presse Holding. The editorial offices largely solve their needs bilaterally.
In particular, the Zurich regional newspapers belonging to the NZZ Group have been cultivating an editorial exchange for some time. From October, they will institutionalize this with a ten-strong national editorial team with a joint cover section. However, Lauber intends to continue discussing the project with the publishers and editorial teams associated with the NZZ and develop it further at both a journalistic and technological level.
The Swiss News Agency (SDA) would be a common denominator, as practically all publishers use its services. Discussions about a corresponding successor model, Pressenetz, have already taken place with the SDA, explains Lauber. Whether the agency can integrate further services into its own network is currently being examined. "That would amount to the same thing, because the press network is nothing more than the agency's own services," explains Lauber. The aim is for the Pressenetz idea to be up and running on a technical platform that all publishers are already using in the coming year.
René Worni

Video games While traditional youth media are losing their appeal for their target audience, video games are positioning themselves as a new channel for advertising messages. It's a trend that's only hesitantly catching on in Switzerland. The curves are as swirly as they can get. Lara Croft may have become a bit more athletic, but her gravity-defying bosom is still an eye-catcher. Car manufacturer Jeep has been relying on this for some time now, firstly with product placements in the video game "Lara Croft - Tomb Raider: Legends", and secondly on its website. There, under the "Games" link, browser games such as "Lara Croft - Trail Raider" can be found. The novice starts with a Jeep Wrangler. If he passes the collection tour in the jungle, he is upgraded to a Commander model. At the end, the entire Jeep range is available for selection. "50000 times the games have been downloaded," Jeff Bell explained at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles in 2005. At the time, the marketing expert successfully helped DaimlerChrysler correct Jeep's lurching course. "Five hundred gamers eventually bought a car. I don't think that's a bad return on investment." The success brought more: Since June of this year, Bell has been applying his knowledge for Microsoft in the Global Marketing division of the Interactive Entertainment Business.
In the US and also in the UK, in-game advertising is currently the talk of the advertising industry, for a number of reasons:

- Conventional media such as print and TV have lost their appeal for the target group of males, ages 17 to 34.

- Video game graphics have never been as photorealistic as they are today.

- Connectivity through broadband Internet access is growing and with
them the community of online players.
Exciting Plot IntegrationsGuy Bendov of in-game advertising broker Double Fusion tells Advertising Week, "The community of online PC gamers is growing, but networked consoles are also increasing. While a mere 10 percent played online last generation, over 50 percent of Xbox 360 gamers are connected." Online connectivity is key for in-game advertisers if they want to take full advantage of current video game opportunities with dynamic advertising.

Of course, products that have been virtually reconstructed can also be placed in games in the same way as product placement in feature films, but this gives away part of the interactivity. Far more exciting are so-called plot integrations, in which the advertised object becomes part of the plot, such as the Sony Ericsson cell phone in the action game "Splinter Cell: Pandorra Tomorrow" or Apple's iPod in "Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure," which is in any case an image advertising game for the American fashion designer Marc Ecko, who produced the game together with Studio Atari and outfitted the heroes with his clothes.
To benefit from such opportunities and more, Microsoft snatched up Massive Incorporated, one of the three leading in-game advertising marketers, at the beginning of May this year. This move came as a surprise, because for many, an exclusive collaboration would have done the trick. Not so, Kevin Browne, general manager Xbox New Media, tells Advertising Week: "We weren't just interested in Massive's technology and services. We also had 100 open positions at MSN (Microsoft's Internet portal/provider service, editor's note). By buying Massive, we also acquired the expertise of 60 to 70 people, including visionaries in the industry."
This commitment had a similar effect as Microsoft's entry into the console market. Suddenly, the booming market also became interesting for non-gamers. With the acquisition of Massive, Microsoft has now, in a sense, given its blessing of respectability to in-game advertising, an observation also made by Guy Bendov of Double Fusion: "Since the purchase, big companies are increasingly getting on board. They now have a good feeling about it."
In Switzerland, however, this feeling is spreading only hesitantly. "We are once again in danger of missing the boat," says Martin Radelfinger of Adlink, which is the European partner of the third in-game advertising marketer IGA Worldwide in the field of dynamic in-game advertising. Reasons for the
He sees "ghettoization" on the one hand in the small market size, and on the other hand in the fact that Switzerland is not part of the EU: "In Germany, France and England, figures are available that provide information about expected sales and customer potential for games. These are largely lacking for Switzerland.
Delicate scattering lossesIn addition, there is a fundamental skepticism about new platforms due to a lack of empirical values. For people like Martin Radelfinger, this is also the biggest challenge: "With successful game series, publishers can make a sales forecast in the range of plus-minus 10 percent," explains the Managing Director of Adlink in Küsnacht. "We have no choice but to convert the figures from Germany to Switzerland by the usual factor of 10:1."
In addition to this basis, however, other performance values belong in a forecast: playing time, number of advertising impressions conveyed, the half-life of the respective title and the number of players per copy sold (multiple use). "In the case of dynamic advertising via an ad server, which places the ads on a designated placeholder at the given time, calculations are not a problem, since only the advertising impressions that have actually taken place are recorded and accounted for."
Static integration, which usually takes the form of product placement or plot integration in the purchased game, is far trickier in terms of wastage. Here, the choice of title requires more advance clarification, but with an entry budget starting at 40000 euros, in-game advertising turns out to be comparatively inexpensive: "With advertising in video games, there is the possibility of going very in-depth. That's why this route is also suitable for iconic products," says Radelfinger. Also on the positive side, the man with a background in media studies and cognitive psychology sees the course of sales conversations.
While eight years ago advertisers, customers and agencies couldn't imagine anything concrete about banner advertising on the Internet, the idea of placing a virtual billboard or integrating a Coke machine into a video game is much easier to grasp: "You just have to show people a game, then they can quickly imagine what it would look like with their advertising in this virtual world." As we all know, a game speaks more than a thousand words.
    Marc Bodmer
www.massiveincorporated.com
www.doublefusion.com
www.iga-worldwide.com
www.adlink.ch

Thanks to the recovery in the advertising markets in Germany and France, RTL Group was able to increase its revenues and operating result in the first half of the year. According to the company, revenues rose by 19.1 percent from 2.397 billion euros in the same period last year to 2.854 billion euros between January and the end of June. "We have seen a better advertising environment in most of our major markets," explained RTL CEO Gerhard Zeiler. However, Zeiler told Werben & Verkaufen that the outlook for the current financial year is only cautiously optimistic, as the development of the advertising market remains difficult to predict.
The Cologne-based private broadcaster RTL wants to tap into further sources of income with special-interest channels. RTL boss Anke Schäferkordt has announced the launch of three new pay-TV channels (see
RTL specifies pay-TV plans). The TV newcomers RTL Living, RTL Crime and Passion are to become part of cable network operators' basic pay-TV packages from the fall. RTL Living will show renovation shows, cooking formats and gardening programs, RTL Crime crime and thrillers and Passion soaps and dramas. The soap channel will be organized with an as yet unnamed partner and will therefore not bear the RTL name. Schäferkordt also announced that she is working on a video-on-demand offering. The platform is to be distributed via cable and satellite as well as on the Internet via DSL.

Target groups At Xongress 06, Alexander Oswald from Nokia presented the young marketing method mobile marketing There is a trend that will change marketing. We are talking about communization. Whole groups want to realize themselves and set signals. Mobile marketing ties in with this trend. Mobile technologies such as SMS or MMS are being used like crazy to send signals. In his presentation at Xongress, Alexander Oswald, Marketing Manager at Nokia Alps, was firmly convinced that cell phones will once again completely change our lives. Together with Gerald Tauchner, Managing Director of DIMOCO (Direct Mobile Communications GmbH), Oswald has written a book on mobile marketing. For both authors, it is clear that cell phones will play a more important role in the future than they do today and will open up new opportunities for the PR and advertising industry. New relationship managementWhen talking about new opportunities, Oswald is primarily referring to the new form of relationship management. "Mobile marketing should have less to do with advertising and more to do with opening up the opportunity to make direct contact with users." Oswald illustrates this with the example of Club Nokia. He offers Club Nokia members the chance to test a product and write test reports that are published on the Internet. "People want to test cell phones like crazy and be mentioned on the website," says Oswald. However, the Austrian advises against using cell phones for traditional advertising campaigns. "A lot of damage has been done to consumers with sloppy SMS advertising campaigns," says Oswald. Today, cell phone users are quicker to categorize unwanted text messages as spam.
Remote control for lifeThe mobile marketing method is still in its infancy. Although two billion people worldwide now use a cell phone and the target group characteristics are certainly attractive for the advertising industry, a few very sensitive factors determine the success or failure of mobile marketing. One reason why many companies are still cautious is the time factor. When a text message reaches the recipient is a decisive factor in whether they react to the campaign. Oswald: "Who wants to read a text message at two o'clock in the morning?" If a text message is sent too late, the message may be irrelevant to the recipient. In addition to keys and money, cell phones are now carried everywhere. The cell phone is therefore something of an intimate object on which you don't necessarily want to be bothered with advertising messages. Oswald: "It's impossible to imagine life today without the cell phone. It is the technical part of people, the remote control for life."
For this reason, Alexander Oswald recommends preventing traditional advertising via cell phones. "Mobile advertising is perceived by users as forced gratification."
Oswald also advises against push campaigns, i.e. campaigns in which companies send their customers information via text message. He sees the use of mobile marketing in building and deepening the customer relationship. "In the long term, marketing must bring about a change in customer behavior." By this he means that development is progressing faster and development times are becoming ever shorter.
For example: while the internet took 15 years from its invention to passing the 50 million mark, it took seven years for cell phones and only a few months for camera phones. According to Oswald, it is therefore important to get in touch with customers in order to identify trends and changes in behavior. Mobile marketing provides the opportunity to talk to customers and get their opinions.
"Mobile marketing gives you the opportunity to listen and pick up on users' ideas," says Oswald, "with playful elements you can get an incredible amount of interesting information out of users."
The figures collected to date still assume a low level of mobile marketing acceptance among the population. However, Oswald says that it is already possible to work well with today's basis. With the experience of yesterday, a view to tomorrow and the imagination of today, Alexander Oswald predicts a great future for mobile marketing. If he had to spread his message in 160 characters via SMS, it would be: Two billion cell phone users can't be wrong.
Christian Lüscher