According to the Publicitas Index, advertising expenditure in the Swiss daily press rose slightly compared to the same month last year, mainly thanks to two more newspaper issues. The index rose by 0.4 points from 92.2 to 92.6, as Publicitas announced on Thursday.
Against this backdrop, most advertising categories recorded an increase in volume. According to the press release, sectors such as large distributors, banks and insurance companies showed above-average momentum. This general trend has also been increasingly evident in job advertisements over the past few months. Despite the favorable calendar shift, we have noticed a decline in inserts and political advertisements. The latter are feeling the effects of the votes, which caused less of a stir than in May 2005.
The job advertisements index rose from 141.3 to 144.1 points, which corresponds to an upturn of 2.8 points. This positive trend, which has recurred frequently since 2004, has been accompanied by a regular fall in the unemployment rate. The real estate listings index also made slow progress, rising from 95.8 to 96.5 points, which corresponds to an increase of 0.7 points.

The "100 best posters" exhibition from Germany, Austria and Switzerland opened in Berlin on Thursday. Over a quarter of the award-winning works came from Switzerland. A remarkable result considering that only 14 percent of the 1,458 posters submitted came from Switzerland. The 100 award-winning posters (78) and poster series (22) came from 80 entrants (of which D: 58, CH: 19 and A: 3). In terms of the proportion of prize-winning works from the three countries, the "100 best posters 2005" are divided into three times Austria, 28 times Switzerland and 69 times Germany. The exhibition runs until June 25, 2006.
In the fall, the exhibition will be shown in Lucerne and Vienna, followed by China and Japan.
The Swiss contributions advertise Aarau culture, charity work and toothpaste, among other things, according to a press release. The Velvet agency is represented five times with posters for the Münchnet Kammerspiele. Three advertisements for SBB Cargo by Euro RSCG also received awards. Designer Niklaus Troxler, who is also president of the "100 Best Posters" association, is also among the winners.
The competition sees itself as a benchmark for international poster design, was launched in 1966 and has been held annually since 1980. The first German-Austrian-Swiss selection was presented in 2002. The yearbook "Keine Kunst: 100 Beste Plakate 05 Deutschland Österreich Schweiz", which was published to accompany the exhibition, is available at the exhibition and in bookshops. More information on the award-winning posters can be found on the website: http://www.100-beste-plakate.de.

Axel Springer Verlag will publish the literary magazine "Der Freund" for the last time on June 15, 2006. However, the publisher is already announcing a new promotion concept for "creative lateral thinkers" for the fall of 2006. After eight issues of "Der Freund", the results have been consistently positive, explains Andreas Wiele, Director of Magazines and International Affairs at Axel Springer. For this reason, the company wants to continue to support ideas in print and online that are characterized by unusual, surprising creativity. "We will present a corresponding funding concept in the fall," Wiele announced.

Bloom Restaurant Bar Lounge, based in Winterthur, has declared itself a football-free zone for the duration of the World Cup. Zurich-based advertising agency TBS Identity has launched a campaign to draw attention to Bloom's contrasting program to the current football hype and is aimed at all those who want to escape the football fever and World Cup hype. At the same time, the aim is to raise awareness of Bloom and draw attention to the culinary and musical offerings. From June 1 to July 9, 2006, TBS Identity will be promoting a World Cup-free Bloom with advertisements, posters, flyers and merchandising articles.

The Neue Zürcher Zeitung is supplementing its Internet offering with a new jobs portal. Publiconnect, the business unit of Publicitas, is responsible for the technical implementation. "We will present a turnkey technical solution for the new NZZ jobs portal, and later we will also operate the portal technically," Markus Bieri, director of Publiconnect, told Klein Report. The NZZ will decide on the launch date soon, Bieri said, but it should be as soon as possible.Following the St. Galler Tagblatt and the Société Neuchâteloise de la Presse, the NZZ has also opted for Publiconnect's fully integrated online classifieds marketplace solution, "Publisherconnect," which the company put into operation in the first quarter of 2006.

In a study, the German market and media research institute House of Research determined, among other things, that users accept ad-financed podcasts. However, there are also differences here, as the results of the study show: Because while two thirds of those surveyed reject the classic radio ad for podcasts, 85 percent of users would accept sponsorship. In addition, more than half of podcasters would approve of competitions as a source of revenue, meaning that the advertising industry should take note of the 10,000 different podcasters on iTunes alone. As part of the multi-stage study, the House of Research surveyed 250 podcast users, 21 radio stations that offer podcasts and 60 that do not, as well as four podcast experts.

The US market research institute Nielsen Media Research is planning to include distribution channels such as the internet and mobile devices as well as bars, hotels and airports in its TV ratings in future. To date, the company has determined TV ratings via viewer surveys and a limited number of set meters. According to Heise.de, Nielsen has been pressured by the US television stations to modernize its measurement system. According to the company, measurements for iPods and other mobile devices are to be carried out as early as the end of 2006. Next year, it will be possible to measure broadcasts via the Internet and, from the end of 2008, viewers in bars, offices, hotels and airports.

Axel Post has joined the team of the agency for integrated communication in the areas of web content and newsletter & mobile marketing. The experienced editor and consultant is moving to Bern from Cologne. Post has been working in marketing, communication and new media for ten years, the agency announced on Thursday. He was involved in the development of an interactive TV channel at the Bertelsmann Broadband Group. Post replaces Cla Martin Caflisch, who has successfully completed his training as a PR editor and will be leaving the agency at the end of July after six years of development work.

(pr) Swedish furniture giant prooft with Epson 174 million copies of the IKEA catalog are to be printed in more than 34 countries in 2006 - a record, as this makes the IKEA catalog the largest annual publication in the world. To ensure that BILLY, PAX, KLIPPAN and Co. appear in accurate and uniform colors everywhere, the catalog undergoes strict quality control in prepress. From now on, Inter IKEA Systems B.V. will be using Epson UltraChrome K3 large-format printers in combination with GMG ColorProof software for this purpose.
 
High quality at a low price - also for proofs The Swedish IKEA Group's commitment to outstanding
Quality at affordable prices also continues in the choice of its
proofing system by. Epson UltraChrome K3 large format printer
undergo a demanding testing process during production,
which ensures that all devices provide uniform output. Thus is
ensures that the proofs produced on them are accurate, color-stable
and homogeneous - at every stage of the production process and on
any place, from Stockholm to Shanghai.
About Epson Germany Epson Deutschland GmbH, based in Meerbusch, Germany, is one of the leading suppliers of products and solutions in the fields of photo printing and digital imaging. High-quality photo printers and scanners are just as much a part of the Epson Deutschland product portfolio as laser and dot-matrix printers as well as all-in-one devices, multimedia projectors and the original consumables. The Retail Systems & Devices and Factory Automation Division further expand this range to include checkout printers and systems as well as precision robots. With around 200 employees, Epson Germany is responsible for the sales network for Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
 
About Epson Europe Epson Europe B.V., based in Amsterdam, is the strategic headquarters for Europe, the Middle East, Russia and Africa. Epson Europe employs a total of 2,600 people, with sales of 2,402 million euros in fiscal 2005.
 
About Epson Group Epson is one of the world's leading manufacturers of imaging products such as printers, 3LCD projectors, and small and mid-size LC displays. In a corporate culture defined by creativity and innovation, Epson consistently works to exceed the visions and expectations of its customers around the world - this aspiration is expressed in "Epson - Exceed Your Vision". Epson products are world-renowned for their outstanding quality, functionality, compactness and energy efficiency. 90,701 employees in 120 companies around the globe form a network that takes pride in this,
to make its contribution to global environmental protection and to actively shape the communities in which the company has operations. Led by Japan-based Seiko Epson Corporation, the Epson Group reported consolidated sales of 1,549.5 billion yen (~10.86 billion euros) in fiscal 2005.

The chancellor of our eastern neighboring country is a football fan - and that's exactly what got him an unwanted advertising appearance on McDonald's posters. The fast food chain is advertising the World Cup with celebrities holding up a red-white-red scarf with the slogan "Austria eats world champion". However, the choice of the advertising agency CCP to use the chancellor as the subject was not entirely cheap for McDonalds. The Chancellery filed a complaint and the fast food chain now has to donate a considerable sum to charity. The advertising agency, for its part, points out that they deliberately aimed for positive provocation. If they had asked for permission, they would have risked rejection and laborious negotiations.
The SPÖ, on the other hand, claims that the campaign is a set-up and that it is actually an image campaign for the chancellor. After all, his press spokeswoman used to work for the agency responsible for the campaign. The Federal Chancellery, on the other hand, merely stated that the campaign had certainly not been agreed with Schüssel.

The General Assembly of SRG idée suisse Aargau Solothurn has elected Lotty Fehlmann Stark as the new President of the SRG German-speaking Switzerland member company. As the SRG announced, the 42-year-old lawyer succeeds Jean-Pierre Simmen, who headed SRG Aargau Solothurn for five years and is stepping down for reasons of age. Lotty Fehlmann Stark has been a member of the SRG Aargau Solothurn Board since 2004.

(pr) Epsilon Interactive, a leading provider of strategic, ROI-focused email communications and automated marketing solutions, today announced that Ted Wham has joined the company as Senior Vice President, General Manager European Operations. Wham will report directly to President and CEO Al DiGuido and will be responsible for expanding Epsilon Interactive's presence in Europe and strengthening its customer base under the Epsilon Interactive International brand. "As an industry-renowned author, speaker and officially recognized expert in database and interactive marketing, Ted Wham brings more than two decades of database and email marketing experience to his new position," said Al DiGuido, President and CEO of Epsilon Interactive. "The rapid growth of email communications worldwide, coupled with our recently completed acquisition of the international operations of DoubleClick Email Solutions, presents us with tremendous opportunities. Ted Wham's expertise and hands-on experience in merging customer data and email to optimize customer relationships and marketing ROI via time-relevant email communications is a key asset for our company and our customer base." According to a recent survey by Forrester Research (B2C Email Marketing In Europe: 2004 to 2010, October 5, 2005), the market for email services in Europe will more than double in the next five years, totaling €1.25 billion.
Wham brings a deep understanding of the industry and the needs of marketers. In his most recent role as General Manager of Personalized Content and Communication at Expedia, the world's largest online travel agency, Wham created and led the team responsible for the global email marketing programs. He was responsible for the strategic redesign of key communication programs, acquired new clients, managed and strengthened the technical team, the marketing team and the creative services team. Previously, Wham worked as Director Database Marketing for Hotwire.com, an Expedia subsidiary focused on discount travel. During this time, he doubled the proportion of transactions completed directly via email marketing.
The "National Center for Database Marketing" honored Wham's successful e-mail marketing programs with the "Bronze Award for Database Marketing Excellence". Wham has also held positions at Hewlett-Packard Company and Viacom International. Wham earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Washington.
About Epsilon Interactive Epsilon Interactive (www.epsiloninteractive.com) is a leading provider of strategic, ROI-driven email communications solutions and marketing automation technologies. Through a combination of innovative technologies, professional services and deep vertical market experience, Epsilon Interactive helps advertisers build, grow and sustain customer relationships through highly relevant and personalized email communications. Its comprehensive suite of industry-specific products and services includes scalable email campaign technology, delivery rate optimization, marketing automation technologies, turnkey integration solutions, strategic consulting and expertise in developing email programs that generate measurable results throughout the customer lifecycle.
Epsilon Interactive's international operations operate under the Epsilon Interactive International brand name and include offices in Europe and Asia. Epsilon Interactive's customers currently include more than 560 leading companies worldwide. Epsilon Interactive is a division of Epsilon (www.epsilon.com), a leading provider of multi-channel marketing services, technology and database solutions. Epsilon Interactive International is a trading name of Alliance Data, FHC, Inc.