The Berner Kulturagenda association will set up and operate an open database for the Bern region as part of a project. The cultural database will be constantly updated and will contain as complete and reliable information as possible on all cultural events, as well as additional details and information on cultural promotion and cultural policy. The cultural database should be available to all interested users, in particular cultural event organizers and media professionals. An external project manager has been commissioned to describe the project in detail and to draw up a content and technical specification. On this basis, offers for the development and operation of the cultural database will be obtained in July. The next steps are to be determined this summer.

60 percent of companies pursuing a multi-brand strategy are planning to reduce the number of brands within the next two years. This was the result of the "Multi-brand management 2006" study conducted by the German consulting and agency group Marketing Partner. Two thirds of the companies surveyed stated that they wanted to reduce their multi-brand portfolio by up to 25 percent, with almost 90 percent of the brand experts citing the fact that the budget available for managing all brands was too small as one of the reasons for reducing their brand portfolio. The multi-brand strategy, which aims to cover the increasingly heterogeneous needs of consumers as comprehensively as possible, rarely leads to a savings effect. In most cases, it even generates additional costs.
A professional multi-brand strategy is characterized by the fact that it ensures a concise appearance of the individual brands and clearly differentiates them from one another. This prevents the brands from "cannibalizing" each other, i.e. taking market share from one another. The brand managers surveyed described the differentiation of product features as one of their most important tasks. 42% of those surveyed see the overlapping of product portfolios as the biggest challenge. Above all, companies that manage more than five brands complain about problems with the design of the product portfolio and cannibalization effects between the brands. Other problem areas mentioned were the budget allocation per brand (41%), the high costs (41%) and the uncoordinated actions of the individual brands (29%). Interestingly, 41% of respondents named the two biggest problems as being the lack of clarity in budget allocation and the high personnel and financial costs involved in managing brand portfolios. These difficulties were also cited as reasons for planned brand streamlining.
"The instruments currently available for managing multi-brand portfolios are not sufficient," says Hans Meier-Kortwig, brand expert at Marketing Partner, summarizing the results of the study. Instruments that are specifically designed for multi-brand management are in demand. It is therefore important to develop new, innovative tools that make it possible to successfully manage multi-brand portfolios despite major similarities between products. For the study, 88 brand experts from leading companies were surveyed who manage several brands in a business segment or are responsible for individual brands within a portfolio.

Independent retailers in German-speaking and French-speaking Switzerland are strengthening their market presence. Their delivery company La Valaisanne and the marketing organization Pro Trade have agreed on a strategic alliance. As part of this alliance, La Valaisanne will acquire a stake in Pro Trade, as detailed in a press release. This collaboration will create a market presence for the retailer associations Treffpunkt and Proxi in German-speaking and French-speaking Switzerland with over 300 grocery stores. Valrhône, a subsidiary of La Valaisanne, will contribute its expertise in purchasing and goods logistics. Pro Trade will take over the sales marketing functions for Valrhône. The retailer association Pro Trade was founded just over a year ago as an alternative to the retailer Volg.

The Solothurn midland station Radio 32 is now also offering all commercials online as an on-demand service. Each radio commercial is available to listen to on Radio32.ch immediately after broadcast. The complete, most recently broadcast advertising block is also displayed on the front page. The other commercials can be accessed in the archive. With this offer, Radio 32 provides a further, general sales argument for radio advertising. With this free service, the advertising customer not only receives additional presence on the homepage, but also benefits from the interactivity. According to Managing Director Peter Scheurer, the new service is also a response to a need from listeners: "We often receive requests from listeners who are looking for products, companies and promotions from advertising. The new service will be available from June 14, 2006.

For the first time, fixed-position online advertising messages can be booked as modular time blocks on the Bluewin homepage. Internet marketer Adlink reports that the advertising budget can thus be used efficiently and in a time-controlled manner. Instead of booking the entire day or week without interruption, media planners have five fixed time blocks at their disposal, which can be booked individually. For the first time, the most intensive time slots can be booked for the respective advertising messages, which means that advertising efficiency can be optimized. The primetime package offered by Bluewin and Adlink includes the advertising media Roadblock and Skyscraper and is designed to achieve a wide reach within a short space of time thanks to eye-catching advertising media and optimal placement.

The monthly management magazine from the Handelszeitung publishing group will have a new editor-in-chief from September 1. Beatrice Brenner (40) will take over as editor-in-chief from Irina Kisseloff (32), who has accepted a new challenge. Brenner has been editor of "Finanz und Wirtschaft" since 2002. Before that, the economist was Head of the Zurich Press Office and Head of the Infrastructure Division at SBB.

The new Millioneurodeal.com platform has launched a special reward system that creates incentives to visit the website again and again. Companies can buy advertising space on the site, which will be linked to their home pages. When the advertising space, measured by number of pixels, exceeds the thresholds of 1,000, 10,000, 100,000 and 1,000,000 pixels sold, the respective visitor receives as many euros as it corresponds to the respective number of pixels. To receive the million euros, the visitor must be the first to call a hotline and correctly answer a predefined question about a company advertising on Millioneurodeal.com. Responsible is the company Top-Trade with the two managing directors Dirk Dziedeck and Markus Eckert, who also operate the site Shoppingstore24.de.

With EDV-TV.com, the public relations agency Konzept PR is launching an information TV channel for IT professionals. The free TV channel can be received free of charge, worldwide and around the clock via all IP-based media at EDV-TV.com. It is aimed at companies and users from the IT sector. The program shows current technologies, interviews with company representatives, discussion rounds, trade fair reports, workshops and product presentations. Companies from the IT sector have the opportunity to place their own product films, infomercials or reports in advertising spaces. There are also opportunities for cooperation, from integrating the channel into the homepage to franchise models. "We see ourselves as an ideal complement to the print market and focus specifically on cooperation with publishers and publications," explains Jürgen Gocke, Editorial Director of EDV-TV, to PR-Jounal.de. EDV-TV.com also offers an "On Demand" service.

The EU no longer allows tobacco products to be advertised in print media and on the internet. Germany had brought an action against this directive before the European Court of Justice and suffered a temporary defeat on Tuesday. EU Advocate General Philippe Léger suggested that the Court dismiss the German complaint. Although the Advocate General's opinions are not binding on the Court of Justice, they often determine the direction of the judgment. If the case is dismissed, Germany will also have to ban cigarette advertising in newspapers and magazines, radio and the Internet in future. The ruling is expected in October.
Germany saw the directive as a disproportionate encroachment on freedom of advertising. The EU directive should have been implemented by July 31, 2005. Germany has not yet done so. Consumer Minister Horst Seehofer announced in Berlin on Tuesday that he would immediately introduce a law to implement the advertising ban. The Central Association of the German Advertising Industry (ZAW) and the press associations appealed to the Federal Government in a letter on Tuesday to wait until the final decision of the European Court of Justice before implementing the directive. They also call for the tobacco advertising ban to only be legally applied in cross-border print media if the case is dismissed. The associations also believe that freedom of the press is threatened by content requirements for editorial media content in connection with the tobacco advertising ban. In France, for example, a newspaper had already been fined because the logo of a cigarette brand was recognizable in a sports report.
The ZAW estimates the economic consequences of the tobacco advertising ban at 118 million euros. Further censorship attacks by the EU on other sectors could also lead to advertising losses of over 2.7 billion euros. This amount currently corresponds to 14 percent of the media's net advertising revenue. The ZAW also criticizes the fact that the envisaged advertising ban contradicts the model developed by the European Court of Justice of the life-competent consumer who is accustomed to advertising. The censorship is virtually a slap in the face for consumers.

This year, the New York Festivals will be presenting the Midas Awards for Financial Communication for the sixth time and the Global Awards for Health Communication for the 13th time. Those who submit their project online by June 15 will receive a 10 percent discount on the entry fee. The latest submission deadline is June 30, 2006.

The Swiss Syndicate of Media Professionals (SSM), the largest trade union in the electronic media sector, has declared war on SRG's plans to cut over 200 jobs over the next few years. The union leadership has been mandated to use all legal means to prevent the impending job cuts next fall and to initiate appropriate measures. With the opening of the strike fund, the statutory requirements have been created to financially secure the impending industrial action, as detailed in a press release from the SSM.
The delegates accuse the SRG management of having set the wrong priorities with the announced staff cuts. The last employee survey showed that production and work stress has increased significantly in recent years and has reached health-threatening dimensions. The malaise in working conditions in the private electronics sector must be corrected. The SSM does not agree with a company policy that exacerbates this risk.
The basis for the correction is the new RTVA. In future, the granting of a license will be dependent on proof that the working conditions customary in the industry are complied with. The delegates have therefore instructed the national SSM Board to draw up a model contract that will set the standard for working conditions in the private electronic sector. This model agreement is to form the basis for negotiations on the conclusion of company agreements.also reject the outsourcing of IT services at SRG SSR idée suisse
The SSM delegates have also issued a clear rejection of any outsourcing of IT services from the SRG structure. Based on SSM research with the experts and managers concerned, weighing up the advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing and taking into account national and international experience, the delegates have come to the conclusion that outsourcing IT services would be a mistake. This rejection is based on 22 arguments developed by IT experts, which clearly speak against outsourcing. From an international perspective, the wave of outsourcing is ebbing significantly. The disappointment of numerous companies in connection with outsourcing is increasing massively. In particular, customer friendliness, the requirement for user proximity, the solution of complex problems and technical development are rated as unsatisfactory.

The SRG management is playing with fire if it trusts that an external IT company will be able to handle the enormous complexity and the specific production and IT requirements of nine business units and four language regions, the press release continues. It would also be a major strategic mistake to believe the promises and pledges made by the bidding companies claiming to be able to meet SRG's IT service requirements.

As the experience of the tpc production center shows, the high expectations of outsourcing or privatization are rarely fulfilled and reintegration into the company later proves to be very difficult for many reasons.

The German film download platform from Warner Bros. and Bertelsmann subsidiary Arvato has also been launched in Switzerland. Over 350 films and TV series are available on the website. Prices range from CHF 1.45 for a series episode to CHF 24 for a new feature film. Payment is made via Swisscom's "Click&Buy" system. The platform is based on the concept that the movie belongs to the customer once it has been downloaded. A separate application is required for downloading, which is why a PC with Windows XP or Media Center software is a prerequisite. In2movie uses peer-to-peer technology: the more people who have already downloaded a movie, the faster the data transfer.