Video games The reputation of the video games industry is not at its best. The communal prejudice is that games are all about shooting and murder. What's more, according to scientists, they contribute to the dumbing down and obesity of young people. In short, it would be a better world without today's most exciting medium. But while flower children and politicians eager to make a name for themselves are chattering away and screaming for censorship, the global video game community is growing - and greying. The current average age is 33 (!), which is also the background to the stylishly executed campaign for "Hitman - Blood Money" by game producers Eidos. "Beautifully executed" is the title of the double-sided subject, which at first glance is reminiscent of a Victoria's Secret or other fumbling advertisement. Only on closer and more indiscreet inspection does the precise headshot reveal itself, executed by professional killer Agent 47, the bald hero of the popular "Hitman" series. With this self-confident performance, the studio, which is also behind cyber icon Lara Croft, is ironizing the current discussion about the supposedly brutalizing effect of video games and is addressing - not, as is often claimed - a youthful, but a mature and, above all, intelligent audience. (bo)

Corporate publishing The retail trade is upgrading in the consumer goods sector. A pleasurable foray through the overflowing international market The doctrine: Corporate publishing makes sense where complex relationships are involved, where there is a need for explanation. That is true. Ergo: It makes no sense when it comes to things that are easy to understand, such as food, fashion, furniture and watches. Not true. Because conveying and sharing joie de vivre is not so easy in the flood, and sometimes it is not enough to simply display the product (catalog and/or online). In the world of consumer goods and brands, the usual blatant advertising has had its day. Corporate or custom publishing is the key to appearing authentic and stylish. But how can this balancing act between journalism and advertising be achieved?
Corporate publishing only makes sense in the merciless publishing and sensory overload if the culture and brand of the publishing company, the industry culture, but also the geographical culture and the life culture of the addressees are met. In other words, a corporate magazine must strike a chord with the audience, from the program announcement to the final act. A publication of a fashion house that features a prominent head in pictures and text without a basic conceptual idea will not do the trick. Editorial splinters between the products do not turn a catalog into a magazine. On the contrary, the "editorial addition" disrupts the catalog's focus, the listing of products. The overflow does not tolerate half measures.
If you want to find something worthwhile as a consumer and reader, there is one option: stop at the stall with the face you can and want to trust. It's not the one who advertises his wares the loudest, it's the one who offers you an armchair and a glass of tea in a sheltered niche in the middle of the hustle and bustle, who has internalized the luxury of leisure and the profound seduction of authenticity and hospitality. The same applies in the two-dimensional world of publishing: the magazine must show spirit, it must have style. It must be an intelligent and unique staging of the brand - the corporate or product brand.
It must invite at the right time and in the right situation (distribution solution). Only then will it be the host whose invitation is accepted. It must, it must, it must ... above all, it may. The magazines below illustrate a fun-filled current foray through the overflowing international market, from stand to stand, from and to all points of the compass. Admittedly, an unsystematic walk, simply with your nose in the spring air (and with some knowledge, let's call it flair, at the back of your mind).
Viviane Egli, Managing Director of the CP agency Primafila AG, is involved in the European exchange of know-how as an exponent of the Forum Corporate Publishing association.

 
Madrid, Gourmet Magazine of the Spanish department store chain El Corte Inglés: Hail to you, Primavera 06, numero 07, delicately small format (19.5 cm x 19.5 cm), in the sign of the Club del Gourmet of the food department. An eye-catcher on the Spanish custom publishing market, a handy, very deliberate one-hundred-page tour through fine foods from the country and from the international mundo gastronomico (realization: Progresa/Grupo Prisa).

 
 
 

 
Switzerland, Globus up to date: cosmopolitan Mumbai/Bombay captivates the senses and the intellect, and can be contemplated and enjoyed on one of the colorful cushions, exclusive textile design. The current Mumbai/Bombay campaign in the Globus stores is celebrated in the regular customer magazine (concept, editing and design by Primafila AG, Zurich and Munich) with authentic encounters in the Indian metropolis.
 

 
 
 

 
Vienna, Nespresso: Nespresso Magazine, or rather the cover heroine of the latest issue, Russian opera singer Anna Netrebko, invites you not to tea, but to coffee - clichés elevated to an outstanding editorial achievement. Incidentally, Anna Netrebko was photographed by the Swiss Michel Compte, and the Nespresso magazine (Ahead Mediaberatungs GmbH), which was conceived in Vienna, is finding its way into the wider world.

 
 
 

 
Stockholm and Gothenburg, Nordiska Kompaniet (NK): The twice-yearly "Stil" magazine published by the NK department store in Stockholm and Gothenburg proves that style is resistant to being swamped: with all the rules of the art of magazine creation, starting with the mysterious cover, fine goods and an equally fine lifestyle are visualized - after all, members of the royal family are also customers here.

 
 
 

 
 
Tokyo, Papas Company: The editorial miracle from Japan, handed over in Nagasaki or rather handed over to strangers in host culture. In 2004 it was in Papas Café, lingering over green tea (or was it coffee?). The annual magazine of the boutique chain offers a cultural transfer of the finest kind - the product of the European filler combined with writing celebrities from all over the world. The 2006 issue is dedicated to the main theme of travel.

 
 
 

 
Shanghai (also Sweden), V&S Absolut Spirits: "Absolut Reflexions" is the name of the magazine published by the southern Swedish spirits producer (in cooperation with Filipacchi Custom Publishing and Gaal Kommunikation), which takes readers on a journey to the Chinese metropolis in the current issue. The editorial seduction is inspiring, with portraits from Shanghai.

 
 
 

 
London, a long-established stronghold of custom publishing: six pages of May Flavors in lively Spring Green, according to one of the articles in the May issue of the asparagus-fresh Sainsbury's Magazine (Seven Publishing Group, London). The British supermarket chain's highly professionally designed customer publication was named "Customer Magazine of the Year" by the PPA (Periodical Publishers Association) in 2005.

The current state of the Swiss online job market exceeds that of the boom phase in April 2001: this is the conclusion reached by the Jobpilot Index, which rose by 12 points to 110 points in April 2006 compared to the previous quarter. The sub-index for job boards, which is based on the supply of specialized job sites, improved by 5 points to 98 points in April 2006. The number of vacancies on the recruitment sites of
The number of companies in the labor market grew particularly strongly: with an increase of 26 points to a new record of 135 points, the current value is well above the level of April 2001 (114 points). According to a press release, the good results are due to the general upward trend in the labor market. In addition, companies have increasingly advertised vacancies on their own websites over the last five years.
The standardized print index calculated by the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland and directly comparable with the Jobpilot index rose by 12 points to 41 points in the current quarter (February to April 06) compared to the previous quarter. This means that the number of vacancies is not only growing on the Internet, but also in the print media again for the first time. The survey is conducted by the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland in collaboration with the University of Zurich and published by Monster.ch. 

Personnel planning Planned job cuts at UPM-Kymmene lead to strikes in Finland European paper producers are currently struggling with various problems. For example, stagnating sales combined with rising energy, raw material and transportation prices are causing the industry considerable problems. Of the five leading companies in Europe, only one (UPM-Kymmene) was just in the black last year, while the others suffered losses. And although almost all paper producers have implemented price increases in the last twelve months, the cost increases could not be sufficiently cushioned. In addition, the companies producing in Finland were affected by strikes last year, which also had a negative impact on their operating results. On May 12 of this year, the second largest European paper manufacturer, UPM-Kymmene, announced that a further round of job cuts was imminent. Specifically, the Group plans to close four paper mills and cut more than 2,500 jobs over the next three years.
In response to these intentions, the Finnish paper workers' union Paperiliitto brought Finnish paper production to a standstill on May 15 and 16. Among other things, it is demanding that company management "plan beyond the quarterly results". The strike was therefore extended to the whole of Finland in a show of solidarity.
M-real estimates the damage caused by the strike at around 4 million euros.
The strike has hit the company at the worst possible time. After being in the red in 2005, M-real was only recently able to announce its return to profitability. The Finnish Forest Industry Association, to which the paper producers are affiliated, puts the total damage caused by the two-day strike at 80 million euros. Paper mills in Finland resumed production at 6 a.m. on May 17.
Jürgen Franck
Picture: M-real Kirkniemi was also affected by the strike.

The head of Dpa-Infocom, Meinolf Ellers, has won the European Alliance of News Agencies (EANA) prize, awarded for the first time. Ellers receives the award for his achievements as co-coordinator of the Minds project, a mobile news service, reports the news agency SDA. In addition to the German DPA, the news agencies ANP (Netherlands), APA (Austria), MIT (Hungary) and the Swiss SDA are involved in the Minds project (mobile news, SMS, MMS). Ellers will receive the award on September 21, 2006 in Geneva. EANA will then also be celebrating its 50th birthday.

Rail posters on Intercity and Interregio trains attract the attention of over 50 percent of passengers. According to a study conducted by IHA-GfK on behalf of Wigra Media Tools, 18% even consciously remember the advertising they saw on the train. The rail posters stick best in the minds of 15 to 29-year-olds (29%), while the 50 to 74-year-olds (9%) are the least able to say which subjects they have seen on the train. Almost two thirds of respondents also described the rail posters as a good addition to traditional advertising. Despite the general flood of advertising, 82 percent find the advertising medium "not annoying". On average, train passengers come into contact with the posters for 40 minutes. A test showed that the SMS prompts also attract attention: Over two weeks, 15,000 SMS messages were received - most of them during the evening commute between 4pm and 7pm. According to the study, one advertising medium (500 rail posters) can reach over 2.1 million SBB passengers in German- and French-speaking Switzerland in a two-week period. As part of the study, the IHA-GfK institute conducted a representative survey of 9,000 people aged 15 to 74 in German-speaking and French-speaking Switzerland in the first quarter of 2006. Various rail posters and an SMS competition were tested. Wigra Media Tool markets a total of 3000 poster spaces on SBB trains.

Publishers Because Peter Wanner and Mathis Lüdin are cooperating, BaZ is bringing in know-how from Olten.
Media (BZM) sent out this week contained only 13 lines. In it
was that Markus Jörin, currently Head of Newspaper Publishing at the Oltener
Dietschi AG, Head of Publishing Projects at BZM as of August 1, 2006
becomes. That makes you sit up and take notice: The publishing director of the Olten Tagblatt
(OT), which belongs to the MittellandZeitung (MZ), is moving to
the media company that has felt attacked by MZ since the
Basellandschaftliche Zeitung (bz) has joined the MZ network.
One thing is clear: if BZM brings in the publishing director of another newspaper,
it has important projects in store for him. But what is important for the BZM
currently more important than a clever answer to the bz-MZ team? Will
So Jörin is concocting projects at BZM that go against the bz and
against the MZ - with a conceivable large BaZ circulation in the
Oberbaselbiet?

BaZ publishing director Roland Steffen waves it off. The fact that the BaZ is
decision by bz and MZ is known, but Jörin will react to the
will initially be responsible for existing publishing projects. "We are in the
Delay," he says. He justifies the choice of Jörin with the fact that "with
creative measures and unconventional ideas".
In fact, Jörin had a successful subscription campaign last year
launched.

Jörin himself also does not want to comment on a possible
BaZ-Grossauflage or other projects. For the change to BZM he had
had already decided before the cooperation between MZ and bz
was certain. Coincidentally, he then resigned on the same day as their
collaboration became public. He also had no intention of
to defect. "But now I'm twice as motivated to play in Basel
to start," he says. It is clear to him: "The change will now have additional
explosive." That is why he was also removed from the management of Dietschi AG.
and resigned from the MZ Management Board.

Markus Knöpfli

Casino Baden's Grand Casino sees itself as a gambling Mecca in the Zurich area and focuses on the feeling of happiness. "Switzerland has the highest density of casinos in Europe," said Peter Probst, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Spielbank Baden AG, recently. The market is covered despite rising turnover. Additional licenses would put existing operations such as the one in Baden, the largest casino in German-speaking Switzerland, under pressure. The fact is that the Swiss Federal Gaming Board has announced a licensing round for further casinos next year and that Casino Zürich AG, which did not receive a license four years ago, is making a new attempt. If Zurich were to get its own casino, this would mean a painful slump in gaming revenue in Baden. This is because two thirds of the clientele come from the canton of Zurich. In an interview with the AZ, CEO Detlef Brose estimated the loss at almost 60 million francs - a good 60 percent of turnover.
Online competition is growingHowever, even without the Zurich project, the competition is already clearly noticeable. Online gambling, which is not subject to the social concept, is growing at an annual rate of 35 percent. However, they cannot convey the live feeling of a casino. It is precisely this USP that the Weber Harbeke agency has linked to the ambiguous slogan "Baden im Glück" by playing with the name of the town. The motifs of exuberant happiness and extravagance underpin the advertising idea and dust off the elegant bourgeois image. However, the childish-looking swimming aids such as the inflated dolphin under the airily dressed beauty not only strained the dress code, but also the slogan.
The Grand Casino's other offerings such as gastronomy, events and entertainment have also been incorporated into the new look.
Luca Aloisi

Furnishings With the reopening of the annex building, Möbel Hubacher wants to give itself a new image. In a pitch, the furniture store was looking for an agency that could combine modern architecture and a new brand profile in one CI. Lesch + Frei prevailed and was then also entrusted with the classic branding. For the launch of the design store, a TV commercial was created that highlights the upgraded range - with trompe-l'oeils made from furniture installations. Their outlines form landmarks of the design metropolises, which can now be seen very close by, in Rothrist.

Radio 105 has received a seal of approval at the Best of Swiss Web Awards. The station's web radio application and website were honored in the "Technology Innovation" category. The jury praised the browser compatibility and the rich user experience, according to a press release. Radio 105 has been offering web radio services for over a year, which are used around half a million times a month, according to the press release. The website was created in collaboration with the Bern-based company Maxomedia. 

Last year, over 200 million Swiss francs were spent on market and social research in Switzerland. In 2005, 2.8 million people were surveyed by member institutes of the industry association vsms, according to a press release. The leading institutes are still based in Central Switzerland, with IHA-GfK as the clear industry leader with a turnover of 63 million Swiss francs, followed by the LINK Institute with 32 million and the Demoscope Group with 19 million.
According to vsms, some trends are emerging: ad hoc research (just under 60 percent) has gained an overall share of turnover, while panel research (just over 30 percent) has lost ground. The most important clients for market research are the food/beverage industry, then the media/publishers/TV/radio/Internet, followed by public authorities and companies, telecom and postal services, banks and the tobacco industry. Most surveys were conducted by telephone: although the proportion has fallen slightly, it still accounts for 62 percent. Written surveys also declined, with a share of 13%. Face-to-face surveys have stagnated at 17%, while online surveys have increased significantly. Their share is 8 percent, which corresponds to a doubling compared to 2004. The vsms does not provide any information on refusal rates in its communiqué.
The industry association vsms announced its latest figures at the 5th Market Research Day at the KKL Culture and Convention Center in Lucerne. Urs Schaeppi, CEO of Swisscom Solutions AG, and Elmar Wohlgensinger, President of the GfM Swiss Marketing Association, were among the speakers at the industry event, which was attended by almost 300 people.

Pierre C. Meier on the change of editor-in-chief in Bern and Berlin Hanspeter Spörri, editor-in-chief of the Bund, is leaving his job. As Hans Lauri, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Bund Verlag AG and SVP member of the Council of States, told the Bund editorial team, Spörri had felt increasingly uncomfortable implementing the decisions of the management. The official media release then reads as follows: "In recent months, different views have emerged regarding the management and further development of the newspaper." It seems that the various drastic cost-cutting measures and organizational changes of recent months were too much for Spörri. A new editor-in-chief is now being sought. As the NZZ is still in charge of publishing the Bund, it will probably have to bite the bullet and find a successor. This will not be an easy task, as he will have to try to keep the Bern model (two newspapers, each with independent editorial teams under one publishing house) alive under immense cost pressure.
The Berliner Zeitung maintains the same unagitated style of a serious quality newspaper as the Bund. Here, too, there has been a change of chair. The previous editor-in-chief, Uwe Vorkötter, is leaving his job and moving to the Frankfurter Rundschau. The newspaper's new owners (including British newspaper investor David Montgomery) have found an internal successor in Josef Deppenbrock. Deppenbrock will not only become editor-in-chief of the Berliner Zeitung, he will also remain publisher of the Hamburger Morgenpost and will be responsible for the editorial affairs of the entire group on the management board of BV Deutsche Zeitungsholding.
Today, an editor-in-chief must obviously have strong management skills above all else. This is the only way to get the jug to the well.
Pierre C. Meier, Editor-in-Chief