The rumors have come true: The US Internet groups Yahoo and Ebay announced on Thursday that they will be joining forces in future with regard to advertising and commerce. Yahoo will be exclusively responsible for the graphic advertising on the Ebay website, reports the news agency SDA. Yahoo has also selected the Ebay system PayPal for its customers' online transactions. With this cooperation, the two companies want to strengthen their position against Google. The plans are to be implemented this year.

The former Creative Consultant of the WPP Group, Neil French, appears to be working on new international awards for print advertising. As the American advertising trade journal Advertising Age (Ad Age) reports, he is currently putting his heads together with Barbara Levy (owner of the London International Awards). The name of the competition is not yet known, but Levy registered the domain name worldpressawards.org in November 2005. In an e-mail to Ad Age, French spoke of a few months until the launch of the award. According to industry insiders, the initiators are already looking for jury members.

Communications professionals have until May 31 to register for the 2nd Swiss Award Corporate Communications. The competition is organized by Headline, the communications club in the Mittelland region, and honors innovative concepts for integrated corporate communications. The initiators want to promote creative ideas and professional achievements in the communications industry. A jury will evaluate the concepts, which must be submitted by June 31. The award ceremony will take place on September 12 as part of the Swiss Forum for Corporate Communications in Olten.

The Bertelsmann media group has prevented a partial IPO: The company is buying back the stake held by minority shareholder Groupe Bruxelles Lambert (GBL) for 4.5 billion euros. The buyback of the 25.1 percent stake is to be completed on July 1, the groups announced in a joint press release on Thursday. The buyback will be financed with an interim loan from several banks, which is to be repaid with the current business and the proceeds from the planned sale of BMG Music Publishing.
GBL acquired a stake in Bertelsmann in 2001 and was contractually guaranteed the right to float the stake on the stock exchange. The Bertelsmann Foundation, which was founded by company patriarch Reinhand Mohn, holds 57.6 percent of the shares, while the Mohn family holds the remaining 17.3 percent. According to the news agency SDA, GBL's share package had previously been estimated at 3.5 billion euros.

The Alliance of Swiss Advertising Agencies (ASW) has unanimously elected a new president. Andy Ruf, owner of the Ruf ASW advertising agency in Eglisau, was elected to the office for the second time, this time for the 2006/2007 term of office, succeeding Diego Bally. Claude Hitz from Ergo Communications in Zurich became the new Vice President.
The ASW has also renewed its Board of Directors. Daniela Müller (Müller und Partner, Aarau) and Michael Waldvogel (Idfx, Wädenswil) were newly elected. Benno Frick from Frick & Partner, Erlenbach, and Patrick Lack from Dialog Lucky Lack, Basel, were confirmed as members of the Board. Peter Droz Werbeagentur from Zurich was also accepted as a new ASW member.

The PR agency cR Kommunikation won the mandate for Nokia Alps as part of an agency competition and has also managed the mandate operationally since March 2004. After a good two years of work on the mandate and an analysis of this collaboration, the agency has decided to return the mandate at the end of May 2006. The reason: there were differences of opinion between the agency and the client regarding the structure of the mandate and the nature of the collaboration. From the agency's point of view, the basis of trust and thus the prerequisite for a successful partnership no longer existed, the agency announced in a communiqué on Wednesday evening.Nokia, for its part, announced on Wednesday evening that the entire PR mandate for Nokia in Switzerland will be taken over by the Zurich PR agency PRFact from June 1, 2006. PRFact has been supporting Nokia with public relations projects in the scene and lifestyle sector since 2003.

Human rights Amnesty International wants to join forces with the Walker agency to bring the issue of torture up close for discussion.Torture is a focus topic for Amnesty International this year. It's a tough one - but a simple message. We know from TV news and newspaper reports that horrific torture is happening around the world. The images with victims and scenes of abuse are "familiar" to us. But what do we do about it? What happens seven flying hours away is not able to grab us up close. "We therefore simply leave out seven hours of flying time and show the world in which we then find ourselves," says Pius Walker, explaining the concept behind his new campaign for Amnesty International (Switzerland). The idea was visually dramatized with real photos of tortured people. However, these are not shown in their surroundings, but are graphically cut out and re-placed in Swiss realities such as shopping streets, SBB train stations, idyllic waterfront promenades or busy squares. In such places as Paradeplatz in Zurich or in front of a friendly old town, Walker photographed a poster site. A torture victim was then copied into this photograph - and the new montage was rehung against its old background. The result of this visual trick was posters in which one can see "as if through the surface" to an otherwise hidden world. Two realities were thus connected. A hanged man on a tree in Africa suddenly hangs on a billboard in front of a tree - for example, on the waterfront in Geneva. "It's not happening here - but now," is the evocative message.
Walker designed 70 unique posters for this provocative campaign. APG showed a great deal of commitment in finding suitable poster sites. The photos with torture scenes were researched with a lot of goodwill from the - unfortunately - endless pool of Keystone.
Technically, the procedure was to photograph a billboard site at early dawn in the most neutral weather conditions possible. Then the torture victim was mounted on the computer and the brightness was adjusted until the advertisers were satisfied with their impression of "transparent".
The posters will be present for a month starting in week 22. The motifs at the individual locations will change, which should give the campaign additional attention. Bullet holes, child soldiers, people in shackles, people hanging upside down: the campaign deliberately provokes a discussion in the media. To this end, the mechanisms of PR are also brought into play. "We have a limited media budget, so we have to get into the media by other means," Walker explains. For all their commitment to the serious cause, however, the campaign's designers made it a top priority to ensure that the helpless tortured people in this sociopolitical "art action" never appear degrading in the picture. In order to remain politically correct and neutral, torture scenes from all camps of the current crisis areas have been selected.
Amnesty International (Switzerland) has a collection budget of 11 million Swiss francs per year. About one third of this is delivered to the worldwide umbrella organization. The current cross-national campaigns are a "Control Arm" campaign and a campaign to raise awareness about violence against women. The Swiss section is free to decide on national issues, as Daniel Meienberger, head of communications at AI's Swiss section, explains. For its education on torture, the concept is: "Publicizing is the core of action."
    
Andreas Panzeri

David Allemann is the new Head of Group Branding & Marketing at Birsfeld-based furniture manufacturer Vitra as of November 1, 2006. Vitra wants to place more emphasis on communication and branding. Brand protection, brand development in the consumer sector, development of the Vitra Campus activities and cultural sponsoring will be added to the previous tasks of classic communication and combined in the Corporate Communications division. David Allemann will have international responsibility for the brand image, corporate communications and strategic marketing initiatives.
Allemann worked for a total of nine years in the areas of integrated communications and new media and most recently as Head of Strategy and Managing Director at Advico Young & Rubicam.

The Federal Council has granted the pay-TV channel "Teleclub" a new television license until the end of May 2013. The broadcaster will also be granted the right to expand its own offering to seven channels and also offer domestic sport. "Teleclub" has been offering an encrypted pay-TV channel for 20 years and has expanded its offering from one analogue channel to three digital channels in the last 10 years.
With Wednesday's licensing decision, "Teleclub" is now in a position to expand its offering in terms of quantity and quality. In the longer term, the broadcaster intends to transmit via traditional telecommunications networks such as telephone cable and mobile networks in addition to cable TV networks.
Teleclub AG" is owned in three equal shares by Criterico AG, ML Medializenz AG and the publishing house Ringier AG. The first two companies are wholly owned by Cinetrade AG. Swisscom holds a 49 percent stake in Cinetrade AG. In the discussion as to whether this is compatible with the constitutional principle of state independence of radio and television, the Federal Council has now decided that a minority shareholding is justifiable.

Service public LGK is once again showcasing Swiss Post with testimonials this year. If there is one company that gives the jargon street credibility a deeper meaning, it is definitely Swiss Post. Since it was founded over 150 years ago, the public company has played a central role in passenger and freight transportation. This strong positioning is particularly noticeable whenever Swiss Post wants to adapt to new challenges and there is an outcry about the threatened public service mandate. As Swiss Post wants to maintain its USP of providing a nationwide basic service and at the same time create a communicative understanding for the necessary restructuring, it makes sense to derive a solid umbrella campaign from the image platform.The Bern-based in-house agency LangGysiKnoll has been implementing the brand world for several years with a testimonial concept that bears the meaningful working title "Vox Populi". In it, the customers - in other words, everyone - has their say. "And this is deliberately done in a political and economic environment that is not exactly easy," says CD Text Daniela Jakab. This shows that Swiss Post has an open ear for opinions. "It was clear to the agency right from the start of the project that this closeness to the people could only be made credible with real people without a script," says Jakab. Swiss Post has consistently pursued this approach, which is intended to cover the services of all Group divisions, by communicating image values in its new image. As the aim was to create customer proximity, sympathy and trust, an advertising campaign in the traditional sense was less of an option. "We wanted a campaign with a PR character," says Schwarz about the formal objectives of the new image. In this campaign, Swiss Post has its customers express their loyalty themselves in the form of spontaneous feedback. Director Marcel Langenegger recorded the brainstorming on all kinds of Swiss Post topics in a relaxed documentary style and was allowed to do this again. One constant since the start of the campaign has been the differentiated approach to the Post and the broad spectrum of opinions. They reflect the experiences, wishes and values of customers across languages and regions and with tangible authenticity.
However, to mark the centenary of the popular Postbus, this time she gave Mr. and Mrs. Swiss a chance to have their say on the importance of the yellow means of transport - after all, the market leader with an 18 percent share of public transport sales on the roads. Once again, however, neither the storyboard nor the questionnaire were approved, assures Roland Schwarz from Swiss Post's Corporate Communications department.
Completely new challengeIn terms of production technology, the integration of the special theme "100 years of PostBus" was a completely new challenge due to the road and natural locations in all parts of the country. In the commercial, dozens of voices and faces now convey a multifaceted overall impression of Swiss Post to the TV and cinema audience. In 2006, Swiss Post is also focusing on Markom in the area of public exhibitions, where the image spot will be used without sound.
But that is not the end of the story: In recent months, the Vox Populi concept has been developed into a cross-media presentation. This summer, the entire population is to be put into puzzle fever. Under the motto "True or untrue?", Swiss Post wants to continue to spread the basic promise of the image-building measures outlined above - and make its fulfillment a topic of discussion.
Luca Aloisi

Listener research Radio Capital stopped the erosion of listeners at its predecessor station ExtraBern, but a real turnaround is not in sight.
Radio Capital FM (ex ExtraBern) recently issued a press release in which
the people in charge of the radio station about the first three months of the new
the transmitter set up. The on January 23, 2006
Capital FM, which was launched in the first quarter of its
broadcasting operation "significantly better listener figures than its predecessor station
Radio ExtraBern in the last quarter of 2005", it said in the
Communiqué. ExtraBern had previously worked with the company over a period of around two
continuously lost listeners over the years. "Capital FM was able to
Correct development right from the start of transmission." This is documented with
Radiocontrol data: According to this, Capital FM in the first three months
in German-speaking Switzerland an average daily reach of 75100
people, 12.6 percent more than ExtraBern in the last quarter of 2005
(66700). The average daily usage time of Capital FM
amounted to 37 minutes and was thus 10 percent above the last values of
ExtraBern. In this respect, the title of the press release "Trend reversal
entitled".

But the station managers didn't say a word about the competition
and certainly not about the situation in the Bern region, the
the station's actual home territory. This is where the trend reversal
but, above all, the primary goal of the relaunch could not be achieved,
to become number 1 again will not be achieved by far.

Amazing values
During its first 100 days in Berne, Capital FM was able to
also increase: among listeners aged 15 and over, it has
40600 persons or 11.2 % more than in the last quarter of 2005.
percent more, and in the target group of 15 to 49-year-olds it increased by
by 6 percent to 28,200 people. What is astonishing, however, is that in the
During the same period, rival station BE1 made even greater gains: It won in both target groups
around 10,000 more people and now has 7,100,000 listeners (+14.8 percent)
and 61400 listeners (+19.4 percent). The difference in market share
is also striking: BE1 reaches 9.5 percent of all listeners,
Capital FM to 4.7 percent. Among 15- to 49-year-olds, BE1
even has a market share of 21 percent, Capital FM has 7.2 percent.
percent.

Martin Freiburghaus, Director of BE1, therefore states in an e-mail to
customers and business partners: "Radio BE1 therefore remains the number 1
among the Bernese stations - the relaunch of Capital FM has done nothing to change this.
changed." Which further diminishes the success of Capital FM:
The public broadcasters DRS 1 and DRS 3 also recorded a slight increase in sales.
Bern. At a higher level, like Capital FM, they have now reached the
listeners aged 15 and over around 4000 more. In the target group 15 to
49, on the other hand, DRS 1 suffered a slight decline, while
DRS 3 even outperformed Capital FM by 7,700 listeners or 12.1 percent
was able to increase.

How does the Swiss Radio Pool, of which Capital FM is a member, react to
the first figures? Pool manager Andreas Meili is pleased that the Bernese
pool partner increased both in terms of reach and listening time.
"This shows that listeners still appreciate it when you are in
invested in quality," he says. But what has been achieved is not enough.
"Capital FM needs to make further gains relatively quickly and outperform BE1
catch up," demands Meili.

However, certain reservations about the figures are appropriate: they
should be treated with caution due to the short survey period.
The Radiocontrol half-year figures, which will be available from mid-July, will be
provide more precise information.   

Markus Knöpfli

Research A study by Publisuisse shows: The cozy family evening in front of the TV will soon be a thing of the past. In future, everyone will be their own program director.Swiss television is thinking ahead: it is not only talking about mobile TV, it is also producing its first content. SF is making a start with the "Tagesschau". Some editions have already been produced as one- to two-minute pilot programs for UMTS-enabled cell phones. SF is currently still looking for telecom companies to include the "Tagesschau" in their offerings. It is not yet clear when the fee-based broadcasting will begin. But one thing is already foreseeable: Such services could radically change TV usage. The medium of TV, which today can be consumed like almost no other medium almost exclusively within the private four walls and according to fixed broadcasting times, will increasingly be usable independent of time and space.
SF is thus almost anticipating the results of a study commissioned by SF marketer Publisuisse. Better: SF's efforts fully confirm the study. In this study, domestic and foreign experts were asked which technical innovations they consider relevant in relation to the medium of TV and which conclusions can be drawn about usage behavior. From these answers, the study makers finally identified eleven trends.
Trend towards "singleization "In a second round of questioning, the experts commented on this and evaluated it. The result: 9 out of 33 respondents do not consider the much-vaunted media convergence to be the most important development in relation to TV, but rather the liberation of the medium from space and time (referred to as "de-anchoring" in the study).
According to the study, TV consumption will be possible everywhere in the future and will also be time-shifted or completely on-demand. As a result, the demand for technologies and devices that support TV consumption independent of time and place is increasing. Half of those surveyed are of the opinion that this trend will already be noticeable by 2010.
The second most important trend, with five expert votes, is referred to as "singleization". In principle, it is a consequence of the first: every consumer is becoming their own program director. TV consumption is becoming more individual, everyone decides for themselves what they want to watch, where and when. Devices that allow content to be selected and compiled according to personal preferences are gaining preference.
"Multiplicity" is the name of the third trend (four votes) and refers to the increase in offers and offer models. "Pay TV is gaining importance alongside free TV", as are special-interest channels, pay-per-view, video on demand and more.
The remaining eight trends are mostly consequences of the first three and go into even more detail. Some of them also contradict the "main trends". However, this does not fundamentally call them into question. Because, as we know, every trend also generates a counter-trend. So there will always be people who don't like the brave new TV world, who feel overwhelmed by time or technology and therefore want everything to be as cheap, simple and easy to understand as possible. Such considerations are also reflected in the eleven trends. However, the experts' weighting shows that Mobile TV will be increasingly in demand in the future. SF is apparently also convinced of this and wants to be one of the first providers in Switzerland.
"Experts" in the sense of the studyFor this so-called expert survey,
which was conducted in two rounds, a total of 66 people from universities, TV broadcasters, advertising and media agencies, telecommunications companies, network operators, consulting firms and marketers were asked to take part - half from Switzerland and half from abroad. 40 people effectively took part in the first round and 33 in the second. However, there was no standardized criterion for "expertise"; the participants had to assess themselves.
For example, 11 study participants classified themselves as "experts", 16 described themselves as "knowledgeable", 15 felt "familiar" with the subject matter, while one only "occasionally deals with it".
The term "expert survey" is also the main flaw in this study. This is because the definition of an expert purely according to professional function and self-assessment is not sufficient, in addition to the fact that at least two thirds of the participants expressly did not consider themselves experts.
designate.
A second weakness: The study contains countless abbreviations such as IPTV, PVR, EPG, LCD, DVR, VoD and terms such as timeshift or multiplayer gaming, none of which are explained. There is no glossary.
"TV medium of the future", Part IUnder the heading "TV medium of the future"
Publisuisse will be publishing a whole series of studies over the next six months. The first of these will be the expert survey summarized here, which was conducted between 25 January and 6 April 2006, followed at the beginning of June by a study from the point of view of TV users: they will reflect on their current usage in discussion groups and express their views on their ideal TV of the future. The results of these discussions will be compared with the results of the expert survey.
In mid-July, the "Market View" of advertising and media agencies and advertising clients, collected via an online survey, will be published. They comment on technical developments in the medium of TV and show how they are adapting to them.
Three interviews with experts in the field of advertising impact will follow in August. At the beginning of October, Publisuisse will publish a dossier on the series of studies. The Digi Trend Forum on October 3 will also focus on the future of TV. After that, Publisuisse intends to stay on the ball in this regard by evaluating and summarizing future studies (including third-party studies) and communicating the results at least once a year.
Markus Knöpfli

The complete study can be found at werbewoche.ch (Tools/Studies).