Press Since publisher Philippe Hersant has been active in Switzerland, he has wanted the regional newspaper Le Nouvelliste. The Valais is famous for its Alps, its apricots, its family clans and its 103-year-old newspaper, Le Nouvelliste. For 90 years, it was the mouthpiece of right-wing conservative and Christian circles that defended Valais against infidels, liberals, emancipationists and Greens. That is now a thing of the past: former editor-in-chief François Dayer steered a cautious course of opening up, while his successor Jean Bonnard turned the paper into a modern forum newspaper. The editorial cooperation with the Fribourg regional newspaper La Liberté plays an important role in this: thanks to it, both papers have succeeded in distinguishing themselves as full newspapers. They are not only strong in their region, but also manage to publish independent articles on Swiss and international topics. The formula has been successful: publisher Rhône Média reported rising sales and profits for the past year, while the paper's readership remained stable at 108,000. For large press groups, Le Nouvelliste, the only daily newspaper in French-speaking Lower Valais, and its associated printing center are an appetizing roast. Around 20 years ago, Edipresse publisher Pierre Lamunière acquired a 37.5 percent stake, but today, at the behest of the Competition Commission, he has to give up some of his shares in order to get below the blocking minority of 33.3 percent. This was the condition imposed by the competition authorities when they approved Edipresse's purchase of the two "Presses" integrated into 24 heures on Lake Geneva and Lake Neuchâtel. Since then, the small block of shares up for sale has been a source of discord, as it would allow the various Valais clans fighting for control of the Nouvelliste to gain a majority. At the same time, the French Hersant Group is trying to get its hands on Nouvelliste. Publisher Philippe Hersant is laying out bait: Attractive offers for shareholders willing to sell or the employment of Valais personalities with influence and connections to Nouvelliste in the Hersant holding company.
 
The problem, however, is that over 60% of the shares are tied up in a shareholders' convention. It provides for a right of first refusal for the members of the convention. The purpose of this convention is to ensure that the Nouvelliste remains in Valaisan hands. Instead of unity, however, the convention creates discord: firstly between the shareholders who are inclined to cooperate with Hersant, secondly those who are loyal to Edipresse, and thirdly those who (like the other two groups, by the way) swear hand on heart that the independence of the paper is their top priority. Meanwhile, editor-in-chief Jean Bonnard defends the independence of the editorial team.
In recent weeks, the waters have once again risen. Liberté revealed the Hersant Group's attempt to get a share purchase past the shareholders' convention. This is based on a written proposal that ended up in the hands of CEO Jean-Yves Bonvin. According to Roger de Diesbach, the author of the article, this proposal contains the following offer to the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Jean-Marie Fournier: the Hersant Group will give Fournier, who owns 20 percent of the shares, a loan equal to the value of these shares.
The loan is repayable exclusively in the form of shares, which means that Fournier remains formally in possession of shares that indirectly belong to Hersant. While Hersant spokesman Jacques Richard denies this, Fournier admits to having received the proposal. However, he never signed it. For Fournier and his allies on the Board of Directors, this is a story that Edipresse has made up via Liberté with the aim of damaging Fournier - an absurd accusation for anyone who knows Roger de Diesbach and his fight for an independent press.
Edipresse boss Tibère Adler "takes note" that Jean-Marie Fournier has not signed the secret contract, but is aware of "very far-reaching negotiations". However, shareholder Edipresse intends to exercise its right to block all shares in a joint account in order to prevent "wild transactions". In the event that a share transfer has nevertheless already taken place, the publisher reserves the right to take legal action.
 
Jean-Yves Bonvin is not taking the story lightly. "If shares were sold unofficially, this could have legal consequences." Not only could other Valais shareholders see their rights violated, but also Edipresse, as the Lausanne publishing house also has vested pre-emption rights. Bonvin is not only disturbed by the Hersant Group's "covert approach" to the secret project, but also by the fact that the composition of a new board of directors is apparently already being determined with people close to Hersant. In addition, the paper envisages a "publishing council" that would have to take care of the editorial line of the Nouvelliste, bypassing publisher Bonvin and editor-in-chief Bonnard.
 
The idea of the "Publishers' Council" is probably the brainchild of Jean-Marie Fournier. The old-school Valaisan, known as the "King of Veysonnaz", where he deals in real estate and ski slopes, is a passionate Christian Democrat and has long believed that the Nouvelliste should get back on track. Jean-Yves Bonvin defends the paper: "Nobody can turn back the clock. The editorial line of the newspaper corresponds to the changed reading habits and thus also to the journalistic and economic necessities of the newspaper."
Diverging interestsFormer Nouvelliste editor-in-chief François Dayer, who has worked as a journalist in Valais for forty years, retired a few days ago. He warns: "The minority shareholding of a large group is not a problem. But if Hersant wants to enter the share capital, it certainly won't be to make do with a minority stake." It becomes dangerous when a large group takes control of the means of production, as Hersant did in Neuchâtel: "The interests of a large publishing group and the interests of a newspaper are not the same."
How much does Hersant already own?
to seize power, Hersant would have to acquire 40 percent of the tied shares. Has he perhaps already been able to buy other share packages with similar means? "All speculation is open," says Jean-Yves Bonvin, who does not, however, believe that Hersant has already achieved the 40 percent. Whatever the case, Le Nouvelliste is an important piece on the chessboard for the powerful French group, as Hersant's shopping spree in French-speaking Switzerland has so far been rather disappointing. Apart from the local newspaper La Côte on Lake Geneva and the two regional newspapers L'Express and L'Impartial in the canton of Neuchâtel, he has only been able to make a few significant purchases in the newspaper sector - however, the fact that he was also able to acquire the printing plant in Neuchâtel, which he expanded into a state-of-the-art printing center, gives him great influence with small newspapers in French-speaking Switzerland. If he could lay his hands on the Nouvelliste and the associated printing plant, this would allow him to achieve journalistic and industrial synergies.
Hersant's strategy is foreseeable: In the Jura Arc, he has his sights set on the newspapers Le Quotidien Jurassien from publisher Michel Voisard and the Journal du Jura from publisher Marc Gassmann, and in eastern French-speaking Switzerland on the Nouvelliste and the Fribourg Liberté - in short, the last four regional newspapers in western Switzerland that are still independent of large groups. Insiders in the Jura Arc are already discouragingly predicting that the merger into a single regional newspaper is "probably inevitable in the long term". In the east, Hersant could isolate Liberté by taking a detour via Nouvelliste: The Fribourg newspaper is in the hands of nuns who will have to make a succession plan in the medium term.     
Helen Brügger

Bikes The Sport Factory Outlet in the Bally area in Schönenwerd sells leading sports brands at factory prices. These include the latest bikes from Scott and BMC. Just in time for the first warm days, Ruf Lanz has also hit the ground running and has developed a series of striking images to promote these bikes. The floss motif demonstrates that the buyers of a fast bike from Sport Factory Outlet not only have a smile on their lips after the purchase, but also insects between their teeth pretty quickly. For once, the dental floss doesn't have food residue on it, but lots of little midges. The matching roll of dental floss is also provided for dental hygiene. This and other motifs can now be seen in advertisements in the sports trade press, on posters in the region and on postcards.

René Worni on the reality and appearance of visual changesWhen editors-in-chief talk about new layouts and newspaper concepts, they go into raptures. Once they get going, they forget that the general readership doesn't really care where the commentary is, how trendy the columnist is, what comprehension aids the new section and infographics offer and so on. Most readers just want to read. And occasionally see a good picture above well-written articles. And not be disturbed by too much advertising on the pages. So that they can elbow their neighbor on the bench in the rib and say: "You absolutely have to read this", or: "Yay!" About two years ago, the editor-in-chief of the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper, Peter Hartmeier, was a guest of Markus Gilli on the "Talk täglich" program on Zurich's local radio station. Hartmeier promoted the advantages of the new layout of the Tamedia flagship in a tone of conviction. Nevertheless, Gilli - also a Tamedia employee - tried to keep up in a throaty voice. Was it because of Hartmeier's vehemence or Gilli's poor preparation that it was a complete failure? In any case, there was no obvious reason for a certain dramatization of the conversation. However, the audience had to believe that a palace revolution was underway in the building on Werdstrasse. However, this is in no way true of the Tagi.
On the other hand, there are changes that the audience of traditional newspapers will have to get used to. The NZZ's constant facelift seems to be well received in homeopathic doses. The completely new Landbote is also accepted as a contemporary paper. But is the tabloid Blick still what it used to be? Facts is now also daring to make a bolder appearance. At Basler Zeitung, however, an overloaded concept is leading the editorial team to the edge of what is feasible. Laydown. They are now beginning to return to the tried and tested
René Worni, Editor

The German-language Polish monthly newspaper 'Polen-Rundschau' is up for sale on eBay. This was reported by New-business.de with reference to the Wednesday edition of 'FTD'. The seller is the publishing house New Press Polska, which founded the 5,000-copy paper in 2004. The small team sees no possibility of continuing the newspaper economically without the financial backing of a large publishing house, it is said. As no loan commitments were expected from banks, the decision was made to auction the paper on eBay. The newspaper is being offered there at a starting price of 25,000 zloty (approx. 6,500 euros). Although the offer was posted on April 5, no bids have yet been received.

After more than three years with Heye Zurich, McDonald's will once again be looked after by TBWA in Zurich Seefeld from October this year. According to TBWA, the change of agency has nothing to do with Heye's performance. The change is a consequence of a reorganization of McDonald's Europe. McDonald's Switzerland has switched from the Central European Division, which was managed by Heye/DDB, to the Southern European Division, which in turn is managed by TBWA. The move to TBWA/Zurich therefore seems logical for reasons of efficiency, according to the communiqué. The transfer of projects from Heye Zurich to TBWA/Zurich was not an easy process and will be prepared by both agencies over the coming weeks and months, the press release explains. McDonald's has also left no doubt that the bar of expectations for the new agency will be set very high. "McDonald's is a great challenge for us. There is hardly any other client where the quality of the work can be measured so quickly in terms of success," says TBWA Switzerland CEO Markus Pekeler in the press release.

Retail Exxtra has expanded the campaign for Migros' premium line Sélection into a cross-media concept. In our consumer and affluent culture, luxury and wealth are being redefined. The insignia of the new luxury is no longer pomp and splendor, but exclusivity, authenticity and omission. Those who offer consumers tasteful perfection in quality, exquisiteness and individuality can secure substantial competitive advantages.Coop forged aheadDriven by the downward price spiral, Swiss retailers discovered this customer need for themselves a few years ago. In the winter of 2004, Coop was the first major retailer to forge ahead in the trading-up trend with its own Fine Food brand, which at the time comprised five items - one year before the launch of the permanent low price line. According to Coop CEO Hansueli Loosli at the annual media conference, the target group-oriented line was expanded with "great dynamism". Today, the silver gourmet line, which is particularly strong in the convenience sector, comprises around 120 items and is being continuously expanded, explains press spokesman Karl Weisskopf.
Despite its first-mover advantage and the fact that it has met its targets, Coop's premium label has not yet been given its own advertising platform. Apart from packaging and POS materials, the advertising measures are limited to a few advertisements before the most important holidays, recipes and PR articles about the manufacturers in the member magazine. There seem to be several reasons for this: Firstly, Coop expects Fine Food to generate sales of around CHF 40 million in the current year (Coop's retail sales amounted to around CHF 14 billion in 2005). Secondly, the differentiation of the gourmet line from long-listed branded articles in the upper price range is far more demanding than that of the permanent low price line, which was introduced a year later, comprises three times as many articles and already generates ten percent of private label sales.
 
"Our aim is to offer the greatest variety and freedom of choice in terms of range, quality and price," says Weisskopf, referring to the more recent image campaign "Coop - for me and for you". This aims to be the answer to the entire range of needs between mass and exclusivity.
 
The Federation of Migros Cooperatives took a different approach: Ten years after launching the discount line M-Budget, it responded to the change in shopping behavior last October with the Sélection line at the upper end of the price spectrum. According to the company, Christmas business has been very pleasing and sales of the premium line are steadily increasing. "We are expecting annual sales of a good CHF 100 million," says media spokesman Urs Peter Naef confidently (the Cooperatives' retail sales in 2005 amounted to around CHF 14.6 billion).
There is already talk of a Sélection community that now has around 50,000 members; the extended customer base includes at least a quarter of a million households. In order to increase this number, Migros is focusing on an independent appearance of the label on the one hand and on greater advertising pressure on the other. According to the marketing managers at FMC, the focus of Sélection is on anchoring the brand positioning, expanding the product range and cultivating the core customer base. Over the course of the year, Migros wants to make new products appealing to them and increase the range to around 80 items.
Longing for a better lifeAs the Sélection line is less convenience-oriented than Coop's, the advertising team focuses on the core message of "the greatest possible care in the selection and production of products". The authentic implementations and stories from the regions of origin take this core idea into account and are intended to awaken consumers' longing for genuine enjoyment and a better life. The advertising budget is several times higher than that of the competition in order to convey these values.
The best proof of this is the continuation of the campaign, which was launched a few days ago in the familiar documentary style with new advertisement subjects. In the meantime, it has blossomed into a closely interlinked cross-media concept (see text on the right), which delivers new content for a variety of media and media vehicles at a high cadence. But that's not all: at the end of April, in-house agency Exxtra will follow up with a two-minute long spot in the Meteo block of the SF channels. The film, which conjures up the genuine atmosphere of southern Italy in restrained tones for the Sélection pasta, was shot by the Oscar-winning director of "Cinema Paradiso", Giuseppe Tornatore. The stylish premiere will be followed by cut-down versions in measured quantities in upmarket broadcasting environments, says Stefan Erhart, Exxtra's general manager.
The Manor chain also launched its premium Gran Delizia line in August 2005. However, it did so on a greatly reduced scale as far as the Markom media in the Above the Line area is concerned. "We have designed special shelves for the line so that it stands out at the POS. Additional communication measures, from posters and shop windows to booklets and tastings, support the line there," explains Marketing Director Maurice Calanca. DM, the Internet and traditional advertising round off the mix. He sees the importance of Gran Delizia, as with the other own brands, primarily in the differentiated positioning of Manor in the market, i.e. to prevent the gourmets of Manor's clientele from migrating to the competition.
Even discount chains are trying to make a touch of everyday luxury affordable. Under different circumstances, of course. But nevertheless with special labels and products that, according to the communication managers, can hold their own in internal and external comparisons. Sven Bradke, spokesman for Aldi Suisse, puts into perspective the plan circulated by the media that the German discounter wants to introduce a premium label, as was conceived in England for test purposes. The premium trend is being monitored very closely. But "we are concentrating on the product range and continuity in our positioning. We want to offer top quality at reasonable prices," he says. The lack of a premium line does not mean that Aldi's own brands do not have premium products. The Aldi beer, for example, achieved the top score in the K-Tipp test, and the Aldi Suisse organic products are in the premium category.
Denner has also been building up its sub-brand since the change in product range strategy. It is called "Look fort the Best" and is easily recognizable by the high proportion of red on the packaging on the shelves. The name itself explicitly emphasizes that this is not a no-name budget line, explains Eva-Maria Bauder, Head of Corporate Communications. As a discounter, the Denner brand remains credible if it tries to offer branded rather than premium product quality. The range now comprises around 330 items from the food, non-food and near-food sectors and is almost fully assembled. "However, we have never advertised this product line separately, but always within the familiar framework," says Bauder, i.e. alongside branded products in advertisements and the fortnightly mailings. Nevertheless, the company has noticed that its own brand is being increasingly well received by customers and is increasingly replacing competitor products in its target market.
Luca Aloisi

The Swiss paper wholesaler Antalis has presented its annual figures for the 2005 financial year. With sales of CHF 256.4 million (+1.4 percent compared to the previous year), operating profit (EBIT) rose by 13.6 percent to over CHF 15 million. In 2005, 105,000 tons of paper were sold, which corresponds to an increase of 2 percent. Antalis also sees rosy prospects for the current year. The figures for the first quarter of 2006 are also very satisfactory, with sales up 7 percent and revenue growth of over 5 percent. Antalis' strategy of investing sustainably in the future has paid off and will be continued, Antalis announced on Wednesday.

Swiss Radio DRS has been offering news and background programs from the Information department as podcasts since December last year. The podcast offering has now been expanded to include the programs "Kontext", "Reflexe", "Best of Hörpunkt" and "Perspektiven" from DRS 2 as downloadable subscriptions. Since April, the economics editorial team has also been publishing a weekly background podcast with the program "Trend" and contributions and discussions on the most important economic events of the week. According to Radio DRS, 115,000 programs are downloaded every month.

According to the Federal Association of German Advertisers, the German advertisers had an excellent year in 2005 and are doing better than ever. The year 2005 was only surpassed by the boom year 2000, according to Werben und Verkaufen. As in 2004, the Anzeiger was the print medium with the highest percentage sales growth in 2005. With sales growth of 3.3 percent, they achieved total sales of EUR 1,898 million, putting them on a par with general-interest magazines. The importance of the insert business was also evident with an increase of 34% to over a third of sales.

In order to achieve better picture and sound quality, the programs of Télévision Suisse romande TSR1 and TSR2 as well as Televisione svizzera di lingua italiana TSI1 and TSI2 will be broadcast on a second satellite via an additional transponder in parallel to the existing transmission slot. Anyone receiving the programs via satellite will have to change their receiver accordingly. From 16 May, reception of these channels will only be possible via the new satellite, SRG announced on Wednesday. The Swiss television channels SF1 and SF2 as well as SF info are not affected. These channels will remain on the previous satellites and broadcasting slots.

The online media planner of PubliGroup subsidiary Web2com is now called the "Guide for interactive media" and has been published as a new reference work with updated data. At the heart of the guide is the media data for around 160 advertising-relevant websites in Switzerland. The data is based on MA Comis 2005 and Net-Audit from Wemf as well as MMXI 2005 data from Nielsen/Netratings. On over 80 pages, the reference work contains basic information on the Swiss online advertising market, on bookable standard and special advertising formats as well as facts from the mobile, search engine and cross-media world. The guide can be ordered online for a nominal fee of CHF 20.

On May 1, the expanded multimedia newsroom of Swiss Television (SF) will begin normal operations, reporting 24 hours a day, seven days a week in six daily shifts. The 22 employees of SF (5 employees) and Swiss Teletext (17 employees) have already started live operation and are testing all technical connections. "This will be a historic day for SF," says the SRG newsletter. The round-the-clock service is made possible thanks to the integration of the Teletext editorial team. The 22 online workstations show that SF can mobilize resources on a scale that hardly any Swiss daily newspaper can match.