Who is younger than 28 and wants to fly to the World Advertising Championships in Cannes around June 18? The ADC/BSW Creative School is once again organizing a "Young Creatives" competition in co-production with Keystone, Cinecom and Werbewoche. The aim of this competition is to design a poster using photos from the Keystone image archive. This year's theme is: "Safety for children in road traffic". We are now looking for U28 teams of two creative people who were both born after June 24, 1977. The entries must be submitted by April 27. The jury, made up of prominent names from the Swiss advertising scene, will then select five teams to win a flight, hotel and a visit to the festival in Cannes. The gold team will also represent Switzerland in the international "Young Creatives Competition" at the festival. Anyone under the age of 23 can also win a special prize for a course at the renowned Roger Hatchuel Lions Academy in Cannes. The Keystone agency is giving the "Young Creatives" free access to over 1.5 million stock images for the design of the posters. More information and the detailed briefing can be found at www.kreativschule.ch. Andreas Panzeri 

The communiqué for the 2006 annual meeting of the Swiss Advertisers' Association (SWA) refers to SWA President Gérard Stalder's dream of an ideal advertising landscape for Switzerland - for the economy, advertisers and the media. According to this, national radio advertising would finally be permitted following a further revision of the RTVA. Split-screen advertising would be allowed on television. Advertising for wine and beer would be everywhere. Poster research had become established, newspapers had introduced seasonal and day-dependent insertion rates and also special rates for each federal government. For the Internet, on the other hand, Stalder envisioned globally standardized regulations and precise user figures. And cross-media projects would be easy to book at combined prices. As the SWA also announced on Thursday, the association is on course for growth. With Geberit, Ikea, Nike, Sony Overseas and Hyundai, important new members have been acquired. This means that 9 of the 10 largest and 40 of the 50 largest advertising clients are now members of the SWA. The association started 2006 at full throttle. The General Assembly confirmed the Board members Georg E. Müller and Thomas Tanner for a further 3 years, as well as Gérard Stalder in his office as President. Roger Harlacher, Director of Zweifel, was newly elected to the Board.

Elisabeth Boner will take over as Head of Communications at the Association of Swiss Electricity Companies (VSE) on May 1. She replaces Rolf Schmid, who has held the position ad interim since the beginning of the year. As Head of Communications, Boner will be responsible for the association's internal and external communications as well as acting as media spokesperson. The qualified BR consultant currently heads the communications department at Oerlikon Contraves.

The general meeting of the Association of Public Relations Agencies in Switzerland (BPRA) has elected Peter P. Knobel as its new president. He succeeds Ulrich Bollmand, who headed the association for six years. Knobel has managed the PR consultancy agency of the same name in Zug for almost 20 years. Roman Geiser, CEO of Burson-Marsteller, is also a new member of the board. Christian König, Board Delegate of Farner Consulting, and Peter Felber, Partner of Intext Communications, were re-elected. As a final official act, Bollmann awarded three further BPRA member agencies with the internationally recognized CMS II quality certificate. With Mach Communications Management from Baden and the two Zurich agencies Piar and Vector Communications, seven BPRA member agencies now meet the global quality standard of the PR industry. Founded in 1976, the association represents the professional interests of its member PR agencies in Switzerland.

The Federal Supreme Court has confirmed the decision of the Independent Complaints Authority for Radio and Television (UBI) regarding a "Kassensturz" report on MBA training. An appeal by SRG was thus dismissed, reports the news agency SDA. On January 11, 2005, the consumer magazine had broadcast a report on the "Graduate School of Business Administration Zurich" (GSBA). In the introduction, an expert questioned the value of the MBA course offered there. In the course of the report, "Kassensturz" substantiated the thesis that the school was not worth the money, instead of distancing itself and involving the institution concerned. The Lausanne judges criticized the report for violating the programme regulations. Important information had been withheld from viewers in favor of a lively report. For example, the GSBA has recognized quality seals.

Online It actually still happens that
Advertising informs. Or at least amused. Then you don't
to like them. But if the commercial break never ends, or
If unnecessary paper clogs up the letterbox, advertising is annoying. The
also applies to pop-ups on the screen. Nobody likes them. But they
could at least be clicked away at the touch of a button. Yes, they could.
Past tense. This is because a new generation of these advertising
banner boldly stretches across the website, stealing the viewer's view
and cannot be moved or removed in any other way.
But that's not all: recently, some banners even cover other banners.
off. One advertising message overlaps the other. Clear the way for a new
Pecking order on the Internet. According to the motto: whoever pays more may give the
to put others on the banner. Or something like that. What even crows can't
website operators and their marketers, without having to deal with
to bat an eyelid. But that could backfire. (mk)

The entry deadline for the New York Festivals of Advertising (NYFA) has been extended to April 17, 2006. Award seekers can enter one of three competitions: „TV, Cinema & Radio Advertising,“ „Design, Print & Outdoor Advertising,“ and „Interactive & Alternative Media.“ In September, the winning entries will be honored during a week filled with events celebrating the world of advertising. Details and registration information are available on the New York Festivals website.

Josef Schmid will assume the role of CFO at Trimedia Communications in early April. As a member of the management team, Schmid will lead the company’s Switzerland-wide finance department. A certified expert in accounting and controlling, he is regarded as a financial expert with a broad background and many years of experience in all areas of accounting and controlling. Most recently, Schmid served as a member of the executive board and Head of Finance & IT at Mecanovis.

Internet The U.S. marketing industry is discovering a new playground on the Internet: social networking sites popular with teenagers, such as Myspace.com, are recording more visits than Google. Millions of teenagers spend hours there every day looking for friends, having fun, and presenting themselves to an anonymous audience. Over 50 million users—the majority of whom fall within the 14- to 24-year-old age group so coveted by the advertising industry—meet regularly on Myspace.com, for example. «Companies want to know where their most important demographic is,» says Cory Treffiletti of the agency Carat Fusion. «They can be found on Myspace.com.»
Already, 10 percent of online advertising is placed on Myspace.com. After all, according to data from the analytics firm Comscore Media Metrix, the site recorded 23 million pageviews in January 2006—more than companies such as Microsoft (20 million), AOL Time Warner (20 million), eBay (11 million), and Google (7.6 million). Only Yahoo, with 34 million page views, ranked ahead of the newcomer aimed at teenagers. Facebook.com ranked seventh with 5 million page views.
Rupert Murdoch, who incorporated the site Myspace.com into his media empire, News Corporation, last summer, once again demonstrated his keen business sense with the $580 million acquisition. «Myspace.com will look much more impressive in six months. We’ll be starting with videos soon,» he promised in an interview with Newsweek. Myspace.com will also be entering the search engine business soon. «We want to appeal to every kind of advertiser—from mom-and-pop shops to America’s largest corporations.» Myspace.com can also use the Murdoch-owned Fox network and the Fox youth channel My Network—which launches in September—to promote new shows, just as NBC has already done with its sitcom «The Office.».
Viacom CEO Tom Freston also announced the company's commitment to this area. «Everyone wants to know how to make money from this,» he said in an interview with Reuters. «Basically, we're asking people to run ads between people's conversations.»
John Page of the youth consulting firm Yankelovich points out that the networking aspect of the Internet is becoming increasingly important. «People want to make connections.» Brands that foster this connection stand to gain a particular advantage from this phenomenon: «They tap into users» «soft spot.»” Products that teenagers enjoy discussing with their friends, in particular, can help build a stronger bond with the brand. And to build this bond, you have to “equip kids with the tools that allow the brand to spread the word”—tools such as interactive features or electronic toys, for example.
Myspace.com was originally conceived by its founders, Tom Anderson and Chris DeWolfe, as a way to give young musicians a platform to showcase their music online. It worked. Thousands of artists—from superstar Madonna to wannabe rockers—now post their music online as MP3 files, hoping to achieve fame and fortune this way.
But that's not all. In December, Myspace.com launched a record label that releases albums by artists discovered through the website. In addition, there are plans for a Myspace radio station via satellite, new mobile phone features that allow users to log in to the website via their phones, and even Myspace movies. «We want to be a lifestyle brand,» says DeWolfe.
Industry observers believe that social networking sites such as Myspace.com, Facebook.com, and Friendster.com are giving rise to a new culture. According to a study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, 87 percent of American teenagers use the Internet, and half of them create their own online content—known in technical jargon as «user-generated content.» Some users believe this has changed their lives. «Thank you so much, Tom,» writes a teenager named Swanna, for example. “Before I knew about MySpace, I was just a loser sitting at home waiting for the phone to ring. Now I can go out with all my new friends. I love you, Tom.”   
Success Despite a Pedophile Scandal: Myspace.com Became the Subject of Public Debate
Recently, police in the U.S. state of Connecticut arrested a 21-year-old man suspected of raping a 14-year-old girl whom he had met through the website. Investigations into similar cases are also underway in other states, prompting numerous school and parent organizations to take precautionary measures regarding their children’s Internet use. In connection with this case, Myspace officials assure the public that they will do everything in their power to combat illegal and pornographic posts. Twelve Myspace employees alone go through thousands of online pages every day to review their content. Children under the age of 14 are barred from accessing the site. The problem is obvious to many, but difficult to solve. «In practice, the risk that pedophiles will actually make contact with children through Myspace.com is low,» says Alex Halavais, a computer science professor at the University at Buffalo. He adds: «But even a small number is enough to trigger a moral panic.» Although the advertising industry was initially shocked, this had little impact on the site’s business: 50 million young people are too compelling an argument. «These users are the best customers companies could have for their brands,» says Treffiletti. «That’s because they actively engage with the ads.»

Gerti Schön
 

Market research firms Igem and Publisuisse are reigniting the debate over the release of PIN data. On April 6, during the
General Meeting of the Electronic Media Interest Group
(Igem), the TV advertising agency Publisuisse presents a survey on
Disclosure of so-called PIN data. TV marketers and providers, as well as
Media agencies were asked whether they would
«individual-level usage data» from TV research and
"How much they would be willing to pay for it," says Igem Managing Director Ueli
Custer, upon request. He did not provide any details about the result.

PIN data is the raw material from TV research: a mix of the
sociodemographic data from the Telecontrol panel lists and the
usage data collected down to the second. Agencies have access to this data
and TV providers already use analysis or planning tools from the
SRG Access. However, the data there is no longer in its raw form,
but rather pre-sorted and accompanied by ad block prices and performance forecasts
enriched. For example, there is a fixed number of evaluable
Target audiences are specified; these are not broadcast ratings, but only commercial break ratings
available, and it's almost impossible to track channel-surfing behavior anymore.

Because of such ambiguities, companies with international networks in particular are demanding
For years, media agencies have had unfiltered access to the
PIN information—just like when traveling abroad. In addition, they could use this information in the future to
Create your own performance forecasts—an additional
An opportunity to stand out in a highly competitive market.
However, an initial proposal to introduce it was made five years ago by the
The industry has rejected it. Too expensive, too complex, too heavily regulated, so
was the criticism. Small agencies also feared for their survival,
because they face high personnel, training, and IT costs
saw. The PIN data is therefore considered to have «market-changing potential»
attributed. «The concerns of small agencies have not changed in the
»Little has changed in the last five years," he comments
BSW Managing Director Walter Merz.

Whatever the results of the poll may be, it’s sure to be a hot topic. It’s safe to assume
is that the result has once again intensified the call for free PIN data
resounds, because the international networking of the agencies has
...and so on, as does the pressure they face to distinguish themselves. The Publisuisse survey
will therefore likely result in a second proposal for implementation,
while giving small agencies a bit of a hand with tools and in terms of costs
will accommodate.

Markus Knöpfli

According to the HandelsZeitung’s annual „Advertising Trends 2006“ analysis of the Swiss advertising industry, sentiment among agencies and advertisers is at its highest level in a long time. For the study, the 500 largest companies, 25 media agencies, and 40 recruitment firms were surveyed about their current communications budgets. 35.2 percent of advertisers expect higher budgets—a figure not seen since 2002. Similarly, the percentage of those expecting budget cuts—at 17.6 percent—is at its lowest level. Just under 50 percent are operating with budgets unchanged from the previous year. This is seen as a clear indication of „renewed confidence in the industry.“ Among media agencies, two out of three surveyed also expect rising revenues for the current year. The proportion of pessimists has fallen to 5 percent. Priorities among the most important communication measures have shifted, and brand awareness has grown. Following the perennial favorites of market share and revenue, brand management now ranks third (up from seventh place two years ago). Among traditional media, TV’s share of advertising budgets appears to have peaked at over 23 percent; no further growth in TV spending is forecast through 2010. Integrated communication—under the banner of „cross-media“—is a major trend. When it comes to cross-media campaigns, 51 percent of clients consider newspapers to play a central role. The HandelsZeitung concludes that newspapers can serve as the „aircraft carrier“ in the cross-media mix. The role of online media is significantly less relevant (22 percent rate it as „important,“ 56 percent as “supplementary”), yet they are growing in popularity among over 55 percent of advertisers. The topic of media partnerships also remains relevant, with just under 40 percent considering them important or very important.

Culture: Claude Catsky's Flyer—A Harbinger
the poster and advertising campaign—for the 2007 Einsiedel World Theater Festival—has
caused a huge uproar in Switzerland. And that was even before the
The agency was able to announce that it had joined the World Theater Society
Einsiedeln had secured a new client. According to an article
In addition to *Der Bote der Urschweiz*, *10vor10*, *20 Minuten*, and the
SonntagsZeitung – Catsky on the same page as Oliviero Toscani
pointed out—regarding the advertising motif. Since the U.S. Embassy also
Since it has been turned on, there is no end in sight to the media coverage.