Last year, sponsorship and product placement in SF programs such as "Traumjob", "Lüthi und Blanc", "Gesundheit Sprechstunde" and "MusicStar" caused quite a stir. The SRG Board of Directors has now examined the commercial activities of Swiss television and has given SF a good report card: Sponsorship, prop placement and telephone services at SF are subject to clear and strict rules, according to the Board of Directors. SF works with selected sponsors that are suitable for the programs and the programs are financially independent of the sponsors. The sponsors have no influence on the editorial programming. Swiss Television takes the credibility of the company and the sponsors into consideration when sponsoring, the press release continues. Prop placement is only used in fictional programs and entertainment programs. It consists of the use of "natural, necessary and desirable" props. The plot determines the prop, not the other way around. Telephone services such as televoting, TED polls, competitions, betting games and information services are offered in a targeted manner and at a modest rate of 70 centimes.  
 
In the opinion of the Board of Directors, sponsorship, prop placement and telephone services are practicable forms of communication for the public service of Swiss television.    
 
According to the communiqué, SF's sponsorship income has remained constant at CHF 22 to 23 million since 2002. Prop placement accounts for around half a million francs. Telephone services brought in around CHF 4 million in 2004 and 2005, mainly thanks to "MusicStar", and CHF 3 million is expected in the medium term.
Last October, SF reorganized its sponsorship department. The aim at the time was to "connect the strong emotions between the television audience and the partners from the advertising industry even more strongly". The aim was to optimize the proximity of sponsorship partners to the programme and to strengthen the exchange between editorial teams and partners.

In mid-January 2006, Christian Ehrbar took over as Head of Marketing and Sales at Mosse Media, PubliGroupe's competence center for tourism and educational advertising. The 33-year-old had previously launched various projects in the field of strategy and communication for tourism-oriented companies in his own consulting company ViaCon. Prior to that, he was responsible for the media department of a global medical organization for several years. Originally working in the graphics sector, Christian Ehrbar graduated from Steinbeis University Berlin with a Master of Business Administration in Media Management.

The online portal AOL is putting pressure on television. Its own Internet show "Gold Rush" is to be launched this year, as Pressetext.ch reports. It will only be available on the Internet. You can win prizes worth 1.6 million dollars. The show is a kind of virtual scavenger hunt in which all AOL users can experience the events online. Anyone who wants to can become active themselves and take part in the scavenger hunt. The makers of "Gold Rush" will hide 13 treasures all over America, which will then be searched for. To get clues to the hiding places, players have to solve various puzzles and crack codes that are hidden on AOL's website as well as in newspaper ads and TV commercials.

The Zurich agency Fisch.Meier.Direkt
is expanding its consulting and creation division. Eight new employees
strengthen off- and online dialog marketing: Andri Hoffmann, Head of
marketing communication, comes from the agency side. Consultant Stéphanie
Wyss, previously Deputy Head of Communications Investment &
Private Banking at ZKB, will take over the support of clients from the
branded goods and financial services sector. Sven
Guggenheim, Consultant, and Junior Consultant Marlene Flück are also new
on board. Art director Philipp Sträuli, known for his creative work
for VW, Möbel Pfister, Elmex and others, expands the cross-media area. And
then the graphic designers Veronika Brusa and Anneka Beatty
and Sarah Gianesi in the prepress department.

Luzi Bernet takes over the
Head of Department Domestic work as Deputy Editorial Director
at the NZZ am Sonntag. As reported by the SDA, the
Editor-in-chief now consists of Felix Müller and his
Bernet and Martin Senn together.

Web2com wants to encourage creative onliners to take part in the 8th evaluation of interactive web presences at the 53rd Cannes Lions and is therefore offering the first 10 registration fees. This applies to both the Website/Integrated and Online ads/Email categories. The idea behind it: Creative personalities should be encouraged to make better use of the potential of online media and bosses should be spared having to stand against it with excuses and prevarications for budgetary reasons, according to the press release.

The creative agency won over the new Swiss private broadcaster with its cleverness and focus. Following the agency evaluation, the decision was made in favor of the multi-award-winning Zurich agency. The first advertising appearances are expected to cause a sensation as early as the summer. The station is scheduled to launch at the end of August.

Schlieren-based Christinger Partner, which specializes in large-format printing, now offers F12 backlit poster printing without splices: on a single sheet. Thanks to color management, the new HP Turbojet digital printing press complies with the offset process standard ISO 12647 Fogra Matt. This means that the prints are indistinguishable from offset prints in terms of their color effect, according to the press release. Digital printing is a more economical solution than offset for print runs of up to 500 pieces, especially if the same campaign is to be provided with different logos or addresses, formats or language versions.

The paper will appear on Tuesdays and Thursdays and fill the gap left by the disappearance of the regional newspaper Presse Nord vaudois. As reported by SDA, the former employee of 24 heures, Isidore Raposo, is behind the project. With the newspaper, whose name is still being kept secret, he wants to cover the regions of Grandson, Orbe, Yverdon-les-Bains and the Vallée de Joux. The editorial team in Yverdon will initially consist of four editors and two stagaires. Printing will take place in Biel.

The plant-based advertising logo for Agrola made headlines in summer 2005. The Bernese Building, Transport and Energy Directorate (BVE) banned the lettering, basing its decision on federal road traffic legislation. This prohibits advertising on freeways with the exception of company signs. However, field advertising is not treated the same in all cantons, which is why the company in question appealed to the Administrative Court. The aim is to achieve equal treatment of all field advertising throughout Switzerland. Bernese SVP member of parliament Thomas Fuchs initiated a motion that would oblige the BVE to draw up directives or a law that explicitly permits field advertising. The motion was passed by 88 votes to 53, reports SDA. Nevertheless, nothing will happen for the time being. The BVE announced that it would change its current practice if the court did not consider field advertising to be covered by the ban.

Individual bookings for broadcasting slots will be possible from Monday, February 6. Broadcast slots are still available during the group stages and the round of 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals. Publisuisse is expecting very high viewer numbers. Details on broadcast times, expected viewer numbers and rates can be found on the website. Publisuisse recommends quick decision-makers to book online via Publiplan.

On Thursday, the St. Gallen government presented a dispatch to parliament that provides for a ban on tobacco advertising on public land. In doing so, the government is fulfilling the mandate of the Cantonal Council, which approved the motion "Restriction of tobacco advertising" in 2003. This was intended to create the conditions for a ban on tobacco advertising on public property. Public buildings are also affected, as is private property if the advertising is visible from public property. The government also justified its proposal with health policy requirements. Tobacco advertising not only influences the choice of brand, it also increases overall demand and encourages people to smoke. According to the St. Gallen government, cantonal bans or restrictions on tobacco advertising on public property do not violate federal law, the SDA press release states. The Federal Supreme Court had already ruled this in 2002 in the case of the canton of Geneva. According to the press release from the St. Gallen State Chancellery, advertising restrictions already exist in the cantons of Basel-Stadt, Geneva, Zug and Graubünden. Initiatives are pending in 13 other cantons.