Publishing The acquisition of Macromedia is the crowning achievement of Adobe's success story so far.
Once upon a time, long, long ago in
a distant country. There were designated by a company
Scientists at a specially created research center
brought together and tasked with taking care of the future handling
to take care with the information. More precisely: you should use the "architecture
of information" develop, explore or define. Already at that time
it was probably foreseeable that information processing in the future
would play a large and central role.
And so, now a little more precisely, on July 1, 1970, the "Xerox Palo
Alto Research Center" - Parc for short - opened. The scientists
in Palo Alto, California (the city that gave its name to the
Research Center) to begin their work or assignment. A
first result of the research efforts at the Parc was laser printing.
Specifically, the possibility was created of using laser
to expose light-sensitive drums to which toner is transferred
which in turn can be applied to a printing stock.
This also explains the first part of the center's name: The
company Xerox has since further developed this technology and
perfected; but that is another story - and shall be a
be told another time.

Birthplace of the DTP
In 1973, the computer "Alto" was completed at the Parc - and gradually and
the basis of modern operating systems: a graphical interface with the
(GUI) including windows, pull-down menus; everything controllable by a
computer mouse, which, however, is used as an "X-Y position indicator for a
screen system" had already been invented from the outset. One year later
a technology was developed that is particularly suitable for the
typesetting and the printing industry, respectively, later had major consequences
should have: Wysiwyg - the abbreviation for What you see is what you get
- at that time enabled the display of writings, images and
Graphics in a quality that (according to today's standards only
approximately) corresponded to the expression. An enumeration of further
Innovations are to be dispensed with here; they are available at www.parc.com
to read.
Two Parc scientists, John Warnock and Chuck Geschke,
worked there on an interpretative page description language.
Because the development at the Parc seems to them sometimes too slow
they left the Parc and at the end of 1982 founded the
Adobe company (named after a stream).
 

From PostScript to Flash
The Adobe success story then begins with the
PostScript page description language. It enables the
High-resolution output of documents on compatible printers and
later also on film imagesetters. For text-image integration, the
Compilation of images, graphics and from text to pages came the
PageMaker application developed by Aldus founder Paul Brainerd in 1985.
was used. This layout application made it possible for the first time to use images, graphics and text
without appropriate photosetting and image processing systems to
produce.

Around PostScript, Adobe built a successful business model by making the
Company sells the technology to manufacturers of imagesetters and rip (the
are the workstations required to convert PostScript
into output signals). Quasi in return Adobe bought from the
Typeface manufacturer Linotype know-how and technology to create
high-quality (PostScript) fonts. So it was then in 1985 for the first time
possible, in the DTP process, so the modern text-image integration
since then called to expose produced pages on film, which at the time was
as an intermediate step for the production of printing plates for the
offset printing was necessary. Film is still used today when
also its importance through direct imaging of the printing plate (CtP).
has decreased.

Growth through acquisitions
However, the licensing of PostScript and the distribution of fonts
were just the beginning. Other important milestones of the
Software Group were the development of important applications for the
DTP, the vector graphics tool Illustrator (1987) and
image editing program Photoshop (1990). In 1991 came Premiere, a
Video editing software added.
Adobe subsequently expanded its product portfolio primarily through
acquisitions in order to offer increasingly complex and comprehensive solutions.
for publishing. Thus, in 1994, Aldus (and thus
PageMaker), 1995 Frame Technology (and thus FrameMaker), 1999 GoLive
(and with it the web publishing software of the same name) as well as the
perhaps somewhat lesser-known company in the graphic arts world
Fotiva (image management), Accelio (server-based solutions for the
Production of electronic forms and for processing the
form content) and Yellow Dragon (XML specialist).

Developers of key technologies
In addition to the strategically important development for Adobe to this day of
PostScript, the company has created other technologies
or has initiated or is involved in the development of such
technologies involved. The best known here is the document format
PDF, which was primarily intended to allow digital documents to be
cross-platform and true to the original. This
led to a general flexibility in the handling of digital
documents. Meanwhile, the PDF format is also used to transmit
print templates are used (here increasingly in the form of so-called
PDF-X documents).

In addition, PDF technology is increasingly establishing itself
as an important element for the processing and/or documentation of
Business processes.
An important element in this context are the electronic
forms and the interactivity they allow. In this way
paper-based processes into the automated processes of the
Integrate enterprise software (from SAP, Oracle, IBM, etc.). In
In conjunction with special server solutions, PDF documents can thus be
further access authorizations stored, "expiration dates" defined,
functions are enabled in it (for the authorized recipient)
and the like. Adobe speaks in this context of so
document life cycles. Here too
Adobe only expanded its portfolio in mid-January of this year with the
Acquisition of the FileLine product supplemented. With the DRM solution (Digital
Rights Management) FileLine, Adobe can extend the capabilities of its Adobe
LiveCycle Policy Server, which enables you to extend business-critical
Documents in PDF, Microsoft Office or CAD format by assigning
Rights protected.

In addition to Heidelberger Druckmaschinen, MAN Roland, and Agfa, Adobe is
Co-initiator of the so-called networked production, a process that is
approach developed by the printing industry, which has as its goal the
Computer-assisted production (CIM) also in the graphic arts industry
pursued. As a member of the CIP4 consortium, which is responsible for the
Adobe is helping to ensure that today's
and in the future network processes in the handling of printed matter
which leads to optimized production.
Also what the integration of vector graphics in web publishing programs
for displaying these graphics in the web browser (which then
for example, also static city maps can be displayed enlarged),
Adobe is active. This is about the SVG format (Scalable Vector
Graphics), which uses XML technology to describe graphical,
of two-dimensional objects. The responsibility over SVG lies
However, here too, not at Adobe itself, but at the independent
W3 consortium, which defines the web standards and their development
drives.
 
Macromedia brings in more technologies and products
With the acquisition completed at the end of last year of the
software company Macromedia, Adobe has acquired additional technologies and
products incorporated.
Macromedia, founded in 1992, has also grown through acquisitions to become a
leading software provider in the publishing environment. Thus, the
well-known software Freehand - the competitor product to Adobe's
Illustrator - added to the portfolio through acquisition of Altsys.
By the way, Altsys and Macromedia were the initiators of the so-called
EPS format, which allows the integration of vector graphics into layout documents.
made possible in the first place. Thus, Macromedia has also set important standards in the
publishing environment. Altsys has developed the
Furthermore, the vector graphics program Freehand was developed, which was later
Aldus was acquired. After the acquisition of Aldus by Adobe went
Freehand to Macromedia for antitrust reasons, however - with the
However, Adobe does not have to give up any of its products as a result of the current acquisition.

Flash, probably the best known format from Macromedia along with its
developer environment of the same name, was "only" developed by Macromedia
developed further; the foundations were laid by the company FutureWave,
which was swallowed up by Macromedia just over ten years ago.
The same applies to
the ColdFusion Markup Language (CFML) and the
product ColdFusion, which greatly facilitates the development of complex websites.
simplified: it was not until the acquisition of Allaire Corp. that both CFML and
also brought ColdFusion under the Macromedia umbrella.  

What are the benefits of the acquisition?
The acquisition of Macromedia is for the two themselves also through
companies that have grown through acquisitions are likely to have a positive
Matter. Adobe can help with the additional products as well as
other key technologies to extend the reach of its solutions.
Adobe has now also gained access to a new product developed only in the third quarter of 2005 by
Macromedia initiated and now called "Adobe Lab".
Platform. The "lab" accessible at http:/labs.adobe.com/ provides
developers and customers products and technologies to ensure that the
Company from knowledge gained therefrom and from corresponding
Develop feedback technically consistent and homogeneous applications
can. For example, Adobe Lab has been working for a few weeks on a beta version of a
Adobe Lightroom" is a new product that will be available in the near future.
application developed specifically for the needs of photographers,
with which the acquisition, management, processing and issuance of
(slideshow and print) of digital images can be done efficiently.

Whether and in what form and under what name the there presented
application is launched on the market, however, the Adobe Lab
presented products and technologies are still completely open.
Presumably, this platform will also be used in the future for a currently in
universal client" under development, which will combine the two
technologies PDF and Flash (together with HTML, the basic language of the
Internet) should be summarized in some form.

Soon alone on the open road?
Due to the many acquisitions, Adobe is slowly running out of competitors in the
publishing environment. The risk of the new, since December still
larger company Adobe is now that the group has its
could expand its dominant position even further and thus help other
companies and products no longer have any opportunities. If even the in
packages recently put together by Adobe such as the "Creative Suite", the
brand new "Design Bundle" (equivalent to Creative Suite Premium plus
Flash), the "Web Bundle" (corresponds to Creative Suite Premium plus the
Macromedia applications Dreamweaver, Flash Professional, Fireworks, Contribute
and FlashPaper) or the soon available "Video Bundle" (content
not yet defined) ideal, extremely efficient and overall
seen are inexpensive packages, so make these bundles additionally
It is clear how difficult it will be in the future for other suppliers to meet the
Adobe giants still stand up to the competition.

It remains to be seen how Apple, Quark, and Microsoft will do with Adobe
beat. The mentioned software Adobe Lightroom is in direct
Competition to the recently launched Apple application Aperture.
It can be assumed that the two companies will continue to cooperate in the future.
compete more strongly - with Adobe having the advantage of being able to
on both platforms (Win/Mac). Quark stands in the
XPress 7 and wants to recapture market share that had been lost to the
Companies lost to InDesign and Creative Suite respectively
have gone. It will be exciting when Microsoft launches its operating system
Vista on the market: Above all, the new products codenamed Metro
developed, XML-based page description language is a
Frontal attack on Adobe's PDF format.
In the professional publishing sector - with the exception of the
Page Layout segment - leads after Macromedia acquisition
Adobe there is now no way around it. Seen in this light, the acquisition makes sense for
Adobe makes much more sense than it might seem at first glance.
lets.

Jürgen Franck

The research institute of the Berlin
consulting firm Goldmedia has developed a new biometric procedure
developed. The real effect of media is analyzed on the basis of the
pupil reactions are measured. This is called a mental workload analyzer
patented instrument that, for the first time, definitively detects interfering stimuli such as light.
is switched off. This reduces the change in pupil size with
emotional and mental stimulation. The procedure enables
the acquisition of transparent data on product and media impact
beyond the statements of test persons.

Auto Die Automobil Revue celebrates this
year is its 100th anniversary. A good opportunity to pay tribute to her
congratulate and promote themselves. Nissan thought so too and let
in-house agency TBWA, according to the creative guidelines "to thrill and
inspire", to develop an advertisement. "The result was a funny one,
original and surprising advertisement, which combines the traditional
Candle blowing ... dramatized in an unusual and car-like way",
according to the communiqué. Well, there are only limit values for particulate matter and still
not for gallows humor.

Cable TV Cablecom is letting in the new
McCann-Erickson campaign highlights the benefits of its digital television offering
by Mr. Steiner. The Swiss cable network operator
With its partner networks, Cablecom supplies around two million or a good
two thirds of all households with a connection. In contrast to the
In addition to higher image and video quality, the digital offering
sound quality and a greater variety of programs - over 130 TV channels.
and radio stations. The only question is who can keep track of it all?
and want to pay even more for it. Relatively few, like the
Customer development shows. At the end of March 2005, around 114,000
households have a set-top box for the reception of digital television.
TV programs, ten months later there are around 6000 more. After all
an increase of around 5.3 percent. Not an unusual development in
this market, believes Eric G. Forsthoefel, Head of Brand Communications
at Cablecom. He speaks from experience, having overseen the development of
TiVo in the USA.

Nevertheless, Forsthoefel is convinced that the potential is far from being realized.
is exhausted. For this reason, the program launched in 1999 and expanded in 2004
and discounted product to the media audience with a new campaign.
made palatable. To this end, the focus in the advertising realizations was
determined: less feature and technology-heavy than the competition,
instead emphasizing the benefits. And they are not only so clearly
in your hand like a remote control. They are, according to McCann-CD Peter
Rettinghausen, also more comprehensible and emotional. The
The message is: "Just decide for yourself when you want to have a
want to watch the program. On over 130 channels." This intelligent
Television represents a new freedom. In the advertisement realization
the creative team is inspired by the heroic image of the founders of the
Confederation and satirized it conspicuously.

Beyond the early adopters
In the TV commercial, the freedom hero has a name and a problem. Mr.
Steiner's preferred TV programs are not based on his
daily routine, but constantly remind him that they will soon be
start: when he is in a session, when fitting or with his
girlfriend is busy on the sofa. Whether actor, referee or anchor woman, everyone calls him out
the box. Steiner, like everyone else, does not tolerate such paternalism.
Eidgenosse understands well, no longer like it. At the end of the commercial
the new digital TV, which allows him to decide for himself when he wants to watch a
program. The film is followed by a reminder that
additional advantages of the Cablecom product: electronic
program guide, recording function and the option of recording TV programmes.
at any time and continue watching later. With the high
advertising pressure, the campaign is intended to reach far broader segments than just the early
adopters, Rettinghausen hopes. The specifications had his
05 campaign - for the cablecom product without recorder function - for more
exceeded by more than 50 percent. To be continued.

Luca Aloisi

The Pope trusts in the power of
media to place his criticism of the power of the media, such as the
Netzeitung writes. Radio Vatican reports accordingly on its
Website about the papal message on World Social Day
Means of communication. In it, Benedict XVI explains that the media "are the
influence the whole of human society". "In the interest of
all mankind", every power must be restrained. The power of
media production constraints, such as the topicality of the day,
the Pope did not have to submit: The World Day of Social
means of communication will take place on May 28.

Fruchtsaft Euro RSCG Zurich is to bring juice back into the advertising for Michel with new television commercials.
Juice store closed. It was a nice idea on the
paper, how the salesman Michel can cater for every customer - from children to
celebrities - always had the right bottle ready. To the new
Michel is hardly the serial hero of Swiss advertising television.
become.
After a multi-stage competitive presentation last year, the
Rivella AG has therefore extended its communication mandate for the Michel
Fruit juices now sold to the Zurich branch of Euro RSCG Worldwide
awarded. Successful advertising for the Michel brand to date has been
one campaign from the GGK agency stands out in particular.
This worked with a half-cut bottle, in which
in which the fruit core of the filled juice is used for the
natural authenticity of the product.
Aimed at a young audience
Not an easy task for Euro RSCG after these previous stories
to squeeze a completely new juice out of the product. In
In today's consumer world, it is no longer enough that a
fruit juice is real and fruity. It must also have an emotional
find its customers at the lifestyle level. The most important target group for
Michel are people between the ages of 25 and 35.

The agency not only had to relaunch the Michel brand with a campaign
but "to develop an independent advertising property,
which emphasizes the premium aspect of Michel in a fresh way and in
to the vernacular", as the briefing summarizes. The
In addition, the campaign should focus on both image and
can be implemented at product level and in all media equally
be playable. "Michel. Because life needs juice", is now the name of the
The idea and the claim that Frank Bodin and his team developed after a
months of conception and realization.
The new advertising is implemented with animated films that are based on fresh,
involving and, above all, unusual in the local TV landscape.
This is a way of anchoring the core of the Michel brand with a broad audience.
The commercials tell stories about humorous statistics that
show how much juice everyday life demands of you. 67 times a
child the same bedtime story. 27 sports programs per
week. Shopping around 68 shoe stores. X times the phone
take off ... The new, empowering support in all these
daily challenges is of course always at hand: the
high-quality Michel fruit juices.
Trick figures in retro style
Five longer spots and five short reminders with statistics as
Text panels were created by Heinrich Reinacher and his Markenfilm Zürich
produced to date. The stylistically retro-styled
Animated figures were made to run by the animation factory in Hamburg.
brought. It was directed by Heidi Wittlinger. "A great job" within
of the Euro RSCG, Petra Bottignole (CD) and Dominik
Oberwiler (AD) in the development of the style. The music in the sound
of the sixties was composed by Alex Kirschner from Zurich.

With this campaign, Bodin wants to "create its own brand world for Michel 
create", as is already the case in advertising for products such as Coca-Cola
or Kentucky Fried Chicken. Or in other words: a
new cult drink is to be launched with Michel.
In all likelihood, the juice will also be added to this powerful
campaign will not run out so quickly. The long-term interesting
concept will soon also be available as a broad-based advertising campaign.
as well as during selective campaigns.

Andreas Panzeri

Radiocontrol Radio usage is stable.
Nevertheless, there have been slight changes in both the SRG stations and the
Radio research institute and SRG subsidiary
Publica Data recently published figures on radio usage in Switzerland.
published. The survey for the second semester of 2005
was surveyed in German-speaking Switzerland among 15,531 listeners with the
Radiocontrol clocks carried out during the survey period
paid an average of 116.1 hours of attention to the medium
have. (French-speaking Switzerland: 8007 people, 110.2 h. Ticino: 2793 people,
110.6 hours). The statistics show a number of significant
Changes at both the SRG stations and the private stations.
Overall, radio usage remained stable, while in southern Switzerland
a minimal shift in favor of private and foreign investors.
transmitters shows.

Year-on-year, attention in German-speaking Switzerland increased slightly.
while it fell slightly in western and southern Switzerland.
Compared to the same period of the previous year, the
public broadcasters in German-speaking Switzerland increased by 3.6 percent.
market shares (SRG total 67.1%), while the private broadcasters gained 4.5
percent and foreign stations even 7.5 percent market share
have lost. The picture is similar in French-speaking Switzerland:
SSR holds a total of 63.4 percent (+1%), while the
Private radio stations 0.7 percent (23.3%) and foreign stations 0.3 percent
(13.3%) lost shares. In Ticino, on the other hand, the trend
in the opposite direction. In Ticino, the public broadcasters lost 1.3%.
(82.4%) market share, while the private sector lost 1.1 percent (7.0%).
and foreign stations increased by 0.1% (10.6%). About this
In addition, the net reach (NR) of the radio medium in Ticino is
This represents a significant decline of 1.5 percent (88.6%).

DRS 2 increases significantly
SRG, the dominant company in the market, has reached an agreement with Radio DRS on a
Market share of 63.1 percent (+0.5%) and an NR of 63.7 percent
(+0.1%) in the first half of the year. Over the year as a whole, the
market share by 1.6% and NR by 0.5%. Significant
In the same period, the NR of DRS 2 changed from 8.7 to 9.9
percent. In French-speaking Switzerland, too, Radio Suisse Romande
0.7 percent (total 56.4%) market share compared to the previous year.
secured. Significant changes in NR were recorded in the
Western Switzerland Option Musique by plus 0.9% (14.2%). In contrast
RSI stations in Ticino lost 0.9 percent NR (total 71%).
The negative NR change at RSI 1 of minus 3.4 is striking
percent (50.5%) while RSI 3 gained 1.8 percent NR.

Unchanged top positions
Significant year-on-year changes can also be seen in a number of
of private radio stations. Initially, in German-speaking Switzerland, the
Radio 24, the largest private radio station, increased by 0.1 percent compared to the previous year.
market share (2.7%), but increased its NR by a significant 0.5
percent. Radio Top also increased its NR by a significant 0.6%.
percent, as did Radio Zürisee (+ 0.4%). Both also gained 0.1
percent market share. Declining net reach was recorded by
on the other hand, Radio Grischa (-0.3%), BeO (-0.3%), Radio 105 (-0.5%) and
Tropic (-0.2%). In French-speaking Switzerland, Lausanne FM remains the strongest
station, followed by Rouge FM and the French Nostalgie (Nostalgie
France and Nostalgie Léman 105). In Ticino, Radio 3iii has its
market share by 0.6 percent and NR by 0.4 percent.

René Worni

IP, which belongs to Goldbach Media
Multimedia and largest marketer of AdScreen advertising in Switzerland
has expanded its AdScreen network. New are 22 military barracks
to reach the relevant target group of men between 18 and 35 years of age.
years better to contact. Set up the 44
Advertising screens in central locations such as lounges,
entrance areas and corridors. The AdScreens work
simultaneously as Internet terminals, Internet access is provided free of charge
offered. Monthly would be so over half a million advertising contacts
generated, the statement said. As the team leader of the
Product Management New Business Guido Trevisan of Werbewoche Information
there has been a need on the part of the military for free Internet access.
passed, the contact with the screen marketer Mobile Solutions has
ultimately led to successful implementation.
In addition, IP Multimedia is expanding the ADScreen network to include service areas, 17
more freeway service stations are added to the existing 74 sites
added. In total, advertisers can advertise per month via the
IP multimedia AdScreen network more than 10 million advertising contacts
the communication goes on to say. In Switzerland, there are
currently more than 30 AdScreen networks and the market is growing according to information
of Guido Trevisan very strongly. The Wemf and also Mediafokus will be in the
February 2006, publish AdScreen data for the first time, which also
cover the last two years. There is also a
Interest group AdScreen, which is concerned with the definition of the
market standards. As the first official act, the name for the
Advertising type set to "AdScreen".

Monitor Dell's new flat screen
UltraSharp 3007WFP has a screen diagonal of 30 inches;
This allows users to view several documents side by side. The
monitor is also ideal for tasks such as video editing, image processing
or for use in pre-press. The maximum resolution is 2560 x 1600 pixels. The Dell 3007WFP has a
9-in-2 media card reader and four USB 2.0 interfaces for the
Connection of digital cameras, printers etc. For the use of the
monitor, users need a computer system with a graphics card,
which has two DVI connections.

The two largest advertising clients in the
last year were once again the major distributors Migros and Coop,
both, however, with declining investments (-6.8 % and -8.0 % respectively). The
according to the advertising market trend study by Media Focus. Among the top
Five advertisers by gross advertising investment count
also Swisscom, Nestlé and Denner. The discounter has expanded its
Investments increased significantly by + 34.5 %. The following have increased
also UBS with +45.9 %, Gillette (+32.6 %), Peugeot (+19.6 %)
and Swisscom (+ 21.3 %). Significant savings in advertising expenditure were made by L'Oréal
(-22.7 %), Philipp Morris (-23.9 %) and the two car giants Hyundai
(-13.7 %) and Toyota (-13.1 %). In the study, Media Focus reports
The respective advertisers account for all gross advertising investments,
also the products of other manufacturers (dealer advertising).

Young & Rubicam has been investigating since 1993
Germany the world's most important brands, now the
The third wave of the survey in Germany has come to an end. The strongest brand is
currently and for the third time Aldi, followed by Ikea and Nivea. In the
In the classical sense of a marketing definition, Aldi is a
Trading company and not a branded product. But from the perspective of
consumers, Aldi does indeed have a strong and consistently managed
brand, whose range and pricing are convincing, writes Young &
Rubicam on the test result. Continuity and contemporary offers are good
balanced, the expectations on the part of the consumers are
consistently fulfilled. Aldi invests in this perception. Asked about
popularity, more and more Internet companies are skimming off the
top rankings, above all Ebay. Google and Gmx also find
are in the top places. The most innovative brands in the eyes of the
German population is Porsche, followed by Nokia and Bang &
Olufsen. When asked about the brand's closest proximity, the answer is
most frequently mentioned answer Nivea.
The Y&R Brand Asset Valuator covers 30,000 brands worldwide and
over 1540 German trademarks. The status of the brand results from
Differentiation and relevance, summarized in brand power and
Reputation and familiarity. The study was conducted by TNS-Infratest in a population-representative survey.

Business press Another dispute at L'Agéfi: the editor-in-chief throws in the towel, as did his predecessors two years ago.
Fabarez: He employs journalists from different
political horizons. His editorial team turned the
daily newspaper for the economy L'Agéfi is a respected paper; the
The print run of around 10,000 copies is not being published at the moment.
controlled by Wemf, but the range (as of September
2005: 19000 readers). Fabarez has also managed to reach the
to withstand competition from Le Temps, which was founded by the two major publishers
Edipresse and Ringier - no small matter for the
publisher who built up the Agéfi Group. But for three years
his company is in the red.

Too much criticism, too little praise
With the financial difficulties, the terminations of
Editor-in-chief Christoph Roulet and his deputy Gian Pozzy
but nothing to do with it. Entrepreneurs and employees such as
from one mouth. And that's the end of the similarities.
Roulet had the feeling that he "no longer had any room in the editorial office".
He had resigned due to the strained relationship with the publisher and
because he had the impression that this relationship could be reconciled with the
"do not improve future strategic directions". In other words:
Too much criticism, too little recognition for the editorial team.

Pozzy has been forced to leave due to "differences of opinion about the increasingly striking
political orientation of the newspaper" has thrown in the towel. He means
comments "that act as if everything that is not to the right of the
right is almost "socialism". He had to do with the
economic liberalism, which the newspaper defends, is not a problem,
the "doctrinaire political liberalism" that they have recently
he could no longer support: "Switzerland has a
government system of concordance, you cannot pretend that three
Quarter of the parties and nine-tenths of the population do not
existed," says Pozzi. Alain Fabarez, on the other hand, denies a postponement of the
editorial line to the right: "We are and will remain a newspaper,
which defends economic liberalism, but we are not the
Transmission belt of any party."
Last December, the Agéfi Group changed its shareholder structure.
changed. Major shareholder Fabarez reduced its shareholding from 38.2
to less than 20 percent. The shares were sold to various companies
now anonymous individual shareholders. "We are disclosing the names of the new shareholders
in the first half of 2006," says Fabarez, "together with the new
strategic directions."

Le Temps practices the balancing act
Fabarez does not want to talk about these new strategic options for the time being.
betrayed. The assumption that the paper could be even more of a
business-friendly environment does not seem to have been plucked out of the air.
as Le Temps suggests and asks about further possibilities:
"Concentrating on business information, dispensing with the print version,
Expansion of the magazines, alliances?" Whatever the case may be, we need to
than Le Temps, L'Agéfi's only competitor on the market.
the French-speaking Swiss market. While the former is a national full-length newspaper
daily balancing act between their rather left-leaning intellectuals and their
readers and the economic and financial experts, it has
The Fabarez paper is simpler: its target audience is primarily the
financial and business world. Nevertheless, Le Temps is giving Fabarez a hard time because the competition
between the two newspapers has become increasingly close in recent years.
sharper.

Helen Brügger