The Swiss Advertising Agency has published a
the communication budget of the company in a multi-stage competitive presentation.
Swiss Pharmacists' Association. Founded in 1843, the
The Swiss Pharmacists' Association (SAV) is the umbrella organization of the approximately
1350 pharmacies, the official and hospital pharmacists and the pharmacists in
the industry and is actively involved in the Swiss
Health policy.

Health insurance companies The campaigns are deceptive. Pro
customer and year, the industry only invests a few francs in advertising -
or: just under one per thousand of the total insurance benefit. "The first provisional premiums for 2006
are here!" currently announces the internet comparison service Comparis.ch.
Knowing full well that only a few of the premium comparison
Draw the consequences and switch to another insurance company. "That
fluctuates between three and five percent from year to year," says Richard
Eisler, Managing Director of Comparis. Behavior when it comes to health insurance
Despite steadily rising costs and moderate growth, the Swiss
Satisfaction like couch potatoes. As a decision-making aid for the
In addition, only one percent of those who chose a health insurance fund indicated advertising, so the
Result of last year's Comparis-GfS study. A sobering
17.5 million francs, which, according to Media Focus, was spent in 2004 on
"above-the-line" measures were invested and an increase of a good
37 percent. So why bother with advertising?

In the public eye
The impression is deceptive: on the one hand, the advertising spending of the
health insurance companies far below the 24 million francs in 2000:
Compared to the services rendered of around 18 billion
francs and the relatively low administrative costs (just under 6 percent of
total healthcare costs), traditional advertising has virtually
modest dimensions. Nicole Graf, Head of PR & Information at
Swica, has nothing to hide: "The costs for above- and
Below-the-line costs amount to around 2.9 million francs." Just under a
five francs per customer. Helsana, the largest health insurer, is also very frugal
with the advertising franc, says Wirz CD Matthias Freuler. Because: "Nobody
should have the feeling that the money from the premium increase
expensive campaigns," says Freuler.
But this is not the only challenge facing commercial communication.
Challenges. "The topic of health insurance companies cannot be seen as a
be described as particularly pleasurable or attractive," says Isabelle
Vautravers, Head of Communications at Sanitas, admitted frankly. In the
On the contrary, there is a difficult field of tension between
sensitive and sober topics - between illness and money, between
Low interest and statutory basic insurance. Get into
from the competition every year in this environment and at the same time offer cheap
To avoid punchlines and platitudes is allowed without false modesty.
can be described as a challenge. Roland Lacher from the CSS in-house agency
In addition to running against popular opinion, Pinx also recognizes the
The challenge is to generate interest, understanding and
to promote personal responsibility.

A lack of profile that bothers few
The peak season for image campaigns is not about acquiring new customers.
The goal, that much is clear. The priority is to confirm the
customers and sales support for agents. In addition, the
The precarious goodwill that the media had been talking about in the run-up to the premium increase
is additionally strained, with positive image messages in the perpendicular
be kept. And what could be better than protection and
Reliability motifs, which are related to the content and the
concentrated advertising presence?
Since the product area and the legally required information
via changes to the explanatory, mass-media BtL channels such as
Brochures, DM, Internet, trade fairs, customer magazines and community
educational competitions and benefits that are reserved for
media mix, on average two thirds of the media mix are also
this year for the image presentations in a new version.
implementation.
This does not seem to bother either clients or advertisers, especially as the low
Price sensitivity among the majority of health insurance policyholders for the
traditional concepts. Delimiting concepts such as comparisons or
the topic of supplementary insurance, where the true future
market will be in vain. This circumstance is mainly due to
The large health insurers such as Helsana, CSS and Swica, whose
image campaigns are mainly formally differentiated and above all
with feel-good arguments such as security through size, the confidence of their
customers. According to the Comparis survey, loyalty to the
At 55 percent, the checkout is simply a matter of tradition or satisfaction.
This is often accompanied by the dramatization of ever new
performance aspects - as in the case of the factual-plakative
Helsana campaign. KPT is also facing the challenge of "converting customers to
that, despite annual premium increases for the
are the right health insurance," says communications expert Sabine
Zaugg, with a profiling strategy that focuses on service orientation
and progressiveness. The LangGysiKnoll campaign is based on
for this purpose humorously stages a laptop in exaggerated situations in order to
the KPTNet Internet platform.

Saving as an advertising message
Several health insurance companies are targeting their main message
"Saving" to a more price-sensitive and younger segment, i.e. the
good risk. For every fourth insured person
Value for money and premiums for the choice of fund
decisive. With savings stockings as a platform for ideas, the
Lucerne agency Felder und Vogel for Concordia. What catches the eye:
the young and fresh motif that draws attention to the
alternative insurance models with which premiums can be
can be saved. Pinx declines the big picture for CSS.
Savings potential for the family with funny subjects and a
surprising TV commercial.
That this does not require fresh originality every year seems to be the
ÖKK by attempting a balancing act between the
13-year-old creative grid - children's face, slogan and house colors
- and the new headline "Ahead of the times!". With the again
recognizable concept, according to Markom manager Roger Müller, it has "the
the highest sympathy ratings from the public and clearly recognized ÖKK as the
family-friendly cash register".
The same agency that was responsible for the ÖKK brand development in the 80s and
90s, SEC in Lucerne, is currently positioning the
former Landis and Gyr company health insurance fund as a nationwide
KLuG. The "styled" approach with the ironically raised index finger
"Are you insured with KLuG?" is intended to raise awareness of the small
health insurance company with the benefits of a large one, so
Concept designer Mark Furrer.
Particularly high growth rates were recorded by those insurance companies -
Assura and Groupe Mutuel, among others - which had already
dramatized and primarily focused on direct response and
personal selling. The expansion of this Markom area
paid off because interpersonal communication proved to be very effective.
efficient and this type of support and closeness has proven
is appreciated.
These two important elements, but implemented very unobtrusively,
Atupri's agency Fruitcake takes up this idea in its new advertising approach and
replaces the advertising character Clown Linaz after four years with "real
Stories". In the first of the two TV commercials, the fillet pieces of the
recently launched campaign, in several situations the
The emergence of a modern nuclear family. In several places
are the parallels to building a relationship with the health insurance company
woven into it. "The story has two aspects for the target group
Moments of identification: the couple - the new love - and the child - the
new life," explains Fruitcake CD Lahor Jakrlin. Flanking
the poster and advertising presence positions Atupri as a
Health insurance that stands by you in the important moments of life.
With a view to the banking sector, which has long been just as exposed
Jakrlin for a more offensive, more independent and more demanding
Health insurance advertising. Advertising is an important factor for these
component of the corporate identity, which says a lot about the philosophy of the
Cash register reveals.
The new Sanitas campaign by the Zurich-based company Sanitas can also be seen in this light.
Frei Partner agency. With a lot of courage for emotions - from the
From fatherly love with a cheerful effect to eroticism with a daring headline - will
communicates the core message to a very broad target group that
Sanitas is committed to its policyholders for life. The
The realization allows the people portrayed and their all-too-human
weaknesses and vices appear sympathetic and true to life. With
Sanitas shows its intentions from an unusual perspective,
that she is there for them - no matter what happens.

Luca Aloisi

RSS The distribution of
RSS feeds (Real Simple Syndication) is not yet available in Switzerland.
large. Nevertheless, the new technology is interesting for the advertising industry. "No, at the moment RSS is not available at
us," says Urs Holderegger from NZZ Online. At the beginning of August
media weblog dienstraum.com that the
Those responsible at Falkenstrasse should be careful not to let their editorial
content with RSS feeds (see box). After the
The Washington Post announced in mid-July that it would be expanding its RSS feeds
with advertising, American experts believe that a new
age for traditional web publishing as well as for the distribution of
and use of news and advertising content had begun. The talk was of
a new era of "consumer controlled media", which will soon be
will dawn. With the announcement by the Washington Post
a medium reacted to a technology that on the one hand offers users
convenient and effective fast and spam-free web surfing
which, on the other hand, puts traditional Internet advertising at the back of the queue.
is pending.

Is a new era dawning?
In recent months, media outlets everywhere have launched new RSS services.
announced or upgraded their websites accordingly. Here too
country, media such as Le Temps, Weltwoche, Wochenzeitung
or Tages-Anzeiger offer their own RSS services. As a rule, they limit
Users can click on a blue button, if available, to open the
RSS logos at the end of the URL line of your browser and extract the
Site news as plain text. This can even be combined with a
Reduce the slider to the title bar. There are still only a few
Subscribe to actual feeds and have news updated automatically.
But does the technology herald the beginning of a new era? "RSS is
currently not suitable for the masses," says Dominik Janko from the media agency
Optimedia. "People think in images." And where these are missing, the
technology is only of interest to specialists, such as
journalists or media planners. Martin Radelfinger, CEO of
Online marketer AdLink shows no signs of a paradigm shift
on the Internet.
But the technology is still interesting for the advertising industry.
Radelfinger distinguishes between push and pull methods.
It is interesting, for example, when advertisers offer a subscribed
RSS feed targeted advertising based on the login profile
could "push" behind it. "Then we can advertise in the right
context," says Radelfinger. Less effective advertising is
against it if the user obtains his own information from the Internet.
"pulls" and advertising, if it reaches him at all, is thus uncontrolled.
RSS feeds are attractive when it comes to expensive journalistic content.
which are refinanced either by the provider or via advertising.
need to be developed. Here, development is still in the
Experimentation phase. Does an RSS feed lead to a site with advertising or
does the feed itself already contain any? Differences are for users
not always easy to recognize.

Not yet an issue at NZZ Online
At NZZ Online, everything will remain as it is this year. "We
are not yet fully convinced of the user benefits," says Urs
Holderegger. In view of increasing visitor numbers on NZZ Online
and an upcoming switch to a new content management system
system, RSS is currently more of a side issue. "But you have to
adapt to the market and think about it when the time comes," says
Holderegger.

René Worni

Advertising The claim is of course based on
the disparaging "sleep your way to the top" saying. Those who set their goals
But if you want to take a more serious approach, you can also learn your way up. Wirz
Advertising communicates - with advertisements, posters and radio spots - that a
Training or further education at Sawi, the training center for
marketing, advertising and communication, is a must for all those who
want to advance professionally.

Digital printing Big players bring updates to their systems. The updates offered by leading manufacturers
Laser printing systems, which we are talking about here, are among the
page printers. So far, the main products from these manufacturers have been
Black and white range for many of these printers also integrated
Production lines available. In addition to merging/supplementing or
also punching of preprinted or separately printed sheets can be
these systems, which are supplemented by finishing equipment, also produce brochures inline (in
one pass), bind or staple them in various ways.
In the following, new products, solutions and also strategies of some
leading providers are presented. It quickly becomes apparent that, in addition to
the established providers, but also increasingly large corporations such as Canon, HP
and Kodak are turning to the digital printing business, and with great pleasure
and a lot of commitment.

Canon places first ImageRunner production system
The Japanese Canon Group, which is active in the business areas of
Solutions, Professional Printing Solutions and in the areas of
Photography/Imaging both technologies and solutions for the
business as well as the home and office sector, also wants to be a
digital printing segment to grow. To achieve this objective, the
the company employs people around the world, including in Switzerland.
recruited.
As part of this new strategy, Canon has expanded its offering in the field of
professional printing systems and Canon Europe with the
digital production systems iR125VP (125 pages*) and iR150VP (150
pages) already launched printers for high production volumes on the market
brought. Both models have been designed for printing on-demand
This has been developed for "print(ing) on demand" environments (e.g.
for in-house printers, for printing bank transactions or other
separations) and for traditional offset printers. The two
ImageRunner models are also especially suitable for the
One-to-one marketing.
With the installation of a first digital
Black and white production line in Switzerland has Canon (Schweiz) AG
has now laid an important foundation stone for the local market. For the
Interlaken-based company Schlaefli
& Maurer AG is the fast black & white production system iR125VP
incl. PrintShop Mail software (for variable data printing) and
Balance (for data preparation) the entry into a new
Market segment.
Siegfried Alder, Product Marketing Manager Professional Printing
Solutions, comments on the venture: "For Canon Switzerland, the
Installation of the iR125VP at Schlaefli & Maurer the first step
into the professional market. That this together with a far more than
partner that is known beyond the region and is an innovative
demonstrates that Canon can offer competitive products for the
professional market. The customers of Schlaefli & Maurer
can benefit from a broader range of services than before.
The company can respond more flexibly to their wishes overall.
Respond."
The introduction of the iR125VP/iR150VP systems marks Canon's entry
into the professional market. The logical and consistent next
The next step is to take place in the spring of 2006 in Birmingham.
trade fair Ipex with the launch of a revolutionary new
production color system are undertaken.

HP grows in digital printing segment through acquisitions
At Hewlett-Packard (HP), an increasing interest in the
Digital printing on. The computer manufacturer and originally pure
Supplier of office and large-format printers and proofing systems has
The acquisition of Indigo (new: HP Indigo) in the fall of 2001
a blow to the technology also a very well-known in digital printing
brand incorporated. Particularly interesting is a message from mid
August, according to which HP would acquire the leading large-format printing
supplier Scitex Vision plans to massively expand its product portfolio.
The large-format printers from this Israeli manufacturer are used before
mainly used by companies that are active in the display, labeling and
packaging market are active.
But at the heart of HP's digital printing range are the
HP Indigo presses: From a technical point of view, these are similar to the
laser printing systems, because they also transmit the
image information onto an intermediate carrier (printing plate). The difference
of HP Indigo systems to other digital printing systems lies with the
or liquid ink (ElectroInk) is used.
"The ElectroInk comes close to the always used for comparison.
offset printing is closest to the 'look & feel'," explains Bruno
Brechbühl, head of the digital printing department at Chromos AG, which is the
HP Indigo printing systems in Switzerland.
There are four sheetfed systems from HP-Indigo (HP Indigo press s2000, 1050,
3050 and 5000) and three web-fed printing systems (ws2000, w3200 and
ws4050). The latest product, the HP Indigo Press 5000, HP calls
also known as the "digital press for the printer". It prints 4000
A4 pages in full color per hour and processes a wide range of
of coated and uncoated substrates, labels, films and foils
and other materials. This machine was presented at the drupa trade show
presented in May 2004 and has been available since the successfully implemented
Beta testing available since early 2005.

Océ launches Platinum versions with new toner technology
Smaller multifunction systems are very much in vogue. These are printers,
which manage around 30 pages and can be used with additional functions (scan,
copying, faxing) cover the needs of small workgroups.
At the end of June, Dutch-based Océ launched the Océ CS230 and CS181
for this medium to high-volume color market two 35-page
printing systems have been introduced. Both can also be used for the
black-and-white range - the CS230 model then prints
up to 45 pages, while the smaller model also has a performance of
35 pages. In addition, the CS520 model is another
Multifunction device for printing 51 pages - in color or
Black and white.
With the CPS800 (copier and printer) and the CPS900 (printer only)
Océ has recently introduced new printing systems for use in graphic arts.
companies and in-house print shops; they solve the
predecessor model CPS700. Both models have also been
Available as "Platinum" models - these use a new toner
and are used in the processing of the substrates (paper sizes and
paper grades) more flexible.
Urs Maute, Product Manager Color at Océ Switzerland, explains: "The
Platinum printers CPS800 and CPS900 enable, among other things, through the
new toner enables the reproduction of finer screens. In contrast to the
multifunction devices, with which ideally only normal
copying papers, the Platinum system can be used to print papers
between 80 and 300 g/m2 can be printed at full speed."
Its ambitions for the more demanding graphics market have Océ
recently documented at the X'05 trade fair. At the Sihl + Eika booth
The CPS900 color printing system was used as a live demonstration of the fact that
also have creative papers printed in digital printing.

Epson rolls up the office segment from below
Suppliers such as Epson make it clear with their products that the
The traditional digital print is probably slowly coming under (market) pressure. The
latest example from the Japanese group is the AcuLaser C4200.
This printer manages a remarkable performance in its segment: up to
up to 35 pages in black and white and up to 25 pages in color land per
minute in the delivery. Even in duplex printing (standard), the
New from Epson still up to 20 pages. According to Epson, you can print up to
brand new model up to 90000 pages per month.
Back in May, Epson launched the AcuLaser 2600, a new
monochrome laser printer, which was made possible by the acquisition and the
Inserting color toner cartridges quickly into a color printer
can be transformed. This allows companies to cost-effectively invest in the
Enter black and white range and upgrade to color if needed. Who
can also order the device as a color printer (AcuLaser C2600).
Epson draws particular attention to the low cost of ownership of its AcuLaser printers.
acquisition and operating costs, their network capability, the high
flexibility in use and brilliant print quality.
This also makes the printers ideal for single workstations or small
Working groups.

Kodak expands production printing segment
After HP entered the digital printing business in a big way, now also
the Eastman Kodak Company (Kodak), which came from the photographic business, the
ventured into digital printing. In addition to the acquisition of
Encad (large format printer) and Scitex digital printing (high volume
inkjet digital printing), Kodak last year added to its 50 percent also
Heidelberg's 50 percent shareholding in the
Joint venture company Nexpress acquired. Within a very short time
The film manufacturer has thus become a leading digital printing company.
Company emerged, which with the Kodak digital color printing machine
NexPress 2100 and the optional fifth printing unit together with new
Application solutions Print service providers new, innovative
services for their customers: Kodak NexPress intelligent
color for the precise reproduction of spot colors and a
Color space expansion, intelligent coating for the application of a
protective layer or printing watermarks and other protective and
jewelry features as well as intelligent glossing for refinement through
High gloss finish in conjunction with the Kodak NexGlosser
Glossy finisher. For the Digimaster black-and-white printing systems, there were
last fall, we made changes to our portfolio. Most powerful
The new printing system is the 150-page Digimaster E150 press.

Xerox expands portfolio
The European division of Xerox Corporation, which is based in
Kloten-based Xerox Switzerland, has unveiled new products. More
For information, see page 23.

Jürgen Franck

The registration deadline for the
Fall certification round of the Swiss Copywriting and
Texterverband script is running. The Swiss professional register of
Copywriters is a proof of quality for this profession. Led
it will be from the professional association script. The certification of the submitted
The evaluation of the work - three per applicant - is carried out anonymously by a
Evaluation according to established criteria. "The bar for inclusion
is deliberately set high in order to reflect the high value of the title.
received," according to a media release from script. Currently
16 copywriters represented in the professional register. The
Application documents including evaluation grid and tips for the choice of the
Texts can be downloaded free of charge and without obligation from the scriptweb.ch website.
be ordered. The definitive enrollment must be completed by October 15.
work samples can be submitted until October 31, 2005.
be

The business press Bilan and Bilanz have been published fortnightly for seven months - with success, at least in the advertising market.
Business magazine Balance sheet of Jean Frey AG for advertising volume
regularly recorded a decline in the double-digit percentage range. Since
At the beginning of 2005, however, the situation is completely different: "For
In 2005, we increased the volume budget by 20 percent and increased it in
even significantly exceeded in the first seven months," says
Bilanz publishing director Sandra Geiger. The tide has also turned at Bilan
turned around. Over the past two years, the magazine has been
Ad pages stable, but now it's going up like a rocket. "The
Sales have increased by 50 percent since January," says a delighted Theo Bouchat,
responsible for magazines at Edipresse, among other things.
The VSW advertising statistics confirm these statements: the figures there are
even a lot higher, but they show that all the other
business magazines with their page volumes far below those of the
both high-flyers - or even show declines.
Both Bilanz and Bilan have changed their publication rhythm in January
from monthly to fortnightly, hence the U-turn.
Both publishers had noticed that advertisements were always
and both monthly titles can be booked at shorter notice due to the long
lead times often fell by the wayside. Moreover, since many campaigns
The new system, which can be switched in a more concentrated manner in terms of time, has been Bilan and Bilanz,
often only considered once, if at all.
"Our assumptions regarding advertising pressure were confirmed," says Bouchat
satisfied. Even the additional costs of around 30 percent for paper and
sales were offset. "In 2005 we will achieve absolute and
be able to report a higher profit in proportion to sales," says
Bouchat: "We hit the bull's eye with our considerations.
the new rhythm of the balance sheet is very well received in the advertising market.
", says Sandra Geiger. The magazine has made gains in
luxury goods, banks and cars.
The situation is similar at Bilan. They also want to seize the opportunity
and increase the line extension from three to six specials per year.
year: In addition to the existing themes of watches, luxury and gifts
a second luxury magazine and two high-tech special issues
added.
In the case of the balance sheet, this was done in reverse: the seven specials,
issued in 2004 have disappeared, transformed into
main magazine issues. Without additional costs, the balance sheet already had 19
issues and only had to add three additional numbers for the new cadence.
finance.
As positive as the response from the advertising market has been, readers are
more restrained. Or slower. In the new circulation and readership figures
The change will only be partially reflected in the market. After all, estimates
Bouchat for Bilan, which as of 2005 had not only a cadence, but also a
has undergone a change in layout and concept, a change of around five
percent higher circulation, with a simultaneous increase in readership of around two
percent. Bouchat's goal remains: In two years, he wants to have around ten
percent more readers.

More subscriptions for both titles
The situation is different at Bilanz: publishing director Geiger already knows that
readership figures will decrease slightly. The circulation is expected to
on the other hand, with a positive trend after the balance with regard to
the interim certification from last October has been greatly "decluttered"
was. As a result, the balance sheet, which previously had a good ten readers per issue
gradually reduces its cluster risk.
Both titles increased their subscriptions: Bilanz only slightly, Bilan
by ten percent. "However, this was clearly at the expense of the
retail sales," says Bouchat. Bilanz also sells at the kiosk
worse than budgeted, says Geiger. Although the monthly
more copies sold than before, but fewer per issue,
although the fluctuations are very large. "In purely financial terms, the
retail sales," says the Bilanz publishing director.
For this reason, it is clear that both publishers on the reader side are still
want to make more efforts. Sandra Geiger relies on a
advertising campaign in the fall and on telemarketing. "This is
the only thing that really works," she says. Bouchat, on the other hand
is looking for new sales channels, for example via companies to which it can offer
or offers customers 100 or 1000 subscriptions with a volume discount. With
Success: the print run of the next issue of Bilan has already been increased by 3,000 copies.
copies higher than Wemf will report in a month.

 Markus Knöpfli

The screen-up, formerly only on TV
also includes cinema and AdScreens and aims to develop into a
as an indispensable audiovisual industry event more and more
establish itself. This time it was extended to include a congress afternoon with seven
Events expanded. Previously organized by Cinecom and IP
Multimedia, this time Seven One Media Switzerland is also taking part.
"We hope that the new concept will enable us to match previous visitor numbers.
and to attract renowned customers with the high-caliber podium.
can attract," explains Mathias Luchsinger, Cinecom Managing Director
and member of the Screen-up steering group. The fact that SRG and Publisuisse
is not a headache for him, because the
Public service broadcasters had already positively evaluated their participation in 2006.
signaled. Luchsinger's vision: What the 3 Kings Conference means for the
Publishers, this is to be the screen-up for the audiovisual industry.
Michi Frank, head of IP Multimedia, together with Luchsinger and Gartmann the
third organizer, describes the intentions of the organizers: "We
want to update visitors, impart specialist expertise and present new trends.
show. We also invest good money in this." For Frank, the
event is clearly business-oriented and therefore not the platform for
political demands, for example with regard to the ongoing revision of the
Radio and Television Act.
The invited celebrities from the German-speaking television landscape include
this year Roger Schawinski (Sat 1), Anke Schäferkordt (RTL),
Christoph Bürge (Prima TV Romania) and the broadcasting directors of Pro-
Sieben, Kabeleins, RTL 2, Vox, Super RTL, M6 and MTV. To the opening
discuss under the patronage of the interest group electronic
Media (IGEM) marketers, regional broadcasters, agencies, clients and
Politicians commercial and political aspects of the Swiss
Television landscape.
The screen-up will take place on October 25 at the Abaton movie theater in Zurich's
Cinemax will take place. The program is available at www.screen-up.ch. (rw)

Screen-up & congress Christian Gartmann, co-organizer and managing director
Switzerland of the ProSieben-Sat1 Group, comments on the annual
WW: Why do we need an event like Screen-up? Christian Gartmann: The industry wants to get an overview at a single event.
event. Cinecom, IP Multimedia, RTLGroup and us
are now organizing a prominent line-up of
experts from the advertising industry and the Swiss broadcasting landscape,
Germany and France. This creates no other reason to
There is no comparable event even in Germany.
WW:
This time, the event has been expanded to include a congress section with a discussion panel. What do you expect to gain from this?
We have been thinking about expansion from the outset. This year
In addition to the new products from the broadcasters, we want to
convey. This has developed into the congress afternoon, which begins with the
IGEM-Talk begins and with seven events until 7 pm in the evening
lasts.
WW:
The event is entitled "Visions of the TV market of tomorrow". What can we expect?Christian Gartmann:
We will not be talking about the television of the next 25 years.
philosophize. Rather, media agencies and clients want a
Orientation on how digitalization is currently developing,
about new distribution channels, about the growing number of digital
Recorder and the consequences. You want to know how experts
Development over the next three to five years in Switzerland
and abroad.
WW:
What are the biggest challenges facing television in the next five years?Christian Gartmann:
The strategic challenges arise from the
Digitization. The market will fragment. People in Europe
assume that there will be an increase in small stations. This means that the
The big players must continue to strengthen their brand. Television should also
be supplemented with digital content, moving away from today's free TV. The
However, digitalization will also take place at home with the public, where
a media server will replace the existing individual devices.
WW:
Does the television of the future also have a claim to education? Or should this be left to the public broadcasters? Christian Gartmann:
Not at all. In Germany, it can be observed that the
ProSieben, not ZDF, is number one in educational television.
Other private broadcasters have also had success with this.
WW:
In France, Télé M6 generates over 40 percent of its revenue with
Side businesses. What significance do they have in Switzerland?Christian Gartmann:
Ancillary business is becoming an important factor for private individuals
become. RTL is already pretty far along in this respect, and even at
Diversification is a top priority for our Group.
WW:
What are your wishes for a revised Radio and Television Act (RTVA)?Christian Gartmann:
The fact that liberalization - as the revision was initially
overwritten - is also carried out. Today I have to do the opposite
fear. At present, i.e. before the fall session of the Councils
Interruption advertising prohibited, alcohol advertising only on regional channels
and private stations broadcasting films would have to spend four percent of their
revenue for film promotion. This is what the Swiss
Program activities of foreign windows, but also new projects
such as Elevator TV are completely questionable. In addition, a strong minority wants the
Ban advertising for children under 18. That would be the end for
Viva Switzerland, for Radio 105, and the planned youth radio station for Zurich
would never broadcast. The new law regulates far too much. One
should simply adopt the European directives and those that
want to make television without fees and distribution constraints, finally
work freely. Only a free market can grow. Still have
I hope that the liberalization in the new law will at least
becomes partially visible.
   

Interview: René Worni

Women's press France's monthly magazine for women, Marie Claire, launches two new split editions for French-speaking Switzerland.
Marie Claire, renowned French
Glossy magazine for women, read on five continents in 26 countries
and 14 languages, reached 4.1 million downloads worldwide last year.
copies. The paper now plans to launch two new editions in French-speaking Switzerland from November.
produce split editions. The Swiss editorial team in Chardonne
above Vevey is used for the two suppléments Marie Claire Idée
and Marie Claire Maison 16 to 24 additional Swiss pages each
produce. For around six years now, there have been countless
regional and international splits, there is also a Suisse edition of the
regular magazine, which will soon be celebrating its 50th birthday. And the
Success is on the rise: "Over the past two and a half years, the
We will even be producing 48 pages in November",
says publisher Marc-Henri Debluë. The scope of Edition Suisse
increased from 12 to 15 pages to 30 to 40 pages in the 300 to 400 page
strong magazine. Debluë would like to build on this success with the
issues, initially four times a year. Both
Supplements together should have a circulation of about 20000
copies per issue.

Twice as many advertisements
The integration of Swiss pages into the French edition
seems to be a formula that works. Advertising has also proven this
noticed. Advertisements have also increased since last year.
doubled, with 20 pages of advertisements in July alone.
produced, explains Debluë. The magazine, which has a high profile
like Brigitte in Germany, has 83,000 readers in French-speaking Switzerland.
and readers, 84 percent of whom are women (Wemf 2004). This puts the paper
ahead of French women's titles such as Elle, Profil femmes and Blandice
and only just behind Edelweiss from Ringier. "We are a
real competition, although Marie Claire does not do any promotion",
explains the publisher. 84 percent of the readership are women. The
The magazine's creators also describe Marie Claire as "more feminine"
than the other women's magazines in French-speaking Switzerland. The undisputed
Edipresse's successful title Fémina with a readership of almost 495,000
people only reach 60 percent of his female readers. And
Marie Claire also attracts considerable attention from readers 
of other women's magazines. Almost 80 percent of female readers live
in urban catchment areas. According to Debluë, Marie Claire is in Geneva,
already number one.
Looking back, the publisher considers 2003 to be a particularly tough year. But
with a small structure and low fixed costs, the Swiss subsidiary remained
of the title flexibly. Editor-in-chief Hélène Béziat works
now with around twelve freelance journalists
together. For the production of the additional pages of the theme booklets
the circle of journalists is set to expand further.

René Worni

Program guides of the private TV stations
U1 in Schlieren is apparently getting serious about the repeatedly announced
TV program guide. According to Peter Kölbel, project manager at U1, the
magazine for the first time "on the second or third Monday in October" with
a print run of 100,000 copies in boxes at bus stops on the
Zürcher Verkehrsbetriebe (VBZ). They are still evaluating the
locations, as confirmed by VBZ spokesman Andreas Uhl.
According to Kölbel, the ad-financed magazine will cover the airtime of all
free-to-air channels and thus in competition with
TVtäglich, Tele and TVStar. It also contains
Program tips, people stories and an interactive quiz. The main asset
is its topicality, according to Kölbel. Although the program booklet in the
Slovakia is to be printed, according to Kölbel it will be printed with a lead time of
of about four days is still "one of the most up-to-date TV magazines"
be. Kölbel is still pondering whether he should go with a cheap or
luxury version is to be launched. (mk)

Below the line The company Face in
Frauenfeld started ten years ago with advertising in unusual places.
places. In the beginning, her ideas were often ridiculed. Today, Face
successful in three branches - and is often recognized as a
industry pioneer. For example, for client Bioforce AG. This
wants to launch a national campaign for its herbal prostate remedy
in public toilet facilities. The campaign is flanked by
with a worldwide advertising premiere, which the Swiss fighter jet pilot
Josua Inderbitzin has developed: the acoustic element Soundpee.
Soundpee will greet toilet visitors with an appreciative "Olé"
when it is touched by the urine stream and should be "relaxed".
draw attention to the taboo subject of prostate problems.