Fast food His outstretched tongue and tousled hair made physics genius Einstein the icon of all scientists, silversurfers, pacifists and so on. The anniversary year has now turned him into an advertising icon, and his likeness has been used for all kinds of advertising messages. Except for one that has remained undiscovered. Few people know that Albert Einstein lived as a dyed-in-the-wool vegetarian for a long time. For the vegetarian restaurant Tibits, the Einstein Year is therefore a welcome opportunity to draw attention to itself - with a witty poster and advertisement. The creative chefs at Wirz created the poster and ad: John Leuppi (text); Barbara Hartmann (AD); Hanspeter Schweizer (CD).

TV At an internal strategy meeting at the beginning of the week, RTL 2 decided on a new direction. As reported by New Business, the commitment in the area of knowledge is to be strengthened. "In an increasingly complicated world, the need for relevant content is growing," said a station spokesperson. RTL 2 already emphasized the good ratings of its knowledge and reportage formats at the end of May.

Brand Value David Allemann, Strategy Director and Management Board member of Advico Young & Rubicam (AY&R), on US brands in Switzerland and what has strengthened or weakened them. ww In a few weeks, AY&R will publish the results of its latest BrandAsset Valuator (BAV) study for Switzerland. Can you already tell us something about the development of the image of US brands in Switzerland? David Allemann We will not be able to present the results of how over 1000 brands in Switzerland have developed over the past two years until July 13. That's why I can't give any detailed results yet. However, we have been conducting the BAV in Switzerland since 1995 and can recognize the major trends of the last decade in the Swiss brand landscape. There are indeed major US brands that have lost brand strength. Brands such as Harley-Davidson, Levis, Lee and McDonald's have lost some of their brand strength in Switzerland, but they remain strong brands.
One explanation is that they all embody the American dream and that this is falling out of favor with Swiss consumers. Thundering towards freedom on a Harley in Levis is no longer the image that many consumers want to identify with. This means that the brand behavior of Swiss consumers has become more individual. Big brands that stand for large community lifestyles are at a disadvantage. In contrast, niche brands are clearly on the rise. Take a look at the jeans market: With Miss Sixty, Seven, Citizen of Humanity and countless other niche brands, there is the opportunity to present yourself as an individual and not as a mainstreamer with the right jeans. Brands such as Levis, Lee and Rifle are therefore losing their appeal. Incidentally, this is likely to apply not only to Switzerland and other developed countries, but also to the USA itself.
Are there any American brands that have come under relatively greater pressure? These are mainly the brands I have already mentioned. However, it is worth taking a differentiated look at the development of US brands. We also see the other development: US brands that have developed very successfully in the last decade. Think of Starbucks, Pringles and the technology brands Microsoft, Google and eBay, for example. They have all grown into power brands in Switzerland over the last ten years or are well on the way to doing so. We are also keeping a close eye on the development of the iPod brand, which we surveyed for the first time this year in the FOT. So when US brands have fallen sharply, it is usually due to a change in the competitive environment or a change in consumer attitudes. Think of Kodak in the photography sector.
They do not attribute the erosion of the image of US brands to the American foreign policy of the Bush administration.
Exactly. If certain US brands have fallen sharply, this is usually due to the changes mentioned.
How is the USA itself perceived as a brand in Switzerland?
We also surveyed this in the Brand Asset Valuator. According to the survey, appreciation of the USA in Switzerland remains at a consistently high level. Consumers can certainly differentiate between country and politics.
Nevertheless, politicians in the USA are inviting corporations to use their importance and networks to make up for the lost image credit. What do you think of this strategy?
Building up image credit on a broad level should primarily be achieved through the brand and brand-relevant actions. This cannot be done through covert lobbying, but must be done through overt actions. However, I generally consider it very risky to associate a commercial brand with political interests. The path to a strong or strengthened brand always leads via a very independent brand profile that is relevant to consumers. An alliance between US brands and US politics would probably have exactly the opposite effect: a loss of independence and decreasing relevance for consumers outside the USA. I would therefore not recommend an internationally active US brand to associate itself with US politics. Primarily, brands must have a strong independence: "Think different" shows the way.
Switzerland once came under fire for Nazi gold and dormant accounts. Have you noticed any changes in the popularity of Swiss brands at home and abroad in connection with the global FOT?
No, we have not seen any negative effects, and this shows once again that consumers are good at keeping country and politics apart.
Interview: Luca Aloisi

Specialty Chemicals The Swiss agency Cosmic, with offices in Zurich and Bern, won the Degussa pitch, which included the redesign of the CD and the implementation of various advertising materials - image advertisements, posters, brochures and intranet.

Naming The planned football stadium in St.Gallen-Winkeln is to be given a naming sponsor, and Stadion St.Gallen AG and an international sports agency are busy marketing the naming rights. Those responsible expect the search for a sponsor to be completed by the end of the fall. The name of the stadium should be known by the start of construction.

Newspapers Re-launch of Evenimentul Zilei, Ringier's intelligence paper in Romania. On Monday, June 20, Romania's opinion-forming newspaper Evenimentul Zilei ("Event of the Day", circulation 100,000) was relaunched with content from the pens of a newly appointed editorial team. Ringier Romania's enfant terrible made headlines across Europe last December when its controversial editors saw Ringier's restructuring plans as an attack on press freedom. The publisher was personally seen as being in the same boat as the hated post-communists, to whose ouster the paper had made a significant contribution with its revelations. The highlight was a demonstration by practically the entire editorial team in front of the Swiss embassy in Bucharest in mid-December against the "demolishing practices of the Ringier Group".
At the moment, the editorial team seems to be quiet. "The newspaper has become more modern, but its content is still the same," says Thomas Landolt, publishing director of the eleven current Ringier titles in Romania. Landolt had already repeatedly emphasized in the hot December that Evenimentul Zilei wanted to remain a newspaper critical of the government. The newspaper now has a weekly interview page and an opinion page, to which the former front-page editorial has been moved. All in all, the paper bears the slightly tabloid-like signature of many Ringier titles. It has also been thoroughly structured and provided with sections, where previously much was celebrated under the heading Evenimentul ("Event"). Of the 140 people in the former editorial team, 30 have resigned, which Landolt regrets. Former editor-in-chief Dan Turturica is no longer with the paper, but Cornel Nistorescu, who turned Evenimentul Zilei into a reference newspaper in 1998, continues to write political commentaries.
René Worni

Hotel industry In an agency presentation, Zurich-based Effact AG für Kommunikation has won Lenkerhof as a new client, with the budget covering all communication measures for the Bernese Oberland wellness hotel and its 16-point restaurant. This includes posters, advertisements and brochures. The first print campaign is to be realized shortly.

The Geneva City Council has instructed the city administration's general management to enter into negotiations with investors Philippe Hersant and Stéphane Barbier-Mueller regarding the local television station Léman Bleu. According to Le Temps, details such as the wording of the contracts and the distribution of board seats are still being discussed. However, the government council reserves the right to return to the rival offer from Edipresse if the negotiations with Hersant fail.

Alcoholic beverages The Danish beer brand Carlsberg is entrusting OMD with its media planning and purchasing budget in the most important European markets, including Switzerland, and has signed a letter of intent to this effect, according to a press release; the final contract should be in place by August. The current budget holders will continue to work until the end of the year, while OMD begins the planning process for 2006. OMD won the contract in a pitch among four budget holders. Feldschlösschen, the Swiss Carlsberg subsidiary, regrets that the collaboration with the Zurich agency Mediaxis is coming to an end. However, a prerequisite for reaching the final round of the selection process was a presence in all the markets concerned, according to marketing manager Kim Christensen.

Newspapers When confronted with 20 Minuten, the St. Galler Tagblatt emphasizes the advantages of a regional newspaper The editor-in-chief of the St. Galler Tagblatt, Gottlieb F. Höpli, reacted to the recently launched 20 Minuten St. Gallen with great self-confidence. The "meagre two mini-pages" of regional reporting are not something to be carried home, said Höpli to the commuter paper. However, the attack from Tamedia does not leave him that cold. Seemingly by chance, the publisher of the largest daily newspaper in Eastern Switzerland has put together a comprehensive package of measures to coincide with the launch. From the expansion of distribution and attractive advertising offers to a reader survey among subscribers with a competition - all the levers were set in motion. Including a campaign to raise awareness of the value of the
St.Galler Tagblatt and thus indirectly devalues the intruder. The basic idea of the Festland agency is based on a high level of local expertise, which ensures a corresponding level of acceptance among more than 239,000 readers, and on a range of additional services that go beyond the provision of information.
CD Lucas Roos and his creative team took this added value as a further aspect of the claim "More than a newspaper" and implemented it in a cheeky image campaign. A "subtle" touch of self-irony, according to Roos, is intended to show that the Tagblatt is indispensable in everyday life in Eastern Switzerland - even after it has fulfilled its actual purpose of informing its readership. Even after 20 minutes or more of reading the newspaper. This has resulted in realizations that many other publishers shy away from in their advertising because the newspaper appears quite unattractive. Nevertheless, the advertising motifs build more or less direct bridges to the departments, services and locally strongly anchored sections.
In the same style, the overall appearance also includes special advertisements to publicize additional services and offers of the Tagblatt ("More class" for media lessons in schools or "More history" for the microfilm archive) as well as headline filler advertisements with a whole series of topic-related subjects such as "More Oléoléolé" for coverage of the most important minor matter in the world.
More than just a newspaper: Festland shows that the St. Galler Tagblatt is not just for reading.

The Tagblatt as sun protection: The Festland agency shows what else a good newspaper is good for >> page 7
Luca Aloisi

Brands The reputation of many US brands has not been this bad for a long time. For decades, American brands stood for all the hopes and dreams with which the country itself likes to advertise itself: America, the promise goes, stands for freedom, unlimited possibilities and the chance to achieve happiness and prosperity. The endless freedoms of the Marlboro Man and the privileges promised by an American Express card have been engraved in the global memory for many years. However, the untouched top position that many US companies and their brands have long held in global competition, and with it the positive image of their products, has come under threat. It is no longer just a question of whether McDonald's is to blame for the increasing obesity of the Western population. According to some new studies, the controversial foreign policy of the Bush administration is also playing an increasing role. "A whole range of brands are affected by this, even if many companies don't want to see this as the reason," says Allyson Stewart-Allen, marketing consultant and author of the book "Working with Americans".
Decline in image and salesIn fact, two new studies clearly show that American products have bigger image problems than before. A survey by the New York market research company NOP World of around 30,000 people in 30 countries on all continents revealed that trust in companies such as Microsoft, Coca-Cola, McDonald's and Nike fell by three percent each between 2003 and 2004, whereas the figures had remained stable in previous years. "The drop in numbers is significant," says Cary Silvers, Vice President of NOP World. "We know from experience that a change in attitude usually precedes a change in behavior."
Another survey, this time by GMI World Poll with 8,000 respondents from the G7 countries, shows that many consumers now avoid buying American products. A fifth of all Europeans surveyed expressed this opinion, pointing in particular to brands such as Marlboro, AOL and American Airlines. 35 percent stated that their image of America is currently influenced primarily by US foreign policy.
The negative trend is also partly reflected in the sales figures. According to GMI, General Motors, for example, recorded a loss of 236 million dollars with its car brands on the European market in the third quarter of last year.
In Germany and France in particular, there were significant declines compared to the previous year. In the same quarter, Coca-Cola Germany sold 16% less than in the previous year, the clothing retailer Gap withdrew completely from Germany, and Wal-Mart also suffered heavy losses. McDonald's, Barbie manufacturer Matell and Altria (formerly Philip Morris) also recorded declines in sales. However, while the companies themselves generally point to high unemployment, tax burdens and difficult market conditions, skeptics believe that it cannot be the economy alone.
Corporations should use their influenceKeith Reinhard is certain that he saw the situation months ago: "We believe that the US Congress urgently needs to overhaul its diplomatic efforts," said the Chairman of the agency DDB Worldwide before the US Congressional Committee on Security and International Relations. Reinhard went further: "We also believe that American corporations, especially when they operate globally, have a responsibility to use their enormous influence to improve our country's image."
To achieve this ambitious goal, Reinhard founded the "Business for Diplomatic Action" project, which calls on advertising companies to use their contacts in the industry and approach the problem from a marketing perspective. One of the initiative's products is the World Citizens Guide, which familiarizes US students studying overseas with the sensitivities of their host countries. In April, a partnership was also announced with the National Business Travel Association (NBTA) to teach NBTA members how businesses can conduct public diplomacy for America in their own way.
Some companies are already taking advantage of their global position and are increasingly trying to give their products a regional flavor without denying their American background. Nike ewa sponsors local sports teams in the Netherlands and is thus trying "to make itself a mixture of a regional and an American brand", says Simon Anholt, marketing consultant and author of the book "Brand America". Other companies are buying up regional companies without making it public. For example, Coca-Cola owns products such as Almdudler in Austria or Malvern in England, which is named after a region, without the consumer getting the idea that these are products from a US company. Even McDonald's has recognized the signs of the times and has adapted its menus to regional tastes and added products such as salads, curry or lamb.
According to the Reputation Institute in New York, another reason why the dominance of American brands is declining is that there are now competing products to the US offerings in many nations. "In many European countries, those companies have a high visibility that can be assigned to the respective country in terms of origin," says Klaus-Peter Wiedmann, marketing professor at the University of Hanover and Germany Director of the Reputation Institute. For example, brands such as Porsche, Aldi and BMW are at the top in Germany, while only two US companies, Microsoft and McDonald's, made it into the top 10.
In order to restore the good reputation of US companies in Germany, Wiedmann suggests cooperation between German and US companies as a gesture of reconciliation: "The population would like that." US marketers, with all due understanding, consider this to be illusory. "It would mean that the business community would apologize for the actions of our government," says Allyson Stewart-Allen, and Cary Silvers agrees: "Brand companies have never been able to make up for the mistakes of public policy."
Confidence in many US companies has fallen significantly in recent times.
Gerti Schön

Publishers Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) is transferring 11 percent of its subsidiary Freie Presse Holding (FPH) to PubliGroupe, which in return will contribute 40 percent of Akeret AG (Zürcher Unterländer) and 20 percent of Zürichsee Presse AG to FPH. The two partners had already agreed on the transaction last July, but without specifying the amount of PubliGroupe's stake in FPH. NZZ continues to own 89 percent of FPH, PubliGroupe 60 percent of Akeret and 20 percent of Zürichsee Presse.