Magazines Their readership is more loyal again, but that doesn't mean they want to buy Annabelle more often. SFLB's headline campaign aims to encourage readers and advertisers to do so again.Carrie Bradshaw and her three friends from the hit series "Sex and the City" seem to have been the mental models and decals for the new Annabelle campaign. Can the cynical and experience-rich New York thirtysomethings also advertise for a Swiss women's magazine? Whatever the case, as a source of inspiration, their entertainment potential is still quite high. For example, when it comes to presenting the topic of age in a fresh way and the personified 50-year-old "admittedly" becomes a 67-year-old Annabelle, who tackles the topic of ageing at any age. Consumer behavior has been implemented in a no less quirky way: Here, women's close relationship with shoes is ironized while at the same time pointing out the latest trends that can be found in every Annabelle.Self-confident smileThe headline concept by Spillmann Felser Leo Burnett (SFLB) is reminiscent of the slogans from the Big Apple series in its light-hearted and witty style. Here, as there, the topics of women's conversations - men, job, shopping, fun and sex - are thematized in a very similar way. Typical woman, one wonders, irritated by the all-too-common clichés. Do women give the shirt off their backs for shoes, do they buy their cars according to their color, can they gossip all evening, do they lose their sense of direction in the world of numbers? The new Annabelle claim provides the answer: women are like that. And one more crucial thing, adds CD Martin Spillmann: "Namely humorous enough to stand by their idiosyncrasies - with a self-confident smile".
The campaign is also intended to make the Annabelle women's team responsible - Uli Rubner, Head of Magazines, Lilo Altorfer, PM Manager, and Editor-in-Chief Lisa Feldmann - smile. The latter on her identification with the campaign: "When our weaknesses, i.e. idiosyncrasies, are correctly named, we like to laugh at ourselves. That's what makes this campaign so charming." She doesn't find it difficult to laugh at Annabelle's weaknesses either. Especially as sales at newsstands have clearly improved since the overhaul last fall and the new appointments to key positions at the beginning of the year. After years of negative growth rates in circulation and readership, failed line extensions and stagnating advertising volumes, the magenta campaign is also a positive sign for the basic women's magazine.
The broad mix remainsThe campaign aims to get to the heart of what is typically feminine by taking an ironic look at various female clichés, thus demonstrating a sense of humor. The magazine also presents itself confidently to advertisers in the new claim. After all, the agency asks rhetorically, where can you advertise your product more efficiently than with people who often tend to make pleasure and frustration purchases? A departure into better times? "I'll be happy if the key figures stay as they are," says Editor-in-Chief Lisa Feldmann confidently.
Significantly, little has changed in the broad mix of the Swiss women's magazine. For example, Annabelle recently drew attention to the "new macho" ("He likes football, beer and rock - but with style") and in its latest issue deals with the topic of ageing with a balancing act between social reportage and beauty tips for 20 to 70-year-olds. But that's just how multifaceted women are.
The new Annabelle campaign takes the piss out of women's weaknesses. It is also intended to implement the main themes of the issues in future.
Typical woman, just like Annabelle: Spillmann Felser Leo Burnett woos readers with a wink >> page 7
Luca Aloisi

Software According to the Business Software Alliance (BSA), the proportion of unlicensed computer programs in Switzerland fell faster than the international average in 2004, with the rate dropping from 31 to 28 percent, putting Switzerland in seventh place worldwide. Contrary to the global trend, the damage caused to software manufacturers in Switzerland by the unauthorized use of their products fell from CHF 394 million to CHF 386 million.

Outdoor advertising Under the name Promodom, Brunner Werbung exclusively represents a German innovation in Switzerland.Promodom is a retractable poster pillar that can be mounted on a car roof and extended in less than a minute. The advertising space of four square meters can be filled with poster formats F4/F200 and F200. "With the Promodom, the company can support the appearance of its customer advisors, show potential customers the way as they pass by or take a cheeky and forgiving look at the competition," says company boss Reinhard Brunner, outlining the possibilities.

Annual ReportIt is not clear from the combined print product sent out by the LZ Group whether the LZ Group calendar, which begins in June and ends in May 2006, is a calendar with or - conversely - a calendar with a calendar. The reported "exceeded expectations" in LZ 2004 almost fade into the background. The interested reader learns that the Lucerne-based group was able to close the last financial year better than expected thanks to increased efficiency and growth. Those who are less interested in the course of business and the hard financial figures can enjoy a year-long calendar featuring subjects from Central Switzerland.

Festivals The 17th Open-air Jazz Parade will take place in Fribourg from July 1 to 16, and thanks to the high quality of the local musicians and top international acts such as the Phil Woods Quintet or this year's Mory Kante and Arturo Sandoval, the free event has become a firm fixture in the Swiss jazz year. The Burson-Marsteller agency has now created an eye-catching and confusing advertisement for sponsor La Liberté: a seven-piece jazz combo made up of kangaroos. CD René Walker admits with a grin that he was not alluding to an Australian band, but merely reviving the forgotten advertising figure of Liberté. The only thing missing to break the attendance record of 200,000 is the sun from Down Under.

Quality To obtain optimum end products, print shops and advertising agencies should define a job using standards. "Quality is when the customer's requirements are met!" This definition assumes that the customer knows what he wants - and that the print shop also knows what the customer wants. But does this alignment always take place in a customer meeting? Experience shows that the majority of discussions during the job meeting are about prices and less about the customer's requirements. Both advertising agencies and print shops are "partly to blame" for this. Much could be done to improve understanding between the two parties during the discussion.Things to know about print quality Advertising agencies usually produce the print data themselves. However, the print shops cannot always accept and output them without problems. If the advertising agencies only hand over PDF/X-3 files to the print shops, then the data exchange works much better. PDF/X-3 data is easy to produce and also easy to control in the latest professional version of Adobe Acrobat 7. If necessary, help is available on the website of the PDFX-ready initiative (see box).
Of course, an agency can also transfer "open data" from QuarkXpress, InDesign or other programs to the print shop. However, they must be aware that such data is not always transferred correctly: For example, the print shop does not always have the appropriate fonts, elements are missing, or program extensions (plug-ins, XTensions) are installed that make the exchange impossible. This usually leads to additional costs.
Print shops or prepress companies also specialize in converting a layout sketch from the advertising agency into a professional layout file geared to print production. Even though this ensures that the data can be output, it does not mean that the advertising agency will see the correct colors during visual inspection or local printing or proofing. This has to do with the fact that the print shop works with a precisely defined color space. The agency must therefore use exactly the same color space. This color space is precisely described by ISO standard 12647-2 and the associated ISO profiles (for more information, visit the Ugra website: www.ugra.ch).
However, the correct creation of the data is only the first step. Furthermore, it should be noted that a proof is not just a nice, colored (control) printout, but that it simulates the color space of the print shop based on the conditions there. Therefore, the proof must be verifiable. With the Ugra/Fogra Media Wedge CMYK, the correspondence between the proof and the print result can be checked using measurement technology. This enables the advertising agency to perform an output check and the print shop to perform an input check on the proofs. In this way, the colorfulness of the printed matter is also under control.
Benefits for the advertising agencyProofs unfortunately reproduce colors incorrectly if they are not viewed in the right light. This effect is called metamerism. According to the ISO 3664 regulation, proofs must always be evaluated under a standard light with a color temperature of 5000 Kelvin. To control the light metrologically, devices costing more than 4000 Swiss francs are necessary. Since such devices exceed the budgets of advertising agencies and printers, Ugra has launched a color temperature indicator for easy control. The indicator is a small colored strip that is stuck to the edge of a proof. If all the printed patches show roughly the same color, the light is within tolerance - if they show different colors, the light does not meet the requirements.
What advantages accrue to an agency that takes all these points into account? On the one hand, the documents can be accepted by the print shop without any problems, and on the other hand, it can re-measure the proof and thus determine that the data can be reproduced or printed with color accuracy. But despite all these measures, individual colors in a subject can deviate greatly from the original. If, for example, the advertising agency has defined the background of an ad with a large salmon red color, this background color may be printed with too great a deviation. Such special requirements must be communicated to the print shop and checked on site so that they remain within an acceptable tolerance.
Higher demandsOffset printing is normally capable of printing midtones (50 percent area coverage) within a tolerance of +/- 4 percent. This is also defined in the ISO standard. Midtones, especially if they are gray or tertiary colored, show clearly visible color deviations at this tolerance. However, many print shops cannot print any better, so the advertising agency has to accept this color deviation.
However, for certain high standing printed matter, printing must be carried out with a tolerance of +/- 2 percent. Only specialized print shops can do this - because it requires a certain amount of effort, which results in higher costs and prices. The Color Balance Hexagon from System Brunner shows the color fluctuations to be expected in
a gray midtone at +/- 2, +/- 4 and at +/- 6 percent.
In order for the print shop to be able to check on the press whether the inking is uniform across the entire press width, it must print a control strip on the front edge of the sheet or in the middle of the sheet and uses a color measuring and control system integrated in the press to control the inking. We often hear from printers that they cannot afford the additional 1 centimeter or so of paper needed for the measuring strip. But thanks to the metrological procedure, a job can be set up in much less time. Therefore, much more money can be saved by printing control strips along with the order than with the supposed saving of paper by omitting this control means. Another objection is that the customer is not being sold control strips, but the job. For this reason, methods have been developed that take measurements in the printed image. However, these have not yet been successfully introduced in the printing industry.
The control strip is still a prerequisite if print production is to be measured and controlled. The measured and stored data can also be used for quality control. This makes it possible to find out where there is still potential for improvement. Without such data and evaluations, the companies are not in a position to continuously and specifically develop quality further.
How to recognize differences?The following list shows how to recognize an advanced print shop:
1. the printer wants to know the customer's requirements.
2. the printer knows what PDF/X-3 is, how to use it and/or is PDFX-ready certified.
3. the printer works according to a standard (ISO 12647-2, System Brunner Eurostandard, etc.).
4. the print shop requires proofs with a media wedge and also measures this. The print shop's proofs also contain the media wedge.
5. proofs are provided with a Ugra color temperature indicator, or the print shop at least knows under which light proofs are to be viewed - and also asks the advertising agency to adhere to this.
6. the printing house uses an integrated color control system on its printing press(es). Upon request, it can even show a quality report of the printed run.
PraxisDruckereien are reluctant to inform customers of errors in the planned job sequence. They would rather put up with extra work than point out to the customer that even small changes to the job sequence lead to better quality. Print shops fear that their comments will be perceived as a nuisance and that they will lose the job. This shows that there is something wrong on both the print shop and the customer side: The print shop is still the specialist for producing the print product - a customer should be happy if the specialist thinks along and makes suggestions. That's why an advertising agency should not just regard the print shop as the final authority on the path to the print product, but involve it in the definition of the job at a very early stage. This is the only way to achieve an optimum result for both sides.
Erwin Widmer is an engineer HTL and
Managing Director of Ugra.
PDFX-readyThis initiative allows data creators and data processors to become certified. The certified companies are listed on the website: www.pdfx-ready.ch. (ew)
StandardizationBy standardization, we actually mean nothing other than unambiguous communication, namely the consistent use of uniformly defined terms, units of measurement, interfaces, and data formats, as well as concretely specified dimensional figures including tolerances. Nevertheless, tolerances should always be explicitly discussed with customers and partners. On the other hand, tolerance specifications are not strict enough for some high-quality applications, for example in pharmaceutical packaging production; in these cases, some print shops produce according to self-imposed Good Manufacturing Practices or national Codes of Practices. (dk)
Quality toolsA test form is used to clarify a technical question. It is impossible to produce a test form that can satisfy all questions.
The Altona Test Suite is very well adapted to the conditions in the prepress stage. It consists of three test forms. The most important of these is the Visual test form. With this, a RIP belonging to a proofing device can be put through its paces. The total of three test forms can also be used to determine in a metrologically flawless manner whether a print shop can output PDF/X-3 data and print in accordance with ISO 12647-2.
System Brunner developed a test form for evaluating offset printing years ago. It is mainly based on the evaluation of three-color overprinting. (ew)
Color Balance Hexagon from System Brunner shows the color variations to be expected.
The Altona test form is primarily used to test raster image processors (RIP) that are part of proofing devices.
Light is close to 5000 K (top),Light deviates too much from 5000 K (bottom).
With the Ugra/Fogra control strip, parameters such as dot gain, trapping, gray balance, etc. can be checked.
Proofs are metrologically verifiable thanks to Ugra/Fogra media wedge.
GretagMacbeth's EyeOne Share software presents lighting parameters for profile creation for digicams.
System Brunner propagates the harmonization of the color and detail reproduction of all presses in a company to one standard.
Beginning of the Altona 29 characterization table, the data of which can be offset against ICC profiles calculated on the basis of the ECI-2002 chart.
GretagMacbeth's EyeOne Share software presents lighting parameters for profile creation for digicams.
With the PCM Online Tool, Medigraph offers a solution for standardizing the complete color reproduction and tonal value transfer chain.
Various measuring device and proofing technology manufacturers offer solutions for evaluating the media wedge.
The OptiCal software for the Pantone/ColorVision Spyder Pro monitor colorimeter complies with ICCv.41.
The most modern profiling test chart (ECI 2002) and the most important control means (media wedge, step wedges, solid bars) can be found in the PDF file Altona Measure from the Altona Test Suite.
Plate gauges are better than densitometers for plate measurement.
The Fogra CtP test form can be certified as a reference for linearizing imagesetters.
Erwin Widmer

(Image) Editor-in-chief of Glückspost. Since June 1, Bea Zollinger Schwander has been responsible for the service area of Glückspost, which is to be significantly expanded in mid-June....
Alexander Roosdorp becomes Managing Director Advertising at Farner Consulting. The agency is expanding its marketing communications offering and restructuring its services with the two brands Farner PR and Farner Advertising. Roosdorp was previously Senior Manager Marketing Communications at the German provider T-Online.
...
Martin Vogel will take over as Head of Marketing and Communications at Swiss Casinos at the beginning of August. He is currently responsible for corporate marketing and communications at 3M (Switzerland).
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Thomas Bucher is the new Brand Director of Nissan Switzerland. He already holds the same position at Nissan Austria. Bucher was already responsible for the Nissan business in Switzerland as General Director from 1997 to 2000.
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The agency for live and performance communication Group Worldspan is strengthening its team. Antoinette Hug has been appointed Project Manager for Incentive Travel. Sandra Drgala has been appointed International Sales Manager at the Barcelona office. Sabine Biedermann joins as Senior Consultant for Dialog Marketing, Barbara Gerber as Senior Project Manager for Event Marketing. At the beginning of July, Tanya Barlogis (photo) also joins the company as
Senior Consultant in Event Marketing.

Genre marketing Twelve advertising agencies explain for the third time what print can do better than other media groups: declining advertising volume, declining shares - for three years in a row. The print media group shrank in the number of newspaper titles and, after 2002 and 2003, also lost advertising market share last year. Raising awareness with advertisements
Nevertheless, it remains the clear leader with over 62 out of 100 advertising investment francs. To maintain this position despite the increasingly tough competition
The Swiss Press Association is entering the third round of its image offensive for the print sector with a new series of advertisements. With "Only an advertisement can do that", the Swiss Press Association has a successful campaign, says Marketing Director Toni Vetterli, which has certainly succeeded in sensitizing the core target groups of advertisers and creatives. Even if it sounds presumptuous, Vetterli says with a grin: "Who can say where we would be today without this campaign?"
Great response The fact that the print medium is still being strongly considered shows that the USP message and media usage are clearly being received. In addition, the campaign has triggered sympathy among readers for the advertisement as a comparatively well-accepted advertising medium. The campaign was also well received by the print media. Over 100 newspapers and magazines placed more motifs than in the previous year.
Once again, a dozen creative agencies took part in this year's campaign and each developed a subject based on the strategy of the agency Matter & Partner. Between May and October, more than 120 individual titles from all press categories will place the advertisements in two waves, before voting for the most popular motif in a public poll. The winning agency will be honored at the Epiphany Conference on January 10, 2006. This year's entrants are: Bluespirit, Burson-Marsteller, Favo, Grendene Ogilvy & Mather, Grey Worldwide; JWT+H+F, Lesch+Frei, MetzgerLehner, Pucci Sulzer, Saatchi & Saatchi Simko, TBWA/Switzerland and Zogg Kettiger Gasser.
Good feedback for the Swiss Press Association: Advertisements are accepted by readers.

Luca Aloisi

Quality assurance In order for all parties involved in a printing process to guarantee a high level of quality, a certain degree of standardization is required - this can be summarized in five stages: the increasing automation of processes in agencies, premedia/prepress, printing and processing/finishing as well as the ever closer networking of these areas require an increasing number of workflow components and procedures with which all relevant process variables can be reliably mapped and controlled. Nothing can be left to chance any more, because small errors and omissions can have a fatal effect on the final quality. Everyone must be able to rely on the quality care of the predecessor in the workflow: No compromises on quality! Don't just cut corners when it comes to price, but make a name for yourself with customers by taking care. With greater awareness, you will be able to secure the really lucrative orders. It is therefore worth investing in quality management based on consistent standardization and assurance. Ultimately, this also results in considerable time and cost savings: no unnecessary correction loops, no reworking, no quality-related complaints. And the resulting satisfaction is priceless, as it strengthens customer relationships and brings in new customers through word of mouth.
Agencies and downstream service providers in the printing and packaging industry are now striving to standardize as many processes as possible. This not only allows the work results to be repeated exactly at any time, but also makes the processes more industrialized, i.e. automated as far as possible and thus frees them from subjective assessments and operating errors.
Stage 1: CalibrationCalibration means establishing basic settings, initial states and framework conditions on devices and machines that can be reproduced at any time. This means that the calibration status of the production environment or sub-processes must be recorded and regularly checked in order to ensure the validity of
existing characterization files (level 2) and to be able to reliably characterize new constellations (e.g. other materials). In an agency, quality assurance primarily concerns color management, i.e. monitors and proof printers have to be calibrated on a daily basis. At media service providers and prepress companies, film setters plus plate copying or platesetters are also involved. And in a print shop, the technical specifications such as printing tension, standard inking and dampening, register accuracy, etc. must be met on the machines.
To check the calibration status of a monitor, a colorimeter is required - a measuring head that verifies the required white point of 5000 Kelvin in normal operating mode or under the effect of a monitor profile. There are also monitors that - like scanners and digital cameras - calibrate themselves. The calibration status of a proof printer can be easily determined on a test printout by using a spectrophotometer or spectral densitometer to measure either the indispensable Ugra/Fogra media wedge or a greyscale wedge in the four process colors. The proof printer must achieve certain solid tone densities, the grayscale wedges must reproduce a linear tonal value percentage gradation.
Stage 2: Capturing sub-processesCharacterization means capturing the process variables responsible for tonal value and colour reproduction on calibrated devices and machines. A characterization result therefore represents not only individual parameters, but entire sub-processes in which the respective devices or machines are integrated. A proof printer is always characterized in conjunction with the publishing software from which it is printed.
Depending on the measurement purpose and method, two types of characterization files are created: Tonal value transfer characteristics and ICC profiles. Characteristic curves depict the tonal value transfer behavior between two sub-processes, e.g. between the RIP platesetter configuration and the printing press. Step wedges are evaluated, which are measured most reliably with a CCD plate measuring device on the printing plate and after printing with a densitometer on the paper. ICC profiles reflect the individual color reproduction behavior of a device in the sub-process. Special software (e.g. GretagMacbeth ProfileMaker, X-Rite Monaco), which compares the measured and target values, and suitable color measurement technology are required to create them.
Stage 3: StandardizationIt is crucial that standards apply within the company and that there is agreement between the partners on the standards used. Basically, it is advisable to work according to the ISO standard-oriented guidelines Media Standard Print and Process Standard Offset Print or, in the case of other printing processes, with the corresponding ISO standards. In agencies and prepress, this means creating and processing color management profiles in accordance with the ICC specification (International Color Consortium) and generating PDF data with PDF/X-3 Distiller settings where possible, or at least always with the same optimized settings. When it comes to color management, it makes sense to use the Altona Test Suite and, for PDF issues, Enfocus Certified PDF, the application-specific PDF/X settings of the Ghent PDF Workgroup or the recommendations of the PDFX-ready association. Of course, it is also legitimate to take into account the in-house standards of customers and partners.
Stage 4: Industrial productionOnly the application of the objective characterization files to the calibrated production environment together with continuous metrological process control ensures that the target values are controlled or corrected within the tolerances. This enables the transition to industrial production or automation.
For example, during tonal value transfer, only regular measurements are taken to determine whether the RIP imagesetter configuration is set to linear reproduction, so that the originally determined characteristic curve can be taken into account in the tonal value reproduction curve for image processing (TRC in Photoshop or implemented in the ICC profile). This compensates for the increase in tonal value during printing. Sheet-fed offset (low), heatset web offset (high) and newspaper printing (according to ISO = 26 percent) differ significantly in the dot gain values, which must be taken into account when preparing advertisements in the various print media.
Stage 5: Quality assuranceQuality assurance not only refers to the quality control of intermediate and end products, but also ensures compliance with calibration statuses, standard specifications, tolerances and specific requirements in all sub-processes and at all workstations in stages 1 to 4. Measurement and testing is therefore carried out at all times:
1. before the production process:
(incoming inspections on substrates, printing inks and - in the form of automatic inspection routines - on data, e.g. PDF preflights);
2. during production (offline, online or inline measurement of process variables);
3. after the end of production (complete or random final inspection).
It also checks parameters that are not anchored in one of the standards mentioned, such as the precision of folding and trimming.
In general, quality is required in all sub-processes. This is why quality assurance begins in the advertising agency.
Altona Test SuiteIntegrated in the Altona Test Suite are:
- 15 PDF files, specially developed for testing proof printers as well as conventional and digital printing systems;
- 16 numbered A3 reference prints and 7 coloring standards for offset and continuous printing;
- 6 characterization data and 6 ICC profiles according to DIN ISO 12647-2;
- 1 comprehensive documentation (PDF and printed).
The ISO 1264-2 (IT8.7/3) test form replaced the European Color Initiative with ECI 2002, whose 1485 measuring patches represent the entire color space better than before. Among other things, process, duplex and spot colors, overprinting as well as gradients and resolution limits are visually evaluated. The suite's PDF and color management files can be generated into test jobs that can be used to evaluate the compatibility of a composite PDF workflow with PDF/X-3.
Further information: www.altona testsuite.com, www.ugra.ch (dk)
ISO 12647 and 2846DIN ISO 12647 "Graphic arts - Process control for the production of halftone color separations, proofs, test prints and production runs" is the central international standard for all printing processes. The European scale (DIN 16539) is no longer the standard printing ink scale, but DIN ISO 2846 "Graphic arts - Color and process control".
Transparency of printing ink sets", which uses CIELAB data to identify the process colors and composite prints. (dk)
Dieter Kleeberg

Publishers Espace Media presents a decent result for 2004. Cost-cutting measures and a share split have been announced, but the bottom line is that Espace Media Groupe is unimpressed by the advertising slump. Consolidated profit fell by 7.3 percent. The Bern-based media company nevertheless speaks of a good result, because at CHF 21.5 million and a margin of 8.2 percent, profit remains at an attractive level. Despite the long dry spell, Espace Media has reported a result in the range of 18 to 24 million francs for the sixth year in a row, writes publisher Charles von Graffenried in the foreword to the annual report. This stability is due to the strategy of growth and cost reduction.
Growth and cost reduction were exemplified in 2004 by the "Berner Modell", the takeover of Bund's publishing activities by the Berner Zeitung (BZ). Espace Media largely owes the 19 percent increase in sales to a new record of CHF 260.9 million to the consolidation of Bund Verlag AG. The model already proved itself in its first year: advertising sales of the so-called "BZ-Gesamtausgabe" increased by a quarter, budget and business plan were exceeded. Bund Verlag AG was able to reduce its loss from CHF 8.5 million to around CHF 750000. At the presentation of the 2003 annual figures last May, Group CEO Albert P. Stäheli had forecast a deficit of CHF 1.5 million (see interview on the right).
Radio and TV make gains TeleBärn is also almost out of the red. The loss was reduced from CHF 738,000 to CHF 278,000. The regional broadcaster's turnover grew by 13.2 percent to CHF 3 million. TeleNewsCombi, which now accounts for 18 percent of TeleBärn's advertising revenue, was the main contributor to this growth. In terms of sponsorship, however, the station lost more than a quarter.
Participation in advertising pools also paid off for Radio Extra Bern. The City Pool and the newly launched Swiss Radio Pool accounted for 33% of income, which rose by almost a quarter despite stagnating listener numbers. Income from Internet activities fell by around 7 percent to CHF 1.04 million. The printing business also suffered a decline of 2 percent. It remains to be seen how sales will develop when the new printing center in Bern's Zentareal opens at the beginning of July. Espace Media has invested 115 million francs in the new building.
Cloudy outlook
The Group does not expect the advertising market to recover in the current year. The decline in print media in particular is forcing further cost-cutting measures in the operating area, it announced. On the other hand, the acquisition of the free newspaper 20 Minuten could lead to renewed sales growth. Espace Media is confident that its appeal against the veto of the Competition Commission will be upheld and that the deal can be completed this year.
Espace Media Groupe wants to change the rules on share ownership. The restrictions on transferability are to be relaxed and modernized. In addition, the Board of Directors is proposing to the Annual General Meeting that the par value of the shares be reduced from CHF 20 to CHF 1.
Attractive profit 2004: Espace Media Groupe.

Stefano Monachesi

TV The Screen-up television trade fair will take place this year on October 25 and, in addition to the 2006 program screenings of the leading private broadcasters from Switzerland, Germany and France, Screen-up will once again present a preview of the coming cinema advertising year as well as a special show on Switzerland's ad screen offerings. For the first time, the industry event will be supplemented by a congress module. Experts will present their visions of the Swiss TV market in the near future and trends from the world of electronic media in speeches and debates. The event will once again be held at the Abaton cinema in Zurich.

Column With his Mörgeli replica, Kaspar Villiger has turned a non-event into a communicative own goal. Because "qui s'excuse, s'accuse" - in this case completely unnecessarily - active communication is generally the key to success. This can even be proven empirically, as a complex analysis of Wall Street firms by Harvard Business School showed a few years ago, but like every rule, there are exceptions. This was recently illustrated by former Federal Councillor Kaspar Villiger. Vilified by Christoph Mörgeli in his usual defamatory manner because of his involvement in Swiss at the time and his board mandate at Néstlé, Villiger did what he should never have done: He reacted! Advised by whomever, the former finance minister even convened a special
media conference. There he justified himself against Mörgeli's accusations, which until then had only been acknowledged by a few insiders.
In the globally networked online world, it is true that false statements that could damage the image and/or bottom line cannot be left unchallenged. Otherwise they will end up in some archive - for example the Swiss Media Database (SMD) - where they will subsequently serve as a "credible source" for other articles (without ever having been checked for accuracy by the journalists). Corrections of misinformation therefore also serve to protect against the multiplication of falsehoods.
However, before taking such a step, one should check how credible the source of the misinformation is and how great its potential for damage is. In the case of Mörgeli, Villiger either failed to do this or he misjudged the situation. Because outside his own party and the Bernese political class (which lives in a false reality anyway), the infamous Zurich SVP National Councillor is only taken seriously by Weltwoche at best. In a desperate struggle to retain its dwindling readership, Weltwoche hired him as a columnist - true to the no longer quite Socratic motto: "I provoke, therefore I am!
Nationally, or at least regionally, Mörgeli had only achieved fame once before the Villiger intermezzo. At the beginning of 2004, when he embarrassed himself in the SF DRS "Rundschau" program because he - the great private sector expert - didn't even know how much the Museum of Medical History, which he heads, was costing the taxpayers of the canton of Zurich.
Thanks to Villiger's reply to his accusations, Mörgeli not only gained national attention, but also a new kind of credibility. True to the popular saying "Qui s'excuse, s'accuse", observers began to ask themselves why Villiger reacted so sharply to Mörgeli's polemic if there was nothing to it. The perception suddenly changed as to who was the perpetrator (namely the unspeakable Mörgeli) and who was the victim (the previously blameless Villiger).
Villiger's communication error consisted of making a mountain out of a molehill. There is no question that his counter-attack on Mörgeli took him into the gutter, from which he had stayed away during his entire political career and where he still does not belong today, and damaged his own image.
The universally respected former Federal Councillor would therefore have done better to stick to a Roman saying: "Si tacuisses, philosophus mansisses - if you had remained silent, you would have remained a philosopher." Or as the Arab philosophers recommended a few centuries later: "The dogs bark, and the caravan moves on."
Sacha Wigdorovits is head of the Zurich-based communications agency Contract Media.