Newspapers The Zurich agency Publicis has won the overall budget for the business newspaper Cash. It prevailed in a multi-stage selection process that began at the start of the year, when Cash also held talks with Euro RSCG, Krieg Schlupp Springer & Jacobi, Seilerzürich, Lang Gysi Knoll and other agencies and invited them to submit advertising ideas for the newspaper. On this basis, three agencies were invited to a pitch, but no decision has yet been made. According to Cash Managing Director Thomas Trüb, two of the participants were allowed to take part in a final selection round in March. Publicis has now finally won the race. The first works will be on display in the middle of the year.

Media The new restaurant guide "Zürich geht aus!" has been available at newsstands since last week, containing "The 200 best restaurants", which have been anonymously tested by media people such as Heier Lämmler, Medard Meier, Walter Kümin and others. Of course, the bars and trendiest clubs are also included. Chef de cuisine was ex-Blick boss Wolfram Meister. Ralph Lindenmann produced the glossy magazine with his Factum AG under license from the publishing house Überblick Düsseldorf. Similar magazines are already available in other German cities such as Dortmund and in Mallorca ...

Education The University of St. Gallen and Advico Young & Rubicam held the AdCademy workshop for the first time. 36 students at Bachelor level developed a condom campaign. "A qualified understanding of how advertising works and achieves results is not something that can be taken for granted today," says David Allemann, Strategy Director and member of the Executive Board of Advico Young & Rubicam (AY&R). As the person responsible for the AY&R brand valuation model Brand Asset Valuator, which will soon be published, he knows what he is talking about. The short-term focus on sales results or funny advertising gimmicks often prevent brand and advertising ideas that create a long-term competitive advantage. He believes the reason for this is the lack of highly qualified advertising talent on both the client and agency side who also have a deep understanding of good advertising. "We need talented people with a keen eye for outstanding ideas and the courage to push them through even in the face of resistance. Because outstanding ideas almost always meet resistance first," says Allemann. Especially in times of crisis, he adds. The resistance his agency must have encountered and how it asserted itself is revealed by the annual creative ranking: in just a few years, it fell from the medal ranks to eighth place in 2004.
Practical project workHowever, his team has responded to this with innovation, including the AY&R AdCademy. A joint project between the lecturers Torsten Tomczak (Marketing) and Jürg Manella (Psychology) from the University of St. Gallen and AY&R people such as the two creatives Nicolas Vontobel (AD), Martin Stulz (copywriter) and the strategic planner Caspar Coppetti, who was responsible for the overall management and taught the theoretical principles.
The workshop, which was held for the first time a week ago, lasted three days, two of them in St. Gallen and one in Gockhausen at the agency. The 36 Bachelor students worked in groups on a current advertising task: how can a condom brand be revitalized in a time of declining fear of AIDS, new forms of relationships and conservatism? The practical project work was accompanied by theoretical blocks on strategic planning, agency processes and quality controlling.
Martin Stulz rated the participants' advertising skills as generally high: "This was particularly evident in their understanding of the aim of the creative process. Working together made it clear that advertising is not about ticking off a list of requirements, but about clear communication with clear ideas, but also about having fun and being able to pass this on." Coached by him and Nicolas Vontobel, each creative team designed its own advertising campaign based on the positioning developed. At the end of the workshop, which is now part of the university exams, the mini-agencies faced each other in a competitive presentation.
Developable campaignThe three-member jury chose the campaign "Rubberfriend. Man's best friend." - "This claim transforms the condom from an annoying gizmo into a best friend with whom you can share the most intimate experiences," says the evaluation of the winning campaign. The condom should thus leave the sterile pharmacy corner and enter the user's individual life. A product that is unemotional or even perceived as a "lust killer" is thus emotionalized in a funny way. And as the product name virtually represents the advertising concept, brand loyalty is also guaranteed, according to the explanation. The idea also offers plenty of scope for creative implementation. Because best friends have a lot to tell each other.
Among other things, the team relied on advertisements featuring the two best friends' vacation experiences as well as an online diary that reports on their adventures. "In a later phase, the 'Rubberfriend' became an independent personality in the best "My Friend Harvey" tradition, providing its user with advice via radio and stickers, for example," says juror Stulz.
A piquant aspect of the project work: the participants did not learn that AY&R had been managing the Ceylor account of Lamprecht AG for over a year. "We knew that we were dealing with a real case, but as we were working with the code name 'Rubberfriend', we didn't know which brand we were actually dealing with," says HSG student Jessica Merz.
David Allemann does not address the suspicion that AY&R maintains a favorable creative and human resources pool in the AdCademy: "AdCademy is an investment by AY&R in future talent that will not pay off tomorrow." The students still have a few years of study ahead of them. If AY&R or another agency can then offer a graduate one of the few places for a practical start, he is delighted. And when an HSG graduate with an already awakened understanding of brands and advertising becomes active on the client side, too. "Because then the goal of AdCademy has been achieved: talented people with a qualified understanding of advertising in practice."
Caspar Coppetti adds: "The students now have a basic understanding of how advertising is created and which strategic and creative elements are crucial for the effectiveness of a campaign. They also understand - and this is the key success of the AY&R AdCademy - what makes the difference between a boring and an exciting campaign: the surprising creative idea." And that it doesn't just fall into their laps.
Fast learningAdvico's investment "in the future of the advertising industry" also received high marks from the students. "I got my money's worth in terms of creativity and strategy," says participant Jessica Merz.
The insight into practice also opened the eyes of some. "Pouring your heart and soul into an idea for weeks on end and then losing the pitch takes a lot of nerve," said Wolfgang Richter, a member of the winning team. However, he was impressed by the clear view of the "professionals": "One highlight was the input and feedback from our marketing professor and the AY&R creative during our work: both were able to completely understand our way of thinking within seconds and tell us the strengths and weaknesses of our ideas in one sentence."
Despite the praise from both sides and the satisfaction at "how quickly the students started to think like advertising experts", says Caspar Coppetti, it is not yet clear whether AdCademy will remain a pilot project. A new edition is not fixed. The next AY&R AdCademy could possibly take place as early as next year, they say without obligation.
"Investing in the future of the advertising industry "There is no denying a certain similarity to the "Dream Job" broadcast format: 36 HSG students took part in the first AY&R AdCademy. In the three-day block seminar, they had to develop and present their own advertising campaign in groups - as mini advertising agencies, so to speak. The work was assessed by a professional jury in terms of innovative strategy and creative implementation. However, the practical insight into the advertising industry did not consist of
project work alone, but also from theory blocks, such as strategic planning and agency processes, which are taught at the University of
St. Gallen were held.
The joint project between the University of St. Gallen (Marketing: Torsten Tomczak; Psychology: Jürg Manella) and Advico Young & Rubicam (Caspar Coppetti and David Allemann) is a response to the need on both the client and agency side for new, highly qualified advertising talent.
The AY&R AdCademy graduates may not be able to get the cube right even after the block seminar. On the other hand, the workshop is likely to have given them an exciting insight into the new exam subject of "understanding advertising". (la)
"Putting your heart and soul into it": students in the creative phase.
Winning campaign: "Rubberfriend", the talking rubber.
Luca Aloisi

Magazines The Lausanne-based media group Edipresse is acquiring a 70 percent stake in the Hong Kong publishing house Communication Management (CM), with the remaining shares remaining with the founders, who will continue to run the publishing house. CM employs 200 people throughout Asia and has a turnover of over 40 million dollars. Its flagship publications are the Asian editions of the women's society magazine Tatler, which is published in the UK by Condé Nast. CM publishes Tatler in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing as well as in Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines and has licensed the magazine to Korea and Indonesia.

Local TV New move in the TV war: Hersant buys bankrupt control room.
The Frenchman Philippe Hersant and the Genevan Stéphane Barbier-Mueller, who want to take over 60 percent of the local Geneva television station Léman Bleu against the will of Edipresse, have already acquired a "large majority" of the company Force Promotion (FP), the station's marketer, in mid-May. This is what Hersant's lawyer Charles Poncet told Werbewoche on request. He was unable to disclose the exact ownership structure. However, he emphasized that Hersant is involved in Force Promotion as a private individual and not on behalf of his media group. The aim of the investment is to revitalize the bankrupt marketer, which laid off its staff at the end of May, with new capital so that it can soon bring advertising money back to Léman Bleu, which is also on its knees. This should be done with the existing staff, but with more financial resources, said Poncet. In fact, Daniel Berset, for example, the previous owner and director of FP, is now the new Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors.
It was originally agreed between FP and Edipresse that the latter could take over the management of Léman Bleu on May 1 if the broadcaster agreed. However, this commitment was never made.
(mk)

Crossmedia During the judging of the first Crossmedia Award initiated and organized by Goldbach Media, five of the 37 entries were shortlisted: Feldschlösschen Bier (SFLB), Dove 2004 (Lever Fabergé), Granador 100% Fruchtsaft (JvM/Limmat), Opel Tigra (Trio), Postmail (Euro RSCG). The winner of the award will be celebrated on June 1 at the World Trade Center in Zurich. Both the large number and the quality of the entries made it more difficult for the jury than the industry had predicted. The intelligent combination, the degree of innovation, the creative implementation and the track record were assessed.

Direct Marketing Openad.net surprised recipients with its "top-secret" mailing for a creative ideas platform, using a combination lock to visualize the idea and the new monitoring tool for the activities of Openad.net members. Even tearing the cardboard sleeve won't get you any further - the CD remains secured by a retaining rivet and intermediate ring. To open it, the code must be viewed on the homepage. Incidentally, it contains four commercials by David Knight on the subject of idea theft and how to protect yourself against it in a somewhat brute way.

Oliver Classen on the change of boss at Blick, NZZ - and soon probably Tagi, too If you believe the radio in the Glaspalast broadcasting on various frequencies these days, Maili Wolf's term of office is rapidly coming to an end. However, if the hapless head of Tages-Anzeiger also takes her leave after the publishing directors of NZZ and Blick, all three major Swiss-German daily newspapers will be facing a change of management this summer.This coincidence can be interpreted on the one hand as a further indication of a helpless industry that is increasingly sinking into self-doubt. On the other hand, however, those responsible should see the changing of the guard as an opportunity for a radical new start with new, truly innovative minds - and seize it. After all, after the reorganizers, our leafy forest urgently needs publishing lateral and forward thinkers again. In its job advertisement for the dual management of Blick and SonntagsBlick, Ringier is for the first time explicitly looking for such people from outside our industry and national borders.
A bold and necessary step in equal measure. Germany, where NZZ innovator Tobias Trevisan is unfortunately moving to, probably served as a role model here. With Klaus Lutz (Süddeutsche Zeitung) and Michael Grabner (Holtzbrinck), a high-tech and a trade manager are driving the newspaper industry forward there. Why shouldn't a similar transfer of know-how be possible and successful here in Germany?
But some old local hands are also good for new ideas. Urs Zeier, for example, who is currently working as a freelance consultant, could perhaps better immunize Blick against the 20-Minuten virus thanks to his Metropol experience. 20-Minuten boss Rolf Bollmann, with his regionalization successes, would actually be the ideal executor of the further Tagi expansion. And the NZZ is known to prefer home-grown talent anyway. Which is okay, because passion, persuasiveness and - last but not least - the courage to destroy creatively are far more important today than origin and personal history.
> Oliver Classen, Editor

Public service The radio and television cooperative Bern-Deutschfreiburg-Oberwallis RGB is defending itself against the SRG management's downsizing plans with a resolution, demanding that Swissinfo remain in Bern and continue to broadcast "multilingual and diverse information" about Switzerland. Swiss TXT should also remain in Biel/Bienne. The RGB wants to lobby the governments of the cantons of Bern, Fribourg and Valais and their parliamentarians to ensure that the SRG receives sufficient funding.

PR After two years of decline, the agencies united in the Association of Public Relations Agencies (BPRA) have seen the end of the downward trend in 2004: net fee income remained practically at the previous year's level of 81.18 million francs, the BPRA announced. The year turned out better than originally expected, said BPRA President Ulrich Bollmann.

Publishers In future, the business magazine Bilanz and the weekly magazine Weltwoche will handle the advertising market separately, with publisher Jean Frey dissolving the previous joint sales department in order to be able to implement the concerns of advertising customers as directly as possible. Michael Hermann will take over the advertising management of Weltwoche, Sandra Jabornik that of Bilanz.

What advertising manager plagued by a constant lack of time doesn't know Anna from Migros? Not quite cheap, but very "convenient", you can eat from her kitchen in a matter of seconds, and Exxtra launched a promotional CD to intensify brand vitality among young, active people, also known as party people (who, like advertisers, also have no time to cook). And the "More time for living" approach naturally also applied to the Anna's Best party, where you could let yourself be lulled into the evening sun with cool chill-out sounds and a beach atmosphere.it was also sunny at the ASW general meeting in Entlebuch. For those unfamiliar with geography - that's the Pampas between the Lucerne hinterland and Bern. After a round of gold panning - the locals tell the guests that there are heaps of precious metals to be found in their streams - they met for the AGM with a lot of movement on the board.
Sandra Röcker-Bonsells and Carmelo Buffoli stepped down. President-elect Markus Diener did not take up his post due to a heavy workload. Diego Bally, who is now holding this office for the third time, stepped into the breach. Andy Ruf, Past President by rotation, stood for re-election as Vice President and Benno Frick as Past President. Claude Hitz and Patrick Lack were confirmed.
The financial year ended with a profit and capital of 50,000 francs. Nevertheless, the Board of Directors felt compelled to request an increase in the annual contribution of 300 francs. Jörg Suter, an advertiser from Thalwil, did not agree to this. And this was, believe it or not, the very first dissenting vote that the shortlist author has experienced in his six years as a chronicler of various advertisers' meetings. However, it was clearly not about a vote of no confidence, the speaker stated. He merely wanted to urge the Board of Directors to be more willing to save money and to budget more precisely. The Board's request was approved, but with the aforementioned vote against and one additional abstention. So everything is clear at the ASW.
Beat Fritschin Summer mood - because the beautiful outdoor events are finally starting. For example, on the terrace of the lakeside restaurant Acqua, where Exxtra took a completely new approach to communication for Migros' fresh produce label Anna's Best. Or with the Alliance of Swiss Advertising Agencies ASW at its general meeting
in the beautiful Entlebuch, which is a little far away from Zurich.
Benny Goldstein with Grischa Rubinick (right), who is jointly responsible for the Anna's Best budget at Exxtra.

The two Exxtra-ADs Roger Dobmann and Nicole Domokos at the well-deserved terrace aperitif at Acqua.
Pretty blonde: Exxtra consultant Julia Brun (right) and Sandra Genge used to work together at Lowe Direct.
Andri Hofmann from Contexta and Annabelle advertising manager Monika Schneider enjoyed the hip party on Lake Zurich.
Evening mood: SAP Marketing Manager Daniel Renggli (l.) with Giusi Barbato, Limmattaler Tagblatt, and Andreja Sedeljsak from Infel.
DJ Minus-8 (left) and MC Amad provided the musical ambience with a cool performance well into the night.
Traveled all the way from Brazil to Entlebuch: former ASW board member and emigrant Stefan Hofmann with his wife Arlette.
Sunny prospects on the Bramboden: Norbert Unternährer, ASW President Diego Bally and Reto Schwammberger (from left).
Talking shop on the sun deck of the beautiful Hotel Bergruh: Sawi Director Jürg Engi (l.) and SDV President Jakob Nef.
Meeting with a view of the Bernese Alps and Carmelo Buffoli, Markus Diener and Hans Suter, KMU Magazin (from left).
Without the third-largest economic area, your brand lacks powerGuests at the ASW: Daniel Strobel, Publimedia CEO, Ulrich Bollmann, BPRA President, and Jürg Siegrist, SWA Managing Director (from left).
Together with Diego Bally, they form the Executive Committee of Allianz: Andy Ruf (l.), Vice President, and Benno Frick, Past President.
Soon-to-be retirees Beat Germann, Schellenberg, and Sepp Lütolf, Publisuisse, with Ursi and Peter Grob, ASW office (from left).
Attending the AGM as representatives of ASW sponsoring partner Publisuisse: Beatrice Kniel (left) and Carmen Theiler.