Trade fairs With Wein 05 in Zurich, Nüssli Special Events is setting new trends in wine communication. Trade fairs for the general public, for example, follow old-fashioned patterns. Now Nüssli wants to set new trends in wine communication. At Expo.02, Nüssli Special Events Ltd. realized the Arteplage Murten with the Monolith by Jean Nouvel and is helping to develop and launch the outsourced Art Basel Miami Beach. At the Wein 05 trade fair in Zurich, the now globally successful exhibition organizer wants to present wines in a similar way to works of art in a gallery. Even the attractive hostesses are not missing. At Vinitaly in Verona or Prowein in Düsseldorf, for example, the big producers and retailers try to outdo each other with even more splendor. Futuristic, spaceship-like tasting platforms or elegant lounges made of tropical wood and glass are designed to attract potential customers.
Those who do not have unlimited resources try tried and tested tricks: an American wine house presents itself under an oversized cowboy hat as a roof, while hostesses with gun belts around their hips fill the tasting glass with Zinfandel. Other wine fairs, on the other hand, take a decidedly popular approach: the twelve wine ships at Zurich's Expovina, for example, use this philosophy to secure their influx of visitors. With 80,000 visitors, Expovina is the world's largest wine fair for end consumers.
Urban minimalismWein 05 takes a completely different approach. At the wine fair, which takes place from April 7 to 13 in Hall 7 of Messe Zürich, there is neither wine folklore in the form of plastic grapes nor Hollywood-like stand constructions. The trade fair ambience is simple, modern and even decidedly sober. "We were guided by the attitude of an art gallery, which uses a neutral environment to put the focus on the works. And in our case, the works are the wines," says Christof Hofstetter, whose company CI Programm AG played a key role in the concept.
This "democratization of the environment" means that the identity of the trade fair is largely determined by its range of services. This indirectly influences the social behavior of visitors. "In the absence of distractions, attention is gently but consistently drawn to the wine," says Hofstetter.
The concept was implemented down to the last detail: there are even precise specifications for the lettering on the stands. The logo, which consists of simple typography in a rectangular color field and boldly omits the otherwise obligatory wine glass as a symbol, is a reduction to the essentials. Colorful contrasts to this urban minimalism are provided by the event program, which, in addition to classic tastings, also includes taste experiments (for example, sweet wines with summer truffles) or crossover events where authors or musicians deal with wine.
The consistent focus on wine is not just lip service. This can be seen in numerous details such as the choice of glass. For cost reasons, visitors to wine tasting events usually taste with standard tasting glasses that are more "poorly suited than good". If individual suppliers then bring higher-quality glasses of their own accord, their wines can be better showcased.
Wine database for orientationAt Wine 05, all wines are tasted using high-quality Riedel glasses (Chianti Classico model from the Vinum range). Every wine should be given the same chance. The specialists at Nüssli have also developed a new concept to help visitors find their way around the fair. It is not unusual for wine fairs to overwhelm visitors with their immense selection. At Wein 05, for example, around 2000 wines are presented. However, the average visitor tastes no more than 30 wines during their visit. Which wines they choose is determined either by personal relationships (with certain winegrowers or wine merchants) or by chance. To enable visitors to Wein 05 to put together their own individual tasting program in advance of the event, an actual wine database with numerous search functions has been set up on the www.wein05.ch website.
Art in Miami - Wine in Zurich
Nüssli was founded in 1941 as a traditional carpentry business. By developing modular wood, steel and aluminum systems, the company has achieved a leading international position in the construction of temporary grandstands and infrastructure, including at Olympic Games, World Ski Championships and World Exhibitions.
With Nüssli Special Events Ltd., the company's event development and full-service contracting offering was finally expanded. Prestigious projects included the planning and realization of the Arteplage Murten with the Monolith (architecture:
Jean Nouvel, Paris) for Expo.02 or the full-service contracting of the successful Art Basel Miami Beach. With Wein 05, Nüssli Special Events also wants to set new standards in the area of wine events. Ivo J. Haldner, CEO of the company, is convinced that the Wein 05 format will also be able to establish itself in other international cities in the medium term.
No frills: at Wein 05, the vine is the only star.
From vision to implementationAs a general contractor, Nüssli Special Events Ltd. designs, realizes and operates infrastructures for sporting, cultural, social and business events with international partners. References include world and national exhibitions, Olympic Games, world and national championships, festivals, shows, concerts, major international exhibitions, roadshows and high-end events.
In addition to pavilions at Expo.02, Nüssli also realized the Klangkörper Schweiz at Expo 2000 in Hanover. At Art Basel Miami Beach, Nüssli is the total contractor for the design, logistics, infrastructure, operations and catering parts of the project.
Andreas Panzeri

Hans Peter Mueller, 58, Director of APG Traffic, on the advantages of advertising in and on public transport and the acceptance of the medium among travelers.WW: What are the advantages of advertising in and on public transport? Hans Peter Mueller: Every bus and every streetcar enables a great deal of contact as it circulates through the city or the conurbation from early in the morning until late in the evening, 365 days a year. You don't have to switch on a device or buy a newspaper to see this advertising.
Who are the contact partners of APG Traffic?
90 percent of all transportation companies in Switzerland have entrusted the marketing of their advertising space to APG Traffic, because we can show our potential customers what this type of advertising can achieve with well-founded figures.
How is the cooperation with the transport companies?
The cooperation is individually tailored to the companies. We work out separate advertising plans for each individual transport company. Zurich's VBZ, for example, generally market the mobile advertising spaces themselves, but we have a long-standing good working relationship with these companies and are responsible for special offers such as the backlit Traffic Light posters in the streetcars. We have an exclusive cooperation agreement with Luzerner Verkehrsbetriebe, for example, where we are responsible for the entire marketing package.
How important is the local connection?
With our dense branch network, we are always close to the market. A bakery in Frenkendorf BL that wants to advertise on public transport vehicles receives documentation from us about Autobus AG Liestal. We promote the advertising on public transport and sell it using our extensive local knowledge and contacts.
How do you work together with the other departments at APG?
In cross-selling, APG consultants who are responsible for outdoor advertising on billboards also sell APG Traffic services. Thanks to networking, we can exploit major synergies within the company.
Isn't advertising on public transport also annoying for certain people?
From time to time, we receive complaints about the window films that impair individual windows when large-scale advertising is displayed on the outside of buses. However, such objections are not addressed to us, but to the transport companies. However, of the entire fleet of a transport company, only a few vehicles are fitted with large-format advertising. Most bus companies take care of their image and are therefore restrictive when it comes to renting out entire buses as advertising space. For certain transport companies, demand is greater than the supply available.
Are there any new trends?
Backlit Traffic Light Posters are gaining in importance. Even larger advertising spaces in the bus driver area are possible. We are also testing electronic advertising media with moving images; a trial in Montreux has not yet been satisfactory.
Is vehicle advertising the poor relation of advertising?
Its value is still underestimated and it often does not exist in advertising plans. However, the medium is extremely powerful and offers a cost-benefit ratio like no other advertising medium.
How do you see the future prospects for vehicle advertising?
In recent years, advertising in and on public transportation has stagnated. We are now splitting the markets locally, regionally and nationally and repositioning transport advertising to complement the other advertising media. Thanks to these measures, our sales grew by several percentage points last year. We expect growth rates again this year.
APG Traffic on the Internet: www.traffic.ch
Interview: Werner Catrina

Promoting young talent Nina Rentschler and Björn Burkhard are the winners of the Keystone Cannes Open 05. Today, "Foti-Schöpplen" is mastered to perfection by young creatives. And used with a lot of fun, as the 70 works submitted for the Keystone Cannes Open 05 prove. "It's getting better every year. The clientele is also expanding," says Walter Grolimund, CEO at Keystone. With the Keystone Cannes Open, Switzerland's largest photo agency has been offering a platform for advertising talent up to the age of 30 for five years now. The only conditions for participating in the competition are a real client and the use of Keystone images.
Progress was also evident for the jury. "The result is something to be proud of," said Matthias Freuler from Wirz Werbung. "Sometimes only little is missing to an absolutely professional work", evaluated Markus Ruf from Ruf Lanz. Simone Fennel admired the level of handling in the photo store. Daniel Comte from Advico Young & Rubicam remarked that it was almost impossible to abstract that it was the young talent and not the old hands who worked here.
It was immediately clear to the jury who should win the first prize. Nina Rentschler and Björn Burkhard from the agency Publicis convinced the experts with their work "Smile": The smile of a man served as the image, the laugh lines were formed into the three stripes of Adidas using a computer. "Simple, reduced - but with a laugh and positive through and through. Every company would like to have such an advertising message," said Walter Grolimund, who agreed with the jury's decision.
As the gold-winning poster showed, a strikingly large number of works for larger and well-known labels were submitted this year. It is true that image montages around "customers" such as a funeral parlor, a woodworm sanatorium, sunscreen products and sushi stores continued to appeal. However, the jury saw it as a positive trend that the young creatives - as is in fact part of their everyday working life - were also able to convince more critical clients such as Migros Kulturprozent, the Zoological Museum, Emmentaler cheese, Coop, Amnesty International or the Federal Office of Public Health with their ideas.
With their work for Adidas, the winning team will be rewarded with a flight to Cannes as well as participation in the "Press & Outdoor Award" category of the international advertising festival, where they can compete for the Lions.
In a first round, the jury marked 16 of the 70 works with one or more points. From this first shortlist, a selection of 10 was made. One "forgotten" work then also made it into the top ten with a wildcard. The jury wanted to award not only successful and thus professionally usable submissions, but also never-before-seen ideas. "We want to encourage new trends."
Regarding the winning subject, the jury said that it was "the most reduced, but the message is still immediately understood". It was also judged to be "internationally understandable". With other works, one wondered whether one had not already seen a similar implementation somewhere. Some work was also rated more as an ad than a poster, as required. All 10 subjects that the jury put on the final shortlist are shown on this double page. The pictures of the award ceremony can be found on page 23.
With over 70 entries, the yield is the same as last year. However, the number of participants increased significantly, with more teams taking part with fewer subjects. "It's a sign of professionalism that you only send the best ideas to a competition," said Alexander Jaggy. The CD from Jung von Matt/Limmat acted as moderator during the judging. His agency, together with Keystone, conceived the competition five years ago and has provided communications support ever since.
The winning subject by Nina Rentsch-ler and Björn Burkhard will be shown on
F12 size as a poster in various Swiss cities - in Zurich on Weinbergstrasse as well as in other prominent locations in Bern, Basel, Lucerne, St. Gallen, Lausanne, Geneva and Lugano.
1st place: Björn Burkhard and Nina Rentschler, who was present at the vernissage only by photo, in front of her winning poster for Adidas.
2nd place: Sebastian Hugelshofer and Daniel Roznovjak for Zippo.
3rd place: Natasha La Marca and Sabina Meyer for Yooji's Sushi.
Also 3rd place: Marc Schmit and Caspar Heuss for Microsoft.
The jury: Simone Fennel, Matthias Freuler, Daniel Comte and Markus Ruf were appointed to the Keystone jury from the master teachers in the various agencies. They placed the posters seen below on the final shortlist.
Grit Wolany and Torsten Maas for Tesa.
Isabelle Hauser and Simon Sennhauser for Maglite.
Iris Thiede and Corinne Englert for the Zug Youth and Children's Office.
Dominic Beyeler and Madeleine Brügger for Furer Schuhmode.
Jota Ziogas and Diana Rossi for Solis.
Andrea Dübendorfer for Ban Song Thai Restaurant.
At the click of a mouse into a universe of imagesFor the Keystone Cannes Open, the entire archive of the largest Swiss photo agency was available to the competition participants. In the real market, too, more and more agencies are working with Keystone's stock. Currently, a campaign for the Basler Zeitung is being designed by cR in this way. Keystone has also supplied subjects for Valser Wasser. Thanks to its own web engineers, search times in the archive are constantly getting shorter. Keystone is investing a lot in technology and will be able to provide all foreign partner agencies with another three
million images into the system software-wise.
Andreas Panzeri

Hannes Britschgi (photo) is to become Program Director of Ringier TV. In this newly created position, he will lead the editors-in-chief and editorial managers of the Ringier TV programs and take a seat on the Executive Board. In addition, the former Facts editor-in-chief will become a member of the development pool, take over the management of individual projects and be responsible for internal training and further education. ...
At the beginning of May, Markus Mager will become the new program director of Radio 24, replacing Peter Brun, who is changing careers. Mager is currently a reporter at SonntagsBlick. Before that, he was deputy editor-in-chief of TeleZüri.
...
Esther Pfenninger (photo) joins the Winterthur media agency Konnex as a media planner. In recent years, Pfenninger has worked both as a media planner and as an employee of publishing companies and creative agencies.
...
Thomas Meier will take over as Head of Strategic and Conceptual Marketing at the Rhaetian Railway (RhB) in August. Meier is currently Director of Winterthur Tourism. He has also chaired the Swiss Cities tourism association since 2003.
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Barbara Higgs will be responsible for press and public relations at the Lucerne Festival from November. Until she takes office, Michele Paparone will head the press office of the classical music festival series. Barbara Higgs was most recently Head of Public Relations at the Zurich Schauspielhaus.
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Björn Brinkmann (pictured) is moving from Lowe Direct to OgilvyOne at the beginning of July. He will take over the position of Creative Director (CD) at Ogilvy, as he did at Lowe. Previously, this position was held ad interim by Chairman Guido Wietlisbach.
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Culture editor Nina Toepfer has left the editorial team of NZZ am Sonntag. She is moving to New York for family reasons. From there, she will continue to report on culture and society as a freelance author.
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Robert Bolleter is the new Managing Director of the Baselbieter local TV station NW1. He replaces André Funk. The former head of marketing at Publisuisse took over the position in November 2004 on a temporary basis. According to the broadcaster, important organizational changes have been initiated under Funk's leadership.

Associations When coordinating their positions on the new RTVA, the private TV association Telesuisse and the Swiss Private Radio Association (VSP) got on so well that Telesuisse suggested a joint umbrella organization.While the VSP instructed its board to negotiate with Telesuisse quickly (WW 11/05), Telesuisse members do not want to make this fundamental decision until the summer at the earliest. "Until then, the Board should merely make further clarifications", says President Filippo Lombardi. But why has Telesuisse suddenly got cold feet? Lombardi's answer is vague: it is unclear whether a merger or an umbrella organization should be pursued. One thing is certain: The VSP wants an umbrella organization.Perhaps the problem lies elsewhere: the publishers' association, which is aiming for an umbrella organization for all media including SRG, probably sees its idea torpedoed by the e-media association. That is why it may have had the publisher TVs at Telesuisse vote against it. He has little influence on the VSP, however, because important publisher radio stations have left. But Lombardi waves this away: "No, the fronts at Telesuisse were mixed," he claims.
(mk)

Local press The town of Burgdorf is to have its own newspaper again after the Burgdorfer Tagblatt was discontinued at the end of 2004 According to a report in the Bund, a group led by Gasthausbrauerei president Res Zbinden is planning a free weekly newspaper. The publishing cooperative is to be founded these days. According to Zbinden, 1000 share certificates worth 250 francs would have to be subscribed for the project to get off the ground.

Cinecom and Cavegn-Werbung launch the digital advertising film. "The Jazzsinger" was the name of the film that replaced silent films with sound films in 1929. In 1939, color film prevailed with "Gone with the Wind". On June 30, 2005, Cinecom celebrates a similar cinematic milestone in Switzerland. "A huge act has begun for Cinecom. Most cinemas in Switzerland are being converted to digital advertising film," says a delighted Jean-Claude Bruhin, Head of Communications at Cinecom (see also page 19). 280 to 300 cinemas will have been converted by June 30, according to the leading marketer of cinema advertising in Switzerland. By mid-2006, "or sooner", the target is 430 cinemas. The new technology eliminates the time-consuming copying of 35 mm advertising films. Commercials can now be shown digitally, i.e. without a lead time of several weeks, in a highly flexible manner.
To herald this new era, Cavegn-Werbung has, according to Markus Cavegn, laid the old times to rest "in a simple, striking way". The idea of an obituary made of celluloid, "which is making its grand entrance once again", came to him spontaneously. Cinecom liked it straight away. The announcement has since developed into a veritable little campaign. Paraphernalia from the good old days of color film continue to serve as props for the follow-up subjects.
While 2.3 kilometers of advertising film were cut and pasted into a mailing in collaboration with the Züriwerk for the "Todesanzeige", Cavegn is now working with photos of film reels and film canisters that are no longer used and have therefore also been misused. Julien Vonier photographed the packshots. The texts are by Markus Rottmann, who is currently working for Cavegn as a freelancer in the Swiss mountains instead of in India as he used to.
The creative team deliberately abandoned Cinecom's CI for the first motif because the cross on a red background was not effective. This basic color "almost leased" by Cinecom is now back - but the claim is missing as a new consequence to announce a new era. "The subjects are as fast as a media plan with Cinecom can be," comments Cavegn on the film can and reel.
The advertisements with these announcements appear in the specialist press in Switzerland and also in Horizont, well timed with a specialist report in the German advertising newspaper on the development of digital transmission.
Megabytes instead of film reels: a milestone in cinema advertising.
Andreas Panzeri

Cinema marketer becomes a fully electronic medium. The fact that PubliGroupe was able to acquire the cinema marketer Cinecom last year fills the P management around CEO Hans-Peter Rohner with pride and joy. At last week's annual press conference, Rohner referred several times to the upcoming digitization of Cinecom cinemas and the associated benefits. Specifically, the cinemas will be equipped with an ADSL line, a 16:9 projector and a cinema media player so that advertising spots can be transmitted digitally from the second half of 2005 (see box below and page 7). With the digitalized marketing of advertising films, the cinema will gain additional attractiveness as an advertising medium, said Rohner, adding: "The cinema will become a new medium." As cinema-goers will not notice any difference, this statement is somewhat exaggerated. But from the point of view of advertising customers, there are certainly advantages, as handling is easier: the lead time of three weeks is reduced to three days thanks to digital transmission, and even subject changes are possible. Furthermore, uniform standards can be set with regard to lighting and sound quality. And last but not least, the high costs for film copies and their dispatch are eliminated and controlling is largely automated. This is because the booking tool at the Cinecom head office transfers the individual playlists to the individual servers, which send a completion report back to the head office after the screening has taken place.
In addition, Cinecom can expand its range of offerings: "As standard, we will offer selections according to film genre," says Cinecom Marketing Manager Jean-Claude Bruhin. These will be divided into six main groups: Action/Suspense, Romance/Drama, Comedy/Musical, Studio/Documentary as well as Family and Kids.
Cinecom also dives deeper locallyBut the important thing is that slides and film slides are no longer available. But SMEs need not worry - the projectors that are replacing the slide projectors can still be used to show still images (CinePicture, 7 and 10 seconds) or computer animations and filmed spots (CineMotion, 10 to 15 seconds), both with or without sound. This is particularly advantageous for local customers: Because a spot already produced for local TV can now also be played in cinemas. Radio spots can also be "recycled" by combining them with a still image in the cinema. What's more, the production of a CineMotion only costs around half as much as a film slide. In other words, cinema advertising can easily dock onto radio and local TV advertising and use their groundwork in the local market to its advantage.
However, it would be unfair to describe Cinecom as a free rider. Radios and primarily local TVs are also likely to benefit from digital cinema - firstly because the "customer exchange" will also work in reverse, and secondly because Cinecom also markets screen advertising, which results in further synergies. Above all, however, Cinecom is no greenhorn when it comes to local markets: unlike IP Multimedia, which has only just discovered SMEs (see WW 10/05), it has had intensive contacts with local customers for more than 20 years thanks to its subsidiary Perdiag, which has since been dissolved and integrated.
The eight sales outlets throughout Switzerland serve around 500 customers each. Last year, the P subsidiary generated CHF 9 million from this fairly stable market. Marcus Schumacher, Head of Local Sales, who has been working for Perdiag and Cinecom for 14 years, is unable to quantify the additional potential thanks to digital technology. "But the reactions from the market have been extremely positive and have highly motivated my team," he says. The twelve employees have already been retrained in digital technology for screens and cinemas.
Digital revolution: In Cinecom cinemas, the days of analog cinema advertising from tape are numbered.
Cinecom converts 330 of 475 cinemasIf everything had gone according to Cinecom's plan, digital cinema would have become a reality last summer. However, since the announcement of the new technology a year ago, the cinema marketer first swallowed up its competitor Mediavision Suisse and was subsequently acquired by PubliGroupe. These changes in ownership led to a year's delay.
The necessary installations will now be carried out at 330 of the 475 Swiss cinemas and movie theaters by the end of June. According to Jean-Claude Bruhin, Cinecom is investing a seven-figure sum for ADSL and hardware, with cinema owners covering the installation costs and paying a lump sum for equipment maintenance.
Although the 330 cinemas would cover 90 percent of all cinema visits, the digitization process will probably also be extended to most other cinemas - thanks to the Federal Office of Culture, which is financing around 100 projectors "for the screening of short films" in small cinemas. This expansion should be completed by mid-2006. (mk)
Markus Knöpfli

Balance sheet PubliGroupe remains optimistic despite the ailing economy Publigroupe reports a 9 percent drop in profits for 2004 compared with the previous year to 53 million francs. Although pre-tax profits amounted to CHF 83 million, which is still 11 percent more than in 2003, operating profits rose by 96 percent to CHF 67 million thanks to productivity gains (see also WW 6/05). However, the 222 percent increase in tax expenses ate away a large part of the operating profit.
PubliGroupe does not expect any marked improvement in the advertising markets in 2005 and is therefore expecting increased competition. For itself, the company anticipates only slight growth, but in all group units.
PubliGroupe CEO Hans-Peter Rohner is also cautiously optimistic about other aspects, such as the hearing before the Competition Commission (ComCo) in the AdX-PubliGroupe case, which is still pending. "The hearing scheduled for April will give us the opportunity to explain our position orally to the entire Competition Commission. We will then await the decision of the Competition Commission with our composure intact and then define any further action," Rohner wrote to Werbewoche.
With regard to the announced but still pending second step in the marketing of electronic media, Rohner stated: "The integration of Cinecom into PubliGroupe has been successful. The next step in the direction of electronic media marketing will take place in the course of 2005 as announced."
Markus Knöpfli

Radio Radio La Première in French-speaking Switzerland is popular - but has hardly reached young people so far. An image campaign is now being launched to remedy the situation.radio La Première radio in French-speaking Switzerland is popular - but has hardly reached young people so far.an image campaign is now being launched to remedy the situation.
Everyone complains about the interchangeable radio stations. The makers themselves are the loudest. Their performance figures remain virtually unchanged at a low level. Only the state stations are not joining in this lament. The first station chains in particular leave the private competition far behind in terms of average daily net reach and listening time. This lead is even more striking when compared to the foreign state broadcasters.
Market share of a good 40 percent
Apparently, well-produced programs with a higher language component are reaching an increasingly broad and loyal audience in this country. La Première's market share has risen from 35.7 percent in four years to a good 40 percent last year. However, the glow of success fades when the reach is broken down by age group. This shows that the public broadcaster barely reaches the younger age segment. This is despite the fact that La Première has greatly modernized its vessels, programmes and positioning since the end of the 1990s, according to Edith Calamandrei from Radio Suisse Romande.
The image conveyed by the station lagged behind the refreshed product and self-image. Campaigns at the time focused on the creators and the reality of the station in order to promote the new programs. However, the Lausanne agency Angebault Portenier recommended a brand strategy with a new corporate design and a change of perspective towards the consumers, who were to be made aware of La Première's values - proximity, ethics, universality and the special relationship with the listeners. The race to catch up began in 2000, initially with the announcement of the new logo and later with image campaigns that aimed to position the station as a progressive and open-minded broadcaster.
When those responsible for the current year decided to bid for the program again, La Première put the advertising budget out to tender again. The Lausanne-based company successfully defended the mandate.
CD Yves Portenier explains the advertising strategy: "We didn't want to fall back into the traditional scheme of 'contribution authors and programme notes', but rather contextualize the social broadcasting topics from the listener's point of view." The result, TV and cinema spots, are highly witty and atmospheric everyday dialogs in a family of carefully cast actors.
All about watercress
In a refreshing way, situations are shown in which the son, the mother and even the house nurse surprise the other people present with their cultivated eloquence. Be it when they recommend bloodthirsty Tarantino films with feuilletonistic excursions or encyclopedically explain the valuable properties of watercress. The resolution: "La Première. Il parait que tout le monde
l'écoute!"
"To appeal to a younger target group, you have to avoid any manipulative influence and instead adapt their codes, i.e. use humor and truth," says Yves Portenier. By positioning the radio station as a communicator of sophisticated everyday knowledge, the aim is not only to attract younger listeners, but also to reaffirm La Première's regular listeners in an ironic way.
In addition to the strong image channel for the emotional media of TV and cinema, the campaign includes the placement of advertisements for tactical communication measures.
Witty dialog: Listening to La Première will surprise your family with small talk of a sophisticated kind.
Luca Aloisi

Oliver Classen on the media incorporation of the Balkan Swiss Politically, immigrants from the former Yugoslavia have long enjoyed the special attention of the Swiss media. They are omnipresent on the tabloids as speeders, thugs or burglars. And even the NZZ Folio devoted its entire March issue to the "Yugos" - admittedly in order to present the unsavory SVP clichés in a differentiated way and thus question them.370000 nationals from the five successor states, who make up over 20 percent of the foreign population, are now finally being discovered as media consumers. For example, The Cover Media is opening and marketing the first Southeast European TV advertising window in Switzerland on Serbian and Albanian national television.
This means that local companies can now address this demographically and commercially important target group directly in their native language. Until now, the only way to do this was through outdoor advertising that was as graphic as possible.
Ringier is even going one step further and is launching a European edition of its Serbian tabloid Blic next Monday. Just under a quarter of the initial print run of 45,000 copies contains a Swiss editorial page and costs CHF 1.50 at local newsstands, i.e. 30 centimes less than Blick. A paradoxical circular argument: the Blic correspondent based in Zurich provides the newly founded European editorial office in Belgrade with daily stories that are printed in Frankfurt but are only read in Zurich and the surrounding area. It will be interesting to see whether this model works and - what's more - who books the first advertising pages of the Swiss split edition of Blic Europa.
As long as "Yugo" is still a dirty word, this requires not only innovative strength but also a little entrepreneurial moral courage. The Cover Media and Ringier are exemplary in demonstrating this rare virtue with their (certainly not altruistic) attempts to incorporate Balkan Swiss into the media.
> Oliver Classen, Editor

Automotive Following a pitch, the luxury car brand Jaguar has chosen Euro RSCG as its new global advertising agency, with Euro RSCG/Fuel in New York, which previously worked exclusively for Volvo, taking the lead. Like Jaguar, Volvo is part of the Ford Group. Euro RSCG prevailed against JWT, Berlin, Cameron/Red Cell, Leagas Delaney, M&C Saatchi and Kirschenbaum Bond & Partners. Budget holder Young & Rubicam had already dropped out of the race for the 150 million dollar Jaguar budget.