TV People from the former Yugoslavia living in Switzerland can now be reached with TV advertising in their own language: The Cover Media markets the Swiss advertising windows on the stations RTS (Radio-televizija Srbije, Serbia) and RTK (Radio Televizioni i Kosovës, Kosovo). It also offers to adapt the commercials into the respective languages (see editorial on page 5).

Animal feed For around sixty years, Kroni from the St. Gallen Rhine Valley has been mixing individual nutritional supplements for cattle, sheep, goats, horses and pigs.animal feed For around sixty years, Kroni from the St. Gallen Rhine Valley has been mixing individual nutritional supplements for cattle, sheep, goats, horses and pigs. The animals need these minerals to stay healthy and "become beautiful", as the livestock farmers say. Kroni prides itself on having a very efficient customer service. The specialist company's market share is small but significant. Accordingly, the communication budget is not exactly large. The task was therefore to help an unknown brand, which also sells a rather unspectacular product, to become better known with a catchy message for little money. Eugster Kommunikation in Rorschacherberg opted for a tongue-in-cheek campaign. The beauties Laana, Fränzi and Alicia were photographed as models. Mathias Voppichier acted as cow stylist (see page 15).

Press The WochenZeitung (WoZ) is making a virtue of its need: it is serializing its "dramatic financial predicament" under the title "Give us money!" Last week the call for help, this Wednesday the glimmer of hope. For the next issue, the WoZ finally promises the bare figures on the shortfall. Speaking of figures: The call for help has already paid off. Readers have already paid in 28,000 francs in donations. In addition to the public, the WoZ is also hoping for support from major advertisers. After all, they are not the ones who have plunged the newspaper into crisis. In addition to high relaunch costs, the decline in the traditional classifieds and small ads business is to blame.
In 2004, large advertisers brought the WoZ income of 130000 francs, 40000 less than in the previous year, when Migros ran the largest commercial campaign in the history of the WoZ. However, it is also 50,000 more than in 2002, when the opinion paper made its first major effort to attract large advertisers. The number of companies advertising in the WoZ was higher in 2004 than ever before.
(sm)

Finance The current Bank Leu campaign with the lion portraits on a black background impressively sums up the bank's characteristics, and now the creatives at Matter & Partner are doubling down with new subjects. While the first series was dedicated to private banking in general, the new subjects focus primarily on investment advice. For this reason, more emphasis was placed on the headlines, which pointedly make the connection between the lion portrait and investment advice. "There are no kings in Switzerland. But if you feel like one, our investment advisors have achieved their goal." The new lion subjects can be seen in NZZ, Weltwoche, Bilanz, HandelsZeitung, Stocks and lifestyle magazines.

We made a mistake in the article "Expansion with setbacks" (WW 9/05, p. 17): In the table, the circulation of KMU Magazin was given as 5200 copies. This is incorrect. According to the correction list for the 2004 Wemf circulation bulletin, the paid circulation is 6639 copies. This circulation is 100 percent subscribed.

Agencies Eugster Kommunikation in Rorschacherberg SG is expanding into Austria.at the beginning of March, the company founded the offshoot Agentur am Marktplatz in Dornbirn. Eugster has been serving Swiss companies with cross-border operations for some time and has won several budgets in Vorarlberg in recent months. In addition, the dialog agency believes to have discovered a certain market gap in its core competence in the west of Austria. In an initial phase, the agency at the marketplace will maintain a close relationship with Eugster's creative department.

Daily newspapers Südostschweiz is being given a completely new concept, and Werbewoche has learned that it is being relaunched as a micro-newspaper along the lines of the Jungfrau Zeitung. Industry insiders believe that the consistent focus on local areas should work just as well in the narrow Grisons valleys as it does in the Bernese Oberland. Young publisher Urs Gossweiler has been looking for buyers for his newspaper concept for a long time. On the eve of April 1, none of those responsible could be reached.

Internet As part of the ongoing campaign with the slogan "try first, then decide", Jung von Matt/Limmat came up with a special Easter campaign: Easter bunnies were handed out to passers-by on the street, but unlike the modems in an earlier poster campaign, the bunnies were not thrown at people. But someone had already tasted them. According to the agency, chocolate and ADSL have one thing in common: you only know if it tastes good after you've tried it.

Sports shoes Ruf Lanz speeds up the Zurich Marathon with an exuberant idea for Nike. 42.195 kilometers in less than three hours. Who has time to read the road signs! Ruf Lanz has staged the idea, which is literally on the street, for an advertising campaign around the Zurich Marathon. Nike will be the official supplier for this year's Zurich Marathon on April 3. The commitment will be supported by an eye-catching advertising campaign along the race route. In this way, the brand is also consolidating its expertise in running shoes and running clothing (for runners by runners) in its communications. After a competitive presentation, Ruf Lanz won the race for Nike's Swiss appearances.
"That was a pitch for a budget that everyone wants," says CD Markus Ruf happily. The sporting success at his desk, which distracted the advertiser for weeks from adhering to his usual training program, excuses Ruf from taking part in his new client's important sponsorship event, at least this year. "No. Even if the 42 kilometers or so with Nike seem shorter, they're still a bit too long for me. But I could actually register Danielle," explained Markus Ruf when asked by Werbewoche.
Nikerunning offers ambitious runners lightweight, fast running shoes and special breathable clothing. Ruf Lanz has dramatized these product advantages in an amazing way in the campaign for the Zurich Marathon. If you complete the 42.195 kilometers with Nike equipment, the marathon seems much shorter.
Names at express train speedThis statement was implemented by shortening the spelling of sections of the Zurich Marathon route. Bahnhofstrasse becomes Bhfstrse or Bürkliplatz becomes Brkliplz.
Ruf Lanz's campaign will be visible from the end of March on shop window posters, trade fair posters, F12, F200 and F200 illuminated posters, advertisements, banners and brochures. The statement that the marathon seems shorter with Nike will also accompany the runners on posters during the marathon.
As before, the international Nike campaigns will be handled by Wieden + Kennedy in Amsterdam. Following the marathon pitch, Ruf Lanz in Zurich is now responsible for the Swiss appearances in connection with sporting events. "We enjoy creative freedom within the CI," reveals Ruf Lanz. It makes sense to involve a local agency for individual projects.
"It is not yet clear how many Nike campaigns made in Switzerland there will be in 2005." But: "It's possible that there will soon be more appearances with a local connection," says Markus Ruf, before disappearing back into the gym.
Short distance: The marathon is completed in no time with Nike shoes.
Andreas Panzeri

Distribution: The NZZ am Sonntag is now also available in Germany. According to the latest issue, it has been available for purchase on a daily basis at select newsstands for several weeks. These locations are in Darmstadt, Frankfurt, Heidelberg, Karlsruhe, Ludwigshafen, Mainz, Offenbach, Stuttgart, Wiesbaden, and Munich. The network is set to be continuously expanded.

Balance sheet Tamedia has achieved a turnaround - thanks to significant staff reductions.
Tamedia achieved sales of CHF 566.6 million in 2004, CHF 7.4 million less than in the previous year. The decline is due to the sale of small operating units (such as the cultural magazine Du), but Tamedia maintained sales in its core business. Nevertheless, the media group recorded a positive operating result (EBIT) of CHF 63.1 million, a respectable performance after the minus of CHF 40.7 million in the previous year. This result was only possible thanks to restructuring measures. Over the past two years, Tamedia has reduced its workforce by around 25 percent - one third through outsourcing and two thirds through redundancies. Accordingly, personnel expenses, the largest cost item, were reduced by CHF 66 million or 24.5 percent to CHF 203 million last year alone. Lower paper prices and reduced paper consumption due to smaller volumes further reduced costs. The Group result, which was still in the red at minus 18 million francs in 2003, rose to 50 million francs.
New-old philosophy
"We have achieved the same turnover as in 2003, but with far fewer staff," said Tamedia CEO Martin Kall at the annual press conference. The return has risen accordingly. In 2004, Tamedia achieved the fourth-best EBIT margin of the last 15 years despite the adverse environment, Kall triumphed. "We want to be in a position to achieve a decent return even without cyclical job advertisements," said the CEO. Kall, a historian, was referring back to an insight from the 1973 oil crisis. Job advertisements were already the butter on the bread back then. It is to Kall's credit that he did not wait to put this insight into practice, but did so back in 2004, as shown in the graphic opposite. Seen in this light, Tamedia even achieved the best EBIT margin of the last 15 years last year!
Of the Group divisions, only the Magazines segment reported a decline in sales, due to the sale of the magazine Du and the discontinuation of Annabelle Wohnen and Business. Nevertheless, the magazines achieved a turnaround faster than expected, according to Kall. Their operating result (EBIT) rose from minus CHF 9.6 million to plus CHF 8.5 million. Newspapers even increased their EBIT by 1218 percent to 47.3 million francs. The electronic media are still in the red (-5.6 million francs), although this is due to a subsequent correction for unreported sales from media partnerships in 2003. Kall also expects this division to be in the black in 2005. And although TeleZüri will be in the black by 2006 at the latest, Kall does not want to forego shares from fee splitting. "If there is to be this honeypot, it would be no contradiction for us to also reward those who generate a profit on their own," he says.
The commissioning contract with Publimedia is still not signed and sealed. Tamedia had terminated it extraordinarily after the Zurich press deal. Publimedia has not yet responded to Tamedia's proposal, said Kall. Publimedia General Director Otto Meier is of a different opinion. "We are in mutual exchange, the point of contention is still the specific form of the bonus for the P", says Meier.
NZZ Group also with better figuresIn 2004, the NZZ Group achieved a net profit of 21.7 million francs, more than four times as much as in the previous year. The operating result amounted to 16.1 million francs compared to a minus of 8.7 million francs in 2003. Turnover rose by 18.6 percent to 547 million francs. However, the turnaround is mainly due to changes in the scope of consolidation: the participation in Bund Verlag was eliminated and LZ Medien was included for the first time.
The Zurich press deal has not yet been reflected in the NZZ result. However, it is interesting to note that NZZ will receive more shares in the longer term from Akeret AG, a 100% subsidiary of PubliGroupe and publisher of the Zürcher Unterländer, than previously communicated. This was stated by PubliGroupe CEO Hans-Peter Rohner to Werbewoche. He said: "The transfer of shares in Akeret AG will be carried out as announced when we announced our agreement with NZZ in the summer of 2004: In a first step, which will be completed in the course of the next few weeks, 40 percent of Akeret AG will be transferred from PubliGroupe to Freie Presse Holding (FPH) AG. The remaining 60 percent of Akeret AG will also be transferred to FPH in a second step, probably in two to three years." (mk)
Tamedia in figures (in CHF million)
2003 2004 Change in %
Turnover 574.0 566.6 - 1.3
Operating
result -40.7 63.1 -
(EBIT)
Group
result -17.7 49.8 -
Cash flow 51.9 99.2 + 91.1
Personnel
stock 1825 1518 - 16.8
Source: Tamedia
Markus Knöpfli

Newspapers Le Temps is being relaunched. Geneva's quality newspaper is bringing more business and more background information, with the title confidently claiming its full width. The new headline of Le Temps signals both weight and - in the elegant font - playfulness. With this basic attitude, the Geneva daily newspaper is entering its second phase of life. The self-confidence is entirely appropriate. Last year, Le Temps was in the black for the first time since it was founded in 1997. "Now the consolidation phase begins," says Editor-in-Chief Jean-Jacques Roth. It begins on April 13 with a visual and content redesign.
A Swiss-German who opens the new Le Temps is easily reminded of the NZZ am Sonntag. This is no coincidence: both were created by British designer Simon Esterson. Roth admits that a certain similarity was intentional: "We like the NZZ am Sonntag." This is why Esterson was invited to compete for the commission, where he prevailed against three competitors.
However, the layout is only the surface of the redesign. The changes in structure and content are of strategic importance. Le Temps would like to increase its readership and, in particular, bind occasional readers more firmly to the paper. This is called "fidélization" in French jargon. "On average, 12 percent of the circulation is sold via newsstands, but we are experiencing strong fluctuations in individual sales," explains Marketing Manager Valérie Boagno. The readers per copy - currently 2.4 - can also be increased.
Three arrows in the quiver
Le Temps tackles this goal on three axes. The first is sensuality. Le Temps is intended to be fun to read and provide material for dinner table conversations. The second is depth: the newspaper explains the background to current affairs. The third arrow in the quiver is an expansion of the business section.
"In-depth" is the unique selling proposition for Le Temps. The paper wants to set itself apart from the competition. Tribune de Genève and 24 Heures have also recently relaunched. Their magic word was "proximité": more local, closer to the reader! Jean-Jacques Roth wants the opposite. His motto is "synthèse" and "éclairage", overview and analysis.
"A newspaper must collect and summarize the ideas that circulate in the world," Roth knows from a reader survey. To this end, Le Temps has developed a new
A vessel was created. "Éclairage" concludes the first bundle of newspapers. It contains three pages of background information, analysis and commentary. A pool of 30 to 40 experts has been put together for this purpose, who will take it in turns to report from their specialist areas. By drawing on external specialists, Roth wants to make specialist knowledge available to readers that journalists find difficult to access. "We think Éclairage is something really new in the newspaper landscape," says the editor-in-chief proudly. For this reason, the magazine also has its own graphic design to set it apart from the rest of the newspaper.
SMEs are better served
Éclairage also takes over the task of the previous dossier double page "Temps fort". Page 2 is now called "Zoom" and presents columns as well as the "clés de l'actualité": explanatory footnotes to the major articles in the issue. International reporting begins on the third page; however, a reduced "Temps fort" can be switched on for current events.
The start of the second bundle still belongs to the economy. The department is being greatly expanded, which is why sport is now being moved to the first federal government. Roth and Boagno believe that business circles in particular
Readership potential for Le Temps. The newspaper already has a reach (LpA) of 35.2 percent among the leaders and 41 percent among the top leaders in French-speaking Switzerland. With the relaunch, these figures should continue to rise. "We want to be increasingly perceived as a working tool in companies," says Editor-in-Chief Roth. For SME managers in particular, for whom the business newspaper L'Agefi is too finance-oriented, Le Temps could become a navigation aid.
The newspaper is therefore taking a few steps towards "proximité" in the business section. The order of reporting is now Switzerland - International - Forum. The business scene in French-speaking Switzerland receives special attention. In future, Le Temps will present successful companies from French-speaking Switzerland in a regular column. "We want to proactively report on the activities of local companies," explains Roth. "In this way, we will do the local economy more justice than if only annual balance sheets and crises appear in the paper." He believes that these articles could serve other SMEs as a benchmark for their own activities.
The desire for positive messages is also reflected in the layout. In future, the boxes in the Wirtschaftsbund will have a sky blue background instead of the color of "crushed strawberries", as Roth puts it: "Blue is the color of optimism, which we want to give more space to."
Le Temps also wants to expand in the areas of finance and analysis. Three new business journalists have been hired for this purpose. On the other hand, stock market prices will be reduced to one page or moved to the Internet, where personalization functions are also planned.
No money without spirit
The new Le Temps concludes with culture. There is also space here for what often has its own section in Swiss-German newspapers as "Society". "For the Romands, society is culture," explains Jean-Jacques Roth with a smile. To emphasize the transition from money to spirit in the second bundle, this section is also clearly separated by graphic elements. The last page is intended to make it easier for readers who are not at all interested in mammon to get into the Bund. Where previously the weather and TV program had their place, Roth wants to provide "instructions for life" with trend topics in future.
Despite the many innovations, the editor-in-chief is reluctant to use the word relaunch. "We don't really want to talk about a 'nouvelle formule'," he explains. In his eyes, these are more organic changes. Continuity is just as important; readers should still recognize Le Temps after 13 April. Roth is confident that this will succeed: "A redesign is like a short rain shower. I think everyone will have gotten used to the new layout in 14 days."
The advertising market should quickly get used to the new Le Temps. It will have some new placement options (which Marketing Manager Boagno did not want to present in detail yet). However, the advertising rates will remain the same as before the relaunch.
Sensuality, depth, economy: Le Temps sets new and independent accents with its relaunch.
Expert analysis instead of local material: Le Temps goes its own way.
Something for the imageSimultaneously with the relaunch on April 13, Le Temps is launching a readership campaign. However, it will not focus specifically on the new formula, says marketing manager Valérie Boagno, but will promote the newspaper in general. According to Boagno, this is the first image campaign for Le Temps since 2000.
Posters and advertisements in magazines are used, as well as
Direct marketing measures. The campaign is being realized by the Geneva-based advertising agency TBWA Rive Gauche, which has also supported the relaunch of Dimanche.ch, L'Hebdo and Femina.
Le Temps will also be making an appearance at the Geneva Book Fair Salon du livre from April 27 to May 1. (sm)
Stefano Monachesi