Newspapers German publisher Axel Springer is pushing ahead with the tabloid edition of its daily newspaper Die Welt. From February 14, Welt Kompakt will also be available at newsstands in Bonn and Mönchengladbach, with Wiesbaden, Mannheim and Münster to follow. At the same time, the small-format edition will be available in Berlin for the first time as a subscription. Due to the particularly favorable printing and distribution structures in the capital, subscription delivery is possible there despite the late editorial deadline after midnight, according to a press release. There are no plans to introduce subscriptions in the other metropolitan areas.

Newspapers Edipresse should not be allowed to call the planned split edition of 24 Heures for western Vaud 24 Heures La Côte, the Hersant Group, publisher of the daily newspaper La Côte, has filed a civil lawsuit against it. Hersant delegate Jacques Richard told La Liberté that Edipresse was trying to confuse advertisers and readers with the similar name. Publimedia had already inadvertently forwarded the advertising booking of a Zurich optician chain to 24 Heures instead of La Côte. Hersant suggests 24 Heures Ouest vaudois as an alternative name. However, Edipresse did not respond to a letter to this effect, says Richard.

After three years at the publishing house of the weekly newspaper (WOZ), Kilian Gasser (picture) is going into business for himself. At the beginning of March, he founds the sole proprietorship Kilian Gasser Werbeakquisition & Verlagsberatung. He continues to manage WOZ's advertising sales, but now on a mandate basis. He also takes over advertising marketing for the trade union newspaper Work. ...
On April 11, Patrick Zanello (photo) will take over as Head of Marketing and Advertising at Ringier Romandie.
Zanello is currently Head of Marketing at the business press publisher Agefi.
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Zogg Kettiger Gasser is looking for a new Creative Director. Co-owner Heiner U. Zogg (pictured) is stepping down from his position. However, he will be available to the Zurich agency as "Creative Anchorman" if required.
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Moritz Wuttke will join the PubliGroupe Group Management Board as Director of Business Development on March 1. Wuttke has been working for the advertising group since 1995 and has been involved in setting up a Business Development staff department since 2002.
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Ole Rauch (photo) is to become Head of Sales & Marketing B2C at SevenOne Media Switzerland. He will take over responsibility for audience and user marketing at the beginning of March from Silke Kellner, who is taking a career break. Previously, Rauch was Product Manager Integrated Brand Solutions.
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Alexander Fleischer is the new President of the HarbourClub. He succeeds Walter Vaterlaus , who previously headed the association for corporate communications. Fleischer is Head of Marketing & Communications at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Printing industry Swisscom IT Services is divesting its profit center for commercial printing. The ReproMedia Services division will be sold on April 1 to Juan Holding AG in Bern, which will continue to operate the company under the name RMS Repro Media Services AG. Swisscom IT Services explains that the printing business is not one of its core tasks. Within Juan Holding, RMS will work together with Bern-based Ritz Print und Medien AG.

Side business With its rock CD campaign, Blick wants to stabilize circulation, but earn nothing. At least for the time being.
On January 22, Ringier was the first of the German-speaking Swiss publishing giants to awaken from its slumber. Since that Saturday, the Blick newsstand has been offering a weekly change of rock CDs to collect - for an extra CHF 8.10 each. The principle that Italian newspaper houses have been relying on for years (and German ones since the beginning of 2004) has thus also reached the media country behind the seven mountains: stabilizing circulation through more or less exclusive supplements.According to newspaper boss Bernhard Weissberg, the strategic goal is therefore "not - or at least not yet - to generate substantial additional revenues", as the Süddeutsche Zeitung, for example, is doing (see box). The local market is "probably also too small" for this. In terms of circulation, however, the live experiment launched without prior market research quickly had an effect. Of course, this will not be quantifiable until the end of March, when the pilot project, which is due to expire at the end of this week, has been evaluated. It will then be decided when further campaigns will follow. And with whom.
Blick's key partners for its five rock CDs, whose content was selected by music editor H. Elias Fröhlich and loudly promoted in his own paper, are the music publisher EMI, which is responsible for production and both its own and third-party licenses, and Valora. According to Karin Rüeger (publisher) and Markus Rohr (editor), however, there is still potential for optimization in both areas. Specifically, the two project managers are "thinking about expanding the distribution network and getting better conditions from partners". This is in view of the fact that exclusive direct sales to subscribers have already resulted in over 100,000 CDs being sold, which according to Rüeger is "beyond all expectations".
According to Rohr, another insight from the long-considered, but then rather spontaneous action is how unreservedly and smoothly those responsible for commercial and journalistic matters at Ringier work together. "We certainly benefit from the fact that Blick has fewer concerns in this regard than, for example, the Tages-Anzeiger or even the NZZ."
The advertising pressure built up via TV, radio, own titles and POS presence also contributed significantly to the success. However, the budget allocated for this was reportedly kept within a framework that suggests that further such measures to attract and retain readers can be expected in the near future. When asked by Werbewoche, those responsible for the project confirmed that "further campaigns are already in the pipeline".
In other words, as a market innovator, Ringier wants to exploit what economists call the "first mover advantage" - to stabilize circulation, but in the medium term probably also to open up a third source of revenue called ancillary business.
Süddeutsche doubles down with "Cinemathek" On February 26, the 50th and final volume of the "SZ-Bibliothek", which was launched a year ago, will be published. According to the publisher, almost 10 million books have been sold to date. At the end of June, the
license rights to the literary works. Until then, Süddeutsche Zeitung intends to sell a further two million units - as before, also via the Swiss book trade. In 2004, this ancillary business brought the Munich-based quality paper additional revenue of well over 20 million euros.
SZ CEO Klaus Lutz is even targeting additional revenues of 30 million euros for the current year. Among other things, a follow-up project based on the successful editorial and sales concept of the SZ library should ensure this jump in sales: on March 5, the Süddeutsche Zeitung will include the first of a total of 50 DVDs. The 600,000 copies of Visconti's classic "The Leopard" will be free for subscribers and newsstand buyers, while the subsequent films (including five DVD premieres) will cost 9.90 euros each. (oc)
Heavy: Sales of Blick Rock CDs exceed expectations.
Oliver Classen

Posters The event is a must for many advertisers. Guido Tön has been organizing his poster auctions since 1989. The next one will take place again on Saturday, March 5, at the Swissôtel Zurich, with bidding for around 700 posters starting at 12 noon. "The best of 100 years of poster art" is the title of the catalog. It contains all the posters on offer, including 60 film posters for the first time. 180 posters are from the tourism sector, 200 illustrate product advertising. Anyone wishing to purchase this collection as inspiration for new ideas can also order catalog no. 1/05. All you need to do is send an envelope with CHF 40 enclosed to Guido Tön, P.O. Box, 8038 Zurich.

Crossmedia The newspaper 20 Minuten and Radio Energy are planning a "Decibel DJ Contest 05" - a kind of electronic version of casting shows.Republica AG and PR Access, two subsidiaries of Bern-based Contexta AG, have developed a sponsorship project with 20 Minuten and Radio Energy with the working title "Decibel DJ Contest 05". The idea is to find talent in the electronic music scene with a contest à la "MusicStar". The aim of the competition is to find and develop singing and show talents in the public eye via various sponsoring platforms, and also to find a counterpart in the DJ scene. DJs can set trendsA DJ has long been more than just a record changer. Anyone who makes it as a DJ is considered a star, like a self-interpreting artist. DJs have become a permanent and lucrative part of the music scene. DJs are able to set trends and can determine the development of these trends with their choice of program. The DJ and party scene is therefore an important factor in the lifestyle of young people.
The new DJ contest aims to take advantage of this. The primary media outlets are Radio Energy Züri, the Internet with its own platform, print with the youthful commuter newspaper 20 Minuten and the special-interest channel MTV. "A multimedia casting process will create an arc of suspense that will culminate in nationwide attention with the final," the organizers hope.
The extensive preparatory work and close partnerships between Radio Energy, 20 Minuten and Republica have resulted in a solid project. The search for further sponsors is correspondingly optimistic, because "this unique project to promote young talent with a broad media presence provides an attractive platform for sponsors who are looking for a commitment with an excellent and positive connection to youth culture and lifestyle," says project manager Alexander Dal Farra from Republica.
Thanks to the target group-specific interactivity with the involvement of the audience, the national reach via daily and electronic media, the involvement of a renowned jury and the staging of the event in well-known clubs in the largest German-speaking cities in Switzerland, the "Decibel DJ Contest 05" commitment attracts a high level of attention from the target group. In addition, an involvement in the "Decibel DJ Contest 05" creates a high level of sympathy for the sender thanks to the promotion of young talent.
Open your ears: The DJs are to compete in the "Decibel Contest".
Andreas Panzeri

Radio plays Together with the Bilanz issue number 3 from February 23, Jean Frey Verlag is bringing the Hör-Bilanz back to life, with some new features: The read-aloud balance sheet now appears with every odd-numbered issue. It is no longer glued in, but lies on top. Publishing director Sandra Geiger is delighted that Bilanz has been able to secure the legendary voice of Christoph Schwegler. The mix of highlights from the editorial content is now also broken up with music tracks from as yet unreleased CDs. Hör-Bilanz is and will remain a free additional service for subscribers. Bilanz is the only print medium to offer such a service. The first issue was realized together with Harley-Davidson.

Balance sheets The Lucerne-based UD Media Group increased both revenues and profits in the past financial year, with net sales amounting to CHF 37 million. According to a press release, the print division in particular contributed to the double-digit percentage increase in cash flow. At UD Print AG (formerly Unionsdruckerei Luzern), sales in the pure commercial printing business increased by CHF 2.67 million or 17.7 percent compared to the rather modest previous year. The publishing division with Anzeiger Luzern AG and Insider Verlag was also able to increase its turnover.

Life insurance company Swiss Life has entrusted OgilvyOne with its direct marketing account following a selection process, with the main tasks being lead generation and support for Swiss Life's advisors in the private and corporate client segment.

Event The agencies CP9 Advanced Marketing Solutions and Aroma Productions have won the overall budget for the 100th anniversary celebrations of the Employers' Association of the Swiss Engineering Industry, with the two partner agencies in Adliswil and Zurich coming out on top in a competitive presentation. The anniversary celebrations will take place on June 24 in the Puls 5 foundry hall in Zurich. The mandate also includes the simultaneous annual meeting of the Swissmem association and covers advertising measures, PR, concept, organization, catering and implementation of the event.

Daily newspaper The relaunch of the Basler Zeitung (BaZ) was accompanied by a number of side issues. Not only was there a cultural boycott, but the ongoing reworking of the new concept also displeased the Letzitürmler clique. Their carnival theme "Immer e BaZ anderscht" shows that even six months after the relaunch, BaZ is still able to confuse its readers on a daily basis.