When the award ceremony for the Marketing Trophy kicked off last week at the Swiss Marketing Day 2005 in the Lucerne Culture and Convention Center, some guests had justified hopes.When the award ceremony for the Marketing Trophy kicked off last week at the Swiss Marketing Day 2005 in the Lucerne Culture and Convention Center, some guests had justified hopes. But as life goes, only one of them can win. Blacksocks, for example, took first place in the category for companies with up to 49 employees; the internet provider of fine footwear was faced with the challenge of stagnating growth as the web hype waned. However, with radio sponsorship, the launch of test socks and a revised branding, a burst of growth was achieved in 2004. And that was worth its weight in gold to the jury.
Vifor International took the top spot among medium-sized companies (50 to 299 employees) with Venofer. In order not to get carried away with medical jargon, just this much: thanks to appropriate marketing measures, the company achieved a global market share of over 50 percent with an iron preparation for the formation of red blood cells. Last but not least, Emmi Frischprodukte won among the large companies (over 300 employees) with its Caffè Latte product line. The range of chilled coffee drinks was created with a big ladle and is not just aimed at Bailey's lovers.
At the Golden Key Charity Apéro in the evening, a T-shirt belonging to tennis ace Roger Federer was auctioned off as an attraction. However, Mama Federer informed the organizers that it was still in the laundry and would be delivered later. This did not stop Erich Kienle, Emmi marketing manager and still in the throes of victory after winning the Gold Trophy, from bidding for the item for 3,000 francs. However, Kienle landed the main coup even later. He brought guest of honor, Federal Councillor Joseph Deiss, in front of the cameras of the assembled press as an advertising medium for Caffè Latte.
The aperitif riche, especially the meatballs, was excellent, but not free - an absolute rarity at industry events. The proceeds went to the SOS Children's Village, as did the proceeds from the tennis shirts. So the organizers did their homework: doing good and talking about it - that's how you make it into the Swiss media!
Beat Fritsch made his way to Lucerne last week to attend the Marketing Day 2005 awards ceremony for the Marketing Trophy at the KKL. The program promised a whole range of insights and highlights from the marketing sector. And the KKL as an event venue has the advantage of being within walking distance of the train station. But it's still a shame that you don't get to see much of the beautiful city of lights.
Samy Liechti from Blacksocks was delighted to receive the gold trophy in the category for companies with up to 49 employees.
The big winner in the large companies category was Emmi - CEO Walter Huber picked up the award for Caffè Latte.
With Venofer to world market leader - Vifor International won the medium-sized company category - Alexander Zwyer is delighted.
Talks with journalists: Cash TV presenter Katharina Deuber and Bruno Affentranger, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Cash.
Roger Mortellaro, Publisuisse, Marco Ialuna, Euler Hermes, Massimo Moretti, Jumbo, and Tom Stuckert, Werbewoche advertising manager (from left).
Intensive discussions took place here: Markus Wunderle (l.), Wunderle AG, and Martin Wahlen from the Elektro-Einkaufs-Vereinigung.
Emmi Marketing Manager Erich Kienle (r.) invited guest of honor Federal Councillor Joseph Deiss to be the advertising medium for his Caffè Latte.
Media corner: Maja Candreia, Willisauer Bote, Martin Betschart, U1 TV station, and Tanya Aydinalp (r.), ZMS/PMA media monitoring.
Managing Directors' Conference: Ursula Grob heads the Idée-VfW office, Peter Grob holds the same position for the ASW.
Beer corner: Kim Christensen with Bettina Kammermann (l.) and Franziska Gsell, all from Feldschlösschen.
At the Trendcommerce outlet: host Filippo Zanchi (right) with Luca de Carli (left), Sunrise, and Giuseppe Genetelli from Callworld.
Swiss Post was omnipresent as the "Presenting Partner" of the Marketing Day: Rebekka Künzig, Roland Glauser and Katrin Hagnauer (from left).
In a good mood: Publisuisse Director Martin Schneider with Emmi Advertising Manager Torsten Fankhännel and Peter Felser from SFLB (from left).
Charming: Schober advertising manager Eva Meier, Emanuela Barbato from Brandnew, and Barbara Gfeller, Partner Reinsurance Co Ltd (from left).
Cheerful: Rena Stutz (l.), Hotel Sales & Marketing, Christian Gut, Calltec, and Priska Schmidli, Head of Executive Events at CS.

Direct booking discount Tamedia's move is dividing media agencies and advertising clients, and the direct booking discount for media agencies announced by Tamedia (see box) is by no means a source of joy among advertising buyers. "This is a very hot potato," says Robert C. Baier from the agency MediaBaier. Andy Lehmann, Managing Director of Aegis Media Group Switzerland, even speaks of a "legal minefield". "Essentially, it's about the question of who owns this money," he says. Peter Hofstetter, owner of Mediaxis-MTP AG, adds: "This topic is a bit explosive, but it's good for our market." Other people, however, limit themselves to generalities. Christof Kaufmann, CEO of OMD Switzerland, for example, only says a single sentence: "We are currently examining this new market situation." And the CEO of another large agency only wants to talk about this "highly political media development" behind closed doors. Others no longer even dare to do so, and very few are willing to answer the question of whether they have signed the agreement with Tamedia. Only Peter Hofstetter is open about it. He has also informed his customers accordingly, he says. Others, such as Rolf Suter from m&m and Ronny Schmid, co-owner of Konnex, want to let the customers decide.
In most cases, however, the Tamedia proposal is welcomed. For two reasons: Firstly, it once again addresses the fee pressure to which many media agencies are exposed. Another is the growing market dominance of Publimedia, which also receives significantly more than 1.5 percent for pure placement. "Tamedia is now putting us on the same level as Publimedia," praises Peter Hofstetter. And a CEO who does not wish to be named adds: "If we book directly, this benefits our customers more because we can then talk to the publishers about placements or certain conditions. Some customers also want this. But that is an additional expense that we would like to have paid for."
Nevertheless, Tamedia has also been criticized, above all for the way it informed the public and in particular the Swiss Advertisers Association (SWA). "The information provided to the SWA by Tamedia is honest, but it acted very naively," says Andy Lehmann, for example. However, the SWA, which had informed its members about Tamedia's offers by means of a warning e-mail shortly after Tamedia had informed them, received even more criticism. Lehmann: "The SWA has used this issue to construct a potential relationship of mistrust between the media agencies and the customers. The worst thing about it is that the media agencies once again look like rip-off artists." Hofstetter is also annoyed. "The SWA has totally exaggerated," he says. Elsewhere, the SWA's approach has been described as "premature". Lehmann also points out that the TV marketer Publisuisse has also had a direct booking discount for years, with which the SWA has had no problem to date.
Lehmann also points out another problem: "Tamedia is using the total agency turnover as a yardstick and thus creating further conflicts for customers - for example, the choice between large and small agencies." Various voices also point out that Tamedia's initiative should not be viewed in isolation. A certain amount of waiting is therefore advisable. On the one hand, PubliGroupe may counter with countermeasures (see also pages 34/35). "On the other hand, other independent publishers could follow Werdsträssler's example," says Robert C. Baier. In general, the former managing director of IG Media-agenturen (IGMA) advocates a pragmatic solution to the conflict. "Instead of SWA and agencies arguing and blocking each other, they should split the direct booking discount: one part for the agency, one for the client."
The offer from TamediaMedia agencies that book directly with Tamedia titles instead of via Publimedia and generate a total annual turnover of at least CHF 1 million there will now receive a direct booking discount from Tamedia.
discount of 1.5 percent. If sales also exceed those of the previous year, Tamedia even grants a four percent discount, up to a maximum of CHF 40,000. This offer, which is available to the agencies in the form of an agreement to be signed, has been in effect since January 1, 2005.
Jürg Brauchli, Head of Newspapers at Tamedia, wants to "strengthen free competition", which he believes has been jeopardized in the greater Zurich area since the merger of PubliGroupe and NZZ. Agencies can now determine their own booking channels, whereas previously they usually had to go through Publimedia for cost optimization reasons. From
He does not want to know anything about hidden discounts, but rather that the agencies are compensated for the higher costs of direct bookings, he says. An expense that Publimedia is also compensated for. However, because it also takes on the delcredere, the percentage is somewhat higher. (mk)
Media agencies that book directly with Tamedia titles now receive a through-booking discount from Tamedia.
Markus Knöpfli

Fashion press releases that begin with "fantastic" and "successful launch" often end up in the editorial wastepaper basket, except in the case of the promotional association for Swiss fashion "Real Time Society" and its bags. According to the communiqué, these are "genuine cult objects and sought-after collector's items". In view of the cult products springing up like mushrooms and the loving statements on the bags, we take it at face value.

Sales The printing and publishing house W. Gassmann, based in Biel, and Limmatdruck in Spreitenbach have both opted for a Roland 706 LV from MAN Roland, and both presses, although different, are to be extensively equipped with state-of-the-art auxiliary equipment.

Study Internal communication (IC) is an essential task of corporate management today. This is shown by a study conducted by the Lucerne School of Business, which carried out an online survey of over 1000 companies. The high response rate (26 %) alone shows the importance of the topic. 90 percent of companies employ staff for IC. Of these, 40 percent are located in the management. However, only 46 percent of respondents have a written IC concept. Detailed results of the study can be found at www.hsw.fhz.ch/iwk.

It has now been decided: because the Tages-Anzeiger job advertisement will be included in the normal Landbote circulation (40,000 additional copies) on Tuesdays and Thursdays from March, the insertion rate will be increased.newspapers Advertisers will not be able to choose between Tagi solo and Tagi plus - the price per millimeter will rise from the current 5.46 to 5.99 francs.

PDFAn association was founded at the World Trade Center in Zurich at the end of January to help /X-3 achieve a faster breakthrough in Switzerland. The members of the "/X-3 Ready" initiative are Adobe Systems (Switzerland), A&F Computer-Systeme, Digipress, Iware, Mayerthaler, Mediaforum, PBU Beratungs AG, PrePress-Consulting Stephan Jaeggi, PrintOnline, Publicitas, SMI, Topix, Ugra, ulrich-media, VSD/IGS and Werbewoche. The ISO /X-3 standard promises to make production processes in the graphic arts industry more reliable and efficient

Television On the day before St. Nicholas, everything will be new at Swiss Television DRS: The deadline for the redesign is December 5, 2005, according to Editor-in-Chief Ueli Haldimann in Schweizer Illustrierte, and the new look is currently being developed under the leadership of Creative Director Alex Hefter. The Tagesschau will not only have a new logo and studio, but also a new dramaturgy.

Sandro C. Principe, Managing Partner and CEO of BBDO Consulting Zurich, on the uniqueness of brands.WW Mr. Principe, the value creation potential of many brands has clearly not yet been exhausted. With your study, are you only
Self-promotion?
Sandro Principe Of course, the results of the study also legitimize the existence of companies like BBDO. Today, high investments are made in brands and their maintenance. In general, brands are becoming increasingly important. As a specialist in brand consulting and communication, the study helps us to find out where individual companies and sectors stand in this respect.
However, the study gives the communications industry a poor report card: Their job is to position brands clearly - but there is no visible success.
This can certainly be seen as a sign that the communications industry has not yet managed to achieve more. However, this also has to do with the fact that brands were previously seen as one aspect among many. Today, brand management is understood more comprehensively. In addition to our analyses based on detailed customer and market data, the findings of brain research, for example, are already being incorporated into brand strategies in order to exploit brand potential even better than before.
And yet your work is not getting any easier: there are more and more brands. How can they still be made distinguishable?
The number of products and therefore also brands has recently
has actually increased dramatically. This is one of the reasons why interchangeability continues to increase. In addition, customers are behaving more rationally than many would like. However, it is now possible to clearly position a brand. It is crucial that a company focuses on its target group and communicates its brand accordingly across all
contact points can be experienced congruently.
However, it is very difficult to position a soap or shampoo against hundreds of equivalent products.
Marketing certainly varies in difficulty depending on the industry and product. It can therefore be a realization that not every product needs a brand. This is also shown by the commercial success of the many white label products.
Then only the price counts.
Consumers behave in a hybrid way, according to the motto: Denner today, Rolex tomorrow. Where the customer has no other decision criteria, the price-performance ratio is the only thing that matters. Only very strong brands manage to make price a secondary consideration.
Interview: Patrick Steinemann

Staffel Druck has been relying on saddle stitchers from Muller Martini for many years in its postpress operations, and this spring the Zurich-based company is now installing a new Bravo-T saddle stitcher with four double feeders, a folder feeder and a three-knife trimmer. Thanks to the electronic touchscreen control with the option of menu-guided set-up and quick changeover, the Bravo-T stands for the shortest set-up times and an optimum price-performance ratio.

Awards In its 29th edition, over 450 companies and non-profit organizations entered the race for the eighth Marketing Trophy.
Pioneering spirit points the way to the future and was awarded a prize.
There was plenty of excitement. The eight-member MarketingTrophy jury nominated 14 companies from the categories of small (up to 49 employees), medium-sized and large companies (over 300 employees) as well as non-profit organizations. The winners come from a wide range of industries, but are all well-established. Like the Zurich-based company Blacksocks, which has been solving sock problems with a subscription for calf and knee-high socks since 1999.
Internet flop survivedThe business concept has since attracted several imitators who also offer his and hers underwear on a subscription basis. Nevertheless, the two founding fathers Marcel Roth and Samy Liechti have managed to escape the bursting of the internet bubble with their clear vision and marketing focused on decision-makers. A loyal but now slowly growing international customer base, participation in bonus programs and the outsourcing of core processes and infrastructure were unable to lead the company from stagnation to growth.
The company tackled this problem with the "Growth Burst 04" project, customer acquisition on a tight budget. The strategy included radio sponsorship of the road condition report on DRS 3, the launch of test tokens and the revision of the newly animated website and CI. Liechti does not want to disclose the sales development, but prefers to refer to the other key figures: 17,000 customers in around 35 countries.
When it came to medium-sized companies, Vifor literally turned iron into gold, as Etienne Jornod, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Galenica, once said. Thanks to the Venofer iron therapy for the formation of red blood cells, the international industrial sector of the Bern-based pharmaceutical group became an important sales driver for the holding company. Thanks to targeted "life cycle management", Vifor was able to position the product as a leader on the global market. This specialty is one of the drugs with which the Swiss pharmaceutical wholesaler generates more than half of its operating profit.
With its flagship case, the brilliant launch of the chilled lifestyle drink "Caffè Latte", Switzerland's largest milk processor, Emmi Frischprodukte AG, picked up the coveted gold trophy in the large company category. Less than a year ago, the Lucerne-based food group launched the fresh drink in three flavors in six European countries. In addition to the celebrity endorsement with DJ Bobo and Roger Federer in the integrated marketing activities above and below the line, those responsible attribute the rapid breakthrough not least to "the outstanding product quality". Emmi also broke new ground with its unmistakable packaging.
As a result, Caffè Latte has established itself among traditional coffee lovers and newcomers alike, and now in 13 European countries. The Lucerne-based company is convinced that this is by no means the end of the story: the development potential is rated as "considerable". With this award-winning success story, Emmi has probably come one step closer to becoming Europe's trendsetter dairy. However, it is not resting on its laurels, as it intends to set innovative trends again in a few weeks' time with the market launch of a gourmet product.
Victorious: Emmi Frischprodukte AG won the coveted gold trophy with Caffè Latte.
Luca Aloisi

WW The ADC will decide whether the Crossmedia Award will be included in Werbewoche's agency ranking: Paul Riesen We at Goldbach Media launched the Crossmedia Award not just as a marketing tool, but because we feel that such an award is the most comprehensive assessment of communication of all. It's not just about the creative idea or the success story. It shows how these different media and content interact and correspond with each other. The ADC should therefore also include such a comprehensive story in the ranking. are there already comparable competitions and awards abroad? there is a competition in Germany that was held for the first time last year at the Crossmedia trade fair in Dresden. However, the agencies had to work on a predefined case.
Are there typical Swiss circumstances or developments in crossmedia? Crossmedia emerged primarily with the advent of the newer electronic media, in which interactivity plays a major role. We are relatively advanced in Switzerland with the development of broadband. Where we are certainly not at the forefront is in terms of streaming and other developments. In some cases, people abroad are further ahead.
How do you assess the growth and future significance of crossmedia? You can't really talk about growth for crossmedia compared to conventional work. The work will always be conventional in some way. It's more the whole mindset that you no longer just find an idea on TV or on posters, but start to think more holistically right from the concept phase. In other words, the media are only determined afterwards. This will increasingly be the case because the possibilities are constantly expanding.
What specific examples of cross-media have Goldbach already used successfully? In addition to our "Nice Price" campaign for Radio Energy, we launched the Coke Light Man '04 with TV, website, radio and voting. The Blue youth card from American Express with the combination of all electronic media is also a successful example, as is of course the advertising for the film "Spiderman".