DigitaldruckDanka, one of Europe's leading manufacturer-independent providers of production printing services and solutions, announces a new strategic partnership with HP. It has expanded its digital and high-volume color offering with the HP Color 9850 mfp multifunctional system. Danka has also strengthened its position by announcing the addition of the new Kodak Digimaster E150 and E125 systems to its product range. The expansion of its partnership with NexPress Solutions Inc., part of Kodak's Graphic Communications Group, confirms its commitment to further improvements in productivity and reliability.

Gratispresse Ringier Print Adligenswil has taken over the printing of the free newspaper Le Lac. This means that the bilingual newspaper for the Lake Murten region can now appear in full color, and until the end of 2004, four-color pages were rarely found in Le Lac, according to a press release. In future, every issue will be published in color. Le Lac was launched in mid-1996 and deals exclusively with topics relating to the distribution area. The newspaper is published monthly (except in January) in
distributed in a print run of 32,000 copies. Imprimerie St-Paul in Fribourg has so far been able to provide the printing.

Prepress software manufacturer Quark is committed to open standards. In future, the file format of the leading layout program QuarkXpress will be described entirely in the XML markup language. The QuarkXPress Markup Language (QXML) is intended to make it easier for software developers to implement accessory programs (XTensions).

At its customer event in mid-January, Druckerei Flawil presented its expanded machinery to its business partners. "Nowadays, you have to do something, you have to 'get moving'," said Erwin Lüber, Marketing and Sales Manager at Druckerei Flawil (DFAG), when asked about the background to the customer event organized in mid-January in the DFAG printing hall. For this reason, he had invited the motivational trainer Reinhard Zehetner, who addressed the topic of "getting people moving" in his presentation. Zehetner was less concerned with the physical fitness of the guests than with the fact that everyone has to push themselves, motivate themselves and get moving. The recently modernized machinery remained completely unmoved on this evening. The commercial print shop (DFAG also owns a publishing house that publishes the Wiler Zeitung newspaper, among others) has made major investments here.
A Heidelberg Speedmaster CD74, a four-color press plus coating unit, has since been added to the machine park. DFAG has also purchased a Docucolur 3535 digital printing system from Xerox and a Stahlfolder folding machine from Heidelberg for print finishing.
Even a Formula 1 car from the Hinwil-based racing team Sauber Petronas on display remained motionless. All printed materials are produced for this major customer of DFAG - from autograph cards to the "pitlane" magazine. Other large and small customers also make pit stops at DFAG and have their brochures, image brochures, magazines, annual reports, books, etc. produced there. Maintaining these business relationships was therefore the main focus of the event - technology and machines became a minor matter.
Jürgen Franck

Paper From now on, all Sihl+Eika employees can be reached via the new, standardized 058 area code, regardless of their location.paper From now on, all Sihl+Eika employees can be reached via the new, standardized 058 area code, regardless of their location. The end numbers remain the same, the free fax numbers with the 0800 area code remain the same.

Competitions Goldbach Media is presenting a Crossmedia Award for the first time in Switzerland to promote multimedia networked communication strategies. "Crossmedia is a huge and underutilized potential," the organizers at Goldbach Media are convinced. Their newly created award is therefore intended to promote innovations and developments in this field. Innovative and successful cross-media campaigns implemented between June 2004 and March 2005 will be honored. "The Crossmedia Award is intended to help promote networked thinking and action in communication," says Goldbach Media. Innovation, intelligent networking and creative implementation are assessed. The higher effectiveness of networked communication should be visible and verifiable as a result. The competition is aimed at people from marketing and communication, i.e. planners, consultant teams, agencies, customers and clients. There will be no categories for the first Crossmedia Award 2005.
The entries will be judged by an independent jury of experts. The prize is endowed with 10,000 euros and will be presented at the Mediarena on June 1, 2005.
Double is betterTo avoid getting lost in today's flood of information, it is necessary for most advertising objectives to appear more than once to potential customers. Cross-media means linking several advertising disciplines, from classic advertisements or commercials to direct advertising and the Internet.
This use of synergies is not just about increasing reach via the Internet. TV and online contacts have very special qualities. A campaign can be classified as successful - and therefore worthy of this new award - if convincing cross-media effects can be demonstrated in the interplay between TV and the Internet and, depending on the case, with other media or events.
Increasing advertising pressureAs numerous studies have shown, cross-media campaigns can lead to an increase in advertising pressure. Although television remains the undisputed number one mass medium, more and more television viewers are also using the Internet. The Internet has become an integral part of life, and not just for young people. By networking advertising channels such as TV and online, the specific advantages of addressing people through one medium can now be used in a combination that has multiple effects.
While the medium of TV is ideal for a high-reach approach, the accompanying online campaign deepens this advertising effect through the targeted distribution of advertising. As online platforms can be analyzed very precisely in terms of their user base, detailed impact studies can show how efficient a strategy was and what additional benefits were achieved.
effects have been achieved in a target group through cross-media alignment.
Top-class juryThe jury for the Goldbach Media Crossmedia Award '05 is made up of personalities from advertising, science and politics. The organizer does not provide a jury member.
Dominique von Matt (Chairman), Rolf Müller, Frank Bodin, Stefan Nünlist, Thomas Brenzikofer, Oliver Prange, Claudio Dionisio, Urs Schneider, Andreas Gedenk, Martin Spillmann, Markus Gut, Pascal Urscheler, Joachim Kernstock, Franziska von Weissenfluh, Beat Lauber, Marc Werner.
More info www.crossmediaaward.ch
Registration forms online or at Goldbach Media in Küsnacht
Closing date: April 27
"Spiderman" advertising: a successful example of cross-media.
Andreas Panzeri

Awards II The call for entries for the various competitions of the international advertising festival in Cannes is now open and applications for the Film, Press and Outdoor Lions must be submitted by March 11. The deadline for Radio, Media and Direct Marketing is March 18, and April 2 for the Cyber Lions. Anyone wishing to take part in the race for the new Titanium Lion for integrated advertising has until April 1. You can register online at www.canneslions.com.

Printers Epson presents the C1100, a high-quality color laser at an affordable price.printers Epson presents the C1100, a high-quality color laser at an affordable price. Extremely low page costs, even in black and white printing, make it cheaper to run than most monochrome-only printers. The C1100 uses the new Epson AcuBrite toner, which ensures vibrant colors and a detailed, excellent print image.

Ulrich Bigler, Director of UD Print, will also become Chairman of the Executive Board of the UD Medien Group, while Ronnie Hürlimann, Director of Insider Verlag, will become Head of the newly created Publishing Business and Communications department of the UD Medien Group. At the same time, the Group has announced a personnel change: Robert Arnet, Director of Kalender + Werbe AG for 22 years, will retire at the end of the year. Sylvia Vonarburg, previously Robert Arnet's deputy, will take over the management of the company.

As the new publishing director of Bilanz, Sandra Geiger wants to appeal to more women and readers over 30.
"Since I started working on Bilanz, I've found more and more good stories that I also discuss with my colleagues," says Sandra Geiger. Examples of such business news in the women's section include the Rolex story in Bilanz and successful articles about Google and Swarovski. "It covers a topic in an interesting way that the women's magazines have obviously missed out on. "Not just a women's topic, but one that female employees have generally been quicker to think about than men, is also what motivated Sandra Geiger to switch from SonntagsZeitung to Jean Frey Verlag. When Bilanz and Weltwoche became vacant again after Uli Rubner's departure, Geiger saw a tempting opportunity and suggested to Filippo Leutenegger that the responsibilities be split. "By managing just one product, I can also reduce my workload and still be fully committed. This gives me a better quality of life."
Bilanz is a product that Geiger "really likes". At the business magazine, she is also meeting people again with whom she has worked well in the past. René Lüchinger was also editor-in-chief at Facts when Geiger was responsible for the reader market at the launch of the news magazine. At Bilanz, Geiger and Lüchinger have now agreed that it is "better for subscribers to no longer receive a thick telephone directory every month, but a magazine of a convenient size every 14 days". Seven specials that were published last year have fallen victim to the more regular rhythm.
With the reduced frequency, the magazine will naturally also have more opportunities for broader campaigns in the advertising market. Sandra Geiger has "created a clean and coherent price concept" and, in addition to the advertising prices, has also adjusted the subscription prices and the newsstand price downwards.
By "younger and more women", Geiger is referring to the target segment of over 30s, where Bilanz has already created a new "Business under 40" series together with the young chamber of commerce to showcase successful business models of promising start-ups.
In the reader area, it is currently looking for meaningful collaborations, such as those already in place with the Hirslanden Clinic. The balance sheet is displayed in all patient rooms there.
"Under no circumstances" does she want to abolish the listening balance. "There is a passionate fan community." However, the CD will continue to appear on a monthly basis, with long-lasting contributions from two issues of Bilanz. "A good tool for reaching a trend-conscious readership." The e-balance sheet is also to be introduced. "A must for a business magazine whose audience is regularly abroad". And a new partner and sponsor for the Bilanz Business Talk has been found in Credit Suisse.
A thankfully broad spectrum for a passionate media woman. Sandra Geiger started out as a PR consultant after completing business school. She was still working in corporate PR under Marc Frey at Edenstrasse. On the agency side, she later set up a PR branch in Zurich for Bern-based Contexta and worked briefly at Publicis before moving to Zurich to set up Facts and SonntagsZeitung.
has returned to the publishing business. Diplomas as a publishing and PR specialist
She has been married for two and a half years and has completed a management course at Columbia University in New York.
Sandra Geiger spent around six months traveling through South America. It was probably during this period that her healthy ideas about time management and quality of life matured. Sandra Geiger enjoys artistic welding, market-fresh cooking, relaxing painting and creative handicrafts. One of her lifelong dreams would be to publish a book of fiction one day.
Publishing director Sandra Geiger is certain that the fortnightly publication will give Bilanz more opportunities in the advertising market.
Andreas Panzeri

Tamedia's direct booking discount will presumably rub off on the agreement with Publimedia.
Due to the changed market situation in the greater Zurich area, Tamedia terminated its commissioning agreement with Publimedia at the end of 2004. Renegotiations have been underway since then. It is unclear whether there is currently no contract. Tamedia says yes, but Publimedia takes a different view.
Either way, this situation made it easier for Tamedia to ignore certain industry rules and grant media agencies a direct booking discount of 1.5 percent from January 1 (see page 15). This fulfills an old demand of the agencies and at the same time binds them to Tamedia. This is a thorn in the side of Publicitas. According to PubliPresse General Director Otto Meier, Tamedia is thus increasing the consultancy commission for agencies from 5 to 6.5 percent, which puts Publimedia at a disadvantage (see page 34).
Will this conflict now affect the commissioning agreement, for example by Publimedia reducing certain services for Tamedia? "Such considerations could come into play," confirms Meier, "for example, we are asking ourselves whether we should continue to take over the delcredere for Tamedia. The agencies don't do this either."
(mk)

TV shopping Convenient shopping from the sofa is booming. According to the study, the three major shopping channels QVC, HSE24 and RTL Shop alone generated net sales of more than EUR 940 million last year.5 100,000,000 In 2005, the billion-euro mark will be exceeded for the first time in Germany. By 2009, the Berlin-based market researcher Goldmedia even expects a fivefold increase to 5.1 billion euros. The vast majority of customers are housewives over 40 and from rural regions - but new target groups are constantly being tapped.