2.4 million $Sport Janet Jackson's breast slipping out of her corset at the Superbowl is a fond memory. Even among advertisers. During this year's broadcast of the football highlight on February 6, the agencies "definitely don't want to attract negative attention". But the advertising price may attract attention. On average, a spot costs 2.4 million dollars for 30 seconds. Already 90 percent of the time at Fox Broadcasting is fully booked. Sponsors include McDonalds, Ford, Pepsico, Sony and General Electric.

Media agencies Ernst Grab, Publicitas Director until two years ago and Otto Meier's predecessor in this role, must consider whether he should give up his retirement and travel regularly to Holland in the pay of Wolfgang Mecklenburg and his m&m Holding. Mecklenburg, who signed the takeover of the network-independent Schreiner & Van Bokkel Group BV on Monday (see p. 19), has reportedly asked his close friend Grab to join the board of the Dutch media agency group. Grab is undoubtedly predestined for this position: he previously held numerous board mandates within PubliGroupe, but is now completely independent of P. The latter is a decisive prerequisite for Mecklenburg, as he himself emphasizes. However, Grab has yet to confirm his appointment and intends to make a decision by the spring.
(mk)

Sponsoring The Sponsoring Association (Faspo) is planning to set up a Hall of Fame, the first step of which is to include personalities who have had a lasting influence on the development of sponsoring in German-speaking countries over the past 20 years. Subsequently, the Hall of Fame will form a platform that can also be used to honor current personal commitment. Faspo will initially appoint experts to a jury,

Media network m&m Media Holding takes over Schreiner & Van Bokkel Group - without outside money.m&m Media Group, owned by Wolfgang Mecklenburg zu Liddow, took over 95 percent of the media agency Schreiner & Van Bokkel Group BV, based in Rotterdam, on January 1, 2005. The remainder is held by the existing Dutch management. Schreiner & Van Bokkel Group is the largest independent media agency in the Netherlands. It currently serves around 900 clients and generates annual sales totaling 300 million Swiss francs with its five subsidiaries in Rotterdam, Apeldoorn, Eindhoven, Amsterdam and The Hague, as well as with its Belgian subsidiary in Brussels.Schreiner & Van Bokkel Brussels (sales of around 78 million Swiss francs) remains excluded from the takeover by m&m for the time being. It was spun off from Schreiner & Van Bokkel Group BV and remains under the management of the current owners Pierre Schreiner and Frans Van Bokkel. It is currently only just in the black, which is why a
integration into the m&m holding company would be out of the question in two years at the earliest, explains Wolfgang Mecklenburg. However, a close and long-term cooperation has been agreed with the Brussels company, which is allowed to keep its name for the time being.
Pierre Schreiner and Frans Van Bokkel have decided to sell the agency chain they founded in 1991 for reasons of age. The company in Holland will continue to be run by managers Herco Tibboel (CEO) and Rob Kamsteeg (CFO). Pierre Schreiner and Frans Van Bokkel, however, will remain on the supervisory board for three years.
Turnover now over 750 millionWith this expansion, m&m Media Holding, which was founded in 1982 by Wolfgang Mecklenburg, has its headquarters in Bassersdorf and is already active in Germany, France and Austria in addition to Switzerland, has finally reached European stature. Switzerland's largest media agency, which is independent of international networks, now manages advertising budgets worth a net total of over CHF 750 million with a total of almost 150 employees. The holding company now comprises the following companies: The agencies m&m and mm&b, both in Glattbrugg, mm&b in Stuttgart and Höchenschwand, mm&b in Paris, mm&b in Vienna, and Schreiner & Van Bokkel Group BV in Rotterdam. mm&b in Vienna is currently being restructured, and expansion into Prague and Budapest is imminent.
Among the larger customers that m&m Holding wins in Holland are Toyota, Lexus and Suzuki, which are also serviced by mm&b in Switzerland. Although various brands such as Subaru, Hyundai and Daihatsu were also previously serviced on a cross-border basis, there is currently no customer that the holding company now represents in all its countries. "Despite possible synergies, that was and is not the main goal, because that would also give us a cluster risk," says Mecklenburg, who with a lot of luck survived the collapse of the Erb Group a year ago almost unscathed. He says his holding company intends to generate its sales primarily from national markets, with international customers contributing no more than 30 percent.
The Board of Directors of m&m Holding now consists of four members: In addition to Chairman Wolfgang Mecklenburg and the two lawyers Peter B. Arnold and Aurelio A. Ferrari, Mecklenburg's wife Riccarda recently joined the board. A board to be formed with the CEOs of the individual national companies will report directly to the BoD.
Management remains in the family Cooperation with Schreiner & Van Bokkel, Brussels, also takes place at this level: the independent company takes part in the regular board meetings. In Switzerland, mm&b will continue to be led by CEO Claudia Mühlebach, while - as already announced - there will be a change at m&m: CEO Maike Juchler will leave the agency on March 1, to be replaced by Rolf Suter, previously head of Goldbach Media in Vienna.
Wolfgang Mecklenburg also presides over the Supervisory Board of Schreiner & Van Bokkel Group in Rotterdam. Other Supervisory Board members are his wife and the previous owners Schreiner and Van Bokkel.
At the same time as he takes over the Dutch media agency, Wolfgang Mecklenburg announces that he will gradually hand over the management of the country board to his wife in the course of 2006, thus handing over the operational management of m&m Media Holding to her. Riccarda Mecklenburg is currently completing further training as a media MBA in Berlin. In addition to his strategic tasks, however, Wolfgang Mecklenburg will continue to look after individual long-standing clients in Switzerland and accompany the integration of the newly acquired Dutch-Belgian agency group.
From its own funds There are no details about the purchase price that m&m Media Group is paying for Schreiner & Van Bokkel Group. But Wolfgang Mecklenburg emphasizes that the takeover is being financed entirely from his own funds. To this end, the couple founded Mecklenburg Finanz AG. This company took out a loan from m&m Holding and at the same time received funds from the Mecklenburgs' private assets. Another part of the purchase price will be financed from Schreiner & Van Bokkel Group's profits over the next three years.
Old contactThe fact that m&m Holding is able to take over Schreiner & Van Bokkel Group is ultimately due to an age-old contact between Wolfgang Mecklenburg and Frans Van Bokkel. The two knew each other from their time at Lintas/Unilever International (before 1976). In 2003 they met again, realized that they were both thinking about succession solutions for their companies. Then, when the solution presented itself at m&m with
Riccarda Mecklenburg, a deal was finally reached after long negotiations lasting over a year. (mk)
European thoroughbred horses symbolize the country mix of m&m Media Holding.
Markus Knöpfli

Oliver Classen on a dilemma in our economy of concern: Frank Amalric is an unsuspecting contemporary, but also head of department at the Center for Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability at the University of Zurich. As such, he recently told the Basler Zeitung that Swiss companies were not feeding the flood of donations for the tsunami victims for image reasons, but primarily out of "concern for and solidarity with their own employees in South East Asia".
Such good-humored shallowness is bad, after all, could
At best, global players such as ABB, UBS and Nestlé could claim this motive. What is even worse - and can probably only be explained by a shock-induced loss of judgment - is that the business editors of a reputable newspaper printed this "analysis" without comment. And garnished the outrageous article with the comment that the Basler Zeitung did not stand back and transferred CHF 10,000. The BaZ's Southeast Asia correspondent will be pleased ...
But seriously: as the bearers of this and other catastrophic news, the media always profit from human hardship and misery, whether they like it or not. This distinguishes them from other companies and makes them more susceptible to criticism, but also to hypocrisy. Because the fact is: publishers and broadcasters manage our
of all those affected. This is not reprehensible, but rather unavoidable to create publicity. However, they do this more or less uninhibitedly and unscrupulously.
While Ringier donated a whopping CHF 300,000 (and provided extensive information about it), Tamedia made do with CHF 100,000 (as well as a small note in the editorial). And the NZZ made no contribution at all. In my opinion, these relations are not coincidental, but rather an indication of the extent to which the publishers mentioned deliberately staged the "wave of murderers" and exploited it emotionally. Such indulgences are commonplace in our media society, but they only become ruthlessly visible after earth-shattering tsunamis.
> Oliver Classen, Editor

Advertising industry Saatchi & Saatchi Simko, Geneva, wins a global multi-million dollar account. Voices on a major success: "Saatchi Picks Up $150 Mil. in Novartis Work", announced the US industry magazine Adweek before the end of the year. At the time, however, only insiders who were suspicious of the job offers knew that the big fish had been landed on Lake Geneva. It has now been official for a few days: following an agency evaluation by the Novartis Consumer Health Division in New Jersey, the Geneva-based agency Saatchi & Saatchi Simko has been appointed global communications lead for the two strategic brands Voltaren and Otrivin. The portfolio for Europe also includes the OTC drug Néocitran. This means that advertising will soon be managed from Geneva in over 20 countries in which these products are advertised - they are sold in 120.
Multicultural staffAs extraordinary as the budget gain is, CEO Pedro Simko is convinced that Swiss network agencies with the contribution of foreign branches definitely have a chance on the international stage: "Such brands can only be managed with a global network because the insights and support must remain local. But Switzerland has the locational advantage over centers like London, New York or Paris in that the staff is multicultural and works much more efficiently, i.e. more cheaply. I know that now." Even his national clients have noticed that the resources are significantly stronger thanks to the connection to the international network, Simko continues. Accordingly, he sees better growth opportunities for large and small agencies.
BSW Vice President Kurt Schmid, CEO of Lowe, does not yet recognize a trend reversal in Simko's pitch win, although his agency itself brought the Credit Suisse advertising budget back to Switzerland last summer or Publicis the global budget of Zurich Financial Services a few months ago. "You hear the thesis that domestic budgets are emigrating and the one that sees everything diametrically differently. For me, the question is to what extent do the fears of many advertisers correspond to reality?" It is much more important to maintain international expertise and standards in order to show that diversity is understood and available here too. Smaller agency sizes and pools of expertise must be compensated for with dynamism and flexibility. But: "As long as the Swiss corporate scene is geared towards defense and not attack, budgets will not increase," he says.
Dominique von Matt, co-owner of JvM/Limmat, also does not want to speak of a dam breaking, but rather of a good sign. What can be said is that the industry bottomed out last summer and the competitiveness of Switzerland as an advertising location has clearly improved. "Because more and more qualified people have entered the industry and Switzerland is opening up to foreign specialists, which is essential for international budgets," says von Matt optimistically.
Characterized by the long crisis, optimism among the Swiss Leading Agencies / BSW is more restrained than Farner PR's communication index would suggest. The index announced a week ago that 87% of the companies surveyed intend to increase their communications budget this year or at least leave it unchanged. The proportion of companies planning to reduce their expenditure halved to eleven percent.
In a winning mood: the Saatchi & Saatchi Simko team.
Luca Aloisi

Fundraising Who hasn't seen the endearing grandmother embroideries in which the chalet is idealized as an emotional home? such works adorn Matter & Partner's advertisements for the Salvation Army - albeit with subjects that draw attention to the situation of the homeless. The classic "Home sweet home" is not an idyllic embroidery, but a broken mattress under the bridge or a cardboard box on the street corner.

Tourism The Virus Ideenlabor is now in charge of the quality seal for Swiss tourism. The Biel-based advertising agency was selected following a competitive presentation and the first measures to be implemented are an optimized corporate design, an image brochure and a website. The quality seal is supported by twelve tourism organizations. The coordination office is based at the Swiss Tourism Federation. The program coordination and a working group have developed a new marketing concept for the seal of quality, which is now being implemented.

Trade fairs The Bern-based advertising agency Contexta has won the budget for the BEA/Horse Fair in a pitch against several competitors. The BEA trade, agriculture and industry exhibition and the Swiss horse show will be held in parallel in Bern from April 29 to May 8. Contexta's poster campaign will be on display from April. Contexta won the pitch for Gäupark in Egerkingen against three competitors. The agency will also be launching its first measures for the largest shopping center in the Swiss Mittelland in the spring.

Retail In an international and spacious ambience, Zurich Airport has been offering an extended shopping area with 52 stores, eleven travel agencies and cafés, several restaurants and banks for a few weeks now. And lo and behold, the suitcase trolley morphed into a shopping cart, pushing the actual purpose of the airport into the background and cheekily claiming: "The airport is now a shopping center".

In mid-February, Caroline Thoma (pictured) will succeed Sandra Geiger as publishing director of SonntagsZeitung. Thoma headed the publishing house of the women's magazine Annabelle.... from 1998 to the end of 2003.
Marco Ratschiller (picture) will become the new Editor-in-Chief of Nebelspalter at the beginning of January. The previous incumbent, Hans Suter, will in future concentrate on his role as Editor-in-Chief of the SME magazine, which is published by the same publishing house.
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In mid-January, Paolo Placa will join AZ-Verlag as advertising manager Mittelland Zeitung. He succeeds Diego Quintarelli, who moved to SonntagsZeitung in the middle of the year. Paolo Placa is currently Advertising Manager at Reader's Digest.
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Christine Scheucher is stepping down as Head of Sales Service Cinema/TV/Print at marketer Cinecom. She is succeeded by Karin Rickenmann (Fig.), who also joins the management board. She was previously Product Manager for special advertising formats on TV at Cinecom.
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Peter Raissig is the new Sales Manager at MS Mail Service in St. Gallen. He was most recently Managing Director at the direct marketing agency Tequila eFactory.
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Susanne Müller-Zantop will become Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at recruiter Adecco. Müller-Zantop most recently headed Investor and Analyst Relations at Siemens Mobile.
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At the beginning of December, Samia Montaque-Zeroual joins the team at cross-media marketing agency A-tension as a marketing assistant. She worked at the agency Universal McCann for the past three years.

Trade press auto & technik shifts up a gear to leave the competition behind. The title becomes bilingual and undergoes a redesign.
In January, auto & technik comes out of the service department with a fresh coat of paint and a rebored engine. The trade magazine for the automotive industry is starting the new year with a redesign. The front page has been redesigned, the fonts have been slimmed down and the layout has been loosened up. The change from four to three columns should make it easier to integrate images.
The basic image is to be retained in the redesign. "When you pick up the new magazine, you will still immediately see that it is auto & technik," says Editor-in-Chief Michael Rehsche. But this now applies to both outside pages: Instead of an advertisement, the back page features a
own front page for the new French-language section. This will comprise eight pages including advertising at the start.
The editorial content consists of articles specially researched in French-speaking Switzerland or complete translations of selected German articles. Rehsche wants to do without short résumés, as is sometimes practiced by the competition. The French-speaking Swiss section is maintained by bilingual freelance automotive journalist Denis Robert.
For the sake of advertisers auto & technik is taking the step towards French-speaking Switzerland in response to customer requests. "We were told that our advertisers would be happy with a French section, as some of them are active throughout Switzerland," explains Michael Rehsche. By expanding the language section, he hopes to attract more decision-makers from medium-sized companies in French-speaking Switzerland as readers.
In terms of content, auto & technik will continue on the course that Rehsche has set since he took office at the beginning of 2004: Technology will remain a mainstay, while reporting on economic topics will be increased. Rehsche would like to cautiously expand the politics section. Developments affecting the automotive industry will also be analyzed in auto & technik in future.
The editor-in-chief does not deny that this strategy can be seen as an attack on the new competition. Since this March, another monthly magazine, Auto & Wirtschaft, has recommended itself as a platform for the industry. However, Michael Rehsche emphasizes that he had planned the expansion of business topics long before the competitor entered the market. The first step was already taken in the spring: In view of the contracts to be negotiated between importers and garages for 2005, auto & technik reported increasingly on trade and sales.
Rehsche notes that the new competition has not yet had an impact on circulation. However, it has had an impact on the advertising market because Auto & Wirtschaft offers discount prices. "However, we do not participate in such a - ultimately harmful - pricing policy," emphasizes Rehsche. Instead, he relies on the quality of auto & technik's content. In addition to the relaunch, two new, competent journalists are to ensure this, replacing the departed specialist Harry Pfister in the technology section.
> auto & technik is a publication of Springer Science + Business Media, which also publishes Werbewoche.
Redesign: auto & technik with a new look from 2005.
Stefano Monachesi