Society With pictures by photographer Karlheinz Weinberger, Pro Familia aims to mediate between the generations In an age of declining birth rates and a long-lived society, the gap between the generations is widening. Last summer, the Zurich city government tried to improve the image of old people among young people with a poster campaign by Matter & Partner. Images of senior citizens with headlines such as "Who knows more about women than a 91-year-old" were intended to promote acceptance of older people and thus encourage dialog between the generations. Pro Familia Switzerland is pursuing the same goal in its current campaign for the 10th anniversary of the International Year of the Family. However, the posters from Publicis focus on the youth of today's senior citizens. The claim "Yesterday's youth also felt misunderstood" aims to remind older people that they, too, critically questioned society in the late fifties and early sixties. "Without mutual influence, exchange and support, our society will not be able to overcome the socio-economic challenges ahead," says Lucrezia Meier-Schatz, National Councillor and Pro-Familia Secretary General. Even today, the transfer payments made by the younger generations in favor of the older generations are greater than vice versa.
Half-strength from the 50s While searching for portraits of young people from the 50s and 60s, the Publicis creatives came across the pictures of photographer Karlheinz Weinberger. In 2000, the Museum für Gestaltung Zürich showed his portraits of rebellious young people to the general public for the first time under the title "Halbstark". The now 83-year-old Swiss photographer had been photographing more or less marginalized young people for decades, thus publicizing their confusion and feeling of being misunderstood. Publicis has now placed five of his portraits at the service of Pro Familia Switzerland. The young people of yesterday - with their names and current ages - are intended to promote dialog with today's youth.
Half-strengths should promote dialog.
Simone Keller

Benefit The 2005 Press Ball has been secured. "Yes, we assume that we have found a new organizer," says Claudia Wirz, Co-President of the Zurich Press Association (ZPV), whose name will only be announced after the contract has been signed. It is reported that around 50 event specialists applied for the contract to organize the press ball. During the "very intensive evaluation", the ZPV placed "the greatest emphasis on securing financing". It does not want to invest any of its own money in the ball. The Press Ball 2004 was canceled at the last minute because the agency Swiss Premium Entertainment claimed problems with the budget and with finding sponsors. Whether the new organizer will make use of Liliane Fetscherin's proven services in the search for sponsors is "entirely up to the chosen company".
(pan)

Column What's on TV today is no longer even good as background noise. A plea for more courage to watch contrasting programs.Do you still enjoy watching TV? When was the last time you talked or even argued with a friend or colleague about a TV program from the previous evening? Has it been a while? I feel the same way. At the moment, I only switch on the box when I'm paid to do so and a TV review is required, and the strictly formatted broadcasting schedule makes a look at a program guide superfluous and ensures that surprises are ruled out from the outset. From the morning (the daily "Kochshow" or the "Volle Kanne-Service" at 7.55 a.m.) to the hard-to-digest lunchtime talk shows and the various criminal, family and youth programs, it's always the same routine into the evening. Dreary B-crime dramas and the self-portrayal of broken guys in "reality" formats are followed by more series junk, folk music and the occasional football.
Only masochists endure the "comedy" misery at the weekend or tune into one of the political palaver programs in which the same characters have been saying the same thing for years, while the hosts try to make up the return of the same old thing as an outrageously bold idea. Harald Schmidt has gone, Anke Engelke has been worn out in the wrong place - no, there is no longer a blessing on the screen, and there is hardly any consolation to be found.
Of course, there is the occasional well-made TV movie, an exciting "Tatort" and the odd informative documentary in this program wasteland. But these are islands, in the public service swamp as well as in the flood of commercial channels. The great media bonfire has died out completely; now windmakers are blowing the ashes through the countryside and dragging dead dogs in front of the camera again and again because there is obviously still money to be made.
What is particularly depressing about the private broadcasters is their complete lack of imagination, which makes one doubt the often-cited creativity of the market. The complete economization of TV seems to capture the imagination. Just because a certain milieu still follows "Big Brother", both RTL and Pro 7-Sat 1 are constantly producing new variations of this scheme. Although ratings are falling and people don't even want such nonsense as background noise, it is heaved into the program and the residual reputation is further ruined.
Things hardly look any better for the public broadcasters: Instead of focusing on contrast, they are continually closing in on the competition. What do the foreign correspondents from ARD and ZDF actually do all day? There are a few dozen of them, but what they deliver in the main programs in terms of background information and explanations about our world, which is truly coming apart at the seams, is more than poor.
Instead of convincing people with their productions, the ARD and ZDF chiefs rant and rave about their special program mandate. In their biotope, which is protected by politics and the law, no one puts a stop to them. On the contrary: in Germany, the state premiers have just pulled off yet another laughing stock in the endless revue "Battle over broadcasting fees". Instead of effectively changing the structures, the increase was only a few cents lower than demanded after months of theatrical thunder.
And everything remains as it is. This is how a medium abolishes itself and makes itself superfluous. If the box is still on in many places, then this is merely a late reflex to a memory of times when there was still something to see.
> Heribert Seifert is a media
and cultural correspondent for the Neue Zürcher Zeitung in Germany.

Guides Those who have the choice are spoiled for choice. And Gault Millau readers are particularly spoilt for choice: the current restaurant guide presents 800 exquisite addresses for food and drink, and anyone who wants to try out all the tips for themselves before the 2006 edition is published will have to eat for all they're worth - regardless of their waistline. Publicis has added a few pounds to the book itself to promote the fat - sorry: extensive - food bible. After all, it contains "800 good reasons to disregard your line". At the latest when the wardrobe no longer fits, the book may remind some people of the pot-bellied poster for Sportplausch Wider - also from Publicis.

Drinks Valser Mineralwasser's new advertising agency is TBWA Switzerland. According to a press release, the creative collaboration with the Geneva-based sister agency Rive Gauche played a decisive role in winning the multi-stage pitch. There was agreement on the strategic direction of the brand right from the start. The previous agency, Contexta, returned the account at the end of the year due to differences over strategy. The new appearance will be visible from spring 2005.

becomes the new Vice President Marketing at Swiss. He replaces Markus Rege, who is leaving the company at the beginning of November.Frank Maier Maier was most recently responsible for business and private customer communications at Lufthansa....
Patrick Kaiser (photo) is taking over as Head of Corporate Communications at construction machinery manufacturer Hilti. He replaces Heinz Müller at the beginning of December, who is moving to a Zurich-based management recruitment company as a consultant. Kaiser most recently worked as an independent communications consultant.
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Head of Press Urs Peter Stebler is leaving the Berne-based energy group BKW FMB. He will be succeeded by Antonio Sommavilla on March 1, 2005. In the meantime, the BKW media office will be managed by deputy press officer Sebastian Vogler. Antonio Sommavilla is currently Deputy Managing Director of the Dr. Schenker Communications agency in Berne.
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The new Tele editor-in-chief is Dominic Geisseler (photo). He replaces Stephan Sutter, who has held the post on an interim basis since the departure of Klaus Kriesel at the beginning of April. Sutter moved to Schweizer Illustrierte in January 2005 as a member of the editorial team. Geisseler is currently Editor-in-Chief of the Coopzeitung.
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Markus Gisler, Co-Editor-in-Chief for the general sections of the Aargauer Zeitung (AZ) and Mittelland Zeitung (MZ), is leaving the company. Peter Buri, Co-Editor-in-Chief Aargau/Regions, will take over overall responsibility for the AZ editorial team.
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Former Chief Technology Officer Jürg Stuker (photo) is to become CEO of web service provider Namics. Marcel Albertin becomes the new CTO; Roland Schlüchter takes over responsibility for the Swiss business.

Culinary delights Not only Karen Blixen and Kuki Gallmann dreamed of Africa: when the days get shorter and darker, many Europeans long for the African sun - at least the people of Basel now have the opportunity to escape to warmer climes for an evening. The traditional Safran Zunft restaurant is offering South African specialties. The low-cholesterol dishes such as ostrich, springbok or kudu - a type of antelope - are intended to attract a younger female clientele in particular to the "Saffre". It is therefore not surprising that MRG Comm is focusing on a romantic atmosphere à la Hollywood classic "Out of Africa". After all, the cinematically adapted biography of Danish author Karen Blixen awakened a longing for the dark and alluring world in many women.

Private TV The TeleNewsCombi now offers the digital transmission of commercials and television reports and is becoming more attractive for advertising customers If an advertising customer previously wanted to place a commercial on the TeleNewsCombi (TNC), they had to send a tape to the TNC marketer Publisuisse, which then forwarded it to a copying company. The company made seven copies and sent a copy to each of the seven TNC stations, whereby the tape had to be formatted according to the technical conditions at the individual stations. Not only did advertising customers have to allow around four to five days for this laborious process, but the copying and postage costs, which were covered by the TNC itself, were also relatively expensive. The TNC members TeleZüri, TeleBasel, TeleBärn, TeleTop, Tele M1, TeleOstschweiz and TeleTell have recently been digitally networked. To this end, they have implemented their own video transfer system, tncNET, so that the seven broadcasters can now exchange video and audio data with each other in broadcast quality. Publisuisse is also integrated into the system. The transmission of a 30-second spot from Publisuisse to all seven stations is now possible in a maximum of one and a half hours. Transmission takes place via ADSL lines and Internet technology. The system has multiple safeguards and is automated in order to avoid technical failures, breakdowns, booking errors or communication problems as far as possible. According to tncNET project manager Marcel Geissbühler, the total investment amounted to around CHF 250,000,000.
As simple as SF DRSThe TNC hopes that the new system will make it more attractive to advertising customers. "For us, this is a big step forward, because it will make handling at the TNC just as easy as at SF DRS and the advertising windows," says Geissbühler. What's more, with tncNET, all TNC members are introducing a uniform spot quality standard. "It also massively improves our response time," emphasizes Geissbühler. For example, if subjects need to be changed at short notice or even updated on a daily basis. From now on, the booking deadlines will be the same as for SF DRS and Publisuisse.
The digital network offers considerable advantages even within TNC. It can also be used to exchange images, audio data or short TV reports. Previously, this was also only possible using video cassettes and couriers. This brings the TNC closer to its long-cherished wish to set up a kind of pool with the regional news of TNC members. It would even be possible to make images and reports available to SF DRS. As picture and sound are transmitted separately, each station can also present the reports of another station itself in the relevant dialect and provide them with any additional information.
Finally, the tncNET will one day also facilitate the transmission and exchange of longer programs or even joint live broadcasts, but only when data lines with higher capacity are available. For the time being, the TNC must therefore continue to send cassettes of the jointly broadcast programs "Swiss Date", "Lifestyle" or "Tierisch" back and forth. Live broadcasts will only be possible via tncNET in around five years' time, Geissbühler estimates. For the transmission of events such as the "Prix Walo", the private TV network will therefore still have to rely on costly satellite transmissions.
Step by step closer to the customerThe tncNET is one of several measures taken by the TNC in an attempt to better establish the network of seven private TV stations in the advertising market. Thanks to cooperation agreements with Publisuisse, the TNC has been able to plan via Publiplan since 2002, handling has been centralized and professionalized and the product range has been expanded.
There are now six pools - two of which also include SF DRS - through which advertising time can be booked for specific target groups in connection with news and other programs.
The efforts are having a financial impact: TNC achieved the same turnover in the first half of 2004 as in the whole of 2003 and will at least double its turnover in 2004 compared to the previous year. (mk)
Technical quantum leap: Thanks to digital networking, TNC members can transmit data to each other more quickly.
Markus Knöpfli

Guest commentary Consolidation in the printing industry is a must. The merger of NZZ and Ringier should therefore be seen as groundbreaking,
says Peter Edelmann.
The recent merger of Ringier's and NZZ's printing operations under the umbrella of the newly founded Swiss Printers AG is in line with the trend and is an economically justified reaction to the overcapacity prevailing in the printing industry. The fact that this merger is taking place outside of economic hardship is particularly pleasing in this undertaking, as it prevents human hardship in the area of personnel. The overcapacity in the graphic arts industry, currently estimated at around 20 percent, which is fueling ruinous competition, could not be eliminated even by an economic upturn with restrained sales growth. This is due to the fact that every replacement of an old printing system with a new one automatically results in higher output. Prepress, which is now digital, i.e. "computer-to-plate", also increases productivity.
If you switch from a technical to a business perspective, you realize that today's printed matter price has an unprecedented price-performance ratio due to innovative production. This is because every investment calculation and the price calculation based on it assumes a fully utilized plant. Although this usually proves to be utopian, it has the effect that prices continue to fall. Thanks to these customer-friendly circumstances, printed matter remains competitive with electronic information media.
According to the "Future Study of the Visual Communication Industry" published by the industry association Viscom, the overall demand for information media will continue to increase over the next ten years. The greatest growth potential is forecast for "new media"; however, the print sector can also maintain or even increase its market share through standardization, automation and individualization. However, the latter requires the company to stand out from the crowd and not become a victim of structural change by acquiring new business areas.
The merger of Ringier and NZZ is therefore groundbreaking for the industry. Coordinated investment planning can avoid duplication and limit capacities. Cooperation also reduces organizational and procurement costs. This strengthens competitiveness, which not only helps to secure revenues and profits in the long term, but ultimately also jobs.
> Peter Edelmann is President of the Swiss Association for Visual Communication (Viscom) and Director of Zürcher Oberland Medien in Wetzikon.

Spirits Disaronno is to be positioned as the young original amaretti with new combination variants. There can only be one, the people at Illva Saronno said to themselves three years ago, and renamed the Amaretto di Saronno they produce Disaronno Originale. And with good reason: over the years, the almond liqueur from the small northern Italian town of Saronno has become a generic term for amaretto. Today, however, various other manufacturers also produce their own liqueurs under this name, and Disaronno is increasingly being positioned as the real thing. After all, the sweet drink can look back on a tradition of almost 480 years. Bottle as eye-catcherA new campaign aims to consolidate this positioning in the Swiss market and also to make the many different flavors of Disaronno known to a young target group. To this end, the Swiss Illva agency in Lugano commissioned the Zurich agency Pucci Sulzer with the corresponding measures last summer. The result is three posters and a short film that will be shown in cinemas and on plasma screens in selected bars. The eye-catcher of the campaign is the traditional square bottle from Disaronno. "We wanted to combine the authenticity of the bottle with a youthful appeal," says Giovanni Pucci, who is responsible for the campaign. The creatives are focusing on the general trend that younger people in particular are increasingly consuming mixed drinks.
By demonstrating its versatility, Disaronno is to be made better known as an all-day drink. While Italians enjoy the premium liqueur at breakfast, here in Germany Disaronno is mainly drunk as a digestif with a digestive coffee in the evening. The commercial, which is used in the initial environment, is intended to encourage cinema and bar visitors to try Disaronno as a mixed drink. While it is the global market leader among Italian liqueurs, Saronno Amaretto is in fifth place among the best-selling liqueurs of other origins. The leader and therefore main competitor is the cream liqueur Baileys from the English company Diageo.
Mixed drinks are the trend: accordingly, Disaronno loves a tête-à-tête with lots and lots of people.
Simone Keller

Ost-Marketing Konsumgenossenschaften als paradoxer Teil der DDR-Geschichte(n): ein humoriger Rückblick.Wer Manfred Kirschs Geschichten verstehen wollen, muss die Geschichte der konsumgenossenschaftlich organisierten Selbsthilfe etwas kennen. That is why his (n)ostalgic book begins near the most British of all British industrial cities. In the middle of the 19th century, 28 weavers (not advertisers!) joined forces near Manchester to buy large quantities of particularly high-quality overseas goods, sell them on in smaller batches and divide the profits fairly among themselves. a thorn in the Nazi flesh
Other principles of this original capitalist commune were open membership, transparent administration, a refund guarantee and political and religious neutrality. In 1850, this new wave of values spilled over from England to Germany, where workers at the Chemnitz Actien-Spinnerei founded the "Ermunterung" savings and consumer association. In the years that followed, such cooperatives sprang up like mushrooms: Industrial companies were followed by struggling craft and agricultural businesses.
In 1930, 3.5 million Germans were members of a consumer association. The downfall of these organizations, which were infiltrated by Bolshevism according to the doctrine of the time, began with the Nazi regime. They were first transferred to the German Labor Front and then banned and stripped of their assets in 1941. Four years later, however, the idea rose like a phoenix from the ashes of the Second World War - at least in the Soviet occupation zone: in December 1945, ten new consumer cooperatives were founded by military decree.
Half-empty shopping bagsThe cooperatively organized Kònsum - in the East, the word is still stressed on the first syllable - was given further tasks by the state in the nascent GDR. It had to prioritize the development of rural areas and thus support collectivization. Specifically, Konsum was responsible for buying up agricultural produce, supplying workers, catering, feeding schoolchildren and children and supporting commission merchants.
The history of this consumption is the history of the East German economy of scarcity. At some point, people became accustomed to rarely getting what they wanted. The imbalance between supply and demand resulted in a special kind of humor. A man in a consumer goods store asks: "Don't you have any furniture?" The sales clerk replies: "There's no furniture next door. We don't have any bicycles." Whether the citizens of the GDR loved their Konsum stores - as Kirsch suggests - even though they regularly left them with half-empty shopping bags is, of course, another question.
What is certain is that reunification meant the end of many consumer cooperatives. Although most of them were not poor, they did not have enough liquid funds to adapt their stores to the exponentially increasing customer demands. The banks refused to grant loans, forcing cooperatives in droves into the open arms of West German trading houses and racketeers. Which mostly went wrong, especially for the Ossis. Kirsch devotes several chapters to this part of the history of consumerism; some of them are garnished with particularly cynical anecdotes. After all, the author worked in this environment all his life and tried to save his store in Güstrow until the very end. For us advertising people, this educational and touching piece on East German marketing is primarily interesting because of the pictures. Kirsch's text seems uninspired and hardly inspiring, at times spasmodically funny. The puns often fall flat and there is no recognizable central theme. Although the book is easy to read, both the obviously affected author and his editor have missed a great opportunity.
Consumer stories by Manfred Kirsch: insight into the bygone brand world of East Germans.

> Die Marken bitte by Manfred Kirsch. Eulenspiegel Verlag, Berlin 2004. 192 pages, Fr. 26.80.
Roger Hausmann

Magazine The interim head of the "Shopping & Food" department at Migros magazine, Christine Kunovits, is to become editor-in-chief of Saisonküche. 41-year-old copywriter, concept developer and long-standing editor of Annabelle is to make the cooking magazine, which is also published by the orange giant, "even more journalistic" from January, according to Marius Hagger. According to the head of Migros Media, there were a good dozen suitable candidates for the position, "including some men." Hagger describes the main task of the hitherto semi-independent successor to Ingrid Schindler, who will remain associated with the magazine as an author, as "some content and design optimizations" - in the trilingual print title as well as on its Internet offshoot. Although these measures planned for the second half of 2005 are more than just touch-ups, they are by no means an actual relaunch. Marius Hagger: "Our seasonal cuisine is already too well done and positioned for that."
(oc)