Pay-per-view The sex program Playgirl TV, which was only launched in the USA this summer, is already looking to expand into Europe. Switzerland is to serve as a test market for the pay-per-view channel, Playgirl boss Kelly Holland told the daily newspaper Die Welt on Monday. At the Mipcom trade fair for TV entertainment content taking place this week in Cannes, she is meeting "with a well-known Swiss-German company" for license negotiations, as she sibyllinically explained, and it is unlikely to be Teleclub, which is supplied by Premiere in this area, but either Cablecom or the Swisscom subsidiary Bluewin TV. Both infrastructure providers require content and are active buyers in Cannes. However, the competitors neither want to confirm nor deny contacts or even concrete talks with Playgirl TV. No comment was available on the question of how much "highly erotic content by women for women" (self-promotion) the Swiss TV market needs or can tolerate.
(oc)

Opticians There is no difference between the Avant and Après versions on the vision test poster: it is and remains blurred.Normally, the poster from Grey Zurich would not be very flattering for an optician. But for the Geneva-based specialist store Vu d'ailleurs, it is entirely appropriate. After all, Thomas Schneider and Vincent Kever not only serve their customers the latest eyewear models, but also high spirits - at the integrated bar.

Sanitary Everyone knows Geberit's products, even though the company hardly advertises in the public media.
One press of the button on the toilet and the Geberit logo discreetly stamped into the plastic is once again etched into the subconscious. For most Swiss people, Geberit also means "flushing", but this area only accounts for 13 percent of the Group's expected sales of 1.9 billion Swiss francs this year. Geberit is one of the best-known brands in Switzerland, although the company hardly advertises to the public. There is nothing disreputable about the label; on the contrary, Geberit is associated with clinical cleanliness. However, this is not the result of exuberant advertising campaigns, but of outstanding products.
"We focus on a single business idea, we want to provide top performance in sanitary technology - worldwide." This is what CEO Günter Kelm says, whose executive office does not represent, but acts as what it is: a workplace. "Being more than appearing" is the tried and tested motto of this Swiss flagship company, whose roots go back 130 years.
Geberit's marketing and advertising strategy is not aimed at the end consumer, but at planners, plumbers and wholesalers. Geberit is the brand of the craftsman, explains the CEO. Accordingly, the company provides comprehensive support to craftsmen and sanitary planners. The product range is huge and also includes, for example, complete installation systems for fresh and waste water that are invisible to the end user.
However, there is something to the cliché of flushing, because that is how the history of this company began. Founded in 1874 as a small plumbing business in Rapperswil SG, the Gebert family's company has repeatedly set milestones in sanitary technology over the course of its long history. First with wooden cisterns, later with odor-insulating siphons. In 1952, the company launched a hit and a futuristic image carrier with the first white cistern made entirely of plastic, which soon adorned the wet zone of every new-build apartment and also embodied the spirit of optimism of the 1950s to a large extent.
From family business to corporate group
A decade later, Geberit, as the company is now called, revolutionized the sanitary sector once again with its pre-wall technology; since then, the cistern and all installations have often been concealed behind the wall. Determined, yet thrifty in a Helvetian way and focused on solidity and efficiency, the third-generation descendants, Klaus and Heinrich Gebert, expand the company into a group operating throughout Europe. The Berlin manager Günter Kelm joined Geberit, which was still managed by Heinrich and Klaus Gebert, in 1986. He first took over as CEO of Geberit Germany, the largest subsidiary; in 1991, the owners appointed him as the first non-family manager to become CEO, as there were no newcomers who could fill this position. The new CEO and his management team initiated a comprehensive restructuring of the Group and transformed the family business into a decentralized Group, which went public in mid-1999.
Günter Kelm has now also assumed the position of Delegate of the Board of Directors of Geberit Holding AG. Kelm states that he believes in the superiority of decentralized management structures because they promote entrepreneurship among managers and employees, adding: "But in case of doubt, the good of the Group comes before the good of the individual. Shareholder value is also important at Geberit, but not on the basis of speculation. We concentrate on our business and then see what our share price does," says the Group CEO. Apparently a recipe for success: the share price, which started at CHF 333 in 1999, recently shot up to CHF 975.
Investing in the futureGeberit invests CHF 35 million a year in research and development; a further CHF 80 million is invested annually in the expansion and modernization of the plants. The company generates a full third of its turnover with products that its engineers have invented or substantially developed over the last three years.
One successful example is the dual-flush technology that doses water consumption according to need, which Geberit launched on the market a few years ago. The economical use of the precious raw material water is becoming increasingly important worldwide, an area in which Geberit has long been a pioneer. According to Kelm, product development consistently takes all ecological aspects into account. As a result, Geberit products are more environmentally friendly than average in terms of production, use and disposal. The pacemaker of sanitary progress is Geberit Technik AG in Jona, the research and development company with 150 engineers and designers.
Bringing the light out from under the bushelWith the new "Know- How Installed" campaign, Geberit now wants to finally bring the light out from under the bushel. Günter Kelm in the guide for employees, where the concept is explained: "If we want to maintain our lead over the competition and maintain our position, we not only have to be the market leader - we also have to act and communicate accordingly." An international communication concept that provides a solid platform for Geberit products and services is an important means of maintaining the company's strong market position, the CEO continues.
Where the company used to maintain a discreet low profile, it now applies high-profile communication guidelines: "For our concept to be effective, it should tell the story of who we are and what we stand for in an engaging way. And this should be communicated powerfully in the markets," says the Geberit CEO.
Better discreetThe Geberit catalogs and advertisements in trade journals are never blatant. On the contrary, they are dominated by elegant gray and blue and lots of facts and figures about the products, whether they are about saving water, new connection technologies or even more sophisticated flushing.
"The world is full of missed opportunities - we at Geberit see it as full of opportunities," says the innovation brochure entitled "Taking off". With the icon "Know-How Installed", the Group wants to get to the heart of its credo in a communicative way. Kelm says to the employees: "Optimizing our communication will ensure that it is effective and sustainable, and it will contribute to better use of our marketing resources."
Geberit headquarters in Jona SG: The company operates successfully even though it largely dispenses with communication with end customers.
Straightforward: Geberit's communication is geared towards planners, plumbers and wholesalers.
Werner Catrina

Edipresse Edipresse is turning the traditional supply structures of the Swiss press upside down with publishing deals A few years ago, the Swiss press took a first step towards improving its supply structures by switching from volume discounts to sales discounts. Although further steps were planned, they have not yet been implemented. Now Edipresse is forging ahead with the Top Conto. The market leader in French-speaking Switzerland is the first major Swiss publisher to introduce the publishing agreement. Instead of a contract for each title, there is now only one overall contract for all newspapers (24 Heures, Tribune de Genève, Le Matin, Le Matin Dimanche, the weekly agricultural newspaper Terre & Nature and various local newspapers) and one for all magazines (Fémina, Télétop, TV Guide and Bilan).
12 million francs. If the maximum discount was to be achieved for all three daily newspapers and the Sunday newspaper, a total sales volume of CHF 17.2 million would have had to be achieved.
Jobs already eligible for discount
The difference is not quite as great for magazines. Previously, a total turnover of 1.465 million francs would have been necessary to achieve the maximum discount of 15 percent for all titles; the new figure is 1.3 million. However, the comparison is flawed. According to Fabiana de Cassan, COO of Edipub, sales in Bilan are generally multiplied by a factor of four. Edipresse thus takes into account the fact that Bilan has a significantly lower page price than the other three titles. And since the business newspaper also has many advertisers who do not occupy any of the other titles, they would have fared much worse with the new regulation. According to Urs Donatsch from Publicitas Léman, similar factors will also be introduced for the local newspapers and Terre & Nature. Despite the new publishing agreements, advertisers will not have to do without combined discounts altogether. An additional discount is planned for advertising in 24 Heures and Tribune de Genève on the same day or in Le Matin and Le Matin Dimanche within the same week. This has not yet been finalized, but will be in the low single-digit percentage range. Advertisers in the Edipresse newspapers will continue to benefit from color surcharges that are integrated into the millimeter rate. And Edipresse has also been fulfilling a demand made by SWA Director Jürg Siegrist in Werbewoche (WW 32) for a long time: job advertisements are already entitled to the same discount as all other advertisements. And this will remain the case with the Top Conto.
Cheaper despite price increasesThe majority of national clients are likely to be cheaper next year, although some of the basic prices of individual Edipresse titles will be raised. According to Edipub CEO Marcel Siegenthaler, this was also the aim of the whole exercise. The main aim was to make advertising in French-speaking Switzerland more attractive in order to counteract the trend of removing French-speaking Switzerland from the media plans altogether. From this perspective, it is also possible that the model could be extended to other publishers at a later stage. But the model also opens up interesting perspectives within the publishing house. Why shouldn't all of an Edipresse customer's sales (including in the print sector, for example) be included in the discount?
In any case, the Edipresse model offers publishers in German-speaking Switzerland a whole host of ideas. In contrast to the fixed ad combinations and pools, it ensures that sales in one title are not split between two (or even more) contracts. All those publishers who are still looking for answers to the Metropool should take a closer look at this model before forming any supplementary pools. It would be particularly interesting for the NZZ Group. Its newspaper title structure is practically identical to that of Edipresse: A national daily newspaper including a Sunday edition and two regional dailies. With Publicitas taking over advertising management for all four titles from next year, it could benefit from the preparatory work it has done in French-speaking Switzerland and adapt the model accordingly. However, this is unlikely to be possible at the beginning of next year. The effort involved in introducing such a new type of discount structure should not be underestimated.
It would also be conceivable to extend the model to the entire press in Switzerland. This could start with the daily press, which is losing market share in national or regional language advertising campaigns. A contract covering all daily newspapers would offer advertisers far more advantages than splitting advertising volumes between individual titles and combinations. Publicitas is called upon to defend print sales in Switzerland.
Edipresse headquarters in Lausanne: unconventional ideas for the advertising business are hatched here.
The freedom to grant discounts to advertising customers: Edipresse is breaking new ground with Top Conto.
Ueli Custer

Programs The regional newspapers La Côte, L'Impartial and L'Express in French-speaking Switzerland are getting a new TV supplement called TV Plus, which will be published weekly from the beginning of 2005 and printed on newsprint, according to the newsletter of advertising marketer Publimedia. The circulation is 62934 copies. The three newspapers belong to the French publishing group Hersant.

Business press Bilanz wants to regain momentum with its new publication frequency and make life difficult for the competition From January, the two glossy business magazines Bilanz (Jean Frey) and Bilan (Edipresse) want to double their publication frequency and launch fortnightly. "We will split the previous journalistic menu into two courses," says Bilanz editor-in-chief René Lüchinger. Accordingly, the issues will be somewhat thinner and shrink from the current 120 to an average of 90 editorial pages. According to Lüchinger, the aim is not to "cram in reading material", but to maintain the existing journalistic quality and depth and to deliver the monthly magazine for the top elite of the business world every two weeks, so to speak. One insider believes that the business media must be in a very bad way for such a step to be necessary. In fact, the makers of Bilanz have calculated the scenario between four and five times in the last twelve years and found the risks to be too great each time. After Bilanz was also unable to break the continuing negative trend in the business press with a relaunch at the beginning of 2003, the time has obviously come. Advertising campaigns with short cycles are the economic driving force behind the move. For example, if Swisscom wanted to advertise six times within two months, then it went into the weekly press.
The new balance sheet will undoubtedly intensify competition. Andy Lehmann, Managing Director of Aegis Media Group Switzerland, says: "The extent to which the higher publication frequency will also cause shifts in the reading market remains to be seen. It is possible that a future subscriber will save on a weekly magazine." For Cosima Giannachi, Managing Director at Mindshare, there is no doubt that the new balance sheet will siphon off advertising revenue from financial titles such as Cash and Finanz und Wirtschaft. "They will lose one to two placements per advertising campaign," she estimates.
Dietmar Bemberg, Managing Partner of Optimedia and BG Media, sees the move by the two titles as courageous in the current economic climate, especially as solvent clients such as the major banks have not yet increased their advertising budgets again. "But you shouldn't expect euphoria," he says.
Christof Kaufmann, CEO of the media agency OMD Schweiz AG, is skeptical. "I assume that Jean Frey has done the math and that the additional income from advertisements is higher than the additional costs of the new publication rhythm," he says. However, the advertising market in the two segments whose readership the
balance sheet, is highly competitive.
According to Kaufmann, in the financial services segment the paper competes with Cash, NZZ,
Finanz und Wirtschaft and HandelsZeitung. In the luxury goods segment such as watches, perfumes, fashion and cars, which is aimed at private individuals, Weltwoche, Sonntagspresse and Facts, for example, are active. Kaufmann assumes that all titles will lose ground, including Sonntagspresse. Kaufmann believes Facts is particularly at risk. "Based on the number of advertisements, I can't imagine that Facts is currently in the black," he says. Something also needs to happen with Cash, which is at an angle in terms of format.
The editor-in-chief of Cash, Dirk Schütz, was also "somewhat surprised" by the move by Bilanz, whose carpeting he knows from the inside as a former deputy editor-in-chief. He considers the bi-weekly rhythm to be "unnatural" and emphasizes that the changeover of the German business magazine Capital, the former Bilanz role model, is considered a bad decision in the industry. Schütz will now be supported by Bruno Affentranger, a former member of the Bilanz editorial team who is now moving to Cash as deputy editor-in-chief.
For Affentranger, the rhythm of publication, which is ultimately decided at the newsstand, is not the main factor. If additional revenue and additional costs turn out to be a zero-sum game, then the project will have failed. Unlike most of his colleagues, however, he does not fear that the business press will continue to consolidate, as the papers are all still present on the market: "The question is whether you can compensate for the economic fluctuations with lower revenues by reducing costs".
"But you shouldn't expect euphoria. "Dietmar Bemberg,
Optimedia
"I assume that they have done the math."
Christof Kaufmann, CEO OMD Switzerland
"It's possible that a subscriber will save on a weekly magazine."
Andy Lehmann, Aegis Media Group
"We will split the previous menu into two courses."
René Lüchinger, Editor-in-Chief Bilanz
Considers the two-week rhythm "unnatural". Dirk Schütz,
Editor-in-Chief Cash
"Financial stocks will lose one to two shifts."
Cosima Giannachi, Mindshare
René Worni

Newspapers The Valais publishing house Rhône Média is integrating the local weekly newspaper Chablais Magazine into its flagship Le Nouvelliste in order to strengthen the position of the daily newspaper in the region around Monthey and Aigle. The editors of Chablais Magazine will join the local editorial team of Nouvelliste, which will be expanded from two to five full-time positions. The magazine will not disappear completely: it will appear as a supplement to the Nouvelliste for certain events and local topics.

If the boss likes to play golf, it is quite possible that the company will organize a tournament at some point, as happened to Michi Frank, CEO of IP Multimedia, who launched the IPM Golf Trophy so that he could play a little golf on the fairway for work. The competition was held as a scramble, i.e. according to team classification, and three other golf newcomers started their first tournament alongside the shortlist author. With varying degrees of success: lucky child Frank Bodin took first place (how could it have been otherwise?), the team with SWA Managing Director Jürg Siegrist finished in fifth place and Michi Frank's team in sixth place.
The single malts and cigars spontaneously sponsored by Hélène Müller from the recruitment agency Headaway & Stone and Christian Lindgens, Lindgens Global Asset Management, after the dinner and prize-giving ceremony not only delighted the tongues and palates, but also eased the burden on the organizer's budget. Which is why an IPM tournament can certainly be held again next year.
Despite much praise, there is still a bit of grumbling. As a note to the organizers: The prize for a hole-in-one, which is endowed with radio advertising time in the amount of CHF 20,000 - no one won it - should not be advertised in this way. In order to counteract sponsorship excesses, the amateur statutes prohibit non-professional golfers from accepting prizes of this amount. This can be found at the back of the official golf rules of the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews.
The Cannes reel was another competition on the program last week. It is a good opportunity to see what others seem to have done better. Incidentally, the international advertising year 2004 can be described as average. Presenter Claudio Zuccolini - who incidentally took first place in the IPM Golf with Bodin - was on top form: "You know me from television, I used to be a famous presenter." Of course, Zucco was delighted to finally be announcing commercials again. After all, that had also been his domain on Spozz on SF DRS.
However, Matthias Luchsinger's comment that Zuccolini was our Anke Engelke was very ambiguous. Presumably the Cinecom CEO wasn't referring to the ratings at all. Anyway - from the presenter's point of view, directors and producers are to blame for poor ratings anyway - and certainly not the anchormen.
As an old gambler, Beat Fritschdarf is of course also a regular on the golf course. After backgammon, videogames and billiards, however, this is a rather younger hobby, which is why the IP Multimedia Golf Trophy was the first real tournament that the shortlist author played in. With success, as it turned out, because the team with the rookie took third place in the final ranking. And they could not have done better, winning four Sony Playstations.
There were also winners in the Maag Event Hall at Cinecom's screening of the 2004 Cannes reel, where all the shortlisted films and, of course, the only Lion to be brought home were honored once again.
Dream goal missed: No one managed a hole-in-one.
Cannes 2004: Only an average vintage.
Extremely pissed off golfers: single handicapper Nadine Kündig with partner Peter Marti (l.) and IPM CEO Michi Frank.

Winning team: Jürg Schubiger, Schubiger Möbel, with Claudio Zuccolini, Marcel Bosshard and Frank Bodin (from left).
Flight partners of the shortlist author: Hélène Müller from Headaway & Stone and the advertisers Martin Denecke (l.) and Roli Lacher.
Different placings: Theophil Butz (2nd), Peter Lesch (6th) and Patrick Lienert (5th) at the IPM tournament (from left).
Had the organization and tournament firmly under control: Elena Bonomi (l.) and Bettina Singeisen from IPM, with GC-Kyburg member Roman Gasser.
Arriving in time for dinner: Goldbach CEO Klaus Kappeler with Victor Zindel, Zindel Golf Services, and Jürg Siegrist (from left).
At the drinks reception in the Music Hall on the Maag site: Andres Brütsch, Matthias Luchsinger and Rudi Haller (from left).
Saved Swiss honor with the Suva advertisement and the bronze lion: Claude Catsky with partner Sally.
En Vogue owner Claudio Tollardo with Moreno Cavaliere from category sponsor Publimedia and Daniel Pauletto, Cinecom (from left).
Commitment to outdoor: Christinger managing directors Karlheinz Kaiser (left) and Dani Weissbaum with girlfriend Sandra Bühlmann.
They had a great chat: Muriel Meyer, from the Krea agency Mifflin Schmid, and Cinecom marketing manager Jean-Claude Bruhin.
In a sparkling mood: Publicis CD Philipp Skrabal (left) with Markus Ruf and Katja Puccio from Ruf Lanz.
Charming couple: Nina Wick (l.) from Meyer Schianchi advertising agency and Bettina Buccheri from perfume general importer Puig S.A.
Women power: The two Advico juniors Karin Krummenacher and Laurence Bolinger with Sabrina Arthur, assistant at JvM (from left).
Ladies' Night: Eve Gallagher, Tereza Stäheli, Annette Weisskopf and Josy Fernando (from left) on the prowl in the Maag Event Hall.
A really pretty couple: Judith Brändle from Vizeum Connections with Simon Stauber from Orange on the Cannes reel.
Friendship across agency boundaries: Axel Eckstein and Sacha Baer, JvM/Limmat, with Pascal Baumann, Advico Y & R (from left).
A successful team when it comes to commercials: CD Danielle Lanz, co-owner of Ruf Lanz, and director Serge Höltschi.
Maybe next time it will be a bit cooler: business partners Matthew Katumba (l.) and Alex Taiganidis at the bar.
Is it really direct? Remo Bachmann, Fisch Meier Direkt, Christian Hansen, Lowe Direct, and Oliver Künzler, Trendcommerce (from left).
Talking shop about jury work: Cannes juror Bene Abegglen (l.) and Daniel Krieg, KSSJ, jury member at the Eurobest competition.

Silvia Affolter is expanding CityGuide TV. The end of the Swiss program window of RTL/Pro 7 after only seven months annoyed her massively. But the unexpected release also gave her the idea for an even brighter future: "What's the point?" She was always being brought in to do setup work for a new station as a front woman. Because she is probably "a Gschaffigi". But even at Schweiz 4 and S Plus, after a few months, it was just "thank you and goodbye" for the presenter. Then Silvia Affolter said to herself defiantly: "I'm not interested in continuing to help out without responsibility and involvement. So why not mobilize my energies for a project of my own? "This fall, the result is already flickering across the screens of more than 40 luxury hotels for the fourth year. "CityGuide TV, my own television station, is on the first channel of all receivers everywhere."
Admittedly, the launch of this "first comprehensive hotel television in Switzerland" was almost thrown into the abyss at the last minute. Copies of the pilot program were delivered to the first twelve Zurich hotels on September 11, 2001. The day after, tourism worldwide collapsed. "Fortunately, we already had enough signed advertising contracts," Affolter recalls of that anxious beginning.
Advertising and info for the clearly defined target group of business people and tourists who "still" stay in luxury hotels is Silvia Affolter's business idea. CityGuide TV offers a 15-minute "highly positioned" hotel TV with an entertaining mix of editorial tips and paid info. The program comes as a loop from a DVD and is usually already on when the guest enters his room. According to measurements by pay TV providers, 98 percent of guests unpack their bags with the TV on. With an own market research Affolter let find out that their hotel television can be certain thereby an attention of 15 minutes. CityGuide TV uses this time for an editorial sequence with five topics, each interrupted by short commercials. In order to address the viewers not only anonymously, the hotel channel presents its content with sympathetic and elegantly styled female presenters. For the shows in Zurich, Lucerne and Gstaad, New Zealand-born ex-Miss Switzerland Mahara McKay perfectly guides the English-language version. Christina Surer welcomes viewers to the German program. For the newly acquired hotels, the search is currently on for a French figurehead.
"I'm in a hotel and only find out on the third day that there's another swimming pool or squash hall on the roof." Countless business people have already made this painful experience. In the first thematic block, CityGuide TV therefore presents a film about the hotel's infrastructure that is as inviting as possible for each individual address. The director's personal word of welcome should also be included.
The second chapter presents "the musts and a few insider tips" from the hotel's tourist environment. "We advertise the region free of charge," says Affolter. She can count on Jürg Schmid, Director of Switzerland Tourism, and Urs Heller from Ringier's "GaultMillau" on the "Quality Advisory Board" for her company.
"Culture," "Shopping" and "Going Out" are the names of the programs in which Affolter's editorial team provides tips that it has researched itself, as well as paid addresses. The hotel TV shows a new program on October 1 and April 1.
The service is only offered in 5-star and 4-star hotels like "Widder", "Baur au Lac", "Hilton Zurich Airport", "Bürgenstock Hotels & Resorts" or soon "Palace Hotel Gstaad". Each issue is carried by a few main advertising investors such as Bucherer, Swiss Casinos, Bank Hoffmann or BMW. The rest is largely editorial. "We don't want to offer the guest an unwanted sprinkling, but an exclusive service." Nevertheless, Affolter is naturally pleased that she is the only one with her idea who is not only allowed in, but even welcome in the rooms that are otherwise declared off-limits for advertising. "The hoteliers have recognized that they have a win-win situation with us."
Thanks to such hoteliers, CityGuide TV can now "grow fast". In the initial phase, this was not always so easy, because hoteliers were "flooded with requests every day" from sauna manufacturers, wine merchants or other suppliers who wanted to do business in this segment, explains Silvia Affolter.
Silvia's partner Siro Barino has also been working on the goal of becoming a "luxury television station for the whole of Switzerland" for six months. The former media spokesman for Swissair and Credit Suisse Group has set up his own business and, as deputy managing director, is responsible for the further expansion of CityGuide TV, "so that we also become interesting for media agencies with national campaigns," says Affolter.
The miss, actress and presenter, who has advanced to the position of managing director, and who used to want to make television above all, is now increasingly having the filming for her features carried out by about ten freelance professionals. For this, the sale of advertising is a matter for the boss. "A project like this can only be sold if you treat the project like your own baby."
With so much commitment, there's not much time for hobbies in her private life, and she mainly devotes herself to her son Noël, who is now seven years old. But that works, because she is "cruelly organized," says the woman who now finally can't be zapped away from the TV business so easily.
Silvia Affolter targets business people and tourists with her hotel TV.
Andreas Panzeri

Column Switzerland's most hated politician (in the media) is also its most effective communicator. For someone who can't really please anyone, becoming the country's best communicator is quite an achievement: we're talking about Christoph Blocher. As ever, no one is better at communicating what is important to him authentically and with unrivaled impact. Yet almost nobody in the established media world likes him; some even pursue him with Jacobin hatred. It is impressive how the man who has a reputation for being unadvisable draws energy from this frictional resistance and - from his point of view and in terms of the result - does everything just right.
Communication traps are set for the former opposition politician everywhere and at all times. For example, the so-called principle of collegiality is used to force him to oppose proposals that he has just fought vehemently against as a member of parliament. But Blocher doesn't do that, because as a communicator he thinks of his core audience first. When Kurt Furgler took a stand on the abortion issue, nobody was bothered. But when Blocher allowed the naturalization bills to pass him by with provocative indifference, the politically correct howled.
Deiss, Leuenberger and Couchepin - none of whom previously had the courage to withdraw the dossier from Blocher by majority vote - sent vassals forward to celebrate moral outrage at the last moment. Of course, the people realized that Ms Leuthard, Mr Schweiger and Comrade Fehr were just looking for an excuse for their certain defeat. The result of the vote also proved that Blocher knows how to achieve his goals even by not communicating.
Once again, he was helped less by his own genius than by the cowardice of his opponents. Just to avoid any misunderstandings: I think his point of view is misguided and the anti-Muslim propaganda that has certainly not been created without his help is disgusting. Nevertheless, he would have deserved the Effie Award for the most resounding communication success - against united public opinion, after all.
Another trap was recently set for the tribune of the people, who has been elevated to the rank of magistrate, at the publishers' congress in Lausanne. While Gerhard Schröder gave a run-of-the-mill speech like the one he gave at the trade union congress in Wanne-Eickel, Blocher tackled the subject of media power with relish and cunning, but also with aplomb. With exquisite malice such as: "Strangely enough, the diversity is relatively great, especially when it comes to factual descriptions. In contrast, I observe a disconcerting monotony in the statements. Shouldn't it be the other way around?"
Whoever wrote it: The Lausanne speech was intelligent, polite and extremely apt. Christoph Blocher knew how to present himself as a partisan of common sense in a world of politically correct mendacity.
Remarkably, he actually only said things that were self-evident: for example, that the media should concentrate on their task of informing and evaluating, free from the crutches of the state; that the state should not give them any orders; that only disagreement and contradiction serve the search for truth; that comments are free and facts are sacred and that there must be no forbidden topics. Why the hell do you have to be Christoph Blocher in this country to utter such truisms?
Speaking of media perception of Blocher: the Minister of Justice invites the federal press and all camera teams to the Marzilibad on the Aare. He takes off his shoes and socks, then strides light-footedly across the water. The next day, the photo is on page 1 of Blick, accompanied by the headline: "This is the proof: Blocher can't even swim!"
> Karl Lüönd is a journalist and head of the Media Institute of the Swiss Press Association.

Prevention Suva wants to make employees more aware of the issue of safety in the workplace. At 260000, the number of occupational accidents in 2003 is low compared to those occurring during leisure time. Suva also records an annual decline in the number of incidents. Nevertheless, the most important provider of compulsory accident insurance still sees a need for action in the area of prevention. Under the SuvaPro brand and with the motto "Act before something happens", the insurance company wants to make employers and employees aware of the dangers in the workplace. The ethical and legal responsibility for health and safety in the workplace lies with the employer. However, employees also have a statutory responsibility with regard to occupational safety. Accordingly, they are obliged to eliminate potential hazards or report them to the employer.
The SuvaPro prevention campaign launched at the end of September also focuses on personal responsibility. The Zurich agency Ruf Lanz, which is also responsible for the SuvaLiv campaign, is in charge of the brand. The team led by Danielle Lanz and Markus Ruf created a TV commercial in addition to an ad.
The creative team uses the worst-case scenario of an accident to raise awareness of the dangers in the working environment: In a morbid foggy landscape and accompanied by dramatic sounds, a man digs a grave at the foot of a tree. Only when the camera changes perspective does the viewer realize that the protagonist is not a gravedigger, but a construction worker. By securing the hollow, the supposed grave becomes a harmless building site.
No sense of humor "The resolution with construction makes sense because the construction industry accounts for a large proportion of Suva policyholders," says Markus Ruf. While most of Suva's prevention measures are implemented directly in the companies, the current campaign is intended to reach a broad public. Suva determined the public's preferences with regard to implementation in advance in a public test. In addition to the realized, dramatic campaign, a humorous staging of the slogan "Act before something happens" was also evaluated. The funnier story clearly failed. Danielle Lanz comments: "The results of pretests are very unpredictable. In the SuvLiv commercial with the men's toilet, for example, the more pointed realization won the race."
The ad subject, which is also used, goes one step further in its implementation: a surgeon wears the sterile mouth mask as a blindfold to avoid the unsightly sight of the patient. Thanks to the relatively neutral visual, the ad can also be used for other Suva brands, according to Markus Ruf.
While the doctor motif flanks the commercial as an occasional advertisement, it will run throughout Switzerland for around a month. The SuvaPro film will also be used over the next two years, alternating with the appearances of the other three Suva brands. Incidentally, the commercial was filmed in the middle of the city of Zurich, in Bederpark. The filled-in pit is still fenced off by a red and white plastic strip - although this serves less to prevent accidents than to allow the freshly sown grass to grow undisturbed.
A clear-cut case? The morbid scene suddenly turns into a simple building site.
Intended shock effect: In the service of Suva, Ruf Lanz wants to ensure greater safety in the workplace >> page 7
Simone Keller

Local TV The regional broadcasters' advertising combo aims to double sales again this year.As far as TV advertising is concerned, the first half of 2004 was a busy one. It wasn't just the SRG stations and advertising windows that took off like never before. With more than double the growth rate, the local and regional stations benefited even more than average (see table on page 16).The steep upward trend becomes even more obvious in view of the figures for TeleNewsCombi (TNC), the advertising combination of the seven major German-speaking stations in Switzerland. "In the first half of 2004, we have already generated practically the same amount of sales as in the whole of 2003," reports TNC managing director Marcel Geissbühler. He expects that by the end of the year, sales will have doubled compared to the previous year. And this after TNC revenues had already risen by a good hundred percent in 2003.
The reasons for the boom are not only to be found in the massively expanded advertising combos, which have seen four new offerings this year alone (see box on page 16). "The real breakthrough came with the leap into the Publisuisse planning tools at the beginning of 2003, because it was only with this step that the TNC offering became truly plannable," says Geissbühler.
Tight budgets help local TV
Geissbühler also attributes the fact that the network of local stations is increasingly well received by customers primarily to its "stable and further increasing performance." "In the first half of 2004 alone, the TNC advertising block rating has already grown again by 10 percent," says Geissbühler.
In the regional advertising markets, where local stations have been well established for years, growth rates are no longer making quite such leaps. One exception is TeleBasel, which increased its revenues in the local market two-and-a-half times in the first half of 2004. And TeleZüri, too, is doing better than average, with strong growth of 30 percent. However, in terms of advertising mix, the Zurich station operates in quite different dimensions from its combined partners: Its share of national advertising is 80 percent, while the ratio of local to national clients is pretty much the reverse for the other stations.
By contrast, the stations TeleBärn, Tele M1 and TeleTop all reported growth rates in local advertising of around ten percent for the first six months of the current year. "We are benefiting from the tight advertising budgets of the clients. Because they have now noticed that advertising on local TV is cheaper than in print or radio," explains Michele Macaluso, Marketing and Sales Manager at Tele M1 and TeleTell.
However, clients in the catchment area of TeleOstschweiz (TVO), which has only been broadcasting for five years, have apparently not yet come to this realization, with positive sales development only beginning in the middle of the current year. TVO managing director Peter Schwager attributes the stuttering development in the local market to lingering fears of contact with TV advertising. "SMEs still make the false assumption that local TV is complicated, complex and expensive," Schwager said. This can only be corrected through constant communication with the market, he adds.
However, one of TNC's most important recipes for success is its intensive presence in the market. This is not ensured solely by Radiotele, which has the marketing mandate. In addition, the marketing departments of the individual stations also work for TNC in their respective areas. And Publisuisse, which handles the technical side of the local TV combo, also plays a supporting role in the sale of advertising time. "It is the performance in the network that brings us success," Geissbühler states. And he adds: "At the end, you often can't see who brought in a new customer."
After the stormy expansion of advertising services in the current year, a breather is in order for the moment. The latest expansion step, the takeover of the show "Tierisch" by the seven TNC members, was perhaps already one too many, as the stagnating audience figures show. At the moment, he said, there are no plans for new joint broadcasts or advertising offers. "Now the keyword is consolidation," explains the TNC managing director.
He has high hopes for TrendPool, a combination of "SwissDate" and "Lifestyle" with the youth shows on SF 2, which has been on offer since the beginning of this year. "This will enable us to address a new customer group that stands for young and trendy products." Such diversifications, which entail an expansion of the customer base, are imperative in order to continue to grow, he said.
However, it is also necessary to be even more clearly present in the market with the advertising offers. "And we must continue to work hard to make the TNC a strong brand," says Geissbühler. His goal: The TNC should be part of every good TV campaign. That's not just wishful thinking, he said. "We are well on the way to achieving it," the TNC managing director is convinced.
TV advertising brings up the rearThe first half of 2004 finally brought the long-awaited gains in market share for Swiss TV advertising. Television took off with an increase of almost 15 percent, or a good 50 million Swiss francs, while all other media categories stagnated or even suffered further losses.
With this landslide shift, television in Switzerland, which had previously brought up the rear in Europe with a share of around 18 percent of total advertising spending, is starting to catch up: Between January and June 2004 alone, this figure climbed to 21.1 percent, according to Media Focus.
In absolute terms, it was the SRG stations and advertising windows that benefited most, as the table showing the development of gross advertising expenditures from January to August 2004 shows. In terms of percentage growth, however, local TVs performed well twice as strongly, at 22.5 percent. (dse)
Boom in new advertising combinationsFor three years, the news block was the only advertising offer of the TeleNewsCombi (TNC); today, there are already six combinations to choose from. The decisive step followed at the beginning of 2003 with the launch of the InfoPool, a combination of the SF-DRS advertising block before the "Tagesschau" with the TNC advertising block at 6.15 p.m..
After that, a number of other weekly offerings were added in rapid succession: first "SwissDate," this year the "Lifestyle" block and now the "Animal" block. Another chapter was also opened in 2004 in the cooperation with SF DRS: The new TrendPool combines the "SwissDate" and "Lifestyle" formats with the youth programs on SF 2. (dse)
Excellent on the road: At local TV stations, revenues flow abundantly thanks to the advertising combo.
Daniel Schifferle