Sanitary The Chinese industrial group Lota has entrusted FKP Identity with the communication of its new European representation in Cham, where the Zurich-based agency is primarily responsible for corporate identity and corporate design. Lota produces brass cast blanks, finished chrome-plated fittings as well as connections and measuring instruments for the sanitary industry.

Festivals It all started - like so many other things in the world of advertising - with a bluesy whim and has now become the largest and most renowned blues festival in German-speaking Switzerland: the Blue Balls in Lucerne. In 1992, Urs Leierer from Zurich "got out of advertising" and turned his sonic passion into a profession. For a while, he was supported by blues fan Reini Weber. He writes the texts for the program booklet and the agency Lesch + Frei takes care of all advertising activities. For the third year now, Beda Achermann and his studio are responsible for the corporate design, including the poster. All in all, a communication band(s) that has it all.

Market research Publica Data and Igem shed light on communication technologies and their use in the household.PCs, cell phones, modern TV equipment, hard disk recorders, MP3 players - the availability of new communication and entertainment technologies is changing the use of electronic media forever. In order for commercial communication to know where and how it can best reach consumers in the future, comprehensive and regular market research is needed.the Interessengemeinschaft elektronische Medien (Igem) and Publica Data have taken on the task. With a survey conducted by the Conso
AG, they want to draw a picture of the ownership, use and access to entertainment and communication technologies in our households. The study will be conducted annually in future, which will provide valuable insights into the dynamics and interactions in the use of the various devices.
The results of the study on communication technology published for the first time show, for example, that young people are more flexible than expected when it comes to where they watch TV (see chart). For example, 39.2% of 15 to 24-year-olds stated that they watch TV at friends' houses. In all other external locations - hotels, second and vacation homes, restaurants and cafés, workplaces - 15 to 24-year-olds were above-average TV users.
Valuable insights: The annual study published by Igem and Publica Data shows how communication technology is used in our country.
Comprehensive analysisThe Communication Technology study provides information on the following issues, among others:
Image media equipment for TV reception
- Equipment of TV sets
- General television use
- Places of use Television
- Recording options for movies or TV programs
- Use of videos/DVDs
- Use of video games via TV
- Brands of video consoles
- Possession and type of cameras and video cameras
Sound media reception paths for radio reception
- General radio use
- Radio listening locations
Computer
- Ownership and type of computers
- Ownership of organizers
- Computer operating system
- Internet browser used Internet
- Access routes to the Internet
- Internet provider
- Internet usage frequency
- Places of use
- Internet usage purposes
- Purchasing via the Internet Telephone
- Provider and technology of the landline
- Number of landlines and cell phones
- Cell phone usage purposes
- Frequency of SMS and MMS use
- Provider, brand and equipment Mobile phone
Daniel Schifferle

Column Lies have short legs, regardless of whether it's the faux pas of a football star or a company manager.When company managers learn from top-class sport, it's usually about employee motivation and teamwork. This is why successful coaches such as Christian Gross from FC Basel or Ralph Krüger, head of the Swiss national ice hockey team, are popular speakers at management seminars: What happens when you try to sweep unpleasant truths under the carpet. The exemplary case study was staged by the Swiss Football Association (SFV) under President Ralph Zloczower and striker Alex Frei. And since it's not just our football team that's spooked, but sometimes companies too, it's worth taking a closer look at the case and drawing three lessons from it.
Lesson 1: Murphy is everywhere. When something goes wrong in an organization, it always comes out. Alex Frei was convicted by TV pictures; in companies, it is dissatisfied employees, malicious competitors or simple negligence that ensure that internal mistakes become known. The difference between active admission and attempts to cover up lies in the extent of the loss of image. This increases exponentially when the sins are brought to light by outsiders such as the media. If Alex Frei had admitted his outburst straight away, he would probably have got away with a three-match ban like the Italian Totti. And above all: it would have remained a "Frei spitting affair" and not become a "SFA lying affair".
Lesson 2: Delicate situations require risk analyses. This outgrowth only came about because those responsible carried out an absolutely inadequate risk assessment. This is also a common mistake in companies. CEOs and board members - advised by lawyers with no feel for the media and opinion-making - regularly underestimate the potential damage to their image caused by mishaps. The public, however, does not give a damn about formal law and the presumption of innocence.
It is guided by a mixture of gut feeling, commercial considerations (primeurs!) and common sense. A comprehensive risk analysis in the event of a crisis therefore takes into account not only legal criteria but also media and mass psychological behavior. This includes, for example, the fact that association officials and top managers ("rip-off artists") do not currently have a good reputation.
Lesson 3: The bigger the crisis, the more important the coordination. Accordingly, good internal coordination would have been key in the football association's communication. For journalists, it's a real treat when the exponents of an organization under fire don't speak with one voice. This allows divergent opinions to be played off against each other with relish, and the longer this game goes on, the more truth comes to light - and the more lasting the damage to the image of those involved.
In the case of the spitting scandal, it was first said "Frei didn't spit", then "We didn't know anything" and finally "Officially, I didn't know anything" from Head of Communications Benoit (reminiscent of Clinton's legendary marijuana statement). It goes without saying how the public reacts to such (dis)information: "Stop it, we don't believe you anyway!"
So the best thing to do in a crisis is not to slalom through communication, but to stick to the straight and narrow truth. To do this, however, you have to know them. And if you don't get to the bottom of things yourself, you have to expect others to do so. In the case of Alex Frei, the SFA officials would have done better to actively gather evidence than to look away after the first, formally legally unproblematic video document and plead "innocent". Then the childish spitting would not have turned into a communication spook.
> Sacha Wigdorovits was a journalist for 20 years (including as editor-in-chief of Blick) and now heads the Zurich communications agency Contract Media.

Awards The international advertising festival in Cannes should have a new owner in two months at the latest, and according to founder and Chairman Roger Hatchuel, talks with potential clients are in full swing. It is considered likely that the future operator will be a group of investors. It is still unclear whether anyone will raise the purchase price that Hatchuel has in mind. Stefano Hatfield, former editor-in-chief of the US industry service Adage Global, is talking about 70 million euros. In his column in the Guardian, Hatfield writes that the rumor mill sees the British publishing house Emap as the favorite for the takeover.

Marketer Radiotele and The Cover Media are working together. One hundred days after the start of the collaboration between The Cover Media and Radiotele, both partners are pleased with the results. In the experience of Hans-Ueli Zürcher, head and co-owner of the Basel-based marketer, however, a misunderstanding has spread in the market. "The impression seems to have arisen that we are just a branch of Radiotele." This is not the reality. "We are still an independent marketing company that operates independently of Radiotele," says Zürcher. The cooperation only relates to the back office and the processing of orders with the broadcasters. "As far as communication with the customer market is concerned, The Cover Media operates completely autonomously," Zürcher emphasizes.
As a reminder: As of April 1, the crisis-ridden The Cover Media had agreed a contractual back-office cooperation with Radiotele. Since this date, all spot bookings have been made via Radiotele. However, the links do not go any further. "There are no financial ties between the companies," Zürcher clarifies.
Remains his own lord and master: Hans-Ueli Zürcher.

Sponsorship The Swiss Agency for Alcohol and Other Drug Problems (SFA) is dismayed that the Swiss national football team is now being sponsored by a beer brand.Carlsberg will be the "official beer" of the football association and the national team from July 1. The SFA criticizes the message being sent to young football fans that drinking beer is healthy, sporty and desirable. It is calling for effective restrictions to be placed on alcohol advertising to protect young people.

Publishers The German Touristik Verlagsgesellschaft (TVG) has sold its Swiss publications to local management, with publisher and editor-in-chief Franz-Xaver Risi and publishing director Guido Käppeli transferring the titles Schweizer Touristik, Xtra Travel and ReiseBlick to their newly founded company Travel Trend Media. The twelve employees of TVG in Zurich are taken over.

Tobacco advertising line extension, new design and independent launch campaign are to revive the tired Swiss PM cigarette Brunette.To which year does the last classic advertising campaign for Brunette go back? The traditional Swiss cigarette has a market share of four percent, explains Raymond Pantet, press spokesman for Philip Morris SA Switzerland, to which it has belonged since the 1960s. But when asked, even he gets puzzled. "Consumer taste went much more in the direction of American Blend. That's why we concentrated communication mainly on these brands, i.e. Marlboro, Philip Morris, L&M like Chesterfield." In terms of product range, however, Brunette was increasingly evolving from cash cow to poor dog. Its strong positioning predominantly with older, male, physically working people hardly radiates desirable qualities for a pleasure product among the younger generations today. High time for an image correction. The specifications for a unique niche positioning are indeed good: traditional gout, Swissness, a patinated heritage from the years of the great Swiss machine industry.Parisienne as a silent role modelWhat the competition succeeded in doing with the relaunch of Parisienne should also be possible with Brunette, according to the unspoken goal at Philip Morris (PM). The former positioned itself in the zeitgeist of the 1990s with artistically "crafted" poster conversions and author spots as a cigarette for young individualists and gave the community a name - Parisienne People. Within a few years, the BAT brand moved to the northeast on the psychographic map of Switzerland.
These days, the new, "particularly mild and balanced" Brunette Special Tabac is launched - with packaging and an integrated advertising campaign by MRG Communications. For this, the creatives were guided by the naturalness of the blend - blond Virginia tobacco, aromatic Burley varieties and a pinch of spicy Oriental tobacco. The design, with its retro look, is meant to allude to the brand's tradition and create a gritty working-class groove with elements like the gear wheel. The teal packaging is designed to support the special positioning at POS and stand out. "Packaging tests showed that the color is particularly well received by men," says a delighted MRG consultant Esther Weber. In addition to the Btl measures, after more than ten years the company is once again relying on classic advertising, which for the time being focuses on the novelty value of the cigarette. For this, shrill colors and wild patterns create a strong contrast to the packaging. After the Brunette appearances at the music festivals, MRG has planned further activities for the current year.
Brunette Special Tabac: trend for working class heroes.
Luca Aloisi

Media company Despite holding a majority of the share capital, the Neue Zürcher Zeitung has decided not to increase its influence at LZ Medien Holding.NZZ has increased its stake in LZ Medien Holding from 46 to just under 51 percent. However, the Zurich-based media company emphasizes that its new status as majority shareholder is by no means associated with a stronger say in the Central Swiss company. It immediately proves this statement by not only making do with the two existing board seats, but also by not making any other personnel changes. "LZ Medien is a very successful company that is very well managed - of course we don't want to disrupt continuity in any way," explains Beat Lauber, Head of Regional Newspapers at the NZZ Group. With regard to the Board of Directors, on which the Zurich-based company is still in the minority, he points to similar circumstances at other regional newspaper holdings. "There are also constellations in which we hold the majority but are still in the minority on the Board of Directors. That's not a problem for us at all."
The timing of the majority takeover, which took place just six months after the installation of the Bern model and thus the defusing of the difficult situation at the daily newspaper Der Bund, is also irrelevant. "Bern and Lucerne have absolutely nothing to do with each other in this respect," says Lauber.
Lucerne's new strategy
At LZ Medien, Chairman of the Board Hans Kaufmann has been working on a new strategy, which is to be presented this year, not just since the takeover of the additional shares. However, this is not primarily about the Neue Luzerner Zeitung, which with
with a household coverage of over 60 percent has hardly any growth potential. "In addition to our press products, we also have a printing division and a specialist publishing house where further development is possible," explains Lauber. As an example, he cites the Multicolor print shop, which has been able to generate "very pleasing growth" in recent years thanks to new collaborations.
The necessary steps have also been taken in the advertising sector with the recent acquisition of a 30 percent stake in Anzeiger Luzern AG. The NZZ Group has an equal need for action in the three locations of Berne, St. Gallen and Lucerne, particularly with the free newspapers. "Better strategies can be developed together here," says Lauber. In general, he is of the opinion that the problems faced by regional newspapers, which are the same everywhere, should be discussed more jointly in future. "In the interests of a strong region and regardless of whether or not there are holdings."
Continuity maintained: As the majority shareholder of LZ Medien Holding, NZZ is content with the existing board seats.
Daniel Schifferle

Corporate Communication The tennis tournament Allianz Suisse Open Gstaad has commissioned the Zurich agency Viva to support its internal marketing and communication managers.Viva is helping to process the tournament's values in a brand-appropriate way and integrate them into a new communication concept. The aim is to increase the communicative performance vis-à-vis partners and the public.

Volker Straube, new CEO of Mediaedge:cia Switzerland, wants to join forces for a stronger presence.his new office on the top floor of Mediaedge:cia - MEC for short - on Zurich's Brandschenkestrasse is freshly painted and therefore still looks empty and virginal. He has been commuting regularly between Switzerland and Frankfurt for the past six weeks. However, the German Volker Straube only officially took over as the new CEO of Mediaedge:cia Switzerland at the beginning of July. "The office will soon look different," he promises, adding that Mediaedge:cia, which he now heads, is one of the top three media agencies in Switzerland. Internationally, the network has more than 175 offices. Straube was previously Managing Director of Mediaedge:cia Frankfurt. His move to Zurich comes with a mandate to restructure the company here.
Zurich is the metropolis of the media and advertising industry. That is why Mediaedge:cia will also be based here in the existing front office in the future.
bundle all other activities in a back office. Straube plans to move the Media Service Organization from Bern to Zurich by the beginning of the year. The MEC headquarters have also been relocated from Lausanne to Zurich when he joined the company. However, Lausanne will "definitely continue as a location" because the front office in French-speaking Switzerland fulfills strategically important functions. In addition, Lausanne and Geneva have many international companies that have their European headquarters there. "This gives us the opportunity to coordinate international customers worldwide from French-speaking Switzerland," concludes Straube.
As Managing Director in Frankfurt, he managed an important location of the MEC network, which ranks fourth among the largest media companies in Germany. The Swiss job now attracts him to further develop the business in an interesting market within the WPP agency group, which he knows very well. "Switzerland was certainly not a difficult decision for me as an alternative to other countries. The quality of life here is very high, and I will like Zurich with its young and lively lifestyle."
His goals for Switzerland: he wants to further expand and strengthen Mediaedge:cia, "which is already very large and well positioned in itself". "We are concentrating our strengths: the goal is consistent integration instead of limitless expansion."
Mediaedge:cia Switzerland must demonstrate its strength to itself and the market.
"We have the necessary size and expertise and must demonstrate this buying power and our know-how accordingly."
Straube is aiming for "a big step in development" and is already looking for "new talent" to strengthen his team. In Zurich in particular, Straube is looking for specialists in the TV and poster sector.
He himself came into the business as a career changer. As an electrical engineer, he realized after graduating that he was "not the type of scientist and technician", but wanted to do something more creative in the broadest sense. He was offered a job in the trade fair department of the electrical company where he had previously worked as a technician. From there, he moved to Young & Rubicam in Frankfurt in 1990. At his first agency, however, he was not given the
He was actually given the obvious job as a contact person, but let him start with media. "It was a time when people in the industry saw that the media sector was about to undergo a major upheaval, keyword private television, and so I was interested in the challenge."
After three years at Y&R, Straube joined Ogilvy. There he witnessed the spin-off of Media Consult in 1993, which later became the global foundation of MindShare.
For the last three years, he was a member of the management team at the Frankfurt office of the MindShare network. In 2001, he then took over as Managing Director of TME Germany, which was merged with CIA at the end of 2001 to form today's Mediaedge:cia. Straube successfully implemented this foundation as Managing Director in Frankfurt, where the merger physically took place.
Straube's strength lies in his ability to motivate both customers and employees to adopt new approaches and thus bring about fundamental change.
Volker Straube relies on "consistent integration instead of limitless expansion".
Andreas Panzeri