Multimedia LZ Medien reports good figures for 2003. LZ Medien Holding has almost had a year of superlatives behind it: although sales fell by 3.2 percent, at CHF 118.1 million they are still the fourth highest in the company's history. At CHF 8.2 million (-3.5 percent), profit is also still in second place, and the cash flow of 16.1 percent is a record figure in the media industry. The share price is at an all-time high, as is the equity ratio (66 percent). And the flagship, the Neue Luzerner Zeitung (Neue LZ), is steadily increasing in terms of circulation and readership. In short: LZ Medien is well equipped for the future. This is also reflected in the structure of the company. The networking strategy of recent years, which encompasses all areas and levels and will continue to be built on in the future, is becoming increasingly apparent. This is most visible in the regional and weekly newspapers in Central Switzerland: Three of over a dozen are owned by or with strong participation of LZ Medien (Obwaldner Wochenblatt, Zugerbieter, Surseer Woche), six others are printed by LZ. This network is currently being expanded: LZ Medien will soon acquire a 33 percent stake in BeagDruck in Emmenbrücke, which publishes the weekly newspaper Region.This investment also shows how LZ intends to expand in the area of commercial printing: last year, it acquired its first satellite, Einsiedler Druckerei Kürzi, and now, with BeagDruck, a second satellite for its own printing plant Multicolor Print (see box below left). And more could follow. "We are not pushing this, but we are open. Not every print shop is interesting, it also depends on their image and their customer segment," says Erwin Bachmann, CEO of LZ Medien.
With the recently suspended commuter newspaper project Zisch-News and its participation in Anzeiger Luzern, LZ Medien is signaling that it also wants to be active in the free newspaper sector. And even for Neue LZ it looks like new shores. The paper can only grow to a very limited extent, its household coverage is already over 60 percent. Nevertheless, one possibility would be to integrate the "Bote der Urschweiz" into the Neue LZ's front page system in some form or other. However, it remains to be seen whether this will ever come about, as the Bote is already part of the Südostschweiz association (see interview below).
However the LZ network develops, it offers "new scope" according to Bachmann. New constellations are possible between the weekly newspapers as well as between the Anzeiger and some weekly newspapers or between the Neue LZ and the potential commuter paper.
Bachmann is also looking to expand in the electronic media. With a 36.4 percent stake in Radio Pilatus (largest shareholder),
16 percent at Radio Sunshine and 6.5 percent at TeleTell, LZ is in the minority everywhere. Changes are most likely to occur at Sunshine. This is because Sunshine majority shareholder Markus Ruoss has expressed his intention to sell and last week sent payment slips for the advance transfer of CHF 7,500 to all those who wanted to take a look at Sunshine's books. LZ is interested.
Expansion on the Internet
LZ Medien has bid farewell to the Swissclick advertising platform - albeit somewhat reluctantly, as the other participating publishers wanted to leave. However, LZ advertisements will continue to be published there. On the other hand, they have gradually expanded their regional information portal www.zisch.ch and now generate around one million hits per month. The latter is by no means surprising for Bachmann. "I've always believed in the Internet. But it takes time to build up," he says. And when it comes to costs, it is important to consider what a platform actually brings to the company as a whole. "In any case, we will continue to expand," he says.
Markus Knöpfli

Free newspapers LZ Medien, publisher of the Neue Luzerner Zeitung, will take a 30 percent stake in the Anzeiger Luzern publishing house, which publishes the free weeklies Anzeiger Luzern (113,000 copies) and Luzerner Woche (135,000 copies). "We are probably the only publisher of our size that doesn't have an Anzeiger. We want to change that," says Erwin Bachmann, CEO of LZ Medien. Bachmann is otherwise cautious (see p. 21).LZ Medien had previously considered acquiring a stake, but put it on hold when the Competition Commission (ComCo) launched an investigation and 20 Minuten shelved its plans. Now things are different: 20 Minuten is launching in Central Switzerland in June and, according to Bachmann, the new Cartel Act permits the planned form of cooperation.
(mk)

The Lucerne agency Bossard Kommunikation has taken over the communications lead for the Association of Swiss Master Gardeners in the area of gardening and landscaping, beating out a major German agency after an evaluation phase. Bossard has also won Ceracom AG, a Basel-based manufacturer of animal feed additives, as a new client. The first product to be marketed is a newly developed,
natural product that is intended to replace antibiotics in livestock farming.

Ambient media trend hunters watch out: The new advertising slogan is hand-to-hand marketing. Mediabox turns business cards into advertising media What's on the back of your business card? Nothing? That doesn't have to be the case. The marketing agency Mediabox puts an end to this waste of space. It prints advertising on business cards and distributes them free of charge.the offer is called Cards4you and is not aimed at business people, but at young people. On the website www.cards4you.ch, they can choose from a maximum of ten different advertising motifs. They enter their address details and receive a set of 25 cards within a week.
"We assume that around twenty of these cards are actually passed on," says Florian Biafori, co-owner of Mediabox. After all, cell phone numbers and e-mail addresses have to be exchanged all the time these days. This turns the users of Cards4you into brand ambassadors: they link their identity to a product that they have chosen themselves. In addition, people who have received a Card4you often order a set of cards themselves - a snowball effect.
Advertising customers book modules of 500 to 2000 card sets with Mediabox. Brochures, catalogs or samples can be added to these to enhance the effect. If a subject is sold out, it remains online for at least four weeks. During this time, visitors to the website can send it as an e-postcard. The medium has already been used by Nike, H&M, Stimorol and Buena Vista International, among others.
Inspiration from Holland
The idea for Cards4you came from Florian Biafori himself. It was inspired by the Icecards from the Netherlands, but Biafori made some changes to the concept. For example, Icecards no longer offers a choice of different brands. The cards are sold directly by the advertising customer. In addition, the Icecard sets contain different subjects, which increases the risk that they will be hoarded instead of distributed.
Once the concept was ready, Mediabox looked for a partner. "One of the cornerstones of our business policy is that we do not operate any media ourselves," explains
Biafori. "This is how we guarantee our neutrality towards customers and providers." Cards4you was to be operated by an independent company and only marketed by Mediabox. The obvious choice was to make an offer to Masani's Ambient Media, which was already successful in the market with free postcards. This company also showed interest, but the partnership did not materialize. In the end, a newly founded company, Loop Media in Küsnacht, took over the promotional business cards.
Cards4you was launched in mid-August without much fanfare. According to Biafori, around 600,000 cards have been delivered since then. That corresponds to 24,000 orders. "The penetration is not huge," admits Biafori. "Cards4you is not a wide-reach medium. But it is pepper for the media mix." Teenagers in particular can be targeted. In the first phase up to January 2004, 40 percent of people who ordered cards were between 14 and 16 years old. Over 20s accounted for 22 percent.
Florian Biafori is convinced that Cards4you can become a basic medium like free postcards: "Not next year, but in the next five years." At the moment, demand from users is far outstripping supply: new subjects are selling out in no time at all.
The big brotherThe Cards4you are modeled on the Cards for free from Masani's Ambient Media. Masani's has been distributing free postcards in trendy locations since the end of 1994. Initially only in Zurich, since 1996 in 26 cities throughout Switzerland. Cards for free was already in the black in 1997. "The medium really established itself in the advertising market from 2000," says Nadine Hoffmann from Masani's.
Last year, around 5.5 million cards with around 320 subjects were produced. This corresponds to around 135 orders. To increase the attractiveness of the range, Masani's works with art schools to produce six series with six artistic subjects each year.
A hit with young people: business cards with their favorite brand
Stefano Monachesi

Erwin Bachmann, Delegate of the Board of Directors of LZ Medien, on strategies with free newspapers and cooperation plans.WW Your last year's figures give the impression that LZ Medien is facing a bright future.Erwin Bachmann We are in a good present and are doing everything we can for a bright future. However, this is not spread out before us like a red carpet, but we must do everything we can to maintain the high level. Competition and the economic situation have not become any easier - we have to get through this too.
Yes, you missed the budget by five percent, your market is limited and you were only able to grow in the printing sector through acquisitions. Are dark clouds gathering?
I am not pessimistic. We have a powerful organization that works efficiently. However, we do not owe the growth in commercial printing solely to acquisitions. The fact that Multicolor Print increased sales by CHF 3.6 million and generated a double-digit cash flow rate is exceptional in this difficult market.
Your Chairman of the Board of Directors, Hans Kaufmann, wants to develop an "effective strategy" this year. Where are you heading?
I don't want to get ahead of myself, but I don't think we will deviate significantly from the previous principle of "from and for the region". What is certain, however, is that the space for our industry has generally become larger and that our position also allows us to consider other scales.
Will LZ Medien be more aggressive in the future?
Our approach may not be as publicized, but we are already taking a targeted approach, building for the medium and long term and implementing consistently. That won't change. I don't believe that aggressiveness will achieve anything. Collaborations are only successful when two people are in the same boat, striving for the same goal as partners and understand each other.
NZZ now holds a 45 percent stake in LZ Medien. How was the collaboration last year?
The NZZ is of the opinion that a media company with a regional impact also needs independence. We are happy to have such a partner on board.
The magazine Bilanz has named NZZ boss Hugo Bütler the most influential Swiss media man. He sits on the board of LZ Medien. Does he have much influence?
Influence is difficult to measure, but Mr. Bütler has certainly been rightly honored. He is one of twelve members of the Board of Directors of LZ Medien. He has one vote for voting and one vote for speaking. The latter undoubtedly carries more weight with Mr. Bütler. He is experienced and his word is heard. We are grateful that he contributes in this way.
Because SBB won't grant your commuter newspaper project exclusive boxes, you are thinking about an alternative. Now you are participating in Anzeiger Luzern (see front). Should the alternative project emerge from this connection?
An investment naturally opens up such options. We will certainly discuss these. However, the investment has not yet been implemented.
Is the alternative to Baslerstab or Berner Bär: expanded editorial staff and daily publication? Both papers are doing well despite 20 Minuten.
Such considerations must undoubtedly be made. But this should be done amicably and in partnership - I don't want to be speculative here.
In hindsight, was it a mistake to suspend your involvement in the Anzeiger last year?
No, because it wasn't an urgent business. In our industry, it's easy to get the feeling that you can only be successful with quick fixes. We prefer to take a well-considered approach.
Neue LZ is in a saturated and limited market. There might be potential for expansion in Schwyz with the Boten der Urschweiz.
The Bote der Urschweiz is part of the Südostschweiz association and this contract runs until the end of 2006.
However, it will be renegotiated this year. Have there already been any rapprochements between Neuer LZ and the Bote?
There were never any distances. And we never made a secret of the fact that Schwyz is part of Central Switzerland, so a collaboration with the messenger of original Switzerland would be obvious. We would also offer our support. But ultimately it will be publisher Hugo Triner who decides.
What does your cooperation offer look like? Neue LZ is not an association like Südostschweiz.
It would indeed be a slightly different situation and the legal independence of Triner AG would certainly have to be guaranteed. However, there are several possible models for this.
You are Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of Radio Pilatus. It has left the Association of Swiss Private Radio Stations (VSP). Why?
This was a purely operational decision in which the BoD was not involved.
This is surprising. The reason given was that the VSP did not sufficiently represent the interests of publishers in the RTVG discussion (see WW 16/03). One would therefore expect the BoD to have demanded the VSP's withdrawal.
It is true that the VSP does not represent our interests, but we have not influenced Pilatus in any way. The decision to leave was made at the operational level. But Pilatus is part of the City Pool, which also includes Tamedia radios. It is possible that there were joint considerations there. In any case, the decision is not wrong for the moment.
The LZ concept in commercial printingMedium and small print shops are under pressure: either they buy more powerful machines and produce faster, cheaper and better - or their customers will drop out. This is where LZ Medien comes in: They take a stake in print shop X, which remains in existence, looks after its customers and also does the prepress on site. Printing and finishing are outsourced to LZ-Druckerei Multicolor Print, which delivers the printed material. The advantage: Print shop X does not have to purchase expensive machines, but can offer the full range of products. It only pays Multicolor when production takes place there and does not have to worry about machine utilization. Print shop X can offer its customers short deadlines, good quality and competitive prices. (mk)
"From and for the region" remains Erwin Bachmann's LZ position.
Interview: Markus Knöpfli

Daily newspapers The German press landscape has been enriched by an experiment: On May 10, the Holtzbrinck publishing house is launching the cheapest daily newspaper in Germany, which, according to a report by the industry service Kress.de, is called "20 Cent" and costs just as much. "20 Cent" is published with 32 pages in tabloid format and attempts to interest young people in the daily newspaper medium. The experiment is based under the umbrella of the Holtzbrinck title Lausitzer Rundschau in Cottbus.

Tourism A new offer at Zurich Airport Unique uses its advertising to awaken the desire for vacations Something that foreign airports already offer successfully has recently been introduced at Zurich Airport: a market that concentrates all the important travel agencies in a small area. Convenient comparison and selection instead of long running around is intended to set the new offer apart from the last-minute competition. The campaign by Zurich-based Creative Content implements this advantage one-to-one by creating a vacation atmosphere and dramatizing the diversity of the offer. "We didn't want to compete with the travel and vacation providers, but rather find an independent implementation for Zurich Airport's new offer," says Michael Breuer, Marketing Communication Manager at Unique.
The agency placed a so-called brand wall with emotional postcard motifs in the airport environment, which is used intensively for advertising despite declining passenger frequency. Those responsible believe that this will attract a high level of attention from potential customers, as they are more receptive than average to this message here. The Giant Posters and F4 posters guide passers-by to the new travel market. The poster campaign is accompanied by radio spots with the typical airport loudspeaker voice that usually warns delayed passengers to hurry. For the travel market, however, it is not about boarding on time, but about booking at short notice - in future in the travel market.
Brandwall: Potential customers are directed to the travel market.

Luca Aloisi

Competition The Competition Commission has ordered the resignation of Otto Meier, member of the Board of Directors of Vogt-Schild.
After just one and a half years on the Board of Directors of Vogt-Schild/Habegger (VS/H), Publicitas CEO Otto Meier handed in his resignation in April. And that's not all: his seat will not be filled again, the Solothurn-based media company announced. This means that the minority shareholder PubliGroupe (35 percent) is now only represented by Max Bühlmann on the new five-member Board of Directors: The secretariat of the Competition Commission (Weko) had indirectly pushed through the reduction in the size of the BoD. "Mr. Meier's resignation is the result of our intervention," confirms Patrik Ducrey, Deputy Director of the Competition Commission. Specifically, the Competition Commission secretariat recently informed PubliGroupe (P) that it was assumed that the Lausanne-based company had taken control of VS/H, as it had been represented on the board with three out of six seats since last summer.
Multifunction shoemaker
In addition to the official P-representatives Meier and Bühlmann, the secretariat therefore also includes the Chairman Fritz M. Schuhmacher, appointed "ad personam" by the majority shareholder, the Gottlieb and Hans Vogt Foundation, among the P-representatives. In fact, he is also Vice Chairman of the Board of PubliGroupe (and of Basler Zeitung Medien). However, Schuhmacher had emphasized from the outset that he could and wanted to keep the mandates separate. "I was also able to prove this to the Competition Commission Secretariat," says Schuhmacher.
Weko: No separation of mandates
But in Bern, it was not so much possible conflicts of interest that were suspected as a (secret) takeover that should have been reported to the competition authorities. "Mr. Schuhmacher is obliged both by law and by the PubliGroupe statutes to represent the interests of PubliGroupe. It is therefore not possible to separate mandates just in his head," says Ducrey. PubliGroupe then proposed Meier's resignation to the Secretariat. He does not see himself as a pawn. "Max Bühlmann has been involved with VH/S for a long time. It was therefore clear that I would leave the BoD. However, as a native of Solothurn, I regret this very much," says Meier. This solution was accepted in Bern. Ducrey: "From our point of view, the problem has now been resolved and the dossier closed." The matter is also closed for Schuhmacher, not least because the Competition Commission has now confirmed that PubliGroupe has "not acquired control".
But why did VS/H allow a conflict with the Competition Commission to arise in the first place? "When we on the Board of Directors agreed to the election of Mr. Schuhmacher, we underestimated the risk of collision," says Otto Meier.
Markus Knöpfli

Guest commentary After the format change, Blick urgently needs a reorientation in terms of content, writes Peter Rothenbühler.Blick can spare itself (and its readership) any more self-praise articles about the heroic work of the newspaper makers. The "Doppio" experiment makes it clear from the very first issue: Blick is better in small format. Although the content is the same, the half-size format is twice as much fun to read. My prediction: 80 to 90 percent of readers will vote for the small format. "Doppio" is the first campaign in a long time where Blick doesn't have to turn tail. Bravo! The large Blick format suddenly looks ancient next to the small one. The pages are puffy and undecided, there is no clear hierarchy, the images compete with each other. The question remains: How was it possible to wait so long? And why didn't Ringier simply go through with the format change? It really wouldn't have taken much courage. Newspapers around the world that have taken the step have only gained. Regardless of the content. Whether it's a rural tabloid, urban tabloid or large regional newspaper: the small format is simply practical. Le Matin readers have confirmed this time and again (since the format change in fall 2001), with an impressive 98 percent majority.
But that's the way it is in our industry: readers are often more progressive and practical than journalists. (Which doesn't mean that they all vote SP and pray Catholic, dear Blick makers). Incidentally, readers' opinions on a new Blick could have been obtained by calling Lausanne or Oslo or London. Ringier could have saved a lot of time and money and, above all, taken the overdue next step: The reinvention of Blick.
Why has Ringier's battleship lost 100,000 copies in the last ten years? Is it because of the format? The tabloid alone will not make up for the lack of sales. After "Doppio", Blick will finally have to pull itself together for the major exercise "Reformatio". To reform the content, to neutralize the political course, to rejuvenate and feminize the editorial line.
PS: Despite all the advantages, there is only one big problem: branded companies like to place their beautiful ads in large format. A wonderful source of income for Sunday broadsheet editions. "Unfortunately" (for Ringier), SonntagsBlick is the only Sunday title in small format. The resulting advertising losses are likely to be expensive. But for now, Blick is back on the winning side. Congratulations!
> Peter Rothenbühler is editor-in-chief of Le Matin and Le Matin Dimanche.

Fiction Lorenzini crime novels stand for so-called "In Vino Veritas" novels and deliberately aim to uncover the hidden "literary" sides of guests at the Lorenzini Bar in Bern.Matthias Steinmann, Louis Hagedorn and Fritz Kobi have so far revealed themselves as authors of the book series. Now the fourth crime novel has been published: "Domina Domini" by Siegfried Chambre. A bizarre story of revelations in the milieu of Catholic church leaders, dubious fortune-tellers, lice-ridden bums and sadistic sex workers. An advertising agency also plays a role. No wonder: Sigi Chambre was a copywriter at Contexta, among others. Now he works freelance for various agencies.

Beverages The image of apple juice is to be dusted off. After twelve years of advertising marathons, the sporty cartoon apple has been squeezed dry. That's how long he sprinted, dribbled and skated across Swiss television screens before sports broadcasts. As a popular figure for the sports sponsor Swiss Fruit Association (SO), he was supposed to appeal to young people and the young at heart, who have been courted by more and more energy drink brands since the 1990s. However, ice tea became an even tougher competitor to apple juice. In comparison, the image of the natural product was gathering dust. Although the marketing concept also attracted a great deal of media attention with the "Rookie of the Year" award for talented young athletes, the image transfer potential reached its limits.
Nevertheless, sales have been rising again for three years to levels last seen in the early 1980s. Mr. and Mrs. Swiss are once again drinking a good ten liters of fruit juice per person per year, excluding the increasingly popular juice from direct marketers.
With its old freshness: The Swiss Fruit Association returns to its brand capital for apple juice.
However, market research shows a clear weakness in the important target group of families. According to the IHA household panel, only 54% of all families consume apple juice. "On the other hand, we are seeing an increase in out-of-home consumption," says Bernadette Galliker, Head of Marketing at the SO. An indication that apple juice is no longer top of mind for householders.
To give apple juice a new face and make it a popular drink again among people aged between 25 and 39, the SO and the producers opted for the advertising concept of the young agency Unikat. The new campaign is based on a classic from Swiss advertising history: "Apple juice is fabulous." "Surveys have shown that this claim is still one of the best known and most popular in Switzerland," says CD Daniel Meier.
Traditional claim updated
This brand value was recognized and the old claim was updated to reflect the new positioning of the apple juice brand: "Apple juice is fabulous." Managing Director Jan Maurer is also convinced that the open wording encompasses all the positive effects of Swiss apple juice. It reflects the energy-giver, the source of health, naturalness and refreshment. The agency adapted the look to the retro concept by conveying the origin of the product and its raw material in the new logo in addition to the quality aspects.
At the advertising level - TV commercials - the effect of apple juice is dramatized. "We show episodes from life in which something fabulous, a surprise, happens around the consumption of apple juice," explains Daniel Meier. With a seasonal focus, various commercials are intended to update the drink for the general public. In place of the reduced sponsorship budget, below-the-line activities and a radio quiz from partner agency cR Kommunikation will help to anchor the new claim and the new campaign.
Luca Aloisi

Telekommunikation Wirz Werbung has once again won a pitch from Sunrise: This is a project with relevance for mobile, landline and Internet communication in the consumer and business sectors. Wirz is Sunrise's core agency for the consumer sector. The lead agency for business solutions is Advico Young & Rubicam.