Corporate Identity From a high-tech building surrounded by plants in Munich to a noble villa with a park in Rüschlikon: Swiss Re strives for the higher with its buildings and consistently uses architecture to position the company.
corporate image. The latest Swiss Re-build - a futuristic "erotic
Cucumber" is changing the skyline of the British capital.
"Our relationship with clients and the social environment is primarily based on trust," says Walter Anderau, Head of Communications at Swiss Re, "and trust is associated with quality." Public works, from dams to airports, play an important role in the reinsurer's business. So it's only natural that Swiss Re should focus on high-level architecture when it comes to its own image. This was already the case when the company was founded in the 19th century, when it was still called Swiss Reinsurance and set standards with its administration building on the lake in Zurich. Solidity combined with sometimes surprising innovation characterize the group's architectural code. However, Swiss Re's buildings do not sink into architectural uniformity; each project is individual, sets landmarks and is discussed by experts. Combining old and new in Rüschlikon
An example of the successful use of architecture can be found in Rüschlikon: a converted old villa, a park, a conference center with hotel, built from noble materials in a timeless style and with a breathtaking view. They form the ambience of the Swiss Re Centre of Global Dialogue, high above Lake Zurich.
Swiss Re invited a dozen renowned architects to compete for the construction of the center. The project by Zurich architects Marcel Meili and Markus Peter, with the cryptic password "L'année dernière à Marienbad," won over the clients. The architects succeeded in integrating the listed Villa Bodmer from the 1920s into the project and in preserving the poetic old park despite the large building volume.
Austrian artist Günter Förg designed the interior of the villa. The villa serves as the headquarters of the management and for smaller meetings.
The open concept of the rooms offers plenty of room for encounters. Swiss Re, with 8,000 employees and 70 branches in 30 countries, has created a forum here for the exchange of ideas and further training that radiates far beyond the company. Since it opened almost three years ago, the center has been the venue for a large number of different events. The original austerity of the facility has given way to a somewhat milder aura. Now employees even gather here for Christmas celebrations.
Brand management also in architecture
"What Swiss Re produces architecturally is in line with our attitude," explains Anne Keller Dubach, Head of Corporate Branding and Sponsoring, "architecture is part of our brand." The maxim in all the company's activities: the highest quality and maximum cost efficiency, adds the manager. The company's own buildings are therefore not fashionable set pieces, but reflect the corporate culture that has grown over a long period of time.
Swiss Re's entire image is subject to clearly structured brand management, which encompasses everything from advertising, sponsorship and corporate design to the Group's art collection. Contemporary art is omnipresent in the company's headquarters, which are scattered all over the world. Started in 1986, the art collection now comprises 1200 works and is a strong expression of brand culture, as Anne Keller Dubach points out. The company builds up entire groups of works by renowned contemporary artists. The former can then be moved, for example, from the headquarters in Zurich to the American Swiss Re branch in Armonk, where they can be exhibited again.
No place for teddy bears in the workplace
In Munich, Swiss Re had "a house with floating hedges" built, an office building that represents a "symbiosis between nature and architecture," as the Süddeutsche Zeitung wrote admiringly.
The transparent building by Hamburg architects Bothe, Richter, Teherani, which stands on stilts, was inaugurated at the end of 2001. The seemingly floating structure is considered Germany's most beautiful office building. Eleven-meter-high green lattice walls enclose the complex with green tendrils.
From every workstation in the planted offices, employees look out through high-tech insulating glass with excellent thermal insulation onto climbing plants and trees. Swiss Re's Munich headquarters implements the company's corporate identity in a flawless yet original way.
"Whether you choose a good or not-so-good architect doesn't have much impact on the budget," explains Walter Anderau, "but good quality, in addition to the higher status of the building, means that operating costs are lower, which adds up over the years." Conceptually, Swiss Re buildings appear to be a unified whole, with high-quality art on the building, pictorial decoration, through-composed furnishings and greenery. The thoughtful styling of the office landscapes tolerates no teddy bears next to the computer and no plants brought in by the client. Entrances and office landscapes in Swiss Re's centers appear cool, clinically clean and intellectual.
A new landmark for London
The new headquarters of Swiss Re in London, which has recently been rising like a pine cone from the skyline of the financial district, is again quite different from the Munich branch. The 180-meter-high structure designed by British star architect Lord Norman Foster turns older postcards into wastepaper, because the new type of high-rise building makes a striking change to London's skyline. Norman Foster, who provided Berlin's Reichstag with an innovative, walkable dome, created the ecological skyscraper for Swiss Re.
The still unfinished office tower sets standards not only with its form, but also with its energy concept, which is based on a combination of air conditioning and natural ventilation, which reduces energy costs. Thanks to the extensive window areas, daylight prevails to a large extent; sensors adjust the artificial light to the daylight. The double-glazed facade minimizes energy losses from the tower, which is heated with gas in winter.
Swiss Re has given London a futuristic landmark that also embodies the company's attitude. There are no parking spaces for staff in the building, which is connected to public transport, but there is bicycle and motorcycle parking and showers where employees can change. The skyscraper designed by Norman Foster in London is not called the Swiss Re tower, but is referred to simply by its street name and house number in an almost incomprehensible understatement: St Marie Axe 10. Of course, Londoners don't care much about that; they popularly refer to the striking building as "erotic gherkin.
Swiss Re will occupy the lower dozen floors after the opening next spring, but has not yet found suitable tenants for the upper floors. The blues in the London office market are also taking their toll on this flagship building.
Leading also in energy management
Where Swiss Re invests in new residential buildings, the Group also sets the bar high; the Minergie standard applies everywhere, which means that the buildings consume an average of 60 percent less energy than comparable new buildings. "Ultimately, the care we take with our buildings has to do with reinsurance," explains Anderau, head of communications. Reinsuring losses from natural disasters is one of Swiss Re's main businesses; man-made, global warming is increasing the number of these loss events. Swiss Re is making a statement with its outstanding energy standards. Says Anderau, "We are not credible if we don't act where there is a possibility."
Discreet brandingThe consistently through-composed Swiss Re appearance, formerly
rather dominated by gray tones, has become somewhat more colorful today. The Swiss re-branding with the three pillars has something noble, even enchanting. The Group is active in the B-to-B business, so it does not have to court individual consumers. The link to the population is created by sponsoring museums or events such as the popular Zurich theater spectacle. However, the sponsoring commitment is not announced loudly, but rather cultivated with restraint.
The concise "Corporate Philosophy" company brochure has a gray border, but the individual pages are in various carefully coordinated pastel colors. The four core values "Excellence," "Sustainability," "Efficiency," and "Integrity" are printed on a pink and gray card that every Swiss Re employee can put in his or her wallet for motivation.
"It's amazing how much of these core values you can get one on one with
one to our architectural guidelines," says Anne Keller Dubach of Swiss Re.
The principles of conduct listed in the same breviary on a discreet yellow background state, for example: "We embrace change and develop innovative solutions." Or: "We always look for solutions that offer clear added value." This is exactly what the buildings of the reinsurance group embody. (wc)
London's new landmark: Swiss Re's headquarters.
Star architect Lord Norman Foster created the hypermodern Swiss Re building that dominates the city skyline.
Anne Keller Dubach, Head of Corporate Branding and Sponsoring.
Germany's most beautiful office building: the Munich headquarters.
The "Center for Global Dialog" in Rüschlikon - a complex with a converted villa, idyllic park, modern conference center including hotel and unique view.
The historic headquarters of Swiss Reinsurance in Zurich.
Werner Catrina

Education The Sawi Marketing School in Biel and the Zurich University of Applied Sciences in Winterthur have agreed to cooperate.education The Sawi Marketing School in Biel and the Zurich University of Applied Sciences in Winterthur have agreed to cooperate. They
found the educational community "ed-win" in response to the
educational policy changes in recent years. The first courses will be launched in May. Sawi and ZHW will present the exact concept on
February 26.

Publishers Felix Walder becomes publishing director of the free newspaper Schaffhauser Bock (SB). He takes on the position in addition to his role as owner of the media marketing company Wypag, and the two tasks complement each other: the SB is part of the Nord Ost Combi (NOC), which is marketed by Wypag. Walder's aim is to intensify the market cultivation of the three NOC titles SB, Singener Wochenblatt and Wochenspiegel. In order to reduce the burden of the dual mandate, a new partner is to join Wypag by April. This person will possibly take a financial stake in the company, Walder told Werbewoche.

Bilanz The Bilanz Thriller: A gripping crime story or just hot air about exposés? Compelling opinions on the Publicis campaign at www.werbewoche.ch/adratingSüdafrika The campaign marking the 10th anniversary of democracy in South Africa was the Ad-
Too untrustworthy for the panelists.
Top 19%Flop 81%

Op-Ed … “Parting isn’t so hard,” says Peter Weigelt. However, he links his recommendation to reject the bill to three business-related demands. Swiss media policy—if such a thing ever existed—has failed. Following the backlash against Bakom over the Telecommunications Act (FMG), the Radio and Television Act (RTVG) is now also flopping. Despite attempts to revive it—our commission tabled some 200 amendments—the revision bill seems to be running out of steam. The blame for this lies not only with the media bureaucrats in Biel or
the «laissez-faire» attitude of the DETEC leadership. Those who want to draw from the license-fee fund but at the same time reject any form of government oversight are at least as much to blame for the looming collapse of the RTVG.
Above all, however, the SRG defended its current status by any means necessary. Perhaps the slogan «kill the project» was wrongly attributed to Director General Armin Walpen. Perhaps the lobbying by SRG representatives across all parliamentary groups is simply «business as usual.» In any case, Walpen is likely to be rejoicing at the end of the spring session: «Operation successful, RTVG dead.» And the DRS president in the Council of States can plan an extended fall vacation, since there are no more pitfalls to navigate in the upper chamber.
But despite all the satisfaction felt by those who helped bring about its demise, the end of the RTVG would also mean a slow death for Switzerland’s audiovisual media. And that would be unacceptable. Therefore, here is a three-point survival plan: First, all legal provisions regarding distribution and technology must be regulated under the FMG, which would thus evolve into a convergent communications law. Second, a «Lex SRG» must be enacted to secure the special status of the national public service broadcaster, while at the same time limiting it to its current scope. Finally, sector-specific regulation must be abandoned for all other participants in the electronic media market, as this is the only way to allow the innovation and growth potential of this forward-looking industry to flourish.
If a motion by the National Council to refer the bill back to the Federal Council—with these three clear mandates—were to gain majority support next week, something truly viable could emerge from the ruins of the collapsed RTVG: a national media landscape built on a high-performance infrastructure, thanks to incentives for innovation and investment. Furthermore, a clearly defined—and thus predictable—SRG that establishes efficient structures and fulfills a transparent mandate. And a media policy that avoids ideological exclusion and, instead of subsidizing subsidy hunters, motivates genuine entrepreneurs to use multilingual Switzerland as an ideal launchpad for the future European media market.
> Peter Weigelt is an FDP member of the National Council, a member of the parliamentary media commission, and chairman of the board of directors of the Mediapolis PR agency group.

Magazines It is still around a month until the launch of Cicero, the political and cultural magazine with which Ringier Verlag wants to conquer Germany. The Berliner Zeitung (BZ) was impressed: "Glossy, tastefully designed; a carefully thought-out page structure; a serious look, beautiful photographs; well-known authors such as Habermas, Schäuble, Eco, Schröder." How much
Michael Ringier invested in Cicero, he did not want to reveal to BZ. The Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ) also received the 140-page zero number. It estimates the amount at just over 10 million euros. The magazine will be launched with 100,000 copies.

Online The manipulation of the Wemf Internet study Net Audit from last summer has been clarified. "It was definitely an attack from outside with the purpose of testing the system," says Wemf Director René Schmutz. In June and July 2003, a hacker had generated additional access data for three sites, so that they each had around ten percent too many page impressions per month. Schmutz does not name the perpetrator. Only this much: "There was no connection to the manipulated sites." However, the perpetrator had deliberately chosen sites with relatively low access figures because it was easier to falsify them to a relevant extent. "In the meantime, however, we have cleaned up all the data," says Schmutz, who does not rule out future manipulations. "However, we have set up additional systematic control procedures." However, he has decided not to pursue legal action. Schmutz: "The attacker has formally apologized. We consider the matter to be closed." (mk)

Media The Association of Swiss Advertising Companies (VSW) has published the first volume of its 2004 catalog of the Swiss press, which collects basic data from all newspapers, official journals, consumer magazines and advertisers known to the VSW, as well as the financial and business press. The catalog can be ordered for CHF 35 at www.vsw-assp.ch. The 2nd volume with special interest and trade journals will follow in April.

Wirtschaftspresse Die Bilanz is having its new CD supplement produced in Germany. According to the publisher's management, this was decided for cost reasons.Wirtschaftspresse Die Bilanz is having its new CD supplement produced in Germany. This was decided for cost reasons, according to the publisher.
publishing house management. Voice actors, recording studio and pressing are all cheaper there. During the trial run of Hör-Bilanz in October, the Bilanz articles were read aloud by Christian Handelsman. The CD is included with the subscription edition (see also page 7). At least until the end of the year - that's how long the contract with sponsor Sunrise lasts.

Museum advertising The new MfK concept calls for new advertising The MfK's main information channels are media reports, poster advertising and word of mouth, according to the results of market research. Alberto Meyer, Head of Marketing and Communication at MfK, bases his communication policy on these channels. A specific problem of his media work is the range of topics offered, as the addressees of the media information are constantly changing: Culture, media, science and often the city editors. "At least we can consider ourselves lucky that we enjoy extraordinary media attention as a medium-sized museum," says Meyer happily. In the PR area, the website should be highlighted, which will be relaunched in May with an even stronger focus on the specific needs of the target groups. The non-specific umbrella advertising, which builds up the "Museum of Communication" brand, is flanked by product advertising, especially for the special exhibitions. The new advertising presence associated with last year's reopening was designed by the creative agency Wyler Werbung. A modular system of motifs, which are added to annually, is intended to highlight the breadth and diversity of the museum under the motto "A museum that says something to everyone".
Write to teachers personally
In the school segment, the museum relies on a one-to-one approach. Teachers are addressed personally with 10,000 letters, which have a lasting effect, so that hardly any other instruments are used.
The example of last year's opening campaign, for which the MfK received the Marketing Trophy, shows that the museum also knows how to make the most of all its tools: the new opening was accompanied by an integrated communication campaign with Interaction Concept in Aarau. It began with a construction site event during the demolition of the previous exhibition. This was followed by elements of street promotion, DM, cross-media communication, event marketing and classic advertising. For cost reasons, such campaigns are only possible if extraordinary financial resources can be generated for them.
A look behind the scenes: Salvationists at the Museum of Communication.
Luca Aloisi

Sports magazines What the men of Manchester United call the "blood straddle", the women of football seem to call the "pop slap".This and many other things about a veritable trend sport can be learned from the magazine for women's football FF, which was published for the first time last week. The pocket-sized bi-monthly magazine was launched by R+P Verlag from Oberursel in Hesse, whose main business is "publisher of high-quality regional leagues". Highlights of the pilot issue include a portrait of Birgit Prinz, World Player of the Year 2003, and the obligatory interview with Kaiser Franz.

Special Interest The internet magazine Smile is getting married and is now called Anthrazit. Dotcoms and print media have one thing in common: both have lost their smile in recent years. So it seems only logical that Smile magazine changed its name to Anthrazit in February. Does a dark, cold, metallic color suit an Internet magazine better today? Matthias Zehnder does not accept such gloomy associations. "Anthracite is the most energetic type of coal," interprets the publisher and editor-in-chief. And Anthrazit is moving into the future full of energy: the name change is not just a visual relaunch. Rather, the magazine is to merge with the online community of co-publisher Christian Schwengeler to create a cross-media product.
A lot of online service is important
Smile has also taken its new name from this community. It is not just a website, but offers its members a wide range of services, for example as a data archive, photo gallery, messaging system, etc. Anthrazit online is still in a pilot phase. Membership is free for the time being. Later, five francs per month will be charged. Anyone who recruits new members will be credited points on the platform. Zehnder does not want to estimate how many paying members it will have one day - the system is scalable to over one million users. Smile subscribers have been converted into Anthracite members (and vice versa).
For Matthias Zehnder, the cooperation with the online platform is a necessity. "A magazine without good services on the web is a missed opportunity," he says. Scientific studies have shown that services are the most important thing for web surfers. Simply filling print content online is useless.
The content of Smile/Anthrazit has changed little as a result of the relaunch. Zehnder is continuing on the course he set last fall following a management buyout: providing guidance in digital life. "We are the Betty Bossi of new technologies," jokes Zehnder. Anthracite readers should receive lots of valuable tips on how they can use these technologies to improve their performance - both professionally and privately. Zehnder sees this need not only among readers. The industry needs someone to show consumers the concrete benefits of new products. The mere presentation of technical aspects would no longer reach many buyers. This educational requirement is also reflected in the new name, because "Anthracite", says Matthias Zehnder, "is the blackboard of the Internet."
The internet magazine Smile is now called Anthrazit.
Stefano Monachesi