Competition For the first time, the Swiss Branded Goods Association Promarca is awarding a sponsorship prize for outstanding theses on the subject of brands/branded goods that were written between January 1, 2002 and March 31, 2004 at Swiss universities, universities of applied sciences and technical colleges. The "Brand Article Prize" is intended to increase knowledge about brands and promote students' interest in the world of brands. The prizes of up to 5000 francs are earmarked for a specific purpose. They are intended to enhance the professional and/or social skills of the recipients. Entry forms are available from Promarca on tel. 031 312 55 65 or at www.promarca.ch

Wochenpresse A good six months after its capital increase and relaunch, WochenZeitung is now also demonstrating its newfound economic strength and competence in the advertising market, with the left-wing central organ of the NZZ readership recently calculating in a full-page advertisement how many of its shareholders the largest Swiss bank could turn into WOZ subscribers with its billions in profits. It cannot be ruled out that this campaign marks the beginning of the next hostile takeover attempt by the press pirates - after Weltwoche last spring and Migros in the last issue. However, the ad would have had to be placed in the business section and not in the domestic section of the (ultimately perhaps even more cunning) old aunt.

Sports accessories Business acumen is giving two for the price of one; love is giving each other a gift; Kamasutra is sex in sneakers; and creativity is using these components to design a flyer for a Valentine's promotion. This is what happened at Guye Benker - for the exclusive sneaker store Könix in Zurich. To boost its own business with the import custom, Könix gave half price to any couple who bought two pairs of sneakers on February 14.

Shoes The Swiss fashion and lifestyle brand Navyboot has entrusted Flowcube Communications with its PR mandate. The Zurich-based agency will also manage the press office and produce men's and women's shoes, bags, accessories, eyewear, luggage and menswear under the Navyboot brand.

Regional TV Despite its success in the audience market, TeleZüri has not yet reached its advertising revenue target, according to Head of Marketing Tarkan Özküp. WW TeleZüri still has until the end of 2005 to break even.regional TV Despite its success in the audience market, TeleZüri has not yet reached its target with advertising revenues, according to marketing director Tarkan Özküp. WW TeleZüri still has until the end of 2005 to break even. Despite rapidly rising audience figures, there is still a huge amount of marketing work to be done.
Tarkan Özküp We still have some work to do, that is clear. This year we need 15 percent more revenue and another 15 percent increase in 2005. Only when we achieve this will we be able to talk about a balanced account at TeleZüri.
One way to boost advertising revenue quickly would be with erotic and soft porn. Most other private broadcasters let their clothes off after midnight, and they earn a lot of money from it. Is that not an issue for TeleZüri?
I did the math. Just with the offers that came to me without any action on my part, I could raise around one and a half million a year. We could immediately increase our advertising revenue by around ten percent. But we are deliberately not doing this.
TeleZüri a prudish broadcaster?
That has nothing to do with it. But Markus Gilli, Andreas Meili, Head of Electronic Media at Tamedia, and I agree that such a change to the program would dilute our positioning. The content of a channel must be predictable; at TeleZüri the audience expects news, talk and magazines. If we were to abandon this pattern after midnight, it would not strengthen our profile. I also fear that eroticism and soft porn would damage our image.
TeleZüri has more innocuous potential when it comes to the proportion of national advertising. Here, the Zurich station is far ahead of all other local television stations.
National advertising is very important to us. In January and February of this year, its share even rose to 90 percent. However, these are absolute peak values that will not continue at this level. For the current year, I expect the share of national advertising to be a good 70 percent, which is about the same as in 2003.
With this high proportion of national advertising, the catchment area - the densely populated and economically strong greater Zurich area - certainly plays a central role. How important are the clout and potency of TeleZüri's marketing department?
The requirements for selling advertising time are much higher than for marketing print media or radio. The TV market has completely different service and documentation requirements. Customers and media agencies expect postal checks and evaluations the day after broadcast - this is standard for television. This means that we have to offer the same quality and efficiency as the market leader, Publisuisse. Today, no TV marketer can avoid this high level of performance if they want to be among the advertising customers.
Not so long ago, however, TeleZüri cut TV research and added another position to its marketing department.
This does not mean any reduction in our service. The Tamedia research department, which is now doing the job for us, is doing it to the same extent and with the same quality as before. It was important for us to strengthen our sales team, which now consists of five people. Regional television is more time-consuming and labor-intensive to sell than any other type of TV. Because customers in Berne or Basel cannot receive our television, our consultants have to do more convincing work.
TeleZüri is the leader among local TV stations and always one step ahead of the others. Are the other local stations doing enough for their marketing?
If marketing is set up in the same way as for print or radio, I don't see it working. Because, for the reasons mentioned, you can't match the budgets of national advertising customers. There is no way around having to meet the high standards expected. I'm afraid that the marketing departments of most other local TV stations haven't really understood this yet.
But this is also bad for TeleZüri, because the Swiss-German broadcasters work the advertising market together in TeleNewsCombi (TNC).
The TeleNewsCombi is marketed by Radiotele, and they offer a comparable standard of service to Publisuisse and us.
What additional potential can TeleZüri expect from the TNC?
The TNC is absolutely important for us, both in terms of the image component and because of the additional revenue it brings us. Last year, around 15 percent of our advertising revenue came from the TNC. This year, this share is likely to grow to around 20 percent.
The joint reporting of major events and the exchange of broadcasts has worked well within the TNC. Do these stories also bring the desired commercial success?
Joint productions not only guarantee the high quality of the programs. They are also profitable in the advertising market. That is why offers in this area are certainly interesting. This year we will be broadcasting the Prix Walo (May 2) and Mister Switzerland (May 22) in a joint production. We are also trying to get a European Championship magazine off the ground together.
It is more difficult to place TeleZüri programs such as "SwissDate" or "Lifestyle" on the other channels. TeleBasel recently refused.
There is still an anti-Zurich reflex. But we don't have a "Zurich dictate". We intend to generate additional revenue for everyone with a successful format from our region. The others can acquire regional sponsors for these programs themselves. And if they don't, then each broadcaster will receive its share from us according to its performance.
Local television stations are soon to receive two or more million francs in fee money per year per station. However, this could quickly turn out to be a Trojan horse for marketing. With such a large grant, people don't try as hard ...
Our planning is not geared towards fees. However, the payment of fees is a clear requirement for us so that we can operate in the market on an equal footing with SRG. TeleZüri provides an important public service in the greater Zurich area, which is why we are entitled to fees. For me, however, they are by no means the light on the horizon. For me, more leeway in the commercial sector would be more important. For example, for more sales programs, for light alcoholic beverages or political advertising. It's not particularly interesting for the commercial boss to say: I take fees, but in return I'm subject to various restrictions. If the proportion of fees becomes current, the pros and cons will have to be carefully weighed up against each other.
Where should TeleZüri be in five years?
First we want to break even in 2005. After the political decision on fee contributions, the sales strategy must be reviewed. Then it will be a question of the size of the broadcasting areas. My dream is to increase the size of our license area.
Interview:
Tarkan Özküp, Head of Marketing at TeleZüri, is optimistic.
Daniel Schifferle

Competition The New York Festivals have announced a competition for print and outdoor advertising and design. The deadline for entries is February 16th.competition The New York Festivals have announced the competition for print and outdoor advertising and design. The deadline for entries is February 16. You can register at www.newyorkfestivals.
com. The winners will be announced in mid-June.

Out-of-home advertising A new campaign by APG and Publicis is set to boost the tepid poster market, with Media Focus figures proving what observant passers-by have long suspected: Out-of-home advertising has seen better times. In November 2003, the poster medium recorded a decline in gross advertising expenditure of nine percent, in December it even fell by 13.9 percent. With an annual total of around 402 million francs, posters recorded a loss of 5.2 percent in 2003 compared to the previous year. The declining figures in the statistics are also supported by shimmering silver poster sites or subjects that remain in place far beyond their deployment plan. For example, at a stop on Zurich's city streetcar line 7, there has been a poster for some time wishing the viewer a "Merry Christmas" with the movie "Finding Nemo".
With a new generic campaign, Allgemeine Plakatgesellschaft (APG) now wants to help out-of-home advertising gain new momentum. The number one in Swiss out-of-home advertising is also feeling the effects of customer restraint. APG's in-house agency Publicis is responsible for the implementation of the current campaign. "No matter what product you want to advertise, an APG poster always fits": the team led by CD Markus Gut dramatizes this statement with three poster strips that are glued together in such a way that the products depicted are placed in a new context. In this way, a jumbo jet is created from the tip of a ballpoint pen, a briefcase and an unfolded cell phone. And what looks like an office chair from a distance is actually a patchwork of cookie, wallet and bunch of keys. The new claim "An APG poster always fits" is intended to support the visual message.
The generic campaign, which comprises four subjects, has been on display since the
February 9 throughout Switzerland.
Over five percent decline for the poster medium in 2003: APG is now going on the offensive.

Simone Keller

Winterthur was always in Radio Top's reception areaDue to a mix-up at Publica Data, a serious error crept into the article "Ende der Schönfärberei" (WW 2/03, page 20). The article by Markus Knöpfli contained a section in which it was claimed that Radio Top had excluded the city of Winterthur from its reception area because it was in competition with Radio 24 and Energy Zurich. Publica Data proofread Markus Knöpfli's article and had even provided the impetus for this fatal section. Following a request by Radio Top on January 29, 2004 to print a counterstatement based on Art. 28g ZGB, Werbewoche, Publica Data and Radio Top agreed on the following correction: The city of Winterthur was always in Radio Top's reception area. However, between November 7, 2001 and November 30, 2003, the city of Winterthur was in Radio Munot's concession, which caused an unfortunate mix-up in the minds of Publica Data, which was literally perpetuated (most recently in Werbewoche on January 22, 2004). This means that the article's statement that Radio Top had excluded Winterthur from its reception area out of a calculation because it was in competition with Radio 24 and Energy Zurich is incorrect. Publica Data formally apologizes to Radio Top for the incorrect information and regrets the possible damage to Radio Top's image caused by this error.
Publica Data AG
Rolf Müller, Managing Director

Private TV Since the beginning of the year, the programs "SwissDate" and "Lifestyle" can be seen not only on Tele Züri, but on all Tele News Combi channels.Private TV Since the beginning of the year, the programs "SwissDate" and "Lifestyle" can be seen not only on Tele Züri, but on all Tele News Combi channels. Together with SF2's youth programs, they form the TrendPool. The first viewer figures and advertising values are now available. In the first four weeks, "Lifestyle" was watched by an average of 274,000 people (combined rating 3+). The highest figure was 30,000 people. For "SwissDate
the figures are 269,000 and 307,000 people respectively. The advertising values in the target group of 15 to 49-year-olds are still around 10% below the forecast values. "SwissDate" achieved 2.7 gross rating points (GRPs) per block, "Lifestyle" 2.8 GRPs. For the TrendPool
the value is 7.7 GRPs.

Barbla C. Schaerer has been Managing Director of the agency Trimedia Communications Zurich since the beginning of February. At the same time, she became a member of the Executive Board of the Swiss Trimedia network. Most recently, Schaerer was consulting group leader and member of the management board of Farner PR....
On May 1, Markus Baumgartner joins the team of the financial and business communications agency Vipr in Zurich as Partner and Senior Consultant.
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Patrick Naef and Danilo Crisetig joined the consulting team at Lesch + Frei in Zurich on February 1.
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Bernt Maulaz will take over as Head of Advertising for Migros' member newspapers from February 23. He replaces Hansruedi Lüscher, who has been in charge of advertising on an interim basis and is now Head of Controlling/Services.
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Sandro Rüegger becomes Head of Advertising Market Magazines at
Tamedia. Rüegger is currently Publishing Director of the program magazine TR7 and a member of the Executive Board of the Jean Frey Group.
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The book publishing house of the Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) is getting a new director. Hans-Peter Thür, previously publishing director of the Birkhäuser publishing house in Basel, is taking over from Walter Knöpfli, who is retiring.
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Riccarda Mecklenburg took over the management of Fricktaler Boten at the beginning of the year. Mecklenburg was most recently Head of AZ Fachverlage and a member of the Executive Board of the AZ Medien Group.
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The University of Art and Design Zurich (HGKZ) has appointed Ruedi Baur as a lecturer and head of the newly founded Institute of Design as of March 1.

Internet The Best of Swiss Web award will be presented for the 4th time on May 19, and the competition for the Swiss e-business and Internet industry will honor outstanding achievements in design, technology and business models in seven categories. The call for entries is open until March 5 at www.bestofswissweb.ch

Festivals The youth cultural event "Imagine" has been held in Basel for two years under the patronage of Terre des Hommes Switzerland, and the primary aim of the project, which is organized by young people for young people, is to highlight and break down prejudices. Under the motto "Rock against Racism", Jung von Matt/Limmat has turned the rules of musical notation on their head to publicize this year's festival. Contrary to standard musical notation, the creative minds combined a half note and an eighth note with a bar. The newly created sound with a white and black note head adorns various means of communication in a spray stencil look.