Ouch! The ad for the aid organization Médécins sans Frontières really got under your skin.Blocher thwarted: ad for the weekly newspaper WOZ.
All right, sports fans: tourism advertising for the Alpenarena Flims, Laax, Falera.
Lonely top: subject for the famous Grand Hotel Zum Dolder in Zurich.
Who invented it? SFLB for Feldschlösschen, of course.
Kässelischlager: Growing together - image campaign for the Swiss cantonal banks.
A little bit of imposture is allowed: Advertisement for a Lebanese restaurant.

Internet The Swiss remain the European champions in Internet use by a wide margin.
The Internet continues to gain ground. According to the latest edition of the "Pan European Internet Survey", the proportion of Swiss people who used the Internet at least once in 2003 rose to 63.2%. A year earlier, the figure was 57 percent. With an increase of almost 11 percent, Switzerland has positioned itself at the top. At a considerable distance from the UK, which only has 51.8%. Germany (49.5 percent) and France (45.3 percent) follow at a slight distance, with web usage significantly lower in the other three countries evaluated: In Austria, 41.1 percent, in Belgium 37 percent and in Spain only 29.7 percent of the population aged 14 and over logged on to the Internet at least once in 2003.
Shrinking growth rates
Overall, however, as the new medium matures, the growth rates no longer reach the high levels that were still a reality between 2001 and 2002. In that period, both France and Austria experienced growth of 25 percent or more; between 2002 and 2003, this figure was only 6.5 percent and 5 percent respectively. Only the Spanish, the most Internet-lazy clientele in Europe, obviously have some catching up to do. The highest growth rate of 14% was achieved here in 2003.
Switzerland is also ahead of other European countries in terms of the frequency of internet use. For example, 36.7% of the Swiss population were connected to the Internet "yesterday". In Belgium and France, this figure is just under 20%, in Austria and Germany only slightly higher.
Cars and real estate stagnate
When examining the motivation for Internet use in Switzerland, the e-mail function still emerges as the most important. However, it has only increased slightly to 82% (basis: ENK = daily, almost daily/several times a week). On the other hand, checking job advertisements has increased significantly, with 39.6% of respondents now doing so. In the previous year, this figure was only 34.6%.
A ray of hope for newspapers is the fact that the use of classified ads on the internet is no longer increasing across the board. For example, the search for housing offers has already fallen slightly to 4.9% of mentions. And browsing online car markets has also stagnated at 4 percent.
Another indication of the flattening self-cannibalization of print media is the lower percentage of articles retrieved from newspapers or magazines. This fell from 19 to 18.2 percent.
However, there are also signs of a certain saturation in other popular functions. Obtaining timetable information, for example, has declined slightly (from 14.7% to 14.3%). The online purchase of products or services also shrank from 5.1% to 4.7%.
Internet banking did not fare much better, stagnating at 11.1%. However, the online medium suffered the most significant loss of importance when it came to obtaining stock market prices: Only 12.7% still used it for this purpose, compared to 16.3% between April and September 2001.
Pan European Internet SurveysThe "Pan European Internet Surveys" were launched in June 2000 with the intention of harmonizing the measurement of Internet use, i.e. generating comparable data. The third edition of the study, which has just been published, has practically achieved this goal. A total of seven countries are taking part in the "Pan European Internet Surveys": Switzerland, Germany, Austria, France, Belgium, England and Spain. (dse)
The Swiss are the most diligent Internet users in Europe.
Daniel Schifferle

The airline Swiss Air Lines has appointed Willy Schnyder as Vice President Marketing and Sales Market Switzerland. He replaces Stefan Gutknecht, who takes over the newly created position of Vice President Marketing and Sales Trirhena (Basel tri-border region). ...
Since the beginning of the year, Urs Freudiger (photo) has been Managing
Director of Pro Werbe Productions AG. The former Sunrise executive will succeed Reinhard Vissa, who will take over the strategic management of Pro Werbe Holding AG together with Martin Högger.
...
Sabrina Visintin has been Head of Marketing and Communications at SRG's online service Swissinfo/SRI since the beginning of the year. She replaces Virginie Carniel, who is leaving the company.
....
The Blue Spirit marketing agency in Schlieren has appointed Arne Völker as
Creative Director. He joins the Executive Board.
...
Michael Zentner has been working as AD and graphic designer at the Lucerne advertising agency Fruitcake since the beginning of the year. Susanne Unseld has left the agency's creative department.
...
New faces at the Biel-based web service provider Aseantic: Bernardo Egli is the new Sales Director, Karin Lange is responsible for marketing and PR, and Alain Willimann is Chief Technical Officer and responsible for production planning, training and internal development projects. Artur P. Schmidt, previously Communication Director and Partner, has left the company.
...
Project Director Patrick Haertsch and Technical Director Bertil von Arx have taken over the management of Pixelpark (Schweiz) AG. Marcel Altherr is leaving the company.

Beauty The chemical group Beiersdorf Switzerland has entrusted Grey Direct Concept with two project accounts. The Baden-based agency is responsible for direct marketing for the personal care brands Nivea Vital and Nivea Baby. Grey prevailed against three competitors in a competitive presentation.

Food & Beverage The International Food and Beverage Creative Excellence Awards (FAB Awards) are being announced for the 6th time, focusing on creative work for food and beverages in the categories of advertising, packaging and new media. The competition runs until February 16. For the first time, an all-inclusive package is being offered: Unlimited work can be submitted for 4500 pounds. This includes a table for ten people at the awards ceremony. Information is available at [email protected] or by calling 0044 20 7751 0354.

Festival On April 16 and 17, 2004, the Spotlight International TV Spot and Advertising Film Festival will be held for the seventh time.The "Euregio Bodensee" festival will be held in Friedrichshafen for the first time. The submitted works will be judged by an audience jury and an expert jury. Since 2000, Spotlight for students has supplemented the main event with an independent competition for film students. Information at [email protected] and tel. 0049 751 366 65 11.

Marketer IP Multimedia (Switzerland) is adapting its organization to changing customer needs.
The Küsnacht-based marketing company IP Multimedia (Switzerland) has radically restructured its organization. It now consists of eight business units. Six of these are sales units that report directly to IPM Managing Director Michi Frank. The two remaining units, "Business Development" and "Marketing", are under the overall responsibility of Marcel Bosshard, COO and deputy to Frank. The core of the new division philosophy is that the consulting and sales organization is now structured according to media. "This allows us to provide customers with better technical support," explains IPM spokeswoman Bettina Singeisen. "This is because a responsible specialist now looks after the customer from consulting and planning through to processing and controlling." Despite the focus on individual media, cross-media solutions will continue to be offered from a single source.
With the reorganization, IPM is also rectifying the delicate and much-criticized situation in radio marketing. Responsibility for the national radio placement business and the marketing of Energy Zurich are now separate.
The Energy Zurich team, headed by Patrick Kaczynski, is now exclusively responsible for marketing its own station. Marcel Zwahlen is now in charge of national radio placement. "With this separation, IP Multimedia is demonstrating its neutrality in the radio agency business," says Bettina Singeisen.
There has also been a change in the television sector. With immediate effect, the TV business in German-speaking Switzerland will be managed by Rolf Suter. In French-speaking Switzerland, Raoul Gerber is responsible for all media (TV, radio, ad screen).
Separation in radio marketing
In addition, the "Ad Screen Marketing" unit was created for the rapidly growing screen networks under the management of Martin Schlenker. Another new addition is the "IP Productions" department, which is headed by the former Head of Sales Mehmet Inan. It is exclusively responsible for new and innovative advertising platforms. The "Ahead" advertising program on MTV and the "Amped Champ" campaign, which aims to get young people excited about a snowboarding video game with events, TV reports, websites and cross-media accompanying advertising, are just two examples of what comes out of Inan's kitchen.
There will be no changes in the management of the two non-sales units: Fredy Grau will continue to head up Business Development, while Paul Riesen will be responsible for Marketing, Communications, Product Management and Research.
Daniel Schifferle

Publishers The Zurich-based asset management company Albin Kistler Partner (AKP) increased its stake in Dietschi AG, publisher of the Oltner Tagblatt, by just under 2 percent last week.publishers The Zurich-based asset management company Albin Kistler Partner (AKP) increased its stake in Dietschi AG, publisher of the Oltner Tagblatt, by just under 2 percent last week. The target of 10 percent has almost been reached, co-owner André Kistler told Werbewoche. Dietschi had spoken out against the AKP offer and prevented advertisements in the Mittelland Zeitung, whereupon AKP switched to posters.

Guest commentary The advertising mecca of Zurich is slowly but surely mutating into the Swiss "Sim City", fears Hansruedi Schiesser.
I am a simulation consultant. I used to be a communications consultant. Even earlier - as a child - I learned what a simulator is and does on the football pitch. Unlike today in the communications industry, however, one swallow does not make a spring back then. However, most fake communicators today can't even find the right pitch. This social cacophony is orchestrated, no: conducted, by our industry. It is also mainly responsible for the information thrombosis from which our economy suffers.
The more unimaginative the concepts, the more illusory their (competition)
Presentation. I was recently a jury member at an important pitch for Zurich: 90 percent of the time and energy was spent on simulating oh-so-surprising and convincing basic ideas. Yes, semantic pathos can often take the place of a supporting idea. The world wants to be deceived, who knows that better than advertisers.
But lest you think that "Zurich - Sim-City" is the secret capital of this movement: simulations are everywhere - not just at the airport. Prospective marketing planners are actually already taking a "simulation test" there: practice makes perfect ... And recently, Federal Councillor Deiss gave a lecture on innovation in Graubünden; the main thing is that no one tries to do what you can't do.
There is a lot to learn from the Swiss parties in this respect. One particularly grotesque delicacy is the simulated leadership strength of the party leaders. So is the highest level of simulation a lie? Seen in this light, we deserve our Blocher. The old steamy chatterbox Stöhlker used to say that we need a leader. I know, I know: political communication should not be like that.
be authentic, like Nelson Mandela is, but like Harry Hasler wants to be. That's why we now have a Federal Councillor for the Harry Haslers of the economy.
A few years ago, I gave a lecture on staging in tourism at a business school. With ironic PowerPoint slides and over-accurate market data, according to which 83% of the industry was of the opinion that staging was the marketing tool of the future. This nonsense was subsequently quoted seriously on various occasions. In other words, journalists and managers alike are blinded by significant pretension and pseudo-science.
Even the Bündner Plättli in Zurich's Kunsthaus restaurant is now called "staging". It is unlikely that Jean Baudrillard, who coined the term "simulacrum", ever had a snack there. So ultimately, everything is a sham and we are part of a universal simulation. Regardless of this, I call for a little more old-fashioned, honest communication in a year that is no longer quite so new. After all, there is a real world - as the Matrix said to Obelix.
> Hansruedi Schiesser is the owner of Trimarca Kommunikation, Chur.

Messe Basel will host the second DigitaldruckForum Congress on March 18, which is dedicated to innovative and creative application scenarios for digital printing technologies in corporate communications. It is aimed at brand and communication experts who want to talk to IT, digital printing and design specialists. The Mainz-based company Andreas Weber Global Communication is behind the DigitaldruckForum-Congress. It is supported by Basler-Zeitung-Medien, among others. Information and registration are available at www.digitaldruck-forum.org/congress

Soft drink The Unikat communications agency in Küsnacht promotes cider. Unikat won the national apple juice contract awarded by the Swiss Fruit Association in August 2003.softdrink The Unikat communications agency in Küsnacht promotes cider. Unikat has won the national apple juice contract awarded by the Swiss Fruit Association in August 2003. Unikat is now working on numerous integrated communication measures. The first implementations will be seen in the spring, including a national TV campaign.

Internet The PWA index on the development of Swiss advertising expenditure on the Internet recorded the strongest growth of the entire year in December. It rose by 1.1 points to 103.2 points, clearly exceeding expectations, writes online marketer Publimedia Webadvertising (PWA). The index is reset to 100 points at the end of each year.