The St.Gallen communications agency Complecta was commissioned by K&W Software AG from Wallisellen to create a concept. K&W specializes in the development of IT solutions for banks and insurance companies. Complecta's first measures - multi-stage direct mailings - will be used for the Finance Forum 2003 trade fair on November 4-5. In the future, K&W intends above all to intensify the cultivation of existing contacts. The next step will be to determine the information needs of the target groups more precisely. Media work will also be strategically anchored by Complecta.

Traditional billposters are facing competition from companies that have nothing else to do with outdoor advertising: Since May of this year, the renovated Bern-Belp airport has been using ten 42-inch screens instead of billboards. These screens display information on flight operations, weather reports and commercials. The screens belong to the IT service provider Bison Systems in Sursee LU and are marketed by their partner company Publiscreen together with IP Multimedia.An example of how new companies do business in the domains of the previous outdoor advertisers. And there is more: At Kloten Airport, actually the territory of the outdoor advertiser Clear Channel Plakanda (CCP), Bison Systems operates six screens in a VIP lounge of the new Dock E, which run not only entertainment but also advertising.
Even cinema marketer Cinecom has been selling screens since September, to 50 independent kiosks in western Switzerland. It will soon also be equipping around 140 Coop service stations and Pronto stores throughout Switzerland with screens and marketing them. IP Multimedia is also present at 75 Tamoil gas stations. The interesting thing is that CCP holds exclusive rights for billboard advertising at Tamoil and Coop gas stations, as well as for small posters at independent kiosks. Now, however, other companies are gaining a foothold there - via the electronic billboard, of all things.
Citylights, a small outdoor advertiser, is also venturing among the screen providers and is now marketing three screens at highly frequented locations in Zurich. Twelve more are to follow by the end of the year. And the desire for screens is not even stopping at stadium advertising. For the past three weeks, Cinecom has been marketing two 12-square-meter screens and eight 42-inch plasma screens at the EV Zug ice hockey stadium. It is currently in negotiations with other stadiums. This list is not exhaustive and by no means reflects all the screen activities of the new providers. But the question arises: Did the large billposters miss the timely entry into the "small" screens (21 to 50 inches)?
Only targeted content will do the trick
But at CCP, which seems to be the most affected by this at the moment, CEO Beat Roeschlin is calm. "I admire the courage of all those who are jumping on this medium early, but I don't think we're hurting each other." He also doubts that screens will pay for themselves if they are used merely as a kind of removable medium. Advertising on screens, no matter what size, only works in combination with up-to-date information, similar to what Publiscreen is trying in Bern-Belp, he says. "Because in addition to the emotional element, there needs to be a rational element to get the consumer to look at all." Optimal target-group-specific content management, however, requires an editorial effort that is currently still too expensive. But once this becomes much more affordable for advertisers, "we too will convert some of our positions into digital communication platforms," says Beat Roeschlin.
Markus Knöpfli

Special advertising formats From November 3, regional and local advertising will also be possible on Canal Poste. The Post hopes that local customers will increase sales of this advertising channel by more than 50 percent.
For about a month now, they have no longer been in the post offices, the silver-gray columns with the tube screens on which Swiss Post used to broadcast advertising spots, weather information and TV program notes for its waiting customers. But Canal Poste, as the Post calls its entertainment system, is not obsolete. It is being modernized. It will be relaunched on November 3. In one fell swoop, 320 21-inch flat screens on steles are to be put back into operation in over 200 larger post offices in German- and French-speaking Switzerland. Gradually, the so far canal-free Ticino will also be opened up. "There is certainly still potential there," says Andreas Etter, responsible for market development at Canal Poste.
The "relaunch" is associated with a number of changes - firstly of a technical nature: previously, Canal Poste's "program" was broadcast like a TV program and transmitted terrestrially, and the system was correspondingly inflexible. Canal Poste is now integrated into the Post's IT system, which means that each screen can be controlled individually.
This in turn changes the advertising offering: In addition to a nationwide network and one regional language network each for German-speaking and French-speaking Switzerland, Canal Poste now also offers nine regional networks and five city networks. The initial booking always runs for 14 days, after which individual weeks are also possible. Local advertising, i.e. the booking of individual screens, is now also possible - for small businesses that only want to advertise in their immediate vicinity.
However, it is precisely from this customer segment that Swiss Post expects the big turnover. Canal Poste is expected to bring in a total of around four million francs next year, almost three times as much as it generated in 2002: 1.4 million francs. Etter expects more than 50 percent of total sales to come from local advertising alone. "In any case, sales in this area have started very well," he confirms.
Since for the time being the same number of screens will be installed as before, Canal Poste's nationwide reach will remain the same. The prices for the national and regional language networks will certainly not change until the end of 2004, explains Etter (see table). And no matter which network is chosen, the per-second CPM for 14 days is always 50 centimes everywhere. The spots can also be combined with dispensers at the screens for an additional charge.
No more philosophers
Canal Poste is also introducing new content: The slogan of the day and the TV tips are being dropped without replacement, and for the time being the company is limiting itself to news, weather information and commercials - all without sound, of course. Depending on the number of spots, a loop lasts seven to nine minutes. This is roughly equivalent to the average waiting time in post offices. For news, Canal Poste is now working with major regional dailies, whose editorial teams can freely compile the international, regional and local news and update it three times a day. "Even for news about the Post, there are no restrictions," Etter assures. But these exist for advertising spots, because Post's own products are not to be competed with in post offices. "Postfinance's activities are of course restrictive," says Etter. In other words, there will be hardly any bank advertising on Canal Poste.
Canal Poste has been on offer since 1997. The acquisition of advertising time was initially entrusted to an external company, but since 1999 Swiss Post has been running the sale itself. The Factum agency in Zurich also has an acquisition mandate. This remains the case, with one exception: The company P-Mediateam in Saland was founded specifically for the apparently lucrative local advertising. Although it is not a Swiss Post subsidiary and does not have an exclusive contract, it does have close ties with Swiss Post.
Shall become attractive for local traders: Canal Poste.
Andreas Etter.
Commercials on Canal Poste National network post offices Customer frequency/2 weeks Basic price*
Switzerland 204 2194500 1097.-German-speaking Switzerland 163 1609608 805.-
Western Switzerland 41 580272 290.-Regional networks Geneva 15 184668 92.-
Vaud 14 173636 87.-Jura 10 108592 54.-Bern 19 211190 105.-Mitelland 17 149578 75.-Basel 21 236776 119.-Zurich 65 821634 411.-Central Switzerland 19 151196 76.-Eastern Switzerland 6 174482 87.-City Networks City of Lausanne 11 138040 69.-City of Bern 16 137778 87.-City of Basel 10 151548 76.-City of Zurich 31 336842 169.-City of Lucerne 6 70706 36.-Swiss Cities** 89 1055584 528.
*The price corresponds to one second of broadcasting over a period of 2 weeks.** The Swiss Cities network includes Lausanne, Bern, Lucerne, Basel and Zurich as well as the city of Geneva.
Source: Swiss Post
Markus Knöpfli

The event week got off to a great start with a wine tasting of the finest quality. The Reader's Digest publishing house invited customers to the cozy but slightly chilly Mövenpick wine cellar in Zollikon, where they were served wine stories from the cellar master as well as great wines - and the odd bit of news. For example, it was revealed that Christoph Meier, who had just been rationalized out of his position as head of media at FCBLK, had joined Carat a few days later, and it was later revealed why publishing director Tamara Tschuor had quietly and secretly left the wine tasting: she organized some radiators in record time so that her guests would not lose their enjoyment due to their clammy fingers.
There was also plenty to enjoy at the SonntagsZeitung gambling night, which was held in the tried and tested manner: All those present were given 40000 Lucky Dollars as play money, which had to be increased within two hours. Some guests came up with complex strategies that they had prepared in advance. Others tried the lucky punch and bet everything on one number - only to immediately head to the bar if they failed and indulge in the Davidoffs on offer for the rest of the evening.
Sandra Haldi and Thomas Rüttimann played the best. The 500-franc book voucher from Orell Füssli should be just right for Haldi. She has already won a crate of wine at the Idée-VfW golf tournament - so there would be plenty of varied material for winter evenings by the fireplace. And Rüttimann's
The winner's check, a 1000-franc voucher for wine shopping, will probably soon be used for its final purpose. Which brings us full circle to the beginning of this story.
Blackjack winning hand with 21 points - whoever saw this more often was placed in the crowns.
Beat Fritschliess was seduced into indulgence and idleness last week.
At the Caves Mövenpick, Reader's Digest hosted a broadly based
Tasting - the tasting ranged from simple Languedoc wines to Vega Sicilia. The SonntagsZeitung, on the other hand, hosted its annual Gambling Night in the trendy Säulenhalle.
Where the communications, media and publishing industries meet for their events is where we locate the various events on the scene. Do you already have something to report? Pick up the phone (01 296 97 98) or hit the keys ([email protected]). Event tips and further shortlist images are available online at www.werbewoche.ch.
Christoph Meier informed Ruedi Geisselhardt (l.) and Paolo Placa (r.) from Reader's Digest about his recent job change.

Stephan Küng (l.), Initiative Media, and Guido Wietlisbach, OgilvyOne, were delighted with the wines on offer.
A deep look into the glass: Manuela Gadient, MG Organizations, Rolf Koller, Koller Della Piana Consulting, and Gerda Schröck (from left), Wirz.
Daniel Pauletto (left), amateur croupier and SoZ sales manager, with entertainer Dave Hertig, former SoZ business editor.
The winners of the Gambling Night: Sandra Haldi, By Heart, Thomas Rüttimann, Zip Media, and Isabelle Kropf (from left), Publicitas.
SonntagsZeitung customer advisor Kurt Birrer with Jacqueline Gervasi, Advertising Manager at Konica Minolta Photo Imaging.
Emmi advertiser Torsten Fankhänel (l.) with Claudia Wilden, Cinecom, and Publimedia marketing manager Markus Ehrle.
Jridé Huber with Filippo Giarratana (l.) and Thomas Lang - who is looking forward to a longer trip to South America - from Dipl. Ing. Fust.
In the sofa corner: Simon Walter, Wirz, Mascha Müller, AD at Prime Communications, and Jean Pierre Kuhn (from left) from DD Com AG.
Yes, yes...luck in love - Sabine Widmer from Metzger Lehner and boyfriend Ivan Schwendener were soon broke.
Ex-Publicis meeting at the Gambling Night bar: Imre Sinka, Lajos Vizner, Reto Alborghetti and Stefan Maegli (from left).
Guido Käppeli from Schweizer Touristik gambled together with freelance communications consultant Andrea Waltzer.
Reto Dürrenberger (left) and Daniel Izquierdo provided Janine Wettstein, Head of Communications at Smart, with gaming tips.
Publimedia-GL member Moreno Cavaliere with Andi Schaerer, Bürgi & Partner, and Sandro Prezzi (from left) from Optimedia.
The charming Gambling Night reception committee: Laura Colazzo, Angelika Heilemann and Martina Canonica (from left).

"Trendpool" is the name of a new TV package marketed by Publisuisse and Radiotele for young target groups, comprising the advertising blocks before the youth programs on SF 2 and before "Lifestyle" and "Swissdate" on the Tele-News-Combi channels. The pool must be booked in both programs with the same spot in the same week. The combined discount is 10 percent.

Gastronomy Sina and Tommaso Sanso's Tabule, Alrahib and Hommo's Beiruti - known as Mezzeh - are still only known to insiders and Mediterranean-inspired food critics, but the creatives at Spillmann Felser Leo Burnett want more of them. The agency created a poster for "their" Lebanese restaurant, "Palme de Beirut". Emptily eaten bowls stacked on top of each other form the trunk of a Lebanese palm tree. They also redesigned the restaurant's exterior signage, the menu and business cards as well as a mailing.

Travel accessories Katadyn, manufacturer of portable water purification systems, is launching a Viva campaign to call for more caution when drinking water.The rule of thumb for tropical travelers to boil or peel food is still valid. Even a small number of pathogens can cause Montezuma's revenge for globetrotters accustomed to hygiene: Diarrhea of the worst kind. This is especially true when it comes to water consumption: according to the World Health Organization, 80 percent of all travel-related illnesses can be traced back to contaminated drinking water. "The only thing the water found on the road often has in common with our water quality is that it is wet," says Adrian Schmassmann, CEO of Katadyn Produkte AG. The Wallisellen-based company has been developing portable drinking water treatment systems for 75 years. With an annual turnover of around 31 million Swiss francs and subsidiaries in Germany, France, Singapore and the USA, the company dominates 52 percent of the global market in this category of water treatment technology.
Europe-wide campaign
The CEO is convinced that many travelers still attach too little importance to the quality of drinking water.
A Europe-wide advertising campaign and an information brochure will be launched this fall to alert travelers to the dangers of contaminated drinking water - and to raise awareness of Katadyn products.
The agency team from Viva, Zurich, is responsible for the implementation, which identifies drinking troughs and murky ponds as sources of drinking water with a Katadyn sign. This should make even the last camel realize that almost any water can be made drinkable through disinfection and filtration. But not only tropical travelers are addressed. Despite strict hygiene regulations, not every spring is safe to drink here in Switzerland either: the Swiss municipalities of Kaltbrunn SG, Stein SG and Rohrbach BE recently hit the headlines for drinking water contamination.
Simone Keller

Following a competitive presentation, Coop entrusted Agentur01 in Bern with a partial budget for 12 full-page advertisements. The Swiss Red Cross is now also one of Agentur01's clients, and a TV commercial to promote World Red Cross Day is being planned, while the agency is also responsible for all communication measures for Gurtenbahnen, the IT company Planix and Seco BWK.

Beverage marketing Sulzer Sutter created a new brand world for Rivella's Michel fruit juice brand with sitcom-style TV commercials to wake Michel fruit juices from their slumber. Almost every bartender in Switzerland uses them to spice up their cocktail creations. The fruity thirst quenchers are also available on the drinks shelves of supermarkets. However, the brand owner, beverage multinational Rivella in Rothrist, was not satisfied with the market share. Product Manager Ana Labella wants to change that. "We were looking for an umbrella brand presence that could be used across all media in the long term," she explains. The aim of the advertising campaign across the nation's screens was to make the Michel brand appear younger and more dynamic. In addition to the three soft drinks red, blue and green, Rivella already markets 15 different types of fruit juice under the Michel label. The Sulzer Sutter advertising agency has now developed a basic concept that will "open up a world of its own for Michel fruit juices in the long term", as CD Felix Dammann explains. The idea is implemented via a character called Michel. This likeable young man not only embodies the brand, but is also the owner of a fruit juice store of the same name. The agency has various sitcom commercials filmed there. Four episodes were filmed in the first season. In the commercial "The Autograph", Michel is established as a personality when two boys ask him for an autograph. In "The Trick", a juggler shows how he can juggle three different fruits. Michel can of course offer this much more easily as a mix in a small bottle. In "Questions about questions", someone wants to know the difference between a peach and a nectarine. And in "The sight", Michel's store is visited by Japanese tourists as a Swiss sight.
Mais oui, Michel is Swiss
All of the films were shot by Condor Communications in Winterthur's "Café Alltag". The location will also serve as a backdrop in the future, as Sulzer Sutter hopes that the sitcom series will "continue over the next few years". Actor Christian Weber slipped into the role of Michel. The aim of the commercials is to make consumers realize that Michel is a genuine Swiss brand, as Ana Labella explains. "Most people assume a French product from the name." The only thing that is true is the linguistic proximity: The label goes back to the Michel family, who pioneered the bottling of fruit juices in portions in glass bottles for the hospitality industry in western Switzerland back in 1929. Following the takeover by Rivella, these juices can now benefit from an extensive distribution network. So far, however, the logo of the parent company Rivella can only be seen in small letters on the Michel bottles. "We are still discussing how to illustrate the link more prominently in future," says Labella. In contrast to Rivella, which is sold in countries close to the border (Vorarlberg, Burgundy or southern Germany) as well as in Holland and Luxembourg, the Michel brand will initially only be available in Switzerland. As soon as the brand is strong enough, it will make forays abroad.
The logo of the parent company Rivella is to be even more clearly recognizable on Michel bottles.
Rivella advertises with a store for Michel juices.
Andreas Panzeri

Print The Swiss media group Ringier acquires the Serbian daily newspaper Blic.Print The Swiss media group Ringier acquires the Serbian daily newspaper Blic. The tabloid newspaper has a circulation of 120000 copies and is read by 2.2 million people. Ringier is taking over 74.9 percent, which was previously held by the German publishing house Gruner+Jahr. The minority shareholder remains the
Austrian investment house Vienna Capital Partners. Also in other
Eastern European countries, Ringier is acquiring holdings from Gruner+Jahr, which intends to concentrate on magazines in Eastern Europe in the future. In
In Romania, it is the Expres publishing house with an affiliated printing plant, which also publishes the daily newspaper Evenimentul Zilei with a circulation of 110000 copies. In Slovakia, Ringier increases its stake in the tabloid Novy Cas from 49 to 100 percent. Novy Cas has a circulation of 154,000 copies and a readership of over one million. In the Czech Republic, Ringier buys back its 25 percent stake in its publishing and printing companies.

Samuel Helbling on the succession of Facts boss Hannes BritschgiThe Weltwoche had already had its last rites. Seven years of declining readership, a change of ownership and finally a circulation of 85,000 copies - the fate of the traditional title seemed sealed. Facts, on the other hand - shrill, aggressive and colorful - sailed to success.
Together with SonntagsZeitung, the news magazine was considered the most successful new launch on the Swiss press market.
Facts is now on the brink of collapse, and as a result editor-in-chief Hannes Britschgi has been sent packing. Because of
"differing views on the further development", as it says in Tamedia's brief communiqué. The next day, the
Tages-Anzeiger was right to say that Britschgi had not made it,
Facts a convincing, attractive profile.
In the beginning, the news magazine thrived on the punch that renegade
Weltwoche editors brought to the paper. Stefan Barmettler, who has been appointed editor-in-chief ad interim, is one of them. Whether he is
Man of continuity and trust enough ideas and
conceptual power to reposition the title is something he must now prove. In the meantime, the carousel of candidates will continue to turn. Within Tamedia alone, there are already two viable candidates: One is Res Strehle, editor-in-chief of the magazine, who, as Roger Köppel's successor, has confidently developed the Tages-Anzeiger's Saturday supplement and given it new drive. But also Roger de Weck, who is omnipresent with his commentaries as an advisor or "editor-in-chief without function" and writes for German, French and Swiss newspapers. As the former head of Tages-Anzeiger and Die Zeit, he also has a good network, management and editorial experience.
Leadership experience like few journalists. The sting of Roger Köppel being named the "greatest talent in Swiss journalism" by Die Zeit is likely to remain deep-seated and spur on the grand seigneur's ambition to return to the lowlands of editorial work.
descend.
> Samuel Helbling, Editor-in-Chief

Rates The three Ticino daily newspapers Giornale del Popolo, Corriere del Ticino and La Regione Ticino are raising their advertising rates slightly.4180 francs (+2.2%) from 2004 for a black and white page at Giornale, 4620 francs (+1.9%) at Corriere and 4680 francs (+2%) at La Regione. For a four-color advertising page, Giornale now charges CHF 6590 (+1.4%) gross, Corriere CHF 7500 (+1.6%) and La Regione CHF 7460 (+1.6%). This increases the thousand-reader price (TLP) of Corriere and Giornale, both of which have lost some readers, while La Regione can boast a stable price-performance ratio thanks to an increase in reach. (mk)