Radio marketing For the launch of the "new" local station Energy Zurich, Euro RSCG is bringing pop stars to Zurich - at least out of cardboard.The latest Radiocontrol data shows once again that Hitradio Z is number two in the rivalry with Radio 24. After 20 years of rivalry between the two private stations, Hitradio Z owner Goldbach Media now wants to bury the hatchet: Together with the French NRJ Groupe, the company is launching a new radio concept that will address the target group of 15 to 34-year-olds from mid-August under the name Energy Zurich (see also page 23).The Zurich branch of Euro RSCG has been entrusted with the introduction of the new radio concept. The team, led by Frank Bodin, knew how to make use of the connection to the international NRJ network during implementation. "As the largest and most important radio brand in Europe, Energy maintains direct contact with stars such as Robbie Williams, Shakira and Eminem," says Bodin.
And to give the advertising campaign for the "Weltstadtradio" an international touch, the creative team brought in a few stars from pop heaven. They will be posing at various locations in Zurich from mid-August. Albeit not made of flesh and blood, but as life-size cardboard figures. The cardboard stars can be seen not only in advertisements, but also "in the flesh" in the city on the Limmat. The launch campaign kicked off last Monday. Until the start of broadcasting on August 15, teaser posters promise the appearance of Eminem, Robbie Willliams, Pink and Christina Aguilera "everywhere in Zurich". The text posters are broken up with a sticker featuring the NRJ logo and the claim "Hit Music only!". In addition to the posters, advertisements and figures, radio and TV commercials were also used.
Simone Keller

Private radio To ensure that the conceptual changeover from Hitradio Z to the new NRJ program is clearly audible over the airwaves, "Hitradio Energy" has been broadcasting 89 hours of non-stop music, without news, without announcements, from Monday, August 11, 12 noon, until Friday, August 15, 5 a.m..

Self-promotion Now in its twelfth year, the Zurich agency Matter & Partner is "old enough to have seen it all" and young enough to face new challenges with vigor. This is demonstrated by the anniversary edition of the "little door-to-door cleaner". The cute little booklet shows a cross-section of the agency's creative work "over the last dozen years". Leafing through it, you will realize "that good ideas don't have an expiry date", says Daniel Matter. Nevertheless, the booklet is of course already out of date again, as Matter & Partner has been able to acquire new clients such as Novartis, Sobaco, the Swiss Press Association and Hegner AsiaConnect in recent weeks.

Publishers Since July, the Basel media group has been examining internal and external candidates to succeed Hans-Peter Platz as editor-in-chief of the Basler Zeitung (BaZ), who could lead the paper out of the crisis of falling circulation figures, NZZ am Sonntag has taken a closer look. One of the favorites is the head of the domestic editorial team, Lukas Schmutz. If an external candidate were to be appointed, it would definitely have to be someone from Basel. Roland Schlumpf, member of the editorial team at Tages-Anzeiger (TA) and Urs Buess, TA correspondent in Paris, are among those with a good chance.

Football advertisers The Aargauer Zeitung is canceling the 8th AZ Cup on August 29.24 advertising agencies have to keep their football teams in the dressing rooms. The reason: an FC Baden match is taking place on the same day, which is why the AZ Cup would have to leave the Esp stadium at 5 pm. Various options were discussed, but no satisfactory solution was found, said Ueli Eckstein, Head of Print Media at the AZ Medien Group. Next year the game will be played again.

Ringier The Ringier Magazines division was 700,000 francs below budget at the end of May, according to Ringier's in-house magazine Domo. The titles in French-speaking Switzerland in particular, but also Tele, lagged behind expectations. SI, Glückspost, Gesundheit-Sprechstunde and the German edition of Edelweiss are above budget.

For the fourth time, the Federal Department of Home Affairs and the Swissfilm Association are inviting entries for the Edi Swiss Commissioned and Advertising Film Award.In addition to the established categories of Commercials (cinema and TV spots) and Corporate (image, product and training films), Clips & Trailers (video clips, info trailers, TV design packages and subjects for electronic posters) will now be awarded. The deadline for entries is August 28. The awards will be presented on November 6. Entry forms and further information are available at www.edinet.ch.

Patriotism Several hundred thousand New Yorkers visited the Swisspeaks festival in the US metropolis in March and April, where the cultural showcase aimed to convey an image of a somewhat less staid Switzerland. According to the media in both the USA and Switzerland, the "memorable taste of contemporary Switzerland" did indeed leave the desired mark on US opinion leaders in the fields of culture, politics, business and science. Over 100 events in the fields of arts, lifestyle, business and education took place in New York. Reason enough for the organizers to record the Swisspeaks adventure in a catalog for the memory. The "Highlights from the swisspeaks Festival" have been published under the book title "altitude". This can be ordered from [email protected]. Many more photos and texts about the festival can also be found at this domain.

Private radio Private radio pioneer Roger Schawinski does not expect Energy Zurich to provide the necessary impetus for renewal for the ageing private radio station. And is thinking about a project of his own.WW Energy Zurich is looking for a way back to success by rejuvenating its target group. Does a radio format for 15- to 34-year-olds in the city of Zurich have a future?Roger Schawinski: I think so. Narrowing the target group certainly makes sense in a city like Zurich, which has several private radio stations.
Where do you see the risks of the format change to Energy Zurich?
The radio scene will not be enriched by this; if anything, it will become even more impoverished. There is a danger that radio will be leveled internationally and made even more devoid of content. When I listen to the Energy stations, everything there is always "sensational", "fantastic" and "super" - they can get away with three adjectives for 24 hours. That's meagre when you consider how important local radio used to be.
Another thing that cannot be explained away is the fact that the now
20-year-old private radio landscape in Switzerland is showing signs of fatigue: The number of listeners
have been crumbling away for two years - so it's high time for new ideas.
That's because we no longer had any innovation or the innovation was going in the wrong direction - the keyword being standardized. Radio as I did it was innovative. Today, however, it is being reduced to very few elements, and Energy will accelerate this process even further.
However, Radio 24 could benefit: if its former arch-competitor no longer explicitly targets the over-34s, it stands to reason that some of them will switch to 24.
That is certainly possible. But the younger positioning of the former Radio Z shows above all that the gap in coverage for the over-35s in Zurich is getting bigger and bigger: Now comes Energy Zurich, soon to be followed by the new youth radio station, we already have Radio 24 and DRS 3 - these are all radios for kids, not for adults. I'm noticing a total undersupply for people who want in-depth information and contributions that are sometimes longer than three minutes. This is the reason why I am campaigning for a radio station that focuses on the over-35s. The latest developments in the Zurich radio market confirm my demand.
How serious are you about this? The shortage of FM frequencies is a major obstacle.
There are enough frequencies. This is proven by the many permits for short experiments in the Zurich region. Now that Federal Councillor Leuenberger has announced a youth frequency for Zurich, I hope that he will do the same for a radio station for adults. As soon as this is the case, I will actively pursue the project. I have always made media that also appeals to me - today I have a strong connection to a radio station for the over-35s, just as I used to want to make a radio station for young people. Completely new forms could be developed here - and radio could be helped to soar again, as it once did.
Has only ever made media that appeals to him: Former Radio 24 owner Roger Schawinski.
Interview: Daniel Schifferle

Filmtheater Zurich's Metropol cinema was recently renovated and fitted with innovative equipment that represents a milestone in cinema entertainment. To publicize this innovation, Kitag, Kino-Theater AG, commissioned the Zurich agency Code, Werkstatt für Grafik, to develop a corresponding concept. This now runs under the claim "are you ready?" and shows a safety belt as a key visual. The safety belt is intended to suggest the genre of Metropol: even more breathtaking action, even more passionate scenes. Code also designed its own typeface for the Metropol. The campaign is on air until further notice with a TV, radio and cinema spot, posters, advertisements, animated film posters, a safety card and a merchandising Metropol belt.

The examination board of the Swiss Public Relations Association has awarded 23 candidates the diploma as a PR consultant, the last time this year that the examination was held under the old regulations. In April, 32 candidates were already examined in the basic subjects according to the new regulations, which came into force at the beginning of the year. To graduate next year, they will have to submit a thesis for the first time, which will have to deal with the topic of corporate governance in the broadest sense. A list of the newly qualified PR consultants can be found on the SPRG website.

The advertising time marketer Cinecom has expanded its website (www.cinecom .ch).The new Special Ads section provides detailed information on "Special Ads" advertising opportunities in the cinema and TV sectors. Sat 1's offering is also illustrated by sample trailers. Customers thus have a direct view of what exactly an "insert," a "splitscreen" or a "promotion trailer" is.