Consumer press René Schuhmacher's conglomerate of consumer titles is growing briskly: Undeterred by the ailing advertising market and tighter purse strings, Konsumenteninfo AG is continuing to expand its range of titles even in difficult times. And this with its money and investor magazine K-Geld, of all things, which was launched on the market together with other financial publications in the euphoric environment of the stock market bubble, but in contrast to Germany, for example, where many of these titles were deleted, redimensioned or integrated into other titles, K-Geld has developed magnificently. Initially launched in autumn 2000 as a bi-monthly magazine, it has since established itself as a monthly title - with over 42,000 certified copies currently in circulation.
The next stage of expansion has already been completed in recent weeks: The money magazine is taking the leap across the language border and, with Tout Compte Fait, is now also teaching the French-speaking world how to deal successfully with insurance, inheritances, pensions and funds.
However, it is not Konsumenteninfo AG that publishes the French-speaking Swiss version, but Edition Plus GmbH, based in Lausanne. The company, owned by Hans Räz, was founded by the former "Kassenstürzler" in 1999 - for the launch of Bon à Savoir, the French-speaking Swiss sister magazine to K-Tip, Konsumenteninfo AG's main title.
The recipe for this form of partner magazine, as now practised by Tout Compte Fait, comes from the franchising kitchen. Konsumenteninfo AG has been successfully operating partnerships based on this model in Ticino since 1996 and in French-speaking Switzerland since 2000 (see box).
In terms of content, Tout Compte Fait presents itself as an independent magazine with a regional focus. As a result, only a small amount of content will be taken over from K-Geld. "We assume that over 90 percent of the content will be produced by our Bon à Savoir editorial team in Lausanne - with topics from and for French-speaking Switzerland," explains publisher Räz. In order to cope with the additional workload, the editorial team has been increased by six positions.
Tout Compte Fait's target group is readers with higher incomes or assets "who want to manage their money wisely or spend it on nice things", according to the media documentation. Critical and independent articles are intended to provide information on money, wealth and real estate issues, offer help in the insurance jungle and provide advice on tax and inheritance matters. As with almost all money magazines, Tout Compte Fait also includes a section showing how to spend the money saved - thanks to careful management. For example, for the wine cellar.
Regional advertising acquisitionThe new magazine is printed by AZ in Aarau. The full-page ad (b/w or four-color) costs 4800 francs. There is a generous introductory discount of 50 percent for the June and July issues. Tout Compte Fait operates on two tracks when it comes to marketing: KI Media in Zurich is responsible for the national advertising market, while the local advertising market in French-speaking Switzerland is handled by Edition Plus in Lausanne.
As with the launch of K-Geld, the market opportunities for Tout Compte Fait were clarified in advance. To this end, a pilot of around 20,000 copies was distributed in January - including to Bon à Savoir subscribers. The positive response led to the decision to launch the first large print run, in which over 600,000 copies were distributed to practically all households in French-speaking Switzerland in May - with an invitation to subscribe to Tout Compte Fait.
The results of this subscription advertising campaign are still pending. However, it is already certain that the next two issues will only be sent to subscribers acquired through this distribution campaign. A further large-circulation mailing is not planned until after the summer break (September 24). However, Räz explains that this second promotional campaign is not yet definite: "Whether it will happen or not depends on the response to the May mailing." However, the aim is to generate 20,000 to 25,000 paid subscriptions by the end of the year.
Helps Romands through the money jungle: Tout Compte Fait.

Schuhmachers PauschalenRené Schuhmachers Konsumenteninfo AG has managed to successfully take its titles across both the Alps and the Röstigraben. All without own investments, but with clever contracts.
In Ticino, consumer advocate Matteo Cheda has made a name for himself as a loyal and successful implementer of shoemaker concepts. The title Spendere Meglio, launched in 1996, was followed by L'Inchiesta in 1999 and Scelgo io at the beginning of 2002. Cheda's publishing house is also legally independent, but draws content from Konsumenteninfo AG's titles. Hans Räz is doing exactly the same in French-speaking Switzerland. He founded Edition Plus GmbH there for the launch of Bon à Savoir, which he owns 100 percent.
The cooperation is always regulated according to the same pattern: There is a cooperation agreement that entitles the partner magazines to use as much content from the Konsumenteninfo titles as they wish. This is paid for via an annual lump sum. (dse)
Daniel Schifferle

The advertising marketer Affinity-Primemedia (APM) in Savigny has expanded its range of services. APM can now also book outdoor advertising in ski resorts, acting as the Swiss representative of the Dutch company Media Mountain. Its network currently covers 160 ski resorts in the Alps. The offer ranges from small posters on ski lift masts to LED displays, perimeter advertising and free postcards through to sponsorship concepts.

Future research Time is increasingly becoming a status symbol and therefore marketable. There was a consensus on this at the 8th German Trend Day: "He only knows what time is as long as he is not asked about it", confessed church father Augustine over 1600 years ago. For the aphorist Karl Kraus, "time" was one of those miracle words for which the following applied: "The closer you look at them, the further back they look." It is no easy task, even for trend researchers, to get to grips with this phenomenon that is as fleeting as it is fundamental - even though this guild, which is particularly affected by the rampant loss of trust, pokes around in the fog of terms by profession. "Eigenzeit: Aufschwung durch eine neue Zeitökonomie" (Self-time: Upswing through a new time economy) was the promise of the Hamburg conference program, which was demonstratively bathed in optimistic magenta. However, the color scheme turned out to be a miscalculation on the part of the Trend Office in charge of the event, as the company responsible for this corporate
Color associated Deutsche Telekom had just announced the day before that it wanted to cut its marketing budget by 100 million euros.
Janus-faced timeNorbert Bolz opened the series of speakers with the thesis of an already existing two-tier society. If you believe the Berlin marketing philosopher, the guiding principle of the old economy "time is money" can now be interpreted in two ways: "The winners of the new economy sacrifice money in order to save time; the losers, on the other hand, invest time in order to save money." In concrete terms: while some spend hours searching the internet for the ultimate airline discount, others book the first business flight that comes along. Or have it booked.
So instead of "time is money", in future it will be "time or money". As unequal as these basic resources are: Ultimately, at least every social class seems to retain its class-specific luxury - in the sense of what one always lacks. In the case of stressed managers (new German: flexists), this is known to be health sooner or later. This inspired bestselling author Reinhard K. Sprenger to say in his lecture: "First we run after money with our health and then we run after health with our money."
In addition, the plank of the consulting business pleaded for more creative inefficiency, i.e.: own time during working hours. Sprenger cited his former employer 3M as an example of the success of this paradoxical concept. Its then revolutionary "Post it" glue was the result of such "free time in the service of the company", which is why the company is considering increasing its own time quota from the current 25 percent to 40 percent of attendance time.
The applicability of such freedoms to creative sectors such as agencies or editorial offices is debatable. Accordingly, the most useful of Sprenger's advice also applied to the hospitality industry. "Free beer tomorrow": his favorite pub has been advertising with this bar sign for years - and is (nevertheless? because of this?) full every day.
Dynamic pricing on the riseIn the afternoon, however, the audience of around 500 people from marketing and the media, which was trimmed for practical orientation, still got their money's worth. David Bosshart, Director of Trend Day sponsor GDI, garnished his observations on the economization of time with a few examples of how to manage this supposedly banal resource. Using "dynamic pricing" and "yield management", according to the trend slang, time is already being successfully charged for today.
In the center of London, for example, with "traffic flow management", which adjusts the toll for road use to the volume of traffic. The strategy of Coca-Cola, whose products in US vending machines cost more on hot days than on cold ones, is equally plausible. And it is almost self-evident to Bosshart that American restaurant chains structure their pricing policy according to occupancy and time of day (keyword "early bird" tariff).
At first glance, the rather academic-sounding idea of a "marketing of catechontics" (Greek for anachronism), which Norbert Bolz presented to the reporter on the fringes of the Trend Day, also seems less exciting. This essentially refers to the discovery of slowness for or by advertising. Bolz illustrates this principle using the example of Montblanc International. The writing instrument manufacturer consistently communicates with its entire corporate identity "I write with a fountain pen = I take my time (for you) = I am cultivated". It is quite conceivable that this equation also works for other cultural assets such as quality German newspapers, top French wines or English luxury cars.
Taking my time: the Mont Blanc embassy is outpacing the trend by a thin margin.

Oliver Classen

Of the 221 candidates who took the federal professional examination to become a marketing communications planner (PMK), 140 or 63.3 percent will be able to receive their professional certificate.This means that in the third year under the new regulations, the PMK examination has come close to the success rates of the former advertising assistant examination, according to a statement. The next PMK exam will be held in March/April 2004. The registration deadline is October 21. Further information is available from the Swiss Advertising (SW) examination secretariat on tel. 01 211 23 24 or info@ werbepruefungen.ch.

Siemens Mobile has entrusted TBWA Germany with the Europe-wide launch of a new cell phone. According to reports in the German trade press, the agency won a pitch against Wieden+Kennedy in Amsterdam, the lead agency for Siemens Mobile Phones, as well as Red Cell in Düsseldorf and Mother in London. The new cell phone, which has an integrated camera, will be officially presented in September and will go on sale at the end of the year. The advertising budget for the launch is estimated at 60 million euros.

The current head of the media agency OMD Zurich City, Christophe Waeber, is taking over the advertising management of the two Jean Frey titles Weltwoche and Bilanz. Current Weltwoche advertising manager Ivan Schultheiss is moving to APG. Peter Menzato, previously responsible for Bilanz, will take over the advertising management of Beobachter, which has been vacant since the departure of Tarkan Özküp. The commercial cooperation between Bilanz and the western Swiss business magazine Bilan was dissolved at the beginning of June. Weltwoche regional sales manager Servais Micolot now also represents Bilanz in French-speaking Switzerland. ...
Kenneth Angst has set up his own business as a consultant for political communication, public affairs and public relations. Most recently, he headed the Zurich office of the communications agency Mediapolis.
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Darko Veljaca is the new Area Sales Manager for the Swiss family with immediate effect. He replaces Adriano Valeri, who has moved to the
Tages-Anzeiger has changed.
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At the end of May, Alfred Jaeggi hands over the management of the advertising agency Publimag Bern to Olivier Steiner. Jaeggi is retiring.
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After 13 years, company founder Christian Jost is handing over the chairmanship of the Zurich-based communications agency Inhalt & Form to co-owner Claudio Zier, who has been working in the agency's consultancy since 1999.
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At the beginning of June, Hanspeter Kellermüller will take over the position of legal advisor at the Swiss Press Association (VSP). He succeeds Daniel Kaczynski, who has been Managing Director of the VSP since April.
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Zurich-based agency The Generation Media has strengthened its planning and consulting team with media specialist Peter Stirnemann.

The advertising agency Bunt has won the mandate for the Basel IT trade fair Orbit/Comdex. The IT trade fair, which has recently suffered from an unclear profile and dwindling visitor and exhibitor numbers, will take place this year from September 24 to 27. Bunt realizes posters and advertisements as well as numerous supplementary measures.

The Japanese camera manufacturer Nikon is consolidating its advertising budgets for Germany, France and the UK and, according to the British industry service Campaign, the four Nikon agencies BMP DDB, Red Cell, McCann-Erickson and Asatsu-Dentsu have been invited to pitch. The budget amounts to around ten million dollars. If the consolidation proves successful, Nikon will probably later combine the budgets of all 13 European markets, reports Campaign.

Capital market Not quite half-time yet for the capital increase of WochenZeitung (WoZ): So far, the left-wing opinion paper has sold around 200 participation certificates at CHF 1,000 each.The WoZ needs to raise CHF 500,000 to finance the expansion planned for September to include economic and consumer topics. According to managing director Verena Mühlberger, most of the participation certificates went to readers. Only a few invested more than 3000 francs.

The pitch for the launch campaign of the new regional brand "Graubünden" has been decided: Advico Young & Rubicam (AY&R) won against the competition. GGS in Chur and Weber Hodel Schmid, Lowe and Publicis in Zurich were also invited to pitch. The brand, which is supported by an association under the direction of the cantonal Department of Home Affairs and Economic Affairs, is to be launched in German-speaking Switzerland from mid-August.

Posters The city of Zurich has achieved a breakthrough in the fight against wild posters after the fines for unauthorized billposting were drastically increased at the beginning of the year, concluding a contract with the small poster companies Alive and Propaganda. In future, these companies will be exclusively responsible for the management of public cultural poster sites and construction walls set up for this purpose. Posters measuring up to 3,500 square centimetres may be put up there for cultural events. Product advertising is prohibited. In return, Zurich undertakes to expand the current network of 120 sites over the next few years.

Tobacco prevention The Federal Office of Public Health and the creative agency By Heart give smokers (no) face Around two million Swiss people knowingly consume toxic substances such as arsenic, formaldehyde and lead every day. With alarming facts and a new By Heart campaign, the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) is launching another round of tobacco prevention. "I don't think anyone would eat a chocolate bar that contains over 40 carcinogenic substances," says By Heart CD Hans Siegwart. On the other hand, the otherwise critical consumer tacitly approves of toxic ingredients in cigarettes. The creative team wanted to dramatize this schizophrenia in the new appearance and portrayed "real" smokers. However, they turn their backs on the viewer. According to the CD, the unusual look is intended to make it clear that hardly any smokers are proud of their addiction. According to the FOPH, 53% of all smokers want to give up their vice, but only one in twenty people succeed in quitting permanently.
The three TV commercials and advertisements were launched at the end of May and promptly received a response from the tobacco industry. Cigarette multinational Philip Morris (PM), for example, placed a full-page text advertisement in the NZZ. The title of the ad: "Is it possible to produce a less harmful cigarette?" In it, the tobacco manufacturer asserts its efforts in the search for less harmful ingredients and advises consumers to "give up smoking or not start in the first place." Apparently, PM shares Siegwart's view that the cigarette would hardly be approved as a new product today.
Provoked reactions from Philip Morris: BAG complaint.

Simone Keller