Mineral water market Exxtra makes a lily bloom from Migros' own premium water Nendaz in a TV commercial Water is no longer just an elixir of life, but also a source of turnover and profit - if it is bottled sparkling and in keeping with the spirit of the times. To make the springs bubble up even more profitably, brands are given an image boost. No wonder: a market with double-digit growth rates beckons. Even in Switzerland's water castle, the thirst for bottled water is far from quenched: ACNielsen recorded a 5.1 percent increase in mineral water sales in the Swiss retail trade (excluding the hospitality industry) in 2002. Migros' own brand Nendaz has not developed quite as well since the premium brand was launched on the market in the 1990s. It currently has a sales share of around 5 percent of the Migros mineral water range. Category Manager Martin Wullschleger, who now carries the external brands San Pellegrino, Contrex, Badoit and Vittel in addition to his own four, explains the strategy: "Where own brands are slow to establish themselves, we operate with external brands."
The brand mix is not a major problem for the portfolio management, as "we have selected the brands according to their different positioning and target group and thus cover all price levels," explains Wullschleger. However, Nendaz is unlikely to reach its urban lifestyle target group by simply differentiating itself from Contrex - this water primarily appeals to women who are conscious of lines and wellness. However, because Nendaz is only sold through Migros, building its image - especially in the highly competitive segment of high-price brands - would have taken more time and money. Instead, the brand was only advertised occasionally and initially with the look and feel of a Migros Valser. Tempi passati.
Exxtra, the retail unit of the Young & Rubicam Group, was commissioned to launch a TV commercial campaign to position the strategic own brand in the under-utilized field of purity. A good move in times when food is being pimped up with more and more additives such as vitamins, minerals and trace elements and there is no longer anything that is not somehow something else. "We didn't focus on the Valais origin of the water, but on purity and dormant energies," says Client Service Director Michael Gassler.
Nendaz is portrayed as the source of life, as a water that brings beauty to life. In the commercial, a lily embodies this campaign idea. The progressive and unique aspect lies in the implementation: the blossoming is shown in fast motion using real X-ray images, which is not actually possible with conventional X-ray devices. CD Dieter Hofmann reveals the secret: "We took the images from several perspectives using tomography equipment at the Fraunhofer Institute in Erlangen, Germany. Finally, these were combined in computer animations to bring the X-ray flower to life." The "Flower Duet" from Leo Delibes' opera "Lakmé" underlines the cool, cultivated touch.
The spirit of pure water grows from this bottle: Lily in the Nendaz spot by Exxtra.

Luca Aloisi

Regional press The Südostschweiz (SO) media group in Chur grew in the 2002 financial year, with total sales increasing by 1.8 percent to 140.6 million francs and profits by 2.8 percent to 5.8 million francs. However, the group had to cope with setbacks in the advertising business. The newspaper publisher SO Presse AG recorded an eleven percent drop in sales, SO Publicitas AG a 15 percent drop. Income from the subscription and retail sales business remained at the previous year's level, while the printing business grew by 10 percent. In total, the Group employed 904 people last year, 146 more than in the previous year.

Agencies The new media service provider Futurecom interactive and the marketing agency Wunderman - two members of the Young & Rubicam Group - are moving closer together.agencies The new media service provider Futurecom interactive and the marketing agency Wunderman - two members of the Young & Rubicam Group - are moving closer together.
Futurecom CEO Andreas Widmer also took over the management of Wunderman at the beginning of June. His predecessor Diana Strebel will accompany the integration process until the fall and will remain a member of Wunderman's Board of Directors. André Parsic, a member of Wunderman's Executive Board since January, will take over the newly created position of Chief Operating Officer.

Private TV The Prix Walo 2002 awards ceremony on May 25 was watched live and in reruns by 110000 people on the TeleNewsCombi (TNC) channels, and the election of the Swiss public's favorite was broadcast for the first time by TNC (with the channels Tele Bärn, Basel, M1, Ostschweiz, Tell, Top and Züri). At the same time, "GesundheitSprechstunde" on SF 2 reached 335,000 viewers. The broadcast of the election of Mister Switzerland on TNC a week earlier had achieved a rating of 275,000 viewers. The net reach of the Prix Walo (including repeats) was still around 700,000 people.

Cover pages It used to be good manners for politicians to take a "bath in the crowd" for a change - but times have changed, only the need for it seems to be unbroken, at least among young contemporaries (of the male sex). However, it's not that rapper star Eminem is shaking hands on the cover of the Repubblica supplement Musica, no, he's being lovingly stroked. The really nice thing about this relaxing picture is that the women also look like women. Gucci CD Alexander McQuenn came up with a similar idea to the La Repubblica photographer for the launch of his first perfume. The difference is considerable: naked child-women are yawningly reminiscent of David Hamilton's soft porn "Bilitis" and raise the question: is this subject a reminder of McQuenn's first time - or do young women immediately fall over each other and tear their clothes off when the "Kingdom" fragrance is sprayed? If that's the case, there's bound to be a lot going on at one or two women's parties soon. Don't forget your perfume.
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The BSW's communications industry working group has encouraged advertising agencies to take on apprentices now so that the BSW can run the inter-company apprenticeship courses for advertising. In order for these to be subsidized by the federal government, there must be at least ten participants. The commercial apprentices in advertising agencies do not currently reach this number. "Now is a good time to look for a new apprentice after all," writes the BSW. Professional, practical support from the working group is assured. Further information can be obtained from the BSW office (tel. 01 361 37 60) and Priska Hauser from the working group for the communications sector (tel. 01 248 50 85).

Regional publishers The Solothurner Zeitung publisher Vogt-Schild/Habegger is suffering from competition from the Solothurner Tagblatt. Its Managing Director Media, Christian Müller, accuses Espace Media of unfair methods.WW Does the Solothurner Zeitung feel the growing circulation of the Solothurner Tagblatt (ST)?Christian Müller: Not really. We are experiencing a marginal decline in subscriptions of one to two percent, but not because of the ST. This is because the decline in the Solothurn area, where the ST is published, is no greater than in the areas of our split editions Grenchner Tagblatt, Langenthaler Tagblatt and Berner Rundschau.
This is surprising given the steep difference in subscription prices.
The ST's dumping price does worry us. Subscribers we contact by telemarketing are increasingly giving economic reasons. We therefore suspect that some are switching to the ST, whose subscription costs half as much.
In August, the ST will also start early delivery in Grenchen with a separate page. How are you looking forward to this?
Without much concern, because there are few commuter movements from Grenchen to Bern. That's why this initiative will probably also be a shot in the arm. Our Grenchner Tagblatt will hardly suffer.
So for the time being, the ST is hardly causing you any stomach ache? it is hurting us: we generally have higher marketing costs, for example in the area of sponsorship. Because Espace Media (EM) often makes our sponsoring partners very high financial offers, we also have to spend more money. In addition, Bevo, which is partly owned by EM, snatched away the early delivery for NZZ and Tages-Anzeiger. Unfair advertising methods by EM are also causing us problems. Two weeks ago, for example, the ST advertised for advertisements in a mailing - with the readership figures of the entire Berner Zeitung edition! But this was not declared. The letterhead and signature of the ST media consultant suggested that the figures related to the ST. This is fraud - and not for the first time: the Commission for Fairness in Advertising has already described an ST mailing as "unfair". But fairness is simply not a guideline for the EM...
Interview: Markus Knöpfli

Having already realized the packaging design for the "Luzerner Rahmkäse" brand, Ideart is now also taking on the packaging relaunch for the "Couronne" soft cheese from dairy group Emmi.Having already realized the packaging design for the "Luzerner Rahmkäse" brand, Ideart is now also taking on the packaging relaunch for the "Couronne" soft cheese from dairy group Emmi. The agency is designing the cheese label and the self-service portions.

Affinity of advertisements among supporters in the "alternative culture "Gold (140) Der Bund
In new freshness
(Contexta)
Silver (137)Giorgio Armani
Woman in evening dress
(Cliché Offset, Milan)
Bronze (126)Julius Baer
We want to...
(Jung von Matt/Limmat)

Following an agency evaluation, the cosmetics group L'Oréal has entrusted a partial budget for its luxury brand Kérastase to the full-service agency Versus, which, according to Filippo Muscara, Creative Director of the Basel agency, is to position the brand even higher up in the luxury segment.

Following an agency evaluation, the aid organizations Bread for All (Protestant) and Fastenopfer (Catholic) have chosen Advico Young & Rubicam (AY&R) for their joint campaign. According to a press release, the advertising agency from Gockhausen ZH was awarded the contract following an intensive exchange of ideas on the development of a new strategy. AY&R is working on the repositioning of the aid organizations and the resulting fund-raising campaign with accompanying measures. The first works will be on display at the end of November 2003.

Posttax publishers could distribute their print products themselves more cheaply than by post. "A cheaper distribution option is feasible." With these words, CHP Managing Director Daniel Kaczynski summarized the report of a project group set up by the Swiss Press Association (CHP), which has been looking for alternatives to press distribution by post for publishers since the end of 2002 (WW 15/03). However, he did not yet want to provide any information on the exact content of the report, nor on the question of whether the report would identify more than one feasible alternative. Kaczynski said that the CHP presidium would first discuss the proposals at a closed meeting. Even if the ideas are found to be feasible, the association will hardly take action itself. "We can suggest something, but then the publishers have to take action themselves," says Kaczynski. The reason for the report is the amended Postal Act, which comes into force at the beginning of 2004. It reduces federal subsidies on postal rates for subscribed newspapers and magazines to CHF 80 million per year (previously CHF 100 million). As a result, only print products with smaller print runs will be able to benefit from postal distribution subsidies in future. (mk)