SRG The health magazine Puls-Tipp, published until 1997 as a companion magazine to the SF DRS health program "Puls", violates SRG's rights with its name The Federal Court confirmed a ruling by the Zurich Commercial Court last year. Whether Puls-Tipp will have to change its name is still being negotiated between the parties.

The industry association of Swiss advertising and communication agencies (BSW) is accepting submissions for the Effie 03 advertising efficiency award until May 19.The industry association of Swiss advertising and communication agencies (BSW) is accepting submissions for the Effie 03 advertising efficiency award until May 19. The original submission deadline
has been extended by ten days. Further information and registration documents can be found at www.bsw.ch

Trade journals The specialist publisher Compress Information Group (CIG) is launching a new themed magazine in the IT sector, IT-Report, with a circulation of 25,000 copies, is published every six months and is aimed at IT managers and IT service providers. It is produced jointly by the editorial teams of the Compress titles InfoWeek and IT-Reseller. Subscribers to these magazines receive the IT-Report free of charge. It is also distributed by mail order and at newsstands. The first issue on May 22 is dedicated to the topic of "System integration in Switzerland".

Fee splitting Urs Rohner, head of ProSieben/Sat 1 Media, put his foot down for Swiss private TVs at the Biel Communication Days. To survive, they need fee money and an SRG that, like the BBC, can manage without advertising, he said.When the head of a German TV corporation takes up the cause of Swiss private TVs, it's quite special. But when he also takes up the cudgels for them, it is just too extraordinary. This is what happened last week in Biel, at the Biel Communication Days, held for the second time by the Federal Office of Communications. In his presentation on the topic of "How is the public service interpreted?", Rohner, CEO of ProSieben/Sat 1 Media, began by criticizing SRG and its understanding of the public service. By interpreting public service very openly as "basic provision for all across the board," for example, SF-DRS Director Peter Schellenberg said that SRG had not only said goodbye to the former "educational television," but also to the original geographical understanding. This had simply called for an equivalent range of programs for all language regions.
"The broad service-public concept of the SRG today prevents greater media diversity in the audiovisual sector in Switzerland," Rohner criticized. His conclusion: "SRG should limit itself to information, consulting, education and culture and - like the British BBC - to pure fee financing."
Not a word about the fact that the private broadcasters should, by implication, forego their share of the fees. On the contrary, according to the media lawyer, information is a public service task par excellence. From this point of view, the broadcast of the 2002 World Cup on Sat 1 Switzerland was also in line with this. "Those who provide information services should receive fees.
Rohner justified the five-and-dime demand with Switzerland's small-scale nature - and with the experience of German regional broadcasters, there called conurbation TV. "There is no economically successful conurbation TV in Germany," he said. The reasons: Despite reaches of up to ten percent, or a million viewers, national advertisers would forgo the stations because they are guaranteed to get the same service cheaper at one of the 32 German stations broadcasting nationwide. Conversely, he says, the rates are too high for local traders. Rohner: "The costs for regional TV cannot be covered by advertising revenues alone." In an interview with Werbewoche, Rohner was not willing to accept the fact that Tele Züri was in the black for a year as a counterexample for other dimensions in the Swiss market. Tele Züri under Schawinski was not representative; it had been pushed massively - quite rightly - by the industry at the time, he said.
Despite the slim chance of economic success, however, Rohner said Switzerland should not do without regional TVs. Although he did not say how many local stations there was room for in Switzerland, in his opinion there was a clear need for local information here in the country, all the more so as the SRG hardly offered any. This is an astonishing conclusion, since Rohner had previously shown quite impressively how little demand there was at the time for the news of the RTL/Pro-7 program window, which was produced especially for Switzerland. Even the German news on the same channel would have shown more Swiss viewers. "When I saw these figures, it was immediately clear to me that we would have to discontinue the program window," he said.
Should not remain an SRG monopoly alone: public service in the TV sector.

Markus Knöpfli

The Raymond Loewy Foundation Switzerland is organizing the Lucky Strike Junior Designer Award for the third time, inviting graduates of a university, university of applied sciences or design school in Switzerland to submit their final projects from all areas of design. The works must not be older than 12 months at the time of the closing date for entries (October 15, 2003). The prize is endowed with CHF 30,000. Participation is free of charge. The competition documents can be downloaded from
Telephone number 043 366 65 75 or via e-mail at raymond.loewy@
marengo.ch can be ordered.

Beer market Following the successful repositioning of Cardinal, Simko Communication, Geneva, has developed a follow-up campaign for the French beer brand.
Beer brand launched - and owls fly through the night again.
Last year, when owls suddenly started peeping through bar windows and giggling as they commented on the (dank) cheerful qualities of the Cardinal beer brand, the campaign for the alcohol-free beer from the
brand Cardinal (Feldschlösschen Group) had a clear goal in mind: to anchor the brand in consumers' minds as a beer of friendship and conviviality. The creatives from the Rhône chose two of these nocturnal birds as "image carriers" for the beer.
This concept with the birds, which are considered wise, has earned the second-largest beer brand in Switzerland a lot of sympathy from the thirsty population and significantly increased its spontaneous awareness. "The focus has proven to be credible because it corresponds to the brand's French origins and thus to Cardinal's mentality," says Olivier Girard, Creative Director at Simko Communication in Geneva, with conviction.
The success was also reflected in the three prestigious awards that Simko Communication received for this campaign in 2002: The idea with the owls was recognized by consumers and readers of Werbewoche as well as Tele and Schweizer
The campaign was voted "Campaign of the Year" by the German beer magazine "Illustrierte", won the bronze medal at the Festival mondial de la publicité francophone and first place in the German yearbook of advertising for alcoholic beverages. The decision to continue a campaign with such a positive impact was therefore anything but beery.
Don't step out of lineThe strategy is based on a
consistent visualization and emotionalization of the Cardinal brand world. Cardinal is the beer that brings people together and conveys joie de vivre. The new TV commercial illustrates this with the idea of the well-known ska dance. In contrast to the old commercial, the owls no longer just sit on the windowsill outside the bar, but celebrate a lively party among the guests. At the end of the ska dance, they even lead the polonaise before the night birds on the terrace fly off into the night in high spirits.
The TV commercial advertises the non-alcoholic Cardinal. In the cinema, on the other hand, alcoholic lager is drunk. Poster subjects with different claims show various situations in which the Cardinal group is having fun - and of course the two feathered bipeds from last year's campaign are also involved. "At the same time, the subject builds a bridge to the important element of music for the brand," says Andrea Veit, Senior Brand Manager for the French beer.
No wonder, after all, the brewers are sponsoring concerts and festivals throughout Switzerland this year.
Andreas Panzeri

TV The Swissfilm Association has filed a complaint against SRG with the Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM), accusing SRG of using its subsidiary TV Productioncenter Zürich (TPC) to cut off the Swiss industry and thus violate its concession. Bakom Deputy Director Martin Dumermuth confirmed a corresponding report by the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper to SDA. He stated that the SRG subsidiary is generally allowed to produce advertising films. His office is now examining whether this is permissible and what impact it will have on the industry. The Competition Commission is also taking action. After receiving complaints, it has initiated a preliminary investigation against the TPC.

Agencies The corporate publishing agency Frontpage, a subsidiary of the Wirz Group, is losing its two managing directors.Agencies The corporate publishing agency Frontpage, a subsidiary of the Wirz Group, is losing its two managing directors. Viviane Egli
and Elisabeth Dennler are leaving Wirz and will start at the beginning of June with the
Primafila AG is now independent. The new agency is based in the business premises of entrepreneur Bruno Franzen, who is also a co-founder, in Zurich's Seefeld district. For design work, Egli and Dennler rely on Munich-based media designer Horst Moser. Johann Mannes takes the helm at the Wirz subsidiary.

Mediabox, a marketing agency specializing in special forms of advertising, has commissioned Weber Hodel Schmid (WHS) with the communication of its services in the area of below-the-line media.Mediabox, a marketing agency specializing in special forms of advertising, has commissioned Weber Hodel Schmid (WHS) with the communication of its services in the area of below-the-line media. WHS was awarded the contract following an in-depth
conversation, as consultant Dominik Mätzener writes. One may
I can't wait to see what will appear in magazines, pizza boxes, men's toilets, shopping carts or on Chop Sticks in the near future.

The Federal Office of Communications (Bakom) has published the final report of the VHF 2001 study group, and the experts have divided their proposals on how to optimize the use of the scarce VHF frequency resources into five scenarios: Gentle optimization of current FM coverage, new technology to increase the number of channels broadcast, increasing the reception quality of existing channels, dividing the frequency band into one area each for the SRG and private broadcasters, and promoting the introduction of Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB). The 61-page report can be downloaded as a PDF file from the OFCOM website (www.bakom.ch).

After a multi-stage selection process, Bühler entrusted the agency in Rorschacherberg with the market launch of its new nanotechnology business segment. Ulrich Jüstrich AG in Walzenhausen also opted for Eugster. Better known under the brand name Just, it sells personal care and household products worldwide. Just commissioned Eugster Kommunikation to tailor the dialog marketing measures for its 75th anniversary in 2004, combined with a gentle repositioning.

Marcus Gretener is the new Head of Consulting at Ruf Lanz.To call Marcus Gretener an early adopter is not foolhardy. Especially not from an advertiser's point of view. Already in high school in Immensee, he designed posters for discos. Because he saw this as his professional future, he chose drawing instead of music as an examination subject for the business school-leaving exam. As evidence of his maturity, he designed and analyzed the launch of a fictitious cigarette brand. This "theoretical work on lifestyle" earned him a good grade and a contact with the real existing advertising world. Since then, his career has run straight to the carpet floors of communications firms. Or almost.Gretener was allowed a sniff at Wirz. There, the young poster artist learned that there are other important areas in advertising besides graphics. In the end, it was consulting that interested him the most.
The son of the bookseller Claus (formerly Stäheli, Bahnhofstrasse, Zurich) wanted to be "involved in the business world" by nature. Today, he loves solving everyday problems with the customer and at the same time understanding the conditions of a good creation.
In order to complete the course to become an advertising assistant while working, Gretener did an internship at the then agency Fuhrer & Partner in Kilchberg. There, he was "thrown in at the deep end" and was immediately given responsibility for the largest account. During the basic campaign for apple juice with the red apple man, he got to know the whole spectrum of advertising, from advertisements to TV sponsoring for soccer or ice hockey.
With the "advertising ace" in the
bag, he briefly switched to Quadri after three years. When things came to an end with that agency, he started Baer Communications in Schlieren with Michael Baer and former Quadri CD Daniel Müri. Everything went well, but for Gretener "not in the direction he wanted." He was not able to develop enough entrepreneurially.
Gretener followed a call to Advico and served his way up to consulting group leader there. He worked for Helvetic Tours, Pneu Egger and the Swiss Milk Producers (SMP). At the same time, he added training as a marketing/communications manager to his curriculum. Shortly before the "big bang" in Gockhausen, he accepted an offer from the then Lowe GGK. Gretener was involved in the turnaround and oversaw the large budgets for Orange, Credit Suisse and Elmex.
In August 2002, contacts with Danielle Lanz and Markus Ruf intensified. They "philosophized" about what a joint future might look like, and Gretener said: "The constellation is optimal for entrepreneurial thinking." In addition, he is pleased to be able to work in a team with top creatives again, as he did at the old Advico. "Second place in ADC is a commitment for the future," Gretener says. His contribution will be "even more strategic discussions" before the creatives work out the optimal implementation for this. The client should continue to feel very strongly that Ruf Lanz is "owner-made."
"Doing a round of water skiing in the lake early in the morning and then heading to the office refreshed" would be another desired goal, at least for this summer. Unconventional for advertisers is another hobby. "I'm in a guild," Gretener reveals. Membership of the Hottingen neighborhood guild is family-related and he enjoys it because he rides himself and is therefore also allowed to gallop around the Böögg.
Marcus Gretener is the second advertiser to come out as a guild member after Markus Gut.

Andreas Panzeri