Commuter newspapers Before satisfying any desire for expansion, Tamedia wants (and needs) to make 20 Minuten profitable.The fact that the expected blessing of the Competition Commission for the marriage of 20 Minuten with Tamedia is at least four weeks away should suit the Werdsträssler in particular. Because until then, the personnel and strategic course must be set that will lead Tamedia's hard-won commuter paper quickly and sustainably into the profit zone.According to Tamedia spokeswoman Franziska Hügli, who from the two management teams that were still competing until a week ago will shoulder this Herculean task "will only be decided after the conclusion of the Weko investigations". However, the personnel carousel is already turning today. According to Hügli, the aim of the merger is to avoid "internal factions like those that existed at Crossair and Swissair". It can therefore be speculated that the aim would be a dual leadership with equal representation. This could, for example, consist of Rolf Bollmann, who is highly regarded by Tamedia, as Managing Director and Marco Boselli as the new Editor-in-Chief. The latter has reportedly scored points with Tamedia management with his "Express" concept.
In terms of content, the one or other stillborn editorial "Express" baby will probably be resurrected in 20 minutes one way or another. Strategically, however, Hügli currently sees little potential for optimization. He does not want to think about expanding the distribution area, new distribution channels or regional alliances until 20 Minuten is firmly in the black. Attractive combined discounts for three-city bookings and the utilization of Tamedia's cross-media marketing power could help. In any case, the declared aim of Tamedia and the existing shareholders is "to convert the constantly increasing reader potential into market success by all means".
The only explicit exceptions to this are currently advertising combinations with the paid newspapers Tages-Anzeiger and SonntagsZeitung. "The fact that we want to expand commuter newspapers as a promising print genre does not mean that we are commercially short-circuiting our subscription titles," emphasizes Hügli. According to former "Express" boss Marius Hagger, the same also applies to the venerable Tagblatt, albeit for a different reason. In future, its USP will once again be home delivery in Zurich. Accordingly, the Tagblatt is aimed at "a different audience that is incompatible with 20 Minuten in terms of advertising".
Not available on Monday: "Express".
Tamedia Group Consolidated Income Statement2002 2001 Change
Selected key balance sheet figures in sFr million in sFr million in %
Operating income 640.3 756.1 - 15.3
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) 71.1 145.7 - 50.8
Operating result (EBIT) 17.6 79.2 - 77.8
Group result
  continuing operations 20.2 43.4 - 53.5
  discontinued operations 15.4 (55.2) --
  Total 35.6 (11.8) -
Oliver Classen

Local radio The Bernese local radio station Radio Extra Bern has revised its music selection and mix. A substantial part of the previous program has been replaced and 230 new songs can now be heard. In addition, no song will be played twice between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. in order to guarantee more variety. More emphasis will also be placed on information services: In addition to the editorial crew in the studio, Radio Extra Bern is now employing "roving reporters". They will report on what is happening in Bern in hourly news broadcasts with reports in information focus areas or during live broadcasts.

People At the Zurich advertising agency Matter & Partner, Art Director Philipp Skrabal and Head of Consulting Anita Haberthür, together with Agency Manager Daniel Matter, form the new, rejuvenated management team as of July 1. The "generation change" is linked to the departure of management board member and partner Andy Schlatter on June 30, 2003.

Radiotele AG now offers the updated regional television documentation (1st semester 2003) on the Internet and in printed form, which can be downloaded from the B2B section of www.radiotele.ch or ordered in printed form via the website.

Column Sport is the most important secondary matter in the advertising world. And as such, it is well on the way to abolishing itself in the media, says Ulrich Saxer, professor emeritus of journalism. Faster, higher, further! is its traditional motto - and more expensive the modern one. Since the days when the father of gymnastics, Jahn, gave sport the idealistic guidelines of "fresh, pious, happy, free", the relevant rhyme has mutated into the materialistic "product, price, placement and promotion". Victorious in the most distant waters and on all television channels - thanks to Swiss technology, but also thanks to sponsorship money, above all and particularly visibly that of UBS. The special stamp, on which the UBS logo is emblazoned larger than the name of the winning boat, is well deserved. Just as advertising is sporting, sport is also promotional: for the fatherland and health, for national solidarity and product quality. And so advertising and sport, together with the media and their showmasters, known as sports journalists, thrive together in a pleasing symbiosis.
After all, what would ski racing be without television advertising? According to scientific surveys, the Swiss population is more sports-friendly than even the Germans, and their favorite sport is alpine skiing. So why has this television sport lost no less than six percent of its popularity here in Switzerland over the last eight years and why are membership numbers shrinking in Germany?
of the sports clubs? But not because the top-class sport at the Tour de France would be better called sprint sport? Admittedly, there was hardly any mention of this in the reporting of the 1st German Television, whose "1" was emblazoned on the tricots of the Telecom riders.
Conflicts are increasingly arising between sports dissemination and exploitation interests and are increasingly being decided to the detriment of the former and therefore also the quality of sports journalism. The fact that Manchester United, for example, has its own channel to report on its exploits is evidence of the instrumentalization of top-class sport by the economy, which is already a matter of course today. And the fact that advertising time wins out over sports time in the scheduling of events and the events are thus endlessly prolonged is not to everyone's taste either.
The famous cultural sociologist Norbert Elias once stated that "the game of football is a symptom of a relatively high level of civilization", as it is able to establish "a controlled balance of tension" thanks to a sensible set of rules. As such, however, it is also always at risk, "caught between the Scylla of disorder and the Charybdis of boredom". That's right: sport is a wonderfully diverse and fascinating thing, and advertising has done a great deal to develop it. However, the more it intervenes in its own logic as an economic power, the more it jeopardizes its functioning.
Signs of weariness with sport and advertising - and even more so with their combination - cannot be overlooked. The segmentation of the public is already a fact and will continue to increase in the wake of the individualization of lifestyles; sport as mass fare only appeals to a limited extent. Having entered society as the most important secondary matter, sport has at times even become its secret main matter and is now on its way to becoming a secondary matter again, namely the economy. A little more cultural sociology could perhaps be useful for advertising strategists.
> Ulrich Saxer was professor of journalism at the University of Zurich and professor of communication sociology in Lugano.

Media research Top leaders like the NZZ am Sonntag almost as much as the SonntagsZeitung. This is the result of the MA Leader 2003. In the French-speaking part of Switzerland, the leaders are increasingly listless and thus harder to reach. What was to be expected after the Swissair grounding, the burst Internet bubble and waves of redundancies is now also confirmed by the MA Leader 2003: There are fewer top leaders in German-speaking Switzerland. The AG für Werbemedienforschung (Wemf) estimates that there are 80,000 who deserve this title (see box) - a total of 4,000 fewer than two years ago. In contrast, the basic population of leaders has grown - from 165,000 to 180,000,000. As a result, most titles have lost readers among the top leaders and tended to gain readers among the leaders. However, the latter does not apply to all of them. The study is the second of its kind with the LpA value. The new figures can therefore be compared with those from 2001. 83,000 leaders read the SonntagsZeitung (SoZ), making it one of the titles that most managers in German-speaking Switzerland turn to on the Lord's Day. Compared to the MA Leader 2001, the SoZ has also gained 6,000 management readers. Among the top leaders, on the other hand, NZZ-Folio is still ahead, as it was two years ago. It has 41,000 readers, 1,000 more than SoZ.
Wemf identified Cash, Finanz und Wirtschaft and HandelsZeitung as the biggest losers: they have generally lost importance among executives, significantly among the top leaders and tending to lose importance among the leaders. Cash, which two years ago was still in second place among the leading newspapers, is now in fourth place behind the Tages-Anzeiger and the NZZ.
Battle with Borer's shadow
SoZ is now twice as strong as SonntagsBlick in terms of readership (42,000 readers). The NZZ am Sonntag (NZZaS), on the other hand, with 64,000 readers, was able to place itself almost exactly between the two established Sunday titles. Among the top leaders, SonntagsBlick (16,000 readers) was now clearly left behind, while NZZaS almost caught up with SoZ (40,000) with 36,000 readers.
Among the daily newspapers, the Tages-Anzeiger is the leader (59,000), closely followed by the NZZ, which reaches 58,000 readers in this target group. Among the top leaders, however, the NZZ is the undisputed leader with 35,000 readers, while the Tagi still reaches 29,000 readers in this target group. Among the lucky winners are the St.Galler Tagblatt (SGT) and the Berner Zeitung (BZ), both of which were able to increase their readership in general, although not significantly among the top leaders.
Nevertheless, this is tantamount to a triumph for BZ, as it has now clearly overtaken its competitor Bund in this target group. The Bund, for its part, is in danger of losing ground under its feet. If it is no longer even number one among Bern's executives, the only argument it has left is that - thanks to its much smaller circulation - it reaches the leaders and top leaders with less wastage than the BZ.
Among the magazines, Weltwoche stands out in particular. Thanks to its relaunch and new concept, it was able to make general gains among executives and even made a leap forward among leaders, gaining around 6,000 readers. Geo and K-Geld, which were surveyed for the first time as part of the MA Leader, were immediately ranked among the top five magazines in both target groups.
Multiple subscriptions canceled
The situation is very different in French-speaking Switzerland. There, the number of top leaders is stable at 22,000, and the leaders "only" grew by 1,000 to 51,000. And yet the print titles in French-speaking Switzerland surveyed by MA Leader generated a total of 7000 fewer Top Leader contacts (- 9 %) than in 2001. In other words: the top leaders in French-speaking Switzerland are reading less. Apparently, multiple subscribers have canceled some of their subscriptions. This is the only explanation for the fact that none of the titles (newspapers and magazines) were able to make gains in this target group, that only a few remained stable and most lost ground.
Although the losses remained within the confidence range in absolute terms, they were often considerable in percentage terms. Le Matin dimanche suffered the most: it fell from 58 to 53 percent among the leaders and from 56.9 to 51.3 percent among the top leaders. Small consolation: its top position with 27,000 leaders remains unchallenged. Among the top leaders, it ceded first place to Bilan (52.9%). Hebdo also recorded significant losses, falling from 46.4 to 39.6 percent of the top leaders and from 43.7 to 40.5 percent of the leaders. Tribune de Genève, Le Matin (semaine), Dimanche.ch and 24 Heures also recorded a significant drop.
These are leaders, and the top leadersAccording to the Wemf definition, leaders are at least 20 years old, resident in German- or French-speaking Switzerland and employed at least part-time. If they are self-employed, they run a business with four or more employees. If they are self-employed, they have a higher level of education; if they are employed, they hold a managerial position with influence over operational decisions. Their personal gross annual income is CHF 100,000 or more.
Top leaders are also either freelancers and in this function also the employer of at least one employee. Or they are employees and manage at least one employee. Their annual income is CHF 140000 plus. (mk)
MA Leader 2003 LEADER TOP-LEADER
2003 2001 2003 2001
LpA- LpA LpA- LpA LpA- LPA LpA- LpA
Projection in %(1) Projection in %(2) Projection in %(3) Projection in %(4)
German-language newspapers
Basler Zeitung 18,000 9.8 16,000 9.7 7,000 9.2 8,000 9.9
Berner Zeitung Ges. 27 000 14.9 21 000 12.7 12 000 14.7 10 000 11.8
Federal government 21,000 11.7 18,000 11.0 10,000 12.8 10,000 11.7
Cash 57,000 31.4 59,000 35.8 28,000 34.6 32,000 38.3
Die Südostschweiz Total 15 000 8.2 14 000 8.5 6 000 8.0 7 000 7.7
Finance & Economy 27,000 15.0 30,000 18.2 16,000 20.4 19,000 22.8
HandelsZeitung 38,000 20.8 41,000 24.8 22,000 26.8 26,000 31.0
SME managers 19,000 10.8 17,000 10.6 9,000 11.0 9,000 10.6
Neue Luzerner Zeitung Total 21,000 11.8 18,000 10.7 9,000 11.4 8,000 9.6
Neue Zürcher Zeitung 58,000 32.3 54,000 32.6 35,000 43.0 36,000 42.3
NZZ am Sonntag 64,000 35.3 -- -- 36,000 45.3 -- --
SonntagsBlick 42,000 23.4 42,000 25.6 16,000 20.4 19,000 23.1
SonntagsZeitung 83,000 45.9 77,000 46.4 40,000 49.3 43,000 50.6
St. Galler Tagblatt Total 18 000 10.0 14 000 8.5 8 000 10.0 6 000 7.5
Tages-Anzeiger 59,000 32.6 55,000 33.2 29,000 36.5 30,000 36.0
Combinations German-speaking Switzerland
Executive Plus 77,000 43.0 95,000 57.3 44,000 55.0 56,000 66.8
Executive Weekend 86,000 48.0 -- -- 48,000 59.7 -- --
NZZ Grandplus 72,000 40.2 66,000 40.2 41,000 50.4 42,000 49.5
NZZ Plus 72,000 39.8 65,000 39.7 40,000 50.1 41,000 49.0
Swisspool I 119,000 66.1 105,000 63.4 54,000 67.5 53,000 63.2
Swisspool II 119,000 66.1 105,000 63.4 54,000 67.5 53,000 63.2
German-language magazines
Balance sheet 69,000 38.1 69,000 41.8 36,000 44.3 42,000 50.0
Cash value 31,000 17.0 -- -- 15,000 18.4 -- --
The magazine 44,000 24.3 44,000 26.9 22,000 27.4 25,000 29.7
Facts 61,000 33.8 56,000 33.8 28,000 35.3 30,000 35.0
Geo 63,000 34.7 -- -- 27,000 34.2 -- --
K-money 53,000 29.5 -- -- 22,000 26.8 -- --
NZZ-Folio 76,000 42.0 74,000 44.6 41,000 51.2 44,000 52.5
Swiss Bank 13,000 7.1 12,000 7.3 8,000 9.6 9,000 10.5
Swiss insurance 12,000 6.5 10,000 5.8 6,000 8.0 7,000 8.0
Stocks 10,000 5.3 -- -- 6,000 7.8 -- --
Vinum 20,000 11.2 20,000 12.1 11,000 14.3 11,000 12.7
Weltwoche 50,000 28.0 43,000 26.0 26,000 31.9 24,000 28.1
1 = based on 180,000 leaders in German-speaking Switzerland 2 = based on 165,000 leaders in German-speaking Switzerland
3 = based on 80,000 top leaders in German-speaking Switzerland 4 = based on 84,000 top leaders in German-speaking Switzerland
MA Leader 2003 LEADER TOP-LEADER
2003 2001 2003 2001
LpA- LpA LpA- LpA LpA- LPA LpA- LpA
Projection in %(1) Projection in %(2) Projection in %(3) Projection in %(4)
French-language newspapers
24 hours 15 000 28.8 14 000 28.9 6 000 25.9 7 000 30.2
Agéfi 6,000 12.6 6,000 11.7 4,000 16.6 4,000 19.6
Dimanche.ch 13 000 25.3 13 000 25.7 5 000 22.0 6 000 27.1
Le Matin dimanche 27 000 53.0 29 000 58.0 11 000 51.3 12 000 56.9
Le Matin semaine 16 000 31.1 16 000 32.2 6 000 25.3 7 000 30.6
Le Temps 18,000 35.2 17,000 34.5 9,000 41.0 10,000 44.7
Tribune de Genève 10 000 19.7 11 000 21.6 5 000 21.1 6 000 26.5
Combi Western SwitzerlandNZZ Grandplus 19,000 37.1 19,000 37.4 10,000 43.5 10,000 48.3
Swisspool II 23,000 44.9 23,000 46.0 10,000 43.3 11,000 50.9
Top 3 30,000 58.9 31,000 61.2 12,000 54.7 14,000 63.9
French-language magazinesBilan 24,000 46.3 23,000 46.7 12,000 52.9 12,000 53.8
Hebdo 21,000 40.5 22,000 43.7 9,000 39.6 10,000 46.4
PME magazines 14,000 27.6 13,000 27.0 7,000 33.2 7,000 32.5
1 = based on 51,000 leaders in Western Switzerland 2 = based on 50,000 leaders in Western Switzerland 3 = based on 22,000 top leaders in Western Switzerland 4 = based on 22,000 top leaders in Western Switzerland
Markus Knöpfli

At the end of 2002, the Zurich-based FKP Group announced the acquisition of a Swiss capital goods group as a new customer, but the identity of the "world market leader in its sector" had to remain secret for the time being. Now the veil has been lifted: it is Sulzer Textil. A year ago, the Sulzer Corporation sold its textile machinery division to the Italian Itema Group. All products will be offered worldwide under the new company name Sultex AG. Sulzer Textil will continue to be used as a product brand, but it must be successively associated with the Sultex corporate brand. This was the brief of the two-stage pitch in which the FKP Group prevailed. The group includes the advertising agency Fünf Freunde, FKP Identity (corporate communication), the internet and multimedia agency Connecting, the marketing consultant FKP & Partner and the PR agency FKP Relations. Fünf Freunde's first project is an international image advertising campaign in seven languages for all continents.

Agencies Many small stones also make a wall - of resistance to war. Many small messages for peace can currently be found in a wide variety of media, and the agency FCB Leutenegger Krüll has come up with a very peaceful-looking idea. With this full-page ad, Peter Leutenegger and Mike Krüll want to emphasize their stance "against armed conflicts in general and against the Iraq war in particular".FCBLK ad against wars.

Football In the final round of the football championship, FC Zurich will face the reigning Swiss champions and successful Champions League participants FC Basel at the beginning of April, and FCZ had its advertising agency develop a powerful idea to promote the clash between Zurich and Basel in the Letzigrund: The creative minds at Hesskiss are using two well-known symbols that stand for the two cities - the Zurich Böögg for Sechseläuten and the Basel Waggis for Fasnacht. The match poster will be produced in the formats B12 and B200 and will be displayed in and around Zurich from week 13. It should already enjoy cult status among FCZ fans. When Bööggen and Waggis tschutten, the football spring has definitely broken out.

Following an agency evaluation, FCB Leutenegger Krüll AG (FCBLK) won the account of the Kloten-based importer of the Swedish truck brand Scania, Sancia Truck AG, and was commissioned to publicize the new 420 HPI (High Pressure Injection) engine series in the Swiss market. In addition to advertisements - mainly for the trade press - direct marketing measures are also in the pipeline.

Television The answer to the flood of television advertising is often zapping: Almost one in two young people between the ages of 13 and 20 almost always change the channel when a commercial breaks. A further 37 percent do this often. This is confirmed by the Youngcom Youth Study 2003 from Germany. On the other hand, the community of those who find television advertising interesting and therefore always watch it is very small: Only 3.4 percent of those surveyed watch when a commercial is on. A representative sample of 500 German teenagers were surveyed.

Newspapers The joint nightlife magazine of the Bund and Berner Zeitung (BZ), the Ansager, will be discontinued at the end of March, affecting eight employees, according to the news agency SDA. The Bernese daily newspapers justified the move with the massive slump in advertising. As a replacement for the announcer, they promised to expand the range of tips for going out in the paper and on the respective websites. It was only in April 2002 that the two newspapers merged their event magazines Berner Woche and Nonstopp to form the Ansager. It was included in the Friday editions with a circulation of 255,000 copies.