Instead of guidance, this time there were only declarations of powerlessness at the Epiphany meetingBy Oliver Classen At the start of the year, the only person who was able to keep this promise at the 5th Epiphany meeting of the Media Institute of the Swiss Press Association was Vorarlberg publisher Eugen Russ. And only thanks to the uncritical attitude of his Swiss colleagues. Their diplomacy once again prevented any serious debate.
What Socrates said in six words takes eight presentations, a panel discussion and therefore a long working day in today's talkative publishing industry. The official conference slogan was "It's the invisible values that matter".
However, the collective confession "I know that I don't know anything", which was also evident in the prognosticating presentations at the World Trade Center (WTC) in Zurich, was a defining feature of the event. Individual industry experts let it be known that they had certainly gained insights in the past year of crisis, but did not want to "just rub it in" to the competition.
Statistries and a politically incorrect "No comment"
For example, Publicitas boss Hans-Peter Rohner. The main sponsor of the networking event concealed his lack of concept with a PowerPoint presentation overloaded with figures. Apart from not entirely disinterested generalities - such as "the increasing fragmentation of TV usage improves print prospects" or "the prevailing industry consensus in terms of price structure secures the future of us all" - and exotic, non-binding statements (that China, for example, will become the second-largest advertising nation by 2008), Rohner's "trend analysis" offered little that was informative. The appearance of Switzerland's most powerful media manager became delicate when he responded to Karl Lüönd's question about the credibility of 20 Minuten's break-even reports with a "no comment" - thus nipping any discussion in the bud.
The advertising market predictions of Bruno Widmer, currently Chairman of the Board of the Swiss branch of Advico Young & Rubicam, were similarly uninformative. The fact that direct and internet marketers are increasingly nibbling away at the traditional advertising cake is just as well known as the gradual shift in global advertising budgets from North America and Europe to the rest of the world. Such truisms do not seem any more enlightening when they are repeated by Widmer's boss, WPP CEO Martin Sorel. Sorell's invocation and the discreet omission of the local market only really revealed the embarrassment about future-proof evidence and arguments that the most worldly-wise Swiss advertiser shared with his colleagues this year.
"The newspaper as a recyclable material" and other recipes for success
Against this backdrop, the only foreign speaker had an easy time of it. Not that the 30-minute commercial that Eugen Russ ran for his Vorarlberg media company in front of the 300 or so managers was uninteresting. On the contrary: the energy and consistency with which he has upgraded his provincial publishing house into a cross-media service platform could well serve as a role model for some of those present. This also applies to the in-house recycling of read newspapers, which for Russ are "also physically a valuable material" that should be handled with care.
It is all the more astonishing, even frightening, that none of the potential imitators asked the particularly obvious question of financing with such rosy prospects. But they obviously didn't have the courage to do so. Or the interest. Neither of these would be encouraging signs for the industry's third year of crisis, which began at the WTC. It will be interesting to see whether the intensifying competitive and margin pressure in 2003 will result in boxing gloves being used for a change at the next Epiphany meeting instead of the usual ice-cream gloves.

Since the beginning of the year, the city of Zurich has been taking tougher action against wild postersThere is hardly a building site wall or house wall in Zurich that is not covered with small colorful posters. Whether they are up for a few days or just an hour, wild posters characterize the urban landscape. While uncontrolled proliferation used to be the rule, since the 1970s companies have been offering their services in controlled small posters. Alive and Propaganda, which claim to be the largest providers in Switzerland, are two of them. Their billposters put up posters on walls and walls and occasionally collected a "parking fine", as Propaganda owner Sandro Galli calls the police sanctions for unauthorized billposting. This "tariff" is likely to be massively increased in the near future. This is because the increased presence of the increasingly popular medium has long been a thorn in the side of Zurich city council. Enormous removal costs (one million francs per year) and increased pressure from private landowners and store owners have forced the city to take action, as Bernhard Liechti from the Office for Urban Development explains. Since January 1, billposters are no longer punished by way of administrative fines, but are instead reported to the police magistrate's office. In addition, the fine has been massively increased. Billposting is only permitted on officially authorized sites or city billboards. Agreements between wild posters and private individuals for outdoor areas are null and void.
The regulation does not only affect providers of wild posters. Small-scale organizers of cultural events also lose out: The restrictions have led to a massive reduction in stickers. In the area of culture, however, the city is offering around 120 special cultural pillars in return, and the funds for further expansion have already been allocated, says Liechti: "We want to promote cultural advertising."
As early as 1999, the authorities announced a tougher approach to wild posters. Since then, Steff Gruber, owner of Alive, has been working with six canvassers to set up Plakat.com - an approved network of sites for small posters. Gruber now manages around 1000 poster sites, comprising 800 indoor and 70 outdoor sites as well as 120 new waste containers. By the end of 2003, the aim is to have 2000.
Competitor Propaganda also offers its customers a good 1,000 small poster sites, but the proportion of sites approved by the authorities is negligible. But even at Rötelstrasse, the headquarters of Propaganda, efforts are being made to steadily expand such a network, after all, they want to avoid conflicts, assures Galli. The new regulation has already claimed its first victims: At the end of the year, Propaganda had to lay off 25 of its 75 employees. "Although we are active throughout Switzerland, Zurich is the largest market," explains Galli. For the current year, he also expects a "sharp drop in sales" in the Zurich area.
Propaganda and Alive also imagine collaboration
Meanwhile, Alive is looking forward to new customers, as Gruber reveals. He doesn't give a figure, but it includes major cultural event organizers who have previously refrained from using wild posters. Despite this trend in the customer sector, Gruber does not expect the official sanctions to have a rapid impact on his balance sheet: The acquisition of the Plakat.com sites has cost Alive around CHF 1.2 million to date. Gruber expects the additional expansion to cost "several hundred thousand francs".
If the city rigorously implements its efforts as planned, Propaganda in Zurich would also have to change its strategy. Galli and Gruber are open to a possible collaboration - as already exists for the management of the cultural pillars. A joint
Both can imagine using the infrastructure "very well". However, there are no concrete projects yet. Simone Keller

Giger & Partner launches Schulthess' latest washing technology as the new in-house agencyBy Luca Aloisi The Schulthess image appears to be spotless. But in the saturated washing machine market, a clearer brand profile is needed. The washing machine manufacturer's new in-house agency, Giger & Partner, embodies the brand values with a textile butterfly, among other things.
With a sales share of around 83%, the Washing Technology division remains the mainstay and one of the two core competencies of the Schulthess Group. However, sales in the saturated Swiss market - 20 percent in the private household segment and over 50 percent in the commercial segment - are reaching their growth limits. In addition, the economic development did not bring the expected slight upturn in the market.
According to the Federal Statistical Office, residential construction also declined in the 3rd quarter of 2002. This comes after the Swiss construction industry already had fewer building sites to work on in 2001 compared to the previous year. On the supplier side, the Wolfhausen-based company is confronted with price wars and eroding margins.
It is good to know that the Swiss brand is "very well established in the export business in the main markets of England, France and Italy and is increasingly taking on a strong position", according to the company.
Schulthess is responding to the harsh environment on the domestic market with a clear commitment to Switzerland as a development and production location. Accordingly, the appliances are positioned in the upper quality and price segment. In order to maintain this quality strategy, CEO Rudolf Kägi continues to focus on above-average innovation.
CFO Max M. Müller does not attribute the recovery of the share price from its annual low in October to the upcoming technology launch. Instead, he cites the company's solidity and growth in the export business as evidence of good prospects for the future - and the new development for a clear lead over the competition: Schulthess is launching a washing drum that has been enlarged by 10 percent in time for the construction trade fair at the end of January.
Saying goodbye to athletics is not difficult
With unchanged external dimensions, the free-floating technology in the Spirit models achieves better space conditions and a more efficient washing process. Program times can be further shortened and water and energy consumption reduced.
While the marketing managers used to advertise the short program times - with somewhat mundane athletics visuals - they are now switching to emotions.
The strategy they developed with Giger & Partner is designed to appeal to both men and women. "While women tend to make the purchasing decision in single-family homes, it's men who make the decision when buying for apartment buildings or in the commercial sector," says Rémy P. Giger, explaining the decision to move away from sports motifs. The tonality of the campaign is a mix of emotional elements - fabrics, lightness, stylized butterfly - and technical facts. The butterfly in Schulthess' corporate colors also forms the link to nature, which is in line with sustainable production.

"The official transition to this role was a smooth one "Head of the week:Gianni Schneiter is the new Creative Director at Renzen & Partner in Aarau
He realized his first concept at the age of eleven: "I changed my name from Hans-Rudolf to Gianni." However, "Gianni" only "went into advertising later" - by his girlfriend at the time, Verena, who placed a copywriter job advertisement with the title "Opportunity for young teachers".
After a few semesters of German studies and philosophy in Lucerne, the Basel native ended up at the advertising agency Edgar Küng BSW. Shortly afterwards, he moved to Zurich to Gisler&Gisler/BBDO, where Max Rindlisbacher became his great role model. "I learned my love of communication from him. Gebi Schregenberger taught me how to play poker. And he bought me a decent veston so that I could also take part in presentations." Schneiter regretted less and less that he had not completed his studies.
Together with Fedor Frank, he founded Freetext, which continued to work for G&G until he became a partner at the advertising agency Hürzeler & Schneiter AG in Zollikon. Then the young advertising man moved abroad. Schneiter spent eight years in the south of France setting up a vacation resort. "An important time-out in a different culture." The divorce prompted him to return to advertising and Switzerland. He founded the concept company Braintrain AG and moved to the canton of Aargau.
Braintrain AG has been writing texts and concepts for Renzen & Partner for six years. The pitches they won in the process brought the relationship ever closer. "As I was already the secret CD and knew the agency team well, the official transition to this role was a smooth one." He continues to work for Renzen & Partner via Braintrain AG, which also looks after its own clients, in a fixed contractual relationship, so he has "remained independent because this model has worked well over the years".
The very young team at Renzen & Partner is currently preparing the communication activities for the 200th anniversary of the Canton of Aargau. "A huge box of TV and radio commercials, advertisements and posters." And, above all, an interesting communications experiment: 200 people from Aargau are giving testimonials about their canton. "The result is a huge forum for praise, criticism, dreams, ideas and wishes, a kind of representative barometer of how people feel about their homeland."
Schneiter lives "as a single man in Aarau's Pampa" and enjoys going to Zurich or his home town of Basel in his free time. And as often as possible in the Midi, where he restores an old stone house. "J'ai la maladie des pierres, I also carve a sculpture in a stone from time to time." In between, he writes and publishes short stories. "I like all forms of communication." Andreas Panzeri

SuvaLiv wants to make the ski slopes safer with Ruf LanzAmong recreational accidents, winter sports such as skiing and snowboarding (over 32,000 accidents in 2000) occupy an unenviable second place. Nevertheless, even if the number of accidents is subject to weather-related fluctuations and no real trend is discernible, it is clear that the costs for Suva have fallen. According to Susan Huber-Brun, Head of Marketing at Suva, they were around 15 percent lower in the 2000/01 winter season, compared with 210 million francs five years ago.Despite this encouraging development, it is a fact that snow bunnies often overestimate themselves and drive too fast. Due to the increased density of skiers on the slopes, accidents are increasingly resulting in serious injuries.
Denouncing recklessness as the most frequently cited cause of accidents among the core target group of 20 to 30-year-old snow sports enthusiasts was not an easy task for the new prevention budget manager Ruf Lanz: communication with a threatening finger or ingratiation does not go down well with the target audience.
The cool-aesthetic world of Quentin Tarantino
"We have dramatized the message in a concise and surprising way," says concept designer Markus Ruf. Winter sports caps with incisions reminiscent of the masks worn by criminals symbolize the criminal driving style of hooligans and emphasize the message "Don't drive like a criminal on the slopes".
Director Michael Fueter was also inspired by the crime genre of the campaign for the main advertising medium, the TV spot. With a cinematic language that resembles the cool aesthetic world of Quentin Tarantino, he builds up suspense: from the American sleigh that rolls squeakily into an underground parking garage to the driver who menacingly slowly puts on his gloves and cap and then appears to take a double-barrelled gun out of the trunk.
Advertising should also be effective at the point of danger
This turns out to be a pair of ski poles that belong to the skier. "To accompany this, we will come up with a series of unconventional measures at the 'point of danger'," says Ruf. These include posters with the emphatic headline "This is not a stopwatch. It's not worth speeding" right next to the clocks at the top station of the ski lifts and chairlifts. Luca Aloisi

The Solothurn media house Vogt-Schild/Habegger Medien AG (VS/H) has renewed two important corporate publishing contracts.News: Via and Aero Revue remain with Vogt-Schild
VS/H will continue to publish the travel magazine Via for SBB as general contractor for a further three years. The publishing house was awarded the mandate following an official tender procedure to which seven medium-sized and large Swiss media companies were invited. Via, which is published ten times a year with a circulation of 230000 copies, will be given a new content and visual concept at the beginning of May. VS/H has also signed a new three-year contract with the AeroClub of Switzerland for the publication of the association's magazine AeroRevue.
EPP National Councillor wants a ban on sex adsSwiss daily newspapers are threatened with a new loss of revenue: EPP National Councillor Heiner Studer is planning a motion against sex ads. As reported by the commuter newspaper 20 Minuten, Studer wants sex ads to be allowed only in publications that are not accessible to minors. However, the Aargau politician and father is not only concerned with protecting minors. Rather, he is of the opinion that the record increase in the number of prostitutes in the Zurich milieu is linked to sex advertisements in daily newspapers.
Job cuts at Blick and WeltwocheThe editorial team of the tabloid Blick is being reduced by 4.4 full-time positions. There will be four redundancies and one early retirement. This could save around one million francs. Even before the current move, jobs had already been saved by not replacing those who left. Savings are also being made at Weltwoche: costs at editorial level are to be reduced by ten to 15 percent, explained editor-in-chief Roger Köppel when asked by the AP news agency. Four jobs will be cut. Köppel did not say which departments were affected.

WHS prepares a delicious brand meal for Annemarie Wildeisen's cooking magazineBy Amdreas Panzeri Less than a year after its launch, Annemarie Wildeisen's Kochen has already become the number one cooking magazine. Now Weber Hodel Schmid is putting on even more steam and promoting Kochen with a new logo, a promising recipe and plenty of spice.
Published ten times a year, Kochen is Switzerland's biggest independent cooking magazine, with a circulation of 9,000 copies and around 400,000 readers. "The magazine even reaches more women than Annabelle or Bolero," Reinhold Weber enthuses about his latest media customer.
Kochen is a product of the real-life chef Annemarie Wildeisen. While she was still editor-in-chief of d'Chuchi at Meyer Verlag in Zurich, she set up her own business, founded the competing product Kochen, and thus whetted the appetite of publisher Peter Wanner at the AZ Medien Group. "Kochen is the only cooking magazine in Switzerland not tied to a sponsor," says Weber. This is not an insignificant detail, because it makes the magazine interesting and also free for the advertising of any brands.
Happy is the one who knows today what to cook tomorrow
Because Meyer Verlag has since been dissolved and d'Chuchi has also been dumped into the AZ Medien Group's cooking pot with all its subscribers as a tasty ingredient after a successful relaunch by Hanspeter Eggenberger's editorial company Duktus, cooking has since undergone a development almost like a pressure cooker.
But at the publisher in Baden, the hunger is not yet satisfied. With the successful completion of the project phase, publishing director Ueli Eckstein now has to "clearly position the Kochen brand.
This task has been given to the agency Weber Hodel Schmid (WHS) - after a competitive presentation against the former budget holder and another "rather DM-heavy joint," according to Weber. The fact that WHS does not want to advertise with mailings to potential subscribers as before, but with completely different recipes, immediately met with interest from Wildeisen. Her cooking is to be rejuvenated.
For this purpose, WHS has developed a new logo together with a new design for the front page. This "re-seasoning" was done in a "very intensive and extensive discussion" together with editor-in-chief and chef Wildeisen. During this creative seasoning, WHS also developed the new brand claim "Jeden Tag geniessen" ("Enjoy every day").
Unusual because remarkably unpretentious, the main course for the new campaign for cooking has been designed. "It's not advertising - and that's why it stands out," consultant Patrick Naef is convinced. "We don't want to sell colorful pictures, we want to sell the magazine," says Weber, summarizing the "atypical" idea with the daily shopping lists. The idea was to "achieve a lot of effect with little money".
Simple, and just therefore very striking, these shopping lists without graphics and other menu inserts are to flood the country in massive scattering. "We want to delight people with new recipes every day for weeks," says Weber, and is already looking forward to the scoffers who discover "a Tagi campaign for cooking" in the design of these daily changing shopping lists.
For cost reasons, however, not in the Tages-Anzeiger ("unfortunately we couldn't afford it"), but for two weeks in full-page ads in the commuter paper 20 Minuten and in the Mittelland Zeitung, the advertising with the claim "Jeden Tag geniessen" ("Enjoy every day") is now to be "unduly dramatized" from January 16. The ads will be flanked by posters in selected pedestrian locations, on public transport and in shopping centers.
Wildeisen warms up in 20 minutes "Cooking in 20 minutes
In order to really stand out, the posters in Zurich streetcars were concentrated on individual lines with three posters per tramcar. 27 different recipes are available for the campaign. The spectrum ranges from the meat and fish department right through the vegetable garden.
The campaign for Kochen will be supported by the publisher by doubling the print run of the January issue to 200000. George Schifferle of Pan Communications will also send out a mailing to 100000 addresses.
Finally, a welcome coincidence is the fact that Wildeisen previously published a book entitled "Kochen in 20 Minuten" (Cooking in 20 Minutes). So this collection of recipes can easily be reheated in the commuter paper 20 Minuten. This can also be used to appropriately underscore Annemarie Wildeisen's expertise, because the enterprising cook not only knows how to handle pans, she has published more than 15 cookbooks to date.

Budget news Maurice Lacroix ticks at Springer & Jacoby
The Swiss watch brand Maurice Lacroix has entrusted Hamburg-based Springer & Jacoby (S&J) with its global advertising budget, which was previously managed by Jung von Matt/Limmat. The agency group won the pitch against the budget defender and four competitors. The first S&J campaign will continue to position the models as "the classics of tomorrow".
Inhalt & Form for Zingg-Lamprecht The communications agency Inhalt & Form, Zurich, has won the overall communications account for Zingg-Lamprecht. The Zurich furniture store was previously managed by Wacker and Rosser.
Two new clients for Virus The Biel-based advertising agency Virus acquired two new clients at the end of the year. It was commissioned by the pharmaceutical company Roche to define and implement new measures for the sales force for one of its drugs. The Biel-based office supplies manufacturer Biella-Neher AG has also placed its trust in Virus. The client and agency want to jointly develop communication measures for the Biella Design and Biella Calendar divisions. They are starting with a new type of sales booklet.
McCann-Erickson advertises the Blind Fashion Show Following an agency evaluation, the Swiss Central Association for the Blind (SZB) has commissioned McCann-Erickson Switzerland to advertise the first Swiss Blind Fashion Show. With this event, the SZB celebrates its 100th birthday. The show is aimed at sighted and blind people and will take place on March 25 and 26 in Zurich and Lausanne. Visually impaired guests will be able to experience the fashion presented by young Swiss designers with their hands, while information will be available in Braille. According to McCann-Erickson, the "strategic and creative level" spoke for itself.

The new editor-in-chief of the Tages-Anzeiger is streamlining and optimizing his management teamBy Oliver Classen Just one month in office as editor-in-chief and already the first bang has been made: Peter Hartmeier wants to ensure more content accents and efficiency at the Tages-Anzeiger with his fast-paced reform of the management structure. Key functions are assigned to the Blue Bund and the two news directors.
Giving the editorial water head a drainage system without letting a lot of know-how flow away: this is how the successor to Philipp Löpfe, who was visibly under a lot of creative tension and recently had five deputies of equal status around him, describes his small personnel palace revolution. Instead of an entire team of substitutes, he now has "two nimble right-hand men" in Daniela Decurtins and Roland Schlumpf, who will "selectively relieve and supplement" him in his day-to-day planning (Schlumpf) and journalistic (Decurtins) work.
Old heads, but no old habits in the new organizational chart
However, the more important change at the highest editorial level is likely to be the appointment of Rita Flubacher and Hanspeter Bürgin, who are particularly close to Hartmeier, to the position of head of news - Bürgin is returning to the Tages-Anzeiger from the Aargauer Zeitung, where he last worked as a correspondent in Berlin. The former company spokesman hopes that this functional differentiation will "significantly increase our reaction speed" and improve the networking of overarching topics such as clone babies or the World Economic Forum. The traditional departmental structure is not up for discussion, but stronger topic-oriented cooperation between the individual alliances is at the top of the reform agenda.
According to Hartmeier, age and gender played no role in the castling process. However, he is "very, very happy" about the comparatively respectable proportion of women. Nevertheless, it is noticeable that those in their mid-thirties (with the exception of Decurtins) have been relegated to the second tier of department heads. Even if they, like the head of the Blauer Bund, Peter Haerle, continue to hold key positions: The generational change heralded by former editor-in-chief Roger de Weck in 1992 - who was also less than 40 years old at the time - has been put on ice for the time being. Incidentally, under de Weck, the Zürich-Bund, which Hartmeier had stylized as the key department with the city and region (including the
Züritipps, which is published as a city magazine) are already under one flag. Hartmeier does not claim that his ideas are new: "Most of them already existed on paper; my job is now to implement and realize them."
The next central item on the agenda in the Tagi editor-in-chief's ambitious catalog of changes - following the revision of the sixth (society) edition at the beginning of March - will be the visual and content-related accentuation of
of the various broadsheets. Not least in view of the upcoming in-house tabloid competition called Express. Hartmeier sees his departmental showcases as a "means of differentiation from the free papers that must be consciously maintained and used".
The professional optimist has time for more surprises
Although Hartmeier does not confirm that the conversion of ZürichExpress into Express, which has been announced for spring, will put him under additional pressure, his emphasis that the Tamedia publishing family and the company management attach great importance to personnel continuity, regardless of the sales trend, speaks volumes. Ultimately, it means nothing other than that the editor-in-chief's chair, which Hartmeier has securely filled for the time being, could quickly become an ejector seat again if circulation does not stabilize. Until then, however, the professional optimist will probably still have some time for further surprise coups - organizational ones, but hopefully also journalistic ones such as the security number at the turn of the year or the current North Korea series.

Telesuisse, the association of Swiss regional television stations, is facing a dilemma, because according to the Federal Council's dispatch on the Radio and Television Act, which was passed shortly before Christmas, only ten to twelve stations are to receive license fee money. This means that Telesuisse, with its 18 members, is facing a difficult choice: who should get a chance and who should go away empty-handed? "Answering questions about the level of fee splitting and the number of stations to be licensed today could lead to unrealistic ideas or emotional disputes," fears Telesuisse President Filippo Lombardi. He has therefore called an extraordinary general meeting for January 31st, at which a common line is to be worked out. Despite the President's admonition to exercise restraint, some regional TV bosses have already taken a stand. page 12

Two companies want to place advertising in places where everyone has to goBy Markus Knöpfli The Frauenfeld-based company Face has been placing advertising in toilets for seven years - now the young Brandsetter AG is challenging it for the toilet walls. The reason for the interest: The quiet little toilets can be excellently selected according to target groups. The newcomer also believes that any ban on tobacco or alcohol advertising can be circumvented with toilet advertising.
Although Brandsetter AG appears in the commercial register, the Brugg-based company, which was founded in September, is known to the public as Brands.ch. The majority shareholder and Chairman of the Board of Directors is Guido Honegger, owner of the Internet service provider Green.ch. However, the idea and concept of Brands.ch originated with Martin Rüetschi, who holds a 49% stake and acts as CEO. Rüetschi has already worked in the advertising and media sector, including at Print Net GmbH in Rüschlikon, which was liquidated in 1998.
Rüetschi is currently in the process of establishing Frames, the first Brands.ch product. Frames are aluminum frames for A4 advertising posters that are displayed in the restrooms of restaurants, hotels, casinos, train stations and service stations. Other frames in A3 format are used at the point of sale (POS) of hairdressing salons, solariums, sports facilities and fitness centers. Brands.ch offers the frames in two categories: Frames-Toilet and Frames-POS.
There is a reason for the focus on these two types of poster sites: high frequency (70 percent of all restaurant visitors have to visit) and long contact times. On average, it takes 48 seconds in toilets, 5 minutes at hairdressers and 25 minutes in solariums. It is almost impossible to avoid them.
Brands.ch went on sale in mid-December. At present, 1500 WC advertising spaces can only be booked in the cantons of Aargau and Zurich. The offer is being expanded. By the end of 2004, Rüetschi plans to have around 35,000 WC sites on offer throughout German-speaking Switzerland, with the whole of Switzerland to be covered by the end of 2005. Brands.ch is currently in negotiations with Zurich Airport and various restaurant chains. Cinemas and doctors' surgeries could also be added.
Brands.ch wants to extend advertising to truck tarpaulins
Rüetschi's timetable is based on the EU's plan to introduce a ban on tobacco advertising from 2005. As Switzerland will then probably follow suit, this could give a boost to WC advertising. "It is likely that tobacco advertising will only be banned in public places, but not at the POS," says Rüetschi and concludes: "Restaurants are often POS for smoking products, so tobacco advertising would still be allowed in their toilets." No wonder he already describes his product as a "diamond" in view of a possible ban on tobacco or alcohol advertising.
As a particular USP of WC and hairdresser advertising, he emphasizes the simple selection by gender, age, scene, purchasing power or geographical criteria. Brands.ch collects visitor frequency data from local operators once a month. Customers can book each individual location themselves online. Offers are therefore hardly necessary.
In addition to the Frame pillar, Brands.ch plans to launch further products from 2004. Rear window advertising on private cars or printed "posters" on the tarpaulins of trucks are being considered.
Another company, Face, has been operating in a similar market to Brands.ch for seven years. With its "Klommunikation", Face is already active throughout Switzerland, achieved total sales of CHF 4.8 million in 2002 and has numerous additional offers such as advertising posters in showers in baths and saunas, advertising on pizza boxes or beer mats. The advertising posters can also be combined with dispensers and the distribution of free samples. Dan Furrer, founder of Face, therefore reacts calmly to the new competition. Many have already tried to enter this market without success, he says. On the other hand, he says that last year the demand for Face advertising space was greater than the available supply. So there is potential for expansion.
Face has also recently started cooperating with the hygiene service provider CWS, which, with its market share of a good 80%, handles a large proportion of the logistics for Face. This not only saves costs, Furrer can now also supply all "its" toilets and showers with posters and products within two days.
two companies fight for toiletten Face Brands.ch
Founded 1995 2002
Branches in Frauenfeld (head office), Brugg
Lugano, Sierre (Forel)
Sales 2003 (budgeted) 5-6 million 4-5 million
Number of employees 32 12 incl. part-time employees
Number of toilet areas around 3000, whole CH 1500 ZH/AG
(as of January 03)
Compensation per Fr. 12.- per area and Fr. 20.- per frame used
Toilet area month (basic price) and month
Costs per Fr. 44.- / month (basic price), Fr. 35.- / 14 days
Toilet surface can be combined with dispenser 50 pieces: Fr. 31.50
100 pieces: Fr. 29.75
Display period 14 days or one month 14 days (dates like APG)
Online booking no possible
Further offers Robidog, Pharmanet, POS Coiffeur (A4)
Beautynet, Showerpower, POS A3 (e.g. in solariums)
Lift advertising, ski lifts,
PizzAd, beer mat
Homepage www.faceag.ch or www.brands.ch
www.theface.ch

In addition: Erich Baumgartner will become the new Managing Director and a member of the executive board at Lowe. He will replace Daniel Keller, who is leaving the Zurich-based advertising agency at the end of April. Baumgartner, who has been in the communications industry for over 20 years, had most recently been working as a freelancer after leaving his position as head of consulting at Matter & Partner at the end of 2001.
In early May, Roger Urs Zbinden will assume the position of Head of Japan/Korea at Switzerland Tourism. In Tokyo, he will succeed Jean-Philippe Benoît, who is leaving the marketing organization at the end of the year. Zbinden’s previous roles have included serving as head of new media at the Neue Zürcher Zeitung and as Country Manager for Switzerland at the software company Day Interactive. Since 2001, he has been CEO of the Tamedia production company Condor Communications.
The BSW agency OgilvyOne has appointed Danja Koth (pictured) to the newly created position of Client Service Director, effective January 13, 2003. Marie-Françoise Ruesch, who has been part of the team as Senior Account Director since August 2002, will now join the expanded executive management team.
Christina von Hahn has been appointed the new advertising director of *Schweizer Familie*, effective immediately. She takes over management of the field and office sales teams from Peter F. Müller, who left the magazine at the end of November. Von Hahn has previously worked for IP Multimedia, Real Media, and Publisuisse, among others.
After more than 35 years of service at Allgemeine Plakatgesellschaft and Affichage Holding, Peter Stebler will take early retirement at the end of the year. Stebler most recently served as managing director of Europlakat International (EPI), the Vienna-based Affichage subsidiary. His successor will be Thomas Rainer, who previously served as a consultant for APG. He will manage EPI’s operations together with François-Guy Sambron of JC Decaux, the company’s second-largest shareholder.
Felix Traber (40) will take over the role of third editor-in-chief at the commuter newspaper 20 Minuten, effective April 1, 2003, alongside Markus Eisenhut and Dieter Liechti. Traber most recently served as deputy foreign editor at Blick. Traber will thus succeed Matthias Gröbli, who resigned effective the end of February.
Béla E. Papp will become the new head of Ringier Hungary in early February, replacing Christoph Tonini, who is moving to Tamedia as chief financial officer. Ringier Romania, which was also previously under Tonini’s leadership, will be headed by Silvia Lepiarczyk starting in March 2003.
Pascal Scherrer, previously editor-in-chief of Radio 24, is moving to Tamedia’s commuter newspaper project, Express. There, he will take on the role of editor-in-chief. According to project manager Marius Hagger, Express is expected to have a trio of editors-in-chief, which will also include Editor-in-Chief Marco Boselli. Joining Scherrer at Express are Daniel Eggspühler as art director and Barbara Siegrist as head of the magazine section.