WerbeWoche uncovers the truth: While Tamedia is calmly preparing to attack 20 Minuten and is dressing up its new product "Express", 20 Minuten AG is already launching a major counter-attack. The commuter newspaper publisher wants to launch a weekly magazine at the beginning of the year. It will be called "What's up" and will be distributed every Wednesday evening in the greater Zurich area. A circulation of 100,000 copies is planned for the 30-page tabloid-format magazine. "What's up" is aimed directly at the target group of Züritipp and NZZ Ticket. The magazine is also packed with event tips, lifestyle articles and an extensive TV program and service section. The latest Tamedia provocation is produced by the editorial team of the commuter newspaper.
Sacha Wigdorovits, Delegate of the Board of Directors of 20 Minuten (Schweiz) AG, wanted to comment on this announcement at
The company will not comment on this at WerbeWoche's request. The two other news items from 20 Minuten are also unlikely to please Tamedia managers: The "Express" competitor will increase its circulation in the Zurich region by 20000 to 190000 copies from next year. In addition, as Rolf Bollmann, Managing Director of 20 Minuten, announced, the commuter newspaper was in the black for the first time this November (af).

WGR Lausanne launches an image campaign for the Geneva-based private bank founded in 1844By Anita Vaucher After 158 years of successful business, it's not every day that a private bank gives up its pupa and launches an image campaign, even in Switzerland. Bank Bordier & Cie. recommends that sour-faced, three-eyed - probably wealthy - people move their portfolios.
New clients no longer have to suffer from "bank pain?" at the secretive bankers in Geneva, Berne and Zurich - should they decide to invest their assets with Bordier & Cie. The bank claims to have maintained a human scale with around 100 employees. And that the direct contact between client and banker allows for a privileged relationship.
Sapperlot! These are new sounds and images in banking advertising: while industry managers, captains of finance and insurance sharks are behaving like greedy canucks and even top-serious cantonal banks such as BCV in Vaud are provoking negative headlines, Bordier is promoting trust and customer proximity with a rather eye-catching image campaign.
After all, the images of wealthy people suffering from a communication disorder with their investment advisor do indeed contrast with the put-on smiles of other models who want to have their dream relationship with the bank installed. In other words, the timing for the Bordier & Cie. campaign developed by Lausanne-based communications agency WGR could not have been better.
The agency, which has been advising the financial institution on communication issues for over four years, has so far worked for its client in the background, including on the redesign of the somewhat outdated company brochure. In addition, the advertisers have occasionally placed advertisements in program brochures for events that the bankers have sponsored.
In Geneva, Mr. Bordier also answers the phone sometimes
Bordier & Cie., with headquarters in Geneva and branches in Berne and Zurich, positions itself as a solid family business. It is now managed by the fifth generation of the Bordier family. The company is one of the few truly private banks still specializing in asset management for private clients - the noble bankers do not accept money from institutional investors, at least that is the philosophy of the company, as a glance at the homepage reveals.
And if a client asks for Monsieur le directeur Bordier personally on the phone, he is promptly put through to him, says Jean-David Gyger from WGR, describing the much-cited client proximity. In contrast, he can hardly imagine that Oswald Grübel or John Mack at Credit Suisse would be so easy to reach for the man in the street, Gyger continues jokingly.
In its advertisements, which are placed in Le Temps, Agéfi, NZZ and Der Bund, the bank reminds people that it is time to change and recommends itself as an "alternative to unrest" because it offers "stable long-term solutions" with its 150-year tradition. In other words: no risk business is conducted with customers' money.
Campaign is not a consequence of branch expansion
WGR consultant Gyger denies to WerbeWoche that Bordier & Cie.'s image campaign correlates with the recent expansion of its acquisition boundaries for private investors. In fact, the bankers only ventured out of French-speaking Switzerland across the Saane at the end of the 1990s and are now also represented in the Principality of Monaco as well as in London and New York. They also offer a global macroeconomic overview every Monday via a newsletter on their website www.bor dier.com.

Since Heinrich Bauer's arrival, the ProSiebenSat 1 CEO's chair has been shaking even more threateninglyBy Peter Ehm Urs Rohner's aura of a private TV sunshine boy has visibly lost its radiance since it became clear that the Hamburg-based Bauer Verlag will take over the ProSiebenSat 1 Media family of stations. Although the Swiss lawyer has achieved a lot, he has also torn a few holes in the war chest.
Urs Rohner and Günter Netzer - two ex-athletes, one chance: the lure of the top rung of the TV world, the control and mastery of images and rights. And the chance of big money. For Günter Netzer, ex-football star, the dream came true; with the help of a consortium, he took over KirchSport AG from the empire of the insolvent Leo Kirch.
For Urs Rohner, the former Swiss 110-metre hurdles champion, this vision did not come true: the takeover of ProSiebenSat 1 Media AG via a management buyout under his leadership failed. The acting CEO of Kirch's broadcasting family allegedly already had a strong consortium behind him: the US investor Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR), Citibank and the US investment bank Hicks Muse Tate & First, which specializes in media.
A "clash of cultures" seems pre-programmed
Someone else has won the race to take over the insolvent KirchMedia. The German publishing group Bauer, together with Hypo-Vereinsbank, will take over ProSieben Sat 1 Media AG. With a price tag of around two billion euros, the biggest deal in German television history will be completed by mid-December. Two corporate cultures will collide in a way that could hardly be more different.
On the one hand, there is the Hamburg publishing house. It is managed according to strict guidelines by publisher Heinz Bauer. Bauer is regarded as a frugal, publicity-shy family group. The company produces 116 magazines in twelve countries. In Germany, Bauer is the market leader in the TV program guide (TV Movie, TV 14), youth press (Bravo) and entertaining women's magazines (Tina, Bella) segments. The boss prefers to keep concrete figures within the internal management circle. Nevertheless, it was leaked that turnover in 2001 amounted to 1.7 billion euros and "will continue to rise in 2002". A company spokesperson confirmed that the return on investment remained stable in the double-digit range in the crisis year 2002. And that's the end of the announcement.
ProSiebenSat 1 Media AG, on the other hand. It provides detailed information about its business quarter by quarter. It explains, it justifies, it gives shareholders hope. After all, the crisis in the advertising market is affecting Germany's largest TV group. And its CEO Urs Rohner is increasingly becoming a perpetual crier when it comes to recognizing "light at the end of the tunnel".
When presenting the half-year figures for 2002, the trained lawyer had to revise the profit forecast from 200 to "140 to 160 million euros". One quarter later, Rohner is now only talking about profits in the double-digit million range. Specifically, his family of channels reported a pre-tax loss of 53.6 million euros in the third quarter. The flagship Pro Sieben is still doing well and achieved "a slight plus". Sat 1, on the other hand, is becoming more and more difficult. From the beginning of the year to September, the pre-tax loss grew from EUR 48 million to over EUR 115 million.
However, the merger and acquisition specialist from Zurich already faced a mountain of tasks as high as the Matterhorn when he was appointed to merge Sat 1 and the ProSieben Group in October 2000. The once competing marketers Media 1 (Sat 1) and Media-Gruppe München (ProSieben Group) had to be merged to form Seven One Media. The news channel N24 had to be positioned and brought into the profit zone. Sat 1 was to achieve more image and sales with sensational in-house productions. And the wickedly expensive Bundesliga football was no longer to be in the red.
Urs Rohner went about his work undaunted. But the "wedding of the TV marketers" brought more lamentation than jubilation. The German agency scene criticized an internal overvaluation of the feature film channel ProSieben and a "downgrading" at Sat 1. "The channel is simply no longer being pushed in the same way," Wolfgang Schuldlos, Managing Director of More-Media, said last year. One thing is certain: Seven months after the merger, Sat 1 was broadcasting thirteen percent less advertising. According to an estimate by MindShare, Frankfurt, the utilization rate was 84 to 90 percent.

Then the "football scandal" broke, exclusively on Sat 1. Rohner had decided to move the Bundesliga show "ran" from the evening before to 8.15 pm. This should bring Sat 1 more advertising revenue - and new subscribers to the pay-TV channel Premiere. "I don't believe that the downfall of the West is imminent just because the football reports don't start until after eight," joked the CEO in July 2001. But the man from Munich had underestimated the importance of the "sacred German family Saturday evening". Advertisers waved goodbye, the people went on the barricades, and football rolled back into the early evening program.
But of course there were also successes. "Kommissar Rex" and "Schwester Stefanie" became long sellers. And with "Richterin Barbara Salesch", Sat 1 has permanently established a successful format. Breakfast television also works well, and Harald Schmidt continues to provide an ideal environment for upscale, young target groups. However, the major in-house productions for the evening program were disappointing: "Wambo", "Vera Brühne" & Co. tore huge holes in the station's budget last year.
For 2002, Rohner therefore had to cut back considerably. All too often, the Sat-1 evening program featured the tried and tested - endless reruns. That also came at a cost. Market shares, image and sales fell. "Things have gone badly for us this year," conceded Rohner at the Munich Media Days in October. The reality is worse: From January to September, Sat 1 lost six percent in advertising sales.
Now Ludwig Bauer, Rohner's first officer, is to personally initiate the turnaround at Sat 1 in Berlin. Productions, formats, personnel - everything is being put to the test. Reorganize, hire or let go is the motto. Insiders suspect that Rohner has sent the clean-up man from the Management Board, who is not from the new owner family, to the German capital in anticipatory obedience. As the new majority owner, Bauer-Verlag is to take over a tidy company.
Experts doubt that this lightning action will provide the decisive boost. Therefore: three years before the end of his 5-year contract, Rohner's chair is shaking badly. The first candidates for his successor are already in the picture. RTL editor-in-chief Hans Mahr and Marc Conrad, former program director of RTL and managing director of the production company Typhoon Networks, are being discussed. Also present: Josef Andorfer, RTL-2 managing director and therefore well known to the Bauer publishing group (the publishing group owns 31.5 percent of the channel). In addition, Rohner's fellow board member Fred Kogel is rumored to have ambitions. "All speculation", the company spokesperson hastily denies. And those involved (still) refuse to comment.
What does the future hold for Rohner AG? Following the entry of Bauer Verlag, the German anti-trust watchdogs are likely to become active. The Commission for the Determination of Concentration in the Media Sector will examine whether the new owners achieve an annual average audience share of more than 30 percent. This will not happen, the Hamburg publishing house is already waving this off. At best, it would be just under 25 percent.
It is already clear that the crisis in the German advertising market will continue over the next six months. Accordingly, the German agency scene is cautious about the future of ProSiebenSat 1 AG under the new majority shareholder. They will wait and see. After a consolidation phase, things could certainly get exciting, says Klaus-Peter Schulz, head of Hamburg-based Optimum Media Direction. A colleague at the agency warns the new owner against the biggest cutbacks in German television history. Instead, Bauer must continue to invest in the program. "The new owner would do well," says Uwe Becker from Unilever, "to carefully familiarize himself with the business and not tear down any walls."
Whether Urs Rohner will play a role remains uncertain. One thing is certain: he was chief strategist for the mega merger of Sat 1 and the ProSieben Group. In other words, the Zurich native built the largest TV group in Germany. At least this historic success can no longer be taken away from him.

Two Contexta commercials and a Publicis poster discover the animal world for Swisscom Fixnet and MobileBambi is amazed and the owl's heart is warmed as glowing wires cheer through the snowy winter forest: it's Christmas - and time to wish his grandma all the best for Christmas Eve. "It's very Christmassy," says the advertising agency Contexta, which created this tongue-in-cheek cinema and TV commercial for Swisscom together with producer Fredy Messmer from Blood Sweat & Tears. Directed by Ekkehart Pollack, the commercial tells the beautiful story of two children calling their grandparents via Swisscom Fixnet. Their Christmas message, delivered in sweet little voices, travels like the biblical star of Bethlehem with a sparkling tail behind it through the wires of the Fixnet to Grandma and her sweetheart.
"With the holy season also comes a time when we become receptive to emotions that border on kitsch," says Marco Serratore at Contexta, explaining the idea behind this commercial. With this advertising medium, Swisscom Fixnet would like to say "thank you to all customers for their trust and loyalty with a beautiful, emotional Christmas commercial", says Roger Renfer, the person responsible at Swisscom. He sees the commercial as part of the great tradition of thank-you commercials, which have long been part of the Christmas ritual in England and the USA and are also becoming increasingly fashionable here.
The commercial was filmed in two versions. In both, Grandma naturally can't hold back her tears at the magic of this bel canto Christmas greeting. In the somewhat cheekier cinema version for the younger audience, however, Grandma is accompanied by a gray old rocker who is reluctant to turn down his rocking hi-fi system because of the Christmas disturbance.
Bugsy does not become a roast rabbit
Bugsy the rabbit has nothing to do with Christmas, although many would smell a roast behind it. The "Chüngel" on the anonymous APG poster, whose fate could be decided by text message - "butcher" or "release"? - was to prove how much attention APG posters receive from a young target group. At the same time, the campaign was intended to bring Swisscom Mobile's community services such as WAP Chat, SMS Chat TXT and FriendZone to life.
Swisscom Mobile received 15,000 text messages in response to the poster - although the result came as no surprise to the notoriously animal-loving younger generations and was therefore regarded by many as more of a surprise.
was perceived as a nuisance. Item: Around 64% voted for the rabbit to live on, as the creatives at Publicis have since revealed.
Andreas Panzeri

The new Tagi editor-in-chief Peter Hartmeier was most surprised by the events themselvesBy Daniel Schifferle The new editor-in-chief of the Tages-Anzeiger, Peter Hartmeier, distances himself from the usual left-right scheme. The contemporary forum newspaper must address the specific problems and needs of city dwellers. Above all, however, the Tagi should have a higher profile in future.
More than three months ago, Peter Hartmeier expressed his views on the future of journalistic content in WerbeWoche (WW 28/02). At the time, he said that content would emerge stronger from the current crisis and that readers would benefit. Did he already know more about his appointment as Tagi editor-in-chief back then? "No," emphasizes Hartmeier. He found out exactly nine days before his appointment.
But he was not the only one surprised. Nobody had expected that the former Head of Corporate Communications would be catapulted so abruptly to the top of the Tamedia Group's flagship. Last but not least, the editorial team. In last Friday's edition, they expressed their shock at Philipp Löpfe's sudden departure. But the new editor-in-chief is not letting this worry him.
"Such a reaction is natural, because Löpfe was held in high esteem," says Hartmeier. The editorial team was shocked by the speed with which the dismissal took place. "And of course they are also wondering what new management style they will now face."
Another pressing question that arises concerns Peter Hartmeier's political line. How does his bourgeois stance fit in with the left-of-center Tages-Anzeiger? "It's not a question of left or right. The Tages-Anzeiger must be a reflection of the big city and its contradictory realities, that's the point," explains Hartmeier. One of his most important concerns will be to give the various social groups as equal a voice as possible. "At the same time, however, a newspaper like the Tages-Anzeiger must also have the courage to stand up for certain values - I think the era of 'anything goes' is coming to an end. But this requires many debates in the editorial office. And corresponding conflicts."
But what will Hartmeier do differently from Löpfe, who has been blamed for at least part of the massive loss of circulation in recent years? "We are in a phase in which the media landscape is changing dramatically - and in this context, new demands are also being placed on the editors-in-chief. The Tages-Anzeiger has to show its colors, and more intensively than before," explains Hartmeier.
"Tagi and ZürichExpress were two isolated cases"
Rumors are already circulating that the journalistic advisory board set up in the summer, the new shadow cabinet at Tamedia, has foreshadowed the installation of Hartmeier. Hartmeier waves it off. The advisory board, of which he himself was a member until his appointment as editor-in-chief, had only held two meetings. "We didn't say a word about the Tages-Anzeiger at either of them," Hartmeier asserts. The request for his appointment came directly from Martin Kall and his deputy Jürg Brauchli.
After the announcement of two changes of editor-in-chief within just one week - the first was ZürichExpress boss Markus Hegglin, for whom a replacement is being sought in connection with the conversion to the commuter newspaper Express - one now wonders who could be next. And: Are the two prominent departures possibly also an expression of a journalistic direction at Tamedia that has gotten out of kilter and now needs to be corrected? "No, that's certainly not the case," says Chairman of the Board Hans Heinrich Coninx to WerbeWoche. "Tages-Anzeiger and ZürichExpress were two isolated cases. The other titles in our company are healthy, which is why there are no reasons for changes to the editors-in-chief."

Objective: To publicize the new center of excellence for prevention, rehabilitation and training at Klinik Hirslanden.Movemed advertising media: Internet, corporate design and others. Use: Until further notice.
Client: Klinik Hirslanden, Movemed, Zurich; Responsibility: Walter O. Frey, René Zenhäusern. Advertising agency: TBS Identity, Zurich; CD: Daniel Leber; Text: Yvonne Graf; Consulting: Beat Aeschlimann, Heidi Röllin; Web: Davor Radisic.

Interview with Rainer Kuhn How does the publisher of a party magazine come up with a children's magazine?
Rainer Kuhn: The new Kult no longer has anything to do with parties! We stopped doing that a good six months ago because it was getting too boring.
Nice - but why KinderKult?
Kuhn: I have an eight-year-old and an eight-month-old daughter, and my partner Fredy Heritsch has a five-year-old son. Ideas like that probably just come at some point.
Media for children must meet pedagogical requirements. Can KinderKult fulfill them?
Kuhn: When I look at the market, I almost can't believe that these demands exist. We want to teach children older values in particular, but these are hardly supported in the magazine market. Values that parents would like to pass on to their children. In other words: Mary Poppins instead of Lara Croft, calm design instead of gaudy stimuli. This makes KinderKult practically a family magazine.
Marketing to children is controversial. There are plans in the EU to ban TV advertising for children. What do you think?
Kuhn: You're knocking down open doors at KinderKult. For example, we only place double-sided advertisements. Children can't tell the difference between the advertisement on the left and the content on the right. Barbie here, animal story there: that confuses them. We also don't accept ads for video games, which are not suitable for our target group. We reserve the right to reject advertisements if they do not fit in with our philosophy. KinderKult should not become an advertisement cow with some content, the magazine is too important to me for that. (sm)

Furthermore Due to differences with the board of directors about the business policy and the shareholder structure, the previous managing directors of the Bernese web agency Connector AG, Patrick Hüttenmoser and Thomas Aellen, have left the company and founded the web agency Emoticom. The new managing director of Connector AG, which belongs to the Contexta Group, is Beat Baumgartner. Also new is consultant Marina Stierli, who previously worked for Futurecom Interactive.
Valora Holding AG has appointed Peter Wuest to head its newly formed Sourcing & Marketing division. He will take up the post at the beginning of March.
Vera Grimm succeeds Ladina Spiess as deputy editor-in-chief at local station Radio Zürisee. Grimm has been part of the station's editorial team since December 2001. Ladina Spiess is moving to the DRS 1 presenter team in the new year.
At the Annual General Meeting on November 20, the Board of Directors of the Basel Media Group was reconstituted. Beat Curti (Board member since autumn 1994) and Jean-Jacques Zaugg (also since autumn 1994) were bidden farewell in recognition of their great services. Newly elected to the Board of Directors is PubliGroupe General Manager Hans-Peter Rohner (photo). In addition to Rohner, Chairman Matthias Hagemann, Vice Chairman Fritz Schuhmacher, BoD delegate Beat Meyer, Ruth Ludwig-Hagemann, Peter Merian and Gaudenz Staehelin continue to sit on the top board of the Basel media group.
After working as a consultant in agencies and on the client side, Ariane Mühleis Ender from Bern set up her own business. On a project or mandate basis, she contributes her experience in event organizations and the food, pharmaceutical and telecom sectors.
Tele-Top presenter Alexandra Hartmann has set up her own business by founding More Production. The company produces event, corporate and city films, which are moderated and accompanied by Hartmann.
After four years, Caroline Gozzi is leaving her post as editor-in-chief of the women's magazine Profilfemme in favor of her deputy Laurence Desbordes. The latter will take over editorial responsibility for the magazine from Geneva-based Audace Publishing on January 1, 2003. Gozzi, who helped launch the magazine in 1998, will remain at Profilfemme's disposal.
The Managing Director of the Swiss Advertising and Communications Agencies Association (BSW), Walter Merz, has been appointed to the Board of the European Association of Communications Agencies (EACA). The EACA is a nonprofit organization that promotes Europe-wide exchange between advertising, media and promotion agencies and advertisers.
Nik Eugster returns to bilingual Radio Canal 3 at the beginning of 2003. He will take over as head of the German program as well as staff duties in the overall program management. Also as of January 2003, Christine Krebs and Claudia Möri will form the new editorial staff of the German-language program.
Fred Struchen takes over as advertising manager of the Mittelland Zeitung at Publicitas in Aarau. He replaces René Rindlisbacher. Struchen is a marketing planner, sales manager and publishing merchant.

Objective: To raise awareness of Women in the Armed Forces Advertising medium: Banner campaign. Use: December 9 to 23.
Client: Women in the Armed Forces, Brigadier Doris Portmann, Bern. Advertising agency: By the way Communications; consultancy/agency: Publimedia Webadvertising AG; responsibility: Tiziano Obrecht, Senior Account Manager.

Frank Lowe doesn't like agencies that only work for clientsSir Frank Lowe has dedicated more than 40 years of his life to advertising. A long time, indeed. It's also a lot of wisdom. So much that it has just found its way into a beautifully designed book: "Dear Lord Leverhulme..." is the title of the private edition that Lowe gave himself for his agency's 21st birthday. Sir Frank is indeed a capable man. Today, his agency employs around 9,000 people in over 80 countries and is one of the five largest in the industry worldwide.
Sir Frank is convinced that he has solved Lord Leverhulme's problem. The co-founder of the Unilever Group is known to have said that he knew that half of his advertising worked, he just didn't know which half. A problem with which Henry Ford was already plagued.
The agency owner is unperturbed in his search for the right half. His credo can be summed up in a few words: His focus is on the consumer. Advertising must appeal to them, because ultimately they should buy the product or service. Good advertising costs no more than ordinary advertising. "But in the long term, it is priceless." Regardless of whether this advertising is emotional, humorous, long or short, it must always meet two criteria: "It must be as simple as possible and good."
But times are not so good for advertising, says the ennobled advertiser. In fact, people are becoming increasingly indifferent and suspicious of advertising, "especially as it comes to them in an increasingly strange and incomprehensible way, via a growing number of media channels and for products that are increasingly similar".
For Lowe, communicating alone is therefore no longer enough. "You could just as easily talk to yourself." For him, the form that communication takes is much more important. It has to make people "look at advertising and convince them to buy the things we offer".
Lowe believes that "most advertising makes little or no effort to win the trust and affection of consumers". In various chapters, the advertiser therefore returns several times to his core statement that many agencies have mistakenly shifted their target market from the consumer to the customer.
A good ad is one that has kept or won an order. "This attitude may trigger a euphoric mood in the corridors after the meeting. But it won't lead to the sales success that customers actually pay us for," Lowe is convinced.
Andreas Panzeri

To force 20 Minuten out of the market, Tamedia needs the support of other publishersBy Markus Knöpfli Whether Tamedia can win its war against 20 Minuten is written in the stars. A flop is just as likely. After all, the "Express" project has a number of sticking points. And it won't work on its own. That's why Tamedia CEO Martin Kall is trying to rally other publishers behind him - with pressure if necessary.
Even if the new "Express" comes in a handy tabloid format and with 300,000 copies, is expanded editorially and delivered to all Zurich households early in the morning and is also available in boxes throughout the metropolitan area, Tamedia has only gained one thing - higher costs.
The main advantage over 20 Minuten, early delivery, was already available with the Zürich Express (ZE). Early delivery not only means that the product reaches the reader a few minutes earlier than any print product in a box, but in this case it also means - and above all! - double commuter potential: what is in the letterbox at home early in the morning can be picked up not only by public transport commuters but also by car commuters. So far, the ZE has not really been able to exploit this double pole position. It mainly reached non-mobile contemporaries. That was its handicap.
But the new "Express" also starts with handicaps. Not only does it have to shake off the ZE groove, which ironically still echoes in the name, but it also has to be of such good quality that car commuters in particular will take the detour to the letterbox before going into the underground garage. The quality of the "Express" must also be so impressive that you won't put it down even when you come across the familiar 20 minutes. These are high standards that will cost a lot of money and some heads. Those of Markus Hegglin and Heinz Krebs will probably not be the last.
Tamedia has another problem to deal with: A product that offers readers more quality for free than 20 Minuten will inevitably increase the erosion of readership at the Tages-Anzeiger.
However, the main problem with the "Express" is ultimately its USP. Precisely because of its home delivery, it continues to reach mainly "homebodies". In the best-case scenario, it may gain commuters in addition to the existing ZE audience - but such a broad target audience is diffuse and entails high scattering losses for advertising customers.
All this shows: Tamedia cannot win the war on the reader market level alone. The "Express" needs a second front - in the advertising market.
However, as the paper is supposed to be limited to Zurich, it has to enter into alliances. All statements to the contrary by "General" Kall and his staff (see also page 5) are either deceptive maneuvers or errors. 20 Minuten already established in both Zurich and Cologne that it cannot finance itself solely from a large city market. The Cologne publishers, who fought 20 Minuten with their own commuter paper, came to the same conclusion. With a large circulation and a diffuse target group alone, Kall is not able to wipe this realization off the table.
In fact, the "Express" now has an unprecedented opportunity to network in the Golden Triangle or even further afield - with other free newspapers. "We are watching with interest what is happening in Zurich," confirm both Beat Meyer, CEO of Basler Mediengruppe (BM), and Paul Galli, responsible for local newspapers at Espace Media Groupe. Their signals to Zurich are clear: "A Zurich-Bern-Basel triangle is always interesting," says Galli. "Such a combination makes perfect sense," says Meyer. "We are not averse to a combination", adds Peter Wüthrich, Director of Anzeiger Luzern/Luzerner Woche.
It is unclear whether Kall will take the outstretched hand. There are some indications, but nowhere are talks confirmed. However, a combi also creates new problems: On the one hand, there are the different sheet formats in front of it. Much more delicate, however, is the fact that a free newspaper combination would compete with the Swisspool, which is likely to further siphon off the Tages-Anzeiger - and not only it.
Conclusion: No matter how Tamedia turns things around, the "Express" project will be very expensive for them. And it needs staying power. Just until comparable readership figures are available for the "Express", 20 Minuten will have a further one and a half year head start.
Has Kall learned from the Cologne publishers? That would be the greatest danger posed by the "Express" project - and not just for
20 minutes. In Cologne, publishers engaged in price dumping or exerted pressure on suppliers, customers and printers.
Kall already seems to be doing the latter: The threat of war against the Aargauer Zeitung in the last SonntagsZeitung was hardly just because of neighborly animosities; rather, the aim was to make AZ Medien AG lose its printing contract with 20 Minuten.
The statement that Tamedia is in talks with Basellandschaftliche Zeitung can also be interpreted as an attempt to put pressure on BM. And Kall has other trump cards up his sleeve. The most sensitive one for 20 Minuten: for a year now, Tamedia-Verlagslogistik has been the general contractor for all transportation for 20 Minuten - from the printing plants to the boxes.
A twelve-year-old idea comes back to life

Twelve years ago, the idea for an advertising combination of the free newspapers in Zurich, Bern, Basel, Lucerne and St. Gallen came from the ranks of the free papers, but the large publishing houses preferred to implement it with their own daily newspapers (SwissKombi, later Swisspool) rather than with their own free papers. Two years ago, when 20 Minuten and Metropol had been launched, the free newspaper combi was again the subject of intense discussion - primarily between ZE, Baslerstab and Berner Bär. This time there was a blockade in Zurich: NZZ, which holds a 40% stake in ZE, was opposed to a combination that would have isolated Anzeiger Region Bern, which belongs to its own group, in Berne.
But now Tamedia has launched a liberating move: By separating the official Anzeiger (still 60% Tamedia, 40% NZZ) and the future "Express" (100% Tamedia) in Zurich, Tamedia will be free to decide with whom it wants to combine its "Express" from spring 2003. This is why there is now movement again in the combination discussion. "The clear constellation in Zurich will certainly make it easier to hold such talks," confirms BM CEO Beat Meyer - and he is not the only one. (mk)

Forum Corporate Publishing honors customer magazinesIn future, the Forum Corporate Publishing (FCP), together with the German trade journals Acquisa, Horizont and Werben & Verkaufen, will present the "Oscar" for the best customer magazines. The previous magazine competitions will be merged into the new award, which will be announced for the first time in December 2002. The entries will now be divided into industry groups. This will make it easier to compare publications with each other, writes the FCP. The application period runs from December 2 to January 31, and the winners will be announced at the beginning of April 2003. Around 50 publishers and agencies from German-speaking countries are members of the FCP.
P launches Print Media Planner 2003 The new edition of the Print Media Planner has been available since November 20. Publicitas AG is publishing its pocket compendium for advertising planning for the 27th time. Over 80 pages provide basic information on the Swiss population, media types and their importance, information on Internet and cell phone use and important technical terms from the world of advertising. The focus is on the Swiss press market. The print media planner is based on Mach Basic 2002 and is available in German and French. It can be obtained for CHF 30 from any Publicitas branch or from bjunghanns @publicitas.ch.
Goldbach Media expands Mediarena The forum for electronic offline and online media Mediarena will take place for the second time on June 4 and 5, 2003. Mediarena was launched this year by cross-media marketer Goldbach Media. In addition to the main forum with experts from science, consulting and the customer side, roadshows for associations, clubs and companies will be offered on freely selectable dates. Mediarena is aimed at marketing, communication and media managers from agencies and advertisers.