For the fifth time, the Association of Photographic Designers (VfG) is organizing its competition "The Selection vfg." VfG is organizing the Selection 2002, which honors the best work by Swiss professional photographers in the categories of advertising, editorial photography, fine arts and free. The call for entries runs from now until January 15. A preview day will be held for the first time on January 30. Further information is available from the VfG office, tel. 01 240 22 03, or [email protected].
"Unord. Scraps of language"
Advertisers, journalists and managers are hollowing out German with disgusting imposing jargon, says the current issue of Sprachspiegel. Anyone looking for suggestions for their professional speaking or
for messages to loved ones can obtain the Sprachspiegel from editor Toni Schüpfer, Rietholzstrasse 44, 8125 Zollikerberg ([email protected]).

Objective: Playful publicity for an active audience that also likes to try something new when going out.Casino Zürichsee Advertising media: Skyscraper, to accompany a classic campaign with posters, advertisements and radio spots. Use: From November 12 to December 8.
Client: Seedamm Casino AG, Casino Zürichsee, Pfäffikon; responsibility: Daniel Vogt, Managing Director. Advertising agency: Arcanis, Zurich, Sibylle Seitz; consulting/agency: Publimedia Webadvertising; responsibility: Tobias Fehrlin.

AY&R strengthens Jim Beam's European brand awareness with a TV commercialBy Simone Keller Finally! For the first time in its 200-year history, US whiskey producer Jim Beam has had a European campaign developed. The TV and cinema spots, planned by Young & Rubicam Europe and implemented by Advico Young & Rubicam (AY&R), are aimed at adventurous boys.
The European branch of US whiskey producer Jim Beam (JB) is based in Glasgow, the home of whiskey. Although the spirit is distilled and bottled on the other side of the pond, the American distillery has so far served up the same campaigns in Europe as in its own country. Last year, however, those responsible came to the realization that European consumers do not feel and think the same way as consumers in the land of opportunity.
Young & Rubicam Europe, based in London, was awarded the contract for "advertising by Europeans for Europeans". After initial briefings and analyses, the agency invited various network partners to a presentation in order to creatively develop the project within the Young & Rubicam Group. AY&R from Gockhausen was awarded the contract for the high-percentage budget. "Because we are one of the strongest creative agencies in the network," explains Group Account Director Stefan Erhart with conviction.
For the company, the assignment - realization of a TV and cinema commercial - offered exceptional challenges as well as exceptional freedom: No other European country has such strict legal regulations on alcohol advertising as Switzerland. However, the Swiss Confederation is not on the list of countries on which JB's European presence is based: Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Bulgaria and later Austria are the markets to be addressed. Nevertheless, the implementation was adapted to the strictest legal regulations - after Switzerland - that can be found in England.
JB drinkers lead a fast-paced lifestyle
According to Stefan Erhart, the five launch countries are characterized by the fact that the JB brand is already firmly anchored there. However, Jack Daniels (JD), the strongest competitor in the bourbon market, has been working these countries for years with impressive advertising budgets. Erhart: "It's about clearly defining the territory, updating the existing values and keeping the brand alive in people's minds." The main target group is a new generation of whiskey drinkers. JB does not want to reach the quiet connoisseur who sips his bourbon in front of a flickering fireplace. Rather, the grain distillate is to be anchored among a broad audience "who cultivate a fast-paced lifestyle and also share their feelings among friends and colleagues", as Erhart adds.
With its very own core values - masculinity, togetherness, independence, youthfulness, genuineness and authenticity - JB wants to defend its market position against JD. Erhart: "At Jack Daniels, the production process is very much in the foreground: the company is trying to construct an ideal, authentic world, almost Disney-like." To differentiate itself from the competition, JB does not completely dispense with authenticity. However, the brand is trying to transfer this into an environment that is more attractive to a new generation of whiskey drinkers.
The commercial also comes to Switzerland via German broadcasters
To ensure that this "new generation" can also identify with the not-so-young drink whiskey, protagonists were cast to credibly represent the brand values. The commercial is a compilation of various adventures, each of which is crowned by four young actors enjoying JB.
Between the visualized brand values, the viewer is also given brief insights into bourbon production, such as the burning out of the barrels. The rapid pace of the individual scenes and the inserted statements are strongly reminiscent of a movie trailer. An editing technique that is not often used in product advertising, as Stefan Erhart knows.
Thanks to the clip-like composition of the film, it can be adapted to the legal and market requirements of other countries at any time. "It's a very long-lasting commercial," says CD Hansjörg Zürcher. "Even after watching it ten times, you still discover something new."
Filming took place over six days at various locations in Spain as well as on the Portuguese and French coasts. "When we talk about this number of filming days, many people realize the scale of the budget." And Hansjörg Zürcher adds: "We had opportunities that are not usually available in Switzerland. Here in Switzerland, production costs can quickly amount to 25 percent of the media budget because the market is so small."
At European level, on the other hand, where a much broader range of media can be used, this percentage is often 10 or less. The commercial has been shown on almost all German channels since October 14. This means that Swiss TV audiences can also enjoy the new appearance - advertising ban or not.

On November 3, the SonntagsZeitung (SoZ), which was last renovated in 1999, will be published with a new headline, and the gentle redesign will be accompanied by a new campaign. "The paper is to become a little more elite," says Editor-in-Chief Andreas Durisch. The "Themen-Bund" section will therefore be renamed "Fokus". Durisch admits that he is also moving over to NZZ am Sonntag, but notes that SoZ has so far remained stable in terms of subscriptions, has achieved a market share of 40% in the advertising market and, although it lost some market share in retail sales in the spring, has regained it in recent months. And Durisch remains confident, as the NZZ am Sonntag's free subscription phase expires at the end of the year (mk).

Many advertising agencies are foregoing expensive professional models and opting for amateursBy Annelies Friedli Gone are the days when only the most beautiful and best models were good enough for a campaign: In the poor economic climate, agencies are turning to cheaper amateur models. But it doesn't always pay off to cut costs.
Their faces are not perfect, their figures not ideal. Nevertheless, more and more amateur models are playing the leading role in advertising. In the SBB poster by Jung von Matt/Limmat, two rockers adorn the walls. In the Swiss Family TV ad, a brunette lolls around in bed.
"The proportion of amateur models has risen sharply in recent weeks," says Lilo Killer, freelance art buyer. The advertising scene estimates that more than 50 percent of models today are amateurs. "The recession is forcing agencies to hire cheaper amateur models," says Yves Spink, art buyer and agency producer at Euro RSCG Zurich. An amateur model in Switzerland costs 350 to 900 francs per day. 2000 to 14000 francs for a professional model. "What's more," adds Killer, "there are no copyrights and usage rights to consider for amateur models, and that makes the whole thing easier." Copyright, usage rights and high daily fees: The days of booking a professional model for a campaign out of convenience without looking for a cheaper amateur option are over.
Amateur models come to the casting in their own clothes
Hinz and Kunz instead of Schiffer and Fässler is the new motto. The professional model agencies are at a disadvantage. They are currently receiving far less attention from advertisers. "Demand from the industry is declining," confirms Ursula Knecht, owner of the Zurich-based professional model agency Option. She does not want to reveal exactly how big the slump is. Christine Brenner, booking manager at the Zurich professional model agency Fotogen, explains: "We rarely book models for advertising."
"Nowadays, many agencies think very carefully about whether they really need a professional model before they book one," explains Hans Siegwart, CD and Managing Director of By Heart. This was also the case with the butter campaign for which he is responsible: He and his team had cast seven models. Three of them were amateurs and four were professional models. But only top model Sarina Arnold had what everyone involved wanted: Naturalness and the right charisma plus dialect. "Sarina was the best fit for the campaign. And that was worth signing her up," says Siegwart.
But Sarina Arnold remains an exception, as proven not only by the facts, but also by a survey conducted by WerbeWoche: many advertisers book amateur models more frequently, and not just for cost reasons. "They are more genuine, more credible and simply come across better," explains Spink. Barbara Brandmaier, co-director of Sheriff Enterprises, the production company for location scouting, casting and production planning for TV commercials and campaigns, has a similar view: "A model simply has to be credible and authentic. And this is guaranteed with amateur models."
To emphasize the authenticity of the models, amateur model agencies have come up with something special: they only let their models come to the casting in their own clothes. Christa Stutz, owner of the amateur model agency Special: "With us, everyone is just as they are in real life."
The reality is different for professional models: they often wear jewelry or clothes that they never actually wear - such as Claudia Schiffer, who is advertising for the German mail order company Otto for the tenth time this year. For Markus Ruf, Creative Director and co-owner of Ruf Lanz, one thing is certain: "Professional models have lost a lot of credibility. People now know that Miss Switzerland only wears Vögele fashion because it's part of her well-paid contract. And that she tends to shop at Mango, Big or Kookai in her private life."
He rarely uses models in his campaigns and says: "Good ideas often don't even need models to realize them. He cites insurance advertising as an example: "The Mobiliar damage sketches look much more honest than all the campaigns with happy smiling model families who assure us how well insured they are."
And if he does choose a model, then one with a fresh, unknown face - like his current favorite model. She's 78 years old, her name is Alice Kislig, she's blind - and she didn't miss the opportunity to play the leading role in the TV commercials for the Mühlehalde home for the blind, including a stunt (see also page 10). She discovered Ruf at the home for the blind. "Once the concept was available, the home management asked the residents if anyone would like to take part in the commercial." Alice Kislig did. And she did it for free.
However, most amateur models look for and find agencies at special agencies. Take Mad, for example, one of the leading agencies in Switzerland. The agency has 2500 amateur models on its books. "Our range is very broad," says agency owner Zaruhi Takfor. In addition to the price - "730 francs per day, 260 francs for the first hour, 70 francs per additional hour" - this is decisive for the growing demand from advertising agencies.
However, more and more advertising agencies are also turning to street casting in their search for the right model. "It's cheaper and brings in new, fresh faces who have never done any advertising for any product before," says Spink. For Christian Grund, photographer at the Zurich agency Grundflum, one thing is certain: "Street casting also has disadvantages. The people you find on the street are less reliable and sometimes don't show up for appointments." Takfor adds: "If an agency thinks that street casting is cheaper than booking an amateur model through an agency, they are mistaken: it often takes hours to find the right model." With her, on the other hand, you "only" have to fork out 170 francs a day to get the right model.
To avoid losing more orders, the professional model scene has responded with price dumping: "The prices for a model have fallen by up to 20 percent in recent months," says Siegwart. Even in Paris, Milan, New York or London, you can find professional models working for less than they did a few months ago. "Fortunately," he says. For him and the majority of his colleagues, one thing is certain: "For some jobs, you can't avoid professional models. You can't advertise for Gucci, Prada or Dior with an amateur model. If some amateur model looks down from these posters, nobody will buy it," says Siegwart.

Etat-News Bossard goes to the club school The Lucerne advertising agency Bossard Kommunikation is promoting the new course "Computer Scientist with Federal Certificate" for the Migros Club School. In mid-September, it invited Bossard Kommunikation to develop a communication concept for the course, which will be held for the first time in spring 2003. The advertising measures include a national advertising campaign, posters, regional activities and wild campaigns.
Felder und Vogel for Concordia Following a pitch, the health insurance company Concordia has opted for Felder und Vogel (FuV) in Lucerne. They will replace the previous account manager Ottiger&Partner at the beginning of 2003. According to the agency, the current image of Switzerland's third-largest health insurer will be carefully but systematically developed together with its marketing team. "We want to advertise more actively and inject some pep into the website," explained Karin Locher from FuV to WerbeWoche.
Touchdown relies on Fünf Freunde The advertising agency Fünf Freunde in Zurich welcomes the Baden-based company Touchdown to its client list. Touchdown offers software and IT solutions for companies. Fünf Freunde's first task will be to create an advertising campaign aimed at IT users.
Mediaedge|CIA in shaving The manufacturer of shaving products Schick-Wilkinson Sword has awarded its European media account to Mediaedge|CIA. According to a report by Horizont, the volume involved is in the "double-digit million range" and will be distributed across 23 markets. Mediaedge|CIA's Frankfurt office will be responsible for the German-speaking region.

Metzgerlehner must help to quickly anchor the new image of Rentenanstalt, which has hit the headlinesBy Luca Aloisi The string of bad news from Rentenanstalt continues unabated. But creative accounting or not, secret holding company or not: on November 1, Switzerland's largest life insurer will launch a new image campaign. This is intended to communicate the strategic return to core competence.
"In the current situation, it is important to set an example. The campaign is a component of the new strategy presented in September," says Corinne Pellerin, Head of Marketing at Swiss Life/Rentenanstalt. And: "If you don't communicate, you won't be noticed."
But when communication has to deal primarily with crises, the public's attention is often focused on the headlines rather than the claim of a new image. Seen in this light, the Swiss Life/Rentenanstalt campaign, which has been awaited for months and is intended to anchor the newly focused pension business, is being launched at a very difficult time. The lack of unity between word and deed gives the emotional presentation the aftertaste of a contradictory deceptive maneuver with euphemistic motifs and messages. On the other hand, the campaign, which focuses primarily on TV and print, is launched at the most urgent moment with the claim "Providing for life is life". Although the market leader among Swiss life insurers - with over 500,000 private and 2,8500 corporate customers - has not placed any advertising this year, its previous message "Get the Swiss Life Feeling" is still present. With the disadvantage that its brand claim has long since mutated into "blues feeling" following the daily scandal reports in the vernacular. In addition, the people who folded their arms behind their heads thanks to Swiss Life products and thus boldly flaunted their financial sovereignty became all the more present in the public eye the more Rentenanstalt got into trouble.
Pellerin brushes aside concerns that the new image strategy could make the product even more expensive by saying that "the campaign is being financed within the framework of the annual marketing budget and therefore has no impact on the price of insurance benefits". And in the current climate, expenditure has been deliberately kept as low as possible. "Compared to other insurance companies, Swiss Life/Rentenanstalt traditionally spends its advertising francs sparingly", she adds.
However, unlike its competitors, Swiss Life/Rentenanstalt has to make up for the mistakes of a reckless financing and growth policy during the stock market boom, in addition to regaining the trust of its tarnished brand. It may be that it is "only" speculation, rumors and half-truths that have cast the traditional company in a bad light. Labels such as the "unsettler" (Blick), the "rake" (Finanz und Wirtschaft) or "weak leader" (NZZ), "dilettante" (Mittelland Zeitung) with a "casino for the Group management" (SonntagsZeitung) are etched deeper into the collective subconscious than any marketing manager would like.
Slimming program also strengthens image impact
However, the decisive factor for the relaunch was not the recent negative headlines, but the long-prepared strategic return to the traditional core competencies of the life insurance business and the retreat to the core markets. The full stop resulted in restructuring and a complete overhaul, which is reflected at marketing level in a streamlining of the 50 products currently on offer into around seven thematic areas.
Customers are no longer to be approached from the product side, but from the perspective of their different problem areas in pension provision, depending on their life cycle. With this verticalization, the market leader wants to develop a high-involvement product from a low-interest product. The streamlined approach with the modular insurance solutions already appears more market- and consumer-oriented in the first brochures.
Just as the new claim reflects Swiss Life/Rentenanstalt's new focus on holistic, integrated pension provision in all phases of life, the main implementation idea of the Metzgerlehner agency also reflects this concept of pension provision. Marco Lehner, CD and copywriter, was guided by the idea that in modern life management, active provision is a lifelong process, similar to learning. "The visuals therefore show a cross-section of everyday life."
You can risk money, but never risk your reputation
The creative team derived the equal sign from the double Swiss Life/Rentenanstalt logo because it symbolizes the basic motif of the new image campaign and at the same time represents the link to the emotional images. "While the previous campaign was characterized by static figures, people in everyday situations should now achieve a high level of identification and bring dynamism to the corporate image," says Corinne Pellerin, explaining the paradigm shift at the visual campaign level.
The spot also uses tasteful images to emotionalize and activate pension provision as an indispensable part of modern life. In addition, the multi-faceted, romantic aesthetic of the series of images is intended to help win back trust in the insurance company and position it as the number one national provider of pensions in line with the new strategy.
It remains to be seen whether the public will accept the message and, like the shareholders at the recent Extraordinary General Meeting, express their confidence in the Group's top management. At present, however, the evasive maneuvers in the matter of Long Term Strategy AG are creating a deep gulf between corporate branding and the actual corporate culture. The scandal-ridden investment company of the Group Executive Board is also alleged to have speculated with Rentenanstalt's equity. As competitor XL Winterthur International quotes the
Real estate magnate Donald Trump with relish: "You can always risk money, but never risk your reputation."

Only a few print media are presenting a genuine zero increase in new ratesBy Markus Knöpfli Two hands are enough to list all the newspapers where the price-performance ratio will remain the same - or improve - in the new year. The consumer magazine Bon à savoir has once again launched the top increase: prices are rising by a whopping 17.1%.
There is no doubt that publishers were more cautious when setting rates this time. However, we cannot speak of a zero round, as Publimedia announced a month ago. Only L'Express, Anzeiger St.Gallen and Baslerstab have seen real zero rounds, i.e. unchanged gross rates and readership values.
Not all major newspapers and magazines are able to provide their rates for the coming year. For example, Das Magazin, TV 4, Lausanne Cités and Aargauer Woche are missing from the table opposite.
Some other titles are behaving in an exemplary and even slightly nerdy manner. Facts, Stocks, L'Hebdo and Giornale del Popolo, for example, are maintaining this year's gross rates, although they have been able to slightly improve their reach. However, Giornale is about to launch a new concept (see page 21) and is therefore adopting a cautious approach.
Le Temps is also setting an example by lowering its color rate by 5.7% - but only per full page - while maintaining the same readership figures. This is also due to idealism, as advertising manager Henri Robyr emphasizes: the aim is to contribute to the revival of the economy and also to take account of tight budgets. However, Robyr admits that this is also intended to increase the incentive to place full-page advertisements instead of smaller ones.
Le Matin dimanche, 20 Minuten, Glückspost and Edelweiss are behaving generously: although they are increasing their gross prices, some of them are remaining well below the gain in reach, which in some cases significantly reduces the price per thousand readers.
In this round of rates, there are again some titles (especially in French-speaking Switzerland) that are adjusting their prices for black-and-white ads to those for four-color ads. These include Bilan, Femina, Télé Top Matin, TV Guide and, in German-speaking Switzerland, TVtäglich. Bilan and Femina even dare to align their rates while simultaneously increasing their color rates by 1.01 and 1.98% respectively. The black-and-white rates for these five titles will therefore be raised by between 33.7% (TVtäglich) and 86.51% (Femina).
Puls-Tipp corrects the previously "very low" CPM
Titles that are new to the market behave completely differently. The Mittelland Zeitung is leaving its rates at the previous level, as is Weltwoche, while NZZ am Sonntag has dared to increase its rates by 5.5%, although it cannot yet report any "official" readers. However, because the readership figures from an initial internal interim evaluation are "very high", the prices have been adjusted in line with performance, according to the publishing house on Falkenstrasse in Zurich.
The only titles listed here that have lowered their rates are K-Tipp and Radiomagazin, both of which are managed by KI Media. However, both have also lost a significant number of readers. Puls-Tipp and Bon à savoir, also from KI Media, are different: Their gross prices are being raised by 14.8 and 17.1% respectively, making them the absolute frontrunners in terms of price increases.
In the case of Puls-Tipp, publishing director Yvonne Müller justifies the steep surcharge with the fact that the page price has so far "only been raised very cautiously despite a steadily growing readership, so that the title had a very low CPM among the competition". This is now set at CHF 18.20 and is still attractive in the competitive environment. The same applies to Bon à savoir, whose page price was already raised by 13.8% last year. As a reminder, this time the increase in readership was again around 12%.
cantonal spirit in Thurgau

Thurgauer Zeitung (TZ) and the regional newspaper Hinterthurgau, already loosely linked in the TZ plus combination, have entered into a compulsory combination for advertisers outside the canton: As of January 1, 2003, according to TZ publishing director Urs Bucher, "all advertisements from outside the canton will automatically appear in both titles", which will now be known as TZ Gesamt. This will increase the paid circulation by 14% to 47919 copies. The price: CHF 1.43 (previously CHF 1.59). Split assignments are still possible for cantonal advertisers (mk).
Gross ad rates for a full page

black and white four-color
2002 Change in % 2002 Change in %
Newspapers
24 Heures 8 800.- 1,15 15 700.- 1,29
Aargauer Zeitung 13 332.-- - 18 819.-- -
Basler Zeitung 12 012.- - 16 512.- -
Berner Zeitung 14 608.-- 0,91 20 509.-- 0,65
View 21 384.-- 1,3 31 482.- 0,8
Federal government 7,876.- 1.13 11,566.- 1.12
Cash 12 920.- - 17 000.- -
Corriere del Ticino 4 532.- 1,94 7 382.- 1,6
Dimanche.ch 12 000.- 2,6 12 000.- 2,6
Finance & Economy 9 900.- - 13 440.- -
Freiburger Nachrichten 3 696.- 1,2 4 946.- 2,47
Giornale del Popolo 4 092.- - 6 502.- -
HandelsZeitung 8 847.60 - 12 483.60 -
La Liberté 5 192.- 1,73 7 442.- 1,73
La Presse Riviera-Chablais N 5 016.- - 6 556.- -
La Regione Ticino 4 590.- 2 7 340.- 1.6
Le Matin dimanche 19 400.- 2,11 34 500.- 1,47
Le Matin semaine 6 500.- 1,56 13 300.- 2,31
Le Monde diplomatique CH 4 550.- - 6 350.- -
Le Nouvelliste 5 456.- 1,64 9 240.- 0,96
Le Temps 9 200.-- - 14 900.-- - 5,7
L'Express 6 030.- - 9 930.- -
L'Hebdo 7 590.- - 12 820.-- -
L'Impartial 5 490.- - 8 730.- -
Mittelland Zeitung 20 460.- - 28 794.- -
Neue Luzerner Zeitung 13 156.- 1 18 466.- 0.7
Neue Zürcher Zeitung 12 936.- 1,73 19 446.- 1,78
NZZ am Sonntag 13 420.- 5,54 20 170.- 5,57
SonntagsBlick 14 352.- 4.9 25 468.- 2.7
SonntagsZeitung 18 530.- 1,5 27 123.- 1,45
St.Galler Tagblatt GES 11 132.- 0.8 15 722.- 0.8
Südostschweiz 15 840.-- 0,56 20 090.-- 0,43
Swisspool I 59 092.-- 0.6 86 959.-- 0.57
Swisspool II 74 536.-- 0.7 115 133.-- 0.8
Tages-Anzeiger 15 522.- - 24 549.- -
Thurgauer Zeitung 6 028.-- 3 8 038.-- 2,6
Tribune de Genève 8 700.- 2,35 15 200.- 0,66
Walliser Bote 4 455.- 1 6 725.- 0,6
WochenZeitung 4 550.- - 6 350.- -
Gross ad rates for a full page

black and white four-color
2002 Change in % 2002 Change in %
Magazines
Annabelle 18 750- 3 18 750- 3
Observer 16 298.- - 22 326.- -
Bilan 10 000.- 57,48 10 000.- 1,01
Balance sheet 18 300.- 3,4 18 300.- 3,4
Bon à savoir 9 600.- 17,1 9 600.- 17,1
CashValue 17 000.-- - 17 000.-- -
Edelweiss 9 200.- 3,4 9 200.- 3,4
Facts 18 700.- - 18 700.- -
Femina 22 120.- 86,51 22 120.- 1,98
Health consultation 12 500.- 10,3 12 500.- 10,3
Lucky mail 12 630.- 2 12 630.- 2
Cooking 11 700.- - 11 700.- -
K-tip 21 800.- - 3,1 21 800.- - 3,1
L'Illustré 10 400.- - 18 700.- -
Pulse tip 12 400.- 14,8 12 400.- 14,8
Radio magazine 4 250.- - 16,7 5 000.- - 16,7
Swiss family 16 290.- 3 16 290.- 3
Swiss Illustrated 25 795.- 1 25 795.- 1
Stocks 8 895.-- -- 10 950.-- --
Tele 16 200.- 2 16 200.- 2
Télé Top Matin 18 960.- 74,91 18 960.- -
TR 7 10 875.- - 10 875.- -
TV 8 3 843.- 4,6 6 800.- 4,6
TV Guide 12 970.- 75,03 12 970.- -
Weltwoche 13 728.- - 13 728.- -
Free newspapers20 Minuten national 24 152.69 5 24 152.69 5
20 minutes ZH 11 049.70 5 11 049.70 5
20 minutes BS 6 827.26 5 6 827.26 5
20 minutes BE 6 308.06 5 6 308.06 5
Anzeiger Region Bern 6 732.-- - 9 012.-- -
Anzeiger St.Gallen GES 13 728.- - 16 140.- -
Baslerstab GES 9 837.- - 14 692.- -
Bernese bear 7 040.-- 1,2 8 990.-- 0,8
Biel/Bienne 8 221.20 0.53 11 181.20 0.53
GHI 9 504.- 0,9 15 206.40 0,9
ZurichExpress 10 900.- 0,8 16 120.- 0,5
SupplementsTVdaily 23 940.-- 33,7 23 940.-- -
Source: WerbeWoche/Publishers

Objective: Launch of the new C8 model, Citroën's new family car.Citroën advertising media: Banner, pop-up and DHTML. Use: From September 30 until
December 1.
Client: Agence OMD, Geneva; responsibility: Sébastien Fabbi, Managing Director. Consulting/mediation: Publimedia Webadvertising; responsibility: Magali Carrecabe.

Giornale del Popolo starts the new year with a new look, concept and sponsorshipBy Markus Knöpfli The Bishop of Lugano is letting the Giornale del Popolo off the leash from the end of the year and putting it on its own two feet. A public limited company is being founded for this purpose. The third-largest-selling daily newspaper in Ticino is getting a new concept and layout to kick off a new phase in its life.
On Friday, November 1, the Giornale del Popolo will have a new publisher. The paper, which has a stable readership and circulation (27,000 copies), previously belonged directly to the Bishop of Lugano and will now be transferred by him to the new Società editrice del Giornale del Popolo SA. It will start with share capital of 100,000 Swiss francs, 100% of which will come from the diocesan treasury. Additional investors are to be found by the end of the year to significantly increase the share capital.
A rumor spread by Facts that financier Tito Tettamanti wants to get involved is denied by Matteo Oleggini, designated CEO of the new company. He says that no talks have yet taken place with Tettamanti. The only thing that is certain so far is that the diocese wants to remain a shareholder. However, a share was enough for it to secure a seat on the 6 to 13-member Board of Directors (BoD). No wonder: regardless of the size of the shareholding, the articles of association give the diocese "an important role" in determining the journalistic line and appointing the editor-in-chief.
Space for a newspaper with fundamental Christian values
The Giornale's first Board of Directors will largely consist of members of the previous editorial board. However, the AG will be chaired by 64-year-old Italian Gianni Locatelli, a former Director General of RAI and currently working at the National Cancer Research Institute in Milan. The new editor-in-chief will be Cesare Chiericati, previously a senior member of the TSI editorial team. Locatelli and Chiericati stand for journalistic and economic openness at Giornale and for the replacement of the bishopric and CVP. On January 1, the paper will also launch with a new layout designed by Milanese graphic designer Francesco Camagna and a revised concept.
The Giornale, which is leased by Publicitas, is linked to Corriere del Ticino (39589 copies) and La Regione Ticino (32000 copies) in the Tre Top Ticino combination, which generates 60% of its currently declining advertising revenues. According to MediaFocus, the Giornale generated gross advertising revenues of around CHF 10 million in 2001, CHF 7% less than in 2000. The paper is in the red for this and last year. Based on a market survey, Oleggini still sees room in Ticino for a daily newspaper committed to fundamental Christian values. The prerequisite is more money and a clear company structure. He does not see a rosy future. "It will certainly be very difficult for us," he says.

In addition, Ray Immoos has been supporting the consulting team at McCann-Erickson in Zurich as an account assistant since September. Immoos acquired the necessary skills during his time at the Zurich-based agency Bunt and through his training as an advertising assistant at Spok.
Peter Zeller will take over as Managing Director of the advertising agency Euro RSCG Partner in Zurich at the beginning of November. Zeller most recently served for four years as Vice President of Marketing & Communication at the airlines Swissair/Sabena and Swiss. Prior to that, he gained over twelve years of agency experience, first in 1985 at Aebi and Partner, and later at BBDO Europe in London, MLS Leo Burnett, GGK Basel, and Advico Young & Rubicam.
The web agency Die Argonauten Schweiz has brought on a new team member: Sascha Waldschmidt has been appointed Director of Information Architecture and will now head up the concept development division. Waldschmidt, a political scientist, began his marketing career in 1999 as a concept developer at Pixelpark in Berlin.
Peter Urs Naef, former CEO of Jean Frey, is becoming a partner and co-owner of the consulting firm UBGnetwork. The company, headquartered in Steinen, SZ, was founded over 20 years ago by Brunello Gianella and has previously operated in the areas of coaching, training, and change management. With Naef’s arrival, UBGnetwork is expanding its services to include marketing and sales.
Beat Aeschlimann, who has been working as a communications consultant at TBS Identity for a year and a half, has been appointed to the company’s executive board. His responsibilities include helping to shape the strategic direction of TBS Identity and contributing to the further development of the corporate identity and corporate design areas with regard to marketing communications and brand management.
Financial experts Stefan Blum and Francesco Catanzaro have founded the consulting firm B&C Advisors. The Zurich-based company focuses on capital markets communications and upstream strategic consulting for companies. Blum previously worked as an analyst at a Swiss private bank and most recently served as Chief Financial Officer and Investor Relations Officer at the software company Obtree; Catanzaro was responsible for equity research at Bank Sarasin in Zurich for four years.

X-tra has long been a household name among Zurich’s nightlife scene. Now, the club and concert promoter based at Zurich’s Limmatplatz is launching its first-ever branding campaign. Following a competitive pitch, X-tra has entrusted the project to Code, a young Zurich-based advertising agency. Amid the current boom of new clubs popping up like mushrooms, the campaign playfully engages with the image of other well-known Zurich venues—with humor, but without malice. Each ad targets a different audience, «so that the campaign as a whole conveys the image of X-tra,» as Dani Donato and Reto Gehrig from Code explain. The puns in the posters and ads, each featuring characters styled in a way typical of the venue, read: «Still dusty at the factory?», «Still hanging out at Fredi’s?», or, for example: «Still not enough Cubanitas on the stock market?» A win for Titanic. With the September 26 issue, the editorial team of the satirical magazine Titanic was given free rein to mess with the Zurich Tages-Anzeiger’s magazine, which had a slightly different stylistic approach. «Sepp Blatter naked» was promised on the newsstand display. Since no such “Valais (dried) meat” could be found inside the issue, some magazine readers are said to have even asked the doorman at the editorial office on Werdstrasse for help finding the racy pictures. There were also subscription orders and complaints, though fewer than feared—or hoped for. In any case, the humorous experiment paid off for *Titanic*. The German satirical magazine, which previously had 900 subscribers in Switzerland, gained 80 more as a result of the campaign, according to a report in the *Frankfurter Allgemeine*.
Migros also has its own sitcom. Migros wants to serve its customers even better in the future and is breaking new ground in employee training: It is producing its own sitcom titled «Tscheggsch de Pögg.» Migros Lucerne has cast popular sitcom stars such as Urs Bosshard («Fertig luschtig»), Esther Gemsch («Lüthi & Blanc»), and Verena Zimmermann («Die Direktorin») in the lead roles of this humorous training video. Former Miss Switzerland Stéphanie Berger plays a man-crazy saleswoman who is determined to snag a celebrity from *Schweizer Illustrierte*. Otherwise, the story revolves around a certain Max, who is starting a new job as training manager at Migros Lucerne. During rehearsals and the filming of the five episodes, the 3,500 employees of Migros Lucerne were invited to serve as a live studio audience—as is customary in sitcoms—to set the mood. In one of the guest roles characteristic of real sitcoms, Ernst Weber, CEO of the Migros Lucerne cooperative, made an appearance to the delight of his employees. He was also the one who came up with the idea for this unconventional training sitcom.
Strittmatter, the convert. In an interview with *WerbeWoche* (WW 27/02), he denounced the overuse of the term «branding» as a «symptom of pomposity.» Hermann Strittmatter, a self-proclaimed stickler for principles and opponent of opportunism, has evidently revised his diagnosis in the meantime. Anyone who read in the NZZ this week that his agency, GGK, has designed a «national brand» on behalf of Präsenz Schweiz—intended to represent our Alpine republic abroad—would come to this conclusion. This «National Brand» consists, rather originally, of a white cross on a red square, beneath which—presumably to prevent misunderstandings—the brand name «Switzerland» is emblazoned in the respective national language. In this respect, Strittmatter’s logo design bears striking similarities to Tyler Brûlé’s Swiss logo. Last summer, a meeting with the corporate designer of the Swiss airline was «out of the question» for Stritti, «on the advice of my three psychiatrists.» Who knows—perhaps there’s been a change of heart here as well, and we’ll soon see the two of them at the “Kronenhalle” bar engaging in a friendly exchange of ideas.
20 Minuten becomes 2. If everything needs to go faster in the morning, that should apply to the news, too. True to Bluewin’s motto, «If you want it faster, go with ADSL,» the creative team at Jung von Matt/Limmat paid a visit to the 20 Minuten newsroom. There, they read through the Friday edition of the commuter newspaper and quickly designed a new front page for Bluewin. In the process, they creatively shortened the logo to «2 Minuten» in a flash. Under the headline “Find out in 2 minutes with Bluewin what’s in 20 Minuten,” readers received the most important information in a fast-paced ADSL version. This new front page was stapled around the regular newspaper like a cover for readers.
The first video game magazine. Pong is the name of the world’s first video game. Back then, players could play ping-pong on the TV screen using two bars. Since then, the gaming world has evolved at a rapid pace. The name Pong has remained iconic. That’s why Pong is now also the title of Switzerland’s first print magazine for video and console games. The 48- to 60-page A4-format magazine is published by SeventhSky, the publisher of the trendy magazine of the same name. The new publication will be distributed free of charge at retail outlets and other gaming hotspots. The price for a full-page, four-color ad is 12,500 francs, with a total circulation (German and French editions) of 150,000 copies. The first issue will be published in late November.
A game of chance. The new Lady’s First Hotel on Zurich’s Mainaustrasse offers an exclusive, one-of-a-kind service. As is clearly shown on the Sulzer Sutter poster, two people can check in at the same time thanks to the two reception bells. But only women. Lady’s First—as the saying goes—is supposed to be a hotel and wellness center exclusively for women.
Chandra’s Wine Cellar. When Chandra Kurt is at the *WerbeWoche* editorial office writing her regular column «Aufgefallen,» nothing seems out of the ordinary. Yet everyone knows. Every week, the cleaning crew has to remove dozens of half-empty wine bottles from her office. These end up in the conference room, where her editorial colleagues quietly clear them away during a quiet moment before they’re finally disposed of for good. Sometimes these bottles include some very fine wines, which Chandra secretly uncorks in her office—often as early as the afternoon. We’ve since learned, however, that our colleague doesn’t suffer from an excessive thirst. To our relief, we’ve learned that she has written a book for Werd Verlag. The practical wine guide is titled «Chandra’s Wine Cellar.» In it, the wine expert (SonntagsZeitung, Finanz & Wirtschaft, «Der kleine Johnson») describes the character of typical wines from the well-known wine regions of Europe and the New World and provides information on their aging potential. In addition to various practical shopping tips, the guide also offers an overview with descriptions of the most important wine shops in Switzerland.