Advertising expenditure approached the previous year's figuresWith an overall loss in gross advertising expenditure of minus 1.6%, the advertising market was somewhat more relaxed in April than in the two previous months. Although Media Focus recorded lower advertising income in most media categories than in the same month last year, the losses were less significant than in February and March. Daily newspapers (- 0.5%), television (- 0.9%), trade journals (- 1.2%) and consumer magazines (- 1.5%) just missed their prior-year figures.
Radio stations and Teletext made leaps forward. Both media were still in the red in March, but in April radio stations increased by 15.8% compared to the same month last year, while Teletext increased by 12.1%.
Cinemas, on the other hand, plunged to new lows: revenue losses here amounted to minus 37.8%. Posters also continued to decline. After modest losses in March, they recorded a decline of 6% in April. Although gross advertising revenue from Internet banners rose above one million francs in April for the first time since January, the relative loss of minus 43.5% compared to the same month last year remains hair-raising.
Accumulated over the first four months of 2002, advertising expenditure fell by -4.1%. This means that the overall result has improved slightly since March, when the media still had to lament a cumulative loss of 5.1% compared to the previous year. Bruno Amstutz
Gross advertising expenditure by media

January 2001/January 2002 in comparison
in 1000 Fr. 2001 in 1000 Fr. 2002 +/- in %
Daily newspapers 142 086 141 375 - 0.5
Consumer magazines 67 701 66 710 - 1.5
Trade journals 20 930 20 673 - 1.2
TV 65 988 65 363 - 0.9
Radio 10 363 11 996 15.8
Cinema 4,613 2,871 - 37.8
Teletext 1 510 1 693 12.1
Poster 35 908 33 754 - 6.0
Internet banner 1 846 1 043 - 43.5
Total 350 945 345 478 - 1.6
Source: Media Focus

Just six 20-minute segments—or two hours after the final whistle of the day’s last match—Zurich’s fastest commuter newspaper plans to release an evening edition dedicated to the World Cup. With a print run of 100,000 copies, the 20 Minuten World Cup special will be distributed to fans at train stations in Zurich, Bern, and Basel starting May 31. To draw attention to this special feature by 20 Minuten before the first kickoff, the Zurich advertising agency Hesskiss has developed a humorous campaign: A soccer player counts down the days with his toes—seven, six, five, four, three, two, and finally one day left. The ad is a half-page spread in the corresponding issues of 20 Minuten.
Second Swiss Juror at Cannes. Switzerland will be represented by two jury members for the first time at this year’s Cannes International Advertising Festival. Following Remy Fabrikant’s appointment to the Press & Poster category, Gilbert Fisch has now been named to the Direct Mail jury. The Direct Mail Award will be presented for the first time in 2002.
Promoting Quality of Life. On June 2, Zurich will vote on the Limmatquai bypass. Because there has been a striking lack of discussion about this important issue so far, the Weber Harbeke advertising agency—which is itself located at Limmatquai 16—has now spontaneously launched a campaign featuring wild posters. «Limmatqual» is the name of this subtle campaign, designed to remind people that 20,000 cars struggle along the Quai every day, causing a nuisance to pedestrians and residents alike. To help put an end to this ordeal with a “yes” vote from the electorate, the company RTK in Kloten has also spontaneously contributed by lithographing and printing the 200 posters.
Market Research: Boom Slows. The 25 market and social research institutes grouped under the Swiss Interview brand increased their revenue by 6.3% to 207.3 million francs in 2001. This fell short of the previous year’s record growth of 18.6% and also failed to match that of 1999 (7%). A total of 2,852,000 interviews were conducted outside of panels. The Swiss Association of Marketing and Social Researchers (SMS) warns that the high frequency of surveys could lead to survey fatigue among the population.
Halftime. With about a week to go before the start of the World Cup, Swiss energy company Axpo and NZZ Online are also stoking the excitement. At www.totomania.ch, there’s a free World Cup prediction game for companies and individual participants. The contest was designed and developed by Futurecom interactive AG. For World Cup prediction game fans, Totomania.ch is an ideal platform because it takes care of the former hassle of paper slips and ranking calculations in such prediction contests through a centralized system. As a one-time service, users can also sign up for a quick goal newsletter at www.totomania.ch. This newsletter provides detailed information via email about every World Cup goal, so you can stay on top of the action even while at work. Futurecom interactive also designed print ads for the prediction game, which are appearing in the NZZ.
Farner’s Alliance with the ECC Group. Farner PR and Consulting has entered into an exclusive strategic alliance with the European Communications Consulting (ECC) Group in Germany. ECC is the parent holding company of the German market leader ECC Kohtes Klewes. Under the ECC Farner brand, the companies plan to serve their existing mutual clients and acquire new ones. In addition, they will grant each other access to resources and intend to collaborate on staff training, as Farner CEO Christian König explained to WerbeWoche. There is no financial entanglement involved; Farner remains owner-managed. ECC is also majority-owned by management, though the advertising agency BBDO holds a 49.9% stake. In addition to Kohtes Klewes, the network includes other agencies in Germany, Belgium, Austria, and Hungary.
Cannes Launches Outdoor Advertising Grand Prix. This year, for the first time, a separate Grand Prix for outdoor advertising will be awarded at the Cannes International Advertising Festival. Until now, this category had been covered by the Print & Poster category. The «Outdoor Grand Prix» is sponsored by the French outdoor advertising group JCDecaux. According to a press release, over 3,000 outdoor entries have been submitted so far.
Final whistle. At Tower Sports in AlbuVille in Rapperswil, you’ll find everything a soccer fan needs for the World Cup: all the team jerseys, authentic cleats from every brand, the official World Cup ball, and much more soccer-related merchandise. Publicis is promoting the whole thing primarily through a poster campaign—and in a way that’s sure to cause a sensation not just among soccer fans, as Daniel Krieg and Uwe Schlupp believe. Their tagline is: «Everything for the World Cup in Japan and South Korea.» The accompanying visual: Asian sandals with «traditional» studded soles. These «soccer sandals» will appear as large B12 posters in and around Rapperswil shortly before and throughout the entire duration of the World Cup. In addition, the original «soccer sandals» will be sent out via direct mail and displayed as eye-catchers at Tower Sports.
Editorial

«Rationalized Emotions» «It takes years for trust to return. It takes years until, one day, the frenzy of speculation flares up again, the adventure begins anew, brings about a new crisis, and causes everything to collapse in a new disaster.» What sounds like an analysis of the collapse of the New Economy is, in reality, a quote from Émile Zola’s 1891 novel *L’Argent*. The book deals with the dashed hopes of speculators during the Belle Époque. Today’s stock market activity, with its focus on the Internet, multimedia, and biotechnology, resembles the first Industrial Revolution at the end of the 19th century. Back then, the railroad and the telephone radically transformed the economy and society. We are witnesses to a gold rush in cyberspace with the ultimate battle cry: «Go online!».
Such developments are often described as «irrational exuberance» (Allan Greenspan). But this criticism falls short, because the market is merely an instrument for rationalizing hopes and fears. It is only when viewed from a distance that the whole thing reveals its rational core: Speculators are at the forefront of every start-up phase. They are, so to speak, the seed investors of the technological revolution. The subsequent crash is inevitable and, ultimately, nothing more than a phase of consolidation. This is where it becomes clear which business ideas will endure and which will definitely disappear. One need not view this process through a Darwinian lens, for it is people who decide how they want to organize their lives in the new world of the Internet and telecommunications—what they prefer to buy online and where they prefer personal contact. Reason enough to once again give an Internet guru a chance to speak. You can read the interview with Douglas Rushkoff on page 29. Samuel Helbling, Editor-in-Chief

Reto Alborghetti launches his own communications consulting companyHead of the week
"I want to impart my knowledge in the future and advise in the traditional sense"
Consulting "with head and heart" is written on Alborghetti Communication's concept paper. At Feldeggstrasse 49 in Zurich, Reto Alborghetti wants to advise clients on a mandate basis and independently manage their communication problems as a partner or build networks. "I'm not a new advertising agency," he says, correcting an initial impression that there are already too many small traditional advertising agencies. He is convinced that "the time is ripe for alternative forms" and mentions top people who are already successfully moving in a new direction with good networks.
As a "one-brain show" with a network of contacts that has grown over almost 30 years, Alborghetti Communication carries out entire development processes with independent entrepreneurs as required. With his consultancy, however, he does not want to make a name for himself as "Mr. Second Opinion". "I act as an intermediary between clients and specialists. With the aim of improving processes and optimizing results." Alborghetti therefore sees his target group primarily as customers. However, there are also a few agencies that have expressed an interest.
Since completing his commercial apprenticeship in an advertising agency, the now self-employed consultant has worked continuously in advertising agencies. For him, the "formative large agencies" for his almost automatic career were Gisler & Gisler as well as Aebi and Farner. In between, he once spent a whole year driving across America in a camper van. At Farner Publicis, he spent seven years as consulting group manager, looking after top clients such as "Das Gelbe Konto", Sigg Bottles and Nescafé.
With Weber Harbeke Alborghetti, he seized an opportunity as a partner in a small creative agency in 1996. The founding of the Migros agency Exxtra changed the course of this development. He retains his vast expertise in the retail trade.
"I withdrew for two months and thought about it: What can you do?" The result is his very own service offering: "In future, I want to impart my knowledge and advise in the traditional sense." After all, consulting is increasingly being neglected today because the infrastructure and cost structure in the agencies no longer allow it and customers often lack the time.
He now wants to fill this gap and find both niches and long-term relationships, because "trust is my best recipe for success," he says. In his private life, Reto Alborghetti is together with the woman he met in KV and later married in Las Vegas. Two children, a bit of sport and music as a reminder of his wild years as a DJ are the best way to relax in his free time. Andreas Panzeri

Espace Media Group CEO Albert P. Stäheli on the BZ baby Solothurner TagblattThe six-month-old Solothurner Tagblatt (ST) currently has 1500 "certifiable copies"; according to Albert P. Stäheli, there should be 2500 by the end of the year. After six months, you will have 1500 authenticated copies of ST. However, the Berner Zeitung (BZ) already had 1100 subscribers in this area. Are you satisfied with just 400 copies?
Stäheli: Wait, we're talking about 1500 newly authenticated copies under the title ST.
1500 copies are few. The local advertising volume is also low.
Stäheli: Your interpretation is not correct, subscription sales are a very long-term thing in the traditionally sluggish regional newspaper market. 1500 copies is a very good result after such a short time. Entering saturated regional markets does not happen in a flash, we have prepared ourselves to take the long route. The fact that we are still slightly below the average of our other split editions in the advertising sector with half a paid advertising page per edition does not bother us at the moment, because this part of the market share development logically follows the reader market.
However, the fact that you are already rebuilding the ST and aligning it more locally shows a certain nervousness.
Stäheli: It's a normal process that after the initial launch phase comes the fine-tuning.
The Mittelland-Zeitung contract runs for five years. In five years' time, you hope to finally win the favor of the Solothurner Zeitung. However, Vogt-Schild's emotional reactions to your ST show that you have ruined this option.
Stäheli: Nothing is ever blocked for us, we remain completely open and objective. But we are also realists. Today, Vogt-Schild is strongly influenced by PubliGroupe, which has a significant stake in the site and is also the full leaseholder. However, PubliGroupe has never chosen a strategy that would have been in favor of the BZ; instead, it fights this owner-operated newspaper wherever it can. Interview: Markus Knöpfli

Eye-tracking measurements help to test the effectiveness of advertising subjectsBy Bruno Amstutz The company Management Tools offers eye-tracking for pre-tests of advertising subjects. The eye-tracking measurements are intended to help direct the eye to the essentials and to reveal possibilities for optimizing the design.
What good is the most extravagant logo and the crispest headline if no one is looking? Advertising doesn't have much time to get its message across to women and men. This makes it all the more important that the essential elements of communication are perceived right away.
Since the fall of 2001, the company Management Tools (www.mgtools.ch) has been pretesting the subjects of advertisements and posters with the aid of the eye tracking method: a camera measures the gaze of test subjects who are presented with a test motif.
In principle, the technology is nothing new, but its implementation was previously associated with considerable effort: Helmet-mounted cameras had to be calibrated, the course of vision was recorded on video tapes, and the analysis required enormous man-hours.
Dominant eye catchers distract the eye from the essentials
New measurement techniques and the software developed by Management Tools provide a remedy. The camera is located at a distance of about one meter from the head and can be calibrated within a few minutes. The analysis of the gaze patterns is software-supported and much faster, without the time-consuming detour via video tapes.
The camera records how the subjects' gaze wanders over a subject in the first few seconds and where it rests. These points provide information about the places where information is absorbed. In subsequent interviews, the recall performance and impact of the advertising message are assessed.
Eye tracking checks the attention paid to individual image elements and can warn, for example, if an eye catcher attracts so much attention that the brand next to it is no longer noticed. If, in the interviews, all the male test subjects remember the beautiful woman with the plunging neckline, but no one remembers which product was next to it, the advertising misses its purpose. Eye-tracking primarily reveals the weighting of visual elements and detects optical voids.
Eye tracking helps to detect errors
Walter Bösch, co-owner of Management Tools, sees a sensible use for the method when advertising agencies or clients are faced with a choice between different motifs. Even if they seem equivalent at first glance, the pretest can reveal optimization opportunities before the campaign is launched.
"We want to intervene as early as possible in the creative process," says Bösch, "so that the tight advertising budgets are used efficiently." Bösch is aware that eye tracking is not a panacea: "In a vacuum, the measurements say little; they have to be supplemented by interviews and do not allow any universally valid statements."
External influences can distort the course of the gaze
Other market researchers approach the method with a certain degree of skepticism. They see the pure eye-tracking as merely a benchmark for a diagnosis. And they doubt that the measurements provide more far-reaching insights than the detection of unnoticed elements and distractions of the gaze from important content and messages.
"The gaze progression alone only says something about the process of stimulus processing, but nothing about its results: the emotions and cognitive processes," finds Hannes Steinmann, a member of the management board of the Publitest market research institute, "even if different target persons see the same elements, they process the impressions differently."
External influences can also distort the results. "Visual stimuli before the test can change the gaze pattern of a test person," Thomas Gehrig from the research team at Scope psychologische Marktforschung und Testlabor AG points out.
It is therefore difficult to draw direct conclusions about the success of an advertising campaign from the way people look at it. Cognitive and emotional processes still have to be deciphered through interviews, Bösch also emphasizes. However, eye tracking is suitable for revealing deficits in the perception of central messages.
A pretest helps in the selection of subjects
This has been the experience of Swisscom's Subscriber Switching Systems division. Last summer, the business unit appeared for the first time under the name Swisscom Systems and ran an image campaign. The subjects were tested by eye tracking between the first and second waves. "The general goal of the campaign was to make Swisscom Systems' service offering known," explains Pascal Rebmann, market researcher at Swisscom Systems. "But the eye tracking showed that smaller image elements totally distracted the eye from the essentials." With graphic corrections, these shortcomings could be remedied, and of three subjects originally used, only one has been used since the tests.
An important argument put forward by Walter Bösch of Management Tools is that a pretest can reveal optimization potential earlier and, above all, more cost-effectively than expensive ad tracking that follows the placement of the campaign. Taking a moment to measure eye-tracking can be well worth it.

Publisuisse CEO Ingrid Deltenre on barriers to new forms of TV advertisingBy Daniel SchifferleTimes of crisis accelerate the search for alternative forms of advertising. Possible new approaches to TV advertising were the main topic at the General Assembly of the European Group of Television Advertising (EGTA) in Lucerne. The host Publisuisse and its CEO Ingrid Deltenre are hoping for a softening of the interpretation of local legal standards. These still stand in the way of new forms of advertising.
New forms of advertising for TV - isn't that very hypothetical for Switzerland, especially in view of the tight legal framework?
Ingrid Deltenre: Certain clients have the feeling that they are drowning in the commercial breaks, especially as these are very long for certain broadcasters. They are therefore looking for new forms of advertising or advertising opportunities outside the advertising blocks, such as the split screen. This problem is somewhat less virulent for us, because we don't have the situation with the overlong advertising blocks.
But does the Radio and Television Act even allow such possibilities?
Deltenre: Not at the moment. In the matter of split screens, Bakom issued a corresponding ruling against TV 3 around six months ago. The latter had broadcast a split screen in its erotic program. Bakom said that the visual separation between advertising and program alone was not enough; a temporal separation was also necessary. We also already had plans for split screens, particularly in the sports sector.
Is this now definitely dead or can the obstacles be removed?
Deltenre: Bakom's position was that as long as the possibility of split screens was not part of the European directive on cross-border television, there was no reason to change the interpretation of the Radio and Television Act. However, I assume that the directives on cross-border television will be revised accordingly by the end of the year. Bakom will then have the means to act in accordance with European law in the matter of split-screen.
What contribution could new forms of TV advertising make to Publisuisse's turnover in three years' time?
Deltenre: Maybe two to three percent, provided we get permission to do so. So we certainly won't do big business with new forms of advertising.
Apart from split screen, what else of the various emerging new forms of TV advertising can be considered for Switzerland?
Deltenre: Interactive advertising is not yet feasible for technical reasons alone. It will take a while, and it is also very expensive. In addition, interactive TV advertising is not without its problems. After all, anyone who accesses the offer zaps away. The following commercial would then have a problem. In other words, interactive advertising could only be offered at the end of the commercial break. I see a further problem with acceptance. Many households would hardly appreciate it if three quarters of the screen were suddenly filled with text and tools for interactivity. I therefore hardly expect it to be realized in the near future. That's a shame, because interactivity would be a useful addition. We often hear from advertisers that they would prefer a print campaign because they can include additional information.
Is it just a coincidence that people are talking about new forms of advertising in times of crisis? Or do crises accelerate the search for alternative sources of income?
Deltenre: That's no coincidence. In other countries, we are seeing that customers are increasingly looking for forms of advertising whose effectiveness is easier to prove. Audience figures are no longer enough for many customers today. Measuring efficiency and return on investment is currently more important than ever. In this context, a certain shift towards direct mail and other forms of contact than those offered by the broad, classic TV range is conceivable. It is therefore only logical for television to look for new forms of advertising with which it can make itself more attractive. But I would like to emphasize that we are in a different situation in Switzerland. Our TV share is at a much lower level, so the demand for alternatives to television advertising is also much lower.
Keyword cross-media: Publisuisse has neither radio advertising nor a print medium in its portfolio. This means that Publisuisse has quickly reached the ceiling when it comes to cross-media. Where do you see additional opportunities?
Deltenre: No one is preventing us from agreeing a deal with a medium outside SRG. We could always integrate Blick or 20 Minuten or whoever into a campaign. For the Salt Lake City project, we held talks with both newspapers at the time. But the sponsors didn't want to do it.
Speaking of the advertising market crisis: when do you expect to see a turnaround?
Deltenre: Publisuisse already has no reason to complain. We recorded excellent results in the first quarter of the current year - up to and including June, we are ahead of the previous year, that much I can already say.
What growth rates do you expect for television in the next three years?
Deltenre: I anticipate annual growth of around four percent for television as a whole and around three percent for total advertising expenditure.
EGTA visits Publisuisse

This year's General Assembly of the European Group of Television Advertising was organized by Publisuisse. The focus of the two-day event, which took place on May 23-24 in Lucerne, was new forms of TV advertising. Around 70 representatives of various TV advertising providers from all over Europe discussed new ways of commercial communication outside the familiar TV advertising formats. Terms such as "split screen", "virtual advertising", "interactive advertising" and "targeted advertising" were at the top of the menu of possible new forms of communication.

News: Tele Züri Plans Teletext Partnership According to a press release, Tele Züri intends to improve its teletext marketing efforts in light of encouraging user numbers. Belcom AG, the company responsible for Züritext, is considering forming an advertising pool with other teletext providers. Initial discussions are currently underway with members of Tele NewsCombi and SwissTXT, Gerry Borer, Head of New Media at Belcom, told WerbeWoche. Züritext is currently used by 60,000 people per week.
Annabelle Création Gets a New Name The women's magazine Annabelle Création will be called Annabelle Wohnen starting with issue 5/02. Publishing director Caroline Thoma explained that the name change ensures the magazine's cover now reflects its content.

The same theater is repeated almost every year: The pool discussions among private radio stations degenerate into bickering in the style of naughty kindergarten students, and the resulting new pool constellations are usually conflict-oriented instead of customer-oriented. This damages the industry, enormously in fact. But things could be different, if only we wanted to. In any case, an idea from Radiotele has been on the table for a few months that would not only be interesting for advertising customers, but could also have a calming and anticonvulsant effect on the radio scene. The idea is very simple: every advertising customer receives a discount as soon as they book more than one radio of their choice. The more radios are booked, the higher the discount, although the discount levels have not yet been defined.
Günter Heuberger, President of the Association of Swiss Private Radio Stations (VSP), welcomes the idea: "That would be the best solution, because then you would no longer have to choose one of the rival groups, as is the case with the pool formations." However, it is uncertain whether the two Zurich stations and other competing radio stations will join in. VSP member Roland Baumgartner at least wants to try this out and work out a concept by the fall (mk).

Publicis sends teens to London with Anglicisms and yellow youth accountsSelf-ironically, Publicis caricatures the teen language Denglish, Franglais and Italiese and draws attention to Swiss Post's youth account with lifestyle illustrations. Thanks to joint marketing with Easy Jet, young new customers can also fly to London for less. Unlike Electrolux, which advertised vacuum cleaners in the sixties with "Nothing Sucks Like Electrolux" and made a legendary marketing blunder, years later Postfinance demonstrates a more "mature" linguistic competence. page 9

Muse & MusseRoger Thöny
What was the last cultural event you attended?
Roger Thöny: Compay Segundo (Buena Vista Social Club); Expo.02 Neuchâtel, because South American rhythms fascinate me.
What are you reading right now?
Thöny: Australia guide, so that I can find my way around a cosmopolitan city like Sydney, even as a Grisons native.
Which CD do you currently prefer to listen to?
Thöny: Daniel Mercury (Brazilian Samba).
Which movie would you most like to see again?
Thöny: "La Vita è bella". This is emotional cinema of a special kind. The movie moved me emotionally.
What TV show did you fall asleep during the other night?
Thöny: On "Arena" on SF DRS. I can't remember the topic.
What is your latest discovery on the Internet?
Thöny: There are many. We now have the best ones in our new youth portal www.post finance.ch/yelowww.
What could you never do without?
Thöny: To my girlfriend Claudia and good colleagues (I can't name them all).
What do you do in a free minute?
Thöny: Reading the newspaper (quote from my girlfriend).
Love is ...?
Thöny: ... sometimes the saddest, often the most beautiful, but always the most important.

"If music be the food of creativity": Karl Domenic Geissbühler gives opera literature a striking faceBy Ernst WeberFor over a quarter of a century, Zurich graphic artist Karl Domenic Geissbühler has been designing posters for the Zurich Opera House. He has earned himself the reputation of being one of the best poster artists in the world - especially when it comes to the realization of musical theater content. A portrait of a man who lends a face to the works of opera literature with a sure hand.
Karl Domenic Geissbühler is a city kid with roots in the countryside. He was born and grew up in Winterthur. He went to school in Winterthur and Zurich. Geissbühler breathed the country air during the school vacations, which the family regularly spent in the Lower Engadine. In Tschlin, where his mother, a farmer's daughter, owned a house.
K. D. Geissbühler completed his graphic design training at the School of Design. After graduating, he was awarded the City of Zurich's achievement prize and became an assistant to Ernst Keller, who was the main teacher of graphic design at the time. A job that brought him nothing but honor. Tired of school and unpaid work, he gave up the assistant job after one semester. Geissbühler only came into contact with school life again when he taught visual communication at the Basel School of Art and Design from 1997 to 1999.
After his time as an assistant, he needed a change of scenery. First, the young graphic designer spent a semester at the art academy in Berlin. He then completed an internship, first with a graphic designer in Lausanne and then with a graphic designer in Zurich. He then joined the advertising agency Dr. Rudolf Farner in Zurich, which is now called Publicis, as an AD.
Farner stubbornly tried to keep him in the house
He kept the job for five years, then in 1965 he followed the voice in his gut, which told him that he should start his own business. His parents were shocked by their son's plan: "Have you gone mad, giving up a secure job?" they tried to persuade him. Their insistence may have contributed to Rudolf Farner's initial success in winning back his AD.
Geissbühler resigned and began working as planned in his bachelor apartment for agencies such as GGK, Frankfurt, and for direct clients such as Braun (Germany) and British Airways. But only after he had spent three months each in Toronto and New York with top agencies and top designers such as Paul Davis to gain an insight into advertising there.
When his former boss called him in one day, Geissbühler thought he was ready to pick up an order. But Rudolf Farner said: "Your self-employment will come to nothing, your place is here with us. You'll start again next week." Geissbühler agreed and stayed for another year before finally setting out on his own.
"Rudolf Farner never forgot that. He became one of my biggest clients," says the Zurich designer.
Geissbühler's studio is located at Theaterstrasse 10 in the Corso building. Around one hundred and fifty meters away from the Zurich Opera House, for which he has been designing posters for a quarter of a century now, earning him a reputation as one of the most important poster artists of our time.
Theater has always held a great fascination for Karl Domenic Geissbühler. Accordingly, the Zurich graphic designer put his heart and soul into a competition to create a new logo for the Zurich Opera House in 1976, shortly after Claus-Helmut Drese had taken over as artistic director.
K. D. Geissbühler, who had put his creativity at the service of purely commercial advertising, won the cultural mandate of the Zurich Stage, which had previously left its public relations work largely to the press. He was not awarded the contract because he met the briefing's requirements, but because he exceeded them. In addition to the required logo, Geissbühler presented an entire communication concept. It included posters, a newspaper and a monthly program booklet.
Initially, a budget was set aside for two posters per year. In order to be able to accompany each of the monthly premieres with a poster, Geissbühler began to look for sponsors for posters, but also for performances. For example, he asked tradesmen who had been involved in the renovation of the opera house and invited potential sponsors to poster exhibitions that he organized on the opera house terrace.
The poster motifs echo the substance of the works
"The music has to come out of the poster," says the designer. His working method shows that this is a credo and not a platitude.
The graphic designer gathers initial ideas for the realization of a production at the information session, where the directors present their interpretation of the work to be performed to the singers. He also draws inspiration from rehearsals, which he often attends. Sometimes, for example, an object from the stage set provides him with the key to a poster idea. Or he may take a subject that he actually wanted to present back to the studio without showing it, in order to rework the idea based on a new impression he gained during the rehearsal. Sometimes he produces mountains of drafts until a subject meets his expectations.
"When I work for a cultural institute that has a certain level, it means that my contribution has to meet artistic standards," says Geissbühler, explaining his commitment.
Geissbühler has made it a point to discuss his proposals with the director who is staging the opera, or with the set designer, or with both. However, he avoids presenting his ideas at the beginning of a rehearsal period. "That would be the wrong moment. Everyone is nervous then. You have to look at the mood," says the poster artist.
Despite the intensive debate, proposals have already failed. The motif for Verdi's opera "Forza del destino", for example, was rejected by the director on the grounds that it anticipated the climax of the production.
"I'm all for fights, but I've also learned to take a back seat. You have to take others seriously and overcome your inner bastard," says Geissbühler, who has also designed two ballets and five operas for the Zurich Opera House.
At a young age, Geissbühler was more interested in spoken theater. He only discovered opera after leaving school. He sees a wealth of meaning in opera, for example, in the fact that it is "almost always tragic". In his opinion, the unbroken topicality of opera is due to the fact that people have not changed fundamentally since its beginnings: "Their suffering, hatred and grief is probably played out in roughly the same way today as it has always been," explains the graphic designer, who is particularly fascinated by the music, "presumably because the composers have suffered themselves into their works."
"Melancholy is happiness. Realizing something like this fascinates me," says the poster composer.
Geissbühler has never missed a dress rehearsal since he started working for the Zurich Opera House. He simply has to go because it smells of completion and to feel that he is part of a whole. He also suffers from the work he contributes, he says.
Highlights of Geissbühler's work

Poster prices
1987: Toulouse-Lautrec Medal, Poster Triennale, Essen; Grand Poster Prize Lathi Biennale, Finland.
1988: Trienal of Posters,
Toyama, Japan.
1989: Art Directors Club New York, Gold and Silver Award.
1990: Special prize for opera house posters in Chaumont, France (patronage Centre Pompidou).
Karl Domenic Geissbühler is a member of the Alliance Graphic International (AGI) and the ADC (Art Directors Club of Switzerland).
Stage designs and costumes1981: International June Festival at Zurich Opera House, stage design and costumes for the ballet "Der Narziss".
1983: Stage design for the ballet "Verklärte Nacht", Basel and New York.
1990: Stage design for the opera "Deidamia" by Friedrich Händel at the Zurich Opera House.
1991: Stage design for the opera
"Il Campanello" by Gaetano Donizetti at the Zurich Opera House.

According to the SonntagsZeitung, Rudolf Bächtold presented his concept for a political weekly newspaper to Ringier's Journalism Committee on May 24.News Geheimsache Wochenzeitung It is not known whether the presentation was well received: "The Journalism Committee has decided not to release any information at today's meeting," Ringier spokesman Fridolin Luchsinger told WerbeWoche.
APG-Radio-Kombi Allgemeine Plakatgesellschaft (APG), Fribourg, will advertise its customers' latest posters on Radio Fribourg at least until the end of the year. The spots will be broadcast at times with a large audience and updated weekly. Radio Fribourg will cover the costs of the spots. In return, APG will provide the station with poster sites to accompany the start of the cooperation. The aim is to show that radio and posters can be attractively combined.
Publicom with CP The media agency Publicom outsources its Corporate Publishing (CP) division to an independent subsidiary. The new Medianovis AG specializes in the conception and realization of corporate media, while Publicom will focus on media research and consulting in the future. Daniel Steim, previously CP project manager at Publicom, and Jürg Meyer, who worked as publishing director at Verlag Meyer AG until 2001, will take over the operational management of Medianovis.
TPC over budget TV Productioncenter Zürich AG exceeded its budgeted revenue for 2001 by CHF 10%. The SRG subsidiary achieved a total turnover of 144.7 million Swiss francs, of which 30% came from customers other than SF DRS. Despite depreciation of CHF 17.8 million, the profit of CHF 1.7 million also exceeded expectations.