Andreas Thommen leaves the Wirz Group and becomes a partner of Hirzel Neef Schmid Konsulenten in the middle of the yearActually, Andreas Thommen wanted to become a lawyer. But things turned out differently: He earned his bread and butter as a freelance journalist while still a student. In the early 1980s, the trained lawyer joined the NZZ as an editorial assistant. In 1984, Thommen switched from journalism to PR. Why? "On the one hand, I had a hereditary predisposition, because my father was a lecturer in public relations. On the other hand, I was interested in becoming entrepreneurial within communications," he recalls. Thommen joined the Wirz Group 18 years ago as a PR editor and consultant. Just a short time later, he was appointed a member of the Executive Board and Consulting Group Manager of Wirz Public Relations. Since then, Thommen has climbed the career ladder inexorably. Within the Group, he headed the Frontpage, Wirz Public Relations and Wirz Investor Relations companies. Today, he is the managing partner of these companies. What prompted him to leave the Wirz Group after such a long time to join Hirzel Neef Schmid Konsulenten? "I see the change as a logical development of my previous work," says Thommen.
For Thommen, managing the Wirz Group meant increasingly having to perform management tasks as well: "This left less and less time for my core discipline, customer consulting," he says. In addition to the desire to devote himself primarily to customers again, he would also like to focus more specifically on strategic consulting in the future. According to Thommen, the importance of strategic consulting within communications is steadily increasing: "In the future, strategic consulting will be separate from traditional communications. This will result in cooperation with various agencies that have special implementation expertise," says Thommen. In this respect, he describes the move to Hirzel as a logical continuation of his previous activities: "Wirz is a strongly creation- and implementation-oriented company, while the consultants focus on strategic consulting and supporting executives."
Thommen vigorously denies rumors that a joint venture between the two companies is planned. However, he does not rule out partial cooperation: "Due to the given constellation, there are common interfaces that could definitely be used for a collaboration. Daniela Zivadinovic

Urs Schrepfer will take over the overall management of Jung von Matt/ Limmat as Executive CD on July 1. He is a member of ADC Switzerland and worked as CD at Advico Young & Rubicam (AY&R). "After nine and a half years at AY&R, you only change jobs if all the conditions are right. And they are one hundred percent right at Jung von Matt." Michael Rottmann will join the creative team in April. The ADC member most recently worked as CD and member of the management board for Weber Hodel Schmid, Zurich and Munich. And contrary to the announcement in February, Alexander Jaggy will remain as CD. Jaggy: "I wanted to concentrate more on creation again. Now the foundations have been laid." Under Schrepfer's leadership, Rottmann, Jaggy and Daniel Meier form the top of the creation team. "Now it's getting really exciting," says Dominique von Matt (pan).

A book about the walking pace of life was written in Spain: "Andando "By Ernst Weber Many people forget to consciously walk through life, caught up in the mobility craze and the pace of time. Not so the Lucerne advertisers Jürg Schaffhuser and Armin Furrer. Their book "Andando", published by Velvet-Edition, is an image and text document from the counter-world of hectic life, created on a 1200-kilometre hike in Spain.
The Lucerne-based creative office Velvet tries to walk the tightrope of being an advertising, design, CI, art and culture agency all in one. "We want to do this balancing act. That's why we've never called ourselves a graphics or advertising agency," says co-owner Stefan Sägesser.
In order not to get lost, the individual areas of activity were differentiated from one another using appropriate containers. For example, the advertising agency area is defined by the term Creative Office. In-house advertising projects are recorded under the name Grafik Hotel, while projects in the art sector are assigned to Velvet Edition or Edition Hubi Hofmann.
According to Sägesser, both editions are not primarily business areas in which the agency has to make a profit. Rather, the facilities serve to support books and art. "We have always looked to connect with people outside of the graphics, design and advertising scene, such as photographers, musicians, actors, dressmakers, writers and video performers who are working on exciting projects. However, we have found that the clients of the Creative Office are at least as progressive as the artists," says Sägesser.
From San Sebastián to Gibraltar in eight stages
The most recent example of a successful balancing act is the picture and text book "Andando", published by Velvet-Edition. The book is a joint project by Jürg Schaffhuser, co-founder of Velvet, and Armin Furrer, a graphic designer who also works in the city of lights. They both share a passion for hiking (see also the interview with Jürg Schaffhuser opposite). The two "migratory birds", who know each other from the time they spent together at the School of Arts and Crafts, go hiking together from time to time.
Over the past three years, Schaffhuser and Furrer have spent a total of eight weeks in Spain. With cameras at the ready, they crossed the Iberian Peninsula on foot in eight stages along the 1200-kilometre north-south axis from San Sebastián to Gibraltar. Different authors accompanied the two hikers on each section, taking turns. These were Alex Campus, Leopold Davi, Fanni Fetzer, Ursula Fricker, Marco Meier, Nicole Müller, Beat Schaffhuser and Jean Willy.
"Andando" is not a book whose images and texts allow themselves to be distracted, dazzled and numbed by the glitter and noise of the world. Rather, it seems to be a document created by the photographers and authors as if by chance, in which the passing of time is measured in vain against imperishability, the unceasing presence of existence, which must always be present as the conditio sine qua non of everything that exists.
Marco Meier, for example, editor-in-chief of the cultural magazine du, who hiked from Toledo to Ciudad Real, considers walking in his report: "... who would still know that the world is walkable when it is incessantly overrun and driven over and flown over ...?" And it continues: "... walking. Is there anything more beautiful? You are reconciled so quickly ..."
The book launch will take place on March 28, 2002 at the Kulturpanorama Lucerne in the presence of the authors.
"Andando" by Jürg Schaffhuser and Armin Furrer. Published by Velvet-Edition, ISBN 3-9522411-0-5.

Günter Heuberger on the Publicom study on media competition in Eastern SwitzerlandSt.Galler Tagblatt Medien AG is not competing fairly with Radio and Tele Top. This is the conclusion of a Publicom study (see page 21) commissioned by Top boss Günter Heuberger. But what does he do with this finding? Heuberger comments: What do you find the most astonishing statement in the Publicom study?
Günter Heuberger: I didn't expect to realize to such an extent that a media company as large and with an editorial statute as St.Galler Tagblatt Medien AG would blow all its fuses because of a competitor and that the editorial team would allow itself to be harnessed to the publishing doctrine. It is also revealing that, according to the study, the Confederation could lose its room for maneuver in the electronic media. Because if an existing multimedia company can prevent the challenger from being noticed by the population at all, the desired competition will not take place.
The study sheds light on three things. With regard to reporting in the St.Galler Tagblatt (SGT), it comes to the conclusion that radio and Tele Top come off worse than the Group's own media. What are you doing about this?
Heuberger: I will ask the SGT editors-in-chief to adhere to the usual rules of the game with regard to radio and Tele Top.
The second result: The top media have no or only small program columns in the SGT and hardly any program information. What do you do?
Heuberger: Here, too, I will ask the editor-in-chief to give Tele Top a column that is the same size as that of Tele Ostschweiz (TVO). But that's actually a matter of course.
The third result: the gross value of TVO advertisements in the SGT exceeded TVO's advertising income in the period under review. How do you react to this advertising pressure?
Heuberger: We can't argue with that. On the other hand, a media company that took the step into the regional TV sector rather late should be given the opportunity to make a decent cross-media commitment so that it can catch up. But from a competition policy point of view, it is unacceptable that TVO and Radio Aktuell place the third most advertisements in SGT after Coop and Migros. After all, this is how they buy viewers and listeners.
What was the trigger for the study - the "advertising war" two years ago, when Radio Akuell placed an advertisement next to a Radio Top advertisement and also referred to it in terms of content?
Heuberger: That was certainly a key experience. If you can no longer place an advertisement in the regional monopoly newspaper without the publishing house placing an advertisement for your own radio station next to it, then part of free competition and democracy is broken. The second reason, however, was last year's Publicom study on Radio Tropic. It showed that a newcomer without a large marketing budget has no chance of penetrating an existing market. That gave me the clue back then, which has now been confirmed by our study: If some of the marketing opportunities are systematically blocked for us, this is a disadvantage that is difficult to compensate for.
Publicom is now proposing to increase the marketing budget for future media newcomers in the start-up phase. What do you think of this?
Heuberger: As the diversity of opinion in Switzerland is at risk, every proposal that could lead to fairer competition should be seriously examined.
Publicom also proposes that fee-splitting funds should only be distributed to non-monopoly program providers.
Heuberger: This proposal is being hotly debated at the moment anyway. After all, you don't want to support well-profitable publishers with license fee money. But I am an advocate of the dual system. With fair competition and cooperation between private broadcasters, it should be possible to do without fees anyway.
And what do you think about obliging multimedia groups to have advertising for their own media reported and publicized by Mediafocus in their own media and to have it included in future fee-splitting calculations?
Heuberger: An interesting proposal. But, as I said, I am against fee splitting.
In January, negotiations between SGT and Top Group about a joint TV project were broken off. Are you still thinking about new negotiations after this study?
Heuberger: I had demanded that the top group should be able to participate in at least 50% of the joint project and take over the operational management. When I saw the results of the study at the end of December, I was vindicated in this demand. Because the way SGT is managing the competition, we can only cooperate with it if we have the say in terms of capital and publishing.
So it was not least because of this study that you stuck to your demand, which you criticized as "excessive" and which then led to the conversation being broken off?
Heuberger: Yes, we took this risk because we didn't want to be tied in by the SGT. But perhaps the study will also lead to people in Zurich saying: Stop, not like that, this is not the NZZ style!
Although you don't have a print medium at your disposal, how does cross-media work at the Top Group - are there reports about Tele Top on Radio Top and vice versa?
Heuberger: No. We only reported on the concession decisions, and only in the news.
Does Radio Top advertise programs on Tele Top and vice versa?
Heuberger: This happened a few times in 2000, but not since then. We don't make trailers either.
And how do the top media report on the SCT media?
Heuberger: When Radio Herzschlag went on air in St. Gallen, we reported it in the news. That will also be the case when Radio Aktuell goes on air in Wil.
Are you already considering a second Publicom study - for example, to find out what effect the study and interventions have in St.Gallen?
Heuberger: I rather hope that there will be a national follow-up study. Because if media politicians want to know what they can do with the money from large publishers before handing out fee money to regional TVs. So let's wait and see. Interview: Markus Knöpfli

The SWA annual meeting was dominated by the economic downturnBy Daniel Schifferle The current advertising market crisis was the main topic at the SWA annual meeting. Albert P. Stäheli, CEO of Espace Media Groupe, provoked that nothing would ever be the same again after the crisis. For his part, SWA Managing Director Fredi Schwab castigated the short-term thinking to which long-term success strategies were being sacrificed in a panic.
Fredi Schwab, Managing Director of the Swiss Advertisers' Association (SWA), opened the event with a rebuke. Schwab did not have a good word to say about short-term thinking during the economic downturn. Quarterly and half-year figures have become the measure of all things, especially for large companies. Success targets formulated yesterday were simply swept under the carpet and sacrificed. "A selfish box-ticking mentality has taken hold," said Schwab.
Albert P. Stäheli, CEO of Espace Media Groupe, trumpeted the exact opposite direction. "Anyone hoping that the next upturn will put an end to all problems will be wrong," he said. His main reason for this perspective: "Our industry is stuck in outdated business models that prevent us from adapting quickly to market changes."
Shot across the bow of PubliGroupe
In this context, he immediately fired a shot across the bow of PubliGroupe. Through its strategic equity investments in publishing houses and its key position with the client, PubliGroupe strongly influences "the logical development of the market", sometimes even thwarting or delaying it. "Should the company in question be forced to abandon its investment strategy, we would have to brace ourselves for an earthquake in the press," explained Stäheli. "Our media markets would be dynamized to an almost unimaginable extent."
Ernst Grab, still head of PubliGroupe, did not simply let this hostility pass. "Such statements are a relapse into the ice age between PubliGroupe and individual publishers."
According to Stäheli, three forces of change will increase the cost and competitive pressure on newspaper publishers in the future. The first: the continuing trend from small-scale to large-scale structures in Switzerland as a result of better transportation links and the increasing trend towards mobility. "All business is local - but local is getting big and bigger," he said, summing up the development. Regional print media are being forced to expand along with the ever-growing living spaces. The result of this expansion is a "dramatic intensification of competition, as media companies that were previously geographically separate are suddenly becoming competitors."
Stäheli cited publishers' Internet strategies as a second problem, which had caused high costs and led to an erosion of advertising rates. "The online price structure in the classifieds business, which is lower by several factors, will not result in an increase in demand, but rather a shrinking of the market potential in terms of value," said the CEO of Espace Media Groupe.
According to Stäheli, the third problem that is making life more difficult for the print media is the ever-increasing demands placed on daily newspapers. "Today, people are demanding the very latest full-service newspaper. However, this is only possible with ever more cost-intensive editorial teams. As a result, the cost-income gap is widening."
Stäheli's prescription for the dilemma: in addition to "substantial improvements in the cost-performance ratio", market consolidation and cooperation are unavoidable. Publishing houses would find it increasingly difficult to avoid aligning themselves with one of the large conurbations.
Ernst Grab reckons with a dozen newspaper regions
According to Stäheli, the number of regional newspapers with independent full editorial offices will continue to decrease. In the longer term, the newspaper systems will converge towards the seven large regions defined by the Federal Statistical Office (see image). "With one or two regional newspaper systems in each of the bilingual areas, some of which can also cooperate."
Only SWA President Gérard Stalder was obviously pleased with this scenario, which is favorable for advertising clients because it is easier for bookings. "It's in our interest that this concentration doesn't happen too slowly," he said with a laugh.
However, Publicitas boss Ernst Grab did not agree at all with Stäheli's model of seven regions. He did agree that regional newspaper systems would continue to be in decline, but not to the extent proposed. "There will certainly be more than seven newspaper systems. In five to seven years, I reckon there will be around a dozen regional systems in Switzerland," said Grab.
Another topic that was the subject of much discussion at the SWA annual meeting: the extreme cost pressure on media agencies. "The choice of media agency based on the criterion of lowest commission does not work. Please check the fees according to the work done," Schwab urged those present. The increasing existential pressure into which the scene has partly maneuvered itself can lead to strange blossoms. In this context, Schwab once again brought up the case of the bankruptcy of OMD Zollikerberg, which became public in January. In this case, a senior employee had engaged in large-scale speculation on his own and contrary to business guidelines (WW 1/02). "Free space granted by the media does not belong to the agent, but to the client," said Schwab. Anything else is against the law.
SWA insists on radio advertising

Advertising on SRG radio stations remains a top priority for the SWA. The advertising client association is calling for SRG radio stations to be gradually opened up within five years. In support of its demand, the SWA calculates that all radio stations, including the private ones, would benefit from this. The total market potential for radio advertising in Switzerland is CHF 280 million. However, local radio stations are currently only exploiting CHF 130 million, of which around CHF 80 million is spent on local advertising. As soon as SRG radio stations introduce advertising, the potential of private radio stations will also increase by CHF 50 million. The SWA estimates the advertising potential of SRG radio stations at around CHF 90 million.

Mediabox launches tetrapacks as advertising spaceBy Bruno Amstutz In future, the packaging of Emmi brand iced tea and orange juice will be emblazoned not only with product information, but also with advertising messages. The space will be marketed by Mediabox.
The range of special advertising formats has been enriched by one medium: Advertising on tetrapacks promises broad distribution and low thousand-contact prices through multiple exposure. The idea is being implemented by below-the-line marketer Mediabox in collaboration with beverage manufacturer Emmi and packaging company Tetrapack.
Telecom provider Tele 2 is the first customer to bite. It has 156 square centimeters of advertising space on the back of Emmi's iced tea called Elvis. Elvis is on the shelves of Manor, PickPay and Spar, but is also available in over a thousand bakeries and private grocery stores. Coop, on the other hand, is resisting the placement of tetrapacks with advertising added.
Alcohol and tobacco advertising are taboo on tetrapacks
A run of 500000 packs costs just under 30000 francs. However, Florian Biafori, co-owner of Mediabox, calculates with the statistical average Swiss household of 2.3 people and with multiple attention to the pack: when loading it into the shopping basket, at the checkout, when putting it in the fridge and so on. Assuming four contacts per pack, the CPM drops to 15 francs.
However, not every product is suitable for advertising on tetrapacks. For one thing, the advertising must not lead to confusion with the contents of the pack - other beverages are thus ruled out as candidates. Mediabox also rejects alcohol and tobacco. "Customers must either have an affinity for the medium or be neutral," says Biafori's business partner Sandro Proietto, describing the profile. So, for example, cornflakes advertising on the milk carton or then nonfood brands like Tele 2.
However, the companies Emmi and Tetrapack have the final say on the subjects. They can veto the decision if necessary.

The Wolfrath brothers in Neuchâtel show no goodwill towards inquisitive journalists in response to questions about the sale of the Neuchâtel newspapers L'Express and L'Impartial (WW 10/02).News Express and Impartial sold
Despite a provisional court injunction on March 13, which was obtained by the minority shareholders, Fabien and Christian Wolfrath have sold their 62 percent stake in Société Neuchâteloise de Presse (SNP) to the French publisher Hersant. Although just two weeks ago there was only talk of a declaration of intent to sell, things have now suddenly become urgent. One reason for this is probably the project to expand the Neuchâtel printing plant, which Hersant wants to finance. The Competition Commission has already approved the takeover, but a civil action by minority shareholders PubliGroupe and Marc Gassmann, who are insisting on their right of first refusal, is still pending.
Tele Züri brings in Markus Gilli Markus Gilli has been program director and editor-in-chief at Tele Züri again since 14 March. When taking over the regional channel from Roger Schawinski last fall, Tamedia had transferred the management to his deputy Peter Röthlisberger. Gilli and Peter Canale, former technical director of Tele 24, wanted to launch a new national channel with the Tele 25 project, which is likely to have failed with Gilli's appointment at Tamedia. Gilli could not be reached for comment.
Shareholders say yes to the purchase of Eviva The shareholders of Radio Central have approved the takeover of Radio Eviva and welcomed the transformation of Radio Central into a holding company. The companies Radio Central AG and Radio Eviva AG will now be managed under the umbrella of Radio Central Holding AG. The takeover of Radio Eviva still has to be approved by the federal government. Eviva previously belonged to the Goldbach Media Group.

Frank Bodin's demands for ADC reform - a well-orchestrated exit farce? Andreas Prokesch, Chairman of the Art Directors Club Switzerland (ADC), rejects Frank Bodin's philippic against ADC judging (WW 9/02) in an open letter and intends to stick to the ADC's internal timetable in the dispute over the judging process until the Annual General Meeting on May 23. I am pleased, dear Frank, that you are thinking about how the ADC, the ADC judging process and even the ADC members could be improved, and thank you for your efforts.
Some time ago, you emailed me your proposals, which you would rather have understood as demands, with the subject line "Thoughts on leaving". In my first reply, I wrote that I was asking you not to leave the ADC. Because you belong in the ADC. In a second reply, I explained in detail what I thought of your ideas. And in a third reply, I explained how we should proceed:
On March 15, the members of the Gold Jury met to assess the last judging and draw conclusions for the next judging. The Board of Directors met on March 19. On May 23, the ADC members will hold their annual general meeting and vote on any motions for the jury, among other things.
Contrary to what you are trying to imply ("discussion in a wider public forum is not desired and is seen as a threat"), I am by no means afraid of debate. However, for reasons of efficiency and a certain culture alone, I would have appreciated it if it had taken place first inside and then outside the club.
We will not allow ourselves to dictate the pace. And we will stick exactly to the sequence shown - regardless of what publicity you will bring to the ADC and yourself next.
With the best will in the world, I can't tell you any more at this point in time than I have already told you, and I don't want to repeat myself. Besides, I don't have the "reason why" to get over the complex details of the judging (25 percent rule, etc., etc.), your rather bold conclusions ("the ADC can't be a benchmark at the moment") and the rest of your pats on the back ("the ADC has a lot to offer").
an image problem for years") in public. That would just lead to an endless back and forth and solve neither the problem you have with the ADC nor the problem that the ADC increasingly has with you.
However, I would like to take this opportunity to comment on two fundamental aspects.
The purpose of ADC judging
As a long-serving ADC member, I take a somewhat fundamental position: we meet once a year to debate what the difference is between above-average, outstanding and groundbreaking advertising - and to make the result public and thus a topic of discussion. Who wins an award is not important to me personally.
Year after year, there are many losers and relatively few winners in this debate. That is natural and logical. Regardless of all qualitative criteria. Regardless of any quantitative criteria. And even regardless of the qualities or supposed non-qualities of the jurors.
What I want to say is that every judging is ultimately a subjective matter, as much as one might hope for objectivity - just like the "Miss Switzerland" competition and even a football match.
Anyone who cannot accept this will always have a hard time with the result.
That doesn't mean you can't be frustrated, angry and disappointed. I hardly know anyone who wouldn't be at least a little disappointed after the ADC or any other judging. How you deal with it is entirely your own business and not that of the ADC.
The nonsense of ADC judging
The results of juries are increasingly being misused for marketing purposes - i.e. for external and internal positioning.
Let me illustrate this with an example: Agency XY has won gold in one of the many creative competitions in the USA with a piece of work. It trumpets this in a press release. At the same time, it points out that it "only" won bronze for the same work at ADC Switzerland. This is nonsensical (keyword apples, pears, bananas). And it's almost a bit unfair because the agency doesn't also point out that it submitted the same work in Bavaria, Cannes, the UK and elsewhere, but didn't win anything there.
Of course you can question the ADC. And also the ADC judging process and every ADC member. Or the procedure for being accepted into the ADC. This is exactly what we do very regularly and sometimes in an almost self-castigating way: at practically every board meeting, at every general meeting, at every other occasion. Nevertheless, the ADC Yearbook has undisputedly represented the relevant work of Swiss advertising for over 25 years. Nevertheless, the majority of ADC members are responsible for this work and therefore also have the competence to judge other work.
Knowing you, we can now look forward to a detailed response from you. However, the ADC will only respond to this once we have held the discussion, as described, at the Gold Jurors' Conference, in the Board of Directors and at the Annual General Meeting.
Andreas Prokesch, Chairman of the Art Directors Club Switzerland (ADC)

The NZZ am Sonntag was visually convincing, but many expectations remained unfulfilled in terms of contentForm and content of the NZZ am Sonntag receive very different grades. The visual appearance received almost unanimous praise. This also highlights the advertisements particularly well. On the other hand, the verdicts on the content are far less enthusiastic. Jost Wirz: I really like the NZZ am Sonntag because it comes across as less excited, maintains its proportions, shows a critical distance, reflects a balanced view of the world and people and distances itself from the usual sado-masochistic attitude in journalism. All this means that - thanks to the NZZ am Sonntag - I am spared the Sunday depression I used to suffer.
Dominique von Matt: The NZZ am Sonntag is walking a tightrope: how do you make a product that clearly internalizes the genetic code of the NZZ brand and yet meets a fundamentally different reading need? The task of brand management is about as complex as the introduction of the Mercedes C-Class in the 1980s. And the NZZ, which I had in my hands on Sunday, manages the balancing act elegantly and indicates that the product is on course for success. The only downer: the proof of popularity with a Simon Ammann story was not necessary. And I was so looking forward to a Sunday without him.
Frank Bodin: Finally you have something to talk about on Mondays.
Edi Andrist: It's beautiful, like a dignified Sunday, but also similarly boring. Neoclassical in design - almost a "contemporary lifestyle product". The economy, money and background reports were good. The newspaper architecture sets the scene perfectly for the advertisements. As an advertiser, you like to say thank you. However, more inspiration through fresh thinking would be desirable. But it seems to me that Mühlebachstrasse focused a little too much on positioning and somewhat neglected the journalistic product and the principles that make the other products from the same company so convincing ("form follows thinking").
The SonntagsZeitung offered me the best reading pleasure. For me, it was the surprise par excellence, the most creative of the three newspapers on Sunday. I read the best text of the weekend in Das Magazin. It was penned by Roger de Weck, and it was thoughts about Ariel Sharon.
I absolutely believe that quality journalism will also be successful on Sundays. The NZZ am Sonntag would therefore do well to be a little more genuine and surprising. And I recommend that the SonntagsZeitung should present its good journalistic work in a more attractive light by redesigning it. This is also so that it's not just the laughing third party that can be pleased. As a reader, by the way, I feel the same way as my neighbor Markus: in future, we will buy all three newspapers with relish.
Petra Kreussler: "To enjoy with understanding" - I was really looking forward to that. Sunday, the prospect of lots of reading material and nice weather too. But the NZZ am Sonntag didn't find its way to me, not even to the agency letterbox. And in the afternoon there was nothing to be had at the newsstand either. The think tank was activated, that's true. And what I also know is that I'll enjoy the next Sunday with my head on straight.
Hanspeter Lebrument: The first issue of a newspaper is always an event. However, it is usually the case that a first issue is the beginning of a longer maturing process. The first issue of the NZZ did what a good Sunday newspaper does. However, it still lacks its own distinctive character. SonntagsZeitung and NZZ am Sonntag will have to become even more separate over time. However, it can be said that the launch has been a success.
Peter Döbeli: Of course I was really looking forward to Sunday finally having its intelligent pages from March 17. Thanks to NZZ! In this respect, expectations were extremely high. After all, the question is how I've managed without NZZ am Sonntag so far. In reality, Sonntag is now a really elegant newspaper. I think the layout is very successful - especially the fonts used are extremely beautiful. There is also nothing to criticize about the quality of the content - that would have been surprising. However, I would like to make one critical point: For me, the pinnacle of intelligence would be a newspaper of NZZ quality, but more concentrated. That means fewer topics, concentration on the essentials, but a little more fun. Despite the quality, the question arises as to whether this amount of information is really appropriate for Sundays. Despite all the sympathy and joy of reading, you still can't just read all day.
Andy Lehmann: The facts: 3 Sunday newspapers = 1830 grams of paper, 320 pages, 150 minutes of time investment. The result: primarily sobering. I feel less well informed. The wider range of titles does not lead to a broadening of topics. The appearance may be different - but it does not create more knowledge. The family opinion of wife, daughter (18), son (22) serves as a real yardstick: NZZ am Sonntag is visually very pleasing. At times, there is even something like enthusiasm ("The advertisements really shine!"). The cover story is disappointing. Isn't this exactly the kind of "thin" story the NZZ never wanted? Time becomes a problem. "Preservatives against corruption" takes 3 minutes to read. That makes 6 minutes per page, 36 minutes for the background bundle... etc. The SonntagsBlick finally offers relaxation. Familiar, safe - simply good Sunday reading. Simply the benchmark in sport. The SonntagsZeitung suddenly seems restless, more hectic, but often also pleasantly exclusive (cartoons, interviews, online). It is noticeable that both NZZ am Sonntag and SonntagsZeitung are struggling with the many bundles. We too are exhausted at the end - but are still looking forward to next Sunday. Nothing has been decided yet.
Albert P. Stäheli: The form of the NZZ am Sonntag is good, but the content is not exactly fireworks. Maybe it's the boring news situation.
Peter Wanner: The layout is a winner: clear, simple, well-organized. This is how you would actually like to see the NZZ on weekdays. The big weakness of the NZZ am Sonntag is the printing process (letterpress instead of offset). Although the printers do an amazing job, you end up with black hands after reading and leafing through it. Not exactly noble for a product from the NZZ. Perhaps the publisher will supply a Kleenex tissue by the fall. In terms of content, the NZZ am Sonntag is remarkable and an enrichment, but in terms of primeurs and good stories, the editorial team still needs to step up its game. The frontally attacked SonntagsZeitung is still slightly ahead. And it has a highlight that the NZZ am Sonntag does not: Roger de Weck. Survey: Daniel Schifferle

The campaign for the opening of the new lounge club in the old Toni dairy in Zurich used milk served in champagne flutes to dramatically highlight that the yogurt factory has now been transformed into a trendy hangout. This launch campaign earned Ruf Lanz an ADC award and, of course, encouraged them to submit more entries in the «paid scam ads» category (see also the ongoing discussion about ADC awards in this issue of WerbeWoche). «Just in time for the start of spring and the awakening of new desires, we’re taking it a step further,» writes Ruf Lanz about their new creation—a chair designed for milking—which is, of course, meant to put readers of the scene magazine *Kult* on a completely different track. Incidentally, the three women behind this man-crazy concept are: Creative Director Danielle Lanz, Graphic Designer Katja Puccio, and Account Executive Katja Hübener. Female Mars. Nothing lasts forever. Not even a fixed star in the chocolate sky, as Mars has portrayed it since 1933. The chocolate bar from Masterfoods is slowly losing its appeal across generations. That’s why they’re looking for new sweet tooths. And with that, a new logo. The future Mars branding is intended to appeal more to women in particular among today’s 16- to 24-year-old target audience, since women are bigger sweet tooths than men, according to the savvy market researchers at the parent company in the U.S. The energy bar’s somewhat masculine image is therefore being softened with a slightly more rounded logo. An international advertising campaign for this will be managed from the U.S. However, Zogg Kettiger Gasser still has some leeway for local marketing in Switzerland with TV spots and print ads. The campaign launches in May.
The corporate headquarters as a trademark. Symbolism is a deeply rooted constant in architecture. When new commercial buildings were constructed during the industrialization of the first half of the 20th century, it was therefore only natural that these buildings were also proudly showcased in advertising—mostly through awe-inspiring perspectives. In fact, from 1900 through the 1960s, the depiction of a corporate headquarters as a brand symbol was a staple of advertising. The exhibition «From House to House» presents 29 posters on this theme featuring Zurich buildings. Once again, the Museum für Gestaltung is a guest in the display cases of the National Bank across from Zurich’s Bauschänzli.
Long live sports! Spring is already here—at least according to the weather. So it’s time for the now-traditional bikini issue of the sports magazine published by AZ Medien. If it’s good enough for Playboy, Stern, Vogue, or Elle, then the Swiss glossy magazine dedicated to sports and other important trivialities of life couldn’t be left out either. This time, Helmut Newton was the one behind the camera. The iconic photo spread was created through a cross-border—and thus cost-saving—collaboration with the Austrian sports magazine and the Swedish magazine Café. Newton, who at 81 years of age still photographs ten advertising campaigns and numerous shoots per year for magazines worldwide, staged the upcoming swimwear collection for the sports magazine in Palm Springs. According to WEMF, the feature is likely to appeal to around 349,000 readers, as the magazine from the AZ Media Group has enjoyed surprisingly great success since spring 2000 with its large-format images and well-researched background information from the world of sports. It’s just a shame that the captions for the sugar-sweet models read like sleeping pills pressed into letters: Please do not ingest!
Don’t smoke a Camel all the way down to the filter. Quit while you’re ahead: Japan Tobacco International (JTI) is following this maxim and sending its plush camel into the desert. In the future, Camel’s advertisements will no longer feature wide-eyed passersby tumbling off ski lifts or peeking out of glove compartments. Instead, Camel is focusing on lifestyle, as reported by Horizont.net. The new slogan, «Slow down. Pleasure up,» is intended to encourage people to take a break from their hectic daily lives.
Melle Pufe is dropping «WHS.» The Berlin-based advertising agency Melle Pufe WHS plans to remove the three initials from its name in the near future. According to the trade magazine Horizont, Melle Pufe’s expectations for the partnership with Weber Hodel Schmid, Zurich, have not been met, which is why it is to be terminated. Melle Pufe had taken over the struggling WHS Berlin in January 2001. For WHS CEO Reinhold Weber, this is a “separation on paper.” He says his agency did not benefit in any way from the collaboration. He only learned of Melle Pufe’s desire to end the partnership through the press. How and when the separation will take place is therefore not yet known.
The brand is everything. Let anyone dare say that an airline’s name isn’t worth anything anymore! «Think Swiss. Fly Thai,» advises an ad in the trade magazine *Travel Inside*, which is customer-focused, brand-conscious, and seizing the moment. The ad pokes fun at the corporate identity of the old Swissair and even borrows from the Swissair typeface. And when will we see the tagline: «Think cross. Fly Swiss»?
Editorial

Sunday is Karl Valentin Day
For a long, very long time, the SonntagsBlick remained the only Sunday newspaper in German-speaking Switzerland. It wasn’t until 17 years later—in the fall of 1986—that it faced competition in the form of the Sonntagsblatt, a joint venture by six medium-sized Swiss publishing houses. Then, in early 1987, the first issue of the SonntagsZeitung was published. But the era of three Sunday papers was short-lived. By late fall 1987, the Sonntagsblatt had already disappeared again. The Berner Zeitung had withdrawn from the loss-making venture to join forces with the SonntagsZeitung. Fifteen years later, there are now three again: On March 17, the NZZ am Sonntag (NZZaS) was published for the first time.
The timing of the launch is not a bad choice: SonntagsZeitung and SonntagsBlick have a reach of only 45 percent in German-speaking Switzerland. In French-speaking Switzerland, on the other hand, Le Matin Dimanche, together with dimanche.ch, reaches a whopping 55 percent. Despite a decline in advertisers and a sluggish media environment, media experts still see potential in the German-speaking Sunday market. There is a consensus that the new publication will carve out its niche in the advertising market. And there is also optimism regarding the reader market. After all, Sunday is a day for reading.
More modest than its German twin, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung (FAS), the NZZaS does not aim to «reinvent» Sunday journalism. It simply promotes itself as offering the «intelligent pages of Sunday.» In our survey on page 14, it receives mostly positive ratings for this. Although the first issue did not yet fully meet all expectations in terms of content, media experts are full of praise for its visual presentation.
As befits a newspaper with a core focus on business, the NZZaS did not fail to point out to its readers the opportunity costs of Sunday reading—that is, all the things one could have done instead of reading: going for a walk, playing with the kids, shopping, going to the movies—or pondering, along with Karl Valentin, why there’s always exactly as much happening in the world as there is room for in a newspaper. Samuel Helbling, Editor-in-Chief

Last weekend, a lengthy planning and preparation phase came to an end.by Beat Fritsch The NZZ presented its youngest child, the NZZ am Sonntag, and celebrated the event with no fewer than 700 guests in Zurich's Schiffbau.
The old aunt was getting a little too old for a daughter. That's why a young and bright niece is being presented today, said NZZ Publishing Director Marco de Stoppani in his lively welcoming speech, alluding to the tradition of the NZZ. After all, the title has been around for 222 years and was founded by the Swiss polymath and humanist Salomon Gessner. The shipbuilding as the location for the launch party was also no coincidence, continued de Stoppani. A new ship is being launched, even if it is currently steering into rather choppy waters.
Although the idea of a Sunday edition is said to have been born ten months ago, it has been done before in one form or another. Older readers will remember that the NZZ was also a lunchtime and evening newspaper until the late 1960s; however, it is probably not known that it published a Sunday edition from 1843 until the 1970s.
The party was an evening of fine art and polished speeches. As the Schiffbau is a branch of the Zurich Schauspielhaus, Christoph Marthaler performed part of the program with the ensemble of the successful play "Die schöne Müllerin". Not without pointing out in his speech that theater will also continue to be performed in the main building at the Pfauen and that tickets are still available. And of course he is looking forward to another Sunday newspaper, even if newspapers - alluding to the launch - are not always completely watertight.
NZZ editor-in-chief Hugo Bütler and the editorial director of the NZZ am Sonntag, Felix E. Müller - not to mention the subtle differences in the titles - were equally unable to resist making decidedly ironic allusions. Quoting the Weimar philosopher Wilhelm Meister, Bütler said: "Sunday is dedicated to our limitation to think."
But publishing newspapers on Sundays is unreligious behavior, complained one of our table neighbors. "Encouraging people to read on the holy day of rest, dedicated to church attendance - so what!" However, a short time later, a speaker explained that even in the strict, Zwinglian Zurich, reading for edification on Sundays was a commandment. The only question is whether the guardians of morality at the time didn't have a Bible study in mind.
What is certain is that the new publication started from pole position with its first edition. The publishing aristocracy paid their respects to the NZZ's youngest child. Charles von Graffenried came from the Espace Media Groupe (Berner Zeitung), publisher Peter Wanner from AZ Medien, Hanspeter Lebrument from the Südostschweizer Mediengruppe and - last but not least - Tamedia owner Hans Heinrich Coninx. Even if the latter might not be too pleased about the new Sunday competition, his presence was still mandatory. As President of the Swiss Press Association, Coninx has the not exactly easy task of representing overarching interests. Together with them, another 700 opinion leaders from politics, publishing and the communications industry were the first Sunday paper to hold an NZZ in their hands last weekend. It was distributed half an hour after midnight. And at Sunday brunch in the coffee house, we also noticed a strong dominance of reed green over blue and red.
Even before the NZZ party, however, there was plenty of partying and socializing in Zurich. The previous Tuesday, Weltwoche hosted an after-work party at the
In-Club "Indochine" in Zurich's industrial district. Here, too, the advertisers didn't need to be asked twice. Just out of curiosity, there was a large crowd - the back and forth about the Jean Frey publishing house seems to go into new rounds every week. The visitors then got to see unity in minne. Chairman of the Board Christoph Richterich, CEO Filippo Leutenegger and Weltwoche Editor-in-Chief Roger Köppel were seen standing together and discussing in an almost unspectacular consensus. Right next to them, publishing director Uli Rubner and advertising director Ivan Schultheiss were also in high spirits, as were Bilanz advertising director Peter Menzato and even Beobachter publishing director Peter Kümmerli, who together demonstrated boundless optimism.
It was not a party, but the annual general meeting of the Swiss Direct Marketing Association (SDV). We always enjoy attending this event because the food at the conference venue - the Marriott Hotel has been hosting the AGM for a long time - is always very tasty and the wine selection is also excellent. As with other industry associations, the SDV Annual General Meeting usually goes off without a hitch and without a hitch. The only notable items on the agenda were the election of the new office manager Daniela Reinhard and the new president Guido Wietlisbach. The previous office holders had already announced their resignations some time ago. The nominations were accepted unanimously, with only one abstention in the election of the President. Daniel Brüngger, Wietlisbach's partner at WBO Ogilvyone, was probably worried that the newly elected president would now be less concerned with business.
Beat Fritsch

with the new intellectual cover for the weekend. In future, gossip columnists from Welt will probably make their peephole in the NZZ am Sonntag, because: "Reading makes no noise." The NZZ celebrated its youngest child with many guests at the weekend. Last week, Weltwoche and the Swiss Direct Marketing Association also hosted events.
Who from the communications scene appears at which events is located at the most diverse events in the scene. Do you already have something to report? Pick up the phone (01 296 97 98) or hit the keys ([email protected]). Event tips as well as further shortlist images are available online at www.werbewoche.ch

Since the beginning of the year, Zurich-based PR agency L&W MarCom AG has been advising InfoGuard, Obtree, SNAC and Xerox on all aspects of corporate communications.Etat-News Four new clients for L&W MarCom InfoGuard focuses on information security in business processes. Obtree produces software for enterprise content management. SNAC is part of IFA The Knowledge Company and provides training for new careers in communications technology. Xerox is a provider of copiers, printers, fax machines and scanners.
l+F wins Neue Aargauer Bank The Zurich advertising agency Lesch + Frei (L+F) is now responsible for the communications of Neue Aargauer Bank (NAB). L+F prevailed in a pitch. Last year, NAB developed a new brand image, the contents of which it now wants to communicate.
Regardez realizes ZDF-wahlJingles The Zurich-based production company Regardez realizes the design package for ZDF's political broadcasts in the election year 2002. The package includes the openers for the broadcasts "Wahlkampf Live", "Wahl 2002", "Politbarometer" and "Standpunkte".