BSW agencies were only able to keep their results stable thanks to seven new membersBy Andreas Panzeri René R. Hürlimann, President, and Walter Merz, Managing Director of BSW, presented a mixed annual balance sheet at a media conference: the revenues of traditional agencies fell by an average of 5.6 percent.
The 74 consulting and creative agencies that are members of the Swiss Association of Advertising and Communication Agencies (BSW) have clearly felt the effects of the crisis year 2001. Thanks to the inclusion of seven new members (two media agencies, three dialog marketing agencies and two advertising agencies), however, the statistics could be "glossed over" a little: Total BBE grew by 0.1 percent to CHF 436.2 million compared to the exceptional year 2000.
However, the association is equipped for the tasks ahead and the expected upturn. This "cautious optimism" gives hope above all for the coming fall, when the budgets for 2003 will be discussed. Hürlimann therefore spoke of "small victories" and "gradual recovery".
For 2002, the traditional advertising agencies in the BSW expect growth of 1.9 percent, while the non-traditional member agencies expect stronger growth of 5.1 percent. The Board of Directors is convinced that it was the right decision to open the association to such non-traditional agencies from both the media and dialog marketing groups.
As far as general trends are concerned, Hürlimann sees two tendencies in the future. One is towards specialization with small groups. The second trend is one-stop shopping with full-service agencies that can offer customers all services from a single source. "The specialist agencies are growing faster than the old full-service agencies," analyzed the BSW
President the statistics.
In 2001, a difficult year for the advertising industry worldwide, the BSW, as the leading industry association for the Swiss
Advertising and communications agencies, but satisfactory in summary.
For the first time, the association has broken down the annual ranking of its members, which is awaited with great interest, into the individual agency categories and has also created a separate ranking for agency groups. This provides a better overview of the structure of the association. The communication agencies that are members of the BSW account for around 70 percent of the total advertising business generated by agencies in Switzerland.
Promising future with modular schools
"Education in Switzerland is an international showpiece. Nowhere else is second-chance education as developed as it is here," said the President, proudly referring to another focus of the association's activities.
The BSW is very committed to training and further education in order to continue to create the basis for high-quality work for its members. For example, many of the leading people in BSW agencies pass on their knowledge at public colleges and seminars, while the association also organizes its own training courses and seminars exclusively for its members' employees at various levels: ADC/BSW creative school for young graphic designers and copywriters; seminar for strategic planning; Marbach Academy for managers, together with the German Association of Communication Agencies, GWA; management tools seminars for agency managers, financial managers and consultants and, together with the ADC (Art Directors Club) and the IAA (International Advertising Association), the management seminar 03 for the top management bodies of agencies.
The new Vocational Training Act brings with it new requirements for training. Here too, the BSW is actively working on the realignment of industry training modules and is in contact with interested associations and training centers. BSW Managing Director Merz is "out and about somewhere on training policy issues" at least once a week. The attractive appeal of modular training in the future will be that the various parts of the examination for a diploma can also be taken at different schools.
One unsolved problem for SME agencies in particular, however, will be that apprentices will not only have to take more time off school in future. According to the upcoming concepts, master trainers should also regularly attend school again, as otherwise they will no longer be allowed to supervise apprentices.
As an association, the BSW is also concerned about creating optimal framework conditions for its member agencies. In this context, the association's working principles are currently being revised. The paper, whose predecessor has achieved the status of an industry statement, is to be adopted at the members' meeting on April 11 in Lucerne.
The online job placement service bswjobs.com, which was launched last year, has initially developed less dynamically than planned as a result of the general economic situation. The service was actively used in the first six months. Since September 11, however, "nothing has been working at all", explained Merz. However, project manager Evelyne Masson is confident that bsw jobs.com can be continuously expanded again this year as a confidential point of contact for communications professionals and agencies looking for jobs and personnel. "We are hoping for spring."
The new ranking does not yet permit any comparative figures
This year, the official tables of the new ranking deliberately omit the comparative figures from the year 2000 because many agencies have been restructured or otherwise changed. "You would have had to compare apples with pears here," Merz calculated and specified: "You could only have explained the figures with around 40 footnotes." Advertising Week has nevertheless printed the comparative figures for clever statisticians with the appropriate extrapolators.
The figures in AdAge are different once again, as non-BSW members (individual subsidiaries) of the groups are also included here. On the other hand, it is clear that the industry leaders in dialog marketing and specialty agencies can be seen for the first time.
70 percent of all BSW agencies took part in the monitor survey, 90 percent of which were the top 20 agencies. From the figures obtained, it can be calculated that the top 10 realize around 45% of the total annual budget.
Almost half of the agencies expect more income in 2003. Here too, the traditional agencies expect less growth than the dialog and specialist agencies. In the growth sectors, banks and telecommunications have swapped the top two places. The pharmaceutical industry has slipped to the top and IT to the bottom.
Good news for employees: 70 percent of agencies have announced a pay rise for this year. The average increase is 2.5 percent. 95 new jobs were created in 2001 compared to 160 in the previous year.
BSW Ranking 2001 Advertising Agencies

(Figures not always comparable with 2000)
BBE in € million
Rank Agency Location 2001 2000 1999
 1 Publicis Werbeagentur AG 1) Zurich 31,743 33,108 32,097
 2 Advico Young & Rubicam AG Zurich 30,800 31,317 26,630
 3 Wirz Werbung AG Zurich 25,070 24,850 23,100
 4 Lowe AG 2) Zurich 21,097 20,338 14,300
 5 McCann-Erickson SA Geneva/Zurich 19,562 39,014 40,223
 6 TBWA Switzerland AG 3) Zurich/Bern 15,500 15,550 14,400
 7 Euro RSCG Switzerland Zurich/Genève/ 14,551 14,862 14,314
Basel
 8 Contexta AG Berne 13,620 10,350 7,300
 9 Grey Worldwide AG Zurich/Genève 13,100 14,800 11,300
10 FCB Leutenegger Krüll AG Wallisellen 12,650 10,546 6,420
11 Burson-Marsteller AG Berne 10,800 9,870 8,465
12 Jung von Matt/Limmat AG 4) Zurich 10,205 8,484 6,321
13 JWT+H+F Werbeagentur AG 5) Zurich 8,890 8,341 7,971
14 Young & Rubicam Business Genève 8,475 8,008 7,200
Communications SA
15 Grendene, Ogilvy & Mather AG Zurich 8,315 7,586 8,037
16 Lang Gysi Knoll Werbeagentur AG Berne 8,115 7,150 6,750
17 Favo Corporate Communications Arlesheim 6,425 7,279 5,610
18 Saatchi & Saatchi Nyon/Zurich 6,126 5,360 5,055
19 Metzgerlehner AG 6) Erlenbach 5,400 5,900 6,000
20 Cosmic Werbeagentur AG Zurich 5,400 4,900 4,500
21 GGK Zurich Zurich 4,800 5,400 5,200
22 Lesch + Frei Werbeagentur AG Zurich 4,710 5,061
23 cR DDB Basel cR Werbeagentur AG Basel 4,440 3,860 3,217
24 Polyconsult Bern AG 7) Bern 4,000 2,600 3,665
25 Matter & Partner AG Zurich 3,900 3,300 2,960
26 Sulzer, Sutter AG Zurich 3,857 3,362 3,082
27 Erat, Thoma & Herzog Werbeagentur AG Rorschach 3,750 4,120 3,543
28 Schneider, Berthoud Werbeagentur AG Basel 3,620 2,942 3,024
29 Zogg.Kettiger.Gasser. Werbeagentur AG 8) Zurich 3,600 4,600 4,880
30 Pucci Sulzer Werbeagentur AG 9) Zurich 3,299
31 Schmid Riedmann & Partner Lucerne 3,165
32 Guye Benker Werbeagentur AG 10) Zurich 3,018 4,438 3,711
33 Ottiger & Partner AG Reussbühl 2,900 2,650
34 Scotti Werbeagentur AG Zurich 2,740 3,200 2,595
35 Heads Corporate Communication AG Zurich 2,530 2,230 1,521
36 FKP&Partner AG, Zurich 11) Dietikon 2,400 4,300 4,250
37 Hilfiker AG Lucerne 2,380
38 Wyss & Partner AG Zurich 2,320 2,308 2,315
39 S&W Werbeagentur AG Baden-Dättwil 2,022 2,200 2,115
40 Trio Communication marketing SA Lausanne 1,865 1,980 2,253
41 Bonaparte Werbeagentur AG 12) Zurich 1,650 3,100 3,560
42 Synthèse SA Ecublens 1,480 1,400 1,200
43 Kobalt AG 13) Lucerne 740
44 Thomas Vetter Advertising Agency Zurich 398 0.500 0.570
BSW Ranking 2001 Media Agencies

(Figures not always comparable with 2000)
BBE in € million
Rank Agency Location 2001
1 Optimedia Switzerland 1) Zurich 5,162
2 Universal McCann SA 2) Geneva/Zurich 5,011
4 MediaCom Zurich 2) Zurich 2,800
3 OMD Zürich AG 3) Zurich 2,500
5 The Media Edge Zurich 1,534
BSW ranking 2001 dialog marketing and special agencies

(Figures not always comparable with 2000)
BBE in € million
Rank Agency Location 2001 2000
1 Fisch Meier Direkt AG Adliswil 14,651 14,251
2 Futurecom Interactive AG 1) Zurich 10,855
3 Alex Schmid AG 2) Zollikon 5,528 10,300
4 WBO OgilvyOne AG 1) Zurich 4,152
5 Grey Direct Concept AG 1) Baden 2,900
6 Target Group AG Zurich 2,322 2,260
7 Catapult AG Zurich 2,229 3,514
BSW ranking 2001 agency groups

BBE in € million
Rank Agency Location 2001 2000
1 Young & Rubicam Group Switzerland 62,464 50,812
Advico Young & Rubicam AG Zurich 30,800 31,317
Futurecom Interactive AG Zurich 10,855
Burson-Marsteller AG Berne 10,800 9,870
Young & Rubicam Business Communications SA Genève 8,475 8,008
The Media Edge Zurich 1,534 1,617
2 Publicis Group Switzerland 57,682 42,981
Publicis Werbeagentur AG Zurich 31,743 33,108
Fisch Meier Direkt AG Adliswil 14,651 14,251
Saatchi & Saatchi Nyon/Zurich 6,126 5,360
Optimedia Switzerland Zurich 5,162 et al.
3 McCann Group Switzerland 26,895 41,274
McCann-Erickson SA Geneva/Zurich 19,562 39,014
Universal McCann SA Geneva/Zurich 5,011
Target Group AG Zurich 2,322 2,260
4 Grey Group Switzerland 18,800
Grey Worldwide AG Zurich/Genève 13,100 14,800
Grey Direct Concept AG Baden 2,900
MediaCom Zurich Zurich 2,800
5 Euro RSCG Switzerland Group 16,780 18,376
Euro RSCG Switzerland Zurich/Genève 14,551 14,862
Catapult AG Zurich 2,229 3,514
6 Ogilvy Group Switzerland 12,467
Grendene, Ogilvy & Mather AG Zurich 8,315 7,586
WBO OgilvyOne AG Zurich 4,152

What is it about men - if we're not talking about muscles, hairy chests and lots and lots of money? Yes, a joystick. This can be perfectly packaged in both Versace jeans and black cotton trousers. And since it is at the center of a man's being, it naturally requires special care. It is in the nature of men to check the functionality of their Nintendo predecessor from time to time. And in all declinations. And to ensure that game addicts don't overuse their personal Playstation, Nokia offers a perfect solution. When you buy a phone in the online store, you get a joystick for free. Ouch! The country needs casinos...
Chandra Kurt [email protected]
Column

More belly
By Michael Barney
When the economy isn't doing well in times of crisis, it's time for the bean counters, curmudgeons, know-it-alls and head people. After all, only they know how to do good advertising, what real advertising should look like. They assume that everyone around them is either simple-minded or dull-witted. This elite claims that people only read the headlines in ads, for example. Which is complete nonsense. Either you are interested in the topic of an ad, then you read down to the coupon. Or you scroll on quickly. TV commercials are even trickier: nobody sits in front of the TV and waits feverishly for a specific 30 seconds that are hidden somewhere in an advertising block. But this is enormously important to people's minds. Does the viewer get everything, really everything, from the beginning to the end of those 30 seconds? Have we considered, thwarted, eradicated all critical aspects (even those that only idiots could come up with)? Is the spot, the idea, the story finally so streamlined, balanced and compromising that we have reached everyone (including small children, pensioners, color-blind people, believers in Christ, those who despise consumption, bed-wetters, etc.)? Well, finally. And that's why 90 percent of advertising is just the way it is: boring, banal - just to look away from. Because advertising that doesn't attract attention doesn't help anyone. Neither the people it is aimed at nor the people who pay for it. If those responsible were to make more gut decisions, there would be more room for wit and charm, emotion and amazement in our advertising messages. Then it would be fun again to look at posters for longer and even look forward to the commercial breaks. But does anyone test this? And how! Because if you are now nodding your head in agreement, then we already have a respectable test result, don't we?
Michael Barney is a senior copywriter at the Lowe advertising agency in Zurich.
Business lunch

Light also means as much as almost vaporized
If someone goes on a trip, even out into the so-called advertising province (Zurich, typical!), they can also talk about Bern. He can. For example, about the "Moléson" on Aarbergergasse. The extensive documentation on the table tells us that the restaurant, founded in 1865, has been owned by the same family for 82 years. Mon Dieu! You can only find so much consistency in federal Berne.
The "Moléson" has the addition "Gourmanderie" in its name. It tastes a bit like gendarmerie. You sit a little too close to each other and look at your neighbor's flammekueche to see if the bacon cubes are fried nice and crispy. The tables are laid with a paper set but with a cloth napkin. A rechaud is provided for each person, and the butter for the fabulous bread (in a class of its own!) is not squeezed into plastic tubs with a foil lid.
The menu includes a good number of French bistro dishes such as "pork feet in morel and nidles sauce". After all, pub owners are a bit of a copywriter by profession, which is why you should let this sentence about the Strassbourg fondue (38.50) melt slowly on your tongue: "The mariage of moitié moitié with black truffle. The result is the noblest of the noble: noir et blanc."
The "Natura-Kalbsleberli im Anke" was wonderfully fresh and just as deliciously tender, the rösti golden brown - a feast for the eyes. However, the advertised "marinated vegetables" consisted of just a few hand-sliced carrots (23.50). The Natura pork fillet medallion and the roast veal with a light calvados sauce (29.50) were also convincing - except for the sauce. Because: light calvados sauce also means almost evaporated. And so it was. The colorful leaf salad with "Chnoblibrötli" was visually appealing, but lacked a lot of oil for the salad dressing. However, the lentil soup in a terrine and with a dollop of cream was delicious.
For these prices, you have to travel a long way to get so much good food on your plate, plus a nice selection of top open wines and nice service to boot. And it's so cozy in the "Moléson" that you won't even be tempted to use your cell phone. A special room has been set up for notorious phone users: It is located outside the door...
Carlo Bernasconi [email protected]
Gourmanderie Café MolésonAarbergergasse 24
3011 Berne
Tel. 031 311 44 63
Fax 031 312 01 45
No parking spaces far and wide

The magazine Mex (Musenalp Express) is now also available at newsstands.News Mex at newsstands
While the magazine for young adults is available free of charge in selected stores, it costs CHF 2.50 in newsagents. 7000 copies of the February issue were sold at newsstands.
Huber Verlag buys Regional Zeitung Frauenfelder Huber Verlag has bought Zeitungs-Verlag AG with its Regional Zeitung title. The newspaper will continue to be published five times a week with a circulation of around 5900 copies and will continue to operate as an independent company.
Private radios and TVs at the Expo On the initiative of the Biel-based broadcaster Canal 3, the Association of Swiss Private Radios (VSP) is setting up a joint production and broadcasting studio at Expo.02 at the Arteplage Biel. It consists of a central editorial office with four permanently employed journalists. The costs are covered on the one hand by the broadcasters involved in the production and on the other by sponsorship contributions. The Federal Office of Communications has granted a deficit guarantee. In addition, the private TV stations TeleBielingue (Biel), Canal Alpha (Neuchâtel) and Canal Nord Vaudois (Yverdon) will produce a weekly magazine called "Expo TV" during Expo.02. The Federal Office of Communications is supporting the project with CHF 1.2 million from radio and TV reception fees.
BaZ and FC Basel market FCBThe Basler Zeitung (BaZ), FC Basel (FCB) and the St. Jakob stadium cooperative have jointly founded FCB Media AG. It takes over the commercial exploitation of the broadcasting rights for moving images of FCB on television, video and the Internet. FCB has transferred all corresponding rights to the new company, insofar as they are not contractually held by SF DRS or Sat 1.

When something is tackled at Rufener Events, the result has a solid foundation, as is the case with the new homepage, which was launched this month. Because the agency from Zurich-Wiedikon is well established in the scene - among other things, it organizes the supporting programme for Screen-up and is responsible for many other major events within and outside the communications industry - the guest list for the launch party included a number of well-known names.Among those present when Schoscho Rufener popped the corks were RMB CEO Matthias Luchsinger accompanied by his former employee Jana Nyvltowa, who has just set up her own business, Roger Baur from Qualiclick, Andi Hess from Instanz AG, Marc Schürmann, owner of the Mosaik promotion agency, a delegation from local broadcaster Tele Züri and many others from the advertising and party scene.
The guests were just as impressed by the site as they were by the rather crazy performance by the cult band Cuban Brothers with which it was presented. Afterwards, MTV presenter and young star of the German literary scene, Benjamin von Stuckrad-Barre, also provided a bite of intellectual brain food with a reading from his latest work.
Of course you have expectations when you invite an event agency. They were met. Kim Hilario's team did a great job. In collaboration with the catering department of Bongusto Kommunikation, two top Portuguese wines that are virtually unknown here were served alongside sparkling Prosecco: a Chardonnay from Alorna grown in barriques and a red from the Douro, produced by Alves de Sousa, recently voted Winemaker of the Year in Portugal. These were accompanied by cucumber soup, spicy falafel, exotic glass noodle salad and foie gras and vegetable mousse rolls that melted in the mouth.

JWT+H+F gathered celebrities for the relaunch campaignBy Markus Knöpfli TR7 is gearing up for a relaunch, as the Swiss TV magazine market is more competitive than ever. The program highlights its USP: the focus on the Swiss TV world and its stars. Five of them - including Kurt Felix - thank and contribute to the communication.
The second-largest Swiss TV magazine TR7 (407,000 readers) was published in a new look on February 27. The most striking thing about it: TR7 has been given a new logo. The large red square with the white, newly unshaded letters TR is based on the Swiss flag and visually emphasizes what is also highlighted in the subtitle: "Switzerland's TV magazine". The yellow seven, on the other hand, refers more clearly than before to the publication frequency - a form of differentiation from TV magazines that appear fortnightly or monthly.
Otherwise, however, TR7, which was revamped by the Hamburg agency Pfadfinder, has not made any "concessions" to its competitors at home and abroad. The aim of the relaunch was not to reposition the brand, but to give it a new shine, says publishing director Sandro Rüegger.
The magazine will continue to focus on the media of TV, film and cinema, primarily focusing on Swiss aspects and Swiss film and TV stars. This is precisely what the campaign designed by JWT+Hostettler+Fabrikant to accompany the relaunch emphasizes. It addresses the readers' desire to find out even more about the Swiss stars. The agency was able to recruit five such stars as testimonials. They are shown in mailings, advertisements, wild posters and in a TV commercial: Patricia Boser, René Rindlisbacher, Hans Schenker with Isabelle von Siebenthal - and last but not least - Kurt Felix. The viewer is repeatedly lured close to the star either by the camera work or by a small square of text on the celebrity's face - and then learns that only TR7 creates the desired closeness. Remy Fabrikant (CD) and Paolo Tonti (AD) are responsible for the concept and realization.
A little treat for advertising customers too
In addition to the new logo, the most important innovations are the consistent bundling of content and sections and a greatly optimized reader guidance. Two pre-test series with subscribers have confirmed that this has been successful, explains Rüegger. The sections and their titles have largely been retained, but some new ones have been added. For example, the double-page service section "Best of..." with weekly tips on books, websites, DVDs/videos and music CDs. Or the double-page spread "Lifestyle" with a weekly menu for a selected movie, presentations of new products and much more. "We created Lifestyle especially for our advertising customers. However, the selection of the featured products is made by the editorial team," says Rüegger.
A new feature is the "Aftermath" section, a page on which two heads of celebrities from the film, show and TV scene are photographed together.
Throughout March, in addition to the usual TR7 circulation of 17,3038 copies, a good 20,000 additional copies will be sent out every week to former subscribers and potential new subscribers in the greater Zurich area. This additional service is even combined with a price reduction: Advertisers who book three advertisements by March 27 will receive them for the price of two. Otherwise, the 2002 rates continue to apply.
New owners changed nothing

Despite the surprising change of ownership at Jean Frey AG at the beginning of February, there were no delays or changes to the TR7 relaunch. "We presented the concept to the new management and they approved it," confirms publishing director Sandro Rüegger.

Kurt Schmid, CEO of Lowe, on the BSW agency's creative plansLowe, the Swiss branch of the globally active agency group, gained 4 percent in Switzerland last year in a market that shrank by 6.9 percent overall. For Kurt Schmid, CEO of Lowe, this comes as no surprise.what has Lowe done differently?
Kurt Schmid: For me, it's actually not so much the 4% last year that is so surprising. What I find more interesting is the growth we have recorded in the last three years. We already grew by over 30 percent in 2000. Since we moved to Zurich in 1996 and started with around CHF 10 million, our income has doubled to CHF 21.1 million within five years.
And the recipe for success?
Schmid: I don't know exactly what we did differently. The Orange budget win certainly helped us. Our diversity is also important. We have an American and an Australian as Creative Directors and a Frenchman as Strategic Planner. We don't just try to think Swiss, we want to be an international agency in Switzerland. Without such an international team, it would not be possible to serve our international clients so successfully.
Does the account look so positive because you have been particularly active internationally with Lowe?
Schmid: So far, we have practically not taken over any international business from the Group, but have realized everything on our own. This year, we will be starting a collaboration with Unilever for the first time. Otherwise, we have not taken on any customers from the Group.
What are the most important new customers?
Schmid: Certainly Orange. We won a presentation for Credit Suisse Life and Pension, plus Läkerol, Kraft Food Rama and at Lowe direct Mastro Lorenzo.
What do you expect from international business?
Schmid: Difficult to say. Perhaps in the Unilever sector. But I don't want to speculate on that and prefer to remain independent as Lowe. My aim is to convey more impulses from Switzerland than just to receive impulses from London, Paris or Milan. I'm very interested in exporting abroad from Switzerland, just like GGK used to do.
Has the name change from Lowe GGK to just Lowe as of January actually been received positively?
Schmid: Yes, both Lowe and GGK stand for something similar, namely Creative Committment. So there's no need for us to say that twice. Lowe embodies our philosophy perfectly, as does GGK. In the past, we were often confused with Hermann Strittmatter's GGK Zurich. So I've only experienced positive reactions because we've decided who we actually want to be. You can't always leave everything open.
With so much positive news: Have you also had to make compromises?
Schmid: It was a real struggle last year. Our customers, who are actually the heroes, have struggled just as much as we have. The loss of Sunrise was difficult after all the development work. That was our biggest customer. The fact that we then won Orange is a very pleasing development. Interview: Andreas Panzeri

The Face agency is making its voice heard in the quiet little placeBrun Bruno Amstutz Sales in traditional advertising have been slumping for months, but advertising in toilets does not seem to be affected: Toilet communication is flourishing despite the crisis.
"Does she belong to a cult?" was the first thought of the newly crowned Advertiser of the Year Dominique von Matt when a stranger congratulated him after the award ceremony and explicitly emphasized that she had washed her hands beforehand. Two encounters with an unusually intense emphasis on personal hygiene later, the mystery was solved: Von Matt owed the clean handshake not to ritual washing, but to the Face agency, which had identified the vicinity of the toilet bowl as the ideal place for advertising. "Please wash your hands before you congratulate me" demanded a speech bubble next to von Matt's head on small posters above urinals and bowls in Zurich's Xtra Limmathaus.
Klommunication is the name given to this form of below-the-line advertising by the eastern Swiss agency Face. It has even had the term trademarked. With its concept of using unusual advertising media in unusual places, Face is enjoying success from Klowand to Klowand. Sales Manager Thomas Back is already enjoying full order books at the start of the year, and the agency is expanded from 18 to 23 employees. New customers include Novartis, Nokia, Coca-Cola and other renowned companies.
Face does not appear to be affected by the crisis in traditional advertising. "We are constantly developing new ideas and responding specifically to customer needs," says Back, explaining the promising situation. Face's advertising media have now spread from the wet rooms and are now also populating elevators and rental cars.
"People enjoy good advertising in original places," Back is convinced, "and our products should always make people smile." They undoubtedly achieved this goal at the Advertiser of the Year. "In terms of communication performance, it was a success," acknowledges Dominique von Matt, "communication is a medium that works well, but it depends on the product. For my head, for example, I can imagine other places than a urinal."

Muse & Musse Tobias Trevisan
What was the last cultural event you attended?
Tobias Trevisan: "Die schöne Müllerin" at the Schiffbau, because I simply wanted to see the play! I liked it very much.
What are you reading right now?
Trevisan: "The Fourth Hand" by John Irving. Irving is one of the authors whose books I read as soon as they are published.
Which CD do you currently prefer to listen to?
Trevisan: Oh, nothing special. Mostly Kruder & Dorfmeister at the moment, but only in the background.
Which movie would you most like to see again?
Trevisan: All films by Tarantino, Almodóvar and Jarmusch. They are simply great stories, wonderfully told and brilliantly filmed.
What TV show did you fall asleep during the other night?
Trevisan: I would probably fall asleep during most programs if I didn't read the newspaper while the TV was on.
What is your latest discovery on the Internet?
Trevisan: Not a specific site, but the fact that content increasingly costs something.
What could you never do without?
Trevisan: "Kronenhalle", "Conti", "Caduff", etc. and all the friends I meet up with there.
What do you do in a free minute?
Trevisan: Never mind, just get out of the office!
Love is...?
Trevisan: ...when I stop thinking!

Régie Media Belge International (RMBI) is in the process of selling a large part of its existing European multimedia network to the French electronics manufacturer Thomson Multimedia. RMBI is negotiating separately with another, as yet unnamed, interested party for the RMBI subsidiaries Switzerland and Austria. Terry Focant, spokesperson for RMB Belgium, said this on request. No comment was available from Thomson Multimedia. Thomson Multimedia is the world's fourth-largest supplier of home electronics equipment. With 73,000 employees in more than 30 countries, the group had a turnover of 9.1 billion euros in 2000, 36 percent more than in 1999.Focant emphasized that the talks with Thomson are by no means complete and could last until the end of March. Focant is negotiating with Thomson about the RMBI areas of Eastern Europe (Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary), Northern Europe (Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway), Western Europe (France, Netherlands, Belgium) and Southern Europe (Spain, Portugal, Italy). With two exceptions: The marketing of three TV channels in Spain, RMB's largest TV area outside Belgium, is said to be excluded from the talks. In Belgium, the parent company RMB Belgium only wants to sell the cinema division, while retaining the TV, radio, press and online divisions.
Should the deals with Thomson and the unnamed second interested party be finalized, only the Belgian parent company would remain from the RMBI network. The entire cinema network - with the exception of the RMBI Central Europe area (Germany, Switzerland, Austria) - would go to Thomson, making it the new cinema marketing giant of Europe. Two figures indicate this: RMBI is present in 17 countries, in twelve of which it has market shares of between 50 and 100 percent. In 2000, RMBI achieved a turnover of just under 150 million euros with cinema alone.
The RMBI Central Europe area has already been carved up, RMB Germany was sold to the previous shareholders Apax and Pricoa at the end of 2001 (WW 5/02). Matthias Luchsinger, Head of RMB Switzerland and Area Manager Central Europe, is now negotiating with the second interested party for RMB Switzerland and Austria on behalf of RMBI (mk).

SRG's TV stations will continue to broadcast Formula 1 car races.News SRG to broadcast Formula 1 until 2004
SRG and Formula One Administration Ltd (FOA) have extended the contract, which expired after last season, until the end of 2004. This includes the live and re-utilization rights as well as filming permits for the production of additional broadcast material with SRG's own cameras. The parties have agreed not to disclose the financial compensation. SRG has been broadcasting Formula 1 car races since 1969.
Ringier sells DW sheetfed offset The Ringier media house is pressing ahead with its plan to close Druckerei Winterthur AG (DW). DW's sheetfed offset division will be sold to Druckerei Mattenbach, also based in Winterthur, at the beginning of April. Around half of the 22 employees will find new employment at Mattenbach, while some employees will continue to work at DW Winterthur for the time being or retire early. The prepress company ColorServ AG, which belongs to DW, will be closed in Winterthur at the end of March and integrated into the Zurich-based company Specter, which Ringier bought at the end of January and affiliated to Ringier Print Zofingen. Ringier acquired the long-established Winterthur printing plant from the Basel media group in July 2001.
Bloomberg-TV with "Index Switzerland"
Since Monday, the half-hour program "Index Schweiz" can be seen daily on the stock market channel Bloomberg-TV Germany. Presenter Tanja Sutter presents the latest company news and provides information on developments on the Swiss stock exchange. Studio guests and experts join in to evaluate the news live. "Index Schweiz" is broadcast from Monday to Friday at 2 pm. This means it can also be seen on Tele Züri, which has been broadcasting the Bloomberg program from 6 a.m. to 12 noon and from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. since the beginning of the year.

Hansruedi Bichsel has been CEO of Publimag AG since the beginning of the yearHead of the week "I don't believe in a loss of confidence in the advertising market"
From the Publimag headquarters in Glattbrugg, Hansruedi Bichsel can see the planes take off from Kloten. A whiff of kerosene still accompanies him at work today. Originally, his fascination with flying determined his career choice. Becoming an air traffic controller was the goal. However, he was denied this due to a recruitment freeze. "Today I'm glad that didn't work out," reveals the 42-year-old, "the stresses and strains in this job are too extreme."
As an alternative, he started an aviation apprenticeship at Swissair in 1977 and remained loyal to the airline for 13 years before setting off for new shores in 1989. "Malicious tongues claim that Swissair has been going downhill ever since," jokes Bichsel.
He trained as a marketing planner and found a job as an assistant manager at Ofa Orell Füssli Werbe AG. The transition from highly technical flight operations to advertising marketing felt like an exploration of unknown territory for the then 30-year-old. "I was told that the only thing Ofa did was sell white space," recalls Bichsel. "That sentence is still true today, but the complexity of the business has steadily increased over the last ten years."
In his twelve years with the company, Bichsel has climbed the career ladder of today's Publimag AG to the top: After a short stint at Ofa Schaffhausen, he moved to Glattbrugg as advertising manager for the trade press and, after the magazine division became independent within Ofa, built up the back office and logistics. After training as a qualified marketing manager, he took over the management of the trade press division in 1996. Following the merger of Ofa Zeitschriften with Publimag and the expansion of the branch network in Basel and Berne, he took over as operational manager of Publimag Glattbrugg in 1999. He was finally appointed CEO of Publimag AG at the beginning of January 2002.
In this role, Bichsel intends to continue the integration work of his predecessor Stefan Staub, bring the four Publimag branches even closer together and significantly increase market share over the next five years.
His optimism helps him here: "I don't believe in a loss of confidence in the advertising market," emphasizes the new CEO, "I think that the situation will calm down again by mid-2002." Nor does he want to attribute too much influence on the advertising market to September 11, 2001: "It was of course the ideal time to get all the skeletons out of the closet," Bichsel assumes, "but that should put us in a positive mood for the coming year." Bruno Amstutz

In addition, Kenneth Angst, co-editor-in-chief of *Weltwoche*, is leaving the newspaper at the end of February. Production director Andreas Dietrich, who was brought to the weekly by Roger Köppel, has also resigned and is moving to *NZZ Folio*.
On June 1, Rev. Simon Weber will become the new director of communications for the Swiss Evangelical Church Federation (SEK). He will succeed Andreas Stauffer, who had been serving in the role on an interim basis.
Dominique Hess has joined the Zurich-based internet agency Die Argonauten as its new managing director. Hess most recently served as head of consulting and managing director at Pixelpark’s Zurich office.
Publisuisse has recently begun marketing sponsorship opportunities on the SRG's twelve radio stations. The newly established unit, which has seven employees, will be headed by Beatrice Kniel starting March 1.
Peter Sorg, most recently Head of Group Relations at Ciba Specialty Chemicals, will become managing partner of the Basel-based advertising agency Lucky Lack. The agency’s former partner and managing director, Bruno Steiger, has already left the agency and is establishing his own marketing consulting firm, Steiger Partner.
Urs Keiser, former head of marketing at the Feldschlösschen beverage group, will become managing director and CEO of the BRO Group—which operates in the areas of customer loyalty and sporting events—on March 1. Company founder Bernhard Rutz plans to focus more on customer retention and acquisition.
The Zurich-based advertising agency Ruf Lanz is expanding: Matthias Städeli joined the consulting department on February 1. Städeli gained his experience at AY&R, Publicis, and WHS, and most recently at the TV and new media production company Frame eleven.
Peter Bütikofer & Company is expanding its consulting team with the addition of communications expert Hilmar Gernet. He previously served as a correspondent in Brussels, deputy editor-in-chief of the Neue Mittelland Zeitung, and secretary-general of the CVP Switzerland.
Emil Mahnig will become the new editor-in-chief and managing director of the senior citizens' magazine *Zeitlupe*. Until the end of last year, Mahnig was editor-in-chief of *GesundheitSprechstunde*.
Peter Eriksson will become head of marketing at Unique, the operating company of Zurich-Kloten Airport, on April 1. Eriksson is currently Managing Director for Southern Europe at airport retail provider The Nuance Group, which was formed in 1992 from the duty-free operations of Swissair and Crossair.