DRS ombudsman Otto Schoch expands his jurisdiction to include advertisingBy Luca Aloisi A psychiatry head physician complained about a TV commercial for Radio DRS. Not, as was to be expected, with the Fairness Commission, but with ombudsman Otto Schoch. Legally, the spot does not violate the law. Nevertheless, Schoch considers the complaint to be justified.
As WerbeWoche already suspected in the campaign description (WW 23/01), the spot for Swiss Radio DRS realized by Advico Young & Rubicam, in which a cock tired of life ends its earthly existence under a train, was indeed recently objected to. Not by outraged animal rights activists, but by a head physician of a psychiatric clinic who found the spot "absolutely tasteless." The psychiatrist complained that the TV commercial could have an inciting effect on suicidal young people because of the cock suicide it suggested, and thus undermined a broadly supported campaign for suicide prevention.
According to Otto Schoch, ombudsman of Radio and TV DRS, the advertising message generated an extremely positive response among TV viewers. Nevertheless, Schoch saw reason to clarify the complaint legally. The result: the commercial violates neither the RTVG nor the licensing regulations and Bakom guidelines, which is why Radio DRS wants to continue broadcasting it.
Generous interpretation of Article 60 RTVA
More surprising than the "acquittal" is Schoch's decision to interpret the term broadcast, as defined in the RTVA, generously and to extend its scope of authority to include advertising. Regarding the commercial review, he wrote in the magazine of the audience council Link: "I would have found a narrow interpretation of the legal requirements to be very petty, and I therefore took up the rebuke. After all, Art. 60 RTVG provides that anyone can object to a broadcast, and I think that commercials are also broadcasts within the meaning of this norm."
The SDA concluded that in addition to the program, TV commercials can now also be complained about to the ombudsman, which is actually the responsibility of the Fairness Commission. BSW managing director Walter Merz is not happy with this: "If one were to adhere to the well-rehearsed competency path, Mr. Schoch should have made the psychiatry chief physician aware that this commission is responsible for advertising."
How she would decide in such a case, he could not estimate. But he is certain that its verdict is prejudiced under the given circumstances. However, like Peter Felser, CEO of the advertising agency responsible, he does not fear a new scissors in the heads of the creatives. Felser: "We will continue to fulfill the briefing of our customers, which puts a task in the foreground, to the best of our knowledge and belief."
In the case of the offending TV spot, the aim was to make the message stunning, according to which more and more people are being woken up by the radio. "If the content is not given, it is a senseless provocation à la Benetton," adds Felser. For Publisuisse deputy director Othmar Stadelmann, who had visioned the spot, it is certainly debatable, especially from the point of view of depressed people, which is why he understands Schoch's approach.
DRS press spokesman René Bardet insists that in principle the whole thing has nothing to do with SF DRS and that "a strict separation between programming and advertising continues to apply". Due to absence, ombudsman Otto Schoch was unable to comment on the decisive entry issue. It therefore remains to be seen whether his decision should be interpreted as pointing the way forward.
For Merz, it is conceivable that the secretary of the Fairness Commission will seek contact with the ombudsman in order to clarify his acceptance of the reprimand. After all, ethics cannot be imposed by a government agency, he said. If an agency violates ethical principles, it harms itself and its clients, and no one has any interest in that.
Although the Fairness Commission has never been confronted with such a case, it feels neither belittled nor replaced. Commission secretary Hanspeter Marti sees his task as subsidiary to the courts. "As soon as fairness law is affected, we deal with all cases, regardless of whether the authorities or others have already dealt with them." Nor does he expect a government agency to refer the case to a private one. Especially not when the issue is ethical and not legal. "After all, we don't want to be moral judges."

By now, even those who take the word festive in the literal sense of the word so seriously that they are only now responsive again should have noticed:Shortlist Ah, les soirées dorées
By Beat Fritsch
The new year has irrevocably begun and with it a new season of advertising events. We are therefore rolling up the party residue of the past year, which said goodbye with a bang, from the back again.
Fading years have a way of saving the best for last. Logically, the last party is always the best. At Saint Sylvestre, also known as "La plus belle des nuits" by hardcore year-round partygoers, people are more beautifully dressed than ever and more exuberant than ever.
Manuel Nappo and Michel Pernet must have thought that the only way to get over the past year was to celebrate, and they threw by far the hippest New Year's Eve party on their feet or on the dance floor. The whole thing nowhere else than in the best house on the place Zurich, the Dolder Grand Hotel. The finest end of the year did not take place in the Kaufleuten, not in the Q and certainly not in St. Moritz or Gstaad (the mountains have been out for the turn of the year for a long time anyway - who wants to celebrate with the chic people from Euroland), but in the noble hotel with a view over the city. This was not missed by 160 personally invited and hand-picked guests from Zurich's party and advertising pie.
"Jeunesse dorée" was not only the party motto, but also the name of the guests, the organizers said in their brief welcome address. And expressed their thanks. Because the whole party would not have been possible without the active support of Walter K. Daubenmeier, deputy director of the Dolderpalais overlooking the golf course. This decision took some courage, since Zurich's jeunesse dorée, even when dressed in evening gowns and tuxedos, is not always praised for its demure behavior.
However, everything went smoothly - except for the small mishap on the toilet, the one or other burn hole in the carpet and the smashed dishes (but brings luck!). However, such small things can be generously overlooked in the night of nights. It is possible that the party will take place again next year. Registration probably futile! The guest list should already be totally overbooked.
Before the turn of the year, however, there were two more invitations of a more sporting nature on the agenda. One on, the other off the ice. Goldbach Media challenged its customers to a duel on the ice. Anyone who now thinks of tranquil curling is very much mistaken. Michi Frank and his men are tough guys - in giving and in taking, which is why the showdown took place on the field hockey field for once. Although the game with stick and puck ended in a draw, host coach and captain Michi Frank handed the winner's trophy to the guests.
A pretty exhausting thing, by the way, said all present. Ice hockey looks easy, but goes hard in
the bones. There was an injured person (wrist fracture) in the IPM team. Claudio is actually a professional ice skater with a lot of routine, said Michi Frank, and despite everything he was reassured that this had not happened to a customer. Nevertheless, the IPM boss immediately rushed to the hospital after the end of the tournament to bring first recovery wishes.
Walter Bosch was also very skeptical before the match started and had to be persuaded for a long time to participate. As president of the 1st FC Frischauf Seefeld, he knows all too well the risks of injury in team matches. In the end, all skepticism was gone, and Bosch became the
Nice Player, although according to his own statement he was in the penalty box most of the time. Best Player was
on the IPM page Michi Frank
(2 goals), who - quite modestly - thus distinguished himself right away. For the guests, it was Andy Lehmann, who also scored two goals. Conclusion: Everyone had so much fun that the revenge will not be long in coming.
The guests of the SonntagsZeitung got a taste of how it's done right at the Spengler Cup. Neither Stephan Küng nor IPM guest top scorer Andy Lehmann passed up the chance for a bit of an object lesson in Davos. And although Lehmann put in a top performance in Küsnacht, according to his own statements he was able to learn something in Davos.
Apart from the performances on the ice - HC Davos won the tournament, by the way, albeit with luck - the main topic was the announced sale of Jean Frey AG to Ringier.
Matthias Hagemann did not get such good marks for the whole story. The tenor was that he had let Weltwoche publishing director Uli Rubner and her team walk into an open knife. Shortly before Christmas, Weltwoche had sent out the invitations for the relaunch party on January 30. Advertising manager Ivan Schultheiss was now probably writing invitations again, it was maliciously joked.
Rest and quiet returned to Davos only after the Spengler Cup and the turn of the year. The fans had left, and those looking for relaxation had arrived. On the ski slope we saw Bettina Schmid and Claudia Wilden. And next to the ski slope Oliver Künzler and Filippo Zanchi, the owners of Trendcommerce, who seem to have had a good year. Or do you know any other reason to cheerfully ring in the day at Chalet Güggel already with champagne?
Beat Fritsch researched rather cold places for the New Year's Shortlist. Besides the ice hockey field in Küsnacht, the SpenglerCup in Davos was on the agenda. Which was also taken as an opportunity to take a look at the surrounding, nicely covered ski huts. And then there was a hot New Year's Eve party at the Dolder Grand Hotel in Zurich.
Those who will be celebrating fine advertising parties again this year, who will be gathering for placatory tournaments, or who will otherwise be attracting positive or negative attention, will be located at a wide variety of events on the scene. Do you already have something to report? Pick up the phone (01 296 97 98) or
(info@werbe woche.ch). Event tips as well as further shortlist pictures are available online at www. werbewoche.ch.

November 2001 brought the most massive decline in the volume of job ads in the Swiss press so far last year and tore further large holes in the advertising statistics. Weekly newspapers and Swiss-German dailies were hit hardest.
The November figures for the Swiss press's advertising statistics are causing a post-New Year's Eve hangover. Job ads suffered another slump, dragging down the bottom line: Newspapers reported a 42.6 percent drop in job volume compared to November 2000, with weeklies suffering the biggest loss at minus 57.1 percent.
The poor job advertising situation combined with more discrete losses in commercial advertising, where newspapers generated 10.9 percent less volume than in the same month last year.
For weekly newspapers, the overall loss in advertising volume was 25.6 percent, more than double the figure for October. Magazines lost 13.7 percent in November, the first time they have lost more than ten percent of their advertising volume compared with the same month of the previous year.
After eleven months of 2001, the picture is bleak. In almost all categories, the cumulative monthly figures show a decline in total advertising volume: for newspapers, it is minus 8.2 percent, for magazines minus 5.5 percent.
Positive figures are scarce. The fourteen medium-sized daily newspapers in German-speaking Switzerland with a circulation of between 10,000 and 50,000 copies at least managed to increase their cumulative advertising volume by 1 percent compared with the year 2000. After eleven months, even their job advertisements are slightly up, with a gain of 0.6 percent.
The Publicitas index of advertising expenditure in the daily press is also dwindling consistently: in November 2001, it stood at 127.2 points, 1.9 points below the October figure. The index of job advertisements fell by 11.3 points to 298.8 points.

The "career changer" and business economist Dominique von Matt is Advertiser of the Year 2002By Luca Aloisi

Dominique von Matt, co-owner of Jung von Matt/Limmat (JvM), looks back
looks back on an eventful 2001: connection to his brother's JvM network,
Prestige budget gains and relocation to a building with historic flair.
The new year is also off to a good start for him and the agency: From the
industry, which initially shunned him, he was awarded the title of "Advertiser of the
Year 2002" award.
Neither is he an advertiser with excessive
self-esteem nor do slogans or concepts bubble out of him.
Rather, consultant Dominique von Matt is a thinker and motivator. His
pleasantly subdued, but distinctive voice matches his controlled
and to the impeccably groomed exterior. This is followed seamlessly by the
the refurbished building that JvM/Limmat recently moved into: a
former primary school building with annex, built on the foundation walls of a
Brothel built in the 19th century. "With journeyman's house,
Casino and this very whorehouse was at that time the Wolfbachstrasse still the
Zurich's most sinful mile," says von Matt. With the bright red
agency facade, the co-owner makes a tongue-in-cheek reference to history
and also visually highlights JvM's authenticity stance.

Deviate more boldly from the ideal line with competence units That
the 2002 Advertiser of the Year prefers to pull out its associative stops,
you notice right away. His claim to good advertising paraphrases
Dominique von Matt (43) with a Formula 1 analogy: "Whether Monza,
Hockenheim or Suzuka - every circuit has its ideal line. On this
is the fastest and safest way to get around the bend. But it has
the disadvantage that everyone takes them. If you want to overtake, you have to
leave them. This is precisely the problem with advertising: when you
competitive and want to make a difference, you have to have the courage,
Getting off the ideal line."
The campaign for the Swiss
watch brand Maurice Lacroix clearly reflects this credo: different
than the usual testimonial, close-up and lifestyle implementations
the 55-member Zurich team constructed an independent, courageous
World of experience between luxury and wilderness, the instinct for classics
- Maurice Lacroix. No less unconventional was
the relaunch of Amaretto-Disaronno from the house of JvM/Limmat, which has
brought the first smellable spot into movie theaters and bridged the gap between
paragraphs and creativity in a media-friendly manner. Thereby it became before
of the screening in the cinema hall, one could hear noises of
jingling ice cubes, to shortly after the seductive scent of the
to smell almond liqueur. Before the mystery was solved and the
Disaronno bottle appeared in a flickering cone of light, appeared
on the canvas the line: You recognize an original before you
sees
The communication presences for the approximately 35 customers - from
Ascom and Bluewin through Ikea and SBB to smaller ones like the
hair stylist Zelo or the restaurant Tres Kilos - are from the same
Originality characterized. Thanks to the think tank concept, which begins with the establishment
of an integrated PR and web unit, Jung von Matt/Limmat intends to
advises its clients even more integrally in order to help them in their industries.
to strengthen it further.
The agency, which was founded in 1993 as Honegger von Matt in
a basement with five employees and Keystone as the first customer
started, generated around 8.5 million Swiss francs in 2000
Gross Operating Income (GOS) and thus advanced to 13th place in the
BSW agencies. In the generally declining advertising market of 2001, the
JvM/Limmat as one of the few agencies to have its BBE above 10 percent
improve. Also notable was the increase in creativity that was achieved with
national and international prices is quantifiable. In the
The creative ranking of Swiss agencies placed the Zurich-based
Agency in the top ten for the first time in 2001 and immediately in 7th place.

With "Stark-werder" advertisers become strong Wäre
it went after Dominique von Matt's origins, then he too would -
in line with the family tradition - is now active in the book industry.
move. His 79-year-old father runs a company near Zurich's Central
still have their own bookstore. But just as the profession of
bookseller with the father is a vocation, also represents the relationship
of sons to advertising a complete fusion of profession and hobby
dar.
Although the extraordinary accumulation of advertisers in this
Von Matt generation points to inherited genes, the
Agency founder the education and communicative character traits that
his parents gave him and his brother Jean Rémy, when
Causa prima for success in the advertising industry: "From the father we have
the entrepreneurial spirit and the clear stance that we have always appreciated about him.
have admired. Certain books he simply did not sell because they were
not
fit into his ideology and he did not like such content.
wanted to spread. We got the advertising thing from our mother." She
taught their children how to influence people's behavior, they
can motivate you to do something.
In the process, the advertiser falls
"Stark-werder" anecdote. To the chagrin of the mother, who came from Belgium
the sons hated blue cabbage, a Belgian national dish.
To attract them to the healthy vegetable, instead of blue cabbage came in the
Family of Matt "Stark-werder" on the table. "From this moment
an we ate that stuff for years," recalls von Matt
smirking at one of the many maternal persuasion tactics in the
Everyday family life.
To the elementary rules of seduction joined
Another influential factor is an upbringing with little
constraints and limits. "We had a lot of freedom, but our
Mother always directed us very skillfully. We became extremely
Why-not and not raised to be Yes-but thinkers." In this he sees
parallels with his work today: "I'm in a profession in which
I'm paid to push the envelope and, in some cases, push it to the limit.
exceed." In this liberal, but also performance-oriented
microsystem, the book played a catalytic role as the main medium
for the sons' distinctive associative thinking.

Lack of understanding and frustration on the way to advertisingThose
Mixture of unrestricted life design and success-oriented
Attitude is reflected today in the open climate of the agency, which is
according to von Matt, gets by with very few constricting structures.
On the other hand, this loose but elusive corporate culture is clearly
performance obligations.
Although Dominique von Matt
determined to focus his academic education and the stages on a
consulting job, he had no choice but to enter the advertising industry.
denied for a long time. At the age of 28, a dissertation on brand policy
and experience as a detergent PM at Unilever in his backpack, had to be
Matt frustrated to find that the industry didn't want him.
Not
with resentment, but with amazement he still remembers today
the lack of understanding and the many rejection letters from well-known advertisers,
who told him in a nice way that this was simply not a career...
and that he would not fit into their agency. Gratefully thinks the
Advertiser of the Year 2002 back to the only one who had recognized,
the potential of the Unilever-approved Eleven, because it had the
Basic marketing know-how has been beaten into him and the
customer perspective was known: foster father Hansueli Schweizer of Wirz
Advertising.
In the five years he worked at the advertising doyen,
he learned the craft and the value of good, consistent
Agency Culture. As an account executive, he managed and coordinated at
the London DMB&B the Whiskas Europe campaign. From England brought
he professionalism and focused work with home. This
Both qualities he implements today in the processes at
JvM/Limmat. This is expressed, for example, in the singlemindedness of the
agency, "which, in principle, at competitive presentations only one
Solution imagined".

Growth need not entail a culture deficit Da
all areas of the advertising agency come together on his level, loves
he it to analyze structures, forms and processes of advertising. Thus
he holds the unifying and value-conveying
corporate culture the more important the larger the agency becomes, which in
his case led to the institutionalization of culture-shaping tasks
has: strategy days in the green, process-optimizing retreats,
Fun ski weekends or the event designed by an internal team.
Recreation lounge in the basement.
The spirit that he has in his agency
he again expresses in a metaphor with strong imagery.
from Antoine de St-Exupéry: "If you want people to
build, you do not have to give them tools, but with them the
Arouse a longing for the sea." Thanks to the proportional growth
the value culture could always be anchored organically. Leadership
for Dominique von Matt means setting an example.
With the
his father's straightforwardness, Dominique von Matt has already won mandates
Rejected. "Many think that we are always greedy and that we have to be careful for the sake of the
For the sake of growth, everything was snatched away from us. But that's not true. We
never pursued an aggressive growth strategy." Already in the first year
the agency could have had 30 percent more volume if it had done everything
would have accepted. But two points were always important from Matt, without
there can be no good cooperation and relationship: Shared
values and ethical aspects of certain product areas. "As an agency
we are not committed to growth at all, but to quality.
We can also work on these in peace, because there is no shareholder
who says at the beginning of the year: At the end of the year you have to be 30 percent bigger.
Be."

The phenomenal build-up of the JvM agency continuesActually
the agency's growth is the result of the desirability that it
as a brand, says Dominique von Matt. Only in this way is the
phenomenal success of the JvM agency network.
1991
Dominique's brother, conceptual designer Jean Rémy von Matt, founded with consultant
Holger Jung in Hamburg the agency, which in around eleven years has built up an enormous
growth without, according to the company's own presentation, becoming an anonymous
Moloch to mutate. Not only the metaphorically as Trojan horse
agency philosophy presented, which is advertising with pleasure and cunning.
visualizes, borrows from ancient Greek wisdom. All eleven
Subsidiaries such as JvM/Limmat are, in accordance with the panta rhei idea, according to
waters named. Here, too, emblematic of the constant pushing forward
the agency without lingering. "In this respect, for me the partnership is
with Hamburg a very good one, because we both have the same maxims",
says von Matt, who in April 2001 launched the entrepreneurial fraternization
decided.
While the idea of doing something together is often
came up, but two reasons always spoke against it. "My brother lives
in Germany and wants to stay there, as I stay in Switzerland
wants. The second reason lies in our similar
Strengths and weaknesses profile, which would potentiate our strengths, but
also our weaknesses."
Dominique von Matt had one weakness before
especially for sports, which was a good school of life for him. From the
three disciplines he was passionate about, he drew
different conclusions: From the 100-meter sprint he learned to run in little
time to give his all, from football he took over the team spirit, while he
the surprising slamming, but also the ability to plug in from the
Boxing appropriated. "All the qualities are absolutely central to the
job as an advertiser," he believes.

Success rests on a strong shoulder - the Vom family
type, Dominique von Matt has goals rather than dreams. In the short term
he increase the creative performance of his agency, while
Connection with JvM/Hamburg stated as a benchmark. "We want to work on this
level measure." The entry into the creative top ten and the
growing number of clients who want bold and creative advertising,
von Matt is very confident about the future.
Another goal is
in it, with the JvM brand, has also been on site in Vienna since last summer,
the largest single market in Europe, the German-speaking area
or cover the 100-million market. "The one or other mandate
to find where we can play our common card would be
I'm very excited about it," he admits frankly. At the same time, he looks after
as a contrast program and because of very close personal relationships
gladly also small customers.
In addition to these ambitious professional
plans, he wants to continue to have enough time for his family to be there
to play a very active role. Here's to his 13-year-old
daughter and his 5-year-old son know well, he is particularly proud.
He prioritizes all occasions with his children very highly. Together with
his wife, who has also worked part-time for JvM since the agency was founded.
works, he repeatedly slips into the role of the
Birthday Animator. "In addition to my family, I have devoted myself fully to
dedicated to advertising," he affirms.

In addition, Jean-Blaise Defago, former SVP secretary-general, is moving from Burson-Marsteller to Farner PR and Consulting in Fribourg and Bern, where he will expand the agency's Fribourg office.
At media marketing agency RMB Switzerland, Daniel Beier is now responsible for managing cinemas in German-speaking Switzerland. He succeeds Gabriel Polinelli.
Pius Christ has joined the Zurich-based agency 4C Campaigning and Crisis Communications Consulting GmbH.
The Weltwoche advertising team is back to full strength. Effective immediately, André Reichenbach is taking over from Gregor Eschle as Regional Sales Manager for Central and Northwest Switzerland. Michael Hermann, formerly Senior Key Account Manager at the Berner Zeitung, has joined the Weltwoche team. As Regional Sales Manager, he will be responsible for media and advertising agencies.
Tamsayne Beesley and Christof Egger are joining the Zurich-based communications agency Peter Bütikofer & Company.
Since the beginning of the year, Adrienne Pearson has been supporting the Zurich-based agency MetaDesign in the areas of interaction design and online strategy.
Under the name Duktus, Hanspeter Eggenberger (formerly culture editor at Facts and deputy editor-in-chief of 20 Minuten) has founded a company specializing in media consulting and editorial services. Among other things, Duktus manages the editorial team of the magazine Chuchi in Zurich.
Andreas Wiederkehr joined the Blickle Direct Marketing team at the beginning of the year.
The U.S. marketing group Panoramic Communications has appointed Bruno Widmer as chairman of the board. Widmer served as chairman of Young & Rubicam Europe, Middle East, and Africa until the end of April. Following his resignation, he remained chairman of the board at Advico Young & Rubicam in Zurich.
Robert Hangartner has joined Bank Linth's Marketing & Communications department as Head of Communications.
Ekkehard Kuppel, CEO of 20 Minuten Holding, is handing over his position to Sverre Munck. Munck will continue to serve as Executive Vice President of Schibsted ASA. According to a press release, the change will have no impact on the management of 20 Minuten (Switzerland) AG.
Hannes Goetz, former chairman of the board of directors of SAir Group, is leaving the board of directors of AG für die Neue Zürcher Zeitung. He will step down at the annual general meeting on April 13. Susanne Bernasconi-Aeppli, an attorney and member of the Zurich Cantonal Council, and Konrad Hummler, managing partner of Wegelin & Co. Privatbankiers in St. Gallen, have been proposed as new members of the board.

With a cost-effective abandonment of classic media and also without direct mail, the agency advertises the diving school Stingray Dive Center Schlieren with a sunken park bench. In cooperation with the Erlen Sports and Leisure Park in Dielsdorf, a "functional park bench including integrated poster site" was sunk into the outdoor pool of the swimming complex. Above it is emblazoned the inscription: "Stay a little longer. Registration for diving courses: www.stingraydive.ch". If you don't believe it: the watertight idea with the bench can still be admired in the diving pool in Dielsdorf until the end of January. Concept Marc Koller, AD Flo Bachofen, consulting Priska Engelmann.Aus für Toaster. The youth magazine Toaster will be discontinued with the February issue. Until now, the paper was partly financed by subsidies from the city of Zurich. Under pressure from bourgeois parties, especially the SVP, these were cancelled as of 2002. With a new partner, the Toaster was to be published nationwide in three languages with 250,000 copies and cover its costs.
Shock prayer for clients. "Have mercy, O Lord! These commercial filmmakers may be creative, but organization and logistics are truly not among their gifts. Please make them finally complete the commercial, for the day of the first appearance is near. Amen." Such and even more vehement pleas can be found in the pious booklet "Stossgebete für Auftraggeber". The work was written by Markus Ruf. It is intended to be a blessing "for all those who do not work with Condor." With the indulgence "Thank God for Condor," the Bible leads in a second testament to four consecrated chapters presenting the redemptive promises of Condor Commercials, Condor Corporate, Condor Entertainment and Condor Studio Services. God's call, truly once again devilishly creative made flesh!
Growth at BSW. Four agencies have been admitted as new members of the Swiss Advertising and Communication Agencies Association BSW. Freiburghaus und Banderini AG (now Freiburghaus und Partner AG) in Bern is owned by Simon Freiburghaus (13 employees). Futurecom Interactive AG in Zurich is owned by Advico Young & Rubicam and Wunderman (98). MediaCom Zurich is owned by MediaCom Düsseldorf (20). Universal McCann SA in Geneva (21) operated under the name Qualimedia until the end of 2000 and is owned by Interpublic Group of Companies Inc.
Grown-up photo offspring. "Even dwarfs started small" is the motto behind the new yearbook of the German Association of Freelance Photo Designers (BFF). Entitled "Juniors 2001," it features the work of 68 young photographers in a handy dwarf format for the seventh time. The red booklet can be ordered for 15.34 euros from the BFF office in Stuttgart, telephone 0049 711 473 422.
Lowe presents new corporate identity. Since Monday, the international advertising network Lowe Lintas & Partners is officially called Lowe & Partners Worldwide. The name of agency founder Frank Lowe stands for creative excellence and is intended to lead the agency into the new millennium, according to a statement. The new agency logo shows the letters of the name arranged in a blue square. Local offices may choose the logo color according to their own taste.
Actions Snowboard Driving School. The Snowboard Driving School Flims Laax Falera, in business for over 15 years, is the largest snowboard school in Switzerland. It offers a wide range of courses: basic, allround, freestyle, carve/speed, freeride/backcountry and master courses. Halfpipe and freestyle coaching. Camps. Contest trainings. For kids, pros, silverboarders and all ages in between. From an advertising point of view, Andy Bärtsch and Reto Poltera, the two owners of the Snowboard Fahrschule, were happy to bang on the drum with these facts in the past. This year, their "little block" is the most impressive in their campaign. In addition to "Jesus" and "Trap", the subject can be admired since the beginning of December around Flims/Laax and in the greater Zurich area as B12 and shop window posters. Responsible at Publicis are Daniel Krieg (text), Uwe Schlupp, Raul Serrat (AD, graphics), Caroline Peter (consulting), Anna Francke (art buying), Jonas Kuhn (photo).
IHA with new company name. The market and opinion research institute IHA, based in Hergiswil, is now operating under the name IHA-GfK AG in response to its acquisition by the GfK Group three years ago. The GfK Group has 4,700 employees in 50 countries working on the preparation of market information. The takeover has had a positive impact on IHA: The institute recorded double-digit sales growth in 2001 and expanded its market share.
Posters for the turn of the year. Already for the 4th time, posters for the turn of the year were initiated in cooperation with the Lucerne School of Art and Design. The messages were intended to point out everyday things and, with an ambiguous wink, "to make people smile and hopefully think". Now the sometimes enchanting works of the budding poster artists are on display until January 21 in front of the Seebar near the Culture and Convention Center Lucerne.
Editorial A tooth gap filled painlessly
The loss of journalistic charisma hurts. After all, the range of titles is what gives a media company its identity and character. That's why the departure of Jean Frey AG represents a radical amputation and a heavy blow for the Basel media group.
The disaster of the Basler, to which the cost trap Weltwoche has unexpectedly and dramatically led, becomes a stroke of luck for Ringier. Unexpectedly, the Zurich-based company gets its desired titles, which brilliantly expand and enhance the portfolio dominated by tabloids and rainbows. The hitherto one-sided publishing dentures get their gaps filled, practically painlessly, if one takes into account the price of the "treatment".
This is good for the image and also promises to give the largest Swiss media company, which has grown once again, an inspiring internal aura. Ringier is undoubtedly on a high. The entire family of titles will benefit from the new siblings.
However, the pressure on Ringier is enormous. The Zurich-based company is already being hailed as the definitive savior of Weltwoche. But Frank A. Meyer and his crew are also facing a gigantic feat of strength if Weltwoche wants to carve out a place for itself in the saturated and increasingly competitive market for printed background information. This unpleasant market truth is gladly masked by Weltwoche's incredibly strong pathos.
Hot heads are also hardly avoidable around the contents of Weltwoche. From the sparsely available statements, we know that the paper "needs to step up its game intellectually". One thing seems certain, however: Weltwoche would hardly survive another reshuffle and further turbulence like the radical renewal of the editorial team that has just taken place.
But even if the dazzling and promising next chapter in the Weltwoche adventure ends badly, at least the financial damage is minor. The new "guardian of the Grail" is getting Jean Frey AG at a bargain price. So it can acquire a risk like Weltwoche without a guilty conscience. Daniel Schifferle

A lumbar vertebra caused Marcel Korolnik, ADC member and owner of the Zurich-based BSW agency of the same name, increasingly severe pain and ever shorter walking distances until the vertebra finally had to be surgically fixed. "It's as if I'm rediscovering the world," says Korolnik happily six months after the operation.Korolnik is happy to be able to concentrate fully on his business again. "I'm open to new mandates - preferably SMEs, high-end retail, luxury goods and cultural institutions," he says.
His agency continues to offer full service and now also project-based collaboration or creative services for agencies and direct clients. "Working with a network of top creatives characterized my best times. That's the case again now," says the advertiser. The website www. korolnik.com (pan) developed by the agency department gives a foretaste of this

Gross advertising expenditure continues to fallPress and banner advertising suffered heavy losses in gross advertising revenue in November 2001, while radio, TV and posters posted positive figures.Magazines experienced the biggest losses of the past year so far in November 2001: consumer magazines lost 11.2 percent compared to the same month last year, while trade magazines even lost 26.1 percent.
Meanwhile, radio stations posted their best monthly result of the past year to date. After four months of losses, they were able to increase revenues by 13.1% in November. The situation was the opposite for television: After four months of very good results, growth fell to 1.3% in November.
Daily newspapers delivered practically identical figures to October with a drop of 11.8%. Internet banners were able to slow down the nosedive of the last three months somewhat, but still suffered massive losses of 43.9%.
Measured across all media, November showed a loss of minus 8.9%. This makes it the second worst month of the past year behind September. Bruno Amstutz
Gross advertising expenditure by mediaNovember 2000/November 2001 in comparison
in 1000 Fr. 2000 in 1000 Fr. 2001 +/- in %
Daily newspapers 170 907 150 808 - 11.8
Consumer magazines 79 021 70 185 - 11.2
Trade journals 30 007 22 188 - 26.1
TV 76 719 77 733 1.3
Radio 11 860 13 418 13.1
Cinema 5093 4507 - 11,5
Teletext 1691 1550 - 8.3
Poster 30 458 30 488 0.1
Internet banner 3333 1870 - 43.9
Total 409 089 372 747 - 8.9
Source: Media Focus

Sanatrend integrates the magazine into its range of magazinesChange of hands at the free health magazine Vista: at the beginning of 2002, it moved from Birsig Verlag to Sanatrend, a publishing house that publishes specialist and customer magazines focusing on health topics. Daniel Spaeni, Sanatrend's majority owner, is also taking over Voilà and Salute, Vista's French- and Italian-language sister publications, but is discontinuing them for the time being.Vista, which is aimed at readers aged 35 and over, is undergoing a "cautious" change in layout and concept. It is to be integrated into the Sanatrend range. This consists of three specialist magazines for drugstores, pharmacies and dentists. Sanatrend also carries the pharmacist customer magazines Feelgood's Mail and Diabetes Mail. Vista will also be converted into a better advertising platform for specialist retailers and will have a stronger focus on the topics of self-medication, conventional medicine and health policy. The circulation will have to be slimmed down from the previous 1.3 million to one million copies. "We are limiting ourselves to the regions with the highest purchasing power," says Spaeni. In future, Vista will also be available in doctors' surgeries and hospitals.
Sanatrend also lowered the advertising rate by around 20 percent to CHF 2,700 per four-color ad page. In future, combinations with other Sanatrend products will also be possible.
The next issue of Vista will be in the letterboxes of households in German-speaking Switzerland in April. The magazine will only be published three times this year, but five issues could be distributed again next year. Spaeni is also planning to reissue Voilà and Salute in 2003.
Vista was founded by Kurt Kast in 1997. When Kast retired last year, his partner Michel Schär decided to sell the title. Birsig Verlag is currently inactive. Markus Knöpfli

OMD Optimum Media Direction AG, known as OMD Zollikerberg, has filed a petition for bankruptcy with the Meilen District Court. The media agency is threatened with over-indebtedness, for which Chairman Herbert Seiler gives two reasons in a letter to the creditors: Firstly, OMD Zollikerberg took over the media business of Seiler DDB AG on January 1, 2001 at the urging of the network. However, no investor was found for the bridge financing of this transfer when OMD Europe was no longer able to commit itself financially after September 11. Secondly, a former senior employee of OMD Zollikerberg had single-handedly engaged in large-scale speculation contrary to the business guidelines. Seiler emphasizes, however, that the 2001 operating business year was basically successful.
OMD Zürich AG, which operates under the same label but is completely independent of OMD Zollikerberg in terms of personnel, legal and financial terms, will take over international customers and staff from OMD Zollikerberg. To this end, OMD Zürich AG has been restructured and divided into three autonomous units: "OMD Zürich See", the former OMD Zürich, "OMD Zürich City", where the majority of customers and employees from Zollikerberg will be accommodated, and "OMD Genève", based in Nyon. OMD Zürich AG is expected to be renamed OMD Schweiz AG in the foreseeable future.
"We are pursuing a forward strategy in this way," explains Peter Kettiger, Chairman of the Board of Directors of OMD Zürich AG, "the restructuring will enable us to pick up the international customers from Zollikerberg." Organizationally, the formation of the three units is complete, but OMD Zurich City still lacks its own premises. The Managing Directors of the three units are Luise Diem (OMD Zürich See), Christophe Waeber (OMD Zürich
City) and Sébastien Fabby (OMD Genève) (ba).

Advertisers and media experts on the sale of Jean Frey AG to RingierWhat opportunities and risks is Ringier, Switzerland's largest media group, taking with the purchase of Jean Frey AG? How is the image of the Basler Mediengruppe (BM) suffering as a result of its self-imposed withdrawal from its home market in north-western Switzerland? WerbeWoche asked advertisers, media and publishing specialists to comment on the Swiss media deal of the decade. Conclusion: The withdrawal does not damage BM's image.What interests me as an advertiser and reader are the titles - in this case those of particular quality. There are many magazines, but only one Beobachter, many business publications, but only one Bilanz, many weeklies, but only one Weltwoche. I hope and am counting on this weekly in particular, as well as the other papers, to have a secure future. They are not interchangeable journalistic giants of rare independence.
Long-term family strategies in the Swiss media business pay off. When Ringier withdrew from the regional newspaper business (Bund, Luzerner Neueste Nachrichten) in the 1990s, this was seen as a weakness. In fact, the forces and resources were released that - step by step - made Ringier the most important national and international media group in the country.
After building up and expanding its international and television business, Ringier took over the somewhat shaky Jean Frey AG at the most opportune moment.
After all, the two companies were closely linked in the 1970s. Jean Frey AG owned 51 percent of Weltwoche, while Ringier held 49 percent. The situation was reversed at Blick. Now that Ringier, after a few ups and downs, has been able to settle the succession within the family, unlike Jean Frey, it makes sense that the company with the family's own strategy capacity has taken over Weltwoche and other important publications, i.e. Jean Frey.
The same can be said of the Basler Mediengruppe.
Since the family has been in charge again, the aim is not to be a weakening national media group, but a strong, diverse media company in north-western Switzerland. In other words, when things got tight - in the 1990s for Ringier, at the beginning of 2000 for the Basel media group - it was not external managers but competent family members who set the right course in both companies.
At first glance, the deal makes a lot of sense to me. Ringier had been looking for a way to gain a foothold in the upper reader segment for some time. This would have been extremely difficult with new, own titles (credibility). However, the titles of Jean Frey AG are ideal for this. They are established brands, and Ringier undoubtedly has the best opportunities to integrate these brands into the existing structures in a meaningful way.
In my opinion, the Basel media group does not have to accept any loss of image. If the relaunch of Weltwoche had failed, it would probably have been a loss of image. It was also clear to me that the Basler Mediengruppe did not have the financial potential for this costly relaunch - in stark contrast to Ringier. The danger for Ringier is, of course, that the costs of the Weltwoche relaunch could be underestimated. I think the relaunch is certainly necessary - but this project needs time. I hope that the framework conditions are now such that Weltwoche will be given this time.
As a result of the Christmas purchase, Ringier is making gains, especially intellectually: Beobachter is doing well alongside Schweizer Illustrierte and Glückspost, and Weltwoche alongside Blick and SoBli. We can only hope that not too many people now want to make a name for themselves by rescuing them and that their independence is maintained. With the sale, the Basel media group is admitting that it is a pure Basel media group and must leave the expensive national patch to the "Zyrcher Präss". No reason to gloat, but certainly a subject for the next Basel carnival.
Oops, what will the Weltwoche crew do now after this full stop? What else is going to happen in the industry? The intended deal has brought or will bring something for everyone. Less boredom for the media industry over the festive period. Ringier two and a half more nice titles. The BaZ Group liquid assets and the capacity to finally give BaZ a good boost. And two interesting guests for Frank A. Meyer's TV talk show (hopefully soon!): Köppel and Angst. I for one would love to watch the show.
This deal was really only about Weltwoche.
With the purchase of Switzerland's most imaginary title, Ringier has given itself the highest "publisher's consecration". Michael Ringier has raised very high expectations with his self-defined journalistic quality standards and will also finance them. For Roger Köppel and his team, this is the ultimate opportunity to take Weltwoche into new journalistic spheres. The other titles will certainly bring Ringier some "coordination problems" in the reader market (Cash/Bilanz, TR7/Tele) or in the advertising market (Schweizer Illustrierte/Beobachter/Glückspost). However, these are all challenges that the Ringier publishing professionals will easily overcome in the Weltwoche euphoria.
The advertising clients have to live with another media giant, but they are already used to this from other media types (billboard, TV). The Basel-based media group may have exited the Swiss adventure in a panic this black autumn, but without damaging its image, but in a few years' time it will certainly be rubbing its eyes and regretting the excessively low sale price. Michael Ringier will certainly be even happier about this deal.
Survey: Daniel Schifferle

The acquisition of the decade or the retreat of the decade - whether it's a case of luck or loss depends on the perspective. Obviously, the Basler Mediengruppe (BM) is not dramatically affected by the loss of sales. Jean Frey AG contributed just CHF 95 million to the total turnover of CHF 512 million (July 2000 to June 2001). That is not even quite a fifth. Following last year's sale of the Winterthur printing plant to Ringier for CHF 80 million and the divestment of various smaller companies, BM CEO Matthias Hagemann estimates the new BM sales volume at CHF 330 to 350 million. The parent company will contribute around CHF 220 million, Birkhäuser CHF 80 million and the Baslerstab CHF 40 million, but even for Ringier's total turnover of CHF 1,019 million (2000), the additional CHF 95 million from Jean Frey AG is a mere pittance. The situation is different with regard to the publishing significance of the titles, which are outing themselves as heavyweights. Ringier gains a subscribed circulation of just under 607,000 copies or around 2.2 million readers. And some of these are complementary target groups that Ringier previously lacked. Thanks to their integration into a national customer structure and ample opportunities for cross-promotion, the titles are worth more in Ringier's hands than at BM. See pages 2, 15 and 20 (dse/mk).