News: 20 Minuten cuts online jobs

The commuter newspaper 20 Minuten is cutting jobs in its online news section.

The commuter newspaper 20 Minuten is cutting jobs in its online news section.News 20 Minuten is cutting online jobs. 200 of the 700 full-time positions will be retained. Editor-in-chief Markus Eisenhut told SDA that it had been noticed that the demand for online news was not evenly distributed throughout the day. Increased usage was observed in the morning, at midday and in the evening.
MSN.ch cooperates with News Aktuell
The Microsoft portal MSN.ch has agreed a collaboration with News Aktuell, the PR text service of the Swiss Press Agency (SDA). In future, MSN users will find media releases from authorities, organizations and companies in the business, news, computer and health channels.
SRG prepares the skies for DVB SRG is preparing for the introduction of Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB). In order to lay the foundations for this, the broadcasting of the first television programs in the other language regions will be switched from terrestrial to satellite in stages between March and June 2002. In its own language regions, the channels will continue to be broadcast terrestrially, as well as in the language border regions. The switchover has already taken place for the second channels. Households without a cable connection or satellite reception must switch over if they wish to continue receiving the first television channels from the other language regions.

A new dress for Ringier's money

"CashTV" presents itself with a new studio design and fresh trailers

"CashTV" presents itself with a new studio design and fresh trailersWith the move to Ringier TV's new building, the program "CashTV" has undergone a facelift. Frame Eleven produced the specials, trailers and jingles, Schubigerbricchi reworked the studio design and on December 9, "CashTV" will be broadcast for the first time from the new studio on Zurich's Hagenholzstrasse. The move from the TPC necessitated a redesign of the studio: in the new building, where the show will be produced on Sundays from December, "CashTV" will have less space available. This prompted a rethink of the show's entire appearance. "The décor was no longer in keeping with the times and a little brittle," argues editor-in-chief Fritz Spring.
The website was redesigned by design agency Schubigerbricchi, which won the pitch for the redesign together with Frame Eleven. The team impressed with their consistent implementation of the specifications: The aim was to create a fresh appearance that picks up on the color palette of Cash and Borsalino and demonstrates the media connection between the two formats.
Typographic elements and the color tones of the newspaper's boxes and graphics were integrated into the new "CashTV"
and "CashTalk", jingles, trailers, credits and inserts.
For the main signet, the motion sequences were not filmed, but captured in individual images with a high-resolution digital camera and then compiled together.
The next step is to bring the Cash, "CashTV" and Borsalino websites even closer together with a uniform design. Bruno Amstutz

Fast, loose, Fedex

The US company distracts from its USP with new and completely exaggerated stories

The US company distracts from its USP with new and completely over-the-top storiesBy Thérèse Balduzzi Speed and slapstick humor have long been the hallmarks of Fedex advertising in America. In the latest campaign from BBDO, New York, fast-paced dialog takes center stage. Each of the five commercials revolves around a different Fedex service.
Reliability is part of Fedex's brand image. With its new campaign, the Memphis, Tennessee-based company emphasizes this quality and wants to extend the trust to its lesser-known services. Each spot focuses on one of these. One is about the online service, which can be used to handle the entire package handling process. Another is about Fedex mailboxes, which are placed in strategic locations in American cities, in commercial buildings and, more recently, even in post office buildings. Others are about cheaper Fedex ground transportation and the new, longer opening hours of Fedex branches.
The 30-second spots are staged as dialogs in which an office employee who is enthusiastic about Fedex wants to tell a colleague an anecdote in which Fedex plays the saving role. However, his counterpart keeps asking questions about details that distract from the story.
A good look at "Saturday Night Live"
One commercial, for example, is about a woman whose car was stolen by bank robbers just as she was about to drive to the Fedex drop-off point. Thanks to a Fedex mailbox on the other side of the street, the parcel still made it to Fedex without any detours. However, the listener is more interested in how the masked robbers were able to see through the stockings. "You don't get the point" is therefore the recurring phrase in the commercials. As the two always talk past each other, the tagline "Don't worry. There's Fedex for that." The fast, funny dialog is reminiscent of the sketches from "Saturday Night Live".
In another commercial, an actor talks about a birthday party in a shipping department where all employees except one suffered from food poisoning. Thanks to Fedex's online service, however, the person left behind was able to handle the entire load of mail on his own. Again, the listener is only interested in what food led to the poisoning.
In "Hogan's Heroes", a young entrepreneur almost forgets to send a parcel because of a marathon of the TV show of the same name, but manages to get it away in time thanks to the new opening hours of Fedex branches. In "She wore white", the underestimated son-in-law manages to impress his father-in-law by suggesting Fedex basic transportation as a cheap solution. The last one is about bowling bags that suddenly became fashionable and had to be exported to Italy overnight.
The terrorist attacks have really stretched the spot budget
Two of the commercials had to be filmed again after the terrorist attacks on America: The office workers suffering from food poisoning were originally taken to hospital with sirens blaring. In the modified version, they run to the toilet. The bank robbers are no longer chased by police officers, instead they flee in slow motion in a cloud of banknotes. The copywriter and AD for the commercials was freelancer Ernest Lupinacci. The film was directed by Joe Pytka.

Everything depends on the code

If you want daily newsstand sales figures, you have to print a barcode on the newspapers

If you want daily newsstand figures, you have to print a barcode on the newspapersBy Markus Knöpfli Since last September, all Kiosk AG sales outlets should actually be able to provide publishers with daily sales figures. But this is not the case. Kiosk AG has stopped its investments for the time being. The main reason: 30 percent of daily newspapers still do not have an EAN code. They are thus hindering the project.
What Kiosk AG announced at the beginning of 1999 made people sit up and take notice: By September 2001, it wanted to equip all of its 1350 sales outlets with scanner checkouts (see WW 13/99). To this end, it planned to invest almost 33 million Swiss francs. In addition, the press wholesaler also wanted to encourage the 6,000 or so depositaries it supplies daily throughout Switzerland to join in. The advantage of the so-called POSI (Point of Sale Information System): The titles and products sold, provided they are bar-coded, can be immediately registered centrally and the sales figures can thus be called up daily, even hourly - and according to each individual, connected point of sale. This enables publishers, as well as all food and non-food suppliers, to make quick subsequent deliveries and control the delivery quantity on a daily basis.
But Kiosk AG does not yet provide this data - or at most only in rudimentary form. Of course, it has only installed 500 scanner checkouts to date, albeit at those sales outlets that account for 60 percent of its total sales. "We will maintain this status at least until the end of 2002, and only then will we decide on any further expansion," clarifies Josef Jungo, Managing Director of Kiosk AG, which is part of the Valora Group. In any case, Kiosk AG's 1350 own sales outlets will be equipped with scanner checkouts at the end of 2003 at the earliest, but it could well be the end of 2004.
Publishers have not yet come up with the bar code
Jungo cites several reasons for the delay, including internal ones, but the main reason seems banal: "An EAN code is still missing from the front page of 30 percent of all domestic and foreign daily newspapers," says Jungo. Still others are unable to print a clean bar code. The same applies to Kiosk AG's food and non-food suppliers. Missing or defective codes, however, would make work at the kiosks more difficult instead of easier, and would also reduce the informative value of the data.
Jungo also mentions another point: So far, only Kiosk AG has invested in scanner checkouts, while nothing has happened with the depositors (with the exception of Coop). Even if Kiosk AG were to further expand its own network, only about one seventh of all small sales outlets would be able to provide daily updated data. Jungo's conclusion: "As long as publishers, product suppliers and depositors don't make any more moves, we are not prepared to install any more scanner checkouts.
At the same time, he wants to dispel any doubts: "We are sticking to POSI. Only the path and duration have changed." For example, other areas are now being made POSI-ready: Next year, Kiosk AG is setting up a data warehouse (for processing POSI data) and a new picking system. Furthermore, a new press control system is currently being evaluated. In short: "Kiosk AG is not simply standing still."
But do publishers and product suppliers know that they are preventing a multi-million investment and an excellent market research opportunity if they do not tag their products with clean codes? According to a survey by WerbeWoche, this is hardly the case. Not even at WerbeWoche, which is also one of the "obstructors" without an EAN code on its front page. "Kiosk AG has never approached us. Nor has it ever set any standards in this regard," says publishing director Otto Eisenegger.
Jungo also admits to certain deficits on the part of Kiosk AG when it comes to communication. "We have recognized this and will be making greater efforts in this area next year," he says.
On the other hand, the major publishers have so far shown little interest in daily POSI data. In any case, only Ringier accepted Jungo's offer to test the existing scanner checkouts over a longer period of time for a certain surcharge (see box). This is astonishing, because two years ago, the publishers were still putting a lot of pressure on Kiosk AG.
Another new offer seems more likely to arouse their curiosity: Thanks to the 500 POSI cash registers, additional, but for the time being only selective, market data can be obtained on the approximately one million daily kiosk customers. For example, Jungo says, it is possible to find out which products a kiosk customer buys in addition to Blick or NZZ. This kind of market research could serve as an additional argument in advertising acquisition.
Children's diseases

As part of an initial regular trial, Ringier has been receiving daily Blick sales data from Kiosk AG at 4 p.m. for the past year, but at its own request only from 290 of the 500 installed scanner checkouts. According to Clint Reichenbach, Head of Sales at Ringier, this data cannot (yet) be relied on absolutely - due to technical problems. Josef Jungo confirms "teething problems" and promises a remedy with the new data warehouse.

PR is very important

Under the ambiguous name Vipr, 48-year-old Ralph Spillmann and 42-year-old Christian Weber have founded a PR agency that specializes in financial communications.

Under the ambiguous name Vipr, 48-year-old Ralph Spillmann and 42-year-old Christian Weber have founded a PR agency that specializes in financial communications. "The name can be read as PR for Very Important Persons," comments Weber. The VIPs that Spillmann and Weber are targeting as clients are CFOs or CEOs, for example of financial institutions that want to make their products appealing to investors. Other potential clients are medium-sized companies that are preparing their IPO or want to create credibility and transparency with lenders.
The two experts see a growing need for communication between companies and investors in particular and cite corporate communication, PR for financial products, media support and content management as further focal points of the agency.
The two managing partners are ideally equipped for these tasks: Both have a background in journalism as well as professional experience in PR departments at major banks and PR agencies. Spillmann was an editor at Finanz und Wirtschaft and Cash Invest for eleven years and was head of PR in the fund sector for CS and UBS. He also holds a federal PR consultant diploma and was a member of the management of the PR agency Peter P. Knobel.
Weber started out as a journalist in 1985 and wrote about business topics for five years, most recently as head of the money section at HandelsZeitung. He then held various positions in marketing and PR at Credit Suisse. In 1996, Weber switched to the agency side and took up the post of PR Director at Suter Global Communication.
With this background, both managing directors combine financial know-how with experience in PR. "Agencies often lack solid financial knowledge," says Spillmann, "we can fill this gap."
While Weber had already taken on mandates for Vipr, Spillmann was still committed to UBS until November 30 and then made a flying transfer to his new agency. The third member of the Vipr team is PR assistant Barbara Kohler (ba).

Happy collateral damage

With TV-3 off the air, B&B Endemol, Lava-TV, and Xproductions are left without any contracts

The end of TV 3 leaves B&B Endemol, Lava-TV and Xproductions without ordersBy Daniel Schifferle With the imminent end of TV 3, various production companies are also stumbling: Lava-TV, B&B Endemol and Xproductions are facing empty order books. The search for replacements is in full swing, but the prospects are bleak.
The launch of TV 3 in the fall of 1999 helped three private production companies come to life: B&B Endemol from Freddy Burger and Hannes Bichsel, Xproductions from Hans Räz and Urs P. Gasche and Lava-TV from Mike Helmy and Basil Gelpke. They all seemed to have orders for sure. But with the closure of TV 3, the lights are now threatening to go out in their studios too.
The production company B&B Endemol is probably the most affected. It produced "up to six hours of program per day for TV 3", Bichsel calculates. It was only in 2000 that Endemol acquired a 50 percent stake in Freddy Burger and Hannes Bichsel. The purpose: to produce Endemol formats for the Swiss private TV scene. But with the demise of TV 3, this demand collapsed completely. The first consequences were drawn with the dismissal of eight of a total of fifteen permanent employees. According to Bichsel, "numerous freelancers" are also affected and will lose their contracts.
"Endemol formats are primarily programs for commercial television. If TV 3, the only major private provider, disappears, we will have a problem," says Bichsel. "We will have to realign ourselves," he continues. Where it could go: We used to produce a lot for abroad and we also work for the SRG.
Production companies are looking into setting up their own channel
But it takes a lot to compensate for the loss of such a large client. B&B Endemol was present on the Tamedia channel practically every day with various programs. In addition to "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?", "Big Brother" and "The Bar", the four daily hours of "Game TV" also come from the B&B Endemol kitchen.
The situation is also dramatic for the TV unit of the Zurich-based company Xproductions. At the moment, the last three episodes of "Fohrler" are still being filmed, after which the future is completely open. "There is no new TV production contract in sight," says Helena Johannson, Head of TV at Xproductions. Attempts to bring in new orders have so far been unsuccessful. "The air for private production companies in Switzerland was already thin before; with the end of TV 3, the situation is now completely dead", she sums up the situation. It is therefore very possible that Xproductions will soon only be responsible for one product, namely the advice magazine "K Geld".
Things look similarly bleak for the production company Lava-TV. It has just finished filming the third season of the hit series "Robinson" - and thus also the last commission for TV 3. Lava-TV was also fully committed to the Tamedia channel with various other productions such as "Klassenfest", "Hot Flirt" or, in earlier times, "Alarm" and "Abenteuer Schweiz".
Nevertheless, in such hopeless times for private TV producers, fantasies are sprouting as to how things could somehow continue. Even the operation of their own channel is not being ruled out.
Lava-TV, for example, is thinking aloud about a possible continuation of TV3. As a recipe for avoiding the cost trap, they are considering the multiple use of the same content in different media (you can find detailed arguments on this from Mike Helmy and Basil Gelpke at www.werbewoche.ch).
And even Xproductions is not completely dismissing the possibility of launching a channel itself. "We could also think about that," Johannson told WerbeWoche.

Also: Since November 1, Kaj-Gunnar Sievert has been Information Officer of the Strategic Intelligence Service (SND).

In addition, as of November 1, Kaj-Gunnar Sievert has been the Information Officer for the Strategic Intelligence Service (SND). Effective early April 2002, Geri Aebi will become the new Chairman of the Executive Board of Wirz Werbung AG in Zurich. Until

In addition, Kaj-Gunnar Sievert has been Information Officer of the Strategic Intelligence Service (SND) since November 1.
At the beginning of April 2002, Geri Aebi will become the new Chairman of the Management Board of Wirz Werbung AG in Zurich. Until Aebi's change, Hans Ulrich Schweizer, Chairman of the Board of Directors, will continue to chair the Management Board. He took over the position on an interim basis in the summer when Hans Tanner stepped down as CEO.
Hans Tanner, former CEO of Wirz, will move into an office in Zurich's Seefeld district in January and set up his own communications business in the fields of design, art, architecture and, of course, classic advertising. He will also work for agencies on a mandate basis, including as creative director of cR DDB in Basel.
Ramona Meisser is taking over as advertising manager for Meyer's and d'Chuchi magazines at Verlag Meyer AG with immediate effect. She replaces Maya Ziegler, who is leaving the company.
Dominik Hug is the new Head of Marketing and Sales at the Ringier Print newspaper printing plant in Adligenswil and will also become a member of the Management Board. He replaces Arthur Sidler, who is retiring.
Kurt Wider, who retired from advertising at the end of November - 22 years at P and 16 years at Ringier - is now Key Account Manager for the magazine Ideales Heim. At the same time, he wants to communicate the rebirth of the satirical magazine Nebelspalter.
Gabriela Kofel leaves the AG für Werbemedienforschung at the end of February 2002 and is succeeded by Carine Lins.

Service: Brand technology 2002/2003 published

For the fourth time, Deutscher Fachverlag is publishing the Markentechnik Yearbook.

The yearbook Markentechnik.Service Markentechnik 2002/2003 is published for the fourth time by Deutscher Fachverlag. 28 authors deal with a wide variety of aspects of branding on 405 pages. A research report presents the international state of knowledge in branding technology. The editors of the yearbook are Klaus Brandmeyer and Alexander Deichsel of the Geneva Institute for Brand Technology. It bears the ISB number 3-87150-731-8 and costs 148 marks.
Uni St.Gallen researches Internet
Many websites are confusing, users are annoyed by long loading times, incorrectly placed links, registrations and pages that are not updated. These are the findings of the "Quality on the Internet" study conducted by market researcher IHA GfM on behalf of the Institute for Media and Communication Management at the University of St. Gallen. In addition to indications of how the quality of web content can be increased, the study shows factors that lead to web loyalty. The data was collected from 673 web users in German-speaking Switzerland. The study can be obtained for 380 Swiss francs from IHA GfM (snoyr@ihagfm .ch or tel. 041 632 94 18).

News: no more money for regional TV

The Federal Council does not intend to provide local and regional television stations with additional funding immediately and has rejected a recommendation by Council of States member Filippo Lombardi

The Federal Council does not want to give local and regional TV stations more money immediately and rejects a recommendation by Council of States member Filippo LombardiNews Not more money for regional TV , to increase the contribution from SRG fees from 5 to 7.5 million francs. In the consultation on the new RTVG, the majority was in favor of retaining it. Lombardi, who has been president of the Association of Swiss Private Television (Telesuisse) since August, argues that a transitional solution is necessary until the new law comes into force in 2005.
Bund and BZ go out together According to a policy statement, the competing Bernese dailies Der Bund and Berner Zeitung (BZ) intend to merge their two evening magazines as of spring 2002. "The journalistic competition in the carrier newspapers continues unabated," Pepe Wyss, director of Bund Verlag, told SDA. The magazines Berner Woche (Bund) and Nonstopp (BZ) are based primarily on dates and events that have to be meticulously compiled.
Swiss Music Radio ready for launch On December 14, Swiss Music Radio will decide when the station will launch. It had already received a license from the Federal Council on December 15, 2000, but had to postpone the start date twice. The initiators want to broadcast a radio program with 100 percent Swiss pop music nationwide via cable.
Zurich agency brings bikini sheet Zurich-based BB Classical Promotions AG has secured the European rights to the US magazine Swimsuit Illustrated. The quarterly magazine is dominated by photos of young women in bikinis, but sees itself as a lifestyle magazine. BB plans to launch the German edition in April. The magazine will be accompanied by events with model competitions, product presentations and parties.

Unemployed Scalpers.

In the United States and Brazil, more money is spent on beauty than on education and social services.

In the U.S. and Brazil, more money is spent on beauty than on education and social services. In Switzerland, Publicis is proving with its latest campaign for the clothing store Mambo that it can be done without surgeons. Zurich’s Friendship Store is boosting its Advent sales with the help of copywriter Dani Krieg and art director Uwe Schlupp. For the new campaign, the duo is using a comparative strategy to combat the rampant obsession with beauty: they contrast the exorbitant costs of cosmetic surgery with the prices of Mambo’s items.It’s not just a matter of looks. What will bosses and colleagues think when the sharp day trader, the successful manager, or the up-and-coming young entrepreneur shows up one morning wearing a bright red sock tied around his neck instead of the obligatory tie? A clear case for the optician! At any rate, this is the conclusion drawn by the creative team led by Creative Director Matthias Freuler at Wirz Werbung for the upcoming campaign of the Dynoptic brand. The posters and ads are intended to establish the brand’s presence while also highlighting the individual Dynoptic partners. The only question is, at this advanced stage of declining visual acuity, what can an optician still do to help…
Blick Online is getting cheaper. The website of the tabloid Blick has undergone a redesign for the second time this year. The content is now divided into seven channels: News, Sports, Entertainment, Games, Adult Content, Services, and Shopping. In mid-December, the site is set to expand to include the topics of mobility and travel. Each section has its own color and visual, which are also carried over into advertising materials. Banner prices have been reduced by about 10 francs. The cost per thousand impressions on the homepage is now 50 francs, and 35 francs for «run-of-site» placements.
Process Wins Contract from Migros. The Zurich-based branding and design agency Process is pleased to welcome the Migros Cooperative Federation to its client list. Migros plans to transform its Logistics and Transport profit center into an independent subsidiary. Process has been commissioned to develop the strategic positioning, naming, and the conception and implementation of the overall brand identity.
The price reduction stands. No hasty decision on reducing newspaper transport fees: The National Council rejected the committee’s motion to cut the appropriation for reducing newspaper transport fees from 100 to 70 million francs. Unlike the Council of States, the National Council took the view that this «rash move» would violate existing contracts. Finance Minister Kaspar Villiger and the minority acknowledged that the current regulation is unsatisfactory because it primarily benefits large publishing houses and free newspapers.
Woodtli is the book. Martin Woodtli, 29, lives in Zurich, where people are more interested in the creative process than in finished works. «Freely moving vectorized graphics within their (game) worlds» could be a motto for Woodtli’s work; after training as a visual designer, he also collaborated with David Carson and Stefan Sagmeister. His first book is now available; it was presented in a «guaranteed Philippe Starck-free environment» (Seebad Enge, Zurich—thank you, Rea!) and features enigmatic texts by Raphael Urweider. The book itself speaks volumes: it «lacks» a cover, which holds the Woodtli world together at its very core. It’s a single book block, and the illustration on the first page flows seamlessly into a cardboard slipcase. The Berlin-based publisher Die Gestalten asked him to create it. It’s available in bookstores for 69.90 Swiss francs.
Powerpool: Nothing but smoke and mirrors. The new Powerpool between Radio 24 and Radio Zürisee will not launch on January 1, 2002, because Theodor Gut, Chairman of the Board of Radio Zürisee AG, suspended it on November 29. The reason: Radio Zürisee is already affiliated with the Leaderpool through Radio Top and Radio Grischa, and according to its contract, it is not permitted to participate in any other national pool. Radio Top and Radio Grischa had even considered taking legal action. Gut has now relented, but at the same time has terminated the Leaderpool as of the end of 2002—to be free to join the Powerpool. Top CEO Günter Heuberger isn’t upset about this. The main thing, he says, is that there is discipline in the radio industry.
Giras is born. Six Swiss agencies have jointly founded the Association of Investor Relations Agencies in Switzerland (Giras). The founding members are AG für Public Relations (APR), Burson Marsteller, Peter Bütikofer & Company, Farner PR, Suter Global Communication, and Wirz Investor Relations. Peter Fenkart of APR was elected president. According to the agencies, they represent the majority of the Swiss market for professional IR services.
Nude Mountain Sports. Functional outdoor clothing is only effective if it is so light and form-fitting that you practically don’t feel it—just as the Scandinavian outdoor equipment manufacturer Haglöfs claims for its products. Since, by contrast, advertising is only truly effective if it is noticed, René Sennhauser—through his agency of the same name—is launching Haglöfs’ products on the Swiss market by not presenting them at all. Thus, taking a cue from Grimm’s fairy tales, he has literally brought the manufacturer’s claim to life and unveiled it with the headline, «The less you notice us, the better you’ll feel.» Athletes and climbers, clad only in skintight gear, scramble up slopes in a way that warms the hearts of female athletes despite Siberian temperatures.
Editorial

Advertising as a Mirror of Our Worlds Today, advertising is a space of constant transformation: from goods to images, from desires to promises, from information to entertainment. At the same time, advertising always reflects the aesthetic values and social context of its creation. Once removed from the fleeting commercial cycle, it serves as a kind of archive of social relationships and worldviews. Postwar advertising, for example, documents not only the rise of brand-name products but also the dream of family and social harmony with clearly defined roles for men and women.
Today, advertising targets the individual. It reflects changing social relationships and lifestyles. It focuses less and less on the product itself and more on the experience of consuming it. To this end, it draws on the codes of pop culture and the fantasies and strategies developed within it. The world of advertising is thus increasingly becoming a mirror of our desires, revealing what preoccupies our society and holds it together at its core. Perhaps future archaeologists will one day discover our advertising messages as a coherent self-portrait of our culture…
Every week in *WerbeWoche*, we feature about a dozen campaigns—some briefly, others in more detail. We’re showcasing 21 of this year’s campaigns again on pages 14–15. We invite you to let us know which one is your number one. Please return the enclosed, postage-paid reply card to us by December 31. The winning campaign will be announced on
Announced on January 17 at the Egon Awards ceremony at Palais-Xtra in Zurich.
For the first time this year, readers of *Schweizer Illustrierte* and the TV guide *Tele* will also be able to participate in the vote. Samuel Helbling, Editor-in-Chief
P.S.: The ballots for the «Advertiser of the Year 2001» will be mailed separately. You will receive the materials next week. As usual, you’ll find the registration card for the awards ceremony in issue 46 of WW, dated December 13.

Alpine Apocalypse Now

For the young image of Sportplausch Wider, Publicis continues to rely on cool cynicism

For the young image of Sportplausch Wider, Publicis continues to rely on cool cynicismHalf of Radionation has been feasting on his penetration and embarrassment. Even before the first fatigue fracture, Publicis has retired test driver Walti, advertising hero of Sportplausch Wider. He was replaced by a grouchy sports dealer: Heinz Stierli, fictitious owner of Stierli-Sport in Wallisellen. With his tirades against Wider, he strengthens the positioning of the competitor with the target group in this negative strategy. Despite the modest budget, Markus Gut and Markus Ruf succeed in further promoting the cult status of Sportplausch Wider. By implementing an experience-oriented strategy on the basic idea of "Plausch", which has lost none of its adolescent cynicism. This is clearly illustrated by the season's opening theme, which satirizes Francis Ford Coppola's masterpiece. Page 6

Music and again music

Z rebranding focuses on the triumph of the music carpet

Z rebranding focuses on the triumph of the music carpetThe names of radio stations change only very rarely. And if they do, then only in connection with a radical change of concept. Not so with Radio Z, which since last Monday has been catching listeners with the new name HitradioZ and the subline "The best of the eighties and nineties and the megahits of today". In reality, however, the rebranding merely replicates what has already been implemented on a daily basis at Z for months: focusing the music carpet on the earworms of the last two decades, which everyone knows accordingly. "This recipe has also proven its worth in very hard-fought radio markets abroad. Without exception, the most commercially successful stations there are positioned in the same musical environment as we have now defined for HitradioZ," says Frank Bienenfeld, co-owner of the advertising agency K1 Soldini Bienenfeld, which carried out the rebranding and created the campaigns (print, TV and radio).
If innovations are to be made, then all at once
Despite the absolute hymn to the music carpet, the information and service offerings of Z do not suffer, it was said at a media orientation. On the contrary, they are even being expanded. For example, as of January, drivers will also receive traffic bulletins. This service is being developed in cooperation with the traffic agency Traffix.
At the turn of the month, Z took thorough action and made everything straight at once. At the same time as the rebranding on December 1, a new program director took over the Z team. Daniel Deicher (33, lic. rer. pol.), who was program director at Radio Pilatus for three years before coming to Zurich, is to implement the new strategy with fresh ideas. Deicher will also join the management team when he takes up his post.
At the same time as the rebranding, an adapted face was of course also indispensable for the Internet presence. The implementation of the new Z-Groove on the online platform (www. hitradioz.ch) was done by Netadvertising in Zurich. Daniel Schifferle
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