Michelle Nicol puts her knowledge of art and fashion at the service of communication at Glamour EngineeringMichelle Nicol has her feet in many doors: The 34-year-old has a degree in art history, curates art exhibitions, writes catalog texts as well as the fashion column "Fashionable" for the NZZ, and founded the agency Glamour Engineering with Rudolph Schürmann and Thomas von Ah. For her, commercial communication is one medium among others: "Art, fashion, beauty, these are the themes around which my work has always revolved. Moreover, I have always been interested in moving in different worlds. "She brings her experience from the fashion and art worlds to communication at Glamour Engineering. "What sets us apart from other agencies is our knowledge of images," Nicol finds. "The future of knowledge and information transfer is pictorial. And images are our new sex objects; they are what we desire." But the most exciting images, she is convinced, are produced in contemporary art.
Nicol has the best contacts to this world, not only professionally but also personally - she declares her circle of friends and international professional network to be practically congruent, and the transition from earning a living to private life is therefore smooth.
She attaches great importance to these international contacts, as they enable her to keep her finger on the pulse: "You can't claim to understand anything about lifestyle and know what's going on if you're always based in Zurich." She spends around a third of her working time abroad, in Paris, where Glamour Engineering has an office, or in Berlin, where the agency will soon be curating an exhibition.
What she appreciates about the communications world is the pace of work, which she missed after completing her studies as curator of contemporary art at the Museum Ludwig in Cologne: "At the museum, the processes from conception to realization go on indefinitely. In my current position, I can make a difference much faster." Accordingly, the credo of Glamour Engineering is "Promote the now idea": the current pulse of art and society is to be felt and brought into communication. The art-historical division between the high culture of art and the mass culture of advertising is not an issue for Nicol: "I'm not interested in that discussion."
She locates clients for her work approach in the fashion world: "Fashion brands only communicate with images, and our knowledge of images can be ideally applied in this area." Visual know-how is also in demand in other areas, as evidenced by winning the communications budget for the World Watch and Jewelry Show in Basel. Bruno Amstutz

Théo Bouchat, Member of the Management Board of Edipresse, on Le Matin and Le Matin DimancheThe publisher Edipresse in Western Switzerland has restructured and expanded its management team. The new division of responsibilities is intended to bring the company even closer to its products and readers. The facelift for Le Matin Dimanche and Le Matin is the first step in this direction.Edipresse has restructured its management and abolished your position as Director of Publications. What are the reasons?
Théo Bouchat: There was a bit much work for one person in this directorate position. The function as such was not abolished, but distributed among several people. So we can now deal more intensively with the development of the individual titles.
But you have lost influence as a result. What does that mean for you personally?
Bouchat: I will probably be able to work under better conditions. The products Le Matin, Le Matin Dimanche, Femina, Tele Top Matin and Bilan alone provide enough work. Before that, I still had to take care of 24 Heures, Tribune de Genève, marketing coordination and deal with advertising issues.
Do you regret the loss of the dual function of Editor-in-Chief of Le Matin and Director of Publications?
Bouchat: No, the chief editorial role was clearly intended as an interim solution from the outset. Although this dual function was an enrichment for me, I was never able to commit myself one hundred percent to one or the other function. On the other hand, the reorganization as it has now taken place is a natural development. We need to be closer to the product and closer to the readers. That's why the Media Directorate now also consists of six people instead of just three, as before.
Didn't you want to take the opportunity to return to journalism full time as editor-in-chief of Le Matin?
Bouchat: It's enough for me to say that I can still do it. For a moment, I actually flirted with it. But then I immediately thought about the numerous experiences I have gained in other areas over the past few years. I came to the conclusion that I would reduce myself in my function if I were to switch to journalism altogether.
Why is it difficult to find an editor-in-chief for Le Matin?
Bouchat: We only started the search a week ago.
Have you not searched before?
Bouchat: No. After the break with Daniel Pillard, we wanted to get the relaunch over the line first. But now we are searching intensively and hope to be able to present the new editor-in-chief before the end of this year.
The Sunday newspaper Le Matin Dimanche recently underwent a facelift. What has changed for readers as a result?
Bouchat: The newspaper appears more orderly and better structured, which means it has become clearer. Its appearance is now also more elegant. The editorial content has been adapted even more to the requirements of a sophisticated Sunday newspaper.
Why didn't they also choose a different format with the facelift, as was done for the daily newspaper Le Matin?
Bouchat: The reading habits for a Sunday newspaper are not the same as those for a daily newspaper. This already starts with the place of reading. During the week, the newspaper is often consumed on the go in a hurry; on Sunday, people sit down comfortably to read in peace. One exchanges the individual volumes in the family. I think that in this context, the frets play an important role. One chooses what one wants to read first.
Is the tabloid format the formula of the future for a newspaper?
Bouchat: You can't generalize that. Rather, I believe that the format and character of the newspaper have to fit together.
Can you already come up with figures that say something about the success of Le Matin's new format?
Bouchat: A telephone survey of 1,000 people in French-speaking Switzerland shows that 33 percent of respondents read the newspaper with more enthusiasm and 12 percent buy Le Matin more often. After all, 88 percent claim that they read no other newspaper with as much interest. And 93 percent rate the newspaper as a "journal populaire." A remarkable detail in this survey: about ten percent did not even notice the new format. Next year, we would like to be able to present Wemf-audited data showing an increase, even though the new Le Matin will only be four months old at the end of 2001. We will then already be able to present reader habits with MACH-Basic 2002. Compared to October 2000, we registered 2000 (4 percent) additional buyers this year.
Are advertisers happy with the new format? We have often heard the accusation that with the tabloid format, a full page is not a full page.
Bouchat: Those who say that simply want to haggle over the price. The reaction of advertisers has generally been positive, as the new format offers them interesting alternatives.
Last spring, you launched an advertising campaign for Femina, the women's magazine that accompanies Le Matin Dimanche, to give the magazine a boost over its competitors. Wouldn't it make sense to make this magazine independent and sell it on the newsstand?
Bouchat: At present, we want to enhance the overall offering of Le Matin Dimanche, and this is also being done with the supplements. With the Sunday edition, we reach a multi-layered audience that we wouldn't be able to address in the same way if it weren't for the various supplements. Besides, there are already enough women's magazines here at the newsstands in western Switzerland.
Is Western Switzerland ready for a free newspaper?
Bouchat: The market is too small. French-speaking Switzerland has no urban centers with important transport arteries, so distribution is also likely to be problematic. Interview: Anita Vaucher

Ruf Lanz pours pure milk for Zurich's new club - on the rocksWhoever thought that Zurich had already passed its zenith as a city of trendy clubs and in-places will soon be disabused of this notion: On the "discarded" Toni site, where dairy products were once bottled, near Escher- Wyss-Platz, another lounge with high cult potential will open in mid-December. Accordingly, the club goes by the traditional name "Toni Molkerei", in which the uniqueness and the authentically extraverted are already contained, which gives the pub a sceney aura. Not only that: On the one hand, the "Toni Molkerei" is a white lounge with cool music. On the other hand, the operators of the pub also want to serve the space between the ears. For the "Toni Molkerei," which is open Wednesday through Sunday, also sees itself as a platform for art and culture under the "Substrat" brand - with video and performance art as its focus.
Since an adult age segment is being targeted, the initiators and co-owners want to
of the "raw materials warehouse" around Walter Hügli in the "Toni Molkerei" will also offer something culinary. In addition to the usual alcoholic bar offerings, for example, fresh juices and fruits, snacks such as vegetarian food from Hiltl's kitchen will be served, as well as - crystal clear - dairy products.
That in the glass does not always have to be from the widow Klicko
Those responsible commissioned the Ruf Lanz agency for the launch advertising. The creatives Markus Ruf and Ion Eglin knew how to direct not the youngsters from the "Rohstofflager" or similar clubs to the future scene meeting place in Kreis 5, but to address a different segment, that of the early adopters, male and female, 25 to 40 years old, with a high level of education and income. "That's why we chose the surprising, upscale staging with milk for the campaign," Ruf says. And presents the typical dairy product, vulgo jus de vache, in glasses that drink anything but milk. Once in a cocktail glass, in a champagne glass or even in a whisky glass. Luca Aloisi

Muse & Musse Anna Francke Which cultural event did you attend last?
Anna Francke: "All Design", an exhibition at the museum
for design about design in space.
What are you reading right now?
Francke: "Lalala" by Mian Mian - stirring, bittersweet stories from wild Beijing.
Which CD do you currently prefer to listen to?
Francke: "Shaolin Soul - Epi-sode 1" I'm listening to non-stop at the moment and I'm still not sick of it.
Which movie would you most like to see again?
Francke: "Diamonds are forever", because for me it's the best James Bond film.
What TV show did you fall asleep during the other night?
Francke: I don't remember. I keep myself awake mostly by zapping.
What is your latest discovery on the Internet?
Francke: www.futura2000.com
What could you never do without?
Francke: Here's to summer.
What do you do in a free minute?
Francke: Browse through books and magazines.
Love is...?
Francke:...a question of definition.

Guye Benker has developed a new marketing tool, the BrandEquitizerBy Andreas Panzeri Guye Benker's BrandEquitizer (BE) is a marketing tool that provides the basis for brand strategy as part of the brand management process. The new tool also enables a more efficient design of the client-agency-market research collaboration.
"With the BrandEquitizer, we have developed not just a brand equity study, but a brand management tool," says Christophe Guye about his new tool. It was developed in collaboration with the Link Institute. In simple terms, the BE enables the combination of classic market research with strategic brand management. "It thus ensures a seamless integration of qualitative and quantitative results with a defined, formally standardized output," says the brochure on the new tool.
In contrast to the already well-known Brand Asset Evaluator from Advico Young & Rubicam, which can provide a methodologically different actual analysis of the brand, "the BrandEquitizer analyzes the actual and target situation," explains Guye. The results obtained by Link are "statistically representative and can be justified individually," specifies Stefan Oglesby, Managing Director at Link Research and Consulting. With BrandEquitizer, the empirical data collection combines a qualitative and a quantitative method. In concrete terms, this means that "the important brand dimensions are determined via the qualitative phase".
The BE is standardized in the sense of a preassembly, so that all desired competitor brands can also be examined. In practice, the work with the BE is divided into five steps.
- Concept: First strategic phase with the briefing of the customer.
- Brand Essence Study: First survey phase with consumer attitudes towards the brand and in comparison with other brands.
- Strategic Draft: Second strategic phase in which a brand strategic draft is delivered.
- Brand Strategy Study: Second survey phase with representative statements on target positioning.
- Brand Strategy: Third strategic phase with the development of the brand strategy.
The methods were tested and fine-tuned in an initial application for Tamedia. All titles of the publishing house were examined. The core questions were: How are the titles perceived as brands today? How are they positioned now? What are their strengths? Where is their optimization potential? Where are the competitors? Where can they be positioned promisingly in the future? The most important brand dimensions were analyzed for the brand positioning on the functional level, on the emotional level and on the level of self-expression. With the results, the advertising agency wanted to find answers to the question: What are the central brand values that should be communicated in the future?
For Bettina Hoffmann, Head of Market Research at Tamedia, this is "another exciting dimension in research, because up to now, title positioning has been analyzed primarily in terms of its reach, socio-demographics, psychographics, and reader interests." Hoffmann therefore rates her experience with the BE as very positive. Even though there were no major surprises in the assessment of the individual titles.
The assumed positioning of almost all Tamedia titles was confirmed by the brand study. It is particularly pleasing that the positioning of the Swiss family undertaken with the relaunch has now been "scientifically confirmed.
The BE developers consider the possibility that their new tool can also be used to measure what happens when a new competitor arrives to be particularly exciting. Does anything change in the perception of the SonntagsZeitung brand when an NZZ am Sonntag comes along? Where does the SonntagsZeitung stand in comparison to an assumed positioning of the NZZ am Sonntag?
The basic idea of the BE is to be able to provide a qualitative, sound basis for future brand strategy. Tamedia decided in favor of the BrandEquitizer because, in its opinion, it is the most suitable instrument. Other clients have expressed interest in Guye Benker's new offering. The BE has already been used for the client Campari for Campari Bitter and Cinzano.
Christophe Guye builds on the fact that this marketing tool can be used to make collaboration with existing and also new clients more efficient and targeted. This is because the client, the agency (consulting/creation) and the market research department all start working at the same time and towards a common goal. In addition, for a new client the investment in his brand costs about the same as a conventional competitive presentation with several agencies.

Which campaign did you like best? Vote for the campaign of the year 2001! WerbeWoche awards the "Campaign of the Year" for the third time. The shortlist for the "Campaign of the Year 2001" was chosen from the campaigns of the week. Now it's up to you, the reader. Decide which of the 21 campaigns is your favorite.
Send the reply card back to us by December 31, 2001 and win a Giant XTC NRS 980 mountain bike worth SFr. 3598. The winning campaign will be announced on January 17, 2002 at the Egon Awards Ceremony in the Palais X-TRA and presented in the WerbeWoche of January 18, 2002.

Radio 105 boss Giuseppe Scaglione is not letting up on the issue of FM frequencies for his radio station, and after collecting signatures and other campaigns failed to bear fruit, he has now taken a different approach and commissioned Sumatronic, a company specializing in broadcasting equipment, to track down frequencies in the city of Zurich that could be used. According to its final report, Sumatronic found 19 VHF frequencies "that are not significantly occupied by any other stations", nine of which it describes as particularly suitable "for possible additional use" - for example by 105.The detailed analysis of the frequency situation in the Zurich area is just the prelude. What follows will cause a stir, says Scaglione. He will be submitting a new license application for 105 in the coming days, but is tight-lipped about the content.
Scaglione is aiming for mixed distribution for Radio 105 - no longer just on cable, but also terrestrially via FM in some areas. For the greater Zurich area, for example. "This is part of the considerations for the future of 105," says Scaglione. He recalls radio stations abroad that operate according to the model 105 is aiming for: "National distribution via cable, serving the urban centers via FM."
It is already clear that 105's attempt to break out of the cable in some areas will cause waves. (dse)

By Luca Aloisi You have to travel to Bern to find the mythical key to happiness - for the event organized by the Lang Gysi Knoll (LGK) agency. And since the party took place as part of the exhibition "Happy - The Promise of Advertising" at the Bern Museum of Communication, LGK's CEO Gerhard Blättler and LGK CD Simone Quast decided to satirize the satire of the H&M advertising campaign in a polarizing way: The LGK logo was emblazoned on the frivolous invitation in H&M typography and lucky fairy Quast in a soft-domina look with a whip. "Quast's key visual even drives the angel out of Claudia Schiffer," commented Alberto Meyer, Head of Communications at the museum, while Claudia Hauser, Head of B2B Communications at Biella, let out an astonished "Wow!
Agency founders Werner Lang, Peter Knoll and André Gysi's serotonin levels must have swelled, and not just because of the large number of guests in attendance. They were able to win over Silvia Bächli for the creation of an art print. For the 14th time, the agency thanked its customers for their creative collaboration with a signed work of art. The recipients included Roland Schaer, Chairman of the Board of Directors of KPT, and Etienne Habegger from the same insurance company, as well as Daniel Mollet, Head of Corporate Communications at Swiss Post, and Head of Marketing Adrian Hunzinger. Cabaret artist Samuel Sommer mused wittily about happiness and the short life expectancy of visions and dreams in Switzerland, before ironically warning LGK customers not to go home sad. Barbara Kohler and Markus Hollenstein from Publisuisse, Bern, as well as Nicole Huber and Silvano Spezia from LGK agreed that there was no reason to do so. A dinner at the Kirschenfeld restaurant, formerly a carpet warehouse, was the cherry on top of the successful cocktail of happiness.

German household products group Henkel apparently sees potential for conflict in WPP's acquisition of the British Tempus Group.News Henkel's trouble with Tempus takeover Tempus media agency CIA handles Henkel's $225 million budget, while WPP's Media Edge works for rival Colgate-Palmolive. Henekl has asked CIA to explain how a potential client conflict could be avoided.
RTL 2 abandons eroticism Starting in January, the German private TV channel RTL 2 will no longer broadcast programs "that focus on the depiction of sex. The station is responding to the results of an extensive study it commissioned from Cologne-based market research institute Rheingold. The vast majority of 14- to 29-year-olds - RTL 2's primary target audience - are not interested in the portrayal of sex on TV, it says in a statement.
MindShare wins Castrol and Kodak Oil company Castrol consolidates its global media budget with MindShare Worldwide. The budget is estimated at $120 million. Also moving to MindShare is Kodak's $50 million European digital camera budget. The previous budget holder was Carat. MindShare, however, was already handling the photo company's other divisions.
ProSiebenSat1 lowers forecasts For the third year in a row, the ProSiebenSat1 media group has had to lower its forecasts for fiscal 2001. October and November, traditionally the strongest months in terms of revenues, fell well short of expectations, it said - even more so than the Group had assumed after the terrorist attacks in September. Pre-tax profits are expected to fall 56 percent, to 90 million euros. At the beginning of October, ProSiebenSat1 had still assumed a decline of 30 percent.

Goal: Presentation of the advertising agency in the digital media.Boxx advertising media: Internet presence. Deployment: Until further notice.
Client: Boxx GmbH, Zurich; Responsibility: Gaudenz Zemp, Christoph Stähli. Advertising agency: Netvertising, Zurich; AD: Balz Lendorff; Design: Alain Leclerc; Programming: Raphael Graf, Thomas Brusa; Consulting/Project management: Oliver Johnson.

Objective: To publicize the Internet Visana Services AG office.Visana Services advertising media: Full banner and skyscraper. Use: From mid-November until Christmas.
Client: Visana Services AG. Creative agency: Connector AG. Placement agency: Publimedia Webadvertising AG, responsibility: Tiziano Obrecht, Senior Account Manager.

In mid-November, the second World Congress of the Association of PR Agencies took place at the Westin Hotel in San Francisco, at which Switzerland was represented by BPRA President Ulrich Bollmann (Burson Marsteller), Peter Felber(Int-Ext) as well as Christian König and Jacqueline Moeri (Farner PR). Instead of the expected 200 international PR specialists, only 140 flew to the USA. The general economic situation dominated all presentations in San Francisco. For Ulrich Bollmann, a new trend in the USA was the increasing importance of corporate social responsibility. "You can see that not everything can be about figures on the customer side," he says. Other presentations and workshops focused on the latest PR tools from the Internet sector. The next World Congress of the PR industry is expected to take place in Berlin in 2003. More participants attended the first World Congress two years ago on the Bürgenstock. In terms of content and supporting events, the Swiss delegation felt that the PR topshots still had fond memories of the Swiss premiere. (pan)