Tamedia wants to make the local channel Tele Züri a strong brand again after a makeoverBy Markus Knöpfli Back to the original concept - that is the Tamedia motto for Tele Züri. Jürg Wildberger is implementing this consistently, combined with a gentle redesign of the entire station's appearance.
"The combination with Tele 24 has resulted in a dilution of the Tele Züri brand. We now want to stop this. Tele Züri should become a strong brand again," says Jürg Wildberger, who is responsible for TV 3 at Tamedia and is now also Chairman of the Board of Directors of Tele Züri.
But how is the station, which has fallen from a market share of around 7 percent to less than 5 percent among 15 to 49-year-olds in the Zurich area in the last two years, to regain its former greatness? Wildberger says: "With a clear program structure: news on the hour, talk on the half hour." In fact, the program has been freed of everything "superfluous": What has remained are the programs "ZüriNews" (daily), "ZüriInfo" (weekdays), "Lifestyle" (Fridays), "Swiss Date" (Saturdays) as well as "TalkTäglich" (Monday to Thursday) and "SonnTalk" (Sundays). Most of the presenters have stayed on - with the exception of Roger Schawinski and Markus Gilli. Wildberger and program director Peter Röthlisberger are still looking for one or two new faces in the talk segment.
The basic concept of Tele Züri has not changed significantly. Wildberger describes it as follows: "Tele Züri makes regional television with a trenchant tabloid profile. Emotions, surprise and proximity from the local and supra-regional area as well as from abroad are relevant. What is important is what interests the people of Zurich, not where the geographical borders of the broadcasting area lie." Nevertheless, the focus will once again be placed more on people from the Zurich region, especially when it comes to talk show guests.
Tamedia's own TV stable now has two horses that are by no means identically positioned (see graphic). Not much is set to change in this respect, as alignment is neither desired nor possible in terms of the concepts, says Wildberger.
In order to give the new start under the Tamedia banner a touch of a new beginning, the Tele Züri logo has been refreshed. The Zurich design agency Frame Eleven was commissioned (see also page 10). The agency is also responsible for the designs of the programs "TalkTäglich", "SonnTalk", "ZüriNews" and "ZüriInfo", among others.
Combination with Radio 24

Together with Radio 24, Tele Züri offers a so-called Züri package. There is a two-week and a four-week version of this package. The two-week package costs CHF 20,000 net. For this, Tele Züri broadcasts a 30-second spot eight times on each of seven days, while a 20-second spot is broadcast three times on each of six days on Radio 24. Without the combined discount, this would cost CHF 27250. The four-week version has twice the power and costs CHF 40,000 (without the combined discount: CHF 5,4320). Tele Züri is also a member of TeleNewsCombi.

Stage models no longer have a place in modern advertising effectiveness researchBy Wolfgang Koschnick Stage models of advertising effectiveness have had their day, because consumer behavior does not follow the linear awareness concepts of advertisers. What is needed are models that deal with the interaction between manufacturers, advertisers and consumers. An obituary for the original sin of advertising effectiveness research.
There is an iron law in advertising research: the biggest nonsense is the most persistent everywhere. Entire generations of advertisers have learned the same thing: attention is the starting point for any advertising effect. If advertising does not attract attention, it cannot be effective in the first place. But attention alone is not enough.
Advertising must also arouse interest. But you can't sell a single oat flake with the interest of the audience alone. Consumers must also be made to feel an urgent desire for the advertised object. And this desire must be so strong that consumers immediately rush to the nearest store and buy the product. Then advertising really has a wild and untamed effect.
At least that's what the much-quoted Aida formula would have us believe. Advertising works when
it triggers a defined sequence of perceptions and actions in the consumer: Attention - Interest - Desire - Action.
In fact, an overwhelming majority of advertising professionals are still convinced that the Aida formula is a somewhat simple but very concise description of the steps involved in advertising processes. Only recently, at the Publimedia annual conference at the Zurich World Trade Center, an agency touted a variant of the Aida formula as the philosopher's stone.
For a long time, advertisers paid little attention to science
However, advertising research would be in a very poor state if it had not developed any further since the Aida formula: Aida is more than 100 years old. The formula is so completely outdated and behind the times in terms of content and facts that you have to wonder why so many people still use it so enthusiastically today.
While advertising research has made progress, albeit not exactly with seven-league boots, advertising practitioners are still treading on the same ground in their assumptions about advertising impact that their grandfathers and great-grandfathers were stumbling around on 100 years ago.
In fact, the Aida formula was created in 1898 - at a time when there was no such thing as proper advertising effectiveness research. There wasn't even proper advertising because there were no saturated markets. At that time, there was only "advertising", and that was there to inform the public.
At the beginning of the 20th century, advertising companies did not give a damn about the findings of science. At that time, it was still considered absurd to implement any scientific findings at all in business management. Applied business and industrial psychology only gained a foothold in Europe around 1910. And that means that it only just got a foot in the door. It was not until the 1920s that a tentative bridge was built between science and business.
The formula was developed by the American E. St. Elmo Lewis not as an advertising effectiveness model, but as a guide for sales pitches. Lewis was president of the Broun-Green Company, a large printing company in Delaware. And all his worries revolved around the question of how he could get his sales representatives to achieve better sales. So he formulated a kind of guidebook.
He didn't come up with this as a formula and certainly wouldn't have dreamed that it would make him the progenitor of all graduated models of advertising impact. Because Lewis had nothing at all to do with advertising. He simply hammered into his representatives: "Attract attention, maintain interest, create desire and get action." That's how banal it was...
Incidentally, this is also crucial: the Aida formula was created through reflection, not empiricism or persistent research. This also applies more or less to all other step-by-step models in advertising. Someone has always sat down and pondered: "How could it possibly work from the point at which you start advertising until you reach the point at which the effect comes out in the end?"
Perhaps a new tiered model is emerging right now
Pure stage models differ from more complex advertising impact models in that they assume a hierarchical sequence of variables: Once you have reached one stage, you have to climb the next. All models are therefore based on the assumption that the target persons go through various stages of influence before they make their purchase decision. It's like hiking. Each step brings
one closer to the goal.
Each stage model assumes that the probability of a purchase increases with each additional stage reached by advertising measures. If it is possible to measure the effect of advertising on the individual stages, these can be used as operational goals on the way to advertising success.
Over time, the models became more and more complex and therefore more and more complicated. More and more impact factors were incorporated into them. In the end, there were models in which even the weather was taken into account as an influencing factor. But one thing always remained the same: nothing sensible ever came of it.
There are probably more than 100 advertising impact level models in use around the world. And there must be someone sitting in an office right now thinking up a new level model. The relentless proliferation of the models began when German university professors started to get to grips with them. They came up with the great idea: if you add one or two more to the sequence of effect factors in the old Aida and rename the old ones a bit, you get a new model. And you can become famous with it.
The sixties, seventies and eighties were the heyday of the stage model proliferation. It seems as if every marketing professor who was even the slightest bit self-respecting came up with a new stage model, which was of course named after him. And so there is a Behrens model, a Gutenberg model, a Kitson model, a Seyffert model, a Fischerkoesen model, a Wündrich-Meissen model and probably also a Müller, Meier, Schulze model and many, many other models.
Step-by-step models as cheap everyday wisdom
Some of them are truly exotic. In 1951, for example, Arthur Lisowsky developed a model that envisaged a step-by-step process of the advertising effect from the "seizure of meaning" to "soul winning" and "soul shaping" to "soul discharge". The entire gravity of Heidegger's world of thought and the mystical melancholy of German philosophy in general still overwhelm the viewer today.
Some models only needed three steps. Later, when many steps were already sold out, so to speak, more and more were added. In the end, even the old Aida model was not fine enough for the model builders. So in 1945, the two Americans Rowse and Fish first developed the Aidca and then the Aidcas model. With the Aidca model, "Confidence" (trust in the brand) was added in between, and with Aidcas, "Satisfaction" (satisfaction with the product) was also added at the end of the process.
All stage models are characterized and imbued with the spirit of the hunt: like a hunter, the advertiser circles his game - the consumer - and surrounds it in ever tighter circles. It starts very broadly with the arousal of attention and ends very narrowly with the fixation on a product, a brand.
The total arbitrariness of the individual stages and their consolidation into an overall work of art should have given cause for concern from the outset. A model like Aida, Aidca, Aidcas or Dagmar or whatever they are all called can be applied to an almost limitless number of human vicissitudes. With Aida, for example, you can answer the question: What do I have to do to teach my dog obedience? Or: What do I have to do to make drivers obey most traffic rules?
This is typical of all stage models: they are banal. They are trivial, and their levels are arbitrary and interchangeable. You can't do anything with them. They are cheap everyday wisdom, like the statement "Life is beautiful." The significance of stage models is still mercilessly overestimated today. That is the reason for their popularity.
The Dagmar model represented - at least apparently - a small step forward. It got its pretty girl's name from the title of a book published in 1961 by the American advertising researcher Russell H. Colley on behalf of the US Association of National Advertisers (ANA): "Defining Advertising Goals for Measured Advertising Results". After all, the model was based on the theory that advertising, in contrast to the economic goals to be realized through other sales policy instruments, had primarily communication tasks. That was something.
Step models serve at most as a checklist
Advertising goes through a hierarchy of stages in the realization of these tasks. As a new product is unknown, it must first achieve a high level of awareness. Once consumers have achieved this level, potential buyers must be given an understanding (comprehension) of what the new product actually is and what benefits it has for them. Once this has been achieved, the advertising in the next phase must create the conviction in potential buyers that they need to buy this product and no other. Then they just need to be persuaded to put this conviction into practice (action). Depending on the stage reached, according to the Dagmar model, advertising must therefore be geared towards achieving either awareness, comprehension, conviction or action.
of the advertising efforts.
Criticism of the stage models is primarily directed against the hierarchical structure: such a "chain reaction" cannot be assumed. There are contradictions in the sequence of the individual impact phases: In most cases, interests, purchase intentions, even purchase actions are not the result of attention to an advertising message, but conversely direct attention to information in the first place.
The individual levels should therefore be viewed as interrelated, equally important determinants of a certain behavior. However, the individual constructs are not equally important in all situations: for each product, for each target group, it would have to be checked which criteria actually have the greatest connection to purchasing behavior. Finally, psychological effects are also the result of the use of all marketing instruments, even if advertising sometimes dominates. Attitudes and preferences are not only influenced by advertising, but also by product quality, service, price and other factors.
In his critical analysis of the stage models, the late Saarbrücken scientist Werner Kroeber-Riel comes to the conclusion that "it is not really worth dealing with them, at least not if they are available in the original versions (designed as memorization formulas)". They then only have the "advantage of presenting an elementary checklist of advertising effects that can be triggered, which should not be overestimated".
In fact, the impact levels are not always mandatory in the proposed level models. For example, it is easily conceivable that attention depends on the level of awareness of a product or a previous purchase. The same applies to desires and emotional effects. It is easy to find examples of breaking through the sequence of stages. The various theories of purchasing decision processes (dissonance models, risk models, etc.) provide further starting points for the necessity of modifying stage models.
For a long time, complex models such as the Howard-Sheth model from 1969 were thought to be the egg of Columbus, although it was nothing more than a new edition of the old Aida formula garnished with a lot of scientific frippery - the scientific voodoo version of the good old formula, so to speak. His total explanatory approach has the character of an S-O-R model (stimulus-organism-response model).
After all, the theory developed by the two American market researchers John A. Howard and Jagdish N. Sheth is still considered by some to be the most comprehensive and detailed impact model developed to date.
Wooden paths of advertising research and stage models
As different as they may be in all their formulations, almost all stage models have one thing in common: attention always comes first. But why is the advertiser's attention so important? Why is it so important for advertisers? It is an obvious question when thinking about the process flow: If you want to make an impact on consumers, you first have to get them to set all their receptors to receive. That makes sense. And yet this is precisely where the numerous errors in thinking of classic advertising research begin.
Attention is the mediator between pure sensory perception and the recording of selected stimuli in short-term memory. Attention is the gatekeeper of perception. Without attention, nothing is perceived. At first glance, and sometimes even at second glance, this seems very plausible. But the flaw lies in the approach. And the approach is manipulative: how do I get consumers to buy my product?
It was precisely for this reason that the ideas of subliminal advertising as a "secret seductress" triggered such a great wave of enthusiasm in the 1950s: suddenly there was a theory that promised the advertising industry the prospect of freeing itself from the yoke of attention - after all, it assumed that consumer behavior could be controlled and manipulated at will without first having to gain their attention. But the dream of being able to penetrate and influence consumers' subconscious remained an illusion.
Following this disillusionment, global impact research took a second wrong turn. This was entirely compatible with the stage models, but was also based on a whole series of other errors in thinking: the theories of advertising impact borrowed from the psychology of learning emerged. They understand the process in the course of which advertising develops its effect as a learning process. Advertising works when the consumer has learned the advertising message. Consumers grasp the advertising message in the same way that schoolchildren gradually learn the grammar of a foreign language, cram vocabulary or, with difficulty, begin to understand mathematical forms.
Nobody buys a newspaper because of the colorful ads
The dilemma is exactly the same as with the tiered models and should still work like a Nuremberg funnel: advertising is put in "at the top" and the effect must come out at the bottom with the consumers. Consumers just have to be persuaded to learn the advertiser's message. And because that's not so easy, you have to teach them properly.
Anyone who thinks about it, however, has to ask themselves: how on earth could anyone ever come up with the crazy idea of interpreting the process of accepting advertising messages in analogy to the process of learning? Advertising research can hardly march in the wrong direction in a more fatuous way.
The very idea is absurd: learning grammar involves a conscious effort to learn. You can only learn if you do it consciously. Even if you don't feel like it, you must at least make an effort.
If you want or need to learn, you switch all your receptors to reception. With advertising, it's exactly the opposite: nobody buys a magazine to look at the beautiful, colorful ads. Nobody switches on the television to watch commercials.
On the contrary. There is a great danger that TV viewers will zap away the commercials because they want to see a movie and not advertising. Advertising never works because people want to see it, but always because they don't want to see it.
Interactions between sender, intermediary and receiver
According to Michael Ray, the "learning hierarchy" of awareness, comprehension, conviction and action is best applied to relatively new products that are very important to the respective consumers. And lo and behold: even the models originating from the psychology of learning are nothing more than stage models, nothing more than models at the level of the Aida formula.
In the case of relatively undifferentiated brands and products that are in the maturity phase of their
economic life cycle, the dissonant attribution hierarchy tends to apply, according to which product attitudes only change after a product has been purchased and product attributes have been learned. In the case of mature low-involvement products that are very similar to one another, action can result directly from perception. A change in attitude then only occurs at a later stage.
While the advertising researchers were still busily tinkering with their tiered models, the
A revolution in perceptions is gradually taking place in communication research. Since the 19th century, the prevailing opinion in the now enlightened society has been that the media directly influence their recipients. This is why it was always so important in many countries to observe how newspapers decided before elections: did they favor one candidate or the other? The idea behind this was that voters were guided by the recommendation of "their" newspaper. But they didn't and don't do that at all.
In the fifties, a radical turnaround took place.
from this previous perception. At that time, empirical attitude research - in particular the Yale group led by communications researcher Carl I. Hovland - recognized that all factors in the impact process - sender, medium and recipient - and not just the media alone, exert an influence on the thoughts and actions of the audience and thus the consumers. Applied to advertising, this insight means that the advertiser, the advertising medium, the advertising medium and the person being advertised to are all players in the impact process. The modern era took giant strides towards research into the effects of advertising.
What follows AIDA?

In the second part of this series of articles, Wolfgang J. Koschnick describes the more recent approaches in advertising effectiveness research and shows how the consumer has gradually become the focus of thinking about the impact of advertising. As a result, the research models were all turned on their heads.
How advertising works

With this article by Allensbach journalist Wolfgang J. Koschnick, WerbeWoche continues its series of articles on advertising effectiveness research. Part 9 of this series of articles deals with the stage models of advertising impact.
Anyone with questions about aspects of advertising effectiveness research can send them to us ([email protected]). We will answer them to the best of our knowledge.
Articles published so far

Sex appeal in advertising (WW 38/00); Humor in advertising (WW 42/00); How does the environment influence advertising impact? (WW 1/01); How does placement influence advertising impact? (WW 14/01); Creativity & efficiency in advertising (WW 18/01); Fear appeals in advertising (WW 21/01); Not all advertising that appeals also entices consumers to buy (WW 24/01); TV commercials with high entertainment value are more popular with consumers (WW 32/01).

Claudio Zuccolini presents "Top Spots" on SF DRS and can express himself better than beforeHead of the week "I always thought becoming a TV presenter was a solemn act"
When Claudio Zuccolini came to Zurich on a hot summer's day in 1998 to introduce himself to Tele 24, he was half an hour late. "As someone from Graubünden, you just don't find it that way," he says briefly. Apparently he convinced his future boss Nik Niethammer anyway, because he promptly hired him for the news department. News? Zuccolini wanted to join "Inside": "I'm someone who likes to take things a little less serious. That wouldn't have been possible with the news".
In his youth, there was little to suggest that he would ever pursue a career in television. After two years at grammar school in Chur, the Grisons native grew up in Thusis and Scharans and spent four years at boarding school in Samedan, where he completed his secondary school diploma. He then began an all-round internship at the then SBG. Although he was not enthusiastic about everyday banking, he then worked as a customer advisor in electronic banking and even began studying at the University of St.Gallen a few years later. Shortly afterwards, the moment of truth arrived for Zuccolini, who had always had a particular fondness for radio: media or business?
The decision was made in favor of the media, so he joined Radio Piz in St. Moritz in 1994. He soon moved to Radio Grischa in Chur as a presenter, where he worked for three years: "But it was absolutely clear to me that I had to come to Zurich as a media professional," says Zuccolini. So it wasn't difficult for him to swap the Grisons mountains for the city: "I really like Zurich, I've met a lot of like-minded people here."
He worked as a VJ for "Inside" for two years. At the same time, he also worked as a copywriter for a small agency in Chur. When the station parted ways with Reto Peritz, Zuccolini was the new presenter: "Nobody had asked me, everything happened very quickly and it was just like that. I always thought that becoming a TV presenter was a very solemn act," he recalls.
When it became clear that Tele 24 would cease operations, Zuccolini picked up the phone. He met the producer of "Top Spots" at the premiere of Circus Knie, and before he knew it, they were already filming pilot programs: "I was able to incorporate my own ideas and ideas and write my own texts the whole time," enthuses Zuccolini. That's why he was able to express himself much more here, whereas he was always held back a little on "Inside".
In any case, he is well received by the audience: "I get lots of compliments, especially from older people. I often hear from pretty young women that their mothers like me." Daniela Zivadinovic

MediaSchneider AG, based in Zurich Seefeld, has made an excellent start, reports owner Urs Schneider.MediaSchneider AG wants to be in the top ten Just 100 days after its launch, the company already has over a dozen customers in its portfolio. These include Manor, Daewoo, Bluewin and Crossair. Schneider wants to be in the top ten in terms of turnover. With a media volume of CHF 50 million, the company is well positioned for 2002.
Ringier discontinues Globo The Ringier Group discontinues its travel magazine Globo with the December issue and withdraws from Germany. Ringier had already maintained a complete publishing structure with only one title in Munich for years. All 20 employees have been given notice.
Award for Orcamedia AG Award for Orcamedia AG from Baden: The Australian Tourist Commission presented the agency with a bronze award at the Australian Tourism Marketing Awards for the brochure "Australia's Dream Routes" for the client Dreamtime Travel AG in the category "Best Brochure featuring Australia for the first time".

The Lausanne-based advertising group PubliGroupe has extended its involvement in the World Association of Newspapers' (WAN) Ready project.News PubliGroupe for the future of newspapers
The project aims to open up growth and sales opportunities for newspaper companies through market research and the global exchange of ideas and data. Ready's latest initiative analyzes "The newspaper of the future and its design". PubliGroupe, one of the founders of the project, will be involved for another four years and is providing "a considerable sum", as stated in WAN's November newsletter.
Radio Tropic broadcasts on the Internet The multicultural special interest station Radio Tropic can now also be received on the Internet. The program is broadcast on the newly launched website Radio-Tro pic.ch using Windows Media Player. Tropic founder Frédéric Dru explained to Netzticker that the decision was made because many requests had been received from regions outside the broadcasting area, as well as from abroad.
No TAmedia Money for Money 24 The stock market programs "Money" and "MoneyTalk" will be discontinued together with Tele 24 at the end of November. The editor-in-chief and presenter of the two business magazines, Martin Spieler, is leaving Belcom. Due to the negative development of the Swiss advertising market and the uncertain economic development, the launch of the planned stock market channel Money 24 will be postponed for the time being. However, a later launch has not been ruled out. On Wednesday, the Federal Council extended the deadline for Money 24's license until the end of 2002. Originally, Money 24 should have gone on air by the end of February 2002. The federal government also allows the transfer of the license from the Belcom subsidiary Takeoff Communications AG, which now belongs to Tamedia, to Tele 24 AG, which remains in the possession of Roger Schawinski and Credit Suisse First Boston.

Wolfgang J. Koschnick offers media planners active reference assistanceFrom the end of November 2001, the "Media-Lexikon Schweiz" will be available to media professionals and researchers on the Internet. The reference work will be published together with the "Media-Lexikon Österreich" and the "Focus-Lexikon Werbeplanung - Mediaplanung - Marktforschung - Kommunikationsforschung - Mediaforschung" on the German site www.medialine.focus.de.Auf of Focus Magazin Verlag's Medialine in Munich, a specialist lexicon for media planning and media research has already been available for two years. The journalist Wolfgang J. Koschnick compiled it on the basis of his publication "Standard Lexicon for Media Research in Germany".
By separating out the Swiss and Austrian lexicon, the author takes into account the fact that the terminology and methodology of media and advertising research in the three German-speaking countries are very different.
The updated lexicons will also be published in printed form on 3000 pages in November. The print version complements the continuously updated online edition: "Only terms that will still be relevant in a few years' time are included in the printed encyclopaedia," explains WerbeWoche author Koschnick, "while circulation and other short-lived figures are also published on the web."
A new dictionary that translates specialist terms from the media sector from German into English and vice versa remains an online product for the time being. Koschnick intends to constantly maintain and expand its terminology.
The use of these reference works is free of charge. Koschnick and Focus aim to present online encyclopaedias that stand out from similar online publications due to their depth. "I want to offer detailed and exhaustive definitions and theories," is how the author describes his aim.
The "Media-Lexikon Schweiz" will remain based exclusively in Germany and will not be published on any Swiss website. Bruno Amstutz

Cédric Hinderberger relies on the marketing department for TSR programmingHead of the week "I have the chance to help shape something new right from the start"
No sooner has Cédric Hinderberger started his new job at Télévision Suisse Romande (TSR) than he is already pulling out all the stops to acquire as much know-how as possible in the shortest possible time. As a result, he will probably not be in the television tower on Quai Ansermet very often in the near future. He has numerous visits to foreign television stations on his agenda in order to bring himself up to date as head of the newly created "Pôle pour la recherche et le marketing". On-the-job training is the order of the day for Cédric Hinderberger, and even more: the philosophy of a busy professional who only thinks as much of theory as he deems necessary for his job.
He began his "learning by doing" as an apprentice at Publicitas. But it wasn't primarily advertising and the media that drew him to Publicitas. It was IT, which arrived at Publicitas very early on and fascinated the young man. He then stayed with Publicitas for almost 30 years, where he finally acquired extensive specialist knowledge in the media sector through continuous further training.
Having reached midlife, he felt the need for a new direction. That's why the TSR offer came at just the right time. This change gave him the opportunity to get to know another medium in depth and to deal more with marketing issues, he says happily.
For the former director of Publimedia Geneva, the move to TSR is also interesting because he can build up and help shape something from the outset with the "Pôle pour la recherche et le marketing". With this department, which emerged from the reform introduced by the new TSR director Gilles Marchand, French-speaking Swiss television wants to break new ground. For example, research is to be carried out with a view to future programming that takes greater account of qualitative criteria. In addition to other tasks in collaboration with the communications department, the aim is to work more closely with Publisuisse in order to better represent the interests of advertising clients.
And Cédric Hinderberger has a wealth of experience in dealing with clients from his time at Publimedia. So advertising will not let go of him in the future either. And he will probably continue to get upset when he doesn't understand the message of an advertising campaign and at the same time sees the elaborate and costly media planning running in his mind's eye. Anita Vaucher

The structures of content syndication in Europe are changing fundamentally.news Change in the content market foreseeable
This was the result of the study "The Changing Face of Europe's Syndication Industry" by the Amsterdam-based research company Van Dusseldorp & Partners. In the past, it was mainly independent intermediaries who bought content from media companies and sold it on to websites. Now, content producers are increasingly considering its marketing as part of their core business. The full study can be ordered for 450 euros on the Van Dusseldorp & Partners website (www.vandusseldorp .com).
Webadvertising with a new website The online media planner Publimedia Webadvertising presents itself with a revamped website. The new design is intended to establish the website as a business and communication tool. In addition to basic information about the company and its services, the site also offers news on online marketing. Documentation on online marketing trends, the latest market studies and online access to customer campaign evaluations are available in the password-protected customer center.

The TV production center also wants to earn its money with image films, events, TV commercials and trade fairsBy Andreas Panzeri This year, the TV Production Center Zurich (TPC) expects sales of CHF 130 million. It already generates 5 percent of its revenue from orders for customers outside of Swiss television. These external orders are to be massively expanded in the future with the production of industrial films, TV commercials, corporate TV, trade fair construction and even event organization.
TPC, which was spun off from Swiss television, builds tasting stands for the Muba, rents out the "Benissimo" décor as a world of experience for the Motor Show, produces training films for the banks, creates the new Migros commercials and organizes an ultimate party for the "Advertiser of the Year" for Advertising Week. These are all events that are all made up and yet have a real background: Since the TPC is no longer only allowed to produce public service as a thank you for concession money, but also has to earn its money with more mundane services for the everyday market, the wildest fantasies have been haunting the industry. However, the TPC's market practices - which have indeed become more aggressive - are still not a case for "Kassensturz". And probably never will be.
"Ancillary business" to become the third pillar
"With the wave of liberalization in the TV sector, the time has come to either look ahead or scale back our activities," explains Roger Sidler, Managing Director of the TPC. So in 2000, the TV Production Center Zurich AG was founded as a subsidiary of SRG SSR idée suisse with one goal in mind: the TPC must grow, find new markets and thus be able to free itself from the dependence on the old parent company. The strategy for this is to build on three different segments.
The aim is to cover the domestic TV market as well as possible with the largest production facility in Switzerland. Unfortunately, orders for RTL/Pro 7 have not developed as planned. However, relations with TV 3 and Sat 1 Switzerland are positive.
Expansion abroad: Constant success has been evident in Germany for some time. However, the opportunities have not yet been exhausted, which is why the TPC is planning to open an office in Germany soon or enter into a cooperation with a German partner.
The TPC is to open up as a comprehensive communications company that can offer everything from corporate TV, business TV and stadium TV to trade fair construction and event organization. These "ancillary businesses" are to become the third pillar.
According to the current key, 70 percent of the expected turnover in 2001 will come from work for SF DRS, just under 10 percent from national sports productions for SRG Holding. The TPC already earns 15 percent from other TV stations in Switzerland and abroad, and 5 percent from orders for other clients.
Cycling as a niche for international entry
The TPC has already made a good name for itself in the sports sector - albeit in "state" times. The Swiss are particularly successful in cycling - also in terms of production. "After selective races, we have now achieved a breakthrough with the Tour of Germany and the Tour of Peace from Poland to Germany," reveals Roger Sidler proudly. One of the TPC's specialties is mobile broadcasts for live productions. This involves coupling motorcycles with a helicopter as a relay and using gyro cams in helicopters.
A popular additional option is GPS analysis, which automatically determines how big the gaps are between the leading riders and the field. "We are very specialized in this area and one of the three leading providers in Europe," says Sidler, who naturally dreams of the Tour de France after several major German cycling races. "That's a goal, but we're meeting with certain political resistance." Securing business in Germany and expanding to Italy, France and Spain next year is therefore the niche policy of the TPC's filming pedalers.
With sitcoms, not everything is funny yet
The company has not yet penetrated the highly competitive German market for sitcoms and soaps. "But we are also not yet convinced that we have no chance at all here," emphasizes Daniela Bassi, Head of Marketing, Sales and Communication at TPC. In any case, there are good contacts with SWR and Bayerischer Rundfunk. "In the cultural sector, too, the TPC is better suited to high-quality and complex productions such as opera recordings, where the customer is also prepared to invest more in quality," says the marketing manager.
Productions where only the cheapest provider is sought are of no interest to the TPC with its high-quality Swiss production resources and Swiss wages. A Uefa Champions League football match in Moscow with a specially acquired Swiss reportage van therefore turned out to be a business flop. Even the cheapest private productions with cameramen from the East, who work at absolutely dumping prices, compete for such "dozen goods".
Classical productions, such as those that the TPC has already realized half a dozen times in Berlin and Dresden for ZDF, for example, are therefore more profitable. The Swiss broadcast the Theaterpreis for Bayerischer Rundfunk.
Due to the wage level, however, such productions are limited to key people from Switzerland and work with local cameramen and technicians, but with Zurich equipment.
Conversely, the Germans are of course also increasingly pushing into the Swiss market. "Fertig lustig" is already being produced by German competitors, some of whom are once again working with people from the free Swiss market.
With the current DRS productions, the TPC has not yet lost many contracts to other production companies, "but the next generation of editors will probably feel freer here and want to form new partnerships," says Sidler.
In the past, editorial offices were allowed to freely allocate 25 percent of their turnover. Now this regulation has been dropped completely. In the relationship between younger program staff and production in particular, "there is suddenly a noticeable break". Although the 800 TPC employees still go to the same canteen in Leutschenbach, the personal relationships with the program creators are "gradually being replaced by business relationships".
As far as TV 3 is concerned, the TPC is currently waiting to see how the Tamedia broadcaster will manage the integration of Tele Züri. At the moment, TPC mainly produces the big entertainment shows such as "Die Bar", "Wer wird Millionär?" and "Klassentreffen".
New formats in the production of commercials
In order to obtain the desired new orders in future, the TPC's acquisition department has been greatly expanded and now has five employees for marketing and sales. Contrary to fears to the contrary, however, the TPC does not want to take work away from the well-known production companies when it comes to commercials. Daniela Bassi: "We are not suitable for an elaborate classic commercial with director stars flown in. We are interested in various special forms of advertising, such as the fact spot."
This current announcement of the weekly content of the news magazine is filmed in the morning in the Facts editorial office with Hannes Britschgi on Werdstrasse. The spot is then immediately edited and dubbed in Leutschenbach so that it can be uploaded to the server on the same day and broadcast in time for the "Tagesschau".
"We are well suited to such commercials because we have the entire production line under control in the same building," argues marketing expert Bassi. Such very quickly produced spots could therefore become a future specialty of the TPC. "They are also cost-effective because the commercial is produced without a lot of art like a TV report."
Another example is Amag News, which requires a large studio. "We are interested in renting out our large infrastructure," says Sidler. His offer: to produce a commercial once a week in the studio on a single afternoon, in all three national languages. "Efficiently shot, just like we know it from TV." The marketing people at the TPC are already discussing this with agencies who would like to work in this style for suitable clients. "Instead of just placing advertisements, we could realize a weekly TV spot - this is still not widespread enough in Switzerland, but perhaps it can now be promoted a little more with us," say the TPC salespeople optimistically.
The measurements are not measured on a small scale
The offer in the exhibition stand construction sector is similarly differentiated. The aim is "certainly not to offer a standard stand for the Muba". However, if someone wants to attract attention at a trade fair with an individually designed stand, the TPC workshops are happy to build the decor. "Creating worlds of experience" with either newly produced decorations or elements from the large stock is the offer here. In future, this could extend to the decoration of a hotel or a particularly attractive shop window.
Sidler rejects the accusation that the fund was built up with concession money with the fact that "we had to dismantle it again". The TPC had to buy the entire infrastructure from SF DRS with a lot of outside capital when it became independent. Two independent companies were commissioned to evaluate and inspect the inventory, studios and technology. They were then integrated into the TPC at book value. "We didn't achieve any advantages at all. The fact that we took over the resources at book value is hardly a starting advantage for us," Sidler calculates, as many pieces of equipment already have to be replaced today. The TPC was founded as an independent company "so that it is a clean operation. Without any suspicion of cross-subsidies". When the company was founded, it was absolutely clear that everything had to be invoiced. "Even a rent for every meeting room we use at SF DRS."
Instead of competing with independent productions, the TPC even sees an advantage for the industry in the distant future, "because together we can build a strong partnership in Switzerland against the threat of competition from abroad".
The TPC wants to become active in the events sector in a completely new way. In the past, it was strictly limited to providing services. Today, the TPC wants to "offer a complete package in cooperation with third parties". For events, the simplest version is to hire the studio. But now a customer can also have an entire party for a hundred high-profile guests organized in Studio 1, with suggestions for theme, decoration, catering and entertainment.
The TPC drives a big box for Sepp Blatter
One such prestigious project is currently being organized for Fifa. Sepp Blatter's association is presenting the "Oscars" award ceremony for the world's best footballers in Zurich. This "Fifa Players Gala", at which the footballer of the year is chosen, has previously taken place in Rome and Brussels. Now the top event, which is broadcast by television stations worldwide, is definitely coming to Zurich.
The TPC is not only providing the entire infrastructure, but is also planning the entertainment, including hiring the international stars for the show blocks. The TPC's new event specialists organize the media conference in Zurich's World Trade Center and order the catering for the party.
Own programs from the former technician's kitchen
The production of in-house programs is still somewhat further in the future. SF DRS has a public service mandate, and the editorial teams involved naturally do not want to develop new programs for third parties in the service of the TPC. "With freelancers, however, it could well be the case in the future that we develop a soap or something similar for another broadcaster on our own initiative," Sidler reflects. The TPC is therefore trying to establish the best possible contact with independent creatives on the market so that "one day we can also offer complete content from the kitchen of the new fixed star in the Swiss film sky".
If that's too un-Swiss for you, the TPC has already produced and successfully broadcast an image film for a well-known Swiss tourist destination, from concept to dubbing.

The ADC Board has abolished the judging license for the next competitionThe Art Directors Club Switzerland (ADC) has revised its judging system for the upcoming competition for the best Swiss advertising and is presenting the most radical innovation: the abolition of the judging license. In future, those whose ADC awards are more than three years old will once again be allowed to sit on the jury. The ADC board has made two important changes: According to old custom, the jury group is now to go from work to work again. The internal changes to the jury, which do not result in any changes for the entrants, are ultimately the result of the shortcomings of the 2001 judging process, explained Andreas Prokesch, head of the ADC board, and jury chairman Daniel Matter: Prokesch and Matter said that it had been established that the anonymous ticking of boxes in the first round of voting was too time-consuming and often led to questionable judgments. Frustration, and in some cases even indifference, were the reasons for this. In the first round in 2001, each jury member had to judge around 310 works in five categories, which is why many felt overwhelmed and somewhat let down.
There was no discussion, "so no atmosphere and no social control. Everyone could give their mark without being seen," explains Prokesch. The procedure also turned out to be technically complex due to the increased volume of work. The appropriate software initially had to be developed at great expense.
The ADC goes back to its roots
Because the problem of duplicate awards has never been properly addressed, the board has decided not to impose any restrictions, "which means more dice," says ADC Managing Director Helen Müller. With restrictions, because it is clear, according to Matter, that the open judging process will also lead to tougher judging. The Board of Directors put a question mark over the automatic system whereby a quarter of the submissions were awarded bronze and a quarter of these were awarded silver and so on. The financial consequences were accordingly. "In the end, we had an even thicker, but not necessarily better book and ended up with the additional costs just short of a six-figure sum," Prokesch and Matter point out. However, this additional cost was disproportionate to the additional quality, he recalls. Nevertheless, he does not want to miss the "exciting" experience that the ADC had.
"We're actually going back to the roots," explains Prokesch. He is particularly happy about the abolition of the discriminatory jury license. The three-year rule mercilessly excluded many creatives from the jury a priori. "We should reflect a little more on the fundamental values of the ADC - but also show moral courage," said Prokesch. The judging process can only be improved through consistency and not by constantly changing the mode. All that remains to be mentioned is the deadline for entries: November 23.
The fact that the ADC is only now reporting the results of its Board of Directors is due to the events of the past few weeks. The grounding of Swissair, Prokesch's largest client, in particular, has led to a reassessment of priorities. To find out how much the grounding affected him and how honestly and openly he deals with it, read
in its bulletin of November 6.
Among other things, he gives vent to his personally motivated anger that many had made PR capital at the expense of the debacle; he mentions Hermann Strittmatter and Klaus J. Stöhlker by name. "It's over, it's over: I'm back - like never before," he concludes his foreword. Luca Aloisi

Muse & Musse Maria Schönbucher
What was the last cultural event you attended?
Maria Schönbucher: Hiroshi Sugimoto at KUB - his reduced black-and-white photographs impress me.
What are you reading right now?
Schönbucher: "How to Be Good" - because it's written by Nick Hornby.
Which CD do you currently prefer to listen to?
Schönbucher: Vincent Gallo - "When".
Which movie would you most like to see again?
Schönbucher: "In the Mood for Love" - for me the most sensual film of the year.
What TV show did you fall asleep during the other night?
Schönbucher: While zapping, "The Bar".
What is your latest discovery on the Internet?
Schönbucher: www.aesthetic terrorists.com
What could you never do without?
Schönbucher: Here's to Open Sunday at Ceci and Lorenz, beats, Härdöpfelstock and the squeak of the Züri streetcar.
What do you do in a free minute?
Schönbucher: Enjoying the transition.
Love is ...?
Schönbucher:... to drink the glass of wine alone.

Tele Ostschweiz and Radio Aktuell are hindered by monopolyWhenever radio or TV licenses are at stake, St.Galler Tagblatt AG stumbles over its own media monopoly. For the first time, however, the Federal Council is now rapping the NZZ subsidiary on the knuckles. The Federal Council has now granted St.Galler Radio Aktuell the districts of Toggenburg and Wil, which means that it can be received in almost the entire canton of St.Gallen, in Appenzell and in the districts of Arbon and Bischofszell. Aktuell did not receive a license for the rest of Thurgau, where Radio Top remains the sole top dog.
It will also be allowed to broadcast as far as St.Gallen, Rorschach and Gossau as well as the districts of Gaster and See - the latter, according to the Federal Council, "at the request of the St.Gallen government". Radio Top will also be allowed to cover Schaffhausen. Conversely, Radio Munot receives the license for the Schaffhausen-Winterthur axis, but not for the one to Bülach.
If the decisions made by the Federal Department of the Environment, Energy, Transport and Communications (Uvek) on October 29, 2001 and April 13, 2000 - albeit in the TV sector - are also taken into account, the following rough picture emerges for the electronic media in Eastern Switzerland: Radio Aktuell and Tele Ostschweiz now have an almost identical broadcasting area, which is mainly limited to the cantons of St.Gallen and Appenzell.
The territories of Radio and Tele Top are also virtually identical, but they cover the triangle Winterthur - St.Gallen - Schaffhausen. The situation is different in Schaffhausen: Radio Munot can extend to Winterthur, while Schaffhausen TV remains limited to its own canton. Schaffhausen and St.Gallen are not satisfied and are considering complaints.
In the justifications for the decisions mentioned, the authorities are always avowedly concerned with "strengthening media diversity" - especially in St.Gallen. Rachel Mader from the Federal Office of Communications was quoted in the St.Galler Tagblatt newspaper as saying that the Federal Council wanted to allow adequate competition from the media monopolist from St.Gallen with the license for Radio Top.
The St.-Galler-Tagblatt Group heard something similar on April 13, 2000. At that time, the Uvek justified its decision to allow Tele Top to broadcast to St.Gallen as follows: "In addition, the department hopes that the licensing of Tele Top will increase media diversity in the St.Gallen area, which is currently dominated by one company." Markus Knöpfli