Swisstudio is the name of a new rental studio in Bürglen near Lake Constance that claims to offer everything a filmmaker's and photographer's heart desires.12,000 cubic meters of space with modern infrastructure such as a radio-controlled crane system and a self-propelled lifting platform crane are available to interested parties. This makes Swisstudio the largest rentable photo and film studio in Switzerland.A total of three studios are available, but the room layout is partly flexible. Studio 1 and 2, for example, can be combined into a single room with an area of around 700 square meters by opening the soundproof wall. Two 8-meter high coves, one of which curves 168 degrees and has a diameter of 18 meters, create a circular horizon that allows for uniform illumination and extreme camera angles. In addition to the rooms, Swisstudio also provides rental equipment such as flash generators, tripods and basic artificial lighting equipment.
"We want to appeal to filmmakers, photographers and also advertising agencies," says studio manager Anne Flechsig, describing the target group. Young photographers and filmmakers who don't have their own studio can also use Studio 3, where they can work in the fashion or still-life area on around 100 square meters.
Flechsig does not see the location between St.Gallen and Konstanz as a disadvantage. The studio can be reached from Zurich in less than an hour. (ba)

The Art Directors Club Switzerland has admitted five new members to its ranks: Timo Kirez, CD at McCann-Erickson, Geneva; Denis Schwarz, AD at Advico Young & Rubicam, Zurich; Philipp Skrabal, AD at Matter & Partner, Zurich; Markus Tränkle, copywriter at Publicis, Zurich; and AD Nicolas Vontobel, formerly of WHS Zurich and McCann-Erickson.The quintet was chosen from fourteen applicants by the ADC Admissions Committee, chaired by André Benker. Admission was based on the evaluation of submitted works. (ba)

Muse & Musse Claude Schaub
What was the last cultural event you attended?
Claude Schaub: That was two weeks ago, my visit to the hairdresser.
What are you reading right now?
Schaub: The instruction manual for my electronic agenda. For the sake of Roli and Res.
Which CD do you currently prefer to listen to?
Schaub: Unfortunately, we only have three male CDs. And of these three, I naturally prefer none for political reasons.
Which movie would you most like to see again?
Schaub: "Wings", a silent war film from the twenties, set to live drum&bass and shown as part of Volts&Vision about two years ago.
What TV show did you fall asleep during the other night?
Schaub: With a film on public television, I miss the awakening commercial break.
What is your latest discovery on the Internet?
Schaub: Lydia M., 24, from Z. from A.
What could you never do without?
Schaub: To the Brockenhaus.
What do you do in a free minute?
Schaub: Schedule the next free one.
Love is...?
Schaub:...a booklet, as far as I know.

The online marketer Qualiclick exclusively manages Swisscom's new Internet-enabled telephone pillars.News Qualiclick sells Webpayphone
Various forms of advertising are possible on the so-called Webpayphone. If the phone is in stand-by mode, an endless flash advertising spot is played on the screen. Giant banners can be placed in all Webpayphone services. Sponsor links, sponsored SMS messages and sponsor logos on printed pages are also possible.
Adlink with Innofact and NetRatings The online marketer AdLink relies on media research to better support its customers in their planning. To this end, AdLink has subscribed to Nielsen NetRatings' panel service for measuring Internet usage throughout Europe as of October. The marketer is also cooperating with the German market research institute Innofact. Together, they offer an advertising media test in which various web advertising formats are examined for impact parameters such as brand awareness, willingness to buy or image shift.
Jobs.ch expands into French-speaking Switzerland
The online job portal Jobs .ch has opened its first branch in French-speaking Switzerland in Ecublens. The aim is to meet the individual needs of customers in French-speaking Switzerland. Valérie Ramirez is responsible for the development.
Fernsehen.ch delivers private programming
A personal user profile can now be created for the online TV program Fernsehen.ch with MyProgram. The program of over 100 TV channels can be searched by topic, actor, director, title, etc. and delivered daily by e-mail. The platform is operated by the coaching agency Redia and the web service provider Künzler Communications. Marketing is handled exclusively by AdLink.
Adtech launches new technology The online advertising service provider Adtech is launching a new ad serving solution. The XML-enabled tool package called Helios is designed to simplify the control, management and delivery of digital advertising on the Internet. Helios is designed to allow media planners to focus on their actual work, while the software takes over the ad serving and control of the process. Helios is the result of merging Adtech's own technology with that of Adforce. At the end of September, Adtech acquired the worldwide rights to Adforce's ad serving solution.
Speculation about Tamedia's online commitmentTamedia is about to exit the Moneycab financial portal, and every third online job at Tamedia will be cut, Cash and HandelsZeitung reported last week. Tamedia spokesman Peter Hartmeier described the reports as ducks: All that was true, he said, was that the group was examining its online strategy as part of the "Focus" cost analysis program.
Soz will be cheaper for TA readers For subscribers to the Tages-Anzeiger, the SonntagsZeitung (SoZ) will be a third cheaper. With immediate effect, they will receive the annual subscription for CHF 100 instead of CHF 149. If you already receive the SoZ, Tamedia will extend your subscription by a third. This is the publisher's reaction to the Neue Zürcher Zeitung's (NZZ) plan to offer its subscribers the new NZZ am Sonntag free of charge for the whole of 2002.

Eastern Switzerland-based Projekt GmbH launches poster advertising in hospitals and clinics, and with good reasonBy Daniel Schifferle One of the last areas not yet tapped by poster advertising has been cracked: hospitals and clinics. The initiator of the offer, which is initially concentrated on German-speaking Switzerland, is the company Projekt GmbH, with which two Germans also want to launch other unusual poster sites.
It hasn't been too long since advertising found its way into the toilet. Now poster advertising has set its sights on a more sensitive area: hospitals and clinics. The fact that highly interesting target groups such as patients, doctors and visitors can be found in this highly frequented area has long been discovered in other countries. In the surrounding countries of France, Italy, Austria and Germany, for example, the hospital sector has long been an interesting territory for poster advertising. In Switzerland, this has also been developed since the beginning of October.
There are currently 28 hospitals and clinics in German-speaking Switzerland with an average of 20 poster sites each. More are to be added on an ongoing basis. The provider is the recently founded company Projekt GmbH, based in Lutzenberg, Appenzell. The newly launched company is wholly owned by the two Germans Markus Liebscher (32) and Mathis Felsche (28), who previously worked together in the marketing and sales department at the radio station Antenne Vorarlberg (A). Liebscher, who has worked in the media for more than ten years, played a key role in setting up Antenne Vorarlberg. The capital of Projekt GmbH amounts to CHF 20,000, just the legal minimum.
The two-man company offers a complete service
Although the company is only a two-man operation, it offers a complete service. To make this possible, it works together with freelancers and partner companies. For example, the entire logistics are handled by freelancers. But Projekt GmbH also works with third-party companies for additional services such as poster printing.
Liebscher enthuses about the target groups that can be reached in the hospital: 600,000 patients and around 500,000 visitors per year. In addition, there are around 10,000 hospital employees, among whom the particularly attractive target group of doctors is strongly represented. Of the average of 20 poster sites per clinic, around 60 percent are indoors and 40 percent outdoors. Care was taken to ensure that only highly frequented areas were provided with poster sites: Outside, these are the entrance area and the parking spaces; inside, the waiting areas, lifts and corridors. "The clinic is a place where people have and spend a lot of time and therefore register advertising messages," Liebscher is convinced.
Location selection according to easily sortable sub-target groups
Another decisive advantage is the fact that sub-target groups can be addressed in exactly the right place. For example, new mothers in maternity wards or doctors, nurses and caregivers at staff entrances. In addition to advertising pharmaceutical and medical products, Liebscher also sees particularly high affinities for health-promoting nutritional supplements. However, non-nursing products such as vacation trips, financial services or insurance could also be advertised well.
The minimum duration of the posters is one month. The rates (B2 to B12) range from 45 to 1197 francs per month, depending on size and location. The hospital offer can be booked regionally, regionally and locally. In addition to German-speaking Switzerland, the other two language regions are also being targeted, with new contracts being added on a weekly basis.
But Projekt GmbH is not satisfied with the new territory that the clinic advertising is opening up. Further "unusual locations" are to follow. However, Liebscher does not want to let the cat out of the bag just yet: "These ideas are not yet ready to go."

Ulrich Bollmann, President of the BPRA, on current developments in the PR industry "The maintenance of intangible assets has been lost in many places"
The Association of Public Relations Agencies in Switzerland (BPRA) is celebrating its 25th anniversary these days. Ulrich Bollmann, BPRA President and CEO of Burson-Marsteller Switzerland, thinks out loud about the possibilities of PR in the current crisis, comments on budgets and ventures a look into the future.
The BPRA is 25 years old. How does it exploit the anniversary in a PR-friendly way?
Ulrich Bollmann: The highlight is of course the platform that WerbeWoche is offering us with this interview. We also invited all management members of the affiliated member companies, friendly associations and the trade media to a high-profile anniversary event. We also revamped our entire documentation, including the website. PR people simply do anniversaries a little differently than their more navel-gazing colleagues in advertising.
What were the key stages in BPRA's history?
Bollmann: The decision of the three founding agencies to make the BPRA an association open to all agencies with a certain performance record, the development of transparent market statistics together with a skills index for members and, finally, in more recent times, the systematic development of tools to improve agency management.
Groucho Marx once declared that he would never join a club that accepted him as a member. What is there to whisper about the non-members of the BPRA, who represent around 20 percent of the market?
Bollmann: Very few people like the role of Groucho Marx. However, we consider most of them to be potential members as soon as they meet the admission criteria.
PR agencies are expecting slower growth in the current year. Surprising in a time of many crises and communication breakdowns.
Bollmann: Only to a certain extent. You have to differentiate between bad business strategies that can't be covered up even with the best communication advice, and good business strategies that are poorly sold. I have the impression that the former category currently predominates. Where self-criticism is lacking and personal self-interest dominates business decisions, even communication strategies, media training and brilliantly written statements can no longer lead the way.
A year ago, the agencies expected an increase in fees of 15 percent for 2001. Now they are expecting a total of 1.3 percent growth. Which budgets have lost the most money?
Bollmann: I don't know of any major industry in which annual budgets have not been massively reduced in all areas in recent months. As a supplier, we are automatically affected by this. When Switzerland fell into a similar downward spiral ten years ago, most company managers still had pangs of conscience and put a lot of effort into communication in an attempt to alleviate the consequences for those affected. Today, short-term thinking cost center managers dominate for the most part. The sense of caring for intangible assets has been lost in many places. This is a mistake that will cost many companies dearly.
What are the PR industry's expectations for the coming year and how does this compare with other countries?
Bollmann: All agencies expect the current trend to continue. At Burson-Marsteller, we expect another slightly above-average development. I don't have any comparisons with other countries. The second PR World Congress will take place in San Francisco in mid-November, which will provide more information.
How do agencies react to lower growth rates?
Bollmann: Apart from the smallest companies, every agency must ensure that staff costs do not exceed 60 percent of fee income in the long term. Otherwise they can no longer finance the infrastructure for a professional service. This is why services that were initially outsourced to freelancers are now provided in-house. Greater caution is exercised when replacing employees who have left the company. In view of the persistently difficult personnel market, salary cuts are probably the last resort.
What is happening in the area of training?
Bollmann: Training in our industry is provided by the SPRI and the Sawi, which is why the BPRA does not consider this area to be a core task. This does not include special issues relating to agency management, for example in the area of employment contracts or client contracts. It is unbelievable how legalized we have become in recent times. Clients in large companies in particular occasionally allow their in-house lawyers to accompany the awarding of contracts to an extent that is downright counterproductive.
What is the BPRA's most important goal for the coming year?
Bollmann: The General Assembly has decided to establish intensive contact with federal administration agencies that award PR contracts. In doing so, we want to improve the professionalism of tenders, as this is the only way to ensure that the taxpayers' money that flows to the agencies as part of such contracts can be translated into efficient services.
What is the most important goal of BPRA President Ulrich Bollmann?
Bollmann: To implement this mandate from the members along with all other ongoing tasks.
What PR task would particularly attract Burson-Marsteller in Switzerland?
Bollmann: That's almost the patriotic question. Seriously, the Solidarity Foundation is a very interesting topic. And not just the referendum, but also the subsequent support. Its value lies not only in its establishment, but also in its long-term positioning with founders and future beneficiaries. The tool has potential because it is as unique worldwide as the ICRC. Neither individual birth defects nor party political bluster can obscure this. As a company that is firmly rooted in the country through our activities, with expertise in the field of public affairs and a global network, we have what it takes to turn it into a success story. Interview: Andreas Panzeri

The ambient media family is growing with Placards for freeBruno AmstutzAfter Cards for free, advertising marketer Masani's is launching a new medium: Placards for free. The free takeaway posters are to find their way from bars, clubs and cinemas to private bedroom walls.
Masani's new below-the-line advertising medium, which is marketed under the label Ambient Media, is a world first. Ambient because the advertising message aims to pick up recipients in their private environment and relies on voluntary reception.
Specifically, since September 2001 there have been vending machines in bars, clubs, restaurants and cinemas in the largest German-speaking cities in Switzerland where interested parties can pick up A1 format advertising posters.
Masani's expects Placards for free to have the same advantages as the established free postcards: 18 to 35-year-olds will voluntarily take them with them in their free time. Compared to postcards, however, free posters have the additional potential to end up on the wall of an apartment for a longer period of time. In this way, they conquer the private living space with their advertising message and create new qualitative contacts with visitors there.
Both the marketer and the first customers, Rialto Film AG and Nike, are aware that not just any motif will do. "The subject must have a certain collector's value," says Christine Rhomberg, Head Of Marketing at Rialto, with conviction. The film distributor wants to anchor the potential blockbuster of the coming winter, "The Lord Of The Rings", in people's minds right now with placards for free. Rhomberg is counting on the advantage that free posters catch people's eye in places where they think about leisure and going out, thus creating high-quality contacts.
Posters from the music and film sector have a chance
According to Stefan Heinrich, Head of Marketing and Sales at Masani's, in principle any product can be advertised with free posters. However, attractive subjects are important to him. "People pay attention to free posters for longer," says Heinrich, "so advertising agencies have to place more emphasis on the motif than on conveying information in the shortest possible time." Heinrich believes that film or music posters and motifs from the fashion or luxury goods sectors have particularly good chances.
Thanks to the principle of free will, Masani's and its customers also have a reliable measure of success: only posters that really appeal are packed. Sales allow conclusions to be drawn about the popularity of the product and the appeal of the subject matter.
Twenty poster dispensers are currently in use in Zurich, Bern, Basel and Lucerne, which can be booked for periods of two weeks each. Next year, Masani's plans to expand to around one hundred locations and also cover French-speaking Switzerland.
In addition to the commercial posters, Masani's also intends to distribute art prints without advertising messages in the poster machines at regular intervals, thus further emphasizing the preference for aesthetic qualities over aggressive advertising.

Cost per prospective customer. Refers to the amount charged for an acquired prospect.Online-ABC Cost per Interest (CPI)Cost per Order (CPO)Cost per order. Refers to the amount charged for acquiring an order or a customer.
Cost per Thousand Impressions (CPM)Billing unit for online advertising. The number of visual contacts with a form of advertising is billed. See also ad impression, ad request.
CounterCounter. Displays the number of hits on a specific website.
Crawler Program that searches websites registered with search engines for keywords. See also robot and spider.
CyberspaceGeneral term for an artificially generated experience space. Often also used as a synonym for the World Wide Web. The term was coined by science fiction author William Gibson.
File formatsInterlaces GIF or JPEG, maximum file size 15 KB and rich media banners.
Data superhighwayIntroduction of the American term "information superhighway". Refers to the Internet, but generally refers to the ability to transfer information and data at high speed.

Budget news Europay hires Publicis and FCBLK
In a pitch, the advertising agency FCB Leutenegger Krüll (FCBLK) has won the account for the international debit card system Maestro from Europay Switzerland. The agency is launching a campaign at the beginning of 2002 aimed at foreign guests in Switzerland. FCBLK had already worked for Europay from 1988 to 1998 and was responsible for the ec card. It was also responsible for the "electronic wallet" Cash. This budget was submitted by FCBLK and put out to tender. Publicis Zurich came out on top.
Bolzern makes Schild chic For the opening of the new St. Jakob Park store in Basel, Schild Mode AG commissioned the Lucerne agency Bolzern Kommunikation with the opening campaign. As the fashion outfitter of FC Basel, it was only natural that the main message should revolve around King Football. The poster campaign and POS activities will run until further notice.
Lesch+Frei for Siemens The client list of the Zurich advertising agency Lesch+Frei (L+F) now includes Siemens Switzerland. L+F came out on top in a competitive presentation for Siemens' corporate communication. The agency focused on the importance of Siemens for Switzerland as a business location.

18 productions can hope to win the Edi, the Swiss Commissioned and Commercial Film AwardBy Andreas Panzeri Even with strict judging, 13 TV commercials and 5 commissioned films have made it onto the shortlist for the Swiss Commissioned and Commercial Film Award. The Edi award ceremony will take place on November 8 as part of an all-day event at the Lakeside Casino Zürichhorn.
The first Edi Awards last year set new standards. The industry's interest in TV commercials was confirmed. Fewer commissioned films were submitted in terms of quantity, but high-quality productions.
For Peter Beck from the Edi.01 working group, this is a sign that "the industry is changing dramatically". The experts at Swiss Film and Video Producers believe that far fewer expensive productions are being made today. Money that used to be invested in communication with commissioned films is now flowing into the Internet. At the same time, more medium budgets for films at an increased cadence are the trend. "Of course, such rush jobs no longer have the prestige with which one would want to present oneself at a competition," Verena Zollinger from the Edi Task Force also believes.
Shortlist commissioned film Bernina activa 145: Persiflage on TV commercials. Production company: Avista AG, director: Hubert Staubli. Maurice Lacroix - Milestone: Launch of a new watch line. Production company: HA Productions AG, director: Christian Roesch. So that the tree frog comes back: Voluntary work for the Stiftung Umwelt-Einsatz Schweiz (SUS). Production company: Ciné AS GmbH, Zurich, Director: Alice Schmid. AMC - Powerbrand trailer: AMC is active worldwide in the direct sale of cooking systems. Production company: Beck & Friends GmbH. Director: Peter Beck. Letter post "Wish you were here": Emotional demonstration of letter post production. Advertising agency: Lang Gysi Knoll. Production company: HA Productions AG. Director: Christian Roesch.
Shortlist TV commercial Swiss cheese - Poker: Client: Swiss Cheese Organization. Advertising agency: André Benker. Production: Condor Communications. Director: Michael Fueter. Making of ...: Ovaltine campaign. Client: Novartis. Advertising agency: AY&R. Production: Condor. Director: Rainer Binz. Marilyn: Client: SonntagsZeitung. Advertising agency: AY&R. Production: AY&R/Ultra Images. Director: Giorgio Zehnder. Toothbrush/Babyfood: Client: Migros-Genossenschafts-Bund. Advertising agency: AY&R/ Exxtra Kommunikation. Production: Wirz & Fraefel Productions. Director: Ernst Wirz. Schools to the Internet: Client: Swisscom. Advertising agency: Contexta. Production: Bizarre Films, Zurich. Director: Chris Niemeyer. The Beijing Games. With Tibet: Client: Swiss-Tibetan Friendship Association. Advertising agency: Euro RSCG Switzerland. Production: Blood Sweat & Tears Ltd. Director: Frank J. Estermann. The Hooligan: Commissioned by: Alcoholics Anonymous. Advertising agency: McCann-Erickson, Zurich. Production: Wirz & Fraefel. Director: Ernst Wirz. Flims Laax Falera: Client: Alpenarena.ch. Advertising agency: AY&R. Production: Chocolate Films. Director: Benjamin Kempf. Swiss-Kurier - dog/man: Commissioned by: Swiss Post, Expresspost. Advertising agency: Lang Gysi Knoll. Production: Chocolate Films. Director: Rainer Binz. Hitchhiker: Client: Randstad. Advertising agency: McCann-Erickson, Zurich. Production: Wirz & Fraefel. Director: Claude Catsky/Stefan Fraefel. Mobiliar - Towing: Client: Die Mobiliar, Bern. Advertising agency: Publicis, Zurich. Production: Wirz & Fraefel. Director: Ernst Wirz, Stefan Fraefel. Swisscom - Mafia: Client: Swisscom. Advertising agency: Publicis, Zurich. Production: Blood Sweat&Tears Ltd. Director: Christiane Brunner-Schwer.

NetRatings bought Jupiter Media Metrix at a bargain priceBy Stefano Monachesi NetRatings is on a shopping spree: the internet research company has acquired its competitor Jupiter Media Metrix (JMM) at a bargain price.
NetRatings only had to put 71.2 million dollars on the table to buy the shares of JMM. Although this amount is 200 percent higher than JMM's current share price, it can still be considered a bargain price. JMM had a turnover of 142.8 million dollars last year and landed a much more expensive fish last year: Media Metrix bought Jupiter Communications for 414 million dollars in June 2000.
ACNielsen eRatings.com is now also fully owned by NetRatings. The Internet usage research company was previously run as a joint venture between NetRatings and ACNielsen.
There is still uncertainty about the two Swiss panels
It is not yet clear how the market will be redivided. For the time being, there are two different Internet panels internationally. In Switzerland, the panels are run by ACNielsen eRatings and MMXI Switzerland, which is 80% owned by IHA GfM and 20% by JMM.
However, this will change in the foreseeable future. To whose benefit, however, is still uncertain. NetRatings CEO Dave Toth: "NetRatings first wants to evaluate the various panels and survey customers before making a decision." MMXI Managing Director Urs Wolfensberger said: "In the long term, it certainly doesn't make sense to operate two panels in Switzerland." He assumes that the MMXI panel will be continued.
This is supported by both the market situation and the quality of the measurement software. MMXI has also concluded long-term contracts with customers. These arguments could also be supported by the international sales figures: NetRatings only achieved a turnover of just 20.4 million dollars last year.
And Fiona Holdsworth, Head of Communications at ACNielsen eRatings.com, revealed - without saying much - at least the trends: "The merger allows us to offer an improved service thanks to Jupiter's research and NetRatings' measurement and analysis."

Curti Medien Holding on the brink of dissolutionThe Basler Mediengruppe (BMG) streamlined itself in September: Following the definitive transfer of the Winterthur printing plant and the ColorServ company to Ringier, internal financial transactions in the double-digit million range were also carried out. Specifically, the share capital of Basler Mediengruppe Holding was reduced from CHF 24.9 million to CHF 1.245 million and, according to Meyer, invested in operating companies. Meyer did not want to say which ones and whether the new Weltwoche was one of the beneficiaries.
The money had previously been tied up within BMG Holding in the practically inactive Curti Medien Holding (CMH) as an AK, which is not even listed in official BMG organization charts. It is
as an umbrella over Jean Frey AG and several smaller companies, a remnant of the takeover in the mid-1990s. In the BMG structures, however, CMH is now just a superfluous and until recently overcapitalized link between the parent company in Basel and its subsidiary Jean Frey AG. The boards of directors of CMH and Jean Frey are also identical in terms of personnel, which ties up unnecessary human resources, says Meyer. The dissolution of CMH is therefore being clarified and is probably only a matter of time. In fact, CMH was virtually cleaned up before the reduction in the number of employees in September: CM Anlagen AG in Meilen was taken over by BMG and ABC Verlag was incorporated into Jean Frey AG.
The BMG CEO speaks of an organizational restructuring and "streamlining". "We're only at the beginning," he says, but doesn't want to reveal any more. Just this much: duplication is to be eliminated and the organization made more efficient. Markus Knöpfli