There was a surprise winner in the pitch for Volkswagen's new luxury model: Grabarz & Partner from Hamburg came out on top against seven competitors.NewsVW goes to Grabarz & Partner
Among those beaten are Weber Hodel Schmid, Zurich, and VW's main agency DDB Berlin, which has been working for the Wolfsburg-based group for 36 years. Grabarz was founded in 1993 and employs 53 people with billings of 68 million marks.
Intel moves from Paris to LondonThe American processor manufacturer Intel has shifted its European budget within Euro RSCG. Instead of Euro RSCG Works in Paris as before, the London-based Euro RSCG Wnek Gosper is now responsible. The budget amounts to around 50 million dollars. A team of over 40 people will be formed to manage it, working together with local Euro RSCG branches.
Bild increases circulationThe German tabloid Bild was able to halt the downward trend in circulation in the first quarter of 2001. "Europe's largest daily newspaper", as it is called in a press release, increased by 41 085 or 0.97 percent to 4 289 491 copies. The figures were confirmed by the neutral circulation research institute IVW. The publisher sees the growth as confirmation of the changes made with the change of editor-in-chief in January.
Lowe Lintas GGK Agency of the Year in Austria At EDward 2000, Lowe Lintas GGK was voted "Agency Of The Year" with 141 creative points, ahead of Demner, Merlicek & Bergmann with 103 and Direct & More with 36 points. Managing Director Geri Aebi was delighted with the award, "because it proves that we have an impressive overall creative track record, even in the not always easy merger year 2000". The Austrian trade magazine ExtraDienst has been awarding the EDward advertising prize every year since 1987.

In April, the men and women of the Publicis agency take advantage of the opportunity and invite guests to the Sechseläuten event. by Beat Fritsch The offices of the creative forge offer an optimal view of the Sechseläutenwiese, the annual execution site of the Böögg.
Customers and friends of the hotel are happy to accept this invitation, as the guaranteed rainproof observation point elevates you to the rank of a fictitious guild member. The view of the crowds of pedestrians in the streets around Bellevue is free of charge from the public terrace.
And finally, Theaterstrasse is no slouch when it comes to food and drink. While the street canyons were filled with mundane sausages and bread and beer, a few meters further up there were exquisite canapés, fine puff pastries, numerous desserts, juicy meat skewers, spicy porcini mushroom risotto, rustic Älplermagronen and sparkling Cüpli, fine Tinto and full-bodied Chablis.
The visitors were full of praise for the successful event, although not everyone was able to get a box seat by the window. But they had thought of that too.
In the meeting room, anyone who wanted to could follow the live broadcast of the burning of the Bööggen on television.
The quality of the event was also reflected in the guest list, which included a number of communications celebrities. Neither Matthias Luchsinger nor Tarkan Özküp from RMB missed out on the event as they chatted with Roger Baur from Qualiclick and Markus Cavegn from Seiler DDB on the covered terrace. Hans-Jürg Gränicher from Media Focus admitted to us that this was his first Sechseläuten ever. We met ADC Managing Director Helen Müller, SW press officer Piero Schäfer, Max Weber from WHA, Bruno Oetterli from Radiotele and Roland Ehrler from Swisscom in the aisles of Publicis. Also seen: from Tamedia AG Daniel Pauletto and Urs Keller, Uli Rubner from Weltwoche and from NZZ Deputy Editor-in-Chief Kenneth Angst with Wolfgang Frei and Julia Köpfli. Last but not least, we ran into Kilian Gasser, Claudia Gillardon and Nicole Costa from Facts in the stairwell. Not forgetting the numerous Publicis employees, who could be recognized by the badge they wore. Around 250 visitors cavorted in the agency premises with a view of the lake.
In addition to the usual gossip, for once advertisers could not escape the predominant topic at Sechseläuten: the weather. It was excellent this year, the Zurich guilds probably caught the only sunny day of the month for their festival. However, if the wet weather we've had recently continues in the future, we could drown the Böögg instead of burning it, according to the somewhat idiosyncratic but thoroughly likeable suggestion of one of the advertising guildsmen. Guild members in diving suits look much sexier...
In Zurich's politically left-wing circles, the parade of the guildsmen is often referred to as the parade of disguised tax evaders. The Böögg is not only supposed to predict the weather, but increasingly also the economy. And is therefore naturally also a forecaster for the coming advertising weather. The fact that the Böögg's head only came off his shoulders at exactly 6.26 minutes 28 seconds suggests a rather mediocre summer for the advertising business.
Beat Fritsch

As a die-hard Zurich resident, he carries the Böögg on his hands instead of blowing the Sechseläuten march. This year, the white man took almost half an hour before he died with a big bang. The whole thing was observed at Publicis, the only Swiss advertising agency with a view of the Sechseläutenwiese and Böögg.
Anyone who meets up at the various advertising events will be located at the numerous events in the scene. Do you already have something to report? Pick up the phone (01 296 97 98) or hit the keys ([email protected]). Event tips and further shortlist images are available online at www.werbewoche.ch

Jörg Rindlisbacher, CEO, CCO Impiric, chaired the jury for the Swiss Direct Marketing Award 2001 "Swiss direct marketing people are undisputed specialists in their field"
On Friday, April 27, the Swiss Direct Marketing Award will be presented for the third time at an award night at TMC Glattbrugg. A jury of 16 specialists assessed over 240 entries. Jury President Jörg Rindlisbacher considers the competition to be of a high standard and would prefer to speak of dialog marketing rather than direct marketing in future.
What did you enjoy most about the jury's work and where were there discussions?
Jörg Rindlisbacher: It was actually a lot of fun. We had a lot of discussions, but they were very constructive. The jury was new and well put together. I am happy about the addition of creative people from communications. The jury was divided into two groups: Creatives and Direct Marketers. Both groups naturally had a different point of view, which made the discussions very dynamic.
Did the creative providers and the marketing people as representatives of the target audience always agree in the end?
Rindlisbacher: If you carefully analyze the distribution of points on the answer sheets marked with two colors, you can see that only a few awards did not quite match up. For example, twenty creative points and only five direct marketing points or vice versa. However, this was only the case two or three times. So there was more harmony than divergence. For me, the advertisers were able to bring good pragmatism to the assessment.
What are the most important criteria by which you have judged?
Rindlisbacher: Direct marketing is one of the few disciplines in the communications industry where you can measure the results very precisely. There are very clear mechanisms. You are subject to them, and a direct mail piece is also constructed on the basis of these mechanisms. If the piece does not have this legislation, it is not successful. However, these laws are not necessarily conducive to creation. The key to successful mail is to find the best combination of these laws and creativity. Whoever was able to bring this together well was successful in our competition.
How would you rate the standard of the 240 entries?
Rindlisbacher: There are ten different categories, and these have also produced different qualities. In classic direct marketing, where you are subject to these laws much more intensively, we have fewer creative influences because it simply doesn't allow it. Here I have the feeling that direct marketing works in a straitjacket. In other disciplines, such as integrated communication or the Internet, creativity is very high and was praised accordingly by the jury. The completely new disciplines such as direct-response TV have not yet shown many entries and quality this year. There is still work to be done. Overall, I can speak of high quality. Swiss direct marketing people are undisputed specialists in their field.
This year you had to judge 20 percent more entries than last year. Is there more going on in the DM area or has the prize become more popular?
Rindlisbacher: Both. The prize has certainly become more popular and well organized. On the other hand, dialog marketing has become an important further development of direct marketing. Dialog marketing has become an irresistible field of communication.
Does this also improve the positioning of this discipline - compared to traditional advertising?
Rindlisbacher: I don't want to get into that discussion. In future, I would just call it dialog marketing. The Internet in particular has significantly expanded the field. Dialog is therefore more than just direct.
What importance do you attach to the special SME prize?
Rindlisbacher: It is important that this special SME prize exists. We have been able to evaluate good work that was not done by agencies, but by smaller in-house companies. It is important that we also promote these activities and not just a mail piece with a budget of one million francs behind it.
Are there any visible new trends?
Rindlisbacher: One trend that can certainly be identified is that dialog tasks or overall campaigns are increasingly being carried out by dialog specialists as lead agencies. If dialog is at the heart of the strategy, the entire campaign comes from the direct marketing kitchen and not the other way around, as was previously the case when an advertising agency also designed a DM piece on the side.
What changes will the Internet bring in the future?
Rindlisbacher: The Internet will have an intensive influence on dialog marketing and will become an essential discipline. Where does it make sense for which company? This development is foreseeable. The Internet has not made direct marketing any easier. But thanks to the new technology, it has become much more precise in terms of data management. There used to be large centers for such tasks. Today, many are already working with their own databases.
Do you see any problems with data protection here?
Rindlisbacher: There are no problems with data protection if you behave according to its rules. But if you don't comply with data protection, you will very quickly run into problems. But it's not in our interests as dialog communicators to circumvent the Data Protection Act. Interview: Andreas Panzeri
The ten categories of the DM Prize 2001

- Business-to-consumer mailings
- Business-to-Business mailings
- Scatter advertising/inserts/take-ones
- Display
- Direct response TV spots
- Interactive Media
- Integrated campaigns - use of at least three media
- International campaigns
- Agency self-promotion
- SME Special Award Direct Marketing Services (SMEs with a maximum of 250 employees)

Affinity of advertisements among supporters in "Yuppieland "Best of Print AdvertisingThe advertising hits 2000 from the Advertising Index of the market research institute Demoscope
In cooperation with the market research institute Demoscope, Publimedia presents the readers of WerbeWoche five times a year with an excerpt from the
Results from the Advertising Index (AX Print). This index (see box) is a module of the Market Radar and measures the popularity of advertising subjects. In the top two rows are those subjects that achieved the greatest acceptance in the relevant psychographic target group (see wind rose). The three subjects that
in the entire sample, i.e. in all four target groups, performed best in the past year are shown under the heading "Top three".

Affinity of ads among supporters in the "Christian camp "Best of Print AdvertisingThe Advertising Hits 2000 from the Advertising Index of the market research institute Demoscope
In cooperation with the market research institute Demoscope, Publimedia presents the readers of WerbeWoche five times a year with an excerpt from the
Results from the Advertising Index (AX Print). This index (see box) is a module of the Market Radar and measures the popularity of advertising subjects. In the top two rows are those subjects that achieved the greatest acceptance in the relevant psychographic target group (see wind rose). The three subjects that
in the entire sample, i.e. in all four target groups, performed best in the past year are shown under the heading "Top three".

Brainstore in Biel and Sparks in Zurich sell ideas to orderBy Bruno AmstutzEven an abstract commodity like ideas can be marketed with the right strategy. The agencies Brainstore and Sparks deal with ideas and flashes of inspiration and developed a clever business idea for the business with ideas.
If his wife invests ten francs and fifteen minutes of her time, Mr. Meier will actually be in for a surprise this year when he opens his birthday present. That is, if Mrs. Meier does not buy another tie for her husband, but instead has a more original gift suggestion worked out during a flying visit to the Brainstore. The Biel Ideas Shop has been offering fresh ideas "over the counter" since 1997.
However, business with such small customers is only one side of Brainstore's business, because large companies such as Novartis, Migros, Coop, Crossair and General Motors also use the services of the think tank. Brainstore does not want to be perceived as an advertising agency. "We are not only focused on product marketing," says Nadja Schnetzler, co-founder of Brainstore, "we also develop ideas for logistical concepts, new services, teaching aids or Expo projects. In addition, we conduct market research and trend scouting." Brainstore's service also consists exclusively of brainstorming - the implementation is left to others.
In an initial "visioning phase," people from a wide variety of backgrounds are brought together for a brainstorming session: experts, laypeople, and trendsetters. Traditionally, young people are often among them. Under the name Dactis, the Brainstore founders have been running an agency for youth marketing since 1989, which preferred to bring advertising agencies and youth opinion leaders to the same table. Meanwhile, according to Nadja Schnetzler, Brainstore has a network of 2500 people with contacts throughout Europe and the USA.
The market is big enough for two companies
Rainer Holzinger and Umberto Pajarola, the founders of Sparks AG, based in Zurich, are pursuing a similar concept. They, too, use a network of young people as a creative tool. However, their "brain pool" is limited to around 100 people. Accordingly, the brainstorming sessions take place on a smaller scale. "If Brainstore is described as loud, big on media, show and action, Sparks would be more quiet, small and efficient," Rainer Holzinger tries to sum up the difference between the agencies, adding, "Both companies are creative in their own way, but they move at opposite ends of the spectrum."
Sparks has only been in existence since July 2000, but in six months it has acquired a substantial portfolio of clients: SF DRS, the Kunsthaus Zürich, Schering (Schweiz) AG, NET-VR AG, and the advertising agencies Publicis and Lowe Lintas GGK. "We knew Brainstore existed," Holzinger says, "but we were convinced that the market was big enough for two companies of this kind." In addition to developing ideas and original concepts, Sparks also offers clients quick and easy pretests and surveys, which can be an interesting addition, especially for advertising agencies.
Brainstore focuses on the one hand on speed and on the other hand on the quantity of the output. According to Nadja Schnetzler, while advertising agencies often have only three to four ideas as a basis for concepts, Brainstore creates a much larger pool of ideas. A fast output of the brainstorming is also part of the methodology at Brainstore.
Fast decision-making also appreciated by large companies
In this respect, Ms. Meier serves as an exercise object: An idea has to be generated for her within a quarter of an hour. "This gives us inputs in the idea generation process," says Nadja Schnetzler. The private customers' low level of communicative know-how would have to be countered with the right questions in order to arrive at a meaningful briefing. "The process of conceptualization, visualization and quality control is played out in a very short time in these small projects," adds the idea broker. The financial reward for these efforts is rather symbolic, but this is outweighed by the experience gained.
Various large companies rely on this wealth of experience. Regular customers include the Federal Office of Public Health, Swiss Post and the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB). For example, the concept for the Gleis 7 youth card came from the think tank.
In any case, the concept of Brainstore and Sparks seems to be proving its worth and is increasingly successful: Brainstore now employs 35 people and achieved sales of 4 million Swiss francs in 2000.

The country needs young creative talent! X-Art, the school and studios for applied design, has been aware of this for a long time. That's why, in 1986, graphic designer Hanspeter Paoli and two colleagues founded the private school as a practice-oriented training center for design in Fahrweid/Dietikon. Starting with Macintosh computer courses, the program was expanded over time to include diploma courses for electronic publishers, screen and multimedia designers. In addition, two years ago, the initiators created the "Creative Year", an equal alternative to the preliminary course of common art schools. Starting this summer, two new courses in design and copywriting will be offered: Designer and Copywriter Marketing Communications. The two-year training courses include subject-specific lessons as well as joint lessons, as representatives of the two creative professions also work very closely together in practice. "X-Art is responding to the fact that although the advertising industry is the most important employer of communication designers, no design school prepares its students for the specific requirements of the industry," says Hanspeter Paoli, head of school and now sole owner of X-Art, explaining the new introductions. The in-service courses are to start annually in the future Detailed information can be obtained from [email protected]. (sk)

The Mex (aka Musenalp Express) is being revamped with direct marketing spiritBy Markus KnöpfliThe editorial team and marketing of the Mex are to become more professional. In terms of content, the youth title is being made more "grown-up" and in some cases trimmed to become a customer magazine. In short: Mex may not reappear until August, but the signature of direct marketing agency Factum is already visible.
The direct marketing agency Factum will probably already carry out some retouching of the Mex's external appearance and logo, but it is not yet clear exactly how extensive the visual corrections will be. There is still time for such external changes, as the magazine will not be published again (still ten times a year) until August 24 after the stop at the end of last year. Factum founder and managing director Valentino Mauriello considers the conceptual changes to be much more important. Mex will continue to be called Mex - with the subtitle Musenalp Express. In addition, Mex will continue to write for readers. However, in future this section will only be one of five regular sections alongside Music/Film, Style/Trends, Pinboard/Small Ads and the main topic.
The target audience of 15 years and older remains the same, but based on last year's Mach Basic figures, which were collected during the Ringier era of Mex, the aim is to focus the content more strongly on 20 to 29-year-olds. This is because the Wemf data showed that, unlike previously assumed and targeted, the average reader is
24 years old and very interested in personal training and development. The advice service will therefore be a top priority in future. An editorial team is already in place.
Easy-Jet may take Mex on board as a customer magazine
In terms of distribution, Factum will also continue with the old system. 114,000 Ringier addresses have been taken over, including 10,000 paying subscribers (previously CHF 30 per year), 9,000 additional individual addresses and 12,000 addresses of recipients from the school channel. Total initial circulation: 120000 copies for sure. However, Mauriello is also looking into distribution via Kiosk AG for the first time in Mex's history. Negotiations are also currently underway with the airline Easy-Jet, which may want to take Mex under its wing as a customer magazine.
And this is where Factum's direct marketing signature becomes visible: Easy-Jet is just one of several possible companies that could turn Mex into their customer magazine. The title and cover would be adapted to the respective corporate design, and four pages inside could be designed according to requirements.
Such partnerships would of course significantly increase Mex's (initial) circulation. Mauriello is also convinced that 170000 copies could be possible sooner or later.
Expansion is being sought, but not abroad
Other offers to advertisers include advertorials, a type of double-page, regular publicity report, as well as inserts or supplements. Factum has entrusted the St.Gallen company Mediax with its advertising marketing.
Incidentally, it cannot be ruled out that Mex will be combined with a mail-order business. This would bring back a concept from the early days of Mex under Otmar Beerli. "We have various inquiries that are currently being examined," says Mauriello. Factum is also toying with the idea of expanding Mex into French-speaking Switzerland. However, expansion into other (German-speaking) countries is out of the question for Mauriello: "Mex is a typically Swiss concept," he says.

Pascal Fleury, new director of the free newspaper Lausanne Cités, on the value of informationHead of the week "The free newspaper is the future" /
The 29-year-old director of the free newspaper Lausanne Cités was born into the publishing industry. As the son of a Geneva publisher, Pascal Fleury also had a brief taste of banking, first as an apprentice and later in the marketing department. He trained as a "généraliste de la communication" at Sawi. He learned the finer points of media planning at MQI, Lausanne. He then quickly moved into publishing. At Edipresse, he was most recently in charge of marketing for Le Matin.
With Lausanne Cités, he wants to get even closer to local events. The free newspaper is to become the "eye of Lausanne", and its inhabitants are to wait impatiently every Thursday for the newspaper to appear, providing them with information from their immediate surroundings.
Lausanne Cités aims to differentiate itself from the daily newspapers in the editorial section by being close to its readers. Pascal Fleury is not bothered by the fact that his newspaper is free: "The future belongs to the free newspaper, because people are less and less willing to pay for information that they can get for free elsewhere."
According to Fleury, the fact that information is becoming ever more ephemeral and increasingly losing its material value cannot be stopped. Perhaps this is why he enjoys reading history books and is interested in archaeology in his spare time. He also argues that the so-called free newspaper has long since moved away from the former style of the official gazette and developed into an attractive platform.
Lausanne Cités underwent a facelift last year, which is entirely in line with the wishes of the new director. The fact that the free newspapers have shed their cheap image can also be seen in the profile of advertising clients. Today, renowned companies also advertise in free newspapers. For the advertising client, the sales price of a newspaper is not decisive anyway. They make their selection based on the criteria of target audience, reach and circulation figures.
So if he is specifically looking for a local audience, he will advertise in Lausanne Cités and not in a national daily newspaper. Today, a free newspaper also reaches people from all social classes. Fleury also sees a major development in the editorial area. Lausanne Cités has an editorial share of 35 percent, and he expects journalists who work for a local paper to have a special affinity for local events.
Fleury is mortally unhappy when he hears that someone has simply thrown "his" newspaper away without reading it. In general, he is close to the daily events in his newspaper and doesn't just sit isolated in the management office. He wants to know exactly what the customer wants. So it can happen that he intervenes personally when a customer complains loudly at reception. Anita Vaucher

Eric Honegger, former chairman of the board of directors of the SAir Group and still holding the same position at AG für die Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ), is causing the NZZ editorial staff more and more image problems. This is especially true given that Honegger’s reelection is on the agenda for the NZZ’s annual general meeting on May 5. In an article published on April 21, the editorial staff therefore made an urgent appeal to their own Board Chairman to show a willingness to compromise regarding his salary demands at SAir. Otherwise, the NZZ risks further damage to its reputation (in NZZ jargon, this is called a «Scherbengericht»). At the same time, the editorial staff asserts its independence from the NZZ Board of Directors, citing the NZZ Articles of Incorporation and the Editorial Charter. Thus, it is «in itself completely irrelevant who sits on the NZZ Board of Directors.» Only «in itself.» Not really. SATISFYING DISOBEDIENCE. In a pitch to their long-standing client Scotch to promote Post-it Notes and Post-it Index sticky notes, creative consultants Bruno Caderas, Martin Metz, and Pierre Vieli proposed just one campaign—instead of the two that had been requested. The creative trio was promptly awarded the contract. Because a single campaign puts less strain on the production and media budgets than two would. But also because the tandem campaign—which simultaneously demonstrates the use of both products—ironically plays on the specified positioning «for home use.» This is illustrated, for example, by a creative concept featuring the «Kama Sutra,» which is hardly likely to be among the favorite reading material of the average Swiss man or woman.

Cannes Festival Relaunches Website. The international advertising festival in Cannes has relaunched its website. In addition to information about the festival and the competition, Canneslions.com now features a "Who's Who" of last year's participants as well as those already registered for 2001. The archive features all the winners from the last ten festivals as well as all entries submitted over the past three years.
Water on the Internet. With its newly launched website, www.l-eau.ch, Henniez—Switzerland’s leading mineral water producer—aims to spark a conversation about water in our society. The website of the Vaud-based company is linked to other sites covering the same topic in order to explore the phenomenon of water in its many different forms. www.l-eau.ch also provides information about the unique characteristics of mineral water. A nationwide study conducted in 1999 showed that mineral water is the most commonly consumed beverage among young people aged 15 to 30.
USM with Hutter at the UBS Open in Gstaad. Swiss furniture manufacturer USM, one of the main sponsors of the UBS Open tennis tournament in Gstaad, is giving Swiss artist Schang Hutter the opportunity to showcase his sculptures at the event. The life-size figures will be displayed in the UBS Open Village, either at eye level or suspended high above visitors’ heads.
Advertisers have kids, too. When the weather starts to warm up again soon, the creative community will face a double challenge—at least for those with young children. After all, the kids will be just as eager for stimulating entertainment as the advertisers are during the week. Should advertisers find themselves in a creative rut, the fourth, expanded, and updated edition of the travel and excursion guide *Kids – Kinderland Schweiz*—featuring 1,001 original and extraordinary ideas—has recently become available to them. The volume was published in
K Tipp Verlag (ISBN 3-9521676-3-0).
INTERACTIVE GAME SHOW. For more than a year now, visitors to the Swiss Museum of Transport in Lucerne have been able to marvel at a virtual space journey to the year 2099. This game, in which viewers can interactively influence the plot of a film, was conceived and developed by the Marketprofi team from Aarau. Now, these interactive media specialists have already presented a new generation of interactive high-tech tools at a future-themed event for marketing executives. In addition to a «LaserContact Game Show» and indoor pyrotechnics, they tested Marketprofi’s latest infotainment and promotional games. The promotional games can also be rented for a futuristic «Interact Promotion.» Details can be found at www.marketprofi.ch.
Editorial

A Shelter for the Fugitive?
«All well-being rests on pairing / Just as life rests on poetry / May Maggi’s soup seasoning / Never be missing from Maggi’s dishes!» Never again have verses comparable to these been dedicated to a bouillon cube. The client was the Swiss industrialist Julius Maggi, patron of the scandal-plagued poet Frank Wedekind («Lulu»). His lively lines, written in the most beautiful Sütterlin script, nearly ended up in the Maggi shredder years ago. The manuscripts—once meticulously graded by Maggi himself—were saved by the skin of their teeth.
Fortunately. The advertising industry’s sense of history is underdeveloped. Advertising often survives only in the memories of its creators. What gets forgotten is the fact that the history of advertising also reflects the aesthetic values and social context of its origins. Once it has fallen out of the fleeting commercial cycle, it represents something of an archive of social relationships, worldviews, and distillations of the spirit of the times.
The Swiss brand museum Marcarama was supposed to open its doors next year. That won’t be happening for the time being. According to its promoters, the project has been put on hold due to a lack of interest. While advertising and communication museums are springing up across Europe (see page 14 and WW 15/01), we lack the funds. «We completely underestimated the financial costs of a professional brand museum,» admits Urs Beer, one of Marcarama’s promoters. But they don’t want to give up just yet. It would be a shame if Switzerland—of all countries, the one with the highest proportion of private-label brands in Europe—couldn’t afford a brand museum. Samuel Helbling

Centralized advertising at the PoS is not only on the rise in the audio sector, but also in the video sectorBy Clemens HörlerThanks to modern technology, store and restaurant chains can control advertising at the point of sale (PoS) ever more centrally and quickly. Up to now, audio systems have been used in particular, but centralized video systems are also on the rise.
A few years ago, when a detergent promotion was advertised in a supermarket, the store manager, who was chronically suffering from euphoria, was usually behind the microphone - or a tape was played that had been sent by post or courier from head office to all stores. This meant a considerable amount of work, especially for companies with numerous points of sale.
For some years now, more and more department stores, supermarkets, restaurant chains and other companies with many branches have been using modern technologies that allow them to organize announcements centrally and transmit them via satellite or cable.
It can be determined in which stores which announcement should be played. The stimulating background music at the PoS is also coordinated in this way and designed uniformly in all stores. The music programs offer an alternative to radio stations, especially when they play advertising: The text-free programs can prevent a Migros commercial from suddenly booming through the loudspeakers at Coop or vice versa.
The Migros Cooperative Zurich (GMZ) has been using ProSat, the central system for in-house music programs and advertising from Europhone, for over a year. "In the past, employees in all branches were trained to speak advertising announcements," recalls Hannes Schibli, Head of Advertising at GMZ. This is no longer necessary today.
Maintaining individuality and corporate image
According to Schibli, the Migros Cooperative Zurich selects five to ten products, services or special price advantages every week. The spots are produced on Friday and are then broadcast in the stores from Tuesday. The only exceptions are smaller stores that do not have a reception system.
However, many announcements still have to be organized locally, for example when 200 strawberry baskets have to be saved from going mouldy at store X shortly before closing time. "The central system replaces the local announcements for the most part, but the store managers still have the right to make special announcements," explains Schibli.
"The individuality of each sales outlet must not be disregarded; however, a uniform appearance of an entire chain is important for the corporate image of a company, and this is only possible with a centralized system," says Walter Reinhard, Partner at Auris GmbH, Muntelier, with conviction.
Auris also recently launched Point-of-Sale-Radio, a centrally managed electronic system for acoustic and visual sales promotion.
Visual central systems are also on the rise
According to Europhone, it is the market leader for such systems in Switzerland: its customers include Coop Basel, Bern, Zurich and Winterthur, Migros Zurich and Bern, Pick Pay, Globus, ABM, EPA, Mövenpick, Manor, Möbel Pfister, as well as Credit Suisse and UBS. Depending on their needs, they only use the standardized or specially tailored music programs or they also broadcast advertising via ProSat to the individual stores.
Richard Koch, Managing Director of Europhone Switzerland, sees the future of central PoS programs not only in the audio sector: "In the future, video broadcasts will also become more important, especially in larger stores, and the systems for this are already under development. Our product should be ready for the market in about three or four months."
The trend is moving towards
moving pictures
However, with the expensive screens and infrastructure costs for data transmission, such central video systems are expensive fun. This is why local solutions are more likely to be used, if at all. "Companies often don't know what kind of program they should play between commercial breaks," says Koch, explaining the reluctance of many companies.
In the USA, a trend towards moving images can certainly be seen, including at solution provider E Ink Corporation. The company caused a stir two years ago with large advertising posters in American department stores. These consisted of electronic ink on digital paper. The messages or images on the posters could be changed centrally and quickly on the computer; poster stickers were no longer necessary.
In future, E Ink would also like to bring more movement to electronic posters in order to generate even more attention. The US company is convinced that it can attract a large number of customers to its technology. After all, advertising at the point of sale plays an important role in the United States with an annual spend of 14 billion dollars and is the third-largest advertising category behind TV and print advertising.

With JCDecaux's entry into Europlakat, Affichage's coziness is now overJCDecaux and Affichage are still cautious about their future partnership at Europlakat (EPI). However, the written interview with Affichage CEO Christian Kauter and the verbal interview with Jean-François Decaux show that JCDecaux is more interested in pushing ahead: JCDecaux is more on the push, Affichage more on the defensive.Thanks to the joint venture with B&C Holding, JCDecaux is strengthening its presence in Austria and Eastern Europe. How does this expansion benefit you?
Jean-François Decaux: By taking control of Gewista, we are now operating in Austria for the first time, with a market share of 40 percent. Europlakat (EPI) brings us synergies in Eastern Europe.
JCDecaux was previously present in Poland, Hungary and above all in the Czech and Slovak Republics with street furniture (bus shelters, advertising pillars), whereas EPI is primarily strong with large surfaces. These activities are complementary. We also see EPI's entry as an important step towards consolidating the Eastern European poster market, which is still very fragmented.
Does JCDecaux want to contribute its wholly-owned Eastern European subsidiaries to EPI?
Decaux: That is our goal, but how we do it is still open.
If you add up the voting rights that JCDecaux has in EPI via Gewista and Affichage, you arrive at 53.5 percent. However, there is now a "parity cooperation agreement" between Gewista and Affichage. Will you still adhere to this in future?
Decaux: The voting rights are not cumulative. But the new situation naturally requires changes at EPI, which we want to discuss with Affichage in the near future. The contract will also be an issue. We clearly want to use EPI as a vehicle for our expansion in Eastern Europe. But we also want to
remain in the spirit of the 50-50 agreement.
EPI was one of the first outdoor advertisers to become active in Eastern European countries. Why was JCDecaux more cautious?
Decaux: Anyone who, like us, is primarily active in the street furniture sector has to make significantly higher investments than if you are setting up poster sites. We need political security and exclusive contracts. In Moscow, for example, the city authorities did not honor the exclusive contract with a German poster company. However, too much competition destroys the concept of uniform street furniture, which also includes an infrastructure for maintenance.
Until now, Affichage has denied you a say in Affichage's own Board of Directors despite your 30 percent stake. With EPI, however, Affichage will now have to cooperate with JCDecaux. How will that work?
Decaux: As I said, we still need to talk about that. But it's actually already working very well. Two weeks ago, we heard that the Polish media company Agora had tried to take over AMS, Poland's largest listed outdoor advertising company, in an unfriendly manner. I then called Christian Kauter and, with his approval, I immediately made AMS shareholders a friendly offer that would initially give JCDecaux, and later EPI, 20 percent of the AMS voting rights. So we have already taken action together at short notice. We won't know whether our action will be a complete success until the end of April, but we have already achieved a partial success because Agora withdrew its offer.
Now that you have joined EPI, will you also revisit the issue of having a say on the Affichage Board of Directors?
Decaux: We are still waiting for the decision of the Competition Commission. But of course we don't like the transfer restriction clause at Affichage at all. We can't have the same number of votes with our 30 percent stake as Clear Channel, for example, which has an 8 percent stake in Affichage. Especially not since Affichage and we are now strategic partners in Eastern Europe.
Couldn't your entry into EPI now have a negative impact on the share price?
May 7, the forthcoming decision by the ComCo?
Decaux: No, I don't think so, the Competition Commission is looking into the competitive situation in Switzerland. But there have never been any agreements between Affichage and JCDecaux, not even with regard to foreign business. Affichage also applied to buy the B&C stake in Gewista; even there we were competitors.
Does JCDecaux's investment in Europlakat (EPI) come as a surprise to you?
Christian Kauter: It has been known for some time that Bank Austria will sell its 51 percent stake in Gewista and that JCDecaux is interested in buying it. We also knew that Bank Austria preferred JCDecaux as a buyer to the Clear Channel Group, which also owns Plakanda.
What do you think of the new partner at EPI?
Kauter: As you know, JCDecaux is the largest provider of outdoor advertising in Europe and is now continuing its expansion strategy in Eastern Europe.
There is an "equal cooperation agreement on strategic issues" between Austrian Gewista and Affichage regarding EPI. Will this remain in place?
Kauter: Yes, that is contractually stipulated.
Then it is more than just a piece of paper in view of the fact that JCDecaux has achieved a cumulative voting majority of 53.5 percent via Gewista and Affichage.
Kauter: There is no reason for Affichage to doubt compliance with this agreement. Moreover, the two shareholdings are not cumulative. The shareholding ratio in EPI, a joint venture between Affichage and Gewista, is still 49 to 51 percent. The co-determination rights are defined in the cooperation agreement.
The situation at EPI must now be ambivalent for Affichage: In Switzerland, you have so far denied JCDecaux access to the Affichage Board of Directors; at EPI, you will now have to negotiate with him.
Kauter: We have always considered cooperation with JCDecaux abroad as a prospect. Opening up new markets is capital-intensive. A partnership-based solution is in our interest. The situation is different on the domestic market. Here, Affichage has proven that it understands the out-of-home business, sets international benchmarks and does not need a partner to survive.
A look into the future: How will EPI change with JCDecaux?
Kauter: I expect a standardization of poster formats in the EPI countries and a more pronounced focus on profitability.
A supplementary question in a different context: Will Eric Honegger remain on the Affichage Board of Directors? Has his position ever been under discussion in recent weeks? Or will this question be on the agenda at the upcoming Affichage AGM?
Kauter: Eric Honegger enjoys the full confidence of the Board of Directors. He is a member of the Board of Directors elected by the AGM of Affichage Holding until 2003.
Interviews: Markus Knöpfli
JCDecaux controls Europlakat

At the beginning of April, the French outdoor advertising company JCDecaux took control of the Austrian poster company Gewista and thus also of its Eastern European subsidiary Europlakat, in which Affichage Holding holds 49 percent (WW 15/01). B&C-Holding, which as a financial investor manages the shares of Gewista's previous majority shareholder Bank Austria, and JCDecaux establish a joint venture called JCDecaux Central Eastern Europe Holding (DCEE), in which JCDecaux will hold 58.5 percent. B&C will contribute the Bank Austria share in Gewista (51 percent) to DCEE, while JCDecaux will contribute its 16 percent share in Gewista and the 30 percent share in Affichage.