HandelsZeitung hosted a panel discussion on "creative advertising trends "By Andreas PanzeriAround the presentation of "Advertising Trends 2001", HandelsZeitung also invited four leading midwives of good ideas to talk shop about "creative advertising trends". The planned search for style between new publicity and old economy ended up as a war of the roses between two generations.
"Everything is a trend," said Jean Etienne Aebi and celebrated the
For the umpteenth time at such a podium, he expressed his conviction: "Trend discussions are funny discussions. Everything that is well done has a place next to each other."
Finally, the moderator Ralph Büchi, publisher of HandelsZeitung, tickled him into making a statement worth quoting, the ADC President revealed that "real people" is certainly one of the strongest international trends.
Showing reality with "people and their stories" is also a trend for Frank Bodin. The newly appointed Executive Chairman of Euro RSCG Switzerland also noticed a "tendency towards large images" in Cannes. Bodin also sees subtlety and "more sophisticated lighting" as a trend - or in other words: "There are no more funny ideas without reference to serious brand management."
In an increasingly confusing market, the clean brand strategy will have a future. The panel agreed on this. "Well learned," commented Jean Etienne Aebi, rewarding his former student Bodin's statement with a rose from the stage decorations surrounding the sofas.
Those who advertise against the tide will be successful
This mutual award of thorny flowers was to become the running gag of the evening, as Bodin now also returned the roses to Aebi in bundles every time he made a clever remark.
On the subject of "humor in advertising", Frank Bodin also got another laugh with his analysis that the closed-minded Swiss at least have something open when they laugh - namely their mouths. Danielle Lanz immediately returned one of the roses for his sentence "Charm is always successful".
The event was also characterized by the topic of "creative disobedience". Many advertising companies have only really become top because they have swum against the tide with their campaigns. A positive example: Diesel's unconventional jeans advertising.
However, many of these brand new trends "still sail past Switzerland because we don't have enough courage to try something new". Discovering new talents would therefore not only be more creative, but also cheaper, calculated Hans Tanner from the Wirz management.
But what does it take to actually get to the top? Danielle Lanz: "The talent to accept setbacks and to take an interest in something you weren't interested in before. For example, insurance." One of her personal recipes for success: "Limiting yourself to a single message."
"Creativity also means putting your own ideas aside and dealing with the client's brief as a service provider," says Hans Tanner. But what can a client do to ensure that an agency is as creative as possible? Bodin: "Advertising should definitely be a top priority for clients. Large committees are the death knell for any creative idea."
Aebi, on the other hand, warned against being anything other than a rose-cavalier at the end: "A lot of what we advertisers do is rightly shot down because it's actually bullshit."

Only those with a multichannel strategy will pay less for new customers in the futureStrong offline brands usually have to spend less money than pure Internet providers to acquire new online customers. According to a new study by the US market research company IDC, acquiring new customers on the Internet will become noticeably more expensive over the next few years.
122 dollars. Consolidation is not expected until 2004 or 2005 at around
120 dollars. IDC counts the entire marketing expenditure used to generate new online customers as acquisition costs.
IDC cites the still fierce competition among providers for the best positions as mass or niche providers, the courting of new Internet users and the motivation of e-commerce operators due to the predicted explosion in e-commerce sales as the reasons for this.
In the future, the
For e-tailers, who have long since run out of money, it is becoming increasingly important to get the costs of customer acquisition under control. After all, the days when e-commerce providers were measured solely by their number of customers are finally over, as demonstrated by the silent exit of the largest online toy retailer eToys from the Internet stage. Costs - including for customer acquisition - are increasingly coming to the fore.
Retailers with a multichannel strategy have an advantage in the savings war. They can report lower acquisition costs than their online colleagues. According to IDC, companies that quickly convert their offline customers into online customers and use their stores or catalogs as promotional tools for their online offering will be successful. New, inexperienced users in particular are more likely to be attracted to strong offline
brands than from the Internet pioneers. Carmen Gasser

Tamara Tschuor is the new Business Manager at Reader's Digest SwitzerlandHead of the week: "I don't want to change anything, but rather expand the product range" /
March makes everything new! A variation on the well-known proverb? For the former Head of Reader Marketing at Aargauer Zeitung AG, Tamara Tschuor (32), this is certainly true. Not only did she take over the management of the Swiss branch of Reader's Digest last month, she also moved from Aarau to Zurich and started teaching as a lecturer at the Media Institute of the Swiss Press Association.
In her role as Business Manager Switzerland, Tschuor is primarily responsible for opening up new markets at Reader's Digest. Another major task is the integration of the Zurich branch into Reader's Digest GmbH in Stuttgart. The Swiss branch was integrated into the German branch in 1999. "After getting to know the publishing industry in the canton of Aargau, I was attracted by the idea of looking after an international product," says Tamara Tschuor, explaining her move.
Tamara Tschuor has been fascinated by life beyond Switzerland's borders since she was a child. As a teenager, she lived in Chicago for seven months, where her father was doing further training. Coming from a village of 2,000 people in the canton of Aargau to a big American city when you're twelve years old naturally broadens your personal horizons, she says with a laugh. Later, she traveled to Spain, Asia, Australia and again to the USA.
She gained her first professional experience at the transport and congress office in Lausanne after completing her business baccalaureate. This was followed by training as a marketing planner, which she completed at the same time as working for KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. In 1997, she joined the Aargauer Woche as an editor, where she took over the management of reader marketing for the Aargauer Woche and Aargauer Zeitung after one year's work. Along the way, she also obtained the Biga diploma for publishing specialists.
And what does the expert think about the falling circulation figures (from 201112 to 188482, according to Wemf 99) for Das Beste? "In the publishing industry, when circulation falls, you get the feeling that everything depends on this figure," replies Tschuor. "Of course, the development of circulation is also an important aspect for us, but the magazine is only one of our products. A profitable circulation is the maxim for the entire publishing house." She adds that they are very satisfied with the overall turnover in the Swiss market.
Tamara Tschuor doesn't have much free time. However, she hopes that the move to Zurich will give her a little space to pursue her hobbies, from tennis to inline skating, and above all to cultivate her circle of friends more. Simone Keller

Georges Oberson, Head of Communications at La Suisse, sees a great need for advertising for insurersThe insurance company La Suisse has a low level of brand awareness. The company's advertising presence is therefore a top priority for communications manager Georges Oberson.La Suisse has launched an image campaign. Why?
Georges Oberson: A survey has shown that La Suisse has a low level of brand awareness. As an insurer, we are also in a cut-throat market. But if you look at the advertising campaigns of the individual insurance companies, they are interchangeable. We therefore wanted a campaign that would set us apart from the competition.
Has La Suisse not communicated enough in the past?
Oberson: In general, insurance companies have communicated little in the past, in line with the motto: the less people talk about us, the better. Up to now, we have only had a small budget for advertising. We have probably advertised selectively without creating a level of awareness. It was only a year ago that the management decided to attach more importance to our public image.
The competition is very present with advertising, especially on television. Is that why you did without TV commercials for your image campaign?
Oberson: For financial reasons, we didn't do this in the first wave of the campaign.
How do you rate the concept of Publicis, Lausanne, which is rather unusual for the insurance industry?
Oberson: I sincerely hoped that something unusual would be presented. We liked the idea of the tribes. Volksstamm also means small community. Our target audience is small and medium-sized companies and families.
The posters could just as well advertise enticing vacation destinations. Do you think the man in the street will understand the message?
Oberson: The viewer will probably have to look twice to realize that the message comes from an insurance company. But that is desirable, because it will help them remember the name of the insurance company.
Should the campaign help to rejuvenate the image?
Oberson: Yes, definitely. Some insurance companies still have a somewhat dusty image. The public stereotype of insurance is that it is something complicated with lots of small print. Incidentally, we have also made a correction in this respect. We have revised all the forms. There is no more small print at La Suisse. Publicis also helps us with the wording of our brochures and forms.
Have you not considered revamping the insurance company's logo as part of this rejuvenation?
Oberson: This step would be too risky at the moment. The only change we have made is to change the background color of the lettering from white to black.
"Preserving real values" is written under the company logo. What does this claim mean to you?
Oberson: These are the original values of the insurer. Insurance should not only be taken out because of the fat premium profits. The premiums, of which one person pays a lot and another a little, should be distributed fairly and help to alleviate hardship where the individual is overwhelmed. The attitude that has increasingly prevailed since the 1980s, "The more I have paid, the more I am entitled to", is actually wrong. The idea of solidarity should once again take center stage.
You have been responsible for the company's communication for a year now. What are your priorities?
Oberson: The first priority is our public image, so that we are perceived as a dynamic insurance company and are remembered. Another priority is to develop a sponsorship program.
What plans do you have for sponsorship?
Oberson: In the past, we have supported volleyball. However, we are too small a company to be able to play with the big boys. It would also not be fair to our premium payers to try to play with the big boys. We will therefore concentrate on smaller events, including events that benefit our customers. For example, we sponsor the junior ski squad. Interview: Anita Vaucher

What the certified circulation figures tell us - and what they don'tBy Markus knöpfliThe "paid circulation" of a title certified by the AG für Werbemedienforschung (Wemf) does not necessarily correspond to the actual paid circulation. However, the Wemf regulations give publishers plenty of leeway to include marketing strategy considerations in the certification process.
Case 1: Title X was launched five years ago and recorded an average of 50,000 paid subscriptions in the first year. The number increased further to 58,000 in the second year, after the third year it was 64,000, after the fourth 68,000, and today there are 70,000 paid subscriptions. Although these figures correspond to the effective paid circulation, Wemf reported lower figures for the fictitious title in all years - at the request of the far-sighted publishing director Heini Müllermeier.
As a result, the officially certified circulation rose from an initial 44,000 in regular increments of 6,000 to 68,000 copies sold today. Müllermeier's calculation worked: Thanks to the initial low print run, he was able to conceal the slowly flattening growth curve of X - for strategic marketing reasons.
Even though he will have to switch to the actual figures from now on and thus admit to market saturation, he and his title will be labeled "successful" in the future.
Christel Plöger, the top circulation certifier at Wemf, confirms that such practices are possible. "It is not stipulated anywhere that the circulation actually sold must be certified. But the certified circulation must actually exist," she says. In the case of new launches or title mergers, she recommends that publishers start off with a low number of copies.
"Although they then forgo certain advertising revenues, they can report a steadily increasing circulation." Plöger knows that there are titles that understaff by up to 50 percent. Among the larger titles listed by WerbeWoche, however, the most serious underperformers would sell at most 5 to 10 percent below their value.
But that's not all: according to Wemf regulations, the certified "paid circulation" can also include free subscriptions, provided these do not exceed 5 percent of the paid subscriptions (see box).
Reality is what I call
Reality sell
Case 2: Title Y has been on the market for years, the certified circulation is stable and is around 120000 copies. The reported fluctuations are in the range of plus/minus 1000 copies (around 1 percent). In reality, however, the situation is much more turbulent for publishing director Heidi Meiermüller: Depending on the year, the actual paid circulation is sometimes 115,000, sometimes 121,000 and then again 119,000 copies. Meiermüllerin has sometimes used more, sometimes less of the 5 percent free subscriptions to which she is entitled during the certification process and has thus been able to report an allegedly stable circulation over a longer period of time.
Do the requirements imposed by the Wemf still give a realistic picture? Christel Plöger laughs. "Where do you still have a true picture of reality today?" she asks. "Everyone tries to get by in the way that is best for them. As long as this happens within our regulations, it's legitimate."
What the Wemf certifies as "sold circulation"

The "paid circulation" of a newspaper certified by Wemf can be made up as follows for non-association titles:1. fully paid subscriptions or subscriptions reduced by a maximum of 50 percent in Switzerland and abroad
2. trial subscriptions, which are discounted by a maximum of 50 percent. The number credited is based on the subscription duration, converted to one year
3. copies effectively sold via kiosks, vending machines
4. subscriptions for the company's own permanent staff
5. free subscriptions that are regularly delivered to schools, retirement homes, advertising customers, freelancers and others. However, these subscriptions may
5 percent of the sum of points 1 to 4. Anything in excess of this is counted as non-certified free circulation.
Publishers must submit all these figures to Wemf, but they are free to decide what and how much they want to have certified.
the elements of the Wemf edition

Free subscriptions (max. 5%
of the other support elements)
Subscriptions for company staffRetail sales (kiosk + vending machines)
Paid trial subscriptionsPaid subscriptions abroad
Paid subscriptions in GermanyComment How much
Can it be a boulevard?
First, the editor-in-chief of dimanche.ch, Jean-Philippe Ceppi, was "let go" and replaced by Jacques Pilet (Ringier). And at Le Matin, editor-in-chief Daniel Pillard was ousted. He was replaced by Theo Bouchat (Edipresse). The press in French-speaking Switzerland is desperately looking for bosses.
The disputes revolve around the fundamental question: How much tabloid can/should/must there be? Le Matin and dimanche.ch want to make newspapers for the man (woman) on the boulevard and in the bistrot. But both are so decent that it's exasperating. Only the most daring of journalists dare to refer to Zurich from time to time. But you're not allowed to do that in French-speaking Switzerland. If a boss wants to get dumped, all he has to do is tell you to take a look at the Blick.
What the French media lack is the courage to show bad taste. I am not and do not want to be a tabloid journalist. But when I see my colleague Bernhard Weissberg look me deep in the eye and headline a commentary on the Meier-Schatz story that was hyped up by the SoBli with "The hypocrites' lost game", I have to say: Chapeau, cher confrère!
If it's tabloid, there's a method to it. Christophe Büchi

Thanks to the success of print advertising, PubliGroupe is putting online flops behind itBy Christophe BüchiPubliGroupe ("P") is undeterred by the slump in the e-economy and is sticking to its Internet strategy. And the advertising business is running like clockwork. The outlook for the current year is excellent, explains "P" CEO Jean-Jacques Zaugg.
It is a well-known fact that the old generation has to lend a helping hand to the young and bail them out. And it is simply the case that the new economy, which was recently praised to the skies, now has to be supported by the old economy. The situation is very similar at PubliGroupe. Here it is the old business with press advertisements that leads to brilliant profits, which then make it possible to absorb setbacks in the online sector.
The group has set itself the target of generating half of its operating profit outside its core business, the Swiss press market, by 2004. But the activities combined in the PubliPresse sector still contributed CHF 326 million to consolidated gross profit last year (CHF 569 million) and an impressive CHF 1.98 billion to consolidated sales (CHF 2.7 billion).
Even though sales in the PubliOnline division almost tripled from CHF 105 million and profits almost quadrupled, it should be noted that this increase was only possible thanks to acquisitions, which resulted in considerable costs on the liabilities side. The new subsidiaries include the New York consulting firm Panoramic Communications, but also Real Media Inc., which was acquired last year and still caused some problems.
Real Media took off - and was born again
The group's net operating result fell by 40 percent to 51 million francs. This was largely due to the CHF 74 million required to restructure the online company Real Media, in which PubliGroupe acquired a majority stake last year. According to Zaugg, it had to be drastically restructured in 2000 after having previously pursued a forced growth strategy: "In the phase of the New Economy euphoria, companies only thought about gaining market share instead of thinking about profitability." However, Zaugg emphasizes that PubliGroupe had not yet exercised control over Real Media Inc. during that phase.
The best print media result in ten years
The "P" boss assures us that PubliGroupe has put things in order since the middle of last year and believes that Real Media will achieve financial equilibrium towards the end of this year. Zaugg answers our question as to whether PubliGroupe now effectively controls its new subsidiary in the affirmative. PubliGroupe now occupies three of the five seats on the Board of Directors and, with Walter Annasohn, also provides the Chairman of Real Media Inc. However, the former American majority owner Dave Morgan continues to act as Co-Chairman, but in reality he seems to function at most as a co-pilot.
Although the nosedive at Real Media has hit the books hard, there is also a positive side to the coin: the results of the traditional business areas have improved significantly. Print media advertising - doomed to death by certain advertising augurs - developed particularly positively. "We had the best result in the traditional advertising business in Switzerland for ten years," enthuses Ernst Grab, the Director responsible for print media. And it's not just job advertisements that are booming. Commercial advertising also recorded high growth figures (9.8 percent). And because the old core business is flourishing, the "P" is able to "digest" the other problems without any major stomach ache.
Commuter newspapers affect
Advertising business hardly
PubliGroupe management continues to believe in the Internet as an advertising medium and intends to stick to its online strategy, but doubts that the traditional advertising business will suffer significantly as a result. When asked whether new print media such as commuter newspapers will not cause traditional publishers - and therefore PubliGroupe as well - to worry, Ernst Grab is very relaxed: "Commuter newspapers may have had a negative impact on the sales figures of certain newspapers, but they hardly have any impact on the advertising business." And: "It's not at all certain that there will still be two commuter newspapers in German-speaking Switzerland in two years' time. Perhaps their shareholders will one day have enough to finance loss-making newspapers."

Someone wants to roll up the market from behind! At least that was the first impression that emerged at the opening of "Das Werk Zürich".by Beat Fritsch The latest branch of Europe's largest and most famous film finishing company, i.e. a studio for digital image processing, invited guests to the opening event in Zurich-Altstetten. Worldwide, 50 companies with 600 employees belong to the Werk Group.
No wonder the competition was curious. Primetime, for example, asked us some time ago whether we had heard that a new film company was entering the market. It quickly became clear to the visitors that the company was going all out. On two floors and a good 880 square meters, the finest studio equipment is available in various, mega-cool rooms. Including the corresponding composers who are familiar with the machines, as the animation technicians are also called. The company starts with twelve employees, most of whom of course have international experience from Babelsberg to Hollywood.
The palmares of work lead artist Sascha Luderer read like a list of popular TV shows and well-known feature film productions. His nimble fingers operated the equipment on sitcoms and series such as "Sabrina", "Friends", "Home Improvement", "Spawn" and "Power Rangers" or film productions such as "Sunset Strip", "The Little Vampire" and "Charlie's Angels". The production "Hollow Man", in which he worked for Sony Pictures Imageworks, was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Visual Effects category - although it was won by the runaway winner "Gladiator".
Pumpkin Film producer Sonja Brandt satisfied our curiosity, Bettina Bussey from Primetime did the honors, Haag Productions sent Rudi Haller, and filmmaker Daniel Cherbuin immediately asked Werk co-founder Stefan Jung for a list of all the technical possibilities the newly opened studio has to offer.
Unfortunately, as soon as we had greeted the familiar faces, we had to leave the cheerful opening party again. With "Viktor Vogel - Commercial Man", another film premiere was on the program that evening at the Corso cinema at Bellevue.
A light-hearted treat for advertisers. The film is about a newcomer to the industry who, as is generally the case in advertising, makes a rapid career with two or three nice ideas. Not to mention the fact that he also falls for the client's pretty marketing manager - a movie that shows the "real" life of an advertiser. No cliché is left out. From the naive, dopey assistant and the super-cool consultant to the hyperactive CD - played by Götz "Schimanski" George - and the slightly gluttonous, apron-chasing agency boss, the entire advertising panopticon is represented.
The after-movie party at SixtyOne was also slightly chaotic, as is usual in advertising (the last cliché, I promise!). Sometimes you were refused a drink despite showing your bar pass, then the burly security men issued a general photo ban, sometimes you were banished from the upper celebrity floor to the basement, only to be let back in with the VIPs a few minutes later. In the end, however, everyone got their money's worth. Organization is everything - especially when you take it into your own hands.
BEAT FRITSCH

has everything under control at the production desk in the newly opened studios of "Das Werk". Unfortunately, he was only granted a short visit, because "Shut up - cut - die!" he went straight to another premiere. "Commercial Man", a movie set in an agency, opens this week
and makes advertisers the subject.
Anyone else in the communications industry who can be found at new openings or celebrating premieres will be spotted at a wide variety of events on 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

Publicis, Lausanne, sometimes blows the didgeridoo for La Suisse insurance companiesFor a long time, the insurance industry communicated little or not at all. Since the deregulation of the market, insurance companies have been courting new and old customers with more or less successful advertising campaigns. If you compare the individual presentations with one another, you realize that, with a few exceptions, they are interchangeable. In most cases, the focus is on accident or burglary scenarios. Or advice and more advice is offered. The Lausanne-based insurance company La Suisse takes a different approach. It is turning to the values of indigenous peoples to make up for its communication deficit. The campaign, designed by the Lausanne agency Publicis, surprises with unusual claims and images that are intended to convey the values of indigenous peoples. However, these values should also be incorporated into La Suisse's day-to-day insurance operations and bring benefits to the customer. page 10

You-AD sells advertising space on car rear windows and advertises with Walter Bosch and Bruno WidmerBy Annelies Friedli An idea, two well-known figureheads and a lot of self-confidence: Thomas Gfeller and Marusa Fasano want to break all records with You-AD. Next year, the company, which was founded in October last year, aims to generate sales in the double-digit millions with its rear window advertising.
Publicity is assured: after all, Thomas Gfeller and Marusa Fasano were able to get Bruno Widmer and Walter Bosch interested in their advertising idea. Both are shareholders of You-AD and promote the company. However, the idea behind it is hardly revolutionary: at least four companies have discovered the car as an advertising space before Gfeller and Fasano; at least two companies in Switzerland have already been using the car as an advertising space for a year.
Walter Bosch, ex-journalist, ex-advertiser and board member of You-AD, is not bothered by this: "Admittedly, the idea is not new, but never before has the idea of using rear windows as advertising space been implemented as professionally, plausibly and efficiently as with You-AD." (See also "In conversation".)
Thomas Gfeller also has a lot of confidence in his new project. For the former economics and philosophy student, who was most recently a strategy consultant at a major American company together with Fasano, one thing is certain: "This company has great potential." Gfeller expects turnover to reach the double-digit millions within a year. "We are in the process of opening up various countries - including the USA - for our project. And things are looking good," says Gfeller. Market entry in Germany has already been achieved.
You-AD currently has six employees in Switzerland and one in Germany, with two more key account managers to be hired. "We are still in the start-up phase," says Gfeller. Instead of a quick fix, the You-AD team is focusing on a well-organized, well-founded build-up: To this end, Gfeller and Fasano have had the suitability of their project reviewed by the Ernest-Dichter-Institut Zurich. With the result that "we can prove that our medium works".
Five months after its foundation, the results are impressive: You-AD has carried out three pilot campaigns with Credit Suisse youtrade and the internet store Le Shop.ch. "There is a lot of interest," says Gfeller: "We are in the middle of negotiations with 15 agencies." Gfeller is convinced that a large number of them "will agree". The advertising effectiveness of his rear window advertising space gives him grounds for this assertion.
"After all, as the study by the Ernest-Dichter-Institut shows, we can reach 100,000 people in a month with a You-AD campaign in cities like Zurich with 25 cars. And that kind of advertising effectiveness is really something to be proud of," says the Chairman of the Board of Directors of You-AD.
Well-founded structure instead of a quick fix
So far, 800 drivers have registered with You-AD, 350 of them in Zurich. In order to be selected by You-AD, however, those interested must meet a number of criteria. Among other things, the driver must drive at least 1,000 kilometers per month in the area mainly relevant to the campaign.
In return, the driver receives 100 francs per month and the opportunity to choose the subject they drive around with. "This means that the drivers who take part are not just interested in financing their leasing in the cheapest possible way, but are also behind the campaign they drive around in," Gfeller is convinced.
He and his team are currently testing and introducing new advertising films. Unlike the previous ones, these will no longer have any holes but will still be transparent. "This will further improve the quality of rear window advertising," says Gfeller. And the business should also pay off for others. "We only want to offer the best," he says, "and at a fair price." A two-month campaign with 200 cars costs around 145,000 francs - 195 francs per car for production costs, 265 francs per car per month for media costs.
What Markus Ruf, Dominique von Matt and co. think about You-Ad

Markus Ruf, freelance concept designer: "Advertising space on the rear of the car? Not entirely unproblematic. If advertising is good, it attracts attention. So it distracts from traffic. Either there are strict legal regulations as to what is allowed (as with street posters). Or the car repair shops can look forward to good business. At the latest when H&M decides to place its next bikini campaign on the rear of cars. Actually, the advertising space on an Aargau car should cost more, because it is more often in the Baregg traffic jam, so the advertising is seen more intensively. I could imagine advertising for SBB, along the lines of: 'Better to sit on the train and read the newspaper than stand in a traffic jam and read advertising'."
Dominique von Matt, co-owner of Jung von Matt/Limmat: "For me, the question is: what effect does this medium have once you have become accustomed to it? The surprise effect works now. But in a few months' time? I also think it's not unproblematic that this advertising space is moving. The important thing is to use a short message to establish a dialogue with other drivers and pedestrians and to make the relevance of the message recognizable as such. After all, there are already enough cars with signs from various companies."
Matthias Freuler, CD, Wirz Werbung: "I think it's a good idea in principle. Any new medium that offers us new possibilities is to be welcomed. And what has been common practice on buses and streetcars for years should also work on private transport. If only to tell users of overcrowded buses and streetcars how much more pleasant it would be to travel in their own car. However, I doubt whether enough car owners are prepared to turn their Porsche, Polo or Pontiac into a poster."
Lajos Vizner, Consulting Group Manager Wirz Advertising: "This form of advertising is a very good complementary medium for the urban environment. This medium is particularly effective in traffic jams."
Regula Scherrer, Advisory Group Manager at WHS: "I am convinced that it will work in Zurich. I have already considered the You-AD offer alongside other options for a client in the media sector. What I find particularly interesting is that people are not yet familiar with this form of advertising; it is surprising. The price-performance ratio is also right."

Radio Aktuell will definitely not be separating from Publicitas as of May 1 (see WW 6/01). But the issue remains a hot topic. Both sides confirm: Discussions are underway. Jürg Bachmann, Head of New Media at the St. Galler Tagblatt Group, elaborates: The board of directors recently established a working group with equal representation from both sides, tasked with evaluating the financial implications of both a separation and maintaining the status quo, as well as gauging customer sentiment. Werbewoche on WAP. Starting immediately, the content of Werbewoche’s WAP homepage can be accessed at any time and from anywhere via a WAP-enabled cell phone (GSM/GPRS). At wap.werbewoche.ch, users can access the latest news, ad rates, technical specifications, dates, and more.
2000 MAGAZINE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARD. Geneva-based photojournalist Steeve Iuncker has been awarded the 2000 Magazine Photography Award, worth 10,000 francs. He received the award for a photo essay about Xavier, who was suffering from AIDS. He documented Xavier’s slow decline over a period of three years. The photo essay is on display at the EWZ-Unterwerk through April 22. The exhibition catalog has been published by Schwabe & Co.
FACES OF ORGANIZED CRIME FROM THE EAST. On April 11, the *Tages-Anzeiger* published the first article in the series «Organized Crime from the East,» which also draws connections to Switzerland. The series is promoted by a visual designed by WHS, Zurich, featuring a mask of Boris Yeltsin. «It’s an apt image because it illustrates the phenomenon that important state representatives
»Put on a mask every now and then," says Peter Johannes Meier, a reporter and co-author of the series.
Lamb and fish for moviegoers and gourmets. The Zurich-based advertising agency Lesch+Frei has created a series of movie theater ads that are literally the finest for the Italian restaurant Pizza Pasta Ciao in Zurich: Under the title «The Silence of the Lambs,» a pink-roasted lamb chop is featured, and under the headline «A Fish Called Wanda,» an antipasto sardine. «We wanted to set ourselves apart from the typical movie theater ads for pizzerias with green tablecloths and red napkins,» says Creative Director Thomas Lüber. Since the restaurant is located above the Capitol movie theater, the connection to the world of cinema was an obvious choice.
Helvetic Tours: The campaign is misleading. The advertising campaign designed by Advico Young & Rubicam for Kuoni Reisen, titled «Helvetic Tours Popular Initiative »Judihui, Free Vacations for Everyone,’” has angered the Foundation for Consumer Protection. The Swiss Fair Trading Commission has upheld the foundation’s complaint regarding misleading advertising. The campaign gives the impression that the tour operator wants to launch a popular initiative to force health insurance companies to pay for vacations. In future advertising that refers to popular initiatives, Kuoni must make it absolutely clear that this is merely a publicity stunt (see also page 12).
ALL GOOD THINGS COME FROM THE GROUND. Grassroots advertising for a higher standard: «Beware: Education Level» reads a floor poster for the quality newspaper *Der Bund*. The idea for this medium came from the Bern-based agency Contexta. The campaign was booked through C-Line at
70 newsstands in the Bern region. The floor poster was placed in the entrance area of the newsstand. Further information is available at www.c-line.ch.
Publicom Acquires a Stake in Africa. The media consulting firm Publicom, based in Kilchberg, has acquired a stake in Mediafric S.a.r.l., headquartered in Dakar, Senegal. The newly founded media company publishes several publications. In addition to a media reference guide for West Africa («Medias-contacts»), Mediafric publishes the bimonthly trade journal *Reflets*, which focuses on relations between Africa and Switzerland, as well as a weekly electronic newsletter.
Editorial

20 minutes later in the metropolis
The latest circulation figures compiled by the Working Group for Advertising Media Research make it abundantly clear: there is a growing market for free reading, one that is proving to be much more open than, for example, the television market. The Zurich area has emerged as a pioneer of this new culture of free reading.
Newspapers can count themselves lucky to have such a high proportion of subscribers. Without this bulwark, the losses would have been even steeper. But of course it’s no surprise that a *Landbote* or a *Zürcher Oberländer*—each of which has a single-copy sales share of just 2 percent of its circulation—are immune to the free newspapers. On the other hand, however, it’s clear just how vulnerable general-interest titles are at newsstands. Of the two newspapers most affected in the catchment area of the new free newspapers, the Aargauer Zeitung sells even fewer than
2 percent at newsstands, and yet it has suffered greatly. On the other hand, it is less surprising that the *Tages-Anzeiger*, which after all sells about 10 percent of its circulation at newsstands, has been hit hardest by the downward trend.
But a high percentage of subscribers can also become a millstone around one’s neck when setting out on the path to the future with new content. Meyer’s, which has transformed into a news magazine, demonstrated this dramatically last year.
But given all these figures, we must ask: Are these circulation figures really as accurate as they claim to be? Or are they merely the result of legal maneuvering driven by the publishers’ marketing considerations? See for yourself starting on page 22 who’s in the lead in this year’s circulation race.
Daniel Schifferle

The Munich-based multimedia agency Phase 4 Communications GmbH has founded a Zurich branch office, headed by Boris Jacklowsky, who worked as production manager at Pixelpark for five years before joining Phase 4 as IT manager in 1999. The new office's first client is Rialto Film AG. Phase 4 Communications, which is located on Biberlinstrasse on the Zürichberg, is developing a B2B website for them together with the Swiss agency Getunik. "The Swiss market is ideal for us," says Peter Wolf, Managing Director of the German Phase 4. "Many companies from the financial and media sector, in which we have been able to build up particular expertise, are based here." That is why the company in Zwingli wants to concentrate on customers from these sectors. In Germany, Phase 4 counts Allianz and Hypovereinsbank among its major clients. For the latter, the company designed and implemented the current website as lead agency. In the last financial year, turnover increased by a good 50 percent to over six million DM. The agency currently employs 35 people. With the branch office in Zurich, Phase 4 is represented abroad for the first time. (dz)

The Dutch electronics group Philips has shortened the shortlist for its media pitch to two agencies.News Initiative and Carat in the Philips final
Starcom MediaVest, Mindshare and OMD have dropped out of the race for the multi-million dollar budget; the decision on the consolidated global budget (600 million dollars) will be made between Initiative Media and Carat. Carat previously looked after Philips in Europe, represented in Switzerland by Micom Carat, Zurich.
Schibsted suspends d-expansion The Norwegian publisher Schibsted does not plan to expand its free newspaper 20 Minuten from Cologne to other major German cities until the beginning of next year. The industry had previously assumed that Schibsted would launch new editions as early as May. The reason for the postponement was the difficult German market, according to Ekkehard Kuppel, CEO of 20-Minuten-Holding. Instead, the launch in other European countries is now being considered.
WPP acquires Icon Brand NavigationThe British advertising holding company WPP takes over the brand consultancy Icon Brand Navigation. Icon was founded in Nuremberg in 1993 and today employs 220 people in Munich, Hamburg, Istanbul, Madrid, Milan, Paris and New York. Its clients include Nestlé and Maggi. In the 2000 financial year, Icon recorded a turnover of 87 million marks.
No more @ in D company names In Germany, the special character @, also known as the bracket monkey, may not be registered as part of a company name. This ruling was made by the Munich Regional Court last week. According to the judges, a company name may not contain any characters that are not part of German spelling. As a result, the action brought by a company that had been refused entry in the commercial register by the Munich authorities was dismissed at second instance.