Marcel Bosshard is Managing Director of the newly founded Publimedia Webadvertising AG "The Internet as a medium must be justified on the market "Marcel Bosshard is an alpha dog: he has always been able to motivate and inspire his fellow human beings - both in his private and professional life, says the 32-year-old. "This ability must simply have come naturally to me," he laughs.
But it wasn't charisma alone that catapulted him to the top of Publimedia Webadvertising AG: "I have a solid HWV education," he says. He has also been able to gain a lot of life experience while traveling. Before the banking specialist tackled the HWV, he toured once around the globe. Before that, the globetrotter worked in Geneva, Locarno and London.
In the communications industry, he says, he can use this passion for foreign countries and languages on the job. "It also allows me," Bosshard emphasizes, "to put both my business and design skills into practice." Despite his training as an economist, he has never been a pure numbers guy.
At Publigroupe, Bosshard finally got the opportunity to learn the business from scratch: First, as Key Account Manager at Publicitas Zurich, he looked after direct customers and advertising agencies. He then became head of the Sales Support and Publisher Market departments. In 1999, Bosshard moved to Real Media AG, where he was Head of Marketing & Communications and a member of the Executive Board. The Zurich native had thus found his element: "The Internet is the future," he says enthusiastically. He wants to be part of it, to help shape it.
As Managing Director of Publimedia Webadvertising AG, he certainly has every conceivable opportunity to do so: The newly founded business unit - which emerged from the brokerage division of Real Media AG - is the first consistent provider of neutral consulting, planning and handling of Internet advertising. "This pioneering role spurs me on," says Bosshard. Where there is something to be expanded is the right place for him.
I'm an entrepreneur within the company," he admits. So it's not surprising that the 32-year-old could also imagine being self-employed one day. He is also interested in the field of sports marketing. Marcel Bosshard is an enthusiastic water sportsman, tennis player and skier. At the moment, however, he has to put these and other hobbies on the back burner - his first priority is to position Publimedia Webadvertising on the market and consolidate it. However, this still requires an enormous amount of educational work. "But we are fighting for the Internet medium to be given its due on the market." Carole Koch

In February, bigbrother.ch was the most popular Swiss media siteBy Markus KnöpfliThe MMXI Switzerland Internet panel shows lower home Internet usage for February compared with January. The top 20 domains remained virtually unchanged in the top ten ranks. Among the Swiss media sites, bigbrother.ch achieved the highest level of popularity.
The Swiss spent significantly less time on the Internet in February than in January. This is revealed by the figures from the MMXI Internet panel. In February, a total of 2.012 (January: 2.017) million visitors used the Internet on an average of 9.5 (11.5) days. On an average day, 680000 (748000) visitors spent 33 (34) minutes online and accessed an average of 27 (77) pages. MMXI attributes the decline to Fasnacht and sports vacations.
Men surfed 55.4 percent of the time, women 35.8 percent, and children between the ages of 2 and 14 8.8 percent. Among both women and men, users aged 35 to 49 are the most frequent surfers.
The most striking aspect of the MMXI study is the fact that the top 10 domains visited in January remained the same in February, with only the order shifting slightly here and there by one or two ranks. However, the three frontrunners are still Bluewin.ch with a reach of 49.5 percent, MSN.com (38.1 percent) and Microsoft.com (30.3 percent).
On the other hand, there were some significant shifts in the lower ranks: Google.com was catapulted from "nothing" to eleventh place, while Swissonline had to make do with 17th place instead of 12th. Microsoft.de and Swisscom.com were also kicked out of the ranking, while Real.com and Sunrise were clicked on more frequently. MNS.Messenger Service, meanwhile, made it into the top 20.
Thanks to electronic measurement, new developments in domain performance can also be tracked quickly. This is documented in the February data by bigbrother.ch: If it still came to a reach of 5.5 in the previous month, in February, at the time of the start of the second "Big Brother" season, it was at the top of the media category with 9.5 percent. The other frontrunners among the media sites are blick.ch (7 percent), sfdrs.ch (6.4 percent), nzz.ch and tagesanzei ger.ch (both 3.7 percent).
If we look at the differences in Internet use in the language regions, we discover similar phenomena to those in the TV sector: when Swiss people surf far away, they do so either with the global (American) providers or in the neighboring country of the same language. Thus, in the German-speaking part of Switzerland, domains with the country code .de are just as much in demand as those with .fr in the French-speaking part of Switzerland and domains ending in .it in Ticino.
What is striking, however, is that the regional top 15 domains include only one domain, ticino.com, in Ticino and none at all in French-speaking Switzerland. In this respect, the two parts of the country are literally colonized by German-speaking Switzerland and other countries.

According to the Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy, and Communications (UVEK), the «Tagesschau» clock sponsored by Eurocard violates current sponsorship regulations. It thereby confirms a ruling by the Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM). Although DETEC had permitted, at the end of 1998, that «sponsors promote their image with billboards during the time slot immediately preceding the news,» direct advertising for a product is not permitted. The scenes from a department store shown alongside the ticking clock are precise enough to illustrate the benefits of cashless shopping. «Refresh your style» with Fanta. The soft drink brand Fanta is revamping its market presence in Switzerland with the new slogan «Refresh your style» and graphically designed name extensions. In addition, the company is launching the new Wild Berries flavor. For the first time, a communication concept developed by Guye & Partner specifically for the Swiss market is being implemented. In addition to posters and a TV commercial, this campaign focuses primarily on the internet and the theme of «flirting.» The campaign features «flirting» tips on the website and at interactive multimedia terminals. Frame Eleven designed the website.
April Fools' Day. For two years now, the advertising for the Schaffhausen-based luxury watch brand IWC has borne Wirz’s provocative signature—one that couldn’t care less about political correctness. Thus, the prestigious brand topped the
On April 1, the Sunday newspapers featured a «women’s story» as part of their branding campaign: IWC makes women’s watches, promised the ad for the new GST. A masculine line that the tagline—«Since 1868. And as long as there are still men.» – couldn’t have put it better.
MARBACH ANNOUNCES ITS 5TH ACADEMY. About 100 participants from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland unanimously agreed that a week-long seminar at the Marbach Academy had «benefited them more than any other seminar» in terms of their professional and personal development. This international training and continuing education center is aimed at people «on their way to the executive suite.» Registration for the new seminar week in August is now open through April 30. Information is available from the BSW, by phone at 01 361 37 60, or at www.marbach-academy.com.

öBU Honors Environmental Reports. At the end of March, the Swiss Association for Ecologically Conscious Corporate Management (öBU) presented its second annual award for the best environmental report. In the large companies category (250 or more employees), Canon (Switzerland) won, ahead of Sulzer. In the SME category, the eyeglass lens manufacturer Knecht & Müller AG, based in Stein am Rhein, took first place ahead of Flumroc AG from Flums. Both SME reports were produced by the Bern-based PR agency Zoebeli Communications.
Don’t burn your cash. The Prime New Energy investment fund from Credit Suisse Asset Management is truly a good thing. After all, it focuses on companies that specialize in renewable energy, more efficient energy production, distribution, and storage, as well as energy management. However, neither the creators of the ad campaign—an agency in Solothurn—nor the client seem to be aware of the controversial nature of one of the three images. With a smile, however, agency managing director Esther Luterbacher defends herself against the interpretation that the images of a match and a volcano are much more reminiscent of a high cash burn rate than of geothermal energy: «The motifs for wind and water were much more controversial.»
"Lovely" Becomes the Logo of the Swiss Milk Producers. The Swiss Milk Producers (SMP) organization has been
On April 1, Lovely will debut a new visual identity. The advertising cow Lovely will now be used as a versatile, adaptable, and dynamic motif. Lovely is accompanied by the «Milch, Lait, Latte» logo. The existing «black-and-white» concept will be integrated even more consistently across all aspects of the future milk brand identity.
Sport.ch relaunches its website and becomes an association. The online sports platform Sport.ch is undergoing a redesign. Since April 1, it has featured a new design and expanded content. In addition to the latest sports news, the site now includes topics from the areas of wellness, nutrition, and sports games. Services such as sports betting, free email, and chat have also been announced. At the same time, Sport.ch aims to become a membership organization: Those who sign up online can personalize the site and receive discounts at various events as well as the monthly print magazine from Sport.ch.

The kirsch can stay in the glass. The Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy, and Communications (UVEK) has overturned a ruling by the Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM). OFCOM had classified a commercial for kirsch glasses as unauthorized alcohol advertising. The criticism was directed at the image of a glass of kirsch, accompanied by the statement: «We use real Swiss kirsch.» DETEC upheld a complaint filed by SRG and does not consider the two-second sequence to be promotional. Furthermore, the advertiser’s interest lies in selling its chocolate products, not in promoting the kirsch trade.
A BREATHTAKING CRIME THRILLER. The Bernese hotspots Ristorante Lorenzini and Grand Café Du Théâtre have long been popular with artists and media professionals. The Du Théâtre has also served as a setting for literature on several occasions. Not only in Dürrenmatt’s works, but also in those of German and American novelists, the restaurant has become a «crime scene.» Building on this tradition, the two restaurants, together with Primarte Plus AG in Köniz and Securitas AG, are launching a new series called «Lorenzini Crime Stories.» The first story is penned by Matthias Steinmann. The SRG audience researcher and part-time writer calls his work «Die Weynzeichen-Recherche,» which, of course, is set in the seedy world of the media. Incidentally, this is not his first crime novel.
Editorial

Louder is better than the loudest
In commercial communication, excesses and distasteful content are commonplace. To prevent discriminatory, sexist, and racist missteps in advertising, the Swiss Advertising Association established the Fairness Commission as early as 1966. This self-regulatory body of the Swiss advertising industry is composed of equal numbers of representatives from the advertising industry, the media, and consumers. Any person is authorized and entitled to file a complaint with the Fairness Commission regarding commercial advertising that they believe to be unfair ([email protected]). This body handles approximately 400 complaints per year and issues around 200 rulings.
For the first time in its 35-year history, the Commission held a press conference last week. To give its cause greater visibility, the Commission plans to go public with important policy decisions in the future. It has now turned its attention to testing and has drafted guidelines intended to serve as a roadmap for providers, testers, test organizers, and consumers alike.
(Pages 5, 26). Considering the kind of nonsense that sometimes goes on with testing, this is a long-overdue move. Instead of market transparency, the rampant “testitis” achieves one thing above all else: it sows confusion among consumers. Testers and test organizers, too, should come to realize that only rigorous self-regulation can protect the industry from government interference and empower citizens to avoid being treated as minors by the state. The guidelines issued by the Fair Trading Commission mark an important first step in this direction.
Samuel Helbling
P.S.: On a personal note: The Working Group for Advertising Media Research (Wemf) has certified the circulation of *WerbeWoche* for the year 2000 at 3,803 copies. This represents a four percent increase over the previous year. The editorial team and the publisher would like to thank all readers for their trust.

Doris Leuthard, President of the Lauterkeitskommission, on the guidelines for testingThe Swiss Lauterkeitskommission has had new guidelines for testing developed (see also p. 26), which came into force on April 1. At a press conference in Zurich, Doris Leuthard, also newly appointed President of the Fairness Commission, gave a presentation. She is a lawyer and, as a member of the National Council of the Christian Democratic Party (CVP), is also being considered as a successor to the national party presidency.You said that the Swiss Fair Trading Commission wanted to "set an example" with this press conference. Are there currently a correspondingly large number of grievances about the handling of tests?
Doris Leuthard: For me, the biggest grievance is that there are still no uniform regulations at all in the area of testing for consumers. In such a situation, it is also very difficult for the industry and advertisers to communicate anything. What is measured in a test? How may one compare? What can be published? Is it even allowed to advertise with the results from a test? As a result of these ambiguities, we have been contacted by several concerned companies. Suppliers complained to us that they had been unfairly qualified. Others felt they were being harassed by an unfairly advertising competitor. At the Commission, we would have to be able to justify certain criteria immediately in such a case. But without defined rules, we could not do that. That is why we have now looked at the problem across the various instances and drafted a list of principles that are as useful as possible.
How many cases of such complaints are currently in the pipeline?
Leuthard: We receive around 400 complaints a year. The number of cases has increased steadily recently. Our secretary can handle some of them by telephone. Last year, there were 170 cases. The others are handled by our commissions and, depending on the case, also result in sanctions.
What are possible sanctions for advertisers?
Leuthard: The strictest measure is to file a criminal complaint via the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco). Then there is also the possibility of publication. Advertising agencies are extremely reluctant to be confronted with this measure. The mildest way is for us a delivery of the decision of the commission. With the clear request that a similar offense in this form may not happen again. There is also the possibility of putting the people on a blacklist with the help of their association.
How do you experience the cooperation of advertisers in such cases?
Leuthard: As a rule, I have a positive impression. People are very willing to talk. After all, everyone knows that it hurts them if they get into the media with dishonest stories. Such reports can have a negative impact on the order situation or on the reputation.
How can we summarize the most important rules for testing?
Leuthard: The guidelines are primarily intended to promote transparency. In the future, like should be compared with like. If measurements and assessments are made according to uniform criteria, abuse can be prevented. As consumers, we want to be able to rely on results and comparisons. But the test guidelines also serve the industry. After all, one goal for everyone is to obtain better products.
But these guidelines of the Fairness Commission are not yet law?
Leuthard: They are a complementary instrument to the judicial bodies. The work of the commission is financed by the business community, namely by the Society for the Promotion of Fairness in Commercial Communication. We are convinced that this way of self-regulation is the faster and more efficient one. The Fairness Commission as a self-control organization is unique in Europe, but it has been working successfully in Switzerland for years. But our principles should be allowed to develop, which is why we have also organized this press conference. In the future, we hope to receive even more input and also critical suggestions for improvement from a wide variety of organizations.
As a politician, what motivated you personally to become involved with the Fairness Commission as its president?
Leuthard: On the one hand, I'm affected as a consumer myself, and I've always been annoyed when I've seen such advertisements and then had to realize when buying the product that it's not true at all. On the other hand, we are increasingly influenced by the media. The individual is no longer in a position to make a serious evaluation of the abundance of these products. So I have to be able to rely all the more on the evaluation of a test and on the statements made by the industry and advertising. This social process is exciting for me - and because it goes into law, it also interests me professionally. As a lawyer, I have had to handle a number of relevant cases for clients. This has given me the motivation to become even more involved in this area.
Can it be seen as an additional sign that a young woman has now taken over this presidency with you?
Leuthard: I am the first woman to hold the chairmanship of this commission. However, this is not so much a sign that consumer protection primarily affects women. We wanted much more to draw attention to the fact that the handling of tests can no longer be regulated solely between industry and advertising, but that this problem concerns us all.
You are the owner of a law firm. What does it specialize in?
Leuthard: In our law firm with three lawyers in Muri and Wohlen, I not only handle cases relating to the Unfair Competition Act (UCA). I am also a divorce lawyer and work for victim assistance. I handle many cases in the area of liability - and that's where you come into contact with the problem of product liability relatively quickly.
Interview: Andreas Panzeri

These firm, masculine butts are good enough to sink your teeth into. The beautifully sculpted muscles around the central crease couldn’t have been modeled more perfectly, even by Michelangelo. Yum. A real eye-catcher for men-loving types. That seems to be what some creatively inclined advertisers have told themselves, especially since there’s currently a veritable «men’s butt inflation» in print media. They’re posing for underwear, jeans, and razors. But I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re soon advertising vacations in Mykonos («Here, hot curves can relax»), Vitra chairs («Your muscles deserve the best chair»), and DRS 3 (“The station that’s on its last legs”). After all, naked male skin is perceived as significantly more respectable than naked female skin. After all, he didn’t take his clothes off to advance his career, but because he’s soooo handsome. Chandra Kurt
Municipality

The New Guy
By Thomas Lüber
I mean, who would seriously want to become ADC president these days? Just think about what life looks like after the job. One former president ended up in or by the water, another has disappeared somewhere in the Ringier Press House, and only one has gone far—to Guatemala.
The only thing worse is actually the term of office itself. Especially for the ego. Ninety-nine percent of all Swiss people don’t even know there’s such a thing as an ADC president, so they don’t realize he’s improving advertising. As for the rest, a large portion of them constantly badmouth him, while the others grovel at his feet—which isn’t any more pleasant. Only one person holds sincere admiration for him. Me.
After all, there’s quite a bit of work involved. You have to give interviews to business newspapers because they mistakenly believe that this boosts ad revenue. You have to write articles and respond to the responses to those articles. You have to write speeches before the party and then actually deliver them, all while the inattentive guests eat André Jaeger’s exquisite appetizer right in front of you.
So that the current incumbent might even be able to consider an orderly retirement to the Hall of Fame, I’m proactively putting forward someone who knows the presidency from experience. Someone who knew how to tame a disorderly bunch of members with statesmanlike composure. Someone who embodies the Zen—
who immediately recognized the vital importance of the ADC to the general public, as she candidly stated at the last celebration. A person with only one flaw. So far, she has demonstrated her promotional skills with just a single—albeit highly successful—direct mail campaign addressed to the former President of the United States. But, let’s be honest, has Frank Bodin ever accomplished more than that? So, Josef Estermann: Consider yourself elected.
[email protected]
Thomas Lüber is the Creative Director at Lesch + Frei in Zurich
Language Observer

False separations 100 to 110
fly
narrow
important
chamber
oven
location
sharp
position
crafting
leadership
frustration
homework
gave
car racing
Amen
natural products
tell
resolutions
Beat Gloor, www.textcontrol.ch

Daniel Perrin on easing the relationship between journalism and PRFor the past year, Daniel Perrin has been head of the Professional Journalism and Corporate Communications course at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences in Winterthur. He heads the Professional Writing Research Unit at the Institute of Linguistics at the University of Bern and was head of copywriting at the Tages-Anzeiger. You coach critical journalists and now also train aspiring PR people at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences Winterthur in the field of specialist journalism and corporate communications. As a linguist, where do you see the difference in dealing with the word?
Daniel Perrin: The UAS course in specialist journalism and corporate communications is all about this change of perspective. In corporate communications, the same content often has to be communicated as in journalism - but with different intentions. How these are reflected in the language is one of the topics of my research. The position of a writer or speaker leaves its mark on the language.
Can you specifically articulate such a difference?
Perrin: For example, in the use of quotes or in the evaluation of positions. Someone can say, "I am convinced that..." In corporate communications, this conviction is clearly announced. In journalism, one builds in distance: "X says he is convinced" instead of "X is convinced." In corporate communications, one argues on behalf of the employer. In journalism, one reports on behalf of the public. A journalist, when not commenting, keeps a low profile, tries to bring different actors on stage. The corporate communicator represents only one position, while the journalist simultaneously sets several positions against each other.
Wouldn't this also be an opportunity for the corporate communicator to critically accompany the company with different voices and opposing voices in order to be able to achieve more credibility?
Perrin: Corporate communications distinguishes between the internal and the external appearance. In an inward reflection, it is certainly the right way to take different positions. This can even be practiced. A corporate communicator has to be present at the decision-making process and be able to say "yes, but" there. That's the way to practice. But then the statement must be resolute, even if it is differentiated. Only one position will be communicated to the outside world.
Or the counter-arguments are already cleverly built in and invalidated...
Perrin: Built in, yes, but under its own position.
How is such knowledge now imparted at your course?
Perrin: The core of the class is about changing perspectives. In everything, whether we're writing online or for print, training radio or television forms, or practicing performances in front of an audience, we're constantly testing: How does corporate communications see this? How does journalism see it? To do this, we work in groups of about ten students. These are led in turn
of corporate communicators and journalists. Together with them, the group solves tasks, writes or designs a TV report. Then we look at the results together. How did corporate communicators solve the problem, and how did journalists? Where is the difference? We want to learn how the other perspective works, how the other position is understood and vice versa. We constantly perform this change of perspective, not to blur the perspective, but to delineate it more precisely.
Who decides to take this course? Journalists who want to change perspective?
Perrin: Our postgraduate program will be aimed at people who have changed over to the traditional way of doing things. It is now being set up and will start in the spring or fall of 2002, but we already offer a three-year main course of study. This full-time course is aimed at people who are entering communications professions from the start and who see an eventful career ahead of them that they want to embark on consciously. Most of these students have had their first brief professional experience and are between 20 and 26 years old.
Your institute is a university. What about the study costs?
Perrin: The course is approved by the Federal Council and is supported and controlled by it. In return, we receive a contribution per student so that the course does not cost more for the individual than any other university course, i.e. 500 francs per semester.
In the current boom for media professions, you should have many applicants. What criteria are used for the entrance exams?
Perrin: For the start next fall, we have 580 interested parties. I would like to take 60 of them. After the first year, there will be a pre-degree exam. That's happening right now with the people from the first course. There, a project has to convince in practice and show that the students are able to express complex thoughts simply and clearly. In this exam, the 60 are reduced to 40. I don't want to bring more students to the job market in the first years, because I still want to know all of them personally. With the quality of these people, I want to ensure that the new level of education at the university of applied sciences is really appreciated in practice.
Similar to an acting academy, you also test a certain charisma when communicating in your entrance test. Is that a consequence of the electronic media, that today more value is placed on how someone appears? In the past, even completely reclusive writers from the background did very good PR.
Perrin: We test appearance and intelligence when communicating. For me, the core of the profession is critical thinking and the ability to recognize a message even in complex structures. What is the main message? What is meant behind it? Being telegenic is not the conditio sine qua non of a communicator. But even the copywriter of a news story has to be able to talk to people while researching and to present his ideas to a counterpart.
It's noticeable that there are now many women in a wide variety of management positions in corporate communications. Is that also reflected in the percentage distribution of applications?
Perrin: Three-fifths are women, two-fifths are men.
Is there an explanation for this, such as that women, as the bearers of often bad news, make it more bearable because they seem more sympathetic?
Perrin: The young people coming into the program now certainly don't think about it that way. That's an old role cliché. In day-to-day professional practice, however, you can see that there are conspicuously many women working on various fronts with direct customer contact. Women may not be more communicative. But many women act differently in communication. They can deal with their emotions in a more relaxed way. Relaxed doesn't mean simply giving free rein to emotions, but rather depositing them in the right place in measured doses instead of suppressing them and then getting rid of them in the wrong place.
In your book "Writing Coaching" you offer interesting exercises for planning, writing and revising a text. But isn't that like playing the piano: You can practice techniques, but you can only play really winningly if you have the necessary talent?
Perrin: It's always a combination of talent and training. This is just as true for surgeons as it is for cab drivers. Aptitude and inclination combined with optimal promotion and demand. Talent must be there. But then comparisons can be made: How do others do it? Why does the communicator take off his jacket at this particular sentence in a conversation? Is he doing it on purpose? Are there rules that these people are not aware of? But they have an effect on me without my knowing it? What is going on at the level of body language? This knowledge can be refined. If the talent is there, then it needs the right training. Then it goes much more efficiently.
On the website www.schreibcoa ching.com, one can read that you give courses in a wide variety of industries. Have copywriters been among them, and what can you learn from them in the specific use of language?
Perrin: If someone can create good advertising copy, that person brings something very important to the table: the ability to recognize the core. It's an art to recognize what's special in a boring product that's already been around twelve times and to hit those characteristics with concise language. I see a deficit when it comes to arguing logically in longer texts. These are two different working models. The charisma of language and the solid work of thinking. You can't plan the good idea - but I can analyze and train the logical argumentation.
Why do most copywriters work best under pressure? Is there a linguistic explanation for this?
Perrin: Yes, for the same reason that most people run fastest under pressure. When a dog is chasing me, I just run faster. Something happens in the brain when you're under pressure or in the final sprint. There's something exhilarating about that. It opens the floodgates in the mind.
What made you decide to pursue a career in science instead of becoming a journalist?
Perrin: I like to write a lot, for example scientific publications or specialist books. But I prefer to write about a topic that I've been able to deal with thoroughly and about which I have something to say. Or then just very lightly, as with chat. What I no longer enjoy doing is writing and researching for the day. Editing, on the other hand, is fun for me. For example, online news, like now at the Tages-Anzeiger.
There will certainly be many more books written on this topic. But already in advance: What are the most important rules when writing for online media?
Perrin: (laughs) I'm actually already writing a book on the subject. In it, I distinguish between e-mail writing and online message writing. The spontaneous quick responses in chat forums change writing very significantly. The flow of language becomes different, uncomplicated and almost chatty. E-mail traffic, which is somewhat replacing the telephone, also means that people are now writing again who didn't write at all ten years ago. This contradicts all the cultural pessimists who have said that writing is being lost with the new media.
Have you found this to be the case in your professional practice?
Perrin: Large companies such as insurance companies and banks have courses organized at our university of applied sciences in which their executives have to learn how to run a
Email. This
Directors used to only dictate. Now they write again themselves and get coached in it.
Online news is another form. Where do you see a need for action here?
Perrin: With these short messages, we have the problem that they still have to be understandable in a very reader-unfriendly environment with pixelated type and a lot of distractions around the text. This form of communication is a challenge. After all, now I have to be able to say the essentials in three short paragraphs. Here I would like to demand with Carl Popper: "Whoever cannot write clearly and simply, should remain silent and continue working until he can say it clearly and simply!" That can be trained. It's an exciting process. Namely, now we can network texts the way our brains have been doing it for a long time. The idea of hypertext is very close to human thinking.
Back to corporate communications. At the moment, various Swiss companies are having to communicate at high pressure because some of them are in crisis. What do you notice about this?
Perrin: It's always awkward when the media uncover something and corporate communications has to react to it. That is always the more thankless option. Credible corporate communications are those that provide information quickly and openly.
In today's market, what is enticing many journalists to switch?
Perrin: It works the same way in the other direction. At the Tages-Anzeiger, as at the NZZ, I know enough people who came from corporate communications and now work as journalists. The communications job market is changing very quickly and attracts curious people. I think it's exciting to get to know other sides as well, if possible. You also start to realize: there's not a good side and a bad side, not cops and robbers. So you don't change the front, but you change the perspective. And this change of perspective is now slowly being de-tabooed. Because the information has to be more and more transparent, both sides should know what the other is doing. I'm noticing a de-tabooing, and it's clear that curious people want to move and develop in the job market.
But won't this also dilute the newspapers' profiles?
Perrin: On the contrary. If someone knows both sides, he also knows the mechanisms and can deal with them. Changing perspectives doesn't mean diluting perspectives, but delimiting perspectives and clarifying positions. Interview: Andreas Panzeri
Daniel Perrin

BORN
October 6, 1961
RESIDENCE
Männedorf
CIVIL STATE
married to Christine Albrecht, two children
WERDEGANG
After graduating from high school, journalist at Radio DRS. Specialist journalist for various newspapers, Der Bund, Die Zeit. In a first study part-time secondary school teacher, then doctorate in linguistics and media science. Director of Studies at MAZ and lecturer at journalism schools in Germany.
Writing coaching for media and companies. Head of copywriting at Tages-Anzeiger until 2000 and still there today with a mandate as copy coach. Since then, head of school at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences Winterthur (ZHW) for specialist journalism and corporate communications.
VOCATIONAL DREAM
"The fulfillment of a long wish was to be able to offer media education as a recognized professional training. We have now achieved this at the ZHW. My next goals will be to launch further courses at the school and to complete my post-doctoral thesis at the University of Bern.
WORKING STYLE
"I always need a 'home' to work from as well as a window next to it in the
research or in practice. But it's important to me to have a clear focus of work, a main project."
WHAT WOULD ATTRACT HIM TO THE JOB AS SWISSAIR'S HEAD OF COMMUNICATIONS?
"The build from scratch."
WHY DOES EXPO.02 HAVE PROBLEMS WITH COMMUNICATION?
"Multiple blatant incidents in a row are no longer a corporate communications problem, they're a corporate problem."

Success story" display
Is the development at TV 3 an up or a down for you?
Patrick Eberle: It's a success story, because TV 3 is a success story. In the fourth quarter of 2000, the station achieved a nine percent market share among 15- to 49-year-olds, making it number three. Advertising sales in the first quarter of 2001 were three times higher than in the first quarter of 2000, and investments last year were also lower than expected.
Initially, however, it was assumed that the company would break even after four years and invest a total of CHF 60 million. These have now had to be tripled and break-even postponed by one year. Is SBS getting out because it has shorter profit expectations?
Eberle: It's true that we misjudged the market situation at the beginning and a revision was necessary. For SBS, which also has limited resources, TV3 is just one of several TV and radio projects. At the moment, SBS wants to invest more in the Dutch, Polish, Hungarian and Scandinavian markets than here.
There are currently many rumors surrounding Weltwoche. Tamedia has also shown interest. Was there more to it than just an attempt to push up the price?
Eberle: Weltwoche is probably an established Swiss brand. But Tamedia is setting its priorities elsewhere at the moment.
Does a second Sunday title that is higher-class than the SonntagsZeitung (SZ) stand a chance?
Eberle: The Sunday market is interesting, and there is certainly potential for a second highly positioned Sunday title.
One from Tamedia?
Eberle: No. We will position SZ even more clearly and are thus prepared for a possible new market situation.
Interview: Markus Knöpfli

Cash inventor Thomas Trüb returns to the Ringier Group Executive Board (KL) after a four-year absence.In addition to Ringier Pacific, he takes over the management of a new KL division, in which competencies in the area of business media are to be brought together, networked and expanded.

(4th quarter 2000)Affinity of ads among supporters in the "middle-class corner "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., all four target groups in total, performed best in the 4th quarter of 2000 are shown under the heading "Top three".

By Heart's SSR Travel campaign also promises unforgettable vacationsYoung people are not looking for relaxation on their vacations, but for the kick they miss in everyday life. Teens and twens are turning their backs on mass tourism because they want uninhibited parties and cool experiences. And always fun - until their pants fall down. At least, that's what the new SSR Travel campaign conveys in its image presentation this year. In terms of advertising, the travel provider is now being managed by By Heart. The Zurich agency is seeking attention with clearly ambiguous scenes. In order to pre-empt morality censors have integrated the censorship of provocative motifs right into the campaign: The eye-catcher of the ads is the SSR Travel logo, which hides the primary parts from prying eyes. The aim is not to maintain political correctness, but to increase brand awareness. page 6

Online advertising brokers offer measurement tools that don't just count clicksBy Patrick HedigerFor a long time now, spending on online advertising has not been bubbling up the way Internet euphorics imagined. Anyone who advertises on the Web now wants to know how successful the campaign is. Online advertising companies are trying to address this concern.
"We have set ourselves the goal of making the efficiency of online advertising in Switzerland truly measurable," says Peter Strassmann, Managing Director of ActiveAgent (Switzerland) GmbH, explaining his ambitious goals. A functioning measurement of success is also urgently needed. After all, the days of placing ads on the Internet just to be considered modern are over. And simply counting the clicks on one's own banners is no fun anyway, given average click rates, and is no longer enough. Many marketing managers, especially at companies in the so-called old economy, are no longer satisfied with the online reporting they have been offered up to now.
It is no longer enough for them to receive data on banner click rates, page visits and ad impressions. They want a performance evaluation of online advertising that is similar to the measurement methodology and informative value of offline campaigns.
gnen corresponds. Online advertising brokers and marketers are trying to meet this need. Says Strassmann: "Sustainable and professionally conducted success monitoring is becoming increasingly crucial, because it is the basis for continuous optimization of advertising efficiency. Today, the success of online advertising is no longer measured on the basis of so-called ad clicks, but in the form of more in-depth analyses."
Determine the opinion of visitors with pop-ups
ActiveAgent's plans are definitely a step in the right direction, but it will have to be seen in daily use whether the methods really deliver what they promise. For example, ActiveAgent's customers will be able to use ActiveSite Analysis (ASA) to gain insight into net reach, ad space efficiency, user origin, visit frequency analysis, page view times, user paths through the site, and more. All of this data is gathered with the aim of aligning advertising efforts with the behavior of the target group and thus achieving optimized results for the online presence.
Another tool, ActiveUser Analysis, is designed to gather the opinions of site visitors via questionnaires using pop-up windows that suddenly appear. The advertiser can determine what exactly is to be queried. Another tool is ActiveImpact Analysis, where randomly selected users of a website are asked about the recall values of a brand or advertising subject via pop-up windows or e-mail. Two issues arise in connection with these three tools. First, there is the question of how many users will be willing to participate in these surveys. Secondly, the increasingly strict data protection regulations, especially in Europe, could mean that not so much data can be collected.
Not only ActiveAgent, but also the other online advertising companies want to offer their customers ever better success controls. 24/7 Media Europe, for example, has entered into a partnership with the online market research company Dynamic Logic for this reason. The AdIndex measurement system is designed to measure the impact of online advertising.
Learning to speak the language of brand owners
AdIndex is designed to be able to quantify traditional brand metrics such as brand awareness or attitudes. "Big advertisers believe in brand advertising," explains Egbert van Acht, Marketing Director 24/7 Media Europe. That's why, he says, in times when branding is becoming increasingly important, you have to speak the same language as brand advertisers on the Internet, too.
At Real Media, the launch of a corresponding tool is planned for June. According to Michael Maurantonio, Sales Support Manager at Publimedia Webadvertising, this tool will also document the user's movement in the longer term and thus also help to research the long-term effect of banners. Studies show that users do not always click on a banner immediately, but only visit the advertised website later. Publimedia Webadvertising already conducts surveys of Internet users about websites and online advertising on behalf of its clients.
The practicality still has to be proven
Other marketers have also already planned or initiated corresponding steps. In addition to marketers and intermediaries, however, market research companies also offer analysis tools for online campaigns, such as NetValue with Ad-Impact.
Most of the solutions announced have yet to prove themselves in practice. If they succeed in providing useful data with watertight methods, they will help to strengthen trust in online advertising and thus possibly bring it further growth.
But online advertising companies have also recognized the signs of the times at the level of general advertising research: According to Martin Radelfinger, Managing Director of AdLink Switzerland, discussions are currently taking place at a pan-European level between marketing and intermediary companies about standardizing online advertising research. For example, discussions are to be held on which tools are to be used for impact research.

The cement giant Holderbank, active on all continents, gives itself a new logoBy Werner CatrinaHolderbank is now called Holcim. The top management of the Swiss cement giant personally turned the boards with the six new letters on the studio stage of the Zurich Opera House. Surrounded by lively numbers from the musical "Grease," Group CEO Thomas Schmidheiny presented the new name to the
March 21 the new logo.
The old name is ill-suited for global use, as Holderbank is misunderstood out in the wide world as the label of a financial institution. As Roland Walker, head of communications for the cement group, explains, the search for a name was very broad and many suggestions were examined. It quickly became clear that none of the artificial terms dominated by the letter X made the cut.
"Also because of the shareholders, we didn't want to change the initial letters," explains major shareholder Thomas Schmidheiny, "so that when they check the stock price, they can look in the same column of letters as before."
After careful final selection, the abbreviation Holcim was chosen, the first syllable of which echoes Holderbank and integrates the French-language term for cement in the second.
Three years of groundwork for strength, performance and passion
The unveiling of the new logo marks the culmination of a three-year phase of preparation. In collaboration with the New York-based consulting firm Enterprise IG, a specialist in strategic branding, management took an in-depth look at the future positioning of the Group. This also involved differentiating the company from its competitors.
"Market analyses and internal workshops confirmed that customers particularly demand quality products including customized services," explains Thomas Schmidheiny, "but this is no longer sufficient in most markets." The new strategic positioning therefore puts people at the center. "We talk about technology," says the Group's head of communications, "but we always do it in connection with people." The cement giant's new motto, then, is "Strenght. Performance. Passion."
The Annual General Meeting on May 18 formally approves the modified strategy and the global brand. Holcim does not reinvent the company's values, but they are reprioritized and communicated in a globally consistent manner.
Holderbank is an entity that has grown over decades, with dozens of local cement companies with their own label and corporate identity (see box).
From Latin America to Australia, each market is carefully analyzed. The extent to which the image is to be adapted within the framework of the chosen brand architecture is then determined. Well-established and popular brands, such as "Morning Star" in Vietnam, will not disappear but will be supplemented by the words "a member of the Holcim Group.
In Switzerland and neighboring countries, as well as in Eastern Europe, the new logo will appear on cement bags, trucks and silos as soon as possible. "Our subsidiaries' own brands will continue to be used after careful clarification," confirms Roland Walker. "However, all subsidiaries will benefit from the upcoming international image campaign for the Global Brand."
Takes some getting used to
Fire
The term Holcim reminded some augurs of a medicine, others complained that the red bow with the two bars resembled the Eurosignet (see also interview with the graphic designer). Experience shows that when familiar logos disappear, a period of familiarization is necessary, which is why the Group wants to use the global campaign to ensure that the new logo quickly establishes itself internationally.
20 million Swiss francs have been invested by Holderbank in the rebranding process so far. The manuals, the homepage and many other internal and external tools have been redesigned and are ready for launch after the Annual General Meeting. Silos, cement trucks, helmets, letterheads and many other utensils, also in dozens of subsidiaries, have to be provided with the new logo, which will entail a multiple of costs.
From Holderbank to Holcim

With the Holcim logo used worldwide, Holderbank's globalization is also becoming a reality in the Group's corporate identity.
"Holderbank" - with leading and trailing signs - is the label of what is now the world's second-largest cement manufacturer. The company's history began in 1912 in the Aargau village of Holderbank, where raw material deposits led to the construction of a cement factory with the awkward name of Aargauische Portlandcement-Fabrik Holderbank-Wildegg. As early as the 1920s, investments were made in European cement companies. The company, owned by the Schmidheiny family - and today controlled by Thomas Schmidheiny - expanded into the Middle East and South Africa before the war, followed later by the establishment of a further network of holdings in North and Latin America and also in the Asia-Pacific region. The entrepreneurial family then merged the individual companies into a holding company, Holderbank Financière Glarus AG. In 1970, Holderbank Management und Beratung AG was founded.
Today, Holcim has a network of Group and associated companies in 70 countries with 45,000 employees, making it the most global of all cement manufacturers. An internationally applicable logo and a consistent corporate identity were therefore the obvious choice.