The marketing of the status symbol is increasingly becoming a matter for a few luxury groupsBy Luca AloisiDespite stock market slumps and gloomy economic forecasts, the Swiss watch industry is beaming with record sales figures. While manufacturers outdo each other in creativity, watch advertising is anything but innovative. It builds up the aura of the luxury product with global million-dollar budgets for events and stars.
This year's 29th World Watch and Jewelry Show in Basel could not have asked for a better start than the Swatch Group's brilliant annual report last week. After all, it tends to be representative of the entire industry. And because many people still have a lot of money in their pockets, the organizers of the fair expect that this year again around 9,000 visitors will flock to Basel. Expensive products in particular are becoming increasingly popular. And with the strong promotion of the luxury segment, the industry is also fully in line with the trend.
The pleasing results, however, have little to do with new revolutionary communication strategies. Just as the hands always (have to) stand in the smiling 9-by-10 position, watch advertising does not seem to have ventured into new ideas for several years. The concentration of luxury goods groups and their globalization of advertising and distribution have heavily loaded the timepiece emotionally and drowned out the formerly contemplative nuances with image codes from the fashion industry.
Jasmina Steele, International PR Director at Patek Philippe, confirms: "Many brands have said goodbye to technology- and product-oriented communication and are increasingly relying on an emotional visual language that can be used internationally. Apart from the design of the tickers themselves, most campaigns have meanwhile become the same again - interchangeability instead of profiling.
The credo of many watch advertisers:
"The product is the hero"
In contrast, the watch brand Ebel, which has belonged to the luxury goods group LVMH since October 1999, has bucked the style trend. After original implementations such as the artistic dreamscapes and the strategy with the wrists of stars such as Madonna or Harrison Ford, which was recognized as counterproductive after a market analysis and suspended, a campaign followed last year that increasingly focuses on the watch and visualizes detailed views.
"The shine of the metal or the flash of a diamond are intended to arouse emotions and reflect the esprit of Ebel," explains Edith Weibel, the PR manager, about the watchmaker's new appearance, which in recent years has depicted the brand claim "The Architects of Time" all too erratically. The latter will only be used in a weakened form in the new campaign planned for next fall.
With its approach of placing the watch at the center, Ebel joins the long list of brands that use the product as the fulcrum of their marketing. However, only those brands that actually have exceptional features succeed in doing so in a particularly image-shaping way. For example, Grey, Geneva, has been dramatizing Jaeger-Le-Coultre's legendary rotating cases for two years.
Those who can't come up with such particularities look for delimiting features in the brand history and present them in such a fascinating way, as the Milan agency Lowe Pirella Göttsche does for Panerai. In a provocative way that is unique in the watch industry, Wirz bridges the gap between large-format watches and ironic machismo for the prestige brand IWC.
Even the established watch designer Ruedi Külling (former advertiser and co-owner of Advico Young & Rubicam) remains true to his motto "The product is the hero" in advertising for his brand Xemex. "After all, the conscious buyer is concerned with the external appearance of the product," he says, but admits that people often also look for confirmation in the brand name and that this is accessed through an additional world such as celebrities or lifestyle.
Lifestyle and celebrities as
safe emotion mediators
Obviously, but in fact rather rarely, contemplative lifestyle is used as an environment for the visualization of the watch. Only a few manufactories, such as Patek Philippe and to some extent Baume & Mercier, appeal to the desirable icons of having and being with hedonistic codes.
Elegant people parade an elite lifestyle in discreet ads, exuding stylistic confidence, power and charm, while wearing the traditional status symbol on their wrist, which retains its value for generations. However, such ads hardly differ from the glamour of fashion and perfume advertising, which uses the same codes for status symbols. An example of the strong reference to fashion: the new campaign for Patek Philippe's Twenty-4 watch, which was realized by a well-known team that otherwise works for fashion and cosmetics.
More and more watch brands are letting world-famous athletes, actors, musicians and artists embody the world of success and prestige. Not only Omega relies on draught horses like Cindy Crawford and Michael Schumacher. Tag Heuer, Longines, Movado, Rolex and others successfully entered into a symbiosis of watches and celebrities. But in the end, who remembers whether Boris Becker stands for Omega or for Tag? No matter how authentic the commitment may seem, even celebrity advertising has its limits and can quickly falter, as Becker's tarnished image currently proves.
For newcomers, the
Successes can be deceptive
Watch advertising today is mainly aimed at maintaining or even increasing brand awareness, which is not an easy task in the face of increasing competition. The good business deals might encourage one to see the current marketing tactics as a promising perpetual motion machine. For as long as the overall sales pie was growing, even newcomers were selling their expensive tickers to women and men, even though the young brand profile was drowning in the masses.
But what will happen if the leading indicators prove to be right and a global recession threatens? In fact, the market situation is changing: On the one hand, the favorable Swiss franc exchange rate is likely to soon be a thing of the past;
Second, the negative demand shocks are no longer limited to the USA and Japan.
Particularly in the case of luxury goods, a recognizable brand personality and a large brand equity are worth their weight in gold. But how can brand awareness and its perceived uniqueness be built up if no marketing roller worth millions is affordable? With uniqueness, especially in advertising concepts.
The Swiss Watch Federation is convinced that if efforts are not made, luxury brands are also threatened with extinction. Today more than ever. According to analysts, a watch company would have to invest several million francs or about a quarter of its sales in its image. But the fact that many brands - not only young ones - did not take care of a dense semantic network in their advertising during the upswing could take revenge. Although luxury is recession-resistant, the ranks among the prestige brands could thin out in the future.

Kurt W. Zimmermann, a member of Tamedia's Management Board, will leave the company at the beginning of 2002 to set up his own business as a management consultant after ten years of commitment to Tamedia.Kurt W. Zimmermann remains silent about Board dissent
That's what the Tamedia communiqué says. But no one in the industry believes that "Zimmi," who played a key role in shaping the SonntagsZeitung, "invented" Facts, and launched TV 3 and Winner.ch, is leaving voluntarily. Rather, it is rumored that he aspired to succeed Michel M. Favre as CEO, but was rebuffed by the Board of Directors.
Zimmermann is not upset by the rumors, but remains silent about a possible disagreement with the Board of Directors, preferring to emphasize that he has already experienced much of the excitement of helping to shape a major company: Over the past ten years, he has been quite successful in the areas of print, TV, and the Internet, and has often been able to represent the company to the outside world. That's why he, who has already worked for Jean Frey, Ringier and Curti Medien, is ready for something new at the age of 50. "As a manager, I was controlled by others; with the planned independence, I want to regain more control over my time budget," he says. (mk)

On January 1, AD Kajo Bächle and multimedia producer Olivier Chauliac founded their own agency for visual communication called Clus Communications. "Clus paves the way between two valleys, creates new connections and brings people together," is the agency founders' corporate philosophy. As a link between clients and their customers, the agency aims to generate quirky and innovative ideas. "Thanks to our network of PR, advertising agencies and production specialists, we implement these clearly, honestly and sustainably in the media," says Olivier Chauliac. The team uses all channels of modern visual design to achieve this (ko).

Youth becomes the new hobbyhorse of the Equi Media publishing houseBy Markus KnöpfliLike the virgin to the child, Equi Media AG came up with the youth magazine Twin. Its foundations were laid by the same people who developed the new concept for Pfiff. Twin was launched on March 7 with an initial circulation of 65,000 copies.
The fact that Equi Media AG, of all companies, a publishing house specializing in equine publications (PferdeWoche, SwissTurf), has now launched the youth magazine Twin is pure coincidence. Owner Christian Jacques had no such plans. But he knew Werner Zuber and Jacqueline Gervasi and had open ears for their ideas.
A year ago, Zuber and Gervasi had already been able to partially realize their ideas for a youth magazine at the Zurich-based Büry-Verlag, a wholly owned subsidiary of Akeret-Verlag, Dielsdorf (Zürcher Unterländer) since 1999, but only partially. What could be realized there with the new concept for Pfiff did not satisfy either of them, which is why they left Büry-Verlag and finally reached a commercial agreement with Equi Media AG.
Twin, which was first published on March 7, is available free of charge at 168 post offices in German-speaking Switzerland as well as at 170 youth meeting points, apprentice departments of large companies, schools and City Disc branches. "We want to be where the young people are anyway," says Zuber, explaining the distribution concept. From April, Twin will also be available in the departure gates at Kloten Airport with an additional 15,000 copies, and will also be offered on Balair, CTA and Edelweiss aircraft as the only youth magazine.
The four-color magazine in tabloid format for 14- to 20-year-olds makes no compromises when it comes to distribution. If you want to get your hands on the free paper every 14 days, you have to pick it up at the distribution points; subscriptions are not possible.
Abstaining from alcohol and
Cigarette advertising
In terms of content, the Twin editorial team, with its 16- to 30-year-old freelancers, also covers "classic" youth topics such as music, charts or cinema, but according to Zuber, it places particular emphasis on the topics of school and vocational training. Political decisions with references to young people are also to feature.
Of the minimum 32 pages, a maximum of one third will be filled with advertisements, promises Zuber. A four-color, full-page ad costs 7830 Swiss francs. If Twin receives ten such advertisements per issue - which Zuber considers realistic, despite the fact that there will be no tobacco or alcohol advertising - it will be possible to start a year with the
break-even can be expected.
Twin is looking for partnerships with various media. A cooperation exists with the program "Videogang" on Tele 24, while talks are still underway with the youth radio stations 105 and Virus. Twin can be found on the Internet at www.twinline.ch, but this presence only plays second fiddle.
And how does Twin position itself among Swiss youth titles? Zuber: "We're aiming for a younger target audience. We're closest to Pfiff, but have the larger distribution area and a more target-group-oriented sales concept."

Peter Badat and Sascha Gassmann got to know each other at Schober Direktmarketing AG, where they headed the IT department for a decade, and have now founded their own company based in Höri - BG Informatik GmbH. Its services are divided into two main areas: Efficient data processing of all address and communication data and consulting in the direct marketing sector. "Our first priority now is to further develop and optimize our self-developed programs," explains Peter Badat. In a later phase, BG Informatik should establish itself as a brand and cover a broader customer base. The duo intends to put these goals into practice by providing high-quality services. "The size of our company ensures optimum flexibility," Badat emphasizes. In addition, both he and his partner have very sound expertise. Badat adds: "We understand what our customers want, even if they don't speak IT or direct marketing Chinese." (ko)

"Affaire Bilan": Jeannet scolded by the Swiss Press CouncilBy Christophe BüchiFor months, Bilan editor-in-chief Alain Jeannet has had to defend himself against accusations that he was too compliant with the business community. The Press Council has come to the conclusion that Jeannet violated journalistic ethics by accepting a discounted Jordi watch and with his PR work for the Kudelski company. On the other hand, Jeannet was exonerated on other points.
What is now known in the French-speaking press as the "Bilan affair" has been simmering for months. It began last year when two editors of the newspaper resigned. They justified their resignation with reasons of conscience; they could not accept the course of their new boss Jeannet. They accused him of wanting to turn the business magazine, which under Jeannet's (recently deceased) predecessor Max Mabillard had pursued a fairly independent course, into a compliant business newspaper.
The accusations were vehemently denied by Jeannet, but were taken up by the French-speaking section of the Swiss Journalists' Association. The Syndicat lémanique des journalistes took the incident as an opportunity to demand that the Edipresse group, to which Bilan belongs, introduce an editorial statute as quickly as possible.
The association and the journalists finally took the case to the Swiss Press Council, which took it very seriously. This is because it provides a textbook example of the duties and rights of journalists, which is why it is of more than just regional interest.
The gift to the editor-in-chief was over the top
The Vice President of the Press Council, Daniel Cornu, former editor-in-chief of the Tribune de Genève and now head of the Western Switzerland Journalism Training Center in Lausanne, presented the detailed and nuanced conclusions of the professional tribunal to the media. The second chamber of the Press Council came to the conclusion that Jeannet had clearly missed the mark in two cases.
First of all, by letting Ethnofever guru Michel Jordi "gift" him an expensive watch at factory price. According to the press councils, such a gift exceeded the usual level of gratuity and was likely to restrict the journalistic independence of the editor-in-chief and his editorial team.
Jeannet was also found guilty on another point. In the 1999 annual report of the Kudelski company, he had himself photographed on a whole page as a participant at the Davos World Economic Forum, where Kudelski is responsible for entrance security. Jeannet argued that this PR campaign served to launch the new Bilan. However, the Press Council came to the conclusion that Jeannet had violated the rule that journalists must not allow themselves to be used for individual companies.
Unmentioned advertisement boycott
against balance sheet
There was also criticism on another point. The Press Council complained that an advertising boycott by Rentenanstalt against Bilanz was not publicized by its sister newspaper Bilan. A Bilanz article that had provoked the wrath of pension providers had not been published by Bilan, and without justification. This was not correct. Advertising boycotts should be publicized in the interests of readers.
On other points, however, Jeannet was acquitted. For example, the plaintiffs had been upset about a crate of champagne sent to the editorial office by the PR man of a Geneva bank and friend of Jeannet's - the banker in question now runs a chronicle in Bilan. The Press Council was unable to substantiate the accusation of a relationship and cronyism. Jeannet was also accused of changing articles by his employees without asking - but for the Press Council, an editor-in-chief has the right to do so.
The Press Council only has moral authority
With this ruling, the Press Council made a Solomonic decision. Both sides were able to declare themselves satisfied at the drop of a hat. Jeannet sees the decision as recognition of his journalistic independence, while the journalists' association is pleased that the Press Council at least pulled out the yellow card.
The decision has no direct consequences: The Press Council "only" has moral authority. Nevertheless, with this decision, the Press Council is helping to remind journalists of the importance of maintaining a certain distance from the economy. However, Cornu points out that Jeannet should not be made a scapegoat and sent into the desert: many journalists accepted discounts on flight tickets, for example, without batting an eyelid. Every journalist must therefore ask themselves how they feel about their own independence...
Corrigendum

In Advertising Week No. 8/01, we made a mistake in the illustration of the article "Die SP geht links.ch". We showed the Zurich weekly P.S., referred to it in the caption as "SP-Blatt" and assumed that it would have to make way for the new SPS monthly links.ch.
That was not correct. According to Thierry Frochaux, Publishing Director at P.S. Verlag GmbH, P.S. is neither an organ of the city of Zurich SP nor of the cantonal party and has no financial connection to them. P.S. will therefore continue to be published independently of an SPS monthly newspaper.
Publishing director Frochaux confirms that Koni Löpfe, President of the SP Stadt Zürich, is co-owner of P.S. Verlag and also part of the editorial team. However, he notes that P.S. Verlag is privately run and independent of any political party and generates its turnover exclusively from subscriber contributions and advertisements. In short: "P.S. has about as much to do with the SP as the NZZ has to do with the FDP," says Frochaux.

Since January, Mediavision has held a 35 percent market share in French-speaking SwitzerlandBy Markus KnöpfliCinecom & Media's monopoly as Swiss cinema marketer is visibly crumbling. The French competitor Mediavision seems to have an easy game, especially in French-speaking Switzerland. That is why Cinecom is now strengthening its presence there.
"With a market share of
95 percent, Cinecom is the market leader in the Swiss cinema market." This sentence has recently appeared on Cinecom & Media's press releases. The sentence is doubly interesting: Cinecom admits that it is no longer the sole ruler of the Swiss cinema market. Moreover, the market share figure corresponds to a rough average of the years 2000 and 2001, which shows that Cinecom has become cautious. Its market share in 2000 was about 97 percent, while that of 2001 is expected to be 92 percent. And in 2002, it is likely to decline further.
But a brief history: Cinecom's cinema marketing monopoly, which had existed since 1996, came to an end in November 1999. At that time, Geneva's multiplex cinema Balexert was opened, with owner Village-Road-Show already carrying a lease agreement with French cinema marketer Mediavision (MV). This made the Balexert the first Swiss cinema without a Cinecom lease.
And MV had thus achieved one goal: it was able to set a strong foot in Switzerland with the Balexert. With success: in 2000 alone, the Balexert recorded a good 500,000 cinema admissions, representing a market share of
of 29 percent in the canton of Geneva
and a market share of around
3 percent in Switzerland as a whole. In addition, the Balexert is drawing audiences away from other locations. Although Geneva recorded 1.7 million admissions last year, 100,000 more than in 1999, this shows that while the new multiplex generated additional admissions, it also took four times as many visitors away from other cinemas - a shift that can be observed in a similar form at other multiplexes.
Mediavision is busy acquiring new halls
But that's not all: last year, Mediavision did not sit on the Balexert, but brought 31 more movie theaters under its lease in French-speaking Switzerland. Since January 2001, MV has thus been marketing 44 movie theaters, which corresponds to 1.5 million admissions per year (basis 2000) and a market share of 35 percent in French-speaking Switzerland (around 8 percent in Switzerland as a whole). Since July 2000, MV has also been marking its presence with its own branch in Lausanne. The General Manager of Mediavision Suisse SA is Olivier Bloch, who is also Director of Mediapresse Pub SA, which has been handling advertising sales for MV since 1999.
As Bloch explained on request, MV is actively acquiring further cinemas. According to Bloch, it is already clear that as of 2002, at least 13 more cinemas will be under contract with MV, making a total of 57, which would correspond to 2.2 million admissions or a market share of 50 percent in French-speaking Switzerland (12.5 percent in Switzerland as a whole).
Cinecom, which changed its name to RMB Switzerland on April 1 (see WW 9/01), has now awakened from its slumber: Under the leadership of Michael Steffan, previously head of Digital Cinefilm (one of two joint venture partners who founded Cinecom in 1995), a representative office is being set up in Lausanne under the name RMB Suisse Romande.
But Steffan puts it into perspective: The new RMB representation has not only to do with the new situation on the cinema market, but in general with the changes at Cinecom. Since Cinecom has taken over the marketing of not only cinema, but also TV and print over the course of the last few years, the company wants to be present in French-speaking Switzerland because of all these business areas. "We want to show that we are interested in new products," Steffan says. He also said that in the future, the company wants to be closer to the French-speaking Swiss market and thus more flexible in order to better serve its customers. "But you can't say that we have neglected western Switzerland in recent years," notes Steffan, himself a Romand.
And he also cites proof: Just last week, Cinecom succeeded in renewing its contract with Metrociné, the largest cinema operator in French-speaking Switzerland (and number 2 in Switzerland), "for several years" - despite MV's counteroffer. Metrociné has a total of 29 movie theaters in the cities of Lausanne and Geneva, which, according to Steffan, corresponds to 1.6 million admissions per year and a market share in Western Switzerland of around 38 percent (all of Switzerland: 9.5 percent).

Even if Publicitas does not list certain free newspapers in the print directory on www.publicitas.ch, but does list competing products, no unlawful conduct can be proven, writes the Secretariat of the Competition Commission (ComCo) in its response to a complaint from Willy Grüninger, publisher of Winterthurer Woche and Schaffhauser Bock. Grüninger, also president of the Swiss Free Newspaper Association, wrote in September that Publicitas (P) was discriminating against the independent free newspapers, despite a cooperation agreement, because P had concluded lease agreements with the corresponding competitor products that were more lucrative than the mere brokerage business.
The Competition Commission Secretariat countered that the P website was still under construction. In principle, P had declared its willingness to accept any title. Furthermore, the volume of internet orders currently corresponds to less than one percent of orders, which is why even newspapers that are not (yet) listed on the website only have to accept "marginal losses". What's more, Winterthurer Woche and Schaffhauser Bock were recently added to www.publicitas.ch.
But not Biel/Bienne. The Competition Commission Secretariat is therefore warning P: it is "aware of PubliGroupe's powerful market position in the placement of advertising space in Switzerland", it says. It therefore reserves the right to initiate formal proceedings if there are any indications of unlawful conduct (mk).

Turnus only wants to produce feature films; commercials and commissioned films will be taken over by AbsolutBy Andreas PanzeriThe Swiss film production company Turnus Film AG is closing its infrastructure with studios and post-production in Gutenswil after 40 years. In future, owner Hans G. Syz only wants to
still produce feature films. Commercial film production will be continued by Reiner Roduner's Absolutturnus Film AG.
"Hans has developed a desire to make more feature films. I want to greatly expand the advertising sector. So it turned out that we found an ideal solution together," says Reiner Roduner, commenting on the coup that came as a surprise to the Swiss film scene. Turnus is parting with its advertising business.
Following the motto "back to the roots", Hans Syz wants to produce only feature films under the traditional name Turnus in future. Syz's desire to do so has grown after his first cinema project, "Das Fähnlein der sieben Aufrechten" (The Flag of the Seven Upright), was successfully released in cinemas recently.
Hans G. Syz has teamed up with partners Lukas Erni and Terje Gaustad for his new turn. In future, Reiner Roduner from Absolut Film in Zurich will be responsible for the operational management of advertising and commissioned films. If required, Syz will continue to be available to him for production and acquisition.
During the realization phase of the film "Das Fähnlein der sieben Aufrechten", Hans G. Syz worked intensively with Absolut Film and Roduner. "This cooperation proved to be very efficient and harmonious, so that the idea of an overarching collaboration was born," explain Syz and Roduner, who had already met as cameraman and production manager at Condor.
Syz acquired Turnus, founded by Hanspeter Roth-Grieder in 1959, in 1989 and has since shot more than 1000 commercials as a producer and, in some cases, cameraman. The production facilities in Gutenswil are considered spacious and modern. Nevertheless, the new situation means they are to be closed down towards the end of the year.
"In Switzerland, there is no longer any need for a studio of this size with so much material. When I produce a commercial or a feature film, I rent the individual elements from the relevant specialists," says Syz. What's more, large-scale jobs like the ones he was responsible for two or three years ago for Migros or Milka, for example, are becoming increasingly rare in today's world. Although the editing suites will remain in the possession of Turnus Film AG, they will move to Absolut Film in Zurich. A beautiful editing suite is to be set up there, which Syz will also be able to use for his feature films in future.
The old studios in Gutenswil are to be repurposed from the end of this year once the structural change has been completed. The digital recording studio, which has been expanded with new equipment, will be taken over by the two sound engineers. They will become self-employed and also move to Zurich to the newly planned post-production center "Das Werk". Their recording studio will operate under the name Philippmoritz.
Otherwise, Turnus "has been scaled back in terms of personnel for a long time", says Syz. In the new situation, a solution has been found for everyone. Some of the permanent employees will return to the free market, as Absolut will "work without a large infrastructure", he explains.
Roduner can look back on over 15 years of experience as a commercial film producer. For his company, which will be registered as Absolutturnus Film AG in future, he expects "a great potential of clients that I can reactivate". For some months now, Roduner has also been looking around Europe for "the best directors", which he intends to offer through his company in the medium term.
In addition to the conception and realization of TV and cinema commercials, Absolutturnus will continue to specialize in the production of sports, cultural and Meteo sponsorship commercials. Since 1994, Roduner has been exclusively responsible for over 390 Meteo billboards - Jelmoli, Migros, Minolta, Vögele - and various contributions for the Zurich Insurance commitment to the news program "10 to 10".
Hans G. Syz will continue to be available as a consultant to certain customers at Absolut on request. And, of course, you will still be able to spot the old hand behind the camera from time to time in the future.

The global retailetat of the hair care group Wella will in future be managed by the German advertising agency Select Communications.NewsSelect and Bates for Wella
Select won the pitch against Bates, Michael Conrad & Leo Burnett, Springer & Jacoby and D'Arcy. Select is responsible for the creation. Bates Worldwide is responsible for adaptation in the international markets.
August Busch IV: Advertiser of the Year
August A. Busch IV will be named Advertiser of the Year 2001 at the Cannes Festival. Busch is head of marketing for the US beer group Anheuser-Busch and great-great-grandson of the company founder. In 1995, he terminated the contract with D'Arcy St. Louis after 80 years of collaboration and launched an advertising strategy with several agencies and different campaign concepts simultaneously. Most recently, DDB's "Whassup?" commercials for Anheuser-Busch's Budweiser brand achieved cult status and won numerous awards.
Cooperation between Schibsted and Springer? rumors are circulating in Germany about a cooperation between Schibsted and Springer in the free newspaper sector. Talks are said to have taken place between the two publishers. Ekkehard Kuppel, CEO of 20 Min. Holding AG, denied this to WerbeWoche: "We are holding numerous talks, in Switzerland for example also with Metro, Tages-Anzeiger and NZZ." What is certain is that both publishers have new projects in the pipeline.
Strawberry Frog advertises for SprintThe American telecoms group Sprint has commissioned the Amsterdam agency Strawberry Frog with the launch campaign for its expansion into Europe and Asia. The young advertising agency, whose founders include Uli Wiesendanger, focuses on international budgets. It uses a global network of freelancers for this purpose. In September, Strawberry Frog won the global branding account from Credit Suisse.

Mission is the name of the new photo production company that Mary Pratt founded in New York City at the end of last year.The Swiss has lived in the metropolis since 1994 and was previously a partner at Photo Group Productions.From her office in Soho, Pratt takes care of locations, castings, budgets, permits, insurance, hotel and travel arrangements, and puts together the teams: "The most important thing is that you can think your way into a photographer's visual style," is how she describes her task. For photographer Clang, Pratt has produced campaigns for Citibank, IBM, Absolut and Hermès, among others. Their collaboration has also earned them ADC gold.
Pratt produces all over the world, but most shoots take place on American soil, in Florida, on the West Coast and, of course, in New York. She has put her thorough knowledge of the Big Apple to good use in the equally original and personal city guide "NYC
A-Z" summarized. (tb)

After ten years of cooperation, the Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute (GDI) in Rüschlikon is separating from the Swiss Sales Promotion Forum and withdrawing from the cooperation with Fuhrer & Partner.The intention is to meet the demand for innovative knowledge transfer and international orientation more strongly with own events, explained Christian Zwinggi, Head of PR & Media at the GDI. "We want to be the leading institute for trade and its environment in Europe. The ongoing Europeanization of trade urgently needs to be taken into account."