20 Minuten about its Internet portalThe 20min.ch portal was launched on December 8 and was officially presented to the media scene on January 25. But first, let's take a look at the portal: it can be rebuilt and customized by any registered user, just like a game of building blocks. If you don't want constantly updated 20-minute news, you can place your bookmarks, any services or your own picture on the homepage. Consequently, project manager Sacha Wigdorovits stated: "The importance of our newspaper will decrease in favor of the Internet, SMS and mobile Internet."
But this is part of the 20 Minuten philosophy, which states that 20 Minuten wants to establish direct contact with portal users and/or readers throughout the day and in any way possible. Specifically, this is to be achieved by means of print, Internet, radio, SMS, posters and TV - in cooperation with existing or future partners.
20min.ch currently offers customers eight tools, including banners and buttons, free e-mails, sponsoring (competitions, games) and so-called expert chats. All of these can currently be combined alone or with print or SMS to create customer-specific packages.
"20 Minuten is the only cross-media platform in Switzerland that consistently lives up to its claim," said Markus Müller, Head of Marketing at 20 Minuten (Schweiz) AG, at the presentation. Maybe so.
Risky number-crunching for portal users
But 20 Minuten is also consistent in its daring use of figures. For example, the commuter newspaper was not above extrapolating 20 Minuten's readership figures from Mach Basic 2000 Zurich to the whole of German-speaking Switzerland and comparing them with other titles.
The portal's reach was achieved in a similarly risky way. But other figures currently say more: According to Müller, after six weeks, 10,000 people have registered as users at 20min.ch and 5,000 have set up a free e-mail. The portal averages 150,000 page impressions per day.
Markus Knöpfli

New advertising combination in the canton of Bern - against the Bernese bearBy Markus KnöpfliHardly on the market and already active: the Anzeiger Region Bern, which was only launched at the beginning of the year, has joined forces with six other advertisers to form the Anzeiger Region Bern Plus advertising combination. The new combined publication with a total circulation of 235,394 copies has been available since January 19.
The Anzeiger Region Bern, which covers all households in the city of Bern and 14 surrounding municipalities, alone contributes 14,000 copies to the new combination. Other members are the Anzeiger Amt Schwarzenburg (11200 copies), the Amtsanzeiger Laupen (12700), the Anzeiger Amt Aarberg (14600), the Anzeiger Fraubrunnen (14600), the Anzeiger Konolfingen (25100) and the Anzeiger Seftigen (15800). In all these areas, the Kombi reaches all households, even those with stop stickers on their letterboxes.
Bookings can be made via the Publicitas Bern clearing office; the combined rate costs CHF 3.93 per millimeter. However, all titles can still be booked individually, as can existing sub-combinations such as the Aare-Sense combination.
According to Andreas Spycher, advertising manager of Anzeiger Region Bern, the new combined newspaper - and also advertising manager of Der Bund - Anzeiger Region Bern Plus is primarily aimed at the Berner Bär from Berner Tagblatt Medien (BTM).
The aim was also to include in the Kombi those areas that are strongly oriented towards the city of Berne in terms of shopping and consumption. Remarkably, the new Kombi was also able to attract advertisers that until recently were affiliated with the Tagblatt der Stadt Bern (BTM).
Paul Galli, responsible for the Berner Bär at BTM, does not see his paper in isolation. At best, the new Kombi competes with his Expo-Kombi (Berner Bär, Biel-Bienne, Solothurner Woche and Burgdorfer Woche) with a circulation of around 333,000 copies. However, the Anzeiger Region Bern Plus is relatively expensive in comparison, he says.

Jury President of the Public Ads Series categoryJury President of the Public Ads Series category
What is so groundbreaking about the campaign for Open Systems that it went gold?
The campaign for Open Systems is groundbreaking in that it makes something virtual, namely computer viruses, quickly, simply and surprisingly visible and thus easily comprehensible for everyone.
How do you rate the level in your category? Do you see any new trends?
Schweizer: Big, good campaigns for big clients seem to be becoming rarer. Is this a trend? Then Kuoni is the outstanding exception.
How is the quality of this advertising vintage in general?
Schweizer: Overall about the same as other years.
Which works could have a chance at the Cannes Festival?
Swiss: Open Systems, Kuoni, Hakle and the Winner TV commercials.
What did you pay particular attention to during the evaluation?
Schweizer: On the criteria for bronze, silver and gold, as the ADC once chiseled them into marble.
The ADC is 25 years old: is that why you are setting the bar even higher than usual?
Schweizer: That would have been stupid. Quality has nothing to do with jubilee years.

Jury president of the category Advertising Film, TV Trailer/TV DesignWhat is so groundbreaking about the Hakle windshield wiper commercial that it won gold? The commercial gets to the heart of the not-so-appetizing consumer benefit in a funny way.
How do you rate the level in your category? Do you see any new trends?
Strahm: The standard in the film category was higher than last year. However, it would be a little premature to talk about trends. Perhaps Switzerland will develop into a film nation after all.
How is the quality of this advertising vintage in general?
Strahm: Just like other years. Some things stand out - and lots and lots of junk.
Which works could have a chance at the Cannes Festival?
Strahm: Off the top of my head: The "Hakle windshield wiper" and the "Renault Kangoo bank robbery" commercials, the Open Systems campaign, the Opera House Nutcracker poster - and of course our wonderful Tibits campaign.
What did you pay particular attention to during the evaluation?
Strahm: This year, especially the work of Advico Young & Rubicam.
The ADC is 25 years old: is that why you are setting the bar even higher than usual?
Strahm: No. I set the bar equally high every year, namely very high.

Fact number 1: On January 18, Zurich's raw materials warehouse threatened to burst.By Beat Fritsch and Ernst Weber A good 1400 people from advertising and business flocked to the trendy disco for the award of the title of Advertiser of the Year 2000.
Fact number 2: The highest recognition an advertiser can achieve in Switzerland was awarded to freelance concept designer Markus Ruf for his creative consistency. And within his year in office, he wants the advertiser to overtake the officer ranked one rank ahead of him in the ranking of the most popular professions. With Ruf, who replaced Danielle Lanz, a creative once again wears the advertising crown. And - detail on the side - the advertiser of the year is the "ex" of the ex-advertiser. So the title also stayed halfway in the family.
Facts: Readers of the magazine of the same name were probably the first to marvel at the outcome of the election. Before the official result was announced, the paper, which is not averse to speculative journalism, had printed in four colors that Frank Bodin was the new titleholder.
Fact number 3: He finished third behind Dominique von Matt. The CD of McCann-Erickson, Geneva, seemed to be so upset by this that he left the ceremony very soon.
Markus Ruf is the first advertiser of the year to receive an Egon. This is the name, with emphasis on Ego, given to the new Advertising Oscar, created by Zurich artist Max Grüter on behalf of WerbeWoche. The future of the event is assured even after Bertelsmann Springer's takeover of the Media Daten publishing house, said publishing director Beat Gründel during an interview with Radio 24's Christian Handelsman, who hosted the awards ceremony in a lively and witty manner.
The readers of WerbeWoche voted an appearance by Advico Young & Rubicam for the aid organization Médecins sans Frontières as the campaign of the year. Advico CD Martin Spillmann and Stephan Müller, responsible for fundraising in German-speaking Switzerland at Médecins, had the pleasure of receiving flowers, checks and victory kisses from the most charming temptation since Swiss women have existed. From the reigning Miss Switzerland Mahara McKay.
This year, for the first time, the "Card of the Year" was awarded. The prize was initiated by Walter Hügli, majority shareholder of the raw materials warehouse and Masani's, the company that sets up the card stands in trendy venues. "At least something," said with a smile Remy Fabrikant, whose agency won this prize with a Heineken subject: a card display worth 20000 francs.
With a lot of physical effort, the bikini girls Corinne and Susanne from Sport magazine vied for attention for a bikini special that will be published in mid-March. "The Australian Olympic team also had their pictures taken almost naked," said project manager Rainer Kupper. By the way, his ex-advertising consultant Alex Beeler will be seen more often further south in the future: The owner of Marengo is opening "The make it happen Company" in Genoa, which he wants to organize on a European scale.
Kupper has already secured a buyer for the bikini special. The CD of the St. Gallen DM agency Lammoth Mailkonzept, Oliver Rodau, already inquired on site about the exact release date in view of the naked facts.
"The whole event was poorly jalonized, and the supply of wine totally failed," complained Peter Lesch, co-owner of Lesch + Frei, on the other hand, who, like Publicis consultant Jean-Marie Egger, had missed the award ceremony.
While Creative Director Claude Catsky said it was a jubilant day for all creatives because someone from their own guild had been elected, Monika Luck would have preferred to see the title go to Frank Bodin: "His campaigns were interesting, people talked about each one," said the Managing Director of Swiss Advertising.
Kilian Gasser and Ueli Gertsch from Facts publishing house were also less pleased with the choice. They were taken up several times during the evening for the duck produced by the new editor-in-chief Hannes Britschgi. Any bets that it will be waddling through the heads of Swiss advertisers for a long time to come?
The party was also, how could it be otherwise, an exchange of information. For example, we learned from Erika Kessler that she will be leaving the Migros agency Exxtra to take up a job in Munich. But Exxtra is also happy about a new addition: Martina Glaser, formerly with Persönlich, has recently strengthened the agency's team.
Sandro Proietto (ex Cinecom) and Florian Biafori (ex CIA) announced that they had founded their own agency called Mediagate. The aim is the marketing of special media forms à la beverage bases or wild posters. One might still hear from Mediagate in the future. The new entrepreneurs came to the party with their friends Alodia Najera and Claudia Scivoli.
Accompanied by personnel consultant Inge Willmann, advertiser Victor Zahn was seen. Inge's life partner, Tagi sales manager Fridolin Holdener, unfortunately had to pass because he is severely handicapped. At the moment, he sees more doctors and physiotherapists than colleagues in the industry. The poor man has been suffering from a fractured vertebra for almost two months, which is why we wish him a speedy recovery.
The lounge was a delightful place to be, even though it was almost bursting at the seams. The latest cigar creations from the house of Avo Uvezian, generously brought to the people by Kurt Stalder, could be sampled. The matching Rémy Martin was also served in no short supply. In the lounge, therefore, it was mainly the connoisseur faction that could be found, such as Gebi
J. Schregenberger or Werner Steinbrüchel, but also Natalie Schneider, Sacha Baer and Thomas Rüttimann. The latter came accompanied by Grazia Lerose, and to our question whether she worked for him, Rüttimann answered with a telling "not yet". A popular meeting point was the photo corner of Shortlist photographer Claudia Linsi, provided by Nikon advertising manager Marco Rosenfelder and set up by his employee Félix Etienne.
The other sponsors were also satisfied. Matthias Luchsinger from Cinecom was met at the bar table together with Nicole Steinegger and Hélène Müller. The early summer advertising parties in Cannes were reviewed, probably also in view of the prevailing cold. Conclusion: We can party just as beautifully as the rest of the world. And the promise of certain exponents to behave better next time they are in Cannes means that Nicole Steinegger can now look forward to the upcoming advertising film festival with a little more confidence.
At the Coop press stand, Miss Switzerland attracted attention before her stage appearance, and this also among the competition. The pretty Mahara seemed to have taken such a fancy to Brückenbauer's advertising manager Josef Nietlisbach that he wanted to be in the picture when Thomas Schönenberger and Karlfrieder Fuchs from Coop posed with Yolanda Lenot from Publimag and Coop advertiser Daniel Seiler from Schneider Berthoud. Also in the entrance area were sales manager Daniel Egger with Sandra Hüppi and Patrick Hofer from the Internet shopping pool Kaufcom.
Sacha Wigdorovits from sponsor 20 Minuten had his picture taken with Eugen Baumgartner from Eugen Kommunikation. After the christening of the advertising statue "Egon", the latter was thinking about a possible name change for his agency. Perhaps one could profit a bit from an image transfer, Baumgartner said to the 20 Minuten board of directors.
Qualiclick key account holder Roger Baur probably didn't want to be left behind in view of Mahara McKay and Miss Bern, Masha Santschi, and immediately introduced companion Diana Risola to us as Miss Qualiclick.
The big party was enjoyed even by the last and the most distant. Only here and there a very quiet criticism was heard. Because of the crowds, some visitors went home with growling stomachs. The buffet simply could not have been reached in a reasonable time. But since five bars with plenty of liquids were set against the food counter, the hungry visitors turned a blind eye for once.
BEAT FRITSCH AND ERNST WEBER

sounded the big salute to the industry celebrities at the Advertiser of the Year party. Once again, all the big names were present at the awards ceremony, which was held this year at the in-club Rohstofflager.
Anyone else who meets in the communications industry will be located at a wide variety of events on the scene. Do you already have something to report? Reach for the receiver (01 296 97 98) or into the keys ([email protected]). Event tips as well as further shortlist pictures are available online at www.werbewoche.ch.

Neither the apple juice from the St. Gallen-based company Thurella nor former FC St. Gallen striker Charles Amoah is likely to be familiar to Austrians. With the transfer of the top striker from St. Gallen to Sturm Graz, that’s set to change. Thurella—that is, the marketing and advertising agency ammarkt—has used the transfer as an opportunity to promote its product in Austria with a poster campaign featuring Amoah’s likeness and the slogan «Here comes the natural wonder from Switzerland. Good luck, Sturm Graz!» But we’re not telling the Austrians that Amoah is from Ghana and doesn’t exactly look like a natural wonder from Switzerland. Traber and Stoll & Partner are merging. The 30-year-old Bern-based agency Traber Werbung is merging with the PR agency Stoll & Partner effective May 1. Stoll Traber & Partner AG will launch with 14 employees and move into new headquarters in Bern’s Kirchenfeld district. As early as February 15, Stoll & Partner will be joined by Peter Matthys, previously a member of the executive board at Burson-Marsteller Switzerland.
A Triumph for Human Rights? In an ad campaign, the human rights organization Declaration of Bern (EvB) is protesting the manufacture of Swiss women’s underwear in Burma with a bra made of barbed wire. The Triumph brand is accused of supporting the military dictatorship there through its production facility in Burma. A hot-button issue for the newspapers. The SonntagsZeitung and Cash agreed to print the ad only on the condition that the name of the company in question not be mentioned directly. The Weltwoche, on the other hand, refused to publish the ad on principle. «We generally do not print images of violence,» Ludwig Hasler, deputy editor-in-chief of the Weltwoche, explained the decision to WerbeWoche. With the same text and a different image, Hasler said, publication would have been possible. This reasoning surprises Stefan Indermühle, coordinator of the Clean Clothes Campaign at the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), since his cause is, after all, to raise awareness of human rights. Furthermore, *Die Weltwoche* rejected the ad to the EvB on the grounds that it was too aggressive toward the Swiss economy; from the EvB’s perspective, this would logically mean that every international Swiss company would have to be accused of human rights violations.

Weibel & Partner Under New Ownership. The Lucerne-based advertising agency Weibel & Partner is getting new owners. After 40 years in the business, the previous owner, Rudolf Weibel, is retiring from the industry. Claudio Bossi, Julio Malo, and Oliver Stadelmann will succeed him. Stadelmann has been a member of the agency’s management team for some time. Bossi previously worked at Weibel & Partner and is currently deputy head of marketing communications at Schindler Elevators AG. Malo is familiar with the agency from the client side as the former head of marketing at the software company Intentia Switzerland.
Wybo Opens a Branch in Hong Kong. The advertising agency Wybo Haas & Tomczak is planning to open a branch in Hong Kong. Until now, Wybo has been represented in its home country of Sweden and in Switzerland. By expanding into the Far East, Wybo aims to improve its service to its largest client: For the Swedish-Swiss industrial conglomerate ABB, the agency is, among other things, developing a communications strategy for the company’s initial public offering on Wall Street, which is planned for this year.
THE GOOD DEED. True to the slogan «A Good Deed Every Day,» the Jung von Matt JvM am Main agency developed a campaign for the Boy Scouts on a pro bono basis. The idea is based on a long list of celebrities who were Boy Scouts in their youth. Among them are Nobel laureates, queens and kings, astronauts, and pop stars. And, of course, Til Wagner, the managing director of the advertising agency JvM am Main. The Scout Foundation is now using these personalities to promote its cause: attracting new members and donors. The first ad campaigns featuring Harald Schmidt and John F. Kennedy have already appeared free of charge in consumer magazines. More celebrities are set to share their good deeds in future waves of the campaign.
The Presidents of the Cannes Jury. The Cannes International Advertising Film Festival (June 18–23) has announced the jury presidents for 2001. Bob Isherwood, Worldwide Creative Director at Saatchi & Saatchi, will chair both the Film and the Press & Poster juries. The Cyber Lions jury will be led by Ulf Dahlsten, CEO of the web services provider Icon Medialab. Chris Ingram, Chairman of the Tempus Group (CIA), has been appointed chairman of the Media Lions jury. The organizers expect more than 9,000 visitors from the advertising and marketing industries. Over 16,000 entries are expected to compete for the coveted Lions.
«Swiss Posters of the Year» is on hiatus. The «Swiss Posters of the Year» competition, which has been held for 60 years, is taking a break. As announced by the Federal Office of Culture, the competition is to be adapted to reflect changes in poster design. The aim is to acknowledge the fact that, in the case of commercial posters, artistic considerations have taken a back seat. To reorient the competition, its organizers—the Allgemeine Plakatgesellschaft (APG) and the Federal Department of Home Affairs—need sufficient time. Therefore, there will be no judging in 2001 of the posters that were displayed last year.

Vaudoise is focusing on TV sponsorship. To increase its brand awareness in German-speaking Switzerland, Vaudoise Insurance will sponsor two SF DRS programs in the new year: «Aeschbacher» and «Sportpanorama.» This sponsorship also aligns with the company’s support of the Zurich New Year’s Eve Run and the National Soccer League. A campaign featuring print ads, TV spots, and radio spots will launch on January 22. Vaudoise generates 40 to 50 percent of its premium revenue in German-speaking Switzerland.
Editorial: Greed Can Be This Positive
Las Vegas, the capital of the American entertainment industry, is experiencing an economic boom that is causing it to burst at the seams. No other place in the world is visited by so many people: it’s said that over 35 million people visited last year. America’s most dynamic city is constantly reinventing itself. Las Vegas is a kind of testing ground where one can observe what happens when no political regulations restrict the free market. The city offers the best real-world lesson in a philosophy of life driven by the spirit of money. This is where the marketing strategies of the future are designed and tested.
New Las Vegas is currently the fastest-growing city in the U.S. Until the mid-1980s, it was in decline because it had lost its monopoly as a gambling destination. As a result, Las Vegas revamped its image and transformed itself into a family-friendly theme park: a departure from the Mafia and «Sin City.» One after another, starting in 1989, gigantic hotel complexes were built out of the desert: Luxor, Excalibur, MGM, Caesars Palace, the Venetian, the Bellagio, and Paris. Within a few years, a sort of Disneyland for adults emerged, where every trick in the postmodern art of reference was pulled out of the bag. As a European, one might shake one’s head at the kitsch of this art world. But its success proves the planners right. Today, Las Vegas presents itself as a global entertainment and shopping mecca with luxurious hotel palaces, first-class restaurants, and boutiques from the world’s top designers. But as a leading trade show and convention city, it also aims to further solidify its image as a business destination.
Las Vegas has remained true to itself in one respect: it has perfected the art of getting tourists to spend their money. Although only half of New Las Vegas’s revenue comes from gambling, all paths in the hotels still lead through the casinos (see article on page 15). Nowhere else in the world has greed been portrayed in such a positive light as in Las Vegas. Scrooge McDuck sends his regards.
Samuel Helbling

A new process compares artwork and print resultBy Markus KnöpfliAdvertising clients now have a control process at their disposal that can be used to check the print quality of print advertisements. For the first time, it is also possible to find out who has messed up: the printer, the lithographer or the advertising agency.
What do you do if a printed cosmetics ad has bright colors instead of the desired pastel shades? Or if the bread in a promotional advertisement is a moldy shade of grey? Until now, many advertising clients have started their "complaint marketing" in such cases with the certainty that in the end there will often only be claims and counter-claims.
Such disputes should now come to an end. On the initiative of the Zolliker company Media Audit, the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa) and Ringier PreMedia, a division of Ringier Print, have developed a standardized control procedure for print quality in which the proof and the printed advertisement are compared using photospectral measurement. If the color values deviate too much (more than ten delta for newspapers and more than eight delta for magazines), the customer can demand a replacement.
The new process is called Print Quality Control (PQC), is unique in Europe and has already been accepted for print quality tests by Ringier, the Basler Mediengruppe, Tamedia and Berner Tagblatt Medien.
PQC puts an end to the motto "The printer is always to blame". Because even the best printer will print incorrectly if the proofs supplied are inadequate. In other words, the data supplied by the advertising agency and the lithographers' print documents can also be checked in future. However, PQC is not yet suitable for advertisements that are printed purely on the basis of online data without proofs. But according to Bruno Hörler, Head of Marketing at Ringier Print, forms of measurement are already being tested for this too.
PQC requires two things: For a proof to be suitable as a control template, a kind of calibrated color palette ("media wedge") must be attached to the side, which requires the use of new software. Secondly, a photo spectral measuring device is required for comparison with the print result.
If an advertiser is now considering having his advertisements checked, he can have a proof with media wedge produced. He can then designate four particularly sensitive measurement areas in terms of color where the proof and print are to be compared. A report of the measurement is created that shows any deviation at the four measuring points. Cost: CHF 250 per subject and publication or title.
Is a neutral company for PQC tests in disputes coming soon?
In addition to Ringier PreMedia, the large print shops are currently also able to produce proofs including a media wedge and carry out a measurement. However, the software and measuring device are available to all lithography companies. Hörler says that an open standard was deliberately wanted, because only a broad application of PQC improves print quality.
But the open standard also harbors a danger: PQC will lose credibility if any lithographer can test (and manipulate?) it in future. Karlheinz Müller from Media Audit therefore wants to set up a neutral company together with Ringier Print for PQC tests in cases of dispute. Hörler, on the other hand, is cautious. "We will only discuss this if there is real interest in PQC and a new platform. And if it turns into a business," he says.

Gross advertising expenditure for commercial advertising in Switzerland rose by 6.7% in November compared to the previous year, meaning that although growth picked up again compared to the weak increase of 1.8% in October, it remained below the annual average of 10.2%. The absolute record growth of 24.5 percent was achieved by posters in November; however, trade journals, which grew by 14.2 percent, and daily newspapers, which improved by 9.3 percent, can also be satisfied.television grew by 4.2 percent, halting the negative trend of the two previous months. Radio, on the other hand, which had previously been booming, slipped into the red for the first time in 2000, losing 1.7 percent. Consumer magazines also recorded their worst result of 2000 so far in November with a loss of 5.9%.
Cinema continued its decline with a loss of 11.2% and is the only medium in the red on an annual average (minus 7.3%). Meanwhile, banner advertising on the Internet generated a record CHF 4.175 million in November (dse).
Gross advertising expenditure by media

November 1999/2000 in comparison
in 1000 Fr. 1999 in 1000 Fr. 2000 +/- in %
Daily newspapers 156 442 170 926 9.3
Publ. journals 83 966 79 003 - 5.9
Trade journals 26 187 29 914 14.2
TV 73 604 76 719 4.2
Radio 12 070 11 860 - 1.7
Cinema 5,733 5,093 - 11.2
Teletext 1 691 1 691 0.0
Poster 24 464 30 458 24.5
Internet Banner - 4 175 -
Total 384 157 409 839 6.7
Source: Media Focus Hergiswil (NW)

Not yet official, but already on the Internet: If you click on www.espace.ch, you will come across the new portal of Berner Tagblatt Medien AG (BTM), which is neither advertised nor complete at present. However, according to an internal e-mail, the aim is to build up the project "step by step under real conditions".www.bzonline.ch, the existing homepage of the Berner Zeitung, is expected to be integrated into espace.ch from mid-February. This also applies to the websites of other BTM media. Espace.ch aims to be more than just a collection of links for the Group's own media: BTM wants to become the leading information provider on the Internet for Bern and the so-called Espace Mittelland (including Solothurn).
The aim is to create an open platform with a range of products and services for the private, business and public sectors. The BTM media will also be linked together. In future, it will not only be possible to access a BZ article in full or in part on espace.ch, but also to combine it with a corresponding audio file from Extra Bern and/or a video file from Tele Bärn.
Links to original documents are planned, as are attempts to involve the public with reader surveys, expert forums, user opinions and competitions. The BTM is also working on an agricultural portal for German-speaking Switzerland as part of espace.ch. (mk)

Swiss print media experienced a number of highs in the advertising market last yearBy Daniel SchifferleThe year 2000 was an absolute peak year for the advertising market. The booming job market led to positive growth rates for almost all title groups. However, although December was rather weak, the overall positive development is expected to continue in the current year.
December was one of the weakest months ever in the advertising market last year. Newspapers lost a total of 5.7 percent of commercial advertisements. And job advertisements also achieved a below-average result with an increase of "only" 25.6%, which was not able to compensate for the decline in commercial advertisements.
Newspapers ended the last month of the old year with a slight decline of 0.9%. However, this result should be put into perspective, as fewer issues were published in total. Magazines (minus 6.2 percent), gazettes (minus 12.1 percent) and the agricultural press (minus 5 percent) also closed the year down. However, this sluggish development at the end of the year cannot hide the good result for the year as a whole.
Only the agricultural press declined
The agricultural press was the only print category to record a negative result last year (minus 8.9%). All others enjoyed positive growth rates. Newspapers improved by 6.3% overall, with Ticino posting a below-average increase of 4.7%. However, this good result is due in large part to job advertisements, the volume of which increased by 31.2 percent in 2000, slightly more than in 1999 (plus 28.4 percent).
Without the booming job advertisements, growth would have been razor-thin at just 0.6%. And this is due exclusively to the weekly newspapers, which published 14.3 percent more commercial advertisements and massively boosted the overall result with this top result. However, the weekly titles in German-speaking Switzerland also achieved top growth of almost 200 percent in job advertisements thanks to the new Executive Plus management job market.
The Anzeiger were also strong in 2000. Thanks to the new commuter newspapers, they achieved an increase of 11.1 percent. However, the job market also played a major role here, as more than half of the 3494 pages of advertisements published by 20 Minuten and Metropol were job ads.
Magazines did not perform particularly well last year (up 4.2%), although it should not be forgotten that they have to make do without the booming job market. German-speaking Switzerland achieved growth of 5.3 percent with one additional title, while French-speaking Switzerland only saw an increase of 0.4 percent with one additional title. Ticino, on the other hand, performed best, with its two magazines printing 12.3 percent more advertisements than in 1999.
Publicitas Index achieves its best result to date
However, all print media can be pleased about one thing: the number of four-color advertisements increased significantly in 2000, by over 25 percent for newspapers and 9.8 percent for magazines.
The Publicitas index of advertising expenditure in the daily press rose from 124.5 points to 134.9 points in 2000. This corresponds to an increase of 10.4 points or around CHF 200 million. The index thus achieved by far the best result ever since its introduction in January 1995.
Only in the previous year had growth been as marked as in the record year 2000, with an increase of 9.3 points. The job advertisements sub-index also achieved a record increase, climbing 66.4 points to 320.1 points in 2000. Expressed in monetary terms, the print media received around CHF 140 million more from the job market than in the previous year.
Publicitas is optimistic about the current year. Despite some signs of an economic slowdown, the advertising market is dynamic. Publicitas therefore expects commercial advertising to continue to develop well in 2001, and the dynamic growth in job advertisements is also likely to continue in the medium term "due to the low unemployment rate", writes Publicitas.

A pan-European study predicts an explosion in broadband connectionsThe proportion of Western European households with a broadband connection (cable modem, Digital Subscriber Line DSL) rose to 1.79 percent in 2000. In 1999 it was still 0.48 percent. This is the conclusion of a study by the market research companies Screen Digest Limited, London (www. screendigest.com), and Van Dusseldorp & Partners, Amsterdam (www.vandusseldorp.com). The study, which was conducted in Switzerland and 14 other European countries, predicts over 18 million broadband connections in 2003. That is 21 percent of European households. At the end of 2000, Switzerland was in the middle of the European field with 30,000 households (around one percent), although it is otherwise well ahead in terms of technological equipment. The 730000 broadband connections forecast for 2003 are also more or less the European average. On the one hand, this is due to the fact that corresponding offers only came onto the market relatively late in Switzerland.
Another reason is probably the widespread use of ISDN connections in Switzerland, which already provide a relatively fast connection at 64 or 128 kilobits per second (Kbps). By comparison, the cheapest broadband offers have a transmission rate of 256 Kbps.
While there are currently still more cable broadband connections in operation, DSL will soon gain the upper hand. For 2003, the study expects 13.3 million DSL subscribers compared to 5.5 million people with cable broadband connections.
Basic prerequisite for
Multimedia Internet
Even in Switzerland, where cable connections dominate the broadband sector, twice as many DSL connections are expected to be in operation by the end of 2003 as cable connections. The pan-European broadband study predicts even less penetration in the private sector for transmission technologies via satellite, WLL, fiber optic cable or electricity.
The distribution of ADSL connections (Assymetric Digital Subscriber Line) in Switzerland could also be supported by the new ADSL technology, which is due to be launched on February 1, 2008.
The price reduction announced by Swisscom for the ADSL broadband service on February 1 will also contribute to this. In addition, Swisscom will expand its ADSL offering from the current seven conurbations to a further 25 cities.
The spread of broadband connections is a basic prerequisite for the widespread use of multimedia content. Although users with analog modems can also watch movies, this is usually in rather modest jerky quality. Thanks to broadband, however, films on the Internet could soon become relevant for a large audience. Clemens Hörler
European households with broadband connections in percent

1999 0,48
2000 1,79
2003
21 (Forecast)
Source: Screen Digest Limited and Van Dusseldorp & Partners:
"Broadband Landscape Europe"

Exxtra revives Migros' combination spot tradition with the old teamThe largest retailer and advertiser in Switzerland - Migros - is harking back to the good "old" nineties. And is having AY&R's retail unit, Exxtra, refresh the legendary "Klammer" commercials. We fondly remember the series launched ten years ago with internationally award-winning highlights such as "Ohrfeige" for the Migros Club School's language courses or "Tandem" for bicycle articles and video cameras, which were still designed for the more unprejudiced young cinema audience in order to promote the orange giant's image among young people, but the spots took the target group by storm with their cult criteria of wit, irony and entertainment. The unusual form of comparative advertising was so ingenious that many longed for further episodes five years after the end of production. Practically the same team of makers as back then was recently brought together to win back attention with the old mechanism but new scripts. page 10