Newspaper newsstand posters are usually content with the most important headlines, which the Aargauer Zeitung has found to be too dry. That is why it is now going one step further and is now advertising with visual stimuli on the poster. The cover story of the day is illustrated with a large-format photo that practically fills the entire poster. "This unique appearance for daily newspapers in Switzerland arouses emotions," says Tamara Tschuor, Head of Reader Marketing, emphasizing the benefits of the unconventional and eye-catching idea: The cutting-edge black and white press photo, including a coherent headline, is sent from the editorial office in Baden to the printing center in Aarau during the night. There, the kiosk poster is printed on both sides with the selected motif, on one side in A3 format and on the other twice in A4 format. The new kiosk appearance was realized together with the Lenzburg agency Bürgi & Partner.
Daniel Schifferle

Condor boss Martin Fueter was responsible for the last advertising party of the year and threw a huge party. by Beat Fritsch His people really went all out, and the offer was correspondingly great.
First of all, despite the wintry temperatures, it was off to Lake Zurich. At the trendy Utoquai pool, there was something to eat and, of course, something to drink. The bathing establishment was completely wrapped up for the purpose of heat insulation and equipped with lots of flowing fabric and heat lamps. The mix of styles was therefore somewhere between "Lawrence of Arabia" and "Oberstadtgass". It's a shame that the bathroom decor was only set up for one night. "You could have easily turned it into a new trendy bar," said Barbara Strahm, Markus Cavegn, Roli Hess and Daniel Müller, who could be found in the foyer.
The mother of Condor boss Fueter, Anne-Marie Blanc, attracted a lot of attention. Gebi J. Schregenberger didn't miss the opportunity to pose for a photo with the grande dame of Swiss film and theater.
The younger crowd was then drawn to the studios of the Filmfabrik until the early hours, where a DJ provided thumping beats. Pascal Schaub and Rosanna Gates rocked the dance floor, while Brigitte Eschenmoser and Andrea Reiter parleyed at a small table.
On the following day, things got serious again. The program at the ZürichExpress Bar included the presentation of diplomas to the heads of marketing communication. "For the first and last time" would have been an appropriate motto. This was the first time that the course and examination had been held under the new title, and it was also the last diploma ceremony for Robert Bleuer, President of the Examination Board. He is retiring after having awarded the coveted professional certificates to around 2,800 advertising chassis and 700 advertising managers at 36 ceremonies over the past 18 years. It was calculated that he had to put his signature on paper around 11,000 times for this, as each graduate ultimately requires three signatures.
The outgoing President said a slightly wistful farewell and looked back on the various graduation ceremonies in his speech. They had been in posh hotels, noble town halls and at trade fairs, crossed Lake Neuchâtel by boat or celebrated in the valley station and mountain hotel on Mount Pilatus.
The party when people had to gather clandestinely on Zurich's Limmatquai also remains unforgotten. There were fireworks to marvel at, but only after being urgently told to take to the bushes as soon as they were over: the eye of the law was expected due to the lack of a permit. By the time the law enforcement officers arrived, however, all the fireworks magic was already over and the pyromaniacs had disappeared. Back then, the advertising industry was a bit wilder, everyone involved was a bit younger and a bit cheekier. Those present thanked Bleuer for his commitment over the years with a long round of applause.
Once again this year, the tradition should live on, TCS Central President Jean Meyer presented the best exam winner, Peter Eisenegger - this year, for once, it was a man again - with the special prize in the form of a travel voucher. Second and third place winners, Nadine Kollbrunner and Simon Lerch, also received a gift from co-sponsor Louis Paquier of Philip Morris.
Over Christmas and New Year, people meet up in Davos, which was recently dubbed the Ballermann of the Alps by the travel magazine Blick. This is where those who find St. Moritz too tranquil and Gstaad too dull gather. Before the end of the year, tough men race across the slippery ice at the Spengler Cup, much to the delight of the spectators and, of course, the sponsors. This included APG boss Christian Kauter, who was omnipresent at the tournament and in the VIP tent.
Whether interested in ice hockey or not, other Zurich residents were also out on the slopes. For example, ASW Past President Diego Bally and his family or Cinecom boss Matthias Luchsinger, who was accompanied by his partner Yvonne Steinmann as he made his way down the slopes on a trendy snowboard (soft boot style).
Beat Stähli from Plakanda was also often seen in the "Chalet Güggel" or the "Fuxägufer", the popular ski huts on the Jakobshorn. He kept a watchful eye on his girlfriend Sandra Ulrich, Pick-Pay advertising manager, to make sure she didn't fall in love with another ski or snowboard instructor.
On New Year's Eve, Mario Buchmann and Sacha Baer from McCann-Erickson, the latter with girlfriend Norma, Stefan "Bachmä" Bachmann from Ringier Advertising Marketing and Natalie Schneider and Sandra Haldi from By Heart also enjoyed themselves in the "Mona Lisa", the cellar bar of the trendy "Carlos" bar. There they were treated to the very best by Mischa "The Rude Dude" Kälin, part-time barman and owner of the Davos snowboard store of the same name. Incidentally, Rude Dude is also the official outfitter of the shortlist snowboard team.
Beat Fritsch

attended Condor's end-of-year party last December and met his favorite actress Anne-Marie Blanc. The party
in the Utoquai swimming pool and the subsequent dance in the Condor studios were at their best. The newly graduated Marketing Communication Managers were a little more polite, but no less enjoyable, at their graduation.
plom celebration. This concluded a long year of events the following day. But we also kept our eyes open afterwards. And lo and behold: even in Davos you can find one or two advertisers.
In 2001, we will continue to mercilessly research who is with whom, where, what and why. From the last ski slope to the finest Zurich dance club. Because there are plenty of events again this year. So don't miss a thing! Do you already have something to report? Pick up the phone
(01 296 97 98) or hit the keys ([email protected]). Event tips and further shortlist images are available online at www.werbewoche.ch.

The Zurich-based agency Buffoli und Lezza GmbH has changed its name to Buffoli und Partner. "My partner left, he is now my client," says Managing Director Carmelo Buffoli, explaining the reason for the change of name. In the new business structure, employees participate in the company as partners.The ASW agency employs six people and offers full service from classic advertising to the conception and design of CD-ROMs and homepages. The emphasis is on design. Clients include Hero Gastronomic Services, Lindt, Daimler Benz, Cathay Pacific and others. (ba)

A revised book on the inexhaustible subject of advertising dispels many mythsBy Thérèse BalduzziIn their book "Advertising and the Mind of the Consumer", authors Max Sutherland and Alice K. Sylvester say that advertising is neither witchcraft that manipulates people into buying goods, nor magic over which advertisers have no control.
In this revised new edition, the international pair of authors attempt to explain the workings of advertising in a simple way for both consumers and advertisers and to show clients how they can increase the effectiveness of their campaigns.
Just because the effect of advertising is often not consciously comprehensible does not mean that it is a mysterious force, but rather a much more harmless and easily explainable psychological mechanism, write Sutherland and Sylvester. However, thanks to books such as Vance Packard's "The Hidden Persuaders", mystical powers are attributed to advertising. But there are also other reasons why clients are often suspicious of the effectiveness of advertising.
The first and best part of the book is dedicated to demystifying advertising. With lucid and practical explanations, countless examples and numerous references to academic research, the way advertising works is examined from various angles. The second part deals with the effectiveness of advertising and methods for measuring it.
The book, published in Australia, is a revised, international edition of a book published in 1993. It is based on the authors' many years of professional experience. The Australian Sutherland was chairman of NFO Market-Mind, a subsidiary of NFO Worldwide, and conducted market research for Gillette, Merck, Kodak, McDonald's, Miller, AT&T and Nestlé. Sutherland teaches at various universities in Australia and America.
The American Sylvester is Vice President and Account Planning Director at Foote, Cone & Belding in Chicago.
The greatest myth of the uncanny powers of advertising was circulated by an American cinema owner in the 1950s, say Sutherland and Sylvester. James Vicary reported that he had superimposed statements such as "Drink Coca-Cola" and "Eat Popcorn" so briefly on the screen that they were not consciously noticed by the audience. However, sales of these products increased exponentially as a result.
Although it is widely assumed that the practice of "subliminal advertising" is illegal, no such laws have ever been passed in America, the authors write. Nor are they necessary. Attempts to reproduce this effect in experiments failed. Over 200 academic papers were published on the subject, but the cinema owner's claim could never be substantiated. In 1984, he confessed to having invented the story.
The authors also write that "subliminal advertising" is practically impossible: with a detour into behavioral psychology, they explain that consciousness is not an absolute, but a gradual variable. People are not conscious or unconscious of something, but more or less conscious. The idea of "subliminal advertising" is based on the assumption that advertising is perceived just below the threshold of consciousness.
However, this threshold is not reached by everyone at the same time. Moreover, advertising that is perceived with only a low level of awareness is by no means dangerous, but on the contrary is less effective than advertising that is perceived with a higher level of awareness.
The myth of "subliminal advertising" only holds up so well because it confirms the image of dark forces that many people associate with advertising and because the way advertising works is often not clearly recognizable. Advertising cannot be used to unconsciously remote control consumers and cause them to suddenly run out to buy the advertised product. Rather, these are much more harmless, but subtle, small steps of influence.
Advertising does little for high-priced products
Especially in the case of everyday consumer goods such as shampoo, so-called low-involvement decisions, advertising can influence the ranking of choices available to the consumer. Claims about a product are not necessarily believed, but they are remembered and can play a role in the decision between two equivalent alternatives.
Repetition over a certain period of time means that people become accustomed to the statements, especially as there is no reason to actively engage with them, such as when buying a car, a high-involvement decision. In such situations, advertising plays an even smaller role and often only causes the brand to be included in the ranking list and considered at all.
Brands become symbols
and trigger reflexes
The main reason why advertising remains mysterious for many is that it does not usually come across as an obvious message. Image advertising and visual experiences are registered as impressions, but are not consciously classified as messages.
Over several chapters, the authors explain how strong images in interaction with words and music are experienced as entertainment, mini-dramas or atmospheric images that suggest certain associations and evaluations. This influences how a product, a brand or its consumers are perceived over time.
The brands acquire a symbolic value. Whether it's a swastika, the Mercedes star or the Volvo lettering, the reactions that the symbols evoke are learned. However, this learning process often goes unnoticed.
In a chapter on the limits of advertising, the authors emphasize that the power of influence is vastly overestimated. In response to the frequently voiced criticism that advertising creates needs and manipulates consumers into buying goods they do not need, they say that at least 40 percent of new products do not succeed on the market.
Moreover, advertising alone is by no means sufficient to launch a new product; it must be accompanied by promotion and product samples. Furthermore, the view of what is a necessity and what is not cannot be measured objectively. Yesterday's luxuries, such as air conditioners or video recorders, are today's consumer goods.
The biggest obstacle to advertising impact is the activities of competitors. The general noise of different competing advertisements in the same product category dilutes the effect of individual campaigns. As an example, the authors mention the reactions to the deregulation of telephone companies in America in the 1980s and 1990s. At the time, the telephone companies outbid each other with campaigns, causing consumers to switch off after tiring.
Advertising is not magic, the authors continue, because the advertised product must also measure up to the competition in terms of quality. Advertising can persuade consumers to try something new, but the product must be able to pass the test.
With a side-swipe at creative directors, whom they classify as film directors who are prevented from making films, the authors also emphasize how difficult it is to produce an effective campaign. Small filmmakers often misuse their commissions to realize themselves and advertising awards only reward artistic design, not effectiveness.
Superficial patchwork
Recycled contributions
The second part of the book deals with the effectiveness of advertising and how this is measured. It consists of various articles that have already appeared in specialist journals. In addition to different measurement methods, they also show what needs to be considered when launching new products, what problems radio advertising presents and what happens if advertising is completely discontinued.
However, when summarized in a book, the collection of articles gives the impression that too many topics are touched on too briefly and only superficially. These are topics that themselves deserve to be presented comprehensively in a book. The thin chapter on the exciting topic of Internet advertising, for example, leaves the reader disappointed. More convincing is the chapter on the major role played by a unique and consistent style of advertising, which is explained using the example of the campaign for Absolut vodka.
Humor in advertising - or my unknown grin
The chapter on the effect of humor in advertising is also interesting. The area has been surprisingly little researched, say the authors, and the results of existing studies are often contradictory. Contrary to popular belief, humor is not always good, the pair write, and warn of its Janus face.
Humor arises from the surprising combination of elements that do not fit together. As an example, the authors mention the commercial for a courier service: a canary appears to be pecking grains. But in reality it is pecking the keys of a telephone. What initially looks like a coincidence turns out to be malicious intent in the next scene: a courier picks up the sleeping cat. The effect results from the bizarre image of the bird operating a telephone and its intelligent and devious behavior, which is normally reserved for humans.
The advantage of humorous advertising is that it attracts more attention. However, this can also have a negative effect, the authors warn. Like celebrities or eroticism, humor can have a distracting effect and draw attention away from the advertised brand. It is therefore particularly important to embed the brand visually and as organically as possible in the plot. In contrast to the famous Budweiser commercial, in which frogs burp "Bud-Weis-Er", the brand in the canary commercial is completely interchangeable. As the product category is often well integrated in humorous commercials, but not the brand, there is also a risk of serving the competition, they write.
However, the fact that viewers experience the message as entertainment has a positive effect and therefore less resistance has to be overcome than with claims that provoke a judgmental (right/wrong) reaction. In addition, humorous advertisements are popular and the popularity of an advertisement is reflected in its effectiveness. The humorous way of communicating is perceived as part of the brand's personality.
The authors also have surprisingly positive things to say about the lifespan of humorous commercials: it is usually assumed that humorous campaigns show signs of fatigue more quickly than others. From their experience, they cannot confirm this, they write. In fact, the opposite is often the case. Studies have shown that the commercials are still a hit when changes have already been planned.
The authors attribute contradictory studies on the lifespan of humorous advertisements to different social situations. Humor is enjoyed more when the laughs can be shared. Certain campaigns would gain popularity over time because they would become a topic of conversation when seen in communal situations or because their punchlines would find their way into common parlance.

In the middle of last year, the Lowe and Lintas networks merged to form Lowe Lintas & Partners. With branches in 80 countries, the agency group is now the fourth-largest network in the world.for the Zurich branch of Lowe|GGK, this merger will now result in the renaming to Lowe Lintas GGK, which was already announced at the time of the merger.the simultaneous resignation of the long-standing CEO Martin Denecke from the operational management comes as more of a surprise. The "Advertiser of the Year 1996", who has managed the agency since 1991, will remain with Lowe Lintas GGK as the new Chairman of the Board of Directors and will also continue to oversee a number of mandates in the role of Creative Director.
The vacant position of CEO will be taken over by 48-year-old agency co-owner Kurt Schmid, who has been Managing Director of the agency since the merger with the Lowe Group in 1998.
Mark Stahel becomes the strong man of creation. The 38-year-old ADC member acquired a majority stake in GGK Basel in a management buyout in 1994 together with Denecke, Schmid and Mathias Meier, who died in 1999. Under his leadership as Creative Director, numerous award-winning campaigns have been created over the past ten years.
The Executive Board will be expanded with 35-year-old Daniel Keller, who took over the role of Agency Manager in June of this year, and 44-year-old Peter Bächtiger, who will be responsible for finances as CFO (ew).

Swiss Post, two Swiss Post subsidiaries and private distributors are planning a new company for unaddressed advertising mailingsBy Markus KnöpfliThree big players distribute unaddressed advertising in Switzerland: Swiss Post, Swiss Mail and the Swiss Post subsidiaries Direct Mail Company and Epsilon. But the three big players could soon be reduced to two: Swiss Post and a new company in which Swiss Post holds a stake.
It makes a difference whether you commission Swiss Post, its 50 percent subsidiary Direct Mail Company (DMC) or Swiss Mail (SM), an association of 16 distribution organizations, to distribute unaddressed advertising. This is because an WerbeWoche comparison six weeks ago (WW 39/00) showed: The differences in quality, price, time required and print run are considerable.
Perhaps not for long. Swiss Post, DMC, SM and Epsilon, a 66%-owned Swiss Post subsidiary in French-speaking Switzerland, are holding cooperation talks. According to information available to WerbeWoche, the following model is under discussion: in future, there will only be one other nationwide sales organization for unaddressed advertising in addition to Swiss Post. This will be a newly founded company in which, in addition to Swiss Post, DMC and Epsilon, the 16 SM partners and possibly other interested parties will also be involved. The new company will have quasi-supremacy over the entire distribution network and will issue territorial licenses to participating contractors.
A piquant fact: Swiss Post apparently wants to acquire at least 45 percent of the new company, partly directly and partly via its subsidiaries Epsilon and DMC.
The egg that Swiss Post wants to hatch has not yet been laid
What is certain is that the four partners have already "submitted a cooperation agreement in this matter to the Competition Commission (ComCo) for examination", as ComCo Director Rolf Dähler said on request. The Competition Commission is now investigating whether the new model gives "indications of restrictions of competition".
Those willing to cooperate are tight-lipped. The managing directors of DMC and Epsilon could not be reached. And Swiss Post spokesman Hubert Staffelbach is unwilling to confirm or deny: "I cannot comment on your questions."
However, there are attempts at denial on the part of SM President Peter Wüthrich. The managing director of Anzeiger Luzern speaks of "indiscretions that are untrue and unsubstantiated". Various SM members also say "no comment". But some refer to René Bill, Managing Director of SM member AWZ Bern, who is the only person to provide information "on this matter". Bill also puts things into perspective. DMC, Epsilon and SM have been dividing up areas with low litter density among themselves for three years for cost reasons. This fall, too, there have been such "area consolidations". "Everything else is simply speculation," says Bill. He admits that negotiations on further cooperation are underway, as well as the fact that a cooperation agreement is being examined by the Competition Commission. "But we are negotiating in various directions, nothing finalized is on the table yet," he says.
There is a reason for the desire to cooperate: in recent years, a net sum of around three billion francs has been spent on direct advertising, not much for three large and numerous local companies. The very high proportion of stop stickers in many places makes the situation more difficult, and distributors are also rare at present. Above all, however, fuel prices and HVF are driving up costs. Various SM members are therefore under pressure, and DMC is also operating at a loss in some places.

Mass, market and marketing are the pillars of successful wine brandsBy Chandra KurtWines also need their brand in order to survive on the world market. The branding of wines has become fashionable. Of course, winegrowers are not always at the origin of the brand, and consumers determine its value even less. Intermediaries are becoming increasingly dominant in the wine business.
What do Gaja, Gallo and Penfolds have in common with Armani, Mitsubishi and Nike? Spontaneously you would think: nothing. Except that they are internationally renowned companies. Although not all of the names mentioned are at home in the wine business, they enjoy the status of a brand. They give the buyer a guarantee for the product and a means of identification. They also give them the certainty that they can rely on the quality of what they are buying, regardless of the price they pay. Brands can be found in every price category, and branded wines are no exception.
Nevertheless. Weinbrands do not live on air and love alone. They need to be nourished. And vigorously at that. So it is above all investments in marketing and advertising that make a wine brand a reality. And investments on a grand scale. Because the image of a brand is primarily lived out by the people who buy it, not by those who create it.
In other words, their everyday lives are enriched by the artificially created charisma of a label association. And so successful wine brands cover the needs and moods of their buyers from A to Z. From the packaging to the labeling and the philosophy of the wine house.
The actual taste of the purchased grape juice almost plays a subordinate role. Wine brandies can originate from a fictitious or real story. They can either be the fruit of a long family tradition or the product of a gifted storyteller, such as Californian winemaker Robert Mondavi.
A closed wine is like Aladdin in the magic lamp
The name Mondavi in particular is an indestructible status symbol for the Californian wine industry. Thousands of wine freaks and amateur corkers travel to California's Napa Valley year after year to discover the footsteps of Robert Mondavi and breathe in some pioneering air. Why? Because he keeps telling them stories with his wines. In contrast to European winemakers, he never made a secret of the wine and its production. He allowed and still allows consumers to share in his creations. True to the motto: you can make anything that tells a good story.
It is well known that for most wine drinkers, wine has a utilitarian character. It is more than just a liquid to be enjoyed with a meal or with friends. However, wine is less essential to our everyday lives than the washing power of a new washing powder or the brightness of a light bulb. As a rule, a bottle is opened for pure pleasure, whether at home, in a restaurant or in the great outdoors.
For this reason, we hope to experience a similar effect when uncorking as Aladdin did when cleaning the magic lamp. Entering a new dimension of experience in which one's own imagination can and must be fully lived out. And this requires the magical power of Weinbrands.
A power that, surprisingly, can be realized again and again. Or is there a tangible explanation for why everyone feels flattered and particularly honored when they enjoy a glass of Gajas Barbaresco? It is not the price, which in this case is very high, but not unaffordable. Nor is it the rarity of the bottle, but rather the charisma that it and its creator radiate. They convey the energy of constant success. It is clear that this desirable feeling costs something. But this no longer has much to do with taste and grape varieties.
Another example: While Angelo Gaja is a real person who carries his brand status into the future with Italian ease, another brand is fighting for the favor of his followers. We are talking about Bordeaux. For decades, this French wine region was regarded as the pinnacle of wine creation and the owner of old Bordeaux as an absolute wine connoisseur. A status that has lost much of its stability today.
The reason for this breach of loyalty is not the competition, but the company's own overestimation and disregard for its customers. Because although people generally remain loyal to a brand for years, the price-performance ratio must not fall out of balance.
Image corrections are not easy to accomplish
This is exactly what has happened in Bordeaux in recent years. Without thinking about their buyers, the individual châteaux have driven up their bottle prices without offering more in return. Both in terms of quality and image.
Correcting this imbalance is now more than a difficult undertaking. On the one hand, the Bordelais cannot suddenly come up with new brands; on the other hand, more and more brandies from the New World are flooding onto our market, which hit the nerve of the times in terms of price and taste.
Similar to wine brands, sales outlets are also branded. The clear definition of the product range plays a central role here. The Zurich wine shop Bindella is not sought out for its champagne selection, but for its Italian dominance. Names such as Sassicaia, Tignanello and Solaia are directly associated with this.
Landolt, Zweifel and the Zürcher Staatskellerei have made a name for themselves above all with their own local bottlings, and with the selection of wines from Beat Caduff's Vinothek zum Wohlsein, one can confidently assume that every bottle has helped the Grisons restaurateur to feel good.
Brand building shifts to the intermediaries
In the future, resellers will decide what a brand is anyway. And not the producers, as consumers might wrongly assume. In Switzerland, around 70 percent of the wine consumed each year is already bought in department stores or from wholesalers. That's 200 million liters. And the trend is rising.
The number of brands on the department store shelves is also increasing. The greater the choice, the more difficult the decision. You need to know too much to make the right choice. A brand, on the other hand, guarantees the right decision. It is suitable for the masses. It is therefore logical that every price category, every wine region and every type of wine has its own brand.
Brand opponents fear that the cultivation of individual brands suppresses the natural development of wine culture. However, it is not the brand alone that is driving a large number of individual winegrowers to ruin, but a nationally calibrated taste. Fashionable wines and drinking trends are much more dangerous than the label of a winery. Brands do not stop consumer interest.
On the contrary. They have the astonishing gift of arousing interest in something that, on the one hand, gathers a multitude of equivalent competitors around it and, on the other, flows down the throat purely for pleasure. Unlike clothing brands, wine brands prompt consumers to take action. People buy books about the wine region or even go there by car. And so something that has been artificially brought to life for sales purposes suddenly becomes alive and tangible. This would hardly be possible without the magical energy of a brand.
As we all know, there is no trend without a counter-trend. And
The steady increase in global brands is once again creating
There is also room for local heroes. In other words, wines that only find a sales channel in their home country or a geographically limited environment. It is ultimately thanks to these bottlings that wine regions around the world retain individual niches and do not degenerate into uniformity.
Although advertising texts that accompany a brand usually emphasize the individual character of the product, they can never give it exactly that. Brand automatically means mass, market and marketing.

From now on, title information from the Swiss press, the most important results of Mach Basic 2000, VSW circulation data and evaluations of the MA Net 2000 Internet study can be looked up in the 25th Print Media Planner.Service Print Media Planner 2001
It is available in German and French for 30 francs from any Publicitas branch or from Publimedia.
Corporate Publishing FactbookFor the first time, the Forum Corporate Publishing, which brings together CP service providers from German-speaking countries, publishes the "Factbook". As an annual standard work for the industry, it is intended to provide increasing transparency in the CP market and inform publishers of customer magazines as well as marketing and communications decision-makers about the most important developments in all areas of corporate publishing. The "Factbook 2001" is available for 98 Marks from the Forum office, petra.tewes@ forum-corporate-publishing.de or tel. 0049 89 34 077 977.
Handbook of Communication 2001In ten chapters, the Swiss Advertising Agenda 2001 provides information on all aspects of advertising, communication, media and marketing. The latest edition also contains a keyword and company index. All addresses are also available on the Internet at www.werbeagenda. ch. The 900-page agenda costs CHF 190 and is published by Orell Füssli Verlag, ISBN 3-280-03121-4.

Star Plakat uses existing know-how to build a poster site network for a mobile target groupBy Markus KnöpfliWhen you fill up, you have to wait. The young outdoor advertiser Star Plakat now wants to use this waiting time of a mobile target group for the advertising needs of its customers: with a poster site network only at petrol stations.
Petrol station users spend around three minutes at the pumps. Until now, this valuable time has been wasted - at least from an advertising perspective: Swiss petrol stations have hardly any advertising. Star Plakat, a company that has been in existence for two and a half years, therefore wants to actively exploit this untapped potential. To this end, it is launching a network of petrol stations with billboards in collaboration with Migrol.
Migrol has a total of 350 petrol stations. However, only the 290 that are visited at least 40,000 times a year will be included in the Star poster network. A total of 1400 B12 and around 500 B200 sites are planned. Ten petrol stations are currently covered, seven of them in Zurich.
"We have planning permission for a further 50 Migrol petrol stations, so that we will be able to offer a total of 300 high-traffic B12 and 70 B200 billboards from mid-2001," says Renato Schena, Managing Director and sole owner of Star Plakat. All these billboards can be booked individually and exclusively via Star Plakat. From 2002, Star Plakat intends to offer two national service station networks for each of the two poster formats.
First attempts back in the nineties
The new poster sites are clearly visible. "As soon as the customer has inserted the tap into the filler neck, their first glance should be directed towards one of the posters," says Schena, explaining his concept. Even at night thanks to lighting. These spaces can be used to address a predominantly mobility-oriented target audience: Tourists, commuters, residents who shop and tradespeople who come here for a snack break.
In Switzerland, there are a total of 3,652 petrol stations operated by a good ten companies (see table). Star Plakat has thus undoubtedly discovered a niche and, with Migrol, has also attracted a medium-sized player. And yet Star Plakat is not the first. In the mid-nineties, the outdoor advertiser AWI, which now belongs to Plakanda, entered into partnerships with OK Coop (now Coop Mineralöl) and later also with Tamoil (see box).
This is no coincidence, as it was Schena who, as AWI Managing Director, came up with the idea of the petrol station billboards with Coop. When AWI was taken over by Plakanda, the AWI crew was surplus to requirements. Together with Schena, they set up Star Plakat and have been persistently pursuing the idea ever since.
Expansion is already planned: Negotiations are currently underway with other petrol station network operators. Among others, a tender is also underway with Shell, the industry's second largest, in which Plakanda/AWI, APG and the Bern-based company Gutjahr have also submitted bids alongside Star Plakat.
Star Plakat cannot yet make a living from the Migrol petrol station network. The main offer therefore still consists of poster spaces that are leased permanently from Allgemeine Plakatgesellschaft (APG) or - as in Zurich - can be rented for a limited period.
Star Plakat thus covers a total of six Swiss tourism regions. The company also has 90 B12 poster sites each in Basel and Berne and 25 in Lucerne. In Zurich, individually selectable networks with B12 and B200 sites are available.
Star Plakat also works closely with APG in other ways: All Star Plakat sites are technically managed by APG. Schena is also Managing Director of the APG subsidiary Externa Media. According to Schena, the four-person Star Plakat team achieved gross sales of three million Swiss francs this year. By way of comparison, APG achieved sales of around CHF 217 million in Switzerland in 1999.
Public filling stations (TS)

of the mineral oil companies
in switzerland
Provider TS TS-Shops
Avia 656 65
Shell 537 271
BP 417 172
Migrol 348 133
Agrola 348 11
Agip 343 128
Esso 275 127
Tamoil 237 92
Eleven 194 39
Coop mineral oil* 90 68
Various 207 30
Total 3652 1136
*OK Coop so far
Source: Petroleum Association: Status: 1. 1. 2000

IP Multimedia hosted a trend talk about "real life soaps" - which turned into a reckoningBy Andreas Panzeri "Many of us are addicted to them and others hate them. But no one can escape them!" said IP Multimedia's invitation to a trend talk about "real life soaps". An illustrious panel discussed the ratings chase with such shows "between self-portrayal and survival training".
"It doesn't matter how a thing is, but how a thing works," Tucholsky once said. This wisdom served as the starting point for the panel's discussion about "Big Brother" and its sister shows.
To get some action going right at the start of the talk show, host Gerry Reinhard from Radio Z wanted to know what his guests thought of a development in which the container show "Big Brother" in Germany would last a whole year in future, with a possible prize of five million marks up for grabs.
"Nothing has been decided yet," said Torsten Prenter, program director of RTL 2, succinctly, but with a look into the future of television, he revealed the first details about the show "Der Club". The update version of the proletarian show will soon be called "Big Brother".
Like other spin-offs from this dingy corner of TV programming, this format should play even more with the possibilities of interactivity. To this end, "The Club" should offer more reliably calculable variety by allowing the fixed "inmates" in the clubhouse to regularly invite their favorite guests.
RTL 2 is currently also considering a doctor's surgery or even a school as further blood brothers of the "Big" show. In principle, however, hardly much is likely to change with all these futuristic TV concepts. At least Prenter has not yet let anything concrete out of the container on the occasion of this talk show in the TV-historical Studio Bellerive, apart from the prophecy that quiz shows will soon make it back into prime time.
The remaining talk guests took this no-news regarding the future as an opportunity to talk all the more in depth about the current situation in the next installment of the trend talk and to make fun of "Big Brother" at length.
Real Life TV is not the
Same as Reality TV
"We haven't noticed any increase in sales of our chewing gum yet," joked Alex Minder, Managing Director of Stimorol. This brand sponsors TV 3's "Big Brother", which is heading towards the final, and Stimorol no longer wants to be involved in the next season. "But that has nothing to do with success or failure. It is part of Stimorol's concept that we only sponsor completely new things. We are interested in the initial spark," explained Alex Minder.
Andy Lehmann made no secret of his disdain for "Big Brother". However, the Managing Director of Optimedia made it clear that he would never insert his personal opinion into one of his clients' businesses. "If such shows have a lot of viewers and my clients want to advertise on them, then that's wonderful," he said.
IP Multimedia has invited Karin Böhme-Dürr as the fourth member of the panel. The lecturer in media studies at the University of Düsseldorf will soon be publishing a non-fiction book on the trends surrounding the "Big Brother" phenomenon.
Under the title "Behind Closed Doors", Böhme wants to explore the success of the internationally popular "Big Brother" concept. "How did everything come together to make it as successful as it is today?" she asked, seeking an initial, scientifically correct answer in the term "Real Life TV", which the media researcher intends to use instead of "Reality TV" in her book.
It also became clear that not only the responsible TV stations, but also all other media are passively and actively involved in the success of "Big Brother". The NZZ accompanies the phenomenon with specialist articles. Blick makes a story out of the heartbreak of Janine's boyfriend who watches TV alone at home.
"Psycho shit" from the
Container is madness
And what else? We know from various studies that young people are looking for role models. However, they can find these less and less at school or even in church. As a result, children as young as three to thirteen regularly watch "Big Brother", was the theory put forward. And what do they learn there, apart from how to put on a friendly face when being bullied?
For Karin Böhme-Dürr, it is clear from this question that "characters that are rejected by the audience can also be a didactic aid". Alex Minder took a less scientific view: "In the past, people looked at the king's life. Today, we look at our neighbors," he commented.
"Only we old people are constantly discussing the sense or nonsense of the show in the container. The young simply watch it or they don't," philosophized Lehmann, now slightly weary of the eternal shop talk surrounding this new TV reality. And with regard to the audience's disdain that keeps shining through, he said: "My son, an economics student, has no problem zapping into 'Big Brother' today and 'Literary Quartet' tomorrow."
The media specialist therefore argued that "Big Brother" fans should not be treated as psychopaths. However, Lehmann was less feigned than genuine in the panel discussion when Karin Böhme-Dürr wanted to talk about the psychological damage caused to former fellow mobbers in the container.
What happens to moth hen Conny or bull Remo when their fame suddenly sinks them back into oblivion?
"Rubbish", said Lehmann and scolded: "Such psychobabble is madness compared to real problems, for example those of people who are unemployed." Lehmann found such discussions "played with psychology". Presenter Gerry Reinhard then brought the argument back to the point: "Even after a week at scout camp, a child comes home disturbed."
More brutal reality versions damage the sponsor image
Finally, the benefits that potential sponsors or advertisers can expect from spot placements around such "real life soaps" were analyzed somewhat more pertinently for the numerous advertisers present. In line with the motto: "Stimorol wants to get involved where a trend is emerging", Alex Minder is happy about his involvement in "Big Brother" in retrospect, as the trend has really taken off.
With regard to the new idea of a five-million-mark prize for the winner of the one-year container prison, however, Lehmann from Optimedia is skeptical as to whether there is still a sensible environment for advertising. Such a large box could only be financed by equally large sponsor companies such as banks. And these would probably have little to do with the program.
"It's crucial what a particular brand is associated with. If I sponsor something, I want to know in what form an image transfer to my brand takes place," says Stimorol boss Minder, who is also skeptical about ever more brutal versions of bullying games or other expected reality shows.
RTL man Prenter countered this statement by saying that the TV station alone was responsible for the content and not the sponsor. "The contact group is important," he said.
However, Prenter was generally outvoted in the final round: "Anyone who supports something as a sponsor also supports it in terms of content. In terms of advertising, this has a similar effect to testimonials!"

Keystone and Plakanda/AWI invite young creatives up to 30 years of age to participate in a poster competitionBy Andreas PanzeriMore than 10 million images lie dormant in Keystone's archives. In a newly created competition entitled Cannes Open, young creatives up to 30 years of age are now to design a poster from this trove. The best works will be rewarded with a trip to the advertising festival in Cannes.
"The Cannes Open competition is set to become an annual institution for promoting young creatives," says CD Daniel Meier at Honegger von Matt. This agency organizes the new competition on behalf of the Swiss picture agency Keystone and Plakanda/AWI. All known or, until now, secretly creative talents up to 30 years of age are eligible to participate. Teams with a maximum of two people are also admitted.
The task opens all boundaries to creativity: Using one or more photos from the archive of the Keystone photo agency, a poster is to be designed for a company of one's choice. Whether washing powder, sparklers or hiking vacations: No restrictions are placed on the selection of companies to be advertised. The only condition is that The competition entries must - or may - be designed using images from Keystone's entire range.
"Our picture agency is small by European standards, but technically it's top-notch," says Walter Grolimund, CEO of the company, which was founded in 1953. More than 10 million images have since accumulated in Keystone's archive. Thanks to early digitization and the introduction of a web-compatible digital database as early as 1994, this treasure is quickly and openly accessible to newspapers and advertising agencies at any time.
Around 200,000 images have been stored in digital form on a database to date. This runs on a Unix server and, with a memory of currently 650 gigabytes, has enough space for more than 800000 pictures. With 17 permanently employed photographers and the supply of international picture services such as AP and EPA, Switzerland's largest photo album is enriched daily by 1200 photos.
Those who want to work professionally with Keystone can freely browse the archive via the Internet for a subscription fee of CHF 50 per month. Those who only want occasional or individual service will have their images delivered via e-mail, ISDN, FTP or postal delivery.
All competition information is available on the Internet
Interested parties will soon be able to find out how the participants in the Cannes Open get their pictures on the website www.cannes-open.ch. Here, the conditions of participation will also be posted, as well as information about contact persons who are responsible at Keystone for consultation or ordering pictures. Initial information can also be found in the advertisement on page 4 of this issue of WerbeWoche.
The jury has so far received (provisional) commitments from Matthias Freuler, CD Wirz, Daniel Comte, CD McCann-Erickson, as well as freelance CD Simone Fennel and freelance concept designer Markus Ruf. The winners will travel with their work to Cannes for free, including flight, hotel, entrance fees and submission fees.
In addition, Plakanda/ AWI will provide two B12 poster sites each on Weinbergstrasse for six weeks starting March 26. And WerbeWoche will of course report on the winners. For this purpose, we have reserved prominent spots for the best works.

In addition, the Viennese PR, event and promotion agency On Duty wants to conquer the Swiss market with its own office. On Duty recently opened a branch office in St-Prex VD. Managing director Oliver Knehs is to put out from the Geneva lake in addition to the Swiss market development also the feelers into the French area.
After three years at Cinecom & Media, Philip Hofmann, Deputy Head of the Print Division, is leaving the advertising marketer on December 11. He will be succeeded by Katja Biffiger, who takes up her post on January 3.
Nicolas Betticher is to become press spokesman for the Federal Department of Justice and Police (FDJP). He replaces Hansjürg Wiedmer, who has transferred to the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland as Chief Information Officer.
The m & m Media agency, Glattbrugg, is getting a new managing director. As of January 1, Markus Worch will take over from Urs Schneider, who also plans to step down as a member of the Board of Directors in mid-March.
The former Sunrise spokesman Stephan Howeg will become head of communications for the merged telecom companies Sunrise and Diax.
Urban Möll will become the new Managing Director of Ringier subsidiary Zürcher Druck und Verlag AG in Rotkreuz on April 1. He replaces Alois Sigrist, who will retire next spring.
The Hamburg-based direct marketing agency Go has opened an office in Zurich. Stefan Rüttinger will take over the management, Marianne Festner will act as CD.