Ludivine Ribeiro, ex-head of Edelweiss, was sent on a long vacationBy Anita Vaucher During her vacation, the editor-in-chief of Edelweiss, the women's magazine in French-speaking Switzerland published by Ringier Romandie, Ludivine Ribeiro, was replaced by her deputy. The real reasons for this coup will probably remain a secret forever.
Anyone who was able to read between the lines in the editorial of the September issue of Edelweiss, the women's magazine for French-speaking Switzerland, knew immediately that Ludivine Ribeiro's announced "longues vacances" meant more than just limited time off for the editor-in-chief.
After all, Ringier Romandie had brought in the 45-year-old Frenchwoman Marie-France Vigor as deputy editor-in-chief during the summer break without much notice or explanation.
The latter had already worked in an executive capacity for various French women's magazines. And soon the rumor mill was bubbling that the young editor-in-chief and the seasoned lady from France did not have their perfume bottles on the same shelf.
What Ringier Romandie then announced about Ludivine Ribeiro's departure in a dry press release at the beginning of November can only be described as poor information policy. Only after the fact did they realize that an editor-in-chief who was on vacation for an extended period of time was not advantageous for the magazine, they said. For this reason, the deputy editor-in-chief was unceremoniously chosen as the new boss. In this way, the publishing house elegantly got rid of an employee who possibly did not fully meet the requirements of an editor-in-chief or simply became increasingly uncomfortable.
This woman had some
Secrets too much
Ludivine Ribeiro is not entirely innocent of this. She has always understood how to make a secret of herself. The young woman never wanted to reveal her age. In an interview with Le Temps, she explained that her age could lead to misunderstandings. The editor-in-chief and the publisher were also stubbornly silent about her professional past.
Ludivine Ribeiro's editorials, always extremely short, lacked depth. Her articles on cosmetics, packaged in rather childish relationship stories, as well as a few short commentaries on fashion reports, did little to raise her profile.
Ludivine Ribeiro has leaned very far out as editor-in-chief of a women's magazine that aims to appeal to the modern, cosmopolitan and well-off reader, with her daring and idiosyncratic statements on topics such as cosmetic surgery and the wearing of furs.
Thus, she refused to report in her magazine on topics such as cosmetic surgery and slimming diets. In a short report on a visit to a Paris fashion show, she expressed her horror at all the ladies in the audience with artificially inflated and silicone-filled lips.
In a somewhat clumsy way, she probably wanted to make her readers understand that it was possible to be happy in life even if you had a few pounds and a few wrinkles too many. Perhaps Ludivine Ribeiro saw the women's magazine too much as a playground for her personal convictions and views and forgot the needs of her readers.
Her life partner had to keep reminding her not to behave like a brat, Ludivine Ribeiro told Illustré magazine at the very beginning of her career as editor-in-chief. Without realizing it, she had revealed more about herself than she would have liked.

According to the Brand Asset Valuator Study 2000, Swiss brands continue to gain groundBy Samuel HelblingSwiss brands continue to gain in importance: 14 of the top 20 power brands come from Switzerland. Independence and originality are becoming more important than quality and customer orientation to distinguish a brand. These are the most important results of the current brand study Brand Asset Valuator 2000 by Advico Young & Rubicam.
Despite globalization and new-economy hype, the Swiss are more infatuated than ever with their own brands: among the strongest in the world are no fewer than 14 domestic brands. These include Migros, Toblerone, Rivella, Ovaltine, Gruyère and Swatch. Two other traditional Swiss brands have joined the ranks: Si- nalco and SBB. They displaced well-known global brands such as Chiquita and Levi's from the top 20.
To find out the secret of successful brands, Advico Young & Rubicam (AY&R) surveyed Swiss consumers about more than 1,000 brands as part of the global Brand Asset Valuator brand study. After 1995 and 1998, this survey has now been conducted for the third time. What surprised Peter Felser, CEO of AY&R, most was the consistency of the power brands: "The mass mind reacts less quickly than many believe." Thus, the majority of brands were among the top 20 three years ago, as they were five years ago.
Dotcom companies need to differentiate themselves more clearly
Among the current power brands in Switzerland are both older and relatively young brands. For Felser, this is a strong indication that maintaining brand leadership is not a function of age, but rather reflects vitality and stature: "Brands - unlike products - can maintain a powerful position virtually forever if they are managed properly." By no means would there be an inevitability of brand decline, as Felser points out.
According to the study, Eschenmoser, Smirnoff, M-Budget, Media Markt, Red Bull, Schiesser and Sega are all developing successfully. While Bluewin, Diax, Motorola and Sunrise are developing dangerously "flat," Red Bull and Sega are following the ideal-typical development of successful brands. Nokia, Media Markt and Smart experienced a stormy development, making the leap to power brand in a short time.
The new economy brands still have a long way to go: none of them made it to the top ranks. According to Rolf Zimmermann, head of strategic planning at AY&R and co-author of the study, this is due to the fact that the advertising of most dotcom companies is very similar. He urges them to differentiate themselves more clearly and not to invest almost exclusively in brand awareness, as they have done in the past: "The same laws of brand building apply to dotcom companies as to other brands."
Customer orientation alone is no longer enough
According to Peter Felser, the way consumers experience a brand has fundamentally changed in one crucial respect: "The aspects often demanded, such as quality, customer orientation and customer loyalty, are no longer sufficient to distinguish a brand." They no longer represent a differentiation strategy for Swiss consumers. They are simply taken for granted, are now a must and therefore standard in order to remain in business at all. The vitality of a brand, on the other hand, is very much driven by independence, authenticity, originality and appreciation. This is where the big challenges for power brands lie.
According to Felser, the misconception of customer relationship management, which is on everyone's lips today, is completely misleading in this context. The term suggests that customers are to be managed according to a certain scheme. "Completely wrong," finds the CEO of AY&R, "because managers are supposed to direct their company and not try to lead the customers."
Brand Asset Valuator

With the aim of subtly capturing the brand landscape, the internationally active Young&Rubicam Group surveyed 120000 people in 40 countries worldwide about more than 16000 brands. In Switzerland, the study was conducted for the third time this year on behalf of AY&R, after 1995 and 1998. It is a representative survey based on personal and written interviews in German and French-speaking Switzerland. The study design is based on the following four dimensions of a brand: differentiation, relevance, appreciation and familiarity. From the combination of esteem and familiarity, the ac- tual strength (brand stature) of a brand can be assessed. The relevance and differentiation of a brand together form the brand vitality, which provides information about the future performance of a brand.
What moves the vitality of a brand?

Strong influence:
Standalone image (0.91)
Unique offer services (0.86)
Perceived as originals (0.79)
Exude authenticity/genuineness (0.78)
Being different (0.70)
Hardly any influence:
High quality (0.48)
Good price-performance ratio (0.31)
Trustworthy (0.31)
Helpful (0.12)
Customer oriented (0.12)
©Advico Young & Rubicam
The top 20 power brands of Dchweiz

Barilla Ovaltine
Coca-Cola Rivella
Caran d'Ache SBB
Emmental Sinalco
Gruyère Swatch
Kellogg's Thomy
Lego Tilsiter
Lindt Toblerone
Migros Uncle Ben's
Nivea doubt
Source: BrandAssetTM Valuator, ©Advico Young & Rubicam

The Federal Office of Culture (FOC) justifies the ban on Lia Rumantscha providing money for the Romansh daily La Quotidiana.Fax FOC justifies La Quotidiana-no
This was to be qualified as direct press promotion and preferential treatment of a single offer. The federal government promotes the Romansh language through the Agentura da Novitads Rumantscha, which is available to all Romansh media free of charge. The publisher Südostschweiz Medien had blamed the BAK ban for the fact that the entire Engadin editorial staff of La Quotidiana had to be laid off.
srg buys more teletext shares The Videopress association sells its 25 percent stake in SRG's Schweizerische Teletext AG. It now holds 97 percent of the shares. The remaining three percent are owned by Cablecom Holding. The media houses involved in Videopress - Ringier, Tamedia, Basler Zeitung, Edipresse and Thurgauer Zeitung - are now investing in the Internet and television and have divested themselves of Teletext.
AZ Medien with new online partners The AZ Medien Group has gained three partners for online services for the regional Internet portal www.azonline.ch: Aargauische Kantonalbank is designing a finance channel together with the group. The travel group Knecht-Reisen/Eurobus will collaborate on a travel channel, and the company Lagerhäuser will become a partner in the areas of logistics, fuels and combustibles. The portal will start test operations at the end of November.
IP Top Awards presented in Zurich The IP Top Awards reward outstanding Internet appearances in the categories Finance, News, Wireless, Sports and Corporate. The competition was held for the third time this year, with Ringier as the main sponsor. Entries were judged on speed, usability and design. The winners can be found at www.iptop.com.

Manuela Pfrunder completes the creation and wins the Promotion Prize 2000 of the Swiss Graphic Designers AssociationBy Ernst Weber On November 17, the tenth award ceremony of the Promotion Prize of the Swiss Graphic Designers Association (SGV), endowed with 12000 Swiss francs, took place in the Bourbaki Panorama in Lucerne. At the same time, the SGV opened a series of lectures entitled "Design and..." which attempts to develop a holistic view of the concept of design.
The SGV awards the promotional prize to the best final paper of an examination year. The theses nominated for the award are those that achieved the highest grade in their examination region. Eight of a total of ten examination regions took part in this year's anniversary competition. The Jura and Lausanne regions were not represented. Their reason for not taking part was that the standard was too high, said Jacques Plancherel before presenting the 2000 prize to Manuela Pfrunder from Eschenbach LU.
The newly graduated designer received the award for an elaborate implementation she designed on the theme of uniforms. "The project work impresses with its originality, scientific, analytical approach, exemplary design quality and innovation in terms of content," said a jury consisting of representatives from the examination regions of Basel, Bern, Biel, Geneva, Lucerne, St.Gallen, Ticino and Zurich and a member of the SGV board, explaining its unanimous decision.
Genesis of a uniform world in which all are placed on an equal footing
Manuela Pfründer's approach grasps the concept of uniform in the broadest possible and, for a young person, surprisingly profound way: Under the title "The Continuation of Creation", the 21-year-old award winner visualized a monocultural "vision of the earth caused by progressive networking and globalization, which consists of the same conditions and circumstances being available to every person".
Manuela Pfrunder would not like to live in a uniform, fair world corresponding to her design, of course, "because it is precisely unfairness and inequality that make life alive." The winner went on to say that she had been confused when she realized in the course of her work that the world must be set up as unfairly as it is.
The original function of the sponsorship award was to even out the gap that existed between the training standards in Zurich and other examination regions. "This goal has largely been achieved. For this reason, and due to the new training landscape and training situation, we must now rethink and redefine the role of the sponsorship award," said association president Peter Vetter.
The award ceremony, which was held publicly for the first time, was preceded by an afternoon of lectures in the Pix 1 cinema, located in the basement of the Bourbaki Panorama. With this event, the SGV inaugurated a cycle aimed at fomenting interdisciplinary discourse and promoting exchanges between pioneers and young professionals in a subject that today encompasses numerous fields whose boundaries are becoming increasingly blurred.
"We are challenged on all fronts because our trade is in such upheaval and training is permanently in flux," said the association president, explaining the purpose of this series of events, where he spoke on the topic of "Design and Innovation."
One is all, everything is one: namely design
The lecture cycle was opened by André Vladimir Heiz. The semiotician and design theorist with teaching assignments at the Hochschule für Kunst in Zurich and at the Schule für Gestaltung in Biel proselytized in the name of design research.
His theory, presented in the lecture, assumes that the beginning of all design is research, but design is the consequence of a certain perception, which makes itself the object of its observation. André Vladimir Heiz visualized that a subjective idea of design cannot represent a concept of truth, but can only exist in the plural and the majority.
"There would be no design at all if there were not different points of view," the speaker said. Furthermore, the scientist declared the activity of designing as the desire to transform the world as it is into something else. Heiz sees this desire arising from a dissatisfaction of the designer, who always intervenes in the world as a whole when he states an imperfection of the present.
"It doesn't occur to a student to design a table if he's happy with all the tables that are available. He must be able to perceive a gap, a flaw, diagnose a need or a want," Heiz said. It was just a pity that the design theorist chose a too intellectual terminology for his interesting lecture, which the young audience was partly not able to follow.
Do not lose sight of the social context
A counterpoint to Heiz's theoretical digression was provided by Lars Müller, who spoke on the subject of "Design and Culture. The graphic designer and publisher, who works primarily in the cultural environment and holds a professorship for graphic design at the State University of Design in Karlsruhe, tried to guide the young graphic designers toward an "old" understanding of the profession, in which the communicator takes on an advisory, planning and conceptual function instead of just a formal design function.
"Due to the technology-heavy nature, design has become a formal discipline that is in danger of losing market value," said Lars Müller, who believes it is important to maintain a certain idealism in school graduates, but at the same time give them a soft landing in the real world.
Müller denies the graphic designer a share of responsibility in shaping the cultural present as long as he loses sight of the overall social context due to his concentration on technology. "Only when the design process is understood as a creative, constantly changing process can the design of culture, politics, architecture, products and graphics be equated," said the design professor.
After the award ceremony, the guests had the opportunity to practice designing interpersonal relationships at an aperitif.

A ballerina couldn’t be any more graceful or light on her feet—that’s how perfectly the squirrel swings its short legs and bushy tail high into the air. «The Nutcracker» in words and pictures is the latest production by McCann-Erickson, Geneva, for the Zurich Ballet. Even the first poster for Heinz Spoerli’s production «Approaching Clouds,» directed by Creative Director Frank Bodin, showed that cultural advertising can indeed be entertaining. With this latest campaign, the Geneva-based agency is also breaking the mold in a big way. But in a good way. Cablecom is the first Money-24 partner. Cablecom subsidiary Swissonline has been granted the exclusive right to broadcast Money24—Roger Schawinski’s stock market TV project—via the Internet as well. Schawinski confirmed this upon request. At the same time, he said that he is still looking for a banking partner, a mobile/UMTS partner, and a partner with a financial portal. The stock market and finance TV channel Money24 is scheduled to launch in the fall of 2001; a license has not yet been granted. Cablecom, a subsidiary of the American-British communications group NTL, is Switzerland’s largest cable network operator, serving 1.38 million connected households.
PUBLICIS CONSULTANTS EXPANDS. Publicis Consultants Richterich & Rohr AG, a management consulting firm specializing in marketing and communications with operations both nationally and internationally, is expanding its staff and now has a presence in Bern as well. The firm, which had previously been run by a two-person team, has been led by Christoph Richterich since September of this year. For the past two months, Daniel Rohr has been offering management consulting services for public affairs under the name Rohr Communications at the partner company in Bern. As of November 1, Jörg Röthlisberger has joined the team as another consultant.
The Swiss Copywriters« Association Becomes »Script.” With its new name, Script, the Swiss Copywriters’ Association aims to respond to changes in the profession and open up to French-speaking Switzerland and Ticino. A multilingual website is scheduled to go live in early 2001, serving as a platform to connect clients with copywriters. On November 27, Script will present its new structure at a reception in Zurich. For more information, call 0878 878 326.
LARGEST B2B REBRANDING CAMPAIGN. Under its new name, Accenture, Andersen Consulting is launching its largest B2B rebranding campaign to date. Andersen Consulting, which will be renamed Accenture on January 1, 2001, is introducing a new brand name and a new visual identity system. Global advertising expenditures totaling $175 million are planned for the business-to-business rebranding campaign. The Accenture campaign will simultaneously cover offline and online marketing channels in 48 countries. Between January and March 2001, advertisements are scheduled to run in leading newspapers and business magazines on every continent. More than 6,000 TV commercials will air in eight countries.
Cannes «Press & Poster» Entries on CD-ROM. For the second time, Publimedia is presenting the Swiss winners and finalists in the «Press & Poster» category at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity on CD-ROM. New this year, the CD-ROM also includes over 150 of the less successful Swiss entries, as well as the works from the Young Creatives Contest Switzerland. The CD-ROM can be ordered for 50 francs from Publimedia by calling 01 257 81 11 or emailing [email protected]. The 1999 and 2000 CD-ROMs are available as a two-pack for 85 francs.
SWISSAIR AND CROSSAIR ARE TRYING TO HALT THE DECLINE IN THEIR IMAGE IN WESTERN SWITZERLAND. The people of Western Switzerland aren’t particularly fond of Switzerland’s flagship airlines. «The skepticism probably began five years ago, when they started reducing long-haul flights from Geneva,» speculates Andy Wild, Head of Market Communication & Product PR for Switzerland. To win over the French-speaking Swiss, the Zurich-based agency Impiric has now developed, among other things, B12 text concepts as part of a joint communication program. These feature wordplay set in the airlines’ logo typefaces, combining the word “Air” with the name of a town or city in French-speaking Switzerland—such as “lausannair” or “genevair.” At least one Swissair and one Crossair ad was used in each of a total of 170 towns and cities. One of them featured a ticket that could be torn off and redeemed.
Fabia, please get in touch. The parents of the first girl born after November 17, 2000, and named Fabia will win—which is handy for transporting diapers—a Skoda Fabia Combi. This contest is part of the market launch of the new lifestyle station wagon. However, to be eligible, the parents must be able to present a certified extract from the birth registry by January 10, 2001, at the latest.
125 new billboard locations for Plakanda. Plakanda AG is acquiring Interpubli Werbe AG from the Klaus family in Bern, thereby gaining 125 billboard locations. These represent a welcome expansion for the company, particularly in the city of Bern. Even before the acquisition, Plakanda held a 21 percent stake in Interpubli Werbe AG.
Half a chicken coop for Weber Hodel Schmid, Vienna. At Radionight 2000, Hitradio Ö3 and ORF-Enterprise awarded gold, silver, and bronze “advertising roosters” to recognize outstanding radio commercials. Gold and silver went to Weber Hodel Schmid, Vienna, for their spots commissioned by Netway AG and Gaulhofer GmbH, respectively.
Editorial

The brand is alive and well—despite the New Economy
Following its 1995 and 1998 reports, the globally active Young & Rubicam Group has once again released its “Monster Report,” examining consumer attitudes toward everyday brands. 120,000 people in 40 countries were surveyed about more than 16,000 brands. According to the agency, this has resulted in the world’s largest, empirically validated study on brand building and management. The Brand Asset Valuator once again refutes the notion that the brand is dead. Brand skeptics base their pessimism on the sheer variety of brands, many of which they claim are interchangeable. They point to the power of retailers and increasingly price-conscious customers.
You are mistaken once again. According to Brand Asset Valuator, the lifeblood of these brands is their distinctive character and brand vitality. Only those perceived as the original and exuding authenticity can be counted among the power brands. These characteristics are shaped by their core concept, their history, and their origins.
Quality and customer focus are taken for granted—according to the study, they no longer serve as a differentiation strategy. What counts are good stories. Good advertising isn’t about a cheap gag or a contrived punchline. It knows how to embed products in compelling short stories, thereby making them desirable to customers.
It’s no wonder that, according to Brand Asset Valuator, New Economy brands in particular are poorly established in consumers’ minds. Their advertising is usually haphazard and has little to do with the product. The product managers at these companies focus on building brand awareness and neglect brand-building. Above all, they generate noise and hardly any lasting impact.
Business processes may work differently in the New Economy, but the path to brand-building remains the same. That seems to be the view of the managers at the
Forgetting about startups. Trust and appreciation aren't earned overnight. The internet clock may tick faster, but the person in whose mind the brands need to take root still sets their own pace. Samuel Helbling

Advertising doesn't have to be expensive: booksellers spend only two to three percent of sales on advertising. Despite slim profits, creative solutions range from original bookmarks to cheeky streetcar posters and banner ads. On page 17, you can find out what imaginative virtues, born of financial necessity, look like.

The sda subsidiary News aktuell has moved into Zurich premisesLast week, the sda subsidiary News aktuell Schweiz officially inaugurated its premises in Zurich. This provides the Swiss PR market with a new distribution system for sending texts, images and graphics to the media. News aktuell has evolved from the Original Text Service (OTS), which has been expanded to include the Original Picture Service (OBS) and the Original Graphics Service (OGS). The new system promises convenience for customers and users, because from now on all existing texts, images and graphics are centrally archived and can be quickly accessed on the website www.newsaktu ell.ch with a search system. Also new in the range are so-called trade press and regional press packages, with which texts and images can be forwarded on a topic- or region-specific basis.
News aktuell Schweiz was founded as a joint venture between sda and the dpa subsidiary News aktuell and today employs six full-time staff. sda holds a majority stake of 70 percent, while 30 percent of the shares are held by News aktuell Germany.
The sda subsidiary benefits from the cooperation with News aktuell Deutschland on the technical side: Both the setup and maintenance of the system and the operation of the website are in the hands of the German partner. Of course, the partners can also use each other's distribution systems.
This will be interesting for the Swiss because the German partner is also working with News aktuell Belgium. This expands the offering to include a package for the French-speaking region. Daniel Schifferle

The topic of the Content Summit 2000 was the content deal on the WebBy Thomas Brenzikofer Content brokers have discovered an obviously lucrative market niche: they buy and sell online content of all kinds to portals and increasingly also to websites of large companies. Most of the content comes from media companies. The question is whether these content providers are not cutting their own throats.
They aggregate content from various content providers, bundle it into individual packages called "feeds," and sell them to their buyers. We are talking about so-called content brokers such as iSyndicate, ScreamingMedia, YourNews or 4Content.
The content company Screaming Media shows that its business could be worthwhile, at least in the future. The U.S. company, founded by advertising veteran Jay Chiat, generated sales of $14 million in the first nine months of this fiscal year. At the same time, it accumulated a loss of $81.2 million.
But thanks to an IPO and private investors, Screaming Media has $102 million in its war chest. And it is confident of earning money soon: According to Grant Slinger, Senior Vice President at Screaming Media, large customers such as IBM are quite prepared to fork out over 20,000 dollars a month for their content feeds.
Prices are as high as the demand
Steve Outing, CEO of the U.S. company Content-Exchange, also noted at the Content Summit 2000 in Zurich: "Demand is great, and prices are correspondingly high." According to Steve Outing, online content in the U.S. currently pays three times more than print content. The best prices can be charged for content that has a strong media brand as a sender.
Content prices are governed by supply and demand. "We usually charge 50 percent of the revenue for our brokerage, but that can vary widely depending on the attractiveness of the content," says Allison Hartsoe, co-founder of iSyndicate, which is present in the European market through a joint venture with Bertelsmann.
Additional source of revenue for media companies
For media companies, content brokers represent an additional source of income. Jupiter Communications knows that this generates more than just crumbs: This year, it is reported that content has already been brokered for around 343 million dollars. In 2004, the market is expected to grow to 1.4 billion dollars. Content is playing an increasingly important role in the new media value chain.
But why should media companies deliver around half of the content billions to syndicators instead of taking the business into their own hands? "Because it is simply too tedious for media companies to negotiate individually with hundreds of potential buyers. In addition, it is also technically very complex to manage the deliveries," says Hartsoe.
Neutral program directors put together content mix
For Marcus Oltmanns, COO and co-founder of Hamburg-based 4Content, there's another reason why it won't be possible to do without intermediaries in the future: "To a certain extent, we act as neutral program directors and put together a mix of content from different sources in completely different formats for our customers. This consulting service creates added value that a single publishing house cannot offer in this way."
Nevertheless, media companies will have to think carefully about whether brokering their content is worthwhile. In particular, the question arises as to whether the additional earnings can outweigh the fact that the resale of the content leads to an inflationary reduction in the value of the content, which ultimately also affects the brand. Grant Slinger of ScreamingMedia is rather relaxed about this: "There are over 55 million websites. So it's not the creation of content that's the problem, but its distribution. Because content only becomes valuable when it reaches the right person at the right time in the right place."
Content brokers in SwitzerlandIn Switzerland, content broking is still not very mature. Two providers are active in this business, at least to some extent: Beat Curti's Swisscontent and the Internetmedien AG of former Blick reporter Beat Alder. The latter mainly supplies portal sites with news; Swisscontent is responsible for the content of the Yellowworld postal portal via its joint venture with Swiss Post, Yellowcontent. Recently, the online news agency Pressetext.ch also launched Newsfox (www.newsfox.ch), a hub between content providers and content buyers. Newsfox syndicates news as well as magazine content, photos, audio content and videos. The content comes from its own production as well as from partners. The German company 4Content (www.4content.de) also has its eye on the Swiss content market and, according to COO Marcus Oltmanns, has concrete plans to set up a branch in Switzerland.

Muse & Musse Marianne Weibel
Which cultural event did you attend last and why this one in particular?
Marianne Weibel: The Armani exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum in New York, to see what today's stars are wearing.
What are you reading right now and why?
Weibel: The Facts bar guide. So I know where what's going on.
Which CD do you currently prefer to listen to?
Weibel: "Walliselle" by Stiller Has. So that I don't forget Bernese German here in Zurich!
Which movie would you most like to see again and why?
Weibel: "La lista de espera." Because waiting can be quite amusing.
What TV show did you fall asleep during the other night?
Weibel: Stefan total.
What is your latest discovery on the Internet?
Weibel: www.eleven-snowboar ding.ch
Love is...?
Weibel:...mint, Havana Club and a shot of water.

Mona Vetsch hosts the most amazing commercials from around the world on SF 1Last Wednesday, the new program "Top Spots" started on SF 1. On the former "Ventil" program slot, DRS 3, "Oops!" and until recently "Weekend Music" host Mona Vetsch (25) presents the most outlandish commercials from around the world in twelve episodes. More than 250 offbeat short stories are supposed to give the lame TV Wednesday better ratings. Mona Vetsch, how did you get involved with this show? Have you taken the precaution of looking around for new formats for the post-"Oops!" era?
Mona Vetsch: No, that was more of a coincidence. Anyone who knows me knows that I tend to work too much rather than too little at the moment. After the summer break, I set myself a limit: I didn't want to have three jobs at the same time anymore and decided against "Weekend Music" because the other two could be combined better. My boss and producer Yvonne Söhner made me the offer to host the commercial format, which suits me because only 12 shows are planned for the time being. And that doesn't put so much strain on me because we record them in blocks.
What fascinates you about advertising?
Vetsch: Especially the coding of the message from 'I want to tell you something' to 'But you shouldn't notice that I want to tell you something so directly'. From my perspective, advertising is not about wanting to sell something, but about communication. And that's my job, too. I actually do nothing but advertising all day (laughs), for DRS 3, for "Oops!" and for all the programs on our station. Even during my HSG studies, I was planning to go in the direction of political science or marketing.
As a critical journalist, doesn't it bother you to be harnessed by commercial communications?
Vetsch: "Top Spots" is not about this aspect at all. We never ask how successful a campaign was, how big the budget was, or which brand was advertised. It's all about entertainment. That's where the critical aspect is preserved again, in that really only the best spots are included.
That sounds like a light editorial corset that the show will wear.
Vetsch: That is also the case. What has to be said clearly: It's not a broadcast format that SF DRS has reinvented and that will last for a long time. It was taken over from an English program. Realistically, it would be proportional nonsense for the 25-minute show if we were to revise topics, show making-ofs or invite guests. "Top Spots" works for us that way, too, because it offers very good entertainment.
Advertisers and creatives have seen a lot, if not everything, when it comes to advertising. Do Cannes reel habitués still get their money's worth in your show?
Vetsch: To be honest, I have no idea, because I am neither such a habituée myself, nor do I know such people.
Where do you see the target audience for "Top Spots"?
Vetsch: We're not making a show for advertisers and experts, but one for the general public, who are bombarded with commercials every day and actually have enough of them, but will find that commercials could look different. We appeal to younger people who like entertaining shows like "Ventil" or "Viktors Spätprogramm.
So Swiss advertising comes off badly in "Top Spots. What share does it have in the show?
Vetsch: Swiss spots are not represented in the first three broadcasts. But that's not just because of their quality, but also because it's an English format with international spots.
Sat 1 and RTL 2 have similar formats in similarly weak program slots. Why is the public broadcaster SF 1 now following suit with a plagiarism?
Vetsch: SF DRS has shown commercials as fillers before. What's new, of course, is that SF DRS is presenting this format with Swiss presenters and its own studio. We get the same good slot for this format as "Viktor's Late Program. Before that, these slots were filled with bought-in series. That's why I think "Top Spots" is the better solution.
You don't feel like a stopgap?
Vetsch: It's my job to fill a gap with this show. But that's not the same as filling a gap. I don't think it's bad to host a show that isn't scheduled for three years. On the contrary, I couldn't have taken it at all.
Recently, you yourself advertised "Top Spots" in an interview. With your favorite strip, in which a naked young man does push-ups with his penis. What criteria are used to select the spots?
Vetsch: When I was asked in the interview about the commercial I mentioned, I only said that I thought it was funny. No more. (laughs) From the English blocks we receive, we select spots based on whether they also work as a single means of a campaign and are original. Otherwise, they're grouped by content or presentation categories.
Eye-catching commercials like to break through ethical or moral taboo boundaries, and often do so. Are there any spots you'll never see on your show?
Vetsch: I don't think we'll cross a pain threshold. Also because that's not the goal of advertising per se. All the spots shown are very ironic and funny, and the aim is not to trigger something in a stupid way. For example, we have a controversial condom spot where the Pope can't tear open the package. There are certainly people who have trouble with that, but few who turn it into a worldview. But our format is not designed to hurt anyone, but to entertain humorously.
Which Swiss campaign recently caught your eye in a positive way?
Vetsch: I like the Tages-Anzeiger's enigmatic headline campaign. I've found that I respond well to campaigns that evolve. Otherwise, I like the cool approach and implementation, unfortunately not a Swiss creation, the Sprite campaign.
How many advertising agencies have you seen from the inside?
Vetsch: I confess: not a single one. But it's also good that I'm not a professional, so I can look at the commercials from an unbiased perspective.
What would you never advertise?
Vetsch: I would be happy if someone would finally make good advertising for tampons, washing-up liquid or other "women-specific" goods, because outdated clichés are still being invoked here. Interview: Luca Aloisi

A photographer turns billboards into a gallery for his picturesAdvertising posters whose message cannot be grasped at first glance are lost in the flood of information. Nevertheless, photographer David Meyle dares to hang up posters in Basel "for which a second glance is needed".Meyle's posters show landscapes. Since he wasn't thinking of a poster campaign when he took the photos, "the B4 format has to subordinate itself to the proportions of the images." The rest of the space is black. "-scape david meyle," is written underneath, as is the logo of the Basel advertising agency Lucky Lack, sponsor of the posters.
Information about where or why is sought in vain. "That's not important," says 32-year-old Meyle. "The photos should draw attention to what they show, not how they show it," he says.
"-scape" is an exhibition in three waves on Basel's billboards. The first wave started on August 10, the second followed on November 27, and a third in January. Meyle had 40 posters printed of each motif. He left the placement to APG, which was commissioned with a scatter posting - and also put up a few more posters free of charge. "I deliberately exposed my landscape images to the jungle of gaudy competition," says Meyle, who also works as an advertising photographer.
Silent they are, the pictures. Most people look past them. But they still stick in some people's minds. Even ten weeks after the first series, Meyle is asked about them again and again. "The pictures are simply present, a view as a statement in the cityscape, which promotes seeing," he says. Markus Knöpfli

What the new TeleNewsCombi brings to the big and small membersNine regional television stations and Tele 24 have joined forces to form the new TeleNewsCombi (TNC) (see also WW 42/00). Master builders Christian Stärkle, managing director of Tele M1, and Bruno Oetterli, managing director of Radiotele, say who the new combi will benefit and where it wants to position itself.Has the market been waiting for TeleNewsCombi (TNC)?
Bruno Oetterli: Until now, we were always told that TeleCombi only covered the areas west of Zurich. When the eastern part of Switzerland was added, it was said that Zurich was still missing. Now we have Zurich with us, so it's fair to say that we have adapted to the market. Now we expect the market to honor this.
What does TNC offer that neither the advertising windows nor TV 3 nor SF DRS can offer?
Christian Stärkle: Several things. First, an environment in the news sector that extends down to the regional, local level. No one else can offer that to the same extent. In addition, we can guarantee that we have virtually no fluctuations in ratings.
Isn't regionalism just a myth?
Oetterli: No, the regional stations effectively achieve their performance in the first half hour in which the regional news is broadcast.
TNC's price was said to be 10 to 15 percent lower than that of SF DRS. But if your regional focus were really such an important USP, you wouldn't have to be so rigidly oriented to SF DRS in terms of price.
Stärkle: The price will differ, of course. But we want to be about 10 to 15 percent cheaper on average. The fact is that the market leader sets the price. The fact that he also appears on the market subsidized by fees hurts us immensely. But we have to live up to this fact. If we don't, we're out.
Only you want exactly this form of subsidy, too. Just the week before last, your association Telesuisse demanded a share of the fees for regional TVs (WW 41/00). Will you lower your prices if this demand is met one day?
Stärkle: The idea is not a priori that we lower our prices, but that we set prices in line with the market. After all, our services are worth something. Money that we take in, also from the fee side, we would consequently put into the program. If we were to receive fees, the fee payer would hardly want us to offer low-priced advertising in the market.
Sure, because the TNC price will already be a dump.
Oetterli: No, we calculated it based on a comparison. Ultimately, we have to hold our own in the market and align ourselves with our customers. According to their guidelines, we are still quite high-priced with the TNC price.
However, usually a combination price is 10 to 20 percent cheaper than single occupancy.
However, the TNC is nearly 50 percent cheaper than the individual partners combined.
Oetterli: I can't say anything about that at the moment because I haven't seen the pricing details yet.
How much does each partner get?
Stärkle: They receive exactly what they achieve with their ratings. We then adjust that on a quarterly basis.
So for the small TNC partners, not much is looking out.
Oetterli: I'm of the opinion that it's not just cash that's important for the small ones. Regional TVs live not only from "national business," but from regional business. If we now bring the labels of big advertisers to the so-called small players on the screen, this also makes it easier for them to work in the regional area. You have to see this interaction.
But if we take the single-occupancy rates as a basis, isn't it the case that the small companies have to bleed more in percentage terms in favor of TNC than, say, Tele Züri?
Oetterli: That's clear. But when it comes to advertising revenues, the shares of local/regional and national customers are different. Today, the small companies have no national customers at all and are fighting in the local and regional market. Tomorrow, however, they will have national customers. Maybe they won't get as much in cash, but they will have them. This, in turn, means that they can generate regional funds that they can effectively put into the program. And if they improve the program, then they participate.
Won't the regional rates of the individual regional TV stations also come tumbling down because of the TNC?
Stärkle: I don't think so. In the regional market, the price is not in competition with SF DRS, but with a regional newspaper or a regional radio station. So because the competitive situation is completely different, the price structure can also be completely different.
Tele 24 was primarily portrayed as a locomotive. But Tele 24 is still relatively little seen outside Zurich, so it benefits from regional support.
Stärkle: Of course. Both sides benefit. Tele 24 benefits from the support in the individual regions, and at the same time the regionals benefit from the amount of viewers that Tele 24 brings into this combo with Tele Züri.
Bruno Oetterli, will the TNC with its different fleas and the tensions among the eastern Swiss last until 2002?
Oetterli: The combinations in the private radio scene are also more stable today than they were five years ago, even though we don't have a common market opponent there. In the TV sector, on the other hand, the common market opponent alone will make people think twice before leaving the TNC. So I think 2002 is quite a realistic figure. Interview: Markus Knöpfli
TeleCombi becomes TeleNewsCombiAs already announced, TeleCombi will receive strong growth at the beginning of 2001 and will then offer a total of nine regional television stations and Tele 24 as one package on the advertising market as TeleNewsCombi (TNC). The aim is to be priced about 10 to 15 percent below SF DRS and about 20 percent above the advertising windows.
The TNC guarantees at least 600,000 advertising contacts in the news environment every day. It also offers the option of national advertising with regional spots. An exposure includes at least 15 repeats per station. The gross rates for the first half of 2001 are CHF 8100 for January, CHF 8700 for February, CHF 9300 for March, CHF 9600 for April, CHF 9000 for May and CHF 7800 for June. This means that TNC will achieve a GRP of 3.8 per frequency, including repeats, for the target group of 15- to 49-year-olds (and not just 1.7, as erroneously written in WW 42). In the first year, the TNC partners expect additional revenues totaling ten million francs - money they hope to collect primarily from German advertising windows in Switzerland. Starting in April 2001, eight TNC partners (excluding Schawinski stations) will align their second half of programming on two days: Wednesdays will feature a regional talk show on a unified theme, Fridays a trend magazine. Later, another health program is planned.