Since Tuesday, May 2, Metropol has been producing an independent, editorially initiated Stellenbund, which appears twice a week.Fax Metropol launches Stellenbund
The Metropol job market is integrated into the main paper in an easily detachable way with a dot sticker. In addition, the Zurich commuter newspaper now offers a four-page cinema overview to take out every Thursday.
Edelweiss Air launches Sunflyer The Swiss charter airline Edelweiss Air is launching its new in-flight magazine Sunflyer. The magazine will be available for reading in all seat pockets on Edelweiss aircraft from May 3. Sunflyer is being produced by Ringier Editorial Services.
Publisuisse moves sales headquarters Publisuisse, SRG's exclusive advertising time marketer, is moving its sales headquarters from Berne to Zurich. As of May 4, about 20 employees will start work at Wengistrasse 1. With the move, Publisuisse wants to be "closer to its customers," explains Sales Manager Martin Schneider.
St. Galler Tagblatt with media page
From June 10, the St. Galler Tagblatt will also have a regular media page for print, TV, radio and advertising in Switzerland and Germany. For the time being, the media page will appear on Saturdays. According to Ursula Fraevel, deputy editor-in-chief of the St. Galler Tagblatt, an expansion to other editions will be examined at a later date.
Advertising-free supplement for the Thurgauer Zeitung? The Thurgauer Zeitung is planning a new weekend supplement with a focus on culture starting this summer. What is special about it is that it is being discussed whether the supplement should be free of advertisements. According to Peter Forster, head of the Thurgauer Zeitung, however, nothing has been decided yet: "We have several concepts that we are examining at the moment."

Admittedly, not all the flock was together for the planned start of the annual meeting of the Alliance of Swiss Advertising Agencies (ASW) and the kick-off had to be postponed by half an hour.Shortlist ASW goes to the Schlösschen
By Beat Fritsch
The route to the event was described somewhat awkwardly on the invitation, which was not only the undoing of the Landpartie-experienced WerbeWoche crew. In the end, however, the approximately 125 participants from ASW agencies and 30 guests found their way to the Schlossgasthof Böttstein and to the welcome aperitif in the picturesque garden.
The ASW has become a fresh and "lively" association again, with its new admissions of young agencies. The audience at the alliance's events has also become much younger. At the AGM, the average age of the members dropped from 50 to 40 years. Obviously, the new members have provided a real blood refreshment.
You'll find great names like Dynamite Advertising, Masciadri, Marketing Machine, Lucky Lack Advertising and Advision. No brittle name shells à la Young & Rubicam, Wirz or Seiler. At ASW, advertising is already lived in the choice of the agency name.
As always, the ASW Board around Stefan Hofmann, Diego Bally and Benno Frick also invited guests of honor. This year's guests included Jürg Engi from Sawi, Rudolf Waldburger from SDV, Peter Hartmeier from Schweizer Presse, Dr. Max U. Rapold, former president of Schweizer Presse, Jürg Zbinden, head of communications at the Swiss Trade Association, Fredy Schwab from SWA, Otto Meier and Sabina Cadalbert from Publimedia - Cadalbert is also on the board of the Idée advertising club - and Walter Merz from BSW. Ah yes, speaking of guests: Dear Beat Germann, why don't you turn off your cell phone at the next AGM?
Fine cabaret was offered by Mr. Felix Boehni-Irniger, although no one knew if that was his real name. Again and again he appeared under other names and functions in
Appearance. He was seen as a federal official, as an ASW candidate begging for admission, or as an emissary of TV director Schellenberg. As a Charles Clerc impression, he even interviewed the AGM participants in order to present a veritable video summary at the end, which would easily pass as an ASW show reel. Perhaps the ASW sponsor Publisuisse, which was represented by Carlo Steiner and Carmen Theiler, should be contacted in this regard.
Logically, the retiring Erik Sörensen had to endure many honors. Jean Monnin and Viktor Rosser gave a witty and lively eulogy. And of course Erik's wife, Rose Sörensen, was not forgotten. After all, she was considered the good soul of the ASW during her husband's term of office, without whom some things would probably not have run so smoothly. The Sörensens received theater club memberships including subscriptions and cultural trips for their joint use. The outgoing managing director in turn returned the favor to "his" ASW presidents Beat Fisler, Jean Monnin, Stefan Kaister and Diego Bally with exquisite wines from his cellar. And WerbeWoche is of course personally concerned that Sörensen does not lose touch with the marketing and communications industry. We appointed the retiring ASW managing director an honorary subscriber for life.
By the way, an ASW house rule states that the membership diploma is only handed over at general meetings or ASW galas. That's why Andy Mossner from Advision has been an ASW member since last December, but because he didn't attend the AGM, he can't hang the diploma on the wall of his agency in Zurich's Technopark yet.
Beat Fritsch expressed the thanks of WerbeWoche to the retiring ASW Managing Director Erik Sörensen for the good cooperation.
Who else in the advertising scene deserves praise is spotted at a wide variety of industry events. However, the editorial team decides who will definitely make it onto the coveted shortlist. Do you actually already have something to report? Then pick up the phone (01 296 97 98) or send an e-mail to [email protected]. Event tips are available online at www.werbe woche.ch.

Gross advertising expenditure in February was an outstanding 23.4 percent higher than in the same month last year. Not a single media category suffered a loss, with radio benefiting particularly from the encouraging order situation, almost doubling its advertising revenues with growth of 93.8 percent. All print media also posted double-digit growth rates. Newspapers improved by 18.6 percent or additional sales of 20 million. Magazines were up by as much as 24.7 percent or around ten million Swiss francs on the previous year, and trade journals were also able to enjoy a hefty increase in revenues with a plus of 20.1 percent or 2.6 million Swiss francs.
TV advertising also performed above average, generating additional revenues of 24.7 percent or eleven million Swiss francs. Cinema advertising also recovered in February. While still down sharply by 21.9 percent in January, it returned to growth in February with an increase of 7.7 percent.
Poster advertising then achieved a super result, up 29.4 percent on the previous year. Teletext benefited from the good mood in the advertising market, with growth of 10.9 percent. (dse)
advertising expendituresFebruary 1999/2000 in comparison
in 1000 Fr. 1999 in 1000 Fr. 2000 +/- in %
Daily newspapers 107,039 126,974 18.6
Publ. journals 39,766 49,601 24.7
Trade journals 13 334 16 010 20.1
TV 44 435 55 410 24.7
Radio 5 240 10 154 93.8
Cinema 2,576 2,774 7.7
Teletext 1,492 1,655 10.9
Poster 22,837 29,551 29.4
Total 236 719 292 129 23.4
Source: Media Focus Hergiswil (NW)

The Alliance of Swiss Advertising Agencies accepts 20 new members and a new CIBy Beat Fritsch The General Assembly of the Alliance of Swiss Advertising Agencies (ASW) came up with a pleasant surprise: The budget was exceeded on the income side - due to the unexpectedly high admission rate of 20 new members. In addition, new board members had to be elected and the managing director confirmed.
The ASW always chooses fine locations for its AGMs. This year, the board invited to the picturesque and romantic castle of Böttstein near Baden for the meeting with supporting program. All items on the agenda were approved unanimously.
In accordance with the annual rotation principle, Stefan Hofmann (see also portrait on page 3) became the new president of the ASW, and the AGM appointed Benno Frick as the new vice president. However, the ASW Executive Board, consisting of the two aforementioned as well as Past-President Diego Bally, sees itself as a unified management body in which they strongly support each other. In addition, according to Diego Bally, continuity is guaranteed despite the rotation principle, since the work of a presidium member always extends over at least three years and the areas of responsibility are not redistributed every year.
Silver and gold for Helsing and Sörensen
Max Kuster and Günther Helsing, who are stepping down from the Board, are replaced by Carmelo Buffoli and Sandra Bonsels (see also page 32), and Dominique Hildebrand was unanimously confirmed as Board assessor. The 74-year-old Helsing received the ASW Award in the form of a silver ball for his services to the ASW.
The ASW Gold Globe, and thus the highest possible award from the alliance, was presented to retiring Managing Director Erik Sörensen. Sörensen was one of the driving forces of ASW during his time. His successor Karl Heinrich von Grote has already been installed in office and has now been confirmed by the AGM (see also WerbeWoche 16/00).
To the delight of the members, the annual accounts closed with a budget surplus of 40000 francs. Although the bar for admission was set higher - among other things, the ASW expanded the admission committee from six to sixteen members - 20 agencies newly joined the alliance, which led to the additional income.
New CI for the ASW by Florian Schellenberg
The industry association had 96 members as of the end of April. The alliance, after floundering in the early 1990s and the board of directors resigning in corpore, seems to have become fully functional again and very attractive for small and medium-sized agencies.
This was also evident in the activity report. The alliance offers its members insurance consultations with the possibility for collective insurance, a credit information database, numerous workshops, the ASW Gala, the ASW-SWA arbitration board and other services useful not only for aspiring young agencies.
Now that a logo has been found for the new ASW CI (designed by Florian Schellenberg), work can continue on the new self-portrayal on the Internet, in print form and on CD. This is expected to be completed in the summer and should give interested customers an insight into the world of ASW agencies.
asw new admissionsThe following advertising agencies have been newly admitted since the ASW Gala in fall 1999:
- Bootzgrolimundbootzbonadei, Zurich; Katia Bonadei
- Koller Werbung GmbH, Appenzell; Emil Koller
- Lucky Lack Advertising GmbH, Basel; Patrick Lack
- Marketing machine GmbH, Moehlin; Robert Witte and Karolin Gast Witte
- Stier Communications AG, Weiningen; Manuela Stier
- Dynamite Advertising, Cham; Roger Bosshart
- Traber Advertising Agency, Gümligen/Bern; Eugen Traber
- Masciadri, Bern; Peter Masciadri
- Advision, Zurich; Andreas Mossner
- Schminke & Team AG, Zurich; Jörg Schminke

In this case, I'm the third one, because at first glance, these ads look just like the two Lottchen in Kästner's classic *Das doppelte Lottchen*. It struck me that when two people do the same thing, the third one is happy.
In both of these full-page ads, the blue pencil serves as a symbol of a leading product—once for a publishing product from Falkenstrasse in Zurich, and once for a financially robust playground. In short: the NZZ and Citibank. The NZZ campaign, created by Publicis, is not new and has already won several awards and received many compliments. I wasn’t familiar with the Citybank campaign at all until now, so it comes across as a copycat. Sure, blue is also the private bank’s logo color, but a blue ballpoint pen would probably have been less noticeable—even if only slightly. The fact that four pencils in the color sequence yellow, green, white, and blue are depicted at practically the same intervals as the NZZ pencils in the color sequence yellow, green, red, and blue is surely just a coincidence. “Tough luck,” as the saying goes when it comes to such instances of copying.
Conclusion: In an era marked by the mass emergence of new advertising mediums, even everyday objects are attracting increased attention. Anyone who wants to give their product an air of exclusivity would do well to print the label on a blue pencil. The NZZ and Citibank swear by it. Chandra Kurt
Language Observers: The Note
I looked at the cup with the gold rim as if I were seeing it for the first time. Soft morning light streamed through the dining room windows. Since the season was drawing to a close, only the tables with a view of the lake were set; no doubt also to save electricity for the large chandeliers, which hung from the ceiling in the semi-darkness like creatures from another era.
Behind me sat the Finnish couple—a historic preservationist and a conservator—sharing a newspaper. Between the family from Lyon—whose boys I kept giving my jam to—and my table, a gentleman who had arrived last night had taken a seat. He asked Claudia, who was just pouring me coffee, for the salt for his egg.
Strangely enough, he called her Jelena. She slowly—as if in slow motion—turned her head toward him. «Jelena…ena…a…,» her name echoed in the air, without growing any fainter. A finger-thick stream of black coffee poured into the white porcelain, filling the cup. «Careful!» She turned back toward me even more slowly, while drawn-out sounds fell from her mouth—sounds I tried in vain to piece together into a coherent statement. When her movement froze, her eyes gazed past me. The people in the hall became transparent, the stream of coffee turned grayish, and even before it dissolved, the cup had also vanished, so that its contents hovered in the air for a moment.
The table was gone, the waiters were gone, the dining room was gone. All around me was just a whitish light. I looked down and spotted a piece of paper at my feet; I picked it up and unfolded it. Written there in capital letters was: HOTEL MIRAMAR.
I stayed calm and tried to think. Since the incident didn't really surprise me, there must have been some warning signs. But how? Why couldn't I remember any clues? Had I merely registered them in my subconscious? Was there anything to understand at all?
All I could remember were the chandeliers. I could still picture Jelena’s face as well, and to my surprise, it took shape against the dimly lit dining room. The fine hairs on her forearm undulated like the ears of grain in a field swept by the wind. I followed her arm up to the sleeve of her apron, which was tied at the back, then over her shoulder and along her hairline to her updo.
Behind them, Mr. and Mrs. Sarjolainen emerged from the fog and stood by the fireplace. What I had imagined took shape and became reality. Soon I had the cheese cart with the bell and head waiter Eduardo back again. The man at the next table gave me some trouble, but eventually he was back in his seat as well. As the last empty spots in the dining room filled up, I heard Claudia say, «…You’ve surely heard of him by now.»
«Of course,» I said, looking at the cup with the gold rim as if I were seeing it for the first time.
Beat Gloor, www.textcontrol.ch
Column: Double or Dubl?
By Christoph Dill
Who wouldn’t want to be famous?! To be mentioned in the same breath as Roger Schlauwinsky, Beni Turnschuh, or Frank Flaumann. I know one possible way. But it’s tough. Just look at these grueling facts about the final sprint: I’ve racked up thousands of kilometers, burned through millions of joules, stuffed myself at hundreds of bars, bragged my way through dozens of interviews, and fended off quite a few attempts at bribery—some of which went as far as baring an uninviting bosom. Not to mention the troubles my sadistic superego has heaped upon me: I’ve endured scoldings from proofreaders, swallowed the economic fallout from freelance journalist fees, and cursed my love of gastronomy. All of that would have been bearable. Far more exhausting than the final sprint was the marathon that came before it. It concerns me as an advertiser. Gritting my teeth, I admit it: For two and a half years, I tried to copy what makes someone famous from a charming amalgam of a show-off and a smart aleck. As tough as the task, so sobering was the reward. No sooner had the Facts restaurant guide come out than friends and foes alike, upon seeing my photo in the colophon, exclaimed: «You look just like Frank Baumann!» By the Prophet’s pepper, is Dill now a double or a dubl? The journey is the destination: Apply to Ernst Meier. If you end up on the street afterward, at least you’ve got what it takes to be a fan—or even a street sweeper.

Iceland is an ideal destination for advertising shoots: half a year of daylight, clear air and stunning landscapes.Service Off to Iceland
Local travel agencies specialize in arranging vehicles, accommodation to agencies and presentation of suitable localities, for example Southern Iceland Holidays. For more information, contact Ragnar A. Thorsson, tel. 00354 483 40 08,
E-mail: [email protected]
S-&-E-Marketing With a redistribution of advertising spending, sponsorship and event marketing activities have increased sharply. In his book "Der Sponsoring- und Eventmarketing-Ansatz (S-&-E)" author Patrick Cotting tries to develop new basics about dimensions, effects, success factors, planning and controlling of S-&-E activities. The work can be obtained from ESB Marketing Consult AG in St. Gallen, Tel. 071 223 78 87,
E-mail: [email protected]
Swissguide-MagazinOf the almost 9,000 active Swiss homepages, around 1,500 can be found sorted by topic in the spring edition of Swissguide-Magazin. At http://my.swissguide.ch, users can personalize bookmarks, favorites and entry pages. The magazine includes a report on real estate on the Internet and a CD-ROM for net access. The Swissguide magazine can be obtained from SwissGuide AG, Tel. 052 320 30 40.
Specials from KIDie KI Media GmbH is launching two new issues of Kspezial: Recht im Alltag on June 21, 2000, and Auto on September 27, 2000. Advertising deadlines are May 24 and August 30, 2000, respectively. For further information, please contact Yvonne Müller, Advertising Manager KI Media, Tel. 01 253 83 53, E-Mail: anzeigen @ki-media.ch
Magazines from QuerThe Quer Werbefabrik in Bern takes over the publishing of the two magazines Zermatt en Vogue and Palace Revue The Tower. They are aimed at vacationers in Zermatt and in Badrutt's Palace Hotel in St. Moritz. Both titles are published once a year.
Catalog of the
Swiss press
The VSW Swiss Press Catalog for the year 2000 is now available. The reference work provides page prices and rates for advertising in newspapers, official journals, advertisements and general-interest magazines. The catalog costs CHF 28 plus VAT and can be obtained from the Association of Swiss Advertising Companies, Tel. 021 213 61 41, www.vsw
assp.ch
Qualiforty for Life & Faith
The magazines Sonntag and Leben & Glauben have joined forces in the Qualiforty combination. The price reduction is 15 percent. Both titles can still be booked individually. The color surcharge has been reduced by 50 percent for both the individual titles and the combi. For further information, please contact Insertas AG, tel. 056 203 24 00.
Baby Index 2000On 36 pages, the Baby Index provides up-to-date data on birth and population trends in Switzerland, on the structure of the age pyramid or on the trend in the divorce rate. The reference work can be obtained free of charge, as long as stocks last, from Present-Service Ullrich & Co. in Zug, tel. 041 740 01 40, e-mail: [email protected].
Outdoor advertisingComprehensive and practical explanations of all forms of advertising are provided in the new book "Outdoor Advertising. The enclosed CD-ROM also makes it possible to design individual outdoor advertising ideas. The book costs DM 128 from Creative Collection Verlag GmbH, fax: 0049 761 479 240, e-mail: [email protected].
Marketing on CD-ROMThe company Sales Support System publishes a CD-ROM on the subject of marketing. It serves as a guidebook, learning and teaching tool or reference work. The Marketing Supporter contains graphics, case studies, questions and answers, links, a glossary, etc. The CD-ROM costs 198 francs. Tel. 01 930 73 58,
E-mail: [email protected]

Willi Bühler has had enough of advertising: The trained window dresser and long-time drummer of various bands, including the Harlem Ramblers, who began his advertising career in the late seventies as a final artist at Wirz, is retiring early. The 58-year-old creative director rose to prominence at Wirz, Aebi und Partner, Lesch+ Frei, GGK Basel and Lowe|GGK, Zurich, where he worked on numerous major campaigns, including appearances for Toni, Toggenburger, the NZZ, Weltwoche and Cash. "I was lucky," says Willi Bühler, "to experience advertising at a time when you could make really great campaigns. But when you've been at it for so long, you only encounter déjà vu experiences. The desire just gets lost." Besides, he says, advertising is something for younger people. "It's not really possible to grow old in this industry."
Now Willi Bühler emigrated with his partner Ursula Büchler to southwestern France, to the Armagnac region. Bühler succumbed to the lifestyle of the locals. He got to know their savoir-vivre at the home of a vine grower friend, whom he helped several times. When a house happened to be up for sale in his neighborhood, Bühler jumped at the chance without hesitation.
Essential will be Willi Bühler's new purpose in life: Nature, art, and science. As long as he still can, he wants to return to the things he sacrificed for success: music, painting, astronomy, and quantum mechanics. Furthermore, there are quite a few trees on his land that he wants to cultivate. But first, Willi Bühler is taking six months to a year to remodel his house. After that, the creative director out of service might think about designing a few good campaigns for the few good friends he has made in advertising.
"I know that I am privileged," says Willi Bühler, who will also live off the preserves in France. (ew)

Maissen, Meisterhans & Partner chase "old" hits through the airwaves for Portable ShopBig hits and catchy tunes can arouse positive associations and attention. They are therefore well suited as a sound carpet for an advertising message. That's what Christian Maissen said to himself when he proposed a radio spot concept for image advertising to his client Portable Shop, using schmonzettes from the 60s and 70s. The only problem was that the music licenses were more complicated than originally thought. The campaign would have been unaffordable if the desired cult songs from Doors & Co. had been used.
The solution came from Jürg Metz of the ASW agency A. I. E. Communications, which specializes in spot productions. He searched the Moodmusic archives for tracks that were very close to the originals in terms of tonality and choice of instruments. However, the use of these "sound-alikes" is many times cheaper than the originals.
Christian Maissen wrote new lyrics, each of which rhymed with mobility and laptops. The vocal parts were taken over by well-known Swiss singers like John Brack or Jürg Reinhard (ex Foolhouse).
Mixing and production was done by Marc Frey at Studio Ad Hoc in Brugg.
Crafty and legally without fault
The allusion to the originals is unmistakable. Canned Heat (On the road), Suzie Quatro (48 Crash), Steppenwolf (Born to be wild), Beatles (Come together), The Doors (Riders on the storm) and Fats Domino (Walking) had to be used.
"If the real music had been used, the licenses would have quickly cost a million francs for a year, and the campaign would never have got off the ground," says Jürg Metz, commenting on the shrewd and legally impeccable move. The 30-second spots have been available since the
May 2 on private radio stations in German and French-speaking Switzerland. Rating: worth listening to. Beat Fritsch

Werbal wins International Web Page Award for the yet-to-be-built Paul-Klee-Zentrum on Bern's doorstepBy Luzi Weber Bern-based advertising and Internet agency Werbal has won the International Web Page Award in the Art category with its website for the Paul-Klee-Zentrum. The award ceremony took place in Silicon Valley in the US state of California.
Who hasn't dreamed of being presented with an award in sunny California and throwing their best smile into the camera? Thomas Dürig, consultant at Werbal, was granted this feeling on Maundy Thursday. Admittedly, the award was not for an arm-amputated golden man, and the camera was, strictly speaking, a webcam, but all the same: when Swiss people emerge as winners from an international competition, that's always a reason for Federal Councillor Adolf Ogi to be kolported: Joy reigns.
A clear structure instead of technical gimmicks
"The site's concept was developed by a team of women. We deliberately avoided the technical bells and whistles currently in vogue and aimed for a structure that allows all users direct access to the extensive information," says Sandra Bonsels, Managing Director at Werbal and project manager of the award-winning work, explaining the success.
Clear structures instead of technical gimmicks on the site; decisive, goal-oriented collaboration instead of cumbersome decision-making processes in the project: According to Bonsels, the male-heavy Internet world could still learn a lot from women. After Werbal came away empty-handed in Switzerland with her work for the Paul Klee Center, she is naturally all the more pleased about the confirmation from the USA.
The award-winning site was commissioned by the Education Department of the Canton of Bern. Visitors will find information on the planned Paul Klee Center, the construction of which - a project by Renzo Piano - will be voted on by Bernese voters in a year's time.
In addition to an introduction to the life and work of Paul Klee, insights are provided into the designs of the star architect, and visitors can keep abreast of the progress of the project planning at any time. Finally, those who like to communicate can send electronic Paul Klee postcards.
Despite clear structures, some minor shortcomings
The design of the site is convincing, and technical features are used with a sense of proportion. The claim to bring the enormous amount of information - after all, Klee created almost 10,000 works - into orderly structures that are comprehensible to the visitor is palpable, but cannot always be completely redeemed. For example, not when there are 27 menu items to choose from on three navigation zones on a single page.
Many an overwhelmed visitor will opt for the help function, which explains the site's structure and navigation. Nevertheless: Werbal has presented an overall convincing work.
For the International Web
Page Award 1999, 600 websites from 21 countries were submitted. Anyone who designed an original, youth-free Web site and was willing to pay $85 as an entry fee was eligible to enter.
Participants were also able to apply for a place on the jury at the same time as they registered. If you compare the 600 entries with the 30 categories in which there was a prize to be won, the average ratio is 20 applicants per prize: a rather modest number for a competition without admission restrictions.
This is not to diminish Werbal's achievement, which also compares well with winners in other categories. Among these, in addition to several mediocre works, there are also outstanding ones, such as the site of the overall winner British Airways (www.britishairways.com/london traveler).
Flash animations are common, but a convincing handling of them is rather rare. Finally, the truly groundbreaking entries, which give a foretaste of the design of tomorrow, are sought in vain. The future of the Internet takes place every day, as the competition clearly shows.

PubliGroupe's Vice Chairman Fritz M. Schuhmacher also became Vice Chairman of the Basel Media GroupBy Markus Knöpfli Fritz M. Schuhmacher, the new number two at the Basel Media Group (BMG), has a little-known but widely ramified media network. The publisher of the Basler Zeitung (BaZ), Matthias Hagemann, wants to use this network even more in the future. That is why he has appointed the advocate as Vice Chairman of the Board of BMG.
When the BMG Board of Directors appointed former Board member Fritz M. Schuhmacher as Vice Chairman at the end of March, it did so at the personal request of publisher Matthias Hagemann. Previously, BMG's Board of Directors had no Vice Chairman at all; the position had to be created specifically.
A BoD position only "ad personam
Hagemann also expressly stated in his motion that the new post is only "ad personam Fritz Schuhmacher". Should Schuhmacher ever resign from his post, the chair of the Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors in the company of the Hagemann family can not only remain unoccupied, but also be vacated again completely.
But why did the 38-year-old publisher Hagemann want the 54-year-old shoemaker at his side? One of the reasons given by the publisher in his application was this: Last fall, when he parted company with the previous board delegate Peter Sigrist and restructured the group management, Schuhmacher had stood by him loyally and with advice and action. In addition, Schuhmacher was a "proven expert on the Swiss media, excellently networked in northwestern Switzerland and beyond, and a cosmopolitan Basler.
A man for almost all media cases
Schuhmacher is indeed networked, widely ramified, and above all internationally. He sits on around 40 boards of directors and more than ten foundation boards, represents several hundred million francs of accumulated capital, and pulls the strings at the important Basel media.
As PubliGroupe's Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors, he also represents the interests of the National-Zeitung and Basler Nachrichten AG (Verlag Basler Zeitung) - also as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors. PubliGroupe holds 37 percent of BaZ, the Hagemann family 63 percent. Schuhmacher also claims a seat on the board of directors of Jean Frey AG (Weltwoche, Bilanz, Beobachter), which belongs to BMG.
In addition, as a representative of the Basel Chamber of Commerce, the Basel Federation of Economic Affairs and the Basel Trade Association, he brings the interests of Basel's business community to the 35-member board of trustees of the Cable Network Foundation, the sponsor of Tele Basel. The unwieldy entity has a six-member committee, of which Schuhmacher is also a member - together with Basilisk co-owner Hansruedi Ledermann.
Intertwined holdings lead to television
Since 1983, the lawyer and notary with a doctorate in law, together with his partner Konrad Annasohn, has been a delegate to the Board of Directors and, since 1998, a majority shareholder of Internationale Treuhand AG (ITAG), which holds a 20 percent stake in LH-Holding in Basel.
"LH" stands for (Hansruedi) Ledermann and (Christian) Heeb, the owners of Radio Basilisk, who also each own 30 percent of LH. The remaining 20 percent is held by BaZ. The Chairman of the Board of LH is Schuhmacher, the other members are Annasohn, Heeb, Ledermann - and Matthias Hagemann himself.
This is no coincidence, because LH is the second most important media holding company in the Basel media pie after BMG: it includes Medag, which handles advertising sales for Basilisk and Tele Basel. At Medag, Schuhmacher is in turn Chairman of the Board of Directors, Ledermann Board Delegate.
This is explosive if only because Tele Basel was deliberately given a foundation as a sponsor from the start of broadcasting so that local television would not also end up in the BaZ pot. But thanks to Medag, Hagemann, Ledermann and Schuhmacher at least control Tele Basel's advertising revenue.
In other words, if local TV ever gets too cheeky, it can simply be reined in this way. As long as this is not necessary, however, BaZ and Basilisk will feast on the 20 percent commission for each spot sold to Tele Basel. By the way: Schuhmacher is also chairman of the board of Metro Media, in which Medag and BaZ, among others, each have a 25 percent stake. Metro Media once dreamed of setting up a screen text for Tele Basel, but is currently inactive.
Media czar? Schuhmacher doesn't want to know anything about that
However, he himself describes it as "singular nonsense" that Schuhmacher is supposed to be the personified BaZ monopoly or the Basel media czar. He is quite simply open to many areas, but knows that media also function according to economic constraints.
Since he prefers one high-quality medium to several weak ones, he takes the view "that you have to find cooperations in Basel. Incidentally, I'm only married to my wife," emphasizes the father of four.
Although he, too, sees "the elements of power and control" in so many board mandates, he does not rule out "the possibility that he, too, will have even more interdependencies. But it has never happened that he has influenced an editorial contribution at BaZ, for example.
He also has one goal above all: "I want to bring together multi-faceted people and technical synergies in different areas. After all, not everyone has to make the same failures on the Internet," he says.
Transparency is there if you look for it
To the accusation that he could control Tele Basel's advertising market, he counters that "to the best of my knowledge and belief" he has never exerted any influence in this regard either. And then he refers to "idealistic and social values": "It would be bad if diversity of opinion were to suffer, but it doesn't; BaZ is a very diverse newspaper and it is confronted with many critical observers. Incidentally, the young are using the Internet."
Nor does BMG know any corporate journalism. "Why then does BaZ write so little about Tele Basel?" he cites as proof. The only thing is: If the only newspaper hardly writes about the other media in the same place, it doesn't have to expose the personnel links of its own publishing house.
Schuhmacher, who seems affable and spontaneous, counters this with two things: "Transparency is available if you only look for it, for example in the form of directories of boards of directors, the Internet, search engines and much more." Secondly, as a lecturer in media policy, law and economics at the University of Basel, he shows his students "openly and unvarnishedly" the (own) media interconnections.
But BaZ itself doesn't, which is probably why many people in the city on the Rhine bend know Schuhmacher as a colonel in the Swiss army, as president of the ACS Basel section, or as "Homo Politicus," but they hardly notice his media connections. When the BaZ published its only major portrait of Schuhmacher two years ago, his interconnections in the media pie were covered on just seven lines. The fact that he is also the Consul General of Monaco, on the other hand, was spread out in detail on 21 lines: That is Basel transparency.

Stefan Hofmann is the new ASW President and sets high goals for his term of officeHead of the Week
"Encouraging clients and agencies to do more differentiated advertising"
With his election as President of the Alliance of Swiss Advertising Agencies (ASW), Stefan Hofmann has committed himself to two clear goals: "On the one hand, I want to massively increase the brand awareness of the ASW among clients, non-allied agencies and partner organizations. On the other hand, members and advertising clients should be motivated to find more courage for differentiated, exciting, entertaining, even sometimes funny and thus more effective advertising."
A hard piece of work lies ahead. "ASW's strengths are based, as in an agency, first on the ability to develop creativity in a team, to generate and review ideas, to discard them in order to fight for even better ones and implement them as a team. So success can never be the merit of a single individual."
Stefan Hofmann sees himself as a committed ambassador, working both internally and externally, establishing contacts and actively promoting quality education in the alliance.
Hofmann is now in his sixth year as head of ASW's admissions committee and has reviewed more than 60 agencies during that time. By enforcing tougher admission criteria and introducing a holistic evaluation system, he has succeeded in positively expanding the membership profile. Despite stricter admission criteria, ASW is enjoying increasing appeal. In the past fiscal year, one could even speak of an actual boom. Several dozen agencies were on the list of interested parties.
The overall competence of Allianz has developed extremely gratifyingly through the exciting mix of existing and new agencies, says Hofmann. And: "The quality of the alliance is based primarily on the diversity of our agencies' skills as well as on the outstanding work of idealists who have been committed to the ASW brand for years."
He has clear ideas about the instruments he wants to use to achieve greater brand awareness for the ASW: "We want to use a campaign to communicate the values and competence of our members more strongly to the outside world. It is not enough to know that the ASW exists. People should clearly recognize where the qualities of owner-managed agencies lie. Aspects such as flexibility, market proximity, holistic entrepreneurial thinking and commitment will be the core themes."
Of course, the ASW is not only targeting clients, it also wants to further expand its appeal to agencies. In addition, public relations work is to be professionalized and contacts with partner organizations intensified.
Beat Fritsch

Which cultural event did you visit last and why this one in particular?Muse & Musse Barbara Corti
Barbara Corti: The concert of Myriam and Amadou in the Rote Fabrik...because I had to go along.
What are you reading right now and why?
Corti: Vogue, issue 5/2000.
Which CD do you currently prefer to listen to?
Corti: Noa.
Which movie would you most like to see again and why?
Corti: In principle, I don't want to see a film twice.
What TV show did you fall asleep during the other night?
Corti: I sleep well even without television.
What is your latest discovery on the Internet?
Corti: The website www.polar hunde.de of the Nothilfe für Polarhunde e.V..
Love is...?
Corti:...beautiful.