Beat Meyer, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Basler Mediengruppe (BMG), expects that one of the Zurich commuter newspapers will expand to Basel "in 18 months at the latest. BMG, which has the daily free newspaper Baslerstab (circulation 103726 copies) and the free weekly newspaper Basler Woche (177800 copies) in Basel, wants to prepare for this with a new newspaper project (see also page 21).Meyer confirmed to WerbeWoche that this project version is "the most obvious: Baslerstab will be merged with Basler Woche and upgraded. The new paper will be distributed to all households six times a week, but consideration is being given to expanding the distribution area beyond that of Baslerstab, which also sells 55,000 copies in the Baden area every 14 days. In addition, the new free newspaper will also be available in boxes at the stops of the Basler Verkehrsbetriebe (BVB) and Baselland Transport AG (BLT). Meyer confirms that BMG has already submitted a corresponding application, which, according to BVB spokesman Pius Marrer, will be decided on this year. For the time being, BMG will not receive any box locations from SBB and Deutsche Bahn (DB). DB does not allow competition with Schmitt kiosks on its soil. SBB is waiting for clarification of the legal situation in Zurich. (mk)

PubliGroupe increased its 1999 annual profit by 103 percent thanks to a joint ventureBy Christophe Büchi PubliGroupe (ex Publicitas Holding) is steadily reducing its dependence on the Swiss advertising business. By acquiring a stake in the Swedish Planit Media, it is now strengthening its international sales network PPN (Publicitas Promotion Network). In addition, it presented a splendid 1999 financial year.
PubliGroupe (spelled with a French "e": Lausanne headquarters oblige ...) buys 20 percent of the shares in Planit Media in Malmö. At the same time, the acquisition of PPN's newspaper database by Planit Media was agreed, as well as the use of PPN as a sales agency for Planit Media's offerings.
Planit Media was founded three years ago. It offers - via the basic platform www. planitmedia.com - prices and data of more than 39000 magazines to advertising agencies, media agencies and publishing houses. The service is used by more than 4000 subscribers in 64 countries. Work is currently underway on new databases that will contain additional information on newspapers, online advertising, exhibitions and outdoor advertising.
The agreement with PubliGroupe gives Planit Media access to PPN newspaper data. At the same time, it secures the market power of PPN, whose 52 companies handle advertising sales for 2,000 print media and generate annual sales of CHF 423 million. No wonder, Planit Media CEO Colm Barry expects great success from the new cooperation. But what is the P's interest in this Swiss-Swedish engagement? "PPN sees in the merger with Planit Media an additional service for its advertising customers and agencies, as well as an additional market presence for its representative titles," explains CEO Hans-Peter Rohner.
1999 business results with doubled net profit
Meanwhile, PPN is not the only P division on an expansion course: all business units are currently growing. It is not surprising that General Manager Jean-Jacques Zaugg showed an extremely satisfied face at this year's annual press conference in Lausanne.
After all, net income increased by 103 percent to 156 million Swiss francs in 1999, the highest profit in the company's history (Group sales 2.31 billion Swiss francs). The Board of Directors therefore proposes to pay the shareholders a dividend of 25 Swiss francs (plus 108 percent). And because this proposal has to be approved by the shareholders, it may be expected that it will be adopted ...
"All of the Group's business units increased their market shares and productivity," Zaugg emphasized. A good sign for the print media: The core business - trading with advertisements - also contributed to the improved result. In particular, business in job ads flourished.
PubliGroupe says goodbye to billboards
Nevertheless, the brilliant 1999 result is largely attributable to extraordinary financial income (sale of real estate and participations), which this time reached CHF 113 million (up 195 percent). In particular, PubliGroupe sold its 30 percent stake in APG Holding (Allgemeine Plakatgesellschaft). PubliGroupe has thus bid farewell to its long-held dream of gaining a foothold in the poster business.
A merger with APG would have made perfect sense prima vista: PubliGroupe's strong position in print media and APG's expertise in outdoor advertising would have made it possible to offer an even better media mix. But APG wanted no part of a merger with PubliGroupe, opting instead for the backing of French billboard market leader Decaux. "For us, the sale of our stake was the logical consequence of this," says P headquarters. However, saying goodbye to the billboards may not have been easy for the P people.
Good weather forecasts for the beginning of the year
Plenty of sunshine is also expected for the current year. Business is running smoothly in all divisions, it was said in Lausanne, so that the high level of 1999 should be maintained despite considerable investments, especially in the online segment. PubliGroupe expects - "subject to economic downturns"! - PubliGroupe expects an operating profit of about 85 million francs and extraordinary income from the sale of real estate worth about 70 million francs.
To ensure that not only the shareholders, but also the employees can take great pleasure in a further rise of the P-shares on the stock exchange, PubliGroupe would like its employees to participate in the capital. To this end, the creation of conditional capital (two percent of the share capital) will be proposed to the General Meeting. The staff should be able to acquire share certificates at preferential conditions.
IPO of Real Media Inc. with unknowns
With regard to the recently announced IPO of the online group Real Media Inc. in New York, in which PubliGroupe now holds 70 percent of the capital, few details were given in Lausanne - in view of the current stock market turbulence and the strict American stock market legislation.
The P-managers limited themselves to the assurance that the going public was planned for May, but that the conditions had not yet been clearly defined. This was followed by the specification that around 15 percent of the share capital would be put up for sale. Whereby one apparently expects (or hopes for) proceeds of around 80 million dollars. After the IPO, PubliGroupe's stake was to decline from 70 to 52 percent. "But we want to retain the majority," Zaugg added.
P like "pedeckt

How beautifully this is formulated: "PubliGroupe supports initiatives of publishing houses which, in search of industrial and editorial synergies, join together in publishing groups with the aim of being firmly anchored in their region and economically sound," was heard at this year's annual press conference in Lausanne. And as proof that fine words can also be followed by deeds, the good services provided by P in merging the two failed Neuchâtel newspapers L'Express and L'Impartial were recalled.
So now PubliGroupe is also taking a 35 percent stake in Vogt-Schild AG, the publisher of the Solothurner Zeitung. Is this a step towards a major structural adjustment between Berne and Zurich? And if so, what might such a move look like in the eyes of the P-men? In response to this question from WerbeWoche, PubliPresse CEO Ernst Grab is cagey. Yes, he believes in the necessity of synergies in this region, he admits ... but there are many different models of how a cooperation could be achieved. Well - we had actually already guessed that ourselves!

In the U.S., major companies are using poetry books to improve their literary imageby Thérèse Balduzzi To celebrate National Poetry Month in America, American Airlines (AA) is distributing poetry books to its passengers. Previously, VW, Amtrak and AT&T have used poetry as a marketing strategy, with great success.
The anthology "Songs for the open Road: Poems of Travel & Adventure," distributed during one month on all international AA flights, contains 90 poems by 50 poets. Among them are those by notable greats of the past and present such as Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, William Butler Yeats, James Joyce, Elizabeth Bishop and E.E. Cummings. The book is published by the nonprofit American Poetry and Literacy Project in Washington. The organization was founded by Nobel Prize winner Joseph Brodsky with the goal of bringing poetry to the people.
AA is not the first company to take an interest in poetry. Railroad company Amtrak, hotel chain DoubleTree Hotels and supermarket chain Safeway recently distributed the same book to their customers. Last year, VW put 40000 copies in the glove compartments of their new cars. Daimler Chrysler sponsored five poetry readings in 1999 and published its own volume of poems by participating authors. Other companies, such as the telephone company AT&T and the health insurance company Blue Cross, have recently invited poets to give lectures to their managers instead of management consultants.
A flight attendant worried about the reading of the passengers
Flight attendant Eric W. Bergman from Chicago came up with the idea of distributing "Songs for the open Road" on AA flights because passengers often ask for reading material. He had heard about the nonprofit's actions and suggested it to his superiors. Finally, the book of poetry, of which AA plans to give away 100,000 copies, is specifically tailored to travelers: "AA is the first airline to distribute the book. We are very excited about giving it away on international flights because it contains poetry from all over the world," says Andrew Caroll, director of the American Poetry and Literacy Project.
AA and most other companies receive the books for free and only cover the distribution costs. While it may seem odd that a small nonprofit would donate books to large companies, Andrew Caroll is pleased. His goal is to have the poetry book in every hotel room in America, but for that he needs the help of established companies.
According to Caroll, companies are often dismissive of the promotion at first, but then agree to try it out on a small scale. "Usually the enthusiasm from customers is so great that we can hardly keep up with the orders."

It struck me that I would have actually liked to have posted this topic before Easter, with a reference to a successful egg hunt—or perhaps better yet, «egg tapping.» But since holidays are usually forgotten only half as quickly as the time it took to announce them, the Easter connection will linger for a while longer.
What a sight! You really couldn't step on someone's (Easter) eggs in a more classic way—and from behind, no less. A real eye-catcher—at least among the male editorial staff at WerbeWoche, since everyone who saw it reacted with either a mocking or a sympathetic comment. However, the conversation focused more on the quality of this snapshot—I’m assuming this scene wasn’t specifically staged—than on the potential client. So, what exactly is being advertised here? Soccer insurance or Fielmann eyeglasses? Far from it. It’s for an online job placement service, though that’s still unclear even when reading the copy. It reads: «At the wrong time in the wrong place in the wrong job?» Translated, that roughly means: You’re not supposed to kick an opponent between the legs during a soccer game, but it’s okay everywhere else. Right?
OK. I'm looking too far afield. But I'm still certain that this ad won't achieve its goal. It certainly catches the eye, but it doesn't create a positive connection to the actual product. And we look forward to Easter every year, don't we? Chandra Kurt
Column

The Grandmother of All Advertisers By Simon Freiburghaus
Muba is pregnant and has nothing to wear. Please, please visit the poor mother and at least give her a few bucks for admission. And the VBS will be offering at least one «Naked Gun» or something like that at its special exhibition. For the kids, there’s a shooting simulator and a secret staff exercise to color in—optionally, Federal Councilors can be sent to the afterlife. Furthermore, the mother of all trade show announcements invites visitors to “a culturally and historically interesting journey through the land of the samba” (original quote). You probably have to imagine something similar to the “Summertime” fashion show, where you can experience up close (sic!) what prêt-à-porter is all about.
There’s no doubt that the Avedon-style nude is effective in the true sense of the word “effect.” Only the moral guardians of Solothurn, Lucerne, and elsewhere want to stop the wheel of time and spare their fellow citizens what can be seen elsewhere. But come on, what’s the big deal? After all, even the new issue of *Cash* needed a naked man on the cover. If it had been a pregnant woman, they could at least have run the headline “The Mother of All Business Newspapers.” Which, however, would have compromised some old lady.
There are plenty of other examples of successful analogies involving an expectant mother who has nothing to wear just to get attention. How about the mother of all mustard tubes? (A little blue on the butt.) The mother of all sneakers? (With three stretch marks.) Or the mother of all file folders? (With a piercing in the genital area.) And soon I’ll be looking into what became of them—it’s always nice to see ads featuring babies (newborns, the latest …).
Language Observer

The Purple Nightlight Fish
On the way home from the beach, Rikki starts listing all the fish he wants to catch tomorrow with his little net: «A concrete fish and a car fish, and a tree fish, a sea fish, a starfish …»
«And a sunfish,» I chime in.
«Yes, moonfish. And skyfish!»
«And eye fish.»
«Yeah. And nosefish!»
«Armfish.»
«Kids» fish!"
«Table fish.»
«Yeah, table fish. And Fanta fish!»
«Spritefish.»
«Coca-Cola fish!»
«Kiosk fish.»
«And at the restaurant Fisch!»
«Soup fish.»
«Yeah, soup fish, spaghetti fish, French fry fish, pea fish, meat fish …»
«And Fishfish.»
«Sunfish!»
«No, Esrägnetfisch.»
And it goes on like this until we're in bed:
«Sockfish.»
«Radiofish!»
«Computer Fish.»
«And Pajama Fish. And Füdli Fish!»
«Pamperlifisch.»
«Yeah, Pamperfish. And Fartfish!»
«And a bedside lamp fish.»
«Yeah! And Liechtfisch!»
«Nice, »Liechtfisch.' And 'Bettfisch.'"
«And a carpetfish—no, a green carpetfish!»
«What about a red one?»
«Yes, a red one. And a purple carpetfish!»
«And what else?»
«A blue one. And a floor fish, a wall fish, a window fish, and an everything fish.»
«And curtain fish.»
«Why »curtain fish'? Tata, hey, why 'curtain fish'…?"
He yawns and soon falls asleep. The next morning, he opens his eyes and says:
«Hey, Dad? Ping-pong fish …»
The day begins.
Beat Gloor, www.textcontrol.ch

WerbeWoche correspondent Christophe Büchi has filled in the "Röstigraben "When long-serving spouses quarrel, some see the end of the relationship coming, while others see only a temporary disgruntlement. This is how the French-speaking Swiss correspondent of WerbeWoche, Christophe Büchi, characterizes the relationship between German and French-speaking Switzerland in his book on the subject of the "Röstigraben". Büchi, a cultural border crosser, has always been interested in the relations between the two parts of the country. As a writing observer of his French-speaking habitat for various German-language media - and thus a quasi-professional "Röstigrabologist" - it has become clear to him over time "that the answer cannot be summed up in a few short lines or even in a few palatable headlines."
The book discusses the historical development of the cultural divide, today's divergences in European politics, and the problems of the French-speaking Swiss with the predominance of the economic decision-making centers in Zurich. Conversely, Christophe Büchi finds a lack of interest among the German-speaking Swiss in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, which many only know from visits to the Motor Show or wine tours.
In his œuvre, Christoph Büchi shows with many illuminating quotations - from Gottfried Keller to the NZZ - that the relationship between the two parts of the country was and is characterized by changeable phases: once united in solidarity, then again divided in mistrust. For Büchi, what is remarkable is not that there is tension, but that there has not been more tension.
The author passed his Matura exams in Gossau, then studied philosophy and political science in Fribourg and Lausanne. Büchi was an assistant at the University of Lausanne and was awarded the Prix Jean Dumur at the Geneva Book Salon in 1996. Andreas Panzeri
Christophe Büchi, "Röstigraben" - The Relationship between German and French Switzerland. History and Perspectives". Verlag der Neuen Zürcher Zeitung, 336 pages, ISBN 3-85823-812-0

Hug, von Moos & Dorfmüller now also places the hard cheese in a trendy environmentMöckli, shaved or grated cheese: The gastronomic versatility of Sbrinz is undisputed. But up to now, it has received too little attention. Since the dissolution of the cheese union at the end of April 1999, Central Swiss cheese has been left to its own devices. For Sbrinz, this means the chance to express its hard qualities. A new CI as well as an extensive campaign by Hug, von Moos & Dorfmüller, Lucerne, are intended to make the consumer's mouth water and make him appreciate the salty taste of a cheese made from the milk of alpine ruminating cows. With its new image, Sbrinz Käse GmbH wants to build on last year's sales increase and have its cheese climb to the top of Lucerne's local mountain, Mount Pilatus. page 13

Advertising statistics from Schweizer Presse and VSW in March: Commercial ads developed differentlyWith an increase of over 40 percent, job ads experienced record growth in March. There was also an upswing in commercial ads, although different titles and newspaper categories benefited very differently.The burgeoning job market continues to bring newspapers great profits: The volume of job ads in the Swiss print media grew by 41.4 percent in March compared to the same month last year, an absolute record increase in terms of page numbers.
Commercial advertisements also performed well. In Switzerland as a whole, they increased by 4.5 percent. However, the gains were distributed very differently among the individual parts of the country and title categories. With an increase of 11.2 percent, French-speaking Switzerland led the way this time, ahead of Ticino (plus 3.3 percent) and German-speaking Switzerland (plus 2.1 percent). In the German-speaking part of Switzerland, it was once again the high-circulation newspapers (over 50,000 copies) that were able to make gains, while the medium-sized and small titles even posted negative growth. Even within the newspaper groups, the differences are enormous, ranging from the front-runner Blick, with an increase of 27.4 percent, to the Basler Zeitung, which posted a loss of 6.1 percent.
The picture was similarly mixed for weekly newspapers. The overall result in all three parts of the country was significantly higher than the previous year, with gains of between 11 and 13.2 percent. Broken down to the individual titles, however, there were both exceptional winners (Finanz und Wirtschaft up 39.9 percent, Cash up 24.4 percent) and losers (SonntagsZeitung down 8.3 percent).
Magazines experienced an excellent March. They increased by 21.2 percent in German-speaking Switzerland, and their advertising growth in French-speaking Switzerland was also 6.3 percent. The print media also earned more money in March thanks to a strong increase in demand for four-color ads: Magazines grew by 22.1 percent and newspapers by as much as 31.5 percent.
The Publicitas index of advertising spending in the daily press reflects the positive overall development with an increase of 1.7 points to 127.9 points. In addition to a positive trend in the national market, advertising investments in local markets are now increasingly contributing to the strengthening, Publicitas writes. Daniel Schifferle

In addition, Fritz Schuhmacher has been appointed vice president of the board of directors of Basler Mediengruppe (BMG). The attorney and trustee has thus risen to become the second-in-command behind BMG CEO Matthias Hagemann. He holds board and other positions at PubliGroupe, Telebasel, and Radio Basilisk.
Killian Gasser, formerly Regional Sales Manager at Facts, will return to the infomagazine in May as Advertising Director following a stint at HBH Communications. Gasser will replace Roger Knabenhans, who will head Globi Publishing going forward.
After 22 years in office, Lucerne’s Director of Transportation, Kurt H. Illi, is stepping down at the end of the year. His successor, 39-year-old Mario Lütolf, most recently worked at Swisscom.
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On July 1, Jean-Marc Hensch will join Farner PR and Consulting as a partner and member of the executive board. The 40-year-old lawyer and PR consultant will head the Financial & Investor Relations division and expand the firm’s international operations. Jacqueline Moeri, 40, a partner at Farner PR, has been appointed deputy director.
Effective April 15, Richard Simpson has taken over Max Gurtner's position as Head of Investor Relations at Roche. Simpson previously served as Marketing Training Manager at Roche.
Joining Jörg Rindlisbacher, Impiric’s Chief Executive, and Managing Director Thomas Biedermann on the executive board are Martin Lange (Customer Relationship Management), Eugen Brunner (Events & Promotion), and Pius Sidler (Business Development).

It's been three months since Daniel Matter, Erich Baumgartner and Wirz Partner Holding took over the Zurich agency Matter & Partner. In the meantime, positions in consulting and creation have been shuffled and filled. The Sophienstrasse advertising team, for example, has five new heads on board: four of them are female - the only male newcomer is ex-Publicis copywriter Dani Portmann. He replaced John Leuppi. Simone Raubach also comes from Publicis and joins Anita Haberthür, ex Euro RSCG, on the consultant side. Sabine Ries, formerly WCJ, will start as graphic designer at Matter & Partner on May 2. On the same day, Anita Bürgi will also start a new job as graphic designer at the agency. The 25-year-old was previously with Visualix. (ko)

A late Alpha effect in northwestern SwitzerlandBy Daniel Schifferle Starting next Saturday, the Basler Zeitung will have its own job newspaper with at least four pages of service for job seekers. The aim of the supplement, called Stellefant, is to fish in the national job market, which was previously reserved for Alpha and the Neue Zürcher Zeitung.
Job advertisements are a lucrative business. Those who canvass job seekers in a more attractive way will profit even more from this bubbling source of income. The Basler Zeitung has also recognized this and is launching its own job newspaper next Saturday. Stellefant, the somewhat exotic-sounding name of the new weekend supplement, is, according to project manager Daniel Fasnacht, "a completely arbitrarily chosen word composition, to which the elephant, as a sympathetic figure, lends an endearing note.
The two main trump cards of the new weekend supplement: an expanded service section and a clear rubrication of the advertisements. A wide variety of topics from the world of work are addressed on at least four editorial pages.
It opens with a topical picture story, and on the second page a specialist in labor law answers readers' questions. The third page provides guidance on various relevant areas: from tips on how to write a job application correctly to information on the choice of work clothing and how to keep a correct expense sheet. And of course, readers should also be allowed to smile. The last page is reserved for this, with gossip from the business world and a regular cartoon.
"Basler Zeitung editors vouch for the high journalistic quality of these vessels," emphasizes project manager Daniel Fasnacht. But a page is also reserved for pure PR articles. Under the heading Company Portrait, companies can be featured on a full or half page at a rate of 10,000 or 6,000 Swiss francs respectively. However, freelance journalists from Publicitas, not the company's own, are used for this.
Forward in the national job market
In addition to the bundle of editorial content, job seekers in Stellefant will above all be offered more of an overview. Instead of the only two previous sections, Managerial Positions and Job Vacancies, the Saturday supplement is divided into no fewer than nine sections: Managerial, Commercial, Sales, Marketing/Communication, IT, Finance, Technical/Commercial/Industrial, Social/Medical and Other Jobs.
According to Daniel Fasnacht, the Stellefant corresponds to a "long and frequently expressed wish from the circle of job recruiters". With its realization, Fasnacht now hopes for something in return: "In the future, we would also like to participate in the national job market," says Fasnacht.

The new newspaper project of the Basel Media Group (BMG) is rumored to be practically ready to go, apart from the box locations.And according to Beat Meyer, BMG board delegate, it will come in any case, even if neither Metropol nor 20 Minuten should come to Basel. BMG has problems with its free titles. Basler Woche has been in the red for years, losing circulation and readers - something Meyer "doesn't want to accept in the long run." The Baslerstab does make a profit. But Meyer fears a migration of classified ads to the Internet, which is why "there is a need for action here, too."
At the advertising level, BMG is arming itself - with a combo with the Tagblatt für die Stadt Bern, BTM (Berner Tagblatt Medien) and ZürichExpress (TA-Media). The titles are already linked with a brochure insert combo.
The new combi is not yet in place, but because of the threat from Zurich, it is within reach. It would then make sense if BMG and BTM also distributed a daily free paper like the ZürichExpress. The rebuild in Basel should be seen against this background, Meyer confirms.
In Bern, the city has put the publication of official advertisements out to tender, which will result in a shakeout in the free advertising landscape there, practically regardless of the outcome of the tender.
By the way: The ZürichExpress has had the names BaselExpress, BernExpress etc. protected in Basel, Bern, St. Gallen and Lucerne. Maybe the new BMG and BTM titles will be allowed to take over these names one day. In the case of a station wagon, this would make perfect sense... (mk)

Muse & Musse Thomas Hug Which cultural event did you attend last and why this one in particular?
Thomas Hug: Jeannette's welcome home party because she recently returned from Chile.
What are you reading right now and why?
Hug: "REM" by Michael M. Smith. Because that's the future.
Which CD do you currently prefer to listen to?
Hug: Tom Temper & Suki Sky, "Volume 1".
Which movie would you most like to see again and why?
Hug: "Magnolia". Because that is the reality.
What TV show did you fall asleep during the other night?
Hug: On my favorite show, Big Brother.
What is your latest discovery on the Internet?
Hug: The intro of www.wall
paper.com
Love is ...?
Hug: Biology.