Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer also stated that there is a long-term roadmap for international cooperation. How much Yahoo will pay for this integration as a standard search engine is not known.

For Mozilla, it's a drastic change: in previous years, a large part of the Firefox makers' revenue came from the cooperation with Google, which yielded several hundred million dollars.

Firefox users could continue to select Google as their preferred search engine as well, Mozilla chief Chris Beard said. (SDA)

 

Oliver Brunschwiler used to be a professional snowboarder and founded the advertising agency /Department in Zurich together with Johannes Eisenhut in 2000. In October 2014, the successful creative agency merged with FCB Zurich. Even before that, Oliver Brunschwiler worked regularly for the Freitag brothers. In the future, he will be responsible for advertising and communication for the Freitag label on a full-time basis and will also be part of the management team there. 

WW: The honeymoon is over. How are things going in the everyday married life of /Department and FCB Zurich?
Oliver Brunschwiler: We are very happy. Nevertheless, further changes are on the horizon for me. To do that, I have to digress a bit first. With the exception of brand identity, short-livedness is a given in the communications industry. There is always a need for new messages and new products, and yet most things are repeated. As a communications service provider, that's a nice challenge when you celebrate permanent renewal. I now believe more in a long or second life for things. I also see signs of fatigue in the classic relationship between agency and client, because a big change has taken place in the last twenty years. The pressure of work has increased, and not just in the communications industry. The professional skills that talented employees need to bring to the table in order to remain innovative and motivated are constantly broadening. At the same time, the competencies on the customer side have grown, which I personally welcome. People talk at eye level, and the creative services manager no longer comes to a presentation as the untouchable zampano, the bearer of the "big idea." We have become a sparring partner, but we often pay for this with the short-lived nature of the ideas.

And the spouses?
I'll come to that in a moment. In this dynamic, increasingly agile environment, /Department has been able to hold its own very well. Even until we married FCB, we were able to celebrate amazing successes. For years, we operated completely outside the agency scene. Only: Johannes Eisenhut and I are two commercially oriented creatives, with emphasis on "oriented". That's why we spent years looking for a third partner. Someone to ma nage us. In addition, we came to the point where we said: Around 40, we want to do something new. We had to force ourselves to do that, especially when things were going well. It's like when you sleep well, but you should still rearrange your bed. Without rearranging, you don't dream a new dream. Luckily we met Cornelia Harder - for us with the only "catch" that she was not self-employed but involved in the agency and the network. But the agency business is, after all, a people business. And from that point of view, Cornelia Harder as manager and Dennis Lück as CD are absolutely the right partners for us. This led to the "marriage" of /Department and FCB in July 2014. It is also pleasing that most of our customers have also married. We will continue to take care of them with a reduced workload. So Johannes and I are at the point where we have the privilege of doing "something completely new" at 40. Eisenhut is active in real estate development, I will work full time for the Freitag brothers in the future.

A cheating your way into employment?
Yes, such a relationship is new to me, and I could only imagine it at very few companies. I've been part of the Freitag management team since 2014 and am responsible for communications and creation. With /Department, Johannes Eisenhut and I were one of the few agencies that worked for Freitag again and again. However, far in the background, because Freitag does not do classic advertising and has always created something new in brand communication with playfulness and irritation, even without additions from agencies. We had also been associated as sparring partners for a long time. Johannes had been involved with Skim.com, another start-up with the Freitag brothers, since 1999, when the idea of a mail address printed on clothes and bags that could be used to contact each other via an anonymous mailbox turned out to be a premature birth. And at the same time, it was the first big learning for us involved that one should not confuse New Economy with Economy.

Now Freitag is diversifying with fashion. What is your motivation to "get into the pants" there yourself?
I've traveled the world with my past as a professional snowboarder and then as a creative and entrepreneur. In the process, I've met creatives in a wide variety of disciplines. But no one as good as the Freitag brothers in their comprehensive view of the whole. It is a personal challenge to compete in a company that is committed to thinking and acting in cycles and thus to 100 percent "good goods". But if we only diversified with fashion, I wouldn't have joined.

One challenge is to launch a new product "without advertising". How is that going to come to play?
Through the right story. With Freitag, everything arises from a need, not just because the market wants it that way. Now you can say needs are dominated exclusively market - the market need, but that is only half the truth. The graphic designer Daniel and the decoration designer Markus had the need for a robust and somewhat individual bag. So in 1993, for their own use, they developed their first messenger bag from recycled truck tarps, used bicycle inner tubes and car seat belts. These bags appealed to others, so they sewed several and began selling them. The brothers realized that their product could self-communicate, and furthermore, out of sheer budgetary necessity, they found their own eye-catching ways to sell their products. For example, they sold bags made from car trunks on a parking deck. This was well received by the scene, it was more of an installation, the buying moment played the supporting role. With such and with many other guerrilla-like actions, a kind of Friday myth has emerged. The reassuring thing is that we still judge ideas according to the same patterns. Which more often leads to simply potting the most brilliant idea. An expectation I'm very comfortable with, because even as an entrepreneur I was rarely 100 percent satisfied with agency output in my role as chief creative officer and agency manager.

How does Freitag communicate today?
Today, our most important channel is media relations. This is where we invest the most resources, along with the online channel. We launch products with meaningful mini-stories, most of which are created by our internal creative department, in collaboration with external parties, or even with our innovation department. For support, we have mandated several PR agencies, which are centrally managed by us. In addition, we believe in cooperations, in Switzerland for example already several times with the Tages-Anzeiger magazine, Pro Helvetia or Reportagen.

The Internet is becoming increasingly important. How do you want to deal with this medium at Freitag?
Media relations, the brothers, innovations, products, our stories and events are merging online. Like everywhere, the longer the more. But Freitag.ch is also an important sales channel. We are devoting increased attention to this channel accordingly. But with our colleagues from the innovation department, we also develop formats as an end in themselves, commonly known as content marketing. A buzzword, but for us a high-potential channel, provided it is well orchestrated. In the summer, for example, we sent two journalists on a trip called "Grand Tour." They had a "carte blanche" to report on their experiences on our portal. The whole campaign had no other purpose than to detach our brand from the pure product message and land back with us via the back door. Another key channel is the POS, where we are constantly looking for innovative ideas and lasting images to give our stories behind products a vessel.

A cult object promotes itself.
Exactly. You have to launch the right story around it and use your intuition to make what at first glance seems irrelevant relevant. For example, by recontextualizing existing things in a completely norm-free way.

How big is the market for the Freitag label?
Our core market is Europe, above all Switzerland, Germany and Italy. Austria is also growing. France has a lot of potential, especially with FAbric. In England, we are entering a new market. Asia is booming. The unique idea has only just arrived in Asia, where we still have umpteen immature markets on which we could focus. In Japan, Freitag has already been around for 15 years. In Tokyo, we operate two F-Stores on the hottest corners of the city.

Where are the bags produced?
We purchase the truck sheets throughout Europe. At our headquarters in Oerlikon, the material is disassembled, washed and cut. Then the tarpaulins go to various sewing plants. The farthest ones are 1500 kilometers away. Then the sewn bags come back to the warehouse, are checked and distributed from Zurich.

Now the bags have been joined by clothes. Will Freitag become a real fashion label?
F-abric is a material story, a closed loop. Initially, we wanted to equip our factory workers with a workwear and were looking for a product that would meet our needs. It was not to be a well-traveled cotton, nor was it to be a fabric with polyester added, as it is in almost all other fabrics. So first we had to develop a new material. This started a five-year process. FAbric Workpants, for example, are made from a unique Broken Twill, a fabric made from linen and hemp. An FAbric piece is 100 percent recyclable. Only the pant buttons are made of metal. A nice little feature on which you can imprint your own initials, totally timeless - the Patek Philippe of trouser buttons, if you will. In addition to the pants, there are also tops and work dresses for women. And a concept bag that combines both circuits with blachen and F-Abric. In the spring we will expand the range. But we don't intend to become a fashion company and only sell clothes. We will continue to make bags and continue to diversify, maybe from FAbric, maybe with other materials. And with other products. We are primarily a bag manufacturer and will remain so.

How is the textile sector marketed now?
The brothers are the explorers, they tell the story by means of a journey in search of the completed cycle. The core of the story: We think and act in cycles. Something is planted, you make something out of it, and then it goes back into the earth. Cradle to cradle.

How did you launch this material story?
The journey of the brothers forms the core. We made a kind of documentary of the trip and created a comprehensive publication including product presentation. For this, parts of the package were mirrored on Freitag. ch. At the POS, we staged both the film and the material with a pinch of irony. In the run-up to the event, we invited over 40 international media representatives. As a result, media from all over the world reported on us. Publications like Le Figaro, Falter, La Repubblica, Enorm, Swiss Magazine or Form. The goal was to tell the story first, so why are we doing this? It wasn't until two months later that we launched the collection as a "harvest festival" because the end of October is flax harvest in Normandy.

So how successful is this earned media presenting itself?
The story is heavily multiplied in the media, so we wanted the international blogs and print media first. They will then be referenced by others. Of course, we hope that the story with the new material will also fertilize the core business with the bags.

How many people does the company offer a job opportunity to today?
We employ around 160 people globally, most of them in Switzerland.

Why do ideas from Friday's garden go over so well?
The brothers have earned a certain credit with the uncompromising construction of the brand, we have to be careful with this credit. Those who know the genesis and look through our glasses give us the credit and open their doors. Whether it's new retailers, media, collaborative partners, other innovative companies, museums or even embassies. If we follow up with innovative ideas, we have won.The textile industry is one of the largest industries in the world. When we as an SME from Oerlikon come up with revolutionary innovations, or in other words with a recontextualized and zeitgeisty idea like FAbric, people take notice. However, the balance between commercial reality, demands and our principles remains the big challenge for us as well and is only livable because we are an attractive employer, care about people and attract talent accordingly.

Is sponsorship an issue?
We don't do paid sponsorship, no. But we do give away a bag now and then. Also to journalists.

Interview: Andreas Panzeri

In a nutshell

Brothers Daniel and Markus Freitag sewed their first bags from recycled truck sheets "for their own use" in 1993. This has since become a cult label with fans and sales channels around the globe. Since fall 2014, Freitag has also been active in the fashion business with the line extension F-abric Workpants. These, for example, are made from a Broken Twill, a fabric made from linen and hemp that Freitag developed specifically for her clothes. The fabric is fully compostable

Daniel and Markus Freitag pose for a photo tour of their workshops, for example a weaving mill in Italy. The flax for the new fabric is planted and processed in Normandy.

A total of 160 people work for the Freitag company. Most of them in Switzerland. The transport distances for the material are at most 2500 kilometers. The photo shows seamstresses in Szczecin, Poland.
 

Tim Alexander has been Head of Marketing & Brand Communications at Swisscom for a year now.
 
WW: You have now been responsible for marketing at Swisscom for a year. How satisfied are you with what you have achieved?
Tim Alexander: My first year at Swisscom was a good one. We are delighted to have just received the GfM Marketing Award, which we won at the end of October. Of course, it also recognizes our historic achievement in marketing. Despite this, the laudation is more precise: We are close to our customers, tell new and inspiring stories and know how to package our services well in terms of communication. In general, we have made the transition to becoming a service provider and have been able to make this clear to our customers. We have also been awarded the "Spot of the Month" twice this year, with our TV spot "I Swear" for Natel Infinity and now also with Swisscom TV 2.0. In addition, we have worked with Tina Turner as a brand ambassador, which is also a personal highlight for me. It's a surprising and very different story for our messenger and telephony app iO, which we positioned and publicized with Tina Turner.  

New advertising for new products: Has this also resulted in a new team internally?
Not at all. We've just simplified the structures. We are still the same people, but now with a shared vision: we want to create "world-class" communication that is talked about positively in Switzerland. And that is also the feedback we are getting from the industry. Our advertising has become even more visible, not through increased media pressure, but through surprising ideas and clarity in the message...  

The budget has remained the same? We have even reduced it somewhat. In other words, we have invested more in online. At the same time, we were able to increase the value of the brand and the return on investment. We are very satisfied with the business and communication success.  

The environment is very lively. You read about new offers for cable TV or cell phone subscriptions almost every day. How do you perceive this?
Competition is getting tougher and louder. My opinion: as long as it benefits the customer, I can't have anything against it. It's okay for providers to outbid each other. Last year, we felt that this had a positive impact on our business success. We are the market leader in all areas and continue to see that people want to deal with us. We don't notice any migration. People stay - because we do everything we can to keep them. Not just in terms of communication and marketing. We are reliable, which is appreciated in Switzerland. Swisscom also combines this with "Swissness" in the sense of responsibility towards society. We also have the theme of "simplicity". People understand what Swisscom says. And you can also use all our products intuitively. The third is "inspiration". We show new possibilities and accompany our customers in the networked world. In the daily growing confusion, customers choose what they can really trust. And we have long been the first port of call in this respect and intend to remain so.  

Is brand communication still important when customers are constantly looking for the cheapest bargains, or does trade communication win out in the end?
We also analyzed this carefully last year. We firmly believe that both are needed: positioning communication that pays into the brand. And it needs communication that motivates customers to buy our products. With this "brand-trade gap", you have to get both right. If the brand is well positioned in the sense of being trustworthy, simple and inspiring, then the right and relevant offers must follow to activate it. We have come a long way here too. In the online area, we are using retargeting and social CRM as well as new "performance display advertising" to bring really relevant messages as close as possible to the customer's wishes in real time. To this end, we launched an image campaign at brand level this year with the "Land of Opportunity". Because we believe that we are there for Switzerland, that it is good that Swisscom exists and that we therefore also accept our responsibility. We invest in further training, flexible working time models, sustainability and ultimately CHF 1.7 billion per year in the network so that Switzerland can remain the "land of opportunity". Our role in this country is important, and we want to communicate this. But not in a loud, overbearing way, but by using real examples. I firmly believe that the louder people shout and the more offers there are on the market, the more important it is for a brand to take on the role of a beacon. But you have to play it out, and we have succeeded in doing that this year.

Which agency does what for Swisscom?
When we talk about brand and trade, we have sorted them according to segments, i.e. customer groups. Our Berlin home is our agency that works for both brand and trade in the private customer segment. The second very important agency is Serviceplan from Zurich. It looks after the entire SME business customer segment as well as the enterprise business. Another important agency partner is our media agency Media Schneider from Zurich. There are also many other partners with whom we work on a basis of trust. In all of this, it is crucial that we are active across the board. This means that marketing and brand communication at Swisscom is centrally responsible for the communication of all customer segments. The interplay between positioning and activation comes from a single source for all target groups.

What is your experience of working with Heimat?
I inherited the collaboration with Heimat, and I live quite well with it. Swisscom has never won so many national and international awards. The "All Eyes on S4" campaign and the iO campaign with Tina Turner have been discussed all over the world. These are ideas from home. On the other hand, I would like to point out that all production-related topics are realized in Switzerland. Sometimes it just helps to take a look from the outside and then get the best out of the whole team. What's actually new is that we work differently with our agencies. There is a round table where the various agencies and project teams come together. We have fixed contracts with our agencies. This means that our partners don't have to prove themselves every time, but can work on the project. They are supposed competitors, but they are all working on the same challenge. As Swisscom, we actively support and manage this process. We don't take ourselves out and simply let the best idea pitch, but we are the drivers and bring the partners to the table to create something together. Because only when the best agencies sit together do we get the best results.

How big is Swisscom's marketing department?
Marketing at Swisscom has more than 400 people. The communications team consists of around 50 people. We have project managers there who put together their team depending on the focus of the campaign. When PR becomes important, this department is involved right from the start. If we have a particular online focus, then these colleagues are already involved in the development.

What else have you changed?
We haven't changed that much. We've just optimized our collaboration. We don't approach a topic in a competitive situation between the agencies, but instead look for ideas together to win over clients. In addition, we actively collaborate as clients and have a shared vision and the will to create "world-class" communication. That is the real innovation: the will to perfection.

Once again about Tina Turner. What was the feedback like in detail?
It is quite unusual for Tina Turner to advertise at all. The last time she did this for a European brand was 27 years ago. The fact that she was then still working for Swisscom was a surprise effect that had an impact. The message that, as a Swiss woman, she also recommends iO, the country's telephony and messenger service, was very well received. And it was surprisingly told. That's what we aim to do, to bring such small stories with a big impact to the customer. It worked very well with Tina Turner. We now have around one million downloads of the iO app. But it was also a risk. If you want to be brave, you have to try something new. I'm really proud that we at Swisscom have this courage and don't stand still when it comes to advertising. We are constantly looking for new storytelling ideas.

Is storytelling more than just a buzzword?
Our responsibility is to ensure that employees do not see "storytelling" as a buzzword, but instead ask themselves: What does this mean for my day-to-day work? We have formed a transformation team for this purpose. In addition to PR, it also has storytelling in its name and is headed by Michèle Westhues and Pascal Rosenberger. Their team ensures that employees understand: What are the benefits of storytelling? How do I find a suitable story for a new product? How do I make the creative leap so that people then continue to tell the story? Our job is to tell stories with the product, about the product and around the product, instead of sending out one-way information.

The new Christmas campaign also shows such approaches. What is the basic idea?
We asked ourselves: What does it take to support the Christmas business? The answer is an activating trade campaign, because Swisscom offers the best Christmas presents with the best advice. This is new information for our customers, because normally they would rather go to a shopping center or a well-known department store for their Christmas presents. If the Swisscom store is now positioned as the place for the best Christmas gifts, we are doing this by hiring the best Christmas gift expert in the world. The best advice comes from Santa Claus, because he knows everything about what we humans want. We tell this on the trade level with a little wink and the appropriate offers under the motto: "Christmas can come".

Is the lead medium the TV commercial?
We don't really have a lead medium anymore. We are talking about 360° campaigns. Some of our customers will discover the message with Santa Claus on TV. But many others will follow the story online, become aware of it via posters or advertisements and come into contact with the idea at other touchpoints. In addition to the "brand trade scissors", we also create a very detailed "message cascading". Not every medium has to tell everything, but the story is told further at the various points of contact with us. The film has to whet the appetite for more, and later there are publicity reports, for example, that explain in more detail what we have to offer. Through our social media channels, we receive feedback from our customers in real time. This means that the campaign can be constantly developed further and the messages remain current and relevant.

Interview: Andreas Panzeri

You can find the campaign and the commercials in our Online article.

To day 1  To day 2  To day 3

FCB Zurich secures three bronze awards at once and now brings back a total of four Epica Awards from Amsterdam. The "Emography Project" for MTV Mobile/Sunrise, which had already won silver in the "Creative Technology" category, also received bronze in the "Graphic Design" category. Two bronze awards also go to the "Emography Project" for MTV Mobile/Sunrise. Cannes awarded band merchandise for the Swiss Youth Symphony Orchestra; in the categories "Graphic Design" and "Illustration".

Leo Burnett also brings another Epica pyramid to Aemtlerstrasse. The Woz campaign, in which intelligence chief Markus Seiler was monitored, caused a sensation beyond the country's borders. The corresponding spot is awarded in the category "Media". After the two gold awards, bronze is now award number three and the crowning glory of the successful Epica year for the Zurich agency.

The Y&R Group can also look forward to an Epica Award at this year's ceremony: Advico is awarded bronze in the "Media" category for its "ad-free" Teleclub posters.

And last but not least, Havas Worldwide also secures a bronze Epica Award on the final day of judging. The agency is recognized for the "Split Word" campaign for the magazine Schweizer Monat in the category "Media". (hae)

Annotation: We reported on the second day that Saatchi & Saatchi had won bronze. However, the Tony campaign was upgraded to silver in the final judging. We therefore correct the medal table and the report from day 2 and congratulate Saatchi & Saatchi Zurich on silver!

The Swiss medal table 2014
                                                                                                                                      

 

Leo Burnett	2		1
Call Lanz	1
FCB Zurich		1	3
Saatchi & Saatchi		1
Y&R			1
Havas Worldwide			1
Total	3	2	6

Agency	Title	Customer	Category	Type	Award
Call Lanz	Swissmilk "Cable Car Stations	Swiss Milk Producers	Drinks	OUT	Gold
Leo Burnett	Lightning	Mario Haller	Packaging design	PAC	Gold
Leo Burnett	Cow Marathon	Bio Suisse	Consumer Direct	PR	Gold
Saatchi & Saatchi Zurich	Tony Card	An initiative of the Association of Swiss Pay Card Providers	Financial Services	FLM	Silver
FCB Zurich	The Emography Project	MTV Mobile / Sunrise Communications Switzerland	Creative Technology	MI	Silver
Leo Burnett	Surveillance	Woz The Weekly	Media	FLM	Bronze
FCB Zurich	Classical Band Merchandise	Swiss Youth Symphony Orchestra	Illustration	GD	Bronze
FCB Zurich	Classical Band Merchandise	Swiss Youth Symphony Orchestra	Graphic Design	GD	Bronze
FCB Zurich	The Emography Project	MTV Mobile / Sunrise Communications Switzerland	Graphic Design	GD	Bronze
Y&R Group Switzerland	Teleclub Pay TV, No interruptions	Teleclub	Media	OUT	Bronze
Havas Worldwide	Word Split	Swiss month	Media	PRE	Bronze

 

The large-scale study with over 4,000 participants concludes: creativity is never wrong, but too much efficiency can damage brand perception. "Creative" or "efficient" - this is often the decisive question in discussions between advertising clients and agencies. With a constant eye on the budget and sales figures, many advertising clients are keen to make their advertising as economical or "efficient" as possible, i.e. to achieve a supposedly particularly good ratio of advertising costs to sales. The fact that this strategy can also fall short is shown by the current study "Consumer-perceived signals of 'creative' versus 'efficient' advertising. Investigating the roles of expense and effort" by Erik Modig et al. The authors addressed the question of whether and to what extent not only the content, but also the design of the advertising message itself has an influence on the consumer's brand perception and brand assessment. Specifically, the researchers wanted to know: Does "creative" advertising signal above-average costs and effort on the part of the sender of the advertising message to the consumer and does this have a positive reinforcing effect on brand perception? And conversely, is "efficient" advertising seen by consumers as a signal of below-average effort on the part of the company - with a correspondingly negative impact on brand perception?

Earlier studies (e.g. Ambler & Hollier 2004; Dahlén et al. 2008) have already shown that consumers have a very realistic impression of the effort, cost and effort involved in designing an advertisement. Even if consumers cannot back up this impression with concrete figures, they are still able to classify whether an advertisement has been designed with comparatively above-average, average or below-average costs and effort.

This impression shapes the consumer's image of the brand - usually in the sense that supposedly more elaborate or more expensively produced advertising signals a higher quality product. The current study by Modig et al. takes these findings one step further and proves that more elaborately designed (in this case "creative") advertising has a positive effect on consumers' brand perception and interest in the brand and also strengthens consumers' willingness to speak positively about the brand to third parties (word-of-mouth).

In order to test their hypotheses, the researchers initially selected five advertisements (both print and TV formats were tested) that had been recognized in the corresponding national competitions as either particularly creative or particularly successful in economic terms, i.e. that had received either a creative award or an efficiency award. The ten award-winning advertisements were supplemented by a further ten advertisements that had not received an award and were judged by the competition jury to be of average creativity or efficiency. The 20 advertisements in total were shown to almost 4,400 test subjects as part of the study; each advertisement was therefore judged by more than 200 people.

Various factors were surveyed: on the one hand, the perceived effort required to create the advertisement ("sender expense") and the perceived effort of the respective sender of the advertising message ("sender effort"). On the other hand, the attitude ("brand attitude") and the interest of the test person in the advertised brand ("brand interest") as well as the intention of the test person to speak positively about the brand with third parties ("brand word-of-mouth intentions"). The results: The study demonstrated a significant positive correlation between the expenses assumed by the consumer or the effort made by the sender of the advertising message and the three impact indices measured: attitude, brand interest and word-of-mouth. Furthermore, it has been shown that creative advertising leads to an increase in the assessment of the expenses and effort made, while "efficient" advertising leads to a lower assessment. Accordingly, creative advertising has a positive effect, while efficient advertising has a negative effect on the three measured impact indices of brand attitude, brand interest and word-of-mouth.

The results of the study suggest that budgets for high-quality, creatively designed advertising are generally well spent - even if one or two clients may disagree. Conversely, however, advertising can certainly be designed "too efficiently". This is because consumers are able to assess the costs and effort that have gone into designing the advertising. If this effort is perceived as below average, this has a negative impact on brand attitudes.

Clemens Koob

The study cited: Erik Modig, Micael Dahlén and Jonas Colliander (2014): Consumer-perceived signals of "creative" versus "efficient" advertising. Investigating the roles of expense and effort. International Journal of Advertising, 33(1), pp. 137-154. further sources: M. Dahlén, S. Rosengren, F. Törn (2008): Advertising creativity matters. Journal of Advertising Research, 48(3), 392-403.T. Ambler & E. A. Hollier (2004): The waste in advertising is the part that works. Journal of Advertising Research, 44(4), 375-389.

Key Facts

- The study by the Stockholm School of Economics examines the effect of creativity and efficiency in advertising design on brand perception, brand interest and word-of-mouth.
- 4400 test persons, 5 award-winning advertisements each in the categories "Creativity" and "Efficiency", 10 others.
- Consumers are able to estimate and classify the costs and effort involved in designing advertising.
- Creative advertising leads to a higher estimation of costs and efforts, "efficiently" designed advertising to low estimation.
- Both costs and effort correlate positively with brand perception, brand interest and word-of-mouth.
- Creativity has a positive effect on the brand, too much efficiency can have a negative effect. exhibits
 

This time, two ad concepts with a «wow» factor are the clear winners: When it comes to the criteria of awareness and uniqueness, the panther that turns back into a tiger comes out on top. Advico Y & R created this concept for Migros and Total laundry detergent. In second place for both criteria is the cuddly Minor squirrel from Vitamin 2, Washing Line, and Boutiq. For “Brand Fit” and “Likeability,” the rankings are exactly reversed: the chocolate squirrel takes first place, while the panther-turned-tiger comes in second. Cute sells. Third place in the “Awareness” category goes to the “revolutionary” Denner coffee campaign by Vizner Borel; in “Uniqueness,” it goes to the chocolate violin by KSP Krieg Schlupp Partner; and in “Brand Fit,” the ad by TBWA\Zürich takes third place on the podium. And in the fourth category, Likeability, the appetizing ad by Franz & Rene for Sel des Alpes takes third place on the podium. afh 

The Werbewoche impact check (PDF)
Detailed results (PDF)

Have you ever consciously watched the commercials for heating oil? If not, then you could have saved yourself some advertising junk. A busybody and his pimped-out wife invite their best friends to a gourmet dinner to celebrate the housewarming. After a boastful short speech by the man of the house, they toast the celebration with a glass of Cüpli. Up until then, the commercial was rather embarrassing. But now comes the punchline. Anyone who hasn't seen the commercial themselves will accuse me of gross exaggeration. So the heating doesn't work or the landlord and his chick have forgotten to switch it on. The effect of this faux pas is that the champagne in the glasses is frozen and the freezing cold makes the wife's tongue stick to the rim of the glass. That's pretty much how this commercial from the Petroleum Association comes across. But that's not all, because there are two more spots. You have to see them: Link.

To get a better idea of the whole thing, I delved into the Heinz oil advertisement. This construct was concocted by one of my favorite agencies, Ruf Lanz. They are actually known for creating visually strong ideas that make the desired statement with wit and, above all, to the point. Here the shot goes into the oven.

You stand in front of the customer and explain this ingenious idea to them: "If you don't heat with oil, Putin could turn off the gas tap or the electricity could fail, wood or charcoal could run out. And then the Cüplis could freeze. So it's better to heat with oil. What do you think of the idea? We will then illustrate the story with a lot of irony, so that only stupid people don't heat with oil. The joke with the tongue will attract more attention." I think that in this day and age, people freezing in our climes seems implausible. I also don't believe that more oil is being burned because of this stupid advertising. I can imagine that it is not an easy task to advertise heating oil. But this approach conveys the wrong tonality in addition to the attempt to portray the competition, gas and electricity, as unsafe heating systems, which thankfully nobody notices.

I'm glad I had my smelly oil pan disposed of 24 years ago. And my throttle works great.

My player of the week was our magic dwarf, who lived up to his name against Littau.

Theophil Butz, graphic designer, advertising agency owner, inspirer and, for more than three years now, also a mothballs for Werbewoche readers. Please send any relevant information to [email protected].

 

In a Hong Kong hotel room, American documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras recorded Edward Snowden telling his story and handing over documents to Guardian journalist Glenn Grennwald. Snowden contacted Poitras in December 2012. The film impressively shows how the young IT specialist, with a careful selection of two journalists, tells a story to the world public that concerns us all.

His motives ultimately remain personal: He sees his integrity and that of his fellow citizens violated by the U.S. government's surveillance tools. The focus here is not on the surveillance procedure per se, but on the concealment and deception of citizens. Adults expect reliability of procedures and rules of the game. If these are not adhered to by governments and companies, they forfeit trust. Citizens and consumers react with uncertainty. Sooner or later, they expect not to be left in the dark and to face unexpected unpleasant consequences when they use digital technologies for their communications.

Now that digitization, with its invaluable blessings for communication, has become an integral part of our everyday lives, all parties involved must agree on a binding code of conduct and clear contracts. Edward Snowden has set a ball rolling in this regard. The question is how long this stone will retain its energy.

Edward Snowden's disclosures have changed the perception of a large part of the US population. His revelations have had a major impact, not only on the governments concerned, but also on the men and women who feel insecure as citizens and consumers. Here, security means having a private framework in which physical and psychological integrity is guaranteed.

On November 12, 2014, the Pew Research Center published the first in a series of studies explicitly examining U.S. adults' perceptions and approaches to privacy in the wake of the Edward Snowden revelations (www.pewinternet.org). Only 5 percent of respondents said they had not heard about the surveillance programs. They are significantly more distrustful of communication channels that are monitored by the government. 91 percent believe consumers have lost control over the way companies collect and use their data. 88 percent fear that incorrect information about them can only be deleted with great difficulty. Nearly one in two assume that people they meet are gathering information about them online. 11 percent have already had unpleasant experiences because humiliating or false reports have been posted about them online. 16 percent have requested that relevant information be removed. 81 percent do not feel very or at all safe communicating on social media. And concern about U.S. government surveillance of phone calls and the Internet is high among 80 percent.

Laura Poitras' film is an intimate document of the birth of a story that goes around the world. It requires a narrator who is both courageous and fearful. Edward Snowden turned to journalists, whom he chose specifically. Based on their previous publications, he trusted them to handle the information appropriately and carefully. He delegated the selection and preparation of the data to the professionals. During the eight days in the hotel room, they become a team. The informant and the journalists form a community of fate. They know that after the publication they will no longer be able to live their lives as before. Poitras and Greenwald limit their travels, Edward Snowden lives in isolation in Russia with his partner. The critical distance is lost in the process, of course. Instead, they open up a debate that no one can escape.

Josefa Haas, media expert from Zurich
 

Dressed in black, with gloves, hat and scarf, she stands there in front of Bar 0815, smokes one cigarette after another and talks about her life - wrapped in a shimmering touch. The words seem to fall to her, but each one is chosen with care. With her appearance she attracts passers-by, one wants to know who she is, why she is being photographed. Without interrupting the conversation, Sarah immediately takes care of the questions. She assures them that she is not even a citizen of Zurich and certainly not a celebrity, and dismisses the questioners without turning them away for the afternoon. She would prefer not to take off her hat, to remain in light anonymity. Who knows how people perceive, what they understand and interpret - it is an unassessable situation among strangers.

Walker and storyteller

Sarah Pietrasanta was born on the night of August 21, 1974, in the Victoria Hospital in Bern. At the witching hour, she insists. Rumor has it that Sarah was already formulating her wishes in complete sentences long before standing on her own two feet would have been an option. Just as she later mastered walking, she walked around the village, going from house to house for visitors in exchange for a syrup or an apple, telling stories, reciting verses, or singing nursery rhymes. Sarah's first imaginary treasure was rock 'n' roller Shakin' Stevens. The second was Phillip G. He was real and wore top gun overalls. The teenager followed him to high school. Nothing came of love, but later he studied communications and political science.

Curriculum vitae of a loner

Since 2008, she has managed the sole proprietorship PS: Text, Book & Concept. Prior to that, she worked as a freelancer, among other things for various media productions and production management, writing texts, scripts and concepts. She honed her skills as a freelancer through interim positions at the Federal Office for Migration (project management and public relations), as a program manager and presenter at the association Radio Bern, and most recently, but not least, during four years of employment as a CD and co-author as well as project, production and recording manager at Aspectfilm in Zurich and Bern. Screenwriting, she says, was the writer's school par excellence: "When the script is filmed, the words disappear. So it's a matter of writing the picture precisely before the words disappear." As a sole proprietor and the head of PS: Text, Buch & Konzept, she gave clients "your word." Even if this activity required many conversations and meetings; in teamwork she did not have to take into consideration the ideas and preparations of others as an individual mask - if she liked an idea particularly well, she discarded all the others without further ado. That is now "after more than ten years in the home writing room" a little different: Since October of this year, Die Sarah is the new creative director at the BSW agency Blue Spirit. And she likes it a lot. Especially the team. But also the tasks. Everything, actually. But it's also a big change: "Moving home to Zurich, giving up your home in Bern, suddenly working in a team, among people - that's a lot of change," she stresses. But it's great. As a Bernese, she has been commuting regularly to Zurich for several weeks now. But she can't enjoy the crowds on the train and in the stations at all. She calls it a "people's festival." "It starts at the station: PEOPLE, HORROR," she explains, "Train travel disturbs my personality; the smells and sounds, the bullies and ruffians - it all affects me unfiltered." Fortunately, after a few attempts, she was immediately offered several apartments in Zurich. She has already announced the new apartment on Facebook: "My new bathroom has three windows - three windows is what my new bathroom has. And if it doesn't have three windows, it's not my new bathroom," she says happily.

"The Antichrist Is a Do-Gooder"

Sarah can write, tell stories and manipulate. Her acting performances in daily life are also noteworthy. But she doesn't want the word "manipulate" to be misunderstood in any way: "Manipulate means to fill your hands. I give something of myself. Into the hands. Or into the heart. Or into the brain." Very often she uses this word: "Manipulate." It is also attached to the industry as something negative. But it simply means that something is being offered to someone - a product, a brand, an ideology. What one then does with it is up to the individual. If so free and so capable. "The creative person is the antichrist," she adds, and she also means this in a positive sense: "The antichrist is a do-gooder," she emphasizes with a smile, "he stands for free development, for the individual determination of the present, he resists doctrine, convention and morality." He performs this "liberation" out of conviction, guided by the original idea. In this respect, the advertising industry is teeming with antichrists.

The 0815 and the 99 balloons

Those who are not capable or willing to think for themselves are guided by an ethos or an anointed one. Of course, even free thought needs solid ground under its feet, says Die Sarah, quoting Woody Allen: "I have both feet firmly planted in the clouds." So it's no coincidence that she chose Bar 0815 as her venue of choice for our conversation. Everything here is made to measure. The lounge is measured out to its square meters and labeled accordingly, the distance to the coat hooks in the checkroom can be read on the walls, and the wine bottles on display are visibly counted. For some tastes this is probably too clear and orderly, but for Die Sarah it is just right. Because it's easier to play with order. "The more firmly it stands, the more violently the change is felt." For example, in the game with the strictly regulated German language. Sarah Pietrasanta's favorite example of this is a comma shift from "Du, nur du" to "Du nur, du." In between are worlds - worlds of view and insight, worlds of soap bubbles and balloons. And balloons also wanted to let rise Die Sarah in early childhood. When she wanted to become Nena by profession and think in music, singing and rhythms. However, after the hairdresser from the "Kaff" did not know what haircut would have been necessary for this, she decided to be instead of wanting to become something.
 
Ursina mason (Text and photos)

In a nutshell

2001/2002 Program management, production and moderation at Radio Bern (RaBe)
2002/2003 Project Management and Public Relations at the Federal Office for Migration (FOM), Information Service
2003/2004 Course management "Basic course in radio journalism" at Klipp & Klang Radiokurse in Zurich
2003-2007 Creative direction, project, production and recording management, assistant director at Aspectfilm
2007/2008 Various media productions and production management, texts, scripts and concepts
2008-2014 Creation and production for PS: text, book & concept (sole proprietorship)
since October 2014 Creative Director at Blue Spirit

www.bluespirit.ch
www.pietrasanta.ch

The results of the current study by the Stockholm School of Economics, "Consumer-perceived signals of 'creative' versus 'efficient' advertising," are not surprising: Consumers are more interested in brands and companies whose advertising is suspected of involving a great deal of financial expenditure and intellectual effort. Consumers are very good at distinguishing between fluffy advertising and finely composed messages. Advertising does not have to be annoying at all, but can be exciting and entertaining. If it is well done.

Value advertising has several effects on recipients: 1. I like a company that cares so much about me - and its brand(s), too. 2. I'm happy to tell my friends about such a likeable brand (and the company behind it). 3. it must be a higher-quality product if so much advertising effort is put into it. And finally, 4. whoever is interested in me is also interesting for me. In short: good, creative advertising pays off. And: Efficiency is not everything.

But why is that? For the same reason that it has more impact when my husband unexpectedly brings me wonderful chocolates at some point in the year instead of handing me 20 red roses for every wedding anniversary. It shows lasting appreciation, a keen eye for the changing needs of the target audience, it's not standard, it's stand-alone. Someone came up with something to impress me. And again: Whoever is interested in me is (and remains) interesting to me. He courts me. And wins me over again and again.

Of course, these findings are not news. But the fact that you know something obviously does not mean that you will implement it. Why else would there be so much loveless advertising? Certainly, advertising agencies often don't have the time for a big hit, just as editorial departments do. You want something big, have little time, minimal resources and an anxious client/chief/interview partner - and then something small comes out of it. But that can be dangerous: Because while smart advertising leads to higher appreciation of a brand, simply efficient slapdash advertising not only achieves nothing, but has a negative impact on attitudes toward the brand. This can be transferred 1:1 to the media: Deep, well-written articles on relevant topics bring readers and reputation - everything else not only brings nothing, but firing.

Therefore, remember: creative beats efficient. Even if it costs time, nerves and money.

Anne-Friederike Heinrich, Editor-in-Chief
[email protected]
 

Launched in 2000 as a counter-conference to the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Public Eye has been taking a critical look at the business practices of companies ever since. At the end of the Public Eye initiative, the ultimate invective prize will now be awarded: the Public Eye Lifetime Award. Which of the six nominated companies, all former winners, will receive this dubious honor will be decided by the public from November 19 via online voting on Publiceye.ch. The winner will be announced at a closing event in Davos on January 23, 2015.

The Zurich advertiser Roli Hofer was once again commissioned to develop the new campaign subject. The eye-catching visual is as much a reminder to be vigilant as it is a symbol of the vulnerability of people and the environment. It can be seen on various online platforms and in social networks.

Responsible advertiser: Roli Hofer (concept, art direction). Responsible at Public Eye: Silvie Lang (Campaign Coordinator Public Eye Awards at the Berne Declaration).

The purchase is intended to contribute to the growth of the bargain portal Deindeal.ch. In 2011, Ringier acquired a majority stake in Deindeal. While Ringier should continue to grow in the online retail sector with the acquisition, the NZZ media group wants to focus online on its core business, journalism. This is according to a media release from Deindeal on Wednesday.

The purchase price for the two platforms is not mentioned in the announcement. However, it is said that the two acquired platforms will cease operations in mid-December. From then on, their customers will be referred to Deindeal's offers.

Existing customers of Ostdeal.ch and Zentraldeal.ch would be informed in the coming days. Vouchers already purchased remain valid and can be redeemed as usual.