During his many years at Tamedia, the business administration graduate acquired a broad knowledge in the field of media research. He joins the Dreicom team as Sales & Campaign Manager.

Dreicom is a native advertising agency based in Zurich and operates the first network for online advertorials in Switzerland. The Dreicom network currently comprises over 60 publishers in all three language regions with over one billion page views per month and a reach of over 90 percent.

WW: Recently, your famous colleague and compatriot Jean Remy von Matt was in the south of France to be best man at the dream wedding of the new dream couple Veronica Ferres and Carsten Maschmeyer. That made headlines. Didn't you have an invitation?
Peter Haller: With respect, I don't know Ms. Ferres or Mr. Maschmeyer personally, but I wish them the best of luck. Apart from that, I have to say that I'm not a fan of glitz and glamor. It's not my thing and it's not our company's thing either. Incidentally, we had 400 guests here in Munich at the 2014 Innovation Day at the time, who discussed current developments with international experts. Even though Romano Prodi had to cancel due to his health, I enjoy such events. I am a service provider and not a showmaster.

Nevertheless, together with Jean Remy and Holger Jung, you are somehow among the last of the Mohicans in the European advertising industry. Both your agency Serviceplan and JvM are very successful, don't belong to any network and are owner-managed. Do you have an exit date?
No, I feel very good. I'm also proud that I organized my succession back in 2002 and that my son Florian took over. I no longer have any shares in Serviceplan. In this respect, I am no longer a decision-maker. But I am involved. What I say is my honest opinion and not my material interest.

But you are still managing director and the fact that Serviceplan is Europe's largest independent agency today is due in part to your success. The group has almost 2 billion euros in billings and you are over 70 and in the office every day. The number 105 makes for childrenWhy is Europe's number 1 practicing so much modesty?
Quite simply: Because the facts speak for us. Serviceplan is number 1 in the German creative rankings. We've been growing at double-digit rates for years, and our media agency Media Plus is also number 1 worldwide in terms of innovation, according to Recma. We make profits because we're the only agency that works fully integrated under one roof. Our management style is face-to-face and family-oriented. That's why management doesn't sit in an ivory tower somewhere, but down here on the first floor. My door is always open.

Serviceplan has been setting one sales record after another for years. What is the secret of your success?
Despite our size, we are a flexible company. For the holding company meeting, every Monday from 1 to 3 p.m., there are five of us at the table in Munich, my son Florian, Ronald Focken and Florian von Hornstein, and Alex Schill. We can decide immediately, We don't have to ask in Tokyo, London, Paris or New York. Our second pillar of success is continuity in personnel policy. The management team has remained unchanged for more than 10 years. Added to this is the success factor of our partner participation model. Every single one of our 60 specialist companies is run by managing directors who have a substantial stake in the company, which reduces the fluctuation rate to almost zero. This increases motivation and team spirit. We are here with people who understand each other and whom I like. That is an incredible privilege.

Your biggest coup?
That I have found the right successor in my son. I am proud of that. I handed over the agency to him in 2002 with 500 people, and now there are almost 2,000.

Serviceplan chose Switzerland in 2012. At the end of the famous Maja calendar, on 21.12.2012, Serviceplan Suisse opened in Zurich. It was supposed to be the start of a "golden age". Did it really turn out so golden?
In Switzerland, Serviceplan also relies on the pillars of creation, classic media and multimedia. We had found the ideal partners in Christian Baertschi and Sasha Moser at BMB. Started with 10, today the number of employees in the advertising agency alone is 35. For health reasons, Sasha Moser had to retire and we hired two experienced creatives, Raul Serrat and Christian Sommer. In addition to the creative agency, the network also includes Plan.Net Suisse AG and a stake in Media Schneider, which is proven to be the best media agency in Switzerland.

Why did you found Serviceplan in Switzerland in the first place?
The market is not very big. But there are some very important corporate headquarters there. Moreover, the market is not as price-driven as in Germany. The principle of "live and let live" still applies there.

Von Matt complains publicly about the Swiss ADC, Amir Kassaei from DDB unpacks the hatchet whenever possible. You, on the other hand, don't have anyone who really goes to town. Are you too much in need of harmony?
In fact, scandal was and is an effective instrument for drawing attention to oneself. Let's take my great hobby, the art collection. From Beuys to Baselitz, from Courbet to Richter to Hirst: they have all broken taboos, caused scandals, in order to make themselves known. But that is not our culture. I'm a trained economist, I studied economics. I know how to act sustainably and successfully as a service provider. In my philosophy, scandal simply has no place. But it's true that we are cautious in our public relations work. For example, we didn't take part in creative competitions in the past.

That changed decisively with the installation of your top creative Alexander Schill. With him, Serviceplan suddenly received international attention. Your Chief Creative Officer Schill has been collecting advertising Oscars on a permanent subscription basis since 2010. How much longer can you keep him?
It's true: We discovered a top man for our team in Alex in 2006. He installed another "house of communication" for Serviceplan in his hometown of Hamburg. Since 2008, he has been Managing Director and substantive partner of the entire Serviceplan Group. The big step into a new world for Serviceplan is the responsibility of my son Florian. He installed the "Best Brands" brand Oscar here in Munich from 2004, and the "Innovation Day" with well-known and famous speakers from 2005. Florian also initiated and promoted the internationalization of our agency group. We are very satisfied, we are growing far above average and I know that our CCO Alex Schill feels very comfortable in this environment.

At BMW, the creation was probably not so well received recently. In any case, Serviceplan had to hand over the creative budget to Munich-based competitor Heye, of all people. What went wrong there?
It is the law of competition that one of many budgets changes. We face up to that and respect the decision. Just to add: We only lost 15 percent of our BMW business with the BMW budget for Germany. BMW therefore remains a relevant customer of ours. We hold various BMW accounts both nationally and internationally.

Film man Til Schweiger recently declared in the Süddeutsche Zeitung that 19 out of 20 German commercials are sh... What do you say to that?
That's sheer ignorance. The Germans are at the forefront of creative awards today, even on TV. The German scene doesn't need any coaching from this side. Putting yourself on a pedestal and putting others down is as transparent as it is stupid.

Is it actually true that you wanted to become an opera singer?
Yes, that was my big dream. Actually against the will of my parents. At the time, I was training to sing with a well-known Wagner singer in Munich. But then hay fever thwarted my plans. I couldn't sing because of the allergy and then studied economics with little enthusiasm.

You came to advertising after your studies via the Carl Gabler advertising agency. You then moved to Dorland, a well-known Munich agency at the time. Why did you leave there and found Serviceplan?
The actual trigger at that time was the Dorland customer Champignon Camembert. The brand had great success with the TV campaign. The story: Two liveried servants present the green cheese box with the three mushrooms on the red carpet. The claim: "Ambassador of good taste". In contrast to the trade, however, the Champignon management was not at all happy. They found the somewhat artificial ambience embarrassing. They offered me their budget if I would leave Dorland. That is what I did. Together with Rolf O. Stempel, who was also at Dorland, I started my own business with Serviceplan in January 1970. Unfortunately, Rolf passed away in February 2013.

The interview was conducted by Peter Ehm, Germany correspondent for Werbewoche.

Serviceplan: Facts & Figures

- Year founded: 1970

- The four core brands: Serviceplan, Mediaplus, Plan.Net and Facit, under which all companies established in the group operate.

- Customers: Beiersdorf, BMW, Carglass, Castrol, Condé Nast, Walt Disney, Friendscout24, Samsonite, Thomas Cook, Ikea, Danone, Deichmann, Europcar, Lufthansa, Paulaner, Penny, among others,
Saturn, Siemens, UNICEF.

- Number of employees: 1877

- Per capita sales in 2013/14: € 134,000

- Gross Income: € 252 million (+16 %)

- Number of new customers: 70

- Placement in the current creative ranking (wuv): 1st place defended, including 20 ADC medals.

- Number of German locations: 5 - Munich, Hamburg, Bremen, Berlin and Cologne via majority shareholding in Liquid Campaign.

- Number of own international locations: 7 - Paris (2006), Zurich (2008), Vienna, Brussels, Dubai (2010), Milan (2011) and Beijing (2013).

- Number of international locations through agency cooperations and participations: 21: Moscow, Delhi, Beijing, Seoul, New York, London, Singapore, Tokyo, Sydney, Madrid, Lisbon, Buenos Aires, Bogotá, Lima, Mexico City, Miami, Panama City, Santiago de Chile and São Paulo.

An article from the current Print edition the advertising week. Subscribe now and never miss anything again.

The fact that young people don't read newspapers is one of the ineradicable standard statements made at media policy discussions and marketing conferences. The current Mediabrands 2014 brand study by the media consultancy Publicom comes to a more differentiated conclusion. The representative survey, which is conducted annually, ascertains the media usage and perception of media brands among more than 3'200 Swiss people. According to a Publicom statement, the newspaper, which has often been pronounced dead, is surprisingly vital.

Of the classic media, the newspaper is still very popular. Only eleven percent of the under-30s had not used a printed or digital newspaper at all in the three months prior to the time of the survey. Together with television, which scored only one percent better, they are therefore among the most-used classic media in this age group. Radio, magazines, cinema and books are of much less interest to young people.

90 percent of boys can be reached with newspapers

Almost 90 percent of this age group can thus be reached with newspapers. However, it is not exclusively printed newspapers. Rather, young people's newspaper reading is spread across all available channels, print, online and mobile. This situational media use across a wide range of channels is characteristic of the young generation. Rather surprisingly, however, print is still by far the most efficient newspaper channel: more than 70 percent of the age group can be reached with printed newspapers. Only just under one-fifth consume newspapers exclusively in digital form. Nevertheless, the medium is struggling with a problem: In the subjective perception of the young, the newspaper only has a low status. It is a sideline medium that no longer has the existential significance that it does for the older generation.

Image: Keystone

The new digital and analog out-of-home offering enables a customized use of electronic advertising spaces and traditional formats, in a mix carefully tailored to customer needs. Because Neo Advertising has in-house core competencies in technology, creation and marketing, the company is able to develop innovative solutions, according to a statement. And to offer them throughout Switzerland, both for private and now also for public communication spaces.

Neo Advertising has so far distinguished itself as a specialist for digital indoor advertising. But the division into a digital and an analog advertising universe is outdated, the statement continues. This is shown by the great success of the combined offer "Branding Zone" in the shopping centers of French-speaking Switzerland, in Palexpo Geneva and at Geneva Airport. Christian Vaglio-Giors, co-founder and CEO, is convinced: "In outdoor advertising, the convergent combined offer is clearly the future. Our company is ready and determined to play an important role in the Swiss advertising market. A third force is needed to break up the duopoly in outdoor advertising that has prevailed in Switzerland for years."

The company sees growth opportunities particularly in the public sector, where digital out-of-home offerings are still mostly wallflowers. In this area, Neo Advertising wants to shake up the market with innovative convergent solutions.

Image: Christian Vaglio-Giors and Alexandre de Senger, who founded Neo Advertising in 2003.
 

Its current director, Cyril Meier, will remain responsible for the overarching "Center for Communications" as well as a member of the Executive Board, according to a statement. The Board of Directors also entrusts him with the further development of the HWZ's offering.

Bernhard Schweizer, 49, has been a lecturer in investor relations and business administration at the HWZ since 2007. He studied political science at the University of St. Gallen (lic.rer.publ.) and completed an International Management Program at the Leonard Stern School of Business at New York University. His career path led him via the NZZ (business editor) and PR consulting (with a focus on investor relations in two leading PR agencies) to the position of Head of Group Communications / Investor Relations at the listed company Gurit from 2002 to 2014. In 2004, Bernhard Schweizer founded Sensus Communication Consultants in Zurich with partners, where he continues to work on a part-time basis. He has also been a member of the final jury for the best Swiss annual reports since 2009.

Over 700 students in the field of communication

The Bachelor's degree program in Communication at the HWZ is a four-year interdisciplinary training program in marketing and corporate communication, which is conducted exclusively on a part-time basis. It was developed in 2003 by Cyril Meier and has been managed ever since. With additional, continuously expanded study programs in the Center for Communications (Masters of Advanced Studies, Certificates of Advanced Studies), the HWZ has advanced during this time to become one of the largest educational institutions for communications in Switzerland, with over 700 students (training and continuing education) in this field today.

Didier Cuche was one of the most successful Swiss skiers of all time. In 2012, he skied his last World Cup race. But that didn't mean he swore off high speeds - on the contrary: Cuche has since acquired an international racing driver's license and drove a car race for Audi for the first time: the Nürburg 1000 on the occasion of the Blancpain Endurance Series. He thus complemented the Swiss team of Rahel Frey and Nico Müller in the six-hour race. Unfortunately, the weather was not kind to them: Rahel Frey retired after spinning before Didier Cuche could even drive. But that's not the end of his second career, that much can be revealed: It will soon continue. Webguerillas Zurich was also at the start and reported live from the "Mission Cuche".

The full-service agency for digital marketing was on site with a film and photo team and reported on the Facebook page of Audi Switzerland Facebook.com/audiswitzerland from qualifying and race.

Thanks to the hard work of everyone involved, the team was able to regularly entertain and inform the Audi community during the weekend with film and photo posts and offer added value for all fans who were not on site.

Responsible at Audi in Switzerland (Amag): Katja Cramer (PR/Communications). Responsible at Webguerillas: Dino Ceccato (overall responsibility), Philipp Pongracz (project management, photo), Ryan Daynes (creative director), Simon Kümin (text/concept), Remo Eisner (photo), Indivisuelles (film).
 

One thought one had seen it slowly. But you didn't. Another agency has come up with the idea of turning the female vagina into a creative zone. Jung von Matt/Elbe reached deep into the box of ideas for Eis.de, Germany's largest "online store for intimate lifestyle products" (formerly: sex store) and presented the following subject at the Venus erotic trade fair in Berlin:

The wallet that doesn't really want to look like a wallet - form follows function - is the beginning of the "bold communication measures" that Eis.de has decided to take. Thus JvM managing director Stephan Giest opposite Horizon.net. At least it became clear once again that an average subject with vulva certainly attracts more attention than an average subject without vulva. That's why the idea will keep coming back to us in the future. As it has already done enough in the past. For example, the Swiss agency Werbeanstalt for the restaurant Meta's Kutscherhalle (Werbewoche.ch reported):

...or the animal rights organization P.E.T.A. in 2011 in an anti-fur campaign:

...or DGLY Shanghai for Dior with a comparatively discreet implementation in 2009 (via):

...or the Swedish women's magazine Tara in 2008 with the claim "The Magazine with more inside":

...or the James & Joe Brighton agency for Gay Times Magazine (via):

...or the agency TBWA\Chiat\Day New York 2008 for Absolut Vodka:

...or 2007 (via AOTW) the lubricant manufacturer Aquaglide with fruit flavor and subject:

...or the Portuguese agency Park Saatchi & Saatchi in 2006 for the restaurant Afreudite, which specializes in aphrodisiac food:

...or Y&R Mexico 2004 for the Chap Stick lip balm:

And so on and so forth - countless examples could be added. The next implementation is probably waiting in the wings somewhere in a creative forge to be unleashed on mankind. We can hardly wait.

Thomas Häusermann

When we sleep, we are far away and yet actually only in bed. Havas Worldwide Zurich picks up on this paradox with its fall campaign for Riposa. Under the motto "Sleeping can be like a wonderful journey," the posters show dreamlike landscapes that, at second glance, turn out to be sleeping bodies. For riposa, the young high-tech manufacturer, sleeping is not merely a necessity, but part of a healthy life. "Healthstyle" should also be cultivated at night - with sleeping comfort that ventilates, relieves and, where necessary, supports. This also includes the new insert frame that appears in the binder of the TV commercial. The new binder was created in collaboration with Elefant Studios and focuses on the flexibility of the insert frame.

The campaign is accompanied by a website relaunch. In addition to a modern design, it offers Riposa.ch now also includes a simple Product Finder that narrows down the selection of the wide range of products in just two clicks. The decisive factors here are basic needs such as the desired lying sensation or the preferred sleeping position. The campaign can now be seen throughout Switzerland.

Responsible at Riposa: Iva Schnellmann (Head of Marketing). Responsible at Havas Worldwide Zurich: Frank Bodin (overall responsibility), Michael Kathe (creative director), Andrea Huber (art direction), Yannick Schaller (text), Claude Eberhard (digital creative director), Arnaud Fasnacht (online marketing consultant), Anne-Marie Pappas, Yaël Kölliker (graphics), Diego Cortés, Jonas Brändli (consulting); Oliver Nanzig (photography); Asile (image editing).
 

In 2010, after the retirement of the company's founder Martin Lanter, management members took over the design agency based in St. Gallen. The new name is the expression and quintessence of four years of further development and cultural change, according to a statement. What has remained is the enthusiasm for brands: from market analysis, brand positioning, brand concept, packaging design, communication design, product advertising to dummy construction in the in-house dummy laboratory - everything from a single source. Real is a 25-person creative team consisting of strategists, designers, concept writers, copywriters, polygraphers, lithographers and 3D specialists.

Jann Billeter and Marco Felder are now commentating on the women's alpine ski races. They will be assisted, as usual, by SRF ski expert Michi Bont. Jann Billeter: "Skiing has fascinated me since my childhood. Since 2003, I have been a presenter at World Cup races and World Championships. Now I'm looking forward to accompanying the women's team in the World Cup season in a new role, as a commentator." Marco Felder on his new role: "Ever since I was a child, I have followed alpine ski races with interest. In recent years, I've been able to be on site at the races time and again as a reporter for SRF, which has increased my interest even more. Now I'm really looking forward to this new challenge."

The coverage of the men's races remains unchanged. Matthias Hüppi and Dani Kern will comment alternately on the action on the world cup slopes, together with SRF ski expert Bernhard Russi. From February 2 to 15, 2015, the Alpine Ski World Championships will take place in Vail / Beaver Creek. The highlight of the winter calendar will be broadcast in prime time. SRF zwei will show all races live, plus background reports, interviews and assessments on TV, radio and online.

"We will continue to be a magazine for people who like careful language and do not see demanding texts as a threat. However, we also want to remain a beautifully designed magazine," said editor-in-chief Finn Canonica in a statement. To better suit the different journalistic temperatures of the texts, Das Magazin will loosen the layout corset and introduce three additional fonts. "We can thus create more pressure on the individual pages, or, where appropriate, more lightness," Canonica added.

Looking good is always good. But offering substance is even better. With no less than three new columnists, Das Magazin also offers new content for its attentive 599,000 readers. Screenwriter Katja Früh (Lüthi & Blanc) and young author and slam poet Hazel Brugger take turns providing a thoughtful look at our everyday lives. And Beni Frenkel is to cause trouble now and then with his humor at the end of the issue, according to the press release.

"In terms of content and layout, Das Magazin is already distinctive. These qualities, combined with its dominant coverage and attractive price per thousand readers, make Das Magazin the ideal advertising medium for efficient communication to a target group with a high propensity to consume," says Walter Vontobel, the publishing director.