The NZZ network platforms NZZ.ch, luzernerzeitung.ch, tagblatt.ch, Nordwestschweiz-Netz and moneyhouse.ch are visited a total of four million times a month, according to an NZZ press release. The new offering combines high-quality business and news environments with the most advanced targeting measures. The great strength of "Business Class" is the complete data from NZZ-Netz and Moneyhouse, on which the new targeting product is based. The information is intelligently linked for targeted online campaigns: Clients or agencies can choose between predefined targeting classes, such as SMEs, B2B, decision-makers, IT/digital or real estate, or individually compiled targeting criteria that are tailored to the campaign objectives.

 

In terms of awareness, the UBS ad by Publicis leads the pack, closely followed by the Migros ad by Advico Y&R, with the Bank Coop ad by Ruf Lanz and the “selfie” campaign by Rod for SBB tied for third place. In the “Uniqueness” category, Bank Coop’s transparent campaign takes the lead, ahead of Leo Burnett Switzerland’s “Floralp Gangster Brötli” and Wirz’s campaign for the Tages-Anzeiger. In the “Brand Fit” category, the “Gangster-Brötli” campaign once again takes the top spot, followed by the campaign by Inhalt & Form for SportXX and the SBB selfies. In the “Likeability” category, the Floralp “Gangster-Brötli” once again came out on top, followed by SportXX’s outdoor campaign and Bank Coop’s campaign.

Werbewoche's Impact Check, September 2014 (PDF)
Detailed results (PDF)

The film tells the true love story of Ernst Ostertag and Röbi Rapp. The two men met almost 60 years ago in Zurich in the legendary homosexual organization "Der Kreis" and learned to fight for their rights there.

WW: The Swiss feature film "The Circle" premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival in February 2014, where it won the Teddy Award as well as the Grand Audience Award. The film is only now being released in Switzerland. Is there a deliberate strategy behind this delay?
Ivan Madeo: For films that have an artistic value and therefore also festival qualities, it is part of the concept for most producers to try and win festival awards before the theatrical release. One or more so-called "Laurels" on the poster help with cinema promotion. In our case, the strategy was special in that we had to wait three quarters of a year before releasing the finished film. That was a decision made by our Swiss distributor. Ascot-Elite had given our film a great festival chance and speculated on several prizes right from the start. This courage paid off. To date, "The Circle" has been invited to 72 festivals worldwide and has won several prizes on this world tour. But things could have turned out differently. But with two prizes at the start, including the Audience Award at the Berlinale, our project got the perfect boost.

Are you personally present at all these festivals?
Our film has been invited to an average of five festivals every month since the Berlinale, so it's impossible to be everywhere. Our director Stefan Haupt tries to attend the most important competitions. And if two important festivals are taking place at the same time, Urs Frey and I sometimes step in.

Turin and a few others are "gay festivals". How was the acceptance at "normal" competitions? The movie touches everyone.
Yes, fortunately for us. But we couldn't have known that from the start. The first big surprise was at the Berlinale. There, we not only won the "Gay Oscar" with the Teddy Award, but also the big audience award. 31,000 visitors to the festival were allowed to judge, and our film received the best marks of all the works. That's when we knew: Somehow "The Circle" has something that can work on a wider scale. Then came the Seattle International Film Festival, the Festroia Film Festival Setubal in Portugal and the Montreal World Film Festival, all well-known arthouse festivals, or the Chicago Film Festival, where the big international films are presented. That's when we realized that "Der Kreis" doesn't just work in the German-speaking world, but globally. We are now present on all continents and have been able to sell the film amazingly well. So far, we have been able to conclude contracts with 16 countries. From Asia to Europe, North and Central America, everything is included.

What do you have to imagine in financial terms? Do 16 sales already mean big business?
You can't say that yet. It's certainly a sign that it could become a business. It's rather unusual for a Swiss film to be sold in 16 countries - and in such a short space of time. We receive so-called minimum guarantees from the distributors for all these sales. The percentage of net proceeds is only calculated after the film has been exploited in the respective country. We therefore receive the money in the following year at the earliest. In 2014, "The Circle" will first be released in cinemas in Switzerland, Germany, Poland and the USA.

All in all: the big happy ending for the producer Contrast Film?
The big happy ending would be if we had full movie theaters in Switzerland starting this week. 

It took eight years to make this movie. What was the lowest point?
There were several moments when we really hit rock bottom and thought: We're not going to get up now - despite all the rescue plans and creative ideas for alternative financing. It was really bad when we had to accept a rejection from the Federal Film Board for the second time. The BAK had supported us in developing the script at the beginning of the project. We were also awarded a substantial sum of 650,000 francs for the production of the film, when "Der Kreis" was still conceived as a pure feature film in co-production with Germany. But then the film funding in Germany didn't cooperate, which meant that the commitments in Switzerland also became invalid. So they "pulled the wool over our eyes", but then said twice in a row: "We don't believe in the film." We no longer understood the world, because in the beginning it had sounded completely different. Each time, we tried to put our arguments on the table again as to why this film still deserved the funding we had initially promised. But each time there were even more absurd reasons for rejection. At some point, there comes a point where you have to accept the no. But then we really hit rock bottom. Nevertheless, director Stefan Haupt, my business partner Urs Frey and I thought: this can't be allowed to happen. And so we came up with the idea of a fundraising marathon.

Werbewoche reported on it. The unconventional idea has generated a lot of money?
Fortunately, the campaign brought in a lot. Not the 650,000 francs that were lost, of course, but at least 285,000 - a huge sum, just by "door-to-door canvassing". Together with the support of SRF, the Zurich Film Foundation and other sponsors, this was enough to get the production off the ground with a minimum level of financing.

But even at this stage there was another setback. Zurich restaurateur Fred Tschanz wanted to organize a charity dinner for your film?
The "Gastro King of Zurich" surprisingly approached us in 2012. He explained that he was "not gay at all", but that he considered this film to be very valuable for Zurich. He wanted to get "a few important people" together for us for a fundraising dinner. Three weeks before the planned date, Fred Tschanz died unexpectedly. Of course, we didn't want to be irreverent and ask his grieving friends for money in this situation. That didn't work. We later organized such a dinner ourselves, but with mainly different contacts and a much smaller fundraising result.

How have the funding bodies reacted to your success in the meantime?
That would be nice to know. But we were very pleased that the Federal Office of Culture congratulated us in a personal letter when our film was included in the "Panorama" in Berlin, a very difficult section to crack at this festival.

But with Succès Cinéma there is now retroactive money?
For every Swiss film shown in the cinema, there is a credit note calculated according to the number of visitors. This money must be demonstrably invested in the next film. This is a subsidy based on success at the box office. However, we will not be able to redeem this credit until 2015 at the earliest.

But you can already say today: thanks to the "Circle", your Contrast Film has become an established production within a very short space of time. You are already shooting another feature film with a budget of over two million.
Yes, but that has nothing to do with the success of "The Circle". After the current episodic feature film "Heimatland", still financed without Succès funds, the long-awaited feature film "Stürm - bis ich tot bin oder frei", about the life of the nation's legendary burglar and escapee king, and the feature film "Waffenläufer", the adaptation of the dramatic story of the talented runner and serial offender Jonas Fischer, will follow. These are the films that are the furthest along in our production process and that we can almost certainly realize. Interestingly, they are all films based on true events. Other cinema documentaries and feature films are in development. But it's still too early to report on them. Our work has, however, settled into a rhythm with which we can hope that production will continue. But no film production is immune to potential flops. The movie business is crazy.

And the craziness continues: "The Circle" has just been chosen as the official Swiss entry for the Oscar.
Yes, "The Circle" is Switzerland's beacon of hope. Let's see what happens now.

What can you contribute to a possible success?
We are already in the process of developing a strategy with our American distributor. It is of course a great advantage that we are already in the market in the USA. We already have several festivals behind us in the Academy's catchment area. In San Francisco, "The Circle" was shown in an acclaimed screening in a sold-out movie theater in front of 1500 people, and in L.A. we won the Grand Jury Award. And experts say that we don't have a bad hand because the topic is relevant worldwide.

The nomination for the Oscar is coupled with 60,000 francs from various funding bodies in Switzerland. What can be achieved with such a marketing budget in Hollywood?
We have just hired a publicist in Los Angeles. His job will be to recruit Academy members as opinion leaders and voters. He will advertise with ads, posters and banners, but also organize special screenings and events in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles so that director Stefan Haupt and our film become better known. After all, the most important thing is to first reach the Academy members who are entitled to vote, then get them to watch the film and finally win them over.

How is such a publicist selected?
There are various PR professionals in Hollywood who specialize in Oscar campaigns. We have looked at which ones have won the most Oscars so far. But the best are of course also the most expensive. It is also important to know who is best connected in which Oscar category. Who can also get American celebrities who are interested in the gay and lesbian theme on board? Ideally, we would win over Hollywood stars as ambassadors.

You used to be an advertiser yourself, for example at what is now Havas and at Publicis Zurich. What are your ideas for the "circle" in Hollywood?
Our Oscar campaign will basically be structured like any successful advertising campaign, according to the age-old AIDA model: Attention, Interest, Desire, Action. The movie's message of love will serve as our creative guide. For the 360° campaign, we will use TV commercials, trailers, screenings, posters, web banners, mailings, events and Facebook campaigns in the various phases. And everything will be scheduled step by step for the various selection stages of the competition: At the moment, we are still in the running for "Best Foreign Language Film" against 77 films from all over the world. The top 15 will be determined by the beginning of January and the top 5 by the end of January, but that is still "very fantasy" for us.

Interview: Andreas Panzeri

Ivan Madeo (top left) with director Stefan Haupt, the actors in the middle and Urs Frey in Berlin. Madeo and Frey both have a background in advertising. Ivan Madeo worked for over ten years as a concept developer, copywriter and film manager at major agencies in Switzerland, Italy and Germany, including Y&R Group Switzerland, McCann-Erickson Milano, Draftfcb-Lowe Group Zurich, Euro RSCG Zurich and Publicis Switzerland. Urs Frey was owner and director at Twin Productions. Today they run Contrast Film together.

To date, "Der Kreis" has been invited to 72 festivals worldwide. It has won prizes in Berlin, Turin and Setubal, Portugal, among others. In Berlin, Stefan Haupt and Ivan Madeo were also able to celebrate the big audience award (from left).

On April 15 and 16, 2015, they will inform trade visitors about the latest products and trends in dialogue and direct marketing at their stands and in the accompanying lecture program at the trade fair. Interested companies can still book their stand space at the early bird price until September 30, 2014. More than 50 percent of the available exhibition space has already been booked, according to a DMM press release. "We are delighted to have had two such strong partners at our side right from the start with Swiss Post and the Swiss Dialogue Marketing Association," says Brigitte Sebald, Project Manager of the DMM Dialogue Marketing Fair at organizer børding messe. Among others, DHL Global Mail Switzerland, Canon, Künzler Bachmann, Swiss Direct Marketing, Baumer, Funke Lettershop and Paul + Paul will have stands at the trade fair.

Lecture program accompanies the exhibition

An extensive lecture program complements the exhibitors' stand presentations at the DMM Dialogue Marketing Fair. Exhibitors at the trade fair and invited experts will have their say. As at the sister trade fair Swiss Online Marketing, the lecture areas at the DMM Dialog-Marketing trade fair are integrated into the exhibition space.
Each speaker has thirty minutes to explain a current trend to trade visitors, present a best practice example or discuss a controversial issue with experts. In principle, all exhibitors at the DMM dialog marketing trade fair have the opportunity to book a presentation - if they are quick enough. "As the lecture slots are only available in limited numbers and are in high demand, they will be allocated in the order in which bookings are received until all slots are taken," says Sebald.

Open transitions to Swiss Online Marketing

The DMM Dialogue Marketing Fair takes place at the same time and with open transitions to the Swiss Online Marketing and Swiss eBusiness Expo trade fairs. It is also part of the CXO Day on April 15, which brings together six trade fairs at Messe Zürich to provide information on management topics, marketing strategies and trends, customer dialog, sales innovations, business software for greater corporate effectiveness and occupational health solutions.

Further information on the DMM dialog marketing trade fair can be found at Dialog-marketing-fair.ch.
 

Media Talents is the Swiss award for outstanding media planning. The initiators and sponsors are Tamedia and BSW Leading Swiss Agencies. 18 media planners from various agencies registered and accepted the challenge. In just 8.5 hours, they developed a practical media strategy and media planning for a given case.

On Tuesday, September 23, 2014, the participants presented the results to a renowned jury. The award ceremony then took place at Kaufleuten Zurich. Presenter Julian Thorner from Social TV Joiz led the guests, who were eagerly awaiting the award ceremony, through the evening. The winning team "Media Panda" won a two-day stay in Copenhagen and a visit to MetroXpress Denmark SA.

Media Talents Award 2014 winning team "Media Panda":
- Alessandra Pontrandolfo, PHD Switzerland
- Stefan Lohrer, Zenith Optimedia
- Yannick Desbonnes, Mindshare

A year ago, Saatchi & Saatchi debuted their new hero. With three TV commercials and a few funny Internet films, the smart identification figure Tony Card was built up and very quickly made popular. His message: people in Switzerland should pay more by card. A swift shift from cash to cashless payment is not only desired by the card providers behind the campaign, but also by the business community, because the logistics surrounding the tons of coins that the Swiss carry around in Europe at a record rate are very expensive for retailers, transportation companies and other businesses. Tony Cash's educational work has since been continuously monitored and analyzed by the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW). In the process, a clear correlation was established that people who are aware of the campaign now pay by card much more often. The card providers involved, such as Visa, Mastercard and American Express, are also pleased with Tony Card. "There is evidence of a trend both in behavioral change and in the use of cards as a means of payment in everyday life," says Pascal Schaub, Managing & Strategy Director at Saatchi & Saatchi Zurich.

Now it goes even faster

The second stage of the campaign now also aims to reduce the average payment amount. The project is supported by technology, which already provides a new generation of payment terminals. "Card instead of cash also goes contactless," is the name of the new achievement and thus also the message of the new campaign. It shows how cashless payment is now not only easy, but can even be done in the blink of an eye - "more precisely, in less than three seconds. Terminals with the distinctive contactless symbol can now be found almost everywhere in Swiss retail outlets. Tony Card is taking this as an opportunity to demonstrate the advantages of contactless payment in its own way. In the five new TV spots produced by Shining Pictures, everything revolves around the speed of contactless payment. In everyday payment situations with small amounts, Tony Card shows how simple it is. The protagonist of the Cashless campaign gets active support from his grandma and his dog Tyson. Surprise moments included. Learning with an "aha" effect," say the two CDs Felix Freese and Frédéric Nogier about the concept of their films. They are very short, but can be used much more often, because "it takes several attempts before behavior is changed. The TV campaign is accompanied by a quiz on cashless.ch, where everything revolves around paying within seconds until the end of October. As with the launch a year ago, the campaign is being supported by the PR agency C-Matrix Communications, which is also preparing the topic in terms of economic policy and providing media support.
 
Andreas Panzeri

The campaign focuses on the everyday and presents Aquilana Insurance as a strong, solid health insurance company. With posters, advertisements and online appearances, the new campaign presents itself in the core market of Aargau and Zurich. Aquilana's new advertising subjects convey their messages in both the image and product areas and can therefore be used in a variety of ways.

The new campaign was launched in spring 2014 and will be available online as an advertising banner from October 2014. The message remains the same: "Aquilana Insurance is an attentive, competent and close partner for its customers."

Responsible at Mach Corporate & Advertising: Sandra Elbardan (Art Direction), Dano Dreyer, Caroline Abild, Mavis Clarisse (Consulting & Concept).
 

It also provides valuable insights into how the importance of different media has changed over time. The current study shows: While changes can be observed in many media genres, the dominance of television in consumers' everyday lives remains unbroken.

In order to gain a precise understanding of leisure behavior, GfK market researchers conducted a personal survey of more than 4,000 German consumers aged 14 and over on behalf of the Stiftung für Zukunftsfragen. According to the survey, consumers have an average of 3 hours and 56 minutes of free time on working days. The size of the leisure budget is not primarily determined by factors such as gender or income, but almost exclusively by the stage of life. Retired people (5h:10m) and young people (4h:13m) have the most free time in which they can do as they please, while families with children have the least (2h:54m). Overall, daily free time has decreased slightly by 7 minutes compared to the previous year. A closer look at leisure behavior reveals the extent to which the media shape consumers' everyday leisure time: Six of the ten most common leisure activities are media activities.In the generation under 30, even the nine most common activities are determined by the media.

And while media activities have become more important in a 10-year comparison, social activities - e.g. spending time with friends - have become less important. So how important are the individual media? According to the study, the dominance of TV remains unbroken: 97% of consumers watch TV at least once a week, and more than two thirds even watch it every day. This means that TV has been in first place for a quarter of a century, i.e. for the 25th time in a row. The 5-year comparison also shows that TV usage has remained constant (+/-0%). This means that TV use is already well ahead of the second and third-placed media activities, listening to the radio (90%/+1%) and telephoning by landline (87%/-4%). The gap is even greater when it comes to reading newspapers and magazines, with around three out of four consumers (73%/-6%) engaging in this activity at least once a week. Although regular use of the internet has increased significantly compared to 2009 (23%), "only" 71% still use it in their free time. If we analyze TV usage further, it becomes clear that television succeeds in engaging everyone like no other medium. Whether male or female, urban or rural dweller, rich or poor - TV consumption is the most regular leisure activity for everyone. Television is also the top leisure activity in almost all phases of life. For singles (95% at least once a week), couples (99%), families (96%) and senior citizens (98%), TV leads the rankings. However, as expected, teenagers and young adults, who are very internet and mobile-savvy, also watch TV very regularly: 96% and 92% of them watch TV at least once a week, putting TV in second and third place respectively among the most frequent leisure activities in these groups.

Clemens Koob

Key Facts

- On average, consumers have 3h:56m free time on weekdays.
- 6 of the 10 most common leisure activities are media activities.
- TV has been the number one leisure activity for 25 years: 97% of consumers watch TV at least once a week (+/-0% compared to 2009).
- Radio (90%/+1%), landline telephony (87%/-4%), reading newspapers/magazines (73%/ -6%) and the Internet (71%/+23%) follow.
- TV manages to engage everyone like no other medium - regardless of whether they are men or women, urban or rural dwellers, rich or poor. Teenagers and young adults also watch TV regularly (96%/92% at least weekly).
 

The previous yellow was replaced by the color blue. The posters can be used simultaneously for image and sales. They are currently hanging with large advertising print throughout Switzerland.

The Swiss DIY store JUMBO has been around since 1982. It all started with an airdome in Dietlikon, which already offered many things related to home renovation, improvement and beautification projects. Since then, JUMBO has developed into one of the largest home improvement chains in Switzerland. This is now renovating and beautifying its own communications presence. In search of a new brand identity, four agencies were invited to pitch in early 2014. After several rounds, Alpha 245 prevailed and was entrusted with the task of renewing the corporate design and all communication materials from scratch. "What we didn't want to do without in the new look, however, was the familiar JUMBO trunk animal," explains Patrick Senn of Alpha 245. The color of the elephant, which has been blue since the beginning, was even chosen as the new basic color for the entire appearance. In the past, it was yellow. "By occupying the color blue, we can clearly distinguish ourselves from the other DIY stores in Switzerland," says Pam Hügli, with overall responsibility at Alpha 245. The new font for the advertising materials looks like it was applied with a paint roller and is intended to emphasize the "do it yourself" character. Such a quickly recognizable characteristic has become necessary since more and more home improvement stores from Switzerland and abroad want to divide the market in Switzerland among themselves. In this environment, JUMBO is positioning itself as a specialist store that offers everything from the occasional do-it-yourselfer to the ambitious do-it-yourselfer. As a wholly owned subsidiary of Maus Frères Holding in Geneva, JUMBO currently operates 41 stores. These are now being rebranded and refitted in stages. "In the course of this work, countless details also have to be developed, designed and delivered in the POS area," explains Sylvia Kohler, who is also tackling the project on the agency's side.

Everything revolves around tackling

In addition to classic advertising media such as promotional brochures, themed inserts, mailings and POS, Alpha 245 also relies on digital channels for its communication. For the launch of the new CI, 1600 pairs of work gloves were distributed to all employees along with a mailing. Those who scanned the QR code were taken directly to a video message from CEO Jérôme Gilg. He says: "It is important that all employees lend a hand. That's why we first got everyone on board before we made our new appearance known to the outside world." In addition to the campaign flyer, the main medium is the poster, on which two important aspects are brought to bear at the same time with an original address: The sales posters are also an image campaign for the DIY store with the blue elephant. Currently, 9 subjects can be seen on more than 130 formats. All measures are underpinned by a new claim that expresses JUMBO's new dynamism and carries it both externally and internally - a new agency, a new corporate design and new advertising materials: "Let's get down to it." pan

Gloves as a mailing for employees should motivate: "Let's get it done." Newcomers can also hang up another mailing as an improvised lamp.
 

The event was supported by SRG SSR, Tamedia Publications romandes and Ringier Romandie. Le Temps and La Liberté also placed ads on the event free of charge.

The event is a success for the defense of press freedom in Switzerland and abroad, says a statement from Imprint. In numbers, this means that over 200 people attended the event at the Casino de Montbenon in Lausanne. Among the participants were numerous opinion makers: journalists, publishers, editors-in-chief, professors and students, representatives of NGOs, advocates of human rights and interested representatives of civil society.

The debates and discussion panels were also composed of personalities from the media world, journalists, publishers, television directors and also lawyers and university professors. Current cases of censorship were discussed and means to fight them with the help of the European Convention on Human Rights were pointed out. There was also discussion, with lively testimonies, about the protection of journalists in conflict zones and the efforts of states, especially Switzerland, to provide better protection on the ground. In addition, unpublished up-to-date information was received from a study currently being conducted among journalists, examining the impact of their working conditions in the current period of media crisis, the release added. The meeting concluded with the topic of data protection in times of online surveillance and methods to protect oneself from cyber censorship were discussed.

The organizers have adopted a resolution, which you can read here (PDF) find
 

First came the free newspapers. This was nothing less than a fundamental attack on the publishers' long-standing business model: the big money was made from advertising, the rest came from subscribers. Subscribers dutifully paid a low premium compared to other countries, and most of them stuck with it.

The free newspapers caused a stir in the industry. Everyone complained, many saw the cultural downfall of the West coming. Some tried to get something going themselves. Or they developed their own only as a threat: a few days before the launch of the highly praised commuter paper Express, Tamedia bought the competitor 20 Minuten together with Espace Media. An ingenious move: at least the fat profits stayed in-house.

The old business model of the traditional newspaper remained in place - the hope was that the economy would improve.

Soon the new opponent showed up. The Internet. A big, colorful world in which almost everything was available for free. The publishers' entry began somewhat hesitantly at first, but with very few exceptions, they all made the same huge mistake. They gave away their content on the Internet. No one really knows why. But they still had advertising. For the time being, it is doubtful whether these revenues will solve the newspapers' earnings problem. At any rate, the revenues from online advertising only do so at most for the top 3 sites. Online advertising is just too cheap, people complain. For some time now, attempts have been made to counteract this by means of paywalls of whatever kind, with readers being asked to pay something, as in the past: The old business model is being reanimated. Let's wait and see if it works.

The next spectre soon followed. The mobile web. Apparently, no one could have imagined that mobile access to websites would increase so dramatically. And at the same time, however, revenues from advertising would decrease again by a factor of 10.

The old business model of the traditional newspaper no longer works. Is there a new one? No, but they are working on it.

Since many newspapers today appear on different channels (print, online, mobile, apps), agencies, clients, and also quite a few publishers demanded a common value per title. Until now, this has not existed. Today, an approach to such a study is being presented at the WEMF Media Research Day. Why only today?

Why are we always so late?

Pierre C. Meier, Editor-in-Chief
[email protected]
 

At the Berlin site, ten employees will initially support the international business of the web service - especially in the areas of online marketing and further development of the mobile Doodle applications. This decision underscores the company's ambition to develop Doodle into a central global platform and make online appointment scheduling the international standard.

"Berlin, with its dynamism and internationality, is an excellent fit for our global growth offensive that we launched this year," explains Doodle CEO Michael Brecht. At the same time, he also emphasizes the importance of Zurich for the company: "Zurich is and will remain our headquarters. Doodle is a Swiss success story - and our excellent contacts with ETH are of great importance for the further technical expansion of the Doodle platform. I don't see any contradiction here: Whether it's Velcro, sugar cubes or tubular mustard - many Swiss inventions have also been successful worldwide in recent decades. Why shouldn't we succeed with Doodle?"