Both new members bring many years of agency experience in local small agencies as well as in international networks, according to a statement.

Jonathan Schipper, 35, Senior Account Director, worked as a consultant for several years for agencies such as Bonaparte and Y&R Group Switzerland, but also on the client side (Tempobrain) after business high school and while studying for a Bachelor of Business Communication. He now brings his knowledge to Ogilvy & Mather's most diverse clients since April 2013, already knowing the agency and network from a previous employment.

Markus Sidler, 55, Senior Copy Writer and Strategic Planner, looks back on almost 30 years of work as a copywriter, including for Grendene & Lanz, Publicis and McCann-Erickson Zurich, where he was also Creative Director. Due to his subsequent self-employment in the field of on- and offline communication, he now also has a practical understanding of the digital world. Working for Ogilvy & Mather since 2005, he supports the agency not only in the textual/conceptual, but also in the strategic area.

Jonathan Schipper and Markus Sidler, together with the other members of the Executive Board Gaby Zimmerli, Thomas Bolliger and Daniel Plüss, are looking forward to the new challenge.
 

"Tama gave us a few laughs and "magic moments" during the tests with her refreshing humor. At the same time, she tackled tricky topics with a lot of charm and brains. With her multicultural influences, an exciting combination," says Joiz program boss Elif Erisik.

The 25-year-old banker with Tamil roots also sees herself as a whirlwind: "I can't help but laugh out loud. Entertaining the audience and making them laugh is my personal goal. "Bärndütsch" is my second mother tongue. Nevertheless, I will use the Indian accent for entertainment purposes here and there."

She is particularly pleased that she has been given the moderator job at joiz and is now joining the "Living Room" team: "Even as an outsider, I knew that the joiz team was young, cheeky and fun. I like the relaxed way they work here. Besides, I get to do every day what I would normally do in my free time. Say, find out everything about artists, watch music videos, be creative and last but not least, host."

 

Together, Raufeld Medien and DPA want to realize multimedia projects for publishers and other customers. The projects, which include customer magazines, will remain separate from DPA Deutsche Presse-Agentur's own editorial offering. The publications are primarily conceived and designed by Raufeld Medien. DPA will focus on marketing and contribute individual content as needed. DPA writes this in a communiqué on Presseportal.ch.
 

The Schaffhauser Nachrichten and other customer orders will be printed at NZZ Print, the newspaper printing plant of the Neue Zürcher Zeitung, from January 1, 2014. In view of the overcapacities in newspaper printing, after a thorough examination it was no longer seen as an economically viable option to replace the 23-year-old Anilox newspaper press, writes ZDS in a statement. With the switch to NZZ Print, its quality and operational reliability will be guaranteed in the future.

The press purchased in 1989 was a prototype with a technology that was subsequently no longer pursued, said ZDS Chairman Norbert Neininger in an interview with SN on Thursday, according to SDA. It no longer met today's requirements and was also prone to breakdowns. Therefore, a new machine would have had to be purchased, which would have necessitated investments in the millions, Neininger further explained, according to SDA. Various options had been examined, but only closure remained.

Socially acceptable solutions are being sought for the employees affected, for which ZDS is offering a social plan.

ZDS is a subsidiary of Meier + Cie, publisher of Schaffhauser Nachrichten, and Rotaz Schaffhausen, which was founded in 1992 and has been jointly operated by the two shareholders ever since.
 

The participating apps will be evaluated in ten categories by six to eight top experts each according to professional criteria and placed in a ranking list. The best apps per category will receive the gold, silver and bronze awards at the big awards night on November 20, 2013. In addition, a master prize will also be awarded for the best of all app projects.

Transparency and Quality in the App World: The Award

The goals of the new competition are to promote transparency and quality standards in the Swiss app and mobile industry, to disseminate and showcase innovative concepts, and to offer networking opportunities. The core theme of "Best of Swiss Apps" is the innovative and successful use of app technologies.

"Best of Swiss Apps"

"Best of Swiss Apps" is the responsibility of the same organizations that have been running the successful "Best of Swiss Web" competition for fourteen years: The overall management is the responsibility of Best of Swiss Web, which is composed equally of the industry association Simsa and the net media. The steering board with Claudio Dionisio (Simsa) and Heinrich Meyer (Netzmedien) was expanded by experts from the mobile and app world: Joachim Hagger from the industry association Smama, Andreas Hüppi as president of the BoSW category "Mobile" and Christof Zogg from Microsoft.

The call for entries for the new "Best of Swiss Apps" competition started on August 14, 2013, and the deadline for entries is September 30, 2013.

 

With the new English version "Drowning is quick and silent", the prevention clip of the Swiss Lifesaving Society SLRG is now intended to make even more people aware that children drown quickly and silently. With the short, moving film "Silent drowning"has been drawing attention to it since May 2012. Since its release on YouTube and on the project website, the film has recorded The-water-and-me.ch great attention, the SLRG said in a statement on Thursday. In September, the jury of the "Cannes Corporate Media & TV Awards" honored him with a Golden Dolphin (Werbewoche.ch reported).

Now also in English version

The film "Silent Drowning" is so far available in German, French and Italian. Now, the short, moving film is also available in an English version called "Drowning is quick and silent." "We at the Swiss Lifesaving Society SLRG are focusing our campaign on Switzerland," says Anita Moser, head of the "The Water and I" project, adding, "Water accidents are the second most common cause of accidental death among young children in Switzerland and worldwide. With the spot, we want to raise awareness among as many people as possible from as many cultural backgrounds as possible so that they always keep an eye on their children near water and stay within reach."

All four language versions of "Lautlos Ertrinken" were realized by the Biel-based film agency Element P, directed and shot by Daniel Reichenbach.
 

With the sale of the Washington Post to Jeff Bezos, the Boston Globe to billionaire John Henry and a traditional centerpiece of Springer AG to the Funke Group, speculation and misjudgments ran rampant with each of these transactions. The journalistic handling of the megadeals shows once again how much damage is being done to an industry that reports on everything and everyone in the world, but thinks it can easily do without competent observers of its own profession in its editorial offices.

The legacy of the company's founder was being "betrayed", for example, according to many voices on the Springer-Funke deal, and with the sale of Hamburger Abendblatt, Berliner Morgenpost and Hörzu, the larger of the two publishing houses was "bidding farewell to journalism". Those who spread such nonsense probably didn't ask themselves how a gifted publisher like Axel Springer would have reacted to the digitalization of the industry, and also showed that they didn't understand the most important momentum of the Internet: "The winner takes it all" - this principle applies much more strongly on the Internet than in the real economy.

Microsoft, Google, Facebook and Amazon are the most prominent examples of this, but the principle also applies to submarkets such as the online classifieds business with car, real estate or partnership ads, as well as to news sites: If you want to know what's going on in the world, you will probably click on cnn.com, nytimes.com or theguardian.com in the English-speaking world, and on newsnet.ch or nzz.ch in Switzerland. Those who want to find out what's happening around the corner from home generally have local or hyperlocal websites at their disposal. In between, the large regional newspapers are being squeezed out if they are not already part of a news network such as newsnet. ch.

In the "good old" print era, they for their part usually plundered advertising customers as highly profitable monopolists - be it the advertising industry, the small advertiser looking for a new girlfriend or someone walking their poodle. We now know that these days of regional newspaper monopolies are gone for good: "Newspapers will have to finance themselves without ads in the future," Spiegel (no. 32/2013) recently quoted the head of one of the major media agencies as saying. If we analyze the megadeals together, it is noticeable that all of the newspaper titles sold are large regional papers - even the Washington Post ultimately never progressed beyond this status as the US capital's newspaper, despite the national reach of its website. It is to be expected that the new owners will commit all the cruelties towards their editorial teams that seemed unthinkable in houses such as the Washington Post Co, the New York Times Co, which has bled to death at the Boston Globe, and Springer AG - because they were all known as employers for a certain nobility, while at least in Germany both the Funke Group (formerly WAZ Group) and Jeff Bezos' Amazon are already known for squeezing their employees to the utmost and, if necessary, throwing them out the door without much ado.

Regional editorial offices are systemically relevant

You can't blame companies like the New York Times Co. and Springer AG for getting rid of their regional newspaper ballast. They too only have a digital future if they join forces and relegate their competitors with national news sites such as nytimes.com, welt.de or bild.de to the back burner instead of competing with their own regional newspaper websites.

However, we cannot and must not be indifferent to what happens to regional newspaper editorial offices. In the past, a lot of unnecessary double and triple work was done there. The second and third sports reporter covering the same football match from the same publishing house, for example, could be rationalized away without harming the community or journalism. On the other hand, large, functioning regional editorial offices - as Heribert Prantl, member of the editorial board of Süddeutsche Zeitung, has recently pointed out - are "systemically relevant" for journalism and democracy. Without its research capacity and without its institutional memory, the "fourth estate" is in danger of losing its ability to function. This is because the national giants of the industry are ultimately dependent on the supplies of regional newspapers and no longer have their own local correspondents in every major city. Even where these still exist, such one-man offices do not replace local editorial offices, but at best exploit their work more or less reliably nationwide.

However, if journalism no longer performs its control function with a division of labor and across the board, there is a growing danger that corruption and abuse of power will spread rapidly in politics and business. As Joseph Pulitzer already knew, those in power have far more respect for investigative, independent journalists than for public prosecutors and ordinary courts. Where such journalists no longer exist, political populists and populist media moguls are very likely to work together to undermine democracy - Berlusconi and Erdogan send their regards.

Stephan Russ-Mohl
 

This was recently discovered by Transparency International as part of an annual representative survey. For the first time, editorial offices are in a worse position than public administration and parliament. In an Allensbach survey, journalists have for years been in the bad company of politicians and bankers in terms of their professional reputation, far behind doctors and nurses, teachers and craftsmen. Americans also complain heavily about the media's decline in performance and loss of credibility. The Project for Excellence in Journalism (PEJ) recently found that almost a third of them have already changed their news provider as a result. In a previous PEJ study, 80 percent of respondents complained that journalists were often "influenced by powerful people or institutions" and 75 percent said they were "unable to report accurately".

In addition, the Pew Research Center recently conducted a survey on who the US population believes is most likely to "contribute to the common good": The military, teachers and doctors topped this ranking, with journalists, managers and lawyers in last place. Overall, journalistic credibility has been going downhill for years, even decades - and the downward spiral has apparently accelerated in recent years.

Where does that come from? Certainly the upheavals brought about by the Internet. Since audiences have come to expect "everything for free" online and advertisers have been able to reach their target groups more precisely on Google, Facebook & Co than with conventional mass media, the pressure to save money has become increasingly absurd for many editorial offices. Young journalists and freelancers in particular are being mercilessly exploited - and are dependent on additional sources of income in order to survive, which also makes some of them corruptible. There is far less research capacity in the editorial offices themselves than there used to be. The daily bombardment of press releases and PR messages that are "pushed" into the media has increased dramatically. In addition, a gray area has emerged in front of the editorial offices: In many cases, journalism can no longer be clearly distinguished from public relations because freelancers work in both areas.

However, journalism's loss of credibility is probably also due to the fact that journalists like to apply double standards: They demand accountability and transparency from others at all times; when it comes to their own business conduct, however, it is precisely these virtues that are lacking. A large-scale comparative EU-funded research project led by Susanne Fengler (TU Dortmund University) has investigated the question of how journalists in twelve European and two Arab countries view their own misconduct. The results, which were recently presented in Brussels, are very illuminating in their ambiguity. A total of 1762 journalists were surveyed.

In all the countries surveyed, they consistently acknowledged the accountability of the media, but as soon as it became concrete, they would much rather be accountable to their "own conscience" than to any self-regulatory bodies such as press councils, ombudsmen or even superiors. The answer that, in case of doubt, they believed they were "fully and completely" accountable to their sources rather than their audiences was also astonishingly honest. Only in Spain and Jordan did respondents give the answer stipulated in the journalistic codes of ethics - that loyalty is first and foremost due to readers, listeners and viewers.

The loss of credibility probably also has something to do with the fact that the media "explain" all sorts of things, but hardly anything about themselves. With the exception of a few quality newspapers, reporting on journalism and the media is almost non-existent, and on television there are almost only comedy formats on the subject (such as the "heute-show"). Unfortunately, schools are also struggling with media studies, and those who know too little about the media industry cannot make differentiated judgments.

Stephan Russ-Mohl heads the European Journalism Observatory at the University of Lugano.
 

Here’s my point: In times when cost-cutting is necessary—whether there’s a real fear of a crisis or it’s merely being hyped up—the first budget item to be cut, or even eliminated entirely, is «marketing expenses,» since it’s the easiest to reduce. This works best during the vacation season, in the so-called “summer slump.” After all, consumers are on vacation and aren’t focused on spending. That’s how companies think. I see it differently.

While on vacation in Tuscany, Mr. Müller buys a copy of the FAZ at the village Tabacchi so he can—if he has the time—read it thoroughly by the pool. Yet, over the course of 40 pages, he comes across less than half a page of advertising. And he’d have plenty of time to find out about a new car, a different vacation destination, a new pair of sunglasses, a more effective sunscreen, or the latest Swatch watch.

My theory: When the advertising drumbeat falls silent, you’d hear a soft knock—and take notice. Why does everyone advertise at the same time—or not at all? I’d suggest delivering my creatively executed, original, and engaging advertising message when everyone else is silent. This strategy of countercyclical advertising also has other advantages. Advertising space or airtime is more cost-effective. Mailboxes aren’t overflowing, and—as I said—consumers can focus on my message without being distracted.

But anyone who doesn’t advertise at all—or who is narrow-minded and timid, as is often the case in advertising—is on the verge of going out of business. Henry Ford didn’t just utter that famous quote (see headline). He also said: «I know that half of my advertising is money down the drain. I just don’t know which half.» Billionaire Paul Getty said: «Without advertising, I’d be a millionaire today.» I believe advertising is a vital link in our economy. When you’re in a crisis, you need creative ideas—including in advertising.

Since I’m currently staying in Italy, I see every day how a country that is otherwise so creative has come to a standstill amid its economic and financial crisis. Nothing is changing. Stores close at 1:00 p.m. and don’t reopen until 4:30 p.m. The few remaining tourists wander through the deserted alleys. Mail from Switzerland still hasn’t arrived after six weeks. The tax office here still doesn’t know which tax rate applies for 2013. But Berlusconi can serve his sentence at the Bunga-Bunga villa.

I hope we can find a more creative way to overcome the summer slump and the "scaredy-cat" advertising crisis. What cheers me up is that, after a four-week break, I’m finally allowed to grumble again.

 

WW: Mr. Kaiser, what does the new partnership look like? Are you setting up a new company together?
Thomas Kaiser: Both partners - Ringier and Seven Ventures - maintain an intensive exchange with regard to possible investments and decide on a case-by-case basis in what form and in what proportion they will become involved in individual start-up companies. This means that neither a joint company nor a fund will be founded.

As you know, this is how Seven Ventures works: The company looks for young companies that offer a product or service in the B2C sector. It then offers these companies advertising time on the channels Pro7, Sat1 and Kabel 1 as well as on their online platforms and receives either a revenue share (media-for-revenue) or a company share (media-for-equity) in return. - Can you name a company that has become big thanks to Seven Ventures?
A good example is the online fashion store Zalando: Here you can see the scale on which the model works and what could be achieved in a relatively short time.

What role will Ringier now play? Do you want to offer additional advertising space in print, radio and online?
Exactly, and also with an investment focus on B2C. The media reach of both partners to achieve the branding or sales targets of the investments is very complementary. The marketing mix can change significantly depending on the orientation of the portfolio company. The interaction of offline and online channels significantly increases the effectiveness of campaigns. Print and radio channels can also be used to increase the regionalization of advertising.

What is the goal from Ringier's point of view?
First and foremost, it is about getting in touch with young online entrepreneurs and working with them to develop their companies. However, our aim is also to introduce these companies to traditional media and their impact. Experience has shown that many only start using traditional channels at a very late stage. Prior to this, they often only use online channels for several years - where they are usually slow to build awareness and reach.

What criteria are used to select the companies?
The company must already be active on the market and have an existing "infrastructure": a strong founding team, an existing basic technology, a functioning mobile app, customer service, logistics, etc. An ideal candidate has already demonstrated on a manageable scale that its business model is attracting market interest (measured, for example, by the number of downloads of the mobile app). Now it is a matter of quickly building awareness and a market position. This is precisely where the cooperation between Ringier and Seven Ventures comes in. Ideally - but not necessarily - there is also potential for international expansion in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Interested start-ups can contact us at www.ringierdigital.ch/ventures.

Why is Ringier Digital, of all companies, taking action?
Ringier Digital has the appropriate "environment" and offers numerous "points of contact" for the young entrepreneurs: marketing, technology and process know-how. In addition to media reach and financial resources, the exchange between experienced online entrepreneurs and young start-up entrepreneurs represents an invaluable asset for both sides. Ringier Digital also keeps its eyes open for the other Ringier business areas of Publishing and Entertainment. The Ventures business is therefore not limited to Ringier Digital's business models (classifieds, e-commerce, digital marketing).

Ringier will therefore become a kind of bank that grants media loans. What enables Ringier to take on this new role? And how much money will be made available each year?
Ringier Digital has experience in the development of online business models thanks to its own history (e.g. through the establishment of the Scout24 Switzerland Group) and speaks the language of founders. We have not set a fixed ventures budget. It is clear to us that in some cases media volumes alone are not enough, but that cash will also be needed for investments in technology, sales staff or customer services, in the sense of traditional financing.

Do you agree pre-emption rights with the start-ups?
This can be agreed on a case-by-case basis if it is clear at an early stage that this will develop into a strategic investment or the interlocking with existing Ringier investments is obvious. As a rule, however, this will not be the case at the beginning of the cooperation. A financial participation in a potential sale of the company to third parties (trade sale) at a later stage is also an option.

When does the partnership apply?
The partnership is already underway. Initial investment options are currently being analyzed. In addition to options that are new for both partners, we are also analyzing the transfer of models to Switzerland that have already been successfully developed by Seven Ventures in Germany.

What is the focus in Switzerland: the media-for-equity or the media-for-revenue business?
This cannot yet be estimated. We are therefore actively communicating both models. Which model makes sense for a company and how high the revenue share is must be discussed on a case-by-case basis.

Is a revenue share fair? Ringier and Seven Ventures skim off the top even in loss-making years.
It is more than fair. It's not about giving away media services, but about keeping the entry barrier to media channels extremely low, which would otherwise not be available to these young, up-and-coming companies in this development phase. We have also made the experience - also internally at Ringier - with media cooperations that the media channels are only meaningfully optimized and success actively shaped if a "minimum payment" is made for them.

Will Ringier's existing investments (Geschenkidee, Scout24 portals, Qualipet, etc.) also benefit from the new partnership?
For example, Geschenkidee.ch - a Ringier company - has been running TV advertising on ProSiebenSat1 Group channels since August on the basis of a media-for-revenue agreement. We are thus demonstrating that this form of media cooperation is also a sensible marketing measure for us. Of course, we also want to gain initial experience in this way.

Why does Ringier rely on Seven Ventures for the Ventures model at all? Is the medium of TV so crucial for this?
In fact, we have repeatedly relied on TV advertising in addition to our own channels to build brand awareness for our own investments (DeinDeal, Autoscout24, Anibis) and have seen how useful this combination is.

However, ProSiebenSat1 and Ringier do not exactly have the same target audience: Print, Ringier's largest audience, tends to appeal to older people, whereas Pro7, Sat1 and Kabel 1 tend to appeal to younger people.
Blick am Abend and Radio Energy are just two examples that contradict this statement and show that Ringier also appeals to a young and urban audience. The complementarity of the channels is also quite intentional: by combining the reach of both media companies, the target groups should be addressed as broadly as possible. Precise targeting is carried out on the online platforms of both companies.

Who is in charge of media planning - an independent media agency or a committee of Ringier and Seven Ventures?
We have an internal coordination office that carries out professional media planning for all our investments via Ringier's media inventory. The same is done on the Seven Ventures side by the marketer Goldbach.

The channels Pro7, Sat1 and Kabel 1 are marketed in Switzerland by Goldbach Media. However, no money flows for the advertising of these start-ups. What are the consequences of the new cooperation model for Goldbach Media?
The marketer is involved as a partner. All planning of the TV placements and the handling of the campaigns are carried out by Goldbach. However, Ringier is not aware of the exact contractual aspects of the cooperation between Goldbach Media and Seven Ventures.

Goldbach Media and the advertising windows mentioned are known for (having to) provide a lot of free space. How much advertising time can you provide per year for these ventures? And how much space can Ringier provide in the print and online media and on the radio?
This is planned on a case-by-case basis.

The venture business is suitable for filling unused advertising space at ProSiebenSat1 and Ringier, even in difficult economic times. Is that one of the reasons for the new commitment?
If you go back to the origins of this idea at ProSiebenSat1, then this was certainly one of the reasons. On the other hand, we can't exactly speak of idle advertising space in the TV sector at the moment. With our print properties, the question is more about how big they are. We are therefore more interested in taking on additional forms of advertising and advertising partners.

Ringier Digital and Seven Ventures together have the largest media reach in Switzerland, writes Ringier. Is that really true? Tamedia has significantly more contacts in the online sector, as well as in print: Ringier is only better in radio and TV.
This is about the media reach that can be made available to young start-up companies as part of this cooperation. We are not aware of a more comprehensive media-for-revenue or media-for-equity package currently being offered on the market.

The Ventures business delivered triple-digit revenue growth for the ProSiebenSat1 Group in 2012. Since 2009, the Group has built up a ventures portfolio with over 50 partnerships and strategic investments. Were these figures decisive for Ringier to contact Seven Ventures?
We have been in contact with the ProSiebenSat1 Group for years, not least thanks to Ringier's investment in Sat1 Schweiz. Discussions have shown that we have very similar ideas in the ventures area and invest in the same models. This means that the combined media reach in Switzerland makes double sense.

Ringier's digital business generated sales of around CHF 195 million last year, or CHF 18% of Ringier's total sales. Turnover has grown by 29%. What push do you expect from the new partnership?
The figures you mentioned refer to the aggregated digital revenue of the Ringier Group (Publishing, Entertainment, Digital, Central Eastern Europe [CEE]), which is consolidated by Ringier. We want to grow to a digital share of 25% this year. However, the contribution from the cooperation with Seven Ventures will initially be marginal from Ringier's perspective, as we do not include the print and radio media volumes in the digital segment and will generally not consolidate the investments.

What about profits: Was Ringier's digital business self-sustaining or even profitable overall in 2012? And what share do you hope to achieve with the new ventures business?
The digital business was still in a strong development and investment phase in 2012. In 2013, however, we expect an EBITDA result in the double-digit million range. This will increase continuously in the coming years - even after taking into account further investments in the digital business.

The new deal with Seven Ventures is limited to German-speaking Switzerland. Could you imagine something similar for French-speaking Switzerland? With whom?
In terms of TV reach, this is correct. Ringier's reach in French-speaking Switzerland is already considerable and can be brought into the cooperation on a case-by-case basis.

As Ringier markets the TF1 advertising window in French-speaking Switzerland, you could implement the same model with this channel there.
We are starting with Seven Ventures. If this test is successful, we will of course discuss whether this business model can be expanded with partners such as TF1 who cover complementary areas. But there are no plans for this at the moment.

Am I right in thinking that this ventures model basically amounts to a kind of performance marketing: the start-ups become advertising clients who do not pay for media services, but allow Ringier and Seven Ventures to share in the additional (sales) success achieved?
Correct, although turnover is only one of the possible metrics. There are others, such as the gross margin in e-commerce or the growth of the customer base.

However, this model could change the mentality of Ringier's existing advertising customers: Because they could say that they too no longer want to pay fixed advertising or radio spot prices, but would rather cede a percentage of their turnover to Ringier. Is such a change in mentality even desirable?
No, this model is really only about supporting start-ups in the development phase. This is also ensured by our marketing departments, as they have a say in who is offered the model and who is not.

One question remains: If Ringier is so heavily involved in the economy in the future, promoting some companies and not others - how can the Ringier editorial teams still report independently on such economic topics and companies?
Editorial offices are just as free in their reporting as they have been in the past. Placing advertising in the media is not exactly a new business model. Nor is this about content integration.

Nevertheless, similar conflicts of interest can arise as with sports and cultural events and stars that Ringier markets: Ringier's editorial teams are biased - now increasingly also in economic matters.
The convergence of media and many B2C business models (e.g. online retail) is already well advanced. Now a media company can watch from the sidelines as others develop the markets, or actively participate itself. We have opted for the latter.

Interview: Markus Knöpfli

About the person

Thomas Kaiser, born in 1966, has been in charge of Ringier AG's digital business activities as CDO since June 2012. As CEO, he is also operationally responsible for Ringier Digital AG, which unites the leading Swiss online marketplaces, e-commerce companies and digital marketing services under one roof. Before joining Ringier, Kaiser was a member of the Group Executive Board of Publigroupe, where he was responsible for building up the Digital & Marketing Services business segment. Kaiser held management positions at Bertelsmann and Hubert Burda Media in Germany for twelve years and has been involved in the development of companies in the new media sector since 1995. Kaiser graduated with a degree in business administration from the University of St. Gallen HSG. Kaiser is a member of the board of the Swiss Chapter of the International Advertising Association.
 

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The business division Ringier Digital combines the following business segments:

Marketplaces:
Autoscout24, Motoscout24, Immoscout24, Jobscout24, Anibis.ch, Jobcloud (Jobs.ch/Jobup.ch)

E-Commerce:
DeinDeal, Geschenkidee.ch/.de/.at, Qualipet

Digital Marketing:
Competence Center Omnimedia AG

Business Services:
In-house development and operation of online platforms and mobile applications, for example under the umbrella of Xmedia AG, Nhat Viet Group and Geomatic AG
 

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A new study from the UK has examined these questions. According to the study, there are six basic needs - from relaxation to immersion - that the medium of TV fulfills. While linear TV can satisfy all six needs, VOD only meets selected needs. In terms of advertising, the study advocates designing commercials according to the expected constellation of viewer needs.

To find out what motivates us to watch TV, market researchers from Flamingo and Tapestry were commissioned by the TV industry organization Thinkbox to observe 18 British households over a two-week period. These observations were supplemented by the evaluation of media diaries in which 662 adults recorded almost 4,000 TV sessions.

First of all, the analyses show that there are six basic motives that motivate viewers to tune in. Firstly, consumers seek and find relaxation from everyday stress when watching television. Secondly, television allows them to spend time together with their families and thus experience community. Thirdly, TV makes it possible to feel more connected with others and the environment - for example, by being able to join in discussions about current programs. Television also allows you to experience something - or simply to escape from your normal life into another world. Last but not least, television offers sixthly opportunities to treat yourself to something - in other words, to have "me-time" and watch your favorite series in peace and quiet, for example. Viewers behave differently depending on which needs guide their TV consumption.

For example, viewers plan their TV consumption much more when they want to immerse themselves in other worlds (Ø 8.3 on a scale of 10) or treat themselves (7.3) than when they simply want to relax (4.1). There are also differences in the attention with which programs are watched. Attention is particularly high when it comes to experiencing something (9.5), immersing oneself (9.3) or indulging oneself (7.6). The preferred end device for remote viewing is the classic TV set - regardless of the need. Nevertheless, there are also differences here. For example, people are slightly less attached to the TV when they want to immerse themselves (78% TV set) than when they watch TV together as a family (96%).

It is interesting to note that, according to the study, linear TV offers significantly more diverse options for satisfying needs than VOD. While VOD is mainly used to immerse oneself in other worlds (41% of VOD usage), live TV satisfies a wide range of needs in a balanced way (see figure). Social needs in particular, such as watching TV with the family, can be better satisfied by live TV. This is also reflected in the fact that 54% of live TV situations involve watching TV together with others, while only 30% of VOD usage is shared with others. In this respect, it is also understandable why 90% of TV is still consumed linearly. The fact that live TV is usually ahead is also clear from the fact that even 60% of intensive VOD users first watch the linear TV program before considering VOD.

In terms of advertising, the study came to the conclusion that consumers' acceptance of advertising varies depending on their needs. For example, the study participants accepted commercials in 78% of TV situations in which they wanted to watch TV with their family and in 74% of situations in which they wanted to relax. Acceptance was still high, but comparatively lower, when consumers wanted to experience something (52%) or immerse themselves completely (51%). Last but not least, the study shows that congruent commercials have a particularly high advertising impact - i.e. commercials that match the needs of the viewer. Linear TV in particular offers advertisers a wide range of design options here, as it covers all needs.

Clemens Koob

 

Cost pressure, increasing competition and a changing media environment - the challenges for media and advertising agencies are manifold. Digitalization is also making the tasks of communication service providers more complex. What do companies expect from communication service providers in this changed environment? How satisfied are they with their agency? And what are the foundations of successful collaboration? These questions were addressed in the study "Advertising and media agencies today and tomorrow - a study from the customer's perspective", which was carried out by the Lucerne School of Business (HSLU-W) in cooperation with the ZHAW School of Management and Law on the initiative of the association of leading advertising, media and communication agencies, bsw leading swiss agencies (see box for further information and methodology of the study).

Satisfied and yet not loyal

The good news is that there is generally a high level of satisfaction with the work of the service providers. The companies surveyed attest to their good service quality. The agencies are seen as competent and reliable. The less good news is that customer loyalty is not quite as good. Even satisfied companies can imagine changing agencies. A successful past is not a sufficient guarantee for a shared future. This is a finding that is known from other industries in the service sector and is also confirmed by practical experience. "Today, at least in large corporations, 'procurement' plays a decisive or even the dominant role in agency evaluation," says Cornelia Harder, CEO Draftfcb/Lowe Zurich. The main issue here is the amount of the fee. High staff turnover is also not conducive to long-term business relationships. The frequent changes - especially on the agency side - reduce loyalty to an agency. If there is a change at management level, it is by no means certain whether the client still wants to work with the same service provider.

Agencies need to invest in customer loyalty measures, according to Anja Janoschka, professor at the Institute of Communication and Marketing at Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HSLU-W). "Service providers need to emphasize their contribution to success more and communicate their performance," advises the researcher and project manager. "Unfortunately, these things often get lost in the daily work pressure." For example, regular reporting or controlling can show that added value is being generated. This is because customers set the price in relation to the service provided, as the study also showed. Satisfaction depends heavily on whether the agency delivers what it promises. "Customer care is a people business. It's difficult without a personal relationship," says Urs Schneider, founder and owner of Mediaschneider. Among other things, the media agency relies on workshops in which the path is defined together with the customer and the agency's approach is explained. The surest way to retain a client, however, is through the USP: with services that others do not offer. Agence Trio has various tools for customer retention: a strategic meeting is held every year to gain a deeper insight into the company. Workshops are held to analyze data, develop ideas and draw perspectives. On the other hand, they try to strengthen the customer relationship through proactivity. "Our aim is to approach every customer at least three to four times a year with strategic ideas or creative suggestions without being asked," says Michael Kamm, CEO and owner.

Specialists or full service?

Companies are divided on the question of whether they want to work with many specialized agencies (e.g. digital agencies etc.) in the future or whether they prefer a full service. In the case of media agencies, the trend is clearly towards concentrating the budget on one agency. Clients want a provider that offers them media consulting, planning, buying, etc. for all media, both online and offline. Opinions differ among advertising agencies. While some clients still want to rely on the classic full-service agency, others plan to increasingly outsource their orders to different agencies in the future - whether within a network or to separate service providers. Draftfcb/Lowe Zurich and Agence Trio naturally emphasize the advantages of full service. "Companies that realize projects with many different agencies usually underestimate the increased internal and external coordination effort," Harder points out.

Agencies are challenged: They must master the entire range of media, regardless of whether they ultimately realize the orders internally or outsource them to specialists. This is secondary for clients. As long as the quality is right, clients are not interested in whether a service is provided by the agency itself or by external specialists. Added to this is the speed demanded by companies. "More and more industries and markets are exposed to higher speeds; marketing decisions are therefore increasingly being made according to short-term criteria," says Harder. This requires agencies to respond quickly to clients' needs - without neglecting brand management and continuity in communication. "The quality of an agency is reflected in its ability to solve problems in the short term without losing sight of the client's long-term goals." Customers can score points with initiative. In this respect, service providers could step on the gas a little more, as the study shows.

From the client's point of view, agencies may well act a little more proactively and make suggestions without being explicitly asked to do so. However, the perceived competence (which is not questioned) and the commitment of the management or owner are more decisive for companies than proactivity. "Top management or the owner play an important role in looking after the customer," says Janoschka. Companies see their role as that of the customer confirmed when top management makes its presence felt from time to time. They value the experience of the management and are convinced that their involvement will have a successful impact on the project results.

Weak point: willingness to provide service

The study identifies potential for improvement, particularly in the willingness to provide service. Apparently, agencies do not always succeed in giving customers the feeling that they are in good hands. The clients believe that agencies could still work on their friendliness. The prevailing pressure from day-to-day business is making itself felt. Not all companies have the impression that employees are able to answer their inquiries immediately. The workload from daily business is sometimes so great that resources are lacking when unexpected events occur. Clients also have doubts as to whether employees always receive enough support from their agency to get the job done well. Managers should make their employees aware of how important customer care work is and train them in dealing with customers, says Janoschka. The researcher understands that customer care is difficult in hectic situations and when deadlines are looming. However, it depends on how communication takes place. A "chopping and changing" mentality does not create understanding for the situation. "If a customer request cannot be met due to a lack of time, you have to explain why this is not possible."

The agencies surveyed take the results seriously. They want to train their employees even better and ensure that they receive the necessary support from their managers. "The study shows me that we need to invest even more in consulting," says Kamm. "The advisor is the eye of the needle through which everything passes. If contact with the customer is lost there, the competition will quickly arrive." Although advertising is becoming more and more digital, technical expertise is not enough. "The survey showed how important the relationship is. In the end, the human factor is the decisive factor."

Isabel Imper

The article in the layout of the print edition with all graphics can be found here as PDF.