"Sweet," says actor Carlos Leal in UPC Cablecom's commercial with a smug undertone to the breeze of the DSL offers, before having his head blown off by a wind machine, which is meant to symbolize the higher speeds for data in Cablecom's cable network. Now it's the sweets in Swisscom's DSL network that the cable industry is craving: In recent years, Swisscom subsidiary Cinetrade has acquired exclusive broadcasting rights for national sporting events, especially in soccer and ice hockey. With this content (and not higher speeds), Swisscom's TV offering has an advantage in the market. For this reason, three cable network companies have demanded from the Weko that Teleclub offer cable customers not only sports channels 1-3, but also 4-29 and the "Teleclub Live Sport" offer, and thus the same sports content as Swisscom TV.
 
This means that the play that has long been common practice abroad is now also being made here: Those who lose out in deals for sports rights resort to legal maneuvers. After all, the industry association Swisscable, together with SRG, also submitted a bid when the Super League put the TV rights out to tender, but fell by the wayside. And this is by no means the first time that the two sides have settled their differences before the Weko and/or the Federal Court. However, it is not without a certain irony that a good ten years ago it was exactly the other way around: Cablecom was only prepared to distribute Teleclub services via its network after a decision by the Weko. Now, at the beginning of April, the Weko announced that a preliminary investigation had "revealed indications of violations of antitrust law by Swisscom and Cinetrade or their pay TV provider Teleclub", which is why a proper investigation had been opened.

Fight for the last piece of cake

The digital TV market in Switzerland has been fiercely contested since the launch of "Bluewin TV," which has since been renamed "Swisscom TV," on November 1, 2006. The telecommunications giant thus entered the territory of the cable TV networks, which for their part were increasingly offering telecommunications services. To enhance its own TV offering, Swisscom began broadcasting first league matches, whether in football or ice hockey, from all stadiums, making Swisscom TV a must for serious sports fans. "We see live TV events as an important element in differentiating ourselves in the market. Sport supports the growth of the entire TV business in general," explained the Swisscom media spokesman at the time (see MTJ 10-2008, p. 34 ff). In the meantime, 85 percent of all households are connected to digital TV networks, and the obligation to broadcast analog programs ends at the end of 2014, as the Federal Office of Communications, Bakom, announced in mid-May. So it's all about grabbing as big a slice as possible of the last piece of the pie.

What is remarkable is the way Swisscom is involved in sports coverage. In the fall of 2004, it acquired 49 percent of the shares of Teleclub owner, CT Cinetrade AG, which today buys the sports rights for soccer and ice hockey in Switzerland. Although a full merger failed at the time because of a ruling by the Federal Court, the telecommunications giant announced in early May that it would now increase its stake to 75 percent. (Note the combined use of the "salami tactics" and "let the grass grow over it" stratagems). Cinetrade Group's activities include pay TV (Teleclub), movie theaters (Kitag), and exploitation of film rights via video and DVD. But Swisscom has also upgraded its online and mobile content and operates an editorial department for its sports portal on the web, the size of which, according to the imprint, can easily compete with the major media houses.

Leutenegger's agility

The role of Swisscable president Filippo Leutenegger in this affair is not without a smile. The FDP National Council member and former Arena presenter is known as a fighter against the SRG (for example, as president of the "Aktion Medienfreiheit" association). He said in an interview with Werbewoche last fall: "I want the media to be able to report freely, if possible without state interference and without being censored - that's part of the media's basic mission. That's why I'm not a fan of media politics - the less the state interferes, the better." And no sooner does the desire for competition in the media industry come to fruition than it doesn't. In a Swisscable media release at the start of the Weko investigation at the beginning of April, the otherwise emphatically pro-business politician is now even talking nationalization: "Football and ice hockey games are co-financed by the public and therefore belong to the public."

Publishers not against Swisscom

In view of the publishers' opposition to SRG, the Swiss Media Association should follow the arguments of its board member Leutenegger and oppose the market-dominating position of the ex-monopolist and its involvement in the content sector. But Urs F. Meyer, managing director of the association, waved it off when asked by Werbewoche: "The fact that the federal government holds a majority of shares is absolutely not comparable with the situation at SRG, where politics determines everything. (...) For the private media houses, it makes a big difference whether a competitor has to finance itself and hold its own in the market or whether it receives fees set by the state and operates under the blurred guise of public service." Tamedia and Ringier don't like to take a stand against Swisscom either - this is at least the impression given by the decidedly undifferentiated answers given by the respective press spokespersons to the relevant questions posed by Werbewoche.

The sports federations would suffer

If the Weko and later the Federal Court were to follow Swisscable's argumentation in favor of pooling sports rights, these would lose considerable value. This would affect sports associations such as the Super League, which today is largely financed by TV rights. With the license agreement now in force, it receives 28 million francs per season and has thus almost reached a price level (converted to games and inhabitants) comparable to the German Bundesliga. It is hard to imagine that anyone would pay anywhere near that amount if (according to whatever settlement model) the games had to be handed over to the competition for live broadcasting. And with such a regulation, Switzerland would be alone in international comparison.

Berlin Philharmonic as a role model?

Does the Roman emperors' recipe for success, Panem et Circenses (Bread and Games), also apply in a modern democracy to keep the people under its spell? Should fee money therefore be wasted in bidding races for TV rights, even if they reach ever more dizzying heights? Or is a media world conceivable for the moving image in the future that corresponds to the habits of print: everyone pays for what they want to read or see - whether as a subscription or in individual sales at the kiosk. Smart TV will make this possible. When the TV rights for Swiss soccer are next negotiated in 2016, many households will have TV sets that, when switched on, show an overview of the most popular apps (as with a smartphone) and not (as today) a live TV channel. Live TV will be accessible via one of the numerous apps, but will be less and less in demand. A typical example is Samsung's flagship app with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, which offers live performances and an extensive concert archive as a premium service. Sports associations are already moving in this direction. The Super League's website is to be relaunched in the summer and its own reporting, including video, is to be expanded, as Claudius Schäfer, managing director of the Swiss Football League, told Werbewoche. Meanwhile, handball matches are already largely broadcast on the Internet.

Such a development is important for the communications industry: If sports broadcasts can be used today primarily via the sponsorship channel, distribution via smart TV or Internet TV opens up further interesting possibilities. In addition to a premium offer for the live broadcast of sporting events, other offers (e.g., with a more or less long time delay) that are financed via advertising are conceivable. Unlike today's TV advertising, spots can be played out according to the profile of the respective customer, making specific targeting possible. Such ads can be traded via the mechanisms of real-time bidding and can be designed free of licensing requirements. However, such new opportunities will only arise if the advertising industry approaches sports broadcasters at an early stage (now!) to establish joint solutions. Otherwise, in the next round of contracts, the high-reach sports such as soccer and ice hockey will proceed according to the motto "better a bird in the hand than a pigeon on the roof" and continue to rely heavily on existing partnerships.
 
Christoph J. Walther

Rembrand has repositioned the brand and aligned the corporate design and all communication media with future market challenges.

Responsible at Elpro: Martin Peter (overall responsibility), Annett Girod, Bernd Marte (project management). Responsible at Rembrand: Roman Spiess (strategy and consulting), Michael Eugster (project management), Jörg Stöckigt (creation), Karin Brunner and Krizia Frei (graphics).

The data collection complies with the basic legal requirements of scientificity, the Uvek stated on Thursday. The system criticized by several TV broadcasters was in compliance with the law. The department came to this conclusion in its supervisory decision based on the available information. According to the decision, this includes the expert opinions commissioned by the Mediapulse foundation.

However, these reports also contain recommendations for selective improvements, which Mediapulse intends to implement in an action plan together with suggestions from the industry. The Uvek also welcomes the fact that adjustments will be made in the area of fine-tuning. It obliges the Mediapulse Board of Directors to implement the plan and to inform the Uvek about the work on a monthly basis.

Despite possibilities for improvement, however, there is no reason for the Uvek to withhold the data. "From the Uvek's point of view, the data collected with the new system should therefore be able to be passed on, published and made available to the market," the decision states. However, the Uvek admits that it has not checked the quality of the data in detail.

Quality control by commission

The Uvek did not check the quality of the data. Instead, it is counting on the work of the Media Science Commission MWK, which Mediapulse must use for quality assurance. The committee, consisting of three to five media scientists, will evaluate the new measurement system by the end of 2013. The Uvek clearly states that the new data cannot be compared with the old data because of the differences in the panels. Since the old system was no longer able to accurately represent the market, it is normal that there are now deviations. But that is no reason to "doubt the quality of the new data," he said. (SDA)

The Uvek has become active as a supervisory authority after several TV broadcasters harshly criticized the collection system and to date have taken legal action to prevent the publication of usage data. To date, ten regional TV stations have terminated their contracts (Werbewoche.ch reported).

Mediapulse satisfied

"We have taken note of the Uvek's ruling with satisfaction," Manuel Dähler, Mediapulse's managing director, said in a statement Thursday. The detailed review of Mediapulse's procedure by the supreme supervisory authority confirms on the one hand the correct procedure with regard to the new Swiss television research and on the other hand states unequivocally that there are no reasons not to publish the new television data immediately.

Withdrawal of the lawsuit by 3plus is expected

Following the clear confirmation of the new Swiss TV measurement system by the Uvek, the way is clear for a withdrawal of the lawsuit filed by TV broadcaster 3plus for alleged violation of the Federal Act on Unfair Competition UWG, Mediapulse concludes in the statement. According to the Uvek, the facts clearly speak for an unrestricted publication of the data in favor of all market participants. The publication of the newly collected TV ratings is still not possible: In April 2013, the TV broadcaster 3plus had the publication of the new TV measurement data prevented by means of a super provisional injunction. The proceedings are still pending before the Nidwalden High Court (Werbewoche.ch reported).

Read more about this topic in the current print edition of Werbewoche: Dominik Kaiser: "We are not the problem".

Image: Mediapulse.ch

While media companies are eagerly investing in technology, they are cutting back on those who should be filling it with content. The majority of my media consumption is digital. To give you a rough idea, I read, listen to or watch 80 percent on my tablet, smartphone or laptop. So far, so pleasant. I don't have to go to the newsstand or library, nor do I have to go to the newsstand in the morning, the TV is gathering dust, the worn-out DAB radio doesn't need to be replaced, the only preference is still for paper books. Technology has permanently changed the lives of producers and consumers. However, when I look back at how much new content is available, the results are sobering. The technical media revolution is not a journalistic media revolution by day.

When technology comes first, it opens up a new world of possibilities. Companies buy one digital toy after another. The price is driven by hopes of contacts, advertising revenue and the sale of content and services. Most of the acquisitions turn out to be a bust. The great programs, the pretty gadgets remain a gimmick. Experience is being gathered about how the digital media industry works. There is only one thing that does not seem to make a lasting impression: no communication technology works without people who communicate for and with other people.

The successful few are aware that technology is only ever a means to an end. They focus on information and services, focus on the user experience and benefit from a product that is worth its price. In the publishing sector, these are subscriptions to world newspapers, but also regional titles that are aware of the fragile relationship of trust with their main customers. He who pays, commands - this also applies here. A promise made in a transaction must also be kept. It becomes difficult for those who cannot decide. On one platform, customers have to pay dearly for what they receive for free on another. Which app, which website I visit regularly, which communication providers I follow on social media is not a question of technology today, but of content.

The purpose is to produce inspiring texts, images and sounds. And even today, these are still produced by real people, not robots. Media companies must commit to combining digital acquisitions with investments in creative women and men. It would be best to double the number of staff in this area this year. That would be a first step towards a journalistic revolution.

In general, I find TV advertising too harmless or too absurd and incomprehensible. If you have to call out the fire department to put out a ch-ch fire, that's bad taste. A UFO appearing from above in front of a barbecue party and a third-class Martian emerging from it is not only embarrassing, but also in bad taste. I take the fire department seriously, and making fun of it is unethical. Why should the fireman be the jerk when someone is doing Tsch Tsch for Coop? I don't understand E.T. at all. That's another one of those fart ideas.

The Coop managers and the advertising agency have not understood how to develop a small, good idea. You don't have to use dinosaurs, Spiderman or other Hollywood celebrities to advertise Tsch Tsch. I think this kind of advertising is wrong. It has so little to do with the subtle comedy of life. This Hollywood is on the wane anyway.

My theory: I'm not sure that barbecuing is an advertising theme that generates so much psychological preference for Coop. What's more, last spring Coop didn't discuss the subject of barbecues with the weathermen. And Feldschlösschen is already quenching the barbecue with beer. Aldi offers the cheapest barbecue sausages. Lidl too, apparently.

At Coop, the madness of super production has arrived. Have you ever seen the commercial for the Coop Bank with the fish? A blown-up movie idea. Fish made from banknotes swim around in a race. The production costs are estimated at half a million. The effect on the audience is underwater, because I don't think they follow the link to the sharks.

I like the Migros Bank commercial much better. They say "Yes, no, yes." Very likeable, and the message resonates with me. I think that the lack of ideas has been replaced by pomposity. An Audi film that won gold in Cannes twenty years ago, which demonstrated the principle of four-wheel drive with two fingers in a matchbox, was brilliant. Who can remember that? Production costs certainly didn't exceed 20,000, but in return it attracted a great deal of attention and a lot of sympathy for Audi.

Why doesn't advertising seek reduction and thus comprehensibility to achieve psychological preference? Why not leave out all this elaborate shit? We are a small country. Reduction is called for.

My best news is that the 90 hand-grafted vine cuttings in our vineyard have sprouted 100 percent.

 

Practice shows that in the communications industry, orders are often processed on an ongoing basis without written contracts, often simply by order confirmation. The parties, the clients, the agencies, but also their freelancers, are not aware of the legal risk. Time and again, this leads to costly and nerve-wracking disputes. The effort required for clear contractual conditions would not be particularly great.

If graphic works or the realization of advertising campaigns are commissioned, it must be regulated in particular who owns which rights to these works or which rights are transferred to the client. In addition, the question often arises in practice as to whether graphic work and advertising campaigns are used several times (e.g. this spring and then again in the spring of the following year) and whether they may be modified. If so, it must also be regulated whether a fee is to be paid to the contractor again. The question always arises as to whether rights have only been licensed or purchased. In case of doubt, a license should be assumed. In addition, when freelancers are brought in, it must be ensured that they transfer all rights that the contractor subsequently transfers to their client; in other words, harmonious licensing is required.

It is understandable that creative professionals do not want to have to deal with legal issues again and again. It is therefore advisable to draw up well thought-out general terms and conditions (GTC) that have been checked by a lawyer and that can then be used again and again without any changes. Such general terms and conditions should generally be clearly indicated on the contractor's homepage. In addition, GTCs are best sent with an offer or at the latest with the order confirmation. A prerequisite for the applicability of the GTC is that the customer was able to take note of them before concluding the contract. GTC can of course also be adapted to the specific circumstances and at the customer's request. This is done within the framework of an individual contract, which may only comprise one A4 page.

Zurich district attorney's office cracks down on sweepstakes

Migros fined for violation of lottery law

In the Advertising Week of January 17, 2013, I warned that the Lottery and Betting Commission (Comlot, www.comlot.ch) was taking more rigorous action against violations of the Lottery Act in competitions and prize draws. Now it has struck again, and the Zurich Statthalteramt has fined Migros a four-figure sum for the "MegaWin" and "Die Lose sind los!" competitions. This was because although it was possible to take part in the Migros competitions free of charge, those who took part for free did not have the same chances as Migros customers. Other similar proceedings are currently pending, including against Coop competitions.

According to Article 1 of the Lotteries Act, a lottery has four cumulative characteristics: Payment of a stake or conclusion of a legal transaction, pecuniary advantage as a prize, systematic nature of the implementation and determination of the winners by chance, e.g. by drawing. This actually makes it clear how to avoid a conflict with the Lotteries Act and Comlot when organizing a competition or lottery: You make sure that one of the characteristics of a lottery is not present in the competition or raffle. As a rule, it is easiest to guarantee all interested parties a free entry into the competition. However, this must be clearly communicated and be available without obstacles or simply. In addition, all participants must have the same chance of winning, even if they participate for free.

Ueli Grüter LL.M., attorney at law, Grüter Schneider & Partner AG, Zurich/Lucerne, is a lecturer in communications law at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts and co-editor of the book Kommunikationsrecht.ch. He comments on practical legal issues in advertising once a month in Werbewoche. Questions for the Werbewoche legal expert at [email protected].
 

Christian DuMont Schütte will move from the Management Board to the Supervisory Board at the same time and will lead it as Deputy Chairman alongside Alfred Neven DuMont. Christophh Bauer will be appointed to the Media Group's Management Board by the Supervisory Board on October 1 of this year, and will then take over as Chairman of the Board in the new year.

Christoph Bauer was most recently at AZ Medien, which he led as CEO between 2009 and 2012. Prior to that, he headed the Business Media and New Media divisions at Ringier and the Marketing and Advertising Market departments at Neue Zürcher Zeitung NZZ.

Teaser image: Keystone
 

WW: Dominik Kaiser, you are not the only one who is unhappy with the new TV data. But only you went to court, only you are constantly in the media. Seen in that light, you are a lonely fighter ...
Dominik Kaiser: The impression is deceptive. Telesuisse also communicates effectively with the media; ten regional TV stations have just terminated their contract with Mediapulse because they have no confidence in the correctness of the figures. But it's true: Goldbach, the marketer of the German private stations in Switzerland and also of us, works more in the background. We, too, waited a long time before voicing our demands publicly, because basically the ratings problem doesn't belong in the media, but would have to be solved differently. Until the end of March, we tried to find an internal solution with Mediapulse. Only when this did not work, and because we received no answers to our letters and demands, did we go to court. Immediately after the high court granted the super provisional injunction, we offered Mediapulse to find a solution without publicity. Mediapulse decided on a different path and went to the media. Since then, we have also been communicating openly about the ratings debacle.

As mentioned, Goldbach is keeping a very low profile. As an observer, you could get the impression that 3+ is being sent ahead and letting you fight the feud.
That is your interpretation. Goldbach is very active in the background. Together with Publisuisse and Mediapulse, the company has just drawn up an action plan with around 50 points. This includes almost all the points that we are also demanding. But to answer your question: It takes courage and perseverance to stick your neck out. However, based on our previous cooperation with Mediapulse and Publica Data, I believe that this is the only right way to go.

What do you mean by that?
Cooperation in the past was often not constructive. Even in the old system, we noticed and questioned irregularities in the data. In very few cases were our inquiries answered completely, and when they were, it was always only after repeated inquiries. Another example: We have been trying for eight years to obtain from Mediapulse, in return for payment, the pin data that is customary internationally and was also available in the old system - to date without success.

But the changeover of the measurement system involved the industry. The Board of Directors and the User Commission, both made up of stakeholders, waved the change through. The discussions didn't start until the data was in.
The discussion started after Mediapulse published the data in January and immediately blocked it again and it became clear that something could not be right. We already demanded a test of the whole system at the end of January. The User Commission (UC) was not involved in many decisions. As far as I know, only one assignment rule was discussed in detail in the UC, for example. The others were not discussed at all or were addressed only very superficially. Assignment rules are critical in the new audiomatching system because the system does not know directly what is being watched, as it used to, but often has no clear information. To date, after much pressure, the UC is only aware of a small portion of the assignment rules. If committees are not informed, they cannot have an active say. That the UC has signed off on everything is therefore not true.

A delicate point. Can you substantiate this?
Since 3+ did not have a seat in the UC until now, I do not have any minutes. We have only been allowed to have a representative since May 13. I got my information from conversations with commission members.

Nevertheless, shouldn't the broadcasters and marketers be taking themselves by the nose? They could have reacted before the data was available.
I can only speak for 3+. We insisted too little last year when Mediapulse informed. We asked whether the panel households could be recruited representatively in the short time and connected on time, whether the different feeds of the German stations could be mapped with audiomatching, or whether a feature film running on three different stations at the same time could be assigned to the right channel. The answer was always: no problem. The rules according to which the signals are assigned were not explained to us. We would have had to ask and insist. The fact that we didn't do that last year is a big mistake in retrospect. Especially with the example of the movie or series that runs on several stations and is played back without advertising, it is technically impossible, with the audio signal alone, to recognize on which station it was recorded. The system has to guess. Besides, we begged in vain until the end that there should be at least one month of parallel operation.

The aforementioned problem of allocation could be circumvented with watermarking.
That's why we already lobbied for watermarking last year. But Mediapulse assured us that this was not necessary and that watermarking would only be introduced later, if at all. We should have exerted more pressure here, too.

You always emphasize that 3+ is interested in a constructive dialog. What is your proposed solution?
The industry needs numbers - not only our customers and the agencies, but also ourselves. As long as we don't have data, we can't optimize our program planning and it's difficult to decide which shows to buy or produce. That's why we are very interested in a quick solution. That's why we made concrete demands for the first time at the end of January on how to restore the credibility of the system, followed by a major effort to find errors, and finally compiled a catalog of points that would have to be adjusted. Basically, there are three levels involved: a. the panel corresponds to the Swiss population and is therefore representative, b. is the system measured correctly and does it work, and c. does the industry know the background and details of the TV research, in other words, is the system transparent. On all levels, there is great need for adjustment or catching up.

What are you doing to get the numbers back as quickly as possible?
We are ready to actively collaborate. But Mediapulse seemed little interested until recently. Even Mediapulse has not disputed so far that the distribution types as well as the urban-rural distribution are not correctly weighted and that the PC-only households (households that do not have TV) can be mapped as we suggested. These undisputed errors must be corrected retroactively. They lead to a noticeable distortion of the audience figures on average and to considerable differences at the level of commercial breaks and programs.

Can you elaborate on this?
If we compare the panel's figures with those of the Federal Statistical Office, for example, the rural population is heavily overrepresented. The proportions of the distribution types (IPTV, cable digital and analog, etc.) would have to be adjusted to the information provided by the providers. And a third point: As long as TV use on tablets and smartphones cannot be recorded, households without TVs must not be included. We know from online TV providers such as Zattoo, Teleboy and Wilmaa that the vast majority of web TV usage is via tablets and smartphones. Particularly in the case of PC-only households, TV usage is massively underestimated if tablets and smartphones are not included.

However, this is not just a methodological problem, but is related to Apple, whose policies do not allow apps to communicate with each other.
That's true, and without it, it's not possible to measure PC-only households in a representative way. That's why we shouldn't even pretend that this is the case. The fact that tablets and smartphones are not measured has only been known since the beginning of winter. If this had been known earlier, the decision would certainly have been different.

Are these all the demands?
We also propose to test the system on the fly and over the raw data. Switzerland is probably the most complex country for audio matching. The signal has to be compared with almost 400 TV stations and many more radio signals. The two-channel sound leads to a doubling for some stations, stations with country-specific advertising windows like RTL have three feeds (Switzerland, Germany, Austria). In addition, many programs run more or less simultaneously on different stations. The test would show whether the system assigns signals correctly even in difficult situations. Another demand: transparency. We want the research basis to be disclosed. We want to know the assignment and weighting rules and have insight into the New Establishment Survey to understand the basis of the panel. This is in line with the EBU's international standard GGTAM (General Guidelines for Television Audience Measurement).

These are some of the demands. Accordingly, we can look forward to a longer period without quotas.
We have structured our list of requirements in such a way that publication of the data would be possible relatively soon, within a few weeks, if implementation were finally started. The laboratory test and the introduction of watermarking will take longer. There we want a binding commitment that this will be initiated. The implementation itself can take place after the data has been released.

Your schedule assumes that Mediapulse, Goldbach and SRG agree with your demands ...
That is why it is very important that all parties finally sit down at the same table. We have been demanding this for more than three months, and for the first time in mid-February. Instead of getting to the bottom of the errors, Mediapulse has tried in a non-transparent process to gloss over the deficiencies with the help of superficial incomplete expert reports and thus silence criticism of the system. Mediapulse is desperately trying to create the impression that we are the problem, while ignoring the problems of the system. Mediapulse has not only rushed, ill-prepared and untested to introduce a completely new system with a new panel, but is also managing the ratings debacle that has now arisen very poorly. For example, Mediapulse announced in Werbewoche (Issue 7, 26.04.13), there were intensive discussions with us, while just one meeting had taken place and Mediapulse left our further appointment proposals unanswered for weeks. Fortunately, there is now communication again.

You have mentioned it: You didn't just make friends by obtaining the provisional injunction. What reactions did you experience?
All kinds, from very positive to very negative. Even threats I received.

How did advertisers react?
Many customers finally want data. However, they usually showed understanding as soon as we explained the background, the flaws in the fundamentals and the complexity of the system. The vast majority of customers I have met personally in recent weeks agree with me: The industry does not need any data as quickly as possible, but above all valid data - and this as soon as possible.

Do you fear a migration of advertising from 3+ to other channels?
No. We have no signs of customers, nor do we detect any churn.

Clients can place TV ads without any problems without 3+.
The selection of bookable channels is basically very large. However, many channels are often full and cannot be booked additionally. Also, there is no other station with Swiss German entertainment in the kind and quality that 3+ offers. We are a good, popular and inexpensive addition to the big channels.

How do you handle the performance guarantee?
Goldbach has the lead there. Until April, customers received 100%. Now it's 80-90%. How much the customers have benefited depends on the audience figures. Once the errors are adjusted, the credits can be calculated. Credits are to be expected because TV usage across all channels is lower with the new system than with the old one and the difference between programming and commercials has become bigger. We are proactively booking more spots at the moment to counteract a build-up of high credits.

What does the positioning of 3+ look like in the future?
We will continue to develop 3+ within the framework of its current positioning. The main target group continues to be 15- to 49-year-olds, and 3+ also has slightly more female viewers. We'll expand programming as before, showing a little more Swiss programming each year and a mix of U.S. series, Swiss-German docu-soaps, feature films and emotional docs now and then.

Will there be adjustments by Hardy Lussi/Mike Gut's planned channel S1? S1 wants to broadcast far more Swiss content than 3+.
I can't say much about S1 because I don't know enough details. I advise the makers to budget conservatively. The Swiss TV market, as a private station without high fees, is very tough and demanding. I wish Hardy and Mike good luck and I am curious about the concrete program and when it will start. According to the makers, the project will be aimed at older viewers. This means that we are addressing different target groups. Incidentally, the idea of repeating German programs is not new. We have already bought in "Rosamunde Pilcher" and "Tatort. These shows do very well on ARD or ZDF. But what works on one channel is not necessarily successful on the other. For us, the shows were disappointing, so we quickly took them out of the program.

Finally, a question about channel 4+, which was launched last fall. How are things going there?
We are very pleased with the launch of 4+: 4+ is off to a good start.

Isn't the lack of ratings for 4+ an even bigger problem than for 3+? After all, the new channel has not yet proven itself on the market ...
We are not allowed to give figures at the moment. 4+ is well booked. But we are waiting for the new data to optimize the program. As long as we don't have the right figures, we can't do that, unfortunately. That's not ideal, especially for a new station.

Interview: Isabel Imper and Pierre C. Meier
Photo: Pierre C. Meier

Over a hundred posters, sketches, maps and packaging are on display in Chiasso, according to a press release from the museum. The exhibition opens on Friday. It was presented to the media on Thursday.

Lora Lamm (born in 1928) designed most of the materials on display for the luxury department store "La Rinascente" in Milan from 1954. At the time, she was part of the store's creative team. According to those responsible for the exhibition, the Swiss designer shaped a completely new style of graphic design in Italy during this period. From 1958, Lamm also created freelance advertising campaigns for Pirelli, Elisabeth Arden, Niggi and "la Centrale di latte" in Milan. Her trademarks are a strongly communicative expression, delicate colors and light lines - combined with simple, clear forms.

First exhibition on Milan

The artist left Italy again in 1963 and from then on worked as a freelance graphic designer in her native Zurich, where Lora Lamm still lives today. This is the first time that an exhibition has focused on Lamm's formative period of work in Italy, writes the museum. Her works are placed in the context of a booming Milan in the 1950s. For the graphic designer, the period was an opportunity to meet numerous renowned artists in her field, including Max Huber.

For La Rinascente, Lamm created the graphics for catalogs, posters, advertising, invitations and packaging, etc. The exhibition at the m.a.x. Museo is being organized in collaboration with the Museum für Gestaltung in Zurich, the Museo del Novecento in Milan and "La Rinascente". (SDA)

The m.a.x Museo in Chiasso is open Tuesdays to Sundays, 10am-12pm and 3pm-6pm. The entrance fee is 10 francs without discount.

 

A one-year social media trial phase was decided on, based on the new communication strategy. The use of multimedia has already begun. Short film clips on government decisions and administrative business are presented on the cantonal website and on YouTube (Werbewoche.ch reported). And so from today, Thursday, members of the government, departments and the media service of the State Chancellery will also be communicating on Facebook and Twitter. The aim is to use Twitter and Facebook to strengthen the dialog with the population, announces the government. Social media enables simple and direct communication. In this way, the administration should be more accessible to citizens, as feedback is also possible.

The Director of Construction and Transport Mario Cavigelli, Director of Finance Barbara Janom Steiner and Minister of Justice Christian Rathgeb are currently active on Twitter and Facebook with personal accounts. Also active on Twitter are the heads of the Offices for Primary Education, Culture, Communes, Forests and Natural Hazards and Hunting and Fishing. The media services of the cantonal police and the registrar's office are also taking part in the trial, as is the Plantahof Agricultural Education Center.

Mario Cavigelli already has 21 likes on his Facebook page. Barbara Janom Steiner has 13 and Christian Rathgeb even has 275 likes. Let the competitive battle (pardon: the trial phase) begin. (uma)

 

Out of the niche, but how? This task was at the heart of Erdmannpeisker's creation for a new campaign for Dar-Vida. The original Swiss product is the epitome of healthy wholemeal snacks. The Swiss original can look back on a 75-year history and enjoys a brand awareness of over 80 percent in Switzerland. In order to make even better use of this potential in the future, Erdmannpeisker has worked with Quai72 and the Hug management team in several positioning workshops to further develop the Dar-Vida brand and add the term "smart" to the existing "healthy" positioning. Because we know that almost everyone snacks from time to time. But it shouldn't be unhealthy.
 
For this repositioning, Erdmannpeisker and CD Gabriel Peisker developed a campaign and the claim "Voll Korn, voll schlau" ("Full grain, full smart"), which gets to the heart of the new brand understanding. At the center of the new communication presence are the smart snackers, who are saying goodbye to their unhealthy companions in an initial phase. These companions are strikingly symbolized by people in chocolate costumes. The retail communication also has a new look, which is fresher and more independent. pan

 

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"Health" for themselves and their personal environment is very high on many people's wish list

Karin Strik, Head of Product Management

WW: Dar-Vida advertised with the image of lifestyle until 2007. Then the focus returned to the "healthy" argument. What values does the brand want to communicate today?
Karin Strik: Even in the 1960s, advertising was based on the argument of health. For Dar Vida communication, we are now also focusing on the values of enjoyment and cleverness. We offer enjoyment thanks to the surprisingly large product selection for many consumers, and Dar Vida consumers are clever because they reach for wholegrain snacks. The new claim "Voll Korn, voll schlau" quickly sums up the core benefits of Dar-Vida.
 
 What target audience is the new campaign aimed at?
Everyone who likes to live a healthy and vital life and is therefore smart enough not to satisfy their hunger - or not only/not always - with unhealthy snacks. "Health" for themselves and their personal environment is very high on many people's wish list. Dar-Vida offers a helping hand here and, thanks to its whole grain cookies, enables smart snacking that is good for your health.
 
 
What should Dar-Vida snacks not be perceived as?
Dar-Vida should not be perceived as a "grain picker" brand. The Dar-Vida brand offers a wide selection for different tastes and, with the new "extra fin" line, extra enjoyment.
 
Dar-Vida sounds a bit like "Swedish crispbread", but it is a Swiss product with a history that goes back to 1937 in Lucerne. What are the qualities behind this name?
All Dar-Vida products are baked in Switzerland by Hug AG in accordance with the strict specifications of our raw materials charter. The crackers and biscuits contain wholemeal wheat meal, which is ground on Swiss stone mills, and the rapeseed oil also comes from Swiss production. Wherever possible, we at Dar-Vida use this healthiest cooking oil. Dar-Vida products contain no preservatives, no additives wherever possible and only raw materials that have been produced without genetic engineering.
 
What do you like about the new campaign idea?
We worked on the positioning of the Dar-Vida brand in the run-up to the launch, and the new claim "Voll Korn, voll schlau" (full grain, full smart) captures the essence of Dar-Vida somewhat cheekily and very directly. With this claim, we can now place the consumer - the smart snacker - at the center of our communication.
 
How important is Dar-Vida within Hug's overall product range?
Hug AG offers a wide range of products for the national and international retail trade and food service sector. In the Swiss retail trade, Dar-Vida is the brand leader in the wholemeal cracker category and Hug AG is the most important manufacturer of branded biscuits with Dar-Vida, Hug and Wernli.

Interview: Andreas Panzeri

Dar-Vida The wholemeal cookies have been around since 1937 and are produced by the Hug Group in Malters, Lucerne. Together with a production site in Willisau, the company, which was founded in 1877 by master baker Joseph Hug with rusks, employs around 400 people. The most important markets are Germany and the USA, with the Middle and Far East being the newer markets.

f. l. t. r.: Rob Hartmann, Andi Portmann, Raul Serrat

With the ambition to break new ground, Raul Serrat, Rob Hartmann and Andi Portmann stepped into their new shoes as creative directors at the beginning of the year. Since then, they've been pretty much under the gun. When the urge to create something new is added to their client responsibilities as creative directors, the agency's daily routine seems too short. That's why the three of them don't have much time to talk about their job as CD. They arrive at the meeting room on Uetlibergstrasse in staggered fashion, each of them having to leave soon after.

Serrat, Hartmann and Portmann have made it their business to implement unconventional projects. Projects that "are not advertising at all. When Wirz received an advertising commission from Brockenhaus, they didn't design a poster campaign as in past years, but instead conceived a literature exhibition. When it came to promoting Ikea's textile collection, Wirz revived the Tupperware party and relaunched it as a textile party. At the moment, a talk show is being implemented for Sternengrill (the Tages-Anzeiger reported), and a quiz show is currently being created for Mobiliar. "All new experiences. That's what makes it so exciting for me," explains Portmann.

Exciting - and costly. That's also one of the reasons why Wirz abruptly expanded creative management from two to five CDs. The assignments became increasingly complex with the integration of digital. "I see this organization as the best solution for working efficiently today in a creation with over 30 people," says Executive CD Philipp Skrabal. The eye of the needle in creation, which had previously consisted of Skrabal and the two CDs Hanspeter Schweizer and Thomas Kurzmeyer, became too tight. So Hartmann and Serrat, who had previously worked as ADs/conceptors, and Portmann, who oversaw projects as copywriter/conceptor, were appointed CDs.

"We always try to find solutions outside the comfort zone," Portmann continues. For a new campaign, the creatives don't take an existing recipe out of the drawer, but venture into new fields. And Hartmann, who joins the team somewhat late, adds: "We'd rather test new mechanisms than go the classic route right from the start." If there is no experience to fall back on for campaigns, everything is first tried out anew. To figure out how to build momentum for Ikea's textile parties, where Ikea teams work with party guests to decorate homes, the creatives held and analyzed test parties with Ikea. "We would have loved to be at every party later," they admit. For the furniture quiz show, test shows were recorded and then the concept was tweaked - until the result was convincing.

For the Brockenhaus, Wirz commissioned well-known authors to write about what the Brockenhaus objects might have experienced. The result was an audio tour of the Brockenhaus, with an opening night where the authors read their short stories aloud. "The consumer today has many choices. If you don't offer him exciting entertainment, he's quickly gone," Portmann explains. "That's why we don't want to just sprinkle the audience, but create real experiences." The vernissage was the actual core of the campaign, while the classic channels - posters and a special program on "Kulturplatz " on Swiss radio and television SRF - were the multipliers or the feeders.

"Wait, I'd like to add something," Serrat interrupts. "Not because I think very differently from the two gentlemen over there," he clarifies, "but a beautifully designed poster, a good photograph,a 30-second ad is still something big for me." Serrat's objection comes as no surprise. At Wirz, he is considered the "heart of creation" and, as CD, has a particular focus on getting the best possible visuals. In addition, he is organizationally responsible for ensuring that the agency's creative potential is exploited to the full. For just under a year, Serrat has been running the "studio," a 15-person pool of creatives from the graphic and digital fields. He no longer employs the classic team - an AD and an "Assi" - but puts together a different team depending on the assignment in order to make the best use of the talents.

"Just because it's advertising doesn't mean it has to look like advertising," Serrat says. "I like to remember how the graphic designers from the design shops used to laugh at us commercial artists." But the creative is convinced: high craftsmanship and great visual effort also pay off in advertising. He points to the Caran d'Ache "Let it out" campaign, with its colored pencils illustrated down to the smallest detail, which won a bronze Pencil and Epica gold at the One Shows in New York.

"Logical," adds Hartmann, who also previously worked as an AD/conceptual designer at Wirz: "I'm an aesthete, too, and I get annoyed every time something isn't carefully executed - whether it's a logo, banner or poster."

Breaking new ground

Hartmann prefers to talk about the new. "Rob is an ideas man, a lateral thinker who forges ahead," says ECD Philipp Skrabal about him. He needs the adrenaline rush that comes with venturing into new territory as an advertiser. When you never know in advance exactly how everything will turn out. When projects need intensive support because their dynamics require it, Hartmann feels he's in the right place: "If an idea doesn't seem feasible at first, that's a good sign. It's proof that it's new."

Portmann defuses: "We experiment, but are always seriously prepared. First, we play through the possibilities and thus take the experimental out of it," explains the biology graduate, who first worked as a journalist after graduating and then switched to advertising in 2006. A quick glance at the smartphone, the next appointment is waiting. Soon he will be saying goodbye.

"We have to dare to think out-of-the-box and boldly follow through with our ideas," Hartmann interjects again. "As the saying goes, there's no such thing as can't." When the creatives set out on a briefing, the first thing they do is think big. "The sky is the limit. " Skrabal takes a liking to that: "You shouldn't try to fly off with clipped wings, " the ECD emphasizes. Problems are known to be found quickly. It is only in a second step that the creative team's wishful thinking is adapted to reality, and the projects, which are not infrequently conceived a few shoe sizes too large, are coordinated with what is feasible.

The approach seems to be working. In recent years, the agency has made a big leap forward creatively. In the creative rankings, Wirz has moved up from sixth to second place. Wirz has also been able to score points in the digital awards. At this year's Best of Swiss Web, the creative agency was already listed in fifth place in the ranking of the "most successful and largest web agencies and providers in Switzerland" (behind Namics, Jung von Matt/Limmat, Unic and Hinderling Volkart).
Hartmann knows where he wants to go: "We want to be seen as a creative store where the new is seen as an opportunity and which realizes innovative campaigns for its customers."

He checks his smartphone. Soon he, too, will have to move on. Serrat, who as head of the studio is not least interested in acquiring new talent, rounds off: "And of course we want to attract good creatives with outstanding work. People who come to Wirz because they want to break new ground with casual people." He flips his black notebook closed and specifies, "Unconventional work - at a high level of craftsmanship." The graphic designers from the design booths should no longer have any reason to be amused by the work of their colleagues.

Isabel Imper

In a nutshell

Rob Hartmann (37) started at Wirz at the beginning of 2011. As an art director/conceptual designer, he worked primarily for Ikea, Mobiliar, Ochsner Sport and Thomy. During his communication design studies in Augsburg, he completed a one-year stay at Sidlee in Montreal. After graduating, he started working for Argonauten in Berlin in 2001. In 2002 he moved to Code in Zurich. Further stations were Advico Y&R and Euro RSCG (Havas). Highlights in his trophy cabinet include two Cannes Lions and a Grand Prix at Eurobest 2010, at last year's edition of which he served as a juror. Rob Hartmann has been a member of ADC Switzerland since 2011.

Andi Portmann (37) has been working as a concept writer/copywriter at Wirz for almost all major clients since mid-2010. His career led him via studies in biology and environmental sciences to major studies in zoology and journalism at the University of Zurich and at the "Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore" (India). Subsequently, he worked for two years as a journalist for the weekly newspaper (WOZ) and the Sunday newspaper (SonntagsZeitung). In 2006, he joined Advico Y&R as a copywriter/concept developer in advertising. He has been a member of ADC Switzerland since 2010, and was a juror at ADC of Europe in 2012. Five Cannes Lions in the last three years crown his creative record.

Raul Serrat (38) joined Wirz back in 2009 as Art Director/Concept Designer. His clients include Mobiliar, Swisslos, Local.ch, the BAG and Ikea. After training as a federally certified typographer and graphic designer, his path led him to Wirz via Euro RSCG, Publicis and SFLB (Leo Burnett). Serrat already took over the management and expansion of the studio (graphic, screen, motion, 3-D and product design as well as illustration), which now has around 15 employees, last July. Raul Serrat has been a member of ADC Switzerland since fall 2011. He has also already scored in all the renowned creative competitions.