Nine generations in 250 years have kept the Pestalozzi family business moving and continuously growing successfully. With the basic idea "Moving together. Since 1763", the communications agency Renzen in Aarau won the pitch to accompany the anniversary with a campaign and various measures throughout the year. One of the client's wishes was to incorporate the elements "water" and "movement" into the campaign. "Water plays a decisive role in our concept, especially on the event track," explains CD Hanno Lietz. For example, "festive" leather boat trips with customers on Lake Zurich will take place on 20 evenings next summer. The theme of "movement" manifests itself on the one hand in the claim, but has also played a major role in a winter sports day in Davos as an event and gift day for employees. "Movement" can also be discovered in four advertisements thematically and in the wording. It should be noted that "moving" is always to be understood ambiguously: physically setting something in motion and mentally/psychologically/emotionally moving and being moved.

Visions for the future

The blue, beveled "Pestalozzi Column" is the focal point of the advertisements. It can be derived from the logo and is also a recurring element in Pestalozzi's corporate design. The column stands as a key visual for the company with its long tradition. Four motifs were implemented: Celebrating the anniversary together (the column is unveiled), moving people and markets (workers move the column), reliable family business (employees from different eras in front of the column), fit for the future (older and younger employees with tablet as a symbol for knowledge transfer from generation to generation).

As a sustainable implementation, an anniversary brochure of 56 pages was realized. The aim was to present the past, the present and the future of the Pestalozzi family business. Federal Councillor and Minister of Economic Affairs Johann Schneider-Ammann could be won for a greeting. On the subject of "Yesterday", various guest authors had their say. These business friends, former employees or family members describe their view of things, sometimes in surprisingly amusing contributions, and thus also give the company a face. With a look into the future, the brochure naturally also introduces the now ninth generation of entrepreneurs in the Wiser, Burckhardt and Pestalozzi families. The whole thing is embedded in a historical context by the boxes "What moved the world", "What moved Switzerland" and "What moved Zurich".

Andreas Panzeri

The company
The Pestalozzi Group, with its headquarters in Dietikon, is active in the fields of steel technology, building services, building envelopes, logistics and prefabrication. The 9th generation family business employs around 300 people and has a range of 48,000 articles. The pictures on the left show impressions of the employee event to mark the anniversary in Davos. On the right are presenter Jann Billeter with the owners Matthias and Dietrich Pestalozzi.
 

In France, too, more than 90 percent of all search queries are conducted via Google, and newspapers owe 40 percent of their traffic to the search engine. Sarkozy had already threatened to impose a «Google tax.» In response, the U.S. company invested 100 million in a new corporate headquarters in Paris. But the skirmish quickly escalated again. The (French) company Free—one of the largest Internet service providers, which had undermined the monopolistic mobile phone rate structure and whose owner, Xavier Niel, is one of Le Monde’s major shareholders—filtered out all commercial listings on Google for a time. Google had already threatened to boycott newspapers that demand payment for distributing their content.

Hollande, Sarkozy’s successor, took an even more combative stance. He supported the publishers and sought to reach an agreement. Should that fail, he threatened to introduce legislation. We now know how it turned out: Google is establishing a fund of sixty million euros and is prepared to provide development assistance to newspapers as they build a business model for the digital future. It’s not just *Le Figaro*, owned by the Dassault aerospace conglomerate, that is banking on this: the newspaper adopted a new look and a new structure in early April.

Google’s top executives were received at the Élysée Palace for the signing ceremony as if they were heads of state. In the meantime, there have been some relatively interesting proposals for taxing data, which is viewed as a new raw material. With the fund for publishers, Google has bought little more than a little time. With a demand for a similar amount—fifty million francs—Jewish students in France are trying to put pressure on Twitter: A French court had ordered the company to hand over the IP addresses of authors of anti-Semitic, racist, and homophobic tweets. In France, where verbal discrimination is not protected by the right to free speech, they face heavy fines and prison sentences. The purpose of the monetary claim is to enforce the ruling—which prompted Twitter to comment that the student association is «more interested in spectacular actions than in solutions,» which are currently being sought.

In the birthplace of authors« rights—a country that, with its »cultural exception,« regularly clashes with the United States—Amazon has now also become a bogeyman. So much so that, for the first time, Amazon chose not to have its own booth at the Paris Book Fair, citing »image problems” as the reason. The attitude toward Amazon is also somewhat schizophrenic: People are building golden bridges for the retailer so it will open warehouses and create jobs, but at the same time, they’re justifiably criticizing its tax practices. And, of course, its monopolistic position in online book sales, which the French book industry has largely failed to address. There is no alternative to Amazon. And in the realm of e-books, it’s clear how much the absence of pirates and pioneers leads to the same shortcomings—we’re scrambling to keep up with developments. And waiting for the government to take action. Culture Minister Aurélie Filippetti has announced a whole package of measures. The lack of imagination and ideas is sobering. To alleviate the acute financial problems of small bookstores, the government is injecting five million. And it promises to assign more civil servants to monitor fixed book prices. Amazon is also accused of violating these rules because it does not charge shipping costs.

Jürg Altwegg is correspondent of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in Geneva.
 

The positive result was influenced by extraordinary, one-off income, according to an AZ Medien press release. The Langenthaler Tagblatt was sold to Tamedia and the majority stake in Radio 32 had to be sold due to legal requirements. At CHF 251.7 million, Group sales are CHF 12.9 million higher than in the previous year, mainly due to the consolidation of the TV stations Tele Züri and Tele Bärn.

The result from operating activities Ebita decreased by 9.8 percent to 33.0 million francs. AZ Medien, like the entire media industry, was affected by declining income from national advertising in the daily newspapers and Sunday editions, the press release continues. As a result, the revenue targets in the regional advertising market could not be fully achieved.

AZ Medien's annual report will be published at the beginning of May. The Annual General Meeting will take place on May 31, 2013.

Online portal: Investments are being reviewed
 
According to SDA, AZ publisher Peter Wanner has announced that investments in an online portal are being examined. The project in question is that of Hansi Voigt, the former editor-in-chief of 20 Minunten Online. The business plan is now being studied and a decision will be made in the coming weeks, Wanner announced.

In addition, the media company is also planning to introduce a paywall for AZ Medien's current online offering, as Wanner says according to SDA. It is not acceptable to continue to put everything online for free - especially the local and cantonal content.
 

WW: Not only did you direct the new commercials for Ricardolino, but you also wrote the script. How did that come about?
 
Dani Levy: Last December, I already produced two commercials with Ogilvy and Condor Films for the new Ricardolino sales platform. The client obviously liked them and has commissioned four new stories. OGILVY has given me free rein to write the commercials myself. The idea was to create four short sketches or comedic moments centered around the sale of an item. They were to feature my specific brand of humor and include plot twists that were as surprising as possible. They could also be a bit whimsical.

You entered the commercial business in 2008 with Sympany for Spillmann Felser Leo Burnett. They were also looking for a specific kind of humor there. What do agencies expect from Dani Levy?
I don’t have a signature style. What people expect from me is a knack for crafting good dialogue and casting actors who are unique and have more depth than just a surface-level presence. I suppose clients also know that I’m strong at comically staging brief moments. I’m used to working with actors. Through my much more complex cinematic comedies, I’ve developed a feel for timing and subtext. By subtext, I mean that a situation isn’t just portrayed literally, but that there’s a second layer beneath it that you can sense. In a commercial, those 30 seconds aren’t just what the viewer sees. There’s also a deeper truth beneath the surface. There’s essentially another story that isn’t explicitly stated, but emerges emotionally between two shots. The viewer can use their imagination here. What kind of marital spat are the two of them having right now? Why are they selling something? What’s the source of that disappointment? Where’s the hidden declaration of love? Or what’s the quirkiness between two generations that don’t understand each other? What is the impatience people feel in everyday life? These are all the kinds of things that are, in a way, typically human. In the commercial, we perceive them as enriching a very brief comedic situation.

You can't be surprised by a punchline a second time. But a commercial is shown countless times. Is the subtext meant to help viewers discover something new each time they watch it?
Yes, and I hope that people fall in love with the characters because of that subtext. I always think that’s important. I see so many ads where the characters don’t evoke anything in me at all. They’re completely neutral projections. I feel no empathy, no emotion. So I don’t form a connection with those characters either. In feature films, of course, you have more time. But I believe that even in commercials, you almost instinctively, subconsciously want to build a relationship with a character—because they move you, annoy you, because you find them funny or even strange. In any case, you feel a sense of engagement with them. I think that’s what makes a commercial more memorable—in the sense that you can watch it more often. Even better: you want to watch it again because you suspect there’s something extra and new hidden behind the story.

Is it a little difficult to get that across in 30 seconds?
Yes, very difficult. I also think it’s a negative trend in advertising that commercials have to get shorter and shorter. Often, it’s just about showing the product as often as possible. But if the commercial is supposed to tell a story—with a certain kind of humanity and emotional depth—you need time. It doesn’t have to be a full minute. But even between 30 and 40 seconds, there can sometimes be a world of difference. Of course, you can also convey comedic situations in 30 seconds. But the shorter it gets, the harder it becomes, because then it just becomes formulaic. You only see hints of an emotion. With comedy, there’s also the fact that the camera sometimes needs to linger on a face where something is happening. Sometimes you need that moment of stillness. At the same time, telling a story that has at least one major twist and perhaps two smaller ones, plus introducing characters and showing that they’re somehow navigating another subplot together—and doing all of that in 30 seconds, minus 4 seconds for the tagline and product shot—that’s a battle for every single frame.

So, fewer commercial breaks and longer commercials instead?
That’s not for me to decide—it’s up to each individual company to figure out. But for me as a filmmaker, it’s definitely true that if I’m given a little more time—and thus a little more creative freedom—then I can make even better use of my talents. But I always accept it when a client says, “I have 25 seconds, or 20.” In that case, I try to pack as much emotion and comedic energy into it as I possibly can.

For the new commercials for Ricardolino, were you able to come up with the characters entirely on your own?
The Ogilvy agency came up with the ideas for the first two commercials, and I wrote the scripts based on them. For the four new commercials, I asked if I could contribute my own story ideas. We then pooled our ideas, and I wrote eight scripts based on them and presented them during a selection process. Of course, there were a few painful rejections. But that’s always part of the creative process. As a filmmaker, you want to push the boundaries a little further. The client, on the other hand, has to weigh what they can still justify and what’s actually acceptable within the company’s corporate values. We’re all familiar with these discussions. But I always see it as my job as a director to push the client as far as possible toward that boundary. I believe that advertising thrives on transcending certain conventions. An ad that plays it completely safe and sticks to all the boundaries is, in a way, banal. It can certainly be nice, and everything can work out. But for commercials that rely on humor, that tap into human disaster or the complex human experience, they sometimes need to venture a bit into risky territory—into somewhat abysmal territory. Then, in my opinion, they have a better chance of standing out and also a better chance of the campaign truly becoming the „talk of the town.“ It takes a bit of courage if you want people to really be talking about a commercial on campus and in the cafeteria. And that’s actually what should happen with a commercial like this. But here I can only offer advice. Ultimately, the decision rests with the client.
 
How would you describe Dani Levy's sense of humor?
Heartfelt, free of cynicism, and always with a touch of tragedy. For me, tragedy is an inseparable part of humor. For me, the best and most powerful comedic moments are when you don’t know whether to cry or laugh. That’s when tragedy and comedy truly complement each other. Treating human weaknesses with affection—helplessness, embarrassment, the desperation of a first date, which is what we’re doing right now, for example, in one of the commercials for Ricardolino. Portraying an emergency situation in a comedic way is always more interesting than a character who operates within a safe, privileged setting. You can’t generate comedy there. I think that’s important, and that’s why I always try to explain it to clients as well: You have to have the courage to let something almost negative or tragic happen in this situation so that it can be comedic. When the viewer becomes emotionally invested in the character because they immediately understand the crisis, a powerful feeling emerges. But if the client says, „We can’t risk anything that’s in any way offbeat or problematic, because that might damage our brand,“ then you might end up missing the mark when it comes to comedy.

Many comedians didn't become comedians by choice—just look at Woody Allen. How did Dani Levy become funny?
Probably also because I have plenty of tragedy, complexity, and neuroticism within me. I am a self-doubting, critical person who always seeks another truth beneath the truth, who perceives human beings as very complex and contradictory creatures. Someone who has a hard time not making mistakes. I’m full of flaws, missteps, embarrassing moments, and failures—and naturally, this gives rise to something like a survival strategy. That’s how humor emerges. This is also an integral part of Jewish humor—that you simply try to deal with your weaknesses in a self-deprecating and humorous way. Humor is always fueled by something I find problematic. Humor isn’t something I can easily laugh at; rather, it’s something that also hurts me at the same time.

In the U.S., many comedians come from Jewish backgrounds. Does that help in Switzerland, too? Do Jewish roots even play a role in Switzerland today?
It’s universal. Of course, there are regions like Asia where humor takes on different tones. The irony and self-deprecating humor found in Jewish humor, as well as a neurotic approach to tragedy and comedy, are not understood in the same way in Asia. But in Europe, the United States, and South America, this type of humor—born out of necessity—is well received. Laughter arises from despair. Humor is therefore also time and again a remedy for painful situations, whether in politics or in everyday marital problems, divorce issues, loneliness, or issues facing minorities. There’s also a great deal of humor among other minorities. There’s that specific gay humor, which can be absolutely fantastic. There was a strong sense of humor in the GDR, and even within Islam. There are many Muslim comedians. In Germany, we’re experiencing a real boom in „humor with a migrant background.“ Every inflexible—and in some cases rigid—political or social system gives rise to an underground humorous rebellion. The extent to which this is persecuted or tolerated is always a different question. At some point, humor gets stifled by illegality. But fundamentally, it can be said that any situation that relies on pressure and repression gives rise to humor as a form of subversion.

Is today's filmmaker also a modern court jester?
Yeah, I think so. I think it’s great when he plays that role. But once the court realizes just how much the court jester is fooling them, things can quickly take a tragic turn. Court jesters were often meant just to entertain. If they became critical or subversive, their heads would roll. Okay, in Switzerland and Europe we’re in a safe situation. In Iran, it’s certainly much harder to make a comedy critical of the regime. Fundamentally, though, I do see it this way: the comedy director has the task—or even the obligation—to engage critically and subversively with existing situations and conditions. Through humor and a sharp portrayal of those conditions, he should offer the audience a different perspective, even on taboo topics. I find that extremely rewarding. My films are often about finding a relationship with things that surround us in everyday life, such as difficult families or people with mental health issues. That’s something that’s always been a favorite subject in comedy. It’s painful and difficult, but at the same time, there’s something comical about it—sometimes it’s even unintentionally funny. I believe filmmakers can use this to raise viewers’ awareness of certain issues or societal phenomena. It’s a way of saying, “This is just part of life.” For example, there are so many common mental health issues that it practically begs to be turned into a comedy.

Your biography mentions that you once lived in the U.S. for two years as a „vagabond.“ What exactly does “vagabond” mean?
It was only 10 months. You’re a vagabond if you don’t sleep in a hotel, but instead sleep outdoors or with people who take you in. I had day jobs on construction sites or in oil fields. That was an important time for me. I grew up in Basel in a very well-mannered, middle-class family with no social problems. Somehow, I had this longing: I wanted to really live on the streets for a while, to see reality from a different perspective. My time hitchhiking in the U.S. was an eye-opener for me because I could get a feel for what life is like when you simply have no money.
 

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(End of interview in the print edition)

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These days, people make reality shows based on experiences like that.
That's right.
 
So you moved to Berlin?
In 1980, after my trip to the U.S., I visited friends at the Rote Grütze Theater, whom I admired for their committed and politically engaged children’s and youth theater. When they asked me if I wanted to just stay, and since I was already traveling light with just a sleeping bag anyway, I ended up staying in that shared apartment in Berlin and dove into political theater with a supporting role.
 
Was she brought to „Motel“ from there by Swiss TV director Thomas Hostettler?
That was in 1984, a few years later. I traveled to Switzerland myself for a completely normal audition, and that’s how I landed the role of „Peperoni.“.
 
„Motel“ became the first soap opera in Swiss television history. Have you ever stopped by that motel in Egerkingen, where the show was filmed, for a cup of coffee since then?
No, is that still a thing?
 
You're saying today that you had to flee Switzerland back then to shake off your image as a "hothead"?
No, no, I was already living in Berlin and was constantly commuting even while we were filming. But it was intense. „Motel“ was so popular. That was back before the private networks. We had a huge market share every Sunday.
 
And constantly facing scathing reviews.
Yeah, *Der Blick* had its own connection to *„Motel“*—you could say that. There was a scene where I, as Peperoni, had to kiss Peter Freiburghaus—he played the waiter at the motel. He fell in love with me, so we made out a little in front of the camera. *Blick* blew this up into such a crazy storm of outrage that the kiss had to be cut from the rerun. But *Blick* also helped us through all this constant controversy surrounding the quality of „Motel.“ We were the topic of daily conversation for a whole year.
 
For you, it was your entry into the film business.
For me, „Motel“ was exciting because I learned so much about filmmaking. For a whole year, I got to watch Thomas Hostettler, Daniel Helfer, and Josef Scheidegger direct. „Motel“ was one of the first series back then—apart from „Lindenstrasse“—to be shot on video. We filmed from Monday through Thursday. On Friday and Saturday, we edited in a room at the motel, and by Sunday, the 25-minute episode was ready to air. It was an incredibly fast process. It was interesting for me because we had to shoot enough footage every day to edit down to six minutes of screen time. I learned a lot both in front of and behind the camera. I also wrote the screenplay for one or two episodes.

 
So after studying German literature for a while, you ended up getting into film on your own?
Yeah, you could say that.
 
Your first success in Germany was *Du mich auch*. Did it take you five years to find a producer for that movie?
As a self-taught person, no one is waiting for you.

This debut film introduced you to the now-famous director Tom Tykwer, who was working as a projectionist when he screened „Du mich auch.“.
Yes, he was a projectionist at „Moviemento,“ a small movie theater in Berlin’s Kreuzberg neighborhood, and screened „Du mich auch“ for over two years. I think Tom knows the film better than I do. That’s how we got to know each other better. He made his own short films during that time and got to know the producer Stefan Arnd through that. I, in turn, knew the director Wolfgang Becker, and so the four of us eventually came together to found our own company, x Filme. At first, we were considering other people as well, because we wanted to build a slightly broader foundation for the company. But in the end, the four of us stuck together because we trusted each other the most in this configuration. That friendship has lasted to this day.
 
 
How important are such coincidences or networks in the film industry?
It’s not just a coincidence. It’s also a state of mind. Back in 1994, there was a feeling among us filmmakers—one that probably exists among young filmmakers today as well—that as a lone wolf in this industry, you have little chance of success. You have to be able to hold your own in production situations with broadcasters, funding agencies, and producers. On top of that, there’s the fundamental question: How profitable does a film actually have to be for the money to flow? As a lone director, you’re lost in that situation. We felt we needed each other for two reasons: We should support each other financially—in other words, form a kind of lobby—so that together we’d have more influence and more power to advance our interests. The second, even more important point, however, was that we all felt very isolated. We wanted to have each other so we could talk together about screenplays, editing, or casting. That requires partners you can trust—people who aren’t from a completely different world but are somehow in the same situation and understand the hardships and obstacles you face when you’ve been working on a project for years. We wanted a collaborative advisory group—but one that also offers critical feedback.
 
Negative Feedback as Coaching?
It’s often the case among filmmakers that they don’t dare to criticize one another. Filmmakers already get so much flak from critics, audiences, and box-office flops, so they tend to support one another. But when you’re writing a screenplay, it’s important to have someone read it who’s truly honest—someone you know well enough that, despite their honesty, they’ll still stand by you. Or someone who’s critical out of solidarity. That was something we needed: to be able to build that kind of critical dialogue.
 
„Michael Haneke’s “Amour” was produced by x Filme and, in addition to numerous awards, has won an Oscar. At the German Film Awards on April 26, x Filme is in the running with 12 nominations. To what extent is Dani Levy, as one of the four partners at x Filme, involved in these successes—both creatively and financially?
So, conceptually, I’m always involved. With Haneke’s *Amour*, we didn’t have much to do because the film was produced in France, unlike *The White Ribbon*, which we shot here and where x Filme was actually the executive production company. For „Amour,“ we’re a minority co-producer. I root for every filmmaker—not just those from our company—who’s made a powerful, unconventional film that needs more attention and more support. At x Filme, we’re also fighting against the decline of art-house cinema. That’s not easy when a film like „Amour“ has drawn just over 300,000 viewers in Germany so far. Til Schweiger achieves that on the first Thursday alone. Even „The White Ribbon,“ despite winning the Palme d’Or, a Golden Globe, and an Oscar nomination, reached „only“ 700,000 viewers after a year in theaters. And yet it was a German story with German stars. For us, that’s a lot, but compared to the commercial landscape in Germany, it’s not much. That’s why we’re fighting for sophisticated, exciting, complex, and—in the broadest sense—political films for a wide audience.
 
„Cloud Atlas,“ directed by your former movie theater projectionist Tom Tykwer, is the most expensive German film in history, with a budget of around 100 million euros. What does that mean for Dani Levy as a partner? Are you a co-producer on the film?
Actually, yes. We set up a subsidiary for this production. I have to admit, at first it felt strange to me that we were making such an expensive film. I asked myself: What does this have to do with us? This production didn’t have much to do with my reality or my vision. But I found it exciting that it was even possible, and that we still discussed this film within the company as if it were a small project. For me, the key thing was that „Cloud Atlas“ still has the feel of an auteur film.
 
 
Your Creative Pool at x Filme currently employs 40 people. Has the „vagabond“ from America now become an entrepreneur as well?
For an arthouse company, we’re relatively large—though our 40 employees also include our distribution division. I’m one of the four partners, but not the managing director. So I don’t have much to do with day-to-day operations. We meet once a month for a shareholders’ meeting. There, we lay everything out on the table, discuss the projects, cash flow, and the status of our bank accounts. Of course, we also discuss the cinema’s situation.
 
Such success attracts others as well. Is X being flooded with screenplays?
I don’t know exactly how much comes in. But of course, we don’t just make our own films. Haneke isn’t a partner, after all. We’ve always seen ourselves as an open company that can serve as a home for all interesting auteur filmmakers. Because, in my opinion, we have some of the best writer and director contracts in the industry. It’s important to us that both the filmmaker and the writer share in the profits—as early as possible and in as large a share as possible. It’s also important to us that our producers are committed to the film both artistically and financially and invest the budget as wisely as possible.
 
Back to the commercial: Does Dani Levy also shoot commercials in Germany?
Not yet. I’m someone who really hates pitching. I find pitching in advertising totally unsexy. You put a lot of passion and joy into a project. You bring ideas to the table and imagine how great it could be.  But then you find yourself in a pitch with three or 20 other directors, and in the end you don’t get the job—maybe just because another company quoted a lower price for the commercial. It’s a frustrating process that probably no director enjoys. I don’t have the time for that either. But if a client or an agency says, “We want Dani Levy,” then I don’t mind applying for the job, putting in the work up front, and even writing a book. But I actually try to avoid the classic pitch situation where I’m competing against many others. Most agencies know this and don’t even ask me to participate in such broad pitches. For this reason, I haven’t done anything in Germany—where the pitching process is even tougher—even though I get a request almost every week.
 
Do you want your brand to stand out?
There are so many great commercial directors who do nothing but that. Germans, Danes, English, Americans—they work all over the place. These are people who have the time and resources to put together really cool pitches. They have extensive archives and specialists who write their storyboards and director’s statements for them, put together mood boards, and set them to music. I have neither the time nor the infrastructure for that. I don’t need every third storyboard on my desk—it’s enough for me if only the ones who are truly interested in me come my way. Ultimately, all that matters is the result and the nature of the collaboration—the commercial simply has to turn out well. Of course, this requires cooperation with the client and the agency, but it also takes the courage and determination to fight for your ideas. This passion for fighting for every commercial is perhaps one of my hallmarks. It pains me when I can’t make a film as good as it could be. I want the client to be proud to show off their commercial.
 
The films „Mein Führer“ and, later, „Life Is Too Long“ have also drawn criticism. „Life Is Too Long…“ was a self-reflection on the director’s craft. Why did you „have to“ make that film?
Most films in which directors reflect on their profession—such as Woody Allen’s *Stardust Memories*—were usually box-office flops, yet remained important to the filmmaker. For me, it was important after „Mein Führer,“ because after those two years of my life, I asked myself: Why am I actually doing all this madness? You try to do something risky that’s meaningful, relevant in the sense of social criticism. But your own emotional risk isn’t rewarded at all, and you just get torn apart by the critics. That’s why I wanted to make a film about this clash between a passionate profession and what it means for a family when the father is an artist and there are two children. Who does he go to bed with—his wife or his art? I felt that this was an interesting topic. I would have liked to have made the film even smaller in scale or even grittier. Just a very personal film. You only make a film like this once in a lifetime, and most of the time you get heavily criticized for it. But that doesn’t matter—I’m glad I made it.

 
 
You received a lot of praise for the *Tatort* episode „Schmutziger Donnerstag.“ Have you already been commissioned to do another episode for this series?
We’ll see. For me, it was a great experience. It was the first time I’d shot an entire film in Switzerland, not just a commercial. I learned a lot about life in Switzerland. We did face massive backlash from the Lucerne guilds over the backstory to „Schmutziger Donnerstag.“ I found that politically interesting. At the same time, it was great to be able to work with Swiss actors and crew members. It was a lot of fun and the quality was high.
 
They got in touch with „Tatort“ producer Zodiac Pictures in Lucerne regarding another project. What is that project about?
This is a comedy about a normal family of normal crazy people. A bit like „Little Miss Sunshine.“  A dysfunctional family in which everyone has serious problems and is pretty self-centered and neurotic toward one another. A painful yet very lighthearted comedy about people who come together in a sudden crisis. And it’s set in Switzerland, too. Hopefully that will make a classic Germany-Switzerland co-production possible. I’ve been working on it for two years now. Unfortunately, I had to throw out the drafts I’d written before “Tatort.” Now I’ve started over from scratch.

Interview: Andreas Panzeri

All Sugar

 

Do you know the Swiss "Astrea Apotheke" or the German "Apotheken Umschau"? Both are prime examples of content marketing from the offline world: they, too, are based on providing information that is relevant and, above all, helpful to potential customers free of charge. The particular appeal of this approach for the online channel stems from its characteristics:

- Free publication: As a rule, the publication of information incurs hardly any variable costs.

- Worldwide availability: Content is accessible without restriction to a large number of potentially interested parties.

- Speed and dynamism of information: Interesting content is discovered and disseminated quickly, e.g., via social media, search engines, and communities.

In principle, content marketing is suitable for all companies that have specialized knowledge - which is hopefully always the case. The difficulty, however, is to prepare this knowledge in a way that is suitable for the target group and online, and to publish it in a way that promises success.

For content marketing to work effectively, it needs one thing above all: "good" content. This content should meet the following criteria:

- Exceptional and unique: content that already exists in this or a similar way is usually ignored.

- Inspiring, helpful or funny: the reader/consumer must benefit from the content.

- Trustworthy: The impression must be created that the content is reliable and of good quality (and not just a marketing tool).

- "Shareable": Everyone has an incentive to share content when the likelihood of third-party recognition and approval is particularly high. This must be thought of when creating the content.

Simpler examples of successful content marketing are Hornbach's DIY tips (google "Hornbach Meisterschmiede") or L'Oréal's makeup tips (google "apply eyeliner," for example). Perfectly implemented, astronomical advertising values can be generated, as in the case of Red Bull's Stratos project (keyword "Felix Baumgartner").

But be careful with the KPIs: The goal of content marketing is not direct sales - rather, it starts where the potential customer first shows interest. Compared to performance campaigns, this results in greater wastage and poorer measurability of ROI. However, experts agree that prospects acquired in this way often become the more valuable customers with the higher CLV - because in contrast to classic (online) marketing, competence is not claimed, but effectively demonstrated through the content provided.

Nicolas Kaufmann
 

The German Association of Journalists called the insolvency administrator's decision a "catastrophe for editors and freelance journalists". DAPD employs 175 people. The Berlin-based news agency filed for insolvency for the second time in five months at the beginning of March (Werbewoche.ch reported). Journalist Ulrich Ende took over DAPD on February 1, but was then left in the lurch by partner investors, according to his own statements. DAPD and its predecessor agency DDP had gone bankrupt a total of four times in the company's 42-year history.

Regret in the media industry

The end of Germany's second-largest news agency was greeted with regret in the media industry. The Federal Chairman of the German Journalists' Association DJV, Michael Konken, called the insolvency administrator's decision a "catastrophe for the editors and freelance journalists at DAPD". The agency scene in Germany will become poorer with the end of DAPD: "This is a loss for media diversity in our country."

Cornelia Hass, Federal Managing Director of the German Journalists' Union DJU in the trade union verdi, spoke of a "consequence of irresponsible business management". The DJV and DJU unanimously called on other agencies to take on former DAPD editors. They also accused the former dapd owners Peter Löw and Martin Vorderwülbecke of a "kamikaze course", "which ultimately led to a total loss". They had tried to "stir up the agency market with dumping offers, then fled before the personal crash landing and left the employees to their fate". (SDA)

 

Migros wants to trigger the big gyro fever in Switzerland with a total of 48 different gyros. In addition to public relations and events, PR Fact now also supports Migros in digital marketing. With the Websitethe "Twistymania" mobile app for iOS and Android, and the Facebook fan page a world full of galactic adventures is set to open up this week. The Twisties are intended to encourage young fans in particular to circle, collect and swap.

Together with its in-house partner agency CommIng, PR Fact has implemented five events in Zurich, Bern and Lausanne. At these events, enthusiastic collectors can have their spinning top tricks professionally photographed or filmed, upload their twisty pictures and videos to the website, put their skills to the test with the mobile app, and exchange ideas with the fan community on Facebook. In addition, Migros is running a swap meet on the website for the first time, offering ambitious collectors an official channel to swap duplicate spinning tops with each other.

Despite all these measures, the bottom line is unfortunately still: A Surrli? Really now? The only thing that helps is digital marketing:

Responsible at PR-Fact: Adrian Huwyler (digital marketing concept). Station developed the cross-platform website Twistymania.ch and Crunchy Communications organizes the content management on Facebook.com/migrosmania. The game app "Twistymania" for iOS and Android was realized with the Swiss developer X-Fund Global. (uma)

 

Apple led the way with the media hype surrounding the launch of new iPhones, and now Google is trying to emulate this example. The object that is set to arouse frenetic desire is called Google Glass: a mini screen is placed in front of the eye with a frame (with or without corrective lenses). Equipped in this way, you can easily access the internet at any time to make phone calls, start search queries by voice input, read new messages, take photos or videos and even have the world explained to you. In fact, nothing that couldn't be done with a modern smartphone, but in a different way. People who concentrate on their smartphone and swipe around on the screen isolate themselves in society and it feels somehow "emasculating", said Google co-founder Sergey Brin during an impromptu appearance at a TED conference at the end of February. He also wanted to get closer to the vision that anyone who needed information would no longer have to search for it, but would simply receive it when they needed it.

How "cool" are walking surveillance cameras?

However, unlike Apple's iPhone, whose aesthetics were convincing, the emerging data glasses bring with them some unfamiliar innovations, which is why many contemporaries are reacting negatively to them, and in some cases very strongly, as a glance at the numerous blog entries and comments reveals. It is clear that the launch of Google Glass will be accompanied by a multifaceted and far-reaching social discourse on sometimes fundamental social issues, such as how to deal with privacy in the age of ubiquitous and networked systems. The built-in camera and microphone, in particular, are causing a lot of controversy. This was already the case when cameras became ubiquitous with smartphones. However, it was still possible to recognize when someone was recording with it, and it was possible to react and intervene if necessary. With Glass, it is no longer possible to tell whether recordings are being made or not. If such recordings were only intended for the wearer's own use, the issue would probably cause fewer heated discussions. But cyber glasses don't come alone: Glass works (via Bluetooth) together with a smartphone, which in turn is connected to computers all over the world via data transmission (WiFi or GSM/UMTS/LTE). This is the only way to implement many of the "cool" applications that make data privacy advocates' blood run cold or boil (depending on their temperament). For example, tourists walking through a foreign city and having the sights explained to them via Glass and finding the trendy meeting places will transmit image and geodata to Google so that images can be recognized and evaluated. Critics complain that personal data (faces) of bystanders could also be analyzed and that such data could be stored for an uncontrolled period of time, even abroad. Glass wearers would thus become potential walking surveillance cameras, surpassing the worst ideas of Big Brother.

And so a closer look at Glass reveals numerous other areas, as smart glasses bring changes that are beneficial but unfamiliar. Many of them, such as the use of video cameras, will raise concerns among data protectionists. This also applies to Switzerland, where video surveillance by private individuals is regulated by the Federal Act on Data Protection and subject to numerous restrictions. The emerging debate about the use of Glass will not just be about legal or political issues, but also about social norms: Is it ok to meet someone in a one-on-one conversation with data glasses on? Can you ask such a person to refrain from wearing them? What if the other person is visually impaired and (also) uses the glasses as a visual aid? Can Glass be used in road traffic? According to Google, Glass has "enormous potential" to improve safety on our roads and reduce the number of accidents. However, there is already a bill in the US state of West Virginia to change the law to prohibit the use of devices such as Glass on the roads. It is therefore clear that politicians will also have to deal with Glass. Politicians in particular could be among the most frequent users of data glasses, which will be viewed differently in the foreseeable future: For example, in debates (think of an arena round), will they only use Glass to access a few notes they have written themselves, or will they constantly receive new arguments from their advisors and lobbyists?

No advertising on Glass?

Google is taking on a pioneering role with Glass and will attract most of the criticism. This may be courageous or naïve - but it would be wrong to weigh the issue down with Google hatred. After all, digital glasses are not just an allure of Google bosses. Rumors and speculations are circulating that Microsoft will launch a similar product on the market in 2014, and in China, the largest search engine operator Baidu has announced that it is developing a similar product with Baidu Eye. And Facebook boss Marc Zuckerberg is reported to be eager to use Google Glass and has already set up his own development department for this purpose. It is therefore not surprising that the first media companies, such as the New York Times, have started to prepare their content specifically for Glass. According to initial information on Google's program interface, it is possible to subscribe to information streams that are divided into so-called cards, which can also contain rich media such as images. Cards can be combined into bundles, and options such as "share" or "read aloud" allow various interactions. As hardly anyone will want to consume large texts, the main focus is on headlines so that users can keep up to date with the latest news throughout the day whenever they have time. What interests them can be sent to their own tablet, for example, where it can be consumed in detail later.

Anyone who thinks about advertising via Glass and starts dreaming about it will first have to take note of Google's assertion that there will be no advertising on Glass. In any case, it is easy to imagine that a news offering for Glass could also contain cards with advertising messages. These may cover the entire card or just part of it and will probably always be tailored to the profile of the respective user. However, there are also advertising fantasies about the use of Glass that should be viewed with skepticism, at least for the time being. For example, discount coupons to entice customers into the store they are walking past. Or using image analysis to show where to buy the dress or tie you have just come across. Or transform the real world into a gaming environment (branded entertainment using augmented reality). Such things will probably remain fiction for some time to come because most users will hardly be willing to share their location data or use their precious data transfer credit to continuously transmit video data to Google so that it can be analyzed and used for profile matching to create advertising messages that are displayed to users on the Glass screen. In addition, many websites, even those of major brands, are not yet optimized for smartphones and therefore adaptation for smart glasses will only be considered when there is a prospect that the additional effort will be worthwhile.

This assumes that smart glasses will quickly become mainstream. Glass enthusiasts point out that new technologies are catching on with the public faster and faster. The smartphone boom, for example, has happened ten times faster than the PC revolution in the 1980s. It remains to be seen whether Glass will become a hit and when the devices will go on sale in Switzerland (in the USA, this is expected to happen before the end of this year). But one thing is clear: data glasses will become an increasingly important topic in the coming months. And so it will be interesting to keep an eye on Glass and observe how these aspects will develop: Will Glass be a success for Google, or will it damage its own brand? How (if at all) will Glass and its ilk appear on the Swiss market, and what debates will this trigger? What specific opportunities will data glasses create for media companies and advertising?

Christoph J. Walther

The New York Times was the first media company to demonstrate how Google Glass can be used in the media sector: Beautifully presented headlines are designed to keep users up to date with current events throughout the day.

 

Brand management has changed in many ways since the 1940s. Rosser Reves« Unique Selling Proposition (USP) in the 1940s was based primarily on communicating functional benefits (e.g., M&Ms: »Melts in your mouth, not in your hand«) and was considered a groundbreaking branding strategy. The renowned professor David Aaker criticized this functional approach in various publications. In the 1970s, Aaker proposed »emotional branding« as an alternative. However, this emotional branding led to many brands conveying nearly identical emotions. For example, BMW: »The Joy of Driving,« Seat: »Auto Emocìon,« Mercedes: »More Driving Pleasure,« McDonald’s: »I’m Loving It,« and Lee Jeans: »Live With Passion.”.

Newer branding approaches, such as brand experience, buzz marketing (generating excitement), or brand love, lead to greater diversity in positioning. However, they, too, are based on inauthentic brand attributes. Such branding strategies may work for private-label brands or low-involvement brands and lead to increased sales or more «Facebook likes.» However, they can never be used to create a cult brand, because a cult brand thrives on genuine «emotional attachment». To establish an emotional bond, the brand must fit into the consumer’s authentic cultural value system. For example, Corona stands for «relaxation on a Mexican beach,» Harley-Davidson for «freedom,» and The Body Shop for «protecting nature.» It is becoming increasingly necessary for brands—in addition to films, art, literature, and music—to strive for a certain cultural orientation or to make a certain cultural contribution. For this reason, drawing on the work of Douglas Holt (Harvard University) and Grant McCracken (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), I have developed the following Cultural Branding Model:

1. Description of the Prevailing Ideology

In every product category, there is a specific dominant ideology. The goal of this first step is to examine and describe this ideology. For a long time, the food industry was dominated by an ideology characterized by strong price sensitivity. The market entry of Aldi and Lidl, along with the launch of Migros Budget and Prix Garantie, further reinforced this ideology.

2. Identifying Cultural Change

The task now is to compare this existing ideology with the customers’ identity. The focus here is on determining to what extent society is satisfied with this prevailing ideology, desires change, or even rejects it. A certain subculture within our society rejected the prevailing ideology of the food industry. This cultural shift led to a value system centered on organic food, sustainable production, and fair trade. Countless such cultural shifts occur within a society; they can be triggered by technology (e.g., the Internet), the economy (e.g., the financial sector), social structure (e.g., an education craze), demographics (e.g., an aging population), social movements (e.g., opponents of nuclear power plants), mass media, or other factors.

3. Definition of Cultural Ideology

The task now is to align the branding with the identified cultural shift. The goal is to create a new ideology that serves as a guiding force in the context of cultural and social change. Ultimately, the ideology to be created is regarded as a brand’s value system—that is, a shared set of values with which consumers can identify. Knight and Bowerman—the founders of Nike—recognized a societal shift toward greater individuality in the 1970s. Team sports were losing their appeal in favor of running. They capitalized on this trend and created a new ideology: «The power of one’s own will is unbeatable»—or, as it became better known through the later slogan: «Just do it.» Every cultural ideology should have an antagonist (a brand or industry), meaning it must clearly distinguish itself from another ideology. Apple still rebels today against the complexity of IBM and Windows systems. Such clear positioning encourages consumers to identify with the brand. This self-identification, in turn, leads to greater loyalty. Thus, like-minded people find one another in brand communities (e.g., the Harley-Davidson Owners Group), build such communities, and live according to a specific value system. In such communities, brand myths are lived out and passed on. Ideally, brand myths are carried beyond the community and into the public sphere (such as during the Goruck Challenges).

4. Communicating the Ideology

A key phase of the Cultural Branding Model is its communicative implementation. No matter how great an idea may be, it is meaningless if it is not shared with others. For this reason, a separate phase is dedicated to the active and creative communication of the established ideology.

5. Establishing a Culture-Oriented Approach

According to the Cultural Branding Model, a cult brand should not maintain a consistent market presence for decades, but must embrace and respond to cultural changes. Consequently, every brand management team must be able to identify future cultural and social developments early on and distinguish real trends from passing fads. To do so, management must systematically monitor magazines, TV shows, online forums, blogs, selected Twitter accounts, etc.

Dimitri Wittwer

 Dimitri Wittwer (@thecultbrand) is a doctoral candidate and research assistant at the Institute for Marketing and Business Management at the University of Bern. He conducts research on cult brands in collaboration with international research partners from Concordia University in Montréal and Columbia University in New York. His book, *The Cultural Branding Model*, will be published at the end of the year.
 

In July 2012, the Zurich City Council launched the "Urban Transport 2025" program in order to meet the transport challenges. This consistently continues the previous transport policy and focuses on key projects, in particular to promote public transport as well as pedestrian and bicycle traffic. The population was to be actively involved in this project from the very beginning. A pitch was invited for innovative communication, in which Serranetga won. "This is an important assignment for us as part of our expansion into a full-service agency," says Remo Prinz. Also a "trustworthy assignment, after all, every hour of work is financed with taxpayers' money."

Serranetga was able to convince with the concept "experience-oriented communication". In concrete terms, various PR campaigns were implemented to attract as much media attention as possible. The long-term campaign was launched with the "Velo patrol". With the call "Show us your Zurich", cycling enthusiasts were asked to borrow a GoPro helmet camera from the "Züri rollt" container at Pestalozziwiese within four days and film their favorite route in the city with it. With the footage, professionals edited 40 films together, which were put up for voting on Facebook. In a second campaign, cabaret artist Beat Schlatter got into cars in a traffic jam and read a "Auto-Märli" (car fairy tale) to the stunned waiters to shorten their waiting time. In addition to many media reports, a film clip of the action was also posted on YouTube and Facebook. In a competition, there were "Kassettli" of the stories to win, which are of course also available as a podcast.

In the current surprise with the "first Velokafi in the world", Zurich residents can drive up to the Rathaus Café on Limmatquai and order something at the "Velo-Drive-in" without getting off. This idea was also taken up in many media from print to TV, discussed and polemicized in a promotionally effective way.

Andreas Panzeri

 

The Zurich native began his radio career at Radio Zürisee, later working as a freelancer for Radio 24 and as a music critic and photographer for various newspapers. Since 2007, Frey has been hosting the show «Jukebox» on Radio 1 on Sundays from 2 to 4 p.m.

Dani Wüthrich will become deputy music director at Radio 1 effective July 1, 2013. At the same time, he will take over from Christian Stoob as host of the afternoon program from 2:00 to 6:00 p.m. Wüthrich has been working as a host at Radio 1 since June 2012. Prior to that, the Zurich native worked at the Winterthur-based local radio station Top, where he also served as deputy music director and host.

Lisa Känzig will join the Radio 1 hosting team on July 1, 2013, working 80 percent of a full-time schedule. Känzig earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and organizational communication from ZHAW Winterthur. She began her journalism career at Radio Energy and joined Radio 1 in August 2009. Känzig worked briefly as a host last year and most recently served as a reporter at Radio 1.
 

The event was organized by the Publishing Network and Hannes Zaugg. Both are also advocates for the CAS Crossmedia Manager program, a certified continuing education course conducted by Sawi in Zurich and offered in collaboration with Comem+/FH Vaud. A good 60 participants were eager to hear the right answers—and they were not disappointed. The selection of speakers, who came from companies, agencies, and service providers, was also highly praised.

They all agreed: There needs to be more professionalism in the implementation of multimedia campaigns. He explained which objectives and strategies should be prioritized in this regard Patrik Sonderegger, Head of Marketing at the University of St. Gallen, who has to translate the theories developed in-house into practical guidelines; he then demonstrated this using current examples. The session continued with a practical focus: Stefan Glöckler, Head of Media Production at Swiss Re, Michael Gassler, Managing Director of Leo Bernett Switzerland, as well as Joëlle Loos, Head of Marketing at the N+S Group, provided insight into their cross-media approach. In a summary, the moderator Peter Jeschke He identified the most significant obstacles from these descriptions and highlighted the main developments.

He explained what the key factors for success in cross-media campaigns are David Schärer, a member of the Executive Board and Chairman of the Board of Directors at Rod Kommunikation, using various examples. For many years now, Goldbach Media has been taking a different approach to evaluation with its Crossmedia Award. The company’s marketing director explained how the judging process works and what insights this provides for the Goldbach Group Paul Riesen. The creators and mentors of the last two winners, Executive Creative Director and co-owner Philipp Skrabal by the Wirz Group, as well as Marc Schumacher, Account Planning Director at Contexta, provided insight into the development of their multimedia campaigns. Here, too, the moderator skillfully probed further and, in conversation with the speakers, highlighted the key «dos and don’ts.» Finally, René Theiler from the Publishing Network and Hannes Zaugg, course director for the CAS Crossmedia Manager program, is introducing this new continuing education program, which is aimed at experienced communications professionals who want to perfect their skills in implementing multimedia campaigns. Over the course of 22 course days starting in mid-June, approximately 15 instructors will provide participants with the necessary skills, offering as little theory as necessary and as much hands-on practice as possible.

Anyone interested in learning more about this certified continuing education program in professional cross-media management should mark their calendars for the information session at Sawi in Zurich-Dübendorf: Wednesday evening, May 8, 2013, at 7 p.m.

A visibly pleased participant (Thomas Paszti of Mediaforum.ch) flanked by two speakers: David Schärer, a member of the executive board at Rod Kommunikation, and Michael Gassler, Managing Director of Leo Burnett Switzerland.

(from left to right): René Theiler of Publishing Network and Claude Bürki.