The Denner campaign by advertising agency Vizner Borel came out on top in terms of awareness, followed by the Volvo ad by Leo Burnett Switzerland and the ad for the Swiss Red Cross by Onemarketing. The VZ VermögensZentrum campaign by the Ruf Lanz agency won the Uniqueness criterion ahead of Denner and the Swisslos ad by the Contexta advertising agency. In the Brand Fit criterion, the Volvo ad won ahead of the Swisslos and Denner ads. In terms of likeability, the ad for HGC by Leo Burnett Switzerland came out on top ahead of the VZ VermögensZentrum and Denner.

The Advertising Week Impact Check, February 2013 (PDF)

Detailed results of the Impact Check February 2013 (PDF)

In Zurich, they are part of the street scene: Neanderthals in Gucci, Armani or Boss. They never hold the door open for their fellow human beings, squeeze into the only free elevator in front of a mother with a baby carriage and often eat as if they've come straight from the zoo. They like to come along in their black Porsche Cayenne. Too fast, of course. An angry "A...ff!" usually escapes me when I see this species. Often with the prefix "banker-". Which is, of course, undifferentiated, because these guys are often not money pushers at all, but simply other managers or other busybodies from some carpeted floors.

Wealthy primordial beasts

The "VZ VermögensZentrum" is currently advertising with such an ape, or more precisely: a Neanderthal. The very hairy prehistoric man sits in a tailored suit with a diagonally striped tie and cigar in front of coffee and cognac, staring glassily into the distance. Presumably in the hope of bigger payouts. Two other subjects show two other Neanderthals, one at an executive desk behind a newspaper, the other in a sensual pose in a leather armchair. The clothing and surroundings of the three creatures appear cultured, but in body, brain and soul, all three are just primordial beasts, better suited to hunting deer and shouting Uga-uga than to bigger deals with a lot of cash. Just like the gentlemen from Bahnhofstrasse, who don't need to behave.

Close is also over

Below the subjects is a lot of text, white on a suit-colored background. The VZ VermögensZentrum logo is the most noticeable thing in this jumble of letters, the rest is lost for the time being. Oops. The newspaper reader sees: A Neanderthal, looking rather silly, and below it the logo of the asset management company. The first reaction, at least mine: "Oh look, now they're showing their CEO as an advertisement!" Cliché confirmed, scroll on. Bad shot to the back. This is probably how many recipients will react. As a writer for Werbewoche, in a case like this you naturally turn the page back and take a closer look: What are the banker monkeys actually trying to tell us? That self-knowledge is the first road to recovery? That in future they will put both hands on the table when eating instead of putting one arm next to the plate and the other in their lap?

The search for the message

A really good sentence under each subject explains what this is all about: "Successful investors do not rely on their basic instincts." That's reassuring at first. And in combination with the Neanderthal image, it is captivatingly pointed and funny. Humor when it comes to really big money - that's courageous. Bravo Ruf Lanz. But why isn't this sentence written large above the picture? Or at least in big letters below it. Unfortunately, the little bit of bold print doesn't save the day. Because it takes too long to understand the meaning of this advertisement. The core message is lost. What sticks: Bankers are apes and behave like Neanderthals. And they don't even look good. We already knew that. Advertising that only works on second glance doesn't work at all. At least not with a target group for whom time is money and money is the most important thing of all. They don't have a minute to take a closer look. What a pity, really.

Born in Paris, he joined L'Agefi Switzerland in the 1970s and bought the paper from the French L'Agefi in 1993. He headed the company until 2007. Under his leadership, the newspaper went public in 1999.

In 2006, the publisher expanded into the healthcare sector and acquired the Genolier Swiss Medical Network GSMN. Fabarez knew French-speaking Switzerland perfectly, said François Schaller, editor-in-chief of L'Agefi. He had left his mark on the media house, he added. (SDA)

(Teaser image: Keystone)
 

So far, only advertising customers have found out about this: The new Ostschweiz am Sonntag (OaS), which launches on March 3 with a circulation of around 100,000 copies, will be delivered not only to subscribers of the St. Galler Tagblatt (SGT), but also to those of the Werdenberger & Obertoggenburger (W&O) and the Rheintalische Volkszeitung (RVZ) - and that's another 13,700 potentially interested parties. All three publishers confirmed this on request. The fact that the two local daily newspapers from Buchs Medien and Rheintal Verlag AG are getting involved with OaS on Sundays is remarkable, given that on weekdays they are already closely allied with Südostschweiz (SOCH) from publisher president Hanspeter Lebrument: both are part of the SOCH advertising network, W&O also takes over editorial SOCH pages, and both each hold a stake in Südostschweiz Partner AG, the joint printing center in Haag.

Although W&O and RVZ are tied to Chur on weekdays, the Sunday shift to St. Gallen is nothing unusual in itself. "We were already dancing on two high tides," admits Max Müller, Managing Director of Buchs Medien. For example, the W&O takes over the supra-regional cover section of the SOCH and at the same time maintains a lively exchange of articles with the SGT in the regional section. The situation is similar at RVZ, as publishing director René Wuffli explains: The one-page newspaper receives advertisements from the SOCH advertising combination, but is otherwise editorially and advertising-wise identical with the regional section of the "Rheintaler", which, like RVZ, is published by Rheintal Verlag AG, but is integrated into the SGT header paper system.

Südostschweiz: Termination date approaching

However, the fact that the two newspapers are now leaning more closely on the SCT and its Sunday edition makes one sit up and take notice. Lebrument's media association is approaching an important termination date: The SOCH contract can be terminated by June 30 at the end of 2013 (but not the contract with the printing center, which lasts longer). Intensive negotiations are therefore underway behind the scenes among the twelve SOCH partners. Lebrument is naturally endeavoring to continue the existing alliance. However, it seems doubtful whether he will succeed in doing so to the same extent as before: the fact that RVZ and W&O have opted for the OaS on Sundays suggests that they will also join the SCT system on weekdays. All the more so because the W&O belongs to 57 % of the St. Galler Tagblatt AG and thus to the NZZ Group. Lebrument is also aware of this. What's more: "It is already certain that the W&O will leave the SOCH group and switch to the SGT system on January 1, 2014," he says. "And this step is also possible at RVZ." To be sure, he would find that regrettable. "But I'm not losing any sleep over it," he says.

Vague answers from the Rhine Valley and Zurich

RVZ publishing director Wuffli, on the other hand, does not want the move to OaS to be understood as a signal that he will say goodbye to the weekday SOCH network. The decisive factor is where RVZ profits more commercially. He is currently in talks with SGT and SOCH about this and is making the corresponding calculations, he says. The W&O and the NZZ, on the other hand, have been put off until later: whether the cooperation of the W&O will be continued as an affiliated SOCH partner "will be communicated in due course," says Müller. The answer from Zurich was similarly noncommittal. But regardless of whether OaS will break up the SOCH alliance or not - why does a small newspaper like the W&O care about the Sunday market at all? "Sunday has become an important reading day, so it's a matter of already occupying a place in this market with a well-made newspaper," says Müller. The managing director of Buchs Medien then also points to Liewo, a free Sunday paper from Liechtensteiner Vaterland, which has been distributed to all households in Liechtenstein and the W&O region for years. "In terms of content, Liewo leaves a lot to be desired, but in the advertising market it is definitely a competitor," he says. An explosive fact: Liechtensteiner Vaterland is also part of Südostschweiz-Verbund on weekdays.

No need for a separate Sunday editorial office thanks to OaS

But if Müller wants to mark a presence on Sundays, why didn't he do this earlier together with Südostschweiz am Sonntag (SOSo)? "Because until recently there was no Sunday early delivery in our area - and setting one up would have been too expensive," he says. That changed only a year ago, he says, when the W&O had to introduce weekday early delivery because of Swiss Post's service cutbacks. "An expansion to seven days is now easier for the W&O to manage," Müller explains. As an aside, he hired Liechtenstein Post for the early delivery. And why does he prefer the OaS to the SOSo? Müller cites three reasons: First, the geographical and political proximity to the paper from St. Gallen, and thus its content. In addition, the OaS is a newspaper for the whole of eastern Switzerland - without regional splits. This saves the W&O from having to set up its own Sunday editorial department. The situation is different with SOSo and its successor product "Schweiz am Sonntag": Here, a separate local editorial office would be compulsory in terms of the concept. And thirdly, Müller points out "that the St. Galler Tagblatt AG calls the shots for us.

Markus Knöpfli
 

This success could only be toasted in a venue with a legendary aura. Ralph Lindenmann and Wolfram Meister presented their 30th issue of the "Go out!" series in the legendary Dracula Club of the Hotel Kulm in St. Moritz. A few days earlier, it was announced that growth and development at Gourmedia had led to an expansion and restructuring of the management team. Alongside Anthony Alex, Ralph Lindenmann will continue to focus on customer care, advertising sales and events. The new Gourmedia Managing Director will be Wolfram Meister, who will also remain Editor-in-Chief.

Ralph Lindenmann, founder of the "Geht aus!" magazines, is a federally certified marketing manager. He has extensive experience in corporate management, PR and marketing, particularly in the publishing industry. From 1997 until the founding of Gourmedia in 2005, Lindenmann was co-owner and managing director of Factum AG and the publishing house Bücherpick.

The idea for "Geht aus!" goes back to a business trip to Mallorca. On the way there in 2004, Ralph Lindenmann discovered one of these gastronomic magazines on the plane and found it practical to find culinary inspiration in this magazine away from currywurst and chips. He later came across the product again at a meeting in Germany. Mallorca geht aus" was produced by the same publishing house in Düsseldorf with which Lindenmann was negotiating a cooperation with Bücherpick. An agreement was quickly reached. In order to find an experienced editor-in-chief for the first "Zürich geht aus!", Ralph Lindenmann asked his author at the time, Jürg Altwegg, for advice. The latter writes cultural correspondence for the FAZ from Geneva and immediately recommended Wolfram Meister: "There's only one person who can do it!"

Wolfram Meister made his mark on various levels at Ringier. He was Peter Rothenbühler's deputy at Schweizer Illustrierte for four years. Then he wanted to experience something abroad. In Hamburg, he took on the job of relaunching the Zeit magazine. A second offer followed for a travel magazine. At the same time, however, he received a request from Blick. From 1997 to 1999, Meister became one of the last editors-in-chief in the history of Blick to increase circulation once again, "to around 315,000". But as is the case "with football and tabloid newspapers", Meister was also replaced after two years. In the end, Meister became his own champion. With his Creative Consulting GmbH, he carried out various developments for magazines and also set up one of the "first newsrooms" for Switzerland. Prior to this, he worked briefly as editor-in-chief of the commuter newspaper Metropol in 2001.

Meister published the newsletter "Wein Wisser" in his own publishing house. After selling it, Meister took over the Schweizerische Weinzeitung from the Südostschweiz publishing house in 2010 and allowed the 120-year-old trade journal for winegrowers and coopers to mature into a solid consumer magazine. The wine connoisseur also attaches particular importance to a very careful graphic design. He has the cover drawn in Essen and the magazine is produced in Hamburg, "because I still dream of being able to spend a little more time in this city".

The success of "Go out!" is now making a steadily increasing dent in this calculation. 30 different booklets with a print run of 40,000 each have been launched to date. In St. Moritz, the fifth edition for Graubünden has already been produced. In Zurich, three additional "Zürich kauft ein!" booklets have been added to the portfolio. And after three years of preparation, people in Bern will soon also know where to find the best, most traditional, rustic, uncomplicated or trendy places to eat.

Andreas Panzeri

Last Saturday, Federal President Ueli Maurer presented himself as a walking advertising pillar at the World Ski Championships, writes the agency. "He advertised on cap and jacket for a bank, a telecom company, an insurance company and a car - more is almost impossible." Now they have used the unusual advertising medium for a current subject for VBZ Traffic Media. Because there is still room for advertising in streetcars and buses.

The subject appeared on a full page in 20 Minuten on Thursday morning.

Responsible at VBZ: Heinz Vögeli (overall responsibility for Corporate Communications), Jacques Baumann (overall responsibility for Market Communications). Responsible at Ruf Lanz: Markus Ruf, Danielle Lanz (Creative Direction), Mario Moosbrugger, Marcel Schläfle (Art Direction), Markus Ruf (Text), Doelkar Monkhar (Consulting). Image: Keystone.

Exactly when the public will be informed about the new TV data is still open. But the TV stations can already evaluate the data. On February 12, Mediapulse's Board of Directors judged the data from the new TV panel to be "conclusive and plausible." At the same time, it announced that they would be presented to the public sometime next week. However, there was never any mention of a different rule applying to the TV stations: These received the data namely partly already on February 13 and partly on February 14, as Werbewoche learned from several organizers. Mediapulse, however, neither confirmed nor denied this information. Spokesman Nico Gurtner merely referred to next week's press conference, which has still not been scheduled.

Because the broadcasters now received data from around 45 days at once (backdated to January 1, 2013), extra night and weekend shifts are needed in many places to analyze and evaluate the volumes of data. That's because Kantar Media's nine panel changes everything that can change: All panel households are newly recruited, additional forms of use (such as TV on PCs and laptops) are included, data on time-shifted TV is reported for the first time, and broadcasters still have to familiarize themselves with the new evaluation tool.

But it is particularly strange that it was the Mediapulse board of directors that released the data. After all, Mediapulse and its board of directors have been under great pressure for about six weeks. Therefore, the theoretical possibility that the board gave in to industry pressure despite possibly inadequate data quality and perhaps decided to release the data too early cannot be dismissed out of hand. And that scratches at the credibility.

Instead, it would undoubtedly have been better to involve the Media Science Control Commission (MWK), which is made up of university professors. After all, the MWK already scrutinized the previous panel annually and wrote a precise report. But why didn't the Mediapulse board of directors let them do the checking? Gurtner could not provide an answer to this question either.

Instead, it was learned from the MWK that it is no longer in the service of Mediapulse at all. "MWK has neither been involved in the process of selecting the new system, nor has it evaluated the new system," writes MWK head Heinz Bonfadelli, professor at the Institute of Journalism and Media Research at the University of Zurich. And further: "As far as I am informed, Mediapulse will commission an external expert/auditor familiar with the Kantar system to review the new measurement system - or has already initiated this."

This is surprising, because no information about this has ever been given before - even industry insiders were surprised that the cooperation with MWK had ended. Moreover, it seems that this external person is neither designated nor that an independent control had taken place. If this had been the case, the Mediapulse board would certainly have given this external expert the placet on panel and data. But there was not a word about this in the Mediapulse communiqué.

Markus Knöpfli

Mediapulse clarifies: Control Commission remains

The signatures for the initiative "No advertising for alcoholic drinks on sports grounds and at sporting events in the canton of Zurich" have been handed over to the cantonal administration, the Blue Cross announced. There was a lot of positive feedback during the collection campaign. The incompatibility of alcohol and sport is clear to large sections of the population. It is expected that the legislator will pass a clear regulation. The protection of children and young people from the advertising of alcohol in connection with sport is crucial.

There is already a nationwide ban on advertising spirits in sports stadiums and at sporting events in Switzerland. The initiative would extend the advertising ban in the canton of Zurich to all alcoholic beverages, including beer in particular. The alcohol industry, and beer brewers in particular, invest hundreds of millions of francs in advertising and sports sponsorship every year. Sports associations reacted with alarm to the advertising ban when the initiative was launched in August 2012. They fear financially drastic consequences, but are also not convinced by the content of the initiative. (SDA)

Teaser image: Blaueskreuz.ch
 

Eva Keller joined AZ Medien in January 2006 after holding senior positions at Ringier, the Swiss Media Publishers Association and Bilanz. Over the past seven years, she has built up and further developed internal and external corporate communications and brought them up to a high standard of quality during a pronounced phase of growth and innovation at AZ Medien, according to a statement issued on Wednesday.

Corporate Communications will be headed by Ursulina Stecher from March 1, 2013. She joined AZ Medien in November 2009 as Assistant to the CEO and Corporate Management. Previously, the primary school teacher had worked in various marketing and communications functions in the media industry since 1997, including at Weltwoche and Cash.

Teaser image: AZ Medien
 

For this, Valencia created a TV spot in the style of the Coop action magazine. According to the press release, the spot is a combination of 2D and 3D elements and focuses on the discounts and products. Since the offers change weekly, special care was taken to ensure that the pack shots and price fields could be changed without much effort, but that the frame remained constant. The spots were launched on February 7 on the major TV stations in German-speaking Switzerland, Ticino and French-speaking Switzerland.

Responsible at Coop: Thomas Schwetje (Head of Marketing/Services), Sacha Zuberbühler (Head of Advertising), Marc Weber (Project Manager), Karin Heliopoulos (Head of Media), Stephan Küng (TWMedia). Responsible at Valencia Communication: Simone Fluri (Creative Director), Beatrice Ketterlin (Art Director), Sebastian Refardt (Text), Diana Aberkane (Consulting) and Emanuel Pluess (Desktop).Responsible at Encore Pictures: Jürg Steudler (Executive Production) & Neil Stubbings (Direction).

From today's perspective, one really wonders how the Internet was able to achieve such a powerful triumph....(hae)

The agency writes this in a press release. Prospective was founded in 2000. Under the leadership of Managing Director Matthias Mäder, the company develops solutions to support recruiters and HR professionals in job advertising and recruitment. Prospective is also the organizer of the Recruitingconvention and publisher of the "Trend Report Online-Recruiting Switzerland".

Prospective Media Services PMS, based at Lützowplatz in Berlin, was founded on March 1, 2013. This lays the foundation for expansion in Germany. Prospective specializes in the umbrella region, so expansion into Germany was a logical step. Matthias Mäder, Managing Director of Prospective, says: "We want to finally make the innovative products that we have developed in recent years available to German customers!"