Bien cuit, Monsieur Heller
SI's cooking and lifestyle special, "Al dente," is already expanding into French-speaking Switzerland
SI's cooking and lifestyle special Al dente is already expanding into French-speaking SwitzerlandBy Markus Knöpfli Al dente, the quarterly special from Schweizer Illustrierte, has barely been served up yet - and the French-speaking part of Switzerland is already jumping on it. From March 19, Al dente will therefore also be published in French.
The second issue of Al dente, the quarterly cooking and lifestyle special of Schweizer Illustrierte (SI), was published on August 19, 2002. One week later, the results of a Blue Eyes reader survey of 1200 SI subscribers followed: 46 percent of all respondents knew Al dente (unaided), 83 percent particularly liked the link between cooking and lifestyle,
73 percent of readers keep Al dente or pass the magazine on, 56 percent pick it up several times. A brilliant start.
Of course, the SI Special benefits from free delivery to all SI households, as well as from the program of the same name on SF 2, which was launched just under a year earlier. The 100-page booklet exclusively contains all the recipes from the program. But the rest of the concept stands on its own two feet. While the TV show is a pure Betty Bossi production (50 percent Ringier, 50 percent Coop), Al dente is a joint venture between Betty Bossi, Gault Millau and SI. The actual USP is the symbiosis between kitchen guide and restaurant guide, coupled with the large SI reader community. "We have obviously hit the right nerve," states SI publishing director Urs Heller. Hundreds of copies are reordered every year.
Sponsors are still missing for the French TV realization
However, "the magazine for gourmets", as Al dente is subtitled, received the most praise from the region where gourmets are known to be at home. "Ringier Romandie plans to include the magazine with Illustré for the first time on March 19," says Heller proudly. Al dente in French-speaking Switzerland will be conceptually identical and contain the same recipes, but will have its own editorial identity. In the advertising area, there is a combined discount of
10 percent off the SI and Illustré rates if you book both issues together.
Despite the Al-dente magazine and Betty Bossi's high profile, the French-speaking part of Switzerland will not be able to enjoy a corresponding TV show. At least not in the medium term. "That's not ready to be decided yet," says Heller. Hans Jürg Deutsch, Managing Director of Presse-TV, explains why: "Al dente is a studio production and would have to be produced one-to-one in French. But we don't have the sponsors for that."
Al dente - the TV programAl dente is usually broadcast every second Tuesday on SF 2 - outside of the usual press TV schedule. Due to important sporting events, the program is always postponed. Nevertheless, it achieves an average audience of 310000 viewers. The record is 39,000 viewers or 20.4 percent market share. "Whenever the magazine show Al dente appears, the subsequent TV program is always a hit in terms of ratings," Heller has noticed (mk).
The second issue of Al dente, the quarterly cooking and lifestyle special of Schweizer Illustrierte (SI), was published on August 19, 2002. One week later, the results of a Blue Eyes reader survey of 1200 SI subscribers followed: 46 percent of all respondents knew Al dente (unaided), 83 percent particularly liked the link between cooking and lifestyle,
73 percent of readers keep Al dente or pass the magazine on, 56 percent pick it up several times. A brilliant start.
Of course, the SI Special benefits from free delivery to all SI households, as well as from the program of the same name on SF 2, which was launched just under a year earlier. The 100-page booklet exclusively contains all the recipes from the program. But the rest of the concept stands on its own two feet. While the TV show is a pure Betty Bossi production (50 percent Ringier, 50 percent Coop), Al dente is a joint venture between Betty Bossi, Gault Millau and SI. The actual USP is the symbiosis between kitchen guide and restaurant guide, coupled with the large SI reader community. "We have obviously hit the right nerve," states SI publishing director Urs Heller. Hundreds of copies are reordered every year.
Sponsors are still missing for the French TV realization
However, "the magazine for gourmets", as Al dente is subtitled, received the most praise from the region where gourmets are known to be at home. "Ringier Romandie plans to include the magazine with Illustré for the first time on March 19," says Heller proudly. Al dente in French-speaking Switzerland will be conceptually identical and contain the same recipes, but will have its own editorial identity. In the advertising area, there is a combined discount of
10 percent off the SI and Illustré rates if you book both issues together.
Despite the Al-dente magazine and Betty Bossi's high profile, the French-speaking part of Switzerland will not be able to enjoy a corresponding TV show. At least not in the medium term. "That's not ready to be decided yet," says Heller. Hans Jürg Deutsch, Managing Director of Presse-TV, explains why: "Al dente is a studio production and would have to be produced one-to-one in French. But we don't have the sponsors for that."
Al dente - the TV programAl dente is usually broadcast every second Tuesday on SF 2 - outside of the usual press TV schedule. Due to important sporting events, the program is always postponed. Nevertheless, it achieves an average audience of 310000 viewers. The record is 39,000 viewers or 20.4 percent market share. "Whenever the magazine show Al dente appears, the subsequent TV program is always a hit in terms of ratings," Heller has noticed (mk).
