Close combat with the Sunday press
Despite erosion in the reader market, the largest advertising company is increasing its rates
Despite erosion in the readership market, the largest advertising combined newspaper is increasing its ratesBy Markus Knöpfli The advertising combined newspaper Swisspool is increasing its rates at the beginning of 2003 - and is taking action against the Sunday competition with a new Saturday/Monday combined newspaper. With the new advertising agency Freiburghaus&Partner, the pool is also launching a campaign with several subjects. This is also necessary, as Swisspool titles are losing more and more readers.
Rumor has it that the fact that the seven Swisspool partners were able to get together again is anything but a matter of course. The alleged (main) conflicts are: The NZZ Group, which now has two new titles in the pool with NLZ and SGT, the combination between Tages-Anzeiger and SonntagsZeitung (called Fullhouse) and the decline in readership at all titles (with the exception of 24 Heures), but primarily at Tages-Anzeiger and BZ.
However, neither official nor confidential discussions with insiders have confirmed that this would actually have caused problems that would have jeopardized the pool. Hansjürg Klöti, Chairman of the Swisspool Management Committee and Head of Newspaper Advertising at Tamedia, freely admits that the Tages-Anzeiger, BaZ and BZ did indeed consider moving on when the NZZ joined the NLZ. However, due to the good cooperation to date and the successful product, this was quickly put aside. The full house was not a problem either. On the contrary, he is even facing new competition from Swisspool I (only Swiss-German titles): From 2003, anyone who books an advertisement with Swisspool I on Saturday and a second, identical advertisement on the following Monday (subject change possible) will receive a 50 percent discount on the Monday advertisement. Klöti makes light of the fact that the Tages-Anzeiger is dancing at two different weddings. The Swisspool must now be strengthened against its main competitor, the Sonntagspresse, he says. Moreover, the two weddings are taking place at two completely different tariff levels.
The bold print in the medium is the message
That leaves the erosion of readership for the Swisspool titles. It is not possible to say whether the new distribution formula has caused red heads. This time, however, the rates were available earlier than before. One thing is certain: Swisspool will be more expensive. Prices will rise by 0.5 to 0.8 percent, the price per thousand readers by as much as 4.2 to 5.75 percent.
Swisspool commissioned the Bern-based agency Freiburghaus & Partner to create a new campaign for the fall tariff period, initially with four themes. Each is intended to appeal to a different sector. What all the subjects have in common is an advertisement that at first glance is only recognizable as a wasteland of text with many redundant sentences. However, a few bold letters in the ad reveal an object or symbol to which the texts by Pascal Ochsenbein and Sabine Wittwer refer.
The texts stand for the sophisticated content of the seven titles, while the claim "We put 1875000... in the picture" refers to the readership that takes a look at this content. This in turn is intended to inform advertisers about the quality of the readership.
Swisspool sheets
Rumor has it that the fact that the seven Swisspool partners were able to get together again is anything but a matter of course. The alleged (main) conflicts are: The NZZ Group, which now has two new titles in the pool with NLZ and SGT, the combination between Tages-Anzeiger and SonntagsZeitung (called Fullhouse) and the decline in readership at all titles (with the exception of 24 Heures), but primarily at Tages-Anzeiger and BZ.
However, neither official nor confidential discussions with insiders have confirmed that this would actually have caused problems that would have jeopardized the pool. Hansjürg Klöti, Chairman of the Swisspool Management Committee and Head of Newspaper Advertising at Tamedia, freely admits that the Tages-Anzeiger, BaZ and BZ did indeed consider moving on when the NZZ joined the NLZ. However, due to the good cooperation to date and the successful product, this was quickly put aside. The full house was not a problem either. On the contrary, he is even facing new competition from Swisspool I (only Swiss-German titles): From 2003, anyone who books an advertisement with Swisspool I on Saturday and a second, identical advertisement on the following Monday (subject change possible) will receive a 50 percent discount on the Monday advertisement. Klöti makes light of the fact that the Tages-Anzeiger is dancing at two different weddings. The Swisspool must now be strengthened against its main competitor, the Sonntagspresse, he says. Moreover, the two weddings are taking place at two completely different tariff levels.
The bold print in the medium is the message
That leaves the erosion of readership for the Swisspool titles. It is not possible to say whether the new distribution formula has caused red heads. This time, however, the rates were available earlier than before. One thing is certain: Swisspool will be more expensive. Prices will rise by 0.5 to 0.8 percent, the price per thousand readers by as much as 4.2 to 5.75 percent.
Swisspool commissioned the Bern-based agency Freiburghaus & Partner to create a new campaign for the fall tariff period, initially with four themes. Each is intended to appeal to a different sector. What all the subjects have in common is an advertisement that at first glance is only recognizable as a wasteland of text with many redundant sentences. However, a few bold letters in the ad reveal an object or symbol to which the texts by Pascal Ochsenbein and Sabine Wittwer refer.
The texts stand for the sophisticated content of the seven titles, while the claim "We put 1875000... in the picture" refers to the readership that takes a look at this content. This in turn is intended to inform advertisers about the quality of the readership.
Swisspool sheets
Tages-Anzeiger, Berner Zeitung (BZ), Basler
Zeitung (BaZ), Neue Luzerner Zeitung (NLZ), St.Galler Tagblatt (SGT), 24 Heures and Tribune de Genève
Tariffs 2003 (in CHF)Swisspool I Swisspool II
Base price/mm 13.43 16.94
1/1 page, b/w (gross) 59 092 74 536
1/1 page, 4-color 86 959 115 133
