"We'll be ripping off audiences at the competition".
Peter Wanner on his new multimedia project "Cooking"
Peter Wanner on his new multimedia project "Cooking "Since March 6, the AZ Media Group has been cooking up a huge panful of cooking topics with its multimedia project "Cooking". With the new magazine Kochen, the Internet site and the TV commercial, AZ publisher Peter Wanner is going to give the various established cooking titles a run for their money. That's already clear: Rüebliland is serving up a huge panful of cooking topics. Why do you think that your multimedia project "Cooking" will meet with sufficient appetite from the public?
Peter Wanner: Because there are still few multimedia projects on the subject of cooking. On the other hand, in Annemarie Wildeisen we have an editor-in-chief who already has a large fan base. Her books, which are also published by AT Verlag, are bestsellers. In addition, Ms. Wildeisen has already successfully gained experience on the Internet. Many recipes are accessed online. Together with the new cooking magazine and our TV presence, we are launching a good cause. We believe in that.
Is Kochen just a much smaller Aargau version of Betty Bossi, which is fantastically positioned with a circulation of 9,20000 copies? The cooking giant also has a magazine, a TV show and the Internet.
Wanner: It can't be the case that the whole of Switzerland cooks according to Betty Bossi's recipes. We offer an alternative that can still be made - more modern and in the style of Annemarie Wildeisen. We want to appeal to housewives who want to cook quickly and simply, but still well. Betty Bossi, on the other hand, is aimed more at traditional cooks.
However, the individual chef is hardly on the rise overall, rather the opposite is the case: convenience food is booming. What is your analysis of the consumer market?
Wanner: We believe in the effect of the Wildeisen brand. It has also made Chuchi a success. On the other hand, Chuchi has been struggling since she left, that's well known. We'll see how that develops. We assume that between 10,000 and 20,000 subscribers will switch from Chuchi to us within a short space of time.
They mainly want to draw an audience at Chuchi. Where else?
Wanner: Of course, our main aim is to attract new readers. But we will certainly also attract some readers from various competitors, such as Saisonküche, Le Menu or Betty Bossi. The latter may well be showing signs of fatigue in the meantime.
What circulation goals are you pursuing with cooking?
Wanner: We want to reach 40,000 to 50,000 copies sold fairly quickly - we should be there in a year or two. But we're not starting from scratch. All of our approximately 20000 Marmite subscribers also receive Cooking. We will gain more readers with targeted marketing measures and the awareness effect of Annemarie Wildeisen.
At what circulation will cooking reach break-even?
Wanner: Certainly at 40000 copies. Perhaps even before that, depending on how well or badly the advertising market develops. And of course it all depends a bit on what the competition does.
What are you most likely to earn money with, the magazine, the Internet or the TV show?
Wanner: We are already earning good money with Wildeisen's books. That first of all. But above all, we believe we can successfully establish the magazine. If we succeed, we will also earn good money with it. On the other hand, we see our presence on television primarily as a marketing measure at the moment. We only have a 3-minute spot there, which is of course not yet a real cooking program. But it could later become a real cooking show. But that hasn't been decided yet. Whether we earn money with the website depends on how much money we can charge for calling up recipes. We won't be doing that at the moment, but we will later. Once the site is established and running well, you have to be able to earn money with it. That is clear.
Speaking of earning money: Michael Ringier once said that he earns more money selling kitchen utensils via Betty Bossi than with some newspapers and magazines. Will you also get into this obviously lucrative business with pans, utensils and other appliances?
Wanner: This is a very interesting side business that could do well in cooperation with a magazine. That's why we will certainly also try to boost this business. However, this is not our first priority; we want to take care of the magazine first.
What proportion of sales do you want to generate with kitchen utensils?
Wanner: We have already budgeted something in the first year, but it is still minimal. However, as soon as the magazine is doing well, this ancillary business will come more to the fore. It is an important side business that we will keep a very close eye on.
One major flaw is obvious in the linguistic-national multimedia project "Cooking": the TV commercial can only be seen on Tele M1 and Tele Tell.
Wanner: Of course we would like to have a better presence on local TV. We will work in this direction. But we wanted to start now and then, in a second step, enter into talks with other stations. Then we'll see who else from local TV will jump on our cooking bandwagon.
Does the topic of cooking even fit in with the local TV scene, which is geared towards news? The cooking spot is programmed immediately before the news.
Wanner: Our cooking spot is scheduled three minutes before the start of the hourly program. We don't displace anyone at this position, because fillers such as program previews are scheduled here anyway. On the other hand, this is an attractive slot for us. Because people who want to watch the news often already zap into the program here. Interview: Daniel Schifferle
Peter Wanner: Because there are still few multimedia projects on the subject of cooking. On the other hand, in Annemarie Wildeisen we have an editor-in-chief who already has a large fan base. Her books, which are also published by AT Verlag, are bestsellers. In addition, Ms. Wildeisen has already successfully gained experience on the Internet. Many recipes are accessed online. Together with the new cooking magazine and our TV presence, we are launching a good cause. We believe in that.
Is Kochen just a much smaller Aargau version of Betty Bossi, which is fantastically positioned with a circulation of 9,20000 copies? The cooking giant also has a magazine, a TV show and the Internet.
Wanner: It can't be the case that the whole of Switzerland cooks according to Betty Bossi's recipes. We offer an alternative that can still be made - more modern and in the style of Annemarie Wildeisen. We want to appeal to housewives who want to cook quickly and simply, but still well. Betty Bossi, on the other hand, is aimed more at traditional cooks.
However, the individual chef is hardly on the rise overall, rather the opposite is the case: convenience food is booming. What is your analysis of the consumer market?
Wanner: We believe in the effect of the Wildeisen brand. It has also made Chuchi a success. On the other hand, Chuchi has been struggling since she left, that's well known. We'll see how that develops. We assume that between 10,000 and 20,000 subscribers will switch from Chuchi to us within a short space of time.
They mainly want to draw an audience at Chuchi. Where else?
Wanner: Of course, our main aim is to attract new readers. But we will certainly also attract some readers from various competitors, such as Saisonküche, Le Menu or Betty Bossi. The latter may well be showing signs of fatigue in the meantime.
What circulation goals are you pursuing with cooking?
Wanner: We want to reach 40,000 to 50,000 copies sold fairly quickly - we should be there in a year or two. But we're not starting from scratch. All of our approximately 20000 Marmite subscribers also receive Cooking. We will gain more readers with targeted marketing measures and the awareness effect of Annemarie Wildeisen.
At what circulation will cooking reach break-even?
Wanner: Certainly at 40000 copies. Perhaps even before that, depending on how well or badly the advertising market develops. And of course it all depends a bit on what the competition does.
What are you most likely to earn money with, the magazine, the Internet or the TV show?
Wanner: We are already earning good money with Wildeisen's books. That first of all. But above all, we believe we can successfully establish the magazine. If we succeed, we will also earn good money with it. On the other hand, we see our presence on television primarily as a marketing measure at the moment. We only have a 3-minute spot there, which is of course not yet a real cooking program. But it could later become a real cooking show. But that hasn't been decided yet. Whether we earn money with the website depends on how much money we can charge for calling up recipes. We won't be doing that at the moment, but we will later. Once the site is established and running well, you have to be able to earn money with it. That is clear.
Speaking of earning money: Michael Ringier once said that he earns more money selling kitchen utensils via Betty Bossi than with some newspapers and magazines. Will you also get into this obviously lucrative business with pans, utensils and other appliances?
Wanner: This is a very interesting side business that could do well in cooperation with a magazine. That's why we will certainly also try to boost this business. However, this is not our first priority; we want to take care of the magazine first.
What proportion of sales do you want to generate with kitchen utensils?
Wanner: We have already budgeted something in the first year, but it is still minimal. However, as soon as the magazine is doing well, this ancillary business will come more to the fore. It is an important side business that we will keep a very close eye on.
One major flaw is obvious in the linguistic-national multimedia project "Cooking": the TV commercial can only be seen on Tele M1 and Tele Tell.
Wanner: Of course we would like to have a better presence on local TV. We will work in this direction. But we wanted to start now and then, in a second step, enter into talks with other stations. Then we'll see who else from local TV will jump on our cooking bandwagon.
Does the topic of cooking even fit in with the local TV scene, which is geared towards news? The cooking spot is programmed immediately before the news.
Wanner: Our cooking spot is scheduled three minutes before the start of the hourly program. We don't displace anyone at this position, because fillers such as program previews are scheduled here anyway. On the other hand, this is an attractive slot for us. Because people who want to watch the news often already zap into the program here. Interview: Daniel Schifferle
