Direct booking jungle
Advertisement: More and more publishers are offering agencies direct-booking incentives—under all sorts of terms and conditions. It’s starting to get confusing.
Advertising More and more publishers are offering agencies direct booking compensation - on all kinds of terms. It is slowly becoming confusing. For media agencies that book directly with the publisher instead of via Publimedia, there is additional work involved - not only in the booking itself, but also in controlling and billing. Two years ago, Tamedia began to reward large agencies that book directly with Tamedia titles for their additional work. Since then and also in the current year, Tamedia has granted a "direct booking fee" (DBE) of 1.5 percent, provided the agency places a minimum volume of one million francs per year with Tamedia titles. If the agency also exceeds the previous year's volume, Tamedia increases the DBE to 2 percent.so far, so clear and straightforward. But in the meantime, the DBE wave has reached almost all independent publishers - and others are likely to want to join in. In addition to Tamedia's DBE offer for 2007, Ringier, Edipresse, the Berner Zeitung and the Walliser Bote have also confirmed their offers for this year. It is also clear that the HandelsZeitung group and Jean Frey AG will also introduce a DBE. "However, we have not yet been able to determine the conditions," says CEO Ralph Büchi. Weltwoche has not yet made a decision, while its own publications Freiburger Nachrichten and Schaffhauser Nachrichten have decided not to introduce a DBE.
From the media agencies' point of view, the problem is that the offers are completely inconsistent and almost as varied as the tariff documentation of the respective print titles. In addition to the extra work involved in booking, agencies also have to do more work consulting the various DBE conditions. Publimedia will certainly never offer a (free) tool for this. However, Werbewoche provides an initial, albeit provisional, overview here.
The Ringier offer also provides for a DBE of one percent in 2007; an increase in the rate, as initially considered, has been dropped. Instead, the Group is expanding its range of titles, which previously included the Cash Group and 15 magazines, to include Blick, SonntagsBlick, Sie + Er and Heute. This is remarkable in that there is a valid agreement between the Blick Group and Publimedia for the advertising commission. This is why the Blick Group had not previously granted DBEs. Thomas Passen, responsible for the readership and advertising market at Ringier magazines, explains the turnaround by saying that the NZZ is now also preparing a kind of DBE offer despite being P-directed (see p. 1). "If even P-directed titles participate, we see no reason why the commission agreement should be more binding for us. We would then really be at a competitive disadvantage," he says.
Ringier's DBE offer differs from Tamedia's in three other respects: The minimum annual volume that agencies must place with Ringier titles in order to be eligible for the DBE is only half a million francs. Furthermore, Ringier does not increase the DBE if additional volumes are achieved compared to the previous year. On the other hand, Ringier grants the DBE not only to agencies, but also explicitly to direct-booking customers - so as not to discriminate against them compared to agencies. Tamedia takes a different view: "Our direct booking compensation is geared towards the services provided by media agencies," says Tamedia spokesperson Christoph Zimmer.
Edipresse is handling its recently introduced DBE in a completely different way: for the time being, this is only being granted to the magazines, while the newspapers, which are on a P lease, are standing by. "We are still waiting for a solution proposal from Publicitas," says Marcel Siegenthaler, Head of Advertising Market Edipresse Switzerland, with a sideways glance at the NZZ. As with Ringier, the Edipresse DBE applies to both agencies and customers. What is special, however, is that Edipresse negotiates an individual DBE percentage (between 1.5 and 2 percent) and an individual minimum volume with each agency - according to their customer portfolio and scope of services. "The agencies' performance in terms of receipts, invoicing and payment deadlines varies greatly," says Siegenthaler, explaining the procedure. And he adds as a warning: "There are standard P services that are simply good. The DBE-granting publishers will have their own experiences in this regard."
Espace Media Groupe takes a different approach: It offers agencies and customers a DBE of 1.5 percent, but only for bookings with the Berner Zeitung and its split editions as well as on the portal www.espace.ch. The offer is initially valid for one year, "after which we will decide whether to keep the tool in this form or modify it," says Head of Advertising Matthias O. Hütköper.
The last known DBE variant for the time being comes from Upper Valais: the Walliser Bote (WB) also grants agencies - and only them - 1.5 percent. It does not stipulate a minimum volume for this. "We are also happy with small volumes," comments Jörg Salzmann, member of the management team at WB publisher Mengis Druck & Verlag.
The industry is now eagerly awaiting not only the decisions at the independent publishers HandelsZeitung, Jean Frey and Weltwoche, but also what will happen in Zurich. No matter how the course is set there, other P-directed publishers are keeping a wary eye on what is happening on Falkenstrasse. First and foremost the Edipresse newspapers. The Basler Zeitung, the first P-owned title to even consider a DBE (see WW 41/06), is also likely to be watching with interest. In any case, no definitive decision for or against a DBE has yet been made at Rheinknie, says CEO Beat Meyer.
Markus Knöpfli
From the media agencies' point of view, the problem is that the offers are completely inconsistent and almost as varied as the tariff documentation of the respective print titles. In addition to the extra work involved in booking, agencies also have to do more work consulting the various DBE conditions. Publimedia will certainly never offer a (free) tool for this. However, Werbewoche provides an initial, albeit provisional, overview here.
The Ringier offer also provides for a DBE of one percent in 2007; an increase in the rate, as initially considered, has been dropped. Instead, the Group is expanding its range of titles, which previously included the Cash Group and 15 magazines, to include Blick, SonntagsBlick, Sie + Er and Heute. This is remarkable in that there is a valid agreement between the Blick Group and Publimedia for the advertising commission. This is why the Blick Group had not previously granted DBEs. Thomas Passen, responsible for the readership and advertising market at Ringier magazines, explains the turnaround by saying that the NZZ is now also preparing a kind of DBE offer despite being P-directed (see p. 1). "If even P-directed titles participate, we see no reason why the commission agreement should be more binding for us. We would then really be at a competitive disadvantage," he says.
Ringier's DBE offer differs from Tamedia's in three other respects: The minimum annual volume that agencies must place with Ringier titles in order to be eligible for the DBE is only half a million francs. Furthermore, Ringier does not increase the DBE if additional volumes are achieved compared to the previous year. On the other hand, Ringier grants the DBE not only to agencies, but also explicitly to direct-booking customers - so as not to discriminate against them compared to agencies. Tamedia takes a different view: "Our direct booking compensation is geared towards the services provided by media agencies," says Tamedia spokesperson Christoph Zimmer.
Edipresse is handling its recently introduced DBE in a completely different way: for the time being, this is only being granted to the magazines, while the newspapers, which are on a P lease, are standing by. "We are still waiting for a solution proposal from Publicitas," says Marcel Siegenthaler, Head of Advertising Market Edipresse Switzerland, with a sideways glance at the NZZ. As with Ringier, the Edipresse DBE applies to both agencies and customers. What is special, however, is that Edipresse negotiates an individual DBE percentage (between 1.5 and 2 percent) and an individual minimum volume with each agency - according to their customer portfolio and scope of services. "The agencies' performance in terms of receipts, invoicing and payment deadlines varies greatly," says Siegenthaler, explaining the procedure. And he adds as a warning: "There are standard P services that are simply good. The DBE-granting publishers will have their own experiences in this regard."
Espace Media Groupe takes a different approach: It offers agencies and customers a DBE of 1.5 percent, but only for bookings with the Berner Zeitung and its split editions as well as on the portal www.espace.ch. The offer is initially valid for one year, "after which we will decide whether to keep the tool in this form or modify it," says Head of Advertising Matthias O. Hütköper.
The last known DBE variant for the time being comes from Upper Valais: the Walliser Bote (WB) also grants agencies - and only them - 1.5 percent. It does not stipulate a minimum volume for this. "We are also happy with small volumes," comments Jörg Salzmann, member of the management team at WB publisher Mengis Druck & Verlag.
The industry is now eagerly awaiting not only the decisions at the independent publishers HandelsZeitung, Jean Frey and Weltwoche, but also what will happen in Zurich. No matter how the course is set there, other P-directed publishers are keeping a wary eye on what is happening on Falkenstrasse. First and foremost the Edipresse newspapers. The Basler Zeitung, the first P-owned title to even consider a DBE (see WW 41/06), is also likely to be watching with interest. In any case, no definitive decision for or against a DBE has yet been made at Rheinknie, says CEO Beat Meyer.
Markus Knöpfli
