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Advertisement: The NZZ and Publicitas are hoping to attract agencies by offering compensation.
Advertising NZZ and Publicitas want to entice agencies with compensation It is now clear how NZZ, Publicitas and Publimedia are reacting to the fact that in-house publishers are compensating direct bookers by the dozen: The three partners are granting agencies as well as self-booking advertising customers a so-called "handling fee" (HE) of one percent on commercial advertisements and supplements booked in the titles NZZ, NZZ am Sonntag and the new magazine Z, retroactively from the beginning of the year. The prerequisite is that the annual volume is at least CHF 0.5 million, the invoices are paid on time and the advertisements are delivered via the digital data courier PrintOnline. The HE is intended to reward agencies and self-booking customers "for their volumes as well as for their advance services in the planning and processing area", explains Markus Ehrle, Head of Advertising Market at NZZ, but on closer inspection it becomes clear that, unlike the direct booking fee (DBE), the HE does not reward any additional work, as the booking can be made via any P-branch. The HE is therefore purely a price reduction. Or a "market share discount" criticized by Publipresse director Otto Meier, which is merely intended to win back market share. Incidentally, Ehrle does not want to reveal who pays for the HE in the end, the NZZ or the P.
But that is precisely what is crucial. Because the type of solution will determine whether other P-directed publishers want to jump on the HE bandwagon. Secrecy, on the other hand, undermines trust in the P even more and sows mistrust among publishers.
In any case, it will be interesting to see how the market reacts. It is possible that individual independent publishers will now increase their DBE in order to become more attractive to the NZZ. It is also likely that many advertising clients will see the HE, like the DBE, as an additional discount and demand it. The HE would then be of just as little use to the agencies as the DBE, but the NZZ would be off the hook: it would no longer run the risk of being replaced by similar titles in media planning simply because of the DBE.
But what if the clients change their policy, reassess the DBE as a genuine additional service and leave it to the agencies, but demand the HE? Then the HE would amount to an own goal by P and NZZ.
Markus Knöpfli
But that is precisely what is crucial. Because the type of solution will determine whether other P-directed publishers want to jump on the HE bandwagon. Secrecy, on the other hand, undermines trust in the P even more and sows mistrust among publishers.
In any case, it will be interesting to see how the market reacts. It is possible that individual independent publishers will now increase their DBE in order to become more attractive to the NZZ. It is also likely that many advertising clients will see the HE, like the DBE, as an additional discount and demand it. The HE would then be of just as little use to the agencies as the DBE, but the NZZ would be off the hook: it would no longer run the risk of being replaced by similar titles in media planning simply because of the DBE.
But what if the clients change their policy, reassess the DBE as a genuine additional service and leave it to the agencies, but demand the HE? Then the HE would amount to an own goal by P and NZZ.
Markus Knöpfli
