No guts for new WGs
Media Planning: Wemf's Board of Directors has put the revised plan for new business sectors on the back burner.
has put the revised concept for new economic areas on the back burner.
Postponed. The announcement made by Wemf 18 months ago was clear: it would not implement the proposal presented in May 2004 for a
reorganization of the economic areas (WGs) once again and the
The result is "expected to be submitted for further consultation in 2005.
send". The reason for the withdrawal was the sometimes very harsh criticism
on the new shared flat model. However, since the middle of the year at the latest
solution proposal on the table (see box), but the
Wemf has so far waived a further consultation. "We are looking at the
solution approach once again, because it is not yet 100 % sufficient.
percent," says Wemf Director René Schmutz. He doesn't want any more
The matter was not a high priority, which is why he also
does not want to commit to a new time horizon. PubliGroupe wants new concept
Members of the Wemf Board of Directors go even further: "In
decided to impose a temporary moratorium on this matter," says
Otto Meier, General Manager of PubliPresse. Albert P. Stäheli, CEO of
Espace Media Group, justifies the postponement with the currently high
workload at Wemf, "which is why the new WG model will be introduced at the earliest.
will be on the agenda again in a year's time." Meier and Stäheli affirm
However, the issue is not buried. For example, the
PubliPresse continues to pursue a new concept, says Meier. "The previous ones,
already 40-year-old shared flats are long outdated, which is why there is a need for
publishers continue to see a need for redefinition," agrees
Stäheli, who is in charge of the Swiss Press Association's
advertising market. Two years ago, this committee developed a new concept
unanimously in favor of the moratorium. Jürg is not enthusiastic about the moratorium
Siegrist, Director of the Association of Swiss Advertisers
(SWA). "Wemf should not have decided this on its own
allowed to do so," he criticizes. In addition, the advertising customers are not even directly
been informed. But he still likes to bang on the table too loudly
not. Siegrist: "Other things are more urgent for us at the moment."
The Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM) is also concerned about the
Wemf moratorium, although in Biel the new WG model
has long been applied: In 1993, the Publicom Institute first defined
the communication rooms as part of a Bakom commissioned study. Since then
These form one of several bases for determining the
Distribution areas of private radio or television stations.
"Of course we would be interested in a faster harmonization of the
models," says Bakom employee Albert
Hostettler. "Nevertheless, the Wemf decision does not throw us a spanner in the works.
between the legs." René is probably the most disappointed by the moratorium
Grossenbacher, owner of the Publicom Institute and father of the new
WG model and the 1994 communication atlas based on it.
is not a good sign for the publishing industry when it celebrates a 40-year anniversary.
system cannot be reformed," he says. He also doubts the courage of the
Wemf to ever bring the concept back to the table. Grossenbacher:
"I don't know how likely that is."
Markus Knöpfli
