Ringier aligns itself cross-media

Advertising sales Ringier is increasingly focusing on cross-media. The basis for this is formed by thematic platforms.
cross-media offering with print, TV, Internet and events, in that the
media group bundles existing vessels in a new way. The goal is always
The same: the customer should be able to access the offer as easily as possible.
be designed. Ringier has done this most consistently with the program
"Health Consultation Hour" (GES) tackled. Following the discussions about the
Sponsorship acquisitions by TV doctor Samuel Stutz in May 2004 and
after the Federal Office of Communications initiated supervisory
(see box), the TV, print and online media were put together.
online editorial teams together and brought them under one roof with the publishing house
of Ringier-TV. Responsible for the commercial sector since then is
Martin Tamas, who eight months after the GES rebuild spoke of "positive
Experience for all media involved". "Crossmedia from one
Hand is extremely well received by customers," he says.

TV as a lighthouse medium
The GES concept: The TV program acts as a "lighthouse medium" without
promotional appearances. Commercial offers and promotions are only available in the
magazine or on the Internet and increasingly at public events such as
Health weeks or cruises on the "health ship". "The
is one step closer to the readers and viewers. At the same time
we provide our customers with new presentation opportunities," says Fibo
Deutsch, Head of TV at Ringier.
However, the reorganization has not yet paid off in the traditional advertising business.
paid off: the lifted GES magazine increased slightly in volume in 2005.
lost. Tamas justifies this with a shift towards
Special forms of advertising: "Customer interest in booklets, posters and
individual appearances has increased significantly," he says. The
However, the total turnover of the GES platform is at the previous year's level.
In view of last year's whirlwind, Fibo Deutsch is already evaluating this
as a success: even the TV sponsors have remained loyal, he says.
Tamas expects circulation (2004: 84074) and readership to stagnate
(608000). There was even a slight decline in subscriptions.
On the other hand, kiosk sales practically doubled in 2005:
Currently, over 3500 issues are constantly being sold, the special issue on the
Thema Rheuma even sold more than 7000 copies. No wonder
seven special issues are expected to be published next year. Also
Tamas is trying to use the approximately 14,000 medical practices in German-speaking Switzerland as a
gain subscribers.
The experience gained at GES has prompted the publishing house to also develop the
The biweekly "konsum.TV" follows the same knitting pattern in a
more attractive form. So on September 4, in the
first edition of "konsum.TV" after the summer break, a change of concept
make themselves felt. A new pair of presenters - Eva Camenzind and
Marc Caprez - through the live broadcast. Audience participation in the studio
and by telephone is being expanded and new sections are planned.
"At the same time, we also want to set up a track with events and
seminars and, as with GES, focus even more strongly on the other media.
", says Andreas Waldis, Head of Marketing at Ringier-TV.
He sees potential in print and the Internet in particular.
The program "al dente" also has a platform-like approach: The
Ringier TV is responsible for the TV recipes, they are
but also those in the Betty Bossi newspaper, in which "al
dente" supplement to Schweizer Illustrierte and on the Internet. Currently
it is even testing the sending of prescriptions via SMS and MMS. The advertising and
Sponsorship offer comes from a single source. Similar, but in
on a smaller scale, "people" on Sat 1 Switzerland is combined with
print partner SonntagsBlick and various campaigns.
Are there more conversions to come? "We are trying with all
programs, but not all of them are suitable," says Waldis, naming
the requirements: To
one thing is that there needs to be a certain breadth in terms of audience and topics. 
The rhythm of appearance and broadcasting should fit together and
Editing and sales each integrally under one management
can be provided. "This is the only way for a platform to
clout," Waldis is convinced.

Markus Knöpfli