During my five years’ employment at “die tageszeitung” (taz) I was part of team
designing special advertising campaigns to gain new readers.
These campaigns were considered vital within the context of the newspaper’s
ongoing struggle for survival.
> Imagecampaign “curious”
> Campaign “blackmail”
> Campaign “It‘s gonna be alright”
> Soup of the day
Imagecampaign “curious”
The world is a curious place. Much of what we experience in our daily lives, see, or hear on the news demands some reaction from us. But we ignore this challenge, assume that the current conditions just cannot be changed, understand the increasing globalisation as a fact, believe in “peacemaking military operations” and “collateral damage”. Or do we?
The world is a truely curious place. All around us funny, strange and remarkable things are happening but we are too busy working and worrying to really notice. We don’t make time to honour the extraordinary in ordinary life. We let ourselves get ensnared by absurd advertising campaigns. We don’t take the time to study what is happening in our neighbourhood. And to laugh at ourselves. Or do we?
“die tageszeitung” is curious. This means that it is different from all the others. It is
independent. It ticks differently than its competitors both as a company and as publishing house. It is disrespectful, ironic, truthfull. And: it is curious about things that are ignored by others. And its curiosity is rewarded as it uncovers something well worth telling.
In our campaign curious discoveries were presented out of their usual context in order to make them stand out. Readers were encouraged to submit their own discoveries.
These observations were subsequently used in the campaign.
The campaign was implemented through ads and advertising supplements in weekly
magazines like “Der Spiegel” and “Die Zeit” as well as in the newspaper itself,
direct mail, postcards, merchandise products as well as radiospots.
Concept and implementation: Katrin Meyer in cooperation with Stefan Kuzmany,
Ulrike Sindlinger and Natasa Drakula
Campaign: “Blackmail”
In a spectacular campaign to gain new subscribers the readers were threatened
with the gradual downgrading of the newspapers’s traditional quality standards.
Some specific characteristic of the newspaper would disappear unless 300
new subscriptions could be aquired each week.
Some of the threatened actions were subsequently actually implemented.
Ads and advertising supplements in weekly magazines like “Die Zeit” and “Der Spiegel”
and in “die tageszeitung” itself, Mailings, Publicity stunts
Concept and implementation: Katrin Meyer as a part of a team with members of the “taz” (publisher- and advertising department)
Art director: Stefanie Urbach, Consulting: Sebastian Turner
Award “Silberner Nagel”, ADC Germany, 2000
Campaign “It’s gonna be all right”
After numerous campaigns to save the newspaper from having to close
the new “taz” is being relaunched under the slogan “It’s gonna be alright”.
Ads and advertising supplements in weekly magazines like “Der Spiegel”
and “Die Zeit” as well as in the newspaper itself.
Direct mail, postcards, merchandise products, cinema spot
Concept: Katrin Meyer in cooperation with
Klaudia Brunst, Stefanie Urbach and Ulrike Sindlinger
Soup of the day
A ready made soup specially created for “taz” by gourmet chef
Vincent Klink was offered exclusively to the subscribers.
Name and packaging design: Katrin Meyer
