Ringier takes over 100 percent of Admeira - 25 jobs to be cut

As recently as last year, rumors were circulating in the media industry that Ringier might turn its back on Admeira (Werbewoche.ch reported). The expansion of the booming content marketing sector was interpreted to mean that advertising marketing could soon be taken into its own hands again at Dufourstrasse. This is what Ringier is now doing - not by leaving Admeira, however, but by taking over the joint venture. The print media will once again be marketed by Ringier itself, while Admeira will concentrate on the TV inventory.

Walder, CEO of Ringier and Chairman of the Board of Admeira, explains the new starting position in a statement on Thursday: "We now own Admeira one hundred percent. We are using this to realign Admeira: In the new constellation, Admeira will concentrate entirely on the marketing of TV inventory. The marketing of print media and all digital, journalistic platforms will go back to Ringier."

Swisscom's expectations were not met

Swisscom was since the foundation of the advertising joint venture on board primarily as a technology partner. "Since its launch in April 2016, Admeira has established itself in an extremely challenging market. However, cross-media offerings and the general conditions for target-oriented advertising have not developed as might have been assumed four years ago. Swisscom's role as a technology partner is thus limited, and Ringier, as the sole owner, can implement the necessary realignment of Admeira more quickly and effectively," says Swisscom CEO Urs Schaeppi.

Would Ringier have liked to keep Swisscom on board as a partner? "It was good cooperation. But we agree that as things stand today, Admeira can respond faster and more successfully to new market needs with a single strong owner," says Johanna Walser, Chief Communications Officer a.I., when asked by Werbewoche.ch.

SRG inventory remains with Admeira

In the future, Admeira will focus entirely on marketing TV offerings and will thus continue to be responsible for marketing SRG SSR's advertising inventory as well as TF1 Group, Tele Regio Combi TRC, MySports and WetterTV. "We consider Admeira's focus on the TV market as an opportunity for SRG. With Admeira, we have a strong partner in an advertising market that is challenging for all of us," says Gilles Marchand, Director General of SRG SSR.

Since Ringier is aggressively pushing into the moving image market with Blick TV, the question arises as to whether it might not become a problem to market one's own competition with the SRG stations in the future. Ringier waves it off: "We don't see any problem here," says Johanna Walser. "The linear TV offer of the SRG and Blick TV follow completely different moving image logics. Blick TV will first and foremost correspond to user habits on the smartphone."

While Admeira will continue to sell advertising for SRG stations, sponsorship will now be organized internally within SRG. As a result, the relevant sponsorship staff will move from Admeira to SRG.

Print and digital advertising moves to Ringier

During the year, there will also be changes in the area of print and digital inventory: Ringier will now market its own print and digital offerings itself. The teams concerned will accordingly move to Ringier, where Thomas Spiegel, Head of Global Media, will be responsible for these marketing activities.

In addition, Swisscom's digital inventory will now also be marketed by Ringier. Admeira employees who were responsible for print and digital advertising will be taken over by Ringier.

Realignment and personnel changes

Admeira's focus on TV marketing will result in an adjustment of internal corporate structures. A total of 25 of the current 278 jobs will be cut in 2020. Bertrand Jungo, CEO of Admeira for the past three years, is moving to the Board of Directors. Marc Walder will continue to chair the board. Beat Grossenbacher, CFO of SRG SSR, is a new member of the Admeira Board of Directors.

As of March 1, 2020, Frank Zelger, previously Chief Commercial Officer, will take over the operational management of the marketing company. Zelger has many years of experience in the areas of marketing and digitization, according to the statement. Before joining Admeira, he held management positions at UPC and Sunrise, among others.

The Competition Commission (WEKO) has meanwhile given the green light for the takeover by Ringier. The two partners have agreed not to disclose the financial details. (hae)