"Offer did not fit our strategy"
Stefan Staub, Project Manager for Electronic Media at PubliGroupe, on the second step in electronic media marketing.
Stefan Staub, Project Manager Electronic Media at PubliGroupe, on the second step in electronic media marketing.WW The investor 3i has joined Goldbach Media. Stefan Staub It's no secret that Goldbach Media offered a block of shares in the market to finance its growth plans. In this respect, 3i's investment comes as no surprise to us.
Was it also offered to PubliGroupe?
Yes, we were contacted by Goldbach about this, but did not respond.
Why?
Because the offer does not correspond to our strategic intentions. PubliGroupe has set itself the goal of playing a significant role in electronic media marketing in the future. We are aiming for independent solutions or majority shareholdings in our core business.
And Goldbach rejected that?
No discussions were held in this regard.
After the Cinecom takeover, you said that PubliGroupe wanted to take a second step in the marketing of electronic media this year. Is that still to come?
Hardly this year, but we are continuing to work on it. Developing good, forward-looking solutions takes time, the right partners and new, future-oriented ideas. Our goal is still to expand our involvement in electronic media marketing.
In the summer of this year, you would have found the doors of radio marketers Spot Promotion and Radiotele open. Spot Promotion's doors are now closed and Radiotele's are less wide open. Why did you miss this opportunity?
That's how you see it. We didn't pick up the ball from Spot Promotion because we see our entry into radio marketing differently. We are looking for an approach that strengthens radio as a media category as a whole. And just this much about Radiotele: I can confirm Bruno Oetterli's statement that no talks are currently taking place.
Another possibility would be to set up a radio unit at Cinecom, which already marketed radio in the past.
This is not an issue at the moment. Cinecom is clearly positioned as a cinema and TV marketer and is successfully building up a plasma screen network at important POS.
What philosophy would PubliGroupe adopt in the radio market in terms of tariff loyalty or pool design?
We would primarily advocate market-driven offers and a uniform and transparent pricing and discount policy. Today, there is a huge jungle of discounts in the radio market. It also happens that the prices of the national pools are undercut by the local marketers of various stations for direct bookings. This harms the radio genre. Everyone is complaining about these shortcomings today. However, there will only be an improvement if the major market players come together to formulate a common policy.
A week ago, the European investment company 3i slammed the door on whom at the Goldbach
Media acquired a 10 percent stake. This raises questions. Why did 3i come into the picture and not the Swiss PubliGroupe, which had announced a second step in the marketing of electronic media for this year? Is 3i's entry as advantageous for Goldbach in terms of synergies as PubliGroupe's participation would have been? Did the Lausanne-based company turn down Goldbach, or did they miss the boat? Were there any obstacles under antitrust law? And now that the Goldbach doors are likely to remain closed for a while, does the advertising intermediary have any other options for its "second step"?
To clarify such questions, Werbewoche held separate discussions with Stefan Staub of PubliGroupe and Klaus Kappeler of Goldbach Media. (mk)
Interview: Markus Knöpfli
Was it also offered to PubliGroupe?
Yes, we were contacted by Goldbach about this, but did not respond.
Why?
Because the offer does not correspond to our strategic intentions. PubliGroupe has set itself the goal of playing a significant role in electronic media marketing in the future. We are aiming for independent solutions or majority shareholdings in our core business.
And Goldbach rejected that?
No discussions were held in this regard.
After the Cinecom takeover, you said that PubliGroupe wanted to take a second step in the marketing of electronic media this year. Is that still to come?
Hardly this year, but we are continuing to work on it. Developing good, forward-looking solutions takes time, the right partners and new, future-oriented ideas. Our goal is still to expand our involvement in electronic media marketing.
In the summer of this year, you would have found the doors of radio marketers Spot Promotion and Radiotele open. Spot Promotion's doors are now closed and Radiotele's are less wide open. Why did you miss this opportunity?
That's how you see it. We didn't pick up the ball from Spot Promotion because we see our entry into radio marketing differently. We are looking for an approach that strengthens radio as a media category as a whole. And just this much about Radiotele: I can confirm Bruno Oetterli's statement that no talks are currently taking place.
Another possibility would be to set up a radio unit at Cinecom, which already marketed radio in the past.
This is not an issue at the moment. Cinecom is clearly positioned as a cinema and TV marketer and is successfully building up a plasma screen network at important POS.
What philosophy would PubliGroupe adopt in the radio market in terms of tariff loyalty or pool design?
We would primarily advocate market-driven offers and a uniform and transparent pricing and discount policy. Today, there is a huge jungle of discounts in the radio market. It also happens that the prices of the national pools are undercut by the local marketers of various stations for direct bookings. This harms the radio genre. Everyone is complaining about these shortcomings today. However, there will only be an improvement if the major market players come together to formulate a common policy.
A week ago, the European investment company 3i slammed the door on whom at the Goldbach
Media acquired a 10 percent stake. This raises questions. Why did 3i come into the picture and not the Swiss PubliGroupe, which had announced a second step in the marketing of electronic media for this year? Is 3i's entry as advantageous for Goldbach in terms of synergies as PubliGroupe's participation would have been? Did the Lausanne-based company turn down Goldbach, or did they miss the boat? Were there any obstacles under antitrust law? And now that the Goldbach doors are likely to remain closed for a while, does the advertising intermediary have any other options for its "second step"?
To clarify such questions, Werbewoche held separate discussions with Stefan Staub of PubliGroupe and Klaus Kappeler of Goldbach Media. (mk)
Interview: Markus Knöpfli
