Ringier, SRG and Swisscom bundle advertising sales
Starting in 2016, Ringier, SRG, and Swisscom will jointly market their advertising space. The new joint marketing company is designed to meet the rapidly changing needs of advertisers.
By merging the advertising sales, the three companies say they are also equipping themselves against competition from Google and Facebook in the digital advertising market. While the telecommunications group Swisscom is contributing the marketing rights to its online platforms and Swisscom TV as well as its technological expertise, Ringier and SRG are ceding the marketing rights to their high-reach media offerings. SRG, Ringier and Swisscom each hold a third of the new public limited company. However, the partners have agreed not to disclose the financial details, as stated in the press release. While Swisscom and Ringier are outsourcing their advertising activities to the company, SRG is integrating its marketing subsidiary Publisuisse into the company. The head of the marketing organization, which does not yet have a name, will be the current Publisuisse CEO Martin Schneider. Ringier CEO Marc Walder is to become Chairman of the Board of Directors, while SRG Director General Roger De Weck and Swisscom CEO Urs Schaeppi will sit on the Board.
New company is open and cooperative
The new joint advertising marketing company will also be open to other companies. "We are not a closed club," said Ringier CEO Marc Walder during a conference call at midday. The purpose of the bundling is to strengthen the Swiss advertising market in the face of globalized competition. The reactions from other publishers to the new offer have so far been positive. They have shown understanding for the alliance of the three companies. At the same time, they have shown interest in examining the possibility of cooperation. For the time being, a customer relationship is envisaged for cooperation with other partners, i.e. no admission of additional shareholders. However, Marc Walder hinted that this could change at a later date.
Coincidentally, a meeting will be held on Tuesday with the Swiss Media Association to discuss the merger and its consequences. The SRG's online advertising ban is likely to be an important topic for the publishers. For association president Hanspeter Lebrument, this is central, as he emphasized to the sda news agency. He described the merger of the three companies as an innovative and new solution, provided that the organization is also open to other market participants and that the online advertising ban for SRG remains in place.
The media company Tamedia showed little interest in an initial reaction. "We focus on individual marketing, also in the digital sector. This foundation has no direct impact on our strategy," spokesman Christoph Zimmer told the news agency SDA. Tamedia owns online platforms together with Swisscom and Ringier. "The co-existence of competition and cooperation will increase in the near future," said Zimmer. "The only remarkable thing about this consolidation step is that with Swisscom and SRG, two providers are involved that belong to the public sector," he said. (SDA)
