Publimedia swallows Real Media

Since the dismissal of Real Media CEO Urs Wolfensberger in mid-January, speculation about the resizing and restructuring of Publigroupe's Internet unit has been rife. It is now clear where the journey is heading: the brokerage division, which accounts for the lion's share of Real Media AG's turnover at around 95 percent, will now be incorporated into Publimedia. The business unit headed by Marcel Bosshard is called Publimedia Webadvertising AG and will inherit the Zurich offices of Real Media AG on Holbeinstrasse at the beginning of March, including 25 of a total of 30 employees. The telephone number will also be taken over. Real Media, on the other hand, will have to look for new premises with its remaining five employees and will still be responsible for the exclusive marketing of websites.According to Publimedia boss Otto Meier, the reorganization of the Internet unit makes sense because "two areas that do not fit together" can be unbundled. "Real Media operated site marketing under an exclusive contract (direction) on the one hand and universal mediation on the other. A tricky combination, because you can't be a neutral intermediary on the one hand and represent the interests of very specific sites with exclusive contracts on the other." (dse)