Booking with fewer clicks
Advertising market PubliGroupe and some publishers want to create a marketplace where classified ads in print and online media can be booked and retrieved across all providers.
Advertising market PubliGroupe and some publishers want to create a marketplace where classified ads in print and online media can be booked and retrieved across all providers.
The plan is ambitious: the company Class Services is to be founded before the summer break with share capital of CHF 2.5 million and a shareholder loan that is four times higher. PubliGroupe (P) is to hold a 65 percent stake and the publishers and other providers a total of 35 percent. The joint development of the classifieds market would then begin in mid-2006. And at a rapid pace. Even in pessimistic scenarios, the project group assumes that Class will be able to achieve sales of CHF 7 to 10 million within five years and will be self-supporting by the fourth year. The background to the project is clear: Classified ads are outstripping newspapers and are increasingly migrating to the Internet. Own websites and online booking tools, the former joint publisher platform Swissclick and other efforts and incentives have not brought about the hoped-for trend reversal. On the contrary: new providers emerged and were far more successful in the online classifieds market than the publishers.
Martin Diem, Head of New Media at Espace Media Groupe and member of the project group, illustrates the situation with an example: "In January 2005, the leading online job platforms offered several thousand vacancies, while typical publisher websites only had a few hundred vacancies, with a few exceptions."
The quantity alone says nothing about the quality of the platform. "But marketplaces thrive on the breadth of their offering, and most publishers' own platforms are clearly lagging behind here," Diem notes.
The heavy user-orientedClass is now intended to provide the basis for ideally uniting all classified ad providers - regardless of whether they come from the publishing side or are purely online providers - on a single classified ad marketplace. This is the first important difference to Swissclick, which was originally a pure publisher platform. In concrete terms, this means that in addition to P, its large and small leased publishers, independent publishers, but also publisher-independent providers such as Jobs.ch, Jobpilot.ch or the current Swissclick can join Class - and are even invited to do so.
With one restriction: for the time being, the new company will limit itself to the three main categories of real estate, vehicles and jobs. However, it will open up multi- and cross-media possibilities: Via Class, the same content can be booked in print, online and, in future, mobile media, and new cross-media products can be offered between print, online and mobile media.
This is also the crux of the project: Class is initially based on the needs of professional advertisers. Large HR departments, real estate agents and car importers only ever want one thing: "They want to place various forms of classified ads in any media at the click of a mouse from their own IT system," says Diem. To date, however, this has not been so easy because both customers and intermediaries (including Publicitas) and not least the publishers or online providers each use individual tools and standards. And because the numerous providers can each be visited individually and cannot be booked from a central classifieds website.
The new company now wants to put an end to this by "merely" providing the classifieds market with a powerful server and specially developed software, but by setting a uniform standard. Classified ad providers who join Class will be technically integrated into the Class network in such a way that the interfaces and the different IT systems and formats no longer represent an obstacle. In the best-case scenario, for example, a newspaper that receives an advertisement via Class will no longer have any problems - provided that it also adapts its internal processes.
Regardless of whether the advertiser wants to place their ad via the website of an affiliated publisher or online marketer or via mypublicitas.ch - they always encounter a similar input screen. But that's not all: the tool can be used to manage the advertiser's portfolio, archive placed advertisements, save logos and other elements, calculate offers (including any discount entitlements) and also place booking orders with any provider from here.
However, the online providers and print publishers affiliated with Class can highlight their own titles in the input mask and only offer third-party titles and providers for booking in a second step. However, the advertiser is free to place their ad in one or more print or online media. A combination of print and online is also possible.
Class remains in the background
Another important difference to Swissclick: Class will not appear to advertisers or category users. The company remains completely in the background. Advertisers will also never receive the invoice from Class, but always from the provider or intermediary through which they gained access to the Class network.
The category user will also not come across the name Class anywhere. If they browse through the Basler Zeitung, for example, they will only find those advertisements that were explicitly placed there. This is also the case on baz.ch. There, however, users also have the option of accessing the Class network via a link and expanding their search. Ideally, as mentioned, they will then come across all classified ads.
Incidentally, Class does not set any price targets either. Advertising rates are and will remain a matter for the individual providers. It remains to be seen whether, thanks to the shared platform, they will also be able to put together parallel or completely new online or cross-media discount packages in addition to the existing print combos and pools. "However, Class is in a position to map the various agreements in the system," says Diem.
In future, for example, it would be possible for the Berner Zeitung to enter into an online print combination with Jobs.ch. Or for publishers and online providers to agree on a pool based on a modular system.
But that is still a long way off. The only plan is that all providers who join the Class marketplace will be integrated into an overall package, as a marketing measure so to speak, so that advertisers can book the maximum reach of all providers united in Class at a discount.
This is how Class worksIn addition to the P, which contributes 65% of Class's share capital totaling CHF 2.5 million, some minority shareholders will also have a seat on the Board of Directors. Class's total financing requirements amount to CHF 13 million. This is to be covered by additional shareholder loans. Shares in Class can be subscribed until June 30, 2005.
The following areas contribute to the class turnover: Firstly, publishers or online companies pay an annual participation fee of between CHF 10,000 and 50,000, with the amount depending on the volume of classified ads placed. Secondly, Class charges a service fee of 2 percent of the advertisement price for processed print ads. And thirdly, Class charges an operating commission for online ads. This amounts to 10 percent of the turnover plus a unit fee per advertisement and publication day (50 centimes per job advertisement, 10 centimes per real estate advertisement and 2 centimes per vehicle advertisement).
Making a profit is not the primary goal of Class. However, the capital provided by investors should earn an appropriate rate of interest. Any further profits are used to constantly adapt the Class software to changing (technical) conditions and, if necessary, to reduce the fees. (mk)
Project team and steering committeeThe actual project team is headed by Andreas Göldi from PubliGroupe (PubliConnect), with Kurt Blum from NZZ, Martin Diem from Espace Media, Andreas Gran from Baslerstab, Bruno Hauser from Gassmann, Lukas Joos from Südostschweiz, Sam Müller from AZ Medien and Kurt Obrist from PrintOnline also involved.
The Steering Committee is chaired by Polo Stäheli, Board Delegate of Espace Media, with Marco de Stoppani from NZZ, Ueli Eckstein from AZ Medien, Beat Meyer from Basler Mediengruppe, Hanspeter Lebrument from Südostschweiz and Hans-Peter Rohner and Otto Meier from P also represented. (mk)
Class simplifies booking, but leaves the media their identity.
Markus Knöpfli
The plan is ambitious: the company Class Services is to be founded before the summer break with share capital of CHF 2.5 million and a shareholder loan that is four times higher. PubliGroupe (P) is to hold a 65 percent stake and the publishers and other providers a total of 35 percent. The joint development of the classifieds market would then begin in mid-2006. And at a rapid pace. Even in pessimistic scenarios, the project group assumes that Class will be able to achieve sales of CHF 7 to 10 million within five years and will be self-supporting by the fourth year. The background to the project is clear: Classified ads are outstripping newspapers and are increasingly migrating to the Internet. Own websites and online booking tools, the former joint publisher platform Swissclick and other efforts and incentives have not brought about the hoped-for trend reversal. On the contrary: new providers emerged and were far more successful in the online classifieds market than the publishers.
Martin Diem, Head of New Media at Espace Media Groupe and member of the project group, illustrates the situation with an example: "In January 2005, the leading online job platforms offered several thousand vacancies, while typical publisher websites only had a few hundred vacancies, with a few exceptions."
The quantity alone says nothing about the quality of the platform. "But marketplaces thrive on the breadth of their offering, and most publishers' own platforms are clearly lagging behind here," Diem notes.
The heavy user-orientedClass is now intended to provide the basis for ideally uniting all classified ad providers - regardless of whether they come from the publishing side or are purely online providers - on a single classified ad marketplace. This is the first important difference to Swissclick, which was originally a pure publisher platform. In concrete terms, this means that in addition to P, its large and small leased publishers, independent publishers, but also publisher-independent providers such as Jobs.ch, Jobpilot.ch or the current Swissclick can join Class - and are even invited to do so.
With one restriction: for the time being, the new company will limit itself to the three main categories of real estate, vehicles and jobs. However, it will open up multi- and cross-media possibilities: Via Class, the same content can be booked in print, online and, in future, mobile media, and new cross-media products can be offered between print, online and mobile media.
This is also the crux of the project: Class is initially based on the needs of professional advertisers. Large HR departments, real estate agents and car importers only ever want one thing: "They want to place various forms of classified ads in any media at the click of a mouse from their own IT system," says Diem. To date, however, this has not been so easy because both customers and intermediaries (including Publicitas) and not least the publishers or online providers each use individual tools and standards. And because the numerous providers can each be visited individually and cannot be booked from a central classifieds website.
The new company now wants to put an end to this by "merely" providing the classifieds market with a powerful server and specially developed software, but by setting a uniform standard. Classified ad providers who join Class will be technically integrated into the Class network in such a way that the interfaces and the different IT systems and formats no longer represent an obstacle. In the best-case scenario, for example, a newspaper that receives an advertisement via Class will no longer have any problems - provided that it also adapts its internal processes.
Regardless of whether the advertiser wants to place their ad via the website of an affiliated publisher or online marketer or via mypublicitas.ch - they always encounter a similar input screen. But that's not all: the tool can be used to manage the advertiser's portfolio, archive placed advertisements, save logos and other elements, calculate offers (including any discount entitlements) and also place booking orders with any provider from here.
However, the online providers and print publishers affiliated with Class can highlight their own titles in the input mask and only offer third-party titles and providers for booking in a second step. However, the advertiser is free to place their ad in one or more print or online media. A combination of print and online is also possible.
Class remains in the background
Another important difference to Swissclick: Class will not appear to advertisers or category users. The company remains completely in the background. Advertisers will also never receive the invoice from Class, but always from the provider or intermediary through which they gained access to the Class network.
The category user will also not come across the name Class anywhere. If they browse through the Basler Zeitung, for example, they will only find those advertisements that were explicitly placed there. This is also the case on baz.ch. There, however, users also have the option of accessing the Class network via a link and expanding their search. Ideally, as mentioned, they will then come across all classified ads.
Incidentally, Class does not set any price targets either. Advertising rates are and will remain a matter for the individual providers. It remains to be seen whether, thanks to the shared platform, they will also be able to put together parallel or completely new online or cross-media discount packages in addition to the existing print combos and pools. "However, Class is in a position to map the various agreements in the system," says Diem.
In future, for example, it would be possible for the Berner Zeitung to enter into an online print combination with Jobs.ch. Or for publishers and online providers to agree on a pool based on a modular system.
But that is still a long way off. The only plan is that all providers who join the Class marketplace will be integrated into an overall package, as a marketing measure so to speak, so that advertisers can book the maximum reach of all providers united in Class at a discount.
This is how Class worksIn addition to the P, which contributes 65% of Class's share capital totaling CHF 2.5 million, some minority shareholders will also have a seat on the Board of Directors. Class's total financing requirements amount to CHF 13 million. This is to be covered by additional shareholder loans. Shares in Class can be subscribed until June 30, 2005.
The following areas contribute to the class turnover: Firstly, publishers or online companies pay an annual participation fee of between CHF 10,000 and 50,000, with the amount depending on the volume of classified ads placed. Secondly, Class charges a service fee of 2 percent of the advertisement price for processed print ads. And thirdly, Class charges an operating commission for online ads. This amounts to 10 percent of the turnover plus a unit fee per advertisement and publication day (50 centimes per job advertisement, 10 centimes per real estate advertisement and 2 centimes per vehicle advertisement).
Making a profit is not the primary goal of Class. However, the capital provided by investors should earn an appropriate rate of interest. Any further profits are used to constantly adapt the Class software to changing (technical) conditions and, if necessary, to reduce the fees. (mk)
Project team and steering committeeThe actual project team is headed by Andreas Göldi from PubliGroupe (PubliConnect), with Kurt Blum from NZZ, Martin Diem from Espace Media, Andreas Gran from Baslerstab, Bruno Hauser from Gassmann, Lukas Joos from Südostschweiz, Sam Müller from AZ Medien and Kurt Obrist from PrintOnline also involved.
The Steering Committee is chaired by Polo Stäheli, Board Delegate of Espace Media, with Marco de Stoppani from NZZ, Ueli Eckstein from AZ Medien, Beat Meyer from Basler Mediengruppe, Hanspeter Lebrument from Südostschweiz and Hans-Peter Rohner and Otto Meier from P also represented. (mk)
Class simplifies booking, but leaves the media their identity.
Markus Knöpfli
