With Customers in Mind. W
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ANNUAL REVIEW 2015. With Customers in Mind. W This is Bonnier. We continuously reinvent media. Bonnier is the Nordic region’s leading media company, with over 200 years of experience in changing media markets. We are based in Sweden, have operations in 15 countries and are wholly owned by the Bonnier family. Our businesses span the media spectrum, with a strong historic core in independent journalism and book publishing. Now we are working to turn Bonnier into a leading digital media group. 2 BONNIER ANNUAL REVIEW 2015 W Contents 4 6 12 Guaranteeing the future. With Customers in Mind. Where Consumers Are ... In 2015, Bonnier showed that we can reach Three companies. Three different Power lies in the hands of consumers as a balance between investing in the future and approaches to growing and developing never before when it comes to digital media. being profitable, says CEO Tomas Franzén. business with a focus on the consumer. What are the trends affecting media? 16 18 20 Books. Broadcasting. Business to Business. It was a stable year of literary and Record digital consumption and continued Record profits made 2015 a great year, commercial success, with new initiatives high linear viewing marked the year. And with a number of major acquisitions such like Type & Tell, with head of business new viewers were reached through projects as Deutsche Wirtschafts Nachrichten, development Rebecka Leffler. like multi-channel network ENT. with Christoph Hermann. 22 24 26 Growth Media. Magazines. News. An intensive year of investments The business area's house & home Earnings improved and digital readership and organic growth included the launch titles in the Nordic region improved increased, with more online subscribers of Kit, with Linda Öhrn Lernström, profitability, with Erik Rimmer and digital ad sales than ever, head of features. and Helena la Corte. says CDO Charlotte Svensson. 28 Financial Result 2015. 32 About Bonnier. 32 Our Core Values. 34 Living the values. 36 Board and Group. 38 12 Great Moments in the History of Bonnier. CEO Guaranteeing the Future. Our common goal is to guarantee the future of Bonnier as a strong media company over the long term with a core in journalism and storytelling. BONNIER FACES A TRUE CHALLENGE. In order to survive and be a leading digital media group, we need to work in smarter ways and more effectively in our traditional businesses, while at the same time being more innovative than ever in developing our media and creating new services. WE MUST QUICKLY INCREASE REVENUES from new and digital sources. The year 2015 was a first step towards this for Bonnier. A year in which we showed that we can reach a balance between investing in the future and being profit- able in the here and now. We made big investments in digitalization at the same we had an EBITA of more than SEK 1 billion, well in line with what we budgeted. DURING 2015, we moved further ahead in our goal of having half of our revenues coming from new and digital sources. For 2015, this number was 20 percent compared to 15 percent for 2014. WITH ALL THE STRONG BRANDS and talent within Bonnier, we have a really good chance at succeeding. More importantly, this is completely up to us. We are streamlining, reinvesting and working with our organization and culture through an increased focus on technology, new business and important revenue sources and, above all, on our customers. Advertising will continue to be a significant and important revenue source, but I believe it is through our customers, not our advertisers, that we will grow. JOURNALISM will probably be a smaller part of Bonnier’s business in 10 years than it has been historically, but journalism and storytelling will continue to be a part of Bonnier’s core and the company’s identity. IF WE FAIL TO INCREASE our digital revenues quickly, in just a few years we will lose credibility as a media company that can thrive over the long term. One of our editors-in-chief described a period of poor results in a journalism business as a “wet blanket” over the news desk. And I wholeheartedly believe that to be true. Financial stability is a prerequisite for long-term success and strong and independent media. We are and will continue to be a media company that is proud of its role Read more about the in society and what we contribute in the form of strong, independent media. financial results on page 28. A wide range of voices is a foundation for an open and democratic society. Tomas Franzén, CEO Bonnier AB BONNIER ANNUAL REVIEW 2015 5 “Right now I’m listening mostly to books about Nelly Rapp, who is a monster agent. I listen every night when I go to bed and also while I’m play- ing with Lego or drawing.” VIDE ERIKSSON, 8-YEAR-OLD BOOK- BEAT FAN FROM SKÖNDAL, SWEDEN CUSTOMERS MIND Money back when you shop, books on your s martphone and a business daily expanding digitally. BookBeat, Refunder CUSTOMERS and Bonnier Business Polska all put digital customers in focus, but in different ways. TEXT: KARIN STRAND | PHO TOS: PETER JÖNSSON WITH CUSTOMERS IN MIND ET MONEY BACK when you shop online. That’s the message that cashback site Refunder has tried to hammer home to the Swedish public since it started in April 2014. G Now the message seems to have reso- “Of course you want to get a nated with Swedes, and the number good deal. I always check first of members is growing steadily. with Refunder to see if they’ve “The challenges since we started have got an offer. You earn a bit of been building the brand and recruiting money, naturally, but actually probably end up buying more members,” says Refunder CEO Fredrik in the end.” Ohlsson. “It’s getting people to under- REFUNDER CUSTOMER ALEXANDRA stand that the deal is as good as ASPGREN, VENDELSÖ, SWEDEN it sounds, that there’s no hook. Our strategy has been extremely conserva- tive in our message, and the goal is to get people to make a first purchase.” REFUNDER IS A SERVICE that connects consumers with e-commerce. Online stores pay a commission for purchases made through Refunder. Consumers get half of the commission in the form Refunder in short only 15 percent of our members make of a refund placed directly into their returns. It speaks for itself that accounts, with Refunder getting the Refunder members are valuable for other half. • Launched on April 1, 2014 online stores. “So actually the online stores are our • Cashback service with 119, 000 member s “We have no problem recruiting new customers, but our members are who we • Six employees work at its offices in stores. It’s completely risk-free for them, Stockholm communicate with,” says Ohlsson. • Some SEK 14 million in turnover for 2015 since they only pay a commission for an With help from Bonnier Growth Media, www.refunder.se actual purchase. Everyone wins under Refunder has gotten access to channels the concept.” within Bonnier, like TV4, daily news- paper Expressen and magazines. LEARNING TO OPTIMIZE the different “It’s been crucial to our success,” says communication channels has been a Ohlsson. “We wouldn’t have been able constant learning curve for Refunder. to do this by ourselves or with a differ- The company has operated in 20 different ent partner.” channels, and Ohlsson describes the environment as “a jungle.” AND IT’S DEFINITELY BEEN a success. Right now, Refunder is working on The number of members in a year and activating members and getting them a half has grown to 119,000 and the to buy more, according to the principle online stores cover essentially all areas. that add-on sales cost less than new The typical member is a 37-year-old sales. This is being done via segmen- woman living in a big city. tation, with members receiving offers “The average online purchase in Sweden tailored just for them. amounts to SEK 830, but for our “But we can be better at this,” says members the average is SEK 1,291,” says Happy Socks is a popular boutique Ohlsson. “We want our members to feel Ohlsson. “If you look at returns, some at Refunder. they’re in a pleasant e-commerce bubble, 30 percent return their purchases but receiving offers tailored for them.” 8 BONNIER ANNUAL REVIEW 2015 HILE MARKETING A NEW service in Sweden has been the challenge for Refunder, for the startup BookBeat the challenge is taking market share in an already existing but fast-growing market. The first users Wregistered at the end of 2015, with a broad launch beginning in the second quarter of 2016. BookBeat is a service that offers subscribers the chance to read and listen to books directly on their smartphones via an app. “There’s already a market for this kind of “We want our service,” says Niclas Sandin, CEO of BookBeat. For Bonnier Books, starting BookBeat is a way members to feel to join in and drive development forward. they’re in a pleasant “WHAT’S UNIQUE ABOUT the initiative is that we’re e-commerce bubble, building a service and organization that from the start can adapt to and handle future changes, receiving offers when it comes to both technical development and customer behavior,” Sandin says. tailored for them.” “So more than half of our internal competence Fredrik Ohlsson, CEO of Refunder consists of technical developers.” 9 WITH CUSTOMERS IN MIND BookBeat is for digital book service fans as well as people curious about e-book and audiobook services who simply haven’t tried them yet.