Marc Walder, CEO of Ringier AG and Chair of Admeira’s Board of Directors: ‘We are now the sole owner of Admeira. We are taking advantage of this opportunity to reorganise the company. This restructuring will see Admeira focus entirely on the marketing of TV inventory, while the marketing of print media and all digital journalistic platforms will be handed back to Ringier.’
Swisscom has been on board since the founding of the Admeira joint venture, primarily as a technology partner. ‘Since its launch in April 2016, Admeira has established itself in an extremely demanding market. However, cross-media services and general terms for target-oriented advertising have not developed in the way we expected four years ago, which places limits on Swisscom’s role as a technology partner. As the sole owner, Ringier can carry out the necessary restructuring of Admeira more quickly and effectively,’ says Swisscom CEO Urs Schaeppi.
The Swiss Competition Commission (COMCO) has meanwhile given Ringier the green light to acquire Admeira. Both partners have agreed not to disclose the financial details.
SRG inventory to stay with Admeira
Admeira will focus on the marketing of TV advertising in future and will continue to be responsible for the marketing of inventory for SRG SSR and the TF1 Group, Tele Regio Combi (TRC), MySports and WetterTV. Gilles Marchand, Director General of SRG SSR: ‘We see Admeira’s focus on the TV market as an opportunity for SRG. We have found a strong partner in Admeira in a challenging advertising market.’
While Admeira will continue to sell ads for SRG broadcasters, SRG will now handle sponsoring internally. As a result, Admeira’s sponsoring employees are making the move to SRG.
There will also be changes to print and digital inventory over the course of the year. Ringier will start marketing its print and digital offerings itself. The relevant teams are thus moving to Ringier AG where Thomas Spiegel, Head of Global Media, is in charge of these marketing activities. In addition to this, Ringier will now also take care of the marketing of Swisscom’s digital inventory. Admeira employees who were responsible for print and digital advertising will be taken over by Ringier.
Restructuring and staff changes
Admeira’s focus on TV marketing means that there will be some adjustments to the company’s internal structure. A total of 25 of the current 278 jobs will be cut in 2020. Bertrand Jungo, who has been the CEO of Admeira for three years, is moving to the Board of Directors, which will continue to be chaired by Marc Walder. Beat Grossenbacher, CFO of SRG SSR, will join Admeira’s Board of Directors. Frank Zelger, up until now the Chief Commercial Officer, will officially take over operational management of the marketing company from 1 March 2020. Zelger has many years of extensive experience in marketing and digitalisation.
Marc Walder, Chair of Admeira’s Board of Directors: ‘Admeira has won back market shares, improved its digital marketing prowess and boosted customer satisfaction under the leadership of Bertrand Jungo. I would like to thank him on behalf of Ringier and Swisscom. I am delighted that Bertrand Jungo will join Admeira’s Board of Directors.’
Ringier AG, Corporate Communications