March 2012

MARCH 2012 / TWO HUNGRY EXECUTIVES / LITERARY FICTION AS A SHOWCASE / THEY STREAM VAMPIRES, DON’T THEY? / EARNING MONEY ONLINE / TERROR ON THE DOORSTEP / DIGITAL BOOK BOOM / EGMONT FACTS 2012 / HIGHLIGHTS FROM 2011 / FROM LONE COWBOY TO NORWEGIAN CULTURAL TREASURE / THE POLAR BEAR GOES LIVE / TURKEY MAKES BOLD DECISIONS

The Changing Face

of Media

Contents 4

Two hungry executives

6

Egmont fuel

8

Highlights 2011

10

+/-

Revitalisation

14

Good wine in new bottles

15

Rags to riches

16

New life for cartoon classic

18

The ship is laden with Brylcreem Cruising towards higher earnings

22

The polar bear goes live

24

Storytelling across the media

25

Literary fiction as a showcase

26

Turkey makes bold decisions

27

A new organisation finds its feet Focus on cover mounts

28

Abundance of awards�

Centre spread

The Egmont World 2012

35

Divisional year in review

Digitisation

40

Kids Media secures digital rights

41

They stream vampires, don’t they?

42

Earning money online

44

Egmont Magazines rides the iPad wave

48

Digital book boom

0 5

Market access Three new online marketplaces for Norway

51

Welcome to digital cinema

More TV

4 5

Fighting for the eyes of the beholders An overview of TV 2’s channels

56

From lone cowboy to Norwegian cultural treasure

58

Norwegian in Norway

0 6

Doomed to succeed Nyhetskanalen turns five

62

Terror on the doorstep

4 6

The other face of Egmont Our charitable grants in 2011

16

28

48

58

@ Disney

Dear colleague Why a chameleon? We have chosen to feature a chameleon on this issue’s front cover because it aptly illustrates Egmont’s current situation.

We make our living from creating and packaging good stories in countless different ways, but the need for change and adjustment affects us all. As an independent foundatio­n, we are able to make and implement the right choices based on long-term thinking rather than becoming prey to snap decisions. However, we also have to adapt our activities in keeping with the times and emerging consumer trends.

Kids Media builds a new organisation to handle cover mounts; Cappelen Damm launches its own e-book reader; Nordisk Film throws its energy into theatre concerts: these are all examples of changes that not only put local strategies into practice but also underpin Egmont’s overall strategic direction.

Egmont’s corporate strategy for the next four years until 2016 focuses on generating­ further growth by producing film and television, boosting the digital business and revitalisin­g our existing core business areas. We intend to do this by replacing old titles with new, increasing our efficiency and creating new income streams based on our strong brands. But you can read more about this for yourself on the following pages!

This issue of Hardcopy brings you the highlights of 2011 and greater insight into each of Egmont’s three strategic focus areas. The Hardcopy editors have decided to let the power of example take centre stage. Hopefully, these examples will clearly show how the strategy you apply to your daily work propels our company as a whole in the desired direction.

You can read additional material and other stories in Egmont’­s online magazine eCopy, located on your intranet­ and in your in-tray. eCopy comes out quarterly.

In the meantime, you can follow Egmont’s winds of change on Insight ... and every day when you go to work!

Colophon

Mika Bildsøe Lassen, Vice President, Corporate Communications

EDITOR RESPONSIBLE UNDER DANISH PRESS LAW Mika Bildsøe Lassen mbl@egmont.com EDITOR: Niels Almer almer@egmont.com PRINTER: Rosendahls Bogtrykkeri A/S PRINT RUN: 4,500 Danish/Norwegian copies 2,000 English copies

PUBLICATION DATE: 27 March 2012 CONTRIBUTORS (all from Egmont): Niels Almer Mie Bach Andersen Reeta Bhatiani Irene Brandt Ea Hansen Maria Junget Louise Abildgaard Jørgensen Nanna Lindhardt Kamilla Fredtoft Petersen Mike Richards Jörg Risken Aleksander Valestrand

PHOTOS: Petter Berg Steen Brogaard Kim Erlandsen Kristian Septimius Krogh Johan Marklund Jonas Heide Smith Eirik Helland Urke/Kampanje Corbis Scanpix Norge Sebastian Buur/Ungdommens Røde Kors LAYOUT Ole Jensen

Corporate Communications Vognmagergade 11 1148 Copenhagen K Denmark Telephone +45 33 30 55 50

Two hungry executives

THIS YEAR EGMONT IS DELIVERING ONE OF ITS BEST PERFORMANCES EVER. HUNGRY FOR MORE, HOWEVER, THE TWO EXECUTIVES PRESENTING THE FINANCIAL­STATEMENTS ARE READY TO TAKE ON NEW INVESTMENTS.

By Niels Almer

T

o produce these impressive figures, Egmont has dynamically and creatively developed its product portfolio as well as successfully implemented the recent years’ profitability programmes. These developments have paved the way for Egmont to expand, most recently by acquiring the remaining stake in TV 2.

Chief Financial Officer Hans Carstensen and President & CEO Steffen Kragh briefed us on the past year’s events from the vantage point of their executive offices at Egmont House.

favour – will continue to burgeon, causing an ongoing decline in TV channel ratings and circulation figures. Although this trend also characterised 2011, many of our business areas managed to ‘spin gold’ nonetheless. I see no point in looking back and lamenting how the world once was. Instead we must look ahead and seize the opportunities the media industry brings. From that point of view, we are already enjoying golden times.

WHAT WAS LAST YEAR’S MAIN UNDERTAKING? HC: The acquisition of half of TV 2, which made Egmont sole owners, took up a lot of space in our calendars. The process already started with early sales rumours in 2010, and since then we’ve ‘commuted’ between Norway and Denmark on numerous occasions. As board chairman of TV 2 I have been deeply involved in the process and am proud to say that Egmont has been warmly welcomed as sole owner.

WHAT IMPRESSION HAS 2011 LEFT YOU WITH? Steffen Kragh: 2011 has proved that Egmont is capable of handling a media market undergoing tremendous change. Companies in almost every area of Egmont have performed well. I’m thinking not only of the financial figures, but also of our ability to create distinctive media products while also striving to simplify the creative processes and make them more flexible. Time will show us how 2011 marked the point at which revenue generated by screen-based consumption first accounted for more than half of total revenue.

SK: The Norwegian media attention was something in itself. When we published the result, Hans and I gave more than 50 interviews in a single day. That was a first for both of us!

Hans Carstensen: We have actually recorded our highest pre-tax profit ever. This is because we have learned how best to plan our costs and thus attain the best value for our money. Magazines, Kids Media, TV 2 and Cappelen Damm have all performed better than in 2010.

WHY IS TV SO IMPORTANT? SK: TV is an important part of people’s daily lives. I meet many who predict the decline of TV as we know it, but I think they forget that TV broadcasters have the best grasp of the video opportunities inherent in the huge array of mobile screens. That’s why investment in TV continues to be a priority.

HOW IMPORTANT IS ADVERTISING REVENUE TO EGMONT? HC: We had no idea what to expect at the beginning of 2011.

However, our advertising revenue has risen again, a development reflected particularly in the magazines business and TV 2. An increase in advertising revenue directly impacts the bottom line. All our advertising departments have worked strenuously and imaginatively.

That said, we are not planning a future strategy for Egmont based on an expected continuation of this development.

WHAT IS EGMONT’S STANDING IN NORWAY AFTER THE ACQUISITION OF TV 2?

SK: Greater awareness of Egmont is a side-effect of the TV 2 acquisition. We now rank among the largest media businesses in the country. You could say that Egmont is heavily exposed to market conditions in Norway, so our success depends on the health of the Norwegian economy. Egmont has done business in the country for a century, and we only do well because we are ‘Norwegian in Norway’. Being a leading media player in Norway definitely brings its obligations, a responsibility that we embrace wholeheartedly.

WILL THE GOLDEN AGE RETURN? SK: Media houses are certainly not going to have an easier time making money in future. New media – all competing for consumer

4

President & CEO Steffen Kragh (left) with Chief Financial Officer Hans Carstensen (right)

AFTER THE ACQUISITION OF TV 2, CAN WE AFFORD­ANY OTHER SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS? HC: Egmont has a good financial base and still has investment capacity, so we are ready to make further acquisitions and indeed actively seek out other potential acquisition opportunities. Our target is to increase our revenue by over a third to EUR 2 billion by 2016 and record an operating profit of EUR 200 million. We cannot do this without further investment – particularly in the digital area.

expected future gains. Investigating these opportunities required thorough research. A lot of people did the groundwork, and then in the final moments we rewarded them with a ‘no, thanks, not quite good enough’ and asked them to abandon all their hard work. Of course this is hard, but necessary if we want to be sure the money is properly invested.

WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD FOR THE PRINT-BASED BUSINESS? SK: Printed magazines and books hold a fascination for millions of consumers, offering content that is relevant, inspiring and challenging. At the same time the print media are good business, and it is up to Egmont to make sure it stays that way. We must be good at constantly re-defining our products while finding ways to produce them more cost-effectively. Creativity is key here, and to that end Egmont has to have the best media talents on board. ▀

WHAT IS THE OUTLOOK FOR EXPANDING THE DIGITAL BUSINESS? SK: We already know that we are going to reach our DKK 1 billion target for digital revenue by 2015. We are trying to strike the balance between aiming higher and making sensible, profitable choices. I could mention numerous good examples of experiments and business conducted with regard to apps and e-editions, digital learning and video-on-demand. We will be concentrating on digital goals and measurability in 2012. As a company we are willing to invest in digital ventures where we have a strategic fit and the competencies or market position to make a difference.

FACTS FIND KEY FIGURES ABOUT EGMONT IN HARDCOPY’S CENTRE SPREAD.

WHAT WAS THE TOUGHEST DECISION OF 2011?

SK: We had to turn down a number of acquisition opportunities for the simple reason that the price seemed too high relative to the

5

Egmont Fuel LINUS ARENG, EGMONT­ TIDSKRIFTER­ Stockholm KATHLEEN JURKE, EGMONT EHAPA Berlin

EVA ISELIN HUSBY, TV 2 Bergen Eva Iselin Husby is the Editorial Manager of TV 2’s successful online video service TV 2 Sumo. Sumo offers thousands of on-demand programmes in entertainment, American series, documentaries and sport. Sumo also streams TV 2’s linear channels live as well as football matches from Barclays Premier League.

“We give our viewers the freedom to watch what they want, wherever they are. We are constantly working to make Sumo available on even more screens, like connected TVs, Android and Windows tablets and smartphones. This year, we are giving the Sumo service a total makeover, making it more personal, more social, and, of course, better looking. I feel privileged to be part of the team that built Su mo from scratch and turned it into the technical and commercial success that it is today.

We get positive feedback from our users every day, and that’s really rewarding.”

As Content Manager and editor, Kathleen Jurke has been responsible for user entertainment on digital platforms at Egmont Ehapa, Berlin. Coming from a background as a print magazine editor, Kathleen experienced the shift from print to digital media in her daily routines. Her work at the Ehapa’s Digital Unit focuses on developing content strategies for multimedia channels that always follow brand requirements and involve the latest features and high user performances.

JAMES BALL, EGMONT­UK London James Ball is Digital Producer at Egmont UK. He has been with Egmont for almost five years and runs web projects and new product development, specialising in creating digital apps.

“The digital landscape for publishing has changed so much over the last couple of years. We have to work hard to stay ahead of the curve and to maintain our position as experts in children’s publishing no matter what the platform.

It’s our excellent content that sets us apart from the competition. For me, a real sense of satisfaction comes when my 3-year-old nephew chooses to open an app I’ve worked on because he loves it, not because I ask him to. Job done!”

“It’s helpful to have the editor’s background combined with new media know-how and solid project management skills. Websites, smartphones and tablets give us fascinating possibilities when it comes to storytelling. Take the infinite canvas, for instance, animated objects or flexible and reusable tools. Enriching stories with multimedia elements adds user value. It’s user entertainment and service that drives my decisions.”

6

Linus Areng is Digital Art Director and responsible for the design and experience of our web sites and are involved in all things digital. With 20 plus magazines and a few titles web only, things never turn dull.

“While my primary mission at work is to get to the bottom of our coffee machine (it’s down there somewhere, just a couple more shots of coffee) I do frequently bang my head against the wall trying to come up with designs for the smallest of details or lay down the foundation for the entire next generation mobile experience. Always with one goal in mind: To do the best and to have great designs, awesome user experience and brilliant usability. When I was Art Director for Sweden’s Golf Digest I took the American graphic departments’ motto to my heart: Aim for greatness. There’s no room for anything less, always aim for greatness. Never be lazy.

Never cut corners. The web is an incredible important part of the publishing industry’s future and it’s awesome to sit in the middle of the storm, designing for our future.”

MADS ESPER LARSEN, LINDHARDT OG RINGHOF Copenhagen

ANNA JONZÉN, EGMONT DIGITAL CENTER­ Oslo As Project Manager in the Digital­ Centre in Norway, Anna Jonzén works with initiatives supporting business development.

“The media industry is facing a lot of challenges in terms of the digital development – making Egmont an exciting place to be. Coming from a background working globally with online gaming provides me with an interesting experience – the gaming industry has faced a lot of trials and succeeded in rapidly adapting to continue. My job at Egmont offers a wide range of diversity. I evaluate new business ideas and implement the ideas we believe in. For example we have recently launched a number of online niche market places. It is an exciting project since it combines working with editorial teams, external supplier, marketing partners, and different Egmont companies. The most important things to remember working with business development is that you need to be prepared to fail in order to succeed and that it’s all about the customer needs. And of course that it’s never boring!”

EDDY ROBERTSEN, CAPPELEN DAMM Oslo SANNE JACOBSEN, NORDISK FILM Valby

Eddy Robertsen has worked with the business development of e-books and e-readers since 2006. Digitalbok.no is one of the earliest dedicated e-book stores in Scandinavia, and has been at the forefront of the digital (r)evolution in Norway ever since. At the moment digitalbok.no is the largest, most comprehensive e-book vendor, and growing.

Sanne works as Community Manager at Starfighters, Nordisk Film’s in-house advertising agency. Her primary focus area is to ensure the company’s presence on social media like Facebook, Twitter and Youtube on film titles like Clown: The Movie, the Twilight films and Headhunters.

“We have to focus on breadth and depth of content, as well as ease of use for our customers. Accessibility to content is a prime factor when a sound, digital marketplace is developed. The digital arena is an exciting place to be at the moment. We haven’t even begun to see the full impact of digitalisation on information and entertainment. Business models, content structure and marketplaces will keep evolving at an ever-accelerating rate. Being “in the thick of it” is for me the place to be, both professionally and personally.

And as it stands, there’s nowhere better than digitalbok. no and Cappelen Damm.”�

”It’s important to think social media in launch campaigns and to be present where the users are. This gives you the opportunity to listen to and build up relations with users.

For example, we have developed a Facebook page for the Twilight films that has topped 100,000 friends. We expect the coming film The Hunger Games to be just as big a hit, and are currently endeavouring to convert Twilight fans into Hunger Games fans. This is possible precisely because we already know users’ preferences and have a relation to them.”

7

Mads has been with Lindhardt og Ringhof as a Digital Project Manager since January 2011.

He develops and maintains Lindhardt og Ringhof’s digital publications as well as ideas and projects for enhanced ebooks, apps for children and regular e-books. He also develops the company’s position as regards Danish and foreign online dealers and does traffic-generating work together with external partners as well as collaborates with staff across Egmont’s divisions.

“It’s thrilling to work with developing new media like apps and e-books. The market for e-books is developing tremendously, both in terms of the technical possibilities for developing e-books – how to supply the content in an exciting­, interactive way – and of the new exciting online sales channels like iBooks. Our daily work entails developing a lot of ideas and new initiatives that can spread awareness of Egmont’s digital products as well as free wi-fi for e-books in Copenhagen’s parks and cafés, etc. I take great pleasure in working for Egmont, and, especially in developing new partnership agreements with external partners, I can clearly feel people’s great enthusiasm for Egmont, its products and its story. It’s a source of deep pride.”

Highlights JANUARY

FEBRUARY

Oscar-nominated Danish epic from 1956, Qivitoq, enjoys a renaissance after being extensively digitalised and re-released as a DVD. Ecstatic fans buy a total of 16,000 copies.

TV 2 announces its best-ever operating profit of NOK 335 million. This figure has almost doubled since 2009, and total revenues have risen by 11 %.

MAY

JUNE

Egmont Verlagsgesellschaften launches Egmont INK, which publishes exciting and emotionally intense titles for young people in the 12-16-year age group. INK has high hopes for the project’s mix of well-known names and promising talents.

As the first cinema chain in Denmark, Nordisk Film Cinemas announces its decision to fully digitalise all 120 of its cinema screens. The final demise of 35-mm film reels comes in May 2012.

SEPTEMBER

OCTOBER

160 digital Egmont employees get together in Båstad for a two-day ‘Digital Days’ event to share know-how, find inspiration and build networks. This year’s theme: ‘Digital business consumers really want.’

Alinea donates teaching materials to Kurdish children learning English in their summer holiday. The teachers come from Fokus-A, an organisation for Kurdish students and academics in Denmark.

8

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The Petzi app is launched. Pre-schoolers can now colour Petzi drawings, play Petzi pelmanism and watch cartoons. The app records revenue of DKK 1 million by the end of the year.

ALT for damerne, the long-successful Danish women’s weekly, crosses the sea to Norway. The publication has been tailored to the Norwegian target group, modern women aged 40+.

JULY

AUGUST

Lindhardt og Ringhof stages an e-book happening in Kongens Have, Copenhagen, offering park guests a selection of free e-books to read as they bask in the sun.

The Egmont Foundation supports Norway’s Center for Crisis Psychology, setting up a portal of grief support groups after the tragedy in Oslo and on the island of Utøya.

NOVEMBER

DECEMBER

Nordisk Film re-launches its popular guided tours of its Valby site, introducing more visual aids and a better focused, more vibrant way of telling the company’s story. Wonderful anecdotes from the past meld with the modern media activities of the present.

Egmont Hjemmet Mortensen launches the niche webshop Bazar in Norway. In a short amount of time users put 2.000 items up for sale. The site is the third in a series of launches during the second half of 2011.�

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In Denmark activities in the parenting segment were merged with Oxygen Magasiner A/S, which publishes Vores Børn. Egmont Magasiner is the principle company shareholder.

In 2011 TV 2 was 50/50 co-owned by Egmont and the Norwegian media company A-pressen. At the beginning of 2012 Egmont acquired A-pressen’s stakeholding in TV 2 for DKK 1.9 billion. Egmont has co-owned TV 2 for over 20 years, and the acquisition of the remaining half takes Egmont a strategic step closer towards making television a more prominent part of its business.

Egmont Magasiner and De Danske Vægtkonsulenter, a weight-management company, entered a strategic alliance. In this connection Egmont Magasiner acquired the majority shareholding in De Danske Vægtkonsulenter.

Egmont Hjemmet Mortensen signed a deal with Edda Media regarding the purchase of the website Kvinneguiden.no.

Kvinneguiden is a highly popular site, attracting over 200,000 unique users weekly.

In 2011 Cappelen Damm acquired Høyskoleforlaget in Kristiansand. The acquisition is an element of the strategic plan to bolster Cappelen Damm’s market position in academic literature.

Høyskoleforlaget ranks among Norway’s leading textbook publishers.

Kids Media has invested in the edutainment universe ABCITY. ABCITY is a play-and-learn concept for children aged 4 to 7 based on the fundamental principle that playing is the best way to learn. On ABCITY.dk children can learn the alphabet and improve their reading skills.

Nordisk Film takes over Pumpehuset, a Danish music scene in central Copenhagen.

Nordisk Film and Norwegian post production company Storm Studios AS agrees to establish a new company in Sweden covering all aspects of digital post production on film an TV productions. The new company is active from September 2011 and is called Nordisk Film Shortcut AB.

Egmont Hjemmet Mortensen acquired the rights to the men’s magazine Alfa. The acquisition was made after a petition for bankruptcy was filed against Magnum Media A/S.

10

Egmont MINUS:

Nordisk Film Post Production in Stockholm shuts down in October 2011 and Nordisk Film Shortcut in Denmark sells all TV related activities in Nordisk Film Edit to Nordisk Film TV (who is not owned by Nordisk Film).

Lack of earnings forced Egmont Magasiner’s decision to close down the 10-year old monthly Sirene. All staff were offered new positions.

The Egmont publisher Lindhardt og Ringhof sold the following book clubs to Gyldendal in the autumn of 2011: Bogklubben 12 Bøger, Bogsamleren, Romanbogklubben, Bogklubben Rasmus and Guldklumpen.

The divestment is part of Lindhardt og Ringhof’s plan to concentrate its energies on the core business.

The music company MBO, 50 % co-owned by Nordisk Film, was sold to Universal Music. The sale was prompted by the difficult conditions that have made MBO a poor business for Nordisk Film

Nordisk Film sells its share in Fine & Mellow to Eyeworks.

On 1 July FilmGear ApS took over Risby Studierne, based in Albertslund and owned

by Nordisk Film for 30 years. Risby Studierne provided the backdrop for numerous famous Danish films and TV series during the three decades of Nordisk Film ownership.

In Sweden disappointing sales caused the closure of the magazine Blossom, launched in 2010.

In Norway fit Living suffered the same fate.

11

* Good content is Egmont’s core business. Egmont revitalises and reinforces existing media products through innovation, new business models, acquisitions, unique rights and a team of the best, most creative people. Read a few examples on the following pages.

12

Vitalisation  * Vitality shows in not only the ability to persist but the ability to start over.

F. Scott Fitzgerald

13

Good wine in new bottles YOU CAN EASILY TELL FROM ITS COVER WHETHER A BOOK WAS PUBLISHED 20 YEARS AGO OR JUST YESTERDAY. HOWEVER, ANTIQUATED AESTHETICS DO NOT NECESSARILY MEAN ARCHAIC CONTENTS.

By Mie Bach Andersen and Niels Almer

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one Selfort, Editor at Lindhardt og Ringhof, has spent many hours digging up old titles from the depths of an Egmont basement. The archive contains books dating as far back as the mid-19th century. ’There are loads of wonderful books in the basement – it’s a real treasure trove’ says Lone Selfort. For six months she 15 mm has been on a subterranean quest 155 mmin search of ’new’ non-fiction works. The trick is to spot the current trends – in terms of subject, graphic look and authors.

Tom Dahl is responsible for Cappelen Damm’s back list. ‘Books quickly go out of date,’ he observes. ‘Rarely can we sell a work of non-fiction three years after its publication. So revitalising old titles is an important job.’

Three editors and a designer work together on the imprint Cappelen Damm has named Faktum, which re-launches old titles in new covers and sometimes with refurbished content. Occasionally two titles are twinned in one publication, as happened, for example, with the knitting book Pinner og Garn, which sold like hot cakes once re-published.

Literary fiction follows the same pattern, with paperback editions sometimes selling twice or three times as many copies as the first hardback edition. Cappelen Damm has successfully re-launched the complete works of individual authors as series with their own graphic theme. This is a special form of author service.

‘We revitalise the books to make sure we get the most out of the material,’ says Lone Selfort. ‘It’s all about capturing market niches. And our authors appreciate our efforts too – almost nobody turns down an opportunity to make more money!’

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Lindhard

skrig

FACTS Re-issued titles are sold to book shops and/ or supermarkets.

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Tom Dahl agrees. ‘Naturally enough, the publishing industry focuses on new titles because this is how we build our publishing profile and attract media attention, but if we can revive books whose first edition has apparently reached the autumn of its career, we are doing both ourselves and the author a great service,’ he says.

But exactly how do you successfully re-launch a title? Lone Selfort offers an example: Bedstemors Køkken [Grandmother’s Cooking] was first published in 2005 and had been out of print for several years when we retrieved it from the archives.

We changed the cover and replaced the original photos with rustic drawings and graphic elements. It now has what I call the “country nostalgia look”. I saw its potential because it resonates with the current backto-your-roots trend’.

Tom Dahl, stresses, however, that there is no universal recipe for making money from old titles. ‘You have to look at each book’s potential, and that takes quite a bit of practice.’ ▀

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In some cases, special editions are produced for supermarkets. This happened, for example, with the re-publication of Ghitas Roser, which was photographically reduced and given a slightly different cover from the original.

Tom Dahl, Director.

Publisher Nonfiction­at Cappelen Damm

Another way to re-issue books is as covermounts – that is, books or book excerpts accompanying weekly and monthly magazines.

Normally the first edition of a good Norwegian non-fiction book sells about 2,000 copies. The re-issued cook book Tøff Mat sold 12,000 copies.

Cappelen Damm Faktum and Pocketredaktionen re-issue about 250 titles a year.

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Lone Selfort, Editor at Lindhardt og Ringhof

Turning old rags into new riches

TODAY, AS MAGAZINE SALES FALL AND COST PRESSURES RISE, ATTENTION IS INCREASINGLY FOCUSED ON BOOSTING EFFICIENCY IN PRODUCTION PROCESSES AND CONTENT CREATION. RE-USING EXISTING MATERIAL TOPS THE AGENDA FOR EHAPA’S DISNEY CONTENT. FOLLOWING THE SUCCESS OF SOME PILOT PROJECTS, EGMONT EHAPA MADE RE-USING MATERIAL PART AND PARCEL OF ITS DAILY BUSINESS, REVIEWING CONTENT POOLS AND DEVELOPING NEW PRODUCTS FROM THERE.

By Jörg Risken

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hapa’s successful Pocket Book series has generated more than 400 books and thousands of pages of comics to date. This treasure trove of comics provides fantastic opportunities for creating new products like the themed line extensions Pocket Book Duck Edition and Pocket Book Summer Edition, both of which have a great deal of previously published material.

Ehapa’s bi-monthly magazine Winnie the Pooh Bedtime Stories shows how well it can be done. The magazine is among the most successful children’s magazines launched in the German-speaking areas in 2011, selling around 45,000 copies per issue. Having a large archive of material on which to draw enables the magazine to

compile old stories into new themed issues and thus cut the time and expense required to a minimum.

CORPORATE PUBLISHING Re-using material is also a key to the success of Ehapa’s Corporate Publishing business.

Jörg Risken, Head of Corporate Publishing at Ehapa says: ‘In the run-up to developing this business, Ehapa benefited from the vast expertise and excellent support of Kari Tavendale, Special Sales Manager at Egmont Serieforlaget in Oslo, who provided valuable advice and inspiration.’

Corporate Publishing is now a strategic business area at Egmont Ehapa and several projects have been realised, generally on the basis of old comics and editorial content tailor-

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made into new products. Ehapa has just closed a syndication deal with a network of German newspapers and is providing comic classics to a number of newspapers. Other customised projects involve creating kids’ pages for magazines and putting together a special comic book for a hotel service provider. ▀

Jörg Risken, Head of Corporate Publishing at Egmont Ehapa

Nordic partnership breathes new life into

classics

IN JUST TWO YEARS, EGMONT’S SCANDINAVIAN DIVISION FOR COMICS AND OTHER CHILDREN’S MEDIA HAS EMERGED A PHOENIX FROM THE FLAME AND TURNED THE TRANSITORY RED FIGURES OF THE FINANCIAL CRISIS INTO POSITIVE RESULTS EXCEEDING EVEN THE ROSIEST EXPECTATIONS. THIS REVERSAL IS THE PRODUCT OF A PAN-SCANDINAVIAN TEAMWORK AIMED AT EXPLOITING COLLECTIVE ADVANTAGES AND RIGHTS AND BRINGING COLLEAGUES TOGETHER TO REVITALISE CARTOON CLASSICS LIKE THE DONALD DUCK COMIC. Niels Almer

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gmont has three distinctly similar Scandinavian companies: Serieforlaget in Denmark and Norway and Kärnan in Sweden. A new, joint name for the trio is being considered, although the three companies have been collaborating since April 2011 under the leadership of a joint management team.

CATEGORY MANAGERS It all started with a single set of category managers working across the companies within a specific product category to make the most of collective content rather than developing new content in two separate places.

‘Comics for pre-schoolers and international trend products are the easiest to translate and localise,’ explains Anita Tveten, Publishing Director of Serieforlaget and Category Manager for Disney magazines in Scandinavia. The highly standardised content of these publications does not require localisation.

SCANDINAVIAN COLLABORATION­ Closer collaboration has put considerable demands on all staff, who must now keep abreast of each other’s meetings in three countries as well as both receive and supply content. ‘But being compelled to work

Norwegian, Swedish and Danish front page of the first publication in the Donald Duck 'world history' series.

internationally naturally boosts everyone’s competencies,’ Anita Tveten points out.

The Donald Duck comic in Scandinavia comes under Business Area Manager Anders’ Krokfoss’ domain. He believes the key to a Scandinavian collaboration is for everyone to make some concessions in terms of local preferences, even though each publisher is best attuned to its respective Danish, Norwegian and Swedish comic readers.

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‘At the same time we acknowledge that a comic like Donald Duck is an all-embracing undertaking with both differences and similarities between the countries. We think “Scandinavian” where we can and locally where we must,’ he explains.

HISTORIC DONALD DUCK This cartoon series is undeniably a core product for all three publishing companies.

FACTS Norwegians are the most avid comic readers in Scandinavia, with 63 % describing themselves as cartoon readers (against 38 % in Denmark and 36 % in Sweden). One in four Norwegians reads a cartoon series every day.

In fact, Egmont publishes over 90 % of all comics in the Scandinavian markets. However, competition for children’s time has never been tougher, and the main brand of the Scandinavian Kids Media companies – the Donald Duck comic – is particularly feeling the squeeze. The publication has to galvanise its position in 2012.

‘Twenty years ago, the Donald Duck comic was the natural choice for parents wanting to give their child an entertaining yet educational afternoon. Today, we have a whole array of options, and children increasingly make their own choices. As a comics publisher, we must be able to assume the parental role in influencing kids’ comics choices,’ says Anders Krokfoss.

The Archimedes Heat Ray is the first of six stories to be published in 2012 that will spotlight world history and chronicle a number of historic events in a new, fun way. The stories are unconnected and will be published at six- to eight-week intervals throughout the year. The first stop on the journey through history is the year 212 BC, when the Romans and the Greeks were fighting for the island of Sicily.

‘We have also recently launched a co-project with Egmont Creative Centre to draw more attention to our stories and make them funnier as well as visually richer,’ Krokfoss explains. ‘The initiative will bring us closer to the youngest children than we are today, while also reaching adults.’ Introducing kids early on to the Donald Duck universe increases the likelihood of their becoming regular readers in the long term. One project aim is to make all the stories comprehensible without any speech bubbles. Readers will see the first changes in autumn 2012.

63 YEARS OF REVITALISATI­ON Revamping the comic is nothing new, Krokfoss points out. ‘The comic has been constantly developed for 63 years, but of course we must respect the original universe in establishing a joint publication strategy. We should only publish stories that matter to kids today without necessarily being the trendiest.

That would make Donald Duck a passing fad. So far we’ve managed to curb the decline in circulation figures.

Consequently, we shouldn’t radically change the way we work in the coming months, but rather fine-tune what we’ve got.’

The revitalisation of the comic was sparked by analysis results that revealed some interesting facts about cartoon reading habits in Scandinavia. For instance, children who own the most gadgets, read more comics. We can thus kill the myth that tablets are a rival to print comics – or at least question it.

DONALD DUCK IN THE CLASSROOM The analysis also showed that most children start reading cartoons before they turn nine, so this is the window for capturing dedicated comic readers. Getting Donald Duck into the classroom is another source of great potential.

Anders Krokfoss has no doubt that the classroom is a way forward for Donald Duck. Serieforlaget Norway is currently conducting a research project that hopes to document that children learn to read more easily if the content offered is something they actually want to read. A pilot project run at one school has returned promising results and is now being extended to 10 other schools. Krokfoss stresses, however, that

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the comic is only to be used as a reward and supplementary product in the school and not as part of the academic teaching. ‘We still want children to perceive the comic as entertainment.’

It certainly seems that the pan-Scandinavian partnership that is the cornerstone of the Donald Duck comic’s ongoing development will benefit all companies – the cartoon medium in particular – in future. ▀ Anders Krokfoss, Business Area Manager, Egmont Serieforlaget

Anita Tveten, Publishing Director and Categroy Manager, Egmont Serieforlaget

Di

The ship is laden with

Brylcreem A TATTOOIST, A PRIEST AND A STEWARDESS ARE ON A SHIP. IT SOUNDS LIKE THE OPENING LINE OF A BAD JOKE, BUT FOR EGMONT TIDSKRIFTER IT IS PART OF THE COCKTAIL THAT HAS DRIVEN GROWTH FOR THE SWEDISH PUBLISHING HOUSE.

By Niels Almer

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orvettes, Mustangs, Chryslers… and MS Cinderella. On a February afternoon, a cruise ship bearing the fairy tale name leaves its berth in Stockholm’s Stadgård terminal. Aboard are American vintage cars, thousands of car enthusiasts and all the trappings of 1950s’ fashion and music to recreate the right mood. For the next 24 hours, 2,200 car enthusiasts are gathered in the belly of the MS Cinderella to meet, party and share their passion for American cars. They have come from all parts of Sweden to take part in what is the winter highlight for the readers of Wheels magazine: Wheels Nationals Winter.

We are talking about ten decks of reader involvement, including a car fair at the bottom of the ship, parties in three bars and nightclubs, and non-stop music dating from well before the first lunar landing. In addition to the must-have cars at the fair, passengers can acquire a T-shirt emblazoned with the words ‘Hot rod for sale, soul for rent’, a tattoo, a new hairdo or just a hot tip on the latest spare parts for their own vintage car. The tickets costing around SEK 500 were quickly snapped up.

publications catering to special interests. Although this means a lower readership than magazines with broader appeal such as the Norwegian Det Nye or the Danish Euroman, niche magazines offer the potential for high reader involvement.

Like so many other publishing houses, Egmont Tidskrifter has experienced falling sales in recent years, but events like Wheels

EVENTS ARE THE KEY TO GROWTH In contrast to Egmont’s magazine operations in Denmark and Norway, the Swedish magazine portfolio is characterised by niche

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Nationals have helped to turn things around. The event business ‘Egmont Tidskrifter Koncept’ is enjoying marked growth and has helped Egmont Tidskrifter, once the smallest member of Egmont’s Scandinavian magazine family, to record the best financial results in 20 years.

From the recently refurbished offices overlooking Sweden’s future national arena in Stockholm, Managing Director Per Kjellander talks about the year’s glowing results: ‘Since the merger between Hjemmet Mortensen and Tidskrifter two years ago, we have done our utmost to enhance our business efficiency, and that work is ongoing.’ For example, Egmont Tidskrifter is currently finalising implementation of its joint editing platform, Page Planner. Since the merger, costs have been significantly reduced, and today 235 staff man the three offices located in Stockholm, Malmø and the winter sports resort, Åre ‘Our goal is to create the best magazines, events and digital activities in the most cost-effective way. We want to be the best in Sweden and in the magazine division, and we also plan to expand our printing, digital media and concept business activities. The Wheels cruise is an example of our concept business, an area currently experiencing marked growth,’ says Per Kjellander.

SEE MORE

View pictures and videos from the cruise in eCopy.

FACTS Egmont Tidskrifter is Sweden’s fourth-largest magazine publisher Last year the various events enabled 38,345 Egmont Tidskrifter readers to meet in person.

In 2012 the concept department will organise 65 events over and above the MS Cinderella cruise.

ROLLING UP HIS WORK SLEEVES Egmont Tidskrifter Koncept is a small department manned by five staff who devote their time to custom publishing, niche magazine web shops, reader trips and events. In the space of three years Egmont Tidskrifter Koncept has more than tripled its revenue, currently at SEK 15 million.

‘The future goal for Egmont Tidskrifter is to double this figure, and this can only happen when each and every event is profitable,’ says Johan Sandholm.

Johan is Manager at Egmont Tidskrifter Koncept and has rolled up his work sleeves to man the fair stall selling Wheels jackets and cheap subscriptions.

‘Wheels is a magazine with a narrow, extremely dedicated target group that meets several times a year and enjoys a fantastic community feeling. The combination of a burning passion and a meeting culture often provides the perfect cocktail for a great event where readers return year after year,’ he says.

CONNECTING BY KARAOKE The ship cuts silently through the ice on the cold February night in the waters around Stockholm. The icy silence is a marked contrast with the events taking place inside, where Brylcreem, chequered shirts and hot rods vie for attention with dresses that could have been plucked straight out of the TV series Mad Men. The name MS Cinderella is also something of an anomaly for a ship hosting an event for one of the most testosteroneheavy Egmont Tidskrifter magazines. How-

The cruise ship is leased from Viking Line, which confirms that the Wheels cruise is the activity that generated the year’s second-highest turnover in the bar and tax-free area.

In the course of the evening I meet lots of readers as well as a few potential new ones.

If they think I’m cool, humorous and know something about vintage cars, they’ll go back to their clubs and tell them all about Wheels. ever, behind the wheel, so to speak, sits female editor-in-chief, Mia Norberg, now in her fifth year. Norberg has had to come up with her own way of making the magazine unique in a Swedish niche market with no fewer than three different magazines devoted to American cars.

The 22 hours aboard MS Cinderella are all part of Mia’s strategy. ‘In the course of the evening I meet lots of readers as well as a few potential new ones. If they think I’m cool, humorous and know something about vintage cars, they’ll go back to their clubs and tell them all about the event. Each of them has perhaps 40 friends, who pass the message on to their friends. So it’s not hard to work out which magazine they’ll choose to buy next time,’ says Mia. This also explains why she happily plays host to the big karaoke competition later in the evening.

The winner was not priest Jerker Alstedlund, who has been aboard the last four year to marr�y couples interested in an

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Other Egmont Tidskrifter Koncept events • Grand Travel Award – the travel industry’s Oscar - for Travel News • Fell party for Ute Magasinet (outdoor magazine) • Golf Digest Trophy • King’s 100 Mightiest • Reader trips with Classic Motors to the vintage car fair in Padova. ocean-going ceremony – a testimony to the strong sense of community among the car enthusiasts and a possible explanation for the event’s success. Jerker, himself a Chrysler owner, is a huge Wheels fan.

The next morning, the cruiser heads back to Stockholm. On board, guests eyeball the cars, recover in the spa area, buy huge quantities of tax-free and watch American Graffiti in the ship’s cinema. With revenue in excess of SEK 500,000 in 22 hours, it will not be the last time Wheels readers are given the chance to enjoy a mini cruise in each other’s company. ▀ Johan Sandholm, Manager at Egmont Tidskrifter Koncept

Mia Norberg, Editor-in-chief at Wheels Magazine

THE POLAR BEAR throws itself into live entertainment

NORDISK FILM HAS PRODUCED FILMS SINCE BACK IN 1906, BUT STANDS TODAY AS A DYNAMIC NORDIC ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY THAT CONSTANTLY SEEKS OUT NEW, INTERESTING BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES IN QUALITY ENTERTAINMENT WITH BROAD POPULAR APPEAL. IN FEBRUARY 2012 NORDISK FILM UNVEILED ITS FIRST-EVER LIVE PRODUCTION, HEY JUDE, THUS INAUGURATING A NEW BUSINESS AREA, NF LIVE.

By Irene Brandt

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uality popular entertainment has always been the hallmark of productions from Nordisk Film, which has produced films and TV programmes for many years. The polar bear has now set its sights on another entertainment realm, live productions. According to Managing Director Allan Hansen, Nordisk Film has to depart from its traditional image as a company exclusively dedicated to films and cinemas: ‘Nordisk Film is an entertainment company in the broad sense, and it’s natural for us to scout out business opportunities that let us employ the special expertise we command in areas like rights management, commercial insight, market know-how and audience understanding as well as our general selling and marketing experience. In short: we can get people into the cinemas, and we can also unite good art with commercial business operations.’

The idea is to combine Nordisk Film’s experience and expertise with the finest live theatre has to offer, thereby creating the potential for both commercially and artistically successful productions. Allan Hansen continues: ‘We hope NF Live will give guests a memorable live experience as well as attract new target audiences. We believe success breeds success and that a new

commercial player on the Nordic live entertainment scene can only motivate audiences to go out even more.’

LIVE BLOCKBUSTERS Allan Hansen recently hired the former general manager of Sandrew Metronome Distribution, Frederik Juul, to spearhead the new business area known as NF Live. Frederik’s job is to secure the right live entertainment projects and partners for Nordisk Film, preferably in various genres.

The first live venture is a “theatre concert”, Hey Jude, launched to great fanfare in February and due to premiere at Christmas 2012.

Based on the vast catalogue of Beatles songs, the theatre concert will be the biggest to date in Denmark, playing in Forum, Copenhagen, to a capacity audience of 4,200 nightly. Frederik Juul calls it “a theatre blockbuster” and elaborates: ‘If there’s one genre that’s proved its worth in Denmark in recent years, it’s the theatre concert.

It has broad appeal and reaches audiences that wouldn’t normally classify themselves as theatre-goers.

On the other hand, the Hey Jude audience has a special relationship to the artists

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Director Nikolaj Cederholm (fourth from left) has invented the ‘theatre concert’ and works with the Hellemann brothers, Jens and Peter, conductor and performer, respectively (far left and right). The show’s star-spangled cast includes rock singer Pernille Rosendahl (second from right) and vocally gifted actors Troels Lyby (seated), Cecilie Stenspil and Laus Høybye.

WHAT IS NF LIVE?

HEY JUDE

WHAT IS A THEATRE CONCERT?

NF Live is the name of the new business area, headed by Frederik Juul, intended to explore and realise the business potential for live entertainment in Denmark. The idea is to exploit Nordisk Film’s existing experience and expertise – market know-how, audience understanding and commercial insight – and establish partnerships with the greatest talents in live entertainment.

Beatles music is the heart and soul of Hey Jude, a sequel to the theatre­ concert Come Together, which sold a resounding 160,00 tickets at Copenhagen’s Østre Gasværk. Hey Jude will be Denmark’s largest theatre concert to date, attracting up to 4,200 guests nightly during its performance run from 28 December 2012 – 15 January 2013.

The theatre concert genre is a Danish phenomenon that has been around for 15 years. Nordisk Film’s goal is to create productions that can tour the Nordic region. A theatre concert is a staged concert where everything is performed and sung live.

Allan Hansen has hired Frederik Juul to head up NF Live and build a live entertainment business.

The goal is to produce major, money-making shows with broad popular appeal and high artistic quality. The productions must additionally have the potential to succeed beyond Denmark’s borders.

concerned. Our Hey Jude debut truly manifests our ambitions for NF Live: to unite high artistic quality with broad appeal. We take an immortal name like The Beatles and revitalise it with the most talented theatre concert performers and a strong cast. It’s sure to be amazing!’

AMBITION AND HUMILITY Frederik Juul has taken on NF Live’s first major project with a tremendously ambitious yet supremely humble spirit. He is keenly aware of the responsibility that comes from standing on the shoulders of the mega-successful Come Together, Denmark’s first theatre concert, which sold 160,000 tickets, and from generally working with Beatles music, about which everyone has an opinion: ‘We have to

sell large numbers of tickets within the short span of the show’s run, but I believe we have what it takes to succeed and thus prepare the way for new projects, of which we hope to produce two or three annually within a few years. First, though, we’re looking forward to giving audiences a high-octane experience with Hey Jude,’ concludes Frederik Juul. ▀

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Transmedia

Storytelling in the UK AS THE PUBLISHER OF TOP AUTHORS FOR CHILDREN OF ALL AGES, EGMONT UK KNOWS HOW TO PUBLISH STORIES THAT CHILDREN LOVE, GENERATION AFTER GENERATION. NOW THOSE STORIES ARE BEING BROUGHT TO CHILDREN AND THEIR PARENTS WHEREVER THEY ARE AND ON THEIR FAVOURITE DEVICES.

By Mike Richards

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anaging Director of Egmont Press, Cally Poplak elaborates, “what we’ve learned so far has led us to ask three questions of our digital projects: how we can bring play and interactivity to the reading experience with integrity? How we can involve the readers in the development of the story and still deliver quality? And how do broaden our editorial and marketing expertise to include digital in all we do?”

With these three questions in mind, BZRK was developed with Stephen King’s favourite YA author, Michael Grant. This transmedia project started with an online alternate reality game in September 2011.

It grew and evolved through social media and a ‘hub site’ went live in January 2012.

The iOS and Android app launched in mid-February. The culmination of all of this build-up was the launch of the book BZRK on February 28th. Chapter one of the book opens where the online experience ends.

The bold experiment was telling it through a game with the participation of teenagers.

“There are four important things to note about the project. First, the whole world, every plotline and every character in digital and print, has been created by Michael Grant, a professional writer skilled at crafting a great story. Second, the digital piece is all about play, whilst the book is about good, old-fashioned reading and losing yourself in the pages of a thrilling story. Third, this came out of traditional author-editor conversations about a great

Today, every child in the UK has three Egmont books or magazines. We now look forward to seeing them have our stories on all their digital devices, too.

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WHAT IS BZRK?

In the transmedia spirit, read more about BZRK in eCopy

idea and how to make it appealing to book lovers and teenagers who prefer to find their stories online. Finally, the execution of the digital piece is vital, but the success of the project is down to the brilliance of Michael’s story and writing. It’s about quality content,” says Cally Poplak. ▀

Cally Poplak, Managing­Director­, Egmont Press UK

Literary fiction as a showcase

LINDHARDT OG RINGHOF IS CURRENTLY REVITALISING ITS LITERARY FICTION PUBLICATIONS, WITH PUBLISHING DIRECTOR HANS HENRIK SCHWAB LEADING THE INITIATIVE. HIS ROLE CALLS FOR ACUTE INTUITION AS WELL AS THE COURAGE TO EXPERIMENT.

By Mie Bach Andersen LITERARY FICTION IS UNDERGOING VARIOUS CHANGES. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? “The company’s attempts in recent years to focus on bestsellers floundered, the problem being that steering towards what sells today is tantamount to relying on the topsellers of yesterday. This can be a costly approach, because it means buying what people think will become a hit. We have therefore decided to switch strategy to a more editorial form of management. We are now going to be more innovative and select authors ourselves instead of buying our way to success. “ IS IT A QUESTION OF GIVING LINDHARDT OG RINGHOF­A NEW PROFILE? “It’s a blend of profiling, positioning and investing in the future. Lindhardt og Ringhof would like some more goodwill from booksellers and reviewers. Danish authors want to rub shoulders with other gifted writers, and publishing high-quality books is also a way of attracting the new authors who may one day be the next bestsellers.

We have to make way for new thinking, and poets and first-time authors are part of our innovation project. We could have settled for publishing our poetry anthologies digitally, but have deliberately chosen the print route as a means of positioning

and profiling the company. This avenue also offers prospects for the future, because authors often opt for short formats early in their careers. Such writers can develop into major, wide-reaching authors. “

ments of humour with a sinister twist à la Lars von Trier. Debut writers should breathe new life into the written word, an ideal that both authors achieve in their individual ways.“

DOES THAT MEAN THE BESTSELLER­IS DEAD? “We haven’t become a narrow niche publisher overnight or dropped any specific genres. We still publish detective fiction, for example, but set certain quality standards.

Writers should resist simply following the formulas that produced last year’s trends.

We want to predict the next wave, and I think debut author Morten Kærså will be riding it. He has written Den uskyldige morder, tackling the detective novel from an original angle and mixing reality with fiction. Another example is first-time author Nanna Goul, who has written a contemporary novel, Privat Skov, which combines ele-

WHAT REPERCUSSIONS DO THESE CHANGES HAVE FOR THE REST OF LINDHARDT OG RINGHOF? “Despite our focus on innovation, we respect our responsibility to make these innovations profitable. Literary fiction has always been reviewed and attracted media attention more easily than other genres.

This is why we should use literary fiction as a showcase – we need to spotlight Lindhardt og Ringhof, occupy space in newspaper columns and make our name unmissable in shops, all for the purpose of attracting new authors who we hope will develop into bestsellers.” ▀

NEW APPROACHES TO LITERARY FICTION DEBUT AUTHORS Detective fiction genre deconstructed in the debate book Dette er ikke en krimi Poetry Lyrics, spoken word, rap and short story competitions Sophisticated e-books with readings by the authors

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Hans Henrik Schwab, Publishing Director at Lindhardt og Ringhof

Bold decisions

in Turkey Managing Director of Dogan Egmont, Gülgün Çarkoğlu.

IN SPITE OF A HIGH MARKET SHARE IN TURKEY, PROFITABILITY RATES FOR CHILDREN’S MAGAZINES HAS DROPPED DUE TO A FRAGMENTED MARKET AND HIGH AVERAGE RETURN RATES. THE ANSWERS TO THIS CHALLENGE ARE ‘MORE BOOKS’ AND SOME BOLD DESCISIONS.

By Maria Alsted Junget

‘W

e have taken some serious steps to reverse the negative sales trend seen in magazines. Five low-performing children’s magazines were discontinued, and the magazine portfolio is being refreshed,“ tells Managing Director of Dogan Egmont Gülgün Çarkoğlu. And new magazines such as Dream You, Monster High,Genarator Rex, Animal Planet and Let’s Discover has been launched.

‘The fact that we have grown in the fiction category gives us a big advantage, as it partially compensates for the decline in the magazine segment. We are focusing on our best-performing product categories and continue to invest in young adult fiction under the DEX imprint. We are keeping the number of new titles to a minimum and delisting low-performing titles to achieve more targeted marketing and sales. Optimising our stock level will further minimise potential risks.’

BOLD DECISIONS ‘In order to grow further, we also need to look inwards and optimise our business internally,’ Gülgün says. In September 2011, Dogan Egmont formed a small in-house team tasked with conducting various sales and distribution analyses jointly with a distribution agent. ‘We have already made DOGAN EGMONT Founded in 1996 Staff count: 89 Key business areas are: - magazines for kids - books for kids, teens and adults Key licences in Dogan Egmont are Disney, Mattel, Nickelodeon, Kanal D, Turner, Sanrio Holds a 42 % market share in children’s magazines.

Children’s magazines and picture books make up Dogan Egmont’s core business, and in the last five years the novelty and middlegrade fiction categories have grown significantly. The subsequent acquisition of Dogan Kitap in 2007 strengthened the book port­ folio for adults.

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structural changes in the company by consolidating the sales and marketing departments of Dogan Kitap and Dogan Egmont and evaluating processes to increase company efficiency,’ says Gülgün.

Bold steps were taken to eliminate 1000 kiosks whose sales were marginal and instead focus on distributing more magazines with higher sales and bigger potential. Another initiative addressed the traditional way that children’s magazines are displayed on the lower shelves of kiosks. Gülgün explains: ‘We convinced the distribution company that, although difficult to establish, a vertical display would impact sales positively. True to expectations, return rates decreased five points without a drop in sales.’

In future, Dogan Egmont will focus on developing its core business and improving sales in chain stores while keeping return rates stable. ▀

A New Business for

Cover Mounts WITH COVER MOUNTS PLAYING SUCH A BIG ROLE AT THE HEART OF EGMONT KIDS MEDIA, A NEW ORGANISATION WAS FORMED IN DECEMBER 2011, KIDS MEDIA SOURCING, TO TAKE THE BEST OF OUR BUSINESS TODAY AND FIND NEW WAYS TO WORK TOGETHER TO IMPROVE THE WAY KIDS MEDIA PRODUCE THESE MAGAZINE MUST-HAVES.

By Reeta Bhatiani

Egmont produces 130 million individual magazine cover mounts at a cost in excess of 30 million euros every year. They are a major part of our business and vital in making our magazines attractive to readers.

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ardcopy spoke to Managing Director of Sourcing, Kerrie Culff and Jacek Beldowski, Regional Manager of CEE to find out how this new organisation is going to revitalise a key part of our business.

COVER MOUNTS – A COMPLEX BUSINESS ‘The sheer numbers involved in producing cover mounts, together with challenges from recent changes in legislation have made it more complex and costly to produce them,’ Kerrie Culff says. “The purpose of setting up Kids Media Sourcing is to find more effective ways to create mounts that make our products even more attractive to our consumers than they are today.’

The first steps to achieving that aim are involving Egmont people.

‘I have visited all the territories with sourcing teams to meet everyone and spend time in getting to know the business and the markets. We have many talented people in Egmont, with a great deal of knowledge, so it’s important to capture and use as much of this as possible to build the Sourcing organisation,’ states Kerrie.

Jacek Beldowski adds: ‘With any new organisation there’s a lot to be done and we’re rising to the challenge of revitalising our core business by focusing on improving product innovation, building a framework for developing and sharing ideas for products, making savings on co-production and learning best practices.’

Kids Media Sourcing has bold plans for the future but Kerrie is very clear that their ambitions are firmly rooted in a realistic view of priorities. “We’ve had so

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much excellent feedback and input at this early stage but we’re realistic that we can’t promise miracles overnight,’ she says and continues, ‘as Jacek said, we’re focusing on some key areas including the development of a shared supplier pool which will give us better control of our supply chain, and safety. We’re also developing a fully integrated sourcing structure which means that we will have shared systems and processes, clear roles and responsibilities from both a divisional and local perspective, a transparent budgeting process and a clear way of communicating.’

BRINGING TOGETHER THE RIGHT TALENTS AND SKILLS We ask Kerrie how she would sum up the benefits that Kids Media Sourcing will bring to the division and her response is: ‘The highlights are a central, global cover mount business that is creative, productive, safer and also much better value for money. But the thing I’m looking forward to most is bringing together the many talents and skills of our people to create a new team.’ ▀ Kerrie Culff, Managing Director of Egmont Kids Media Sourcing

Jacek Beldowski, Regional Manager of Central and Eastern Europe

awards Abundance of in 2011

The SKUP award is the Norwegian press award for excellent investigative journalism. In 2011 the award went to TV 2 Norway’s Asbjørn Øyhovden and Olav T. Vold for their documentaries about neglect of the elderly, Eldrebløffen.

The Egmont Hjemmet Mortensen website Klikk.no won two awards, for Niche Website of the Year and Mobile Website of the Year at the Media Awards in Bergen. Klikk.no also won the golden ‘Gulltaggen 2011’ award for best search strategy of the year. Gulltaggen 2011 is a Norwegian internet award.

Lars von Trier’s Melancholia received the main award at the European Film Awards. The National Society of Film Critics also gave the film two awards: Best Picture of the Year 2011 and Best Actress, which went to Kirsten Dunst for her lead role in the film.

Melancholia also garnered nine ‘Robert’ awards, including best screenplay, best leading actress, best director and the evening’s main award, best Danish film of the year.

The TV mini-series Millennium, based on the successful Stieg Larsson trilogy, was awarded an Emmy for Best TV Movie/Mini-series.

In Cannes Kirsten Dunst also won the prize for best female lead for her role in Melancholia.

TV 2 Sumo also won an award at the Media­Awards in Bergen, the most coveted of web awards, Website of the Year.

28

Susanne Bier’s In a Better World won an Oscar, a Golden Globe and a European film award. Susanne Bier herself was also named best director of the year at the European Film Awards in Berlin for the same film.

Giles Andreae's World of Happy series won the gold award at the Practical Parenting and Pregnancy Awards 2011/2012. World of Happy is a brand under Egmont Press.

The house-and-home magazine ROM 123, published by Egmont Hjemmet Mortensen, was rewarded with the prize for most desirable magazine of the year at the 2011 Media Award ceremony in Bergen.

Dirch brought home two ‘Robert’ awards, with Nikolaj Lie Kaas winning the award for best actor while Lars Ranthe was named best supporting actor.

The magazine Foreldre & Barn (Parenting and Children) won the award for 'Magazine Photo of the Year' at the Norwegian Media Awards.

RUM won a prize at the Danish magazine design competition held by Society of Magazine Designers in Denmark (MDID), for ‘Best home feature story’.

DET ER IKKE ER UTEN GRUNN AT DET R NORTHUG VI SPONSE

new yoRk

BOLIG

OPHOldsrUM | De store vinduer er kunststykker i sig selv. og med tre forskellige sofaborde og sofaer dækket med hvidt lærred har giorgio Deluca skabt personlig og uhøjtidelig loungestemning. han beskriver sig selv som en langsom læsehest, der elsker bøger, som derfor får lov at brede sig mange steder i hjemmet. gerne stablet i store stakke med lidt overraskende placeringer. til venstre står en mies van der rohe-daybed, som Deluca ironisk kalder sit trofæmøbel ...

– Der er aldrig nogen, der sidder i den. men den reflekterer min gode smag.

Dean & DeLuca De Luxe Der må ikke være for meget visuel støj i et hjem, boligen skal være smuk i sig selv, mener Den berømte gourmetkøbmanD bag gourmetcafeerne Dean & Deluca. i hans ultracool newyorkerloft får Den minimalistiske og inDustrielle stil moDspil af farver, personligheD og giorgio Delucas fornemmelse for blikfang. af Pernille Vest tekst Karin GråbæK foto Heidi lerKenfeldt

Det er få idrettsutøvere som er breiere i kjeften enn Petter Northug. Men det skal han ha; Petter er like storkjefta uansett om det går bra eller dårlig. Mye av stoffet i Vi Menn handler også om det å tørre, og mot ut over det vanlige. Enten det er snakk om norske soldater i strid, Jarle Andhøys polekspedisjoner eller Johnny Haglunds vågestykker.

Derfor liker vi heller ikke at folk forsøker å forandre Petter, å gjøre han mindre macho og mer forsiktig. Da vil vi heller sponse ham slik han er. La Petter være Petter.

La menn være menn.

The Norwegian men’s magazine Vi Menn won the award for ‘Campaign of the Year’ at the award show organised by the Norwegian association for sponsors and events. Vi Menn sponsors the popular Norwgian cross country skier Petter Northug.

03 marts 2010 | RUM 47

46 RUM | 03 marts 2010

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STYLING FREDERIK ANDERSEN GROOMING LASSE PEDERSEN/UNIQUE LOOK FOTOASS. KIM/THE LAB STUDIE THE LAB BILLEDBEHANDLING WETOUCH GRAFIK ROLAND&EHLERS RULLEKRAvE BRUUNS BAzAAR TIL 799 KR. LæDERjAKKKE BzR TIL 1.999 KR BUKSER WHyRED TIL 1.000 KR. STøvLER WHyRED TIL 2.200 KR. UR IWC PILOT CLASSIC CHRONOGRAPH TIL 29.700 KR. HOS OLE MATHIESEN.

er klokken, og flyet mod Bergen er sat til afgang 15.50. Foran gate C10 i Københavns Lufthavn er der kun en køleskabsbrummende, ensom lyd. Før var rækkerne af blå ventestole fyldt med nordmænd på vej hjem. I indkøbsposer, selvtilstrækkelige ansigtsudtryk og mærkevarevinterfrakker. Nordmænd er regelrette mennesker og derfor for længst gået om bord. Men der mangler stadig én passager. ”Jeg er i lufthavnen, jeg er lige kommet.

Hvad? Var det ikke noget med afgang 17.10?

Nu, siger du? Jamen … så … jeg prøver at nå det,” siger han i mobilen, da han bliver ringet op.

Med løftede øjne står en SAS-steward med grå reklametindinger bag boardingpas-skranken og kigger på computerskærmen. Stewarden smiler så roligt, at han må have været på kursus i det. ”Nej,” siger han. ”Nikolaj Lie Kaas er ikke tjekket ind. Det er derfor, han ikke er blevet kaldt over højttaleren. Ja, man har godt nok hørt noget om, at

de der kunstnere kan være lidt forvirrede,” siger han og fortsætter uden et øjeblik at skifte toneleje: ”Du må hellere gå ind, hvis du vil nå det.”

Klokken 15.54 er det ham der ringer. ”Hvad gate?” råber hans forpustede stemme. ”C10, men jeg tror ikke, du kan …”

Resten af sætningen drukner i jetmotorernes larm. Flyet bevæger sig væk fra gaten og ud på startbanen. Mobilerne skal slukkes. Lidt efter rasler alt i kabinen, da flyet møder sit point of no return. Vi er i luften. Uden ham.

ÅR TIDLIGERE ligger han foran pejsen i det store hus på Risum Allé i Rødovre, hvor han bor alene med sin mor. Som så ofte før befinder han sig i sin egen verden, en drømme-nusle-nørkle-lege-verden, ingen andre rigtig har adgang til. Han elsker lyde og at gå rundt med sin kassettebåndoptager og optage alverdens mærkelige ting. Han strikker de mange lydeffekter sammen til små fortællinger, radioteaterstykker, dramaer, krimier, og han laver selv

alle stemmerne. Når noget skal lyde, som om det bliver smadret, smider han en af ovnens bageplader på gulvet og optager det.

Nu ligger han foran pejsen, fordi han skal bruge lyden af knitrende ild til en af sine kompositioner. Men det er midt i 80’erne, og der er mange tekniske begrænsninger, når man gerne vil lave flere lyde på samme tid.

Derfor har han lavet et sindrigt snoretrækssystem gennem hele huset. Fra stuen og ind på værelset løber snoren hen over loftet. For enden af snoren er der en tung kugle. Når han trækker i snoren, rammer kuglen optageknappen på kassettebåndoptageren.

Nogle gange optager han også sig selv, når han går rundt og trommer. Han vil gerne være trommeslager, have sit eget trommesæt. På sin seng inde på sit værelse har han lavet en speciel opsætning af puder, som skal gøre det ud for trommer, og dem hamrer han løs på.

Han slår rytmer på alt, på radioen, fjernsynet, på møblerne, og moren siger, at hun ikke kan forstå, at han vil det, for så skal man jo sidde deromme bagved. Først mange år senere spekulerer han på, hvad hun mon mente med det, for hun har aldrig ansporet ham til at optræde og gå ind i det, hun kalder ’afdelin> gen for balalajka’.

36 EUROMAN FEBRUAR 2010

FEBRUAR 2010 EUROMAN 37

Egmont Ehapa received a Disney Quality Award. Marking 60 years of fruitful cooperation, the Disney award was presented during the annual Disney Consumer Products Licensee Meeting.

Clown - The Movie won the ‘Robert’ audience prize, and at the Zulu Awards, Frank Hvam was named best actor of the year. Marcuz Jess Petersen won the award for best supporting Danish actor of the year, and Mikkel Nørgaard received the award for best Danish film of 2011.

Clown – The Movie also won the Cheval Noir award at the Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal as well as the prizes for best film and best screenplay in the genre category ‘Gutbuster comedy feature’ at the acclaimed genre film festival Fantastic Fest.

Jan Lehman received an honorary ‘Robert’ award. Jan Lehman, who has worked for Nordisk Film for over 30 years, usually plays a discreet background role, making sure others are seen. However, at the Robert awards ceremony 2011 Jan Lehmann had his turn in the limelight, receiving the tribute bestowed through the Honorary Robert award.

In 2011 the newly established association, Society of Magazine Designers in Denmark (MDID) held its first Danish magazine design competition, crowning Euroman for ‘Best magazine cover’ and ‘Best story of the year.’

Authors from the Cappelen Damm stable won three of a possible five Brage awards at the annual awards ceremony in November.

Kolbein Falkeid, who has been with Cappelen Damm since 1962, was awarde with an honorary award for his career.

In the category ’best book for children or young adults,’ Inga Sætre won with the book Fallteknikk.

The reviewer-acclaimed feature film R collected eight Danish ‘Robert’ awards and three ‘Bodil’ statues.

Egmont Bulgaria was named publishing company of the year 2011 at the Bulgarian Fantasy and Horror Club’s 11 annual ceremony. On the same occasion fans nominated Egmont Bulgaria as ‘publisher of the decade’.

30

In the category ’best non-fiction’ Simen Ekern won with the book Rome. Three other Cappelen Damm authors were also nominated.

every year more than 50

In 2011 eUr 7 M of egmont’s profit will be channelled into the egmont Foundation to improve the lives of children and young people

% OF all nOrdic peOple buy an egmont product

That corresponds to more than eUr 1,000 for each employee

Since 1920 the egmont Foundation has granted almost eUr 250 M in support for charitable causes

CommerCIAl TV STATIon In norWAY

mAgAZIne PUBlISher In norWAY

ComICS PUBlISher In ChInA

ChIldren’S PUBlISher In germAnY, PolAnd, rUSSIA And TUrKeY

#1

#1

#1

#1

#1

#1

BooK PUBlISher In norWAY

CInemA ChAIn In denmArK

#1

#1

ConSole dISTrIBUTor In The nordIC CoUnTrIeS

ChIldren’S PUBlISher In The nordIC CoUnTrIeS

#1 #1

#2

#2

mAgAZIne PUBlISher In denmArK 31

FIlm ProdUCer In The nordIC regIon

SChool BooK PUBlISher In norWAY And denmArK

BooK PUBlISher In denmArK

The egmonT World

SHARE OF REVENUE GENERATED BY EACH BUSINESS AREA egmont is involved in one-ThIrd of all films produced in the nordic region TV 2’s nyhetskanalen broadcast 56 hoUrS And 11 mInUTeS of non-stop news coverage after the terrorist attacks in oslo on 22 July dIrCh

In 2011 over 300,000 PS3 ConSoleS were sold in the nordic region

KlASSeFeSTen

UnChArTed 3

N

EGMONT ISK FIL ORD M

ZeBrA

22 %

TV 2 27 % *

nYheTSKAnAlen hodeJegerne

SUmo TWIlIghT BreAKIng dAWn PArT 1

60% oF norWegIAnS oVer 15 daily watch TV 2’s main channel

Twilight Breaking Dawn Part 1 sold

1,350,000 CInemA TICKeTS

in norway BlISS

1,611,000 norWegIAnS tuned into the world cup handball final for women in december 2011, setting a TV viewer record for TV 2

SPorT

EgMONt NORdISk FILM

tV 2

nordisk Film is the leading producer and distributor of films in the nordic region and the leading games distributor.

TV 2 focuses on news, entertainment and sport, and is norway’s largest commercial TV company.

2011 (eUr mIllIonS)

2011 (eUr mIllIonS)

reVenUe oPerATIng ProFIT (eBIT) emPloYeeS

334 11 1,403

reVenUe

210

oPerATIng ProFIT (eBIT) emPloYeeS

27 1,008

32

* In 2011 egmont owned 50 % of TV 2, and only 50 % of the profit and revenue are included in the financial statements. The figures on the map show the distribution of revenue. for TV 2 as a wholly owned company.

0

340

EUR MILLIONS

2011

2010

reVenUe

1,386

1,423

oPerATIng ProFIT (eBIT)

88

82

ProFIT BeFore TAx (eBT)

94

75

eqUITY

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22

KeY FIgUreS

on launch day, 50,000 users logged in to Cappelen damm’s sales channel for e-books, digitalbok.n

lIndhArdT og rInghoF

egmont has worked with disney SInCe 1948 TA n U m

EGMONT BOOKS

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mr. men

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every day egmont sells 219,178 BooKS the world over

d o n A l d d U C K W e e K lY

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29 neW dIgITAl leArnIng medIA will be launched in denmark in 2012

S MEDIA 25 % egmont sells 9 oUT oF eVerY ComICS bought in Scandinavia rASmUS KlUmP

BonYTT KAmIlle

EGMONT GAZINES MA

egmont publishes over 100 dIFFerenT mAgAZIneS And WeeKlIeS

18 %

By the time you finish reading this sentence, egmont will have sold 100

BArBIe mAgAZIne

A lT F o r dAmerne

mAgAZIneS

hJemmeT

With over 1 million weekly readers, egmont is the World’S lArgeST

ComICS ProdUCer

KIng

egmont has published hjemmet for 100 YeArS in norway

EgMONt BOOkS

EgMONt MagazINES

egmont Books comprises norway’s largest book publisher, Cappelen damm, and denmark’s second-largest publishing house,

EgMONt kIdS MEdIa

With a range of over 100 titles, egmont magazines ranks among the nordic region’s largest publishers of weeklies and magazines.

lindhardt og ringhof.

countries.

(eUr mIllIonS) reVenUe oPerATIng ProFIT (eBIT) emPloYeeS

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(eUr mIllIonS) 146 0 1,088

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reVenUe oPerATIng ProFIT (eBIT) emPloYeeS

395 25 1,475

10

egmont’s employees speak 22 diFFerenT lanGUaGeS in OVer 30 cOUnTrieS

6.400 employees

59 % are women

38 % are between 35 and 45 years old 11YEARS

0-5 YEARS

27 % have been employed for more than 11 years 44 % have been employed for less than five years

64 % have a higher education

94 % are satisfied or very satisfiedwith their job

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90 % would recommend egmont to others

The year in review …

Lindhardt og Ringhof

Nordisk Film Allan Hansen, Executive­Vice President

The year brought many highlights to be proud of.

Nordisk Film Production won eight ‘Robert’ awards for the feature film R, and Susanne Bier’s In a Better World won an Oscar and a Golden Globe. Many of our productions also won favour with local Scandinavian audiences, with Klassefesten, Dirch and Headhunters each selling over half a million tickets. We managed to mobilise all our expertise across the organisation and ended the year with a healthy profit.

These are times of changing market conditions. Last year we saw a serious drop in the sales of physical DVDs because consumers are showing a growing tendency to buy digital media on the net. For one thing, this means we have geared our distribution organisation to the new reality. We have already made good progress in terms of adapting our business to the new digital world, and have established ourselves as a market leader in the Nordic ‘video on demand’ sector.

The key to success lies in all the passionate and committed efforts that each and every Nordisk Film employee makes throughout the company each and every day. I believe we have excellent cards in our hand in 2012.

On the film side we can look forward to fantastic blockbuster titles like Breaking Dawn II, Hunger Games, Kon-tiki, A Royal Affair, a new film by Susanne Bier and many more. We have just launched a new handheld PlayStation console, VITA, for which we have high expectations. We also recently opened a spanking-new cinema in Næstved and at the end of the year we will make our first foray into the live entertainment business, with the launch of the largest theatre concert ever, Hey Jude.

Lars Boesgaard, Managing Director

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE­ 2011?

t

u

WHAT WAS THE GREATEST­ CHALLENGE?

t

u

WHAT ARE YOUR EXPEC­TA­TIONS FOR 2012?

t

35

u

2011 was a year of major reorganisational change for Lindhardt og Ringhof in which we sketched the contours of the new company. A publishing company has to excite and attract authors and staff alike. It’s almost easier to tell you what we haven’t changed! We have made the fewest organisational changes in educational publishing, but then the staff in that area have taken on a gigantic digital project.

It goes without saying that eliminating almost 60 jobs and divesting the book clubs was painful. Fortunately, we were also in a position to hire new people and thus now have a strong, competent publishing team. It is also gratifying to see how the remaining employees have risen to the challenge and how quickly their new colleagues have become part of the team.

We aim to create a new publishing culture, a goal that poses a resource-intensive challenge we must continue to tackle every day. We have to try to be patient and not expect results overnight, because this is going to be a long haul. In that sense I see no dividing line between 2011 and 2012, because we have to adjust the way we do business every single day. Management is engaged in building an all-round publishing company with a presence in both the digital and the print worlds. Naturally we want to see the digital investments made by the educational publishers take off in 2012, and obviously we have to show that the company is definitively on track.

The year in review …

Kids Media

Egmont Magazines­ Frank Knau, Executive Vice President

Torsten Bjerre Rasmussen, Executive Vice President

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE­ 2011?

In 2011 we delivered the results expected and saw the first signs of digital revenue, generated by the Petzi app, which was launched in April. We have successfully restructured our Scandinavian companies, and Denmark, Sweden and Norway have all done even better than expected.

To maintain the profitability of a declining core business area while investing in new digital initiatives that are not yet generating substantial revenues.

t

u

WHAT WAS THE GREATEST­ CHALLENGE?

t

The next year will be tougher than 2011. We are experiencing a shift in media consumption from print to multiple media platforms. Magazine circulation is also under pressure in Eastern Europe, for example, where sales fell 15% in volume compared with last year. Our Eastern European companies and Egmont UK are feeling the impact of having to adapt to shifting consumer habits in a harsh economic climate.

Despite the good results in Germany and in Scandinavia, meeting our budgets for Kids Media will be a challenge, and I appreciate that everyone is doing their best. The key priorities will be to support our core business as effectively as possible and explore new market opportunities – by revitalising our magazine and book portfolio as well as launching new digital products. We will continue to work on our ‘must-win’ battles and implement our strategy to make Kids Media the preferred ‘global children's publisher of the future’.

u

Unfortunately, I will have to give the same answer as last year.

The decline in the weeklies market is unequivocally our biggest challenge, because it puts relentless pressure on earnings while demanding action and focus on the cost side to ensure we keep producing good results. I should also mention the entire digital area, where we are making significant progress, but the road to recording strong earnings remains long.

WHAT ARE YOUR EXPEC­TA­TIONS FOR 2012?

t

36

Egmont Magazines had an excellent year. All countries performed to expectation, and 2011 was the year that Sweden made a real contribution to earnings, recording its best profit in over 20 years.

We were also blessed with high advertising sales in all countries, which compensated for the decline in sales of weekly magazines.

u

2012 carries greater uncertainty than normal.

We can expect magazine sales to continue dropping, but cannot count on the advertising market to compensate for the decline. So I predict­ a tough but also an exciting year. We also have to decide finally about the future of our printing works. No matter which solution we choose, the decision will bring many changes and a lot of work for large parts of the division in 2012. Furthermore, we constantly assess acquisitional opportunities in the digital sector and the Swedish market. There may be many ways to grow, which is why we need to weigh our options all the time. But our ambition­s are high – and not only in Sweden.

The year in review …

Cappelen Damm

TV 2 Group­ Alf Hildrum, Managing Director

2011 was a solid financial year in which we recorded our highest operating profit to date. Many factors played a role for this satisfying result, including the significant growth generated by Norway’s best media sales department and its increased share of the advertising market. We also clinched important agreements that will guarantee payment for content, and have launched successful new initiatives. It is especially gratifying that our web service, Sumo, has grown strong and been nominated website of the year. Sumo is a good platform for the digital battle in which we are currently locked. We had a record-breaking number of viewers, and broadcast the Norwegian TV programme with the year’s highest viewer rating – the world cup handball final for women between Norway and France.

Tom Harald Jenssen, Managing Director

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE­ 2011?

t

2011 was another good year for the Cappelen Damm Group, which further consolidated its position in the Norwegian book market. We achieved a profit margin (EBITDA) of 10 % for the first time, which gives us a solid platform for pro-active initiatives in all publishing areas and scope to continue developing digital infrastructure and digital products, for both the education sector and the general book market.

Industry statistics for 2010 issued by the Norwegian Publishers Association show that in the general market, Cappelen Damm is currently larger than Aschehoug and Gyldendal combined. In 2010 our authors won three of a possible five Brage awards and numerous other prestigious literary prizes. In 2011 Cappelen Damm sold more than 300 titles to foreign publishing houses for translation.

In December Cappelen Damm acquired Høyskoleforlaget. The acquisition of the textbook publisher helps establish a solid platform for the future growth and development of teaching materials targeted at academic and other forms of higher education.

The total market for Norwegian e-books was estimated at 26-27,000 titles in 2011. Cappelen Damm’s website Digitalbok.no captured a market share of approximately 55 %. In other words, the market size is still modest, but things are starting to move.

u

The terrorist attack on 22 July will leave an indelible mark on Norway and TV 2. We broadcast 56 hours of non-stop news coverage in the middle of the traditional holiday period. The chaos of armoured cars, gripping stories, distraught friends and relations pushed the limits of both ethics and journalism. Our staff did an exceptional job under this tremendous pressure.

WHAT WAS THE GREATEST­ CHALLENGE?

t

Although we are planning to record another successful financial year, we are unlikely to reach the heights of 2011. This year’s main challenge will be to bolster our main channel, which is where we face the toughest competition. At the same time we have to keep up the pace and continue adapting our content for new platforms. We now rely on smart phones and tablets to manage our work and leisure.

They help us with everyday practicalities and entertain us. The hallmark of strong media houses is the determination and capacity to change. I forecast some surprises and hope to retain the ability to act.

u

WHAT ARE YOUR EXPEC­TA­TIONS FOR 2012?

t

37

u

The greatest challenge for Cappelen Damm and the entire Norwegian book industry is dealing with the industry structure entailing fixed book prices and VAT exemption. The industry system is under extreme political pressure.

As a whole, the market will show a slight decline. Although digital product revenue will increase, it will still account for only a small share of total book revenues. The Cappelen Damm Group will find it hard to compensate for the loss of Tanum’s airport bookstore at Gardermoen, which ARK/Gyldendal took over at the turn of the year.

* Egmont’s digital revenues are growing. ‘More digital business’ means that in future we will further improve our digital publishing skills, generate more online transactions, create higher digital earnings from our brands and strengthen our customer relations as well as buying and developing new digital activities. Read more on the following pages.

38

Digitisation * Some people sit down and ask, 'What is it?' but the child asks, 'What can I do with it?'

Steve Jobs

39

Kids Media secures digital rights KIDS MEDIA SECURES THE RIGHT DIGITAL RIGHTS TO THE WORLD'S STRONGEST CHILDREN'S BRANDS AND IS NOW WORKING TO CAPTURE THE STRATEGIC POSITION IT DESIRES IN THE COMIC MARKET AND THUS SATISFY CONSUMERS’ MEDIA PREFERENCES.

By Maria Alsted Junget

‘W

e bring stories to life’ – that’s how we make our living at Egmont. Kids Media will now bring stories to life on numerous platforms through independent apps and replica editions. ‘We’re launching digital services and universes based on the print editions so we can cement the right strategic position now and in future,’ explains Peter Schrøder, Digital Director at Kids Media.

Egmont Kids Media has a business model for digital activities that seeks to transform existing core products and brands as well as develop multiple platforms for the same content. ‘By providing several destinations for the same content, we can give our existing consumers a total experience and reach new customers via digital platforms,’ says Peter Schrøder.

‘In 2012 we aim to launch more digital services and universes based on the printed products we already publish,’ he reveals.

Digital apps for existing brands, Petzi or Mickey Mouse, for example, are already big

favourites with our target groups. Another model used by Kids Media consists of replica editions of print publications. A replica edition is a physical product launched digitally with no change of format. Developing such solutions thus entails little risk or cost.

‘We recently launched the comic Lunch in Norway based on this principle,’ says Peter.

In the comics market this approach will help Kids Media gain a strategic position that allows the company to develop its business in the long term and lets consumers dictate the commercial direction.

If Peter Schrøder was to predict the future, he would envision a digital “Eg-

Egmont holds licences for strong brands such as Mattel, Warner, Hasbro and Disney, all of which are available on digital platforms.

40

mont comics kiosk” where all Egmont Kids Media’s digital magazines and replica editions could be found in one place. ‘Once we start publishing our comics on a variety of platforms, the next step towards sealing the right strategic position is to make sure we have a single “Egmont comics kiosk”, then consumers won’t have to look in various places for their favourite products, as they do today.

‘Trends indicate that in the long run consumers will prefer to customise their own uniquely personal magazine. By keeping this ever in mind, we can always be where the consumer is,’ says Peter Schrøder. ▀

Peter Schrøder, Digital Director Kids Media

They stream vampires,

don’t they?

NORDISK FILM ALLOWED VAMPIRE FANS TO STREAM THE TWILIGHT FILM VIA FACEBOOK. THE CONCLUSION: IT WORKS BUT IT TAKES A BIT OF GETTING USED TO.

By Jonas Heide Smith

F

acebook is no longer simply a meeting place but a service that is eager to fulfil all your digital needs. If you want to sell something, bring out a game or send an email, Facebook aims to be your preferred partner.

So too if you want to distribute films.

Independent documentary makers have been there a while, but last year American Facebook users were able to stream Harry Potter, Inception and Batman. And in November 2011, Nordisk Film launched a Facebook app enabling Scandinavian users to watch Twilight films in their browser for DKK 39. Not cinematic quality, of course, but remarkably high picture quality nonetheless. Project Manager Dimitri Daniluk explains: ‘The picture quality is fine and is adapted to the user's internet connection.

The challenging part has been to get a highly advanced app to interface with the Facebook platform and the pay system – three elements that require a fair amount of fine-tuning’.

But high technical quality is of course only one parameter. ‘Social TV’ – where viewers socially interact with each other around a given programme – is one of the hottest buzzwords of the moment. Many viewers already sit on the sofa clutching

their smartphones as social networks flash onto the screen during major TV events.

Seen in this light, Facebook is far more than a convenient distribution platform – it is also an arena crying out for the ‘social film’ experience. Viewers can sit back and watch Twilight in full screen, but they can also discuss Bella’s unborn vampire baby with like-minded fans using Nordisk Film’s app if they feel like it.

‘It’s clear that Facebook, if anything, is geared to social interaction – that’s where your friends and people who share your interest are already! We gave users the chance to chat at the same time as watching the film, but obviously it can be exploited far more,’ explains Head of Digital Business Development in Egmont Digital, Mikkel Weider.

WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED? The technical side works, the fans are already there and are happy to talk about the product, but that does not automatically translate into credit card sales. Initially only a few users have gone the full distance and paid for access. Mikkel Weider used a focus group to study the target group’s attitudes: ‘The fact that Twilight fans had already seen the films so many times was a clear obstacle. Then there was the added

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combination of Facebook and payment, which users are unaccustomed to, and also the difficulty of youngsters without credit cards. Many expected the quality to be poor and were quite surprised when we showed them the product.’

Despite the lack of overwhelming interest, streaming is clearly the future. Video on demand is rumbling on the horizon as a must-have supplement to other distribution channels, and an experimental approach is needed to understand the advantages and disadvantages of the various models.

Mikkel Weider concludes thus: ‘This project has proved to be quite challenging, so it’s not something we’ll be investing heavily in, in its current form. But it won’t be the last video-on-demand initiative from us. Others are in the pipeline’. ▀ Mikkel Weider, Head of Digital Business­Development at Egmont Digital

Dimitri Daniluk, Junior Business Consultant­at Egmont Digital Centre in Denmark

How to earn money online NETTAVISEN HAS GENERATED ITS FIRST PROFITS IN THESE GENERALLY DIFFICULT TIMES FOR NEWS MEDIA, THANKS TO ITS FAST-BREAKING NEWS, SLIM ADMINISTRATIVE ORGANISATION AND STRONG INNOVATIVE DRIVE.

By Niels Almer

T

he atmosphere at Nettavisen’s discreet office in the Grønland district of Oslo is hectic as its staff work frenetically to be the first to break the biggest news, perhaps the second, but never the third.

‘As a reader you’re unlikely to notice whether an article was published at 3.34 or 3.39 PM, but for journalists timing is everything,’ explains editor-in-chief Gunnar Stavrum.

Nettavisen was created in 1996 with advertising revenue as its only source of income. Some claim it is the world’s first independent digital newspaper. Since its inception, the web publication has seen its fair share of acquisitions, divestments, ups and downs – mainly downs. Nonetheless, Nettavisen has always rallied. After 16 years of existence, with 1.4 million weekly readers Nettavisen now ranks among Norway’s 10 largest websites and is also the country’s largest purely digital newspaper.

In 2011 the business recorded its first profits.

Journalistically, Nettavisen has strived to position itself in specific areas where it could capture mio. NOK a niche. It has run series about religion, immigration, infrastructure and the Norwegian state’s treat-

-88

ment of personal debtors. The first-withthe-news maxim compels journalists to be particularly critical about their sources. ‘As an online medium we can easily copy from others, but we don’t write articles based on speculation,’ Gunnar underscores.

PARED TO THE BONE The editor-in-chief joined Nettavisen during its time as part of TV 2 from 2003 to 2009. He describes the latest developments: ‘When we were hived off from TV 2 in 2009 we decided to cut down to the bone, dropping anything that wasn’t related to the core business. At the same time we worked hard to increase our flexibility by trimming away the management dimension.’ The company managed to halve costs while traffic grew and grew.

Today 55 staff remain, and no one works exclusively with management tasks. Gunnar Stavrum sits in the middle of it all – not shut away in a glass-walled corner office. This is part and parcel of the philosophy­. Everyone has an operational role to play. Journalist executives also publish articles. This also creates an apt

2008

-34 mio. NOK

Gunnar Stavrum, editorin-chief at Nettavisen

Christine Skansen, Sales Director at Nettavisen

Pål Nisja, Head of Business Development at Nettavisen

2009

42

NETTAVISEN'S DEVELOPMENT IN EARNINGS BEFORE TAXES (MIO. NOK).

+3

mio. NOK

-17

mio. NOK

environment for short chains of command and rapid innovation.

ADVERTISING SALES As a result, staff in the advertising department can quickly produce customised solutions for key accounts, an approach that has given Nettavisen a reputation in the Norwegian business world for being extremely solution oriented.

Sales Director Christine Skansen explains how Nettavisen tackles the advertising market: ‘We’ve started working with bigger ads and bigger brands.’ Better to have good relationships with a few large advertisers than with lots of small ones, seems to be the motto. For example, Nettavisen recently launched a Pepsi ad tailored to the content for women and men on Page 2 and Page 3, respectively.

Good traffic figures and a strong sales team of both young and seasoned sales people boosted advertising revenue from NOK 45 million in 2010 to over NOK 50 million in 2011. This year the company expects growth in advertising revenue above the market average.

INNOVATION At the other end of the room sits Pål Nisja, Head of Business Development. Every day the department operates like a product tornado, whirling up new ideas only to drop them shortly afterwards. The department has launched 100 projects over five years.

Of them, 20 still exist. The biggest success was a sports game project with Norsk Tip-

ping, a co-venture that generated NOK 10 million in revenue last year. 'Mitt opdrag' was the name of another project, this one aimed to rival the Norwegian Yellow Pages, De Gule Sider, by mediating contact with craftsmen and other service suppliers.

‘Our modus operandi is to approach existing commercial players rather than coming up with all our own solutions,’ says Pål Nisja. His department is prepared to axe any project that fails to generate NOK 50,000 of clear profit after six months.

FACTS • Nettavisen was established in 1996 • TV 2’s Sumo and tv2.no started out as part of Nettavisen­ • Acquisition of German Lycos in 2002 • Egmont has owned Nettavisen since 2006, initially through TV 2 and later through direct co-ownership with A-pressen.

• Published for iPad, mobile phones and web • Nettavisen offers news, sports and financial articles.

• Page 2 offers lifestyle content for women • Page 3 offers lifestyle content for men

2010

‘I can’t explain why something is good.

We can only see that it is by testing and trying out different concepts, which requires giving management free rein to try out all sorts of ideas,’ Pål says.

‘Every week 1.4 million people browse the shopping street that we call Nettavisen.

It’s our job to open as many shops as possible on that street, but also to close down those with low sales.’

The department’s lack of formal organisation is also reflected in its title, which is merely specified as ‘Other revenue’. It generates annual revenue amounting to NOK 25 million and aims to almost double its target by 2014.

And even though Pål and his team sit in their own section of the large office, they also look at the editorial content itself, which in future will offer mobile access against payment – particularly the content for men located on Page 3.

SOCIAL MEDIA Gunnar Stavrum believes that generating more dialogue will be tomorrow’s task for Nettavisen. To date, all Nettavisen’s initiatives have challenged the established media, which receive state subsidies based on their printed publications. But the times they are a-changing. ‘At conferences I speak alongside established media where up-and-coming bloggers constitute the new contenders. We need to get used to moving in this world, both by writing more in the way of dialogue, but also by working with bloggers where relevant. We spend nothing on marketing, so in future we will focus on using social media to create loyalty and commitment,’ says Gunnar Stavrum.

It is impossible to forecast whether the 16-year-old digital pioneer’s growth rates will continue, but the trail has been blazed. ▀ 2011

43

44

Egmont Magazines rides

the iPad wave

EGMONT LAUNCHED ITS FIRST MAGAZINE FOR THE IPAD IN THE AUTUMN OF 2010, AND MANY OTHERS HAVE SINCE FOLLOWED. ASSISTED BY THE DIVISIONAL DIGITAL DIRECTORS, HARDCOPY ATTEMPTS TO SUMMARISE CURRENT STATUS AND ANSWER THE QUESTIONS: WHAT PROGRESS HAVE WE MADE, WHAT LESSONS HAVE WE LEARNED AND WHERE DO THE TRENDS POINT?

By Ea Hansen

45

If we compare the percentage of iPad owners with the percentage of the population who buy magazines, then the figures are not way off the mark.

Our aim is to keep up with our readers rather than with technological advances.

I

n 2010 digital publication was uncharted territory. Today, just two years later, we know much more about the tablet magazine, but the magic formula still eludes us. This has spurred Egmont Magazines in Denmark, Sweden and Norway to run various experiments aimed at testing what users want and which business model works best.

Only time will tell whether the Swedish PDF version, the Norwegian special editions or the slightly pricier Danish Euroman model is the key to the future or whether the answer lies in another, unrelated model.

Until then, we can only conclude that we have made positive progress in several areas and that tablet media consumption will grow exponentially in future.

EXPERIMENTAL DIGITAL PUBLICATION The Swedish Egmont Tidskrifter publishes via Paperton, a PDF version of the printed magazine. The experiment started in January with four magazine titles including the computer magazine Datormagazin and Åka Skidor for skiing enthusiasts. The goal is both to sell the publications online and to add value for existing subscribers.

In Norway, the company has adapted a special supplement of Bonytt for iPad, as well as adapting its other house-and-

home publications Bonytt Bad and Bonytt Kjøkken. The latest tablet magazine, Foreldre & Barn Gravid about parenting, boasts Norway’s first video front cover.

Since January 2011 Egmont Magasiner in Denmark has published an iPad version of Euroman alongside the print version of the monthly magazine.

In both Denmark and Norway, the tablet magazines are either a special edition of the printed magazine or a new addition to the print publication in the form of extra photo series or video guides.

Digital director at Egmont Magazines, Cato Broberg, explains why the directors opted to vary the solutions rather than carry out a single, joint experiment: ‘We are testing different formulas because this is a whole new market, and we need answers to lots of questions. For example, since producing a PDF version of Euroman is more complicated, we’re trying out the two different ideas for the sake of comparison. We have coordinated the process so that the countries update each other and thus gain more experience in a short space of time.’

THE ‘EVERYTHING FOR FREE’ BATTLEFIELD According to John Severinson, Digital Director at Egmont Tidskrifter, the prevalent

46

‘everything for free’ mentality of consumers regarding apps and online purchases is a constant challenge. People do, however, seem willing to pay for the convenience of iPad magazines.

At Euroman Digital Art Director Frederik Storm believes that extra features are the way to loosen consumers’ purse strings.

He thinks the iPad’s unique interface should be used to differentiate iPad magazines from the print products: ‘First of all, we have to create something uniquely suited to the new platform, not just stick to what works in print. We have to publish an iPad magazine with features geared for the iPad. Euroman’s readers expect something different – something over and above what they get from the printed magazine.’

Euroman has achieved this by making the iPad magazine a supplementary product. Since the summer of 2011, the iPad magazine has been a free, extra feature offered to readers with a full-year subscription.

As Frederik Storm says, this has boosted the number of full-year subscriptions, which he takes as a sign of readers’ willingness to read the iPad magazine. This is also reflected in steady readership trends and sales figures reminiscent of international magazines like GQ.

Some readers prefer the PDF version, while other target groups want more technology and other features.

The tablet magazine shouldn’t replace the print magazine but be its extension.

Cato Broberg points out: ‘If we compare the percentage of iPad owners with the percentage of the population who buy magazines, then the figures are not way off the mark. However, we had obviously hoped for higher sales. We’ve tried lowering the price, but that seems to have made little difference – apparently the determinant is whether the tablet magazine is free or not.’

THE FUTURE OF THE TABLET MAGAZINE Cato Broberg believes that the future for the iPad magazine as a stand-alone business and potential successor to the print magazine remains some way off: ‘Right now it’s more interesting to explore the possibilities of the digital edition as a supplementary product, like the Danish Euroman, for example, because we can see that subscribers to the paper magazine are willing to pay a bit extra for the digital archive and the option of taking a collection of magazines with them anywhere.’ He immediately adds, however: ‘Although it’s too early to draw any conclusions about the future, there are several small, but nonetheless positive figures. I also know that most media houses are working with similar models, and I think users will ultimately expect the digital version.’

Frederik Storm thinks we have to stop thinking about the iPad magazine as a replacement for the print magazine: ‘We need to look at what the iPad can do compared with the print media, the web, mobile phones and so on. I believe the iPad should enrich the other formats rather than copy them. The various platforms should reinforce, not substitute each other.

This means the tablet magazine shouldn’t replace the print magazine but be its extension. I find it fascinating the way the media converge and enhance each other. That’s what I see happening.’

According to Storm, the extra features and convenience of the iPad magazine are definitely why the digital version appeals to Euroman’s readers. For this reason, the digital AD would not recommend a PDF version of Euroman.

Sigmund Clementz, Digital Project manager at Egmont Hjemmet Mortensen, adds that understanding the particular target group of each individual magazine is important when considering the future look of the publication.

‘The target group must determine how the magazine’s content is presented. Some readers prefer the PDF version, while other target groups want more technology and other features.’

John Severinson agrees:

47

‘Our aim is to keep up with our readers rather than with technological advances.’

Whether Euroman’s success will bring more iPad magazines to supplement and refresh print magazines, or whether the cheaper, Swedish PDF model, which requires fewer resources, will be the name of the game remains to be seen. One thing is certain, though: we will see a lot more experiments in using and playing with the digitalisation of the magazine medium. ▀ Cato Broberg­, Digital director at Egmont Magazines­

Sigmund Clementz, Digital Project manager at Egmont Hjemmet Mortensen

John Severinson, Digital director at Egmont Tidskrifter

Digital books

boom

IN DENMARK LINDHARDT OG RINGHOF RECORDED A FIRST IN 2011: A TITLE PUBLISHED AS AN E-BOOK SOLD MORE COPIES THAN ITS PRINT COUNTERPART. IN NORWAY CAPPELEN DAMM IS WORKING STRENUOUSLY TO MAKE THE E-BOOK MARKET MORE ACCESSIBLE TO LITERATURE FANS.

By Niels Almer

48

I

n autumn 2011 a survey conducted by the Danish business daily Børsen concluded that customers are prepared to pay up to DKK 180 for an e-book whose print counterpart costs DKK 300. This is encouraging news for publishers looking to make money in a digital world dominated by free solutions.

‘Few people realise that printing costs make up only a small fraction of the price of a book, so an e-book is actually not much cheaper to produce than a printed book.

To make the same profit, we have to sell e-books at prices no less than 30 % below the print price,’ explains Øisten Wahl, Director of Tanum book clubs and e-retail business.

You may already have tried reading a book on an e-reader or tablet PC. Unless you have entered Amazon’s vast but exclusive universe of English-language books, you will almost certainly have encountered one of three main challenges for e-books.

‘We know that right now customers want cheaper e-book readers, simpler technology and a good range of material in their local language,’ says Øisten Wahl.

In Norway Cappelen Damm and in Denmark Lindhardt og Ringhof have approached the challenges from separate angles.

IBOOKS ‘We have put our material out on every conceivable platform. We have signed an agreement with Apples iBooks, made deals with the largest Danish internet bookseller regarding low-end e-books and launched a pilot project for e-book loans via public libraries, so we have a massive presence in the market,’ explains Cliff Hansen, Director of Business Development at Lindhardt og Ringhof.

‘Since our launch on iBooks last autumn, sales figures have improved, especially for children’s books, where our Petzi series has performed well,’ explains Lasse Horne, editor, L&R digital, ‘but that’s because this is the only e-book shop that actively cultivates children’s books. We still sell most of our e-books through Danish book dealers like saxo.com,’ says Editor Lasse Horne from L&R Digital. In December this site featured Hanne Bech Hansen’s detective novel Lasten as book-of-themonth, which, at DKK 90, for the first time in Lindhardt og Ringhof’s history outsold

FACTS iBooks is Apple’s sales channel for e-books, which can be bought via iTunes on a computer or via an app on an iPhone or iPad. The publishing companies set their own price in this store, but Apple adds a 30% mark-up.

Leading competitors to iBooks include Amazon’s Kindle, which readers can use through an app for iPad as well as on independent e-book readers.

E-books from Cappelen Damm can be read on iPads and all e-book readers that support Adobe’s DRM format. The popular Kindle is not among them.

Lindhardt og Ringhof offers about 500 titles through iBooks. (February 2012) Cappelen Damm’s digitalbok.no bookshelf features almost 2,000 titles.

Cappelen Damm also distributes picture books via iBooks and independent apps.

Ordflyt registered 30,000 users in February 2012.

the print edition. ‘We can thank the close, constructive relationship between Saxo and Lindhardt og Ringhof for this outstanding result, but which e-book store will be popular in future remains uncertain. It depends on whether and how Danish booksellers graduate to mobile platforms. Amazon, iBooks and others are catching up with Danish dealers at a feverish pace.’

While Lindhardt og Ringhof reaches Danish book lovers via the hundreds of thousands of iPads and iPhones sold, Cappelen Damm in Norway has established its own channel – digitalbok.no – to get around Apple’s 30 % mark-up.

DIGITALBOK.NO Cappelen Damm has run digitalbok.no for over two years. Seventeen thousand customers have already registered and downloaded an average of 2.5 books each, some of which were free downloads. ‘Our revenue has doubled despite a year of ebook PR challenges related to the misfired launch of the Bokskya joint venture,’ says Øisten Wahl.

In the first six months of 2012 Cappelen Damm also plans to release a Norwegian e-book reader linked up from the start to digitalbok.no. ‘We’re trying to remove all barriers to buying e-books,’ he explains.

‘Having our own e-book reader will make it extremely easy for our customers to buy, download and read our publications. They won’t have to worry about copyright issues. All they have to do is buy the reader

49

on the net, have it delivered, connect it to the internet and they’re off – ready to buy, download and read e-books.’

LOFTY WORDS In 2011 Cappelen Damm also tested a new streaming service for audiobooks, ordflyt.no. The site offers audiobooks from Cappelen Damm and 30 other publishers for users to stream. In early 2012 iPhone users got the chance to download an app enabling them to stream content direct to their mobile devices. After one week, the app had attracted 9,000 new users to the service, which also endeavours to introduce younger target groups to audiobooks.

‘Three years ago, if you bought an audiobook you got a case with 13 CDs to keep track of – not terribly handy on a long car trip! Now an audiobook can fit onto a single mp-3 format CD, and our service lets users stream audiobooks via a computer or iPhone,’ explains Håkon Havik, project manager of Ordflyt. Listeners no longer have to wrestle with the numerous CDs that hold the 54-hour sixth volume of Karl Ove Knausgård’s My Struggle.

So 2011 was a year that made even more titles accessible to digital literature lovers in Denmark and Norway and saw the elimination of a few obstacles to an efficient e-book market. Some small signs of optimism regarding potential buyers can also be traced: ‘The market for e-books has been dominated by men interested in the technology, but we’re now seeing more women embracing the new medium,’ concludes Øisten Wahl. ▀ Øisten Wahl, Director­of Tanum book clubs and e-retail business at Cappelen Damm

Cliff Hansen, Director of Business­ Development at Lindhardt og Ringhof

Lasse Horne, Editor at L&R Digital­in Lindhardt og Ringhof­

Market access IN BYGONE TIMES A MARKETPLACE WAS SOMEWHERE PEOPLE COULD WANDER FROM STALL TO STALL, TOUCH THE WARES FOR SALE AND HAVE A CHAT WITH THE SELLER. IN RECENT YEARS THE MARKETPLACE HAS CREPT BACK INTO OUR LIVES – NOW AFFIXED WITH THE PREFIX ‘WWW’.

By Niels Almer

I

n the last six months of 2011 Egmont opened three new online niche market places in Norway. Users can sell clothing on Bazar, furniture on BonyttBazar and children’s products on Foreldre & BarnTorget. The transactions are conceived as an additional source of income to traffic.

The market for classified ads is attractive, and interesting niches have emerged on the net. These niches are particularly interesting for Egmont, which commands a good position in Norway in areas like parenting, homes and gardens and fashion.

In order to accelerate the process and maintain momentum, the three web stores have been developed as a joint venture with an external partner, but the editorial panels for the three areas – parenting, homes and gardens and fashion – have played an important role internally. ‘The editorial panels hold invaluable knowledge about the target groups we’re trying to reach. We’ve worked closely with the project team, the editorial panels and various Egmont companies,’ says Anna Jonzén, project manager of Egmont’s digital centre in Norway.

The idea is that the three marketplaces should differ from others by providing inspiration and ways to interact socially. Niche

marketplaces build on the mutual interests of their users. ‘We provide a forum where users can socialise through user groups and comments fields in the ads. If they like, sellers can also add links to their own fashion blogs, for example, to profile themselves,’ Anna explains.

The sites have been promoted primarily through a partnership with Nettavisen, on Facebook sites, in magazines and on klikk. no. The project team has also run an internal campaign aimed at launching fashion boutiques packed with content. ‘You can’t drive traffic with empty shelves, and we

ITEMS AT LAUNCH­ Foreldre & Barn-Torget (August): 700 items BonyttBazar (October): 500 items Bazar (December): 2,000 items and 4,000 registered­users

50

had to start somewhere, so we invited Bazar Serieforlaget, Nettavisen and the fashion editors here at Egmont Hjemmet Mortensen to put items on sale in the store.

We even worked with small shops and subscribers, suggesting they offer products for sale,’ she says.

In almost no time Bazar featured an impressive 2,000 items and 4,000 registered users, but booming user figures and revenue in the area are still a distant dream. The tri-store experiment is a way of testing the market. During the trial period, users can submit a basic ad for free, but the ultimate plan is to charge a fee for all ads.

‘Competition is fierce in the Norwegian market for classified ads, with Finn.no the unmistakable market leader. The service is a high-risk project, and making it a success will be hard. It will either attract users or die a rapid death. If it succeeds, though, we could be looking at a very profitable business,’ Anna concludes. ▀ Anna Jonzén, project manager of Egmont’s digital centre in Norway

WELCOME to digital cinema NEVER HAS NORDISK FILM CINEMAS LAUNCHED A PROJECT AS SWEEPING AS THE ONE CURRENTLY UNDERWAY: THE FULL DIGITISATION OF ALL 120 CINEMA THEATRES – WITHOUT UNDUE DISRUPTIONS TO DAILY OPERATIONS.

By Louise Abildgaard Jørgensen

S

ince June 2011 when Nordisk Film Cinemas announced its decision to go all-digital, the first seven cinemas have been digitised with the remainder to follow suit in the spring. If everything goes according to plan, all theatres will be digital by May 2012.

‘Implementing such a huge project while doing business as usual and not losing box office revenue is quite a challenge. Fortunately, everything has gone without a hitch so far,’ says operational director Lars Jørgensen, elaborating: ‘The project has resulted in restructur-

ing and new work routines, especially for projector operators. In general everyone has embraced the changes that digitisation brings to everyday routines.’

General manager of Nordisk Film Cinemas John Tønnes adds: ‘Digitisation is a mammoth investment, but is both right and necessary. We can only expect satisfied guests if we give them memorable film experiences, and digital cinemas and the best equipment on the market allow us to do that.’. ▀

WHAT IS A DIGITAL CINEMA? A digital cinema consists of three elements that give guests a razor-sharp film experience: A digital­projector produces a matchless image on the screen A digital film server receives and transmits the digital film to the projector A digital audio system transmits a perfect sound track through the theatre’s multiple loudspeakers

51

* Egmont’s core area is TV and moving images. Since acquiring the remaining stake of TV 2 in January 2012, Egmont now concentrates half its business on moving images. Egmont will invest in more live pictures in the form of additional TV channels, premium TV content and the integration of video in more products.

TV 2’s predominant content is news, sport and entertainment.

Read about news and entertainment on the following pages, and about sport in eCopy.

52

More tv * Television provides the opportunity for an ongoing story – the opportunity to meld the cast and the characters and a world, and to spend more time there.

David Lynch

53

Fighting for

the eyes of the beholders SINCE 1992 TV 2 HAS EVOLVED FROM BEING A STATION OFFERING A SINGLE TV CHANNEL TO ONE OFFERING A WIDE RANGE OF CHANNELS, EACH WITH ITS OWN PROFILE. TV 2 ZEBRA WAS FIRST OUT OF THE GATE IN 2004, AND MANY MORE HAVE FOLLOWED, A FEW OF WHICH HAVE SINCE BEEN CLOSED.

By Niels Almer

T

he competition for TV viewers’ eyes has grown fiercer since 1992. More widespread distribution means more channels can reach larger audiences. Viewers have both more TV channels to choose from and a far broader selection of online options. ‘To maintain our market share of about 25 % of the Norwegian population for 12 years, we simply have to offer more channels,’ explains Channel Director� Nils Ketil Andresen.

exactly what makes presenting a unique profile more difficult for individual channels. We have to strike the balance between maintaining high volume and being attractive to younger target groups,’ he says. And he has no doubt that TV 2’s focus on broadly distributed niche channels will ensure that future generations of Norwegians with buying power will also tune in to one of TV 2’s channels. ▀

A main channel with a broad profile is crucial for generating high advertising revenue and healthy distribution revenue as well as providing a showcase for the niche channels.

‘However, our main challenge in having multiple channels is the way we utilise and cross-promote content across the channels. This is

Nils Ketil Andresen, Channel Director at TV 2

54

The main channel, TV 2, is Norway’s broad commercial channel, a forum that brings all age groups together, though primarily the 2049 year group. This is the channel where major series like The Voice and Shall We Dance? are launched in prime time. The channel offers family entertainment for all generations. ‘People discuss our main channel programmes at work the day after and comment on them on Twitter,’ says channel manager Nils Ketil Andresen.

TV 2 Sport holds the broadcasting rights to all main round Tippeliga matches and the sole rights to Norwegian handball, cycling and ice hockey. As TV 2 Zebra could not accommodate all these rights-negotiated programmes, TV 2 established Sport in 2007 as a pay-channel. Viewers can also follow the Europa League and Champions League football championships. Most distributors charge a monthly fee of NOK 199 to watch the channel.

Zebra is for the young set. This is also the channel where you can watch the weekly match from Norway’s finest football Tippeliga.

On the entertainment side TV 2 Zebra offers viewers fresh, innovative TV programmes. The Norwegian programmes offer a blend of newly developed, slightly raunchy humour and broad, warm, feel-good stories. Internationally purchased productions offer an assortment of solid entertainment ranging from celebrity features to show-stopping comedies.

Sumo is not a TV channel in the traditional sense. Sumo is Scandinavia’s largest commercial internet-based TV supplier measured by number of customers. Viewers can buy access to Sumo via five different packages costing from NOK 79 to 229 a month. It offers free access to all TV 2's linear channels, while subscribers have access to an extensive programme library plus an interactive live sports-based centre. In 2011 Sumo was launched for iPad, and most of its content is also viewable on iPhone.

This channel for news junkies was launched in 2007 and has since more than quadrupled its market share. It attracts the oldest viewers in TV 2's universe – also older than the viewers who watch news on the competing channel, NRK. The channel airs news 24 hours a day and has intensified competition among current affairs programmes in Norway.

Launched in 2006, this channel shows mainly older films 16 hours out of 24. ‘The film channel is a good profit-making channel because it lets us re-use our existing film broadcasting rights,’ says Nils Ketil Andresen. The channel underwent a facelift in 2011, five years after its premiere. It has consistently maintained a market share of 0.7 %.

Having acquired the rights to the English Premier League football championship, TV 2 set up three HD channels dedicated to matches in this championship. From the studio in Bergen impassioned English and Norwegian football experts discuss the extremely popular English league from every angle. Viewers can receive the channel for NOK 179 a month, or for NOK 299 if purchased along with TV 2 Sport.

TV 2 Bliss is the newest member of the TV 2 family. Launched in 2010, it offers light entertainment, docu-soaps and films mainly for women, but men are welcome to watch, too. The channel is not as broadly distributed as TV 2's other channels. ‘The launch of Bliss is a key reason why TV 2’s share of the total market remained stable in 2011,’ explains Nils Ketil Andresen.

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From lone cowboy to Norwegian cultural treasure

WHEN EGMONT WAS CONSIDERING ACQUIRING THE LAST 50 % STAKE IN TV 2, THE COMPANY WAS VALUED AT A WHOPPING NOK 4.2 BILLION AND DESCRIBED AS A NORWEGIAN CULTURAL TREASURE. HOWEVER, THE TRANSFORMATION FROM TV CHANNEL TO FULLY FLEDGED MEDIA HOUSE WAS HARDLY A GIVEN WHEN A SMALL GROUP OF PIONEERS TEAMED UP MORE THAN 20 YEARS AGO TO LAUNCH A NATIONAL TV CHANNEL.

By Niels Almer

I

n 1990 after years of discussion the Norwegian parliament, Stortinget, decided to establish a national commercially financed TV channel. The following year TV 2 won the broadcasting rights, and the first programmes went on air in 1992.

A frantic quest for funding was launched in 1991 to meet the licence requirements. The clock ticking, a small group of people had to drum up NOK 500 million – with a tough business case to boot. Scepticism was rife as to whether the

Norwegian advertising market could support the new channel. ’Most people didn’t realise a national channel meant we could open the doors to international advertisers,’ explains Oddvar Stenstrøm, one of the first members of the TV 2 project team.

In his first internal newsletter, former CIO Harald Strømme wrote: ’As you have probably noticed we are currently the object of major media publicity. Most of what we read is good, but not all. Speculation and prophesies proliferate, and since everyone in the market is competing for advertising revenues, some people are bound to try to put a spanner in the works.’

He also said that the licence was not a constraint but rather that in practice any

other commercial TV station would also have had to meet the obligations entailed by the licence, which included the criteria of broadcasting nationwide, ensuring variety in programming, providing daily news, strengthening the Norwegian national identity and producing Norwegian content.

EGMONT INVOLVED FROM THE OUTSET In the course of 1991 the TV 2 team managed to scrape together NOK 400 million.

Although the amount fell just short of meeting the formal requirements, the Norwegian government nonetheless granted TV 2 the licence.

Egmont became a 20 % stakeholder,

SEE MORE

Watch the first three minutes of TV 2's life in eCopy.

The Norwegian parliament, Stortinget, allows national commercial TV in Norway

TV 2 gets its first licence for the period 1992-2001

1990

1991

TV 2 goes on air on 5 September

Venturing into Norwegian drama, the series Mot i Brøstet is a succes

TV 2 records its first operating­ profits

The channel bolsters its new coverage with nine daily news broadcasts

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998 TV 2 writes TV history with Norway’s first daily soap opera – Hotel Cæsar

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1999

2000 The European football championship gives TV 2 its first broadcasting rights to a major international football tournament

the maximum share allowed at the time for any one owner. The insurance company Vital Forsikring, Selvaag Invest, Schibsted and a consortium named NTN made up the other main owners at the time TV 2 was launched.

After the acquisition Egmont, then known as Gutenberghus, put considerable energy into selling Nordisk Film productions to the channel, hoping for the same success that Nordisk Film had enjoyed when selling Lykkehjulet, the Danish version of Wheel of Fortune, and Eleva2eren, an entertainment programme, to the Danish TV 2.

Gutenberghus courted Oddvar and the rest of the TV 2 team for a long time. ‘Lavish dinners and trips in white limos were involved. They really wanted to sell us productions,’ Oddvar recalls. But the fledgling channel could not afford them.

LONE COWBOY COMPANY In January 1992 the channel had a staff of eight. With the licence in place, the first employees were expected to get a TV station up and running in a matter of months.

Many questions needed answers. For example, what does it cost to make a news hour? No one in Norway knew, because no one had ever made this kind of TV before. ’The atmosphere was good. Everyone pitched in,’ Oddvar recounts. TV 2’s first office premises had no canteen or infrastructure. ‘We changed the toilet rolls ourselves,’ he recalls.

Oddvar was a newsman himself, with longstanding experience from the Norwegian national broadcasting company, NRK, as well as the VG and Aftenposten newspapers, but at TV 2, his job included attending the TV festival in Cannes to buy Baywatch for the channel.

The venture into reality TV with Norwegian Farmen is a success

2001

2003

BLACKOUT TV 2’s first few seconds were black – literally, as viewers waited for Norwegian King Harald to give his inaugural speech and hand over to the TV station’s first programme director, Dan Børge, who hosted the opening show Første gang. This was followed by three extra opening shows and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels starring comedian Steve Martin.

However, most viewers stayed tuned for the ads, a completely new phenomenon on Norwegian television.

The opening show was co-broadcasted with NRK, as initially the TV 2 signal could only be received in 60 % of Norway. This

was a drawback in Oddvar’s eyes, as the only bait that will attract the big advertisers is nationwide exposure. However, TV signal distribution rapidly improved, with TV 2 covering 90% of Norway just two years later in 1994.

OUTLOOK Having spent 20 years of his life with TV 2, Oddvar pricks up his ears when talk turns to the future of the channel, which he looks on as his own child. ‘Television will still be the focus of conversation and a magnet that brings people together. It’s the most social medium I know,’ Oddvar asserts.

TV 2 brought the first reality programmes, the first all-football channel and Nyhetskanalen. It brought the ‘man on the street’s’ perspective into Norwegian journalism and has generally boosted what researchers term media literacy in Norway.

‘We overflowed with self-confidence, but it took some time to change people’s habits.’

The story about a handful of people who managed to collect enough money to win the licence and then cobble together a unique TV station in just nine months is quite an amazing tale. In the course of the past 20 years TV 2 has successfully fashioned itself as the fresh alternative. It is now by and far Norway’s largest commercial media house and ranks among the country’s strongest brands … and is even referred to as a Norwegian cultural treasure. ▀ Oddvar Stenstrøm, News Anchor at TV 2 Nyhetskanalen

TV 2 acquires the rights to all Norwegian top league football.

Idol was the TV event of the year in Norway

2002

Today Oddvar anchors Nyhetskanalen after hosting the Holmgang debate programme for 10 years. Before that he was TV 2’s first, and for a long time only, foreign correspondent. ‘Initially we could only afford one correspondent, so from Washington I had to make it look as though we actually had a crew of 10!’ he says.

Two months before the first programme broadcast, the entire TV 2 staff were sent ‘to school’ to learn how to produce TV spots. A couple of months after the first airing, TV 2 learned how to produce programming based on regular routines and recognisability – a must for any commercial TV station.

2004

TV 2 Zebra launched

TV 2 Filmkanalen launched

2005

2006

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TV 2 secures the rights to Barclays Premier League and launches three Premier League channels in HD

2007

2008

2009

TV 2 launches Norway’s first national news channel and TV 2 Sport

TV 2 implements the first of two NOK 150 million cost-cutting programmes

TV 2 starts HD broadcasting

2010

2011 TV 2 Sumo launched for iPad

Norwegian in Norway

GONE ARE THE DAYS OF TV CHANNELS BULK BUYING AMERICAN TV SERIES. TO SUCCEED IN TODAY’S MODERN TV WORLD, YOU HAVE TO PRODUCE YOUR PROGRAMMES LOCALLY.

By Niels Almer

I

n the early days of TV 2, the likes of David Hasselhoff and Pamela Anderson magnetically drew viewers to the screen whenever Baywatch was aired.

Today Norwegians want Norwegian content just as Danes want Danish content.

Entertainment programmes and formats have to be localised to the greatest extent possible. American series no longer ‘rate’ as well, as it’s put in TV jargon. People want something closer to their own world.

TV 2 has to vie with such rivals as TV Norge in the battle to make the best Norwegian-produced content. To help meet this challenge, in 2011 Danish Pil Gundelach Brandstrup joined TV 2 as a Programme Director from the Danish TV station TV 3. As well as in-house productions like a daily morning show, the programme department is also responsible for buying all locally produced programming, a job that makes it a hub for the dialogue with production companies.

‘TV 2 profiles itself as being strong on news, sports and entertainment, but without compelling prime time programming, we will lose the battle for viewers,’ Pil believes.

their content have broad appeal. Many are based on a universal story that works well, for example, the dream of becoming a superstar or finding true love,’ Pil explains.

Other major formats like Idol, Shall We Dance? and Jagten på kærligheden have previously proved their mettle on Norwegian TV 2. Pil highlights the humour programme Torsdag kveld fra Nydalen and the Senkveld talkshow as examples of successful Norwegian programmes on TV 2.

According to Pil a programme has to tell a good story, and high-quality execution must permeate every aspect from the images, sound, cutting style and graphics to casting in particular. The professionals involved must be able to express their emotions regardless of whether the programme is a docu-soap, a talent show, a magazine programme or a factual entertainment production. ‘We make our living from being genuine and showing emotion. A programme’s casting is vital to its ability to touch the hearts of viewers,’ she thinks.

The success of the Norwegian version of The Voice stems primarily from the talented singers of its cast and a mentor panel of four charismatic personalities.

CASTING IS KING Hardcopy’s reporter met her just after the premiere of one of this spring’s major series: The Voice, a format also sold to many other countries. The Voice is a good example of the particular formats that achieve crossborder success. ‘The large-scale entertainment formats that can do this are often multi-layered, and both their structure and

DANISH IN NORWAY But what does a Dane like Pil really know about Norwegian culture, and why did she choose to be a supplier? ‘The opportunity to work with something so intrinsically cultural as television in a different culture from my own appealed to me,’ she explains. ‘A distinctive characteristic of Norwegians is their great pride in the Norwegian iden-

Norske talenter

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PROGRAMMES WITH HIGHEST VIEWER RATINGS NORSKE TALENTER (TV 2): Most viewed programme attracted 1,028,000 viewers.

IDOL (TV 2): Most viewed programme attracted 1,007,000 viewers.

SHALL WE DANCE? (TV 2): Most viewed programme was the final, which attracted 995,000 viewers.

Idol

THE VOICE (TV 2): Most viewed programme attracted 655,000 viewers.

HVER GANG VI MØTES (TV 2): Most viewed programme attracted 624,000 viewers.�

Shall We Dance

tity, a feeling strongly reflected in their love of the landscape and nature in a way unknown in Denmark. It is unique.’ As an example, she mentions Nordisk Film TV’s 71 Degrees North, broadcast by TV 2’s competitor, TV Norge. The programme was released in both Denmark and Norway, but whereas it only ran in Denmark for a couple of seasons and attracted 135,000 viewers, the programme is now being shown in Norway for its 13th consecutive year with a record of 600.000 viewers.

The future of programme production points towards better quality programmes matched more exactly to viewers’ preferences. ‘TV 2 is the largest commercial broadcaster in Norway, and its entertainment range must have broad appeal. It’s always a challenge to attract a broad cross-

section of viewers without excluding the younger members of the commercial target group, for whom we also have to cater.’

But above all the programmes must be Norwegian. They are expensive to produce, but with Egmont’s full backing, TV 2 is now poised to make the investment. ▀

The Voice

Pil Gundelach Brandstrup, Programme Director at TV 2

Hver gang vi møtes

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Doomed to succeed­ WE TURN BACK THE CLOCK TO 2 NOVEMBER 2006. TV 2 IS PLANNING THE LAUNCH OF ITS NEWS CHANNEL, NYHETSKANALEN. MANY AREAS OF THE ORGANISATION ARE WORKING FLAT OUT. THE FOLLOWING EXTRACT IS FROM AN E-MAIL SENT BY JAN OVE ÅRSÆTHER TO ALL TV 2 NEWS STAFF:

By Aleksander Valestrand

‘I

n the following months a great many things will be written and said about Nyhetskanalen, not least in the readers’ comments pages. Some “know-alls” will fail to see the point of it.

However, we shouldn’t be put off by dire predictions. On the contrary, for us low expectations are not a disadvantage…. I believe we must judge ourselves on quality and financial success, not ratings. We should compare ourselves with the likes of Dagens Næringsliv. Not necessarily a paper with mass media appeal but nonetheless a good newspaper that delivers quality.’

The news editor was right. A great deal was written – and many of the predictions were negative. In a review, Dagbladet’s Jan Omdahl wrote: ‘This illustrates one of the biggest challenges facing Nyhetskanalen: truly

sensational news reports that can draw large numbers of viewers are few and far between. This is a major problem, particularly at a time when most of us prefer to keep up with the news using the internet, and TV is moving more and more towards user-based TV content’.

Today, five years on, Nyhetskanalen has firmly established itself as a strong, quality niche channel which, for many, is first choice for coverage of major breaking news stories. Årsæther is convinced the channel’s pure news focus is the secret behind its success.

‘Yes, I think this strategy has succeeded for the most part. NK is a financial success. The latest viewer survey showed that Nyhetskanalen is the fourth largest commercial medium in the country, and, given the reliability of the survey, this means that

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viewers feel we are providing high quality,’ says Årsæther.

Today, Nyhetskanalen is perhaps the biggest success of all the new niche channels that have sprung up in recent years.

Having said this, there were plenty of challenges at the outset: ‘Initially we suffered from a lack of journalistic experience in daily marathon broadcasts, which coincided with the introduction of a new technical system. We managed to address both issues in the first quarter. “It will all go wrong before Easter,” a duty manager told me after two weeks – but five years later we’re still here!’

WHAT IS THE MAIN REASON FOR YOUR SUCCESS? ‘We deliver news when people have time to see it. And because no one else broad-

casts as many live news events as we do.

If it’s news, we broadcast it and the viewers know this. Our slogan could be: We’re there when you need us.’

Former head of current affairs for TV2, Kjell Øvre Helland, was for many years a driving force in bringing a news channel to TV 2. He had long dreamed of a TV 2 news channel and was convinced that it would be a success and could deliver meaningful content.

‘I believed in a news channel because I have always believed that TV news can compete with entertainment and sport.

I was sure that many Norwegians would watch “news in the making”, but I felt like a nervous wreck during TV2’s virgin broadcast of Nyhetskanalen at Gardermoen in spring 2006,’ he says with a smile.

WHAT WERE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES IN THE BEGINNING? ‘In the beginning we didn’t know what we were letting ourselves in for – luckily – but it was a steep learning curve for many of us. Experts predicted an early demise. We didn’t have much of a content budget.’

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF NYHETSKANALEN TODAY – FIVE YEARS ON? ‘In my opinion, the launch of Nyhetskanalen is the single most important event in TV2 Nyheterne’s nearly 20-year history.

Practically everything was new in 2007. Our working days were different; we gained a new news perspective. The station welcomed an influx of fresh new faces, people who are coming to the forefront now and have worked hard for TV 2. Nyhetskanalen has played a unique role in changing the content, pace, rhythm and behaviour of the Norwegian media.’

Initially appointed as project manager for Nyhetskanalen in summer 2006, Thomas Henschien went on to become editorial director of TV 2 News and in practice, channel managing director. He also believed in the project. But the road to success was long and hard. In the beginning there was also opposition to the channel from within the organisation’s own ranks: ‘Getting the journalists to believe in the channel was a challenge,’ says Thomas.

‘Getting the best minds to contribute even when ratings were poor. Delivering quality

24/7 – when we had only done so in a few, scattered news broadcasts throughout the day – was difficult.’

Today, Silje Hovland is the new boss at the helm. She describes life at Nyhetskanalen in the following way: ‘It’s about being first. The few seconds that elapse from the moment the news reports lands on our editorial desk. The graphics reporter briskly punches in a sentence and the newsflash is on the air. The desk reporter grabbing the phone to get the first interviews. No one gets the news out faster than we do. The photographer and reporter racing to be first on the scene. The link operator jumping in behind the wheel of the SNG vehicle. The duty manager’s telephone ringing non-stop as the reports come flying in. When the alarm goes off, everyone knows their place. It’s all about one thing – being first with the news.’ ▀

‘This channel will be quickly forgotten once the money has dried up. Then they’ll come up with some other new idea…

People who need to follow the news during the day would rather use a computer and the internet than stare at a TV at work – and signal they’re not doing their job.’

Esten O. Sæther, editor at Dagbladet.no

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Terror on the doorstep

THE STAFF OF TV 2 WERE TRULY PUT TO THE TEST ON 22 JULY 2011 WHEN TERROR­ STRUCK A DEVASTATING BLOW TO NORWAY. IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SUMMER BREAK, WITH MOST EMPLOYEES AWAY ON HOLIDAY, TV 2 HAD TO COVER THE BIGGEST­NEWS STORY IN THE CHANNEL’S HISTORY. THE NATIONAL TRAGEDY HAS SET A PRECEDENT FOR TV 2’S JOURNALISTIC REPORTING.

By Niels Almer

A

bomb explodes in the heart of Oslo’s political district at 3.25 PM. A few hundred metres away on Karl Johans Gate, the TV 2 building shakes and black dust showers down in the editorial offices on the fourth floor. A few windows are blown out, people panic and the building is evacuated. TV 2 subsequently broadcasts news non-stop for 56 hours and 11 minutes with no commercial breaks.

When Hardcopy’s reporter visited the Oslo office six months after the terrorist incident, the scene was peaceful. However, the experience put everyone at TV 2 to the test. Editorial staff had some tough calls to make, and reporters in the political district and on the island of Utøya found themselves facing more ethical and professional dilemmas than many journalists experience in an entire career.

DILEMMAS AND DIFFICULT CHOICES The news department has spent time after the event reviewing its coverage minute by minute to evaluate and clarify the dilemmas and decisions that had to be handled.

‘As news editor, I faced the major dilemma of when to report on the number of deaths on Utøya. Information only trickled through gradually, and we received many

rumours along the way, but we did not want to announce a figure without police confirmation. This is no place for error. The consequences for TV 2 would have been immense,’ says News Editor Jan Ove Årsæther.

But suddenly changing the death count from 10 to 80 also had consequences. News anchor Dyveke Buanes had the unenviable task of presenting the news singlehandedly for the entire night after 22 July. That was the night that the death toll was made public. ‘I heard them screaming in the editorial office,’ she recalls.

MISTAKES When the pressure is on, the risk of making professional and logistical mistakes always arises.

‘We were uncertain about the details of the Oslo explosion for too long; there was initially only one news presenter in the studio; and we passed on speculative reports from the BBC about a possible Islamite terrorist attack. We should have had more faith in our own reports about a Norwegian attacker wearing a police uniform,’ Årsæther concedes.

However, TV 2 subsequently established that despite being evacuated early on, it was the first to provide the facts and footage that covered the key events. ‘On

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balance we passed the test as a news channel after 19 years of practice,’ says Årsæther.

AUTOPILOT TURNED OFF During their coverage of the tragedy, journalists had to check their natural professional urge to find the cracks in the system.

‘On the first day we had to get an overview of what had happened. Day two was a day of shock as the number of deaths became apparent. On day three we tried to describe the extent of the tragedy, and day four was a day of mourning. That was the day roses were laid in the centre of Oslo, and we moved the studio down in front of the sea of flowers,’ Årsæther explains.

It was not until seven days after the event that TV 2 started levelling criticism.

In Denmark, the media started questioning the authorities’ role in the affair almost immediately, asking why Norwegian intelligence was unaware of Anders Breivik. ‘In Norway, that would have been inappropriate. We had to gauge the mood of the people and go with it,’ Årsæther underscores.

JOB THERAPY Silje Hovland is the editorial head of TV 2 Nyhetskanalen. She was on holiday when she heard about the bomb in the political

Aril Riise, New Anchor at TV 2

district, and her department was in summer loop mode. ‘I went to work immediately, just like many of my colleagues. Everyone wanted to work in this situation, and coordinating the logistics and duty rotas was quite a challenge.’

But as a news mediator how do you maintain professional objectivity when an act of terrorism occurs right outside your office and many probably know someone directly affected by the events?

‘For most staff it made more sense to be at work talking about what was happening than sitting at home alone each with their own thoughts. Working let us put the terrible deed into words. It’s also helpful to remind yourself that you can’t be objective in such situations,’ says Hovland.

Management also provided support by holding frequent meetings and making swift decisions about the host of difficult questions regarding use of visual material and interviews that arose.

All staff involved have since been offered psychological counselling. Many have witnessed things that would never be shown on screen. For those who were on holiday, returning to a workplace marked by the dreadful events is also stamped indelibly into their memories.

THE CASE CONTINUES The editorial office is littered with law textbooks and legal literature. The court case against Anders Bering Breivik is due to open in April and will take place in downtown

FACTS The terrorist attacks in Norway in the summer of 2011 consisted of two consecutive attacks carried out against the government, random civilians and a summer camp organised by AUF, the youth organisation of the national labour party, on the island of Utøya outside Oslo on 22 July 2011. The bombs in the political district went off at 3.25 PM, killing eight people and injuring 30. Almost two hours later the man behind the attacks, Anders Bering Breivik, arrived at the island of Utøya wearing a police uniform and proceeded to kill 69 people in the course of an hour.

The Egmont-owned publishing company Cappelen Damm has offices even closer to the political distric that was the scene of the bombing. None at the office was physically injured.

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Oslo. The world media will be present, and TV 2 will have to jostle for space with a throng of journalists unseen since Barack Obama received the Nobel peace prize.

‘We’ve set up a terror research group to gather knowledge about the court case and sharpen our skills on the legal aspects,’ says Hovland.

TV 2’s offices suffered no serious damage, but the events have become a yardstick for the journalists’ professional work and, together with the pending court case, have set a natural precedent for prioritising coverage in future. ▀

Jan Ove Årsæther, News Editor at TV 2

Silje Hovland, editorial head of TV 2 Nyhetskanalen

Egmont’s other face

In 2011 Egmont channelled DKK 50 million of its profits back into society via the Egmont Foundation, whose charitable vision is to give children and young people a good life through active and committed participation in society.

The foundation specifically supports projects that incorporate a learning perspective or help children and young people to handle life crises. In addition, the foundation provides direct financial support to vulnerable families in need of help for special purposes, for example, holidays, Christmas, recreational activities for children or furniture required after a stay in a crisis centre. Lastly, in 2011 DKK 3.5 million was granted in support to the Danish film industry via the Nordisk Film Foundation, also part of the Egmont Foundation.

These are two examples of projects supported by the Egmont Foundation in 2011.

SPLIT BETWEEN MUM AND DAD As part of the activities that come under the heading of ‘Caring’, the Foundation has chosen to support children and young people who experience problems before, during and after their parents’ divorce.

SFI, the Danish National Centre for Social Research, is currently examining how children deal with shared parenting schemes where they spend roughly equal amounts of time in two separate homes. The results of a survey in 2011 sparked intense debate, which also had an impact on the amendment of the Danish Act on Parental Responsibility.

DESIRE TO LEARN Actionklubberne (‘action clubs’) is the title of a new project launched under the auspices of the Egmont Foundation in partnership with the Danish Red Cross Youth. The project, aimed at improving conditions for marginalised children and young people, represents a commitment to donate almost DKK 8 million over four years. Specifically, the money will go to Danish Red Cross Youth and to seven social activities for children and young people based on a youth-to-youth approach and volunteer work.

An action club is a sports club that gives young people, mainly boys, the chance not only to be active, but also to put letters together or solve number puzzles. The project aims to foster 3rd to 4th grade boys’ desire to learn. It’s about having fun and learning at the same time.