January 2009 by Egmont

JANUARY 2009 / Egmont: Braking and Accelerating at the Same Time / FIFTEEN YEARS OLD AND DRINKING / COMMITMENT AS THE DRIVING FORCE / MOVING FROM THE UK TO THE USA / FROM EGMONT TO EGMONT / FROM FIGURES TO ACTION / THE BATTLE FOR CONSUMERS

Egmont as a

workplace

Content 3

Editorial

Egmont: Braking and Accelerating at the Same Time The recession presents challenges as well as possibilities for all media companies. Egmont’s CEO Steffen Kragh addresses the situation.

6 Insight – This Time it’s Personal! The new Insight belongs to everyone in Egmont. Learn the most basic features here.

Egmont as a

workplace

15 Years Old and Drinking The Egmont Foundation has supported a project to help young people overcome drug and alcohol addiction.

12 Moving From the UK to the USA New York is 5600 km from London. Read about what it takes to travel across the Atlantic Ocean and start up a new business.

Commitment as the Driving Force Jan Lehmann started in Nordisk Film in a temporary job. Now he is head of the movie distribution.

From Egmont to Egmont It has to be as easy to find a new position inside Egmont as outside. Read about two people who have done it.

When the boss demands change The digital readjustment in Dansk Reklame Film has had a major impact both on how to work and who works in the organization.

From Figures to Action With the results from the group analysis, Corporate HR is now ready with a plan to improve your work-life.

24 Publishing House Sets Store by Book Format Invented In-house A small publishing house under Capellen Damm in Norway publishes books on 20 pages in an edition of 125 copies. 25 The Battle for Consumers Hardcopy has taken a closer look on social media and has browsed on a number of Egmont’s different social media sites. 28

voxpop

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Dear reader Welcome to the new Hardcopy! In your hands is a new concept, a new layout and a new journalistic focus. Along with Insight, Hardcopy is the main internal communication channel for all Egmont group employees. In this issue, you can read more about our revamped intranet Insight, which offers new features as well as tools like a corporate image bank and a range of forms. Insight now provides a forum for debate between employees throughout the group as well as between colleagues in the various companies and divisions. Hardcopy wants to take it to another level. We want it to be a place where we can find information about our colleagues’ companies and the challenges they face, and where we can share stories and experiences with each other. That also includes the failures, which perhaps can teach us most. In future, Hardcopy will be published four times a year, in Danish and English. Each issue will have an overall theme, and this edition takes a look at Egmont as a workplace. You can read about the challenge of launching an Egmont publishing house in the US, and about Jan Lehmann, who started his career as a runner and is now head of film distribution. Are internal job changes possible at Egmont? Read about how Janne and Søren found new openings, but also about a process that had its problems. All of us at Egmont are being encouraged to think more digitally. Hardcopy has peeked into the digital crystal ball and looked at some of Egmont’s digital solutions. Finally, you can read about how Egmont is tackling the financial challenges currently posed by the media market. Your opinions, questions and comments count. Therefore, Insight contains an area where you can comment on Hardcopy articles or discuss issues with colleagues. You will find it under ‘News & Discussion’ under Hardcopy. We hope you will want to help us make Hardcopy an even better magazine. Happy reading!

Colophon

Mika Bildsøe Lassen, Vice President Corporate Communications

editor Jan Sturm sturm@egmont.com editor responsible under Danish press law Mika Bildsøe Lassen mbl@egmont.com

Printing Rosendahls Bogtrykkeri A/S Photo Kristian Septimius Krogh Steen Brogaard Getty Images Arnold Katz

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

Egmont: Braking and accelerating

at the same time The economic downturn has caused President and CEO Steffen Kragh to lower profit expectations for 2008 and 2009 while intensifying initiatives to improve profitability throughout the organization. These steps should free up resources to continue developing companies and to double investments in digital media over several years. Egmont will also lessen the focus on acquisitions for some time to come. By Mikkel Løndahl

The recession and a faltering world economy pose challenges for all businesses. At the same time, the media universe is undergoing radical change as it adapts to the digital media shift, the fragmentation into ever-more media with smaller circulations and the fierce competition for consumer favor and advertisers’ money. All media companies are currently experiencing turbulent seas as well as growing uncertainty about the market situation in 2009. Egmont is no exception, and its companies are therefore launching numerous profitability initiatives in the form of cost-cutting programs, reshuffled priorities and smarter ways of working. “Like everyone else, we face the immediate challenge of the current economic climate as well as the longer-term requirements of changes in the media industry. We will have to be cost-effective and able to generate profit, even with small-scale productions, and successfully establish profitable digital activities,” says CEO Steffen Kragh. He is therefore adjusting Egmont’s course. “In popular terms, we will have to step on the brakes in some areas and give it gas in others. The economic decline means we are increasing our focus on profitability. We have already taken the consequences in a number of loss-making companies. In 2009

We intensify initiatives to improve profitability throughout the organization.

we will continue to invest in developing profitable digital media and intend to step up the level in the years ahead. Ongoing development of our companies is also crucial,” says Steffen Kragh. Profitability increase of DKK 400-500 million In Norway, Hjemmet Mortensen has started identifying ways to generate a NOK 160 million improvement in earnings, and TV2 Norway aims to increase earnings by NOK 100 million. “In addition, we are broadly preparing initiatives for the other companies and divisions in order to generate annual profitability improvements in the range of DKK 400-500 million to offset developments in consumption and advertising income,” says Steffen Kragh. In other words, all systems are go. For example, the Kids & Teens and International divisions were recently integrated into a new entity, Kids Media, and a number of related activities implemented. Not long ago Serieforlaget, Denmark, did some downsizing, and in Germany, the bookclub publisher Horizont closed down while the Munich-based publishing company moved to Berlin. “Every division and company is work-

Steffen Kragh, president and CEO

ing to improve local results and communicate its initiatives internally,” Steffen Kragh points out. Steffen Kragh acknowledges that the necessary steps cannot be taken without further dismissals. “We have to gear our business to the market and to demand. We have already had to bid farewell to employees in several companies, and unfortunately, further adjustments are unavoidable,” he explains. As a result of the economic downturn, acquisitions will be accorded lower priority. “For a time, Egmont will focus primarily on developing our existing businesses, exercising caution and taking a wait-and-see attitude to acquisitions,” says Steffen Kragh. The adaptations will cost money in 2008 and 2009. At group level, Egmont has also been hard hit by falling exchange rates, which have lowered revenue in several countries in terms of Euro, the currency in which Egmont presents its financial statements. In 2008, countries like Norway, Sweden, Poland and the UK experienced an almost 20% drop in the value of their currency relative to the Euro. After several excellent years, Egmont’s CEO Steffen Kragh is now lowering profit expectations for 2008 and 2009. “Our results for 2008, to be presented in March, will be negatively impacted compared with the good performance of the past few years. We are also revising our expectations downwards for 2009, which will be a challenging year. We will face an unstable world economy the next couple of years. We are adjusting to the new situation in time, and against this backdrop, Egmont is still a healthy business, and we can emerge from the recession with renewed strength,” affirms Steffen Kragh.

Doubling digital

investments A number of Egmont companies already launched initiatives in 2008 to improve earnings and build the financial muscle needed to boost investment in digital media. Egmont now plans to double its digital investment over a period of years. “We currently channel about DKK 100 million annually into developing digital web media. We aim to double this figure in the years ahead. The budget for 2009 already includes an investment hike, but developments in the economy will dictate just how hard we can press the accelerator. All future growth in our digital business will aim at improving profitability and will be part of a long-term change strategy for the business. We need to produce relevance for consumers, not meaningless traffic,” says Steffen Kragh. As examples of Egmont’s digital investments, he mentions Klikk.no, Nettavisen.no, Kino.dk, Biip.no, Sumo.no, Filmweb.no plus a number of as-yet undisclosed projects. Furthermore, the investment figure of DKK 100 million does not include other digital businesses such as RiksTV and Dansk Reklame Film.

Recessionary

impact

The downturn is affecting Egmont’s economy in several ways. Foreign currency is one area in which the drastic economic fluctuations have affected the financial statements. “Egmont presents its financial statements in Euro. At the moment, 75% of our revenue is generated outside Denmark in such currencies as Norwegian and Swedish kroner, Polish zloty and British pounds, currencies that have plummeted relative to the Euro. This reduces not only the value of our earnings but also the value of loans to Egmont’s subsidiaries as well as Egmont’s equity,” says Steffen Kragh. A number of other factors also play a part. “Advertisers are in wait-and-see mode, other businesses are in decline, the economy is extremely precarious, and we expect a certain slowdown in customer consumption. We will also have to write down the value of some of our companies this year,” says Steffen Kragh.

The future media battleground Where is the media market actually headed? According to President and CEO Steffen Kragh, the battle will be fought in three areas: Profitability for small product runs. “Market fragmentation will result in more products but smaller product circulation. We will have to be even more efficient and produce stronger brands with a maximum number of income flows,” says Steffen Kragh. Digital products and solutions “Consumers will get unlimited computer and network power.

This will allow personal applications offering entertainment, social contacts and consumer information – a fantastic playground for media companies. I’m not saying it will be easy, but there will be plenty of scope for innovation.” The right rights “Regardless of economic trends, we can always create a media hit if we have the right rights, the right story and the right talents. Nordisk Film is currently enjoying a smash hit with the movie Max Manus in Norway, which 15% of the population has seen in just three weeks,” says Steffen Kragh.

Insight

– This Time It’s Personal! The new version of our employee portal, Insight, allows us to socialize with our Egmont colleagues just as we do with our friends in our free time. Read here about how you can use the new Insight. By Lotte Ilsøe and og Niels Almer

ight before Christmas a new release of Egmont’s employee portal, a third version of Insight, popped up on your screen. Some initial glitches meant that Insight 3 was not quite the big Christmas present it was intended to be. Now the engine has been oiled and the vehicle primed to speed along Egmont’s information highway. Most of you will find the ride a little bumpy at first, so Hardcopy has decided to give you your first theory lesson here! Insight 3, a further development of the earlier Insight, features several of the former version’s popular functions and a series of new ones devised by the development team. When the last version of Insight was launched, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn did not even exist. Over the past couple of years, these sites have all been instrumental in changing our online behavior. The Insight project group has developed tools that let us be as sociable and open inside Egmont as outside. In other words, Insight has become personalized. How exactly do I spell Schlecht? When you type a name in the phonebook’s search field, Insight will suggest a spelling. In practise this means you no longer need to type the whole name because the phonebook will already have suggested it. However, the search results that appear are not necessarily an exhaustive list. Punch ‘Enter’ to view the full list. Who knows about online marketing? Professional networks were a priority during the planning of Insight 3.0. A function has

Did You Know That? You can read news from other divisions in Egmont

Choose ‘News’ in the menu ‘News and Discussion’ to go to your news site. In the top right corner you will find a drop down box called ‘My News’. In this you can chose from which division you want your news.

been added to the phonebook enabling you to search by work specialties rather than just by name. As this function is based on information entered by yourself on your ‘My Site’, you must remember to update your personal page with your work responsibilities and skills. You do that under ‘details’ on your ‘My Site’. Kick-start discussions Insight is personal and only gets better if everyone leaves his or her mark on the portal. So now you can comment on the news items published on Insight. Write your comment under the news articles and click ‘submit comment’ – your colleagues can now read your input. If you want to start a discussion yourself, you can do this from the front page using the ‘Discussion’ function.

but if you have some news you are dying to share, you are welcome to contact the editorial group. You can use the ‘Messages’ function for brief practical messages from the office, for example. This is where everyone can write to his or her office, regardless of whether it is on Vognmagergade, in Valby or on Kensington High Street. Remember, though, to update your profile on ‘My Site’ with the correct location. Get a full Insight ‘driver’s license’! Naturally, there are plenty of other Insight 3 functions just waiting to be used. To get a full ‘driver’s license’, you should attend Egmont’s introductory courses, dates of which will be announced regularly on Insight.

The news has not disappeared... Relax. The news articles are still there, but they look slightly different. The front page has to accommodate all your favorite features so the news section has been compressed. This means you only need to look in one place for news about your department, division or country, or about the group. All news items are editorially reviewed and only a handful of people have publishing rights,

Insight Dictionary PeopleFinder: Used to be called ‘Phonebook’. However, the function has been renamed because it is more like Facebook than the Yellow Pages. It consists of the search field in the upper right corner. My Site: Your profile on Insight. It contains a public and a private section. You can save bookmarks and update your personal information in the private section. You can even drag your Outlook calendar onto the site to give you a comprehensive working tool. You can also set up blogs and group the profiles of the people you work with the most. The public section of “My Site” is the one your colleagues will see when they find you on PeopleFinder.

15 Years Old and D Cannabis, alcohol and party drugs are part of the youth scene. Most young people can handle their consumption, but for a minority things go wrong, and their use becomes abuse. For the past two years and with support from the Egmont Foundation, Susanne Pihl Hansen and her colleague Peter Jensen have helped young people in care deal with their misuse problems. By Jan Sturm

t’s Friday afternoon in Copenhagen. A constant stream of normal young people from all over the city crisscrosses the square in front of the metro station. They are on their way to the local cannabis market, which runs a brisk trade in stimulants every Friday and Saturday. When the string of weekend bashes ends, a small group of young people keep on partying. They have become substance misusers – they smoke too much pot, take too many pills or drink too much alcohol. Susanne Pihl Hansen has followed their trail and gained detailed information about the misuse problems of this group of young people. An outreach street worker for several years, she has also worked in various institutions. A look behind their facades exposes a world of young people who have problems with misuse, crime and prostitution. Experience with young people at risk and ten years of consultant work have qualified Susanne Pihl Hansen to head up a project financed by the Egmont Foundation and other sponsors. For two years, she has worked with another consultant, Peter Jensen, to equip residential institutions to handle the drug and alcohol misuse problems of their young inhabitants. The

Egmont Foundation granted DKK 1.2 million to the Døgnanbragte Unge og Rusmidler project to help young people in care to deal with drugs and alcohol. Staff from six residential institutions and social education centers took part in the project. They attended workshops, lectures and personal sessions, which gave them information about and methods for helping young people in care to tackle drug- and alcohol-related issues. Help or expulsion The idea of tackling the substance use of young people in care arose when Peter Jensen and Susanne Pihl Hansen realized that institutions for youths in care either turn a blind eye to the young residents’ problems, expel them or choose solutions that are unsustainable in the long run. The project therefore focused on providing institution staff with tools and methods to help them deal with youth substance misuse. “It’s a difficult area. As a youth care facility, we have been given responsibility for helping young people get on with their lives in a situation where their parents were powerless to help. Cannabis is banned in Denmark. Does that make it OK for a residen-

Susanne Pihl Hansen has worked with at-risk young people for almost 20 years. For the past 10, she has worked as a consultant with special focus on developing social initiatives targeted at young people.

tial institution in the public sector to help a young person cut back from 10 grams of pot a day to one, or should we insist on telling them it is illegal? We have no cutand-dry answers – but our project has given the institutions means to handle this type of problem,” Susanne Pihl Hansen explains. “Stimulants are often only a symptom of another problem. But they can be so dominant as to eclipse all else. This is why care facilities must learn to tackle the substance misuse problems of their young residents. It is no good throwing the youngsters out or sanctioning their way out of the dilemma.” Young people accept support from adults “My background includes experience with young people – and the desire to make a difference before it is too late for them. I quite simply cannot help myself from getting involved,” admits Susanne Pihl Hansen. “Young people in care are one of society’s most vulnerable groups – they have some heavy baggage. These young people are still developing and it’s certainly not too late to influence them. But if the residential institution fails to provide the right sort of help and support, as well as tools to cope with drugs and alcohol – issues that can easily get out of hand and overshadow other problems – things can go terribly wrong. We need to find methods for stopping harmful stimulant consumption,” she declares. The project’s main aim was to enlighten participants about the issues at stake. Se-

Drinking There’s nothing cool about drugs, the only cool thing was partying with friends. I didn’t really think about how dangerous it was. I needed help seeing that. Mikkel, a 16-year-old boy from a care facility describing the help a project participant gave him.

condly, it gave care institutions a range of tools for better dealing with substance use among young people. “Drugs and alcohol are available even in the tiniest town. Young people can get hold of pot right around the corner, and the same probably goes for many other substances – they have easy access to alcohol. This means young people need tools to deal with drugs and alcohol, also when they’re not actually at the residential institutions,” explains Susanne Pihl Hansen. “Through our project, I believe we’ve planted a seed that will change and shape the way residential institutions handle substance use among young people. And our project participants have also become our local ambassadors who can now pass on the methods and know-how – and eventually help to halt substance misuse among young people.”

anne sen og Sus Peter Jen

DØ

sen Pihl Han

SMIDLER GE OG RU AGTE UN er e GNANBR medarbejd

Project ‘Døgnanbragte Unge og Rusmidler’ ended in November last year, and the Egmont Foundation has since supported the publication of a handbook and audiobook describing the experiences gained from the project work. Both can be read and heard, respectively, and downloaded free of charge from www. spuk.dk or www.pihl-inklusive.dk. (in Danish)

gn g for dø – håndbo

LUS IVE PIH L INK SPU K OG

1. INDLE

DNING OG

BAGG RUND

Egmont’s founder, Egmont Harald Petersen, expressed a special wish in his will: That after their founder’s death, the companies should continue to grow and flourish as healthy businesses and also that a portion of their profits should be used to benefit other people. Since 1920, children and young people have received help through Egmont’s donations to charitable activities.

Model photo

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Egmont has carried out its fourth corporate analysis. The results of the latest analysis have provided significant input for the twoyear plan that underpins the work of corporate 5410 human resources.

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By Niels Almer

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he corporate analysis for the year shows a rise in the general level of job satisfaction as well as the assessment of Egmont’s attractiveness as a workplace. “Employee job satisfaction is higher here than in the rest of the private sector in the Nordic region and higher than other comparable companies in the media industry. It’s an impressive result that we have every reason to be proud of,” observes Helle Bach, Vice President Corporate Human Resources. Four years of figures are now a concrete plan The corporate analysis of collective working conditions at Egmont now plays an important role for management development at executive and departmental levels of group companies. The analysis has also left a permanent mark on overall personnel goals. “The corporate analysis is a vital source of information about the concerns of our employees. Not only do we know what’s going well and what’s lagging behind, we also know exactly where to start to heighten employees’ motivation, interests and commitment,” Helle Bach explains. The corporate analyses of the past couple of years have enabled the HR plan

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to focus on what makes Egmont the most attractive media group for employees. Good management is the X factor The way employees assess the working environment at Egmont hinges on their immediate superiors. So Egmont executives must have good personnel management skills, which include the ability to set objectives, handle conflicts and provide feedback. “Some of our tools for improving management skills overall are our compulsory general leadership training program, individual leadership coaching, crash courses in basic management and the exit interviews we now offer all employees who decide to leave Egmont,” says Helle Bach.

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Development Review’,” says Helle, adding that the new, corporate tool will also help qualify the feedback employees get from their boss. The form is available at Insight in 18 different languages.

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Clear goals motivate people The corporate analysis shows that clear goals motivate employees and generate better results. “That’s why we now to all managers emphasize the importance of setting and following up on goals for their employees. The HR partner group has also developed a common template that Egmont managers must use to set and assess goals. Formerly known as an employee development interview, we call it a ‘Performance &

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Many departments 5410 throughout Egmont are handling the task of changing work routines.

Helle Bach, Vice President Corporate Human Resources

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Continual organizational adaptation If Egmont should be able to stand up against the structural changes in the media market, we have to be more efficient. According to Helle, this challenge has become even more urgent since the financial crisis at the end of 2008. “Many departments throughout Egmont are handling the task of changing work routines, for example, with employees working across several media. At HR we will have to become a better sounding board for the business when it comes to finding smarter ways of working,” concludes Helle Bach.

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HR’s Five Point Plan

Organizational review Another step will be an annual review of the organization. HR will work with local managers to assess the type of employee the group needs to realize its business plans. “This will help clarify which skills we should develop or even phase out. It will also give us a structured means of spotting talented employees,” Helle adds. “We’re moving towards a time of falling demand for labor. However, there will always be keen competition for the best employees – companies in the western world rely on their talent and commitment to make a living,” she says. “We must be able to offer our best, most talented people new challenging positions in the group or they will leave us in search of greener pastures.”

Immediate superiors must improve their personnel management skills, which include setting objectives, handling conflicts and providing feedback.

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2. All managers must set and follow up on clear goals for their employees. Good performance should be recognized and under-performance should have consequences. 3. We must offer skilled, talented employees better opportunities to find new jobs within the group. 4. Egmont must increase its visibility as an attractive workplace, both inside and outside the group. 5. We must redouble our efforts to generate company growth and innovation. This will require new qualifications and greater efficiency.

Moving from UK to USA You are sitting in London, looking across the Atlantic and eyeing up opportunities in the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s biggest childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s book market. What do you do next? With Egmont USA now poised to launch its first list in 2009, Hardcopy asks just what it takes to start up a publishing house in a new country. By Reeta Bhatiani

art of the Egmont UK group of companies, the new children’s publishing house, officially launched on January 1st 2008 with no books and a staff of two. It now has a staff of eight and will debut its first list of 15 books in autumn ’09. “We had two reasons for considering the USA,” says Rob McMenemy, Senior Vice President and Managing Director of Egmont UK. “Firstly, we wanted to defend our ability to attract the best children’s publishing rights, which was under attack from US based publishers who were increasingly acquiring world’s English language rights before we had even had a chance to pitch. Secondly, and more positively, the US represented a huge market opportunity – in fact, the world’s biggest - and we were confident we had something to offer, namely a track record and reputation as an originating publisher with a high-quality list.” Once the decision had been made to look into the potential of a new publishing house in the US, the key decision was to have a strong team behind it. Cally Poplak, Director of Egmont Press in the UK, Carsten Møller, Chief Financial Officer, Rob McMenemy and Douglas Pocock formerly Group Sales Director, Egmont UK and now Executive Vice President, Egmont USA formed the core team with support from the numerous others in the UK business. Research, research, research The natural first step for the planning team was to research the market thoroughly. While Egmont has a well-established name and presence in Europe, it was almost unknown in the United States. Douglas Pocock says: “When you first look at it, the US market can feel very similar to the market in the UK. Our instinct and initial fact-finding told us there were opportunities for us but we didn’t want to make the mistake of making assumptions. “To help us, we took on two excellent consultants in the US to gather insight and give us in-depth information on the market and competitive landscape and also the distribution opportunity and

costs. Using this insight we ran a complex business model, effectively projecting a ten year plan.” This initial research presented two options: going for it alone or a as joint-venture. “At first a joint venture looked like a very strong option,” Pocock recalls. “What we felt we needed most was a partner with Douglas Pocock formerly Group Sales a thorough knowledge of Director, Egmont UK and now Executive the market and established Vice President, Egmont USA credibility with the trade. But, as we met the publishers we had pin-pointed as potential partners, we learned so much that we decided to go for it alone. Since one of our key aims was to acquire rights for the group, this bold option gave us much more flexibility.” Just a year after the idea was first discussed at the offices of Egmont UK and a lot of careful planning, the business was given the go-ahead following a series of pitch meetings with the UK Board, Frank Knau, Executive Vice President of Egmont International and his senior manager’s group and ultimately by Steffen Kragh, President and CEO of Egmont. “We had worked hard to put together a clear, quantified and scalable rationale and plan,“ Rob McMenemy says. “Frank and Steffen’s advice was clear too - to get the right team and get the sales and distribution right.”

We HAd worked hard to put together a clear, quantified and scalable rationale and plan.

Challenges Getting the sales and distribution right proved a tough challenge. With no list of books and no track record in the US, getting through the door of ‘A list’ distribution partners took a lot of persistence. “It was a vital first step in getting the company on its feet,” Pocock stresses. “We needed a top-of-the-league distribution partner to convince agents, authors and retailers that we meant business. “Naturally, everyone we pitched our business to wanted to make sure we were the right fit for them too. Some thought we would be too closely in competition with them and others wanted to keep us too close for our comfort so that we couldn’t compete. In many ways it was a compliment that they already thought we could be a threat to their business, but obviously it wasn’t helping us to find a partner.” Finally, the novice Egmont USA landed a sales and distribution partner. Pocock continues, “We couldn’t have done better than our partnership with Random House, the worlds biggest publlishing house. It is the cream of the ’A-list’ distributors and a calling card for us with authors, agents and retailers” With a top-of-the-league distributor secured, the time had come to put the US team in place. As before, credibility and reputation were of paramount importance. One of the key appointments was for a publisher who could build a quality commercial fiction list for

Trans-Atlantic Collaboration The Egmont USA business was set up with collaboration in mind. While the aim is to build the buzz around a new US children’s fiction list and present the company as American, the editorial teams in the UK and USA work closely to share leads and acquire joint rights whenever possible. Pocock says: “Close collaboration between the UK and US teams has really set us apart from the competition, where usually this doesn’t work. There is also a genuine commitment to win bigger books for the group than we would have been able to do without a UK and US presence.” At Egmont USA’s first party for agents held, fittingly, at New York’s Scandinavia House, the two teams presented a united front which was very well received. George Nicholson, senior agent at Sterling Lord was quoted in the US industry magazine Publisher’s Weekly as saying the new division was a great opportunity for agents and writers and called Egmont UK ‘extraordinarily inventive’. He said: “I think it was only a matter of time before they set foot in this country. (Egmont) seems to be very conscious of the fact that they have to be perceived as an American company and I have every reason to think they’ll do that well.” In a few square metres, the Egmont US team works hard to prepare the launch later in 2009: From left to right: Nico Medina, Elizabeth Law, Doug Pocock, Mary Albi, Regina Griffin (seated), Alison Weiss, Robert Guzman (seated) and Greg Ferguson.

It’s definitely been hard work staritng up a new business and a new life in New York but there’s a great team supporting us in the USA and the UK.

children of all ages and would work closely with Cally Poplak and the Egmont Press team in the UK. Elizabeth Law joined Egmont USA from Simon and Schuster, the publishing house. Douglas Pocock says: “Elizabeth came to us with a wealth of experience in publishing top authors and handling some of the best loved properties in the industry. Shortly afterwards Regina Griffin joined us as Executive Editor. With their appointments, the work of attracting authors and agents could really begin for Egmont USA.” Setting up However, the practicalities of setting up the office were another challenge for the business. “Absolutely everything was different from the UK,“ Pocock laughs. “Never underestimate the time it takes to set up a bank account, find a phone company, get insurance, find a lawyer and numerous other things essential for starting a business. When you don’t have an established network it’s hugely time-consuming.” Asked what his top tips would be, Pocock doesn’t hesitate: “Get a great assistant or troubleshooter right at the start and set up your bank account as soon as you can. We’ve been really lucky, people have been very willing help us set up, even other publishers but it’s definitely been tough.”

For Douglas Pocock the collaboration continues far beyond editorial. He says: ”We’ve had support from all parts of the UK team – Finance, Digital, IT, HR, Legal and Royalties. It’s this support that has helped us get up and running as a business. We couldn’t have done it without them and they continue to support us on a daily basis.”

Douglas Pocock’s

Startup Tips

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The Future In the past year, the Egmont USA team has travelled thousands of miles speaking at conferences, attending and sponsoring industry events and speaking to hundreds of people. Egmont USA’s autumn 2009 list of 15 books is now full and was chosen from over 350 manuscripts. The list includes an ’A-list’, multiaward winning author, a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and spans pre-school to late teen, fairies to historical fiction and fantasy. ”It’s definitely been hard work starting up a new business and a new life in New York but there’s a great team supporting us in the USA and the UK,” Douglas Pocock says. “When my train pulls into Grand Central Station every morning, it’s like stepping into a movie set and I get a real sense of excitement.”

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Thorough research Take on an Assistant asap Open a bank account quickly Network, network, network Celebrate your success

Nordisk Film’s film distribution department handles the release of about half of all Danishproduced movies, which include not only in-house productions from Nordisk Film but also movies by Zentropa, Fine and Mellow, A.Film and M & M Productions. Over the past decade, Danish productions have enjoyed a 30% increase in market share.

Commitment

as the driving force Jan Lehmann’s career with Nordisk Film started in the early 70’s with a summer vacation job as a production assistant. Having since worked his way up the ladder, Jan is now head of film distribution. Commitment is his answer when asked how he maintains his enthusiasm and desire for challenge after so many years in the same company. By Søren Mikkelsen

f you want a good story, all you need to do is visit Jan Lehmann’s office in Valby and take a look at the walls. They are covered with black-and-white photos of a young Jan Lehmann with three other men, best known as the Olsen Gang. There are shots from the red carpet in Cannes and pictures of Jan with Hollywood greats like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Will Smith and Daniel Craig. Passionate about movies In 2006 Jan Lehmann celebrated 25 years with Nordisk Film. Although that’s a long time to work for one company, Jan has never seriously considered changing jobs. “Movies are my hobby. I could easily see four a day – 1. if I had time! Selling movies isn’t the same as selling a commodity like potatoes. A potato is always the same, whereas every film is new.

Film, he accepted. He has worked in this branch of the movie industry ever since, first as PR manager and then as marketing manager. Today, as market director for film distribution, he is responsible for movies’ run in theaters and their subsequent release on DVD in Denmark. “My surroundings have continually changed. I’ve had an office in the Palads theater in downtown Copenhagen, I’ve worked at Halmtorvet and now I’m back in Valby, where I feel really at home, having started out here all those years ago.”

Selling movies is a long process involving many people, and everything has to form a synthesis. It’s extremely motivating when we get it right,” Jan explains. From summer temp to manager Jan’s career with Nordisk Film started in 1970 when he temped one summer as a production assistant on Revolution My A., written by partners Erik Balling and Henning Bahs. Next, Jan worked on The Olsen Gang in Jutland. His tasks included waking the film crew and actors early in the morning and collecting actor Poul Bundgaard, who arrived every night on a private plane from Copenhagen, where he appeared in evening theater performances. When then managing director Ove Sevel offered Lehmann the job of press manager for Nordisk

Jan Lehmann (far left) helps Erik Balling (far right) during filming for The Olsen Gang in Jutland, shot on the west coast of Denmark.

The gang in the water: Valby’s Studio 4 transformed into a bunker. The gang is in the water, with Jan wielding the clapperboard.

Lehmann and Yvonne: Jan with ‘Yvonne’, extravagantly dressed as usual – this time in fur.

From Egmont to Eg Wanting a new job does not have to mean goodbye to Egmont. Every year many Egmont employees switch to a different position at another Egmont company. Check out what to look out for and meet two colleagues who have experience with changing jobs internally.

By Lotte Ilsøe og Sine Heiberg

f you would like to try your hand at a job in another country or company inside Egmont, there are various forms of support available for employees wishing to make an internal job change. Make Your Wishes Clear Most Nordic Egmont companies use the web based recruiting system Easycruit. In addition, a CV database has been set up through Egmont.com, where internal as well as external candidates can upload their CV. Easycruit and the CV database, however, are not entirely enough you still need to build up a good network and look after it, because networking is still a common way to find a job. “Being registered in a database is no guarantee of a job offer. There can be a huge difference between a targeted, committed application where the applicant’s strengths shine out and a standard CV in a candidate database. So keep your eyes and ears open and don’t hesitate to let HR know which jobs you’d like to be considered for – even if you’re registered in the CV database,” says Peter Bøndergaard, HR manager at Nordisk Film.

are always ready to help new employees, but we encourage new staff to ask their colleagues and others for advice. Many Egmont employees have either lived abroad or served short-term internships in other countries, so it makes sense to use this network,” says Peter Bøndergaard.

Take Charge of Your Destiny You may find the transition to a job at an Egmont company abroad quite daunting, because internal recruits are hired on the same conditions as local employees and have to handle the actual move and other practicalities themselves. “You should consider yourself a local employee. Naturally, the HR departments

As I see it, knowing the group’s different areas is a strength.

gmont

Openness and Dialogue After five years with Serieforlaget Janne Andersen decided it was time for a change. On an equal footing with external applicants, she submitted an application for a job advertised by Egmont Magazines. Janne Andersen was selected as the best candidate and hired as a new product manager in May 2008. Janne Andersen’s boss was prepared for her decision to Janne Andersen, Product seek opportunities outside Serieforlaget, and Janne refers to Manager, Egmont Magazines the openness surrounding her employment with Egmont as a positive experience. “At Serieforlaget I was in continual touch with my boss about how I could develop in the job.” Janne Andersen started at Serieforlaget as a marketing assistant, and after five years she was promoted to be the company’s marketing manager. She applied for a new position not because she was dissatisfied with her old job, but because she welcomed the prospect of working in a large editorial office and with an adult target group. Workplaces can differ greatly, even those in the same group. However, transitioning from one division to another does not automatically mean total upheaval. Janne Andersen had already worked at Egmont for five years, and although Egmont Magazines and Serieforlaget are two very different companies, they have some things in common. “I didn’t consider looking for a job outside the group, because it’s a really good place to work, and on top of that it offers excellent opportunities for professional and personal development. As I see it, knowing the group’s different areas is a strength that keeps you from having to start all over at a new company,” explains Janne Andersen.

Build a Network and Live on Location Three years ago Søren Therkildsen was Nordisk Film’s commercial director in Denmark when he agreed to pull up stakes and move to Stockholm. Today he feels more at home in Sweden than in Denmark, and the experience has made him more aware of his leadership role. But starting afresh in a whole new country was not all smooth sailing. “Things were difficult in the beginning, and it took time to Søren Therkildsen, Commercial Director, understand the financial ground rules, the tax system and the Nordisk Film, Sweden public authorities. Of course, you learn a lot from having to do things yourself, but you need to know where to go. Some sort of contact person would have been nice for help with all the practical issues,” Søren Therkildsen recounts. The opportunity to learn something new spurred Søren’s move to another country – an ambition that has been fully realized. “Leadership is about creating results through other people, so as a leader you have to adapt yourself to the culture you live in. People in the Nordic region work and make decisions in a multitude of ways. Even in the same company we have extremely different ways of working. So moving to a different culture has made me a better leader because I am more aware of what I want to say and how I should say it. You’re more likely to act impulsively and on gut feeling when you’re on home turf. That’s not possible when you’re away from home and constantly forced to be conscious about everything you do,” says Søren Therkildsen. Søren Therkildsen’s advice to others venturing out into the world is ”get yourself a network”. He means a professional network, but more particularly a social one. Even though you still have family and good friends back home, you need to live your life ‘on location’. You have to accept the price of relocating and make forging social relations a priority, because the sudden shift to a new culture and a new language can be overwhelming.

When the Boss

Demands Change In less than two years, Dansk Reklame Film has implemented a comprehensive project that has fully digitalized Danish movie theater commercials. The major digitalization restructuring has had a great impact on the way employees work By Jan Aagaard

When a bell rings in the downtown Copenhagen offices of Dansk Reklame Film, it is not a call for last orders. Rather, it signals to staff that the company, which is in the business of selling and distributing movie theatre commercials, has won yet another contract. The bell has sounded frequently in the past year, heralding the first fruits of the sweeping change process that Dansk Reklame Film has undergone since Jens Aaløse was appointed managing director in June 2006. Tangible results in the form of a marked increase in revenue, more than 50 new clients and the development of new business areas speak for themselves. On the face of it, the changes at Dansk Reklame Film have focused on the transition from manual routines involving editing tables, film reels and mail packages to a fully digitalized process, right from the production of commercials to their screening in movie theaters. For the 25-strong workforce, however, the restructuring has equally involved determining how each employee can focus, set individual goals and put their hearts into helping achieve the company’s commercial aims. “I came to a company that had performed well for many years, but clearly needed change. Revenue was sliding, and many employees had not realized their personal potential,” Jens Aaløse explains. “My prime task as new managing director was to bring the company up to

date and generate renewed growth using a fresh business model. To succeed, we had to introduce new ways of motivating and engaging staff. This was both a commercial and an organizational challenge,” Jens Aaløse points out. Speak to the heart He launched the program with an unconventional flourish by having employees cook a meal together at the home of a famous Danish chef, Henrik Boserup. The managing director also gave each employee a short book entitled Who Moved My Cheese?, a book about seeing change as a positive force. “People fundamentally dislike change, so it’s imperative to make them understand that change is for the better and essential to achieving our business goals. We have to appeal to the heart, and employees must understand why change makes sense,” says Jens Aaløse. Using a compass as a symbol, he also reminded employees that each had to choose his or her own path and methods for attaining the goals set for the extensive change process they faced. Huge influence One of the employees was Tine Liisberg, who stayed on with the company as management secretary and head of HR. She describes the “old” Dansk Reklame Film as a company with a slightly old-fashioned

Dansk Reklame Film A/S Dansk Reklame Film A/S is co-owned by Egmont and Screenvision. The company specializes in the sale and distribution of screen advertising in Denmark through a nationwide movie theater network of 230 movie screens. It also offers other products that enable advertisers to reach movie audiences. Based in Copenhagen, the company has about 25 employees.

image, but also as a secure, comfortable and busy workplace with set routines. With Jens Aaløse at the helm, regular routines were anywhere but in sight. A comprehensive digitalization project had to be developed and implemented, and the managing director left no-one in doubt that reaching this goal would take hard work. Employees were to be personally involved in defining new tasks and suggesting ideas for how the company could move the project towards its aims. “It was a hectic time where everything felt new. Some staff were skeptical at first, but getting new tasks and the chance to develop new skills was also exciting and challenging. At the same time, we realized that Jens’ expectation that we should participate and contribute suddenly gave us great influence and a wealth of opportunities,” says Tine Liisberg. Today employee influence and responsibility have been tangibly translated into individual goal contracts setting out the precise objectives each employee is expected to reach in the course of the year. Remember to communicate According to Jens Aaløse, communication between top-level and general staff is an all-important element of change processes. The company communication system, which was quickly and efficiently implemented at Dansk Reklame Film, included regular information meetings for everyone after

DIGITALIZING SCREEN ADVERTISEMENTS The task of digitalizing Danish screen advertising started in mid-2006 and was completed by end-2007. The ending of the edited-filmreels era enhanced the movie-going experience and facilitated faster, more flexible distribution. Digitalized screen advertising means advertisers can target consumers far more accurately because advertising segments can be geared to the relevant target groups of the various motion pictures.

Four tips on change 1. Plan. Planning is essential to good communication. Describe the future organization and procedures. If you plan you can create change instead of complying with it.

MANAGING DIRECTOR JENS AALØSE Jens Aaløse started as managing director of Dansk Reklame Film A/S on 1 June 2006. He came from a position as vice director in the Scandinavian airline company, SAS, where his responsibilities included developing SAS’ overall distribution strategy. He holds a degree in marketing and international management from Copenhagen Business School. højskolen i København.

the management group’s weekly meeting. Inspiration days, talks, project groups and the work of defining company values also served to involve employees in the change process. “Jens has been good at getting the change message across, and we sense that managers and employees are very open with each other. If someone comes up with an idea, it can quickly be put into practice. This encourages us to get involved in the company and the projects,” says Tine Liisberg, who also emphasizes the improved opportunities for professional and personal development. To enhance employee welfare, the new management group turned the spotlight on health, taking steps to introduce initiatives such as smoking cessation courses, massage sessions, and talks about exercise, diet and stress. Events like ‘Funky Fridays’ and company weekend trips also helped emphasize the importance of social interaction. “Social occasions are vital to employee wellbeing. Having colleagues you can enjoy a drink with after work also affects the way you work together and thus your performance,” Jens Aaløse asserts.

2. Communicate. Communicate as much as you can, as early as you can about what consequences change will have. If you do not describe the future people will imagine it.

Oliver Uth, Senior HR Consultent

3. Involvement. Involve the people who are directly influenced by the change and give them a possibility to have a say, which will decrease potential countermeasures. 4. Let it out. When change is creating frustration it is better to listen than insist. That way you work with the adversity than against it.

development. A few senior employees had to leave the company because the new digital business model required completely different sets of skills. Others chose to leave the company of their own accord, and half of the approximately 25 employees have joined the company within the past two years. “I don’t see the departure of some employees as a problem. On the contrary, the problem would occur if everyone remained in the same job and had no ambitions to try new roads. New employees are a breath of fresh air that means the company can continue developing,” says Jens Aaløse. Power and pride The managing director of Dansk Reklame Film describes the company as intensely goal- and performance-oriented. Along with the old and new employees, he can pride himself on the increase in market share, revenue and clients in a time of constricted advertising budgets, credit crunch and other recessional indicators. According to the annual measurements, employee satisfaction is also among the highest in Egmont.

New employees The adjustment to modern times has brought more than parties and professional

People fundamentally dislike change, so it’s imperative to make them understand that change is for the better and essential to achieving our business goals.

An Egmont company

Publishing house sets store by

book format invented in-house Most publishing companies would never print 125 copies of a 20-page book, but the small publishing house Flamme Forlag in Oslo is nonetheless willing to run the risk. By Lotte Ilsøe

lamme Forlag is a regular publishing company in the sense that it publishes books. To date, it is the ‘single book’, a book format invented by the company in-house, that has stolen the show. The ‘single book’ is a publication of about 20 pages issued in an edition as limited as only 125 print copies. In a few pages, readers can lose themselves in books on all sorts of topics, from love at a distance to train journeys. The concept also gives authors the chance to publish works whose content meets certain requirements rather than books with a certain number of pages. To ensure titles reach readers, Flamme Forlag has established a ‘singles club’. By subscribing to the club, readers get the books delivered direct to their doors.

a publishing company for everyman The company calls itself a publishing company for everyman because its aim is precisely that: to be a publisher for everyone. No topic is too trivial, no book too short, no print run too small. If the publishing company’s two editors and publishing directors, Nils-Øivind Haagesen and Bendik Wolf, have faith in a publication, they print it. The editors’ ambition is to publish books about any topic that interests people. “We publish books about pop music and TV, about short journeys and giant parties. We want our books to be about everything that life is about – which covers a whole lot of ground. But at the same time we want to start projects on the themes we want to de-

fine the company,” Nils-Øivind elaborates. Focus on people People are the focus of Flamme Forlaget’s publications and their editorial modus operandi. “To maintain close relationships between publisher and author, Bendik and I are Flamme Forlag’s only employees,” explains Nils-Øivind. To make the company accessible, it is housed in shop premises facing the street. The big shop front allows passers-by to watch the publishing company’s day-to-day activities firsthand, activities not limited to book production. The premises also accommodate the company’s bookstore, which sells its own publications. Sometimes photo exhibits are displayed on the walls. Not to mention the table hockey game, where the editors can often be seen in heated battle.

• Founded April 2008 (owned by Cappelen Damm)

• Publishing director/editor: Nils-Øivind Haagesen and Bendik Wolf

• The publishing company produces ‘single books’ and short books

• Approximately 25

publications in its first year

• Employees: two • www.flammeforlag.no

The Fight

for Consumers The Internet abounds with personal profiles, images and videos, with users interacting in infinite ways on social utilities. Hardcopy decided to log on to a number of Egmont sites and take a closer look at how employees throughout the group use social media.

Dialogue Is Crucial We find personal profiles on Facebook, professional profiles on LinkedIn, personal websites on MySpace, bookmark collections and shared links on de.lic.io.us, short messages on Twitter, photo-sharing on Flickr and shared videos on YouTube. There are dating sites and big community sites like Arto in Denmark and Biip in Norway. “Social media are platforms or services that give users the technical ability to share content with others. But they can only truly be termed social media when they include social activity – that is, when their users interact by sharing and commenting on content,” explains Asbjørn Poulsen, consultant and social media specialist, referring to his own experience with Twitter. “I’ve found that users get irritated with passive users who just tag along without contributing anything.” Social media generate dialogue, and younger users are particularly eager to engage in dialogue on the net.

Egmonts websites

”...The short clip was great so those of us in Århus can be there too. More web TV, please:). But it is far far far too long.”

altfordamerne.dk

By Thomas Sønderstrup

n 2006 American Time Magazine nominated ‘You’ (that is me and all of us) as the Person of the Year. The magazine paid tribute to ‘You’ (that is me and all of us) because we blog, comment on newspaper articles and produce podcasts. We are no longer mere newspaper readers and picture browsers but active users who write stories and upload images ourselves. This trend has grown stronger, and today, along with links and user-generated content, video-, image- and music-sharing are central to a wide range of Internet websites.

Extracts from

“These media must meet young people where they are. They don’t want to read emails because they’re too formal and not dialogue-oriented. Young people want to get their information from social networks, from places they already know,” says Asbjørn Poulsen. Companies in the Social Space Social behavior lies at the core of all social media. Without user interaction and dialogue, even the best initiatives risk ending up as mere publication channels. And when that happens, users vanish instantly. Holding onto users is a major challenge for the wealth of companies present in the Internet’s social sphere. “Companies have to be especially aware that they have to consider users’ comments before putting something out. The social media don’t increase sales overnight. That requires presence, time and commitment,” Asbjørn Poulsen explains.

”...In Norway Donald Duck & Co. used to be known for its good language. The net version clearly doesn’t live up to this reputation”

donald.no

”...Not everyone has a best friend, but if you do, I bet you’re not lucky enough to have one like mine! Frida B, I just want to tell you how much you mean to me. You’re fantastic and I love you to pieces.”

biip.no

”...Wonderful movie. Definitely one of the best movies I saw this year! Life-affirming, dreamy and totally cool! Woody Allen has moved into new territory and is in much better form than in his last recent films. Highly recommended!!”

Asbjørn Poulsen, Specialist Consultant of Social Media

kino.dk

Publishing Company

On Facebook

Lindhardt og Ringhof is one of the Egmont companies that have decided to invest time in Internet users. The publishing company uses various campaign sites for the purpose, most recently launching a site on Facebook. “We have deliberately selected a medium where users can participate and, equally importantly, have to actively choose whether they want to get involved,” explains Niki Robson, marketing manager at Lindhardt og Ringhof. “We have upgraded our online presence, and our Facebook site is intended to be a place that brings all our other online activities together. This approach gives the various elements longer exposure than our campaign sites and also means we can get feedback on our activities. “Facebook isn’t a sales channel. We don’t promote special offers but focus rather on creating a space where users can meet Lindhardt og Ringhof in a pleasant and relevant way. As a bonus, a user might tell his or her network about one of our books, and as such be an ambassador for our titles.” One of the first initiatives was to develop an application for the Facebook site to give users a richer experience and offer them something unique they will find nowhere else on the publishing company’s websites. “On the publication of Martin Østergaard’s ”Flere veje til mandens hjerte” [Many Ways to a Man’s Heart], we invited users to send a competition around to their friends so they could compete with each other about who knew the quickest way to a man’s heart …,” Niki Robson explains, revealing that she does not have a Facebook profile herself. “It makes good sense for Lindhardt og Ringhof, but I only have a profile on LinkedIn, where it’s a good idea to be able to follow people’s professional networks and development.”

Meeting Women

at Eye Level

The web editors at altfordamerne.dk have decided to give users the opportunity to comment on articles and video clips and voice their opinions in mini-referenda around the site. “At ALT for damerne we have chosen to meet our net users at eye level. Every week we produce a magazine for intelligent women with desires and opinions, so we want to hear their take on our magazine agenda. We use the internet to bond readers closer, particularly in the run-up to events like our annual women’s run, the presentation of ALT for damerne’s women’s award and the lifestyle fair ALT for damerne LIVE’,” explains web editor Hanne Bang, who is pleased that the magazine’s readers actively log on to the site to take part in the discussions that ALT for damerne launches. The editorial team has thus found that the social utilities build a bridge between magazine and website. At the same time the print edition of the magazine can glean useful information from reader feedback on altfordamerne.dk and fine-tune ideas accordingly. Although this is time-consuming and demanding for the editors, Hanne Bang is keen to get readers even more involved. “We are always on the look-out for new ways of involving our users on the net. Our latest idea related to the presentation of the annual women’s award was to invite the ten users with the best reasons why they should be picked to meet Crown Princess Mary of Denmark.”

The Social

Media Business At Egmont Serieforlaget, Norway, Jørgen Nilsson, head of business development, works with social media in multiple guises to identify what they should be offering to target groups. “We live in a world where young people’s media habits are ever-changing. That’s why we must always know what they want, what they think and what they do in their free time. We can gain that knowledge by asking and involving users. The strength of social media is precisely that they generate involvement and provide information about users,” comments Jørgen Nilsson. Thanks to the array of websites it owns, Egmont Serieforlaget, Norway, commands a strong position in the youth segment for children and young people. Nearly 1.8 million people actively visit the publishing company’s various sites and use its services every month – unique users that create a strong position and significant business potential. “The large number of active users gives us the chance to sell more and to target our advertising towards very specific segments. For example, donald.no generates about 5,000 new subscribers a year for the Donald Duck comic in Norway.” “This is the core of our business. All our services contain a community element, and at biip.no, for example, we listen closely to our users. We have a number of ambassadors who quickly catch on to what young people want and what works well for other communities. We’re firm believers in this type of business development,” says Jørgen Nilsson.

Film Content

by and for Users In October, kino.dk notched up 311,000 unique visitors, thus claiming the title of Denmark’s largest website. It did not earn this position solely by showing glossy trailers and celebrity portraits. “Movie discussions are key to the site, and being able to read authoritative reviews alongside users’ comments means movie-goers always have two different opinions by which to judge a movie. The growing activity on the site shows that users love reviewing films or describing how much they’re looking forward to an upcoming release,” says Christian Lund, managing director and editor of kino. dk. He stresses that user involvement is key to the Danes’ preferred movie site. “We’ve enjoyed huge benefits from user involvement when it comes to journalistic opportunities. For example, at Halloween, we compiled a list of the ten best horror movies. In no time, we had received countless ‘top ten’ lists from users, who also suggested better lists that other users might find interesting,” says Christian Lund, explaining that the basic strategy of kino.dk is for one-third of content to be editorial, one-third to come from users and the last third to be sold to advertisers and sponsors to generate the site economy. Kino.dk has only been in the market for just over six months and still has new areas to explore. “We’re intensifying our efforts to expand the user-involvement elements. We’re particularly interested in recommending movies based on the film preferences of users with similar tastes. We would also like to recommend movies based on the films that users have reviewed positively in the past or bought tickets for,” explains Christian Lund. “But because we also need to go out and meet users where they already are, we are looking into the possibility of their inviting friends to the movies via Facebook.”

Voxpop

The best thing about

working for Egmont is that: “… you have the chance to develop your professional career in an international company - and that you get support if you want to do so. And last but not least – my colleagues are great!” Maren Jung, Project Manager Fairs/Trade Marketing, VGS, Cologne Germany

“… in the end we use our power and money to help others. It is a nice feeling to know that your work support projectsand people.” Anja Mucha, Finacial Accountant, Egmont Ehapa, Berlin, Germany

“… although my days can be hectic, I enjoy my job a lot. Every day is different, I have nice colleagues and our work culture is informal.” Kristine Fischenich, Sales Coordinator, Egmont Serieforlaget, Oslo, Norway

“… in Egmont I found almost everything what I like in my private life: books, comic books, board games and last but not least: kind people.”

Kamil Gozdzik, IT Specialist, Egmont Polska Book Club, Warsaw, Poland

“… creativity sees no limit.”

Johannes Ljungbjerg, Art Director, Hennes, Malmö , Sweden

“… you can get experience with different fields of work. Furthermore, I think it is good that if you want to improve some of your skills you can get an opportunity to do so by studying alongside working.”

Rodica Radu, Sales Coordinator, Egmont Romania, Bucharest, Romania

“… I have the possibility to advance. And that I always work beside people from whom I can learn.”

Olga Golovko, Personal Assistant of Managing Director, Moscow, Russia