About TMG

The media market is highly dynamic. Consumer behaviour is exhibiting fundamental change. The values in the market are consequently shifting as well. A number of trends in the online market are of particular importance to TMG. As the point of departure for its 2012-2016 growth strategy, TMG recognises the following areas as the most important characteristics of the ‘old world’ with implications for TMG’s new reality:

• The role of content is changing. Journalistic strength has for a long time been TMG’s major competitive edge. Furthermore, the home delivery of newspapers, for example, constituted an access threshold for new players. In the new reality of the online world anyone can create content and easily effect its distribution. Consequently, the result is an explosive expansion in content and in its basic form content has therefore become commonly accessible. The consumer’s need for the ability to select, classify and interpret all this available content is therefore increasing.
• Broadcast media, such as newspapers and television were physically separated from the transaction environment. This barrier has been eliminated on the internet. Transactions are but a mouse click away from advertisements. And the highest value ultimately is in this ‘last click’.
• In view of the broad public layer that was served by broadcast media, a broad offer of content was by definition essential to achieving a good position of reach. Because in the online world the costs associated with launching new sites are relatively limited, it has become possible to more specifically serve target groups. As a result sites that focus on specific target groups (‘verticals’) are emerging in the market, each with its own dynamic and players. The ‘winner takes all’ principle applies within each vertical.
• In the old world TMG could afford to exploit each media platform as an independent entity. Individual exploitation and protection of different brands was the leading principle, as a result of which the content of brands was shared between them to only a limited extent. In the new world TMG increasingly more often competes with players operating on a global scale who thus achieve economies of scale. In this climate it is essential for TMG to bundle the strengths of its own portfolio.
• The media markets in the ‘old world’ are mature markets; major changes do not occur all that often and generally occur slowly. By contrast, the online market is changing constantly. Change and uncertainty are constant factors and continuous innovation is key to survival as a company or a brand.