Strategy

Our strategy is focused on the customer, improving the customer experience and creating value for all our stakeholders. The three focus
areas are: 1) transformation, 2) growth, and 3) scalability.

Three focus areas of the strategy

Alma Media’s strategy builds on a two-decade transformation from a media company into a provider of digital services and platform solutions. The company initiated its digitalisation already in the late 1990s and, through systematic investments, portfolio optimisation and corporate transactions, has transitioned from print to an international, data-driven and digital business model.

The current strategy focuses on developing businesses in areas where Alma Media can create significant customer value and deliver profitable growth. The core business areas are marketplaces and related services in recruitment, mobility, housing and office space, news media, and information services for enterprises.

In line with its strategy, Alma Media is developing its marketplaces into advanced, AI-enabled platforms that support customers’ digital processes across the value chain. Growth is driven by strengthening the offering along different stages of the value chains, expanding into selected international markets, and through acquisitions. At the same time, the company continues to develop its technology and capabilities to accelerate growth.

In the media business, the focus is on managing the transition from print to fully digital media, enabling scalable and profitable growth. In information services, development is focused on data- and AI-driven solutions that improve customers’ processes and support decision-making.

A key strategic objective is to grow engaged audiences and to develop increasingly personalised services for customers. Alma Media invests in data capabilities and technology to strengthen its competitive position in the AI era. The company leverages audience, behavioural and market data in the development and commercialisation of its services.

Artificial intelligence is a key enabler across the Group, supporting faster product and service development, more efficient core processes and the renewal of workflows. The objective is to build systematic AI development paths into the business models and to create new value-adding solutions.

In addition, Alma Media actively pursues synergies across its businesses to improve growth and efficiency. The company drives traffic between services, grows audiences and leverages shared technology, platforms, capabilities and operating models. In Finland, particular focus is placed on developing joint media sales.

Alma Media continues to execute its strategy towards becoming an international, platform-driven and data-led digital services company.

Read more about Alma Media long-term financial targets.

Business model

Alma Media has business operations in three business and reporting segments:

• Ama Career
• Alma Marketplaces
• Alma News Media

Alma Media’s sources of revenue are:

• classified advertising,
• advertising,
• digital services,
• content,
• other sales.

The revenue categories listed above comprise several different revenue generating models. The media sector’s historically clear division between circulation sales and advertising sales has become diversified as a result of digitisation. 

Description of the business model

As the digital transformation has progressed, digital marketplaces have become an increasingly significant area of Alma Media’s business. They include services related to recruitment, housing, cars and mobility, for example. The customers of Alma Media’s digital services include both companies and consumers. The digital services business model is based on customer fees charged for classified advertising, fees for increased visibility in classified advertising, service sales, revenue streams from service content and/or advertising targeted at the users of the service, subscription fees and licence fees for the use of information systems.

The media business includes, for example, the professional and financial media and books as well as the national multichannel media Iltalehti. The media business is based on a relationship with readers built through content. As media develops, the reader relationship is shaped into a multidimensional customer relationship with a media brand. The strength of this relationship can vary from occasional visitors or buyers of single copies to the use of online services as registered users of online services, paying consumers of digital content and long-term subscribers of print publications.

The Group’s other services include information services as well as training, event and direct marketing business.

For all businesses, readers and online visitors constitute target groups that are characteristic to each brand. These target groups are the basis for advertising sales. These target group contacts are sold to advertisers on a brand-specific basis and as audience segments from the digital Alma network. For advertisers, this opens up valuable opportunities to specifically target the businesses, professionals, decision-makers, entrepreneurs or consumers that are relevant to the growth of their business. The use of data, analytics and machine learning plays an increasingly important role in improving the product and service offering for advertisers and enriching the end-user service experience. Data and marketing automation enable the provision of increasingly high-quality, effective and impactful solutions to advertisers.

Brand appeal and the communications and marketing efforts aimed at maintaining it are crucial in the digital environment. Alma Media’s services are the best-known brands in their segments in Finland and the Group’s operating countries in Eastern Central Europe. The popularity of these services among users is based on a high level of usability, unique content and, in many cases, the importance of the social or communal dimension. It is also essential to have the ability to respond to customer needs by delivering localised products and services.

Value creation

In Alma Media’s value creation for customers, shareholders and society, the key roles are played by the strong journalism, marketing and technology expertise of the Group’s employees, strong product and service brands, customer data, the best partners, an efficient production and delivery network and a stable financial position.  These are described in more detail in value creation model.