Change drivers in the operating environment

Changes in consumer behaviour, the fragmentation of the advertising market, intensifying competition and technological development have changed media consumption and marketing at a very rapid rate. Alma Media faces different forces of change in the company’s operating environment.

Economy

• Positive recovery signals and long-term structural challenges in Finnish economy
• Weak consumer confidence due to unemployment risk and ongoing war and weak business confidence in Finland
• Ageing population and shrinking workforce across Europe
• Continued economic growth in Alma’s Eastern Central European markets

Changing consumer behavior

• Expectations for easy, time-saving, and safe digital experiences and e-commerce are increasing
• Consumers receive more personalised user experiences driven by AI and data usage
• AI transforms how consumers search, browse, and buy, possibly significantly impacting direct traffic to original information sources
• The development of agentic models will change how services are utilised and produced in the future
• Language barriers and country borders are no longer a barrier to using digital services. The barrier to switching to cross-border services diminishes with the use of AI.

Digital marketing and sales

• Tech, AI, data, regulation driving structural change in marketing
• Digital platforms reshaping commerce; budget fragmentation (walled gardens, retail media, CTV/DOOH/audio)
• Data and automation influencing decision-making; B2B sales workflow shifts
• Big platforms expanding value chain share; agencies investing in AI to stay competitive
• Digital advertising growth: content marketing, video, visual search, audio, influencer marketing
• Rising share of AI-generated ad content
• Advertising’s economic importance across media, retail, transport remains
• Legislative changes enabling gaming, alcohol, political advertising in Finland

Technological capabilities and AI

• Unpredictable tech pace; rapid AI tool evolution
• Critical enablers: talent, agility, adoption of new tech and AI
• Competitiveness drivers: customer experience, business innovation, value creation
• AI-driven productivity race; execution as key differentiator
• Lower market entry barriers; rise of agile, well-funded AI-native startups
• Cybersecurity and ethical data use: essential for trust, regulation, global security

Regulation and compliance

• Complex regulatory environment; expanding digital legislation
• EU level over-regulation; reduced competitiveness vs other markets
• Rising digital service use; increased data volume; heightened data privacy and consumer protection importance
• AI Act compliance challenges; early-stage interpretation and application
• Broad transparency requirements in limited-risk category; higher effort than high-risk due to volume of AI systems

Growth of the platform economy

• Platform economy growth: market structure shifts; disruption of traditional models
• Platform giants’ dominance and their expanding role in value chains; ecosystem and competition impact
• Emerging AI-native challengers
• Tech, AI, data driving structural change; massive investments in AI infrastructure; scale and first-party data advantages; data concentration among largest operators
• Uncertain long-term impact of potential AI bubble burst

Real estate

• Real estate digitalisation: shift to AI-powered platforms; emergence of new proptech solutions
• Data-driven decision-making: central to efficiency; AI improving processes, agent services, customer experience
• AI-powered search engines: growing share; reduced direct traffic to marketplaces
• Sustainability and energy efficiency: baseline requirements driven by regulation and market preferences
• Rental housing popularity: gradual rise; uneven regional distribution
• Regional segregation in Finland: declining property values outside major cities; ageing population and buildings; renovation debt; collateral regulation risks slowing market
• Office space evolution: remote and hybrid work reshaping needs; portfolio rebalancing toward resilient growth sectors

Mobility

• Major shift in mobility market: economic pressures, digitalisation, AI, changing consumer expectations
• AI-driven marketplaces: expanded services, process optimisation, improved customer experience
• E-commerce growth: new and used cars
• Electrification challenges: regulatory pace concerns, policy-driven demand, infrastructure critical
• Agency models & used car trade: disruption of traditional channels, rising significance
• Diversified mobility models: leasing, usage-based financing
• Data demand surge: informed decision-making for buyers and sellers
• AI-powered search engines: growing share, reduced direct traffic to marketplaces

Media

• AI and language models reshaping news media and journalism; workflow efficiency, productivity, enhanced products
• Digital media dominance; strong tabloid presence; subscription growth
• Changing consumption habits; demand for multimodal content (text, audio, video); diverse publishing platforms
• Automated audio/video production; AI-driven content conversion (“liquid content”)
• Blurring media boundaries; intensified competition in subscription and advertising markets
• Journalistic ethics and trust gaining importance amid tech advances and polarisation
• Traffic dynamics shift; AI-enhanced platforms vs direct traffic and engaged audiences
• Data scraping concerns; need for strict copyright enforcement
• Regional media challenges in Finland; opportunities in targeted advertising and local audience focus

Recruitment

• A growing shortage of skilled professionals
• Global competition for talent
• Increasing workforce mobility
• Employers’ increasing effort to reach passive jobseekers
• The use of freelancers and leased employees on the rise

Geopolitical tensions and global economic turbulence

• The uncertainty surrounding political and economic development remains high, making forecasting difficult
• Despite efforts to establish peace, the war in Ukraine persists. International political tensions remain high
• Growing hybrid influence takes different forms, such as border disturbances and the dissemination of misinformation, affecting societies in numerous ways
• With changes in US trade policy, uncertainty in the global economy increasing. Progress in customs negotiations alleviating some of this uncertainty and boosted growth expectations
• European economic area fragmenting to East and West