General
“We complement each
other”
THE new
advertising
Structure
With the acquisition of RTL Nederland, DPG Media’s advertising revenue increased to €753 million. Advertising has entered a new phase. Wim Jansen, Ton Rozestraten and Barbara Hazenberg outline how the organisation is changing, where opportunities are emerging, and how advertising is evolving in step with a rapidly changing media landscape.
It’s not a big bang, they agree. Not a radical break, but rather a carefully orchestrated evolution. What is changing, however, is the way advertising is organised, sold and further developed – and above all, the way advertisers are served.
According to Wim Jansen, who is responsible for advertising in Belgium, day-to-day practice shows what is possible when media are approached in a truly integrated way. In that sense, Belgium acts as a living laboratory. “For years, we’ve brought together news media, magazines, radio and television within one commercial organisation. That means a client no longer has to move between different sales houses but can submit one brief and receive an integrated proposal. The great advantage of that is customer focus. The medium is not the starting point – the advertiser’s demand and the audience they want to reach are. The downside is a loss of focus and specific product knowledge, particularly in print. That’s something we’ve had to restore in recent years.”
Barbara Hazenberg
(43), director Of print & digital Advertising, Netherlands
A different approach
That is why a different approach was deliberately chosen in the Netherlands. Ton Rozestraten, who is responsible for audio and video, stresses that market dynamics were the deciding factor. “Radio and video are bought differently from print and online. The systems, contract models and client structures are different too. That is why we chose to work with two sales organisations, while sharing support departments.”
Barbara Hazenberg, who is responsible for digital, news media and magazines in the Netherlands, sees above all the opportunities this brings. “Within publishing, we have an enormous diversity of brands, from major national titles to strong niche brands. Our editorial content provides the right context for advertisers to tell their story in a way that fits the target audience.”
In that context, storytelling has become increasingly important in recent years. “Advertisers don’t just want to broadcast a message – they want to be present in a meaningful way,” says Hazenberg. “Branded content, native formats and media partnerships require tailor-made solutions and creativity. That’s people work, not an automated process.”
Ton Rozestraten
(65), Director of Audio & Video Advertising, Netherlands
“There is a willingness to work together and to put differences aside”
Trust
Trust is an important theme running through all these conversations. At a time when US platforms dominate and discussions around data, brand safety and context are part of everyday business, DPG Media explicitly positions itself as a trusted media partner. Rozestraten says: “Advertisers want to know where their message ends up. With us, they know their campaign runs in a safe environment, with respect for privacy, data and editorial independence.” That trust is increasingly seen as a distinguishing factor compared with international technology platforms.
Those platforms remain highly significant. Jansen says: “We have to be realistic. The major tech players have scale and efficiency. We cannot and do not want to compete with them one-to-one.” In his view, the answer lies in local relevance, cultural understanding and quality. “We know our audiences and we understand what matters in the Netherlands and Belgium.”
Scale nevertheless plays an important role. By combining the strengths of DPG Media and RTL, a portfolio is created that can follow the rhythm of the day: from the morning newspaper, radio and news apps to evening television and streaming. Rozestraten says: “We can reach consumers at every moment of the day, through audio, video, print and online. In that respect, we’re unique.”
Knowledge-sharing
Experience in Belgium shows that such an integrated approach also has internal advantages. Jansen says: “Knowledge-sharing happens more quickly. Innovations developed in one country can be rolled out more quickly in the other.” Examples include data platforms, advertising tools and new video and audio formats. This cross-fertilisation increases not only efficiency but also the quality of what we offer.
For the larger brands, the focus more often lies on integration and strategy. “That is why our creative departments, ALLY and Brandstudio, work closely together to create integrated plans,” says Hazenberg. “We make sure that advertisers can come to us for integrated advice. That requires collaboration across departments, enabling us to make the most of our expertise.”
Another recurring theme is proof. Impact, effectiveness and measurability are becoming increasingly important. “Advertisers want to know what works,” says Rozestraten. “That means investing in research, data and reporting.” DPG Media is therefore strongly focused on supporting campaigns with insights so that those learnings can be applied in future projects.
Wim Jansen
(54), Director of Advertising, Belgium
The human factor
The market is under pressure, competition is fierce and media consumption is changing rapidly. Rozestraten says: “The DNA of our organisations is a good match. There is a willingness to work together and to put differences aside.” That human factor is at least as important as structure and systems.
The acquisition of RTL by DPG Media therefore marks not an end point, but a beginning. It is part of a process in which advertising is evolving from separate disciplines into a coherent advertising ecosystem.
For advertisers, that means more clarity, more possibilities and a partner that moves with their ambitions. Or, as Hazenberg sums it up: “We create maximum impact for advertisers through our trusted media. That makes us a local media partner that thinks creatively with them and genuinely takes responsibility.”
