Lessons learned while transforming legendary CITY Magazine to fastest growing media family. Media Digitalization and City Digital: How did we jump to Finnish top10 list in 11 months. Transformation from print magazine into Growing and Successful City Digital Media Family. Never underestimate how digitalization affects to the media culture. City Digital Serial Entrepreneur Ilkka O. Lavas 13.10.2013

1. Lessons
learned
while
transforming
legendary
CITY
Magazine
to
the
fastest
growing
media
family
City
Digital
Serial
entrepreneur
Ilkka
O.
Lavas
15.10.2013

2. Media
DigitalizaFon:
City
Digital
How
did
we
jump
to
Finnish
top10
list
in
11
months
TransformaFon
from
suffering
print
magazine
into
Growing
and
Successful
City
Digital
Media
Family

4. Ilkka
O.
Lavas
• Started
1st
company
17
years
old
• 2
books
about
entrepreneurship
• Partner,
board
member,
investor
– PorQolio
of
15
businesses
– 10+
aquisiFons
done
– 3
exits
• Young
Entrepreneur
of
the
year
2009
in
’Southern
Finland’
• 34years,
2
boys,
1
wife,
1343
Y
connecFons,
1236
linkedin
conns,
twi[er
@lavas
• ”Guy
Kawasaki
of
Finland”

5. PorQolio
Скидки
круглый
год

6. Ikäryhmä
It
all
started
when
we
got
research*
results
OK,
normal
that
we
already
reach
large
age-­‐ WOOT!
{
scale
of
people
Kaikki vastaajat
AGE
0
alle 15 vuotta
3
15 - 19 vuotta
7
{
16
20 - 24 vuotta
8
26
25 - 29 vuotta
8
21
30 - 34 vuotta
8
23
35 - 44 vuotta
16
8
45 - 54 vuotta
16
2
55+ vuotta
36
0
*
10
20
30
40
50
%
60
70
80
90

7. Lesson
1#
• Never
underesFmate
how
digitalizaFon
affects
to
the
media
culture.
• Even
your
grandmother
may
be
using
iPad
• Media
usage
is
fragmented
• We
read
curated
media
rather
than
single
medium
• We
follow
and
consume
sites
that
our
friends
are
suggesFng
and
linking

8. Earlier
in
history
1900-­‐
business
process:
Press
–>
Delivery
–>
Consumer
DigitalizaFon
2000-­‐:
JOURNALIST
–>
CONSUMER
Media
fragmentaFon
is
on
our
side
Photo:
Inside
Australia,
sculptures
by
Antony
Gormley,
Lake
Ballard,
Western
Australia

10. What
is
City
Digital
?

11. What
City
Digital
is?
City
Digital
is
family
of
medias,
focusing
on
quality
journalism,
City
–life
and
phenomenons.
City
Digital
reaches
Finnish
digital
elite
20-­‐45-­‐
years,
who
spend
all
of
their
money
and
free
time
in
themselves.
City
users
are
active
and
trendy.

12. City
Digital
sites:

13. We
need
to
new
thinking.
Blue
ocean
strategy:
We
are
family.
Media
family.
Growing
Media
Family
is
stronger
together.
We
learn
from
each
others.

14. Business
model
transformaFon
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
1985-­‐2012
Business:
print
magazine
Area:
Helsinki,
Tampere,
Oulu,
Vaasa,
Local
Customers:
Locals,
Finnish
AdverFsers
CirculaFon
200k-­‐450k
Visitors
on
web
site
100k
Content
creators/journalists:
20
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
2012-­‐2013
(11
months)-­‐>
Business:
Media
Family
”the
record
company
of
web
sites”
Area:
Finland,
w/
Global
startups
Customers:
Local
brands,
Finnish
AdverFsers,
Global
AdverFsers
CirculaFon:
1100k
/
Magazine
Visitors
on
web:
500k/week
Content
creators/journalists:
150

15. City
Digital
visitors
• Weeks
37-­‐40/2013
avg
(TNS
Metrix)
• Uniques
visitors
427
789
• Unique
browsers
509
819
• Page
views
1
778
858

16. Lessons
#2
Bloggers
are
new
media
stars.
• Journalists
have
to
learn
how
people
are
consuming
media
• Power
of
tradiFonal
media
is
shrinking,
#fashion
trends
are
arising
from
blogs
and
on
streets
• Single
blog
post
can
sell
more
than
front
page
of
the
biggest
naFonal
tradiFonal
newspaper

17. in
11
months
TransformaFon
from
suffering
print
magazine
into
Growing
and
Successful
City
Digital
Media
Family

18. Lessons
#3
Anyone
can
be
a
mediastar
• Anyone
can
start
new
media
business
in
minutes
• Innovators
and
entrepreneurs
are
new
mediamoguls
• Need
for
Media
Families
”the
record
companies
of
fragmented
media
ages”
arise

19.
City
Digital
Cross
Media
MarkeFng
Mix
Online-­‐Offline-­‐Ra
Live-­‐Print-­‐Venu

20. Lesson
#4
We
don’t
need
tradiFonal
TV
anymore
to
create
phenomenas.
• Online
video
consuming
is
growing
• Videodisplay
adverFsing
is
more
popular
• Biggest
TV
”channel”
is
Youtube

21.
City
Digital
Organizing
Movie
nights
and
great
ParFes

22. We
reinvented
the
process
of
creaFng
City
–print
Magazine
Online
journalism
Printed
City
Magazine
We
publish
everything
first
in
our
online
medias.
We
measure
everything.
Likes,
shares,
comments
to
know
what
people
want
to
read.
Print
has
limited
space.
Stories
in
print
are
shortened.
Read
more
online
www.city.fi
/
uniqueurl
500k
weekly
On
demand
PrinFng
900.000
pcs
of
printed
mags

23. Co-­‐operaFon
w/
SummerUP
fesFval
30000
guests

24. New
ways
for
journalism
Journalism
becomes
more
visual
• We
have
noFces
that
”old-­‐school”
journalism
is
not
working
for
everybody.
We
need
new
ways
for
touching
people:
• Feelings
journalist,
creates
stories
that
makes
you
feel
something
• Videojournalism
is
growing
fast
• Need
for
new
job
Ftles,
i.e.
instagramjournalists,
hashtagjournalists,
twi[ercurators
and
Facebook
manager
• The
more
and
more
media
fragments,
the
more
we
need
curators
• Amount
of
freelancer
bloggers
is
growing
• Amount
of
professional
bloggers
is
growing

25. We
trust
in
power
of
the
people
and
wisdom
of
crowds.
Think
Digi-­‐first.
DigitalizaFon
is
on
our
side.

26. Media
DigitalizaFon
is
global
opportunity
www.citydigital.fi
www.ilkkaolavas.com
Ilkka.lavas@city.fi
Twi[er:
@lavas
Facebook:
IlkkaLavas
Gsm
+358
400
997969
www.city.fi/profiilit/lavas/blogi
h[p://www.linkedin.com/in/ilkkaolavas