Lessons I have learned while building the fastest growing media family in Finland. Digitalization is then new standard. Bloggers and models will be new media stars. Media fragmentation creates new business mo Ilkka O. Lavas serial entrepreneur www.citydigital.fi

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 Digitalization: City Digital
How did we jump to Finnish top10
list in 11 months
Transformation 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
– Portfolio of 15 businesses
– 10+ aquisitions done
– 3 exits
• Young Entrepreneur of the year 2009 in
’Southern Finland’
• 34years, 2 boys, 1 wife, 1343 fb connections,
1236 linkedin conns, twitter @lavas
• ”Guy Kawasaki of Finland”

5. Portfolio
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 underestimate how digitalization 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
suggesting and linking

8. Earlier in history 1900- business process: Press –> Delivery –> Consumer
Digitalization 2000-: JOURNALIST –> CONSUMER
Media fragmentation 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 20-45years, who spend all of their money and free
time in themselves. City users are active and
trendy.

12. City Digital sites:

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

14. Business model transformation
•
•
1985-2012
Business: print magazine
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Area: Helsinki, Tampere, Oulu, Vaasa, Local
Customers:
Locals, Finnish Advertisers
Circulation 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 Advertisers, Global
Advertisers
Circulation: 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 traditional media is shrinking, #fashion trends
are arising from blogs and on streets
• Single blog post can sell more than front page of the
biggest national traditional newspaper

17. in 11 months
Transformation 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
Marketing
Mix
Online-Offline-Ra
Live-Print-Venu

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

21. City Digital
Organizing
Movie nights
and great
Parties

22. We reinvented the process of creating
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
Printing
1.000.000 pcs of
printed mags

23. Co-operation w/ SummerUP festival
30000 guests

24. New ways for journalism
Journalism becomes more visual
• We have notices 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 titles, i.e. instagramjournalists, hashtagjournalists,
twittercurators and Facebook managers, Community managers
• 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.
Digitalization is on our side.

26. Media Digitalization
is global opportunity
www.citydigital.fi
www.ilkkaolavas.com
Ilkka.lavas@city.fi
Twitter: @lavas
Facebook: IlkkaLavas
Gsm +358 400 997969
www.city.fi/profiilit/lavas/blogi
http://www.linkedin.com/in/ilkkaolavas