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Following the carve-out of Schibsted Media, Schibsted’s remaining business areas – Nordic Marketplaces and Growth & Investments – will create the basis of a new and exciting marketplace company. 

Nordic Marketplaces currently comprises leading marketplaces across the Nordics such as FINN, Blocket, Tori, DBA, Oikotie and Bilbasen, as well as the Delivery operations in Norway. Growth & Investments includes companies such as Lendo, Prisjakt, MittAnbud and a portfolio of early-stage investments.

Our marketplace businesses are currently in the midst of a large strategic shift, as we have organised them to collaborate across the brands in four key verticals: Mobility, Recommerce, Real-Estate and Jobs, instead of countries. 

This makes it possible for us to create common platforms, enabling greater investments in each solution and faster rollouts of innovations. This decision was founded on our belief that the way you sell a car is fundamentally different from the way you sell a t-shirt, but the way you sell a t-shirt is quite similar across our countries.

This journey will continue as we step into the future of a new marketplace company with a mission to make sustainable alternatives and circular consumption the obvious choice. The future strategy and organisational setup for this company are being developed now and are expected to be presented at a Capital Markets Day in the fourth quarter of 2024. 

Christian Printzell Halvorsen, EVP Nordic Marketplaces

“I am incredibly excited about what’s next. Schibsted Marketplaces will be a leaner and faster organisation that can – and will – do more,” says Christian Printzell Halvorsen, EVP Nordic Marketplaces. 

The new brand

The Schibsted brand will follow the new media company after the separation, meaning that this marketplace company needs a new name and new brand. Hanne Hollstedt, CMO of Growth & Investment, and Janne Jacobsen, Director of Brand and Marketing in Nordic Marketplaces, are leading that project.

Hanne Hollstedt, CMO of Growth & Investment

Janne Jacobsen, Director of Brand and Marketing in Nordic Marketplaces

“We have some of the strongest brands in the Nordics, to embrace them in a new family with a new ‘mother’ will be great fun,” Hanne says.

The brand we create needs to be broad enough to work for different directions that the company might take now and in the future. For instance, you don’t want a name that makes the scope of the operations too narrow for future innovation. In these times, when change is constant, this is the reality for brands in general. Companies develop and take new directions.

Another key component will, of course, be Schibsted’s long history of trust legacy, innovation ability and the culture of entrepreneurship. The timeline is short – the goal is to have a new brand in place late this year, but the name and overarching story should be decided on already by the summer.

Both Hanne and Janne are looking forward to getting the name in place – but they are also aware that that’s just the beginning. 

“Of course, it’s important to have that name and a logotype in place – but it doesn’t mean anything until you fill it with meaning. To be known, recognised and liked, you also need to invest a lot in a new brand,” says Janne.

Schibsted Media has a new strategy with a clear ambition; we are going to be the leading media destination in the Nordics. We sat down with Siv Juvik Tveitnes, future CEO of Schibsted Media, to have a chat about the new strategy.

So, Siv – to start, tell us a little bit about Schibsted Media?

Well, we have a unique position in the Nordics today. We are a digital and commercial force to be reckoned with. And our prize-winning, quality journalism is unrivalled, making a real difference in our communities. But we believe we can achieve even more. That’s why our new strategic ambition is to be the leading media destination in the Nordics, reaching and empowering millions of people in their daily lives through offerings with superior relevance.

It’s a big undertaking. What does it require of us?

Our new strategy outlines several things in detail, but let me give you a high-level overview. One of the most important things we have to do is to develop our offering. 

Providing news has always been our core business. Historically, we have therefore invested more in our news offerings and relatively less in entertainment and sports. And given our print paper history, we are stronger at the text format than audio and video. 

To win in the future, we need to adapt, by building our strength across media segments and formats. Our users, and especially our younger audiences below 35, desire more than just news. To meet their interests, we will develop our news products and expand our offers in sports and entertainment. We will continue to invest in audio. And we will significantly scale up video. Our offering has to be unique and complementary to win their loyalty long-term.

What else should we do, to win in the future?

We have to put our consumers first. We have many loyal consumers, who want to pay for and subscribe to our content. We have to establish a direct relationship with each of them, to win their attention and to stay their preferred choice. To do that, we will further develop our products and services in a consumer-centric ecosystem. We will deliver seamless, engaging, and personalised experiences, using the latest technology. This is how we will secure even better reach and stronger loyalty.

We have certain responsibilities in pursuing this strategy, don’t we?

Absolutely, as a media business, trust is our most important currency. Our unique position in society is built on it. We will fortify the trust that our audiences, advertisers, and communities have in us. We will do that by being transparent about our journalistic processes. We will continue to deliver verifiable and accurate facts in context, educating the younger generation. And we will handle everything – data, online security and products – with the greatest care.

So, what next? Do we have what it takes to succeed?

There is a great deal of opportunity in this. To succeed as a new company and execute our strategy, our greatest strength are our people. Because no company is better than the sum of the people who work there. And that’s why I’m incredibly eager to get started – because I have absolute faith that we have the very best people in place. With the team we have, Schibsted Media will become a playground for new ideas, solutions and innovation. And not least, free and independent journalism that makes a difference. We are about to change the Nordic media landscape and write new media history. It’s an exciting time to be in the business!

Schibsted is entering a new era. One company will become two. The media part of the company will be sold to the Tinius Trust, Schibsted’s largest shareholder.

By separating Schibsted’s media and marketplace businesses, we will unlock the full potential that lies in the different business areas. Letting them grow in separate environments with the best possible conditions will give them the best possible future.

On the journey ahead, both companies will bring along Schibsted’s long legacy of trust, innovation and societal commitment. 

The Schibsted brand and name will follow the media company, while the marketplace company, which also will include the growth and investment portfolio, is currently creating a new name and brand. Once the marketplace company has its new name and brand, this will be the visible owner of all marketplaces and venture companies in its portfolio. This includes companies like Finn, Blocket, DBA, Tori, Lendo and many more.

Official starting point

We are now in the middle of making this separation happen. On 22 March, Schibsted and the Tinius Trust signed an agreement stating that the trust will buy the media operations from Schibsted. This was the official starting point for the separation. The next big step is receiving shareholder approval at an Annual General Meeting, and completing the process to separate the companies. After that, the deal can be closed and Schibsted Media and Schibsted Marketplaces will be two separate companies. This is expected to take place during the second quarter. 

The media company will be eager to pursue its goal of becoming the leading media destination in the Nordics. With brands like VG, Aftonbladet, Aftenposten and SvD, the media part of Schibsted has been at the forefront of digitalisation and new business models. With a new focus on sports and entertainment, Schibsted Media will grow, not least in Sweden. AI and technology are other keys to success that have already made a mark in user experience and quality of content.

“Today’s signing takes us another step closer to launching Schibsted Media as a new company, continuing the journey to become the leading media destination in the Nordics. I’m excited to take Schibsted Media into this new phase, bringing our journalistic legacy into the future,” says EVP News Media, Siv Juvik Tveitnes.

Siv Juvik Tveitnes, EVP News Media, Schibsted.

The marketplace company will get a new CEO, as Schibsted’s Kristin Skogen Lund is stepping down. But the way ahead that has been established is still valid. The marketplaces are going through a verticalisation process where the different brands cooperate across countries in four main areas: Re-commerce, Mobility, Real Estate and Jobs. This is to create the next generation marketplaces where new user needs and behaviours will be met, the user experience will be smoother and the user journey will be supported in a more extended way.

In all these areas, sustainability also is a core value. To make the sustainable option the obvious choice is the common goal.

Kristin Skogen Lund, Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

“I have tremendous faith in the potential of our marketplaces and media, both from a business perspective and seeing the value they create in society. Today’s agreement is a testament to this strength and I am proud that we are now taking a significant leap in our transformation into two Nordic powerhouses that continue to touch the lives of millions of people on a daily basis,” said Kristin Skogen Lund.

Since its foundation, Schibsted has carried the torch for independent media and freedom of speech, keeping the public informed and empowered.

The free press is a fundamental cornerstone of a democratic society. At its best, journalism aims to close the gap between what citizens know and what they need to know about the world around them. Schibsted’s independent media houses reach millions of people daily. That reach comes with a responsibility to contribute to a democratic and transparent society by providing independent news and information and promoting freedom of speech.

Achieving a high level of trust in society requires trustworthy information – and it is up to the news media to provide it. At Schibsted’s media houses, this happens every day – by holding powerful people accountable, producing factual and reliable media content, and inviting people to see and understand a wide variety of lived experiences.

Journalism has no formal power, though. It is a searchlight used to uncover facts and examine and highlight different voices, values ​​and actors in society. And especially when it comes to abuse of power, it is an important tool to balance the voices that are not always heard.

Exposing inequality, putting pressure on politicians to act and ensuring that people’s voices are heard are the core activities of Schibsted’s media houses and collectively they represent a unique tool to empower people in their daily lives. For us, that means enlightening our readers and providing them with accessible, transparent, informative and balanced media content.

We often highlight the deep dives, the investigative journalism that uncovers power imbalance and wrongdoings – but the everyday journalism is equally important for a functioning society. Shining the light on issues that affect people in their everyday lives, and informing people about what’s happening around them is vital for a democratic society to work.

In a time when anyone can share their thoughts online with minimal restrictions, the role of independent media has become increasingly important.

Schibsted’s media houses are fearlessly independent in pursuing their journalistic mission. Our articles of association state that Schibsted’s shareholders must enable us to run our information operations in such a way that editorial freedom and integrity are fully ensured.

To be independent is a prerequisite for our media houses to inform and empower our readers in a credible way. We need our readers to trust that we are uninfluenced – by our owners, our stakeholders, or the government.

Our media houses have defined detailed in-house ethical guidelines on editorial matters. In Norway and Sweden, our legally responsible editors are accountable for any law infringements, and self-regulatory bodies have been established to uphold their respective codes of ethics. These self-regulatory bodies were founded on the principles of freedom of speech and independence and it’s possible for everyone (including readers) to report complaints.

To increase transparency and readers’ understanding of how editorial choices and decisions are made, some of our media houses have created blogs, websites and even podcasts that allow our editors and journalists to speak openly about the dilemmas they face when making editorial decisions.

It’s important for our readers to trust that they won’t be manipulated or misguided by our media houses. There’s a difference between objectivity and balance – democratic and independent journalism must be balanced and fair.

Schibsted’s editorial leaders are seasoned professionals with years of experience in capturing important news stories and bringing them to our various reader communities. We embed editorial controls to ensure the accuracy and integrity of our news.

Swedish publicity rules

Norwegian ethical standards for the press

Schibsted Future Report is on its way on the 2023 Nordic road show. Next stop is at Digs in Trondheim April 20. Join us to learn how to secure innovation within a company, how Aftenposten’s synthetic voice is making news available to more people – and meet one of the founders behind the success startup Nomo.

”It will really be great to be back at Digs. We had a super nice event there last year, and we hope that everyone who wants to hear which trends we in Schibsted are interested in will come to this after work event,” says Schibsted Future Report editor Ann Axelsson.

Sign up for the event here!

Future Report is our annual trend outlook where we dive into themes within tech, people and business. It’s written by our own Schibsted people, and we also share some stories about companies in our family – and things we do.

Innovation in tough times

The event theme is ”Innovation in tough times” and in Trondheim you will meet some of the Future Report contributors, like our Chief Data and Technology Officer, Sven Størmer Thaulow. He will give you the recipe for how to secure innovation.  You can read the full article at the Future Report site.

Sven will also discuss the latest AI trends with Lena Beate Pedersen, Project Manager at Aftenposten who has led the job to create a synthetic voice for the newspaper. Now all written news are also available as speech, this is her article in the report.

We are very happy to have Audun Solwang on stage. He is the acoustician who saw the need to reduce noise to simplify podcasts and broadcasts. Audun is one of the founders behind the success startup Nomono, which is part of the Schibsted family. Recently Nomono won the 2023 innovation award at the tech conference SXSW in Austin. Audun will share his and Nomono’s journey and what lays ahead.

Last but not least – our Head of Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging, Sumeet Singh Patpatia will point out the importance of empowering all kinds of people to succeed with real innovation – No human should be left behind.

It’s almost 4 months since we kicked off the fourth edition of our mentor program Schibsted Connect, so why not take a halftime break to see what’s happened since then? We also share some highlights from our past CV course session.

Background
Schibsted Connect is a mutual mentorship program where we match students with Schibsted employees. The pairs are matched based on their expertise and interest areas, and the idea is that through monthly meetings, they mutually share thoughts, ideas, and experiences. The connection lasts officially from November to April, however many buddy pairs keep in touch also after the program ends. We currently have 112 participants in total this year, 56 students are matched with 56 employees from 5 different countries.

Kick-off and meetings
After the matches between students and employees are done, the program starts with a digital kick-off event where we gather all participants. The students are introduced to the Schibsted family, get familiar with the schedule and goals of the program, and meet their very own mentor for the first time. After the kick-off event, the two buddies are responsible for booking monthly meetings based on a suggested agenda.

Besides the regular meetings between buddies, we also want to aid students in concrete ways to boost their career paths by offering activities such as CV courses and lectures. 

Let’s see how the CV course session looked like the last time we had it and what key learnings we got from it! 

Highlights from our past CV course session
The CV course was hosted by Jelena and Clayton, who both work as Talent Acquisition Partners at Schibsted. 

Jelena Briois

Clayton Don Corda

Since the participants are based in 5 different countries the CV course was held digitally via Google meets. We started with an entertaining poll about how all were feeling. Many seemed to be happy like a cheesecake, which sure was a good starting point for learning more!

In the first half, Jelena explained the essentials in a CV and a cover letter – what is important to include, how to customize them for the job, and some additional tips for tech and non-tech roles. We also dug into some ATS-related (applicant tracking system) tips upon request from the students, and if AI is used for scanning applications. Jelena explained that the recruiters at Schibsted are going through the applications manually. However, if you believe ATS is used in one of the companies you wish to apply for, you should pay attention to the keywords in the job ad and job description to better match your skills. 

Below you can find a summary of Jelena’s top 4 tips for CV and cover letters:

• Focus on the content of the CV
• Tailor your CV to that specific role and company
• Showcase what you have achieved, your impact and your contributions – not just your responsibilities. 
• Dare to stand out! Share your motivation in the summary section of the CV and cover letter, and showcase how you’d go about the challenge or your portfolio.

After a brief CV and cover letter recap, we moved towards how to work with your LinkedIn profile. Jelena provided answers to burning questions such as; why it matters to be on LinkedIn, how to expand your network and get referral opportunities, and how to stand out. 

Below you can find some takes on why LinkedIn is such an essential tool for job seekers today:

• 87% of recruiters use LinkedIn to check candidates
• Build your network
• Get noticed and contacted by recruiters/managers for jobs
• Increase chances of getting referred for a role
• Find jobs

After this Clayton, our ‘LinkedIn brand specialist’, took over the stage and explained how to build your brand on LinkedIn. As Clayton said: “LinkedIn is not only for job seeking but, more importantly, for building your network”. 

Below you can find a summary of Clayton’s top tips for building your personal brand:

• Your personal brand differentiates you from others, so talk about you and your personal journey both in and outside work. People follow people.
• Building your network through these habits can create more opportunities for yourself and your networks.

At the end of the course, we got to look closer into the recruitment processes at Schibsted. Do you know how many applicants Schibsted received last year? Over 50 000! Clayton walked the students through how we choose the right fit from this number of applications.

We closed the course with a Q&A session, where our recruiters were happy to answer many questions from the students to help with their concerns. The questions were about preparing for a tech interview, and how much experience one should have in a CV. One student also asked how important GPA referring to grade point average, is. Our recruiters explained that GPA could be relevant. Still, you should be able to demonstrate how you could be a match for the position through your skillset and relevant experience.

A big thank you to Jelena and Clayton who boosted us with information and inspiration on how to take the job search to a new level!

Are you interested in joining Schibsted Connect? Keep your eyes open during the autumn when we open up the application. Click here for more information about the program, or reach out to us if you can’t find what you are looking for: ta@schibsted.com

The Digital Services Act (DSA) is an EU regulation that entered into force in November 2022. It regulates the responsibility of intermediary services, and in particular online platforms, such as social media and marketplaces in a rapidly changing technological environment.

The DSA aims to increase the protection of users of online platforms by establishing a transparency and accountability framework for online platforms across the European Union.

Schibsted welcomes the DSA as it’s Schibsted’s vision to uphold a society built on trust and transparency. We are committed to conveying trade between millions of buyers and sellers through our safe and trusted online marketplaces.

The average monthly active recipients

The DSA requires online platforms, including Schibsted’s marketplaces to publish information of the monthly active recipients calculated as an average over the period of the past six months c.f. Article 24(2) of the DSA. The below calculations are based on the period from August 2023 to January 2024. The next update will be published in August 2024.

DBA: 2,8M
Bilbasen: 0,9M
Blocket: 4,9M
Tori: 2,6M
Oikotie: 1,8M
Qasa: 0,2M
Plick: 0,2M

Source: SimilarWeb (desktop and mobile sites) and Data.ai (apps).

Note on sources: the monthly active recipients calculation is highly dependent upon the measurement method, given issues relating to respecting privacy, cookie consent, log-in rates, bot traffic, and de-duplication of users. For transparency, external, publicly available sources are used. The downside of this methodology is that users are not de-duplicated across desktop/mobile sites (SimilarWeb’s monthly unique visitors) and apps (data.ai’s monthly active users).