To maintain our independence, we need to focus on increasing our reach, revenue and profitability - says Petr Bednar. In an interview given to our magazine, the digital and business development director of Central Médiacsoport talks about the differences between the Czech and Hungarian markets, the publisher's major reorganisation and the most pleasant surprise he experienced at the company.
- You joined Central Médiacsoport at the beginning of July, in the almost five months since then, what has been your most defining experience, what do you think about the company?
- Well, the biggest positive surprise for me was how easily the company on the mid and top management level switched to English because of me. The presentations, reports, meetings are held in English, even most of internal communication is held bi-language, the emails written in both Hungarian and English. This is important because we want to bring in more and more international knowledge. Definitely Central is becoming an international company. I did not expect this to be so fast and smooth.
- When Central announced your arrival, they emphasized that your experience in the Czech market, which is well ahead in the digitalization, will be useful in Hungary. In your opinion, what are the most important differences between the Czech and Hungarian digital markets, and on what areas is the Czech Republic much more advanced than Hungary?
- I do not want to say that the Hungarian market is less developed. It has just developed in different way. One of the main differences is, that in Hungary there is much bigger dependance on Facebook than the Czech internet market has. Which became a problem at the moment Facebook reduced the traffic to publishing sites. On the other hand, the Czech market is distorted by a huge role of Seznam.cz, which acts as a media house, sales network and traffic provider to the whole market at the same time. Significantly bigger share of the digital advertising market based on traditional sales relationships with direct clients and media agencies, which gives the Hungarian market stability. On the Czech market, on the other hand, the programmatic advertising market is significantly more developed. In that environment, the traffic and advertising technologies become more important. This is the know-how we are implementing in Central now. Overall, the Czech market is more traffic oriented than the Hungarian one, both technology and content wise.
- You oversee all print and online content production as well as product development at Central. What do you see as your strengths and where do you still have a lot of room for improvement?
- Central Mediacsoport's dominant domestic market position provides the economic stability on which the publisher can build a platform for growth. Central media has great print business, very profitable, with bright future for years to come. We have strong brands, loyal readers and good sales relationship. There is not much to improve on it. In the digital field, we have significant footprint in the news and women segments. We started to improve three main areas: 1) traffic growth, 2) advertising monetization, 3) subscription business model. In the future, we will also expand our digital reach, building on our print brands and continuing to focus on producing quality and authentic content.
- At the beginning of November Central announced a major reorganisation, with three new divisions. Why was this move important and what do you expect from it?
- First, it is important to highlight that all the organizational changes we did were based on cooperation with Financial Times Strategies team. We are following the best practices from publishers around the world, while adjusting them to the local needs. The long-term goal is to introduce new business models that are not just based on traditional advertising revenues. This strategic thinking has led to a greater focus on our production agency, Central Content, knowledge sharing abroad, or the launch of 24 Extra. Thanks to the publisher's efforts, the company is now present in several V4 countries. The Central Médiacsoport has acquired a stake in the Polish Gremi Media and has an ownership stake in the Slovak Refresher magazine, which it has successfully launched in the Hungarian market, while the regional debut of several well-known Hungarian brands is also under negotiation. What we expect from the new structure is more direct exchange of knowledge and information, and more effective support of the products by the analytical, product, AI and SEO teams.
- What opportunities does this restructuring offer from a business perspective? Will the introduction of new services and products be faster or more efficient?
- The current phase of organisational development is eliminating siloed units, facilitating more flexible and efficient operation between divisions. We do not plan to launch new products right now, with the exception of 24Extra we launched a month ago. We are focusing on improving the technologies and content, leading to growth of traffic. While we already cracked the issue how to monetize the growing traffic, these steps lead to improved business.
- The global players are taking an increasing slice from the Hungarian online advertising market, how can you compete with them?
- Do not fight them, use what you can. Be more relevant to the local users and clients, that is something the global players are not good at.
- In the current media situation in Hungary, what do you think Central Médiacsoport should focus on?
- To grow our traffic, revenues and profitability to keep our independence. In the long run, we plan to be player number 1 on the Hungarian digital market. We will also continue our expansion to other markets, to become a significant player on the regional level.
- If we talk in a year from now, what results would you be satisfied with?
- I will be satisfied if I hear from the great team we have here in Central “it was hard, but we managed to learn new things, we improved, we succeeded”.
