Dutch Language Self-Service Ad Solution from Wave2

Koninklijke Wegener NV (Royal Wegener) is a multi-media enterprise located in Apeldoorn, Holland. The company’s newspaper activities include the publication of seven regional dailies, with some 2.6 million readers covering the majority of the country, and 225 different free papers and weeklies, which have a total circulation in the region of 8.6 million copies per week.

By virtue of global economic pressures and the continuing emergence of multi-media platforms within the newspaper industry, Wegener recognised a need to react to a decline in revenues from classified advertising within its newspaper products.

A project was therefore initiated by Atex, a Wave2 partner, aimed at creating a new online self-service ad creation service in order to win back some of the lost business and therefore re-grow revenues whilst cutting internal costs. The new solution was to replace an aging, custom made product that was inherently expensive, due to the fact that any adjustments required to the existing software were charged on a one-off basis. Therefore part of the requirement of the new solution was that it needed to be highly configurable, flexible and low-cost, whilst being tightly integrated with the Atex advertising system in the back-end.

The project team carried out an exhaustive evaluation exercise and selected technology from Wave2 Media Solutions, to be implemented via the company’s Dutch partner, Atex.

The software solution provided by Wave2 for Wegener is based on its AdPortal product, which delivers a complete end-to-end workflow based web site for self-service advertising. The software provided can be formulated to meet the needs of private and business advertiser for both print and online media. Highly configurable AdPortal installs “out of the box” with a complete web front-end, and can be s tyled and branded to seamlessly integrate with an existing web site.

The UK-based company offered a significant track record in the delivery of systems dedicated to this task in both Europe and USA, though this was its first undertaking in the Dutch language.

Following various testing procedures and acceptance tests the new Wegener system, which can be found at www.kleintjesmarkt.nl, was complete and operational. The finished product provides Wegener newspaper readers with the opportunity to create a classified ad online for any of the group’s printed titles as well as advertising on the web to an even wider audience. Wegener went live with the Wave2 AdPortal solution in June 2010.

Commenting on the finished product, project manager at Wegener, Chris van Wegen, said: “The quality of the system is very good, and we have no problems. It is already a success for sure, as it provides advertisers with some great options. We have launched the product very effectively with good communication about the new capabilities, and also some special offers for our advertisers.”

With regard to the development of the system, and working with Wave2, Chris van Wegen added, “Whilst I only took on this project from early in 2010, it has been good to work with a team as committed as the guys at Atex and Wave2.”

Although the current system is exclusively dedicated to classified ads, further developments from the initial product are planned at Wegener. “We are looking at a number of significant phases of development over the coming year,” added Chris van Wegen.

Commenting on Wave2’s role within the creation of the system for Wegener, Managing Director Chris Hodges, said: “We are delighted with the final result, and pleased that advertisers are finding it both useful and easy to work with. It is also good for us to add another language implementation to our continually expanding library of localised versions of AdPortal. The team at Wegener worked closely with our partners at Atex in formulating their initial requirements. This structured approach meant that we all had a clear idea of what Wegener wanted to achieve, and we were able to work together to deliver the most effective solution.”

About Wegener

In November 1903, in the east-central Dutch city of Apeldoorn, Johan Frederik Wegener started publishing a news and advertising paper, which would later become Apeldoornse Courant. More than a century later, that small local publishing house has grown into today’s leading group specializing in newspapers and multimedia, Koninklijke (Royal) Wegener NV, with its headquarters located in Apeldoorn, and listed on the Euronext Amsterdam stock exchange.

Wegener is the largest publisher of regional daily newspapers and free door-to-door papers in the Netherlands. Every day some 800,000 copies of Wegener’s seven regional dailies are delivered to readers throughout a major portion of the country, reaching an average of 2.6 million readers daily. Wegener also produces some 225 free door-to-door papers and weeklies, which have a total circulation of about 8.6 million copies per week. In addition, Wegener develops and pursues opportunities involving internet products, including websites with millions of viewers. Another unit of the group provides printed products and graphic services to Wegener companies and external clients.

Since October 2007, Mecom Group plc, based in London, has been the holder of an 87% majority interest in Wegener shares. Wegener also develops and operates internet products and services. The company is listed on the Euronext Stock Exchange.