Press Release 01/10/2008 09:00
Strong European media group Sanoma (formerly SanomaWSOY) unites its operations under the Sanoma brand. Concrete evidence of this is the renaming of the Group and its divisions, effective from 1 October 2008.
The five divisions of Sanoma are now: Sanoma Magazines, Sanoma News (formerly Sanoma), Sanoma Learning & Literature (SanomaWSOY Education and Books), Sanoma Entertainment (SWelcom) and Sanoma Trade (Rautakirja). Rautakirja will remain as the name of Sanoma Trade's parent company. WSOY will remain as the name of the Finnish publishing company and as a brand of general literature, educational publishing as well as business information and services.
The new shared name and unified visual identity reflect the change in Sanoma's way of operating: divisions, earlier operating quite separately, are now increasingly co-operating across organisational boundaries. Co-operation is also supported by the change in the management system in spring 2007. The new unified names help stakeholders and also the 20,000 people working in the Group to see the different parts of the Group as one.
"The name Sanoma brings unity to all our operations. The Group, established ten years ago, has grown and internationalised but lacked a common brand. Stakeholders haven't been able to recognise the over 200 companies as one Group," says President and CEO Hannu Syrjänen. "'Sanoma' is a powerful word and it is easy to adopt and remember as the Group name in all language areas. Additionally, it has been in use for a long time among our international stakeholders," continues Syrjänen.
The Sanoma Group operates in 20 European countries and more than half of its net sales originate outside of Finland. Sanoma's strategic objective is to be one of the leading European media companies. The Group's four international growth areas are magazine publishing, educational publishing, digital media, as well as press distribution and kiosks. In Finland, Sanoma operates widely in all fields of the media.
The challenge facing a media company - how to predict changes in consumer behaviour
Sanoma Group's roots are deep in the media cultures of its operating countries. The oldest magazine still published by the Group is the Czech Kvety, originally launched in 1834. Many other Group companies also have a long heritage. Today, the multi-local Sanoma provides information, experiences, education and entertainment to millions of people every day.
The media field has changed rapidly in recent years. "Due to converging media, the field has become turbulent and more difficult to predict," says Syrjänen. "The challenge of the future is predicting the changes in consumer behaviour and being able to offer quality products and services that are adapted to the new situation. All before the demand has even risen," explains Syrjänen.
Looking at Sanoma's portfolio, this change is visible in close co-operation between printed and online media as well as in investments in new online businesses. "The strength of Sanoma's corporate culture is the ability to learn and adapt new ways of operating from the companies integrated into the Group," emphasises Syrjänen.
Additional information is attached and can also be found in Sanoma's web site.
Sanoma Corporation
Kim Ignatius
Chief Financial Officer
Additional information: Sanoma's Group Communications, tel +358 105 19 5062 or communications@sanoma.com
Sanoma provides information, experiences, education and entertainment to millions of people. Quality content, products and services that are creative and customer centric, and efficient distribution ensure satisfaction for our customers in the 20 European countries we operate in. In 2007, the Group's net sales totalled EUR 2.9 billion and our EBIT was EUR 344 million. The Sanoma Group employs over 20,000 people.