In this study tour, INMA will take you behind the scenes of the news media companies leading the world in digital subscriptions in Oslo and Stockholm. Learn how the early efforts at culture change have positioned newsrooms as subscriber acquisition, retention, and engagement leaders. Learn how Norwegian and Swedish publishers pushed the subscription culture deep into company strategy. Learn how they applied new KPIs and plugged the churn gap to augment success in acquisition. See first-hand how newsrooms are organised and get a taste of what national and regional news brands are focused on in 2019. Why did Scandinavian publishers abandon the meter and embrace a freemium-meter hybrid? What are the pros and cons of the hybrid model? What are the nuances behind models adopted by publishers in Norway, Sweden, and Finland? And why have competitors settled on similar formulas in each country?
Arrive early in the Norwegian capital (Oslo) and join us for a drink on Sunday night and get a deep-dive briefing and overview on the three-day Media Subscriptions Study Tour of Scandinavia by INMA's CEO, Earl Wilkinson.
This reception is proudly sponsored by 
Earl J. Wilkinson
Executive Director and CEO, INMA @earljwilkinsonEarl J. Wilkinson LinkedIn
Christian Printzell Halvorsen
CEO, cXense @earljwilkinsonChristian Printzell Halvorsen LinkedIn
Meet in the lobby of the Scandic St Olavs Plass no later than 08:35 for an 08:45 departure on foot to VG and Aftenposten.
For many news media organisations, subscription conversion strategies are now entering the realms of emerging technology: machine learning, random forest methodology, pattern recognition, data visualisation, and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Schibsted in Norway is one of the early adopters of these technologies. They have implemented new systems and technologies to drive their growth and influencing their subscription sales and retention strategies. Each company has enjoyed its successes thus far, and they’re learning a lot along the way. Learn how this applies to both the popular news brand VG as well as the quality news brand Aftenposten.
Espen Egil Hansen
Editor-in-Chief and CEO, Aftenposten Espen Egil Hansen LinkedIn@eghan
Gard Steiro
Editor-in-Chief & Publisher, VG @gsteiroGard Steiro LinkedIn
Jane Throndsen
Editor/Head of Paid Content, VG @ThrondsenJaneJane Throndsen LinkedIn
Hilde Øier
Director Consumer Business, VG Hilde Øier LinkedIn
Jorun Berntsen
Head of Subscription and Digital User Revenue, Aftenposten LinkedIn
Anne Julie Saue
Head of Innovation and Growth, VG @_AnneJulie_Anne Julie Saue LinkedIn
Eirik Winsnes
Development Editor, Aftenposten @eirikwinsnesEirik Winsnes LinkedIn
Mussa Dagnew
Performance Marketing Manager, VG @MussaDagnewMussa Dagnew
Tone Tveøy Strøm-Gundersen
Managing News Editor, Aftenposten Tone Tveøy Strøm-Gundersen LinkedIn
After a quick lunch hosted by Schibsted, we will take a very short walk to Amedia offices.
While the global and national news brands lead in the quest for digital subscriptions, Amedia — the largest local media group in Norway, comprising 62 local newspapers — has seemingly cracked the code for local media digital subscriptions: experiencing the strongest customer growth of all Norwegian newspapers. Beyond hearing about how a regional publisher has created scale with digital subscriptions and where the growth comes next, we will visit their new Oslo newsroom during our visit.
Helge Birkelund
VP Rights/Sports Management, Amedia @helgebirk Helge Birkelund
Haakon Johansen
VP Subscriptions, Amedia Haakon Johansen
Jostein Larsen Østring
VP Editorial Development, Amedia Jostein
Pål Nedregotten
Executive Vice President, Amedia @nedregotten Pål Nedregotten
Anders Opdahl
Executive Vice-President, Amedia @amedia_anders Anders
Gunnar Stavrum
Editor-in-Chief of Nettavisen, Amedia @gunnarstavrumGunnar
Stine Holberg Dahl
Development Editor, Amedia Stine
Weather permitting, we will take a 15-minute walk to NHST Media Group. Weather not permitting, we will take a short bus ride.
NHST publishes both global and Norwegian titles with the leading national daily business newspaper Dagens Næringsliv as their flagship news brand. Although advertising sales have continued to decline, NHST have been able to effectively offset this with strong growth in digital and print subscriptions, new digital products and by cost reductions made p ossible by a more efficient channel neutral workflow. The management team of NHST will share insights into their digital subscription strategy DN++.
Hege Yli Melhus Ask
Group CEO, NHST Media Group @hegeymLinkedIn
Julie Lundgren
Editor Product and Innovation, Dagens Næringsliv @JulesLundgrenJulie Lundgren
Ingeborg Volan
Editor Reader Engagement, Dagens Næringsliv @ingeborgvIngeborg Volan LinkedIn
Fredrik Loennecken
Director for Consumer Business, Dagens Næringsliv Fredrik Loennecken
Trond Sundnes
CEO, NHST Global Publications Fredrik Loennecken
Fredrik Nøring
CEO Norkon, NHST Media Group
Time permitting and weather permitting, first drink is on INMA at a nearby pub. Evening free.
Check out of hotel, load your luggage onto bus. Group departure via bus at 08:00.
Aller Media, active in all Nordic countries, owns the national newspaper Dagbladet in Norway as well as a host of magazines. Learn how they have found extraordinary synergies between the national news brand and their magazines, with a focus on digital subscriptions.
Alexandra Beverfjord
Chief Editor and CEO, Dagbladet, Aller Media @Beverfjord
Alexandra Beverfjord
Viktoria Hallberg
Salgs- og markedssjef Dagbladet Pluss, Aller Media LinkedIn
Christoph Schmitz
Product Development Manager, Dagbladet Plus, Aller Media Christoph Schmitz LinkedIn
Bjørn Bore
Editor, Dagbladet Plus, Aller Media @bjorn_bore Bjørn Bore
Frode Hansen
News Editor, Dagbladet, Aller Media @frodehansen2LinkedIn
Frank Bratland
Head of Marketing, Dagbladet Plus, Aller Media LinkedIn
Your bags are loaded onto the bus, and we will depart from Aller Media to the Oslo airport, snacks, and travel instructions.
Airline tickets for SAS Flight SK868, departing at 12:45, will be provided to participants by INMA. Attendees have provided passport information in advance to confirm tickets. Arriving at Stockholm Arlanda Airport at 13:45, we will bus directly to our first Stockholm study tour stop at Citygate.
NTM is Sweden's second largest local media group, owning newspapers such as Norrköping Tidningar, Östgöta Correspondent, Folkbladet, Västerviks-Tidningen, Vimmerby Tidning and Motala & Vadstena Tidning. By 2017, the NTM Group had approximately 1,300 employees and sales of SEK 1.8 billion (€171 million). Strategies for digital subscriptions all depend on the loyalty and engagement of the audience — but also on the newsroom’s ability to actually deliver the truth. Credibility is the most important asset when it comes to building strong relationships with the local audience. At ÖM, one of Sweden’s largest integrated newsrooms, they have worked strategically with the ethical and journalistic qualities of reporters. In a time when forces in public life try to undermine the core value of journalism — credibility — media businesses must face the challenge of raising the level of quality in reporting.
Anna Lindberg
CEO and Publisher, Öst Media, NTM Anna Lindberg
MittMedia is Sweden's largest local media group. Having set an aggressive budget for its digital revenues for 2018 (both in digital advertising and digital subscriptions), these focus is starting to pay off. Learn how they did it during the MittMedia stop on this study tour.
Robin Govik
Chief Digital Officer, MittMedia Robin Govik LinkedIn@rgovik
Thomas Sundgren
Head of Platforms and Partnerships, MittMedia @thomassundgrenThomas Sundgren LinkedIn
After concluding our sessions at Citygate, we will bus to the Hilton Stockholm Slussen Hotel where most participants are staying. We will unload luggage from the bus and check in to the hotel. Evening is free.
Please meet outside the Hilton Stockholm Slussen and board the bus beginning at 08:15 for an 08:30 departure to our first visit of the day: Bonnier News.
Dagens Nyheter has faced a moment of realisation that their company culture was not a subscription culture — and that realisation led to complete transformation. Now the editor-in-chief of Dagens Nyheter is in charge of subscription growth. Meanwhile, Expressen is laser focused on becoming the market leader in digital news in Sweden. Based on the most ambitious news coverage, mobile distribution and a large TV news operation the media house has grown rapidly. Hear the story of how Expressen now adds a new editorial focus on premium content and with that a new source of revenue. Hear the fascinating story of Bonnier News.
Peter Wolodarski
Editor-in-Chief, Dagens Nyheter @pwolodarski Peter Wolodarski LinkedIn
Martin Jönsson
Head of Editorial Development, Dagens Nyheter, Bonnier News @dagensnyhetermj
Thomas Mattsson
Editor-in-Chief, Expressen Thomas Mattsson LinkedIn
Josefina Rickardt
Head of Marketing and Analytics, Expressen Josefina Rickardt LinkedIn
Bella Levy
Head of Expressen TV, Expressen Bella Levy LinkedIn
After a quick lunch at Bonnier, we will bus to Schibsted Sweden.
Aftonbladet was among the first media outlets in the world to charge the users and readers for digital content. The subscription service "Aftonbladet Plus" was launched in 2003. Sixteen (16) years have passed and during that time brick by brick has been laid for Aftonbladet to build a sustainable business model for digital subscriptions, without a negative influence on earnings that stem from digital reach and mass appeal. With a stable customer base of 250,000 digital subscribers, Aftonbladet has taken a unique position in Europe. As part of Schibsted, Aftonbladet — together with Svenska Dagbladet (SvD), VG and Aftenposten — has developed close cooperation in the field of analysis, editorial, CRM, and product to strengthen the relationship with subscribers, secure growth in revenue per user, and be at the forefront in digital media subscriptions. Svenska Dagbladet (SvD) will give its view on how the paid content strategy was revised by combining editorial craftsmanship with analytics in tightly integrated processes and methods. SvD will also share their experience of the balancing act between the need for volume and a sustainable price point, and why data buzzwords might not do the trick.
Lena K Samuelsson
Publisher, Aftonbladet @LKlenak Lena K Samuelsson LinkedIn
Ted Kudinoff
Head of Plus, Aftonbladet @TedKudinoff
Anna Careborg
Acting CEO, Editor in Chief, Svenska Dagbladet (SvD) @LKlenak
Enjoy some closing remarks and discussion of the study tour with fellow participants over a well-deserved glass of wine. A bus will then bring participants back to the Hilton Stockholm Slussen Hotel.
