Holding to a strong reputation and tradition in the media business since 1833, Ringier Integrated Media Company is a Swiss-owned family business which has been making newspapers in Switzerland for 200 years and has long been doing magazines in Switzerland, Germany, Eastern Europe and Asia.
Over the years Ringier has become dynamic by embracing digital media technology, which saw it taking the biggest newspaper in Switzerland and making it into a digital newspaper.
However, Ringier is as well currently shaping the face of Africa with innovative digital media products and services, providing digital media solutions such as content modules and classified modules.
Specifically, Ringier has changed the face of digital media in Nigeria, since providing digital ‘content modules’ for pulse.ng, now one of the biggest and most popular news platform in Nigeria. Another digital format or module it provides in Nigeria is the ‘classified modules’, which are online market places, where buyers and sellers can meet; these modules also provide free ads called ady.ng. A most distinct online market place module run by Ringier in Africa is the ‘horizontal classified module’, where buyers and sellers can meet to buy or sell anything from cars, houses, mobile phones, motorbikes, etc. This kind of online market place could be compared to eBay. Another module which is used basically in Ghana and Kenya but not operational in Nigeria is the group-on-module. This module allows many people to buy at the same time and thereby get huge discounts on the deals. Apart from these modules, Ringier shows their support to third party companies in helping with their digital strategies, having invested $1.3B over the last 10 years in their digitization, buying a lot of assets and buying classifieds.
Ringier has evolved over these years as a real digital company. Though the company is relatively new in Africa, having started operations just over a year ago, it has been present in Africa since the last 3 years, establishing its legal setup, financial setup and business framework; these are some strategies Ringier uses to break new market grounds, even in Europe, Asia and other parts of the world.
With the emergence of digital media in Nigeria, young people have more opportunities in making a successful career in the digital media industry and Ringier is presently playing a major role to the success of some successful media professionals in Nigeria and around the African continent.
About the author: Solomon Eko is a writer, photopreneur/photojournalist/photo-artist. He is also a creative content consultant. You can find him on
www.wunderbaread.blogsot.com and
www.solomonenangeko.blogspot.com. You can also find him on Facebook as Solomon Eko or follow him on Twitter @vonekoz
