DPG Media launches advertising platform to compete with tech giants

DPG Media is launching a platform for advertisers to distribute ads across the media company's various digital channels. It hopes to limit the power of global corporations such as Google and increase its own advertising revenues.

"Every local player was overtaken by global players about eight years ago. We had no answer to them," said Stefan Havik, chief digital officer at DPG Media. A number of trends, such as an increased focus on privacy and a "safe" advertising environment, mean there are potential opportunities to challenge this dominance.

DPG Media wants to attract advertisers to its platform by offering them more options than they would have with international companies, and by promising them better value. "Their extra costs result in a lot of lost money," said Havik. "With us, an investment of 1 euro also represents 1 euro of media value."

Complete ban not an option

Half of the available digital advertising space on DPG brands in Belgium, such as Het Laatste Nieuws and De Morgen, is currently booked through international advertising companies. With its Ad Manager platform, DPG Media hopes to reduce this share to a quarter.

A complete ban on international companies from its websites and apps is not on the cards. "We're not naive enough to think that large multinationals at the level of, say, Unilever, are going to abandon global tech players," said Havik. ​

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