Strategic plan & first steps
Keesing Media Group (KMG) is the number one publisher of puzzle magazines in Europe. In 2017, KMG was acquired by Ergon Capital from its mother company (Telegraaf Media Group) to pursue a European buy & build strategy. As KMG management was in full control of the vision & strategy going forward, it asked SparkOptimus to capture the ambition in a solid plan and kick-start the first actions of the strategy.
The close collaboration between KMG management and SparkOptimus resulted in a solid strategy to capture our ambition. The SparkOptimus team succeeded through a combination of pragmatism, action-bias, data-drivenness, and expertise needed in a high pressure environment. I especially value their role in kick-starting and putting the plan into action with us.
In close collaboration with the KMG management team, we developed the 2018-2020 strategic plan in less than 2 months. We supported management with capturing, structuring, and detailing growth initiatives, while translating them to organization & technology requirements as well as clear actions for 2018. Next, we kick-started by supporting the integration of the first acquisition and ensuring synergies were captured in a matter of months while enabling Keesing to effectively integrate the next acquisitions independently.
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The result of the project was a clear overall strategic plan supported by the entire organization, first acquisition synergies captured, and a blueprint for following acquisitions.
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