Monthly shareholder’s newsLetter
Issue 9: September 2014
We welcome our investors once again. This issue represents the September issue of the UCP Newsletter. In it you will find the information you need as reported by the management of the various companies that fall under our holding company umbrella.
Once again, I thank you shareholders for your supportive patience as our communication companies continue to strategically grow stronger throughout the Nordics! ……………Ken
UCP News:
As reported in this week’s press release, UCP sold one of its holding companies: Nyheter365. As detailed by our CFO, Anna-Karin Darlin, 3Kronor sold its 80 percent ownership in Nyheter365 for 5.5 MSEK. Original investment in Nyheter365 was 0.08 MSEK in share capital. One may wonder how the sale fits into UCP's strategic outlook. The response is simple.
During the years it has become increasingly difficult for Nyheter365 to grow. This has partly been due to competing communication and media agencies not wanting to benefit 3Kronor (a competitor in other fields) by buying the services from Nyheter365. 3Kronor with our business mission to be the best business partner and communication specialist for our clients aims to always choose the best service provider for our clients. Nyheter365 is highly respected in the market as one of the best, but some clients want to choose other providers. Based on our outlook on growth and profit development for Nyheter365 and our continuance in being a majority owned entity in 3Kronor, the sale made logical sense. Additionally, coupled with management in Nyheter365 becoming frustrated over the sales situation a sale to management at this time was now a strategically sound idea. Nyheter365 had a profit of 213 KSEK in 2013. 3Kronor will in many cases continue to buy services from Nyheter365 on behalf of clients in the future.
How shareholder value was created by the sale?
The price represents the equivalent of 6-8 years profit in Nyheter365 given continued 3Kronor majority ownership. Through the sale, 3Kronor can now finance other investments for the future in 3Kronor and focus on its core objectives becoming the most important business partner of our clients.
3Kronor Stockholm
Our very own Mia Forsgren, Chief Executive Officer, 3Kronor, Sweden, has been given the honor to sit on the media jury for Eurobest. The 101 jury members set to make up the 11 juries at this year’s European Festival of Creativity taking place in Helsinki. “This is a collection of some of the best-known, most creatively inspired and highest-achievers in the industry and I’m delighted to be able to say that just under 50% of them are female, the highest proportion we have ever had on a jury” comments Louise Benson, Eurobest Festival Director, “Our juries play a hugely important role as it is their decisions that will define the direction of the industry whilst putting the spotlight on ground-breaking ideas from across Europe. It’s fantastic that we have such a strong team to do this.” More information can be found at this link:
http://www.eurobest.com/home/
Reporting in from Stockholm, CEO Mia Forsgren also states the following. New interns have joined 3Kronor Stockholm this month to help out and learn in the following areas: marketing, content and RTB. We also added to our team Sara Hemmingsson to help out with content marketing.
As to new clients, 3Kronor landed major ones. They include: Soda Stream, Secure Mailbox - software, Urb-it – (software within logistics) EMC2, and Fazer – Finland’s biggest brand within chocolate and bread. In addition, current clients have given the company additional new work assignments.
Also, it has been announced that there will be a new cooperation with one of the best digital agencies in Sweden – Mina Bästa Polare (“My Best Buddies”): http://www.minabastapolare.se/en/ They have reps sitting in the office three days a week. Offering skills from coding to design, they are already involved in strategic marketing campaigns for several of our clients.
Finally, 3Kronor Stockholm’s client advisory board is taking great shape, with our first meeting completed. The advisory board has two of the very best within the communications area on board: (founder of the digital agency Farfar and a global creative career) and Micael Dahlén (famous professor and author within marketing at the biggest business school in Sweden, Stockholm School of Economics).
Matias Palm Jensen Micael Dahlén
In sum, it has been a great month and more still ahead for the Stockholm office!
3Kronor Copenhagen
In the past month, the Copenhagen office signed on two new clients. The first one is a client by the name of Space Scooter, which to date has had TV campaigns running on the Nickelodeon network. This product surely will be the number one kid’s item for the holidays.
The second client is Abbott Medical. Ad campaigns for this prestigious client will run in both Denmark and Sweden. 3Kronor Copenhagen has gotten the honor of handling Abbot Medical’s first ever mass marketing campaign for a new type of blood glucose meter where no prick in the finger is necessary. Since it’s a limited target group, 3Kronor will be starting out with SEM and Facebook, then spread its good message into other media.
3Kronor New York/Columbia International Media
Check out my blog: Madison Avenue Greetings, a NY Blog by Ken Rosenthal, found @ www.3kronor.com/nyheter/
HowCom/HowCom Evolution - Sweden
New Hires:
A lot of positive action has happened over at HowCom. Lotta Pfeilerwas employed as Insight Director. Lotta has a background that includes holding the position as Insight Manager at Carat Sweden. She is a very experienced Consumer Insight professional, media strategists and marketing communications professional that willstrengthen HowCom Evolutions qualitative research department.
HowCom also welcomesOlle Svensson, who will work as Head of Digital Strategy.Olle’s backgroundand previous experience revolves around brand and communications strategy, digital strategy and organizational transformation.
Client Wins:
National Museum of Swedenis Sweden’s premier museum of art and design.It is owned by the governmentwith a mandate to preserve cultural heritage and promote art, interest in art and knowledge of art. HowCom will assist the National Museum with target group analysis, media strategy and marketing consultation.
Current Client News:
Sevenday Finance, one of our current clients, has now been through a segmentation phase and is now in the planning stages for the launch of their new business area -Vehicle Finance, primarilyindigital media during the fall.
Overall:
For the third year in a row HowCom has been invited to lecture at the Bergh’s School of Communication in Stockholm about thefuture role ofthe media agencies in the digital media landscape. We are very proud of this accomplishment and look forward to a strong 4thQ.
Native Clicks – Spain
Spotlight On: Sara Wendle, Head Digital Media Management Specialist @ 3Kronor Stockholm
When you think of amazing strategic digital talent, you think of Sara. Upon talking to her, you know how much knowledge she has about the digital media world. From programmatic to ad traffic management to the latest media buying technology, Sara knows about it. And Sara certainly knows how to use her skillset to meet the goals of our clients. She works hand in hand with 3Kronor’s client at all levels, guiding them through the very intricate stages that encompass digital media. So why is Sara so talented?
Sara has been in this business of ours for over 14 years, working prior to her current stint at 3Kronor as the CEO of a marketing and media company. Her giving personality and ease of teaching others helps her colleagues achieve success all the time. We are very fortunate to have her on the team.
In Sight - Norway
As we go to press, no changes have been reported for In Sight Communications.
About United Communications Partners
United Communications Partners is a communication group with its subsidiaries and operational focus in Europe and North America. For more information please visit our website: www.ucpworld.com or find us on the OTC Market Wire News as well as iHub, news wire gateway to Reuters, DowJones, Bloomberg, Yahoo Finance, WSJ and many more news reporting services.
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