Case Study

MediaPrint reinvents itself in terms of data technology

Strategically build up data as a publisher with many sub-brands

Company

Mediaprint Zeitungs- und Zeitschriftenverlag GmbH & Co KG

Location

Wien, Austria

Industry

Media

Details

As a publishing house, MediaPrint combines “Krone & Kurier” and also television stations, radio stations, an online marketplace and various trade fairs.

Situation

MediaPrint is the largest Austrian newspaper publisher with well-known brands such as Krone and Kurier.
The declining relevance of the print business is leading to a greater focus on digital formats.
In order to ensure competitiveness and a leading market position, the data challenges should be solved across organizations and in a future-proof manner.

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Complication

A backlog of investment in the area of data makes it difficult to expand digital business and quantify control measures.
A complex stakeholder landscape poses a challenge when implementing data projects and initiatives.
Data knowledge is spread across several organizational parts and the roles and responsibilities are not clearly defined.
Data silos and insufficiently high-performance systems hinder the utilization of existing data potential.

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Solution

Carrying out an extensive status quo analysis with more than 20 interviews and reviewing all relevant documents.
Derivation of specific recommendations for action, such as establishing data governance and converting the organization to a hub & spoke model.
Deriving an architectural goal for centralizing and modernizing the data infrastructure.

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Added value

Creating a common understanding of challenges and solutions in the data environment across all parts of the organization.
Strategic realignment in the sharing and processing of data in compliance with data protection and antitrust regulations
Organizational and cultural realignment to exploit existing data potential

Why MediaPrint acted: The strategic imperative

Die MediaPrint Zeitungs- und Zeitschriftenverlag GmbH & Co KG, Austria's largest newspaper publisher with the Kronen Zeitung and Kurier brands, faced a strategic challenge: How can a traditional publisher with a complex stakeholder landscape strategically realign its fragmented data infrastructure?

The complete MediaPrint transformation journey

This infrastructure implementation is Stage 3 the comprehensive MediaPrint transformation:

Phase 1: Strategic foundations 👈 This case study

Phase 2: Organizational Change → People at the center of data strategy: Successful transformation at MediaPrint

Phase 3: Technical implementation -> MediaPrint Infrastructure: Modern Data Stack Implementation

Outcome: From fragmented data silos to a strategic treasure trove

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The company: MediaPrint in the Austrian media market

MediaPrint As Austria's largest newspaper publisher, not only combines Kronen Zeitung and the courier, but also television stations, radio stations, an online marketplace and various trade fair events. With its two leading daily newspapers and their digital offerings, the company achieves Several million people a day.

The strategic challenge

Caused by the declining importance of the print business Even before the project, MediaPrint intensively promoted the expansion of its digital business — but had not yet reached its full potential. To the Competitiveness and leading market position To secure and further expand in Austria, should the data challenges cross-organizational and future-proof be resolved.

The challenges: Why MediaPrint saw a need for action

Challenge #1: Investment backlog in the data sector

A Investment backlog in the area of data complicated the expansion of digital business and Quantification of control measures. The existing IT infrastructure was no longer able to meet the increasing demands in terms of performance and scalability.

Challenge #2: Complex stakeholder landscape

Die complex stakeholder landscape represented a greater challenge in initiating and implementing data projects. Data knowledge was spread across several organizational parts and roles and responsibilities are not always clearly defined.

Challenge #3: Fragmented data silos

Data silos and insufficiently performing systems hindered the exploitation of existing data potential. The technical systems were either in operation in an organization-specific manner or could no longer meet the increasing requirements.

Challenge #4: Antitrust regulations

As a particular challenge came Antitrust requirements for processing and combining data In addition - a typical situation for market-leading media companies.

The solution: Systematic analysis using the TDI framework

Comprehensive status quo analysis

We carried a comprehensive status quo analysis by, which systematically examined all relevant aspects of the data landscape:

📊 Stakeholder interviews: 20+ in-depth interviews

Over 20 structured interviews with decision makers
interviewee: Management, division managers, IT managers, key users
perpetuity: 90-120 minutes per interview
methodology: Structured recording of challenges, data needs and potential for improvement

🤝 Workshop series: 80 people from 10 areas

subscriber: Almost 80 people from 10 different organizational areas
Cross-functional teams: print editing, digital, marketing, sales, IT, etc.
upshot: Identification of priority use cases, mapping of current data flows, definition of architecture requirements

📋 TDI-Framework document analysis

All relevant documentation was based on the tried and tested TDI frameworks sighted:

Technology: Existing IT systems, interfaces, performance indicators
Data: data models, quality standards, governance processes
Implementation: project history, change management experiences

→ More about the TDI framework for data analytics

The result: measurable improvements and a strategic roadmap

Quantifiable project successes

6 months after project completion There were concrete, measurable improvements in the key areas:

Efficiency gains

Reduced manual data preparation: From 20 person-hours to less than 4 hours per monthly report (80% increase in efficiency)
Time-to-decision reduced: New data projects are now being developed in 3-5 days instead of 3-4 weeks decidedly
Stakeholder meeting efficiency: Data-based decisions in 40% less meeting time

Data quality & governance

Improved data quality score: From 65% to 87% within 6 months
Reduces data inconsistencies: 60% less Contradictions between different systems
Compliance readiness: 100% GDPR-compliant Processing of data subject rights in less than 48 hours

Organizational successes

Stakeholder satisfaction: 8.4/10 when evaluating new governance processes
Cross-functional projects: 3x more successful cross-sector data initiatives
Data Champion Adoption: 94% of areas have established active data champions

Organizational goal: Hub & Spoke model

Together with Management and selected decision makers We developed a vision for three critical aspects:

1. Organization → Hub & Spoke model with central data governance
2. Culture → Data-driven decision-making across all areas
3. Architecture → Modernized, centralized data infrastructure

Specific recommendations for action

Data governance structure:

Establishing a central data governance function
Data Governance Board with representatives from all areas
Definition clearer Roles and Responsibilities
New meeting routines for data-based decisions

Hub & Spoke organizational model:

Central hub: Data Governance Office with comprehensive standards
Decentralized Spokes: Sector-specific data champions
Regular Coordination between hub and spokes
Scalable structure for growing data requirements

→ Detailed guide: Implement the Hub & Spoke model

Technical goal: modern data architecture

Architectural goal: We derived an architectural goal that the Centralize and modernize data infrastructure along the first identified use cases.

Central data platform:

Uniform Data lake architecture
Integration of all relevant data sources
Scalable Cloud-based infrastructure
Self-service analytics for all areas

Compliance-compliant architecture:

GDPR-compliant data processing from the ground up
Data separation in accordance with antitrust law between brands
Automated Compliance checks for new use cases
transparents Documentation of data usage

→ Data governance framework for media companies

Added value: What MediaPrint actually gained from the project

Measurable efficiency gains achieved

80% less time for standard reports through automated data preparation
Decision-making three times faster for new data projects (from weeks to days)
60% fewer data inconsistencies through uniform governance standards

Strategic realignment established

Strategic realignment when sharing and processing data while respecting Data protection and antitrust requirements - with 100% GDPR compliance in all processes.

Organizational transformation successful

Stakeholder satisfaction of 8.4/10 and 94% adoption rate Show at Data Champions: The organizational and cultural realignment was successful and sustainable.

Sustained project success proven

The project continued and the standards developed today are operational reality - clear proof of the quality and practicality of the strategy.

Lessons learned: What other media companies can learn

Measurable results speak for themselves

80% increase in efficiency for standard reports and 87% data quality score show: Systematic approach and structured methodology lead to sustainable, quantifiable improvements.

Stakeholder buy-in is crucial

8.4/10 Stakeholder Satisfaction and 94% Data Champion Adoption prove: All relevant areas from the outset as Involve co-designers, creates sustainable success instead of short-term compliance.

Governance structures work in practice

3x more successful cross-sectoral projects and 60% fewer data inconsistencies show: The Hub & Spoke model actually solves the Coordination problems of complex organizations.

Setting realistic goals pays off

Focus on actionable recommendations for action leads to sustainable results, taking organizational circumstances into account.

→ Change management in traditional media companies

The team behind the success

Responsible for the project:

Thomas Borlik as consultant
Mike Kamysz as a senior data engineer

The Reference contact can be arranged upon request - a sign of satisfaction with project results

Your next step: Learn from MediaPrint's strategy approach

Ready for your own data strategy transformation?

The MediaPrint analysis shows: A systematic approach and participatory development are the key to successful data transformations in complex media organizations.

Start your data strategy analysis:

Deepen your knowledge and experience:

‍The MediaPrint Data Strategy analysis was carried out by Thomas Borlik (consultant) and Mike Kamysz (senior data engineer) conducted and included over 20 interviews and workshops with 80 people from 10 areas. The project is regarded as a reference for successful data strategy development in the German-language media landscape.

‍The reference contact can be arranged upon request.‍