Incorporation of the Nationale Regiopers (NRP), a joint venture in which the Dutch publishers of regional newspapers have concentrated their sales efforts to national advertisers (1998)

Wegener Arcade, VNU Dagbladengroep, Hollandse Dagbladcombinatie (a subsidiary of De Telegraaf) and Noordelijke Dagbladcombinatie, four publishers of regional newspapers in the Netherlands, decided at the end of 1997 to concentrate their sales activities to national advertisers in a joint sales office. This decision came in response to the previous concentration of virtually all national daily newspapers in the hands of a single party: PcM Uitgevers. The publishers of regional titles were forced to work together to be able to offer national advertisers a competitive product.



Bridgecraft was engaged by the four parties involved to develop a plan for the collaborative venture and to assist with the contract negotiations. The result was that all existing sales activities to national advertisers were concentrated in Nationale Regiopers, a new and independent organisation in which the parties participated in proportion to their market share. The incorporation of this company proved to be the prelude to a merger between the two largest participants. This occurred a year later when Wegener took over the newspaper activities of VNU.