TC Media will be restructuring its core services and brands under under two new departments – one devoted to consumer and lifestyle brands and the other combining business brands, trade media, and book publishing.
According to TC Media president Ted Markle, the restructuring is intended to group operations by core revenue streams. Consumer brands primarily take in revenue from advertising, while the business and education group has more varied revenue streams including content marketing, events and sales.
Carlos Lamadrid, the new senior vice-president of consumer solutions whose hiring was announced last week, will lead the consumer group, overseeing flagship consumer brands Elle Canada, Canadian Living, Coup de pouce and The Hockey News, as well as TC’s TV production house.
TC veteran Pierre Marcoux will take on the newly created position of SVP, business information solutions and education. He’ll oversee the print and web editions of Les Affaires, A+, Premium, Investment Executive, Acquizition.biz, and some elements of the Constructo group. He will also lead the company’s education and book publishing divisions, Chenelière Education, Les Éditiions Transcontinental, Les Éditions Caractère and Group Modulo.
Markle said the restructuring is designed to reflect two major objectives the company has identified since he took office in February. The first objectives is to grow businesses that do not principally rely on an advertising-based revenue model, such as book and e-book sales in the education and book publishing division, as well as Les Affaires’ events division (which includes its successful Grande conférences series).
The second major objective is the expansion of TC brands across platforms, including mobile, digital and broadcast. Lamadrid’s long history in multiplatform publishing, including executive publishing positions at Conde Nast, Hearst and digital media group Penske Media, makes him a strong choice to help optimize TC’s strategy across platforms, Markle said.
Hiring Lamadrid away from Penske, a group that publishes web-specific lifestyle properties such as Deadline, Hollywood Life, and OnCars, might signal a move towards greater digital investment. But Markle said he sees Lamadrid’s digital expertise as a way broaden TC’s brand experiences without favouring any particular platform over another.
“We’re conscious that our brands… have to reach people in the way that they want to be reached, at the time of day they want to be reached, with the content they’re looking for, on the platform they’re using,” he said. “Digital plays an important and growing part of that experience.”
He said the separate leadership of the consumer and business groups doesn’t mean that their capabilities will be segregated. TC’s departments collaborate more than ever before with cross-functional teams being commonplace, Markle said. The consumer and business groups will share expertise, back-office solutions and best practices. “That’s the reality of today’s business,” he said.
The restructuring hasn’t resulted in any layoffs or executives leaving the company. Since Markle took over the portfolio from acting president of TC Media and CEO of Transcontinental Inc. François Olivier in February, TC Media has made several key executive hires, including Patrick Lauzon, SVP, interactive marketing solutions, and Antoine Shiu, VP, sales and creative services, as well as promoting Bruno Leclaire to chief digital officer.
