Ringier Axel Springer: A Senior Leadership Competitor Strategy Case Study

About

After a large competitor merger, Ringier Axel Springer Polska (RASP) recognised the need for a leadership solution that would enable the business to formulate a response, as well as prepare them for future competitor threats and the uncertainty of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Four years ago they had worked with Impact on a War Game exercise in a similar situation and found it to be an effective and successful experience and so wanted to replicate this task for the modern business environment.

Objective

The primary objective of the War Games programme was to provide an opportunity for the senior leadership team to conduct competitive market analysis, with the following objectives in mind:

Gain an overview of the RASP business situation following the competitor acquisition
Develop an idea of possible scenarios and actions from other competitors in Poland as a result of the acquisition
Formulate RASP’s strategic responses to these potential actions (based on the principle of proactive vs. reactive planning)
Create ideas for RASP to strengthen their presence in the market

Solution

Due to Covid-19 restrictions, the two-week learning journey took place virtually and consisted of five parts:

A virtual kick-off
Four inspirational sessions with external market experts provided participants with new insights, knowledge and a wider perspective on the situation
Two presentation sessions, in which teams presented their strategies in response to the acquisition and received analysis from other teams who stepped into the shoes of the competitor company to provide feedback
Voluntary group work on Microsoft Teams bridged the events and provided a space for participants to analyse competitor data and further work on the project
The journey culminated with the RASP senior directors presenting their ‘RASP response’, based on the learnings gained throughout the two weeks

Afterwards, participants shared their feedback in a group reflection session.

Result

The quality of the presentation and recommendations were extremely high, and the COO of RASP took them to the supervisory board in Germany. As a result, several of the recommendations are now being put into place. Furthermore, the entire RASP senior leadership team better understands their competitors’ strategies and is now able to anticipate their actions and plan their own responses.

“In the course of this set of workshops we got into the shoes of our competitors and looked at our company through their eyes. It gave us all an opportunity to go beyond our business as usual, to discuss with and learn from internal experts, and finally, to think more strategically. I also found the meetings with external experts very inspiring. It was very insightful to look at the market from their perspective.”

Julita Rudolf, Business Transformation Director at Ringier Axel Springer Polska