In April 2019, RTL Group appointed Natalie Tideström Heidmark as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Nicolin Lillhage as Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Deputy Chief Executive Officer of United Screens. With the mission to combine efficiency and growth, the new leadership team developed United Screens’ new strategy ’Efficient Growth’ which was presented mid-summer, together with new business and development plans.
“It’s very enriching to work in a larger environment alongside RTL Group. The investment of 80 million SEK from RTL Group was key to implementing our new strategy and business plan. We made several substantial investments during 2019 to strengthen our position as market leader in online video and influencer marketing,” says Natalie Tideström Heidmark, CEO of United Screens. She continues: “We invested in business intelligence, IT, tech solutions and the launch of United Screens Music. These were imperative for further improving the service for our talents and clients. By the end of 2019 we had seen immediate results“.
The new strategy has resulted in continued strong revenue growth in 2019. The revenue grew 15 per cent year on year, to 143 million SEK.
“The fourth quarter of 2019 was the best quarter for United Screens so far, and we finished the full year 2019 with record revenue. This trend continued into the first quarter of 2020 with another ‘all-time high’,” says Nicolin Lillhage, COO and Deputy CEO. She continues: “We saw a huge interest from advertisers and clients in 2019, which is carrying on in 2020. We are entrusted by market-leading clients to conduct effective and efficient influencer marketing and advertising campaigns. Our clients include brands such as adidas, Nintendo, Carlsberg, Libero and numerous media and advertising agencies”.
One part of the new strategy is to integrate United Screens’ activities with Divimove to establish Europe’s largest digital studio and talent network. Natalie Tideström Heidmark is a part of the international management team at Divimove. In July 2019, RTL Group announced the combination of Divimove and United Screens.
Tobias Schiwek, CEO of Divimove, says: “Over the past 12 months we have successfully made major steps, together with United Screens, to create and establish Europe’s strongest online video powerhouse. We are setting up the right infrastructure and investing in our product portfolio, tech and ad solutions, in order to present a strong offer to our clients, advertisers and talents”.
