---
title: Döpfner’s daring move
description: Axel Springer sets out its strategy
---

[![logo (2)](https://www.hbmadvisory.com/hubfs/Assets%20HBM%20Theme/Images/logo%20(2).svg)](https://www.hbmadvisory.com/) [![logo (3)](https://www.hbmadvisory.com/hubfs/Assets%20HBM%20Theme/Images/logo%20(3).svg)](https://www.hbmadvisory.com/)

- [Home](https://www.hbmadvisory.com/en-gb/)
- [Advisory](https://www.hbmadvisory.com/advisory)
- [121 Consulting](https://www.hbmadvisory.com/121-consulting)
- [Content Review](https://www.hbmadvisory.com/contentreview)
- [Testimonials](https://www.hbmadvisory.com/testimonial)
- [Contact](https://www.hbmadvisory.com/contact-us)

# Döpfner’s daring move

[Alan Hunter](https://www.hbmadvisory.com/media-hunter/author/alan-hunter)  27 June 2025

 3 min read

**Axel Springer sets out its strategy**

Axel Springer has a history of making bold moves that began with their eponymous founder, who famously built a big gold tower to loom over the Berlin Wall and give the East Berliners a symbol of what freedom was about.

Mathias Döpfner, the current CEO and part-owner, thanks to his close relationship with Springer’s widow, is certainly not shy about putting it all out there either.

This week he announced [Springer’s corporate strategy for the age of AI](https://tomorrowspublisher.today/editors-picks/axel-springer-wants-to-double-value-by-2030-with-ai-driven-journalism/). It is not unambitious. The press release said that the firm wants to become “the leading provider of AI-empowered media in the free world” and by doing so hopes to “shape the future of media” and double its value by 2030.

Döpfner is the master of a snappy soundbite (“Digital is the new print. AI is the new digital.”) but there’s a lot of sense in his wider points. I’m particularly interested in how he says in public what others say in private, particularly that “the business model of maximizing clicks and advertising is over!”

He added that: “Direct traffic is the proof that users choose Axel Springer. Dependence on search and social is a weakness. Owning the audience is a strength.” There are many people in the news industry who should take heed of these words.

For what it’s worth I don’t think this means the end of digital advertising and I suspect he doesn’t either. It’ll just be based on really knowing who your readers are and owning the data that signals their intentions.

A more interesting part of his speech went under-reported. It sat in this ambition: “We have to build a high-margin, hyper-growth business beyond journalism and marketing media, a third pillar as a strategic hedge. We have to find new gold. Like we found one and a half decades ago with digital classifieds. It should have something to do with our main competencies: Content. Subscription. Advertising. Mass markets. Technology.”

So Springer is openly looking at a future beyond journalism for real growth. After its acquisitions of Politico and Business Insider, and failed attempt to buy the FT, it had been seen as a likely accumulator of journalistic assets. But maybe not so much. Digital entrepreneurs will be beating a path to Döpfner’s door.

And there goes my thought that one day Springer might snap up some or all of News Corp’s newspaper titles…

## Next blog post

<https://www.hbmadvisory.com/media-hunter/hidden-in-plain-sight>

## [Hidden in plain sight](https://www.hbmadvisory.com/media-hunter/hidden-in-plain-sight)

[Read more](https://www.hbmadvisory.com/media-hunter/hidden-in-plain-sight)

![logo (2)](https://www.hbmadvisory.com/hubfs/Assets%20HBM%20Theme/Images/logo%20(2).svg)

Hunter Brunt Media Ltd. Company number: 13546179  
Registered address: Aston House, Cornwall Avenue, Church End, London N3 1LF

- [Privacy Policy](https://www.hbmadvisory.com/privacy-policy)

```json
{
  "@context" : "https://schema.org",
  "@type" : "BlogPosting",
  "author" : {
    "@type" : "Person",
    "name" : "Alan Hunter",
    "url" : "https://www.hbmadvisory.com/media-hunter/author/alan-hunter"
  },
  "dateModified" : "2026-11-06T17:18:19.372Z",
  "datePublished" : "2025-06-27T16:00:00.000Z",
  "headline" : "Döpfner’s daring move",
  "mainEntityOfPage" : {
    "@id" : "https://www.hbmadvisory.com/media-hunter/d-pfners-daring-move",
    "@type" : "WebPage"
  },
  "publisher" : {
    "@type" : "Organization",
    "logo" : {
      "@type" : "ImageObject"
    }
  }
}
```