FD Mediagroep
Delivering a board-aligned AI strategy
Client & Challenge
FDMG (Financieele Dagblad Media Group) is a leading Dutch media company, home to trusted brands such as Het Financieele Dagblad and BNR. As a quality news publisher, FDMG operates in an industry undergoing rapid transformation driven by digitalization and the rise of Generative AI.
While FDMG had already begun experimenting with AI, from editorial tools to workflow automation, these efforts remained fragmented. Adoption was limited to a handful of “AI champions,” and successful pilots were not being scaled. More complex, high-impact AI opportunities were left unexplored. This led to the central question of this project:
How can FDMG create strategic impact with AI over the next two years, and how should it be organized?
At the conclusion of the engagement, we were invited to present the final AI strategy on behalf of the executive board to the supervisory board, highlighting the central role of the AI strategy in FDMG’s overall strategy.
We partnered with FDMG to shape a realistic, focused, and board-aligned AI strategy rooted in practical use cases, not long-term abstractions. The strategy was the result of a structured, participatory process:
- Interviews & Outside-In Perspective
We conducted 30+ in-depth interviews across departments and combined internal insights with a comprehensive review of AI trends in media and related sectors. This gave us a clear view of where AI was already delivering value and where the real untapped potential lay. - Board-Level Alignment
We collaborated closely with FDMG’s executive board through multiple steering committees and working sessions. The resulting AI strategy was presented on behalf of the executive board to the Supervisory Board, establishing full top-down alignment. - Strategic Focus
We began with a broad exploration of AI opportunities across the organization, but quickly converged on three initiatives that emerged as strategically vital, allowing us to dive deeper and work them out in detail:- Hybrid Search: Migrating to a new search architecture based on vector databases, enabling semantic search and laying the groundwork for personalization and AI automation.
- Personalization: Covering active personalization (e.g. “My News”), contextual advertising on BNR, and passive personalization through recommendation systems.
- AI-Driven Workflow Automation: Using tools like N8N to automate editorial and commercial tasks such as FAQ answering, writing newsletters and shownotes, and B2B lead generation.
- AI-HUB Operating Model
We proposed the creation of an internal AI-HUB: a lean, cross-functional team that combines technical capability with business expertise. The AI-HUB is responsible for governance, experiment scaling, capability building, and cross-organizational adoption.
Results And Impact
Looking Ahead
With a clear strategy and a dedicated AI-HUB in place, FDMG is set to accelerate its AI journey in a structured and scalable way. The focus in the coming years will be on running high-quality experiments, learning quickly, and sharing insights across teams to raise the overall level of AI maturity. By prioritizing use cases with tangible business value and aligning them with product and organizational goals, FDMG can ensure that successful pilots are not only tested but also translated into real-world adoption.
While implementation is ongoing, FDMG now has the strategic and organizational foundation to turn AI from scattered experiments into a source of real business value:
Executive Mandate
The AI strategy is embedded in FDMG’s 2028 strategic planning and endorsed at the highest levels of the organization.
Scalable Governance
The AI-HUB model enables centralized prioritization, agile execution, and faster rollout of successful experiments.
Technical Readiness
By starting with hybrid search, FDMG creates a scalable AI infrastructure unlocking smarter search, better recommendations, and AI-powered automation.
Contact us to learn how we can help your business harness the power of data and AI to drive innovation and achieve tangible results.
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