Media and Change Management From Finland to Austria – Media Giant Russmedia Chose Media Pocket for Its Digital Asset Management Solution

“Courage, openness, and a future-focused mindset – values that define our company,” said Eugen Ruß, the founder of the Austrian media powerhouse Russmedia. These shared values laid the foundation for the collaboration between Media Tailor and Russmedia. 

With a goal to future-proof its operations in an ever-evolving media landscape, Russmedia was searching for a technology partner capable of delivering a solution for digital asset management that meets both current and future needs. They were looking for a partner that unifies various publishing channels into a centralized media hub and leverages the power of AI.

And this was no small project: Russmedia manages an archive of more than 10 million images and adds around 10,000 new files daily for its editorial team.

Media Tailor took on the role of change leader, helping Russmedia find the perfect solution tailored to their needs.

“I’m very happy with how the project went. Everything runs smoothly and we’ve received positive feedback internally. Big compliments to the whole Media Tailor team – it’s clear they have put real passion into this,” says Dominic Depaoli, CTO, Russmedia.

Russmedia – a pioneer in the media industry

Russmedia, which employs around 1,000 people, has been a pioneer in the media industry since its founding in 1919. Its portfolio includes two daily newspapers, six weekly publications, and over 40 online platforms and apps that collectively reach 115 million visits and 1.2 billion page views per month.

Headquartered in Schwarzach, Austria, Russmedia has always relied on technological leadership. Its newspaper Vorarlberger Nachrichten was the first color newspaper in the world.

The new partnership between Media Tailor and Russmedia began through a mutual partner, PPI Media, and the main goal was to build a cloud-based media archive for storing images and archiving articles.

From the start, collaboration and co-development were key. It was essential to bring Russmedia’s internal main users and technical experts into the same forum with Media Tailor’s specialists. 

Media Tailor and PPI Media proposed a solution tailored to Russmedia’s workflows that took into account their internal tools and publishing systems.

The project officially kicked off in January, and the system was fully operational by the end of March.

“The project stood out for its clear communication, structured approach, and everyone’s commitment to making it a success. In a short time, we’ve built a strong partnership that will be seamless to continue going forward,” says Kristian Lauronen, Product Manager, Media Tailor.

A digital archive powered by automation and AI

As mentioned, Russmedia processes thousands of files daily across numerous teams. This meant integrating Media Pocket into workflows required precise planning.

“As the project progressed, we introduced new recommendations and innovative ways to make file uploading from multiple systems as smooth and efficient as possible,” Lauronen explains.

What did this result in?

With the new API Workflow Engine, Russmedia can now automatically deliver images from all photo agencies to its journalists. That’s around 10,000 images daily.

The same workflow archives all finalized articles from InDesign after publication and is also used to migrate legacy content into Media Pocket.

Media Pocket has provided AI-powered image recognition as a standard service for years. AI-generated keywords allow users to quickly find the right photos without manually tagging every image.

“We added German language support for Russmedia to enable the AI to generate tags in the company’s native language. This sets the stage for easily adding more languages to the platform as needed,” Lauronen notes.

Photographers also needed a quick and easy way to upload their content without logging into a separate interface. Media Tailor responded by creating a dedicated workflow that transfers images directly from the editing software (Photo Mechanic) to Media Pocket via SFTP, assigning them to the correct project automatically.

In addition to these major developments, Media Pocket was integrated together with Russmedia’s developers into multiple platforms including WordPress, InDesign, and APA’s (Austrian Press Agency) own system.

“Thanks to Media Pocket’s comprehensive API, building custom integrations was easy,” Lauronen summarizes.

A future-proof solution for Russmedia

Despite the project’s scale, the solution was delivered on schedule in less than three months.

“This project was a great example of how smooth international collaboration can be. Media Pocket integrated seamlessly with our systems, and we felt confident with Media Tailor throughout both planning and implementation,” says Depaoli.

Moving forward, Media Tailor will continue to support and develop the solution. Media Pocket also continues to evolve rapidly, opening even more opportunities for Russmedia to enhance its workflows.

This successful collaboration went far beyond simply delivering technology.

“It was crucial to address all aspects – from users to platforms. This wasn’t just about rolling out a new service, it’s a key part of Russmedia’s broader tech transformation. We were honored to help lead that change,” says David Mühle, CEO of Media Tailor Sweden.

As a trailblazer in the German-speaking media world, Russmedia is now better positioned than ever to not only improve internal processes but also enhance content monetization and distribution across a wide range of channels.