The Heidenheimer Zeitung (HZ) is a regional daily newspaper from Heidenheim an der Brenz in Baden-Württemberg. With around 90 permanent employees, it faces the challenge, like many regional publishers, of remaining competitive amidst the digital media transformation. Under the leadership of Managing Director Martin Wilhelm, HZ has embarked on a path of active transformation – with a clear commitment to innovation culture, agile working, and future-oriented strategy development.
A company in constant transformation
The Heidenheimer Zeitung has been undergoing a continuous, iterative innovation process since 2016 – supported by TRENDONE. What began as initial trend workshops evolved into a vibrant innovation culture and an embedded innovation strategy.
The Innovation Journey 2016–2021
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In a workshop series, the Afternoons for Innovators, participants learned about trends in the media, print, and publishing industries and began to interpret them for themselves. New projects were launched, such as a podcast series. This involved assessing emerging trends, initiating initial innovation projects, and laying the groundwork for innovative thinking.
Employees were educated on future-oriented topics, both in terms of content and methodology, which gradually fostered innovative thinking and action. TRENDONE provided close support to the client during this crucial phase, offering valuable insights from a neutral perspective. Key activities included identifying innovation opportunities, raising awareness for future topics, and defining core themes.
Agile working permeated several internal company processes – laying crucial groundwork for more innovative thinking. Positive effects on internal company communication became apparent. Constant sparring between a dedicated HZ team and TRENDONE. Successful project: Podcast "Unter'm Dach".
In collaboration with the leadership team, a company vision was developed to guide all efforts, and a new position was recommended to drive innovation in-house. The innovation strategy matured. Thomas Haubold repeatedly prioritized the topic and solidified individual methods within the teams. Vision and strategy development, fostering innovative thinking, integration of the OKR methodology into the innovation strategy.
Many work processes have become significantly more digital and focused. The pandemic demands a high level of flexibility across different areas. Despite immense cost pressure, Martin Wilhelm remains committed to continuous collaboration. The first innovation area defined in 2019 is being piloted, and the benefits of remote work are outweighing the drawbacks.
Together with leadership, the necessary key levers are defined to establish continuous, innovative processes that help the Heidenheimer Zeitung to work innovatively, think innovatively, and realize innovative projects. Define innovation processes, optimize innovation processes, increase innovation capability.
