‘It’s not just about scale, it’s about how you build it,’ says French ad alliance chief
366 was the first national digital sales company in France, Line Gasparini, the company’s managing director, told participants at WAN-IFRA’s World News Media Congress on Tuesday in Marseille.
For the 55 news publishing members, 366 provides national representation across both print and digital ads.
366 has an 80 percent monthly reach among French residents 15 and older, and an exclusive positioning as a leader in local media.
“We report monthly to a management committee of appointed major publishers,” Gasparini said. The chairman of 366 is also a news publisher, Thierry Hugot of the Rossel Group.
“What really matters here is the scale, at the national level,” she said. “To take a step back, like many countries, the advertising market in France has changed drastically these last years, and it’s even going faster.”
‘We generate strong revenue for national sales’
In France’s digital ad space, large platforms have captured virtually all of the revenue growth and market share, Gasparini said.
“In such an environment it was clear to us that all of our publishers create value, and this is exactly the reason that 366 comes into play,” she said.
“We generate strong revenue for national sales. We have a relatively low sales commission, and we have a real investment capacity for our publishers. That is very important,” Gasparini said.
Revenues from print have also enabled them to invest in developing their digital strategy: “That allows 366 to take a long term view for our publishers, to keep investing for them and to follow the transformation of the market,” she said.
Simplicity is paramount
These combined advantages have helped 366 navigate a challenging market, and deliver its strongest growth in the past 10 years.
The major reason for this, Gasparini said, can be summarised in two strong convictions: “From the beginning we have had to offer reach and simplicity to the markets, and for 366 we do both: It’s not just about scale, it’s about how you build it.”
Efficiency is also crucial, she said, “but we think simplicity is the most important.”
Antoine Saglier, Director of Technology and Innovation at 366, explains their new Claire platform.
Most recently, 366 launched a new platform, called “Claire” in October 2025, that connects all their clients to French audiences.
An independent platform designed around data, Claire offers the news publishers in 366 a way to optimise data to build audience planning strategies, for example, said Antoine Saglier, Director of Technology and Innovation at 366.
Claire also helps provide publishers with improved targeting for advertisers and agency audiences as well as offering a systematic enhancement of advertising campaign reports.
After a roadshow during this past winter, Claire has quickly taken off and is showing 66 percent growth in the first half of 2026 with a target of 1 million euros for 2026, growing to 5 million in 2029 and eventually 10 million in 2031.
