INMA 30 Under 30: Thorge Schramm of Nordwest Mediengruppe
Editor's Inbox | 13 January 2025
On September 5, INMA awarded 30 young professionals around the world with its fifth “30 Under 30” award as part of its Young Professionals Initiative. This is the third in a series of 30 features about the impressive rising media stars who are shaping our industry.

Thorge Schramm was just 16 when he began contributing to a youth magazine for a local radio station. His enthusiasm and talent quickly earned him his own show, and as his expertise grew, so did his accomplishments.
He played a crucial role in the development and expansion of Schlager.de, a music portal that climbed the ranks to become one of Germany’s top 15 entertainment Web sites. It also served as training ground for his social media skills, which soon became a cornerstone of his career.
During his apprenticeship at Nordwest Mediengruppe, Thorge leveraged his social media skills to establish the social media department, where he created new products and processes that set the company apart.
One of his notable achievements was the introduction of Dein Ostfriesland, a revenue-generating marketing product that successfully tapped into a new market region. What began as a simple Facebook account quickly grew to nearly 25,000 followers, then expanded to include an Instagram channel and a Web site, becoming a go-to source for both locals and tourists. The product achieved impressive revenue growth, generating over US$125,000 in 2023, with growth continuing into 2024.
In 2023, Thorge took on the role of product manager for the digital brochure portal at Nordwest Mediengruppe and has focused on product innovation, particularly integrating Artificial Intelligence into everyday products and processes. His primary task has been guiding the company’s products into the future, ensuring they remain competitive and relevant.
As he delved deeper into AI, Thorge initiated the SalesMate project in late 2023. This tool, based on OpenAI technology, was designed to assist media houses in supporting their sales teams more effectively and boost revenue generation.
SalesMate quickly garnered significant interest in the industry, with Thorge presenting it at various conferences and for regional newspaper associations. He also was a presenter for an INMA Generative AI master class to share its features and functionality.
With a forward-thinking approach and the ability to recognise opportunities, Thorge has benefitted not just his own media company but is making contributions to the industry overall. Now, he is working on a new online portal and helped create a new event format called Growmorrow, which brings together innovative thinkers from the region to explore strategies for success.