NewsLine Column: Customer Publishing Checks Out
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Customer publishing has gone from strength to strength in recent years, with figures from market research firm, MINTEL, indicating that strong growth in the sector will continue. Julia Hutchison, director of the Association of Publishing Agencies, explains the reasons for the unprecedented growth of the medium…
Customer publishing was once perceived as the poor relation of the publishing industry however this is no longer the case. Customer publishers are now producing innovative flagship titles that are seriously challenging consumer magazines for reputation, with high quality titles such as Waitrose Food Illustrated providing serious competition to many glossy, newsstand lifestyle titles.
Further testament to this is illustrated by an influx of consumer editors moving to customer publishing. For example, Scott Manson ex-editor of Loaded joining Business Life and ex-Men’s Health Simon Geller joining Sky. The idea that customer magazines are less creative, lower quality versions of their consumer counterparts is simply not true as reflected by the staggering growth rate experienced by the industry over the last ten years.
New MINTEL research, commissioned by the Association of Publishing Agencies, investigating the customer publishing industry revealed that, despite a slow down in the majority of media sectors, the customer publishing industry is still going from strength to strength, with turnover now topping �385 million. This is an increase of over 10% on the figures published by the last MINTEL report in 2003 and a massive 244% increase over the last decade. Furthermore, the report indicates that customer magazines are set to become even more integrated into the marketing mix, with industry turnover expected to exceed �531 million by 2009.
The 10% growth rate has been attributed to a combination of two factors – increased spending by companies already utilising customer publishing, and an influx of new businesses trying it out for the first time. This is reinforced by the substantial increase in the number of new business pitches over the last two years.
So why, when many other marketing media are experiencing downturn, are customer magazines thriving? Simply because they deliver a wide range of objectives, which is what makes the medium so flexible for marketers. In an increasingly fragmented market customer magazines have been proven to encourage loyalty, sell more to existing customers, drive retention, communicate brand positioning and enhance brand awareness to name just a few – all whilst entertaining the reader – which few other marketing mediums can claim to do so comprehensibly or cost-effectively.
It is undeniable that customer publishing has come of age. The fact that eight of the top ten magazines by circulation are customer titles and that more than 500 UK companies, including many of the top 250 brands now produce such magazines, is testament to this. Furthermore, the launch of our Effectiveness Measurement Programme in March which will provide the industry with a measurement benchmark and the continuing growth trend means that customer titles will continue to be a fundamental part of the marketing mix for a growing number of businesses.
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