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Customer & Contract Publishing

Customer publishing is the part of the industry most readers never think of as publishing. Membership magazines, airline and supermarket titles and the content agencies behind them reach millions of people, often with circulations that consumer titles would envy.

The purpose is different too. A membership magazine is usually there to keep members renewing, and a brand title has to show a return for the client paying for it. That creates a running question about independence, and the strongest titles tend to have an editorial identity of their own rather than sounding like the organisation behind them.

If there’s something customers don’t need more of today, it’s content.

Jackie Scully Customer media

The agencies have changed shape around this. They produce fewer print editions and more digital content, and put far more effort into distribution and income generation, while publishers' own branded content studios compete for the same budgets. Print still matters, though. Members continue to rank the magazine among the benefits they value most.

Below you'll find some of our best feature articles on customer and contract publishing, from membership magazines and in-flight titles to content agencies and branded content studios, alongside our latest news and industry commentary.


Essential Resources

Customer media
Best Practice in Publishing

Customer media

We asked Jackie Scully, managing director at Think, what does best practice publishing look like in customer media? This is what she said…

People, passions and places
INTERVIEW

People, passions and places

The National Trust is a treasure trove of historic and beautiful places, and, unsurprisingly, it has a huge membership. One of the benefits of membership is its highly regarded magazine…

The River Group
PUBLISHER PROFILE

The River Group

Content marketing is all the rage, and companies like River, that have been doing it for over twenty years, are highly expert at it. River CEO Nicola Murphy tells Jo Bowman that while quality content is the bedrock of the company, it’s the marketing

Membership publishers wrestle with content conundrum
RESEARCH

Membership publishers wrestle with content conundrum

Content has become mission-critical for many membership organisations. But, Mike Sewell asks, should this valuable asset be regarded as an exclusive member benefit, or used as a marketing tool?

Join the club
FEATURE

Join the club

Lots of publishers are now offering club style membership schemes, looking to generate extra revenue and deeper engagement. Dickon Ross looks at the membership model.

Customer media
The Digital Transformation Journey

Customer media

Ann Hartland, group business and strategy director, Cedar Communications, tells Ciar Byrne about how the customer media sector is managing the digital transformation journey.

Opportunities & Threats: Customer Media
FEATURE

Opportunities & Threats: Customer Media

What does the future hold for customer media? CPL One’s Sarah Simpson, looks ahead.

AOP CRUNCH: Driving growth through branded content
REVIEW

AOP CRUNCH: Driving growth through branded content

Spring hasn’t sprung until CRUNCH takes place, writes Richard Reeves, MD of the Association of Online Publishers, which recently held its first CRUNCH event of the year. The mood was suitably optimistic for a change of season.


All Articles

Spread the Word Media launches new marketing division
News

Spread the Word Media launches new marketing division

Spread the Word Media has announced the launch of its new dedicated marketing division Spread the Word Digital.

01/12/2023

Print choices: 5 minutes with… Michelle Pearce
Q&A

Print choices: 5 minutes with… Michelle Pearce

Where you print your magazine, when you print it and what you print it on, are all fundamental choices publishers face. We ask Bishops Printers’ Michelle Pearce for her advice…

By Michelle Pearce  |  23/11/2023

Poool & Mather Economics / Sophi.io announce partnership
News

Poool & Mather Economics / Sophi.io announce partnership

Poool & Mather Economics / Sophi.io say their partnership aims to maximize audience conversion to subscription & membership.

22/11/2023

YouGov survey results revealed in partnership with Picnic
News

YouGov survey results revealed in partnership with Picnic

YouGov/Picnic UX survey shows 70% of people find digital adverts annoying - and that bad user experience is doing real damage to brands.

17/11/2023

What are other publishers up to?
COLUMN

What are other publishers up to?

James Evelegh attended the recent ESco Connect event to find out.

By James Evelegh  |  16/11/2023

Viafoura & Poool announce partnership
News

Viafoura & Poool announce partnership

The partnership aims to boost registrations and subscriptions for digital publishers.

10/11/2023

Seedtag launches Contextual Audiences
News

Seedtag launches Contextual Audiences

Seedtag, a leading global contextual advertising company, has launched its advanced Contextual Audiences, powered by its proprietary Contextual AI technology, Liz.

27/10/2023

Online picture quality: 5 minutes with… John de Jong
Q&A

Online picture quality: 5 minutes with… John de Jong

When it comes to image quality, publishers tend to put much more effort into pictures that appear in print than those that appear online. This, says Pixometry's John de Jong, is a mistake and one that can be easily avoided.

By John de Jong  |  26/10/2023

PPA Scotland Awards – shortlist announced
News

PPA Scotland Awards – shortlist announced

PPA Scotland has announced the shortlist for its annual awards, which will be held on Wednesday 29 November.

23/10/2023

PPA Independent Publisher Awards - shortlist announced
News

PPA Independent Publisher Awards - shortlist announced

The PPA has announced the shortlist for its annual Independent Publisher Awards.

17/10/2023

BSME Awards 2023 – shortlist announced
News

BSME Awards 2023 – shortlist announced

The British Society of Magazine Editors has unveiled the shortlist for their upcoming awards.

16/10/2023

Brand investment matters to the City, reveals new IPA/Brand Finance survey
News

Brand investment matters to the City, reveals new IPA/Brand Finance survey

Investment analysts fundamentally believe that brand strength is critical to a firm’s success. This is according to new research by IPA/Brand Finance and analysis by Ian Whittaker.

16/10/2023

E-commerce: 5 minutes with… Patrick Lidstone
Q&A

E-commerce: 5 minutes with… Patrick Lidstone

In addition to their content, there’s lots of things publishers could be selling, but some struggle with the requirements of e-commerce. We grab 5 minutes with Patrick Lidstone to talk through the opportunities.

By Patrick Lidstone  |  12/10/2023

Air Business achieves ISO 27001 recertification
News

Air Business achieves ISO 27001 recertification

Air Business, a global distribution, subscriptions and e-commerce management company, has achieved recertification in ISO 27001 for information security management.

09/10/2023

Independent publishing: 5 minutes with… Michael Chinnery
Q&A

Independent publishing: 5 minutes with… Michael Chinnery

Independent publishers face the same tasks and challenges that big publishers do but with far less resource. Overstretched, it’s easy to overlook something important. CPUK’s Michael Chinnery lists some of the key things they need to be aware of.

By Michael Chinnery  |  05/10/2023

814 articles