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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

Adnami appoints Svenja Damzog
News

Adnami appoints Svenja Damzog

Ad tech company Adnami has appointed Svenja Damzog as publisher director, DACH, as it targets growth and expansion across Europe.

22/06/2022

Cavai appoints new CEO
News

Cavai appoints new CEO

Cavai, a conversational advertising cloud, has appointed Mats Persson as CEO.

22/06/2022

Digital Publishing Awards 2022 – winners announced
News

Digital Publishing Awards 2022 – winners announced

The AOP celebrated the digital publishing industry’s top talent at its in-person awards ceremony held at Old Billingsgate in London, on Wednesday.

17/06/2022

Print trends: 5 minutes with… Chris Wills
Q&A

Print trends: 5 minutes with… Chris Wills

We grab five minutes with Chris Wills, sales manager at The Manson Group, to get a printer’s view on the challenges and opportunities for publishers.

By Chris Ferrari-Wills  |  16/06/2022

Passendo appoints Harry Charalambous
News

Passendo appoints Harry Charalambous

Passendo has appointed Harry Charalambous as Head of Demand & International Growth to help shape its go-to-market strategy globally.

13/06/2022

Dan Hodgson joins Verasity
News

Dan Hodgson joins Verasity

Verasity has announced the appointment of Dan Hodgson as Director of Business Development.

08/06/2022

Acast hires Programmatic Automation Manager
News

Acast hires Programmatic Automation Manager

Acast, a podcast platform, has expanded its Acast Automated team with the appointment of Dimana Zaharieva as Programmatic Automation Manager.

06/06/2022

FotoWare acquires Swiss DAM solution provider Picturepark
News

FotoWare acquires Swiss DAM solution provider Picturepark

FotoWare, a global provider of Digital Asset Management (DAM) solutions, has acquired the Swiss DAM and Content Management platform Picturepark.

06/06/2022

Putting the user first
VIEW FROM AOP STEERING GROUP

Putting the user first

Product development teams, with their focus on meeting user needs, play a key role in publisher success. Liv Horner looks at current priorities.

By Liv Horner  |  01/06/2022

Acast launches episode-level advertising capabilities
News

Acast launches episode-level advertising capabilities

Acast, a podcast platform, has announced the launch of new Conversational Targeting capabilities for advertisers.

01/06/2022

boostr introduces new advertising metric: NARR
News

boostr introduces new advertising metric: NARR

Drawing inspiration from the SAAS metric Net Revenue Retention, boostr has unveiled a new advertising metric: Net Advertising Revenue Retention.

26/05/2022

Optable announces new data clean room capabilities
News

Optable announces new data clean room capabilities

Optable, a SaaS data collaboration platform and clean room solution, has announced the introduction of Flash Nodes.

25/05/2022

BSME Talent Awards 2022 – shortlist announced
News

BSME Talent Awards 2022 – shortlist announced

The shortlist for the BSME Talent Awards 2022, in association with Readly, has been announced. The winners will be announced at a ceremony on 28 June.

17/05/2022

Acast promotes Jack Preston
News

Acast promotes Jack Preston

Acast, a podcast platform, has further invested in its Acast Creative team, by promoting Jack Preston to Global Head of Acast Creative.

16/05/2022

How do I really get to know my readers?
FEATURE

How do I really get to know my readers?

There is no stronger sales tool than getting to understand your readers, to envisage who the reader is and to write specifically for that person.

By Dan Collins  |  05/05/2022

814 articles