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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

Driving traffic: the route constantly changes
VIEW FROM AOP STEERING GROUP

Driving traffic: the route constantly changes

Carly Steven, head of SEO at The Sun and co-chair of the AOP Audience Development group, looks at how the task of driving traffic is evolving.

By Carly Steven  |  05/05/2022

Why should publishers care about data clean rooms?
FEATURE

Why should publishers care about data clean rooms?

Are data clean rooms a fad or a significant factor in the cookieless future? Optable’s Vlad Stesin says that it’s the latter… and so much more.

By Vlad Stesin  |  05/05/2022

Publisher Podcast Awards 2022 – winners announced
News

Publisher Podcast Awards 2022 – winners announced

Media Voices has announced the winners of the Publisher Podcast Awards, following a ceremony which took place on Wednesday 27th April at Proud Cabaret City in London.

28/04/2022

AOP Digital Publishing Awards 2022 – shortlists announced
News

AOP Digital Publishing Awards 2022 – shortlists announced

The Association of Online Publishers has announced the shortlists for its 2022 awards. The winners will be announced at a special awards dinner on 15th June.

27/04/2022

TAG outreach prompted reduction in ad spend on pirate sites
News

TAG outreach prompted reduction in ad spend on pirate sites

The Trustworthy Accountability Group, an advertising industry self-regulatory organisation, has released the first annual report for TAG’s Project Brand Integrity.

27/04/2022

Digital ad spend soars 41% to hit record high in 2021
News

Digital ad spend soars 41% to hit record high in 2021

Digital ad spend saw the biggest full year growth for 15 years in 2021 with investment up 41% year-on-year to £23.5 billion, according to IAB UK’s latest Digital Adspend report.

26/04/2022

Denmaur celebrates Carbon Balanced Paper milestone
News

Denmaur celebrates Carbon Balanced Paper milestone

Denmaur Paper Media, a paper merchant, has announced that it has surpassed 100,000 tonnes of Carbon Balanced Paper sales.

25/04/2022

UPM strike ends
News

UPM strike ends

UPM and the Paperworkers’ Union have agreed on first-ever business-specific collective labour agreements for five UPM businesses. The strike at UPM mills in Finland will end immediately.

25/04/2022

WoodWing awarded ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certification
News

WoodWing awarded ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certification

WoodWing, a global provider of content orchestration solutions and services, has achieved ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certification for its Information Security Management System.

22/04/2022

PPA Awards 2022 – shortlist revealed
News

PPA Awards 2022 – shortlist revealed

The PPA has announced the shortlist for its annual awards.

22/04/2022

Quality over quantity
VIEW FROM AOP STEERING GROUP

Quality over quantity

For too long, the quantity of a journalist’s output has been seen by many as being as important as its quality. As Steven Wilson-Beales, chair of the AOP Journalism Advisory Board (JAB), says, the pendulum is swinging back towards ‘quality’.

By Steven Wilson-Beales  |  21/04/2022

Context, creativity and attention: how to approach digital advertising in these turbulent times
FEATURE

Context, creativity and attention: how to approach digital advertising in these turbulent times

The digital advertising industry is facing a period of upheaval as the world emerges from the pandemic and grapples with the increasing focus on consumer privacy & consent. A new mindset is critical for success in the changing advertising landscape.

By Harmen Tjaarda  |  21/04/2022

Companies revise marketing budgets up to strongest levels since 2014
News

Companies revise marketing budgets up to strongest levels since 2014

Total UK marketing budgets were revised up to an almost eight-year high during the opening quarter of 2022, according to the latest IPA Bellwether Report.

19/04/2022

Guild appoints Gregor Young
News

Guild appoints Gregor Young

Guild, a platform for professional communities and networking, has appointed Gregor Young, formerly marketing technology director at the Financial Times as COO.

13/04/2022

Newsletter trends
FEATURE

Newsletter trends

Email newsletters play an important role in increasing engagement and building loyalty, but it’s a competitive space. With the rise of platforms like Substack, some newsletter editors even find themselves competing with erstwhile colleagues.

By Sarah Ebner  |  12/04/2022

814 articles