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.
We asked Jackie Scully, managing director at Think, what does best practice publishing look like in customer media? This is what she said…
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…
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
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?
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.
Ann Hartland, group business and strategy director, Cedar Communications, tells Ciar Byrne about how the customer media sector is managing the digital transformation journey.
What does the future hold for customer media? CPL One’s Sarah Simpson, looks ahead.
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.
The Online Safety Bill is a watershed moment in the regulation of tech platforms worldwide, bringing accountability to the actions of platforms. Its success or failure could have ramifications far beyond the UK, writes the PPA’s Seb Cuttill.
Publishers often find themselves having to respond quickly to major policy shifts by the big tech companies. Apple’s latest privacy update is one such shift and presents publishers with challenges, but also opportunities.
The awards were announced last week at a black-tie awards ceremony at Òran Mór, in Glasgow, with all the finalists and judges in attendance.
Run with the negative or accentuate the positive? Highlight problems or present solutions? These are questions, writes Dickon Ross, that editors have always grappled with.
The music industry was the first to be disrupted by digital, courtesy of Napster and other streaming sites. What can the publishing industry learn from the music industry as it approaches its own ‘Napster moment’?
One important decision publishers need to make is whether to build their community on their own platform or on a third party one.
Creating a successful community is a great way to find out what your customers really want.
Most publishers look to build a community off the back of a publication. For Freelancer Magazine, it was the other way round.
How you go about planning our publishing activities could make all the difference to your long term success.
IP protection and cybersecurity company, White Bullet, yesterday announced the appointment of Stuart Dickinson as Director of Advertising Operations and Client Success.
impact.com, a partnership management platform, has announced the appointment of a number of new Business Development Representatives in EMEA.
On Friday, the winners of the PPA Independent Publisher Awards were announced at a ceremony in London hosted by comedian Maisie Adam.
Air Business, a global distribution, fulfilment and subscriptions management company, has released its greenhouse gas emission and energy use figures.
While publishers have a sophisticated approach to managing their audience data, this is often not the case when it comes to managing their affiliate & partner marketing, writes Trackonomics' Hanan Maayan.
Short termism is a perennial problem in ad sales. Someone senior dreams up a new thing to sell and directs their sales team to get straight on the phone to sell, sell, sell. This approach doesn’t always fail, but there is a better way...
