Contract Publishing
Why contract magazines?
Contract magazines have become increasingly important as they offer a way for companies -airlines, retailers, mobile, food, car and entertainment brands, charities and member organizations - to reach a deeper relationship with customers.
For advertisers they offer a much more tightly targeted and often more affluent readership than many conventional magazines. But they come with similar and sometimes better standards of editorial excellence.
To take a well-known example, more than 80% of passengers read the magazines airlines place in front of them. Readers average around 30 minutes a flight with the magazines. Contract publishing is a growth sector that has recently been sprouting out into new areas.
For further reading see our blog on Brand Publishing.
An estimated 15 of the UK's top 20 consumer magazine titles are now contract magazines. Just one of these, AA Magazine, is sent out to nearly 5 million AA members, making it the country's single biggest title.
The supermarket magazines like those from Tesco and Asda are not far behind with circulation of around 2 million. Morrison's magazine is on 1.2 million while Tesco also has the Tesco Real Food magazine with 1.3 million readers.
Brands from Microsoft to Mercedes, Toshiba to Thomson, Land Rover to Liverpool FC, NatWest, Shell, Virgin, Orange, Toyota and even smaller organizations like garden centres and local authorities are publishing their own magazines. The Body Shop has its Naked Body magazine. Dulux has Colour. IBM has Helpware.
Brands from Microsoft to Mercedes, Toshiba to Thomson, Land Rover to Liverpool FC, NatWest, Shell, Virgin, Orange, Toyota and even smaller organizations like garden centres and local authorities are publishing their own magazines. The Body Shop has its Naked Body magazine. Dulux has Colour. IBM has Helpware.
These are a way to establish a more personal communication with your audience.
Traditionally marketing has concentrated on getting customers in the front door. These days you have to carry on a conversation with your customers if you don't want them to leave by the back door.
Internet magazines are growing and in some ways this is the most interesting and significant growth area as it comes with a lower break-even cost.
As companies are boosting their online transaction base (think online shopping), so agencies like us are here to create good quality content to drive interest with a minimal marketing outlay.
Some people have called this media blurring, the fuzzying of the lines between selling to customers and entertaining them. But it is growing.
It is a big change for society as well as for advertisers.
Many contract magazines now have a readership many times bigger than the UK's most popular magazines like the TV Times, Woman's Own, BBC's Top Gear or Gardeners World.
For further reading see our blog on Media Blurring.
- Digital Editions and Apps
- Catalogues
- Company Brochures
- Online and Print Directories
- Guides
- Journals
- Manuals
- Yearbooks
- Newsletters
- Newspapers
- Periodical Magazines
- Programmes
- Special Publications and Anniversary Editions
Permission marketing, with a glossy cover
Customer and member publications are about permission marketing. This recognizes the new power of customers - and especially your best customers - to ignore marketing. It realizes that treating people with respect is the best way to earn their attention.
For retailer, local authority or club magazines, newsletters to newspaper partnerships, guides and special reports, we are confident we can make a difference to your business in cost, quality, innovation and in customer relationships.
When we work with our clients we become an integral part of their team.
We work together to deliver a perfect product and leaving more time to make money for the main business.
- Full Service From Concept To The Finished Article
- A Choice Of Business Models
- Design & Pre-Press
- Print Management
- Distribution
- Digital Publishing
If you would you like to explore the opportunities for your company and receive ongoing support from publishing experts, contact us today.
An opportunity to learn about customers
- Database segmentation and sophisticated targeting are becoming more important to companies. Contract publishers are therefore able to position themselves as a force for driving a full range of customer-relationship management services
- FMCG brands, clubs, local and central government and smaller brands are the growth areas for contract magazines
- One in three consumers think customer magazines are the 'nicest' way a company can inform them of products or services
- A fifth of consumers have bought a product or service as a direct result of reading a customer magazine. A similar number say they would be more likely to purchase products featured in a customer title than from direct-mail literature
- Eight in ten contract publications have no cover price
– Mintel Report, Contract Publishing