Customer publishing on an international scale

Julia Hutchison, COO of the Association of Publishing Agencies (APA), looks at the worldwide success of customer publishing…

The UK customer publishing market is booming, with a current value of £904 million, set to rise to over a billion pounds in the UK by 2012. Showing strength, even in tough economic times, the industry has grown recognition for its power in engaging consumers, which is crucial during a recession when customers are more careful in making purchasing decisions.

With such huge growth predicted, it is important to mention the industry’s expansion into the digital sphere. There has been a huge rise in the level of digital work being undertaken by customer publishers in the UK, with digital content now accounting for 10% of all revenues for agencies. And the reason for such success is that customer publishers are experts in editorialisation of brands, producing branded content, which translates across all media, be it a magazine, website or podcast.

However, although the UK’s customer publishing industry is arguably the strongest, with an advanced nature and some of the longest standing brand publications, the medium is flourishing in other regions, particularly America. The size of population lends itself perfectly to distribution of magazines through the post, enabling brands to keep in contact with customers who might otherwise not interact with them on a regular basis. It seems strange to think that just five years ago in the American market, producing a magazine was considered as ‘vanity publishing’ when now customer titles are recognised as a valuable and measurable route to market for a wide range of organisations. Typically for customer magazines, the medium is warmly received by US consumers, with almost two thirds saying they had purchased a product or service after it had appeared in a customer title.

The story is no different in Europe. Second only to the UK, the German speaking sector – including countries like Switzerland and Austria – is leading the way, with over 3,000 customer titles in production. And Scandinavia is swiftly catching up; in Finland for example, customer magazines have fast become the second largest magazine sector in the country, reflected in the Finnish Periodical Publishers Association’s decision to increase its research budget to demonstrate the medium’s effectiveness. Sweden tells a similar story, producing a sizable number of titles for a relatively small industry with a combined circulation of over 25.2 million, according to the Swedish Institute of Advertising and Media Statistics; an impressive average of 2.7 magazines per person.

A benefit of the medium is that by its nature it is very engaging and hence the content and even style of the magazine can be tailored to appeal to specific groups of consumers, different customer demographics, or pre-existing customers who may be interested in more of the company’s services. Furthermore, if a customer title is distributed through the post or via email, a customer title can be customised on an individual basis if desired, using the personal data held on the magazine’s readers, including how many products they use or their past interactions with the brand.

In recent years, there has been a marked increase in the number of customer magazines which are personalised in this way. This has the benefit of making the magazine’s content and messages even more likely to appeal to certain chosen groups. Customer magazines have also been found to communicate effectively with even traditionally hard to reach audience segments such as the grey and youth markets.

One example of a magazine using segmentation as a key strength is IKEA’s magazine. Rather than focusing solely on print, IKEA Family LIVE combines an online and offline approach to connect with consumers. The title is issued internationally and published in 21 languages worldwide, with each magazine tailored to the needs of shoppers in each specific regional marketplace. This title, one of the widest-circulated internationally in the retail sector, works in tandem with the IKEA website which is currently rolling out across Europe. The magazine is distributed in-store with a low cover price, with the majority mailed out free of charge to all members of the IKEA FAMILY loyalty scheme. The website and magazine are both designed in the same style but with slightly differing content, however both work together to produce tangible results; generate sales, increase customer loyalty and build brand awareness.

Over the years, there has been a rise in customer publishers in the UK providing international publications for brands like Nikon and Volvo. Whether UK based or internationally focused, customer magazines continue to provide brands with an effective customer communication tool which will play a valuable role in the marketing mix on a national and international scale.