The Association of Publishing Agencies joined with Royal Mail to build awareness of custom magazines in the United Kingdom and continue to drive growth of the market, the group said yesterday.
The APA represents custom magazine publishers under the umbrella of the Periodical Publishers Association. Formed in 1993, the APA has 31 members producing publications for 350 leading companies in Britain and internationally.
APA is working with Royal Mail sales teams to promote custom magazines as a cost-efficient, effective marketing tool. The association said advocates are given a thorough understanding of the custom magazine market. APA also briefs them on the industry's issues, such as media fragmentation and how custom magazines can fit into the marketing mix.
The initiative is reinforced by APA's annual Customer Magazine Directory, and the 2006 edition is due out later this year, and the APA's Web site (www.apa.co.uk).
“More and more companies are realizing the benefits of [custom] magazines as a highly effective marketing and communications tool — testament to the number of new launches we experienced last year,” APA director Julia Hutchinson said in a statement. “Yet, this doesn't mean that we are going to become complacent. The APA exists to champion the medium, and this new advocacy initiative is just one way that we intend to continue building the industry.”
Hutchinson said Royal Mail has the infrastructure and contacts to reach many new clients. Mintel estimated last year that the turnover for the market would exceed $936 million by 2009, she said.
“Through programs such as this, our aim is to surpass this,” she said.
Melissa Campanelli covers postal news, CRM and database marketing for DM News and DMNews.com. To keep up with the latest developments in these areas, subscribe to our daily and weekly e-mail newsletters by visiting www.dmnews.com/newsletters
