The Reader's Digest Association Inc. said yesterday that it created a custom publishing division and that it appointed McMurry Publishing, Phoenix, as its custom publishing partner.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Reader's Digest currently offers custom publishing to its clients — including pharmaceutical companies such as Mead Johnson and GlaxoSmithKline — but with this partnership, the company is taking an even more dedicated approach to the category.
“Custom publishing is a fast-growing marketing tactic that gives businesses complete, cover-to-cover control over their own private-label publication,” said Joanne Katsch, director of custom publishing for Reader's Digest, Pleasantville, NY.
Susan Fraysse Russ, a spokeswoman for Reader's Digest, said that the company would provide the content and the database marketing while McMurry would provide turnkey management of projects including editorial, design, circulation, fulfillment, account management, production management and advertising sales.
“We have a lot of the expertise that lends itself to custom publishing,” Russ said. “We have the content, and we have a 100 million-name worldwide database.”
Chris McMurry, CEO of McMurry Publishing, said “custom publishing allows companies to deliver product-related information in a way that is enjoyable and valuable to a targeted audience.”
In addition, McMurry said, “We can utilize a variety of formats — from brochures and magazines to electronic newsletters and CD-ROM — to help clients establish brand differentiation and loyalty, create new revenue opportunities and attract new customers.”
Reader's Digest and McMurry Publishing can prepare custom publishing programs to customers immediately, Russ said.
