March 22nd, 2010
It’s always important to keep an open mind, especially in an industry like publishing which has strong roots in the 15th Century, but is constantly being buffeted by modern technological innovation.
So when I made a trip over to Washington DC last month, I decided to set about assessing the contract publishing industry in the USA in its current state and seeing if there are any tricks that we’re really missing over here in the UK.
The most obvious difference in the USA is the sheer scale of some of the operations. One magazine produced for owner/drivers of trucks (or rigs as they are known over here) in the South West, has a circulation of 92,000. Imagine that country wide! Imagine what 92,000 big rigs look like back to back! Many contract publishers in the USA can operate on a comfortable profit from just one publication like this. An added bonus of operating on this scale is a hefty economy of scale – a print run of this size, while costly in itself, will benefit from a vastly reduced overall cost per item. A massive circulation will also have an implied increase in returned business enquiries. While the percentage of sales leads per publication may remain the same, the revenue generated can amplify the economy of scale, both for the publisher and for the client.
While scale isn’t really something we can ‘learn’ from the USA, the balance of circulation and cost of production is important to bear in mind for balancing costs. The sheer scale of production in the States brings with its benefits a few risks. The old adage ‘the bigger they are, the harder they fall’ rings true, as large scale means large overheads, regardless of cost per item, and an error or failure in production or distribution will mean an astronomical cost to the business. Similarly, businesses which depend on just one massive client are left incredibly exposed should that client choose not to renew a contract. I guess this is one of those risks they live with. Most businesses would not choose to have a dominant client in this way, but for some it’s unavoidable, and the difficulty is to find a ‘balancing’ account. You do wonder how much independent advice a one account company can give to the client without constantly ‘sugaring the pill’.
One thing which struck me as considerably different across the pond is the focus on advertising revenue. Advertising appears a much bigger concern in the USA contract publishing industry than it is in the UK. I’m not sure who is ahead of whom! Again, advertising is a yin yang of risk and opportunity. Many British clients swallow the cost of their publication and then use potential advertising as a way of gaining some of the cost back, acknowledging that a significant return on investment is not guaranteed. Some are more opportunistic, and will look to actually generate a profit from putting as much advertising into a publication as possible. Of course, some clients will want their publications to be free of advertising, as customer benefits outweigh short term commercial gains. In America, advertising is far more prevalent across all industries, and it is culturally more accepted as a part of everyday communication. In that respect, clients appear more relaxed on generating revenue from advertising in their contract publications, and the ratio of advertising pages to editorial pages is therefore much higher. This also may be reflected by the list of companies involved in Contract Publishing in the USA, where you notice a healthy number of Commercial publishers with Contract Publishing offshoots.
Another pip on the shoulder of the UK market which I realised while thumbing through various publications in America is that the UK’s contract publishing standards are often comparable to consumer magazines. In America, this really isn’t so, and the quality of editorial and design in many US contract publications is often lacking in innovation or even consistent messaging (and grammar, in some dire examples). This could be related to a client’s perception of the purpose of their publication, particularly as a result of the emphasis on advertising revenues. If a publication exists simply to generate advertising revenue for a client, then editorial content will be kept to a minimum, and not much money will be invested in a decent writing team. In the UK, contract publishing is more to provide a high quality message for the client’s brand, and therefore top quality editorial and stylish layouts top the priority list, above making space for advertising or advertorial.
It’s no real surprise that the approach to custom publishing is different in the States and UK, after all the sheer size and diversity of the USA means that there are differences from State to State. What is clear, is that we produce some fantastic customer magazines here in the UK, modestly would not allow me to brag too much about our portfolio at PSP Rare…but do take a look.
Mind you I did discover one important fact about the States…there’s plenty of great wine outside of California! Obviously sampled for medicinal purposes only.