MediaBuyerPlanner: Customized content is growing at a faster rate than traditional media, according to “Characteristics Study: A Look at the Volume and Type of Custom Publications in America” from the Custom Publishing Council (CPC) and Publications Management newsletter, reports MarketingCharts.
Key findings from the study:
- More titles: The number of unique custom titles being published in North America increased for the fifth year to 125,044 in 2006?an increase of 29 percent since first measured in 1999. This is an average of 2.3 titles per company.
- More revenue allocated: Custom publishing spending by corporate America continued its seven-year growth run, hitting an all-time high of $55.6 billion in 2006. Spending on custom pubs has more than doubled since first tabulated in 2000. Excluding costs related to personnel assigned to custom publishing projects, spending was $37.3 billion.
- Unique pages: The total number of unique pages produced in 2006 was 26.2 million, up 3.2 percent from 25.3 million in 2005.
- More pages: The average pages per issue remained consistent at 25, up 80 percent since 1999.
- Magazines outpace newsletters: In 2005, magazines became the most common publication format, beating out newsletters for the first time since 1999. In 2006, the popularity of the magazine format grew even more, comprising 41 percent of the market share while the use of newsletters dropped to 35 percent. The use of online publications in 2006 rose slightly from 15 percent to 17 percent while tabloids remained consistent at 8 percent.
- Use of color: More companies used all four-color printing in 2006 (62 percent) than ever before; 80 percent used only some four-color.
- Decreased circulation: Circulation per issue for custom publications decreased this year for the first time since 2001, although total average circulation has increased 80 percent since 1999.
- Drop in paid advertising: For the first time since 2002, paid advertising in custom publications dropped, to 29 percent from 34 percent. However, the percentage of custom publications carrying paid advertisement more than doubled since 2002, when only 14 percent carried paid ads.
The research, published in April, was conducted by Publications Management, a newsletter tracking the custom publishing industry. The research was conducted by mail targeting a random sample of companies across all industries, with 200 respondents.
Related stories:
- National Geographic, The Magazine Group Form Custom Publishing Alliance
- 85% Prefer Custom Pubs Over Ads
