Based on a survey of companies across PPA membership, the report provides a benchmark of the sector’s current activity and performance, and also looks ahead to planned activity for the next two years.
The findings show how consumer magazine and business publishers continue to manage the shift to an increasingly multi-platform future in different ways and at different speeds.
It breaks these down into four types, each with its own dynamic in terms of revenue profile, profitability, and confidence level:
* Change Novices: Publishers who have just started the change process, often reluctantly and with great caution
* Change Practitioners: Publishers who are deep into change but who feel they still have a long way to go and are still "learning on the job"
* Change Experts: Publishers who feel they are nearing the end of a planned strategy of change
* Change Radicals: Publishers who embrace and actively encourage change in their business
Report author Jim Bilton of Wessenden Marketing said: “It is clear right across the breadth of PPA members surveyed for this year’s report that publishers are approaching the whole area of change with a greater sense of understanding, and a more developed notion of how to manage it within their business.
"There is a general shift into new, more diversified revenue areas and, while they are running at very different speeds, companies are recalibrating their operations and resources to support that new approach.”
The Publishing Futures report also looks at the industry’s key health indicators of turnover, profitability, headcount, and confidence levels. The key metrics show:
* Year-on-year turnover growth stands at 6% for both consumer and B2B companies
* Over 80% of PPA members surveyed claim to be in profit, with margins edging up to 14% in B2B and 11% in consumer
* Headcount rising overall but still being kept under very tight control
* Confidence levels strong and rising
Nicola Rowe, Director of Membership at the PPA, said: “This year’s survey contains encouraging signs for the industry as a whole: turnover, profit and headcount are all on the rise, and the trend towards an increasingly multi-platform, international future continues, driven by growth in digital, mobile and live events.
“Scratching beneath the surface, we can see that this growth is matched by sustained cost control, careful management of a shifting revenue base, and the need to prioritise investment in the right skills and technology. The report is designed to support PPA members in navigating these challenges and managing ongoing, disruptive change.”
The full report is free to PPA members and available for non-members to purchase at £495+VAT.
