Over the last ten years, media consultancy Wessenden Marketing in association with InPublishing magazine has been gathering detailed and confidential data from the UK’s leading publishers – 112 companies across Consumer Media, B2B, Newspapers and Online participated in last year’s mediafutures survey.
International activity is already important to the UK media business: in 2019, it accounted for a growing 9% of total turnover for Consumer Media and for 26% of B2B Media. Like many of the other shifts in media business models, this trend is accelerating this year as a result of the pandemic, says Wessenden Marketing.
To reflect this, mediafutures itself is going international in its coverage with two new partners. The large and highly developed US market is being delivered by FOLIO:, the multi-platform resource for the US publishing community. Global reach is provided by Colin Morrison’s Flashes & Flames newsletter and website.
Domestic markets have been cooling down and have become more volatile. Both consumer consumption patterns and business practices have become more similar around the world. Media business models have been pressured in every territory in the face of common global trends. Taken together, says Jim Bilton, all these factors have created the need for a much bigger picture of how different countries are finding very varied solutions to common challenges. Never has the need for benchmarks and experience-sharing been greater than now, during the pandemic.
The full report will be published in late October with simultaneous launches in London and New York.
Caysey Welton, Content Director, Folio: “We are beyond excited to team up with Wessenden Marketing and Flashes & Flames on this ambitious project. The survey data we collect will be an invaluable resource to a global community of media leaders, and will provide a scope of insights unlike anything we’ve ever published before.”
Colin Morrison, Founder, Flashes & Flames: “I believe this will be the most significant research anywhere in the world into media company attitudes, plans and predictions. It is what my global readership of media industry CEOs and senior executives really wants.”
James Evelegh, Publisher, InPublishing: “The mediafutures research is unrivalled in its breadth and depth and provides invaluable insights into what publishers are doing, where they see the main opportunities and how they are allocating their resources. InPublishing is proud to continue being a media partner and to be part of this exciting development.”
Jim Bilton, Managing Director, Wessenden Marketing: “After 10 years, the mediafutures survey is now accepted in the UK as the industry benchmark of how our business works and where our industry is headed. Working with our new partners takes the whole project on to a new level in its scale and scope.”
