Shortlisted magazine covers for PPA’s Cover of the Century competition
discussion has all been about moving to ‘digital’. But today they have all gone well beyond that conversation and what has emerged, as I look around the table of our PPA Business Board, is a group of publish- ers who have a proud heritage in magazines but who now deliver business informa- tion, data and events on a global basis.
Does that mean you are dealing with a wider range of issues on members’ behalf? It is more that we are dealing with greater levels of complexity. The universal things that impact on all publishing businesses, such as advertising revenues, defending copyright and intellectual property, data protection, press freedom and VAT, are no less pertinent today, but these conversa- tions are now framed in the context of new technologies, shifting consumer behav- iours, and a changing regulatory landscape. These are all exactly the kinds of over-
arching themes that we will be exploring at our 2013 conference, Publishing+, which takes place on 9 May in London. We then drill down into specific areas of focus at the other events we run throughout the year, such as the Digital Publishing Confer- ence, the Customer Direct Conference, and the Independent Publishing Conference.
What actions are you taking to address some of these issues? We talk about the PPA as promoting, pro- tecting and advising the industry, and we’re very much led by our members, who make up the PPA Board and sit on our many com- mittees and forums, as to how we shape our activities. On a ‘protection’ issue such as copyright and intellectual property, for example, we identified early the threat of digital piracy to magazine digital editions and have taken steps to monitor and tackle that issue. We’re keen to learn from – and avoid – many of the issues that beset the film and music industries, so we’re working in association with the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) - a wider alliance of creative industry representatives. We are also currently preparing to take our first site- blocking action, which gives an indication of how seriously we are taking this issue.
What are you doing to promote the industry? It’s a range of things that are all targeted at specific audiences. For advertisers and media agencies, for example, we have established a steady stream of research and data to help inform media planning decisions: our Mag- nify study looked at the performance of print advertising; Magonomics, carried out in conjunction with Mindshare, analysed
PPA’s Awards are the biggest event in the UK media calendar
how the contribution of advertising in maga- zine brands to driving consumer purchase is often under-estimated; and The TAP Report combined aggregated and proprietary research to paint a picture of tablet use and its future potential for magazine publishers. We are also on the verge of launching
a consumer-facing advertising campaign that celebrates magazine advertising called LoveMagAds. Our research shows that read- ers enjoy advertising as part of the package of a magazine – on a par with the editorial – and so the LoveMagAds campaign draws on some of the best examples of Cannes Lions award-winning creative advertising to showcase just how engaging it can be. When it comes to promoting and celebrat- ing the work of our members, awards are a big part of what we do. The PPA Awards are the most coveted in the UK publish- ing sector and this year the introduction of two new categories – the Chairman’s Award and the Hall of Fame – mean we will be rewarding the most exciting inno- vators as well as recognising some of our industry’s most inspiring leaders. I look forward to seeing everyone there!
How will you evaluate whether or not 2013 has been successful for the PPA? It’s entirely down to our members. We run a member satisfaction survey every year that tracks our performance in the eyes of mem- bers against a number of metrics. The steady improvement we have seen in recent years has been promising but we want to kick on, particularly in our centenary year – to deliver a service that our members really value.
Barry McIlheney has been CEO of the PPA for three years. Before this, he spent 25 years in magazines, editing and publishing titles such as Smash Hits, Empire, Elle, FHM, and The Face.
Publisher members: Around 200 publishing companies, which collectively produce more than 2,500 consumer and business magazines and journals as well as digital media, data products and events. Strategic Partners: Adestra, Air Business, Dovetail, Polestar and UPM Associate Members: 100 key suppliers to the industry, covering everything from digital publishing services to legal support. Full directory available at the PPA Knowledge Bank. Committees and working groups: Chairman: Kevin Hand, Deputy Chairman: Kevin Costello, CEO: Barry McIlheney