IDG outsources circ for three titles: several positions attached to PCWorld, Macworld and GamePro are eliminated as a result

Circulation Management, July-August, 2008 by Bill Mickey

IDG has outsourced circulation for PC World, Macworld and GamePro to Miami and New York-based circ services firm ProCirc. The relationship is a new one, taking effect this month, and has resulted in the loss of "several" key circ positions associated with the titles, IDG confirmed to CM. The decision to outsource the services is a curious move for a company the size of IDG, but one, according to a spokesman, intended to leverage a deeper experience pool with ProCirc.

While IDG declined to release the names of the employees who were let go or confirm the exact number, David Cobb, director of consumer marketing for PCWorld and Macworld, was one, says a source with knowledge of the situation.

Shawne Burke Pecar, a former VP of circulation at IDG for PC World and Macworld, and currently VP consumer marketing for ProCirc, is handling the IDG account.

According to Howard Sholkin, IDG's director of communications, ProCirc's services were enlisted because the firm offers deeper experience and ties to industry contacts. "They have the relationships at the newsstand, they have the experience and the learning from serving a lot of different clients in the consumer and retail publishing world. So they bring a lot of expertise to the print side of our business," he says.

The staff who were let go apparently couldn't match the depth and breadth of ProCirc's services. "[The staff was] focused primarily on those three titles, whereas now we'll leverage the experience that this company has with a lot of different titles that are its customers. They will be able to apply what they've learned from them with our newsstand and subscription circulation. It's an economy of scale, there's expertise, there's relationships that this company has representing many different titles that a single company or a few brands do not have," Sholkin says.

Indeed, IDG is a major coup for ProCirc, which will provide a turnkey solution for the three titles. "We are have been contracted to do all of their circulation and consumer marketing--subscription, newsstand, budgeting, direct mail, renewals, fulfillment management. Soup to nuts," says Cary Zel, president and founder. "This is a big client for us since they're a multi-title publisher with international magazines."

Industry Metrics

Event Business
Takes a Hit
From Travel Cost
Worries

The Society of Independent
Show Organizers
polled its membership
on the level of concern
over travel costs and
how that will impact
event business.

Great     39%
Modest    11%
Moderate  50%

Note: Table made from pie chart.

CONSUMER MARKET CIRC METRICS

Magazine Sales 2007: Two Views

The MPA released industry metrics in their 2008-2009 Magazine
Handbook. The New Single Copy's John Harrington offered his own,
very different, take on the numbers.

MPA

Subscription   87%
Single Copy    13%

Total Sales:
369,793,587
(per ABC figures)

Harrington *

Subscription   79.7%
Single Copy    20.3%

Total Sales:
930,300,000
(factoring in frequency)

1,420,000,000
(factoring in non-audited titles)

* Including only audited pubs that also had newsstand sales.

Source: MPA and Harrington Associates

Note: Table made from pie chart.