There's Money In Custom Publishing

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, Oct, 2000

Diana Pohly says that when she started working in custom publishing four years ago, it wasn't even remotely on marketers' radar screens. To many publishers, custom publishing was a new concept they were struggling to grasp, like Internet marketing. But now it has evolved into a growing $1 billion business, with nearly $700 million spent by third-party advertisers.

Pohly, president of Pohly & Partners, believes the time is ripe for others to come on board. A survey commissioned by the Custom Publishing Council, a committee of the MPA, indicates that custom publishing expenditures will increase 10.4 percent in 2000, compared to a projection of 8 percent for consumer magazine advertising expenditures. "I think there will be a spike in activity, but custom publishing is still a little bit away from mainstream acceptance," Pohly says. "I know some traditional publishers have started dipping their toes in the water and then backed away." Why haven't they taken the plunge? Many fear a loss of editorial integrity and are unsure of the ROI, which is sometimes hard to quantify. Another deterrent, in Pohly's opinion, is ASME guidelines. "ASME has set up guidelines with barriers that make it impossible to meet the needs of the client," she contends. "For example, you can't use your magazine's regular editorial staff, so you must hire other writers and editors, adding to cost. Independent publishers don't even try to comply with these guidelines, but traditional publishers feel they must or risk penalties from ASME." Custom publishing can be an active or reactive move to maintain a hold on advertisers, especially if those advertisers are seeking a narrowly targeted audience. But to make it work, publishers must cope with third-party involvement. Clients have a say in how the book is put together, what type of advertisers are used and what content is printed. While that third-party involvement can be unsettling to some publishers, the reward is another revenue stream.