Consumers know that customer magazines are fundamentally about selling more products or services, but they still like to read them.

A resounding “yes” is the answer here. The Millward Brown report also shows that readers of customer magazines are significantly more positive about brands than nonreaders. This is evident from attitudinal statements relating to reputation, looking after customers, striving to meet customers’ needs, and whether or not the named brand is a company the reader can trust.

Customer Magazines can be used to support personified brand values

	80% of consumers say the magazine fits in with the way they think about the company.
	Two-thirds think that the magazine demonstrates that the company understands their needs and interests.
	71 percent believe that a customer magazine helps to improve the company’s overall image.
	52 percent think that it helps to promote customer loyalty to the company.

	57 percent of consumers have purchased a product or service from a company as a direct result of reading its customer magazine.
	40 percent are more likely to go on using the company or to select it for another purchase in the future.
	78 percent of consumers think that a magazine is a better way for a company to tell them about its products or services than other media.
	64 percent of non-readers think that a magazine is a better way for a company to tell them about its products or services than other media.

	Over one-third of consumers say they are more likely to trust advertising or special offers in a customer magazine than in other magazines or newspapers.
	67 percent claim that they are more likely to purchase products featured in the magazine than in other types of advertising.
	One-third has actually purchased something as a result of reading about it in a customer magazine.
	40 percent of readers are more likely to go on using the company, as opposed to 20 percent of nonreaders who have been exposed to other forms of marketing.

Methodology: The Association of Publishing Agencies (APA) and Royal Mail commissioned research agency Millward Brown to update the findings of a unique study first conducted by the agency in 1999. To ensure a methodology consistent with the 1999 study the research was conducted via computer-aided telephone interviewing (CATI). A total of 700 interviews were conducted among readers and nonreaders of customer magazines. The sample was split into three groups: consumer magazine readers (400), business magazine readers (150), and a control group of nonreaders (150 split between business and consumer magazines).

A new survey of marketing directors has found that over 90 percent of respondents successfully integrate custom publishing with other marketing initiatives and that custom publications are a favored tool when it comes to tying together disparate efforts in the marketing mix.

Of those marketing directors with first-hand experience using a custom publication

	92 percent say it is very or fairly effective at relationship building.
	88 percent said it is very or fairly effective at generating loyalty.
	83 percent said it is very or fairly effective at client retention.
	Of those who do not custom publish, 71 percent say they would outsource a custom publishing project if they were to undertake one.

The survey questioned equal numbers of marketing directors who used and did not use custom publishing. When given a series of common marketing goals, marketing directors said custom publishing outranked print, television, and radio advertising, Internet marketing, and telemarketing when the intent was building longer-term relationships, promoting loyalty, and retaining existing customers.

A new survey of marketing directors showed that over 90% of respondents successfully integrate custom publishing with other marketing initiatives — indicating a widespread belief that custom publications are a favored tool when it comes to tying together disparate efforts in the marketing mix.

	Spending on custom publishing in 2002 was up 28.2 percent over the previous year.
	The proportion of companies' marketing dollars allocated to publishing in 2002 was up from 13.1 percent to 23.2 percent.
	The average amount that companies spend on custom publications increased 6.5 percent to $715,652 in 2003 compared to $671,808 in 2002.
	Custom publishing spending is split between various departments within companies, with 67%, or $485,217, coming from formal publishing departments and $220,435 from marketing, public relations, and brand management divisions.
	For the past four years, the percentage allocated toward e-publications has consistently hovered around 20 percent.

On budget size
28 percent of marketers anticipate an increase of an average of 6.15 percent in their publications’ budgets.

On company size
Smaller companies, defined as those with revenues under $1 billion, spend an average of $543,125 on publications, which equals 24.6 percent of a $2,207,825 marketing communications budget. Large companies with revenues over $1 billion spend an average of $1,110,000, which is 6.3% of a $17,460,316 budget.

Non-profits versus. for profits
Nonprofits are much more reliant on custom publishing as a primary marketing vehicle than for-profits. Custom publishing budgets represent 30 percent of total marketing expenditures, while among for-profits the average is 15.6 percent. In terms of actual dollars spent on custom publishing, nonprofits and for-profits spend similarly. Nonprofits spent $727,885 while for-profits spent $705,556.

*The research was conducted through a mailed survey targeting a random sample of companies and industries. Among the 200 companies represented were Aetna, Alcoa, BellSouth, Chubb, the U.S. Census Bureau, and Walgreens.