Cover Story
SPECIAL REPORT: More for the money
March/April 2010

Annual Publishing Characteristics Survey finds companies are producing fewer issues with more pages to reach an all-time high number of readers.

With the realities of the post-recession economy still in the background, branded content publishers are finding ways to get the most for their money, the 2009 ContentWise Publishing Characteristics Survey suggests.

Publishers in the content marketing and custom publishing industries are producing fewer issues of print publications per year with more pages per issue at a higher average circulation and with more paid advertising.

With the growth in electronic publications in the last several years, this year we asked questions specifically about branded content other than publications and found a sizable majority of companies are producing e-newsletters and posting branded content on websites, both of which require a smaller outlay of cash to publish content.

Combined with the 2009 ContentWise Budget Survey, which revealed an all-time high in average spending on branded content, a picture emerges of companies that still believe in the effectiveness of printed publications, but also believe in efficiency.

Perhaps because of the increase in other branded content, the average number of unique custom publications per company fell slightly to an all-time low of 1.7, down from 1.9 in 2008. ContentWise estimates there are 112,730 unique custom publications being produced in North America. Newsletters account for half of the printed publications while 46% are magazines and 4% are tabloids.

Average annual frequency of publications dropped to 7.4 issues per year, down from 9 in 2008 and 2007. That is the lowest average annual frequency since 2000 (6.4). While frequency dropped, the average number of pages per issue climbed to 25.8, the highest ever for this survey. In 2008, publications contained an average of 23.2 pages per issue.

Average circulation per issue also reached an all-time high of 48,162, a 29% increase from 37,340 in 2008 and the highest since 2005. The increase is primarily due to a rise in companies producing more than 250,000 copies (from 4% to 7%). Although the average circulation is high, the majority of companies (55%) still produce fewer than 10,000 copies.

The rise in average circulation fueled an increase in page volume per company from 14.5 million in 2008 to 15.7 million in 2009. We calculate volume per company, or the number of pages distributed annually, by multiplying four factors: the number of unique titles, the average frequency, the average circulation and the average number of pages.

External audiences remain the primary target of custom publications. Seventy percent go to readers outside the company, up from 69% the previous year and the highest percentage ever. The last time our survey indicated internal audiences were the primary target of custom publications was 2002.

A majority of publications contain no advertising (62%), but that figure is down from 70% in 2008. The percentage of companies that run ads in their custom publications rose from 19% in 2008 to 26% in 2009.

The U.S. Postal Service is the primary distribution method for publishers (74%).

Other branded content includes a variety of electronic media

Since we eliminated the e-pubs option from this question in the 2009 survey, there is no apples-to-apples comparison to previous years (in 2008, 22% of survey respondents said they produce e-pubs, which was the only electronic medium we asked about).

Looking at responses to our new questions about “other branded content,” however, reveals that companies use a variety of electronic media. Sixty-six percent said they produce e-mail newsletters and 77% post updates to websites. Other electronic media trail far behind: 38% use RSS feeds, 37% produce branded video content, 27% host virtual events, 27% produce podcasts or other audio programs, and 23% publish white papers. Only 14% of respondents said they publish electronic magazines.

Companies that produce e-mail newsletters primarily publish monthly (48%) or weekly (22%). The frequency of website updates is mostly evenly distributed among weekly (31%), monthly (30%) and daily (29%). Thirty-eight percent publish white papers quarterly while 29% publish them semiannually and 26% annually.

On average, companies produce 15 podcasts, about 14 virtual events and 12 branded videos per year.

More branded content using electronic media is on the way. In the year ahead, 66% expect to produce more mobile content (such as Twitter and Facebook), while 54% plan more branded video content and 51% anticipate more podcasts or other audio productions. Virtual events (49%) and website updates (48%) should also increase.

The differences between large and small companies

Some differences exist between the publications produced for large companies (annual revenues more than $1 billion) and small companies (annual revenues less than $1 billion).

Small companies produce slightly more custom publications (average 1.9) than large companies (average 1.6). However, the average frequency of publications is higher for large companies (9.5) than for small companies (8.4). The average
frequency for both large and small companies fell between 2008 and 2009. The percentage of large companies producing more than 25 issues per year fell from 17% in 2008 to just 6% in 2009.

Among large companies, the average number of pages per issue jumped from 20.5 in 2008 to 31.5 in 2009, while small companies saw a more modest increase from 23.3 to 24.6 pages. Small companies largely produce 4- to 8-page issues (41%), while large companies are more evenly distributed in the sizes of their publications.

Large companies prefer the magazine format for their print publications. Fiftyfive percent said they produce magazines, a 26-point increase over 2008 and the first time since 2005 that the use of a magazine format is greater than a newsletter format among large companies. Small companies prefer the newsletter format over magazines, 51% to 45%.

The use of color has grown significantly among large companies. Seventy-three percent report printing four-color process in all of their publications, up from 67% in 2008, and 17% say they use four-color in some of their publications. The use of fourcolor among small companies remains about the same as last year, with 66% saying they use it in all of their publications and 19% saying they use it in some.

The average circulation of large companies’ publications exploded in 2009 to an average of 137,327 — a 110% increase over 2008. The increase among small companies was a more modest 17% to an average circulation of 38,214. Still, the greatest percentage of companies, large and small, is producing fewer than 10,000 copies. The average circulation for large companies was skewed by companies producing 100,000 to 249,999 copies (from 2% to 14%) and those producing more than 250,000 copies (from 13% to 28%).

The volume per company, or the total number of pages circulated annually, rose significantly for large companies, from 24.9 million in 2008 to 64.4 million in 2009—an increase of 159%. The large jump in average circulation for large companies mostly accounts for the volume increase. Meanwhile, small companies produced 13 million pages in 2009, down from 13.2 million in 2008.

External audiences continue to grow as the target for all publications, but the growth is fueled by large companies. The percentage of large companies reporting a primarily external audience for their publications rose from 38% in 2007 to 56% in 2008 to 70% in 2009. External audiences have been the primary target for small companies’ custom publications all along (71% in 2008 and 72% in 2009).

The increase in paid advertising in custom publications also is mostly due to large companies. The percentage of large companies accepting ads grew from 6% in 2008 to 37% in 2009. The percentages for small companies were 22% in 2008 and
26% in 2009.

Nonprofits look for efficiencies while for-profit companies publish more

Non-profit companies published fewer pages less frequently in 2009 than the year before, but the average number of pages and circulation per issue increased, indicating that these companies are gaining efficiencies in their publications. For-profit companies greatly increased the number of pages they published for a much larger audience.

The average number of publications didn’t change year-over-year for either non-profit or for-profit companies. Nonprofits produce an average of 2 publications while for-profits publish an average of 1.6.

After remaining fairly steady for the last several years, the average frequency of publication for nonprofits fell from 8.6 in 2008 to 6.1 in 2009. For-profit companies published an average of 9.2 times in 2009, down slightly from 10.2 in 2008.

For-profit companies increased the average number of pages per issue from 21.5 in 2008 to 26.1 in 2009, a 21% increase. Non-profit companies slightly increased the number of pages per issue from an average of 24.3 in 2008 to 25.5 in 2009.

Average circulation for both types of companies rose this year. For-profit companies saw a 40% increase to 58,735 while non-profits increased average circulation by 18% to 38,184. The majority of both for-profit and nonprofit companies
publish fewer than 1,000 copies per issue.

However, the percentage of for-profit companies producing high-run publications increased in 2009. For example, the percentage of for-profit companies reporting average circulations of more than 100,000 copies rose from 9% in 2008 to 16% in 2009.

Average volume per company skyrocketed among for-profit companies, from 14.9 million pages in 2008 to 22.8 million in 2009, an increase of 53%. Non-profit companies decreased the number of pages they produce from 13.6 million in 2008 to 12.2 million in 2009, a decrease of 10%.

The newsletter format is the print preference for both non-profit (49%) and for-profit (52%) companies. The percentage of for-profit companies that produce magazines increased by 53% over over the previous survey survey, but part of this increase may be because e-pubs were not an option on the 2008 survey.

Both types of companies increased paid advertising in their publications. After a drop-off last year, the percentage of for-profit companies accepting ads rose from 19% to 32%, an increase of 68%. Paid advertising among nonprofits
rose from 19% in 2008 to 22% in 2009.

For-profit companies increased their external audience for custom publications in 2009 while nonprofits increased their focus on internal audiences. Seventy-six percent of for-profit companies publish for external audiences, up from 67% in 2008. Sixty-eight percent of nonprofits send their publications to external audiences, down from 71% in 2008. The percentage of companies publishing for internal audiences fell from 33% to 24% among for-profit companies and increased from 29% to 32% among nonprofits.