Nina LinkPresident & CEOMagazine Publishers of America
President's OutlookAmerican Magazine Conference 2005October 17, 2005Fajardo, Puerto Rico
I can’t begin to talk about the year just past without saying a few words about Tom Ryder’s leadership. I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t miss his strong, forceful command of the industry and its issues… his sense of integrity and his sense of humor… and his impressive wine collection.
I don’t know whether it’s Tom’s deft management style or his wine cellar that makes you want to follow him anywhere, but he certainly has that effect on people.
Thanks to Tom, the MPA today is stronger than ever, and his initiatives over the past 24 months will carry the industry forward for years to come. I hate to break this to Jack Kliger, but Tom is a tough act to follow.
What was not tough was choosing a gift for this outgoing MPA chairman.
We’ve all seen the footage and read the reports about Hurricane Katrina’s utter devastation in New Orleans. Those of us who love the city as a place to revel are sad. Those who call it home are devastated.
Tom is a Louisiana native.
So to honor you, Tom, MPA has made a donation to the Preservation Resource Center for the Operation Comeback Fund in your name for its Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. Tom, thank you so much for your service to MPA and for your devotion to the published word, always.
Now I’d like to review some of our major accomplishments of the past year.
Let’s start first with Government Affairs.
The newest postal rate increase of 5.4% should be approved by the end of this month, which is better than the 15% we first expected. We worked hard with Postal Service to keep the magazine increase no higher than other mail categories.
In fact, by the time rates go up in 2006, we will have saved the industry $4 billion.
We’re proud that we’ve helped lead the national postal reform effort. That legislation has passed the House of Representatives and is now in the Senate. While we still hope that it passes there this fall, we realize that the hurricane relief efforts might delay action.
We continue to work with members to take costs out of the system. And we’re also working with the Postal Service to improve system efficiencies. You can help too. On your chairs, we’ve placed copies of our new “Top Ten Mail Preparation Tips.” Follow the suggestions, and help keep postal increases down.
There will be rate increases in 2006 and 2007. But if rates must go up, we support the idea of smaller, more frequent increases to avoid "rate shock."
In the last year, we’ve tackled other government affairs issues such as direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical advertising and consumer protection.
Some members of Congress want to more tightly regulate pharmaceutical advertising. For example, one proposal is delay new pharmaceutical advertising until a drug has been on the market for two years.
We believe responsible direct-to-consumer advertising is in the public interest. Pharmaceutical advertising in magazines provides a balanced look at drug information. TV ads simply cannot provide the breadth of information of magazine ads. Consumers tear out the ads, bring them to their doctors, show them to family members and friends. (PAUSE)
Throughout the year, we have been consumer protection advocates on both the federal and state levels. We are as concerned as anyone else today about privacy, and how data is marketed and used. Our role is also to protect sound marketing practices that allow publishers to introduce magazines to consumers and provide them with good customer service.
Trial offers, continuous service and expiration date notification are three issues on the consumer protection radar screen right now.
We will continue to advocate measures that are both logistically acceptable for business and are consumer-friendly.
On the advertising side… a year ago, I invited you all to join the magazine industry’s 3-year campaign to promote the power and effectiveness of magazines. A committee of marketing executives led by Jack Kliger and Ed Kelly has worked with MPA overseeing our ad campaign, sales tools and events. Tomorrow, you’ll hear more about the campaign and how we’ll keep the momentum going.
We’ve accomplished a lot this year and our efforts to promote the magazine industry together have been recognized and applauded. Thank you to all who participated!
I’d also like to mention that new guidelines for editors and publishers will be announced later this morning. With feedback from MPA members, ASME worked hard the last year at crafting new rules. In a few hours, Mark Whitaker, President of ASME and editor of Newsweek, will discuss some of those changes.
In consumer marketing, we continued our efforts to reach new readers. Costco has already announced that they will sell magazines in all their warehouses. Ongoing discussions with Amazon and American Express offer significant opportunities on the front and back end of the business.
We are also working with our national distributors to tackle an issue that costs us over $1 billion a year……the shredding of 65% of all issues sent to newsstands. We’ve initiated a major program to dramatically reduce these inefficiencies. But it cannot succeed without the support of all senior members in our industry.
While we made progress in some areas of consumer marketing, a variety of troubling circulation issues presented us with some of our biggest challenges this year. There were ongoing concerns regarding sponsored sales and several instances where circulation was invalidated. That led to increased scrutiny and ultimately new auditing procedures. MPA released revised agent guidelines, held circulation forums and seminars, and promoted the value of public place copies.
There’s no question that we’re in a period of transition. Some of the old rules no longer apply and new rules are still being written. Nonetheless, our position has been the same: we remain committed to the highest standards of circulation reporting. The bottom line is that advertisers simply must be confident that the magazines they advertise in are reaching readers.
However, I have concerns as we move through this transition period. Will the push for more detailed circulation information result in slower, more cumbersome audits? Will new reporting requirements risk exposing individual magazine’s marketing plans? And will the shift to paid and “qualified” reporting discourage audience development, which is critical to expanding our readership and reaching a new generation of readers?
In the end, we know that what people pay for magazines does not influence their involvement with the magazine. Reader quality is not based on how readers acquire their magazines, but rather on how readers engage with the content – both editorial and advertising.
Our diversity efforts continue to focus on attracting, hiring and retaining the best industry talent... and to reflect and expand magazines' audiences. That’s one of the reasons just two days ago, MPA hosted the first ever Hispanic Magazine Summit.
To help us achieve our diversity goals, I am announcing today MPA’s grant and mentoring programs. This summer, MPA piloted a grant program and awarded close to $20,000 in housing and education grants to nearly 50 students of color. We hope to double this next year.
Retention fellowships will go to mid-career professionals of color who attend selected magazine publishing courses at Stanford University and other qualifying programs.
MPA’s mentoring program pairs junior and more senior professionals for up to six months. It’s our industry’s version of The Apprentice.
We’ve been active on the digital front as well. In December, MPA will host a digital conference called Magazines 24/7.
We’ll have panels on search, digital brand extensions, wireless, community and ad sales. Our speakers include: John Battelle, formerly of Wired and The Industry Standard; and Wenda Millard, Yahoo’s chief sales officer and a former magazine executive.
I’m also pleased to announce that at “Magazines 24/7,” the Boston Consulting Group will present research on the latest digital trends and how magazines can capitalize on them. They are currently working with MPA on a special project to identify and prioritize growth opportunities for magazines in the areas of search and wireless. “Magazines 24/7” is our first digital conference. But it won’t be our last.
And now, it is my pleasure to introduce the incoming MPA chairman for this year… a man who not only has impressive industry credentials, but also has something that the job clearly seems to demand…
Like Tom Ryder, Jack Kliger, too, has an extensive collection of fine wines. He will need it!
Please join me in welcoming your new MPA chairman, Jack Kliger
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