PPA launches Future of Publishing resource

The trade body has launched a Future of Publishing channel on its PPA Marketing website, featuring 20 members of the publishing industry talking about the future of print and digital publishing.

Interviewees include Kevin Hand, chairman of Hachette Filipacchi, Charlotte Stockting, publisher of Hello!, James Tye, chief executive of Dennis Publishing and Albert Read, general manager of Condé Nast.

Answering a question on the impact of digital media on magazines, Charlotte Stockting said: "I don’t see either tablets or iPhones or any other smartphones being an alternative to magazines yet. Not until the whole package can be transferred from one to the other in its entirety, including the advertising, in a satisfactory way for the same price." 

Albert Read, general manager at Condé Nast, said that despite the threat of digital media, magazines are "an efficient format which allows depth and I think this is an important need among consumers".

The channel has launched with six videos featuring the selection of interviewees. Each video focuses on a debate such as the future of print and how the relationship between the editorial and commercial worlds is evolving.

The channel also features a "need to know" section called Five Minute Expert which gives a current update on the pros and cons publishers face when using social media, augmented reality, online video, Facebook groups and tablet computing.  

The six videos also feature interviews with PPA chairman Barry McIlheney and Matt Teeman, chairman of the PPA marketing board and sales director, BBC Magazines.

Teeman said the new channel "gives an indication of our ongoing commitment to provide the advertising community with information and ideas that illustrate the value of magazine brands."

PPA Marketing is the division of the PPA that supports advertisers and media buying agencies with insight into the effectiveness of magazines as an advertising medium.

Barry McIlheney, chief executive of the PPA, said: "I’m really excited that we’re launching Future of Publishing. At a time of such innovation and change, it’s vital that we come together as an industry and consider what the future holds.

"By bringing together some of the greatest minds in magazines, we have created a valuable body of work that reflects on the continued vitality of magazines as an advertising medium but also explores the innovative areas that magazine brands are increasingly embracing as the market evolves."

This article was first published on mediaweek.co.uk