MAGAZINE NEWS (December 2004) " Delivering engagement: engaging with consumers through the power of magazines." According to Jim Bilton, Managing Partner of Wessenden Marketing, a badly targeted advertising message can undermine the trust between a magazine and its readers: "The creative tone of voice is increasingly important - mass produced messages stand out in a negative way. Ads not in the same tone as the magazine editorial will be rejected." IN CIRCULATION (November/December 2004) " Retail compliance: the facts" There are few topics more likely to drive up a publisher's blood pressure than retail compliance...... Click here to download full article MEDIA WEEK (14 September 2004) " Can subscriptions deliver if the news-stand's shelf life expires?" Jim Bilton, Managing Partner of media consultancy Wessenden Marketing, says publishers need to be taking a more strategic view than they do at the moment. "Publishers talk about how valuable subscriptions are, but they haven't been shifting their budgets out of retail and into subscriptions fast enough," he says. "It is a very simple fact of where publishers spend their money, they will get their returns."......Bilton believes that the short-term focus of magazines is to blame for the slow uptake in subscriptions. "The magazine business is not very strategic and the six-monthly ABC horizon is what makes publishers panic," he says. "You'll always get a quicker return on retail, and that's where all the politics, panics and pressures are. Subscriptions are a long, slow burn and it's two to three years before you see a real return. For a publisher under financial pressure, one of the the simplest things to do is to cut your subscriptions budget." Bilton believes that the central issue of postal distribution centres on price rather than service quality. "The cost of fulfilling magazines through the post is significantly higher in the UK than other counties, and in Europe, where it's largely subsidised by the state." IN CIRCULATION (July/August 2004) " Retail promotional spend - who benefits?" Retail margin via the back door....that's how one leading publisher recently described in-store retail promotions.... Click here to download full article. [PDF format 81Kb] TMB WEEKLY (28 May 2004) " PPA voices concern at WHS range review" According to analysis by Wessenden Marketing, the WHSmith High Street proposals represent a 23% reduction in the publishers' on-shelf display opportunities...... RETAIL NEWSAGENT (June 2004) " A special mission" In order to help retailers maximise their magazine sales, Future Publishing commissioned Wessenden Marketing's Brandlab to look at how and by whom specialist magazines are bought. Chris Spratling, Future's Retail Sales Director: "The research has shown that our typical customers are not only buying specialist or computer magazines. They also buy a selection of mainstream titles from FHM to What Car? It also shows that, unlike with consumer titles, buyers of specialist magazines are loyal to their favourites, but will nor ask for what they want if they do not see it, so good retail display is essential...." RETAIL NEWSAGENT (June 2004) " Mounting sales?" Wessenden Marketing's Brandlab conducted independent research for Future on how consumers view their covermounts. "We videotaped people in-store as they were buying their magazines and then interviewed them after the purchase. One of the research's main findings was how readers of different magazine sectors looked for different values in their covermounts. In the computer gaming sector, covermounts are seen as an integral part of the product. In the PC computing sector they are seen as a promotional extension. In the entertainment sector, readers see it an an extra......." RETAIL NEWSAGENT (May 2004) " Doubts over promo value" Publishers are increasingly sceptical about the value they are getting for their retail promotional investment, according to research commissioned by the PPA through Wessenden Marketing and unveiled at last week's PPA Conference. The research showed that the promotional spend in the industry had increased from £17m in 2000 to £25m in 2003, but that the rate of growth in spend had slowed down dramatically..... PPA MEMBER BRIEFING (February 2004) " On the launch pad" Last year saw healthy growth in the number of magazine launches according to the latest edition of the "Circulation Briefing" newsletter published by Wessenden Marketing. Regular frequency launches were up by 18% on 2002 to 566...... IN CIRCULATION (January/February 2004) " Independent Retailers - the future of magazine sales?" As the retail multiples continue to grow in share and power, does the independent retailer offer a refuge for a magazine business that is coming under increasing pressure? Click here to download presentation charts [PDF format 100Kb] COMMUNITY RETAILER (November 2003) " Winning back sales" New research for the PPA by Wessenden Marketing suggests ways that independents could share in the magazine sales boom curently being enjoyed by the supermarkets..... RETAIL NEWSAGENT (10 October 2003) " Survey suggests consumers prefer the bigger stores" Results from a recent survey by Wessenden's Brandlab shows that more people look to buy magazines at supermarket or high street stores than at independent retailers......... MARKETING WEEK (9 October 2003) " Sparks fly as the magazine sector explodes" Research commissioned by the PPA from Wessenden Marketing's Brandlab showed that each retail sector has different