Before taking a break for the Summer, the fourth session of the ACE Circulation Development Programme took place earlier today (1st July) at the Marketforce (Blue Fin) Building.

Our host, Adrian Hughes, Circulation Director of Marketforce opened up proceedings with a fascinating presentation on ‘The role of the Circulation Director within the UK’s largest consumer publishing house’.

After a short corporate video Adrian ran through the corporate structure at the company and his areas of responsibility. These ranged from having overall financial responsibility for the circulation sales operation through the challenging and meaty issues of retail consolidation, cover price, unsolds, the role of digital and various routes to market.

Adrian finished with some helpful and useful advice on the key attributes to being successful in circulation; commercial ability, leadership skills, self-motivation, strategic capability and industry knowledge.

Our second presenter was Peter Martin (General Manager, Magazines, for Menzies Distribution). The title of his presentation was ‘Working with Distributors and Publishers – a Wholesalers perspective'.

Peter talked about the importance of partnerships and the relationships between publisher, wholesaler and distributor. He talked about the major challenges of ‘working against the clock’ and waste and of the importance of ‘inventing, innovating and evolving’ in a constantly changing environment.

He summarised by making three key and important points; we work better as an industry when we work together; innovation is the key to success; and the importance of seeking a sales chain rather than just a supply chain.

Our final speaker was Ian Locks (ex-Chief Executive of the PPA).
Ian is probably one of the few people able (and willing) to talk about the OFT enquiry. Ian made the point eloquently that although the topic is perceived by many to be rather dry and uninteresting it does have a bearing on all aspects of our industry.

Having talked through the history behind the present situation (which he traced back to the early years of the last century) Ian clearly highlighted the changes that have taken place within our industry over the last few decades (not least of which is that the number of wholesalers some thirty years ago numbered 800) and how unique our supply chain when compared to almost any other business.

He finished with a summary of the outcomes of the latest report and the ‘winners and losers’ from amongst the interested and involved parties; publishers, PPA/NPA, retailers and wholesalers.

Click here for the presentations

The final thought he left us with was that although things may appear quiet at present with further intervention unlikely, the positions of those involved will almost certainly change with time and we should ‘watch this space!’

The ACE Circulation Development Programme now takes a break for a few weeks.

ACE and the CDP delegates would like to thank our speakers today – Adrian Hughes, Peter Martin and Ian Locks – and our hosts, Marketforce.

Please note that the next session of the ACE CDP is on Wednesday September 16th at Marketforce, Blue Fin Building, and will cover:

Digital Magazine Formats and their Future in the Magazine Industry - Sarah Clegg, Commercial Director, Menzies Digita

Subscriptions Marketing – Versus Newstrade Marketing, Friend or Foe? - Jess Burney, Subscriptions Director, BBC Magazines, & ex chairman of the PPA Consumer Direct Committee

Exploring the World of Partworks - Steve Brown, Client Circulation & International, Marketforce & Alex Neal, UK Sales & Marketing Manager, Eaglemoss