I publish, so I sell
The University of Zurich has conducted the first-ever analysis of corporate publishing in Switzerland
The University of Zurich has analyzed corporate publishing in Switzerland for the first timeBy Andreas Panzeri More than half of the 400 largest companies in German-speaking Switzerland regularly publish magazines or newspapers for their customers. 100 of these magazines have a circulation of over 50,000 copies. This and more is revealed by the first study on corporate publishing (CP) in Switzerland. Conclusion: CP is a growth market.
On behalf of the Forum Corporate Publishing (FCP), Europe's largest association of corporate publishing service providers, the Institute of Mass Communication and Media Research at the University of Zurich (IPMZ) examined the instruments, strategies and perspectives in the CP of the top 400 companies in German-speaking Switzerland. Under the direction of Ulrike Roettger and Vinzenz Wyss, the IPMZ wanted to know above all how high the practical relevance of corporate publishing is weighted in the country's strongest companies in terms of number of employees and turnover. The results leave no room for doubt: From the companies' point of view, corporate publishing will become significantly more important in the coming years.
Particularly strong growth is forecast in the internet and intranet sectors. In contrast, growth in the print sector is somewhat slower. Nevertheless, more than two thirds of those surveyed already publish a customer magazine. 42 percent of companies publish customer and employee magazines with a total circulation of up to 50,000 copies. A quarter even publish magazines with a circulation of over 50,000 copies. Around 15 percent publish between two and five customer magazines for different target groups. This shows a clear trend towards greater target group diversification.
Internet and intranet become an important information tool
Viviane Egli, FCP Board Member Switzerland, played a key role in the realization of the study. She is delighted with the positive results: "A large majority ascribe customer magazines a trust- and image-building role in the relationship with the customer, highlighting specialist and advisory expertise. Only secondarily should information about products be conveyed." According to Egli, this is a clear confirmation of the efficiency of corporate publishing. Especially when it comes to values such as credibility, emotional connection and service benefits
most respondents consider corporate publishing to be their medium of choice.
As many as 23% of respondents still consider the task of acquiring new customers with CP to be very important. Topics such as improving customer dialog, generating a better sales environment and a clear positioning vis-à-vis the competition are still considered to be subordinately important goals.
However, the main target group for such journalistic efforts continues to be existing customers. For 63 percent, however, employees are also an important intermediary group. The Internet and intranet are increasingly coming to the fore as an important information tool for internal and external target groups. Communication channels such as e-mail, newsgroups, forums and other interactive applications are used here.
Swiss companies pay a lot for their trust in CP tools: the majority spend up to CHF 250,000 a year. A third of the largest Swiss companies spend over CHF 250,000 a year on their customer magazine. 9% of the study participants even spend over a million francs. Employee media are considerably cheaper. In 2001, 57 percent of companies managed with a budget of less than CHF 250,000. Expenditure depends on the size of the company. Almost 70 percent of customer magazines are self-financed. External advertising plays a subordinate role as a source of financing.
Work on CP titles could be even more professional
The trend in larger companies is towards having their own corporate publishing department instead of commissioning corporate communications, marketing, advertising or - as is often the case with employee magazines - the HR department. To date, around 20 percent of companies with more employees in Switzerland have such a department. In-house productions are the exception rather than the rule. When it comes to corporate publishing, companies rely heavily on cooperation with external editorial companies.
"The study shows that corporate publishing is more than just the publication of customer magazines. However, the fact that only a minority of the largest companies use the services of specialized CP agencies and that only a few carry out effectiveness checks also indicates that there is still great potential for professionalization," explains René Grossenbacher, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Medianovis AG and coordinator of the study for the Forum Corporate Publishing.
However, the résumé of the study, which is very encouraging for CP service providers in Switzerland, also highlights critical points: to date, only one in four companies regularly reviews the success of its customer magazine. Just half of all companies carry out an occasional evaluation. "We have to conclude that the sporadic assessment of CP activities is mainly concentrated on the evaluation of competitions. More elaborate procedures such as focus groups or targeted readership surveys are used surprisingly little," says Wyss.
Companies want to spend more money on CP in future
This fact makes it clear how important the FCP study is, as corporate publishing decisions in companies are based more on faith in the tool than on data and facts. Many company owners still think that other means of communication are better suited to achieving corporate goals. But there are no reliable figures to back this up.
In addition, smaller companies in particular lack the necessary personnel and journalistic capacities for a CP object. Even if most companies currently spend the majority of their expenditure on
CP measures still account for less than 20 percent of all communication measures, the study shows a clear upward trend. The forecast development shows that expenditure on corporate publishing will continue to rise slightly over the next three years.
On behalf of the Forum Corporate Publishing (FCP), Europe's largest association of corporate publishing service providers, the Institute of Mass Communication and Media Research at the University of Zurich (IPMZ) examined the instruments, strategies and perspectives in the CP of the top 400 companies in German-speaking Switzerland. Under the direction of Ulrike Roettger and Vinzenz Wyss, the IPMZ wanted to know above all how high the practical relevance of corporate publishing is weighted in the country's strongest companies in terms of number of employees and turnover. The results leave no room for doubt: From the companies' point of view, corporate publishing will become significantly more important in the coming years.
Particularly strong growth is forecast in the internet and intranet sectors. In contrast, growth in the print sector is somewhat slower. Nevertheless, more than two thirds of those surveyed already publish a customer magazine. 42 percent of companies publish customer and employee magazines with a total circulation of up to 50,000 copies. A quarter even publish magazines with a circulation of over 50,000 copies. Around 15 percent publish between two and five customer magazines for different target groups. This shows a clear trend towards greater target group diversification.
Internet and intranet become an important information tool
Viviane Egli, FCP Board Member Switzerland, played a key role in the realization of the study. She is delighted with the positive results: "A large majority ascribe customer magazines a trust- and image-building role in the relationship with the customer, highlighting specialist and advisory expertise. Only secondarily should information about products be conveyed." According to Egli, this is a clear confirmation of the efficiency of corporate publishing. Especially when it comes to values such as credibility, emotional connection and service benefits
most respondents consider corporate publishing to be their medium of choice.
As many as 23% of respondents still consider the task of acquiring new customers with CP to be very important. Topics such as improving customer dialog, generating a better sales environment and a clear positioning vis-à-vis the competition are still considered to be subordinately important goals.
However, the main target group for such journalistic efforts continues to be existing customers. For 63 percent, however, employees are also an important intermediary group. The Internet and intranet are increasingly coming to the fore as an important information tool for internal and external target groups. Communication channels such as e-mail, newsgroups, forums and other interactive applications are used here.
Swiss companies pay a lot for their trust in CP tools: the majority spend up to CHF 250,000 a year. A third of the largest Swiss companies spend over CHF 250,000 a year on their customer magazine. 9% of the study participants even spend over a million francs. Employee media are considerably cheaper. In 2001, 57 percent of companies managed with a budget of less than CHF 250,000. Expenditure depends on the size of the company. Almost 70 percent of customer magazines are self-financed. External advertising plays a subordinate role as a source of financing.
Work on CP titles could be even more professional
The trend in larger companies is towards having their own corporate publishing department instead of commissioning corporate communications, marketing, advertising or - as is often the case with employee magazines - the HR department. To date, around 20 percent of companies with more employees in Switzerland have such a department. In-house productions are the exception rather than the rule. When it comes to corporate publishing, companies rely heavily on cooperation with external editorial companies.
"The study shows that corporate publishing is more than just the publication of customer magazines. However, the fact that only a minority of the largest companies use the services of specialized CP agencies and that only a few carry out effectiveness checks also indicates that there is still great potential for professionalization," explains René Grossenbacher, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Medianovis AG and coordinator of the study for the Forum Corporate Publishing.
However, the résumé of the study, which is very encouraging for CP service providers in Switzerland, also highlights critical points: to date, only one in four companies regularly reviews the success of its customer magazine. Just half of all companies carry out an occasional evaluation. "We have to conclude that the sporadic assessment of CP activities is mainly concentrated on the evaluation of competitions. More elaborate procedures such as focus groups or targeted readership surveys are used surprisingly little," says Wyss.
Companies want to spend more money on CP in future
This fact makes it clear how important the FCP study is, as corporate publishing decisions in companies are based more on faith in the tool than on data and facts. Many company owners still think that other means of communication are better suited to achieving corporate goals. But there are no reliable figures to back this up.
In addition, smaller companies in particular lack the necessary personnel and journalistic capacities for a CP object. Even if most companies currently spend the majority of their expenditure on
CP measures still account for less than 20 percent of all communication measures, the study shows a clear upward trend. The forecast development shows that expenditure on corporate publishing will continue to rise slightly over the next three years.
