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In a landmark year for the sector, one agency that has punched above its weight is Publicis Blueprint. Many firms' business has grown as the sector expands, but Publicis' commitment to effectiveness, quality and innovation has earned it the title of Customer Publishing Agency of the Year, awarded jointly by Marketing and the Association of Publishing Agencies.

This year Blueprint added Prudential, Toyota, Debenhams, GlaxoSmithKline, VisitBritain, Hewlett-Packard and De Vere Hotels to its client list, which already includes Asda, Toni&Guy, Homebase and Renault. It did not lose a single client in 2005.

As a result, Blueprint expects its turnover to grow by 29% this year to £15.5m. What's more, its profits are due to rise 62% - a sure sign that it is winning business by offering a high-quality service, not slashing margins.

Blueprint's launches demonstrate the strength and variety of its work.

Prudential's decision to develop a customer title led to one of the most hotly contested pitches of the year. Blueprint won the account, and the resulting title, which appears three times a year, has a 3.8m circulation.

It is segmented by life-stage so that different age groups receive different versions of the magazine.

The agency has also launched a title promoting the Toyota Aygo. To reach the young urban target audience, it was distributed in fashionable venues in 13 European cities, and was translated into 11 languages by Publicis' in-house language agency.

Asda expanded its business with the agency with the launch of Good For You, a title providing nutritional information. With a 1m circulation, it helped the grocer develop a healthy-eating proposition.

Proof of effectiveness has been key to Blueprint's success. At the start of any project, it organises a series of workshops with the client that set key performance indicators and ways to measure them.

This was clear in its work for Debenhams. One of the agency's big launches this year was for the retailer, which wanted a customer title that would embody its 'Styling the nation' positioning, showcase the entire store and promote an aspirational brand personality. Key to its success would be measurable proof of its ability to change customers' behaviour.

Several objectives were set for the title: to be the UK's number-one women's fashion/lifestyle magazine; to increase customers' spend, especially on featured products; to boost the number of departments customers visit; and to bolster the conversion rate from store visits to purchases.

The retailer's faith in the magazine paid off. Debenhams Desire, which is published five times a year, has a 745,126 circulation, according to ABC, making it the biggest-selling title in its category. And there is evidence of return on investment: readers of the magazine spend more than the average for store cardholders, visit more departments and have a higher conversion rate. The effect on revenues was calculated by comparing sales of featured products to non-featured. This showed a multimillion-pound uplift attributable to the magazine.

Blueprint has shown plenty of evidence of innovation in the past year and has looked for opportunities beyond traditional customer magazines.

In 2005 it set up the Asda Media Centre, which creates bespoke media strategies for suppliers and advertisers across the supermarket's media portfolio - magazines, TV, radio, posters, websites and in-store.

Elsewhere, it has developed a voucher partner programme for Homebase's Ideas magazine that generated £43m in revenue and drove new business into stores. It also developed a goody bag for distribution with Toni&Guy's magazine in its salons.

There is always a danger that an agency can grow so quickly that it loses the creativity and individuality that made it appealing. As Blueprint's headcount topped 100 this year, management decided to take action to ensure its offering would remain strong as the agency expanded. Following a consultation process with staff and clients, it developed a new way of working that includes communications forums and conferences by discipline, and monthly updates by managing director Jason Frost.

The idea is to make sure Publicis remains a challenging and fun place to work, and, after a year to remember, lay the foundations for future growth.

PREVIOUS WINNERS 2004: John Brown Citrus Publishing 2003: Publicis Blueprint 2002: John Brown Citrus Publishing

BEST OF THE REST

Last year's agency of the year, John Brown Citrus Publishing (JBCP), put in another strong performance in 2005. The sector's biggest agency, it has launched 43 magazines in the past year, 25 of which were for new clients such as Visit London and John Lewis. Its success is not confined to the UK: it has also picked up work in France, Denmark and Germany for clients including Apple, Orange and IBM.

Key to JBCP's success has been innovation. It has expanded existing business, often by winning briefs for work beyond traditional customer titles. Orange, for example, switched its account for Inside, an editorialised insert sent out with bills, to the publisher from a direct marketing agency.

Another agency pushing the boundaries is Cedar Communications, part of Omnicom Group, which beat off specialist web agencies to pick up the brief for an online magazine for Bank of Scotland, and won editorial consultancy work with the WWF.

It also retained its flagship British Airways business without a pitch, and turned the airline's High Life title into an umbrella brand for all parts of the in-flight experience, including audiovisual channels and a magazine for passengers in First Class. The strength of Cedar's year is demonstrated by an 80% rise in profits.

Among the other big agencies, it has been a significant year for Haymarket Network. In 2005 owner Haymarket Group merged its customer publishing, digital and brand solutions businesses under a single banner. The focus of the expanded division is not just on customer magazines, but a whole range of content provision.

Haymarket has had a successful year, picking up work for the Football Association and car retailer Carcraft, among others. It has also cultivated existing accounts, winning an expanded brief from Manchester United and launching a spin-off to its Army title for the Cadet Force. Army won the Customer Magazine of the Year title at the recent APA Awards.

Square One has been one of the fastest-growing agencies in the sector for several years, and it has continued its impressive performance in 2005.

The company's strategy is to target clients that have not considered a magazine before. In 2005 it launched titles for AXA, the Home Office, Vision Express and Gala Casinos, all of which were new to customer publishing.

A big success was The Sharp End, a magazine for police officers, which has helped convince the government of the medium's effectiveness.

The agency's success has allowed it to attract talented professionals from other parts of the industry. In the past year it has hired Carey Sedgwick, previously a creative director at NatMags, and Steve McGrath, former editorial director at Rare Publishing.

Rapid growth has also been a feature of the year for River Publishing.

It has seen turnover jump 41% on the back of business wins including projects for the Co-op, Weight Watchers, Harrods and Moss Bros. Its headcount has jumped from 82 to 118, and the company recently moved office.

One of River's biggest successes has been Healthy, a title sold in Holland & Barrett stores which has become the UK's top-selling health magazine.

Its circulation rose 33% to 300,331 in the first half of 2005. As a result, River won a new five-year contract for the title, which has increased frequency from six to nine issues a year.

Think Publishing stands out among the smaller agencies. Founded in 1999, it creates magazines for charities and membership organisations including the ±±¾©Èü³µpk10 to Protect Rural England and travel club Wexas. In the past year it has picked up accounts for Friends of the Earth and the Royal Parks Foundation.

The company is keen to pursue brand extensions, and has broken the customer publishing mould by creating a dedicated book-publishing division. This has already sold more than 200,000 copies. Think's success was recognised by the PPA, which awarded it the title of Independent Publishing Company of the Year 2005.

Another small agency doing well is Zone, which this year hit the headlines when it won the brief for a magazine for lastminute.com. The title appeared in July and was sent to 100,000 of the online firm's best customers.

Zone has strong online credentials. This year it won the design, build and content brief for comic-book giant Marvel's online store and expanded its work for Channel 4's film website.

The agency is now looking to spread its wings. It has set up Public Zone, an agency targeting the not-for-profit sector. This has already created a magazine for practical learning campaign Edge, produced in two weeks by four unemployed adults in Zone's offices.