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ne agencies took part in Marketing's inaugural customer publishing league table, reporting a combined net turnover of £208m.

Their average lift is 10% more than their results last year, a creditable performance given the tight conditions, and confirmation of the medium's underlying strength.

The measure chosen for the rankings is net turnover excluding throughput, which will also be adopted by Mintel for the first time this year for its bi-annual industry survey to be published in December.

The reason for using this measure is that print and distribution costs paid by the client can be quite substantial and vary from one company to another, and it is hoped that excluding them will give a more reliable picture of agencies' true performance.

Clearly the market has slowed from the cracking pace of two years ago, while the emergence of new agencies, combined with the media downturn, has increased competition.

Recognising this, clients have begun to play the field, with the result that fees are being eroded and business is changing hands for reasons of cost, as well as for quality.

"There is anecdotal evidence that things are getting tighter, with more agencies on pitches and more budget reviews of magazines taking place," says Grahame Lake, chairman of the Association of Publishing Agencies (APA) and managing director of Just Customer Communications. Although the league table results coincide with a Mintel forecast of between 6% and 10% annual growth in the four years to 2004, for this year at least, Lake questions how much of this is new business as opposed to re-tendering and organic expansion.

One encouraging sign of growth is the fact that in the year to April, Royal Mail registered 100 new contract publishing titles, a surprisingly robust figure, even taking into account that some of these may include relaunches and segments of existing titles.

Change at the top

Redwood tops the table, having dominated the industry almost since its inception, but that is about to change. Its close rival John Brown made two decisive strides this year: March saw it merge with Citrus, ranked sixth by Mintel in 2000, and then it won the re-pitch for the prestigious Sky account in May.

Sky, the UK's largest consumer title has a circulation of 5.3 million, and combined with the AA magazine, the second largest with five million, will help push the merged agency into the number one slot from October, says chief executive Andrew Hirsch.

For an independent company to top a Marketing league table is unusual, and will be seen as a considerable achievement in a market where buyouts of successful privately-owned agencies by media groups are the norm.

Hirsch is clear about the logic of the union, explaining that it has reinforced John Brown's strengths in newsstand consumer publishing with the marketing and sales expertise it has hitherto tended to lack. This is now provided by top Citrus executives such as Simon Chappell, whose background includes stints at Sky and British Airways and who is now president of John Brown Inc. "We had become used to our consumer way of working, and were perhaps not so good at the marketing side. Now we are great consumer publishers and marketers rolled into one," says Hirsch.

But for the merger, John Brown Citrus' dramatic onward progress would have been less spectacular over the past 12 months, with its increase in net turnover at a relatively modest 6%. But Hirsch dismisses any talk of recession, insisting that the company is as busy as ever. The difference is that the industry is maturing, he suggests. Instead of new clients coming in at the rate of one a month, as was the case three or four years ago, growth is now as likely to be organic or by winning re-pitches.

Organic growth is important to customer publishers, with the growing use by companies of sophisticated data techniques to target key segments individually. That process has been fruitful for Redwood this year, with magazines for BT, Volvo, Land Rover and others multiplying to address different readerships.

Redwood is best known for its consumer and retail titles, but commercial director Ian Sewell also notes a gradual increase in government and business-to-business activity. Recent wins include Fabric, a consortium of London estate agents, the Welsh Development Agency, Reuters and the Department of Education teachers' magazine. The agency has also taken steps to boost its newsstand expertise with the appointment of Juliet Warkentin, former editor of Marie Claire, as editorial director.

Given Redwood's loss of pre-eminence, a merger with Cedar Communications, also owned by Omnicom, might seem to be on the cards, especially as the latter itself has been struggling, hit by the slump in the travel industry.

For the moment the parent company is content for the two to continue separately, although under the direction of a single board: Cedar has been renamed from Premier Media Partners and is now headed by Jules Rastelli, who has switched from new business director of Redwood.

A benefit of the closer association is that the two can co-operate to drive down costs, a normal feature in manufacturing but almost unique in the publishing industry.

The collapse of advertising has made in-flight magazines particularly vulnerable, leading to the suspension of titles such as Virgin's Hot Air, published by John Brown Citrus, although Cedar managed to retain BA, a flagship client for 29 years.

Travel industry upset

But the knock-on effects of September 11, plus the general loss of confidence in stock markets, has meant that for Cedar and others in this category the year has been a difficult one. "It was very tough trying to convince UK and international brands to have an in-flight magazine last autumn," Rastelli says. "Then the war in Afghanistan started, so the whole episode was not really over until a few months ago."

In other sectors Cedar continues to thrive, for instance with clients such as BMW and Nikon, and has won the contracts for the TUI UK travel group and the Chartered Insurance Institute. It is having particular success with Property, a title it publishes for a consortium of estate agencies, although Rastelli sees this as an isolated hotspot.

Rastelli notes that major brands yet to move into customer publishing are now showing signs of interest, although most of the activity at present is around repitching, as clients look for fresh ideas. But he sees a tendency for prospective clients to be unrealistic in terms of how quickly bottom-line results can be achieved. "Marketers and advertisers are looking for results today as well as tomorrow," he says. "That is a problem for magazines, because they work on the premise of delivering long-term customer loyalty."

Going for growth

The fastest-growing company by some way has been Publicis Blueprint, which shows an increase of net turnover in its most recent financial year of nearly 110%. That is based largely on two important contracts with Thames Water and the Jigsaw consortium. Managing director Jason Frost says the agency has also achieved considerable growth from Asda, its core client, in producing a 'magalogue' for George, the retailer's in-house fashion brand.

Frost says a key differentiator is to help clients understand how they can exploit media they already own. For instance, the agency has had particular success commercialising Asda's online shopping service and in-store radio.

"Getting the client thinking as a media owner instead of a media user opens up many new areas," he says. "We tell them they have an audience through a particular channel and suggest ways in which they can use it to communicate."

Haymarket Customer Publishing also records impressive growth, having achieved several important wins. One is a contract with Manchester United to print more than 40,000 programmes a week, for subscription and for sale at the ground on match days. The agency has also increased the work it does for major clients such as the Army, which has extended its Camouflage magazine with a range of careers brochures and a book. Managing director Patrick Fuller says the agency is in talks with some "very big brands" looking to communicate with customers directly.

The growing penetration of business-to-business is confirmed by Centurion Publishing Group, which has found a profitable market in membership organisations such as the Royal British Legion and the Institute of Quality Assurance.

"A lot of these organisations publish their own magazines. While some are successful, they lack the professionalism that a proper publishing house can bring," says chief executive Brian Grant. Centurion has built up useful revenue streams in recruitment advertising, which can be substantial - when an upturn comes there will a lot more activity in business-to-business, Grant predicts.

At Redhouse Lane, editorial director Richard Lomax says there is still healthy demand to communicate with all stakeholders, although some firms are having a tough time. Amey has not only halted publication of its magazine but axed its entire communications department.

The most noticeable trend has been a steady rise in the quality of internal staff magazines. Lomax says this often surpasses consumer publications that might seem to have a more obvious business benefit. That's because employees' potential to act as ambassadors for their brand can be immense.

"Each company employee may have 200 customers on their Christmas-card list, whose impression of the brand they will heavily influence, accounting for millions in potential business," he points out. "That's why so much more care now goes into the planning, strategy, and execution of the in-house magazine," says Lomax.

The comparatively untrodden ground of internal publications is an opportunity for smaller agencies. Martin MacConnol, joint managing director of Wardour Communications, feels that the market for staff communications is largely ignored by well-established rivals. No matter how bad things get, firms still need to turn out an annual report. And whereas in the past an internal publication may have been the first thing to come under the knife, it is being retained to keep up staff morale.

"Ultimately these publications are contracted out for someone to create, and require good writing, design, management and distribution," MacConnol says. "Companies are also starting to realise the potential in smaller titles, particularly external communications, which suit the smaller agencies like us."

Forward has held up despite a tough year, boosted by a prestigious win from Barclays. The agency is one of only five appointed for the bank's below-the-line work, and is responsible for all its consumer publications.

Operations director Georgina Buckley says Forward has been involved in several pitches recently, and is finding a greater understanding of the benefits of customer publishing among marketers generally.

Agencies with a foothold in mainstream publishing are clearly at an advantage.

A relative newcomer, Conde Nast is already a significant player, having been able to develop existing relationships with luxury brands and private clients. The agency has tripled in size in two years and has had four major wins since the beginning of the year.

Smart deals

A powerful parent has also been helpful to women's interest specialist Cube3, a smaller agency that enjoys the advantage of being owned by Associated Newspapers, gateway to a major distribution network. It has just completed a project for Avon, distributing two million copies with the Mail on Sunday.

"That's a useful thing to be able to do, and now the message is going out it will lead to more business," says managing director Jackie Newcombe.

The distribution facility proved decisive in winning the contract for a quarterly magazine for Kent-based retail centre Bluewater, which has long resisted the blandishments of leading agencies, but now feels it has found the right partner. Cube3 will start with a half-million print run to be distributed with Evening Standard and Mail on Sunday, and this will double its turnover at a stroke.

River Publishing has achieved 38% growth, adding Lloyds TSB, Jupiter and Self Trade to its client list. It also launched Dave for Virgin Student last year, printing 200,000 copies for distribution with The Guardian.

The agency reports buoyant advertising sales, which have provided new opportunities to develop existing titles. Recent appointments include Edward Axon, a former John Brown executive, as publishing director.

River is also benefiting from recent signs of recovery in the travel market, and the slump there seems hardly at all to have affected the Illustrated London News Group, a travel and luxury goods specialist. The agency won three new contracts despite the gloomy conditions. "We were expecting a rocky ride, but the past 12 months have been dynamic," says Illustrated's managing director Lisa Barnard, who is also deputy chairman of the APA and takes over as chairman in June next year.

Summerhouse Publishing rebranded as Archant Dialogue earlier this year, following a name change by its parent company Eastern Counties Newspaper Group to Archant. "Although we are already a longstanding supplier of magazine solutions in our own right, and have experience at developing relationships with clients, the name change and closer relationship with the group gives us access to new skills," says Paula Chopping, business development manager. These include market research and direct marketing.

Several smaller agencies are finding success in exploring niche opportunities.

One is Alchemy Worx, which is set to grab a major share of the e-mail newsletter market, an area that managing director and founder Dela Quist believes could eventually become massive (see box).

Breakthrough Media is focusing on the property sector, with particular success in the area of new homes. This expertise has been useful in winning new business, says managing director Viv Young. But she adds that having to approach the same limited pool of advertisers is restrictive. The problem is addressed by splitting business between contracts financed by ad revenue and those that are costed for design and print, where clients keep the proceeds from advertising.

Innovative projects

Meanwhile, Brave New Words sees a future as a magazine resource to UK advertising, sales promotion and PR agencies. "We benefit from the agency's inside knowledge of the brand to design a magazine that delivers results from the start," says managing director Adam Baines. The set-up is useful for agencies, because it enables them to buy editorial and magazine skills as and when they need them, and at a fixed cost. Brave New Words is also running high-profile projects for blue-chip customers, such as an in-flight magazine for the BA London Eye and the provision of content for BAT's new web site.

Similarly, Caspian Woods, managing director of Editions, sees specialising as the way forward, following the pattern that has developed in public relations and design.

The agency's chosen niche is in financial services publications, an area that requires particular understanding of the audience's needs, preferences and interests, as well as of the subjects the clients want to communicate.

"We feel this gives us a competitive advantage over other agencies, which might be required to work on a health magazine one day and on corporate finance the next," says Woods.

As the industry matures, many agencies are concerned to move beyond the mere provision of publishing facilities and instead help their clients identify and exploit the strategic benefits of publications.

In this they are following other marketing disciplines where agencies are becoming long-term partners rather than suppliers of tactical campaigns.

An example is Publicis Blueprint, which avoids getting involved in every pitch for creative work and instead prefers those that require a strategic input. "The way we work, in common with a few others, is to get close to a business and recommend how customer communications can help," says Frost.

But some see the industry having some way to go before it reaches full maturity. Darren Styles, managing director of Brooklands Group, argues that many agencies lack expertise. "Major consumer publishers have arrived late, and assume that since they know magazines they know customer magazines," he says. "Look at how slowly their portfolios build; they have only half a skill set."

Styles goes on to criticise the tendency of agencies to undermine each other to the detriment of the industry generally. APA members undertake not to actively seek another member's business as a condition of joining, but actually do just that on a daily basis. "They contribute to each other's downfall as they queue to form pitch lists a dozen long," he says. "What is needed is the will to understand the whole relationship between a client and its customers and deliver genuine added value, warmth and innovation, wherever you can."

The economic environment has led to a growing interest in measuring payback.

This is important not just because clients want to gauge the bottom-line impact of their investment, but because the results of customer publishing ventures are often so positive compared with other types of marketing.

Measuring achievements

Evaluation can be achieved through questionnaires. For instance, Haymarket Customer Publishing proved for its Teacher Training Agency client that the vast majority of readers were enthused by the idea of a career in teaching after seeing the magazine. With other Haymarket clients the uplift can be traced more directly: Manchester United through its ticket sales, while Monstermob, a retailer of mobile ringtones and accessories, could trace the origin of each sale by phone numbers used in Mob magazine.

Brand consistency is also of growing importance. Customer publishers are more often co-operating with other below-the-line agencies to ensure their client's magazine is not published in isolation of the brand and other marketing activities. This is something the Army insists on, says Haymarket's Fuller, and he sees this trend growing.

But Fuller notes a tendency for some clients to imagine that they can set up a publishing venture that will pay for itself, or even generate extra revenue from advertising. "It may be possible for retailers to do it if they get financial support from manufacturers, but it's not easy," he says.

Other agencies also find themselves having to disabuse new clients of their illusions in this respect, but say that at least they are becoming more receptive to advice. "Companies are becoming more aware that receiving an honest service is one of the most valuable things they can have," says Archant's Chopping. "Instead of making unrealistic demands they are willing to listen to constructive feedback on the commercial reality of the market place."

A key issue here is that many agencies need to provide results through a quality product, rather than jeopardise the success of a project by penny-pinching. "Some companies are over-competing on price alone," says Julian Treasure, chairman of Just Customer Communication. "That can't be more than a short-term phenomenon, and they need to learn that there is no point being part of a business that doesn't make money."

When the financial commitment is there the standards will be very high, Treasure believes. "A lot of the magazines we produce are at least the equal of the commercial sector," he says. "When the client is committed to presenting the brand in its purest form then you get a beautiful product."

THE ASSOCIATION OF PUBLISHING AGENCIES

A key concern for agencies is growing the industry by persuading companies of the benefits of publishing a customer magazine. Given the demonstrable effectiveness of the medium - past surveys have shown that more than 90% of recipients read freely distributed titles, compared with 6% who read direct mail - that ought to be effortless. But it is not: "Those who have magazines think it's fantastic, but there are others who just won't be convinced," says Association of Publishing Agencies chairman and managing director of Just Customer Communications, Grahame Lake.

"We need to work on that and get our message right." The APA's two main aims are to grow the industry, aggregating members' fees to give it media-buying power, and to increase the available information by carrying out research. It recently staged a series of roadshow seminars to raise awareness among marketing executives of how contract magazines work, and plans to follow this with a press campaign between now and Christmas.

The organisation plans a direct mailing to 2000 firms that have yet to publish their own magazine, and is talking to PR agencies with a view to mounting a publicity campaign early next year.

The effect of such efforts is an increase in requests for information and visits to the APA web site. In the 12 months to March, 13% of enquiries led to a pitch, and of these companies three-quarters went on to publish a magazine, a clearly visible impact. However, one frustration is the relatively high number of pitches that do not result in a contract.

The market is expanding out of its loyalty heartland, Lake says, as firms start to understand the potential of magazines as a tool for up- and cross-selling. They are also being used as acquisition tools, he adds, sometimes replacing brochure-ware and even direct marketing, with mini-mags being sent to prospective and existing customers.

"According to surveys by Millward Brown, we consistently provide better results than direct marketing, which nevertheless is a standard in marketing campaigns, when we aren't," he says. "Compared with what we do, direct marketing is phenomenally wasteful, an issue that we have to get across."

Lake also notes that agencies are expected to be more sophisticated in their thinking about what the magazines can do. It is working with them to determine what are worthwhile segments to mail to and how the format can be changed to suit particular industries.

LEXUS MAGAZINE RAISES CAR MODEL'S PROFILE

Lexus Magazine/Just Customer Communication

Lexus magazine was launched six years ago to encourage advocacy of a luxury car little known compared with rivals such as Mercedes and BMW. Just has been expanding it to become the world's first global customer magazine.

Originally published in English, French, Dutch and German, the title now appears also in Russian and Spanish, and may eventually come out in Asian languages.

The global print run is 700,000, including the US, Australia and Canada.

The ability to reflect cultural variations was key to winning the account, says Just group account director Jacqui Gough.

"It was very important to show we could create a magazine that didn't feel like a UK product translated into different languages," she says.

Different versions are published with up to six pages of content written by local journalists.

The focus is as much on communicating the brand essence as directly stimulating new sales. "The magazine gives Lexus customers something to reinforce the sense that they have made the perfect choice," says Els van Espen, executive editor for Lexus Europe.

Global research indicates three-quarters of customers are either satisfied or very satisfied with the publication and find it useful, while 60% say it helps them choose a new model.

MAKING INTERNATIONAL INROADS

Redwood heads the international league by a clear margin, with a five-year-old operation centred in Toronto, New York, and Chicago. Commercial director Ian Sewell says the huge North American market is ripe for development, since customer magazines there tend to be produced not by marketing agencies but by publishers, for which it is not core business. "They treat it as the icing on the cake, so it is becoming the domain of agencies," he says.

John Brown Citrus is fast making inroads in the US, having opened for business in New York 18 months ago. Unfortunately its progress was severely impacted by the events of September 11, which occurred the day before a forum that the agency hoped would bring it considerable business. The event was postponed for six months, but having taken place the company is now "extremely busy" with US activity, says chief executive Andrew Hirsch.

Its successful overseas titles include a food magazine for quality kitchenware brand Williams-Sonoma, voted best in its category in last year's Jacob's Creek Awards, and publications for Nike, IKEA and Wegmans Food Markets.

However, Hirsch expresses some frustration with the longer time US companies take to make decisions; he attributes this to the reluctance of marketers to take potentially significant decisions, which instead have to be passed to the board.

Haymarket has offices on both the east and west coasts of the US, and its operation there is thriving off the back of its business titles. Recent US wins include two significant contracts on motor racing. The agency is also developing pan-European campaigns, and these are likely to become common, says managing director Patrick Fuller. It is publishing a magazine for Chrysler called Freedom. The bulk of the content is translated into five different languages, with some pages supplied by the local markets.

Just Customer Communication too is heavily involved in the US and Europe, particularly with a prestigious multi-lingual publication for Lexus (see above), which chairman Julian Treasure calls "the firstly truly global magazine by the first truly global customer publishing network". The agency has offices in Holland, Belgium and Spain, and a presence in Hong Kong, and expects to enter South America and Asia Pacific in the next 12 months.

ONLINE PUBLISHING RECOGNISES CUSTOMER NEEDS

The digital market for customer publishing was once expected to sweep all before it, but it has been clear for some time that this forecast was misplaced. Online work accounts for more than 10% of turnover for only seven agencies in the table, and in most cases the figure is less than 5%.

Nevertheless, many companies desperately need content for their web sites, so this is an area that ought to have potential, especially as the development of new media is more often led by developers than by journalists. The result, as many companies are starting to realise, is a flashy product that few visitors return to because it has nothing to hold their interest.

"It's like having printers dictate the pagination, design and content of a magazine," says Zone's head of development and strategy Jonathan Simmons. "Traditional publishers are much better equipped to produce content across all platforms, although this is still a rarity."

The most active is Just Customer Communication, for which online work accounts for 28% its total turnover. "At the moment the web is absolutely stuffed with bland stodge, and the content we produce could be the jam in the doughnut," says chairman Julian Treasure. Just handled online guides for Goldfish and has provided content for Alliance & Leicester and Microsoft's Enterprise Club, targeting business professionals with high-level content.

One particularly promising niche is online newsletters, which Alchemy Worx has made its own. "Research shows that 70% of costs go on print and paper, so e-mail is more cost-effective, as well as tying into customer relationship management efforts more closely," says managing director Dela Quist.

Quist anticipates this market will be worth several hundred million pounds within five years. "The need is definitely there, and we always know when we will make a sale, because the prospect will have decided to go ahead with e-mail marketing, but has just realised that it is going to need content," he says.

Quist compares newsletters favourably with viral marketing, which work better as short-term data acquisition rather than long-term relationships.

Panasonic uses this approach to publicise its memory card, with a one-page lifestyle magazine. Alchemy Worx also produces a newsletter for recruitment agency Macmillan Davies Hodes.

Payback on e-mail newsletters is clearly measurable, Quist says, with between 30% and 60% of recipients opening the message. For one client the rate of conversion to sales was 3%, ten times the result from banner advertising.

TOP CUSTOMER PUBLISHING AGENCIES 1-29

Rank Agency Net turnover Net turnover %

2001 (pounds) 2000 (pounds) change

1 Redwood Publishing 51,279,000 49,122,000 4

2 Centurion 21,500,000 25,300,000 -15

Publishing Group

3 John Brown Citrus 21,389,000 20,240,000 6

Publishing

4 Forward 20,000,000 20,600,000 -3

5 Haymarket Customer 17,087,000 10,761,000 59

Publishing

6 Publicis Blueprint 11,448,000 5,465,000 109

7 Cedar Communications 9,800,000 10,500,000 -7

8 Just Customer 9,547,000 7,949,000 20

Communication

(formerly TDP)

9 River Publishing 8,327,000 6,037,000 38

10 Conde Nast 6,840,000 5,308,000 29

Publications

11 Communications Team 4,000,000 3,862,000 4

12 The Illustrated 3,128,000 3,339,000 -6

London News Group

13 AMD Brass Tacks 2,656,000 1,403,000 89

14 Redhouse Lane 2,296,000 1,793,000 28

15 Zone 2,042,000 1,619,000 26

16 Brooklands Group 1,850,000 1,590,000 16

17= The Big Agency 1,800,000 1,550,000 16

17= Square One Group 1,800,000 1,600,000 13

19 Wardour 1,747,000 1,495,000 17

Communications

20 NatMag Contract 1,703,000 n/a -

Publishing

21 Archant Dialogue 1,600,000 1,913,000 -16

22 Specialist 1,290,000 n/a -

Publications

23 Matching Hat 1,247,000 938,000 33

24 ICP (Insider 901,000 779,000 16

Custom Publishing)

25= Breakthrough Media 750,000 500,000 50

25= Editions Publishing 750,000 n/a -

27 Cube3 Publishing 718,000 n/a -

28 Alchemy Worx 310,000 240,000 29

29 Brave New Words 200,000 300,000 -33

Rank Agency International International %

gross turnover gross turnover change

2001 (pounds) 2000 (pounds)

1 Redwood Publishing 12,246,000 6,960,000 76

2 Centurion - - -

Publishing Group

3 John Brown Citrus 3,869,000 4,745,000 -18

Publishing

4 Forward - - -

5 Haymarket Customer 333,000 95,000 251

Publishing

6 Publicis Blueprint - - -

7 Cedar Communications - - -

8 Just Customer 1,690,000 1,852,000 -9

Communication

(formerly TDP)

9 River Publishing - - -

10 Conde Nast - - -

Publications

11 Communications Team 348,000 381,000 -9

12 The Illustrated 1,381,000 1,058,000 31

London News Group

13 AMD Brass Tacks - - -

14 Redhouse Lane - - -

15 Zone - - -

16 Brooklands Group - - -

17= The Big Agency - - -

17= Square One Group - - -

19 Wardour - - -

Communications

20 NatMag Contract - - -

Publishing

21 Archant Dialogue 694,000 704,000 -1

22 Specialist - - -

Publications

23 Matching Hat - - -

24 ICP (Insider - - -

Custom Publishing)

25= Breakthrough Media - - -

25= Editions Publishing - - -

27 Cube3 Publishing - - -

28 Alchemy Worx - - -

29 Brave New Words - - -

Rank Agency Print/online Employees

(%)

1 Redwood Publishing 98/2 260

2 Centurion 100/0 104

Publishing Group

3 John Brown Citrus 97/3 145

Publishing

4 Forward n/a 130

5 Haymarket Customer 98/2 80

Publishing

6 Publicis Blueprint 95/5 50

7 Cedar Communications 95/5 77

8 Just Customer 72/28 40

Communication

(formerly TDP)

9 River Publishing 92/8 55

10 Conde Nast 100/0 40

Publications

11 Communications Team 90/10 32

12 The Illustrated 90/10 40

London News Group

13 AMD Brass Tacks -75/25 47

14 Redhouse Lane 88.5/11.5 44

15 Zone 44/56 26

16 Brooklands Group 100/0 18

17= The Big Agency 100/0 23

17= Square One Group 95/5 28

19 Wardour 95/5 20

Communications

20 NatMag Contract 100/0 20

Publishing

21 Archant Dialogue 100/0 25

22 Specialist 98/2 17

Publications

23 Matching Hat 95/5 30

24 ICP (Insider 90/10 15

Custom Publishing)

25= Breakthrough Media 100/0 7

25= Editions Publishing 80/20 10

27 Cube3 Publishing 100/0 14

28 Alchemy Worx 0/100 6

29 Brave New Words 70/30 3

Rank Agency

1 Redwood Publishing

Founded 1983, subsidiary of AMV BBDO (Omnicom). Chairman Michael

Potter, managing director Keith Grainger. 75% consumer, 18%

business-to-business (B2B), 7% internal. Clients include Boots,

Marks & Spencer, BT. Member of APA, PPA, DMA. E-mail

info@redwoodgroup.net, web site www.redwoodgroup.net

2 Centurion Publishing Group

Founded 1981, privately owned. Chief executive Brian Grant. 11.5%

consumer, 89.5% B2B. Clients include Chartered Institute of

Personnel and Development, Chartered Institute of Purchasing and

Supply, The Royal British Legion. E-mail

info@centurion-publishing.co.uk, web site

www.centurion-publishing.co.uk

3 John Brown Citrus Publishing

Founded 1987, privately owned. Chairman John Brown, chief

executive Andrew Hirsch, managing director Dean Fitzpatrick. 86 %

consumer, 13% B2B, 1% internal.Clients include AA, Waitrose, Sky.

Member of APA. E-mail andrew.hirsch@jbcp.co.uk, web site

www.jbcp.co.uk

4 Forward

Founded 1985, subsidiary of WPP Group. Managing director Sarah

Wyse, marketing director Sarah Morris. 100% consumer. Clients

include Tesco, Barclays Bank, Patek Philippe. Member of APA, PPA.

E-mail info@theforwardgroup.com, web site www.theforward

group.com

5 Haymarket Customer Publishing

Founded 1997, division of the Haymarket Publishing Group,

privately owned. Chairman Eric Verdon-Roe, managing director

Patrick Fuller. 94% consumer, 5% B2B, 1% internal. Clients

include British Army, Chrysler, Manchester United. Member of APA.

E-mail simon.kanter@haynet.com, web site www.haycustpub.com

6 Publicis Blueprint

Founded 1999, subsidiary of Publicis. Chief executive John

Wisbey, managing director Jason Frost. 85% consumer, 15% B2B.

Clients include Asda, MFI, Thames Water. Member of APA. E-mail

jason.frost@publicis-blueprint.co.uk, web site

www.publicis-blueprint.com

7 Cedar Communications

Founded 1992, subsidiary of AMV/Omnicom. Chairman Mike Potter,

managing director Jules Rastelli, client services director Clare

Broadbent. 90% consumer, 10% B2B. Clients include British

Airways, BMW, Nikon. Member of APA. E-mail

jules.rastelli@cedarcom.co.uk, web site www.cedarcom.co.uk

8 Just Customer Communication (formerly TDP)

Founded 1990, subsidiary of Interpublic Group (IPG). Chairman

Julian Treasure, managing director Grahame Lake, client services

director Jacqui Gough. 59% consumer, 41% B2B. Clients include

Lexus, RAC, Microsoft. Member of APA. E-mail

julian.treasure@justcomm.net, web site www.justcomm.net

9 River Publishing

Founded 1999, privately owned. Chairman Mike Williams, managing

director Nicola Murphy, client services director Ed Axon. 90%

consumer, 10% B2B.Clients include NFU, Holland and Barrett,

Superdrug. E-mail hketchin@riverltd.co.uk, web site

www.therivergroup.co.uk

10 Conde Nast Publications

Founded in 1927, privately owned. President new business Sue

Douglas, director of contracts Claire Breen. 100% consumer.

Clients include Tate, HSBC, Harrods. Member of APA. E-mail

jchase@condenast.co.uk, web site www.condenast.co.uk

11 Communications Team

Founded 1988, privately owned. Chairman Mark Flanders, publishing

director Mike Lamond. 50% consumer, 45% B2B, 5% internal. Clients

include Vodafone, Npower, The Chartered Institute of Marketing.

Member of APA. E-mail information@communicationsteam.com, web

site www.communicationsteam.com

12 The Illustrated London News Group

Founded 1985, subsidiary of Sea Containers. Managing director

Lisa Barnard, deputy managing director Andrew Scunthorpe. 95%

consumer, 5% B2B. Clients include Orient-Express Hotels, St.

George, Chelsea Village. Member of APA. E-mail

publisher@ilng.co.uk, web site www.ilng.co.uk

13 AMD Brass Tacks

Founded 1986, subsidiary of Chime Communications. Chairman Tim

Bell, managing director Kim Conchie. 40% consumer, 60% B2B.

Clients include Somerfield, Royal Mail, Trade Partners UK. Member

of APA. E-mail enquiries@amdbrasstacks.co.uk, web site

www.amdbrasstacks.co.uk

14 Redhouse Lane

Founded 1988, privately owned. Editorial director Richard Lomax,

managing director Jeremy Redhouse. 5% consumer, 25% B2B, 70%

internal. Clients include NHS/Department of Health, ExxonMobil,

Transport for London/LUL. E-mail kevinw@redhouselane.co.uk, web

site www.redhouselane.co.uk

15 Zone

Founded 1999, privately owned. MD James Freedman, head of

development and strategy Jonathan Simmons. 93% consumer, 7% B2B.

Clients include BBC, Channel 4, English Cricket Board. Member of

APA. E-mail jonathan@zoneworldwide.com, web site

www.zoneworldwide

16 Brooklands Group

Founded 1992, privately owned. Managing director Darren Styles,

client services director Matthew Jenns. 95% consumer, 5%

internal. Clients include Renault UK, Holiday Places, Hyundai Car

UK. E-mail mail@brooklandsgroup.com, web site

www.brooklandsgroup.com

17= The Big Agency

Founded 1997, privately owned. Managing director Peter Gould,

director Ned Dean. 70% consumer, 10% B2B, 20% internal. Clients

include American Express, Rolls-Royce, The Labour Party. Member

of APA. E-mail info@big-agency.com, web site www.big-agency.com

17= Square One Group

Founded 1994, privately owned. Commercial director Sean King,

creative director Peter Dean. 70% consumer, 20% B2B, 10%

internal. Clients include Unichem, Flextech Television, Gala

Bingo. Member of APA. E-mail info@squareonegroup.co.uk, web site

www.squareonegroup.co.uk

19 Wardour Communications

Founded 1996, privately owned. Joint managing directors Martin

MacConnol, Nick Mayhew-Smith. 36% consumer, 28% B2B, 36%

internal. Clients include Safeway, Deutsche Bank, Unilever.

Member of APA. E-mail info@wardour.co.uk, web site

www.wardour.co.uk

20 NatMag Contract Publishing

Founded 2001, subsidiary of The National Magazine Company.

Director of contract publishing Julian Downing. 100%

consumer.Clients include Waitrose, Berkeley Homes, Civil Service

Motoring Association. Member of APA. E-mail

julian.downing@natmag-contract.co.uk, web site

www.natmag-contract.co.uk

21 Archant Dialogue

Founded 1988, subsidiary of Archant. New business director Paula

Chopping, client services director Chris Rainer. 28% consumer,

36% B2B, 36% internal. Clients include SAAB AB, BTI Hogg

Robinson. Member of APA. E-mail

paula.chopping@archantdialogue.co.uk, web site

www.archantdialogue.co.uk

22 Specialist Publications

Founded 1969, subsidiary of Omnicom. Managing director J A

Addison. 59% consumer, 24% B2B, 17% internal. Clients include

Peugeot, Specsavers, Innogy. Member of APA. E-mail

info@specialistpublications.com, web site

www.specialistpublications.com

23 Matching Hat

Founded 1996, subsidiary of Incisive Media. Chairman Paul

Higgins, managing director Andrew Stuart, publishing director

Bharat Sagar. 66% consumer, 34% B2B. Clients include The Royal

Bank of Scotland, Bradford & Bingley. Member of APA. E-mail

info@matchinghat.com, web site www.matchinghat.com

24 ICP (Insider Custom Publishing)

Founded 1985, division of Insider Publications, subsidiary of

Trinity Mirror . Director Kate MacInnes. 18% consumer, 55% B2B,

27% internal. Clients include Royal Bank of Scotland, Scottish

Power, Xansa. Member of APA. E-mail mellison@insider.co.uk, web

site www.insider.co.uk

25= Breakthrough Media

Founded 1999, privately owned. Managing Viv Young. 100% consumer.

Clients include Le Meridien Hotel Group, Bryant Homes,

Countryside Properties. E-mail viv@breakthrough.uk.com

25= Editions Publishing

Founded 1998, privately owned. Managing director Caspian Woods,

client services director Ruth Simpson. 20% consumer, 70% B2B, 10%

internal. Clients include Bank of Scotland, NatWest, Marsh UK.

E-mail caspian@editions.co.uk, www.editions.co.uk

27 Cube3 Publishing

Founded 2001, subsidiary of Associated Newspapers. Managing

director Jackie Newcombe, new business director Joanne O'Hara.

100% consumer. Clients include Avon, Bluewater, Emirates. Member

of APA. E-mail joanneohara@assocnews.co.uk, web site

www.cube3.co.uk

28 Alchemy Worx

Founded 1999, privately owned. Managing director Dela Quist,

client services director Andy Gray. 70% consumer, 30% B2B.

Clients include Panasonic, Dell, Norwich Union. E-mail

info@alchemyworx.com, web site www.alchemyworx.com

29 Brave New Words

Founded 1996, privately owned. MD Adam Baines. 80% consumer, 20%

B2B. Clients include BA London Eye, BAT. E-mail

bnwrds@dial.pipex.com, web site www.brave-new-words.com

TOP INTERNATIONAL AGENCIES

Rank Agency UK net turnover International

2001 (pounds) gross turnover

2001 (pounds)

1 Redwood Publishing 51,279,000 12,246,000

2 John Brown Citrus Publishing 21,389,000 3,869,000

3 Just Customer Communication 9,547,000 1,690,000

4 The Illustrated London News Group 3,128,000 1,381,000

5 Archant Dialogue 1,600,000 694,000

6 Communications Team 4,000,000 348,000

7 Haymarket Customer Publishing 17,087,000 333,000

TOP 15 ONLINE PUBLISHING AGENCIES

Rank Agency Online net

Net turnover turnover

2001 (pounds) 2001(pounds)

1 Just Customer Communication 9,547,000 2,673,160

2 Zone 2,042,000 1,143,520

3 Redwood Publishing 51,279,000 1,025,580

4 River Publishing 8,327,000 666,160

5 AMD BrassTacks 2,656,000 664,000

6 John Brown Citrus Publishing 21,389,000 641,670

7 Publicis Blueprint 11,448,000 572,400

8 Cedar Communications 9,800,000 490,000

9 Communications Team 4,000,000 400,000

10 Haymarket Customer Publishing 17,087,000 341,740

11 The Illustrated London News Group 3,128,000 312,800

12 Alchemy Worx 310,000 310,000

13 Redhouse Lane 2,296,000 264,040

14 Editions 750,000 150,000

15 ICP 901,000 90,100