Magazines Canada Business Plan 2012-2013

March 31, 2012, as approved by the Board of Directors

Background

Magazines Canada is both a member advocacy organization and, in effect, its members’ business partner, driving opportunities in an environment where the only constant is change.

Magazines Canada has delivered on its mandate to be a lead advocate and focal point for Canada’s Magazine media, in support of the association’s almost 400 members:

• A print magazine newsstand service for 179 member titles delivering 1,685,058 magazines over the past five years and generating retail sales of  $12,006,540;
• A digital newsstand for 191 titles which has delivered  991,298 sold units and generated $954,793.51 in revenues since 2010, plus securing $400,000 in funding  to help publishers manage the risk
• The AdDirect^TM service with 134 titles that have saved reportedly hundreds of thousands of dollars in cost while strengthening relations with the advertising community;
• Focused events have attracted over 40,000 people—mostly ad trade professionals—in the last five years;
• Professional development participation on all platforms that exceeded 8000 participants in the last fiscal year, ending March 31, 2011.

Magazines Canada has also been the advocacy force that has lead the effort to secure direct-to-publisher government investment of almost $1 billion in the last decade (Canada Periodical Fund, Canada Council, Ontario Media Development Corporation and Ontario Arts Council). Forward-going commitments that the association continues to diligently pursue include the hundreds of millions of direct-to-publisher dollars over the next three years.

Magazines Canada’s “One Voice” collaborative approach is advancing a new era of communications with Canada Post, following a robust effort to influence the end to a postal shut down.

No one company or smaller group could achieve a comparable level of impact on public policy decisions and financial and other commitments to this sector. 

Plan Overview

The 2012-13 Business Plan reflects Magazine Canada’s recently adopted strategic planning framework. There is an expectation for Magazines Canada to deliver even more innovative, progressive action in the toughest business environment our members have ever collectively faced.

The planning framework identifies five strategic externally focused goals:

• Establish a research (market intelligence) centre that informs all internal initiatives and member needs.
• Develop and sustain public policy initiatives that support the economic and cultural value of Canada’s magazine media.
• Promote the power of member magazine brands to the advertising trade.
• Pursue circulation services that respond to evolving member opportunities.
• Ensure that professional development addresses continuously evolving member skills requirements. 

These goals will be supported by an internal focus on re-engineering the association’s governance, infrastructure and communications tools, along with the introduction of aggressive pan-Canadian approach to business development.

As always, Magazines Canada’s activity is member-driven through discipline-specific committees composed of industry professionals representing the entire sector.

Members may review the entire plan in detail by logging in at magazinescanada.ca/login and visiting magazinescanada.ca/business-plan-2012-2013-full or Members > Exclusive Content > Business Plan 2012-2013 (Full). If you are a member and do not have a website login, please contact Member Services Coordinator Evan Dickson at edickson@magazinescanada.ca or 416.504.0274 x238.

Last Update: Friday, April 20, 2012