Digital Publishing
2 mins read

MPA President: 2017 will be the year of magazine media

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In a world of mainstream news propaganda and clickbait, the MPA’s Linda Thomas Brooks thinks consumers and advertisers are responding by demanding high-quality content.

Media pundits love to make predictions, and they especially enjoy boiling down the upcoming year into a single mega-trend. “I think it’s been ‘the year of mobile’ for the past dozen years,” jokes Association of Magazine Publishing (MPA) president and CEO Linda Thomas Brooks. Brooks spoke with Publishing Executive to share her outlook on the future of publishing, what media companies have going for them, and where they can invest in new opportunities. Her prediction for 2017: “I think this could be the year of magazine media.”

The reason, explains Brooks, is that the industry is experiencing a unique moment where both consumers and marketers are rediscovering the value of credible media brands. For consumers who were pummeled with propaganda throughout the election cycle, finding a brand that will provide reliable information is of increasing importance, and many are willing to pay for content that they can trust.

Marketers can also benefit from magazine publisher’s credibility, says Brooks. Since becoming MPA president last January, Brooks has worked to prove the value of magazine media, partnering with independent researchers to disseminate studies that show magazines have impressive influence over consumer behavior and offer the best return on spend for advertisers. Powering this influence is publishers’ ability to tell stories that resonate with their audiences, explains Brooks.

“If there was ever a moment when all indicators in both the marketing world and in the consumer world pointed to us, I think this is it,” says Brooks.

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