This year Brooke Pattrick Publications has exchanged its trophy cabinet for a more objective indicator of success.

For many years in the past Brooke Pattrick Publications dominated the business-to-business sector of the annual Magazine Publishers Association of South Africa (MPASA) Sappi Pica Awards. Yet on November 2 the company will be absent from the 2006 awards.

Gerald Garner, publishing director explains the rationale behind this decision: “We salute those who have been recognised as PICA winners this year. Over many years the magazine industry has worked hard to build a reputation for the awards, up to the point where a PICA award carries a lot of weight in the field of consumer magazines. However in the field of business-to-business publications we have always felt that there was some question mark over the credibility of the awards.” This according to Garner has less to do with the actual judging of the awards and more with a publishing industry that has become too comfortable with, and protective of, the status quo. “In the b2b publishing field it seems as if mediocrity is often rewarded. For example there are simply too many magazines that are published late while carrying adverts for events that have already passed, yet the publisher is happy to accept the advertiser’s money while rendering no service to the advertiser at all.”

“In addition,” says finance and sales director Neil Pattrick, “many b2b publishers err in terms of media ethics. We face a situation where publishers constantly publish editorial in order to attract advertisers. The situation is so bad that many magazines publish the editorial and advert on the same page. The result is a compromised product that offers less value to the reader as the content cannot be trusted. The credibility of the content is in question as it is not selected on merit, but rather to profit the publisher.” The real loser is the advertiser who advertises to an audience who has lost interest in the magazine.

Pattrick elaborates in stating that the traditional approach of free distribution in the b2b field adds to the problem. “As long as a publisher can compile any mailing list and claim a circulation figure based on the number of unsolicited copies posted out, advertisers will be unable to measure their success.” Brooke Pattrick Publications believes that the success of a magazine should be measured by the number of readers who actively choose to read the magazine – this should be measured by paid-subscriptions. “Over recent years we have been switching to a paid-subscription model where the response of readers clearly indicates whether or not we are successful. It puts pressure on us to provide quality content that is of use to the reader and this ensures that an advertiser’s message will be noticed.”

“Our decision not to enter the PICAs was based on the fact that these independent indicators of success don’t seem to be taken seriously by b2b magazine publishers. In fact many members of MPASA have actively been campaigning against our model of business,” states Garner.

However, Brooke Pattrick Publications is proud to announce that in terms of ABC figures for the periods January – December 2005, January – March 2006, April – June 2006, January – June 2006 and July – September 2006, its magazines have consistently outscored their monthly, alternate-monthly and quarterly opposition titles in terms of paid-subscriptions.

The company is consistently making progress with its stated aim of becoming the premier provider of industrial business intelligence on the African continent. The focus is on content provision and in this regard Brooke Pattrick Publications is fast moving away from the traditional concept of a magazine publisher. Today the company provides content in the form of magazines, yearbooks, e-mail bulletins and archived websites.

Titles in the Brooke Pattrick Publications stable include (both print and electronic): Civil Engineering Contractor, Building Africa, Mining Mirror, Plant Equipment & Hire, African Mining, African Energy Journal, Urban Green File, Water Sewage & Effluent, African Heating & Cooling, Journal of Facilities Management, Architechnology, Quarry SA and the African Mines Handbook.