jim bilton managing director. magazines ireland i publishing 360 (april 2015) i slide 2 two...

Managing a Changing Business

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Jim BiltonManaging Director

Magazines Ireland I Publishing 360 (April 2015) I Slide 2

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Two questions to keep you awake at night


How much is your company worth?...

...and are you the best person to run

it? WWESSENDEN

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1. Content & brands2. Distribution3. Technology4. Business models5. Leadership & structure

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5 criteria for valuing a media company


PublishingFutures2015

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The change process

Just

startedDeep into it

Nearing the end

Constant change

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The change process

Just

startedDeep into it

Nearing the end

Constant change

% of Companies 21% 46% 7% 26%

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The change process: confidence levels

Just

startedDeep into it

Nearing the end

Constant change

6.8

7.4

6.2

7.5

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The change process: turnover growth

Just

startedDeep into it

Nearing the end

Constant change

5% 5%

3%

8%

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The change process: profitability

Just

startedDeep into it

Nearing the end

Constant change

Percent of companies

in profit63% 89% 83% 90%

Average profit

margin12% 12% 14% 13%

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The change process: driving it

Agreement Statement (% agreeing) TOTAL

We have a clear vision of the company we need to be 89%Our company culture encourages change & innovation 77%Our company structure encourages change & innovation 63%

Driving the Change ProcessVision, Culture & Structure

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The change process: resourcing it

Agreement Statement (% agreeing) TOTAL

Financial resources 61%Staff resources: headcount 51%Staff resources: knowledge, experience, skills 50%IT resources & platforms 46%

Driving the Change ProcessRequired Resources to Drive Change

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Current critical action priorities: 1 to 10 scores

Developing existing revenues5.9 Business streamlining 5.2

Developing new revenues 4.2

Current critical action priorities: 1 to 10 scores Improving the efficiency of internal processes & practices 6.5Investing in IT & technical infrastructure 5.8Investing in bringing in new staff with new skills & experience 5.6Changing internal culture & attitudes 5.4Investing in training existing staff 5.4Cutting other costs and overheads 4.8Cutting headcount 2.6CATEGORY AVERAGE 5.2

Improving existing digital products & services 6.9Developing more creative / multi-platform ad packages 6.2Improving existing print products & services 5.5Developing overseas opportunities 4.8CATEGORY AVERAGE 5.9

Launching new digital products & services 5.7Launching new print products & services 3.5Growing through acquisition 3.4CATEGORY AVERAGE 4.2

Developing Existing

Revenues

Business Streamlining

Developing New

Revenues


The overall picture

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The Digital Magazine Marketplace


The overall picture

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The Digital Magazine Marketplace

An industry facing ongoing challenges,

but.....

• Robust key indicators• Growing confidence• Increasing pragmatism


The overall picture

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The Digital Magazine MarketplaceSome subtle differences

from past years.....

• More focus on internal issues• Fewer “big themes”• More awareness of competitors• More focus on what works now• A growing debate about scale


The overall picture

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The Digital Magazine MarketplaceThree big themes.....

• Visibility

• Control

• Quality


“We’ve made our best assessment of what we think we need to do.

We’ve invested in that and we’re beginning to see a return on that

investment...not as fast or as big as we’d like. But we know that this is a

long game. We’re investing in quality. And quality will win...it has to!”

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Inside looking out

Filling in the media

company scorecard

Outside looking in

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The media company scorecard

Criterion Consumer Score

B2B Score

Content & brands ? ?Distribution ? ?Technology ? ?Business models ? ?Leadership & structure ? ?

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Content & brand issues

Not just “content”, but the wrapper of brand-assurance

Adding value for end-users and advertisersAdding real value in an increasingly free world?Quality & consistency across all platformsModels to monetise

Internal resourcesStaff (numbers + time + skills)Technology platforms + know-howInternal politics + company culture

More competition everywhereDirect + brand owners + broad-based

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B2B Score

Content & brands 7 9Distribution ? ?Technology ? ?Business models ? ?Leadership & structure ? ?

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Distribution issuesJust as important as contentReach + frequency + profile + engagementAnd the metrics to prove them all

The shift from physical to digital supply chainsFrom controlling set processes to managing a flexible toolkitMore partnerships in a social media worldKnowing when to walk away

A completely holistic viewPhysical + digital. Retail + subs.Are the skills & knowledge in the right place?

The danger of losing old skills & disciplinesDirect marketing / key account management / RoI

The big issue of “discoverability”Scale + profile in a noisy world

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B2B Score

Content & brands 7 9Distribution 5 7Technology ? ?Business models ? ?Leadership & structure ? ?


“It’s IT that really keeps me awake at night. Not just CMS and the delivery of content, but everything else that

has a tech platform – database, insight, seamless transactions, content automation, marketing

automation – the list seems endless. How can we compete with Amazon,

Google and the rest when IT is simply not a core expertise we have?

And it’s not just about “doing” IT.It’s even more basic than that –

it’s simply knowing what’s possible.”

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B2B Score

Content & brands 7 9Distribution 5 7Technology 4 6Business models ? ?Leadership & structure ? ?


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Print-digital revenue map: B2B

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Revenue Map: Consumer

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Print-digital revenue map: Consumer / B2B


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Print-digital revenue map: Consumer


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B2B Score

Content & brands 7 9Distribution 5 7Technology 4 6Business models 8 9Leadership & structure ? ?

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Leadership & structure issuesHow good is the senior team?As individuals & as a team (empowered + in the right place)Knowing what they do not know & filling the gapsVision + enthusiasm + drive + openness

Company skills, knowledge & experience Specialists versus generalistsHiring in the new versus retraining the old

The structure of the organisationReporting / accountability versus agility / knowledge share

The culture of the organisationNot being afraid to fail

The danger of losing old skills & experience

Making bold decisions & taking the long view

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B2B Score

Content & brands 7 9Distribution 5 7Technology 4 6Business models 8 9Leadership & structure 6 7

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Start-ups versus transformers

Criterion Start-ups Trans-formers

Content & brands a aDistribution ? ?Technology a xBusiness Models x aLeadership & structure a ?


How much is your company worth?...

...and are you the best person to run

it? WWESSENDEN

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Managing a Changing Business

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Jim BiltonManaging Director

jim bilton managing director. magazines ireland i publishing 360 (april 2015) i slide 2 two...

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