FIPP professional development programme continues in London

The MBMC participants were back in London during the last week of June for the penultimate session of the 2012 FIPP Magazine Brand Management Certificate.  The sessions this week are probably the most challenging of the whole course, starting with a two-day module on Strategic Planning for Publishers followed by another two days on Finance in Publishing.

Richard Flaye who runs the strategy session is a hard taskmaster. Beginning with giving participants a ‘strategy toolkit,’ day one concentrates on how and where to compete successfully, and how buyers and advertisers choose between competing titles. However, there is a softer side to Richard, which was shown when he kindly hosted a barbeque at his home on the Thames waterfront, managing to avoid the rain and enabling the group to make the most their free time in London.

Finance in Publishing was led by Keith Marriott – key performance indicators, treasury and cash management, profit and loss accounts, and ROI measures were all received with intense interest. One of the highlights of this finance session is a ‘hands on’ magazine acquisition project with each team preparing a business plan and bidding to acquire a magazine that is for sale. Competition between the teams is intense and in Keith’s expert hands finance becomes an exciting subject. 

The course will have its final remaining modules in September, where participants get the opportunity to spend time at the MBMC course sponsor, UPM’s paper mill in Glasgow.

Booking are now being taken for next year’s course, starting in January. Find out more about the MBMC 2013 programme, or contact Jenny Stubbs.