FIPP’s MBMC continues in London

FIPP’s MBMC participants were back in London last week for the third session of the FIPP Magazine Brand Management Certificate. The sessions this week are probably the most intense 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, spent the first day explaining key tools participants can use to help build a strategy for their brands. On the second day, after a little overnight homework, they spent the morning talking through how they have adopted these tools for their brands. The highlight of the module was doing a live workshop with the entire group, with one of the student’s titles. They looked at the forces at work; the trends over the last few years; the key buying factors for both readers and advertisers and critical success factors – concluding  with a strategy of what should be done to improve the magazine’s positioning in the market.

Finance in Publishing was led by Keith Marriott – key performance indicators, treasury and cash management, profit and loss accounts, and ROI measures were covered over the two days. As with all the modules there are workshops. With Keith they had a ‘hands on’ magazine acquisition project with each team preparing a business plan and bidding to acquire a magazine that is for sale.

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

FIPP will be running this course again in 2014, and bookings are now being taken.So if you know of a rising star in your company who would benefit from learning how to manage magazine brands in today’s multi-platform world you can find full information about the modules that make up this programme at www.fipp.com/mbmc or contact Jenny Stubbs.