In the last few years, custom publishing has grown at a faster rate than any other corporate marketing strategy. In 2004, the average corporate marketing department allocated 25% of its budget to custom publishing, up from 13.2% the year before. As a result, custom publishing is now larger than consumer magazine publishing and comparable in size to radio and network TV.

More and more businesses, including an increasing number of professional services firms, have found custom publications—magazines and newsletters, white papers and webzines, corporate histories and even blogs—to be convenient, cost-effective, and reliable vehicles through which to communicate their messages to readers. The reason: Custom publications are reader-driven, focused directly on their readers’ need to know.

Custom publications at their best are the marriage of journalism and commerce. Through their pages, sponsoring companies can showcase their own thought leadership and get their key messages across to a targeted population in an exclusive and appropriately designed editorial environment.