The Taunton Press Takes Top Honors In This Year's MPA's Imagination Awards

NEWTOWN, Conn., June 20, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Taunton Press was founded in 1975 and produces magazines, websites, and digital membership products in five special interest market categories – woodworking, homebuilding, cooking, gardening and sewing. Taunton products evoke strong engagement with customers for quality content experiences and deep information within each category. In fact, Taunton has evolved into a 21st-century media company with category-leading brands that inspire and inform over 14 million passionate enthusiasts, and was recently recognized for its groundbreaking efforts by the Association of Magazine Media's "Imagination Awards."

Taking top honors in the Leadership Category with its Content Operating Leverage Strategy is a key marker in how the company, led by CEO Dan McCarthy and his hand-selected management team, strategically transformed from a print-centric publishing culture to a dynamic content engagement platform operation that provides revenue growth and improved profitability, in what is now being cited industry-wide as an example of "a niche publisher that has successfully figured out how to thrive in a digital ecosystem." (Digiday's "Niche and Easy" article published in its current summer issue.)

"Whether a brand has recently launched or been a household name for more than a century, the winners of this year's Imagination Awards represent the unparalleled ability of our IMAG community to connect with enthusiast audiences with creativity and innovation," said Linda Thomas Brooks, president and CEO, MPA – The Association of Magazine Media.

Renee Jordan, Taunton's SVP & Group Publisher states, "While traditional revenue sources for magazine brands continue to face market headwinds, the team at Taunton Press found operating leverage in its content creation and distribution process and delivered revenue and profit growth. The approach harkens back to the original publishing model which relied on editorial, advertising and circulation to drive the business, the new structure leverages content, technology, and customer engagement. While this process started over three years ago, 2018 became our inflection point, a time when all the pieces came together and the trajectory of the business changed."

As one of the Imagination Awards judges said, "When a legacy company tries to reinvent itself, it faces a lot of challenges and obstacles. Taunton Press succeeded in creating the "playbook" for this reinvention and did it very well. The unique approach to the new business model, without sacrificing any of what they offered traditionally makes this effort rise to the top of the Leadership category."

Headquartered in Newtown, Connecticut, the Taunton family of includes five iconic brands – Fine Woodworking, Fine Homebuilding, Fine Cooking, Fine Gardening, and Threads and a related line of books – that reach consumers through magazines, digital memberships, social channels, websites, podcast, events and education. More recent ventures include an Emmy-nominated TV series – Moveable Feast with Fine Cooking –in-person events, plus videos and podcasts that reach an ever-growing community of enthusiasts. The Moveable Feast with Fine Cooking program was awarded the Imagination Award for Revenue in 2017.

Jordan summarizes recent successes that have impacted revenue and growth, "our operating structure and team collaboration focus has improved our agility in product development, we've improved digital membership experiences, launched new paid digital membership programs, and increased consumer pricing. The teams have also launched four podcasts, driving both advertising revenue and promotion for direct-to-consumer sales growth. In the same time period, the brands have staged in-market events to capture higher priced revenue opportunities from consumer participation and expanded revenue from sponsors."

SOURCE Taunton Press

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