Magazine publishers are increasingly likely to entrust their overseas distribution requirements to companies accredited by the PPA’s Mail Distribution Accreditation Scheme (MDAS).
More than three-quarters (78.5 per cent) of respondents to the 2010 MDAS Customer Satisfaction Survey said they were more likely to use an MDAS-accredited mailing firm, demonstrating the growing importance of the scheme to the UK magazine publishing industry.
The figure represents a year-on-year increase of 21 per cent compared with the 2009 survey result (65 per cent) and is the highest level achieved in the three years that the survey has been carried out.
Nicola Rowe, Director of Circulation & Member Services at the PPA, said: “The results of the survey reinforce the effectiveness of MDAS and are a fundamental check for clients and accredited companies.”
Previously known as IMDAS, the MDAS scheme has recently expanded to encompass the following mailing requirements for publishers: international magazine mail; international direct mail; domestic (UK) magazine mail; and domestic (UK) direct mail. Accredited companies handling domestic mail traffic will be branded MDAS and companies handling both international and domestic mail will be branded MDAS Plus.
The Customer Satisfaction Survey also revealed that nearly all customers (98.4 per cent) were likely to use international mail consolidation/ distribution services in the future, and that 82.4 per cent of MDAS customers would definitely use their accredited company again, an illustration of the customer satisfaction of accredited companies.
Publishers ranked ‘overall service reliability’ as the most important service aspect, ahead of the 2009 priority of ‘understanding your requirements’. The least important was ‘willingness to share transparency of services and suppliers used’, which remained unchanged from the 2009 and 2008 surveys.
The service aspect with the highest satisfaction ranking is ‘understanding your requirements’ (2009: ‘producing, handling & despatching your mail’), while publishers were least satisfied with ‘speedy notification of discrepancies’ (2009: invoicing clarity, accuracy & timeliness).
David Robottom, MDAS Scheme Manager and Director of D&S Consultants, said: “These encouraging results allow accredited companies to see where they are excelling, where they need to focus their efforts and provide a key benchmark versus the 2009 and 2008 figures.”
Ends.
Notes to editors
About MDAS
The Mail Distribution Accreditation Scheme (MDAS) is a quality standard, specifically developed to test the procedures and processes of international mail distribution. The MDAS customer satisfaction survey questions publishers on the services provided by MDAS-accredited mail consolidators and distributors. The scheme was originally known as the International Mail Distribution Accreditation Scheme (IMDAS). For further information on MDAS go to: http://www.ppa.co.uk/all-about-magazines/circulation/imdas/
About PPA
The PPA protects and promotes the interests of print and online publishers of consumer and business media in the UK. The PPA has around 200 publishing companies in its membership, which collectively produce more than 2,500 consumer and business magazines and journals as well as digital media, data products and events. For more information visit http://www.ppa.co.uk
Contacts
David Robottom - MDAS Scheme Manager
07768 511108
IMDASmanager@aol.com
Tom Hawkins
tom.hawkins@ppa.co.uk
0207 400 7528