While Wan-Ifra and FIPP have always maintained constructive relationships, the cooperation agreement represents a concrete effort to work closer together to the benefit of their respective members.

Newspaper and magazine media companies face many similar challenges today, including, transforming legacy media businesses to compete in a digital world; developing multi-platform strategies and new business models; creating innovative ways of telling stories, producing content and distributing and sharing such content in cost-effective ways; and dealing with challenges and opportunities presented by powerful platforms such as Google and Facebook.

As one of the owners of Publishing Exhibition GmbH, Wan-Ifra is hosting the IFRA World Publishing Expo and DCX Digital Content Expo in Berlin from 9 - 11 October 2018. Both sides of the production process of newspapers and magazines come together at the dual exhibition – the print production via paper and ink up to mailroom technology as well as the production of digital media via editorial systems and a wide range of different software programmes, up to Artificial Intelligence.

The cooperation agreement will see FIPP participate in the conference programme, as well as promote the event to its membership base around the world.

Vincent Peyregne, CEO of Wan-Ifra, said, “Newspaper and magazine publishers are faced with similar business and technological challenges for which they use the same solutions in the areas of software, hardware, materials and production and workflow systems. I am pleased that we cooperate with our friends from the World Magazine Association FIPP at the exhibitions for the first time. We need to join forces together to address collectively the future challenges of the publishing industry.”

James Hewes, CEO of FIPP, added, “This is the most exciting – but also most disruptive – time to be working in the publishing industry, making it more vital than ever that industry bodies work closely together to help our members take advantage of all the opportunities open to them. I’m sure this will only be the start of our collaboration and I look forward to working with our friends at Wan-Ifra on further projects in the near future.”