Hello and happy Thursday! Here at Exact Editions, we love nothing more than burrowing into magazine publisher’s minds, discovering more about the intricacies of their role, their predictions for the industry’s future and what makes them tick.

This week, it’s the turn of Mark Summerton, Publisher of Apps & Digital Editions at Immediate Media. The award-winning special interest content and platform company is one of the biggest consumer media businesses in the UK, providing world-class content and an innovative culture.

Institutions can digitally subscribe to the Immediate Collection here for unlimited access to the extensive archives of 7 titles across web, iOS and Android devices.

You can keep up with the latest news from the publisher on Twitter here:

Immediate: @immediate_media

The Immediate Collection by Exact Editions

Now we’re all introduced, let’s get on with the interview!

1) What’s your role within the magazine?

I’m the Publisher of Immediate Media’s Apps & Digital Editions business and its my responsibility to lead the team in growing our audience and revenue in this market whilst ensuring we have a technical solution which serves all of the requirements of our readers. Essentially, this means that we take the fantastic content created by the brand teams and reimagine it for digital devices and present it to our readers in the most appropriate digital format for their device around the world. 

2) What drew you to the magazine publishing industry?

I’d love to say it was always a passion of mine to work in the industry but I can’t, as my daydreaming time as a child was mostly spent imagining scoring the winning goal in the FA Cup Final for Liverpool – needless to say that didn’t quite work out.

Once I was in the industry however, my passion for it has developed. It’s an incredibly fast-changing landscape, especially in digital which is where I spend my time, and that really excites me. Everyone has a passion for content and the way we consume it is evolving at a pace. Being in a position to develop new methods of satisfying those evolving needs and ways to consume content is fantastic.

3)  If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Brutal question; but as I’m from a seaside town, it has to be fish and chips.

4)  If you weren’t working in publishing, what would you be doing?

I couldn’t pinpoint a role or another industry, but it would have to be just as energetic and dynamic otherwise I would lose interest pretty quickly.

5) Do you have an all-time favourite magazine issue?

NME – Blur vs OASIS issue from 1995.

6) If you could live in any city, where would it be?

San Francisco. 

7) What do you think will have changed in the publishing industry in 5 years?

I think the delivery of content will continue to change and the methods with which we market and analyse user engagement will enjoy greater prominence in the industry. Recurring revenues will become the main source of revenue for the vast majority of publishers and as a result we will see more marketing roles added to the top tables of content businesses.

Thanks so much for taking part, Mark! We definitely agree with the fish and chips; a solid seaside choice that never gets old.

If you’d like to be featured in an upcoming interview, please contact us on publisher@exacteditions.com.