The country's largest media, marketing, and printing company Ovato (formerly PMP) has just signed a new bigger three-year deal with Australia's major publisher Bauer Media.
The new contract sees Ovato print 100 per cent of all Bauer Media consumer titles, up from 85 per cent it currently prints. Ovato will be printing six new titles including The Block, Australian Women’s Weekly Food and OK!
The new contract also has Ovato taking the full subscription, mailing and distribution job for which Bauer previously used three separate mailing houses. Ovato will now handle the job for more than 300,000 magazines sent to subscribers each month.
Kevin Slaven, Ovato CEO, said, “Our relationship with Bauer Media goes back over 30 years, and we are delighted it has decided to extend our work together. As the only Australian printer to have co-located print and mailing facilities with Australia Post onsite, it is great to see Bauer recognise the efficiencies we can provide through our integrated print and distribution model.”
Speaking to Print21 this morning, Adrian O'Connor, CEO, print & residential distribution at Ovato said, “While run lengths of some individual magazines have declined, Bauer is launching several new titles, in many cases leveraging successful titles and launching spin-offs. Take 5, for instance, now has a monthly product to compliment its weekly issues.”
Slaven said, “Over the last few years we have invested significantly to complete our world-class supersite at Warwick Farm, and, through our on-site partnership with Australia Post and the capabilities of our retail distribution arm, we are able to deliver subscriptions to 7 million households nationally and 8,000 retail outlets at speed. We know time-saved is incredibly important for our clients, and we will continue to invest in the tools, technologies and talent to improve efficiency and integration for our customers.”
All Bauer Media magazines will be printed at Warwick Farm. Bauer has some trader titles which Ovato does not print, as they are coldset.
Brendon Hill, CEO of Bauer Media said, “We continue to be impressed by Ovato’s commitment to service excellence and innovation in an ever-changing environment. Over the years, we’ve forged an incredibly strong partnership with the Ovato team which goes beyond our day-to-day printing requirements. As part of this, we are currently working on several strategic projects that will reduce the operating costs for both our companies. This is testament to the hard work and solutions-focused attitude of the Ovato team.”