Construct Ireland defies recession with 11.4% circulation rise

Construct Ireland publisher & editor Jeff Colley

Despite the construction industry downturn, Construct Ireland has announced an 11.4 per cent increase in circulation over the last year, the largest percentage circulation increase of any Irish magazine. Strengthening its position as the most widely circulated Irish construction industry magazine, Construct Ireland’s ABC audit results for editions circulated over the last twelve months has increased to an average of 7,458, up from 6,693 in 2007/08.

Only one other Irish business magazine, Accountancy Ireland, whose circulation rose by 0.29%, showed an increase during this period in the June 2009 Island of Ireland report by the Audit Bureau of Circulations.

According to Construct Ireland publisher and editor Jeff Colley, the magazine’s continuing growth is based on advertiser and reader loyalty, along with the growing interest in reducing the environmental impact of Ireland’s buildings.

“In spite of the recession and collapse in activity throughout the wider construction industry, interest in sustainable building continues to grow,” he said. “This includes building to the cutting edge of low energy and green building standards in the case of new buildings, and upgrading existing buildings to achieve significant energy and carbon reductions.”

According to Colley, Construct Ireland’s continued growth since first publishing in 2003 proves that it is possible for magazines to thrive in spite of the twin threats that poor economic conditions and the growth of online media pose to conventional media. “We’ve found that there’s a place for niche publishing in Ireland. It’s a question of producing a topical magazine worth reading, choosing the right calibre of advertisers, and doing everything in your power to generate a high quality response for those advertisers,” he said.

“We’re in the fortunate position that most of our clients tend to advertise repeatedly in Construct Ireland, because they’re happy with the response they get and they believe in the campaigning work we do. “This has enabled us to continually invest back into the magazine, to make it even more effective for advertisers and readers alike.”

Construct Ireland’s circulation increase shows no sign of easing off, with its ABC certificate showing a gradual increase in circulation for each edition published throughout the last twelve months, rising from 7,093 for the July 2008 edition to 7,958 for the May 2009 edition. “We’re confident that we’ll keep on growing throughout the next twelve months,” said Colley. “Interest in sustainable building continues to grow, and we’re gaining readers all the time”.

ABC independently verifies a media owner’s circulation, attendance or traffic data to ensure advertisers and media buyers can have complete trust in their claims. This provides confidence that advertising budgets are being spent effectively.