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Horton hears a hooray from the MPA

The Magazine Publishers Association has set some fairly bold targets for the industry and hopes to increase its share of ad revenue by around $30 million over the next two years, going from around 10 percent of the total ad market to 11.5 percent. It’s certainly a big ask, but Nielsen’s more in-depth Consumer and Media Insights research, mostly positive readership and circulation results in the last batch of numbers, and now, the appointment of Katrina Horton to the newly created role of commercial director with the MPA, all seem to have given the industry some extra confidence that it can reach those goals. 

It’s fair to say the MPA’s focus in recent years has mostly been internal and on supporting members, but it’s decided to change its emphasis and Horton’s specific objective is to use her agency connections to “bring focus and leadership to the goal of growing advertising market share for the magazine category”. 

Her CV includes senior agency media roles in both New Zealand and the UK, working on a vast range of clients, from retail to automotive to banking. Most recently she worked at Carat, but after 17 years in media agencies, she felt the time was right to explore her passion for magazines, beyond the stack in her living room.

“I’m excited to have the opportunity to play an important part in the growth and future development of magazines,” she says. “I hope to be able to bring fresh perspective and innovation, working alongside people who I have admired for a number of years.”

John Baker, the recently appointed chair of the Magazine Publishers Association, says Horton’s appointment is “an important step in repositioning magazines as a relevant and contemporary medium with both broad reach and deep engagement”. 

“We are lucky to have someone of Katrina’s experience and belief in our medium to lead this conversation on behalf of the industry,” he says. 

Horton will be based at the MPA’s offices in Auckland and will commence her new role on 30 July.

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