Brin Bucknor, managing director of VNU Business Publications, has won a Periodical Publishers Association award for the role he played in discussions with the Royal Mail over its controversial size-based pricing scheme.
Bucknor was presented with the Chairman’s Award for encouraging the Royal Mail to adapt its plans to change the pricing structure from one based on weight to one based on size.
The proposals prompted concerns of closures and higher postal costs among magazine publishers, who feared their titles would not fit within the required measurements.
PPA chairman and chief executive of Reed Business Information Keith Jones praised Bucknor’s achievement in what he described as one of the most difficult times to date. “Brin Bucknor has quietly and effectively led the work of the postal contract group as its chairman during one of its most difficult times.
“We have seen initial price hikes of up to 150 per cent brought down closer to realistic levels, the introduction of a special category for A3 magazines, the removal of a highly restrictive criterion requiring an item to be sufficiently flexible to go through a letterbox and we are still working hard to secure a more realistic measure for whether an item is uniform – flat – across the face than the impossible 2mm currently proposed,” he said.
Before presenting the award to Bucknor, Jones said: “Brin, what you have done – working closely with our excellent team in the PPA executive – is a shining example of what a trade association should be about. On behalf of us all, thank you.”
Bucknor has worked in the magazine industry for almost 20 years, having begun his career as a sales executive.
The award is presented every year by the PPA to an individual who has made a noteworthy contribution to the magazine industry and the PPA.
By Ruth Addicott
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