What is a publisher now? Opportunities for the post-Open Access era… | The Frankfurt Book Fair Blog

“'How can established publishing brands adapt to the new realities of Open Access publishing?' asked Publishing Technology’s Michael Cairns of a panel that comprised some of the most established brands in academic publishing, alongside new players. Sam Burridge, MD of Open Access at Nature/Palgrave Macmillan, responded by suggesting that the strength of established brands enabled them to act as effective drivers of change. Nature had recently established a separate unit for its Open Access businesses, giving them more independence and enabling them to be more agile. Mandy Hill, newly appointed MD of Academic at Cambridge University Press, added that Open Access had made publishers re-engage with the customers they served. Cambridge was looking closely at what a journal brand now meant in this new world, she said, and it was clear that an effective brand required much more than publication. Both Hill and Burridge highlighted the risks involved in responding to this new climate. Burridge emphasised the need to maintain the editorial quality of established brands while moving them in a new direction. Hill noted that historic journal brands are often valuable properties for publishers, but there can be as many risks in inaction as in action. It was also vital to consider the community’s needs on a case by case basis – what might be appropriate for one journal might not work for another, and while open access might be the new normal in STM publishing, that was much less the case in the humanities and social sciences. Timo Hannay, Managing Director of Digital Science, pointed out that most established brands have already changed over time and will continue to do so, observing how Nature had developed over the past century as a result of deliberate decisions – including the recent decision that the brand should be synonymous with innovation. In this new environment, there were considerable opportunities for publishers to develop new brands that would meet researchers’ changing requirements ..."