Min's B to B articles from May 2005

Min's B to B archives from May 2005

Why ABM Isn't Going Postal Over Latest U.S.P.S. Rate Hike Proposal.(American Business Media)(Brief Article)
May 2, 2005... Normally when the United States Postal Service files for a rate hike of more than 5%, you hear howls of pain from b2b publishers who think the sky is falling. Yet there's been barely a peep since the latest rate case was filed a few weeks...

b2b M&A Monitor: After Appraising Canon's Market Dominance, Apprise Media Reaches For Its Checkbook.
May 2, 2005... As we've noted previously, healthcare/medical and pharmaceutical markets have been a key attraction in some of the bigger-ticket b2b deals of recent vintage. Recent examples include Lebhar-Friedman/ Dowden Health Media, Ascend Media/Medical...

Boxscores (February): Will Spotty Recent Blips in Housing Markets Pose Problems for Building Books?(Illustration)
May 2, 2005... Personal finance sections are full of coverage speculating on how long the cheap money-fueled housing boom, which has seen annual double-digit price hikes in many areas, can last in this country. More recently, we're starting to see some...

Primedia Primes For Sale of Its Entire b2b Portfolio.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2005... The true strength of the apparent recovery in b2b markets will get a good test in coming weeks as the auction of Primedia's b2b portfolio, announced last week by president/CEO Kelly Conlin, wends its way to a conclusion. Having already sold...

b2b Boxscores (February 2005): 1) Banking Books Reprise Their Big-Bang Beginning.(Illustration)
May 2, 2005... Double-digit increases are music to any financier's ear, and the music is no different for b2b Banking/Finance publishers, who collectively banked significant February gains of +8.29% ad pages/+17.58% ad spending. Coupled with a profitable...

b2b Boxscores (February 2005): 2) Car Books Hit Skids in February Flop.(Illustration)
May 2, 2005... It's a very different tune, however, for our eight-title automotive group. According to our flagship of the min brand, Media Industry Newsletter, consumer magazine automotive advertising--perennially the leading category--was down more than...

New Revenue Streams: It's a Deal--Weekly Uses Supplements to Hit New Audiences, Help the Bottom Line.
May 2, 2005... For many years, print ad pages have paid the rent at b2b companies. For most, they still do. But it's a changing landscape out there, and ad pages alone seldom cut the mustard anymore. In many cases, pages are down and are likely to stay...

Digital Delivery: For Second Time Running, ZD's eWeek Tops BPA's List of Digital Circulation.(Illustration)
May 2, 2005... As we've noted several times in our coverage recently, digital editions of b2b magazines are growing in usage, mainly as a way of reaching new markets (especially for overseas subscribers) and to partly skirt rising paper, printing, and...

min's b2b Contest (entry deadline is May 14): EXPERIENCE QUEBECOR'S WIDE WORLD OF MAGAZINE PRINTING.
May 2, 2005... (And experience quality sound with an iPod U2 Special Edition) As the leading printer of magazines in North America, Quebecor World management understands the challenges that publishers face in the current dynamic media market. Their...

b2b People on the Move.(appointments)(Brief Article)
May 2, 2005... CMP Media president/CEO Gary Marshall's duties expanded last week when the U.K.-based mother ship, United Business Media, handed him the keys to its small entertainment business unit. Magazine titles like Guitar Player, Bass Player, and...

B2B Stockwatch: M-H's 12% Q1 Revenue Gain (To $1B) Lands It On Top of the Heap.(Illustration)
May 2, 2005... Based on Thursday's Market Close (4/28/05) Company Symbol Close 1 Week % Chg. Dow Jones & Co. DJ 32.2 -5.01% Elsevier N.V. ENL 28.51 -3.32% JupiterMedia Corp.1 JUPM 13.2 -6.71%...

Why b2b Brass Were Beaming in Boca.
May 9, 2005... Another American Business Media Spring Meeting (the 40th, for those of you keeping score at home) is now in the books, and it seems things may not be so bad after all. One point that came through loud and clear in last week's Boca fest--from...

Potty Humor: American Standard Mixes Jokes, Contests in b2b to Sell Almost 200,000 $400 Toilets.
May 9, 2005... When the Grateful Dead crooned about "sitting plush with a royal flush" in the 1970s, they weren't exactly talking about toilets. In fact, even though Americans on average spend about seven years of their lives in the bathroom, it's pretty...

Media Research: Online Ad Surge May Rob Spending from Other Media Rather Than Increasing the Pie.(Brief Article)
May 9, 2005... As noted above, much of the talk in Boca Raton last week centered on online advertising, rich media, and digital growth. But a tough crowd asked some tough questions about monetizing these assets. Some new insight on the subject comes in a...

Steve Smith on New Media: Agriculture Online?Let's Talk Among Ourselves.
May 9, 2005... From time to time in coming weeks we will be profiling some of the winners and runners-up in the recent Best of the Web Awards jointly hosted by min's b2b and our mother ship, Media Industry Newsletter. We start with a look at one of new...

b2b Boxscores: Fabulous $$$ February Feeds Foodservice YTD Ad Revenues +18.33%.
May 9, 2005... Some restaurants can be trendy, but food is never just a fad (and it never goes out of fashion). That might be one explanation for our Foodservice Boxscore category's bottom-line-healthy February, whose +12.27% ad-spending boost helped...

BIN Spin Redux: Updates Boost Advertising $$$ to +2.73% Through February.(Illustration)
May 9, 2005... All the final numbers are in (and a few preliminary kinks worked out), and American Business Media's expanded Business Information Network is off and running. Slightly revised figures for February and January, compiled by IMS/The Auditor,...

b2b People on the Move.(Brief Article)
May 9, 2005... It might be the job nobody wants, but John French (ex-Penton Media) last week was named president of Primedia Business, which only a week earlier had officially been put on the selling block by Primedia president/CEO Kelly Conlin. French,...

b2b Stockwatch: Jupiter Leads a Pack of Nine Winners.(Illustration)
May 9, 2005... Once in awhile we've seen a week where all our b2b stocks take it in the neck, but it's not often that we see almost our whole lineup post plus numbers for the week. But rules are made to be broken, and that rule was broken last week (just...

As High-Tech Print Fades, WebSpyder Gets Ready to Step Into the 'Net Fray.
May 16, 2005... For some time now, publishers of high-tech magazines have acknowledged (and pursued) the migration of advertising dollars from their print products to a plethora of online offerings. But, in an unofficial way, that recognition became starkly...

Boca Beat II: How RBI Parlayed a Little-Loved Acquisition Into Digital Prowess.
May 16, 2005... Most people know that Reed Business Information, the U.S. arm of Dutch- owned Reed-Elsevier, is a major player in American b2b. But how many realize what a force RBI has become in digital media? We suspect the answer is fewer than you might...

Advertising Sales Strategies: M-H's Gazzola--Don't Shortchange Print Just Because Digital Is Going Through the Roof.
May 16, 2005... Although print advertising is becoming less relevant as a barometer of how ad-supported high-tech media are performing (see story, page 1), it would be a big mistake for all b2b publishers to just give up the ship on selling ad pages in...

b2b Boxscores (February 2005): 1) Will Merger Mania Turn Telecom Publishers Into Manic Depressives?
May 16, 2005... Last time, we speculated on the potential impact two very large pending telecommunications mergers would have on the advertising/marketing side of the business. (Two players becoming one seldom increases the advertising pie.) Well, the...

2) Spending Soars While Ad Pages Sag in Government Sector.
May 16, 2005... Like many of our boxscore sectors, the Government category early on is registering decent to excellent year-to-date spending gains despite modest ad- page declines. It's important to remember that it is early in the year, but it's hard to...

b2b Boxscores (February 2005).(Illustration)
May 16, 2005... ENGINEERING AD PAGES AND REVENUES (January-February 2005 vs. 2004) Ad Pages Ad Pages PUBLICATIONS YTD 2005 YTD 2004 1 Advanced Imaging ...

Boxscores (February 2005): Travel Takes An Unwanted Dip, But Transportation Gasses Up.
May 16, 2005... TRAVEL/LODGING/HOSPITALITY AD PAGES AND REVENUES (January-February 2005/2004) New category! Ad Pages Ad Pages PUBLICATIONS YTD 2005 YTD 2004 1 Business Travel News ...

ABM Joins the Blogosphere With MediaPace.(Brief Article)
May 16, 2005... In Boca Raton earlier this month, American Business Media brought in nationally recognized new media expert/investor Robert Metcalfe of Polaris Venture Partners to talk about blogs and the future of the Internet. As for Weblogs, or blogs, he...

b2b People on the Move.
May 16, 2005... The appointment of former PC World publisher Bob Ostrow to president/publisher of InfoWorld set in motion these changes at International Data Group: PCW named Wayne Silverman as publisher and tapped Michael Carroll as VP/publisher of...

b2b Stockwatch: Analyst's Upgrade Elevates Dow Jones Stock.
May 16, 2005... The publisher of Barron's and The Wall Street Journal has been a punching bag for much of the year (at this time last week, its stock was down more than 20% year-to-date), but Dow Jones rose to the top last week when a Morgan Stanley analyst...

Exclusive min's b2b Analysis--First-Quarter Boxscore Ad Categories: 'Pageless Recovery' Continues Apace in Mediocre Q1 Results.
May 23, 2005... A look at the first-quarter ad-page/ad-revenue tallies for our 17 monthly b2b Boxscore categories suggests that publishers who are putting more of their selling efforts (and resources) into digital media and events may be doing so just in...

Go to MARs to See What Makes Good Sales People Good.
May 23, 2005... Our May 17 Breakfast of Champions in New York feted the top magazine sales people (b2b as well as consumer publishing) for 2004 and inducted a half- dozen luminaries--including Hanley Wood's Peter Goldstone and Annie Callanan of...

Verklin to min-siders: Mag Brass in the Know Could Capitalize on TV's Woe.
May 23, 2005... With declining television ratings and the fragmentation of mass media increasingly causing advertisers to question the vitality (and usefulness) of 30-second television commercials, the time is near for a sea change in the media business...

Steve Smith on New Media: Of Launches, Re-Launches, and Learning Experiences.
May 23, 2005... As we have reported in recent months, several business publishers are turning up the heat on their Web operations this year. And so, a number of brands have enjoyed site redesigns and relaunches that reflect a new maturity in the...

If CRM or b2b Marketing Is Your Thing, Read This!(Customer relationship management)(Business to business marketing)(Brief Article)
May 23, 2005... When well-paid consultants preach that b2b is all about the customer, they mean the care and feeding of customers must be Job One at any successful b2b operation today. That was the subject of a Customer Relationship Management seminar...

Boxscores (February 2005): February Fade Flattens Earlier Gains in Reseller Group.(Illustration)
May 23, 2005... RESELLER AD PAGES AND REVENUES (January-February 2005/2004) Ad Pages Ad Pages PUBLICATIONS YTD 2005 YTD 2004 1 Business Solutions 104 124.67 2 Computer Technology Review...

In the min Winner's Circle (b2b Division).
May 23, 2005... We know magazine sales people work hard. Indeed, we know they are working harder today than perhaps ever before. But there aren't really too many industry-wide awards programs that specifically reward good, productive sales efforts above and...

b2b Boxscores (February 2005): 1) Is Broadcast Group's Fine February Just the Calm Before a Coming Storm?(Illustration)
May 23, 2005... If Carat, North Americas CEO David Verklin is right about the revolutionary effect commercial-avoidance technology may have on television advertising, there may also be a sea change in store for some of the books listed in this group. For...

2) Campus Tech Newcomer Beats All Takers in Crowded Vertical/Special Interest Field.(advertising pages and revenues)(Illustration)
May 23, 2005... A 75% year-to-date revenue surge will get attention every time, even when it comes on one of the lowest revenue bases in a 16-title group. But 101communications' Campus Technology--a 2005 addition to our lineup--will take it, and will try to...

b2b People on the Move.(Brief Article)
May 23, 2005... Events are becoming big business in b2b, a trend that is reflected in recruiting practices. Last week, CMP Media hired Jon Black (ex-Richmond Events/Gartner Group) as VP/events in its Enterprise Group. This is a new post, and is similar to...

b2b Stockwatch: CMP Parent Takes a Blow from U.S. Trading; PRM Remains Sluggish.
May 23, 2005... For those among you wondering why CMP Media parent United Business Media's stock has been inactive for more than a month, the explanation is simple: the U.K.-based company--which on May 12 discontinued releasing its regular high-technology...

M&A Monitor: Hanley Wood Saga Ends With $650M Sale To JPMorgan Partners.(Brief Article)
May 30, 2005... Big media deals often have a tendency to get hammered out right around big holidays, and the high-profile Hanley Wood auction is no exception. The drama ended late Thursday (May 26) with news that an investment group led by JPMorgan...

Customer Relationship Management: Quadrant Revamp Quantifies When, How It Hits All Customer "Touch Points".
May 30, 2005... Hitting and capitalizing on multiple customer "touch points" is a common subject these days when b2b management folk congregate. But how do you know if you're hitting all your possible touch points? Plus, even if you are hitting on all...

Steve Smith on New Media: That's More Like It!: MediaWeek.com/Billboard.biz Put Better Face on VNU eMedia.
May 30, 2005... After we scolded VNU eMedia for its Billboard.com eyesore of a site and only marginally better AdWeek.com (both redesigned recently, we thought), the company informed us that we were looking in the wrong places for evidence of VNU's latest...

Boxscores (March 2005): Healthcare/Rx Ad Revenue Doesn't Stop at the Printed Page.
May 30, 2005... As most everyone knows, Americans are spending more than ever before on healthcare and prescription medicines. It would stand to reason, then, that healthcare providers and the vendors that supply them would be advertising more than ever...

Boxscores (March 2005): Does a Flat First Quarter Mean Developer/Tech Has Turned the Tide?
May 30, 2005... When we spoke with BZ Media president Ted Bahr about Developers/Technical Boxscores last year (see min's b2b, 3/15/04), we warned that "b2b watchers looking for hopeful signs about 2004 won't find many" in what had become a badly sagging b2b...

min's b2b Exclusive! First-Time Review of Trade Association Publications Ad Pages--2004 vs. 2003 (Part I).
May 30, 2005... When trade association publishing executives convened in Chicago last December, their trade organization (Society of National Association Publishers, which usually travels by the snappy acronym SNAP), presented a new benchmark study of its...

First-Time Review of Trade Association Publications Ad Pages--2004 vs. 2003 (Part I).
May 30, 2005... A review of association publishing's 2004 performance--culled from our Group Publishers data compiled by IMS/The Auditor and presented here for the first time--affirms the executives' cause for concern in some quarters, but also suggests the...

People On The Move.(Brief Article)
May 30, 2005... In the wake of the $650M sale of Hanley Wood last Thursday (see page 1), founder Michael Wood has stepped down as CEO but remains on the HW board under new ownership formed by JPMorgan Partners. Former president Frank Anton now becomes CEO....

David Letterman Puts Rance Crain in the Winner's Circle.(Brief Article)
May 30, 2005... Both have an infatuation with race cars. The Late Show host Letterman, a native Hoosier, owns them (including that of 2004 Indianapolis 500 winner Buddy Rice, who dropped out of this weekend's race due to an injury), and Advertising Age...

If You Want to Sell More Advertising...(Brief Article)
May 30, 2005... ... Don't miss: the Association of National Advertisers' June 16 Print Advertising Forum at New York's Grand Hyatt. This is your chance to hear leading experts address the current state of the magazine and newspaper industries and their...