BtoB articles from April 2003

BtoB archives from April 2003

Call for entries.(Opinion)
April 14, 2003... Nominate a Web site for BtoB's NetMarketing 100, a list of the 100 best b-to-b Web sites that will be published in August. Please send nominations via e-mail to nm100@crain.com. Include the company name, Web address, a 30-word description of...

April 1942: Advertising for Victory; Hindsight A b-to-b time capsule.(Opinion)(Brief Article)
April 14, 2003... Four months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, W.D. Murphy, president of the National Industrial Advertisers Association, outlined the role of advertising managers in helping the war effort. "There is no dearth of things to be done,...

Campaign management technology comes of age; New technologies have enabled vendors to build products that provide increasingly complex tracking and analysis.(Special Report: Campaign Management)
April 14, 2003... Byline: Roger Slavens The economic downturn hasn't been all bad. Forced to slash budgets and improve efficiency, many marketers have learned to operate leaner and meaner by leveraging advances in marketing automation software and campaign...

Corrections.(Correction Notice)
April 14, 2003... In a profile of Hill, Holliday, Connors, Cosmopulos that appeared in the Top 50 Agencies Special Report (March 10, page 22), cable TV company Comcast Corp. was incorrectly included among a list of companies dealing with accounting scandals....

In Direct.(Direct & Database)(Postal Civil Service Retirement Funding Reform Act of 2003)(Direct Marketing Association advises on wartime advertising)(Brief Article)
April 14, 2003... Congress passes postal service legislation It's welcome news to commercial mailers: Congress has passed legislation to change the Civil Service Retirement System funding formula. The change is expected to save the USPS $3 billion a year and...

War Journals; Reporters from major trade magazines are on the ground in Iraq, covering the war and its impact on U.S. industries.(News)
April 14, 2003... Byline: Sean Callahan The dispatch began, ``Missile salvos darted up from the horizon beyond our position near the first berm on the [Kuwait-Iraq] border last night, beginning about dusk. Often, in groups of twos or threes, they were first...

Guest Column: Getting sales and marketing on same team.(Special Report: Streamlining Sales)
April 14, 2003... Byline: Harry Watkins There has long been a critical, crippling disconnect between the marketing and sales functions in many b-to-b businesses. In b-to-b, the activities of marketing are primarily focused on facilitating and equipping...

Goat or Gloat.(Chasers)(State of Pennsylvania Technology Company Investment Fund and Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development )(Brief Article)
April 14, 2003... Organization: State of Pennsylvania Agency: In-house Market: Corporate executives Quick chase: It's all about Benjamin-as in the state of Pennsylvania's favorite son, Ben Franklin, whose famous visage graces the $100 bill. The bill itself has a...

Cut to the Chase: Print.(Chasers)(Pitney Bowes Inc.)(Brief Article)
April 14, 2003... Company: Pitney Bowes Inc., Stamford, Conn. Agency: OgilvyOne, New York Market: Office managers, information technology managers Quick chase: Should you inject confusion into an ad to make a point about confusion? It's a big risk, and, in this...

Guest Column: Advice on choosing the right software.(Special Report: Campaign Management)(customer relationship management)
April 14, 2003... Byline: Gaurav Verma With all of the economic and competitive pressures they face today, many businesses are turning to customer relationship management as a tool to acquire and retain profitable customers. Since the cost of acquiring new...

Advanstar positioned for rebound; Analysts praise publisher's moves but say they'd like to see more acquisitions.(Business Media)(Advanstar Communications Inc.)
April 14, 2003... Byline: SEAN CALLAHAN With Advanstar Communications Inc.'s shrinking revenues and widening net loss in 2002, it's easy to lump the company with other business media operations that are threatened with delisting from a stock exchange or...

Options for optimal prices.(Opinion)
April 14, 2003... Byline: John Ruf Every day we hear more bad news about the economy. In one sector there is deflation, while another turns inflationary. Productivity-driven deflation, such as in information technology, is good for the economy. But it's...

Saab sold on Siebel to drive dealership leads.(Special Report: Streamlining Sales)(Saab Cars USA Inc., Siebel Systems Inc.)
April 14, 2003... Byline: CRAIG STEPHENS Saab Cars USA, a subsidiary of Swedish automaker Saab, which is owned by General Motors Corp., has increased dealer follow-up on sales leads from 38% to 50%. Saab accomplished this by ensuring that its sales and...

Sales tool systems.(Special Report: Streamlining Sales)(Brief Article)
April 14, 2003... Byline: Craig Stephens * Customer relationship management (CRM): Features applications packaged as integrated suites catering to multiple selling channels, such as direct, partner and e-commerce. CRM suites may also support the entire...

How to run a corporate blog.(Special Report: Campaign Management)(weblogs)(Brief Article)
April 14, 2003... Why do it: Establish a more direct, personal corporate voice. Interact with customers one-on-one. Improve search engine ranking via increased cross-linking. How to launch it: For a quick start, use established blogging software or...

Agenda.(Calendar/Datebook)(Calendar)
April 14, 2003... April 14-15 49th Annual Chicago Direct Marketing Days & Expo Chicago Association of Direct Marketing Chicago Navy Pier (312) 849-CADM www.cadm.org/dmdays/register May 5-7 DMA/AIM net.marketing Conference &...

UPS delivers new brand campaign.(News)(United Parcel Service of America Inc.)
April 14, 2003... Byline: KATE MADDOX United Parcel Service of America Inc. last month launched a redesigned brand identity with a global ad campaign designed to reposition the company as much more than a package delivery service. The most visible...

IDC offers tech marketers new advisory service.(News)(CMO Advisory Service)
April 14, 2003... Byline: SEAN CALLAHAN Everyone talks about the decline of b-to-b and technology ad spending, but no one does anything about it. IDC, the research unit of International Data Group, is trying to change that. It recently launched the CMO...

Corporate blogs make personal connection.(News)(weblogs)
April 14, 2003... Byline: RICHARD KARPINSKI B-to-b marketers seeking more direct conversations with their customers have begun turning to that most personal of forums: the Weblog. Corporate Weblogs aren't exactly sweeping the marketing world, but early...

Marketers carry out war plans.(News)(preparing for war in Iraq)
April 14, 2003... Byline: KATE MADDOX While the military was preparing strategies in the months leading up to the war with Iraq, advertisers and ad agencies were preparing their own for marketing and advertising during wartime. But, unlike during past wars,...

Studies find CEOs reachable beyond office.(News)(Doremus and Co. and Forbes.com)
April 14, 2003... Byline: SEAN CALLAHAN CEOs are people, too. They read publications other than The Wall Street Journal. And they spend more time online than the Luddite CEO stereotype suggests. These are among the many conclusions drawn from two recent...

Feeling their pain can help your sell more.(Opinion)(sales techniques)
April 14, 2003... Byline: Steven Cody and Richard Harte You'd be surprised how many sales and marketing executives don't know the specific pain points keeping their customers or clients awake at night. In researching and writing our book, ``What's...

Business travelers soldier on; Compared with sept. 11, War in Iraq has little effect on Trade show attendance.(News)
April 14, 2003... Byline: KATE MADDOX Business travel has been only slightly affected by the war with Iraq, in contrast with the impact felt by past wars and dramatic events. ``Sept. 11 had much more of an impact,'' said Susan Friedmann, founder of The...

Intel Centrino effort touts 'unwired' life; Chipmaker enters new sector, targets b-to-b market with emphasis on mobile computing.(Advertising)
April 14, 2003... Byline: KATE MADDOX Intel Corp. last month launched a global advertising campaign for Centrino, its new mobile computing platform, targeting business and information technology decision-makers. Centrino is a breakthrough product for...

Case Study: ADP system bridges gap between marketing, sales.(Special Report: Campaign Management)(ADP Benefit Services, Aelera Solutions, Abovo Group)
April 14, 2003... Byline: KATE MADDOX ADP Benefit Services, a business unit of Automatic Data Processing Inc., Roseland, N.J., is reaping the benefits of a campaign management system developed by technology consulting firm Aelera and its agency partner...

Marketers adapt to leaner budgets; CRM sales drop as companies re-adjust priorities and take upgrades in-house.(CRM Strategies)(customer relationship management systems)
April 14, 2003... Byline: KAREN J. BANNAN ADC Telecommunications Inc. executives haven't purchased any new customer relationship management software since the millennium began. Still, the company says CRM is a priority, and its IT staff is constantly...

New Campaigns.(Advertising)(Microsoft Corp. and PrimeSource Building Products Inc.)
April 14, 2003... It's a laptop. It's a pen. It's a Tablet PC. Microsoft Corp. last month began its first integrated ad campaign for the Windows XP Tablet PC, a laptop computer with a digital writing pad, which debuted in November. The campaign, developed by...

Media News.(Business Media)(business to business magazine acquisitions)(CIO magazine wins 49th Annual Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Awards)(Brief Article)
April 14, 2003... B-to-b magazine M&A activity slows Reflecting continued softness in print advertising, merger and acquisition activity involving b-to-b magazines declined in the first two months of this year, according to media bank Jordan, Edmiston Group...

E-mail Marketer Insight.(Net Marketing)(Brief Article)
April 14, 2003... Byline: Andy Sernovitz Question: What is the best time of day to send an e-mail? Answer: Never send mail after 4 p.m. or overnight. By the time a late-afternoon message gets to recipients, they are busy trying to get out of the office....

Enterprise incentive management fills niche need.(Special Report: Streamlining Sales)(Sealed Air Corp., InMarketing Group Inc.)
April 14, 2003... Byline: KELLY SHERMACH In early 2002, Sealed Air Corp., a Saddle Brook, N.J.-based manufacturer and marketer of bubble wrap and other protective packaging, formed regional sales teams with representatives from each of its five divisions....

Quote Unquote.(Opinion)(Labelmaster's Barry Litwin )(Brief Article)
April 14, 2003... ``One of the biggest challenges for b-to-b marketers is to spend as much time on internal communications as you do marketing to external channels.'' Barry Litwin, VP-sales and marketing, Labelmaster, during a panel discussion at BtoB's...

Quick Hits; WSJ Online adds media and marketing edition.(Briefs)(Wall Street Journal Online)(CMR/TNS Media Intelligence reports on 2002 ad spending)(Microsoft Corp. launches Microsoft Business Solutions ad)
April 14, 2003... Dow Jones & Co. announced last week that it will launch the Media & Marketing edition of the Wall Street Journal Online in May. The edition, which will be published daily, will be aimed at the advertising, marketing, media and entertainment...

Cut to the Chase: Television.(Chasers)(Pfizer Inc.)(Brief Article)
April 14, 2003... Company: Pfizer Inc., New York Agency: N/A Market: Medical industry, investors Quick chase: Institutional advertising walks a fine line between sounding sanctimonious and sounding noble. Fortunately for Pfizer, this spot comes off as very human...

Business as usual for ads on Sunday news shows.(Chasers)
April 14, 2003... On the Sunday morning TV talk shows, amid the discussion of war and strategy by generals, senators and pundits, were the commercial messages of b-to-b advertisers who continue to march through the turmoil. None of the spots of a half dozen...

infoUSA bolsters e-mail capabilities; Acquisition of Yesmail is latest move in company's big push to expand services.(Direct & Database)
April 14, 2003... Byline: CAROL KROL InfoUSA Inc., a 31-year-old company known for its compiled databases and list management services, is making a big move into the e-mail services arena. Last month, the Omaha, Neb.-based company announced it had...

Direct Personality: Query is DataFlux answer.(Direct & Database)(Martin Query)(Brief Article)
April 14, 2003... Byline: CAROL KROL Martin Query, recently named director of sales and business development for DataFlux Corp., has been tapped to play a key role in transforming the wholly owned subsidiary of SAS Institute Inc. That transformation...

Case Study: Fashion network solves its sales system woes.(CRM Strategies)(Worth Global Style Network uses Salesforce.com customer relationship management system)
April 14, 2003... Byline: Carol Krol Challenge: Worth Global Style Network is a New York-based service company that provides online research, trend analysis and news services for the fashion industry. The company, whose clients include retailers such as...

Whether war or business, communication is key.(Opinion)(Editorial)
April 14, 2003... Byline: Ellis Booker Last month, I wrote about the impending war with Iraq. Last week, CNN showed scenes of U.S. soldiers and jubilant Iraqis toppling a massive statue of Saddam Hussein in the center of Baghdad. Unlike any war before...

'BtoB' to add media magazine, newsletter.(News)(Brief Article)
April 14, 2003... BtoB is extending its coverage of business media with a new e-mail newsletter launching later this month, plus a monthly print magazine launching in June. The new title will cover the world of business media companies. Current business...

Mixed results in managing content; Content management has worked for some, but many have `overspent, underdeployed'.(Net Marketing)
April 14, 2003... Byline: TOM SMITH Web content management solutions have been generating a lot of interest among marketers who want to bring structure to their Web site content and easily repurpose it to suit their needs. Yet the results of these...

Streamlining Sales; Trends promise better sales, marketing coordination; but non-tech issues remain.(Special Report: Streamlining Sales)(sales automation)
April 14, 2003... Byline: CRAIG STEPHENS A plethora of sales and marketing automation products provide pragmatic solutions for everyday activities, such as tracking sales calls or marketing campaigns. But the most-needed systems, analysts say, are ones...

Why can't marketing and sales get along?(News)
April 14, 2003... Byline: CAROL KROL Sales and marketing departments, which ought to work together in a symbiotic, supportive way, too often get bogged down in turf wars. ``The marketplace is primarily not `getting it' at the operating level,'' said Vic...