BtoB articles from August 2004

BtoB archives from August 2004

ASK THE EXPERT; Search optimization tactics to avoid.(NetMarketing)(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... Question: What procedures will cause my site to be penalized or even banned by the major search engines? Answer: Major search engines penalize or even ban Web sites that use deceptive techniques to artificially drive search results. Here...

Smaller firms tackle rebranding; Midmarket companies strive to stand out in face of growing competition, commoditization.(News)
August 9, 2004... Byline: KATE MADDOX While b-to-b giants such as General Electric Co., United Parcel Service of America and DuPont have received recognition over the past few years for major rebranding efforts, smaller b-to-b marketers have also launched...

Krakoff's resignation takes analysts by surprise; Longtime Advanstar chairman cites lack of activity on the acquisitions front.(News)
August 9, 2004... Byline: SEAN CALLAHAN Robert L. Krakoff stunned many observers in the b-to-b media world when he announced his retirement, effective July 31, as chairman of Advanstar Communications. "I think everybody was surprised,'' said Reed...

Quick Hits; Primedia puts three magazines up for sale.(Briefs)
August 9, 2004... Primedia has placed Folio:, Circulation Management and American Demographics on the block. In its earnings announcement Aug. 5, the company said it is "evaluating strategic partnerships'' for the three publications, which are part of its...

Marketers connect with online video.(News)
August 9, 2004... Byline: NELSON WANG Although it has largely been the province of business-to-consumer marketers to date, online video has started to attract b-to-b companies. Encouraged by the results, these marketers, along with interactive agencies and...

Soft prices can cause soft brands.(Opinion)
August 9, 2004... Byline: Keith Gosselin There is little doubt that products in almost every category are facing commoditization. Ironically, companies attempting to prevent commoditization are often simultaneously perpetuating it-a process I call...

Cash-strapped Penton looks to Web for revenue; New Internet czar Shanfelt to oversee sharing of best practices among units.(News)
August 9, 2004... Byline: SEAN CALLAHAN New Penton Media CEO David Nussbaum is hoping that Eric Shanfelt will be the troubled company's answer to Spiderman: a master with the Web. When Nussbaum took over as CEO of Penton last month, he quickly...

Trade show ads must appeal to savvy readers.(Chasers)
August 9, 2004... There's a certain sameness to the pages of an industry journal. For the readers, that's usually OK. They're getting the kind of information and imagery that appeals to their professional interests. The Chasers have long advocated that the type...

Beyond the Biz; UPS gets air time with 'Makeover' marketing.(Briefs)
August 9, 2004... UPS has extended the "Madison and Vine'' intersection of advertising and entertainment in a recent deal with TBS Superstation. The Sept. 18 airing of "Movie and a Makeover''-TBS' show featuring a real-life makeover along with a movie-will...

Showing Innovation: Supercomm offers matchmaking.(Special Report: Event Marketing)
August 9, 2004... Byline: Serena A. Brahney Despite the postponement-and perhaps demise-of Comdex, other big IT shows are seeking innovative ways to adapt and add value. For instance, networking show Supercomm recently launched a business matchmaking...

A summer reading list sampler for marketers.(Opinion)
August 9, 2004... Byline: Ellis Booker Are you taking a vacation this month? I am. The following list of marketing books-all published this year-was culled from recent arrivals in the BtoB library, as well as well-reviewed new books and recommendations from...

Case Study: Networking tech firm expands from niche strategy; Core Communications focuses on direct sales to reach travel, hospitality firms.(Vertical Insight: Travel/Hospitality)
August 9, 2004... Byline: ROGER SLAVENS High-tech conferencing capabilities and guest room Internet access have been two of the hotel industry's emergent focuses-and areas of significant spending-in recent years. In fact, demand created something of a "land...

Quote Unquote.(Opinion)(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... "These are sour numbers. There is no sugarcoating that.'' Economist Ken Mayland, president of ClearView Economics, on the 0.7% drop in consumer spending in June, as quoted by the Associated Press on Aug. 3. The decline was the first since...

AT&T shifts focus to enterprise market.(News)
August 9, 2004... Byline: KATE MADDOX AT&T Corp.'s decision to discontinue marketing to consumers and instead focus its efforts on b-to-b will not bring about any drastic changes in its immediate marketing strategy, although the shift poses some long-term...

Searching for an SEM partner.(Opinion)(Search-Engine Marketing )
August 9, 2004... Byline: Richard Hagerty As marketers are becoming increasingly interested in search-and recognizing it to be a complex, dynamic, data-intensive process that is never "finished''-many are scrambling to put a search solution in place. ...

Case Study: HP drives home value of presses.(Special Report: Event Marketing)
August 9, 2004... Byline: KELLY SHERMACH Although best known for its desktop printers, Hewlett-Packard Co. also sells high-end commercial printing presses. These large and expensive machines-10,000 lbs. and $250,000 or more each-are sold by HP Digital...

Expert advice on making the most of a trade show.(Special Report: Event Marketing)(Interview)
August 9, 2004... Byline: CAROL KROL In her forthcoming book, "Trade Show and Event Marketing'' (scheduled to be published by South-Western in November), Ruth Stevens addresses the challenges and opportunities in trade show marketing. Stevens, a consultant...

Sponsors reach for Olympic gold; Despite concerns, companies have confidence in games' marketing value.(News)
August 9, 2004... Byline: Sean Callahan Fears of terrorism, charges of steroid use and behind-schedule construction have dogged the 2004 Summer Olympic Games, which begin this week in Athens, Greece. Nonetheless, Xerox Corp., Monster and other b-to-b...

BtoB's Best of 2004.(News)
August 9, 2004... On October 25, BtoB will publish a special issue featuring the best advertising, brands and marketers of 2004. * Best Advertising of 2004: We will accept nominations for the year's best advertising in four categories: single print ad,...

Cut to the Chase: Television.(Chasers)
August 9, 2004... Company: Register.com, New York Agency: N/A Market: Small businesses Quick chase: It's the one that got away. A pair of earnest, twentysomething consultants bemoans the loss of a potential client because they did not have a Web site. "We're a...

Search engine marketing; Marketers must measure ROI before search marketing can live up to its potential.(NetMarketing)
August 9, 2004... Byline: Carol Krol Search engine marketing is a red-hot market, and analysts predict it will only get hotter. But as more marketers jump into the game and outbid their rivals-driving the cost of keywords up-they're faced with the...

Events endure; As shows strive to demonstrate their value, the event business is attracting marketing investment again.(Special Report: Event Marketing)
August 9, 2004... Byline: Kelly Shermach Conferences and events, disproportionately effected by the events of Sept. 11, 2001, and the decline in business travel, are making a healthy comeback. But the revival is distinguished by a shift in emphasis:...

Vertical search heats up.(News)
August 9, 2004... Byline: CAROL KROL As the search engine marketing industry matures, a new generation of niche-oriented search engines, also known as vertical search engines, has emerged. These specialty engines, which cater to specific business segments,...

GE tops Microsoft in brand power rating.(News)
August 9, 2004... Byline: SEAN CALLAHAN General Electric Co. moved to the top spot in CoreBrand's brand power rankings for the second quarter, with a brand equity of $56.78 billion, or 17.1% of its market capitalization, according to the branding...

Case Study: Fair Isaac uses vertical search engine ad to generate leads.(NetMarketing)
August 9, 2004... Byline: Carol Krol Challenge: Fair Isaac Corp., a data giant that provides analytics and credit scoring services, wanted to increase visibility for its Blaze Advisor business rules software. The company had acquired HNC Software, which...

Exhibitors endorse new event audit guidelines.(News)
August 9, 2004... Byline: KATE MADDOX B-to-b exhibitors applauded new audit guidelines proposed last month by the IT Event Measurement and Audit Council, saying the standards would help boost their confidence in trade show numbers released by event...

Industry Outlook: Travel industry holds host of opportunities.(Vertical Insight: Travel/Hospitality)(Brief Article)(Interview)
August 9, 2004... Byline: R.S. Henry Harteveldt joined Forrester Research in San Francisco in 2000 to head up the company's travel research unit, bringing tremendous marketing experience in working for top industry companies such as Fairmont Hotels,...

Travel industry on the mend; Spending expected to grow 5.9% in '04, but decision-makers still cost-cutting.(Vertical Insight: Travel/Hospitality)
August 9, 2004... Byline: ROGER SLAVENS Perhaps no other industry was shaken as badly as travel and hospitality following the 9/11 terror attacks. After years of steady growth and confidence, fear and uncertainty slowed travel spending by 5.1%, to $550.2...

Cut to the Chase: Print.(Chasers)(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... Company: BT, London Agency: BBDO Proximity, New York Market: C-level executives and IT professionals Quick chase: The British are coming! But it's not those musket-toting redcoats from long ago. This invasion is being led by a series of fresh...

Goat or Gloat.(Chasers)
August 9, 2004... Company: United Van Lines, Fenton, Mo. Agency: Zimmerman & Associates, St. Louis Market: Trade show managers Quick chase: We like the image of the wristwatch getting a good, hard look. It works well with the headline: "Need on-time service?...

Media News; Penton Media Europe acquires four titles.(Business Media)(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... Penton Media Europe has acquired four titles from Wilson Publications. Penton said three of the titles-CRM, Customer Service News and Business and IT Support (BITS)-will become part of the Penton Media Business Customer portfolio under the...

By Design; NACM updates database to simplify site searches.(NetMarketing)(National Association of Credit Management)(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... Byline: Serena A. Brahney Company: National Association of Credit Management's Asset Protection Group Web site: www.nacm.org/ lpd/membership.html Agency: In-house and Sharp Innovations Launch date: June 16, 2004 The Asset...

IDG ad program mixes direct, print; `As Seen in Your Mailbox' offers classifieds in IDG titles to show direct response ROI.(Direct & Database)
August 9, 2004... Byline: CAROL KROL IDG List Services is testing a new sales concept it hopes will boost direct response return on investment for its marketing clients. Demonstrating ROI has been an ongoing challenge for the list industry, and IDG said...

Search engine marketing integration: The next wave of search.(NetMarketing)
August 9, 2004... Byline: Ron Belanger If you're like most marketers taking advantage of search engine marketing today, you are probably satisfied with the low-cost, high-quality leads you drive from this channel. After all, search has been a godsend for...

Charchaflian leverages Merkle's technology.(Direct & Database)(appointment.)(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... Byline: CAROL KROL Pierre Charchaflian was appointed VP-client management services at Merkle Direct Marketing in late December and has spent the last seven months bringing a structured approach to account management and strengthening...

New Campaigns; Kodak Document Imaging provides human touch.(Advertising)(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... Kodak Document Imaging, Rochester, N.Y., this month launches a global print campaign to introduce its Kodak i30 and i40 scanners. The campaign uses the tagline "Innovation you can count on'' and was developed by Buck & Pulleyn, also based in...

In Direct; Direct marketing job prospects improve.(Direct & Database)(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... Hiring in the direct marketing industry shows steady improvement, but marketers continue to proceed with caution, according to Bernhart Associates Executive Search's latest quarterly employment survey. Of the 132 companies responding to the...

VSS forecasts steady growth; Bullish report cites technology rebound, strength in health care, housing spending.(Business Media)(Veronis Suhler Stevenson)
August 9, 2004... Byline: SEAN CALLAHAN Of all the communications and media sectors covered in Veronis Suhler Stevenson's "Communications Industry Forecast & Report,'' the b-to-b media sector may be the toughest to analyze in terms of its health and future....

SEM consolidation picks up.(NetMarketing)(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... Byline: Carol Krol Consolidation among search engines, which began about a year ago with deals such as Overture Services' acquisition of AltaVista and Yahoo!'s acquisition of Inktomi, has now given way to consolidation among the search...

Report: Search ads lift brand awareness; IAB, Nielsen//NetRatings research finds optimal online media mix includes search, display ads.(Advertising)
August 9, 2004... Byline: KATE MADDOX Search ads and contextually targeted online text ads can have a significant impact on branding, according to research released last month by the Interactive Advertising Bureau and Nielsen//NetRatings. The report,...

'BtoB' on the Web, e-mail.(News)
August 9, 2004... BtoB encourages readers to use our Web site (www.btobonline.com) to access archives of our monthly print edition, including our Special Report lists, and our daily and weekly e-mail newsletters. BtoB's e-mail products including: * Daily...

August 1969: PR worst practices; Hindsight A b-to-b time capsule.(Opinion)
August 9, 2004... Thirty-five years ago in Industrial Marketing, Fred Gruenberger, an associate professor at San Fernando State College, provided tips on "How Not to Write a News Release," including: "Do not check the technical details of the product's...