BtoB articles from December 2005

BtoB archives from December 2005

Improving lead quality with vertical search.(NetMarketing)
December 12, 2005... Byline: KAREN J. BANNAN Captaris Inc., a Bellevue, Wash.-based document management and work flow solutions company, targets a wide range of business customers such as human resources directors and CIOs. The company created an online...

Finding your way with Vertical Search; Marketers are seeing impressive results from their ad buys on industry-specific search engines.(NetMarketing )
December 12, 2005... Byline: Karen J. Bannan Heating element manufacturer Accu Therm advertised for years with moderate success in the Thomas Register of American Manufacturers Thomas Register Catalog File, a print directory of U.S.-based manufacturers and...

Pros predict moderate ad spending gains.
December 12, 2005... Byline: CAROL KROL Three of the most-recognized advertising industry prognosticators-two media agency analysts and a brokerage analyst-recently released muted spending projections for 2006, as well as adjusted estimates for 2005. One...

Newspaper circulation woes offset by Internet gains; NAA says publishers should focus on audience reach rather than number of newspapers sold.(News)(Newspaper Association of America)
December 12, 2005... Byline: MATTHEW SCHWARTZ Two studies released within a week of each other in November are likely to add to the identity crisis now gripping the newspaper industry regarding its future. The first, released by the Newspaper Association...

Quick Hits.(Cymfony appointments)(International Data Group)(CMP Media acquisitions)
December 12, 2005... Direct marketing M&A activity up 66% this year Direct marketing industry mergers and acquisition activity was brisk in the first nine months of 2005, according to Petsky Prunier, an investment banker to the direct marketing industry. A...

HP unravels marketing plan of departed CEO; Reversal of Fiorina's strategies affects advertising agencies.(News)(Hewlett-Packard Co.)(Carly Fiorina)
December 12, 2005... Byline: MATTHEW CREAMER AND ALICE Z. CUNEO Hewlett-Packard Co. is reviewing up to $2 billion of ad business as it sweeps away the corporate-branding vision favored by deposed CEO Carly Fiorina. The tech giant is devolving marketing...

Yahoo! executive on the state of search marketing.(Ron Belanger)(Interview)
December 12, 2005... Byline: CAROL KROL Ron Belanger, senior director, global advertiser strategy and development for Yahoo! Search Marketing, sat down with BtoB Senior Reporter Carol Krol at the Direct Marketing Association's annual conference in Atlanta in...

BtoBonline.com; new Events Calendar.(Opinion)(Brief Article)
December 12, 2005... Visit BtoB's Web site, BtoBonline.com, to access our new Events Calendar of advertising, marketing and media-related events. The Events Calendar can be accessed free of charge and without registration. Visitors can search for events by month,...

Google's new freebie: Web site analytics.
December 12, 2005... Byline: KATE MADDOX Google's announcement last month that it will offer a free search analytics service, called Google Analytics, fired up debate in the industry about the impact on the Web analytics market. Formerly known as Urchin...

Industry awaits Advanstar move.(Brief Article)
December 12, 2005... Byline: SEAN CALLAHAN At press time, the Credit Suisse First Boston private equity fund that owns Advanstar Communications appeared poised to make an announcement about the fate of the b-to-b media company's auction. Speculation about...

Cold weather, hot budgets.
December 12, 2005... Byline: Ellis Booker As Chicago records its coldest first week of December since World War II, it's worth noting that business marketing is hot again, with increased budgets-especially online-and new campaign launches. Take a look at our...

By Design.( www.newequipment.com)(Brief Article)
December 12, 2005... Byline: Kate Maddox Company: Penton Media's New Equipment Digest Web site: www.newequipment.com Relaunch date: Oct. 26, 2005 Agency: DigiKnow Inc., Cleveland Penton Media in October relaunched the Web site for its monthly...

In Direct.(Direct Marketing Association service)(MeritDirect won the list)
December 12, 2005... DMA announces NCDM awards The Direct Marketing Association and DIRECT magazine announced winners of the 2005 National Center for Database Management Database Excellence Awards. The awards, which recognize organizations that have...

CNN extends global reach; Network partners to launch 24-hour, English-language news channel in India.(Business Media)
December 12, 2005... Byline: MATTHEW SCHWARTZ B-to-b marketers expect to take a sharp look at a new CNN channel in India that will be launched later this month, saying it would be a solid media vehicle to get their messages out to what is the world's most...

Recommended guidelines for broadband video commercials.(Brief Article)
December 12, 2005... Byline: Source: Interactive Advertising Bureau, 2005 * Scope: The recommendation focuses on streaming video advertising. * Location: Video commercials may appear before, during and after content such as streaming video, animation,...

Online video ads see big growth; EMarketer report projects significant increase in spend; IAB releases guidelines.(Internet Advertising Bureau)
December 12, 2005... Byline: KATE MADDOX Online video ads, which have slowly been gaining acceptance by advertisers as the technology improves, are poised for significant growth in the next two years, according to a November report by Internet research firm...

New Campaigns.(SSA Global with Philip Johnson Associates)(eBay in BBDO New York )(Pitney Bowes for Ogilvy New York )(Brief Article)
December 12, 2005... SSA Global "Forward Faster'' Agency: Philip Johnson Associates, San Francisco Target audience: Decision-makers and operations managers in the manufacturing industry Campaign objective: Raise awareness and generate leads Media: Print...

Animal magnetism draws in readers.
December 12, 2005... Welcome to the b-to-b menagerie, where animals are tapped to help marketers make a point about their product or service. People naturally gravitate to animal images, so at the very least our animal friends help marketers get noticed. But a...

Cut To The Chase.(Chasers)(Brief Article)
December 12, 2005... Company: Lenovo, Purchase, N.Y. Agency: Ogilvy & Mather, New York Market: Small business Quick chase: A woman rushes into a co-worker's office to announce that the shipment of ThinkPads has arrived. Breathlessly, she recites the features of the...

Goat or Gloat.(Chasers)(Brief Article)
December 12, 2005... Company: CIT Group, Livingston, N.J. Agency: N/A Market: CEOs, CFOs Quick chase: As a rule, we like case studies. They crackle with credibility, and they often make the reward appear more attainable. But sometimes the advertiser gets lost in...

Rethinking your value proposition.(Brief Article)(Interview)
December 12, 2005... Byline: Roger Slavens Allan Steinmetz has more than 30 years' experience in marketing strategy, including 17 in Detroit working in automotive industry advertising. As the founder and CEO of Inward Strategic Consulting, a national marketing...

After long road, Microheat wins OEM status with major carmaker.(Vertical Insight: Automotive)(Interview)
December 12, 2005... Byline: ROGER SLAVENS In the hyper-competitive automotive industry, it often takes several years to take products to market, let alone to win original-equipment-supplier status with a major auto manufacturer. In 1994, Farmington Hills,...

New media, ROI, deliverability key to success in '06.(Outlook 2006)(return on investment)
December 12, 2005... Byline: KATE MADDOX As businesses marketers head into 2006, they face unparalleled opportunity. Marketing budgets, especially online budgets, are up. New technologies, both for the delivery and monitoring of messages, offer innovative ways...

Does branding's role need to be redefined?(Opinion)
December 12, 2005... Byline: Howard Sherman The criteria for doing business today have changed fundamentally from what they were only five years ago. Two key drivers led this change and impact how companies should view the role of branding. First, after an...

Addressing the postage hike; Top users say they plan to maintain direct mail volume despite 5.4% hike.(Direct & Database)
December 12, 2005... Byline: AMY SYRACUSE For direct mail marketers, 2006 will mean out with the old and in with the new-at least when it comes to postal rates. But as they prepare for the 5.4% increase of most U.S. Postal Service rates and fees on Jan. 8, the...

ABM survey finds major shift in spend toward digital media.(News)(American Business Media)
December 12, 2005... Byline: MATTHEW SCHWARTZ While b-to-b marketers have shifted nearly a quarter of their budgets to digital media-a stark contrast to just a few years ago-they still view in-person events as the best way to build brands and generate sales...

Help! Online consumers are taking over my brand! beware the Blogs.(Opinion)
December 12, 2005... Byline: David Dunne For decades, marketers have shaped and controlled their brands through mass-reach, tightly choreographed campaigns. But more frequently, these campaigns are stalling as consumers form opinions, share information and...

Targeting execs at automakers; With troubles at GM, Ford, suppliers court business from foreign companies.(Vertical Insight: Automotive)(General Motors Corp.)
December 12, 2005... Byline: ROGER SLAVENS The North American auto manufacturing market is expected to ship nearly 17 million cars and light trucks by the time 2005 draws to close, marking a fairly flat year compared with 2004. However, these numbers are a...

Why are b-to-b marketers still resistant to branding?(Opinion)
December 12, 2005... Byline: Bob Lamons Seven years ago, after expressing my feelings in another magazine that branding should be as important for b-to-b companies as it is for consumer and retail marketers, several people pointed out that all the examples I...

Beyond The Biz: Silent auction speaks volumes for N.Y. Advertising Club.(Briefs)(Advertising Club of New York)
December 12, 2005... QUALITY TIME WITH TOP AD EXECS doesn't come cheap-especially when it's for a good cause. The Advertising Club of New York's Holiday Party and Silent Auction late last month, which offered bidders the opportunity to hang with some advertising...

Agenda.(Calendar/Datebook)(Calendar)
December 12, 2005... Jan. 19 Marketing Performance Measurement Summit-West IDC Westin Santa Clara, Santa Clara, Calif. www.idc.com Jan. 19-20 WOMMA'S Word-of-Mouth Basic Training Word of Mouth Marketing Association Disney's...

Marketing priorities, plans include boosting budgets.(Special Report: Budgeting for 2006)
December 12, 2005... Byline: KATE MADDOX The year 2006 will be a strong one for b-to-b marketing, with increased budgets, significant growth in online marketing and the launch of new ad campaigns, according to BtoB's "2006 Marketing Priorities and Plans''...

Corrections.(Correction Notice)
December 12, 2005... A quote in "Oracle takes charge of data'' (Nov. 14, page 15) was inadvertently attributed to two people. It was Thomas Brauch, Oracle director of advanced analytics, global marketing, who said: "You need to be able to tie the sites together....

Marketers anticipate online spending rise.(Special Report: Budgeting for 2006)
December 12, 2005... Byline: KATE MADDOX As companies realize the effectiveness of online marketing in reaching targeted audiences with measurable results, they will boost their spending in this medium in 2006. Research company eMarketer estimates that...

Research studies find marketing budgets up.
December 12, 2005... Byline: KATE MADDOX B-to-b companies will increase their marketing budgets between 6.0% and 11.0% in 2006, according to studies from several research firms. Blackfriars Communications, a communications consulting and research firm,...