BtoB articles from December 2007

BtoB archives from December 2007

Reaching insurance decision-makers; Industry outlook.(Vertical Insight: Insurance)(Industry overview)
December 10, 2007... Byline: Mary E. Morrison As senior partner, global client service director at ad agency Ogilvy & Mather, New York-whose client roster includes insurance industry giant Marsh Inc.-Seth Farbman has learned what works and what doesn't in...

Database service providers evolve; Marketers are demanding more from data managers; analytics and strategy top the list.(Direct & Database)
December 10, 2007... Byline: CAROL KROL Database marketing service providers have evolved far beyond their traditional role as data service providers to become strategic partners to their clients. Historically, building and managing databases-including data...

Media notes.(Business Media)(Brief article)
December 10, 2007... Online media to outpace pubs, events B-to-b online media will outpace the market growth of b-to-b magazines and events and database and information products on a compound annual basis from 2006 through 2010, according to a report released...

Online measurement debate produces more questions than answers.(News)
December 10, 2007... Byline: CAROL KROL Despite online's reputation as the most measurable of all media, marketers continue to grapple with how much to invest in the medium because of the sheer abundance of data generated and the myriad ways to measure the...

Predictive analytics; B-to-b transaction databases allow insight for decision-making.(Tools & Metrics)(Business to business market)
December 10, 2007... Byline: CHRISTOPHER HOSFORD How to define predictive analytics? Sometimes the term is conflated with more traditional analytics, like CRM applications that help ballpark nurture-worthy potential customers or dashboards that give clear...

GLOBAL SEM; B-to-b marketers should take advantage of the vast search opportunities in international markets.(NetMarketing)(bsiness to business market)(Global Strategies Group)
December 10, 2007... Byline: KAREN J. BANNAN Companies using search marketing to reach an international audience learn quickly that the effort requires more than a direct translation of keywords. "It's definitely more of a challenge in many ways,'' said...

Indirect.(Direct & Database)
December 10, 2007... USPS governors OK pricing regulations U.S. Postal Service Governors announced last month that future postal prices will be adjusted using new regulations issued by the Postal Regulatory Commission on Oct. 29. Under those regulations, price...

Is this branding stuff worth the trouble?(Opinion)(CA Inc.)
December 10, 2007... Byline: Donald R. Friedman CA is a fundamentally different company than it was when I arrived two years ago. Plagued by an accounting scandal and operational issues that threatened its very existence, CA required transformation-not in the...

B-to-b companies use tools to get most out of supply chain; Ask the expert.(Tools & Metrics)(business to business)
December 10, 2007... Kelvin Taylor is a partner at MarketingNPV, an advisory firm that links marketing investments to financial value creation. BtoB recently asked Taylor about trends in predictive analytics. BtoB: In what new ways is predictive analytics being...

PROBLEM SOLVED.(NetMarketing)
December 10, 2007... Web site Problem: Managing your reputation in social media. Solution: The social media landscape is the premier medium companies use to generate and monitor buzz about their brands, products and services. With all the consumer-driven...

Make a (proof) point when going green.(Chasers)
December 10, 2007... The groundswell of interest in save-the-planet products is becoming more evident in b-to-b advertising, where eco-friendly themes are playing out with varying degrees of success. But playing the green card is no surefire way to win over the...

Eastman Chemical rolls out campaign; Bader Rutter handles integrated effort for firm's first new product launch in sector in 30 years.(Advertising)
December 10, 2007... Byline: KATE MADDOX Eastman Chemical Co. last month debuted an integrated campaign to introduce a new product: Eastman Tritan copolyester. The campaign for the ingredient brand is aimed at product engineers and designers. "It's been 30...

New campaigns.(Advertising)(Greenfield/Belser Ltd.)(JWT Group Inc.)(Merrill Lynch & Company Inc.)(Womble Carlyle Sandridge and Rice)(Brief article)
December 10, 2007... Merrill Lynch "Winning Solutions'' Agency: JWT, New York Target audience: Institutional investors, corporations, governments and banks Campaign objective: Reinforce Merrill Lynch's position in the market as a premier provider of...

Global expansion key as U.S. economy slows.(Special Report: Outlook 2008)(Caterpillar Inc.)(General Electric Co.)(Siemens AG)
December 10, 2007... Byline: KATE MADDOX Expanding their presence and sales in global markets will be a key priority for b-to-b marketers next year, particularly in light of the slowing U.S. economy and the weak dollar. "The dollar's decline is a...

Correction.(Correction notice)
December 10, 2007... Because of erroneous information supplied to BtoB, an incorrect 2006 revenue figure for Knowledge-Storm was published in "TechTarget acquires KnowledgeStorm for $58 million'' (Nov. 12, page 4). The correct figure is $17.7 million, according to...

'Fortune' debuts major redesign; Move part of larger Time Inc. restructuring aimed at reversing business titles' ad slide.(Business Media)(advertising)
December 10, 2007... Byline: MATTHEW SCHWARTZ The redesign Fortune unveiled with its Dec. 10 issue is intended to get the biweekly back on track amid growing competition and declining ad sales. The redesign includes new typefaces, more white space and...

Spoils of social media go to those who wait; New Channels.(Opinion)
December 10, 2007... Byline: Paul Gillin Maggie Fox remembers when she had an epiphany about social media marketing. Her young agency had taken on a campaign from Harlequin Enter-prises to promote the horror novel "Blood Ties.'' The campaign generated...

Marsh uses direct to insure vertical research gets into the right hands.(Vertical Insight: Insurance)
December 10, 2007... Byline: MARY E. MORRISON Marsh Inc., the insurance division of Marsh & McLennan Cos., is the world's largest insurance broker and risk adviser. The company markets extensively to its audience of risk managers and C-level executives using...

Agenda.
December 10, 2007... Dec. 10-12 NCDM 2007 Mandalay Bay Resort, Las Vegas www.ncdmevents.com Jan. 13-16 Sales & Marketing, 2008 Frost & Sullivan Wigwam Golf Resort & Spa, Phoenix www.frost.com Feb. 4-6 The Conference on...

Knowledge and advice in demand; Insurance sellers must be more aggressive in competitive market.(Vertical Insight: Insurance)
December 10, 2007... Byline: MARY E. MORRISON The insurance market is considered soft currently, meaning that in many sectors, prices have dropped and companies selling business insurance must compete more aggressively to retain existing customers and acquire...

CMP study: IT to shift focus to software rollouts, virtualization.(News)(information technology)(Survey)
December 10, 2007... Byline: MATTHEW SCHWARTZ The focus of IT decision-makers next year will gradually shift to software rollouts and virtualization, among other areas, from the current challenges of security, business continuity and compliance, according to a...

Companies use fun and games to find serious business; Playful platforms reach audience subsets and spark viral campaigns.(News)
December 10, 2007... Byline: CAROL KROL Playing games is serious business for b-to-b marketers. Companies such as Office Depot, Samsung Electronics Corp., United Parcel Service of America and QAS, an Experian company that handles address data verification,...

Humana uses predictive analytics to set prices.(Tools & Metrics)
December 10, 2007... Byline: Christopher Hosford Although predictive analytics can be applied to a variety of marketing needs, its application in setting prices stands out. Insurance companies must set prices for corporate customers based on expected rates...

Marketing budgets, online to rise in '08.(Special Report: Outlook 2008)(Survey)
December 10, 2007... Byline: KATE MADDOX Despite the softness in the overall economy, b-to-b marketers plan to increase their marketing budgets next year, predominantly in online, events and direct, according to BtoB's "2008 Marketing Priorities and Plans''...

Marketers face challenges from economy to ecology; Top trends.(Special Report: Outlook 2008)
December 10, 2007... Byline: Kate Maddox As marketers head into 2008 they will confront many challenges, from the economy and environmental concerns at the macro level to users exercising more control of content on the micro level. To face these challenges...

QuickHits.(Richard Zannino planning to leave Dow Jones & Co. and Les Hinton succeed on his role)(Trish Wheaton tapped by Wunderman Worldwide)(D&B Corp.acquires AllBusiness.com )
December 10, 2007... Zannino to exit after Dow Jones deal closes Dow Jones & Co. announced last week that CEO Richard Zannino plans to leave the company after its $5.6 billion sale to News Corp. is completed. The close is expected later this month. News Corp....

Goat or gloat.(Chasers)(Embassy Suites Inc. and Marriott Corp. Courtyard Div.)(Brief article)
December 10, 2007... Company: Embassy Suites, Beverly Hills, Calif. Agency: N/A Market: Corporate travel managers, business travelers Quick Chase: The mosaic of circular images accompanying the headline "It's like an ATM that gives you time instead of money'' is an...

Cut to the chase.(Chasers)(BBDO Worldwide Inc.)(Goodby, Silverstein and Partners)(Mars Inc.)(Sprint Nextel Corp.)(Brief article)
December 10, 2007... Company: Sprint Nextel, Reston, Va. Agency: Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco Market: Information systems Quick Chase: "If only there were three of me'' is a common lament of the harried businessperson faced with the task of doing...

Forecasters: Ad recession not likely.(News)(advertising)
December 10, 2007... Byline: CAROL KROL Despite delivering sober forecasts, two leading advertising industry analysts said last week that they do not expect an ad recession next year. "We don't think there will be a recession, but it seems to be remotely...

Silver lining; A weak dollar gives U.S. a strong opportunity to improve its place in the global economy.(Opinion)
December 10, 2007... Byline: James R. Gregory The dollar's decline means the U.S. might no longer be the leader of the economic pack on the world stage. But that doesn't mean the U.S. will fade into oblivion, although we will no longer have the economic clout...

Advertisers wary of WSJ.com plan to drop subscription firewall.(News)
December 10, 2007... Byline: MATTHEW SCHWARTZ For Mike Paradiso, VP-global media director of CA, eliminating the Wall Street Journal Online's paid subscription model-as Rupert Murdoch has proposed-doesn't have to be so cut and dry. "I prefer a hybrid...

Bottom-line pressure forcing CMO turnover; Former top CMOs describe challenges facing the position in coming year.(News)(chief marketing officers)
December 10, 2007... Byline: KATE MADDOX The pressure on chief marketing officers to demonstrate the value of marketing and help their companies improve the bottom line continued this year, and it isn't likely to let up in 2008. The heat, which is coming...

Anxious about the economy?(Opinion)
December 10, 2007... Byline: Ellis Booker Every conversation I've had with senior marketers in past few months has eventually turned to an assessment of the health of the U.S. economy and what 2008 will bring. One oddity: While executives from marketing...

Who watches the watchmen?(Opinion)(Brief article)
December 10, 2007... For several weeks now BtoB has monitored nearly 100 marketing blogs and chosen the best posts to feature on our own Blog Roundup page (www.btobonline.com/blogs). The writers of b-to-b marketing blogs tend to be more than just industry...

Global search optimization goes beyond translation; Ask the expert.(NetMarketing)
December 10, 2007... Question: What is the best way to optimize search marketing for international markets? Answer: As the evolution of the Internet continues, b-to-b marketers are reaching a crossroads in determining what tactics have worked in the past to...

Avaya increases Web conversions with global search.(NetMarketing)
December 10, 2007... Byline: KAREN J. BANNAN Avaya Communications has been doing search marketing for more than seven years. It launched its program in North America before search was "cool,'' said Renee Rodgers, senior director of interactive at Avaya, as a...

How to shake hands, sell your ideas and shop.(Beyond the Biz)
December 10, 2007... Pretty sure that relationship you have been cultivating for the last six months is going to pay off with a big sale? Are you confident that you're going to blow them away in your next job interview by rattling off statistics about the company,...

Cox given IAEE's Chairman's Award; Event leader speaks with `BtoB' about the state of the industry and his specialty-measurement.(Events)(International Association of Exhibits and Events)(business to business)(Skip Cox of Exhibit Surveys Inc.)(Interview)(Industry overview)
December 10, 2007... Byline: ERIN BIBA Skip Cox is president-CEO of Exhibit Surveys, a market research and measurement company that focuses on event marketing. The International Association of Exhibits and Events will award him the 2007 Chairman's Award this...

Cut to the chase.(Chasers)
December 10, 2007... ***** Correction: Draftfcb Chicago created the "My M&M's'' ad that was featured in Chasers (Dec. 10, page 34). The creative was incorrectly attributed to another agency. ***** Company: Sprint Nextel, Reston, Va. Agency: Goodby,...