BtoB articles from February 2005

BtoB archives from February 2005

Image-conscious advertising.(Chasers)
February 14, 2005... Image is everything. If there's no visual magnetism to the ad, there's little chance that promises, branding messages or special offers embedded in the copy or trumpeted in the headline will get their due. Stopping magazine readers often boils...

Goat or Gloat; A quick comparison of recent work by competing advertisers.(Chasers)(Hewlett-Packard Co.)(Brief Article)
February 14, 2005... Company: Hewlett-Packard, Palo Alto, Calif. Agency: N/A Market: CIOs, Network administrators Quick chase: From top to bottom in this ad, you'll see: white type on an icy-blue background of industrial tubing, black type on a white background,...

Cut to the Chase: Print.(Chasers)(Brief Article)
February 14, 2005... Company: Sprint, Overland Park, Kan. Agency: Nicholson Kovac, Kansas City, Mo. Market: Telecommunications managers, small businesses Quick chase: We like the metaphor: Sprint can take a jumble of letters and craft a business communication...

Quick Hits; InfoUSA makes bid for Digital Impact.(Briefs)
February 14, 2005... InfoUSA last Thursday announced it has made a bid to acquire Digital Impact, an e-mail marketing services provider, for $2 per share in cash. InfoUSA's proposal represented a 38% premium over Digital Impact's Thursday closing price of $1.45 a...

Three simple rules for generating great response.(Special Report: List Management)(marketing)
February 14, 2005... Byline: Deb Goldstein Back in 1872 a gentleman by the name of Montgomery Ward sent out a catalog to sell hoop skirts and paper collars, thereby ushering in the modern era of direct response. Richard W. Sears followed with his catalog in...

DynaBil diversifies client base by gaining government projects.(Vertical Insight: Aerospace)(Dynabil Industries Inc.)
February 14, 2005... Byline: ROGER SLAVENS Things have been more than a bit turbulent for DynaBil Industries, a Coxsackie, N.Y.-based supplier of sheet metal assemblies and components to the aerospace industry. The 9/11 attacks' impact on commercial...

media notes; Dow Jones cuts 97 electronic pub jobs.(Business Media)(Dow Jones and Company Inc.)(Brief Article)
February 14, 2005... Dow Jones & Co. last month announced the cutting of 97 positions in its electronic publishing business, two days after it completed its $528 million acquisition of MarketWatch. "MarketWatch From Dow Jones'' will operate side by side with...

Allegis' site optimization pays off with more traffic, conversions, cost savings.(NetMarketing)(Allegis Group)
February 14, 2005... Byline: KAREN J. BANNAN Baltimore, Md.-based Allegis Group, a 21-year-old staffing services company, takes the fly-under-the-radar approach when it comes to marketing campaigns, said Ethan Giffin, the company's product manager. For this...

Case Study: DynaBil refocuses business strategy to gain stability.(Vertical Insight: Aerospace)(Brief Article)
February 14, 2005... Objective: After the devastating effects of the 9/11 attacks and the cancellation of the Comanche helicopter project, DynaBil Industries set out to diversify and strengthen its business. Strategy: Refocus the sales team and bolster it with...

E-mail Resources.(NetMarketing)
February 14, 2005... Events Search Engine Strategies 2005 Conference and Expo New York: Feb. 29-March 3 San Jose, Calif.: Aug. 8-11 www.jupiterevents.com Books Search Engine Marketing, Inc.: Driving Search Traffic to Your Company's Website...

Online agencies pursue strategic growth; Firms take targeted approach in expanding their capabilities through acquisitions, partnerships.(News)
February 14, 2005... Byline: KATE MADDOX Responding to an uptick in online ad spending and the growing demand for interactive marketing services, online ad agencies are beefing up their strategic services through acquisitions, hiring and partnerships. But...

Industry Outlook: Relationships key in aerospace industry.(Vertical Insight: Aerospace)(interview)(Interview)
February 14, 2005... Byline: Roger Slavens Aviation Week & Space Technology consistently ranks as one of the strongest b-to-b magazines of any sector and, alongside its niche sibling properties, gives marketers tremendous opportunities to reach aerospace...

Direct Media looked for help to handle increasing e-mail volume.(Special Report: List Management)
February 14, 2005... Byline: CAROL KROL Challenge: Storing and maintaining a growing cache of e-mail records was becoming more costly and challenging for list manager Direct Media. The nature of its business requires the list company to constantly transmit...

ORGANIC SEARCH GROWS; With keyword prices rising, marketers are turning to search engine optimization.(NetMarketing)
February 14, 2005... Byline: Karen J. Bannan There's no doubt: 2004 will go down as the year of paid search. Last year, more than $3.34 billion was spent on paid search engine placement. In comparison, a mere $492 million was allocated to organic search engine...

SEARCH SAVVY: How to target local audience.(NetMarketing)(Brief Article)
February 14, 2005... Question: How do I refine search engine optimization efforts to target a local audience? Answer: As search engines continue to grow in complexity, forcing users to sift through longer lists of online destinations, the ability to generate...

Ask The Expert: You get what you pay for with paid search marketing.(NetMarketing)(Brief Article)
February 14, 2005... Question: Which is better-search engine optimization or paid search? Answer: Advertisers often question the paid click phenomena of Yahoo! (Overture) and Google because so many clicks come to a Web site free, if the site is "optimized''...

Correction.(Corrections)(Correction Notice)
February 14, 2005... On page 19 of the Jan. 17 issue of BtoB, Vitale, Caturano & Co.'s CRM solution was mistakenly identified. Vitale, Caturano uses Interface Software's InterAction CRM system.

Bring customers' needs to life.(Opinion)(customer relationship management)
February 14, 2005... Byline: JoAnna Brandi I hate to generalize, but I think many service providers are suffering from E.D.S.-Empathy Deficiency Syndrome. This disease is characterized by apathy, the ability to look right at a customer and see nothing, and the...

Beyond the Biz; Neither rain, nor sleet, nor haute couture ...(News)(postal rates)
February 14, 2005... Byline: Mary E. Morrison DISCUSSION ABOUT POSTAL REFORM usually involves a heated debate between government officials concerned about the U.S. Postal Services' financial crisis and corporate executives who don't want to pay increased...

"Quote/unquote"; What will be the biggest organizational change in your marketing department this year?(Opinion)
February 14, 2005... "Developing and refining baseline measures for all marketing goals and sales tools so that we can maximize budgets and resources.'' Brenda Kai, VP-marketing, Docucorp International "Keep alive the strengths of our current...

Help wanted: Skillful CMO with track record.(News)(Chief Marketing Officer)
February 14, 2005... Byline: KATE MADDOX "The microscope on CMOs is so intense that Superman or Superwoman would have trouble getting it all done,'' said Greg Welch, partner and practice leader-marketing officer practice at executive search firm Spencer...

Integrated departments promise efficiency.(News)(business to business market)
February 14, 2005... Byline: KATE MADDOX Seeking tighter integration of operations and improved efficiency across the enterprise, many b-to-b companies are restructuring their marketing organizations and putting new executives in charge. Last month...

Marketers gain comfort with CAN-SPAM Act, return to e-mail.(Special Report: List Management)(Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act of 2003)
February 14, 2005... Byline: CAROL KROL More marketers are coming back to e-mail marketing after showing initial reluctance in the wake of the CAN-SPAM Act going into effect in January 2004, and data managers are rising to meet the growing demand. For...

BtoBonline.com's job board.(News)
February 14, 2005... Visist BtoB's Web site, btobonline.com, to access a job board specifically for professionals in the marketing, media, advertising and PR industries. The job board is free to job seekers and costs $199 per listing for job posters. It allows...

B-to-b Super Bowl ads took chances, scored big.(News)
February 14, 2005... Byline: MARY ELLEN PODMOLIK Last Sunday's Super Bowl included b-to-b commercials featuring a wardrobe malfunction, monkeys with whoopee cushions and Burt Reynolds getting kicked in the groin. A week later, after these highjinks, it's...

DMA strategic plan stresses relationships.(News)(Brief Article)
February 14, 2005... Byline: CAROL KROL The Direct Marketing Association on Jan. 24 unveiled a strategic plan that is expected to serve as a road map for the trade group over the next five to 10 years. DMA President-CEO John A. Greco Jr. said the overall...

Does U.S. foreign policy hurt U.S. brands?(News)
February 14, 2005... Byline: SEAN CALLAHAN The reputation of the U.S. around the world has taken a beating as a result of foreign policy decisions, particularly the preemptive war in Iraq. But has that had an effect on U.S. brands? It depends on whom you...

People.(Advertising)(appointments)(Brief Article)
February 14, 2005... Noah Manduke Omnicom Group's Siegel & Gale, Beverly Hills, Calif., a strategic branding company, has promoted Noah Manduke to the new position of president-chief operating officer, from managing director of the agency's Los Angeles office....

HP minus Fiorina equals questions about the future.(News)(Hewlett-Packard Co.)(Carleton S. Fiorina)
February 14, 2005... Byline: SEAN CALLAHAN Carleton S. Fiorina put in place a bold strategy when she championed Hewlett-Packard Co.'s merger with Compaq Computer Corp. in 2002. But her abrupt departure last week at the request of HP's board of directors shows...

10 tips for picking the right list manager.(Special Report: List Management)
February 14, 2005... Byline: Greg Wolfe Picking the right list manager can make a big difference in the amount of revenue your list generates for you, and not all management companies are right for all businesses. Here is a top 10 checklist of what to look...

Fox News pushes ratings advantage; News Corp. channel tops rival CNN in viewers; CNN stresses strength of brand integration.(Business Media)
February 14, 2005... Byline: SEAN CALLAHAN Fox News Channel passed its chief cable news rival, CNN, in the ratings in 2002, and now it is aggressively seeking to press its advantage. For all of 2004, Fox News had a 24-hour rating of 0.7 compared with...

AT&T deal dials up big brand questions; Experts say SBC faces a tough decision about what to do with former parent's venerable name.(News)(SBC Communications Inc.)
February 14, 2005... Byline: SEAN CALLAHAN After SBC Communications announced Jan. 31 that it would buy AT&T Corp. for $16 billion, the initial conjecture made the rounds that the grand old brand would eventually be disconnected in favor of SBC. Indeed,...

Looking out for the next big themes.(Opinion)(marketing)
February 14, 2005... Byline: Ellis Booker What will be the major marketing themes in 2005? More pointedly, will marketers be ready for them? The following are items that will be top of mind, influential and challenging this year. It goes without saying that...

Weak dollar lifts some firms.(News)(trade deficits)(manufacturing companies)
February 14, 2005... Byline: SEAN CALLAHAN A weak dollar can mean strong results for U.S. companies, particularly smaller manufacturers. "We are seeing anecdotal evidence of small manufacturers going gangbusters in Europe,'' said Frank Vargo,...

new campaigns.(Advertising)(contracts)(FedEx Kinko's Office and Print Services)(Brief Article)
February 14, 2005... FedEx "Relax, It's FedEx.'' Agency: BBDO New York Target audience: Business executives and shipping decision-makers Campaign objective: To showcase FedEx services, including international, ground, FedEx Kinko's, FedEx.com and express...

Managing to offer more; Many list managers now provide a variety of services, including analytics, creative and media placement, to help clients take advantage of the rebounding economy.(Special Report: List Management)
February 14, 2005... Byline: Carol Krol List managers may have outgrown that moniker, as they have expanded their capabilities and range of services in recent years in response to the sluggish economy. Now, as business slowly rebounds, they're using their...

Long-held myths can hurt PR.(Opinion)(public relations)
February 14, 2005... Byline: Marc Jampole Many public relations practitioners, especially at agencies, continue to make strategic decisions based on myths developed in long-dead eras. Here are three of the myths we run into often: Myth No. 1: Always...

By Design: LSI's Web site revamp caters to clients.(NetMarketing)(www.lifescience-insights.com)(Life Science Insights)(Brief Article)
February 14, 2005... Byline: Fara Young Company: Life Science Insights, Framingham, Mass., a subsidiary of IDC Web site: www.lifescience-insights.com Agency: In-house Launch date: January 2005 Life Science Insights (LSI), a market research...

Tips for marketing to aerospace.(Vertical Insight: Aerospace)(Brief Article)
February 14, 2005... 1) "Program" your marketing strategies. Get involved on the ground floor with one of the newly developing aircraft programs, suppliers say. 2) Do your homework. Aerospace is a complicated industry. Identify the right tiers and the right...

Aerospace lifts off after decline; Industry suppliers focus on engineer expertise, collaboration when selling.(Vertical Insight: Aerospace)
February 14, 2005... Byline: Roger Slavens Thanks to robust spending by the U.S. Department of Defense for military aircraft, missiles and space projects, the U.S. aerospace industry generated $161 billion in sales in 2004, according to the Aerospace...

Case Study: Allegis group redesigns sites to boost search engine results.(NetMarketing)(iProspect Inc.)(Brief Article)
February 14, 2005... Objective: Boost organic search results and increase exposure for Allegis Group's four main Web sites. Strategy: Allegis Group signed on with search engine marketing company iProspect in April 2004 and completely overhauled its Web sites....

Roundtable: List specialists see industry in flux.(Special Report: List Management)(marketing industry)
February 14, 2005... So many changes that affect the marketing industry overall have a direct impact on the list rental business. BtoB recently convened a select group of list industry leaders to discuss some of the issues they face today from both a list...

Agenda.(Calendar/Datebook)(Calendar)
February 14, 2005... Feb. 28 B-to-B Marketing Boot Camp DMA Double Tree Hotel, San Jose, Calif. www.the-dma.org/events Feb. 28-March 3 Search Engine Strategies 2005 Conference & Expo Jupitermedia Hilton New York ...

Cut to the Chase: TV.(Chasers)(spot television advertising of Tyco International Ltd.)(Brief Article)
February 14, 2005... Company: Tyco, Pembroke, Bermuda Agency: Hill, Holliday, Connors, Cosmopulos, Boston Market: CEOs, investors Quick chase: When a faceless multinational conglomerate's best-known face is former CEO Dennis Kozlowski-who allegedly fleeced millions...

IBM rolls out ISV ad program; Independent software partners get deep discounts on ad execution, media buys.(Advertising)(independent software vendor)
February 14, 2005... Byline: KATE MADDOX IBM Corp. last month rolled out a co-marketing and co-advertising program for its independent software vendor (ISV) partners, giving them deep discounts on advertising costs and providing advertising, marketing and...