BtoB articles from February 2009

BtoB archives from February 2009

Xerox CEO: Stay relevant to stand out in the crowd; Digital media, one-to-one communications make biggest impact.(News)
February 9, 2009... Late last month, Anne Mulcahy, chairman-CEO of Xerox Corp., delivered a keynote at the American Marketing Association's Mplanet conference in Orlando, Fla. BtoB Editor Ellis Booker reached Mulcahy by phone to follow up on her speech, "Getting...

SmartDraw.com increases its search commitment.(NetMarketing)
February 9, 2009... Byline: KAREN A. BANNAN Economy drives new keywords Objective: Software maker SmartDraw.com needed a way to boost sales amid increasing competition. Strategy: The company created a Google AdWords campaign, using Placement...

Failing to deliver? Implications of possible cuts in mail delivery days, service, have direct marketers, publishers worried.(News)(United States Postal Service)
February 9, 2009... Byline: CHRISTOPHER HOSFORD The U.S. Postal Service's attempts to stay viable in the face of dramatically declining mail volume and revenue have magazine publishers and direct marketers worried about the future. Of particular concern was...

Recession hasn't slowed b-to-b agency M&A deals; Chicago is hub of activity as shops seek to expand services through acquisitions.(News)
February 9, 2009... Byline: KATE MADDOX Although the recession is slowing the pace of merger and acquisition activity in the overall ad agency business, deals are still getting done among b-to-b shops that are looking for specialized capabilities, geographic...

Twitter tools; Add-on applications take Twitter-and conversation tracking-to the next level.(Tools & Metrics)
February 9, 2009... Byline: RICHARD KARPINSKI With Twitter firmly established as the "conversation place to be,'' marketers are beginning to look for where they fit in. And that means tools. For the uninitiated, Twitter is a service that lets individuals...

Words of wisdom from a web of voices.(Viewpoint essay)
February 9, 2009... Byline: Ellis Booker `Should your marketing messages reference the harsh economy or not?'' A few weeks back, I posted this question on my Facebook and LinkedIn networks. Within two days, I'd received dozens of thoughtful responses (nearly...

Quirky imagery can either bait or baffle.(Chasers)(International Business Machines Corp.)(Microsoft Corp.)
February 9, 2009... We're culturally inclined to come to a dead halt when we encounter red ink on a page because it often indicates a punitive message from a teacher, a professor or a supervisor. It's one of several reasons why we looked long and hard at this...

Database face-to-face; Our expert panel discusses dramatically changing business models, care and feeding of list-owner customers and the shifting needs of marketers.(B to B Special Report: List Management)(Discussion)
February 9, 2009... Byline: CHRISTOPHER HOSFORD To take the pulse of the industry, BtoB Senior Reporter Christopher Hosford contacted list management and list broker executives to solicit their views on trends within the list and database industry and, in...

Goat or Gloat.(Chasers)(Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.)(NEC Corp.)(Brief article)
February 9, 2009... Company: Philips, Amsterdam Agency: DDB, New York Market: Corporate executives, CIOs Quick chase: The overpowering headline, "because complexity never made anyone feel better,'' doesn't actually say much. It borders on the cliche and fails to...

Cut to the Chase.(Chasers)(advertisng of Comcast Corp. and AT&T Inc.)(Brief article)
February 9, 2009... Company: Comcast, Philadelphia Agency: N/A Market: Small businesses, CIOs Quick chase: This online ad for Comcast Business Class lacks focus. The banner touts access on the fly, sharing information with team members and growth. The landing...

Why Twitter beat Second Life.(Opinion)
February 9, 2009... Byline: Paul Gillin Remember Second Life? Two years ago it was all the rage in b-to-b marketing, and companies like Cisco Systems, IBM Corp., and General Motors Corp. built "islands'' in the site's famous virtual world. It was even the...

Can original online content continue? Media execs at SIIA Summit debate whether advertising is a sustainable business model.(Business Media)(Software & Information Industry Association)
February 9, 2009... Byline: MARIE GRIFFIN Can the traditional advertising business model support original content creation on the Web? During a panel discussion at the SIIA (Software & Information Industry Association) Information Industry Summit in New York...

Interpower adjusts marketing mix online to net new leads.(Vertical Insight: Electrical Engineering)
February 9, 2009... Byline: CHARLOTTE WOOLARD How Interpower found a new way to meet engineers Objective: Interpower Corp. needed to rebuild its lead-generation capabilities in an online environment. Strategy: The company invested in...

Agenda.(News)(Calendar)
February 9, 2009... Feb. 9-11 Email Evolution Conference Direct Marketing Association Westin Kierland, Scottsdale, Ariz. www.the-dma.org/conferences Feb. 10-12 Search Marketing Expo-SMX West Third Door Media Santa Clara...

Measure up engineers; To prove ROI, marketers must define, track metrics key to objectives.(Vertical Insight: Electrical Engineering)
February 9, 2009... Byline: CHARLOTTE WOOLARD The headlines say it all: Chip and semiconductor sales fall; bellwether companies like TI and IBM announce layoffs; reported losses mount. But there is some good news: Engineers have more time to research products...

5 ways to improve your e-mail lists.(B to B Special Report: List Management)
February 9, 2009... Byline: KAREN J. BANNAN Desperate times may call for desperate measures. At least that's what marketers may be thinking right about now. There's a measure of truth to that statement, said Julie Katz, an analyst with Forrester Research,...

Purchased lists dos and don'ts.(B to B Special Report: List Management)(Brief article)
February 9, 2009... Byline: K. J. B. While most agencies and e-mail service providers caution against using rented lists, you may end up using one anyway. If you do, here are some tips from Yvonne Tocquigny, senior partner and CEO of interactive agency...

Granular data and direct mail pay off for event company.(B to B Special Report: List Management)(Correction notice)
February 9, 2009... Byline: KAREN J. BANNAN ***** Correction: Because of a production error, last year's data appear in the List Managers chart on page 28, which was printed early. While the companies, which run from Abacus through Kroll Direct...

Show audits low priority; BMA survey finds marketers not using independent sources.(Pevents)(Survey)
February 9, 2009... Byline: ERIN BIBA More and more, exhibitors are being asked by CMOs and money managers to make tough decisions about show attendance. Many are scaling back on the number of events they attend, and most are looking at their portfolios to...

Google, Flogo, crowdSPRING, gain altitude.(Beyond the Biz)
February 9, 2009... Are we accelerating the earth's decline with each Google search we enter online? In a Jan. 11 Times of London article, physicist Alex Wissner-Gross, a graduate of MIT and Harvard, posited that a single Google search generates 7 grams of CO2,...

LOOKING TO THE LISTS WITHIN; Marketers emphasize perfecting their in-house databases, customer nurturing, retention in uncertain times.(B to B Special Report: List Management)
February 9, 2009... Byline: Christopher Hosford When times in the Old West were tough, the cowboys circled the wagons, counted their ammo and said their prayers. Today, in the midst of the worst economic meltdown in decades, marketers are doing much the same...

B-to-B Outlook 2009: Integrate campaigns to boost performance.(News)
February 9, 2009... Byline: CHRISTOPHER HOSFORD The current economic downturn offers opportunities for b-to-b marketers that create integrated multichannel campaigns to drive prospects online. This and other marketing recommendations were offered last...

Correction.(News)
February 9, 2009... Because of a production error, last year's data appear in the List Managers chart on page 28, which was printed early. While the companies, which run from Abacus through Kroll Direct Marketing, remain the same from last year, details about key...

New campaigns.(Advertising)
February 9, 2009... Grant Thornton "Client Hot Issues'' Agency: Coil Counts Ford and Cheney, Chicago Target audience: C-level executives, bankers, attorneys and business decision-makers Campaign objective: Raise awareness among prospects and clients that...

Media Notes.(Business Media)(sales of Times Publishing Co.)(award list of American Business Media )(Financial report)(Brief article)
February 9, 2009... New media grows as media sector sheds value The media sector is shedding value overall as the losses by traditional media businesses are not being offset by growth in new-media businesses, according to consultancy Oliver Wyman Group's...

GE kicks off 'Now' campaign; B-to-b giant airs Super Bowl spot featuring metallic `Oz' scarecrow.(Advertising)
February 9, 2009... Byline: KATE MADDOX General Electric Co. debuted a new ad campaign this month, beginning with a TV spot shown during the broadcast of Super Bowl XLIII. The campaign, called "Now,'' is designed to show how GE is solving some of the...

Quick Hits.(Briefs)(direct marketers to face layoffs)(cancellation of Google Print Ads)(participation in exhibitions during recessions)
February 9, 2009... Marketers lag in tracking customers Despite agreement on the importance of customer experience and word-of-mouth, senior marketers admit their companies are failing to take decisive, companywide action to integrate customer voice and...

Marketers stay in the conversation with PR.(News)
February 9, 2009... Byline: SEAN CALLAHAN As the recession shows few signs of receding, machine tool manufacturer Makino plans to cut portions of its marketing budget for fiscal 2009, which starts in April. But the company's marketing manager, Mark...