BtoB articles from March 2002

BtoB archives from March 2002

NetRatings, Jupiter call off proposed merger.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2002... Internet research rivals NetRatings Inc. and Jupiter Media Metrix Inc. last month called off plans to merge after the Federal Trade Commission indicated it would challenge the proposed $71 million deal. When it was announced in October,...

Beyond The Biz.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2002... Forget the whales. Save the salespeople! Look no further if you've been searching for a human rights cause to take up. According to a press release dated Feb. 7, Austin, Texas-based Sales Research & Consulting, a leadership training,...

Cut to the Chase: Internet.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2002... Marketer: Iridium Satellite L.L.C. Market: Folks who really must be reachable Agency: GKV, Baltimore Chase: Iridium still exists as a product and a company, despite the wide-spread press coverage of its near demise. This banner campaign is an...

`BtoB' to sponsor DMA's `B-to-B Seminar Series'.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2002... The Direct Marketing Association is launching two seminars, sponsored by BtoB magazine and D&B, focused on helping marketing executives integrate direct marketing tactics into their b-to-b marketing plans. The first seminar, ``Fundamentals...

Ad agencies adjust to weak economy.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2002... Countering the down economy and cutbacks in marketing budgets, ad agencies are deploying a variety of tactics to keep their businesses running successfully. These include downsizing, adding new strategic services, changing compensation...

Accountant ads respond to Andersen mess; Industry seeks to reassure public, shore up reputation.
March 11, 2002... The accounting industry has taken a pounding the past few months because of the role Arthur Andersen played in the collapse of Enron Corp. Now, as Congress continues to investigate the causes of the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history,...

Quote Unquote.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2002... ``Despite the disruptions engendered by the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, the typical dynamics of the business cycle have re-emerged and are prompting a firming in economic activity.'' Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, testifying...

People.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2002... * Ron Curcuru to CEO, G. Temple Associates Ltd., a Farmington Hills, Mich., b-to-b communications agency, from president. David Schmidt, exec VP, succeeds him as president. * Ralph Stewart to CEO, Aeritas Inc., Dallas, a provider of...

CRM tools improve access, usability.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2002... For as long as computers have been used to analyze customer behavior, marketers have had to rely on IT people to run reports and help make sense of information organized in so-called data warehouses. Now, rich market analysis is coming to a...

e2open survives e-hub shakeout ; Tech Firms' backing helps ensure success; CEO touts company's global approach.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2002... There are not many survivors in the world of b-to-b e-marketplaces, and few among those have bright prospects. Count high-tech e-market e2open among the handful that have been successful. At the helm is President-CEO Mark Holman, who has...

Adobe opens Xchange for developers.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2002... Company: Adobe Systems Inc., San Jose, Calif. Web site: www.adobexchange.com Launch date: Feb. 28 Agency: In-house Design: Software provider Adobe Systems Inc. wanted to give its users an easier way to share extensions and...

Correction.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2002... An incorrect phone number was listed for E-PostDirect Inc. in a table of ``Top B-to-B List Brokers/Managers'' (Feb. 11, Page 22). The correct number is 800-409-4443.

Top 25 Agencies.(Statistical Data Included)
March 11, 2002... 360i Atlanta www.360i.com Category:Interactive Key exec: David Williams, president, director of media services Employees: 20 2001 revenues: $2.2 million 2001 b-to-b revenues: $1 million Key clients: UPS,...

Thomas Regional bests Web rivals ; Thomas Publishing subsidiary helps old-line industrial companies market products in the electronic age.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2002... Many small b-to-b marketers seeking to establish a Web presence are looking past the dot-com offerings to a company often viewed as an old economy throwback. Thomas Regional Directory Co. publishes phonebook-sized regional directories of...

'BtoB,' BMA to present 'The New Fundamentals' seminars.
March 11, 2002... The Sales and Marketing Institute of Scottsdale, Ariz., is launching a multi-city seminar series about today's hottest issue: What b-to-b sales and marketing managers must do to integrate new technologies with traditional methods, and so...

You'll put parts of your CRM in outside hands.(outsourcing customer relationship management systems)(Brief Article)
March 11, 2002... Will you someday outsource big chunks of your mission-critical CRM system to a next-generation marketing agency? Consider the following economic and technical assumptions. Let's start with the economy. As everyone knows, the U.S. recession...

The Profile Box: New voice at 101 Communications.(president-CEO Jeffrey Klein)(Brief Article)
March 11, 2002... Jeffrey Klein, who recently took charge as president-CEO of 101 Communications L.L.C., has quickly revamped the company's portfolio to deal with the advertising recession that has been particularly hard on technology publishers. He...

CRM to outpace other IT spending.(customer relationship management)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 11, 2002... Customer relationship management spending will see higher growth than other IT investments in the short term, according to a report from Jupiter Media Metrix Inc. The report, which was released late last month, found that more U.S....

Methodology.(Top 25 agency report)(Brief Article)
March 11, 2002... To select the companies appearing in this year's Top 25 Agency Report, BtoB contacted agencies that had participated previously or had recognizable b-to-b work in 2001. We also solicited submissions by promoting the report online and in print...

DMA study shows 'hybrids' increase; Consumer influence increasingly seen as companies seek to boost bottom line.(Direct Marketing Association's `State of the E-Commerce Industry Report 2002'')(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 11, 2002... Fearful of painting themselves into a corner as new markets emerge, a growing number of companies are starting to define themselves as hybrids, or enterprises that target both the b-to-b and business-to-consumer sectors, according to a recent...

Five steps for down cycles.(marketing)(Brief Article)
March 11, 2002... In down economic cycles, commerce doesn't end. Ordering may be slow or postponed, but eventually purchases are made. The secret to success is capturing the moment when customers are ready to buy. Here are five ways to cost-effectively...

Netsense: Tweak design for search-friendly site.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2002... Search engine rankings. Those three words send chills down the spine of most Web marketers. Conventional wisdom holds that in order to compete with other sites for high search rankings, you have to hire a high-priced search engine optimization...

Agenda.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2002... Date Event Organizer Event city Location Phone Web site March 25-27 Direct Marketing to Business Direct Marketing Association, Orlando, Fla. Caribe Royale Resort (800) 927-5007 ww.dmbshow.com Primedia Business...

Search engine strategies; Maximizing your position on search engines is key to connecting with potential customers. Here are ways to make sure you get noticed more while spending less.(Statistical Data Included)
March 11, 2002... Two years ago, Katherine Lo, an office manager who also handles sales and marketing, didn't think her company needed the Web, much less a way to be found on it. Germfree Laboratories, a Miami-based manufacturer of biological safety...

Cut to the Chase: Print.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2002... Company: Hewlett-Packard Co., Palo Alto, Calif. Market: IT managers, office managers Agency: Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco Chase: Remember that people tend to judge you by your worst piece of communication. Make a spelling error...

Goat or Gloat.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2002... Company: Internet Security Systems Inc., Atlanta Market: IT executives Agency: Bates Technology, Atlanta Quick chase: A justified column of small text isn't going to draw much of a crowd; it's not the best way to present the most important part...

Chasers' Olympic medals ceremony.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2002... Brown gets the gold. Also known as United Parcel Service of America Inc., or UPS, Brown stands atop the b-to-b podium for delivering big time during the XIX Winter Olympics with a series of spots that underscore how it can solve problems...

Direct Personality: CSC adds DM vet Hughes.(CSC Advanced Database Solutions, Arthur Hughes appointment)(Brief Article)
March 11, 2002... When it comes to databases, most b-to-b companies just don't get it, according to Arthur Hughes, the database guru who recently joined CSC Advanced Database Solutions as VP-business development. ``The problem is that companies have good...

What's Working: Marketers report high ROI with paid listings ; Pay-for-placement listings enable targeted marketing.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2002... Until recently, the pay-for-placement search engine model largely catered to the business-to-consumer marketers. However, as b-to-b companies realize the effectiveness of this form of promotion, more of them are including it in their marketing...

Quick Hits.(briefs)(Open Source Development Network Inc.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 11, 2002... Publicis acquires Bcom3 for $3 billion in stock Publicis SA, the Paris-based advertising conglomerate, last week said it had agreed to buy Chicago-based Bcom3 Group for $3 billion in stock, creating the world's fourth-largest ad agency....

Resources.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2002... Some search engine optimization resources General information For search engine tips, information and analysis, including an index of search engines, visit www.searchenginewatch.com, created by SEO expert Danny Sullivan. ...

Reed Elsevier kills off Cahners name; Parent company banks on its global brand; analysts say time is right for a change.(Cahners Business Information changes name to Reed Business Information)(Brief Article)
March 11, 2002... Cahners, the name that wouldn't die, may finally have been killed off. In February, Cahners Business Information, publisher of Variety and 134 other b-to-b titles, announced that it changed its name to Reed Business Information. The new...

Verticalnet exits e-marketplaces, buys tech firms ; New CEO faces challenge of trying to find buyers for 59 vertical hubs.(Mike Hagen)(Company Profile)
March 11, 2002... For Verticalnet Inc. Chairman Mike Hagen, it's been a long, strange b-to-b trip. In its early years-almost a decade ago now-Verticalnet came out of nowhere to create online communities that attracted vertically niched audiences, as well as...

Microsoft launches $200M .NET effort; TV, print campaign created by Mccann continues software `agility' theme of previous ads.(McCann-Erickson Worldwide Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 11, 2002... Microsoft Corp. last month launched a $200 million ad campaign for .NET, marking its first global effort to promote enterprise software that corporations can use to connect employees, customers and business partners. The TV and print...

In Direct.(iMarket Inc. and L2 Solutions Inc.)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
March 11, 2002... iMarket Inc., a Dun & Bradstreet company, announced it has strengthened its b-to-b database with the addition of several new data elements, including details on energy usage, credit worthiness and minority-ownership status. iMarket customers...

Media News.(briefs)(Brief Article)
March 11, 2002... Advanstar acquires automotive magazines Advanstar Communications Inc. has acquired London-based First Global Media Group, which publishes six magazines and organizes conferences for the automotive original equipment market. The magazine...

Briefs.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2002... Chemical, mining hubs to hook up Two e-marketplaces serving the mining and chemical industries agreed to link so their members can buy and sell directly from each other over the Net. Mining hub Quadrem and chemical marketplace Elemica...

Time line.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2002... 1946: Norman Cahners and Saul Goldweitz launch The Palletizer, which is now known as Modern Materials Handling. 1959: Cahners begins a series of acquisitions that eventually make his company the largest b-to-b publisher in the U.S. ...

New Campaigns.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2002... Accenture brand ads focus on big ideas Accenture began a $70 million rebranding campaign Feb. 20 with the tagline ``Innovation Delivered.'' The TV, print and airport campaign, developed by Young & Rubicam New York, is aimed at senior...

Advanstar readies launch of 'Ophthalmology Times China'.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2002... Home to almost 20% of the world's blind population and more than 2 million people with cataracts, there's a huge demand in China for information on the latest innovations in eye care. Advanstar Healthcare Communications wants to meet that...

Top 25 Agencies.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2002... To say that 2001 was a challenging year for ad agencies is an understatement. With total ad spending down 9.8% from 2000, according to CMR, it was the worst year-to-year decline in more than a decade. The weak economy was only exacerbated...

How to enable brand benefit from the Net.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2002... The Internet makes integrated brand communications more possible and powerful than ever before. Offering frequency not affordable and immediacy not achievable with offline media or direct mail, it's the place all other communications can send...

Microsoft enters CRM fray.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
March 11, 2002... After years of watching its partners use the Windows infrastructure for their own CRM products, Microsoft Corp. has decided to enter the game itself. Announced this month and scheduled to ship in the second half of the year, Microsoft CRM...

`BtoB' launches NetMarketing series.
March 11, 2002... BtoB will host a series of breakfast events focused on the real-world experiences of b-to-b marketers using the Internet. The multi-city NetMarketing Breakfast Series will feature a panel of distinguished marketing executives discussing how...

Calling China; Businesses look for routes into the world's largest market.
March 11, 2002... hen Liftomatic Material Handling Inc. was contemplating entering the Chinese market in the 1980s, Todd Berg, the company's VP-sales, heard a prediction: By 2010, the People's Republic of China will have 200 cities with populations of 2 million...

'Line56' changes frequency, focus.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2002... Pounded by declining advertising dollars in the b-to-b e-commerce category, Line56 Media has scaled back its Line56 magazine and will relaunch the publication as a quarterly called Line56 E-Business Journal. The February issue of Line56 was the...

Hindsight - March 1967: Mass marketing.
March 11, 2002... B-to-b companies making a major push into China (see story on Page 1) are acting on a marketing principle that was succinctly stated 35 years ago in Industrial Marketing. "Population is the most basic factor in marketing. In selling to...

Large Agencies - Winner: Ogilvy.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2002... (includes Ogilvy & Mather and OgilvyOne) New York www.ogilvy.com Key Exec: Shelly Lazarus, CEO Employees: 1,500 2001 revenues: Not disclosed (billings of $5.8 billion, worldwide) 2001 b-to-b revenues: Estimated...

Large Agencies - Runner-up: Foote, Cone & Belding Worldwide.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2002... New York www.fcb.com Key Exec: Brendan Ryan, CEO Employees: 2,000 2001 revenues: $464 million (U.S.; excludes healthcare) 2001 b-to-b revenues: $85 million Key clients: Baxter Bioscience, Hewlett-Packard Co., Boeing...

Large Agencies - Honorable Mention: Hill, Holliday, Connors, Cosmopulos.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2002... Boston www.hhcc.com Employees: 660 Key Exec: Jack Connors, CEO 2001 revenues: $125 million 2001 b-to-b revenues: Estimated at $50 million Key clients: FleetBoston Financial Corp., PricewaterhouseCoopers L.L.P.,...

Midsize Agencies - Winner: McClain Finlon Advertising.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2002... Denver www.mcclainfinlon.com Key exec: Cathey Finlon, CEO Employees: 96 2001 revenues: $32.1 million 2001 b-to-b revenues: $8.8 million Key clients: Sun Microsystems, Johns Manville, Qwest Dex, Xcel Energy...

Midsize Agencies - Honorable Mention: Bader Rutter & Associates.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2002... Brookfield, Wis. www.bader-rutter.com Key exec: Greg Nickerson, president Employees: 150 2001 revenues: $15.2 million 2001 b-to-b revenues: $15.2 million Key clients: Boise Cascade Office Products, Dow AgroSciences,...

Midsize Agencies - Runner-up: Doremus & Co.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2002... New York www.doremus.com Key exec: Carl Anderson, CEO Employees: 190 2001 revenues: $43.5 million 2001 b-to-b revenues: $43.5 million Key clients: Bank of America, Commerce One, Corning, Hitachi Data Systems, Morgan...

Small Agencies - Winner: HSR Business to Business Inc.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2002... Cincinnati www.hsrb2b.com Key exec: Rick Segal, CEO Employees: 69 2001 revenues: $10 million 2001 b-to-b revenues: $10 million Key clients: AK Steel, Hobart, Cincinnati Bell, GE Aircraft Engines, Convergys, Pall ...

Small Agencies - Runner-up: NKH&W.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2002... Kansas City, Mo. www.nkhw.com Key exec: Pete Kovac, CEO Employees: 96 2001 revenues: $8.9 million 2001 b-to-b revenues: $5.5 million Key clients: American Angus Assocation, Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, F&M Bank,...

Last Year's Winners.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2002... Best pure-play Doremus Best full-service agency with b-to-b emphasis Hill, Holliday, Connors, Cosmopulos Best interactive Lot21 Best small pure-play Slack Barshinger Best agency network with a b-to-b...

Small Agencies - Honorable Mention: Slack Barshinger.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2002... Chicago www.slackbarshinger.com Key exec: Gary Slack, managing partner Employees: 50 2001 revenues: $5.8 million 2001 b-to-b revenues: $5.8 million Key clients: Electronic Federal Tax Payment System, Zebra...

Interactive Agencies - Winner: One to One Interactive.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2002... Boston www.onetooneinteractive.com Key exec: Steve Humphrey, CEO Employees: 55 2001 revenues: $9.7 million 2001 b-to-b revenues: $9.7 million Key clients: Nextel Communications Inc., Motorola Inc., Unisys Corp.,...

Interactive Agencies - Runner-up: SF Interactive.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2002... San Francisco www.sfinteractive.com Key exec: Bruce Carlisle, CEO Employees: 50 2001 revenues: $6.4 million 2001 b-to-b revenues: $5.5 million Key clients: Cisco Systems, VeriSign, Adaptec, Quantum 2001...

Interactive Agencies - Honorable Mention: Carat Interactive.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2002... Boston www.caratinteractive.com Key exec: Sarah Fay, president Employees: 100 (U.S.) 2001 revenues: $34 million 2001 b-to-b revenues: $17 million Key clients: Seagate Technology, Adobe Systems, Palm, Bank of America,...

Goat or Gloat.(Internet Security Systems Inc. and eEye Digital Security advertising ratings)(Brief Article)
March 11, 2002... Company: Internet Security Systems Inc., Atlanta Market: IT executives Agency: Bates Technology, Atlanta Quick chase: A justified column of small text isn't going to draw much of a crowd; it's not the best way to present the most important part...