BtoB articles from March 2008

BtoB archives from March 2008

New technology, emerging channels hot topics at DMA.(News)
March 10, 2008... Byline: CAROL KROL Social media such as blogs and podcasts are giving customers a platform from which to speak with companies as peers. Learning how to harness that development for marketing was the hottest topic at the Direct Marketing...

Relationships pay dividends.(Vertical Insight: Financial)
March 10, 2008... Byline: MARY E. MORRISON Marketing to the financial services industry is a different ballgame than it was a year ago, before the subprime mortgage crisis sent shockwaves down Wall Street and Main Street, and the country's economic health...

Oenning DMA's B-to-B Marketer of the Year.(Direct & Database)
March 10, 2008... Byline: CAROL KROL The Direct Marketing Association has named Debbie Oenning, director of Americas marketing for Sterling Commerce, a subsidiary of AT&T, as its B-to-B Marketer of the Year. Oenning was honored at the DMA B-to-B Marketing...

Meeting expectations; Event marketers, under pressure to be more accountable, are taking a more organized approach to managing and tracking their portfolios.(Special Report: Event Marketing)
March 10, 2008... Byline: Erin Biba More and more, marketing departments are demanding that their event marketers be more accountable for their choices. For many event teams, that means taking a hard look at which events they attend and asking themselves...

Customer trust: Antidote to short-termism.(Opinion)
March 10, 2008... Byline: Don Peppers and Martha Rogers Tired of the end-of-quarter panic? Want some relief from the indigestion of the chronic, last-minute quota drill? Try focusing your sales efforts on selling trust rather than products. ...

Problem solved; Search.(NetMarketing)
March 10, 2008... Problem: Losing money because paid search landing page testing takes too long. Solution: Paid search moves at hyperspeed, where every second counts. As a result, every second also costs real dollars. Yet many marketers regularly leave...

Must-have Web metrics; ask the expert.(NetMarketing)
March 10, 2008... Question: What Web site analytics matter most for b-to-b marketers? Answer: Business-to-business marketers have unique challenges when it comes to measuring the success of their Web site. Because it's not as obvious as number of product...

What to measure? Web 2.0 applications have given marketers a granular picture of their customers' behavior that goes far beyond page views, but analyzing those data poses new challenges.(NetMarketing)
March 10, 2008... Byline: Karen J. Bannan In a February 2007 report called "Measuring Rich Internet Applications,'' Forrester Research Analyst Megan Burns found that Web site owners were rushing to add rich Internet applications and Web 2.0 technologies to...

TAC taps ClearStory to help manage digital assets.(Tools & Metrics)
March 10, 2008... Byline: CHRISTOPHER HOSFORD TAC is one of those companies whose name may not be familiar, but whose HVAC building-automation products-including climate, security and energy controls-help keep things quietly comfortable and safe. But for...

Digital asset management saves time and money; ask the expert.(Tools & Metrics)(Interview)
March 10, 2008... Mukul Krishna is global director for digital media with research firm Frost & Sullivan, in San Antonio. BtoB recently asked him about trends in digital asset management. BtoB: Digital asset management (DAM) seems to transcend marketing,...

Will the move toward 'free' pay off? New Channels.(Opinion)
March 10, 2008... Byline: Paul Gillin Wired Editor Chris Anderson is writing a new book, and he's going to give it away for free. You'll still have to pay for a physical volume, but the words themselves will be online for anyone to consume. Anderson isn't...

DAM good, but complex; Managing digital assets has become essential to marketing effectiveness.(Tools & Metrics)(digital asset management)
March 10, 2008... Byline: CHRISTOPHER HOSFORD Wendy Casey, of health-plan delivery organization HealthPartners, had a problem. She initially was hired as the company's internal marketing communications consultant to figure out ways to better unify and...

new campaigns.(Advertising)
March 10, 2008... Dow Chemical Co.: "Human Element'' Agency: Draftfcb, Chicago Target audience: Business decision-makers and key influencers Campaign objective: Communicate the connection between chemistry and humanity Media: TV (CNBC, CNN, Discovery, Fox,...

'American Lawyer' makes a strong case for print.(Special Report: Top Trades)(ALM)
March 10, 2008... The nitty-gritty of the law doesn't necessarily lend itself to the Web, which generally caters to readers interested in shorter pieces rather than long, involved articles. With that in mind, American Lawyer has spent the last few years...

'The Deal' comes up with a winning hand in revamp.(Special Report: Top Trades)(The Deal L.L.C.)
March 10, 2008... When The Deal switched from a tabloid to a magazine-size format in February 2007, it also made some changes inside the book. It added more white space for a cleaner look and grouped together the magazine's existing columns in the back of the...

Northstar Systems doubles revenue with e-mails, 'telenetworking'.(Vertical Insight: Financial)
March 10, 2008... Byline: MARY E. MORRISON Last year, NorthStar Systems International, a provider of software solutions to financial services institutions, set out to increase brand awareness and generate sales leads among its audience of wealth management...

RADirect uses Web analytics to improve online video success.(NetMarketing)
March 10, 2008... Byline: KAREN J. BANNAN RADirect is a networking, storage and security products reseller. The company lists 30 different product lines on its 200-plus page Web site, the majority of which are highly technical in nature. Until the end of...

Seeking a share, advice and some good ideas.(Beyond the Biz)
March 10, 2008... Under a new Wall Street Journal policy, authors such as Pulitzer Prize winner Daniel Golden-whose series of articles on the college admissions process led to his critically acclaimed book, "The Price of Admission''-would have to fork over some...

'Variety' shines spotlight on entertainment industry in flux.(Special Report: Top Trades)
March 10, 2008... When Hollywood writers were on strike earlier this year, the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers each took out page ads in Variety to state their case. "Pencils Down Means Pencils Down,''...

Managing your event portfolio leads to more efficient spending; Expert advice.(Special Report: Event Marketing)
March 10, 2008... Byline: Steve Waugh As the macroeconomic picture in the U.S. and abroad points to a possible plateau or even a contraction in marketing budgets, it's necessary for marketing leadership to review event programs with an eye towards...

Business sections dying off from competition, lack of ad revenue.(News)
March 10, 2008... Byline: JEREMY MULLMAN Shrinking newspapers forced to make cuts are increasingly regarding their stand-alone business sections as expendable. The Denver Post-which folded its business section into other sections on every day but...

Online Marketing Summit explores social media.(News)(Cisco Systems Inc.)
March 10, 2008... Byline: KATE MADDOX How to use and measure Web 2.0 applications were key topics at the Online Marketing Summit last month in San Diego. More than 450 senior marketers delved into online strategies-from leveraging social networks to...

Multichannel marketing highlighted at Email Evolution Conference.(News)
March 10, 2008... Byline: CAROL KROL A good e-mail campaign is no longer enough to deliver success to b-to-b marketers. Today, marketers are expected to coordinate e-mail with other channels and perform the necessary analysis to make adjustments on the fly....

'Travel Weekly' benefits from editorial investment.(Special Report: Top Trades)(Editorial)
March 10, 2008... Although the travel industry was in the doldrums earlier this decade after the Sept. 11 terror attacks, Travel Weekly continued to invest heavily in editorial improvements. The enhancements included a major redesign in 2005 and added emphasis...

The myth of influencers; B-to-b buying shows that the buyers with influence are a moving marketing target.(Opinion)
March 10, 2008... Byline: Nick Hayes Influencer marketing has found itself center stage again in recent weeks with the provocative Fast Company article on research conducted by Duncan Watts while at Columbia University and now at Yahoo. Watts...

Correction.(Correction notice)
March 10, 2008... HSR Business to Business' relationship with the Institute for the Study of Business Markets was mischaracterized in "ISBM study reveals top b-to-b trends'' (Feb. 11, page 3). HSR was the presenting sponsor of ISBM's recently released study,...

Should your next hire be a theater major? Maybe.(Opinion)
March 10, 2008... Byline: Ellis Booker This issue contains a special report on how to cherry pick events ("Meeting expectations,'' page 20), a NetMarketing section on the brave new world of Web 2.0 "engagement'' metrics ("What to measure?'' page 13) and an...

IDC: Tougher times for tech marketing; Spending growth slows in challenging economy.(News)
March 10, 2008... Byline: KATE MADDOX Tech marketing spending will increase this year but at a slower rate than last year due to economic concerns, according to IDC's 2008 Tech Marketing Barometer, released last week. The study found that tech marketing...

Make big shows as productive as small events; Expert advice.(Special Report: Event Marketing)
March 10, 2008... Byline: Laura Ramos Of the variety of traditional and digital marketing tactics available to business-to-business marketers, trade shows and conference events command the biggest share of the budget and cause the greatest concern. To learn...

Cut to the chase.(Chasers)(Credit Suisse Group)(PricewaterhouseCoopers L.L.P. (New York, New York))(Brief article)
March 10, 2008... Company: PriceWaterhouseCoopers, New York Agency: N/A Market: Corporate executives Quick chase: The rallying cry on the campaign trail these days is change. And while no one's exactly sure what that means, people have at least the vague notion...

Make a statement: Read this headline.(Chasers)
March 10, 2008... Dare to be bold. And there's no better place to be bold than in the headline. It shows conviction, and it stops readers in their tracks. Assertive headlines get right in the face of the audience with-ideally-a key message or a call to action....

'Investment News' in step with demographic trends.(Special Report: Top Trades)
March 10, 2008... As baby boomers head toward retirement, financial services companies are accelerating the number of retirement products they bring to market. "There's a big trend in reaching financial intermediaries,'' said Suzanne Siracuse, VP-publisher...

Introducing the next generation of tech marketing.(News)
March 10, 2008... Byline: RICHARD KARPINSKI Blogs, RSS, podcasting, social networks. As the Web has evolved, the time it has taken new technologies-even grass-roots, beneath-the-radar developments-to move from concept to mainstream has become shockingly...

For Motorola, it takes a city; Cityscape lets users see company's security products in real-life situations.(Advertising)
March 10, 2008... Byline: KATE MADDOX Motorola Corp. is taking online technology to a new level with its latest ad campaign, built around a virtual city in which users can see the company's products in a variety of situations. BBDO New York developed...

Big ideas for planning your small event.(Special Report: Event Marketing)
March 10, 2008... Byline: MARY ELLEN PODMOLIK As more companies bypass larger events in favor of conducting their own more intimate meetings, they are finding themselves grappling with a number of issues. Since making the decision to skip a key industry...

Goat or gloat; A quick comparison of recent work by competing advertisers.(Chasers)
March 10, 2008... Company: JAL, Tokyo Agency: Dentsu, New York Market: Business travelers, corporate travel managers Quick chase: What's wrong with this picture? Amid a circle of business travelers in their back leather shoes is one who prefers a pair of...

Print valiant; As marketers shift an increasing amount of their ad dollars online, trade magazines are fighting to prove they are still essential to reaching business customers.(Special Report: Top Trades)
March 10, 2008... Byline: Matthew Schwartz SonicWALL is trying to stay ahead of the curve online. This year the Internet security products marketer boosted its online advertising budget to 40% of its overall media spending, from 30% in 2006. At the same...

QuickHits.(News)
March 10, 2008... Web investment tops b-to-b CMO priorities Increasing online marketing is the top spending priority this year for b-to-b marketers, according to a new report from Forrester Research. The report was based on interviews with 32 senior b-to-b...

Microsoft kicks off largest enterprise launch in its history.(News)
March 10, 2008... Byline: KATE MADDOX Microsoft Corp. late last month kicked off a massive product launch with the release of Windows Server 2008, Visual Studio 2008 and SQL Server 2008-technologies designed to increase office productivity. To unveil...

Digital future has media on the move.(News)(Ziff Davis Media Inc.)
March 10, 2008... Byline: MATTHEW SCHWARTZ Although they are unrelated, recent moves by b-to-b media companies Reed Elsevier, United Business Media and Ziff Davis Media share a common thread: They are all responses to how quickly the distribution of...

IDC study finds sales budget growth outpaces marketing.(News)(Survey)
March 10, 2008... Byline: KATE MADDOX Tech marketers are increasing their sales budgets at a higher growth rate than their marketing budgets, according to research from IDC. IDC's Tech Sales Barometer, released last week, shows that sales budgets at...

'Variety' debuts The Biz, social network targeting entertainment field.(News)
March 10, 2008... Byline: MATTHEW SCHWARTZ Reflecting the growing influence of Web 2.0 on b-to-b markets, Variety last month launched The Biz, a social network that lets entertainment and media professionals network, pitch products, exchange ideas and...

Deliver easily recognized value with e-products; Industry outlook.(Vertical Insight: Financial)
March 10, 2008... Byline: MARY E. MORRISON As director of product management for Dow Jones & Co.'s Financial Information Services division, Robert Dunn develops and manages business information products for professionals in the private equity, investment...

Agenda.(Calendar)
March 10, 2008... MARCH 14 54th Annual Jesse H. Neal Awards American Business Media Waldorf-Astoria, New York www.americanbusinessmedia.com March 17-20 Search Engine Strategies IncisiveMedia Hilton New York ...

Btobonline.com poll results.(Opinion)(Survey)(Brief article)
March 10, 2008... Will you hold more smaller events, such as customer meetings, this year than last? Yes: 60% No: 40% New Poll question: Vote now at btobonline.com What's your top Webinar objective? A) Leads B) Thought leadership

Need to know; 5 simple rules for buying effective online advertising.(Online Publishers)(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... 1. Choose media partnerships carefully. Consolidate relationships with a handful of business publishers that help you craft your online advertising. You don't want to spread things too thin with partners. On the other hand, be aware of the next...

Economic slowdown will accelerate online shift.(Editor's Note)
March 24, 2008... Byline: Ellis Booker Welcome to BtoB's 2008 Interactive Marketing Guide. Our annual publication offers sections on e-mail, search, Web sites, online advertising, online events, b-to-b media sites, social media, interactive agencies,...

Ask the expert; Tom Rousseau, President of sales, Ziff Davis Enterprise.(Online Publishers)(interview)(Interview)
March 24, 2008... What are some of the hot trends in b-to-b marketing and online advertising? Rousseau: Validation of story and analytics. Marketers are having a hard time validating their b-to-b or technology stories to enterprise. The value proposition...

Ask the expert; Sharat Sharon, President-CEO, ON24 Inc.(Online Events)(Interview)
March 24, 2008... What is driving the growth of virtual events? Sharon: Webcasts and webinars have become very important marketing tactics that enterprise technology-oriented companies cannot live without. No other medium allows you to target qualified...

Quit living in yesterday's world.(Future)
March 24, 2008... Byline: DAVID MEERMAN SCOTT Whenever I begin a speech, I pose five questions to the audience and ask them to raise their hands if the answer to a question is "yes.'' How would you answer? In your personal or professional life in the...

Powerful Communities; Marketers perceive value but wary about targeting social media channels.(Social Media)
March 24, 2008... Byline: PAUL GILLIN For the past year, business professionals have connected to each other online as never before. Now marketers are trying to figure out a way to monetize these new networks. The MySpace effect finally seeped into the...

Measuring new media not easy; Marketers still mastering basic analytics must now deal with Web 2.0.(Web Analytics)
March 24, 2008... Byline: RICH KARPINSKI Web analytics guru Eric Peterson-analyst and author of Web Analytics Demystified (Celio Group Media and Cafe Press, 2004)-likes to point out that most businesses haven't mastered the basics of first-generation Web...

Need to know; 5 reasons to buy branded keywords.(Search)(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... 1. Your competition will be buying branded keywords, and you should, too. 2. More than 50% of Internet traffic on company Web sites originates from search engines. Buyers turn to search to help research industries, companies, products and...

Basic designs still need work; Many b-to-b sites still suffer from confusing layouts and poor navigation.(Web Sites)
March 24, 2008... Byline: MARY E. MORRISON Though more advanced b-to-b marketers are using Web 2.0 applications such as rich media, blogs, podcasts and video to engage their Web site visitors-and seeing positive results from those efforts-many companies are...

Need to know; 5 simple rules for effective e-mail marketing.(Web Sites)(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... 1. Organize site content in a way that addresses visitors' needs and helps them achieve whatever their goals might be. Recognize that this structure may be different than the way your company is organized internally. 2. Consider your Web...

Ask the expert.(Web Sites)
March 24, 2008... Byline: Siobhan Kelleher What are the key elements of a successful b-to-b Web site? Kelleher: There are many. One of my very strongly held opinions is that technology, though a wonderful thing, can't solve all your problems. You still...

Ask the expert.(E-Mail)
March 24, 2008... Byline: R. David Lewis How can b-to-b e-mail marketers grow e-mail lists responsibly? Lewis: [First], be sure to get permission, however you acquire names, whether in response to an info request, such as a white paper or at a trade...

Need to know; 5 simple rules for effective e-mail campaign deployment.(E-Mail)(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... 1. An opt-in list. Wherever you have your list stored, make sure you have access to the original source of permission. Also include an opt-out link with a mailing address. 2. The "from'' name you want to use. Also include the "reply to''...

Ask the expert; Andreas Combuechen, CEO-chief creative officer, Atmosphere BBDO, New York.(Online Advertising)(Interview)(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... Which online ad formats are proving to be most effective for b-to-b marketers? Combuechen: The most effective ad formats vary depending on program objectives, target audience or size of company. For example, we've seen success with display...

Ad units meet new demands; Publishers and clients develop online campaigns that cut through the clutter.(Online Publishers)(International Data Group Inc.)
March 24, 2008... Byline: MATTHEW SCHWARTZ With the Web garnering a growing share of b-to-b advertising dollars, business publishers and their marketing clients are striving to create more sophisticated advertising units that provide a much richer user...

Opt-in video offers options; Marketers find new opportunities, venues to connect with customers.(Multimedia)
March 24, 2008... Byline: KAREN J. BANNAN Online video advertising is projected to grow from $550 million in 2007 to $768 million this year and to $2.3 billion by 2012, according to a JupiterResearch report. Judging from the numbers, it's pretty clear:...

Need to know; 5 simple rules for working with your interactive agency.(Interactive Agencies)(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... 1. Involve your agency early in defining business strategy and setting clear objectives. 2. Find an agency partner with expertise in new media platforms such as online video, social media, mobile and viral marketing. 3. Be willing to...

Ask the expert; Jean-Philippe Maheu, Chief digital officer, Ogilvy North America, New York.(Interactive Agencies)(Interview)(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... What types of interactive services do your b-to-b clients want? Maheu: Our b-to-b clients are leveraging interactive services to achieve three objectives: drive sales (generate leads), engage the influencers in their marketing programs, and...

Agencies bulk up online skills; Rising demand prompts shops to add expertise through hiring, acquisitions.(Interactive Agencies)
March 24, 2008... Byline: KATE MADDOX To handle their clients' growing demand for interactive services, b-to-b agencies are expanding their offerings through new hires, acquisitions, partnerships and new service practices. Whether they are traditional...

Need to know; 5 simple rules for effective e-mail marketing.(Online Advertising)(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... 1. The best-performing online video ads are integrated with other Web applications, such as linking to microsites or joining discussion groups. 2. Online videos that are enjoyable and entertaining generally perform well. 3. Don't rely...

Best e-mail marketing practices.(E-Mail)(Company overview)
March 24, 2008... Coordinating and unifying your e-mail program post-merge Any company that merges or incorporates another into its fold ends up dealing with several e-mail marketing challenges. E-mail lists might overlap, or design standards might be...

Integrating channels key; Convergence of search, direct marketing and e-mail helps move customers to buy.(E-Mail)
March 24, 2008... Byline: CAROL KROL Today, integrating e-mail across channels has become the No. 1 priority for many marketers, and they are wrestling with how best to carry off an integrated marketing strategy. On the convergence of search and e-mail,...

Resources.(Web Analytics)(Survey)(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... Job pays well Salaries for experienced Web analysts push past six figures According to self-reported data collected last March, practitioners new to the field (less than 12 months of experience) earned an average of $78,524 in salary...

Resources.(Web Sites)
March 24, 2008... Tech watch Key technologies and trends b-to-b marketers should know in 2008: Virtualization-The creation of a virtual (rather than actual) version of something, such as an operating system, server, storage device or network, stretching...

Resources.(E-Mail)(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... E-mail=Sales E-mail delivers sales at an average cost per order of less than $7. That compares with $71.89 for banner ads, $26.75 for paid search and $17.47 for affiliate programs. Source: Shop.org's "State of Retailing Online 2007,''...

Resources.(Interactive Agencies)(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... Top campaigns of 2007 Integrated campaign (more than $200,000): Panasonic Toughbook, "It's Not Just a Laptop.'' Agency: Sigma Group. Integrated campaign (less than $200,000): Pitney Bowes MapInfo, "Be Location Intelligent.'' Agency:...

Resources.(Online Advertising)(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... Ad spending this year Online ad spending is expected to reach $25.8 billion this year, up 23% over last year. Spending will be driven largely by paid search engine advertising, which is expected to total $15.5 billion this year, up...

Resources.(Online Events)(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... Event spending in 2008 50% of b-to-b marketers plan to increase spending on executive seminars and events. 27% plan to increase spending on trade shows. Forrester Research, "B2B Marketers' 2008 Budget Trends,'' January 2008 ...

Resources.(Multimedia)(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... TV less effective 62% of marketers believe TV advertising has become less effective over the past two years. 87% of marketers plan to spend more on Web advertising this year than last year. Marketers are exploring new TV ad...

Ask the expert; Danny Sullivan, Editor in chief of Third Door Media's Search Engine Land.(Search)(Interview)
March 24, 2008... How has search changed in the past six months? Sullivan: Last year, blended search was a revolution. There's a lot of buzz around the whole blended search space. People are still trying to get their head around what that means for them....

Resources.(Online Publishers)(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... Big moves In the early months of this year, some of the biggest b-to-b publishers made key moves: Reed Elsevier put its Reed Business Information unit on the block to reduce the parent company's exposure to cyclical advertising...

Resources.(Search)(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... Market share trends Paid search advertising is expected to total $15.5 billion in 2008, up 31.9% over last year. Source: eMarketer, January 2007 More than 10 billion searches were conducted in the U.S. in January. Here is the...

Resources.(Social Media)(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... The numbers Social network audience numbers for February 2008: Site/Monthly visitors/Monthly Site visits myspace.com: 66,744,241/955,057,928 facebook.com: 28,563,983/326,418,930 classmates.com: 11,978,068/22,488,912 ...

Need to know; 5 simple rules for effective social media marketing.(Social Media)(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... 1. Don't start with the tool. Define the business objective and then select the tools to achieve them. Often it will be a combination of channels, including video, podcasts, discussion groups and social media. 2. Get employees involved....

Ask the expert; Julie Wittes Schlack, Senior VP, Innovation and Design, Communispace.(Social Media)(Interview)
March 24, 2008... When should a business move from listening to public conversations to managing private communities? Schlack: Mining public conversations is great for tracking trends and observing common perceptions and buzz about brands, but it tends to...

Search draws big spending; Paid search may be consistent, but there's more than one way to get results.(Search)
March 24, 2008... Byline: CAROL KROL Paid search marketing remains a juggernaut, on track to comprise 40% of all U.S. online advertising spending, far ahead of display ads, rich media and video, and e-mail, according to research aggregator eMarketer. Paid...

Video in play as ad vehicle; B-to-b viral campaigns and social media are also expected to be big this year.(Online Advertising)(business to business advertising)
March 24, 2008... Byline: KATE MADDOX As b-to-b advertisers seek effective ways to communicate with customers and prospects in a challenging business environment, they plan to increase spending on newer interactive formats, including online video, social...

Ask the expert; Sarah Fay, CEO of Carat and Isobar US.(Multimedia)(Interview)(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... What was the most significant change in the world of video-based b-to-b marketing in the past year? Fay: B-to-b companies are thinking of video as a regular tool in their marketing arsenal. In the past, b-to-b marketers sought to dominate...

Need to know; 5 simple rules for producing effective online video.(Multimedia)(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... 1. Select a dynamic spokesperson who is also a subject matter expert. This increases engagement with the audience and message content retention. 2. Be realistic about the lead time to create the video. This helps ensure all elements are...