BtoB articles from September 2004

BtoB archives from September 2004

Computer industry beginning rebound; Double-digit growth in hardware spending means opportunity for component suppliers.(Vertical Insight: Tech Manufacturers)(Computer Trade Industry Association)
September 13, 2004... Byline: ROGER SLAVENS The computer hardware market had been seriously lagging behind other industries in rebounding from the economic downturn of the past three years. However, several research firms report that computer hardware...

10 Great Web Sites; An inside look at how a few of the best b-to-b Web sites got to where they are--and what they learned along the way.(NetMarketing)(Column)
September 13, 2004... Byline: MARY E. MORRISON What makes a great Web site? BtoB maintains that a successful Web site has high-quality product and company information, presented in a compelling way. It must be easily navigated, leading visitors from one point...

'BtoB' relaunches Web site with new look, more content.(News)(business to business)(Brief Article)
September 13, 2004... Frequent visitors to BtoBonline.com have already noticed a new look, more content and improved functionality on our Web site, which we relaunched this month. "We are very excited to unveil our new site,'' said BtoB Publisher Bob...

Tech events struggle to stay relevant; Shows must demonstrate measurable results for exhibitors and attendees.(News)
September 13, 2004... Byline: KATE MADDOX As many big technology trade shows bite the dust, producers of surviving tech events say they must find ways to improve return on investment and show value for exhibitors and attendees. MediaLive International's...

Beyond the Biz; Beers to keynote DMA Annual Conference.(Briefs)(Direct Marketing Association)
September 13, 2004... Advertising industry legend Charlotte Beers will keynote the Direct Marketing Association's Annual Conference & Exhibition on Oct. 18 in New Orleans, according to an announcement made by the group. Beers counts among her accomplishments some...

Toward a more universal language.(Opinion)(Column)
September 13, 2004... Byline: Ellis Booker Every now and then, I run across a story, statistic or quote that ignites my imagination. This time the catalyst was a tidbit on page 22 of the current issue of BtoB, in the NetMarketing Special Report "10 Great Web...

Law firm ads court clients; As focus on bottom line increases, lawyers step up media exposure to win new business.(News)
September 13, 2004... Byline: SEAN CALLAHAN Last Tuesday, two large and prestigious law firms, Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal and Jones Day, ran b-to-b branding ads in The Wall Street Journal, presenting themselves as global firms. The ads were a small sign of...

Top Advertisers; Overall spending up 17%; telecom leads the way.(Special Report: Top Advertisers)
September 13, 2004... Byline: KATE MADDOX In a sign that the ad economy is recovering, the top 100 advertisers spent $6.2 billion on b-to-b ads in 2003, up 17% over 2002, according to a BtoB analysis of data from TNS Media Intelligence/CMR. ...

Recognizing the different traffic types.(Opinion)(Column)
September 13, 2004... Byline: Susan A. Friedmann The trade show floor is full of people with different agendas. As an exhibitor, you need to familiarize yourself with the various visitor types: * Definites. If you have done a thorough job of preshow...

Search results lag expectations; Study finds advertisers, agencies believe campaigns' performance is lackluster.(News)(Column)
September 13, 2004... Byline: CAROL KROL Is all the money being spent on search marketing paying off? According to a new survey of search campaigns, there is ample room for improvement. A report published last month by MarketingSherpa found that about half...

Quick Hits; Jupiter evaluates e-mail providers.(Briefs)(Buyers Guide)
September 13, 2004... JupiterResearch, a division of Jupitermedia Corp., has released its "E-mail Marketing Buyers Guide,'' an assessment of 28 e-mail service providers. In the full and collaborative service provider category, JupiterResearch classified seven...

Cut to the Chase: Internet.(Chasers)(Brief Article)
September 13, 2004... Company: IBM Corp., Armonk, N.Y. Agency: Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide, New York Market: Chief information officers, network administrators Quick chase: One of the challenges of skyscraper ads is the narrow ribbon of vertical space. IBM can only...

Cut to the Chase: Print.(Chasers)(Analysis on Black Box Network Services ads)(Brief Article)
September 13, 2004... Company: Black Box Network Services, Lawrence, Pa. Agency: N/A Market: Chief information officers Quick chase: Ads tend to set up better against white or light backgrounds. A light canvas allows the visuals, the text and other elements to...

Tough times for telemarketing; Datamonitor predicts gradual decline in call centers over next several years.(Direct & Database)
September 13, 2004... Byline: CAROL KROL Job losses continue to mount in the embattled telemarketing industry due to offshore outsourcing and the popular do not call registry. Three thousand call centers in the U.S. are expected to close by 2008, according...

Goat or Gloat.(Chasers)(Brief Article)
September 13, 2004... Company: Humana, Louisville, Ky. Agency: Northlich, Cincinnati Market: Human resources managers, CEOs Quick chase: The headline-as we read it-says: "8.5% What happens when minds and wallets become engaged.'' Astride the headline is the image of...

Methodology.(Special Report: Top Advertisers)(Brief Article)
September 13, 2004... In building the Top 100 B-to-B Advertisers 2003 rankings, BtoB used data from New York-based TNS Media Intelligence/CMR, a research company that tracks ad spending across a wide range of media. TNSMI tracks advertising expenditure numbers from...

Going for gold in b-to-b marketing.(Chasers)(Olympics coverage)
September 13, 2004... DHL, the express delivery and logistics company, grabbed the gold among b-to-b companies that advertised during the more than 1,200 hours of televised Olympics coverage. DHL impressed our judges with brightly produced, humorous 10-second...

Internal branding blueprint.(Opinion)(cultural shift within an organization)(Column)
September 13, 2004... Byline: Allan Steinmetz Lately, a lot of people have been asking me about internal branding. It's definitely a hot topic, on which seminars and workshops are offered all around the country. But what is it? Very little is written that...

How to get certified as a Six Sigma expert.(News)(Column)
September 13, 2004... Byline: Kate Maddox Six Sigma experts are certified by the American Society for Quality, an organization that provides education, testing and certification to recognize professionals in the field of quality management and processes. ...

DMA interactive unit names new executive director.(News)(Direct Marketing Association)(Column)
September 13, 2004... Byline: CAROL KROL The Association for Interactive Marketing, a subsidiary of the Direct Marketing Association, has appointed Michael Aronowitz as its executive director. Aronowitz was previously director of business development and...

Advertising Week kicks off in NYC; Industry associations seek to raise profile of ad industry with events, seminars, parade.(Advertising)(New York city)
September 13, 2004... Byline: KATE MADDOX More than 10,000 advertising executives are expected to participate in the inaugural Advertising Week in New York City Sept. 20-24, with the goal of raising the profile of the advertising industry on a local, state and...

September 1959: Too many shows? Hindsight A b-to-b time capsule.(Opinion)(Brief Article)
September 13, 2004... The debate over whether there's a glut of trade shows in a particular space was raging long before tech shows began falling by the wayside in recent years. Forty-five years ago, John F. Corkery, VP of Thor Power Tool Co., Aurora, Ill.,...

New Campaigns; Gorman-Rupp pumps up advertising.(Advertising)(Brief Article)
September 13, 2004... Gorman-Rupp, a manufacturer of industrial pumping systems, this month launched a print ad campaign to pump up the value of its brand. The campaign, developed by RMD Advertising, Columbus, Ohio, is aimed at purchasing decision-makers in the...

Quick Hits; TNS reports advertising spending up in first half.(Briefs)
September 13, 2004... Advertising expenditures in the first half of this year totaled $67.6 billion, up 9.1% from the first half of 2003, according to a new report from TNS Media Intelligence/CMR. Internet spending led the growth in the first half, up 25.9%. Cable...

Thomas takes vertical approach to search; New Web site merges Thomas Register, Thomas Regional data.(Business Media)(Column)
September 13, 2004... Byline: SEAN CALLAHAN A 114-year-old industrial media company is taking on Google-not to mention MSN and Yahoo! New York-based Thomas Publishing Co. is making a big bet that a vertical industry search engine can profit amid these wildly...

Vonage makes big marketing push online; Internet phone service provider faces competition from AT&T, cable networks.(News)(voice over internet protocol)
September 13, 2004... Byline: ALICE Z. CUNEO Under assault from the biggest names in telephone and cable networks, Internet phone service pioneer Vonage Holdings Corp. is putting its marketing money where its business is: on the Web. And Vonage expects to...

Marketers embrace Six Sigma strategies.(News)(define measure analyze improve and control)(Column)
September 13, 2004... Byline: KATE MADDOX Proponents of Six Sigma, a quality improvement methodology for manufacturing that got its start in the mid-1990s, have for years said the discipline could be applied to processes away from the factory floor. Now b-to-b...

IDC: Tech spending on the way back up.(News)(International Data Corporation)(Column)
September 13, 2004... Byline: KATE MADDOX It's official: Technology marketing spending is rebounding this year, according to a new report from research firm IDC. Tech marketing spending is projected to increase 6% this year, compared with a decrease of 1.7%...

Quote Unquote.(Opinion)
September 13, 2004... "Marketers need to better segment and understand narrower niches and segments and market to them in a very scientific way.'' Rich Vancil, VP of the IDC CMO Advisory Service, BtoB, Sept. 13, page 1.

What is Six Sigma?(News)(Brief Article)
September 13, 2004... * Six Sigma aims to eliminate defects in any process. * The "six" represents six standard deviations between the mean and the nearest specification limit in any process. * To achieve Six Sigma status, a process must not produce more...

Case Study: OS vendor tweaks Microsoft, builds brand with 'Sorry Bill' ads.(Vertical Insight: Tech Manufacturers)(operating system)(original equipment manufacturers)(Column)
September 13, 2004... Byline: Roger Slavens Many marketing experts believe that b-to-b messaging should be as clear and simple as the text of a children's book. Well, one Linux operating software developer took that approach to the ultimate conclusion in an...

www.alcoa.com.(NetMarketing)(Column)
September 13, 2004... Byline: Karen J. Bannan Company: Alcoa, Pittsburgh Target audience: Decision-makers at manufacturing companies Key Web executive: Kevin Lowery, director of corporate communications No. of employees who work on the site: Two...

www.apl.com.(NetMarketing)
September 13, 2004... Byline: K.J.B. Company: APL, a business unit of Neptune Orient Lines, Singapore Target audience: Retail and manufacturing shipping managers Key Web executive: Hank Moreira, Webmaster No. of employees who work on the site: Four...

www.armstrong.com.(NetMarketing)(Column)
September 13, 2004... Byline: Roger Slavens Company: Armstrong World Industries, Lancaster, Pa. Target audience: Architects, designers, contractors, distributors, retailers, consumers Key Web executive: Jesse Engle, general manager-eMarketing No....

www.att.com.(NetMarketing)(Column)
September 13, 2004... Byline: R. S. Company: AT&T Corp., New York Target audience: C-level executives, IT managers Key Web executive: Chris Casserly, director of publishing operations No. of employees who work on the site: 18 dedicated (ATT.com/...

www.gateway.com.(NetMarketing)(Column)
September 13, 2004... Byline: K. J. B. URL: www.gateway.com Company: Gateway, Irvine, Calif. Target audience: Business and consumer technology decision-makers Key Web executive: Ajit Sivadasan, director, Web merchandizing and production No. of...

www.hp.com.(NetMarketing)(Column)
September 13, 2004... Byline: K.J.B. Company: Hewlett-Packard Co., Palo Alto, Calif. Target audience: IT decision-makers Key Web executive: Stephanie Acker-Moy, VP-Internet and marketing services No. of employees who work on the site: 300 worldwide...

www.nationalcity.com.(NetMarketing)(Column)
September 13, 2004... Byline: R.S. Company: National City Corp., Cleveland Target audience: Banking customers Key Web executives: Scott Linabarger, senior VP-Web marketing manager, and Jan Tyler, senior VP-group manager, online banking and bill...

www.nextel.com.(NetMarketing)(Column)
September 13, 2004... Byline: R.S. Company: Nextel Communications, Reston, Va. Target audience: Telecommunications customers (individuals, small businesses, corporate enterprises and government agencies) Key Web executive: Tim Dunne, VP-digital media...

www.uline.com.(NetMarketing)(Uline Shipping Supplies)(Column)
September 13, 2004... Byline: R.S. Company: Uline Shipping Supplies, Waukegan, Ill. Target audience: Any business that ships packages Key Web executive: Jake Peters, e-commerce director No. of employees who work on the site: N/A Last major...

www.xerox.com.(NetMarketing)
September 13, 2004... Byline: K.J.B. Company: Xerox Corp., Rochester, N.Y. Target audience: Technology decision-makers Key Web executive: Fred Heller, VP-general manager of Xerox.com No. of employees who work on the site: More than 100 companywide...