Business Media Matters : March 2011
B-to-B Magazines Show Growth in December
Ad pages and revenue decline over full-year 2010
In December 2010, both b-to-b ad pages and print revenue showed growth; ad pages increased by 1.4% versus year ago, while print revenue grew by 1.9%.
For full-year 2010, print revenue ($7.46 billion) showed a decline of 1.3% over 2009 ($7.56 billion). Of the 21 Business Information Network (BIN) categories, nine showed revenue growth, with the greatest growth in Agriculture (13.5%), Automotive (6.9%) and Banking, Financial, Insurance (5.7%).
For full-year 2010, b-to-b ad pages showed a decline of 3.1% over 2009. Of the 21 BIN categories, four showed growth, with the greatest growth in Automotive (9.3%) and Agriculture (1.6%).
The December BIN data, by category, is available here.
ABM’s Business Information Network examines 21 markets comprised of all b-to-b books tracked by IMS/The Auditor, and PERQ/HCI for healthcare figures.
The BIN categories are:
Agriculture
Architecture, Design, Lighting
Automotive
Aviation, Aerospace & Military
Banking, Financial, Insurance
Building, Engineering, Construction
Business, Advertising & Marketing
Computing, Software, Telecom
Electronic Engineering
Government (Local, State, Federal)
Healthcare**
MFG, Processing
Miscellaneous*
Movies, Radio, TV & Video
Pharmaceuticals
Professional Services
Resources, Environment, Utilities
Restaurants, Foodservice, Lodging Gaming
Retail, Services
Science, Research & Development
Transportation, Logistics
Travel, Conventions & Meetings
*Miscellaneous includes Arts, Coin Operated & Vending Machine, Security and Classified pages across all categories.
**Supplied by PERQ/HCI
Industry Experts to Lead Marketing Services Deep Dive
Annual Conference early bird rates end TOMORROW
Join your industry peers and experts at ABM's Annual Conference May 1-4 in Austin, TX, for a deep dive into Marketing Services as a key growth opportunity. In between networking, the agenda includes a lineup of speakers who will drill down into Marketing Services content valuable for b-to-b media companies of all sizes - everything from the M&A landscape through to driving revenue and organizing to execute. Discounted early bird rates are available through TOMORROW, so register today!
In the meantime, here are just some of the attendees you'll meet in Austin:
Peter Black, SVP, Business Development, BPA Worldwide
Jim Casella, President/CEO, Asset International
Roland DeSilva, Managing Partner, DeSilva & Phillips
Glenn Goldberg, President, Information & Media, The McGraw-Hill Companies
Nancy Hasselback, President & CEO, Diversified Business Communications
David Klein, Publishing & Editorial Director, Crain Communications
Eric Lundberg, SVP/CFO, ALM
Don Pazour, CEO, Access Intelligence
Richard Reiff, CEO, Advantage Business Media
Gerald Ryerson, President, Edgell Communications
Ray Shu, Managing Director, GE Commercial Finance
Michael Simon, EVP, Publishers Press
Peter Stamats, EVP/CFO, Stamats Business Media
Peggy Walker, President/COO, Vance Publishing Corp.
James Zielinski, Business Media Consulting Group
Secure our special room rate at the Four Seasons Hotel for just $209/night. To book, call the hotel directly at (512) 685-8100 and mention ABM's Annual Conference to receive the reduced rate.
CMO Survey Shows Increased Acceptance of Custom Content
CMOs are growing more receptive to custom content marketing, according to a study released this month by the Custom Content Council (CCC) that ran in B2B magazine.
The study, “What CMOs Think About Custom Content,” was based on a phone survey of 100 CMOs conducted in January and February by Roper ASW. The results were presented at the CCC's Custom Content Conference.
The research showed that since 2006, when a similar survey was conducted, CMOs' receptivity to custom content and their perception of its value had gone up significantly.
“What we found is that all the good things we were looking for increased,” said Michael Winkleman, president-chief creative officer of Leverage Media, who presented the findings. “Their spending has changed. The marketing share within the budget has increased.”
The survey found lower percentages from five years ago when it came to areas of concern, such as whether CMOs perceive custom content to be too expensive or difficult to measure in terms of ROI.
Co-presenter Andrew Seibert, president of Dow Jones Custom Solutions, concluded the session by saying the latest results showed “We don't have to convince CMOs of the value of custom content.”
Digital Leads Marketing Improvements in Q4
According to a recent report from the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) that was published in B2B magazine, marketers and advertisers have seen “modest but steady improvements” in all key economic performance measures, led by direct and direct channels.
DMA's Quarterly Business Review for Q4 of 2010 found that 57.4% of marketers reported an increase in revenue generated from direct/digital marketing activity, compared with the year-earlier period.
Search, social and mobile programs had the largest ROI increases in ROI in Q4, according to the report. For the first quarter of this year, 53.5% of marketers and 46.1% of suppliers anticipated improved performance.
DMA's Quarterly Business Review for Q4 of 2010 is based on two online surveys conducted by DMA's Research and Market Intelligence department in January 2011.
In total, DMA received 665 usable survey responses.
Marketers Will Spend More on Social Media Even if ROI is Uncertain, Reports WFA
All but one of 24 marketers surveyed in a new report from the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) and WPP research firm Millward Brown is committed to increasing the time and money they spend on social media in the next 12 months, even if they don't think they can accurately measure the results.
According to the report that was published in Ad Age, marketers surveyed said their fan pages are about generating insight, advocacy, loyalty and engagement – but not necessarily sales – from their fans. Only 23% of respondents said they were convinced that they were getting a good return on their investment, while 18% said they think their ROI is "average" and 9% described it as "poor."
Part of the problem is simple logistics, said Nick Oran, managing director of independent media agency Total Media. "There's a scramble for territory," he said, "between the brand, the PR agency, the creative agency, the digital agency – everyone’s trying to be the one do it."
It's also hard to determine the rewards. "Quite a few clients appear to want an immediate reaction," Mr. Oran said, "but it doesn't work like that. It takes a while to develop relationships and then to see a return. Brands know it's a huge channel where people spend a lot of time, and logically their marketing money should be there, but it can be scary to approach it with a long-term view."
The report includes a checklist of basic requirements for social-media campaigns, and a list of behaviors that are likely to successfully differentiate a campaign.
Every social networker expects, at the very least, contests and giveaways, new product information, regular posts, special offers and trustworthy brand news. But in order to make a real breakthrough, brands also need to concentrate their efforts on less easily defined activities: innovation, interaction, community, variety and fun.
The report is based on interviews with 24 digital marketers from multinational companies and 3,687 brand fans from 24 different fan pages – mainly global, U.S. and European pages from major global advertisers in the confectionery, alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, personal care and telecoms categories.
U.S. Local Online Advertising Will Reach $42.5 Billion by 2015, Reports BIA/Kelsey
Local online advertising in the U.S. will reach $42.5 billion by 2015, nearly double the $21.7 billion spent on local online advertising last year, according to a report from research firm BIA/Kelsey that was published in B2B magazine last month.
The report, “U.S. Local Media Annual Forecast (2010-2015),” projects a compound annual growth rate of 14.4% in local online advertising between 2010 and 2015.
By 2015, digital media will make up 23.6% of all local online ad spending, the report found.
“As the business climate improves and advertisers step back into the market, they are gravitating to digital options that perhaps were not as mature before the recession began,” said Tom Buono, CEO of BIA/Kelsey, in a statement.
“Our analysis indicates that as advertisers move to online, mobile and, particularly, the variants of social media, we are fast approaching a tipping point where digital media will soon become a dominant segment of the local advertising marketplace.”
Click here to follow ABM on Twitter!
Click here to become a fan of ABM on Facebook!
Click here to join the ABM Group on LinkedIn!