Business Media Matters : May 2011

B-to-B Magazines Show Revenue Growth in 2011  

In February 2010, b-to-b print revenue grew by 3.7% versus year ago, while ad pages declined 1.0%. Year to date, print revenue grew by 4.0% while ad pages declined slightly, by 0.3%.

Of the 21 BIN categories, 12 showed revenue growth in February, with the greatest growth in Transportation, Logistics (48.6%), Business, Advertising & Marketing (35.4%) and Movies, Radio, TV & Video (24.3%).

The February 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 

BIA/Kelsey Says Local Search Ad Revenue Will Reach $8.2 Billion by 2015

Ad revenue from local online search will grow from $5.1 billion last year to $8.2 billion in 2015, representing a compound annual growth rate of 10%, according to a report from BIA/Kelsey that was published last week in BtoB magazine.

The forecast is part of BIA/Kelsey's “U.S. Local Media Annual Forecast (2010-2015),” which is available to clients. By 2015, 30% of total search revenue will come from local search, BIA/Kelsey projected.

“Local search ad revenues hit an all-time high last year, driven primarily by better product integration across search engines, especially Google,” said Matt Booth, senior VP-program director of BIA/Kelsey's interactive local media practice, in a statement.

“Revenues will continue to grow as better targeting, increased mobile usage and improving integration drive up local search activity,” he said.

For more information about the report, click here. 

Integration of Marketing Channels Lags, Reports DNA Study

While the vast majority of marketers using multiple channels are making an attempt at integrating marketing efforts among them, only about a quarter say they are effective at it, according to a new study from the Direct Marketing Association (DMA).

“Most marketers understand that aligning their marketing efforts is an imperative,” said Yory Wurmser, DMA’s director of media and marketing insights. “What they’re still figuring out is how to do it effectively.” 

According to DMA's report, “Rowing as One: Integrated Marketing Today,” 93% of marketers using multiple channels indicated they have attempted to integrate their messaging, but only 27.4% of these said their efforts are “effective.” Other areas fare even worse, with timing across channels called effective by 16.7% of respondents and effective data analytics integration cited by 14.3%.

DMA's online poll of its membership was conducted in April and included 325 responses.

CMOs Must be Organizational ‘Bonding Agents’
A 10-step plan for new CMOs

Today, about half of chief marketing executives are hired to fix "broken" marketing organizations. Little wonder that CMO churn rates are high. A new study from the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council, published in MediaPost, points to three core elements that need to be in place: a strong mandate and unwavering support from the CEO; close, productive relationships with peers in the C suite; and early evidence that marketing is indeed performing expanded roles and enhancing business value (cultivating customers and driving sales and new revenue streams).

The report, "Renovate to Innovate: Building Performance-Driven Marketing Organizations," also outlines 10 steps to succeeding for executives taking over the chief marketing leadership role. A summary of the recommended 10-step plan include:

1. Understand the company's culture, mindset, customer and competitive conditions
2. Establish alignments and "listening" relationships with CEO, peers and stakeholders
3. Identify the marketing detractors, influencers, advocates and champions globally
4. Audit and assess internal competencies, processes, capabilities and perceptions
5. Determine leaders and laggards, inventory deficiencies and resource requirements
6. Map marketing strategy and model organizational change around plans and deliverables
7. Unify, enthuse, mobilize and strategically focus marketing assets and partners
8. Initiate upgrade and replacement processes in key competency areas
9. Show results early and often with business-building, lead-generating marketing projects
10. Provide metrics-driven reporting and spending plans to management on a quarterly basis

Study: Marketers Report Social Media ROI and Challenges

Many organizations have already transitioned from a tactical to a strategic approach, and with that, there are more and more reports about social media campaigns that are delivering solid, proven ROI, according to a recent article by Lisa Arthur, CMO of Aprimo.

In addition, she reports that research results are beginning to reflect the shift such as in the 2011 Social Marketing Benchmark Report from MarketingSherpa. The report found that the overall average social media ROI reported by CMOs who are measuring it is 95%. And, nearly one-third (30%) of those in the survey reported a ROI of at least 150%.

For its latest report, MarketingSherpa polled 3,342 consumer and b-to-b marketers, providing valuable insights about how they are using social media to engage audience, build brand, generate leads and drive sales. In other key findings, developing social media strategy and proving ROI remain top challenges. When surveyed, participants were asked about the most frustrating challenges to social marketing effectiveness. The top five responses were:

• Developing an effective and methodical social marketing strategy (55%)
• Achieving or increasing measurable ROI from social marketing programs (54%)
• Converting social media members, follower, etc. into paying customers (45%)
• Achieving or increasing measurable lead generation from social marketing (37%)
• Increasing website traffic through social media integration (36%)

For those who are measuring it, social media is showing positive ROI. Based on the survey results, the overall average ROI reported by CMOs who are measuring it is 95%. One-quarter said they have achieved 100% ROI, 12% said they have achieved 200% ROI and 2% reported 1,000% ROI.

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