BtoB Media Business - ABM Top Management Meeting Special 11/07/07 - (Page 3)

ABM Top Management Meeting Special Edition November 7, 2006 Digital revenue projected Anton: Digital to rise 18-22% next year investments need sense of ‘urgency’ to 7%, while face-to-face revenue is expected to grow 7% to 10%. Revenue from custom media, which publishers often turn to in greater numbers when the economy becomes sluggish, is expected to grow 18% to 21%. “We’re looking at a good year, albeit a challenging one,” Hughes said. ABM has welcomed 11 new members this year, including media companies Elsevier Health Gordon T. Hughes II, president-CEO and Hoover’s, and associof American Business Media ate members Howard Sloan-Koller Group, Mark projections Tuesday morning at ABM’s Logic Corp. and Neighborhood America. Top Management Meeting. Magazine The association now has a total of 331 revenue, he said, is expected to drop 2% companies. BY MATTHEW SCHWARTZ Digital revenue for b-to-b media companies is expected to grow 18% to 22% in 2008, according to Gordon T. Hughes II, president-CEO of American Business Media. Hughes presented the revenue “We’re looking at a good year, albeit a challenging one. ” Frank Anton, 2007-2008 chairman of American Business Media and CEO of construction media company Hanley Wood, recently shared his thoughts on the changing media landscape. MB: What have been the biggest changes in b-to-b media this year? Anton: I still think it’s trying to strike the balance between print and elecQ&A tronic media—and the reality that digital media is something you can no longer ignore and hope goes away. The sense has been that while you have to pay attention to electronic media, there really Frank Anton wasn’t an urgency about it. But if you’re not now making investments in digital, you could get left behind. If you don’t act now, you could suffer at the hands of a new class of competitor that could come into the market and steal audience and steal advertising. I wouldn’t have believed that a year ago, but I believe it now. MB: Within digital media, how do business publishers strike the right balance between investing in technology and investing in editorial? Anton: I don’t think you can really invest in one at the expense of the other. Over a two-year period we will make what for us are some very significant investments in technology far outside whatever range [we made] before, except in 2000-2001 when people were spending stupid money, including us. Once we created technology that made it easier for print editors to work in the electronic world, they became much more excited about it, much more committed and wanted to take ownership of their sites, which was never really true before when it was just so clumsy and time-consuming they couldn’t afford to do it because it would be at the expense of the magazine. MB: What has surprised you during your tenure as ABM chairman? Anton: That the industry doesn’t really know in a collective way where revenue is coming from, where earnings are coming from. So one of the things ABM is doing now is a very indepth survey to determine what percentage of revenue is coming from trade shows and magazines versus electronic media. Events must provide value for attendees, exhibitors BY MARIE GRIFFIN With face-to-face events expected to continue to produce strong growth, b-to-b media companies have more options than ever before—from gala awards programs to intimate conferences, from massive expos to virtual trade shows. Speaking at Tuesday’s session titled “Cash in on Your Magazine’s Brand,” John Failla, CEO of Tesoro Events, said: “A clear trend is emerging for more targeted and focused live events. Regional road shows are also on the upswing, as are virtual trade shows.” Failla, who previously ran VNU Exhibitions, noted there is a downside as well as an upside for b-to-b media companies in the event and trade show business. “A successful event can be fragile. If you have a magazine issue or two that fails to do well, you can continue,” he said. “But if you fail to produce value for attendees or exhibitors for a couple of consecutive events, you can be out of business very, very quickly.” Britton Jones, president-CEO of Business Journals, said his company produces 17 exhibitions a year. “For its first 70 years, our company only published b-to-b magazines. We got into events through acquisitions,” he said. “For us, and all b-to-b publishers, we bring an in-depth reader knowledge that gives us an edge,” Britton added. “We also have credibility in our markets that comes from our brands.” Face-to-face events are growing because they provide measurable return on investment for exhibitors and sponsors. And, as is the case with print and online media, marketers are asking for more information and measurements than ever before from event organizers. Rick Geritz, CEO of BDMetrics, said his company has developed a technology designed to customize a trade show or event to the unique needs of each attendee. For one b-to-b media company, BDMetrics was able to create a customized dashboard that provided marketers with metrics for print, online and event interactions with their customers, he said. 3

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of BtoB Media Business - ABM Top Management Meeting Special 11/07/07

BtoB Media Business - ABM Top Management Meeting Special 11/07/07

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.