BtoB Media Business - April 2008 - (Page 20)

Online Product managers arrive ONLINE New position in b-to-b media meets need for continual technology innovation on the Web BY MARIE GRIFFIN T he Internet is a constantly evolving technology, not simply a delivery platform for content in electronic form. It requires the creation of new jobs within media companies, and one area that is on the rise is online product management. Hernan Cortes, Hanley Wood’s VP-project management officer, has spent most of his career in businesses other than b-to-b media. “Product management is not traditional in b-to-b publishing, but it is traditional in virtually every other industry under the sun,” he said. “Product management is an alien idea within print publishing,” agreed Michael Grover, director of online media at CMPMedica. “But because there’s a lot to manage as you develop a new online product, you need a go-to person for the people in the functional areas.” What is a new product in online media? It’s not only the identification of an emerging technology but adapting that technology for a group of users and/or advertisers. For example, social networking is the latest hot trend, but how can it be applied—and monetized—in your market? “Product development lies at the core of online revenue growth,” said Alec Dann, GM-Hanley Wood Business Media online. “Innovation in print is a function of editorial, but the Internet presents an infinite number of product possibilities that are technology-driven. Online, if you’re not creating a new product every six months, you’ll be left behind,” he said. The Internet turns product development in b-to-b media on its head, said Mitch Rouda, president of Mitch Rouda eMedia Consulting. “Traditionally, editors invented products and the technology people delivered them,” he said. “Today, when technology innovation separates the winners and the losers, product design and invention starts with the people who understand technology, and the editorial department does the implementation by delivering content for those new products.” While the product manager job function is evolving, the job is different from one company to the next. As a general rule, this person ultimately reports into a corporate or brand-focused e-media department and acts as a liaison and translator between the operating groups on one side and e-media and Web developers on the other. Therefore, online product managers need to be creative, diplomatic, up-to-date on emerging technologies and savvy about the essential business concepts of generating revenue and profit. At Penton Media, the product manager function is well-developed. “Product managers marry market needs with the core competencies in our technology group,” said Prescott Shibles, VP of Penton Media ’s new media group. “Product managers reside within e-media, but they map to properties so that each online product manager will be responsible for about $3.5 million in online revenue.” Within e-media, “those individuals are absolutely the advocate for their properties,” Shibles said. “With their properties, they are the advocates for online media. They are motivated and paid based on the success they have with their publishers in driving revenue and profit.” “We require that the product managers come up with a high-level idea of what the product is going to be,” Cortes said. “The project management office gets involved from the very beginning, helping generate requirements. The product managers meet with project managers on the IT side throughout project development through launch. They also go through an afterlaunch exercise to review lessons learned during the project.” Watt digital initiative doesn’t stop with redesign BY MARIE GRIFFIN This month, Watt Publishing Co. will relaunch Pig-International.com, completing the redesign of the company’s six major Web sites—and the launch of EcoAgri.biz, a new brand—over a period of 16 months. “We’ve brought all our Web sites up to an acceptable standard,” said Tim Smith, VP-COO, “but we’re not even onequarter of the way to where we need to be.” The sites will be upgraded continuously from this point forward until they advance from adequate to cutting-edge, Smith said. “We have the functionality, but now we have to work on the focus. Our Web sites must be the cornerstones of our brands,” he said. “We entirely respect our print and one-to-one products. But you have to have a vision for where you’re going, and that future is digital.” Watt’s strategy for making this shift includes two new executives. In early 2007, the company hired Jeff Miller as director of e-strategy sales and marketing as well as Zorana Bojanovic as managing direc- tor of online development and technology. Watt Publishing covers the poultry and hog markets, livestock feed, pet food manufacturing, woodworking and, with the January launch of EcoAgri.biz, sustainable solutions for animal agribusiness. This diversity adds a layer of complexity to the challenge of training salespeople with print backgrounds to sell Web products. “It has been a distinct challenge,” Miller said, “especially in light of our aggressive growth strategy.” Watt’s online revenue increased 50% in 2007 over 2006. “Our mandate for 2008 is 100%,” Miller said. Bojanovic, meanwhile, has taken Web site development to a whole new level. “We are no longer doing big projects with huge specifications,” she said. “We are doing product development on an ongoing basis.” Bojanovic uses a development firm based in India to give Watt the ability to create new products, such as video and social networking solutions, quickly and relatively inexpensively. 20 | Media Business | April 2008 | mediabusinessonline.com BEST PRACTICES http://mediabusinessonline.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of BtoB Media Business - April 2008

BtoB Media Business - April 2008
Contents
'CSO's' 'Red Gold Rush' Takes Top Honors
Smaller Publishers Make Big Moves Online
Key Printing Trends to Keep Tabs on This Year
Sales & Marketing
M&A
Online
Events
People
Benchmarks
Economic Downturn Presents Opportunities

BtoB Media Business - April 2008