BtoB Media Business - May 2011 - (Page 30)

Endnote By Bill Pollak Understanding your audience is the key to b-to-b future W hile the last few years in b-to-b media have been tough, there is a new sense of optimism as the global economy is stabilizing, unemployment is declining and businesses are looking forward. Although these tough times have given us some clarity around what’s working and what’s not, we are undoubtedly still on a journey toward an undefined destination. Despite that uncertainty, the outline of what the future will look like for our organizations is becoming clear. First, there is a growing realization that the heart of our business lies in understanding our audience better than anyone else. With that knowledge, we can create powerful content—for distribution in print, online, in person or in any other format—as well as new, valuable products and services. We’re also beginning to see monetization of that content through new user-paid offerings, as business media executives realize that we can no longer distribute for free all that we produce while relying solely on the advertising model for revenue. With an enhanced focus on audience comes our second important priority: evolving our unparalleled vertical-market intelligence into products and services that help marketers move their businesses forward. B-tob media must learn to take market intelligence as a starting point, then evolve and monetize that intelligence in the form of marketing services—including sophisticated lead generation, creative and measurement services, custom content, research and perhaps work flow tools and software solutions. That transition will make us more relevant to marketers and ensure our future success. Even amidst uncertainty about the future, we need to be investing now in technology and people with marketing expertise so that we gain increased knowledge about our audience and how it segments across different channels. This expertise will provide the roadmap for our marketing clients to use in effectively reaching their target audiences, with specific messages, along different points in the purchasing process. And it informs how and where “Even amidst uncertainty about the future, we need to be investing now in technology and people with marketing expertise.” we can charge for our content based on the value provided to those audience segments. This journey into new and expanded business models necessitates an increase in the kinds of capabilities our businesses must possess, and that can certainly be complex and overwhelming. But we really have no choice. We must embrace these challenges as opportunities to unlock valuable new ways to interact with our audiences and build our market expertise, enabling us to fundamentally change our relationship with those in the industries we serve, be they readers or marketers. In this sense, it’s really back to the basics of how our businesses began: a deep understanding of and interaction with a highly specialized vertical community. This is why we have revamped our industry association, American Business Media. With a new business plan and senior management team in place, ABM is 100%-focused on helping its members meet the challenge of rebooting their business models. The new plan employs a cooperative approach in which ABM will partner with industry experts and other organizations to provide greater value—innovative thought leadership and a new suite of practical solutions—to members. New products and services will include industry research and actionable business metrics; education and training programs around new business models and how to execute on them; increased networking opportunities and focused leadership groups; and new events, many in partnership with other organizations and experts. I am confident that these services will result in a new level of value to, and engagement with, your organizations. I am especially pleased that ABM is on a new path just as we are emerging from these tough times, and I am excited about what the future holds, both for our industry and our association. Bill Pollak is president-CEO of ALM Media and the incoming chairman of American Business Media. He can be reached at wpollak@alm.com. 30 | Media Business | May 2011 | mediabusinessonline.com http://www.mediabusinessonline.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of BtoB Media Business - May 2011

BtoB Media Business - May 2011
Contents
Upfront
Top Print Advertisers
Top Innovators
Sales & Marketing
M&A
Audience Development
Events
Production
People
Benchmarks
Endnote

BtoB Media Business - May 2011

BtoB Media Business - May 2011 - BtoB Media Business - May 2011 (Page Cover1)
BtoB Media Business - May 2011 - BtoB Media Business - May 2011 (Page Cover2)
BtoB Media Business - May 2011 - Contents (Page 3)
BtoB Media Business - May 2011 - Contents (Page 4)
BtoB Media Business - May 2011 - Contents (Page 5)
BtoB Media Business - May 2011 - Upfront (Page 6)
BtoB Media Business - May 2011 - Upfront (Page 7)
BtoB Media Business - May 2011 - Top Print Advertisers (Page 8)
BtoB Media Business - May 2011 - Top Print Advertisers (Page 9)
BtoB Media Business - May 2011 - Top Innovators (Page 10)
BtoB Media Business - May 2011 - Top Innovators (Page 11)
BtoB Media Business - May 2011 - Top Innovators (Page 12)
BtoB Media Business - May 2011 - Top Innovators (Page 13)
BtoB Media Business - May 2011 - Top Innovators (Page 14)
BtoB Media Business - May 2011 - Top Innovators (Page 15)
BtoB Media Business - May 2011 - Top Innovators (Page 16)
BtoB Media Business - May 2011 - Top Innovators (Page 17)
BtoB Media Business - May 2011 - Top Innovators (Page 18)
BtoB Media Business - May 2011 - Sales & Marketing (Page 19)
BtoB Media Business - May 2011 - M&A (Page 20)
BtoB Media Business - May 2011 - Audience Development (Page 21)
BtoB Media Business - May 2011 - Events (Page 22)
BtoB Media Business - May 2011 - Production (Page 23)
BtoB Media Business - May 2011 - People (Page 24)
BtoB Media Business - May 2011 - Benchmarks (Page 25)
BtoB Media Business - May 2011 - Benchmarks (Page 26)
BtoB Media Business - May 2011 - Benchmarks (Page 27)
BtoB Media Business - May 2011 - Benchmarks (Page 28)
BtoB Media Business - May 2011 - Benchmarks (Page 29)
BtoB Media Business - May 2011 - Endnote (Page 30)
BtoB Media Business - May 2011 - Endnote (Page Cover3)
BtoB Media Business - May 2011 - Endnote (Page Cover4)
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crain/mb1112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crain/mb1012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crain/mb0912
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crain/mb0212
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crain/mb0312
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crain/mb0412
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crain/mb0612
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crain/mb0512
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crain/mb1111
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crain/mb1011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crain/mb0911
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crain/mb0611
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crain/mb0511
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crain/mb0411
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crain/mb0311
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crain/mb0211
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crain/mb1210
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crain/mb1110
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crain/mb1010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crain/mb0910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crain/mb0710
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crain/mb0610
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crain/mb0510
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crain/mb0410
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crain/mb0310
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crain/mb0210
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crain/mb1209
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crain/mb1109
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crain/mb1009
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crain/mb0909
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crain/mb0709
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crain/mb0609
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crain/mb0509
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crain/mb0409
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crain/mb0309
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crain/mb0209
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crain/mb1208
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crain/mb1108
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crain/mb1008
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crain/mb0908
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crain/mb0708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crain/mb0608
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crain/mb0508
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crain/mb0408
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crain/mb0308
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crain/mb0208
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crain/mb0108
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crain/mb0707
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crain/mb0607
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crain/mb0507
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crain/mb0407
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crain/mb0307
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crain/mb0207
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crain/mb0107
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crain/mb1206
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com