BtoB Media Business - May 2012 - (Page 10)

COVER STORY TOP INNOVATORS IN BUSINESS PUBLISHING Twenty years ago, after the recession of 1991 demonstrated the vulnerability of print advertising pages, the b-to-b publishing industry experienced a wave of innovation as publishers explored media beyond magazines. Larger publishing companies, in particular, explored new relationships with trade shows, and some of the more ambitious companies bought exhibitions. T In the mid-1990s, b-to-b publishers, led by tech companies such as CMP Media, International Data Group and Ziff Davis, truly became multimedia companies by venturing onto the Web. Traditional b-to-b media companies followed the path of these tech bellwethers. Spurred by their example, economic downturns and new competition (such as Facebook and Google), b-to-b media companies have responded with almost constant innovation over the past dozen years. Comparatively recent innovations—such as community sites, mobile apps, social media and virtual trade shows—are now revenue mainstays. The dozen executives recognized here as the 2012 Top Innovators in Business Publishing are proof that innovation is not limited to new digital products. Innovation is a mindset that is a necessity across the entire organization. The CEOs foster a culture of innovation. The publishing executives apply innovative ideas to the brands they oversee. The digital executives create new generations of innovative interactive products. And the events, production and audience development executives find new ways to implement groundbreaking ideas in their arenas and help make sure innovation endures across the company.  Top Innovators Awards Luncheon Media Business will honor the winners of the ninth annual Top Innovators in Business Publishing Awards at a luncheon Wednesday, June 6, at the Hilton New York. The program will start with a cocktail reception at 11:30 a.m. The awards luncheon will begin at 12:30 p.m. Tickets are $95 each or $850 for a table of 10. To make reservations, please visit www.btobonline.com/ Innovators. John Ridding Title:CEO Company:Financial Times Comment:Ridding has fostered a culture of innovation at the FT, which has pioneered the metered subscription model, developed an HTML5 app and created the average daily global audience metric. he b-to-b media industry has undergone two decades of rapid transformation, and the pace of the change is only gaining speed. GENERAL BUSINESS CEO S ince John Ridding took over as CEO of Pearson’s Financial Times in 2006, the business newspaper has pioneered the metered model, grabbed the tablet opportunity and created a new way of measuring the brand’s total audience. “One thing we’ve tried to do is see the disruption as an opportunity rather than a challenge,” Ridding said. In his more than 20 years with the FT, Ridding has worked in a variety of editorial and publishing roles. He led the launch of the Asia edition of the FTin 2003 and was the editor-publisher of the Financial Times-Asia. He also led the development of the FT’s Chinese-language website, which has more than 1.7 million registered users. And he helped develop China Confidential, a paid-content product covering business in China. The FT recently developed a similar product, Brazil Confidential, continuing its investment in emerging markets. On Ridding’s watch, the FThas also been a prominent leader in creating new approaches to digital and mobile opportunities. Perhaps the most influential innovation implemented by FT.com is its metered model, which only begins charging users for access after they’ve read a specific number of stories on the website in a month. The model is credited with boosting online subscribers, which increased 29% last year to 267,000. The FT has blazed a trail with tablets. In June 2011, it launched an HTML5-based mobile app that bypassed Apple Inc.’s App Store but still amassed more than 2 million users. Ridding said part of the reason the FTchose to make the end run around Apple, which controls reader data via the App Store, was to preserve the newspaper’s “direct relationship with our audience.” The FThas also created an innovative method for measuring its audience. The average daily global audience, or ADGA, measures the number of users who interact with the FT, whether digitally or via print, in a typical day. In the six-month period from June to November 2011, the ADGA was 2.2 million, a 5% increase over the previous six-month period. —Sean Callahan 10 | Media Business | May 2012 | mediabusinessonline.com http://www.FT.com http://www.btobonline.com/innovators http://www.btobonline.com/innovators http://www.mediabusinessonline.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of BtoB Media Business - May 2012

BtoB Media Business - May 2012
Contents
Peter Goldstone returns to Hanley Wood
Our ninth annual selection of cutting-edge leaders
Building databases grows list rentals
Sales & Marketing
M&A
Audience Development
Events
Production
People
Benchmarks
Incoming ABM chair takes stock of industry

BtoB Media Business - May 2012