BtoB Media Business - September 2008 - (Page 18)

FEATURE Reprint Review Publishers are using the flexibility and scalability of digital technology to maximize revenue from reprints By Sean Callahan Expanding e-opportunities PDF reprints that can be circulated around the world via e-mail or Web site postings have been available for years. Over the past few years, reprint companies such as Wright’s Reprints have added e-prints, which borrow digital magazine technology to simulate page turning, just as in print. But the best thing offered by e-prints (or NXT prints or whatever reprint companies are calling this capability) may be the ability to add video demonstrations or TV commercials to the once static world of reprints. “There really are some great ways that reprint programs can help monetize video that publishers are putting on their Web sites—video interviews, webinars,” Fineberg said. While large-scale transactions, where reprints are purchased by the tens of thousands, are still the major part of the reprint business in terms of revenue, the Internet has enabled publishers that are using reprint companies and services such as iCopyright to license content to a handful of users. And these usage rights are now made available in a self-service manner online, with customers getting the rights to a PDF of, for instance, an online story without getting on the phone to negotiate with anyone. Barry Gilbert, content licensing account executive at Advanstar Communications, said the new technology has made selling usage rights to individuals practical by eliminating the need for inhouse personnel to handle these requests over the phone. T hey say that content is king in b-to-b media, and the steady transformation of the once sleepy world of reprints over the past decade is proof that there’s some truth to that well-worn statement. ¶ Reprints have gone electronic. Printed reprints are available much faster. And reprint companies say revenue is growing in b-to-b media, where such growth has not always been the case. But perhaps nothing indicates the increasing importance of reprints, as b-to-b media companies continue to search for ancillary revenue streams, more than publishing companies pulling reprint operations in-house and hiring executives to oversee the licensing of their content. “When I started in this business 10 years ago, most publishers outsourced their reprints,” said Mike O’Donnell, CEO of iCopyright, a company that facilitates electronic licensing of online content. “These days reprints are generating so much more money, that more and more publishers are taking reprints in-house and doing it internally.” Here’s a closer look at this trend and some other key developments in the reprint industry for b-to-b media. well, and the advertising well, are both smaller. … Plus a larger percentage of stories out there are negative. It’s a tough environment to sell reprints in.” Mussman explained, however, that not every industry was in bad shape, and smart reprints salespeople knew where to look to sell their product. Despite the economic woes, anecdotal evidence indicates that the reprints industry is having a good year. “This is our best year ever,” said David Anderson, director-business development at Wright’s Reprints. Some areas are growing faster than others, said Dan Fineberg, marketing director for printer and reprint company YGS Group, indicating that much of the growth in the business was coming from electronic formats. “E-prints are growing about three times faster than reprints,” O’Donnell said. “But [print] reprints are not going away. Maybe they’re not growing as fast as electronic versions.” Electronic reprints don’t generate as much revenue, but the margins are attractive. “You’d be shocked,” O’Donnell said. “They have really, really high margins. There’s almost no cost of doing business.” Faster than ever Instant is pretty fast, and that’s what the Internet has delivered in licensing content. But over the past decade, traditional print reprints have also added some speed to the industry. “Speed to market is essential,” O’Donnell said. “People want their reprints now.” Ten years ago, the average time of delivery for reprints was about three weeks, he said. Now that period, with email and the Internet speeding approval processes, the turnaround time for customized reprints is three to five days. In some cases, where customization is not needed, print reprints can be turned around overnight, O’Donnell said. The economy’s impact It’s no secret that the economy at large is struggling and that one of its impacts is the paucity of b-to-b advertising pages. “It’s kind of a circular thing,” said Steve Mussman, co-founder of reprint company PARS International Corp. “If the economy is bad, there are less advertising dollars and less editorial put against those advertising dollars. The editorial 18 | Media Business | September 2008 | mediabusinessonline.com http://mediabusinessonline.com

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

BtoB Media Business - September 2008
Contents
CNET Networks' Portal Gets Major Revamp
Candid Comments About CMS Deployments
Stategic Buyers Led the Way in the First Half
Digital Technology Helps Pump Up Revenue
Sales &�Marketing
Events
Circulation
Production
People
Benchmarks
Endnote

BtoB Media Business - September 2008