B or not 2B--A Business Media Blog

Niche Media and the Beginner's Mind

2008-02-29T10:16:00.009-05:00

I spent the early part of this week at the Niche Magazine Conference in Austin, TX, where I had the opportunity to contemplate both the state of b2b media and our nation's election process up close.

First, let me note that I thought the conference was a true gem--one of those events you don't necessarily want to tell others about for fear that it might ruin what makes the conference so valuable. But I'll take that risk, because it's the kind of event that I think more of us in b2b media should be attending. It was a shame, but not a surprise, that there was no media coverage of the event--probably because there were no big media stars on the agenda, no dazzling $100 million-plus deals being talked about, and very little representation from big b2b media companies among the attendees. Heck, there wasn't even an investment bank among the many fine sponsors. Apparently, there's little else worth covering in our "media about media."

What we did have were a couple hundred publishers of niche b2b and consumer magazines getting together to hash out real issues, learn from one another and have some fun. (After all, who can resist a conference with a miniature golf tournament, where one of the prizes was for "Biggest Cheater?") At its core, the conference was for people who actually scrape out a living doing smaller magazines and related media, people who have to meet payrolls and protect their life-savings, people who do publishing out of passion and love--you know, the kind of entrepreneurs who built this business in the first place.

I don't know about you, but my first jobs in b2b media were with small companies owned by entrepreneurs, before they were sold to larger companies. Most of today's large b2b media companies are aggregations of media created by entrepreneurs. In fact, most b2b media companies remain a bunch of small niche publications and media, writ large by shared corporate overheads and services, breathtaking debt and financial valuations.

No offense to other media conferences, but frankly, seeing the same faces at the same conferences talking about the same "big picture" publishing and media issues is a metaphor for the staleness that imbues b2b media. We're so experienced that we've forgotten how to look at problems with beginner's minds. We've let debt loads, investment bankers and private equity firms set the agenda for what we should or should not be focused on, as opposed to listening to and acting on our instincts--instincts which created this business and its successful brands.

Given that Texas is a current battleground state in our elections, and the issue of experience is a key theme, I spent more than a few minutes in Austin wondering if I and some of my colleagues in b2b media have become too experienced.

You see, the problem with "experience," in my view, is that it often blinds us to alternatives. Those of us with loads of experience spend a lot of time thinking about what can't be done, as opposed to what should be done. That's why it was good to spend a few days in an environment where small publishers were grappling with the same problems big publishers are, and finagling solutions with band-aids, hard work and ingenuity. Since they often don't know what can't be done, they just go ahead and do it.

The Niche Magazine Conference (NMC) was refreshing in all senses of the word. I returned home charged up with great ideas, and a commitment to looking at b2b publishing and media as if I were just starting out, not knowing any better. I'll bet I'll be able to serve my readers and advertisers better just by letting go of a few (or more) assumptions.

So thank you to Carl Landau, Nancy O'Brien and the staff, speakers and attendees at NMC. I'll certainly be there next year (April 27-28 in Denver, by the way). And I hope to see some major b2b executives on the attendance list, looking to open their minds and to remember the passion and love that built--and will continue to build--this business.

Anton on B2B's Deadly Sins

2008-02-22T10:59:00.006-05:00

Hanley Wood's CEO, Frank Anton, outlined b2b media's 10 deadly sins during an address at the Folio: Publishing Summit:

Since I didn't have the opportunity to attend the Summit (but I will be at the Niche Magazine Conference next week with a client in Austin, Texas), I would have liked some more detail in Folio:'s own coverage of the speech. (UPDATE: See complete video of the speech, below). But basically, here are the sins:

"...underperformance, cowardice, technophobia, inferiority, complacency, coziness, stinginess, cluelessness, disorganization and dullness...."

All are certainly deadly sins in the best of times, and completely fatal during times of technological change and potential economic downturn.

Here's Frank's speech--definitely worth 30 minutes of your time:

For more on this, see this Folio: video of an interview with Frank. Toward the end, he make this point pretty explicitly:

By the way, nice work to Folio: on the video itself, and the easy link to the code so that I could post the video on this blog. And disclosure: My company proudly counts Hanley Wood as one of our most important clients, and I think Frank is a very smart guy, so I'm biased.

For Sale: Reed Business Information

2008-02-21T08:35:00.001-05:00

Rafat Ali is reporting that Reed Elsevier intends to sell its $1.76 billion Reed Business Information unit to reduce "exposure to advertising markets and cyclicality."

Interestingly, the company intends to keep its Reed Exhibitions unit, which is also a cyclical business--though that cycle has been riding high for some time--and which really doesn't fit with the company's purported focus on "subscription-based information and workflow solutions."

In my limited experience, RBI and Reed Exhibitions were the ultimate models for the dangers of b2b "siloization." The two companies worked together only fitfully, and often, I'm told, found it easier to do business and partnerships with outside firms (and competitors) than with themselves. In an era driven by the integrated media solution buzz-phrase, Reed did a less-than-stellar job integrating its print, online and trade show/conference solutions, and I'm sure they left business and profits on the table.

But given the complete separation of the business units, it should be easy to split RBI off, leaving a new buyer with the opportunity (and need) to add trade show properties in order to offer a complete media solution. And perhaps this represents an opportunity for Reed Exhibitions to broaden its media offerings online and--dare I say?--in print, to better serve its customers.

Disclosure: GRID Media did some consulting work for Reed Exhibitions a few years ago, completely unrelated to any issues of integrated media solutions.

E-Sheet Music

2008-02-12T08:38:00.000-05:00

I remain a fan of and believer in the potential for e-paper to change the way we publish magazines. But I also think there will need to be other successful applications of the technology before publishers jump in.

Here's one idea which I think is a winner--music scores delivered by Bluetooth to e-paper, with a pedal to turn the pages. (This is, I understand, a concept, and not a real product...yet.) For performers, this could nearly be revolutionary.

In the comments section of the above link, someone also points out the potential for e-paper menus in restaurants--another idea I like.

Enthusiastic Media, Part Two

2008-01-22T08:24:00.000-05:00

After finishing my last post, I found this piece from the UK's Press Gazette on Future Publishing titled Future adopts B2B economic model.

Here's a quote from Future chief executive Stevie Spring:

“These characteristics, together with our engaged and loyal readership, mean that the economics of Future are more comparable to those of a business to business publisher rather than those of a general business to consumer publisher. We are, arguably, a business to ‘professional consumer’ – or ‘prosumer’ – publisher.”

The key element of the strategy: focusing only on "enthusiastic segments."

Enthusiastic Media

2008-01-21T08:04:00.000-05:00

David Nussbaum has been named chairman and CEO of enthusiast publisher F+W Publications. As long-time (and patient) readers of this blog will recall, I think a lot of David--his leadership at Penton saved that company. And this is a great move by ABRY Partners, which owns F+W, and which was backing David's most recent venture, Sundance Business Enterprises.

Folio:, in reporting the news, called the move "a bit of a departure for Nussbaum, whose career is overwhelmingly skewed to b-to-b media."

I don't think it's much of a departure. To me, the fundamental business models of b2b and enthusiast media are the same--both serve targeted communities of interest, with tightly focused editorial and circulation. Perhaps the biggest challenge enthusiast (or special interest) media companies make for themselves is thinking like general consumer media, using the metrics, marketing and mindsets of companies like Conde Nast or Hearst. That's a mistake, because the audiences of enthusiast publications aren't consumers in the sense that consumer media defines them. They're enthusiasts, passionate about the subject matter in a way that few readers are passionate about the content of, say, Vogue.

Because of the similarities, there's a lot that enthusiast media can learn from b2b, and a lot that F+W will be able to do with the benefit of David's experience and expertise fighting the b2b media wars: how to sell the value of smaller audiences to agencies who think in terms of lowest CPM, how to align a sales force to effectively serve smaller advertisers who may not have agencies, or even artwork, how to transition to web-based offerings, how to create successful events, how to create special projects and custom media offerings...the list of b2b weapons is a long one.

But as I think about this, I realize that there's also something that we in b2b can be reminded of by enthusiast media--and that's, simply, the power of enthusiasm. Enthusiast media attracts not just communities of interest, but communities of passion. You may read a b2b magazine because you have to to remain competitive and in the know. But if you also collect coins, you may read read F+W's World Coin News because you want to, need to. Because it's your passion.

Most b2b media does a good job of serving communities of interest, but gives little thought to creating communities of passion. In business, passion is often a mildly dangerous word, reserved for serial entrepreneurs who can't quite fit into the corporate mold. We all admire them, but wouldn't necessarily want to work with them, at least, for long.

And yet, without passion, business is, frankly, boring, and a lot of our coverage of that business is, as a result, boring. As is our selling, marketing and circulation promotion.

Let me give an example. One of the current buzz phrases for b2b media revolves around the need to sell "integrated media packages," as opposed to merely ad pages or booth space. The phrase itself resonates of spreadsheets, staff meetings and cookie cutter proposals (a page from column A, a web banner from column B, a conference sponsorship from column C...and if we're feeling really spunky, maybe a webcast). Most integrated media packages show all of the creativity of a cut and paste document file.

Or take a look at one of your own magazine's editorial calendars. If it's typical, it's built around product focuses, trade shows and maybe some regularly conducted research. And if it's typical, it looks a lot like the editorial calendar you published the previous year.

Re-read your last issue. Does it give you a strange feeling of deja vu? Is there anything in it that's not only must-read, but want-to-read?

As the coming year unfolds, with a slowing economy, and pressure on ad spend and costs, b2b media that's passionate, creative and enthusiastic both on the editorial and business sides will stand the better chance of surviving and thriving.

If you have the time, read this post on Starbucks, by Jesse Kornbluth. (Jesse runs Head Butler, a lovely little service which reviews and recommends unique and different books, music and movies). Jesse's take on the problems facing the coffee giant is directly relevant to my thoughts here. In transitioning from a group of coffee houses for coffee--and community--enthusiasts, to a mass market consumer chain, something's gone wrong. The passion, the soul, of Starbucks is missing:

The crux of Schultz's dilemma is that Starbucks was once a community play, and a community play touches the heart and the imagination. That's as it should be --- a store that brews coffee can veer, at any moment, from a caffeinated office to Match.com with froth to a poetry slam. Management, however, wants to define what community means. I understand that impulse; corporate executives thrive on order and control. But the simplest fact of American life, now and in the years ahead, is change. Some will be economic. Some will be environmental. Much of it will feel disruptive. Little of it can be accurately predicted.

It's worth a read.

So, congratulations David, and congratulations F+W. It will be fun to watch what happens as b2b business models and enthusiast business models meld. I hope we'll all be able to learn from the experience.

Two Lessons for a B2B Slowdown

2007-12-20T08:33:00.000-05:00

Whether we're in for a full-blown media recession, or merely a short-term slowdown, remains to be seen. But in my recent conversations with b2b media colleagues, there's certainly something in the air: many advertisers across different markets seem to be hesitant to commit for 2008, even though January issues are long closed. Many of the commitments that are being made are lower than 2007's. And many b2b media companies have yet to fully lock down their 2008 budgets--I assume, waiting to see how the first month or so of 2008 shakes out.

Put all those things together, and the first quarter of 2008, at the very least, looks to be weak.

I've spent some time pondering the last few media recessions, and have come up with two lessons I've learned from those experiences.

The first, and most important, lesson: Don't panic. (With a tip of the hat to the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.) In other words, don't overreact. The supreme temptation for media owners and publishers, when faced with a slowdown, is to slash and burn budgets, lay off staff, defer investment--generally, to hunker down. While it's important to be realistic, it's also important to remember that economic cycles are indeed cycles, and that what goes down usually comes back up again. Cast your mind back to the tech meltdown--it seemed like nothing would ever be the same again, and that there was no bottom to be found. But indeed, we found the bottom and rose again. It's my view that those who panicked during the last slowdown took longer to recover--or indeed, never recovered. They cut too much, too fast, and left themselves with little ability to take early advantage of the recovery. I hope the private equity players in our business won't lead the panic charge this time around, but I won't hold my breath on that one.

The second lesson: Be creative. Even in a downturn, business gets done. Advertisers and readers like to do business with the most creative media properties, even more so when the chips are down. My friend and client Lloyd Graff, the owner of Today's Machining World, has a rule: "Business gravitates to creative energy." As Lloyd puts it: "People like to be where they detect creative energy, even if they're not particularly creative or energetic themselves." Amen to that.

Lloyd's magazine is a fine example of how not to be the usual boring trade rag. Check out the chili recipes submitted by readers on page 48 of his December issue. Not your usual precision machining editorial fare. (A note: Lloyd reminds me a lot of Harry Newton, maybe the best publisher I ever competed with, in the sense that Harry imbued his magazines with his personality. Lloyd publishes a magazine that he himself would want to read. He's also a talented blogger.)

For us publishers, now's the time to go to each major client with something unique and different--a new way to reach out to the markets we serve. Now's the time to go in with proposals that aren't cookie cutter. Now's the time to think big. Even if the idea is too big for the client, I've long found that most appreciate the creative effort, and more often than not, reward that effort with extra business. You want to make sure that when media budget cuts happen, you're not the one getting cut the deepest. And the only way to do that is to be different.

When everyone around you is hunkering down with barebones staff, shrinking editorial wells, and P&L-driven management, it's pretty easy--and inexpensive--to set yourself apart.

I'll blog more about creative approaches in the new year. But for now, as we approach the holiday break, I'll be continuing to remind myself about these lessons.

I wish you and yours a wonderful new year.

Early New Year's Resolution: Back to Blogging

2007-12-14T08:54:00.000-05:00

In April, I took a vacation with my family, and a vacation from this blog. The family vacation was great, and too short; the blog vacation was also great, but too long.

After having gotten out of the habit of blogging, I remained out of the habit, with many excuses for my laziness, including an incredibly busy year for GRID Media (our best year yet since our founding nearly eight years ago), and a variety of health-related scares which, thankfully, turned out to be just the normal scares related to being in my late 40s.

But what really moved me to get back to my small b2b blog crusade are two things: a recent post by my friend Paul Conley, who fears "that 2008 is going to be an awful year for B2B publishing," and my recent experiences on the road with my partner Scott Chase drumming up 2008 business for our clients.

I've long held to two principles regarding economic slowdowns: the first is that we talk ourselves into recessions, and the second, based on my experience, is that b2b publishing often serves as an early recession indicator. I'll explain.

I'm no economist, but to me, booms, bubbles and busts are more the result of how we talk about markets, than actual underlying market problems. The amount of economic news to which we're all exposed, with its conflicting themes, and bi-polar conclusions ("Everything's great, credit is easy, buy that house you can't really afford!" "The sky is falling, subprime credit is killing us, inflation is out of control, we're all going to die a horrible and penniless death.") contributes to "herd" behaviors that become self-fulfilling. Just as we over-over extend when the economic mood is manic, we under-under extend when the mood depresses.

So, no matter what, we're in for a slowdown in 2008. The length and depth of that slowdown will be determined, in my view, mainly by how much we overreact. And for b2b, that means how much our readers and advertisers overreact.

Based on what I've been seeing the last few months, there's a reasonably strong overreaction underway. Which means we'll be seeing a recession of some sort in b2b media. And I'm sure that's already being reflected in your 2008 budgets--if you even have them done now. Because it's being relfected in the budgets of advertisers--and many of those budgets aren't fixed yet, either.

If you look back over the past six months, b2b media has again been serving as a leading indicator of the slowdown. Ad pages continue to be off, and while other media spending (online, live events) can account for some, and maybe most, of that shortfall, there's still been an underlying cut back on media spend going on by our advertisers. Check out Inquiry Management System's free and valuable MagazineWatch tool, if you don't already do so.

And after this Fall's "selling season," my partner and I have little reason to expect 2008--at least in the first half--to improve. (On the other hand, we have no reason to believe we'll fall off a cliff either. For every advertiser who's cut back, we've picked up new business, and so are at least looking at equal revenues and pages, at this point.)

So, am I contributing to the depressive and recessionary talk with this post? Maybe. But I don't see all doom and gloom. I think media recessions are as healthy (and deadly) as wildfires. They clear out the weaker players. They force creativity--as smart publishers try to survive by doing more with less. And they force a focus on the basics--how we best serve our audiences and the marketers who want to reach them. (They're also healthy for our little media management firm--we were founded in the throes of the last bubble-popping downturn, and thrived as clients struggled to grow their businesses with fewer resources, and outsourced some problem properties to us).

I'll be blogging on these potentially healthy outcomes throughout 2008. That's my early New Year's resolution.

Print Makes You More Real

2007-04-13T11:37:00.000-04:00

My friend Russell Perkins of Infocommerce Group has an interesting post on the movement of some online-only media businesses into the print publication world.

I've been thinking a lot about Russell's observation that

...print "makes you more real." Think about it. Anyone can create a website cheaply and easily, but few can afford to publish a print magazine. It speaks to commitment, substance, authority and influence on the part of the publisher. Advertisers say basically the same thing. The print medium lets them be more creative and deliver more complex messages. Just as importantly, a full-page print ad lets an advertiser stand out from the crowd, and demonstrate substance and commitment that's a lot harder in the pay-per-click online world. In short, print lets both publishers and advertisers make a real statement. And generate real business, which in turn generates real profits. And that's real good.

Of course, b2b print revenues have now been surpassed by event revenues, at least in 2006, but what the hey.

Hasta La Vista (For a week)

2007-03-30T15:37:00.000-04:00

I have some thoughts on VSS's acquisition of Advanstar, but won't be able to post until after next week. The family and I are off to Mexico for a short spring break trip, where I will be avoiding internet connections and attempting not to put out my eye on one of those little drink umbrellas.

Er...Wow

2007-03-29T12:26:00.000-04:00

VSS Buys Advanstar for $1.15 Billion

Folio: is reporting that Veronis Suhler Stevenson, along with Citigroup Private Equity and New York Life Capital Partners, has bought Advanstar for $1.15 billion. See story linked above.

I'll try to have something cogent to say about this later.

Another Bob

2007-03-26T14:03:00.000-04:00

This is a bad time for major publishing figures. Robert Petersen has also died.

Via IWantMedia.

About Bob

2007-03-26T10:35:00.000-04:00

I guess I assumed that Bob Krakoff would die on the job—he didn’t seem the retiring sort—but I also assumed that it would happen somewhere in the distant future, maybe 10 or 15 years from now.

This is my eulogy to Bob, who was a true giant of the b2b media business, and whose impact will be felt for a long time to come.

First, let’s start with Bob as a polarizing figure. From my discussions with people who worked for Bob, you either loved him or disliked him. With Bob, there wasn’t much middle ground.

A friend of mine put it this way: “Bob was really supportive of the creative people and the salespeople—the doers. He didn’t really have much time for people he saw as ‘managers.’ He was hardest on them, because he kept pushing them to provide more support for the doers, to give them what they needed to succeed.”

I never worked directly for Bob* (our time at Advanstar was separated by a couple of years), but I got to know him after I launched my company. We met at some conference, and in classic Bob fashion, he made an instant fan out of me by knowing who I was, and complimenting me on the things I had done at Advanstar.

He backed up that initial impression by always taking my phone calls and by making the time to have meetings with me and some of my clients, when we had possible joint opportunities. I’m sure he didn’t give a second thought to this, but having access to Bob was a really important step in the growth of my company, and I’ll never forget his generosity. And nor will I forget the power of his thinking, and his ability to make decisions.

And that’s where Bob as a polarizing figure resolves: almost everyone I know, regardless of how they felt about him personally, had immense respect for his intellect, his skills and his drive.

And that’s the Bob that our business will miss: a man who built substantial companies, who was able to navigate the rough waters of the financial world, while keeping his eye squarely on the details of the business. He was able to see the value of managing multiple-media brands (as opposed to managing magazines, trade shows, conferences and online activities separately) and had the will to structure his businesses accordingly. Bob was an agent of change, willing to take risks, and push himself and his people out of their areas of comfort.

That’s why I was excited to see what he could do with VNU Business Media. In his short time there, he made a massive number of changes. There were key hires, key structural and management changes. There was lots of discomfort—many people left, either because they were asked, or because they wanted out.

From what I understand, Bob was working mightily to break down bureaucratic walls, to get the brands to work together, to get the current staffs to cooperate with each other. I'm sure that he was tough as hell on his managers.

A key part of that effort was the use of the Nielsen name for the business as a whole. There was no greater signal that the magazines and trade shows needed to learn how to better work with their sister brand, the media research giant—and vice-versa.

With the loss of Bob, I worry that Nielsen Business Media will begin to backslide, returning to its comfortable media/brand silos, as opposed to leveraging all of those brands to the benefit of its readers and advertisers. After all, it’s a lot easier to avoid change.

I hope that the private equity owners of this giant company, and its corporate leaders, will honor the legacy of Bob Krakoff by recruiting an executive with a similar vision, a similar brilliance and a similar will to make the tough and unpopular decisions that will need to be made.

And a final word to Bob Krakoff: Thank you, sir.

*Though I have had the pleasure of working with or for several other polarizing figures in my career, and I’ve always gotten along wonderfully with them. There are two reasons for this: polarizing people tend to be brutally honest, which I prefer, and I’m aware that I’ve been seen as a polarizing figure myself.

See Tony Silber's fine reflections on Bob here.

Bob Krakoff's Funeral Information

2007-03-24T20:24:00.000-04:00

Here are the details on Bob Krakoff's funeral, sent to me by a friend. The service is tomorrow in Boston, and I won't be able to make it, but will post my version of a eulogy tomorrow.

Robert Krakoff
Of Boston, MA and Palm Beach, FL suddenly on March 23, 2007 in Boston, MA of an apparent heart attack. Beloved husband of Sandra Gusky Krakoff. Adored father of Roger (Lisa), Hope (Wendy) and Reed (Delphine). Cherished grandfather of Alexandra, Sophie, Justin, Lily, Helen, Oscar and Maude Krakoff. Son of Della and the late Frank Krakoff. Services will be on Monday, March 26, 2007 at 10 AM at Temple Israel, 477 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA. Parking on the Riverway. Donations in his memory may be made to Brigham and Women's Hospital, Development Office, 116 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA 02115. Chairman and CEO of Nielsen Business Media, New York. He graduated magna cum laude from Pennsylvania State University and received an MBA from the Harvard Graduate School of Business. He was a member of Belmont CC, Palm Beach CC, the Lotos Club, the Harvard Club of Boston & New York, the University Club of Boston and the Core Club. He was loved and respected by all who knew him. Stanetsky Memorial Chapel www.stanetsky.com 1-800-842-4280

And here's a link to an extended piece by the Hollywood Reporter on Bob:

Nielsen president, CEO Bob Krakoff dies

CONFIRMED: I Think Bad News Is On the Way

2007-03-23T13:47:00.000-04:00

I hear that some bad news about a major b2b media executive is coming. If it's true, I'm deeply saddened.

[UPDATE] Given the amount of inbound Google inquiries my blog is getting, querying just a name, I think it's true, but won't post details, or my thoughts, until official notice is out.

[UPDATE TWO] Nielsen Business Media chairman and ceo Bob Krakoff died last night. My thoughts and prayers to him, his wife and family. I'll post my thoughts on Bob, a man I admired and liked, soon, and also my thoughts on what this means for Nielsen Business Media.

The Emerging Muslim Magazine Market

2007-03-22T08:35:00.000-04:00

Our client Religion News Service, which is the only independent news wire covering the religion beat, has an interesting story on the emergence of Muslim-targeted magazines in the U.S.

A key observation, made by Muslim Girl editor-in-chief Ausma Khan: "One of the great untold stories here is that the American Muslim market is where the Hispanic market was five years ago, on the verge of major break-out, and there's enormous potential to market to this audience."

But of course, the realities of print publishing abound:

The magazines have something in common with many others in print: financial pressures.

"Like any magazine we've been on the brink of collapse several times in the last few years," said [Firas] Ahmad, the [senior editor of ]Islamica.... But Islamica's chances of surviving, he added, improved with the recent arrival of a publisher and a switch to a nonprofit model.

ALM + $1 Billion + A Little Froth = Yours

2007-03-22T05:26:00.000-04:00

Crain's New York Business reports that Wasserstein & Co. has retained Credit Suisse to possibly sell ALM (formerly American Lawyer Media), "valued by analysts at close to $1 billion."

Key grab:

"The market's pretty frothy right now," said Reed Phillips, managing director at Desilva & Phillips. "The company's probably in a good position to go to market. It's hitting on all cylinders in how it's performing."

The official press release is here.

Of course, The Telegraph (UK) had the story back in November, which elicited a weak denial:

Asked about a possible sale of ALM, Anup Bagaria, vice chairman of Wasserstein & Co, said: "We are not sending a book out on ALM and we are not running an auction process. We have talked to people about the company. If the right price came along, we could sell."

ALM is a terrific, well-led company. I had the pleasure of working with them on a project for Richmond Events, and I was impressed by what I saw. I'm sure potential buyers will be as well.

What Can David Nussbaum Do With $100 million?

2007-03-19T09:02:00.000-04:00

Former Penton Media CEO David Nussbaum has hooked up with ABRY Partners to launch Sundance Business Enterprises, which plans "to invest in business-to-business media, services, and vertically focused online companies."

According to the press release, "ABRY Partners has committed $100 million of equity capital to this venture which should approximate at least a half billion dollars in transaction value."

That's a lot of scratch.

As you know, I think David is a quality guy, who did yoeman's work in saving Penton Media from extinction. It'll be great to watch what he can do without having to worry about onerous debt loads and fickle public markets.

I'm sure the M&A guys are smiling--no slowdown in sight for b2b media transactions.

Events and Magazines

2007-03-14T08:58:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, I flew to New York for Folio:'s Magazine Event Strategies conference. And I'm glad I did. The b2b side of the event was terrific--well thought out, good speakers and excellent moderation by Tony Silber.

While each session had great material, Tony got the best sound bites out of the "Best Practices for B-to-B Events" panel, when he rapid-fired a set of questions. The speakers were Dan Ligorner, COO of Edgell Communications, Charles Pelton, general managing partner of Modern Media and Adam Schaffer, publisher of Tradeshow Week. I've summarized their responses to a few of these questions below.

Q: What are the trends in b2b event marketing?
Ligorner: Events are the trend. Everyone's doing them.

Pelton: Attendees are signing up later and later--usually in the last three weeks.
Schaffer: VIP events are a big trend. If you can distinguish yourself as a truly VIP event, you have a winner.

Q: What's the single most important events innovation for 2007?

Ligorner: VIP programs. We ask sponsors to send us their core prospect list, and then we invite these prospects to our events, all-expenses paid.

Schaffer: The blurring of editorial/sponsorship. There's more integration of sponsors into the heart of the event.

Pelton: If you let the audience know clearly what's sponsored content and what's not, if you're honest with them, they'll engage in that content.

Q: What are the biggest opportunities for growth in b-to-b events?

Ligorner: Custom events are hottest now, but we wonder whether it's a business we want to be in. We're not sure it's sustainable year after year.

Pelton: Three months ago, I would have said custom events, but it's not as a white hot as it was at the end of 2006.

Schaffer: Private corporate events are growing very quickly. Buyer-seller events are also very hot and are commanding premium sponsor dollars.

The quote of the day came in another session. Bill Howell, vp and general manager of events for 1105 Media's Government Information Group (the former Post Newsweek Tech gang), was talking about "trade show math" and the increasing importance of auditing trade show attendance, something his FOSE show has done for the last seven years:

"When it comes to attendance, trade show people tend to multiply rather than add."

Print to Online: The Magazine Graveyard?

2007-03-06T06:57:00.000-05:00

PaidContent.org's Staci Kramer covers the move of Hachette Filipacchi's Premiere from print to online only, and sums it up with a great line: "dropping print for online only is the new brown."

(I'm assuming brown is somehow 'in' these days, and that UPS is now fashion forward.)

Staci continues: "In the past, magazines just disappeared; now they hang around as bits and bytes. What remains to be seen is how many of these online-only titles will be around in a year and whether they will be advertising shells or real magazines online."

I like her distinction between advertising shells and "real" magazines online. As you know, I think that the idea of magazines transcends whatever format (print, online) they happen to inhabit.

However, moves to online-only that are driven by the corporate spreadsheet approach to publishing are only just short delaying steps on the road to the magazine graveyard. Reminds me of the "Bring Out Your Dead" scene in Monty Python and The Holy Grail.

"Impressive operator" David Levin

2007-03-05T04:57:00.000-05:00

There's an interesting profile of United Business Media's David Levin in the Sunday Times (London).

UBM's recent results--revenues up 16.6% and profits from continuing operations up 17.6%--make it "regularly cited as one of the most impressive operators in the quoted media sector."

Key grabs:

What he is putting together, he says, is a variety of ways for his customers (advertisers) to reach their audience (readers) — through magazines and websites, through linked events and conferences, through data bases and search engines that readers will want to use, all in targeted, niche sectors.

and

“I think the lessons are universal. The big lessons here are how broad-band is changing the way people use media, and how important face-to-face is. In the virtual world, the value of face-to-face goes up, not down.”

While Levin's approach, which emphasizes making the majority of profits from events and exhibitions, isn't anything new, the profile is worth a read.

What, Only 51?

2007-02-26T11:03:00.000-05:00

The folks at Good Magazine (which I'd never heard of before) have selected the 51 best magazines ever. Like all lists of "best evers," the selection is endlessly debatable, and that's really the point.

But as I looked through their selections, I was heartened by the variety represented, and the "feel" of each magazine. That's really the power of our medium--of the magazine form (regardless of whether we print it, post it online or use complex smoke signals).

In the intro to the piece, Graydon Carter writes:

Magazines—or, rather, certain magazines—aren’t going away anytime soon. They have survived radio, movies, and television. And they have, so far, not perished at the altar of the internet. It will take something not known of today to replace the power of the combination of words and image when, as I have just said, they are aligned by the right hands. Magazines that tell stories in type and pictures will survive the coming electronic revolutions. Magazines that merely deliver information will have to either become stronger and more vital, or drown in the turbulent wakes of change.

Amen to that.

Note: I like what I see on the Good magazine website ("media for people who give a damn.") They evidently give away 100% of the subscription fee to a selection of causes.

Via MediaBistro and Rex Hammock.

How to Make A Gigantic Email Mistake

2007-02-22T09:33:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, I received an email from Industry magazine, which is apparently some kind of franchised "high-end, city-focus lifestyle" publication. I was being invited to some event or other.

Frankly, I ignored the email, since I tend to get a lot of spam from public relations folks who don't seem to realize that, simply because I occasionally blog, I don't actually run any press releases or base any of my posts on press releases that wander uninvited into my email box (except, of course, the email I'm writing about today).

But then the fun started. Evidently the good folks at Industry cobbled together an email list, and spammed a bunch of people. Nothing terribly unusual about that. But the problem was, they made the email FROM the same list that they sent it TO. As a result, everyone who replied with an unsubscribe request managed to send that request to everyone else who got the original email. And then a bunch of people started emailing that they were getting unsubscribe requests for things they didn't send out. And then another slew of unsubscribe requests to those replies came in. I--and everyone else who got the email--got to see everything (thankfully, it was all trapped in my Spam filter).

Well done, Industry! You've not only illegally spammed a bunch of people, but you did it in a way that guaranteed maximum confusion and maximum damage to your inelegantly named "brand."

Esquire's "New" Website

2007-02-22T08:33:00.000-05:00

PaidContent.org's David Kaplan reviews Esquire.com's new look website, and finds it to be "a step in the right direction. But it needs to take some bigger steps."

Even though Esquire is one of my favorite magazines--I've been a loyal subscriber through thick and thin since I was in my 20s--the website doesn't do much for me, design and navigation-wise. It looks jumbled together, and seems to emphasize Esquire's continued attempts to 'out-lad' the ADD-addled 'lad' books, most of which seem to be past their prime these days anyway.

There is good stuff on the web site. The cover gallery provides a wonderful tour for magazine and design junkies of every cover of the magazine, including the launch issue from 1933, which I've included with this post. You can easily search and freely access back issues from 1999 onward. And I like the little Esquire "rule" that scrolls across the top of the home page, mimicking the placement of these little funny and weird gems in the printed magazine. (Rule No. 432: The study of plate tectonics is best left to professionals.)

There's a ton of great editorial, from one of the great editorially-driven magazines, including web-exclusive material. And there's even an easy to use RSS feed link. Esquire looks to be doing everything almost right on the content front.

I just don't like the way the web version of the magazine looks. It's not well designed, and it doesn't seem to know how to deal with advertising placement in a smooth way.

Kaplan notes in his review:

Esquire, and publishers in general, might want to consider what made the magazine so distinctive during its heyday in the sixties. At that time creative thinkers like George Lois not only drew in readers and advertisers, but pushed boundaries that redefined journalism, art direction and the central nature of what a magazine is. That may be too much to ask of any editorial property today. But at the very least, a magazine - print or web - should be fun to look at. Secondly, an editorial website should use its brand identity to go farther than its printed version.

Hey Hey My My...Magazines Will Never Die

2007-02-14T06:07:00.000-05:00

Here's a little love letter to magazines, in honor of Valentine's Day.

Colin Crawford's recent post on how IDG is redefining itself "as a web centric information company complemented by expos, events and print publications" has generated some 'attaboys' from a variety of media bloggers. The money quote: "we’ve changed the business mission of our organization away from print."

Rex Hammock's response, which notes the 266th anniversary of the first magazine to be published in the US (Feb 13), makes a few positive predictions about the future of print magazines. I agree.

But I also think that concerns about the future of magazines misses a fundamental point.

Simply because IDG has defined itself as web-centric doesn't mean that magazines are dying. It simply means that the printed versions are less important to their media mix. And printing and distribution technology doesn't make a magazine. Let me repeat that:

Printing and distribution technology doesn't make a magazine.

I believe that magazines will never die. And by magazine, I don't mean something printed and bound and mailed to me. Frankly, while I love sitting down with a printed magazine, I don't really care that it's printed. What I care about is that it's a magazine.

What do I mean by that? Magazines are a genre, much like novels are, with conventions and expectations attached to them. You know what I mean by a novel versus a work of non-fiction. You know what I mean by a magazine versus a newspaper. A sitcom has conventions, so do comic books. These conventions, these expectations, transcend the physical manifestation of the genre. I've read novels using a hand-held e-reader, and guess what?--they were still novels.

The original meaning of the word magazine--as a storehouse--gets at what I'm talking about. Magazines, as a genre, are storehouses of information and entertainment, edited and created to serve the interests of a community of readers. Here are the typical conventions of the genre: a letter from the editor, letters to the editor, departments, a cover story and feature well, and columns with varying points of view on varying topics. If you and I were creating a new magazine this morning, we'd probably map out some variation of these elements.

Let me tell you about my favorite sports magazine. It has great feature stories and photography, up-to-the-minute news reports, interesting editorial columns and commentary, and the scores and stats I want. You know, all the elements you might expect in a magazine. And that magazine is called Yahoo Sports. I access it online from my MyYahoo page.

Here's my favorite general interest magazine. Again, great feature stories and photos. Interesting news, commentary and criticism. This one's called The Atlantic, and I read it in print when it arrives in my mailbox, preferring to consume it from cover to cover before bed. I have access to the stories online, but I like the print version of this one better.

And my favorite news magazine? The Week, which I also consume in print. (I hit Google News every day, as well, but Google News, while being timely, lacks the tasteful editorial selections of The Week, and it lacks the weird and bizarre bits that make The Week as interesting as it is.)

I think the argument isn't really about magazines as a genre. If you consider the magazine conventions I outlined above, 60 Minutes is indeed what it bills itself: a televised magazine. The real argument is one of control. A typical view from the "cutting edge" is that static media (read: print media) is all about shoving things down the throat of readers.

Witness this quote from Colin:

"In the past media organizations controlled content and pushed it out to subscribers, today’s media has to deal with a world of social connections, networking and collective actions enabled by the Internet. "

You can find a lot of similar sentiment from Jeff Jarvis, and others. To them, breaking the hegemony of corporate media is what the future of online is all about. Online media empowers the audience to create its own content, its own communities...not the drivel that the MSM (the dismissive acronym for the dismissively-named mainstream media) forces on us.

Well, maybe. But magazines have always been about social connections, networking and collective action--even print magazines. Good magazines naturally create an audience which has a collective interest. And good magazines have always created good networking. And good community.

I titled this post after Neil Young's song, which dealt with the punk rock notion that rock and roll was dead. Punk didn't kill rock--it just killed off bad 70s rock and disco (and frankly, after watching the Grammy's, I'd note that it didn't really get rid of either entirely.) As Neil sang, "there's more to the picture than meets the eye." Same with the idea that magazines are dead.

The great critic Harold Bloom made his career with The Anxiety of Influence, which basically said that every poet wants to shake off the influence of prior generations of poets by denying their validity--by killing them off. To him, this relationship was as complex as the one between a father and a son. Ultimately, by stretching and defying the conventions of previous poems, new conventions were created...but the genre--poetry--remained.

Online tools will help to stretch and change the conventions of magazines. But magazines themselves will thrive, without regard to delivery vehicle.

Some other magazine-centric stuff worth checking out:

Sue Pelletier wonders whether she should be worried about Wikia's open source "magazine rack websites." I say: nope.

Bill Mickey notes that Google has apparently dumped magazines from their print ad sales program. In a blog post on last week's DeSilva+Phillips Media Dealmakers Summit, Bill quotes Rafat Ali's interview with Google's Tom Phillips:

Newspapers, however, have become the preferred partner for their program. “One of the things we learned was high frequency was better. Daily newspapers are a better partner for us than other media,” said Phillips.