PRESS RELEASE

B-TO-B AD PAGES AND SPENDING FELL 2.8% IN JUNE
Year to date, dollars are up 1.1% and pages are down 0.7%

NEW YORK, August 13, 2004—Business-to-business ad pages fell 2.8% in June compared to the year-ago period, according to the Business Information Network (BIN) report released today by American Business Media. Ad spending in June was also down 2.8%. Year-to-date ad dollars showed a 1.1% increase, with ad pages down 0.7%.

“We had a very healthy May, and we’re not surprised by the slight dip in June,” said Gordon Hughes, president and CEO of American Business Media. “We expect to see a more consistent upswing in b-to-b in the second half of the year.”

Ad Pages
Four categories showed improvement in ad pages in June compared to the same period a year ago. Drugs & Toiletries led the way, with a 7.9% increase. Telecommunications were up by 6.6%; Retail up 6.4%; and Home & Building up 2.3%. Services, Direct Response & Classified suffered the biggest drop, down 20.3%. Travel was down by 20.1%; Automotive down 16.6%; Software down 15.7%; Finance, Business & Advertising down 5.8%; Manufacturing & Electrical Equipment, Materials & Components down 3.9%; and Computers down 3.3%.

Ad Spending
Four categories posted an increase in June ad spending. Drugs & Toiletries were up 8.7%; Retail was up 4.5%; Home & Building up 3.7%; and Computers up 0.4%. The remaining categories were down: Travel by 17.4%; Software by 14.3%; Automotive by 13.1%; Services, Direct Response & Classified by 13.0%; Telecommunications by 4.5%; Manufacturing by 3.9%; and Finance, Business & Advertising by 2.8%.

The Business Information Network (BIN), created by American Business Media, tracks print ad spending and pages. Founded in 1906, American Business Media is the industry association for b-to-b information providers. Its 239 member companies reach an audience more than 90 million professionals and represent over 3,700 print and online titles.

As previously reported, as of January 2004 the BIN reports are being provided by IMS/The Auditor. IMS monitors advertising in 800 b-to-b publications. In addition, PERQ/HCI—which tracks more than 500 medical publications—provides information for the Drugs & Toiletries category. The Horticulture & Farming numbers are reported separately in 2004, because IMS does not have comparative data from 2003.

Contact:
Gordon Hughes, President & CEO
American Business Media
T 212.661.6360 x3314
info@abmmail.com