E-News : January 24, 2012 

Top Media Moves

Topspin LBO, a private equity firm with other B-to-B media holdings, has purchased Stagnito Media, a B-to-B publisher with roots in the convenience and food retailing businesses. Stagnito CEO Harry Stagnito says that the deal gives Stagnito access to resources it needs, especially in marketing services and data and information products. The titles included in the deal are Convenience Store News, Progressive Grocer, The Gourmet Retailer and Convenience Store News for the Single Store Owner.

After intense opposition from tech companies and Internet users, Congress has backed down in its attempt to fast-track two intellectual property protection bills, known as SOPA and PIPA, that foes say went too far in restricting the Internet. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., an ardent supporter of the bills, postponed a scheduled vote, but the legislation may be taken up again in the future.

Freeman, an ABM member and a provider of integrated services for face-to-face marketing events, announced that industry veteran Bob Priest-Heck will become its new chief sales officer from his current position as executive vice president at Freeman. Priest-Heck will replace Bob Moore following his forthcoming retirement in June. Priest-Heck joined Freeman in June 2011 when Freeman acquired Wheelhouse Solutions. Prior to joining Freeman, Priest-Heck gained a solid reputation as an innovator in experiential marketing across a range of industries including media, technology and hospitality.

U.S. ad revenue will grow by 3.7 percent this year over last year, according to a revised forecast by MagnaGlobal, the global media unit of IPG's Mediabrands. This forecast is up from a 2.9% growth projection issued by MagnaGlobal in October. Internet advertising will be the fastest-growing media category this year, increasing 10.9 percent, according to the forecast. Newspapers will be down 6.0 percent, and magazines will be down 5.2 percent. 

Job of the Week

Vice President, Marketing, Events, Internet at Group C Media

In addition to the "Job of the Week" highlighted in each issue of E-news, ABM has expanded its online job board to better reach out to the membership and media community with quality career opportunities. Powered by mediabistro.com, the site is updated constantly with openings across the country and enables you to search by industry and location. So what are you waiting for … Click here to begin your search!

Committee Watch

Talent Management Committee
2/1/2012         
2:00 - 4:00 PM
Location: ABM Headquarters

Digital Media Council
2/2/2012
11:00 AM - Noon
Location: ABM Headquarters

Business Information Council
2/7/2012
Noon - 1:15 PM
Location: ABM Headquarters

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Charlie McCurdy On Future of B-to-B: “In Five Years, Investors Will Flock to Winners, Shun the Losers”  

At ABM’s recent Advanced Leadership Program, Apprise Media CEO Charlie McCurdy gave a presentation on “The Future of B2B Media.” While McCurdy says publishers know the drivers (ROI, qualified lead-gen, marketer independence) and the needs (audience, customer, industry content databases), the media industry needs to shift from a media-centric to customer-centric focus. 

“As long as we have a much more comprehensive market view—who the marketers are, what they’re spending, who the buyers are—we will have a viable role in the industry,” said McCurdy. “We need a larger set of data and content that’s organized better than how we’ve traditionally done it as an industry. Companies that don’t do that don’t have a future. In five years, investors will flock to the winners while shunning the losers.”

For the complete interview with Charlie McCurdy, click here.

Agribusiness Execs Are Optimistic About 2012

An ABM poll of corporate agribusiness marketing executives this month showed an overwhelming majority think the current agricultural economy is positive and they expect it to remain so over the next 12 months. A record 80 percent of the marketers rated the current business conditions for their company as positive, and 94 percent expect business conditions 12 months from now to be better or the same.

"Agri-marketers’ assessment of current conditions for both their companies and for farmers and ranchers is the highest we've seen since starting the Agri-Marketers Confidence Index (AMCI)," says Steve Custer, President, Publishing, Farm Journal Media and Chairman of the American Business Media (ABM) Agri-Council's Research Committee.

For more poll results, click here.

ABM Annual Conference To Focus On Meeting Customer Desires And Needs

American Business Media has released the agenda for its 2012 Annual Conference, titled “The Customer-Driven Future,” to be held April 29 to May 2 in San Francisco.
Content may be king, but ultimately, the core of any b-to-b media company is its audience. Today, publishers have more opportunities than ever to learn what their customers want, what they need, and how to translate that information into successful new products and services.

ABM's 2012 Annual Conference will present cutting-edge, cost-effective ways to gather the necessary data to navigate a new age of b-to-b product development. Confirmed speakers include Frank Cutitta of The Center for Global Branding, Jack Griffin of Empirical Media Advisors, and Amandeep Sandhu of UBM Electronics.

For the complete conference agenda, click here.

Two C-Level Surveys Find That Execs Expect Investment, Growth, Acquisitions in 2012

Two studies released in late January are guardedly optimistic about prospects for business in 2012. A JEGI survey says that most media companies are looking to develop new products and revenue streams, while larger media companies now have the reserves and motivation to look toward making acquisitions. An AlixPartners/EIU survey also reports that companies around the world are planning to use surplus cash to grow business.

JEGI, an ABM member, released the 2012 Media Growth Survey Report at its 2012 Media & Technology Conference on Jan. 19. “Overall, senior executives are generally optimistic about the health of their markets coming out of the economic downturn and see new product launches, organic growth and expansion of market share within existing markets as key growth drivers,” the report concludes.

Click here for more information on the two surveys.