As the world begins its long slow spin from one decade to the next, the spin (or marketing) industry also is undergoing a marked transformation-from "impact" to "information." In the 20th century the focus of marketing was on advertising-specifically on making a short, sharp impression. Advertisers' print creative had to pass the three second test-imparting as much positive information as possible before a potential customer quite literally turned the page.

The Internet, of course, is different. And when the World Wide Web happened, everything in marketing *should* have changed. But it didn't, and I More...

Production departments have been among the areas most ravaged by lay-offs, and some observers say that loss of expertise leaves publishers at a disadvantage when negotiating printer contracts.

"When publishers got rid of the production manager, they got rid of people who understood contracts," publishing consultant Steve Frye tells me. "Now you have people negotiating printing contracts who are editors, art directors, publishers, who don't really know anything about what the terms should be. Many standard clauses that protected publishers from increases have been eliminated."

Frye cites paper pricing as an example. "Publishers used to buy specific paper, say Chocktaw 40 pound, and the printer would sa More...

For a lot of publishers, creating an app for Apple’s iPad is like blazing a new trail—in more ways than one. Among them is Condé Nast’s The New Yorker, which debuted its app today. While it has had a Web site for nearly a decade and a digital edition for some time now the magazine, arguably, is still most regarded for its print product. And the editors know it.

In a note to readers, the editors say they are “at once delighted and a little bewildered” by the la More...

After reading the story of how Advantage Business Media got scammed by a telemarketing firm on its qualification efforts, here are some observations:

• BPA was right two years ago to require that calls be recorded. It stands to reason that these violations would never have been discovered had the calls not been a required part of the audit record.

• BPA proved its value here, for sure. The audit bureau, faced with a perceived decline in importance as print magazines become less important in the media-company revenue mix More...

Back in June, Condé Nast said it planned to bring back the Gourmet brand as "Gourmet Live," a digital product developed in HTML5 that would be available across multiple devices and platforms. And it delivered. The innovative app for the iPad hit Apple’s iTunes store today. Chock full of stories from the magazine (which Condé closed down last fall), recipes, videos and slideshows, Gourmet Live is free and content is available without registration.

However, Condé says users need to sign in to Facebook or Twitter in order to access the app’s interactive features. It� More...

Not even Bob Dylan could have predicted the amount of upheaval among consumer magazine publishing companies this summer. Seriously, either chief executives and/or the top staffers in charge of media divisions at all the major companies have been in constant flux.

The most recent and perhaps final example came Tuesday when Paris-based Lagardere Active announced that Alain Lemarchand, who has served as CEO of Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. since June 2008, will be stepping down and that former Primedia Enthusiast Media and Source Interli More...

M&A activity is one of the most direct signs of the health of any industry, including media. Why? Because unless it’s a distress situation, if someone’s selling it means they’ve done well. And if someone’s buying, it means they’re bullish about the future.

So all of a sudden, there are some interesting deals occurring in b-to-b media that tell us something about its current state and its future outlook. This month alone produced two of the biggest non-distressed transactions in a long time. First, Access Intelligence sold off several pieces, including Chemical Week, SRI Consulting, the market info and price-discover More...

When London-based United Business Media announced late last week that it had acquired Canon Communications, one of the initial questions that came to mind was whether the $287 million price tag—while significantly larger than any other deal in b-to-b publishing since before the economic downturn—was in fact enough for owner Apprise Media and private equity investor Spectrum Equity Investors to turn a profit.

Backed by Spectrum, Apprise acquired Canon from fellow media industry private equity f More...

I can’t remember many–any?–examples of a popular service or piece of software changing so much all at once as Twitter is doing with its new redesign. (If you don’t have it yet, hold on: The company says it’ll be a few weeks until it completely replaces Old Twitter.) It brings elements other than words onto Twitter for the first time–photos, videos, and maps. It fundamentally changes the service’s interface, with a roomy, context-sensitive right panel that reminds me of Twitter for iPad. It dis More...

E-media is the fastest growing part of the business for consumer publishers in 2010, according to the FOLIO: 2010 Consumer CEO Survey. While that isn't much of a surprise (e-media has been the fastest growing revenue stream in the survey since 2005, the second year FOLIO: started offering the survey) the second fastest growing revenue stream may raise some eyebrows: events.

Live events have long been part of the consumer-publishing stable, but have typically been positioned as value-adds designed to boost or lock-in the print buy. While events are the second smallest revenue stream, in front of only data and market information sales (which actually lost ground as a revenue generator in 2010), consumer publishers are finding succes More...

What would you do if you saw a truck driving down the road with your magazine’s logo slapped on the side of it? Maybe think your publishing company is trying its hand at distribution and you didn’t know about it?

In the case of Dallas, Texas-based D magazine, its owners are taking legal action.

D founder Wick Allison, who in turn owns D Magazine Partners LP, is suing Allen, Texas-based moving company D Moving for trademark infringement. The magazine claims the company’s logo—a white ‘D’ in a red box—is confusingly similar to its own and is being used without permission.

And More...

It’s the riches of our digital life that are being offered up to us, this time through the MagNet data system.

Of course, most of us are getting great feedback from our readers from our online cover surveys. In some cases the readers help sway a decision: the close-up or the distance shot for the cover image? The quirky human interest article or the solid investigative piece as the lead? The starburst or the banner?

It’s a wonderful world of reader participation and interactivity. But no doubt about it, the best way to assess the impact of a cover is still through its newsstand sa More...