Folio RSS: Sales and Marketing

Reader’s Digest Association to Form Global Marketing Group

Jason Fell — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:29:58 -0500

In another reorganization after filing for bankrupcy protection, the Reader’s Digest Association is expected to announce later today a realignment of its marketing functions with the formation of a global marketing organization.

Publishing Group of America to ‘Sell Beyond the Page’

Jason Fell — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:19:06 -0500

Newspaper magazine publisher the Publishing Group of America has restructured its sales team in an effort to expand its brand reach across media platforms like television, digital and events.

And the Best Salesperson Award Goes to … Meryl Streep

Dan Trombetto — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:21:29 -0400

Seen any good movies lately?

Taste of Home Ramps Up Advertorials

Jason Fell — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 10:56:19 -0400

One way Taste of Home is convincing marketers to spend more money with the brand is by producing custom editorial columns in the magazine that it says are more “synergistic” with advertisers’ promotional goals.

UPDATE: Amid Layoffs, Condé Nast Restructures Digital Sales Team

Jason Fell — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:27:18 -0400

In the wake of all the layoffs happening at Condé Nast, the magazine publisher Thursday said it has restructured the Condé Nast Digital sales team into five brand categories.

SRDS Merges Print Analytics with Online

Jason Fell — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:10:01 -0400

In a step to provide its clients with a more comprehensive understanding of the evolving media landscape, media rates and data provider SRDS has launched a new version of its Consumer and B-to-B online services it says aligns data from 10,000 Web sites with its magazine databases.

Boating Industry, Magazines Less Buoyant This Year

Jason Fell — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 12:57:10 -0400

Like auto and finance, the boating category is taking on water.

‘Serious’ U.K. Publications Band Together for Marketing Push

Jason Fell — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 14:37:19 -0400

Cultural Publications Group wants to cross-sell subs, some at big discounts.

HSBC Becomes The New Yorker’s Largest Single Issue Sponsor Since ‘05

Vanessa Voltolina — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 15:55:51 -0400

In a deal that’s estimated to be worth $1 million, HSBC Bank USA has purchased a six-ad package in Conde Nast’s The New Yorker.

Outsourcing Sales: If You Are Considering It, Can Your Organization Handle It?

Dan Trombetto — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 10:29:01 -0400

Today, outsourcing ad sales is getting to be more prevalent. Heads of magazine companies are running out of options due to constant or rising sales expenses combined with lower revenues. To many, outsourcing all or some of the sales function may seem an unacceptable option, but it doesn’t have to be viewed that way.

Minnesota-Based Custom Publisher to Close

Jason Fell — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 16:15:35 -0400

After more than two decades in business, Bloomington, Minnesota-based K. L. Publications, a custom magazine publisher, said Wednesday that it will cease operations in November and that founder and president Karel A. Laing will retire.

Google to Make Publishers Rich with Display Ads?

Jason Fell — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 14:35:50 -0400

In your dreams.

Report: P&G, J&J Lead the Pack in ’09 Print Ad Spending

Vanessa Voltolina — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 14:15:09 -0400

Some advertisers have bucked the trend by devoting dollars to print.

Summit Publishing Hosts Client Conference to Introduce New Sales Network

Jason Fell — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 16:06:53 -0400

Summit Publishing Company last week hosted a one-day event called “Beyond Advertising” for its advertising clients that introduced the publisher’s new network package and sales calculator.

IDG Recasts Corporate Sales as ‘Strategic Marketing Services’

Jason Fell — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 14:22:20 -0400

Framingham, Massachusetts-based publisher IDG has renamed its corporate sales and marketing operation in the U.S. to Strategic Marketing Services.

The Economist: ‘Direct Marketing, Brand Advertising Have Been Key to Our Success’

Jason Fell — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 10:47:34 -0400

In conjunction with the Audit Bureau of Circulations releasing its first half 2009 FAS-FAX report earlier this week, The Economist announced that the magazine more than met its 764,000 rate base in North America, with total circulation during the period reaching 810,821, an 8.5 percent spike year-ov

American Apparel Squeezed Over ‘Inappropriate’ Ad in Vice

Jason Fell — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 09:24:40 -0400

U.K. regulator bans campaign that appeared on magazine’s back cover.

Selling Software: From Tracking Accounts to Pay-Up

Dan Trombetto — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 09:46:03 -0400

Back-end sales software has evolved from simple tracking spreadsheets to full-blown customer relationship management systems. But day-to-day, which systems (and features within those systems) are the most helpful to magazine salespeople? This article asks a selection of salespeople what they find most useful and why. Web-Based Systems

Hachette Expands Ad Partnership with Shell

Jason Fell — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 13:08:35 -0400

Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. said it has finalized a 15-month agreement with Shell Oil that “considerably” extends its advertising package.

How Publishers Profit When Advertisers are Publishers

Jason Fell — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 16:48:11 -0400

Be more than just an 'honest broker of third party content.'

MPA to Expand Supermarket Newsstand Promotion

Jason Fell — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 15:22:16 -0400

As a part of its ongoing initiative to boost magazine retail sales, the MPA said today that it has partnered with wholesale distributor Harrisburg News on a major Mid-Atlantic-area supermarket newsstand promotion.

Meredith Repositions Business Divisions

Jason Fell — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 09:59:11 -0400

Women's publisher Meredith Corp. today said it is repositioning its products and has developed a new corporate logo to better reflect its multi-platform consumer brands

The Race to the Bottom

Matt Kinsman — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 11:24:31 -0400

Conducting An Opportunity Audit

Dan Trombetto — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 11:31:24 -0400

You might think that conducting an “opportunity audit” is a result of budget cuts and declining responses. Well, you’re right. However, it is really just smart marketing.

Sharing the Subscriber List (and Other Publisher No-No’s)

Dan Trombetto — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 15:45:01 -0400

Advertisers have publishers over a barrel and many are starting to make requests that could have long-term competitive consequences, such as sharing the subscriber list.

Big 'Ideas’ Equal Big Success for The Atlantic

Jason Fell — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 16:32:06 -0400

Coming off a difficult first half that saw ad pages slide 24.6 percent compared to the same period last year, The Atlantic said its July-August "Ideas” issue, on newsstands now, pulled in the most ad revenue of any issue in the magazine’s history.

PIB: Meredith’s Fitness Reports Biggest Ad Page Gain Through the First Half

Jason Fell — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 14:29:45 -0400

Consumer magazines have been slammed in the down economy. Late last week, the Publisher’s Information Bureau said ad pages in the second quarter fell 29.5 percent industry-wide. Through the first half, ad pages were down 27.9 percent.

Paid Content and Blog Sponsorships Generate Highest E-Profits

Jason Fell — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 15:13:14 -0400

Banner ads and online directories are the least profitable, per FOLIO: survey.

Social Media is Now Your Business

Jason Fell — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 12:30:42 -0400

Tracking the shift; a message to publishers.

Custom Publishing Case Studies

Dan Trombetto — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:55:58 -0400

It’s been one of the strongest areas of magazine publishing and a source of growth for independent publishers looking for a new revenue stream. But even custom publishing hasn’t been immune to the downturn—spending on custom publishing fell 20 percent in 2008, according to the Custom Publishing Council.

A Small Publisher Finds Success With A Custom Division

Dan Trombetto — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:48:29 -0400

Buffalo Spree Publishing, a publisher of city and regional titles for Western New York, began its custom division seven years ago.

Cleveland Clinic Looks To Augment Custom Mag with Aggressive Web Strategy

Dan Trombetto — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:50:30 -0400

Project: Cleveland Clinic Magazine, ClevelandClinicHealth.comClient: Cleveland ClinicCustom Shop: The Magazine Group

SmartMoney Custom Offers Financial Services Clients Increased Response Rate Through Data and Personalization

Dan Trombetto — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:48:52 -0400

Project: Charles Schwab assets, 401(k) enrollment kits, on-boarding packagesClient: Charles Schwab, various financial institutionsCustom Shop: Custom Solutions from SmartMoney

A Custom Magazine That’s Built For Profit, Not Just Marketing

Dan Trombetto — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:39:54 -0400

Project: Health Matters MagazineClient: Liberty Medical SupplyCustom Shop: EPS Communications

Ten Best Practices for Successful Proposals

Dan Trombetto — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:36:38 -0400

The most overused phrase of the last year is “in this economy.” As publishers, it is time to embrace the challenges ahead and learn to move forward. This industry’s best bet is to take a good, hard look at its sales practices and concentrate on making changes that will attract advertisers.

Forecast: Declines in Magazine Spending Through 2013

Jason Fell — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 10:09:38 -0400

While global entertainment and media spending is expected increase from $1.4 trillion to $1.6 trillion by 2013, some traditional markets—including magazines—will see declines, according to PricewaterhouseCooper’s Global Entertainment and Media Outlook: 2009-2013, which was released today.

MRI Rolls Out First Ad Ratings for Magazines

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 18:02:58 -0400

Mediamark Research & Intelligence (MRI), known in the industry for measuring the audience of consumer magazines, said today that it will begin to measure the effectiveness of ad campaigns that appear in those magazines. The system, called AdMeasure, is “designed to elevate magazine audience measurement granularity to the level of TV and the Internet.”

National Geographic Rolls Out $19.99 Custom Cover Initiative

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 16:49:59 -0400

Just in time for Father’s Day!

Rodale Seeks to Block Release of ‘Trade Secrets’

Jason Fell — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 16:03:42 -0400

Rodale recently filed a petition with a Florida circuit court challenging the state attorney general’s decision to release information that was gathered about the Men’s Health publisher as part of an ongoing investigation into its sales and marketing practices.

A 48-Year-Old Looks for New Publishing Industry Job, Finds Age Discrimination

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 11:59:37 -0400

Tales of the unemployed.

The Growing Problem with Online Display Advertising

Dan Trombetto — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 10:00:20 -0400

In a recent discussion of online display advertising, Erin Hunter, EVP at comScore, said the following:

Ogden Offsets Electricity Use with Energy Credits

Jason Fell — Tue, 26 May 2009 17:12:26 -0400

Ogden Publications said today it has purchased 2.4 million kilowatt-hours of renewable energy credits, effectively offsetting 100 percent of its electricity usage.

Top 10 Reasons Print Should Remain a Vital Part of Your Marketer's Mix

Tue, 26 May 2009 13:20:17 -0400

Print can help engage an audience, drive Web site traffic and produce leads.

How Much is a Magazine’s Content Worth? Part One

Tue, 26 May 2009 12:22:38 -0400

Part one.

Jimmy Kimmel Channels Infamous Jon Stewart MPA Appearance at 'Upfront' Event for Advertisers

Thu, 21 May 2009 13:27:03 -0400

Perhaps media companies should stop hiring comedians to promote them.

Reprint Service Providers Form Partnership

Jason Fell — Mon, 18 May 2009 14:26:05 -0400

Foster Printing Service and outbound reprint marketing services firm Scoop ReprintSource have announced a strategic partnership that combines each company’s printing technology and customer databases.

Are Ads on Covers Acceptable?

Thu, 14 May 2009 16:38:33 -0400

The Atlantic to Publish Single-Sponsored Issue

Jason Fell — Thu, 14 May 2009 10:47:55 -0400

The Atlantic is about to join the ranks of publishers that turn their magazines over to a single advertiser.

National Geographic Restructures Sales Ops

Jason Fell — Thu, 14 May 2009 10:22:49 -0400

Four months after forming a management team tasked with developing integrated advertising sponsorship programs company-wide, the National Geographic Society has restructured its sales operations across its fo

The Growing Problem with Online Display Advertising

Wed, 13 May 2009 11:28:34 -0400

Hint: It’s déjà vu all over again.