B2B Marketing Blog

My background is in journalism. That’s where I started my career and where I developed my preference — strong preference — for maintaining separation between editorial content and advertising. I developed that position while working for small to mid-size daily and weekly newspapers.

In the newspaper world, it’s rare for advertising to openly pressure editorial for coverage, at least at the level I was at on the food chain. Oh it happens, I’m sure, but in my experience it is rare.

In the B2B world, (more…)

Advertising and promotion have become pretty daunting for us marketers. Life used to be so simple – billboards, three TV channels, a handful of radio stations, a selection of magazines and the neighborhood newspaper. Now statistics show that the average American sees 3000 marketing messages per day – from TV, cable television, radio, email, hundreds of specialized journals, newspapers and online advertising. And the ads themselves are full of wow-factor special affects, fast-paced video, breathtaking photography, and high-definition sound. Do we B2B marketers now have to come up with messages with enough creativity and wow-factor to appeal to YouTube viewers? Do we even stand a chance of being noticed anymore? (more…)

Have you noticed the sudden explosion of video ads? They’re sure hard to miss, and that’s the point. Unlike the animated banner ads of the “Web 1.0” era – or what I like to refer to them as “flip book ads”, video ads engage the user in a way animated gif’s or even Flash ads can’t or haven’t. And it makes sense as 90% of Americans list TV as their primary source of news…we are a visual society.

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Sometimes, working in marketing communications is flat out cool. Check out this creative, courtesy of our own creative department. (See the page-peel here.)

In the overall scheme of things, it’s not earth shattering, but in B2B, it’s cool and it’s working.

Watch for more soon.

The numbers are in for 2006 and according to IAB (Interactive Advertising Bureau), online ad revenue in the U.S. is up 35% from the year before. By now it has top $17 billion and continues to climb. While much of that growth is attributed to consumer advertising, the B2B part of the pie continues to increase as well. We’ll share those specific numbers at a later date. In the meantime, I have one question: If you’re a B2B marketer and you’re not involved in online advertising, what are you waiting for?

Enjoy the long weekend!

The battle for online media supremacy just took a major turn of events today as Microsoft announced the purchase of aQuantive - an Ad serving and network business.

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Viral Marketing has caused quite a stir in the marketing world recently, something similar to what Reality-TV has done for network television. (more…)

So you think interactive media is all the rage, given its tracking capabilities, eh? Well, you’re right, of course, but the development of new technology has not stopped at the doorstep of the Internet. Other media are getting into the act as well. Talk about accountability. Check out this little item from townhall.com (via AdvertisingLab):

Device Enables Tracking Ads by the View

A Canadian professor has developed technology that allows advertisers to count the number of people who look at their billboards and screens. (more…)

For a couple of years now we’ve seen an increase in tradeshow traffic for our clients. It’s been subtle, but it’s there for all to see. That traffic resulted in an increase in quality leads for those who have stuck to the tradeshow circuit. We have the numbers to prove it. One client alone registered more than 250 quality leads at their industry’s premier show last June.

Today, there is still more evidence that tradeshows are growing in influence. BtoB Magazine reports in the May 7 issue that tradeshow media, for the first time ever, surpassed print media in total revenue in 2006.

According to the report, tradeshows accounted for 36 percent ($11.3 billion) of overall b-to-b media in 2006. Print media came in at 35 percent ($10.9 billion). The source is American Business Media.

Why is this important? It shows that face-to-face contact remains an important part of any communications plan. You can talk via email all day long, use instant messaging, etc., but when it comes down to making the sale or building a relationship, face-to-face contact is still king.

I think Margaret Pederson, president of Penton Exhibitions, is correct. “As people spend more time face-to-face with a computer, real face-to-face becomes more important,” she’s quoted as saying. “It’s the opposite of what people thought would happen.”

Yes, 9/11 has had an impact, but now, the pendulum is swinging back the other way. Book early and think creatively when planning your marketing activity. And add important tradeshows to the mix.