FriendFinder Networks Inc. filed for
Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to restructure its debt. The company,
which also operates multiple social networking and adult-dating Web sites,
sought Chapter 11 protection along with 38 affiliates in the U.S. Bankruptcy
Court in Wilmington, Del., after missing interest payments on its secured
notes.
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Consumers Don't Believe Your Green Ad Claims
The percentage of consumers who say they don't know if companies' environmental claims are accurate doubled to 22% between 2008 and 2013 in GfK's annual Green Gauge tracking survey. The percentage who said they don't know how well businesses fulfill their responsibility to the environment tripled to 10% over the same period.
Monday, September 16, 2013
Packaging Corp. of America to Acquire Boise
Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:
PKG) and Boise (NYSE: BZ) today announced
that they have entered into a definitive
agreement under which PCA will acquire all of the
outstanding common shares of Boise for
$12.55 per share in cash, for an aggregate transaction value of $1.995 billion, inclusive of $714 million of outstanding indebtedness of Boise.
The
transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2013 with committed
debt financing, but is subject to certain customary conditions and regulatory
approvals.
The
combined companies generated $5.5 billion in sales and $879 million in EBITDA
(excluding special items) in the last twelve months ended June 30, 2013 (LTM).
The combined packaging business generated 75% of sales and 83% of EBITDA over
the period, with the remainder generated by Boise’s paper business.
PCA's
containerboard capacity will increase to 3.7 million tons from its current level
of 2.6 million tons (a 42% increase) including the announced expansion of paper
machine number 2 (D2) at Boise's DeRidder mill. PCA’s corrugated products
volume will increase by about 30% as a result of the acquisition, and PCA’s
market presence will expand into the Pacific Northwest.
Synergies
are estimated to generate pre-tax benefits of approximately $105 million and
are expected to be fully realized within three years of closing. The synergies
are projected to come from mill grade optimization, sales mix and cost
reductions, lower transportation costs, corrugated products optimization, and
SG&A cost reductions.
IP Elects General Dynamics CEO to Board
Hansol Paper Buys Schades
Schades
has been sold to one of its suppliers. The Korean company, Hansol Paper Co.
Ltd., which is listed in Seoul are now the majority shareholder in Schades
Holding A/S after the private equity fund Capidea and Danebroge ApS, owned by
Laurids Jessen, has sold its shares.
Hansol
Paper has with the investment in Schades obtained a market share in Europe of
approx. 25%. Schades is the market leader in Europe in the production and sale
of documentation rolls for use in cash registers, credit card machines and
payment systems. Schades also manufactures and sells self-adhesive labels. The
customers are large international chains within the retail, food supply, office
supply and financial service industries.
Hearst Is Throwing a Party
The Hearst upfront, scheduled for Oct. 15 at Hearst Tower, is meant to drum up advertiser interest in the stories and packages, in print and in digital media, that editors are planning for 2014. To that end, Hearst has trademarked the term "Big Content," a play on the trendy marketing term "Big Data." "What's driving readers to our brands?" said Michael Clinton, president-marketing and publishing director of Hearst Magazines, whose titles include Cosmopolitan, Esquire and Elle. "It's not data per se, it's content."
How Gap Connects Channels
As the U.S.'s largest specialty apparel chain, Gap Inc. needs to keep the shelves well stocked at its 2,425 U.S. stores and 3,100 worldwide, and that means keeping a lot of in-store inventory. At the same time, the company needs enough inventory in its e-commerce fulfillment channel to meet that growing demand.
Forbes Unveils ‘Intelligent Scrolling Streams'
The new pages will include ad units on both sides of the content as the user scrolls down, rather than stacked at the top and right columns of the page.
The length of a story will determine the number of ads served, and ads will be distributed evenly throughout the post.
http://ipdahome.org/newsstand/?cat=296
Forbes has begun to roll out a new
architecture for online page screens. “We call them intelligent scrolling
streams,” writes Lewis DVorkin. “One key feature: rich, continuous streams of
content that are curated and personalized—and importantly, serve our business,
too.” Another component: progressive loading of ad units and new scalable,
trackable and measurable ways to monetize the streams. Each element of the
screen is built within a responsive framework, so when the time is right,
Forbes can move the experience to smartphones and tablets, DVorkin says.
Forbes
Forbes
Time Inc. to Launch New Video Strategy
Last
November, then-Time Inc. CEO Laura Lang
announced that the company was gearing up to launch a digital video unit
complete with new studios and programming, plus a new leader in former Meredith
video exec J.R. McCabe, Time Inc.’s first svp, video. It wasn’t exactly a
revolutionary move—other top publishers like Hearst Magazines and Condé Nast
had already entered the video space in recent years—but for Time Inc., it
signaled an important step forward.
And
now, after a long wait and a new CEO, it’s finally ready to roll.
MPA, Adobe Work to Standardize Engagement Metrics
http://whattheythink.com/articles/65383-mpa-adobe-work-standardize-engagement-metrics-digital-publications/
Adobe’s September
16th announcement signals a new era of measurement for digital
publications. Through analytics included with Digital Publishing Suite,
Adobe now enables publishers to measure the total number of tablet readers per
issue, total number of sessions per issue, average amount of time spent per
reader per issue, and average number of sessions per reader per issue,
providing a clear method to measure and report audience readership and
engagement across multiple digital magazine editions.
In this development process, Adobe collaborated with two key industry associations, the Association of Magazine Media (MPA) and the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4As), as well as leading publishers. The implementation was audited by the Alliance for Audited Media (AAM) to ensure that the methodology provides accurate and consistent industry-wide benchmarking for publishers.
In this development process, Adobe collaborated with two key industry associations, the Association of Magazine Media (MPA) and the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4As), as well as leading publishers. The implementation was audited by the Alliance for Audited Media (AAM) to ensure that the methodology provides accurate and consistent industry-wide benchmarking for publishers.
MagNet Intros ‘MagNuggets’
MagNet has launched a series
highlighting single-copy industry facts based on its data. First batch notes,
for example, that about 50% of all retail magazine copies are sold on Friday,
Saturday and Sunday, and Wednesday is lowest-selling day (yielding only 11.5%
of total sales during an average week).
B2B Peint Ad Pages Decline
The ABM releases ad
page reports about as quickly as the Greek government, but because the news
they are reporting is generally not good, I guess there is no rush to release
these reports.
B2B ad pages fell 9.15 percent in the month of April, according to the latest BIN numbers. For the year ad pages are down about the same amount, 9.11 percent.
B2B ad pages fell 9.15 percent in the month of April, according to the latest BIN numbers. For the year ad pages are down about the same amount, 9.11 percent.
While
the ABM reports revenue numbers, and these are often repeated, I find these
less accurate based on my own experience, and my own biases.
Ad
pages have been falling since the beginning of the financial crisis, but have
moderated somewhat recently. In 2011, for instance, ad pages were essentially
flat, recording a modest uptick of 0.36 percent. But recently declines have
started to accelerate once again, bad news for publishers hoping to see a real
recovery from the recession.
AAF on Advertising's Tax Deductibility
Clark Rector, exec VP for the American Advertising Federation, is among industry lobbyists who worry the expensing of advertising costs will be targeted in a tax code overhaul underway in Congress -- even if that Congress hasn't proven itself capable of passing much legislation.
Stagnito Media Acquires Tesoro
Stagnito Media, an integrated
media company servicing the b-to-b needs of retailers in the convenience,
grocery and specialty food store markets, has purchased Tesoro Business Media.
The Deerfield, Ill.-based portfolio company, itself acquired in January by Topspin Partners, LBO, will
integrate Tesoro’s events and digital media brands Store Brands Decisions and Green Retail Decisions into
their portfolio of magazines, websites, e-newsletters and conferences.MagNet
UBM CEO Steps Down
David Levin is stepping down as CEO of UBM after eight years at the head of
the UK-based events and communications giant, the company announced today.
Levin intends to leave by July 31, 2014, but is expected to stay on
throughout the search for his replacement.
Senate Hearing on Postal Reform
The hearing comes as mailers work with postal employee unions to find common ground on reform before the end of the month, when thepostal Board of Governors have promised to take up the issue of an exigent rate increase at their meeting in Kansas City. The Board has made it plain that passage of postal reform in Congress would be the best remedy for a potential rate hike.
U.S. Postal Service Opens Store on eBay
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