Quad/Graphics/Wired Produce NFC Ad

Quad/Graphics, Wired pioneer high-tech magazine ad:
Quad/Graphics Inc. and Wired magazine said they have collaborated to produce the first mass-produced, "near field communication" U.S. magazine ad. Wired’s April issue features an ad with a near field communication (NFC) tag that launches a mobile site when tapped by an NFC-enabled Android smartphone.

Email Deliverability Declines

Email Deliverability Experiences Historic Decline in Second Half of 2011: A recent analysis of inbox placement rates of marketing messages show sharp deliverability rates in the second half of 2011. According to Global Email Deliverability Benchmark report, for the first time in three years, there has been a major global decline of 6% in the second half of 2011 bringing inbox placement rates to a record low of 76.5% globally, compared to 81% in the first half of 2011.
 

Sappi Announces Coated Increase

Sappi Fine Paper North America informed North American customers today that it plans to increase the price of its coated freesheet (CFS) products by $30/ton, effective with deliveries on or after June 1. Separately, NewPage and Verso had announced coated paper (and, for Verso, SC) increases to be effective May 1.

Port Hawkesbury Union to Vote Thursday

Contract proposal on the table in Port Hawkesbury, NS:
After 16 days of meetings between Stern Partners (Pacific West Commercial Corp.) and the CEP representing the workers of the former NewPage Port Hawkesbury mill, a contract proposal is on the table.

Mercer Increases Bid for Fibrek

Mercer increases its bid for Fibrek:

Mercer International Inc. has increased its offer for Fibrek and is now offering to purchase all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Fibrek for $1.30 (up from $1.40).

The increased consideration represents a 40% premium over the unsolicited insider bid made by AbitibiBowater Inc. (doing business as Resolute Forest Products).

Fibrek Inc.  had announced that the Supreme Court of Canada has granted Fibrek’s request to expedite the application for permission to appeal the Québec Court of Appeal’s decision to maintain the cease trade order of the proposed private placement of 32,320,000 special warrants to purchase common shares of Fibrek to Mercer International Inc.

3 Publishers Settle, Justice Dept & 2 More Continue Apple Suit

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304444604577337573054615152.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTTopStories

The U.S. hit Apple Inc. and five of the nation's largest publishers with an antitrust lawsuit over the fast-growing e-book market, alleging they conspired to raise prices and block Amazon.com Inc. from selling e-books at $9.99.

Three of the publishers settled the U.S. suit and agreed to let Amazon and other retailers set the consumer price of e-books, upending the model that had led the price of many best-selling e-books to rise to $12.99 or $14.99. A separate settlement with states could lead to tens of millions of dollars in restitution to consumers who bought e-books.

Soap Opera Weekly Shuttered

American Media Inc.’s Soap Opera Weekly Folds: American Media Inc.’s Soap Opera Weekly is closing. Initially reported by Adweek, the soap opera rag is shuttering due to a “decline in readership in the soap opera market,” according to an AMI spokesperson.

EatingWell Rate Base Up Again

Meredith’s EatingWell to Up Rate Base Again in 2012: Meredith’s EatingWell magazine will raise its rate base from 500,000 to 600,000, starting with its September/October issue, marking the title’s second rate base boost this year.

Q1 Ad Gains for Forbes, Bloomberg & Fortune

Big 3 business magazines gain ad pages in first quarter: The big three business magazines—Bloomberg Businessweek, Forbes and Fortune—all posted advertising page gains in the first quarter, according to Publishers Information Bureau figures released by MPA.

Q1 Ad Pages Fall

http://adage.com/article/mediaworks/ad-categories-stalling-magazines-rebound/234070/

Magazine ad pages fell 8.2% in the first quarter year-over-year, according to new figures from the Publishers Information Bureau. Among magazines' 12 biggest ad categories, 10 bought fewer pages.

Auto ad pages were down 35.8% from first-quarter 2011. Also down were food (17.8%), retail (7.4%), drugs and remedies (7.3%) and direct response (6.6%).

The only two categories to increase magazine ad pages were apparel and accessories, at 6.3%, and toiletries and cosmetics, at 2.5%.

Printing Jobs Down, Ad Agencies & Graphic Design Up

Unemployment Improves as Workers Leave; Printing Employment Shrinks; A Small Business Setback (Economics & Research Center):
What of printing industry employment; Starting with the beginning of the recession, printing employment has declined for 49 of 52 months, falling by -158,800 jobs in that period, about -3,000 per month. March was a -2,800 drop from February. Employment in graphic design and ad agencies is still increasing, based on February’s data.
 

Quebecor Pursues Eco-Friendly Steps

Quebecor Continues Partnership With Jour de la Terre Quebec and...:
Quebecor is taking decisive steps to incorporate eco-friendly principles into its activities, such as a corporate environmental strategy, a sustainable development committee that includes all its subsidiaries, and 70 Green Ambassadors.

Catalyst: Stalking Horse Bidder Named

http://www.albernivalleynews.com/news/146681815.html
A group of Catalyst Paper Corp.'s first-lien noteholders (CP Acquisition LLC) will serve as stalking-horse bidder with a $275 million bid for the British Columbia specialty paper and newsprint producer if the company's reorganization efforts fail.
 

Mohawk Changes Name, Plans Future

Mohawk Launches Reinvention Plan, Streamlining Paper Lines: At launch events held in New York over the last three weeks for customers and employees, Mohawk Fine Papers revealed its blueprint to transform its premium paper business to thrive in today’s digital world.

UPM Will Recycle Release Liner

UPM develops adhesive paper recycling technique: Paper manufacturer UPM has developed an in-house solution for recycling paper-based release liner back into pulp.

Time Inc. Study on Response to Media

Time Inc. Measures Consumers' Emotional Response to Media: If publishers think they've been covering the bases with an anytime, anywhere content strategy, they might be shocked to learn the results of a recent Time Inc. study conducted with Innerscope Research. The study, called "A Biometric Day in the Life," measured the emotional responses to various media platforms.

2012 Webby Nominees Announced

Magazine Nods Abound in 2012 Webby Nominees: The 16th annual Webby Awards nominees were announced today by the International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences.
National Geographic, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Vanity Fair and WIRED will compete in the Best Magazine category.

Print Ads Recycled in Tablets

Advertisers Recycle Print Ads for Tablets: With Conde Nast, Hearst and Meredith launching their own digital newsstand in the form of Next Issue Media, it’s clear that magazine publishers are counting on tablets for future growth. But a new report from Kantar Media suggests publishers will need to upgrade ad offerings in tablet editions to fully exploit the new platform.

M&A Activity Down in Q1

Media and marketing M&A activity slides in first quarter: The number of M&A deals in the media and marketing sector slipped to 402 in the first quarter, a decline of 3.8% compared with the year-earlier period, according to Berkery, Noyes & Co.'

Second Mill Announces Price Increase

NewPage announced that it will increase coated freesheet and coated mechanical products by $30-60/ton, effective May 1. The company attributed the move to rising input and transportation costs. Verso had previously announced an increase for both coated and Supercalendered papers.