Port Hawkesbury Looks at Diversifying Grades

http://thechronicleherald.ca/business/221465-paper-mill-mulls-adding-to-grades

As global consumption of paper products continues to decline, Port Hawkesbury Paper LLC is looking at diversifying its grades of paper to offset the drop.
The former NewPage Port Hawkesbury paper mill in Point Tupper, bought for $33 million by Pacific West Commercial Corp., an affiliate of Stern Partners Inc. of Vancouver, roared its supercalendered paper machine to life in October after a year sitting idle. 

The market in the United States for supercalendered paper, used for magazines, catalogues and newspaper inserts, is roughly two million tonnes annually, while the lightweight coated paper market is nearly 3.5 million tonnes, Ron Stern said Wednesday.

“This mill has the capability of expanding its grade mix so you will see us trying — and I think we will — sell more and more paper,” Stern told The Chronicle Herald’s editorial board.

SCA Cutting LWC Production with Ortviken Downtime

SCA Forest Products reduces staff by 55: 

SCA has recently resumed production on the 210,000 tonne/yr lightweight coated (LWC) paper unit PM 1 at its Ortviken mill in Sundsvall on the east coast of Sweden.

"The market situation is weak, so we took the chance to stop [PM 1] and perform some maintenance measures that we would have had to do at some point anyway," mill manager Kristina Enander told RISI. She declined to specify when the machine was restarted or how long it had been down.

Next week, SCA will take downtime on the mill's second LWC machine, the 280,000 tonne/yr PM 4, a company spokesperson said. This also concerns necessary maintenance work, but the timing was chosen due to the weak market situation and the coming long holidays, during which the firm's customers will have lower activity than usual, he explained.

Ilim Plans Q2 2013 Coated PM Start, Russia

http://www.ilimgroup.com/press-centre/news/?id=578

Ilim Group held a meeting with representatives of Russia's largest printing offices and distributors of print media and paper products in order to familiarize them with the progress on construction of the first coated freesheet paper production in Russia. ...At the meeting Ilim Group told the attendees about the implementation status of the investment project that will ultimately enable the Koryazhma Branch of OJSC Ilim Group in the Arkhangelsk Oblast to produce coated paper complying with European quality standards in Q2 2013. The company will produce up to 90,000 tons of double-coated paper per year, its basis weight ranging from 90 to 150 gsm (both matt and glossy), to be available in rolls and sheets.

Canadian Wood Products Industry 3rd Year of Profits

Profits sprout in Canada’s wood products industry
Canada's wood products manufacturing industry is set to earn $381 million in pre-tax profits this year, marking its third consecutive year in the black, according to The Conference Board of Canada's Industrial Outlook-Autumn 2012.
With industry profits forecast to quadruple this year, Canada's wood products manufacturers are reaping some of the benefits of their restructuring during the past decade. Profits are forecast to double in 2013 to $787 million and exceed $1 billion annually beginning in 2014.

FPAC Remains Committed to Boreal Forest Agreement Despite Greenpeace Move

Forest Products Association of Canada members remain committed to the Boreal Forest Agreement:
Member companies of the Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) remain committed to the promises made to Canadians, rural communities, the environment and the marketplace under the Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement (CBFA) and will continue to work hard with environmental partners on its implementation.
Greenpeace has announced it has abandoned the agreement but all other signatories remain at the table, dedicated to both the spirit and the letter of the CBFA. The agreement is aimed at conserving both the Boreal forest and ensuring economic prosperity while taking joint responsibility for success.

Sustainability a Key Factor for Consumers

Sustainability a Key Factor for Consumers, Survey Finds (Going Green):
Given my long-ish history in market research and survey data (I still have fond memories of the old TrendWatch days), I am drawn to the various consumer sustainability surveys that occasionally appear. The latest is called Re: Thinking Consumption: Consumers and the Future of Sustainability, developed by BBMG, GlobeScan and SustainAbility. It comprises responses from more than 6,000 consumers from six countries.

National Wildlife Launches Ranger Rick Jr.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/03/business/media/ranger-rick-jr-magazine-to-be-aimed-at-younger-audience.html?src=rechp

After 50 years of guiding children through wildlife and ecology on his own, Ranger Rick is getting a helping hand in the form of a younger sibling.
The National Wildlife Federation, the publisher of the Ranger Rick magazine, which is intended for children ages 7 to 12, is starting a counterpart for younger readers. The new magazine, called Ranger Rick Jr., will feature Ricky Raccoon, who will serve as a mascot for children ages 4 to 7.

Hearst COO Swartz Named President

http://www.adweek.com/news/television/hearst-coo-steven-swartz-adds-presidency-145721

Steven Swartz is one step closer to the CEO position of Hearst Corp. Today, Hearst announced that Swartz, 50, was adding the title of president to his current role of COO.

Hearst CEO Frank A. Bennack Jr. has reportedly been grooming Swartz as his heir. Bennack, 79, has been the company’s CEO since 1979 (he briefly retired from 2002 to 2008) and is likely looking at another retirement in the not-so-distant future.

USPS Gives Contract to Firm It's Suing

http://postandparcel.info/52488/news/companies/usps-awards-30m-contract-to-firm-it-is-suing-for-390m/

The US Postal Service has awarded a $30m contract to Northrop Grumman Corporation at the same time it is attempting to sue the company over breaches of another contract, seeking a nine-figure sum.
Virginia-based Northrop Grumman filed a lawsuit back in May seeking $179m from the struggling Postal Service to compensate for delays in a $874m contract to install flats sequencing machines under the USPS modernisation programme.
USPS counter-sued at the end of October, denying various Northrop Grumman claims and firing back at its contract with allegations it breached its contract by failing to install the flats sequencing machines by the agreed dates.
The Postal Service is seeking $390m in damages, reflecting losses it says Northrop Grumman’s delays caused.

Next Issue Adds Titles, Marketing Campaign

http://www.pubexec.com/article/next-issue-expands-catalog-with-8-new-magazines-starts-marketing-push/1

Next Issue, the magazine newsstand app sponsored by Condé Nast, Hearst, Meredith, News Corp. and Time Inc., recently announced the addition of eight new titles to its catalog—bringing the total number of offerings to 80. Next Issue, which in the past was the target of criticism for its slow pace of expansion and initial roll-out on a very limited number of devices, has stepped it up as of late, finally coming to the iPad in July (though having problems on Android) and publicizing its $9.99 all-you-can-eat access plan via high-profile TV and Web ads, one of which ran this week during the Colbert Report on Comedy Central.

Gap Extends OOH Marketing

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/188576/gap-succeeds-with-ooh-marketing-extends-to-in-cin.html#axzz2EIwdmciT

A top Gap marketing executive said the company made a renewed push into out-of-home (OOH) advertising in 2012, partly to increase business in top markets and reach more millennials.

One aim was to place ads close to stores, said Chris Gayton, senior director, marketing and brand management at Gap.

Examples included an initiative in a Boston station across the street from a high volume store and wallboards in a San Francisco depot, where there is a store right above ground.

SodaStream Moves to Print Ads

http://adage.com/article/global-news/evade-u-k-ban-spot-sodastream-switches-print-ads/238645/

SodaStream is switching to a print advertising campaign to keep up the pressure on U.K. ad regulators, after its TV spot was banned for "denigrating the soft drinks industry." -->
The print ad, running today in major U.K. newspapers including the Guardian, Daily Mail and Evening Standard, is headlined, "Censored," and makes the claim that could not be broadcast on TV: "With SodaStream you can save 1,000 bottles a year." It was created by Studio 0304 in Israel, where SodaStream International is based.

Hearst Acquires 50% of NorthSouth Productions

http://adage.com/article/media/hearst-buys-stake-dress-producer/238650/

Hearst Corp. has acquired a 50% stake in NorthSouth Productions, the producer of reality shows such as "Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta" on TLC, the upcoming "Impractical Jokes" on TruTV and, with the BBC, "Lovetown, USA" on the Oprah Winfrey Network. Terms were not disclosed.

Hearst's Cosmopolitan Partners with Harlequin

http://www.sacbee.com/2012/12/05/5032056/cosmopolitan-and-harlequin-announce.html

Harlequin, one of the world's leading publishers of books for women, and Cosmopolitan, the world's largest women's magazine, today announced a book publishing partnership to bring Cosmopolitan's fun, fearless female sensibility to fiction readers everywhere.  Cosmo Red Hot Reads from Harlequin will present independent, adventurous women in contemporary settings and feature fast-paced plots, great dialogue and compelling romance. The shorter length of Cosmo Red Hot Reads from Harlequin titles (approximately 30,000 words per title) should appeal to readers on a variety of platforms, including mobile devices.

Relaunch of Coup de Pouce Successful

http://tctranscontinental.com/en/-/the-brand-new-coup-de-pouce-is-a-great-success-?p_p_id=82&p_p_lifecycle=1&p_p_state=normal&p_p_mode=view&_82_struts_action=%2Flanguage%2Fview&&languageId=en_CA

The November 2012 issue of the magazine Coup de pouce, one of TC Media's core brand, has completely vanished from store shelves and achieved extraordinary newsstand success, racking up 79,259 sales in addition to its 173,945 monthly subscriptions. The November issue marked the introduction of the brand-new Coup de pouce, bringing its readers a more streamlined layout, more dynamic content, entertaining and informative articles, inspiring photos and a totally new look. Plus, these exceptional figures don't cover the higher traffic to the coupdepouce.com website, which was revamped like the magazine, and which had over 3 138 060 page views in October.
  

Millenials Use Newspaper Inserts

Millenials: We Would Shop Less Without Newspaper Inserts": More than Boomers and Gen Xers, it's Millenials (60%) who say they would shop less without newspaper inserts.

Exhibition Industry Growth Slows in Q3

CEIR: Exhibition Industry Growth Slows in Third Quarter:
Exhibition industry growth slowed in the third quarter after posting strong gains in the first half of 2012. According to the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) Index, the tradeshow industry grew just 0.9 percent in Q3—down from 3 percent and 1.7 percent in Q1 and Q2, respectively—as the possibility of another economic crisis looms on the horizon.

Transcontinental Reports FY 2102 Results

Acquisitions Boost Transcontinental’s Revenues; Agreement with Hearst Renegotiated:
Transcontinental Inc. ended fiscal 2012 on a very good note, with revenues up 12.2 percent (from $521.6 million to $585.1 million ) in the fourth quarter. This increase is mainly due to the acquisition of Quad/Graphics Canada and acquisitions in the Media Sector, namely Redux Media. Excluding acquisitions and closures, and the impact of fluctuations in the exchange rate and paper, organic revenue growth was $0.8 million, or 0.2 percent.