Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Domtar Installs Lignin Separation Plant

Domtar Corporation today announced that it has successfully installed a commercial-scale lignin separation plant at its Plymouth, North Carolina mill, the first U.S. facility of its type in over 25 years. The production of BioChoice lignin began in February, with a targeted rate of 75 tons a day, destined for a wide range of industrial applications as a bio-based alternative to the use of petroleum and other fossil fuels.
The successful installation of commercial-scale lignin removal capacity at the Plymouth Mill is the culmination of a research and engineering project launched by Domtar in 2010. This project was further boosted when the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Energy awarded the company a grant through the Biomass Research and Development Initiative. Domtar's lignin operation sets a new path for the industry and also marks the latest sustainability milestone for a company that has long been recognized as an industry leader in forest certification and environmental stewardship.

Glatfelter Buys Dresden Papier

Glatfelter (GLT), a global manufacturer of specialty papers and fiber-based engineered materials, today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to purchase Dresden Papier GmbH from Fortress Paper Ltd. (FTP.TO) for €160 million (approximately U.S.$209 million). Glatfelter expects the acquisition to be immediately accretive to earnings per share by approximately $0.25 on an annualized basis. 
Dresden Papier, based in Heidenau (near Dresden), Germany, is the leading global supplier of nonwoven wallpaper base materials, and is a major supplier to most of the world's largest wallpaper manufacturers.

Kondopoga Restarting Newsprint PMs

Russia's largest newsprint maker Kondopoga is resuming production on its 110,000 tonne/yr PM 9.
The PM is set to restart tomorrow.
"By April, Kondopoga will be running three of the six existing newsprint machines. Most of the output on PM's 8 and 9 is meant for the export market," the spokesperson said. He added that it is unclear at the moment whether the management intends to restart the mill's three remaining paper machines.
The 750,000 tonne/yr Kondopoga mill halted production on five paper machines over November/December 2012 following financial difficulties due to tough market conditions and low profitability. By early 2013, the firm had accumulated over Rouble 10 billion ($330 million) in debts.

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Hachette Sign Agreement

http://www.hmhco.com/
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) Trade Publishing today announced a new partnership with Hachette Book Group (HBG) in key international markets including Latin America, South America, Asia and Europe. Hachette Book Group will be responsible for sales, billing, returns, credit processing and collections services for HMH general interest titles and books for young readers. HMH will handle order fulfillment.

Mental Floss Has Robust eCommerce Business

http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/mental-floss-not-just-magazine-anymore-14777
Mental Floss is known for its engaging Wikipedia-like articles ("How Many Languages Is It Possible to Learn?") that nourish the mind. Few realize the Dennis Publishing bimonthly has a robust e-commerce arm with 1,300 products from T-shirts to beer-tasting kits. Here's how it all began: After Pluto lost its planetary status, a reader wrote in: "You guys should make a shirt that mourns the loss of Pluto. It should say RIP, but instead of Rest in Peace, it should say 'Revolve in Peace: 1930-2006.’" The title took the advice to heart, and its business has become a shooting star, with sales projected to hit $2.5 million this year.

ABM Awards Announced

Innovation was on display as the b-to-b publishing industry gathered for the 59th annual Neal Awards of the Association of Business Media (ABM) Tuesday afternoon. 
However, despite the association's addition of several new mobile, social and video categories—a formal recognition of the value of these emerging technologies--Clark Pettit, president and CEO of ABM, urged editors to remember what has worked for them over the long history of business media. IEEE, McGraw-Hill, Farm Journal Media go home big winners.

Condé Nast Adds to Wintour's Title to Keep Her

http://www.adweek.com/news/press/anna-wintour-named-artistic-director-cond-nast-14789
Powerful Vogue editor in chief Anna Wintour is expanding her role at Condé Nast. Today, the publisher announced that Wintour—who is also the editorial director of Teen Vogue—was named artistic director of Condé Nast. In the newly created role, Wintour will be responsible for "curating and cultivating the creative vision" for the company, according to a statement.
Townsend added that the role of artistic director had been created, in part, to keep Wintour at Condé Nast, telling the Times that he "would go to great distances to avoid losing Anna, particularly in the prime of her career." 

DMA to Lobby Congress

http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/direct-marketers-crank-lobbying-campaign-14787
The direct marketing business, which is just about every company these days that uses data to more precisely target customers and prospects, could be in for the fight of its life. 
"I hope you'll let people know we are responsible for 8.7 percent of the GDP, $168 billion in spending, $2.05 trillion in sales, 9.2 million jobs," said Rachel Thomas, vp of government affairs for the DMA.

Transcontinental Reports Q1 Results

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/13/transcontinental-results-idUSL3N0C520K2013031
Transcontinental Inc, Canada's largest commercial printer, reported a 5 percent rise in first-quarter adjusted profit as the acquisition of Quad/Graphics Canada helped reduce the impact of the loss of a contract with retailer Zellers
First-quarter adj EPS C$0.37 vs C$0.33 year earlier.
Revenue rises 8 percent.

Conde Nast's GQ & Glamour on Video Cross-Platform

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/195638/glamour-gq-share-video-cross-platform-forgo.html#axzz2NS0Kgpm
Conde Nast will try to do for two of its iconic magazines what Hearst recently announced for Esquire -- but without the still valuable traditional TV distribution, where original series will be widely distributed on new areas of respective magazine Web sites, as well as IPTV, mobile, tablet and other video platforms. 
Procter & Gamble and Microsoft have come on as traditional sponsors.
The move is being headed by Dawn Ostroff, who came aboard a year and a half ago as president of Conde Nast Entertainment. Ostroff has held senior programming executive positions at CW, and before that, Lifetime.

TC Media Launches VÉRO

TC Media is once again breaking new ground by partnering with the talented Véronique Cloutier to launch a new women's magazine called VÉRO. This quarterly magazine will be on newsstands throughout Quebec starting next fall, and will target passionate, active women who want to feel good about themselves, who treasure time with their families and have a zest for life.

McGraw-Hill Education Names President

McGraw-Hill Education today announced that Peter Cohen, most recently CEO of Pearson School, will be president of McGraw-Hill School Education Group, a division of the company that serves both the PreK-12 and assessment markets. Mr. Cohen will replace McGraw-Hill School Education President Dan Caton, who recently announced his retirement after 43 years in the education industry.

Retailers' Top Goal: Expansion

Despite recent headlines trumpeting retailers' entry into Canadian and overseas markets, U.S. expansion remains a key growth strategy. According to a new survey of 100 retail chief financial officers by BDO USA, LLP, 30 percent of CFOs say U.S. expansion will be their priority growth tactic in 2013.

WSJ to Launch Risk & Compliance Journal

WSJ to launch Risk & Compliance Journal: The Wall Street Journal announced it will launch Risk & Compliance Journal, a news service covering governance, risk and compliance issues.
The service, scheduled to debut in the spring, will target C-level executives and board directors. It is the latest in a series of dedicated content services from Dow Jones that also includes CFO Journal, CIO Journal, DJ FX Trader and Wall Street Journal Wealth Management. It will be available to WSJ subscribers and complements Dow Jones Risk & Compliance, a suite of enterprise screening and diligence tools, the company said.

Telegraph to Cut Jobs as Newspapers Merge

Telegraph to cut 80 jobs as newspapers merge:
In a letter addressed to all staff today (12 March), TMG chief executive Murdoch MacLennan also announced that The Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph, printed at Newsprinters' Broxbourne site, would move to a 24/7 publishing model.
He said: "We are going to have to restructure our editorial operation to produce a root and branch change in the way we function. To this end, it will be merged into one unfied operation, serving digital and print products on a 24/7 basis.

Higher Postal Rates Coming?

Are Higher Postal Rates in Your Future?:
Marketers should not be surprised at being hit with sharp increases in postal rates if Congress, postal unions, and regulators cannot agree on a self-sustaining survival plan for the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). The heads-up was delivered to Direct Marketing Association (DMA) members yesterday by Postal Regulatory Commission general counsel Steven Sharfman.
“It could be coming within the next 12 to 18 months,” Sharfman warned. “It's just that no one talks about it.”
The USPS finds itself in troubled waters, attempting to cut costs and right itself in the middle of a government breakdown.

NY Times Plans Site Redesign

NY Times plans site redesign: The New York Times announced plans to introduce a prototype version of NYTimes.com in advance of major site changes to be implemented later this year.
The prototype will include a cleaner design; richer integration of photography, video and interactive story elements; responsive design optimized for both desktop and tablet computers; higher-impact advertising; and updated user-comment and share tools, the company said.

PIA Supports Program to Promote Paper Communications, Packaging

Printing Industries of America Supports Creation of New Program to Market and Promote Paper-Based Communications and Packaging: Printing Industries of America recently filed public comments on the proposed national Paper and Paper-Based Packaging Promotion, Research and Information Order. This program, advocated by the paper industry and its national trade association, American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA), would be a new government-approved commodities "check-off" program funded by requiring a small assessment on the nation’s largest paper producers and importers. The goal of the program would be to market and promote segments of the paper industry by spotlighting both the economic importance of paper-based materials as well as the industry’s ever-improving sustainability record. If it is approved and as successful as advocates predict it could be, the Paper and Paper-Based Packaging Promotion, Research and Information Order would be welcomed as an effort to spur continued growth in certain areas of print while at the same time stemming decline in demand for other areas of print.

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Resolute Closes Calhoun Newsprint PM

Resolute Forest Products Inc. (RFP) (RFP) announced today the indefinite idling of a newsprint machine at its Calhoun mill in Tennessee. The idling comes as a result of a decrease in demand for newsprint, coupled with high operating costs for the machine, which produced 215,000 metric tons per year. The decision follows Resolute's March 11 acquisition of the 49% interest in Calhoun Newsprint Company ("CNC") owned by The Herald Publishing Company, LLC, its joint-venture partner.
The Calhoun mill, which presently employs 610 workers, will continue to operate the two specialty paper machines and the pulp dryer. The announcement will affect approximately 150 positions at the mill.

Great Northern Paper Converts to Gas

After more than a decade of decline, manufacturing in the U.S. is going through a small, but significant renaissance. A big reason: new sources of energy, like natural gas, that are helping companies cut costs, produce more products and hire more people. Here in Maine, one of the state's best-known paper mills in East Millinocket is betting on this formula for resurgence and growth. Jay Field begins his report at Great Northern Paper inside the boiler house.

Iceland/Maine in Shipping Partnership

Iceland shipping line partners with railroad at Portland, Maine, port; will connect pulp and paper exports to Europe. A strategic partnership between Iceland's largest steamship line and New England's largest railroad is poised to transform the quiet port of Portland into a hub for freight crossing the North Atlantic. Starting later this month, container ships from Icelandic Steamship Co., also called Eimskip, will be connecting Portland directly with cities as far north as Murmansk, Russia, 125 miles above the Arctic Circle, and as far south as Rotterdam, Netherlands, Europe's largest port.




Direct Response Ads Drive Growth for AARP's Bulletin

Direct Response Ads Drive Growth for AARP's Bulletin: AARP's print publication Bulletin has seen direct response advertising rates grow despite the downturn.
There a bright spots in in magazine publishing, most of which revolve around niche publications with a very specific—and interested—readership. Shelagh Miller, VP of AARP's has seen advertising rates from AARP's various publications grow steadily amid the downturn.
The AARP Bulletin, published 10 times a year, covering key issues relevant to AARP's demographic: news about Federal policies that might affect, say, social security or healthcare, and scam alerts. Revenue growth in AARP Bulletin has increased more than 22% since 2011.

Politico Plans Print Magazine

Politico Plans Print Magazine Launch as It Passes 1,000 Pro Subscriber Mark:
Politico, the politics and policy journalism site, says it has broken the 1,000 subscription mark to its Pro news service. Like other content-based sites, Politico has supplemented its revenues through paid subscription service that includes original content, but in this case offers robust personalization features to add value for subscribers.
Going forward, Politico is launching a new afternoon newsletter as a follow-on to its crack-of-dawn version, called the Pro Report, along with a quarterly policy magazine. Politico already has a newspaper distributed around the Washington, D.C. area and plans to have the magazine follow a similar distribution strategy. 

Printed Books Making a Comeback

Printed Books Making a Comeback Over E-Books:
According to a recent Wall Street Journal (WSJ) article, the death of the printed book has been greatly exaggerated. The article points to the results of a Pew Research Center survey that showed that the percentage of adults who have read an e-book rose modestly over the last year from 16% to 23%. It also showed that 89% of print book readers say they have read at least one printed book during the last year while only 30% report reading a single e-book during the same period.
The article goes on to suggest that e-book popularity might have been an anomaly. Author Nicholas
Not only is there evidence to support the growth of printed books, there is also evidence of a shift in printing technologies used for books, from offset and toner to inkjet technologies. In the InfoTrends study, “US Digital Production Printing Forecast 2011 to 2016″ InfoTrend predicts an increase of 52 billion pages printed on digital devices and that a transfer will occur from toner-based devices to inkjet presses.

New York Magazine's Perspective on News Feed

A Publisher’s Perspective on Facebook's Revamped News Feed:  
It’s been more than six years since Facebook rolled out its News Feed feature, which has ever since enabled brands to get their content in front of the site’s social users. Last week, the company announced it would be introducing a new design and functionality to the News Feed to include less clutter, more visuals and increased options for user preferences.
To help get a sense of how this change might impact content brands, FOLIO: checked in with New York magazine, which claims more than 307,000 Facebook fans across three brand pages that includes The Cut, Vulture and, of course, New York.

Traditional Women's Magazines Change Focus

Traditionally the purveyor of recipes and cleaning tips, women's service magazines have come a long way, but apparently not far enough. More than a decade ago, Real Simple and O, The Oprah Magazine packaged service as lifestyle, forcing the category to pivot en masse.
So, in the past year, Good Housekeeping, Redbook, Family Circle, Ladies' Home Journal and Woman’s Day—all facing long-term advertising and newsstand sales declines—further downplayed their bread-and-butter housecleaning, parenting and relationship advice in favor of fashion, beauty, shopping and entertaining.

Utne Reader Magazine Moving to KS

The Utne Reader, a landmark magazine based in the Twin Cities, will shut down its local editorial offices and relocate in Topeka, Kan.
The literate-minded magazine, envisioned as a sort of Reader's Digest that compiled "the best of the alternative press," was purchased by Topeka-based Ogden Publications six years ago. The company hopes to save money by consolidating operations at its national headquarters, where it oversees such titles as Mother Earth News and Motorcycle Classics.

Minnesota Gov. Rethinking Ad Tax

Doug Spong, president of Minneapolis ad agency Carmichael Lynch, isn't sugarcoating the effect a tax on advertising would have. It "would absolutely devastate our industry," Mr. Spong told the Minnesota House of Representatives' Taxes Committee on Feb. 28. "It would handicap all Minnesota agencies," he said, because they would have to raise their fees to cover the tax. 
Mr. Spong is part of a broad coalition that is wasting no time trying to derail budget proposals by Minnesota and Ohio that would tax advertising sales. And it looks like his efforts may have already paid off. Gov. Mark Dayton said he's rethinking his business-to-business tax and it won't be part of the budget he releases this week.

2012 Coupon Use Declines

The number of coupons used by Americans to stock their pantries plummeted in 2012 – down 17 percent.
After surging during the Great Recession, the old-fashioned savings tool seems to have lost favor among consumers. Or has it? 
Coupon industry insiders disagree on whether the drop is an aberration caused by a poor mix of coupon offers in 2012 or whether it signals the beginning of the end of the paper coupon era... --> 
In 2012, manufacturers put the brakes on coupons. The coupon values became skimpier, the expiration dates shorter and oftentimes, the coupons were requiring that you buy two or even three of an item before you get your 55 cents off.

RRD Agreement with International Airlines

RR Donnelley Awarded a Multi-Year Agreement by International Airlines Group:
R. R. Donnelley & Sons Company has been awarded a multi-year agreement by International Airlines Group (IAG) and its subsidiaries British Airways, Iberia and Avios. Under the terms of the agreement, which renews and expands the companies' relationship, RR Donnelley will provide a range of print management, direct response, warehousing and logistics services.

Monday, March 11, 2013

More Mills Raise Prices in Europe

http://www.arcticpaper.com/en/Pressroom/News-archive/Arctic-Paper-announces-a-general-price-increase-of-5-7-for-coated-fine-papers/ 
Arctic Paper wishes to announce to its customers a price increase on all CWF paper grades, both in sheets and reels. The price increase will range from 5-7% and will differ from the current price levels per country and paper grade.
The price increase will affect deliveries from 15 April 2013. Further price increases in 2013 seems to be inevitable, to secure a minimum profitability.
Following on from their earlier warning for a return to solid pricing policies in the face of sustained cost increases, Metsä Board has announced a price increase for its uncoated fine paper business in Europe.
The increase will be at least 50 Euro per tonne and take effect for all deliveries invoiced from 15th April 2013.

PwC Forest Product CEO Survey Released

Forest, paper & packaging (FPP) CEOs are less confident about revenue growth over the next 12 months than their peers in other sectors, but are more optimistic about their company's revenue prospects in the next three years, according to PwC's 16th Annual Global CEO Survey released recently in Davos, Switzerland.
"CEOs have identified their top three priorities: enhancing operational effectiveness; investing in innovation and R&D; and developing new business models."
The survey found 92% of sector CEOs have implemented a cost-reduction initiative in the past 12 months.
R&D and innovation is a top priority for 42% of FPP CEOs in the next 12 months-a full 10% higher than the overall average across the entire CEO Survey.
Half of the FPP CEOs surveyed have entered into a new strategic alliance or joint venture in the past year, 34% completed a cross-border M&A and 32% completed a domestic M&A.
Every FPP CEO surveyed said that customer service was a key differentiator, the only sector in the full survey where 100% reported that customers influence their strategy.
Seventy-five per cent of FPP CEOs worry that energy and raw material costs could pose a threat to growth, far more than the average across the overall survey sample.
Ninety-five per cent reported that supply chain partners are influencing their strategy, and the large majority of CEOs are increasing efforts to engage with them.
Nearly three quarters (71%) of FPP CEOs plan to increase their company's focus on reducing their environmental footprint, while 18% will continue at their current levels.

Study: Consumers Trust Ads in Magazines & Newspapers

Study: Consumers Trust Advertising in Magazines and Newspapers More Than Any Other Media:
New research has revealed that despite important changes in media consumption in recent years, consumers continue to have most trust in advertising in printed media. When asked how much trust they attach to advertising in the various media, consumers gave magazines and newspapers a score of 63%, TV 41% and Internet 25%. Consumers were also asked about the role of advertising in purchase decision making - almost seven out of ten said that advertising in magazines and newspapers was most important in supporting purchase decisions. When asked to compare direct mail with social media almost 90% of respondents valued addressed and non-addressed mail above social media.

Catalogs Are Part of a Balanced Marketing Diet

http://www.dmnews.com/catalogs-are-part-of-a-balanced-marketing-diet/article/283668 
For a supposedly dead channel, print isn't doing too badly. According to the Direct Marketing Association, roughly 12.5 billion catalogs—often featuring interactive elements such as QR codes, text codes, and augmented reality enhancements—are printed and mailed each year.To demonstrate the continued viability of print as an evolving and thriving channel, NewPoint Media Group, publisher of The Real Estate Book and a variety of other targeted magazines, issued its advertisers and prospects the following challenge: collect as many catalog covers as you can and mail them in to win a cash prize.The secondary goal of NewPoint's “Catalog Challenge” was to open people's eyes to the sheer number of targeted, welcome print catalogs they receive, especially around the holiday season. Even e-commerce behemoths like Amazon and Zappos print and mail catalogs in the lead up to Christmas.

News Corp. Puts $2.6 Billion in Publishing Co.

http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/08/in-filing-news-corp-says-it-will-provide-2-6-billion-to-its-new-publishing-company/?partner=rss&emc=rss 
News Corporation’s new publishing company will receive a $2.6 billion infusion of cash and have no debt when it separates from the company’s higher-growth cable channels and Hollywood studio this summer. 
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday, the company confirmed what analysts had expected: Rupert Murdoch will make sure his beloved trove of roughly 175 newspapers will have plenty of capital once they are split off on their own. 
The $2.6 billion figure, $1.82 billion of which will come from the parent company, is slightly higher than investors had anticipated, leading to speculation that it might be used to acquire additional newspapers.

Men Still Prefer Newspapers for Sports

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/195349/newspapers-remain-top-sports-source-for-men.html#axzz2NGRghbV
Between social media, mobile and cable TV, sports news outlets have been proliferating -- but newspapers are still the top source for sports news for sports fans. Among male sports fans ages 18-54, 76% cited the sports section of their local newspaper Web site as one of their “go-to” sources for sports news, while 69% cited the print edition. 
That compares with 66% for ESPN.com, 46% for league sites, 45% for Yahoo Sports.com, and 45% for ESPN Sports Center. Further down the list, 33% said sports talk radio and 23% said Sports Illustrated or SI.com.

How Time Inc. Should Reinvent Itself

http://adage.com/article/media/time-reinvent-independent-publisher/240254/ 
When Time Warner spins off its magazine unit, the world's biggest magazine company will become an anomaly: a publicly traded media company consisting entirely of magazines. Time Inc. titles were once the crown jewels of media, generating nearly a billion in annual operating profit just a decade ago. By 2012 that had fallen to $420 million, a precipitous 25% drop from the year earlier. Despite recent cost cuts, that portfolio -- and its infrastructure -- was built for an era when ad dollars were plentiful.

RRD Closing Greenfield, Ohio Plant

Citing "changing market conditions," the RR Donnelley & Sons company in Greenfield, previously known as Banta publishing, informed its employees Wednesday that it will be closing in May. Nearly 170 employees will lose their jobs as a result of the closing.

2012 Ad Spending Up 3%

http://www.btobonline.com/article/20130311/ADVERTISING13/303119997/kantar-media-reports-u-s-ad-spending-up-3-last-year 
Total ad spending in the U.S. reached $140.0 billion last year, up 3% over 2011, according to Kantar Media. Kantar tracks ad spending for measured media including TV, radio, magazines, newspapers, online (display ads only) and outdoor advertising. During the fourth quarter, total ad spending was up 2% compared with the same period in 2011.The fastest-growing media category last year was TV, which grew 8% over 2011, Kantar said. Outdoor advertising grew by 5%, and radio increased by 3%. Categories that were down last year included magazines (down 2%), newspapers (down 3%) and online (down 3%). 
http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/195465/us-ad-economy-expands-for-third-consecutive-year.html#axzz2NGRghbVr 
U.S. Ad Economy Expands For Third Consecutive Year: Big, Mid-Tail Advertisers Biggest Factors  
Buoyed by big and mid-tail advertisers, the U.S. advertising marketplace expanded for its third consecutive year, albeit at a relatively modest 3% rate of growth.

Brown Printing Buys Nellymoser

Brown Printing Expands Mobile Solutions through the Acquisition of Nellymoser: WASECA, MN—March 11, 2013—Brown Printing Company today announced the acquisition of Nellymoser, a Boston-based mobile marketing and technology company. Nellymoser is a mobile innovator and a pioneer in rich media delivery, having deployed over 800 print-to-digital campaigns in 2012 for 50 of the Top 100 magazines.

Print Wins Again

Now THIS Is Funny! Print Wins Again:
This is for all those claiming that print is dead . . . or who want to respond to those who do. No commentary necessary. This ad speaks for itself. Enjoy.

World’s Largest Biomass Plant Started

World’s largest biomass gasification plant inaugurated
Vaskiluodon Voima Oy has inaugurated the world's largest biomass gasification plant, which was supplied by Metso, in Vaasa, Finland. The plant was inaugurated by the Finnish Minister of Labour Lauri Ihalainen on March 11th.
Vaskiluodon Voima's plant is ground-breaking in many ways, as this is the first time in the world that biomass gasification is being adopted on such a large scale for replacement of fossil fuels.