Direct Mail Valuable Tool in Automotive Sphere

http://www.dmnews.com/vws-direct-mail-campaign-is-greater-than-the-sum-of-its-parts/article/287820/

When it comes to the automotive industry, there still isn't a trustier channel than direct mail, and that's why Volkswagen tapped creative agency Proximity London to create a dynamic direct mail piece to persuade potential buyers to sign up for test drives. 
The consideration period is much longer for a car purchase than if, say, “you're deciding to buy a new brand of toothpaste,” says Caitlin Ryan, executive creative director at Proximity London—which is why direct mail is the way to go. 
“Direct mail works incredibly well in the automotive space; we do a lot of email and CRM for VW, as well, but direct mail is still what people want because it provides a tactile experience—they actually want to keep the literature,” Ryan says. “When people are considering a new car, they go into collector mode and look at many different models and gather lots of information.”

Google Sells Frommer's to Founder

http://www.digitaltrends.com/web/google-sells-frommers-brand-after-only-eight-months-to-arthur-frommer/

Well, that didn’t last long, did it. Less than a year after Google acquired travel book publisher Frommer’s from John Wiley & Sons for $22 million, it’s decided to sell it – to founder Arthur Frommer.
The Web giant bought the popular brand in August last year with the intention of using data from the travel guides to improve its own local listings and reviews used by a number of its Web services. It’s not known how much Arthur Frommer paid to buy back the rights to the brand he created way back in 1957. Travel news website Skift reported last month that Google had decided to stop printing the paper-based version of the famous range of guidebooks, but Frommer told the Associated Press this week that he intends to get the printing presses rolling again.

Yankee Candle Attracts Offers

http://news.yahoo.com/exclusive-buyout-firms-eye-yankee-candle-2-billion-131840305--sector.html

Yankee Candle Co Inc has attracted offers from several private equity firms in a sale process that could value the largest scented candle maker in the United States at about $2 billion, people familiar with the matter said.

Bain Capital LLC, Advent International Corp, CVC Capital Partners Ltd , Clayton, Dubilier & Rice LLC and Ares Management LLC have made it through the first round of bidding and are set to meet with Yankee Candle's management over the next few weeks, the sources said.

EC Approves Bertelsmann/Pearson Merger

http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-13-305_en.htm

The European Commission has cleared under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed creation of Penguin Random House, combining parts of the publishing businesses of the media company Bertelsmann of Germany and the publishing company Pearson of the UK. The Commission found that the transaction would not raise competition concerns, in particular because the merged entity will continue to face several strong competitors.

Federal Fight Fierce Over Internet Sales Tax

http://www.pal-item.com/article/20130405/NEWS01/304050015/Federal-fight-fierce-over-Internet-sales-tax-bill

Congress is considering legislation to close that sales-tax loophole, arguing that the current system favors Internet companies over brick-and-mortar stores. 
State lawmakers have reached an impasse over the issue. State Sen. Luke Kenley, who is blocking a House-passed bill to force online retailer Amazon to collect sales tax on Indiana purchases this year, has said Congress needs to pass legislation that would apply to all online-only retailers.

NAA: Profile of American Newspaper Industry

NAA Releases Profile of American Newspaper Media Industry Revenue 2012: Overall, total revenue for U.S. newspapers declined by 2 percent in 2012 from a year earlier, according to new data compiled by the Newspaper Association of America. In total, the U.S. newspaper media industry took in $38.6 billion in 2012 compared with $39.5 billion in revenue in 2011, according to NAA’s projections.

http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/209509/deeper-data-dive-finds-5-5-billion-in-uncounted-newspaper-industry-revenue/

Deeper data dive finds $5.5 billion in uncounted newspaper industry revenue Years of negative reports on ad revenue losses could leave the newspaper industry muttering, “I demand a recount.” The Newspaper Association of America has just completed such an exercise and found some solid gains that have been overlooked previously in its own measurements.

Wausau Brokaw Mill Auction Delayed

http://www.wausaupaper.com/

Brokaw Development will delay the well anticipated April 18, 2013 auction of papermaking, plant and support equipment at the former Wausau Paper Mill. "Within the next two weeks, we plan to announce a new auction date or a new owner of the site. We regret the delay but are in negotiations with buyers that could put the former Wausau property to productive commercial use. The ultimate goal is finding the right fit for the site while creating jobs for the community of Brokaw, Wisconsin", said Eric J Spirtas, President of NIAGARA Worldwide and Brokaw Development.

MeadWestvaco Chooses ATF

MeadWestvaco Chooses American Tree Farm System, Root: 1 Wine Partners with American Forests:
Packaging and packaging materials supplier MeadWestvaco Corporation has said it will give purchasing preference to certified wood supplies - specifically wood that is certified under the American Tree Farm System.

'Stay Bonuses' Option for Time Inc.

http://adage.com/article/media/stay-bonuses-time-spinoff-approaches/240710/

So far Time Inc. has been relying on little more than employees' confidence in the future, and perhaps their existing employment contracts, to keep them in place during an uncertain year. Last month it let Paul Caine, its chief revenue officer and a well-liked company veteran, leave to become CEO at the radio syndicator Dial Global. His exit was a defining moment, employees said, signaling that Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes wasn't going to tie the hands of the new, yet-to-be-identified Time Inc. CEO.

The Forbes 400 Summit on Philanthropy

The Forbes 400 Summit on Philanthropy: Randall Lane began his career as a reporter for Forbes’ “rich list.” Putting a dollar value on some of the world’s wealthiest individuals proved a difficult job—one his subjects largely viewed as prying. There were constant walls and deceit.

UK Cataloguer, Retailers Look to U.S.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-02/british-chic-tested-as-asos-to-topshop-seek-u-s-growth-retail.html

British retailers are banking on a love of all things English to expand their business in the world’s biggest apparel market.

Leading the British invasion are online specialist Asos Plc, fashion chain TopShop, catalog retailer Boden, youth- focused Jack Wills Ltd., and SuperGroup Plc’s Superdry stores. Their strategies vary -- some trade on British cool, others emphasize local knowhow -- yet all focus on what they do best rather than buying an existing imprint or starting an entirely new brand that Americans have never heard of.

Strange Bedfellows: Paperless Post & Crane Paper

http://www.newser.com/article/da5eavv02/startup-paperless-post-goes-more-traditional-with-crane-wedding-invitation-partnership.html

Paperless Post has defied its original digital business model successfully once. Now the online invitation and greeting card startup is taking that defiance a step further.

The New York company launched Paper by Paperless Post in October after customers requested a way to get its electronic greeting cards and invitations in a more old-fashioned way: On actual paper. Starting Wednesday, Paperless Post is teaming up with stationery and card maker Crane & Co. to print wedding invitations. Users will be able to choose from 35 wedding invitation designs that they can customize and then print on Crane paper.

It sounds like an unlikely match: Crane has been printing cards and stationery on paper made of 100 percent cotton since 1801 in Dalton, Mass., while Paperless Post was launched in 2009 by 20-something siblings with no plans to ever print cards.

HarperCollins Canada to Buy Titles from Wiley Canada

http://www.financialpost.com/markets/news/HarperCollins+Canada+Acquire+Select+Titles+from+Wiley+Canada/8194836/story.html

HarperCollins Canada today announced that it has acquired a select number of Wiley Canada’s non-fiction backlist titles. The acquisition is effective immediately. The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. 

Among the titles purchased are such Canadian classics as the bestselling Mother of All series by Ann Douglas, Ken Dryden’s The Game, recognized as the best book ever written on hockey and one of Sports Illustrated’s best sports books of all time, Hockey Dad, by Bob McKenzie and several cookbooks by Anne Lindsay including Smart Cooking,Lighthearted Everyday Cooking, and her most recent Lighthearted at Home: The Very Best of Anne Lindsay.

MediaPost Mag Bag

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/197388/mag-bag-nature-conservancy-accepts-advertising.html#axzz2Pc48g34
Magzter Gets Hearst Titles Digital magazine newsstand     
Magzter has signed up another big publishing partner, Hearst Corp., which agreed to make all of its U.S. titles -- as well as some international publications -- available via Magzter’s platform. Hearst joins a total of 600 other publishers that have made around 1,500 titles available via Magzter. 
Forbes Names More Execs
Jack Laschever has been named president for Forbes Conferences, a promotion from his previous role as CMO.
Cona To President, CRO Of Condé Nast Media Group
Lou Cona has been named president and chief revenue officer for the Condé Nast Media Group, the high-end publisher said.
And more...

Survey Shows Rise in Content Marketing Budgets

http://www.pubexec.com/article/at-nearly-44-billion-new-survey-shows-rise-content-marketing-budgets/1 
Custom content spending on production and distribution rose to 43.9 billion, the second highest amount to be recorded. All forms—print, electronic and other—experienced growth; a 9.2% rise over last year’s 40.2 billion, with print still claiming the lion’s share of dollars spent in content marketing.
Of the average overall marketing, advertising and communications budget, 39% of the funds were dedicated to content marketing.

Diversified Communications Names CEO

Wirth to succeed Hasselback as Diversified Communications CEO: Diversified Communications has named Ted Wirth president-CEO, effective at the end of June, when current President-CEO Nancy Hasselback retires.
Wirth, currently Diversified's VP-business development, has played a critical role in the company's entrance into the Hong Kong and India markets, and its investment in the primary care and medical specialty industries.

U.S. Paper Capacity Stable Through 2015

American paper capacity to hold steady through 2015
The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) recently released the 53rd Annual Survey of Paper, Paperboard and Pulp Capacity, reporting that U.S. paper and paperboard capacity declined 1.6 percent in 2012 but will hold essentially stable over the next three years (2013 through 2015).
Paper and paperboard capacity is slated to decline 0.4 percent in 2013 but then rise 0.6 percent in 2014 and 0.2 percent in 2015.  For the entire three-year projection period, paper and paperboard capacity is expected to rise 0.4 percent at an average annual rate of 0.1 percent.
Tissue paper and containerboard grades are slated to add capacity during the next three years, while capacities for newsprint and printing-writing paper grades are expected to decline.  The survey findings indicate that boxboard capacity will hold essentially stable.

UPM Annual Meeting: CEO Highlights Growth Areas

http://www.upm.com/en/Pages/default.aspx

UPM's President and CEO Jussi Pesonen at the Annual General Meeting:

UPM's President and CEO Jussi Pesonen stated his confidence in continued steady development of UPM's growth businesses at the company's Annual General Meeting held today at the Helsinki Exhibition & Convention Centre, Finland. He also underlined the importance of improved margins and stringent cost control on Group level and in the mature European businesses to maximise the cash flow of the company.
Pesonen highlighted that since 2007, UPM's Pulp, Energy, Label and Asian Paper Business have grown by 43 % in the topline. Despite the economic slowdowns during the period, these businesses have shown positive and profitable growth figures.

Sappi Donates $100,000 for Scholarships

http://www.paperage.com/2013news/04_03_2013sappi_fine_paper_umaine.html

Sappi Fine Paper North America has donated $100,000 over the course of four years to the University of Maine Pulp and Paper Foundation to establish an endowed scholarship fund for engineers. The Sappi Scholarship Fund is a Leadership Gift to the University of Maine Pulp and Paper Foundation's $2 million fundraising campaign, which begins this year.

Direct Mail Favored by Affluent, Too

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/51415194/ns/business-press_releases/#.UV24SBmYyKw

In an independent survey of affluent recipients of RSVP luxury card packs, recipients indicated they prefer and open the RSVP packs because they "save them money."

"Advertisers may find it surprising that this affluent demographic likes to save money as much as anyone else," says Dave Tropf, RSVP CEO. "In fact, another study, conducted by NCH, indicates that coupon usage actually increases as household income rises and that more than 96 percent of consumers with annual incomes exceeding $100,000 use coupons."

Direct Mail v. Email: No Contest!

Direct Mail v. Email: No Contest!:
A few weeks ago, a direct marketer asked me about the value of direct mail versus email. We often address “ROI” issues like these in Marketing AdVents, the monthly newsletter of the Direct Marketing Association of Washington (DC), of which I am editor. The answer is, of course, “Let’s find out.”
You’ll hear direct mail advocates argue that nothing works as well as a targeted letter containing the perfect response device, mailed to the right recipient. In the April issue of AdVents, Kevin Mills, director of membership for the National Legal Aid & Defender Association, put it this way: “With more than 15 years of experience developing marketing strategies to increase membership and member benefits, I have the most confidence in direct mail … Direct mail provides legitimacy to our organization and its cause, and provides the vehicle for email and social media campaigns to be successful.”

February Commercial Print Ships Down

February US Commercial Printing Shipments Disappoint, but January Shipments Revised Higher (Dr. Joe):
The US Department of Commerce reported that shipments of commercial printers for February 2013 were $5.994 billion, down -$169 million compared to 2012. This was the first time that shipments were below $6 billion since January 1992. On an inflation-adjusted basis, those 1992 shipments would be $9.9 billion today. January 2013 shipments, however, were revised up by +$121 million, and were +$269 million compared to January 2012.

NAPL Economists: Modest Growth in 2013

NAPL Economists See Modest Growth for Balance of 2013: In the just-released Spring edition of the Printing Business Conditions report, National Association for Printing Leadership (NAPL) economists note that industry sales increased in 2012 for the first time in five years, but the gain was very modest, and a combination of economic and competitive conditions will likely continue to limit overall industry sales growth this year.

Nature Conservancy Magazine Takes Ads

Nature Conservancy Magazine Takes Ads for First Time: Nature Conservancy magazine, the member benefit of the environmental conservation organization of the same name, has begun accepting advertising for the first time in its history. The switch coincides with a frequency upgrade from quarterly to bimonthly. Ads will appear both in the magazine and on its website.

The New Yorker Adds Science & Tech

The New Yorker Launches Science & Tech Vertical:
The New Yorker today added another category to its main nav bar—Science & Tech. The vertical is the latest in a series of new content features added to the site in the last year, including the Humor Channel and the Political Scene hub.

PRC Reviewing USPS Delivery Plans

U.S. Regulators Reviewing USPS Five-day Mail Delivery Plans: U.S. Postal Service ( USPS ), which recorded a $16B loss last year and expects to lose around $7.5B this financial year, believes reducing letter delivery services by a day per week could save $2B a year. The Postal Service has been bound by U.S. federal appropriations legislation to provide six-day-a-week mail delivery since the early 1980s. However, after last year saw Congress failing to pass reforms including a move to five-day-a-week mail delivery, Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe ordered a reinterpretation of the law.

Turner Buys 1,500 Wiley Titles

http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/04/03/turner-publishing-acquires-pets-crafts-and-other-t/

Turner Publishing today announced that it has acquired assets from John Wiley & Sons, Inc.'s (NYSE: JWa, JWb) pets, crafts, and general interest consumer publishing program. The terms of the acquisition, which closed April 2, 2013, were not disclosed. 
Turner acquired the digital and print assets for approximately 1,500 Wiley titles from its consumer pets, crafts, and general interest publishing programs. Notable brands, authors, and titles include Howell Book House and Baseball Prospectus.

Folio: People on the Move

People On The Move | 4.2.13:
Jack Laschever has been promoted to president of Forbes Conferences. Laschever was previously vice president of sales and marketing for Forbes online.
Pace, a custom content marketing company, has made managerial changes: Heather Keets Wright has been promoted to the newly created position of group content strategy director. Cindy Philips has been promoted to managing director of the inflight entertainment practices division. Angus Macaulay has been named group vice president of marketing and sales.
And more...

International Sign & Printmakers Guild Growing Quickly

International Sign & Printmakers Guild Reaches 1000 Members within Two Months of Organization’s Launch: The International Sign & Printmakers Guild, a member-led organization designed to help sign and print providers grow their businesses and reduce costs, has announced that 1000 sign and print business have already signed-up to join the new organization. This follows its official launch only two months ago by founding sponsor SA International (SAi), and represents one of the fastest growing membership organizations in the sign & print industry.

ANA: Marketers Cutting Budgets

ANA: Marketers continue to cut budgets: Despite improvements in the economy, the vast majority of marketers continue to push for cost savings and budget reductions, according to a new report from the Association of National Advertisers. According to the ANA's “2013 Recession Survey,” 82% of marketers are looking to cut costs, and two-thirds of those plan to reduce their marketing budgets by up to 10% this year.

Penquin Changes E-book Library Policy

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/27/penguin-ebooks-libraries-_n_2966023.html

Starting Tuesday, libraries can offer e-books from Penguin Group (USA) at the same time that the hardcover comes out, a switch from the previous policy of delaying downloads for six months, the publisher told The Associated Press. While vastly more e-books are available to libraries compared with a few years ago, Penguin and other publishers have limited digital access for fear of losing sales. The American Library Association has been calling for less restrictive terms.

SEC: OK to Use Social Media to Inform Investors

SEC Says Social Media OK for Company Announcements if Investors Are Alerted: The Securities and Exchange Commission today issued a report that makes clear that companies can use social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter to announce key information in compliance with Regulation Fair Disclosure (Regulation FD) so long as investors have been alerted about which social media will be used to disseminate such information. The SEC’s report of investigation confirms that Regulation FD applies to social media and other emerging means of communication used by public companies the same way it applies to company websites. The SEC issued guidance in 2008 clarifying that websites can serve as an effective means for disseminating information to investors if they’ve been made aware that’s where to look for it.

UPM Appoints Poulsen to Group Executive Team

UPM appoints Kim Poulsen to group executive team

UPM announced that Kim Poulsen has been appointed Executive Vice President and Group Executive Team member responsible for Paper Business Asia Pacific as of July 1 and global Corporate Relations as of May 2, 2013. Poulsen will be based in Shanghai
Poulsen will be based in Shanghai and reports to Jyrki Ovaska, President, Paper Business Group, in paper business related matters and to Jussi Pesonen, President and CEO, in Corporate Relations.
Pertti Salminen, who has been responsible for Paper Business Asia Pacific, will retire as planned in September 2013.
Poulsen has been working as Senior Vice President, UPM Plywood, since 2011.

Sale of SCA Laakirchen Mill to Heinzel

Divestment of Laakirchen mill now closed: SCA has now completed the previously announced divestment of the Laakirchen mill in Austria.
The Laakirchen mill, producing magazine paper, was sold to Heinzel Group. The closing follows clearance by relevant competition authorities.
The initial purchase consideration is EUR 100m with a possible maximum additional purchase price of EUR 100m based on a two-year profit-sharing model.

South America: Becoming Competitive Force in Forest Industry

http://whattheythink.com/news/62940-south-america-forecasted-become-competitive-force-forest-paper-packaging-industry/

Significant capacity expansion plans in South America are set to add between 20 to 30 million metric tons of chemical pulp to the global forest, paper, and packaging (FP&P) market by 2020. This is according to the 2013 Global forest, paper, and packaging trend watch: A changing landscape: South America's influence on global markets report released today by the Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu (DTTL) Global Manufacturing Industry group.
The report highlights the growing influence of South America on the global FP&P industry as an emerging consumer base as the region's reliance on paper imports to satisfy growing demand is expected to continue.  It also forecasts that South America, with its current investments into state-of-the-art production facilities, could also stake a competitive position in global markets.

Condé Nast Media Group Names President, Chief Revenue Officer

http://www.foliomag.com/2013/louis-cona-promoted-president-cro-cond-nast-media-group#.UVxIYxmYyKw

Louis Cona joined Condé Nast Media Group just five years ago, but he has quickly ascended to the top of the organization: company CEO Charles Townsend announced today that Cona will assume the role of president of the Condé Nast Media Group and chief revenue officer. -->

Cona joined Condé Nast Media Group in 2008 and has been the company’s chief marketing officer for the past three years. Earlier in his career, Cona spent four years as vice president and publisher of Vanity Fair and two years as vice president and publisher of The New Yorker.

In 24 Hours, Flipboard Users Create 100,000 Magazines

http://www.digitaltrends.com/social-media/flipboards-self-curation-feature-is-a-hit-with-100000-magazines-created-in-24-hours/

Flipboard recently rolled out version 2.0, which is being billed as a revolution for digital publishing. Its 50 million users can now cherry-pick articles from Flipboard and port these to collections of their own sharable magazines, pretty much in the same vein of the user-curated online news platforms Paper.li or Storify. And clearly, users are in favor of the custom-curation, because the numbers don’t lie: Within just 24 hours of releasing version 2.0, Flipboard has seen 100,000 magazines created, reports Mashable.

The news of the feature’s rapid adoption was announced by Flipboard’s partner of strategy and development, Paul Katz, at the Magazine Publisher Association conference.

27 Magazines Launched In Q1

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/197162/27-magazines-launched-in-q1.html#axzz2PEylLj6M

A total of 27 new magazines launched in the first quarter of 2013, while nine titles closed.

New titles launched in the first quarter of 2013 include Glam Belleza Latina, a Spanish-language publication targeting Hispanic women produced by Glamour, as well as The Veil, a new bridal mag, and Politico Pro Magazine, a print magazine produced by the well-known political blog of the same name.  
Four business-to-business titles launched in the first quarter as well, including IR Quarterly, a trade publication for the medical field of interventional radiology.

Hearst Receives 9 National Magazine Nominations

http://www.hearst.com/press-room/pr-900-20130401.html

The American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME) today announced the finalists for the 2013 National Magazine Awards. Known as the Ellies—for the Alexander Calder stabile "Elephant" given to each award winner-—the National Magazine Awards will be presented on Thursday, May 2, at the New York Marriott Marquis.

Sixty-two publications were nominated this year in 23 categories. Twenty-six magazines received multiple nominations, led by National Geographic with seven, followed by Bon Appétit and New York, both with six. GQ and The New Yorker both received five nominations; Esquire, Harper's Magazine, Mother Jones and Texas Monthly all received four.

Magazines with multiple nominations also include The Atlantic (3), Saveur (3), TIME (3), Wired (3), Bloomberg Businessweek (2), Byliner (2), Golf Digest (2) Los Angeles (2), Martha Stewart Living (2), The New York Times Magazine (2), Outside (2), The Paris Review (2), Real Simple (2), Scientific American (2),Slate (2), Sports Illustrated (2) and W (2).

American Greetings to be Sold

http://www.sacbee.com/2013/04/01/5307209/american-greetings-announces-definitive.html

American Greetings Corporation (NYSE: AM) (the "Company" or "American Greetings") announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement under which a newly organized entity owned by the Weiss Family, including the Company's Chairman, Morry Weiss; Director and Chief Executive Officer, Zev Weiss; and Director, President and Chief Operating Officer, Jeffrey Weiss and related persons and entities, will acquire the Company.

Wall Street Journal Launches Turkish Site

Wall Street Journal launches Turkish site: The Wall Street Journal has introduced The Wall Street Journal Türkiye, an online edition at wsj.com.tr. The business newspaper is now producing 12 international websites in nine languages.