Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Big 3 Business Mags Post Ad Gains

Big 3 business magazines post ad page gains: The Big 3 business magazines—Bloomberg Businessweek, Forbes and Fortune—posted ad page gains in the first half of the year compared with the year-earlier period, according to Publishers Information Bureau figures. Forbes led the way with a 13.0% gain in ad pages, followed by Bloomberg Businessweek (6.4%) and Fortune (4.0%).The magazines outperformed the broad consumer magazine market, which posted an 8.8% decline in ad pages in the first half of the year.

Power of Print Magazine Advertising

Research Reveals Power of Print Magazine Advertising: New research, launched by IPC Media, has found that magazines drive consumers toward purchase, are highly engaging and trusted, and are the medium most likely to hold consumers’ sole attention. 

Insights On The Millennial Generation

http://www.delivermagazine.com/2012/07/building-a-buzz-gen-y-expert-shares-her-insights/
As the founder and CEO of Buzz Marketing Group, Tina Wells has made it her business to keep her finger on the pulse of the “Millennial” generation. As the author of Chasing Youth Culture and Getting It Right, a leading field guide on understanding this increasingly influential demographic group, Wells is trying to help CMOs make Millennials (those born between 1985 and 2004) their business as well.The stakes, of course, are huge. Millennials — also known as Gen Y — represent a $43-billion market, so getting it right with this generation of consumers can make or break a business.

Tembec To Idle Canadian Pulp Mill

Tembec to idle Chetwynd pulp mill:
Tembec has announced its plans to indefinitely idle its high-yield pulp mill in Chetwynd, British Columbia.The mill will be idled on September 16.“The high-yield pulp market has continued to soften over the past year. At today’s price levels, it is virtually impossible to maintain viable operations given the current cost structure of the Chetwynd mill,” stated Chris Black, Tembec Executive Vice President and President of the Paper and Paper Pulp Group.
High-yield pulp is used in printing and writing papers, paperboard as well as tissue and towelling. Most of the pulp produced at the Chetwynd mill is shipped to Asia.

Conde Nast Shakes Up Sales Division

http://adage.com/article/media/conde-nast-shakes-crucial-corporate-sales-division/235963/
Conde Nast, the publisher of magazines from Vogue to The New Yorker, is making changes at its corporate sales operation, where major advertisers come to place big ad buys across multiple magazine brands.

Content Volume Impact on Digital Subs

Study: Higher-Volume Content Leads to More Digital Subscription Sales:  Press+, RR Donnelley's metered paid digital content service, conducted a recent study that looked at how daily content volume on some of its customer sites impacted the number of subscription sales. The findings indicate that higher-volume postings on a daily frequency led to significantly higher sales in the first month and on an ongoing basis.

McGraw-Hill On Track For Spinoffs

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-mcgraw-hill-companies-files-form-10-registration-statement-for-spinoff-of-mcgraw-hill-education-2012-07-11
The McGraw-Hill Companies today filed an initial Form 10 Registration Statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The filing is in connection with the previously announced separation of the Corporation into McGraw-Hill Financial and McGraw-Hill Education. "The filing of the Form 10 is another important step toward separation and the establishment of McGraw-Hill Financial and McGraw-Hill Education as leading separate companies.

DirectMail.com Gets Portal Contract

DirectMail.com Gets Marketing Portal Contract from Affinity Center International: DirectMail.com, a leading provider of integrated direct marketing solutions, announced the signing of Reston, VA–based Affinity Center International (ACI) to a one-year contract. Under the terms of the agreement, DirectMail.com will aid in the firm’s direct marketing efforts to promote and grow its AchieveLinks program by developing, implementing and overseeing an automated, Web-based marketing portal that both ACI and DirectMail.com will use to order and customize professional-quality marketing materials and conduct direct mail and email campaigns.

Email Volume; Record-Breaking Levels

Study: Email volume set for record-breaking levels: Email marketing volume remained at record-setting levels during the month of June, with volume growth for the year expected to exceed 2011's level, according to a study by email marketing company Responsys Inc.

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Pacific West Bid $33 Million for Port Hawkesbury


Pacific West Commercial Corp. is poised to pay $33 million to buy an idled Cape Breton paper mill.
The British Columbia forestry firm, an affiliate of Stern Partners Inc., emerged as the top bidder for the embattled NewPage Port Hawkesbury paper mill in January.
The offer price had been kept under wraps until the mill’s chief restructuring officer filed an affidavit with Nova Scotia Supreme Court on Friday.
In order to approve the sale, NewPage has put forward a motion for an order approving a meeting of the mill’s creditors.
In order to ensure there is enough time for the sales process, NewPage has also put forward a motion for an order granting an extension of the mill’s creditor protection status.

Possible State Aid for Verso's Sartell


Gov. Mark Dayton's office has voiced interest in providing state aid in response to the Verso mill explosion as the governor prepares to convene a special legislative session to respond to floods in the Duluth area.

TwoSides Announces Iniative


Two Sides today announced a nationwide initiative to assist major U.S. companies in developing and implementing best practices related to environmental marketing claims for print and paper. According to Two Sides research on 94 leading companies, 50 percent of them are using unsubstantiated environmental claims to encourage consumers to switch to lower-cost electronic billing and services.

Weyerhaeuser Supports American Tree Farm System®

Weyerhaeuser Establishes Procurement Preference for American Tree Farm System®-Certified Wood: Weyerhaeuser Company today announced its preference for purchasing wood that is certified under the American Tree Farm System®.
"Weyerhaeuser's announcement is just what certified Tree Farmers have been waiting for," said Tom Martin, president and CEO of the American Forest Foundation.
Weyerhaeuser's corporate sustainability goals include demonstrating forest stewardship by certifying its timberlands to sustainable forestry standards. All the timberlands Weyerhaeuser owns or manages in North America are certified to the Sustainable Forestry Initiative system.

Fiber Costs Down 11-15% in Europe

Wood Fiber Costs for the European Pulp Industry have fallen from the Record Highs of 2011: (USA) Wood costs for many European pulp mills have fallen the past six months as the pulp market has weakened. In the Nordic countries, pulplog and wood chip prices have fallen 11-15 percent from last spring.

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Names CEO

Lisa Gersh Elevated to Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia CEO: This morning, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia president and COO (since May 2011) Lisa Gersh was promoted to CEO. One highlight from Gersh's 14-month tenure was her November 2011 hire of Joe Lagani as MSLO chief revenue officer. (Two months later, Lagani named Peter Medwid publisher of the Martha Stewart Living flagship.) Another was the 10-year "strategic alliance" with J.C. Penney that will take effect in Feb. 2013.

Q2 Ad Pages Fell -8.5%


Spring brought no relief for consumer magazines, with total ad pages declining 8.5% from 44,795 in the second quarter of 2011 to 40,969 in the second quarter of 2012, according to the Publishers Information Bureau. Total advertising revenues, based on official rate cards, slipped 3.2% from $5.7 billion to $5.5 billion.

BuzzMedia Buys Spin

BuzzMedia Buys Spin: BuzzMedia, a digital network of pop culture, entertainment and music sites, has acquired music magazine Spin. BuzzMedia will integrate Spin's digital assets, but the fate of its print magazine, while presently viewed as valuable by CEO Tyler Goldman, is unclear in the long term.

Brentwood Acquires Majority Stake in Sundance


Private equity firm Brentwood Associates has acquired a majority stake in Sundance Catalog and plans to scale the luxury retailer, long overshadowed by its sister resort and festival, into an e-commerce powerhouse, the investment firm told TheWrap.
The move came as Los Angeles-based Brentwood sold off stock in some of its niche brands -- French equestrian shoemaker Ariat International and clothier Filson Holdings -- to purchase what partner Eric Reiter called "a gem."
Selling shareholders, including ACI Capital and Webster Capital, will retain a minority ownership stake and president and CEO Matey Erdos, along with his team, will remain.

fullbeauty Mails Catalogue


fullbeauty, a revolutionary plus size lingerie brand that is part of Redcats USA’s OneStopPlus Group, announced today the mailing of its first 72-page catalog. The fullbeauty catalog will be the largest lingerie catalog produced by OneStopPlus Group, a division of Redcats USA.

Time Publisher Kim Kelleher Leaves


Kim Kelleher is leaving her post as worldwide publisher of Time magazine to become president of Say Media, the blog network that includes sites such as XOJane, Gardenista, ReadWriteWeb, Style Bubble and Techdirt, Ad Age has learned.
Time magazine, part of Time Inc., and Say Media, where Ms. Kelleher succeeds Troy Young, confirmed the move Tuesday. Time plans to look at internal and external candidates to succeed Ms. Kelleher. Mr. Young is leaving Say Media.