Crain Communications Inc.
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http://www.btobonline.com
312.649.5401
The Wind-Up
In early 2000 BtoB was easily running at least 60-page folios,
fueled by all of those frothy dot-com dollars. At the time, the
plan was to go weekly from biweekly. But when the technology
markets started to implode in 2001, BtoB was forced to dial back
its ambitions. It shrunk the frequency to a monthly in November '01
and changed its tagline to "The Magazine for Marketing Strategists"
from "The Magazine for Marketing and E-Commerce Strategists."
Still, as the trade publishing landscape has been littered the last
few years with print products that didn't survive the Internet
crash, Industry Standard, Upside and Venture Reporter to name but a
few, BtoB has regrouped and turned a difficult corner. It has
helped that Crain is a privately held company that doesn't have to
suffer the whipsaws in the marketplace.
Acknowledging dramatic changes in the market, BtoB editors
tweaked the focus of the publication right after the bottom fell
out of the Internet market. "Electronic marketplaces had less of an
impact than we thought they would," says Ellis Booker, editor of
BtoB, who was recruited in April 2000 to run the magazine after it
morphed into BtoB from Crain's long-standing Business Marketing.
"But traditional mechanisms of advertising, promotions and sales
were still very important." BtoB now covers all of the
aforementioned areas of marketing but -- through front-page stories
and its NetMarketing section -- doesn't shirk from still covering
technologies that are vital to chief marketing officers, such as
search engines. (Earlier this month BtoB launched a new monthly
e-mail newsletter called Hands-On: Search). Circulation is steady
at 45,000, with about 5,000 paid. Although other trade publications
cover some of the areas included in the magazine, BtoB's exclusive
focus is unmatched.
In a sign that Crain is committed to the magazine, BtoB last
June launched Media Business, which covers business media
soup-to-nuts. (The supplement went to a monthly format starting in
September). Media Business, polybagged with BtoB, goes to 5,000
C-level business media executives and has a companion bi-weekly
e-newsletter. The last page of Media Business, called 'Endnote,' is
a solid vehicle for heavyweight business media executives who want
to contribute a written piece addressing myriad challenges
confronting the industry.
The Pitch
For the main BtoB there are several areas to pitch, including
stories and trends related to direct marketing, b-to-b advertising,
business media and CRM strategies. (See contacts). All reporters
like to be initially contacted via e-mail; an e-mail follow-up
around a week later is generally preferred to a telephone call.
"What we're now trying to do is give b-to-b marketing
practitioners a view of the news, techniques and strategies of
executives in the sector," Booker says. Starting in February, for
example, each BtoB issue will include a section on how to create
business opportunities in XYZ sector, such as health care and
financial services. The section will feature top advertisers in the
market, a trend piece and the major shows in the space. "I see it
as the kind of spread that somebody who wants to get into that
sector would read and say, 'Hey, here's an opportunity for us,'"
Booker says.
The Op-Ed page normally has two news holes to pitch for
contributed pieces. Recent C-level columns examined database trends
and why it's important that CEOs recruit ad agency execs. Booker
stresses that PR execs should study BtoB's editorial calendar to
see what the magazine covered last year and how it may tackle the
same subject this year. "You can call and say, 'We got a customer
who is perfect for that.' At least show me you have done some
homework, that always helps," Booker says, adding that he
occasionally gets business-to-consumer story pitches, which he
considers a no-no. (If it's good enough, however, Booker might punt
it to sister publication AdvertisingAge). BtoB also runs a slew of
Special Reports, including "Marketer of the Year" and "B-to-B
agency of the Year."
Be sure to consider the publication's frequency and know that
it's more attuned to running trend stories about business marketing
rather than spot stuff. "Very few PR people will pitch a trend
story," Booker says. "If the client can get into a trend story,
that's good news. But they pitch their client as a market leader or
cutting edge. The better way to go is to show how a client is
taking advantage of a trend or swimming against a trend."
Crain's BtoB (Chicago) Contacts:
- Ellis Booker, Editor, [email protected], Oversees both
monthly BtoB and Media Business supplement - John Obrecht, Managing Editor, [email protected], Responsible for
day-to-day management of magazine - Mary Morrison, Senior Editor, NetMarketing, [email protected], Beat:
NetMarketing - Sean Callahan, Senior Reporter, [email protected],
Beat: Business Media, key contributor to Media Business - Kate Maddox, Senior Reporter, [email protected], Beat:
Advertising/campaigns and b2b agencies - Carol Krol, Senior Reporter, [email protected], Beat: direct
marketing, search marketing