American Business Media, the B-to-B industry association last week announced the completion of a major study on the power of B-to-B Media.
After asking more than 500 key executives who are
responsible for purchasing products and services across major business segments, Yankelovich/Harris Interactive, which performed the study, has concluded that business-to-business media are
“indisputably an advertiser’s ally in reaching executives about products and services for their business.”
According to the findings, more than any other media source, executives rely on
b-to-b media for information to influence or support purchase decisions.
In the executive summary of the study Yankelovich says, “Down economy or not, executives recognize the need to keep
abreast of new products and services and the need to continue to invest to remain competitive. Whether success for advertisers is measured in terms of building awareness or stimulating action, b-to-b
media, including magazines, websites, and trade shows, are exceptional means of capturing executives’ attention.”
Yankelovich/Harris found that executives who have recently been involved with
all three b-to-b media (magazines, websites, trade shows) are significantly more likely than other executives to take meaningful actions as a result of that involvement.
This observation
strongly suggests marketing messages appearing in multiple b-to-b media, working in tandem, are more effective than a single-medium messaging approach.
For advertisers interested in maximum
profit from their investment in b-to-b media, these research results indicate that advertising frequently -- and capitalizing on the synergistic effect of print, websites and trade shows -- is a sure
path to increasing awareness, interest, and purchase.
Over the past two years, there has been a dramatic increase in time executives spend visiting b-to-b websites. This time is incremental to
the significant time executives continue to spend reading b-to-b magazines and visiting b-to-b trade shows.
Unfortunately, the Business Information Network (BIN) Report for July continues to report
the softening of the economy, with ad pages down 22.6% vs. July 2000, and spending down 25.3%.
JULY AD PAGES
Ad pages for all 12 mega categories declined vs. July 2000, with: Travel,
down 5.6%; Drugs & Toiletries/PERQ, down 10.6%; Retail, down 14.1%; Horticulture & Farming, down 14.2%; Home & Building, down 18.0%; Automotive, down 21.5%; Manufacturing & Electrical Equipment, Mat's
& Components, down 21.6%; Services, Direct Response, Classified, down 26.4%; Computers, down 27.6%; Software, down 28.7%; Finance, Business & Advertising, down 36.8%; and Telecommunications, down
37.3%.
JULY AD SPENDING
All mega categories declined vs. year ago. Spending was down in: Travel, down 3.2%; Horticulture & Farming, down 6.6%; Drugs & Toiletries/PERQ, down 7.7%;
Retail, down 9.6%; Automotive, down 11.2%; Computers, down 13.4%; Home & Building, down 13.4%; Manufacturing & Electrical Equipment, Mat's & Components, down 19.7%; Software, down 26.0%; Services,
Direct Response, Classified, down 29.6%; Telecommunications, down 36.6%; and Finance, Business & Advertising, down 43.5%.
“Our industry, like so many other industries, is being hit very hard,”
said Gordon T. Hughes II, President & CEO, American Business Media. "The numbers are not surprising. It is during times such as these that our industry in the long haul has become highly innovative,
and that is just what is occurring today. The Web is providing new cost savings for our industry and new streams of revenue are being developed. In the years to come, the innovations we are developing
today will provide new and varied sources of revenues for our industry."
YEAR-TO-DATE
Year-to-date ad pages declined 16.3%, and ad spending was down 16.9%.
YEAR-TO-DATE PAGES
Year-to-date ad pages declined in all categories, with Horticulture & Farming, down 3.6%; Travel, down 5.1%; Retail, down 10.3%; Home & Building, down 10.6%; Manufacturing & Electrical
Equipment, Mat's & Components, down 10.8%; Drugs & Toiletries/PERQ, down 12.0%; Automotive, down 14.4%; Telecommunications, down 19.1%; Services, Direct Response, Classified, down 20.4%; Software,
down 20.7%; Computers, down 21.2%; and Finance, Business & Advertising, down 26.4%.
YEAR-TO-DATE SPENDING
Year-to-date ad spending was down in all 12 mega categories. Spending dropped
in the following categories: Horticulture & Farming, down 0.37%; Retail, down 2.6%; Travel, down 4.5%; Home & Building, down 5.7%; Computers, down 8.6%; Automotive, down 9.0%; Manufacturing &
Electrical Equipment, Mat's & Components, down 10.1%; Drugs & Toiletries/PERQ, down 12.3%; Telecommunications, down 12.4%; Software, down 21.0%; Services, Direct Response, Classified, down 21.7%;
Finance, Business & Advertising, down 28.6%. The Business Information Network (BIN), is a joint venture between American Business Media (ABM) and Competitive Media Reporting (CMR).