New York – American Business Media (ABM) launched an ambitious advertising campaign that emphasizes the power of B-to-B media as an important component of the marketing mix. ABM will invest seven figures in the campaign, the largest budget in ABM history.
The catch phrase of the campaign is: “Business Media. Devoured by the Influential.” The campaign is intended to remind marketers that B-to-B info is so important that the audience devours the information whether it is from a magazine, trade show or web site, said Mark Rothman, chief marketing officer for ABM, the association that represents B-to-B media.
Advertising revenue for B-to-B magazines has been relatively flat for the 1st Quarter of 2006, showing only a modest 0.32 percent gain, according to ABM. However, some specialized publishing sectors, such as aerospace and utilities, posted double-digit revenue growth. The association is predicting business will pick up in the second half of the year as it did in 2005.
The “Devoured by the Influential” campaign is being executed on three tracks:
- Print ads that began running in mid-June in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Chief Executive, Financial Week, Ad Age and the ADWEEK Group;
- Digital ads on Forbes.com and others; and
- Signage at trade shows.
Rothman said ABM is encouraging B-to-B media companies who exhibit at trade shows to display the ads in their booths or incorporate the ads into signage.
The primary ad, which was developed by ABM along with DiMassimo, Inc., shows an outline of a human digestive system that one would see in a classic antacid or headache remedy ad. The digestive tract, however, runs to the brain rather than the stomach, cleverly planting the idea that B-to-B publications are meaty grist that feeds the business brain when “devoured.”
The copy for the trade show-targeted campaign reiterates the contention that movers and shakers are perennially hungry for the latest business intelligence. That’s why it makes sense for marketers to exhibit in trade shows.
“A presence at these events as part of an integrated campaign puts you in face-to-face contact with an involved target, increasing brand awareness and purchases,” the copy said.
The ad in the series features a butcher’s diagram of a cow divided up into the various cuts of “meat” — i.e. trade show booths – in a unique and interesting representation of a trade show floor plan .
Reach Mark Rothman at (212) 681-1106, or m.rothman@abmmail.com. Reach Lee Goldstein, president of DiMassimo, at (646) 507-5804
