Archive for the ‘custom media’ Category
Custom Publishing Case Studies Now on Vimeo!
8 Mar 2010
by Herminia Irizarry
Our broadcast team just set up a Vimeo page with our latest video projects and custom publishing case studies. We’ll be adding more videos often, so be sure to visit again!
NFIB Selects Imagination Custom Publishing to Create Cutting-Edge Small Business Content
8 Jan 2010
by Michelle O'Hagan
CHICAGO—The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the nation’s leading small business association, selected Imagination Publishing as its new custom publishing partner to help relaunch its flagship magazine, MyBusiness, and create dynamic new content for the NFIB website (http://www.NFIB.com).
MyBusiness, NFIB’s “voice of small business” publication for nearly 20 years, is published bi-monthly with a circulation of 475,000. The March/April 2010 custom magazine relaunch will include a revised feature well, prominent guest columnists, a fresh, modern layout, and expanded, exclusive and actionable content on NFIB.com, including rich media tips and tools to help small business owners own, operate and grow their businesses.
“For years, MyBusiness and NFIB.com have helped the nation’s small business owners run and grow their businesses,” said Dan Danner, NFIB’s president and CEO. “We chose Imagination for its outstanding creative execution, cutting-edge strategic thinking and the passion they brought to the table for helping small business owners. We’re excited to work with Imagination Publishing to reinvigorate the magazine and our site, to make it even more relevant to our audience and advertisers with critical and timely business advice, political and regulatory information and utilize digital opportunities to build community.”
Imagination’s NFIB team will operate under the leadership of company President and CEO Jim Meyers, along with EVP of Design Doug Kelly, and EVP of Client Strategy Laura Chavoen. Editorial Director Simona Covel, formerly of the Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires, and Account Director Rene Ryan, whose writing has appeared in The Boston Globe and Inc. magazine, will head up print and digital strategies for MyBusiness and NFIB.com. Holly Townsend, president of The Townsend Group, will handle advertising sales for the magazine and the NFIB.com.
“Imagination is the custom content leader in producing editorial for organizations who want to reach small businesses, and this is the strongest strategic and editorial team we’ve ever had,” Meyers said. “Small business is the backbone of the nation’s economy and our mission is to take an already strong publication to the next print and digital levels, to make it indispensable for small business owners and the advertisers who want to reach them.”
Highlights of the March/April issue include:
Unemployment Overload
Unemployment is high, and that means opportunity for small business. How to take advantage of the sudden glut of workers—and how to avoid costly missteps.
The State of the Stimulus
It’s no secret: there wasn’t much in the stimulus for you. Follow five small businesses just like yours that tried to eke out stimulus funds.
The Exit Plan Crisis
Every business owner’s worst nightmare is losing his or her business. But without better succession planning, the majority of small business owners may face that prospect. How to avoid that fate.
Guest Columnist
Famed marketing guru Seth Godin offers his take on small business marketing.
About NFIB
NFIB (http://www.NFIB.com) is the leading small business association representing small and independent businesses. A nonprofit, nonpartisan organization founded in 1943, NFIB represents the consensus views of its members in Washington and all 50 states. The organization’s powerful network of grassroots activists voices its opinion directly to state and federal lawmakers through a members-only ballot, playing a critical role in supporting America’s free enterprise system.
About Imagination Publishing
Imagination (http://www.imaginepub.com) is the leading custom publishing and content marketing agency. We help our clients build relationships and increase engagement with their customers. Our clients include B2B and B2C marketers, industry and trade associations. Imagination combines the strengths of traditional agencies, digital agencies and custom publishers to harness the power of relevant content and targeted distribution to help our clients achieve their business goals.
For media inquiries about MyBusiness magazine, contact Jim Meyers, president and CEO of Imagination Publishing at: 312-887-1000.
For advertising inquiries about MyBusiness magazine, contact Holly Townsend, president of The Townsend Group at: 301-215-6710.
New Custom Magazine for Senior Marketers to Debut Friday
21 Oct 2009
by Michelle O'Hagan
ORANGE magazine to share insight and opinions about custom publishing, branding and integrated marketing programs.
CHICAGO—Imagination Publishing, a custom publishing agency, on Friday will debut a new custom magazine, ORANGE, to be distributed to senior marketing executives internationally.
The custom magazine, and its companion microsite, will share the magic of why custom content is the most powerful marketing tool for creating audience engagement.
“ORANGE magazine fills a void for CMOs; it goes way beyond the content in most marketing and advertising industry publications, says Jim Meyers, president and CEO of Imagination Publishing. “It covers cutting-edge issues developing around custom content, and positions custom publishing as a critical part of an integrated marketing strategy.”
- ORANGE, a custom published magazine for senior marketers, from Imagination
The inaugural issue of ORANGE includes interviews with leaders at the Berlin School of Creative Leadership; Chris Brogan, co-author of New York Times best-seller “Trust Agents;” Anna Malmhake, VP of global marketing for The Absolut Company; Jeremy Gutsche, founder of Trendhunter; and Martin Lindstrom, author of “Buyology: The Truth & Lies About Why We Buy.”
Online-exclusive content includes interviews with international pollster John Zogby and Ruy Teixeira, senior fellow with The Center for American Progress.
ORANGE’s original content and striking design demonstrate a custom publishing program at its very best. The publication’s masthead describes it as “both inspirational and aspirational, and sometimes confrontational.”
One department, titled “Buy This Idea,” features complete concepts for new custom content packages, along with a suggested ideal sponsor for each.
“Imagination has been a leader in custom publishing for fifteen years,” Meyers says. “With ORANGE, we’ll share our knowledge, insight and opinions with senior marketers around the country through our own ideal custom publishing program.”
To learn more about ORANGE magazine, or to request a subscription, visit www.imaginepub.com/orange
Rebecca Rolfes in “Association Publishing”
6 Apr 2009
by Michelle O'Hagan
Rebecca Rolfes, Imagination’s EVP of association strategy, was a major source in an article in the Jan/Feb edition of SNAP’s Association Publishing. “Piloting through Publication Politics” is a feature story that covers association leaders’ understanding of product development. Check it out at: SNAP online.
Custom Media Works for Financial Services
7 Jan 2009
by Michelle O'Hagan
Need practical advice about running a small business? “Business Insight Series” is an extensive video library Imagination created for Wells Fargo Small Business. It’s yet another example of a financial services company using custom media to reach its target audience.
-
Wells Fargo Business Insight Series
The Business Insight Series contains more than 60 videos providing advice and expertise to Wells Fargo small business customers. Some of the videos are one-on-one episodes with an interviewer and a small business expert; others are case studies/profiles of Wells Fargo customers who share their success stories. The library also includes short clips from the longer 40-minute webcasts Imagination produces for Wells Fargo.
The “Business Insight Series” video library is a unique offering Wells Fargo provides to customers — a valuable resource for small business owners.
The Changing Role of Editors
9 Dec 2008
by James Meyers
I had dinner last week with President of leading global trade association for business professionals. For nearly two hours, we debated the changing role of editors in today’s digital world and whether in the future, editors will be replaced by user-generated content?
Let me start by saying that years ago, before I started my custom media company, I was a senior executive for a major daily newspaper. Many things troubled me about the newspaper business at that time. One was the dismissive attitude of editors toward this new newspaper start-up called USA Today. Who would ever read this “Mac-lite” newspaper filled with short stories, colorful graphics and reader commentary, and never ending surveys and polls? Surely, it would never last! Yet today, twenty years later, nearly every daily and business newspaper has copied their tactics.
However the most disturbing comment I ever heard at the newspaper was the editor-in-chief ranting on in a meeting that readers didn’t know what they wanted or needed to read, that was the job of the editor, to tell them what they needed to read. It seemed arrogant at the time and today it seems like an absolute indictment of what’s wrong with many newspapers and magazines today. Too much of that attitude is still ingrained in editors today even as a digital tidal wave of user-generated content, opinions and community is sweeping over the world.
The role of editors is changing rapidly and forever, but I’m convinced that editors can still be the heart and soul of any print or digital publication. The difference in the future is that editors must be aggregators of information balancing reader-generated content with expert editorial and providing context and space for both. Reaching out to readers, and more importantly to potential readers, through all available media channels will be a critical skill that every editor will need to master. Listening to readers and participating in online communities will provide insight and content ideas that yesterday’s editors never could have imagined.
I applaud journalism schools like Northwestern and Missouri who have taken bold steps to integrate print, digital and business courses as a mandatory requirement for their degrees in the face of angry traditionalists. The world is changing at incomprehensible speed and the lines of journalism, communication and business are blurring, but editors can and will remain as essential navigators of content in this increasingly digital world.
Recession Brings Opportunities for Marketers
10 Nov 2008
by James Meyers
Well, the elections are over, but little else has changed. The economy continues to bottom out, the stock market continues to drop on trader paranoia and companies continue to run scared. It’s a tough time for CMOs and marketers as they fight internal pressures to cut advertising costs, reduce staff and continue to produce results.
I’ve spent the last week poring over everything I can find about what marketers should do in the midst of an economic recession and the overwhelming sentiment and evidence is that the best marketers are looking at today’s economy as a real opportunity to expand market share versus weak competitors.
Since the end of World War II there have been eleven economic recessions or slowdowns in the United States that have provided plenty of opportunity to study how marketers have reacted and which companies have benefited and which have failed. Most recently, a 2005 study by the Smeal College of Business at Penn State University found that companies who have an ongoing strategic emphasis on the importance of marketing, who have nimble, entrepreneurial-type cultures and who have the resources to take advantage of marketing opportunities during a recession not only fair better during the recession but also come out of the recession quicker and significantly accelerate their growth much faster than their competitors when the economy begins to recover.
It’s not surprising that marketers who are positioned to see opportunities while those around them are cutting back marketing, costs, staffing and quality receive the double benefit of being aggressive at a time when their competition is pulling back. It’s truly an opportunity for the strongest to survive and flourish. World class athletes know that under times of great stress, their ability to focus, summon up resources and perform at a high level will nearly always results in victory against weaker opponents. They sense the weakness in their opponents, their fear, their inability to rise to the occasion and they take advantage of it. Think of Tiger Woods. Does he slack off or lose focus when he’s ahead or in dangerous waters? No, that’s the time when he goes in for the kill.
Advertising Age recently said that “recessions offer unprecedented opportunities to market in an environment of relatively less noise as others around you are cutting back”.
The November 10th issue of Business Week reported that Wal-Mart is enjoying double-digit profit growth while retailers all around them are reporting declines. Some retailers, such as Linens ‘N Things and Circuit City are filing for bankruptcy or closing stores. Clearly, Wal-Mart’s longtime emphasis on low pricing plays well in today’s economic environment. But did you know that Wal-Mart’s Every Day Low Prices slogan started during the last economic slowdown? And it’s not just about low prices, otherwise K-Mart and Sears would be reporting similar results. It’s about value, brand and staying focused in your communications.
After much reading and research, it seems the key to economic success during an economic downturn is maintaining a clear and constant focus on five critical areas: Competition, Brand, Customers, Communications and Staff.
Competition: Audit everything about your competitors. Their products, their website, their pricing, their sales force, everything! It’s critical that you know their every move not only to anticipate their tactics against you but to find their weaknesses that you might be able to exploit during a time when they are already looking over their shoulder. Take advantage of the economic uncertainty and risk to leave your competition far behind just as that world class athlete would.
Build Your Brand: Focus on those things that got you where you are today. Support and build your brand proposition. Reinforce the core values of your brand to make sure that your existing customers don’t see any deterioration in the products or services that they expect. If you have multiple products or services, make sure that you protect and nourish your core brands first particularly during poor economic times. They are your bread and butter. Never reduce quality to cut costs.
Customers: It’s common to avoid your customers during tough times in an attempt to “fly under the radar” of their economic troubles. But that’s exactly the opposite of what you should be doing. Now is the time to be listening to your customers, understanding their needs and fears, offering solutions to help. Be visible, be a partner, be a resource to them. Exceeding their expectations during tough times will pay off now and even more so when the economy improves.
Communications: Cutting back on communications and marketing during tough economic times moves you back into the pack of other companies who are running scared. It’s likely that just not reducing spending will put you ahead of your competitors. But, don’t be foolish, be smart. Adjust your spending to be more targeted, more frequent and more measurable. Economic recessions call for a focus on marketing that minimizes waste, engages customers and results in a return on investment that can be measured. Marketers move away from mass media during tough economic times in favor of more targeted, measurable media such as websites, custom publishing and community-building. Custom media continues to be proven way for companies to solidify their customer relationships, drive engagement and increase revenues.
Staff: Probably one of the most overlooked and neglected areas of focus during tough economic times is your staff. Don’t forget that they have a lot less information than you do, that they are being bombarded by bad news from the media and that they’re concerned or scared for their own jobs and their financial well-being. Now’s the time for increased communication with them that will keep them informed, engaged and with a feeling of purpose and value.
Recessions offer a time for opportunity. When everyone else around you is running for cover because the sky is falling, you have the opportunity to move your brand forward. But it takes focus, courage and commitment to be successful. That’s why small businesses generally do better than big companies during tough times because these are the type that first drove entrepreneurs to be successful. After all, entrepreneurs are used to flying in the face of advertisity, finding success when others predict failure and staying focused every day on achieving their dreams. We all need to exhibit a little more entrepreneurial spirit in these tough times, take risks and stay focused on success rather than failure.
