Archive for the ‘magazines’ Category
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
Custom Publishing Agency Named one of Best Magazine Publishing Companies to Work For 2009
1 Oct 2009
by Michelle O'Hagan
Custom media expert excels in employee survey, workplace best practices.
CHICAGO–Imagination Publishing recently was named one of the Best Magazine Publishing Companies to Work for 2009. The annual list of “Best Magazine Companies” was created by Publishing Executive magazine and Best Companies Group. The complete list – along with profiles of each company’s benefits package and corporate policies – is published in the November issue of Publishing Executive magazine.
Jim Meyers, president of Imagination, says the recognition is a direct result of Imagination’s rigorous and strategic hiring practices. “Over the years, we’ve evolved from a small custom publisher to a custom media expert with B2B and B2C clients across the country. Hiring the highest caliber custom media and marketing professionals is one of our highest priorities.”
Imagination’s Vice President of Talent, Andrea Scott, coordinated the required anonymous employee survey. “Our employees are so enthusiastic about their careers and their clients, and that enthusiasm came through in the survey,” Scott says. “We’re very proud of the work we do for our clients, and that makes Imagination a great place to work.”
Companies from across the country entered the two-part survey process to determine the “Best Magazine Publishing Companies to Work For.” The first part consisted of evaluating each nominated company’s workplace policies, practices, philosophy, systems and demographics. The second part consisted of an employee survey to measure the employee experience. The combined scores determined the top companies and the final ranking. Best Companies Group managed the overall registration, survey and analysis process and determined the final rankings.
About Imagination
Imagination is a custom publisher and custom media agency. We help B2B and B2C marketers and associations build relationships and increase engagement with their customers.
Survival of the Smartest
7 Jul 2009
by admin
Let’s not bury the lede: the publishing industry is in trouble.
Magazines are struggling to survive as advertising revenue evaporates, and the rules of engagement–literally–change. In the first half of 2009, 279 magazines folded according to a MediaFinder.com survey cited by FOLIO:
Given all of that it would seem logical–nay, imperative–that publishers, CEOs, COOs editors and the rest of content generating masses reach deep into their creative souls to fix the problems that plague the industry.
Alas, a quick read (or even a slow, thorough one) of FOLIO: magazine’s So What Business Are You In feature seems to indicate that the C-suite at most major publishing houses still does not get it. And by “it,” I mean the severity of the situation.
In this series of articles penned by noted magazine professionals (including Hearst’s vice president and general manager, John Loughlin, and New York’s Larry Burstein), we get the same rote recantation of standard operating procedure,i.e the “same ol’, same ol’,” namely:
- We’re platform agnostic
- We’re diversifying our revenue streams
- We’re investing in technology
It’s almost as if each of the interviewees is more concerned with presenting a brave face, instead of taking the conversation in a new direction. In fact, not a single one of these leaders within the industry mentions the one “buzz word” that they actually should: Innovation.
To be fair, there are some good ideas here.
The Atlantic’s president, Justin Long, gets points for talking about a holistic business strategy for creating profitable brands to lessen the dependence on advertising dollars, and Technology Review’s Kathleen Kennedy hits it out of the park with her emphasis on diversifying the content distribution model using new delivery methods, specifically mobile apps and Kindle apps.
But by and large, the majority of these folks put innovation and R&D below the fold. Not a single mention of trying to harness the power of social networks (though everyone talks about community), and working to create new ways to engage the audience with new forms of content. In addition, there’s very little mention of organizational changes to get away from the highly-inefficient publishing process that soaks up time and resources.
Now, I’m not saying I have all the answers, but it just seems a tad disturbing that the level of this conversation hasn’t moved much in the past year. Perhaps that’s just being in shock. Or maybe it’s simply nature’s way of showing us who will and won’t survive, because at the end of the day it’s not about who gets it right, it’s about who gets it right first. Call it an imposition of Darwinian logic, call it a reckoning, but in the end the magazines left standing will the ones who took a risk and tried to do something new.
DAVEY AWARDS
7 Nov 2008
by Michelle O'Hagan
Imagination won four Davey Awards!
We love this competition for the “Davids” of creativity; those who derive their strength from big ideas, rather than stratospheric budgets. The competition issues awards in the following categories: print, video, websites, online marketing, TV, multimedia, radio, integrated campaigns and marketing effectiveness.
The common thread here is custom media.
Each of these categories is home to content that is custom published for specific target audiences. Our winning entries were custom magazines and digital media created for clients with specific relationship marketing goals.
Our winning work includes:
GOLD: Wells Fargo Small Business: “Sound Credit Practices”
Branded Content: Video/Films/Movies
Register to watch this webcast.
SILVER: PMI: “Leadership in Project Management, 2008″
Art Direction/Graphic Design
-
PMI’s custom magazine, Leadership in Project Management
PMI’s custom magazine, Leadership in Project Management
SILVER: POET: Vital magazine, Spring 2008
Editorial: Multi-page
-
POET’s custom magazine, Vital
POET’s custom magazine, Vital
SILVER: Quintiles Transnational: Envisage magazine, V1, I4, p. 48
Editorial: Single-page
-
Quintiles’ custom magazine, Envisage
Quintiles’ custom magazine, Envisage
Custom Publishing Success Story
7 Nov 2008
by James Meyers
It was fourteen years ago today that I set up an eight foot gate leg folding table in a four room office above a pizza kitchen in downtown Chicago and opened the doors of Imagination Publishing. As I sat alone in that first office, excited about my first custom publishing project, I was also overwhelmed by all the emotions that every small business owner knows all too well. I’d invested all of my savings in an idea that companies would be interested in using custom publishing to add value to their existing customer relationships in a medium that they could control.
I had approached traditional publishers, business associates and friends about investing in my new company but each of them chose not to after expressing varying degrees of skepticism and doubt. But as a successful marketer for nearly 20 years, I rarely listened to what others around me had to say because marketing is about having a vision and a focus on doing whatever is necessary to make that vision a reality. If you listen to the naysayers, you’ll never accomplish anything.
For years I had plaque on my wall with the Albert Einstein quote, “Imagination is more Important than Knowledge”. I always believed passionately that Einstein was right and that belief that served me well for so many years in the corporate world is still right on target today. You see it’s not about what you know, or what you’ve done. Success comes from having the imagination, the passion, the curiosity and the focus to make your dreams real. So it seemed only natural to name my company Imagination Publishing.
But now the stakes were different. I was playing with my own money, my home, my family’s livelihood! And often during those early years I’d lie awake at night with the “monster over my bed”. I’m sure that every small business owner knows that same monster.
Small Business Monster
After working six and seven days a week with 12-14 hour days that monster would always being there reminding me of everything that could go wrong. Learning to live with that monster by beating it down with an even stronger sense of confidence and purpose is part of the secret to building a successful small business.
Luckily, I had two other things going for me. A great wife and family who supported my crazy dream through all the tough times, never once questioning my resolution to succeed. And my first two hires who set up their folding tables a week after me. Rebecca Rolfes and Doug Kelly shared my dream and passion and have been huge part of the success of Imagination Publishing. Without Rebecca’s endless sense of optimism and Doug’s rock-solid work ethic and stability, we would never have reached the success that we now enjoy.
Today, fourteen years later, Imagination Publishing has more than 50 full time Imagineers and more than 20 fantastic clients. Many of our clients are Fortune 100 companies and leading trade associations who all have found custom publishing to be an effective means of communicating and engaging with their customers. Print custom publishing is still more than 60% of our business but the explosion of digital continues to grow at a breakneck pace even in the current economic recession. Today, we’ve become experts in rich media, community management, SEO and analytics, and strategic integration as well as custom magazines in order to meet all of the custom media needs of our clients. Custom content continues to grow while traditional media continues to decline because it works.
It’s been a fabulous ride but I have a vision that the next fourteen years will be even better. While some only see risk and peril in today’s economy, I see nothing but opportunity. I have to, it’s all I know.
Envisage and Exchange Take Web Awards
17 Sep 2008
by Michelle O'Hagan
CHICAGO—Two custom websites developed by Imagination for B2B clients were awarded WebAwards from the Web Marketing Association , the premier annual website award competition that names the best websites in 96 industries while setting the standard of excellence for all website development.
Envisagemag.com, a webzine published for Quintiles Transnational, was deemed “Best E-Zine Website.” Launched in January 2007, the webzine delivers thought-leadership and insight to the global medicines market.
With Xerox Exchange, Imagination created an engagement strategy that integrates content, marketing and metrics. The e-newsletter and marketing tool enables ongoing dialogue—a true exchange—between Xerox and its audiences. Users can post comments, participate in polls, rate and share articles, and watch and listen to videos, slide shows and podcasts.
Judges’ Comments: Envisagemag.com
The judges were effusive when commenting on Envisagemag.com:
“Very nice site design and very professional. One of the best I’ve seen for this industry.”
“Very clean design effectively features Envisage, presenting the magazine and its content in a straight forward, web-friendly manner … The e-magazine doesn’t over-use technology, but maintains a good balance. The homepage is not a Flashy, information-laden page, but very balanced and self-restricted on how much information is presented on the homepage. This is very effective, and elevates the concept of an online magazine. Very professional and accessible.”
Judged in seven criteria, Envisagemag.com received a final score of 64.5 points out of a possible 70 points. It received the highest score in its category, earning a “Best E-Zine Website” award.
Judges’ Comments: Xerox Exchange
Judges were straightforward with their praise for Xerox Exchange:
“The site puts the complicated printing technology information into a interesting platform to get audience interaction and build their recognition to the brand.”
On a judging scale of 1 to 10, Xerox Exchange received 8.0 to 9.0 in seven criteria, well above the industry average of 6.7 to 7.6. It received a designation of “Outstanding Website” from the WebAward judges.
