Recently, we received a question about where to find studies on the usefulness of b2b media.

American Business Media is promoting two studies from Harris and Forrester ... you can read them at:

http://www.americanbusinessmedia.com/abm/HarrisForreste...Sheet.asp?SnID=76030

Do you have any other resources that you use (or your sales staff use) to talk about how well read trade magazines are?

Another interesting news item, reported from FIPP:

B2B prefers print marketing

Business-to-business (b2b) market executives still prefer to showcase their products and services in print and at trade shows rather than online, according to a new media trend survey from USA Strategies.

The Chicago-based, b2b marketing and communications firm reported that customers do not trust online messages.

“A lot of the distrust regarding the internet stemmed from the fact that although marketers can track click-through rates and page views, they still have trouble relating those metrics to actual sales,” said Patrick Yanahan, president of USA Strategies, in a statement. “That should be a wake-up call to advertisers and marketers everywhere. For new media to be successful there has to be measurable results."

Furthermore, although most marketers surveyed view company Web sites as a positive vehicle for branding, 86% said they did not believe that targeted search results advertising was the most effective means of advertising.

The survey revealed that new product introductions, print ads and editorial coverage were viewed as the most important advertising options, followed by trade shows as a means of showcasing new products. The use of online advertisements ranked fourth in level of importance.

When it comes to building customer trust, print ads and editorial led in importance while search engine advertising was the least favourable, according to the survey.

See: http://www.fipp.com/Default.aspx?PageIndex=2002&ItemId=13539

This is consumer-oriented, but it may still be of some interest ... from www.bigresearch.com ...

RAMA Research Finds Magazines, Television and Newspapers Prompt Online Product Searches

Young Adults Using New Media to Communicate About Online Searches 

Washington, DC, March 12, 2007 – Though there is no question that online searches are becoming more popular among consumers, what exactly triggers those consumers to search online? In a recent analysis of BIGresearch’s Simultaneous Media Survey (SIMM 9) conducted for the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association (RAMA), consumers say they take cues from traditional advertising to determine when and where to search for merchandise online.

Consumers said that they were most motivated to begin an online search after viewing advertisements in magazines (47.2%), newspapers (42.3%), on TV (42.8%) and from reading articles (43.7%). Women were more likely than men to be motivated by coupons (41.8% vs. 29.0%) and in-store promotions (29.0% vs. 24.5%) while men were more driven to start an online search based on a face-to-face conversation (36.1% vs. 29.5%).

“When it comes to advertising, retailers always need to be careful not to put all of their eggs in one basket,” said Mike Gatti, Executive Director of RAMA. “While search engine marketing continues to be a popular strategy, retailers should not lose sight of traditional advertising channels to promote products and services.”

After searching, online consumers said they are most likely to communicate with others about their search through face-to-face discussion (68.9%), though email (53.1%), telephone (50.9%), and cell phone (30%) communication were also popular choices. Young adults 18-24 are also taking advantage of an influx of new media, communicating about service, products and brands by instant messaging (37.5%), text messaging (23.7%) and through online communities like MySpace and Facebook (20.6%).

”Retailers must realize that online communities are now producers and through their stories are able to extend the distribution of traditional media with a trust and truth not even approximated by mass media,” said Joe Pilotta, Vice President of BIGresearch.

Shoppers continue to use the web as a resource before determining which items to buy and where. According to the survey, 92.5 percent of adults said they regularly or occasionally research products online before buying them in a store. Products that are most often researched online before being purchased in a store include electronics (50.8%), apparel (31.9%), and appliances (27.0%). Men were twice as likely as women to shop for automobiles online (20.2% vs. 10.2%), though women research home décor products more often than men (18.9% vs. 11.6%).