Executive Summary

Although advertising revenues for business-to-business (B2B) publications have declined since 2000, the fall in 2003 was less than in previous years and there are positive signs that the economy - and therefore advertising expenditure - is recovering from the downturn which began to manifest itself in 2001.

Business press' share of advertising expenditure dropped from a peak of 11% in 1984 to 7.6% in 2003 and the industry is poised to try to increase that share as advertisers regain market confidence and begin to allocate more budget to media spending.

The business press market has been changing over the past 3 years and can no longer be defined simply in terms of publications and exhibitions. There are several factors that have contributed to a market which is metamorphosing into a broader information and communications industry. These are: an economic downturn, which has demanded the industry looks at how it can increase the value of its assets; improvements in enabling technologies, allowing greater integration of those assets; competition from web-based information providers; and demands for faster, comprehensive business information from customers.

Publishers in the IT and computer sectors have been best positioned to take advantage of new technologies to enhance and increase their product and service ranges but the larger publishing companies - which operate on a global scale and which have greater investment budgets - are leading the way in providing greater value for money for their customers, both subscribers and advertisers.

However, of concern to the industry is the interpretation of recent EU directives concerning privacy and communications. In an attempt to eradicate spam an inadvertent side effect could be to cripple the direct marketing industry, especially if the Government introduces an opt-out service for companies, barring cold calls to companies registered on the Telephone Preference Scheme database. With advertising sales already down the effect of being unable to make cold sales calls - or to update their databases - is very alarming.

Recruitment advertising is a major contribution to classified revenues. There is already a great deal of online competition in this market and many publishers have responded by making strategic acquisitions of dot.com recruitment sites and by creating their own online recruitment brands. However, there is further concern from the industry over government departments' intentions to create their own online public-sector recruitment websites.

The industry is well served by the trade associations which represent all of the business press' areas of business. They work together to protect their members' interests and provide a powerful lobbying voice for the industry as well as providing information, research and training, all of which combine to ensure that the industry continues to be able to compete strongly against outside threats and to grow.

Price:	£ 380.00 GBP ex VAT (£ 446.50 GBP inc VAT )
Publication date:	31 Jan 2004
Licence period:	365 days

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