JORDAN, EDMISTON REPORT ANALYZES CONVERGENCE OF B2B MEDIA.

Investment bank Jordan, Edmiston Group, Inc. (New York) has released B2B Media: A Converging Marketplace, a new report on the integration of trade publishing, expositions and the Internet. According to the report, media companies that have integrated their trade publishing, exposition and vertical Internet efforts and which have over $25 million in revenue improved operating profit margins by a 12.3% compound annual growth rate between 1997 and 1999.

The survey sample in the report included 150 integrated B2B media companies, 300 independent exposition producers and 275 trade publishers. For each type of B2B media company the report analyzes revenue share, merger and acquisition activity, Internet strategies, challenges of media integration, growth strategies and constraints and levels of profitability. The report shows significant differences between integrated B2B media firms who meet the revenue criteria and pure-play exposition producers, trade publishers and Internet firms.

The report noted that many of the larger trade publishers have already evolved into integrated B2B media companies by acquiring and launching expositions, conferences and online vertical marketplaces. Those companies include Miller Freeman, Reed Elsevier, Hanley-Wood, International Data Group, PennWell, Advanstar Communications, DMG World Media and Penton Media. Jordan, Edmiston ceo Wilma Jordan said the report "is the first study to illustrate the dramatic impact of the adoption by B2B media companies of an integrated approach to serving their customers and executing a core-market focused strategy."

The survey questionnaire reveals a variety of interesting statistics in the trade magazine category, including average ad pages for each magazine (3001), average number of titles published (11), average revenue for each title ($7.7 million) and average total magazine revenue for each company ($43.8 million).