India B2B Media Summit 2010: ‘B2B has brought in micro marketing’

The second panel discussion at the India B2B Media Summit 2010, held in Mumbai on February 22 was on B2B and the media multiplier effect. The panellists highlighted the ability of B2B to offer better solutions to clients and why B2B was in a better position as media multiplier.

The Summit was organised by the Association of Indian Magazines (AIM), in association with Pressmart and exchange4media Group.

The panellists of this session were Maneck Davar, Proprietor, Spenta Multimedia, Sajid Desai, Publisher and Director, United Business Media, Sunaman Sood, Co- founder, Acendo Capital Advisors Pvt. Ltd and Satyajit Sen, CEO, Zenith Optimedia. The session was moderated by Sripad Kulkarni, COO, Allied Media.

Desai noted, When we talk of deeper audience engagement, B2B is the best suited. We have also seen marketers reach out to B2B publications therefore the understanding of communities is better known with us to offer better solutions to clients. Since B2B media only further engages therefore it is in a much better position as media multiplier.”

Davar observed, “In a B2B business it is easier to get the feel of the audience as compared to the mainline business however a B2B business only survives if you have a tight control on the cost. So, is B2B a viable business proposition for publishers? I believe you do not have to totally rely on advertising to survive in this business.”

According to Sen, “While B2B has brought in micro marketing, consumers today are going through a fragmented experience and therefore clients too are looking at other forms of communications.”

Sood pointed out, “B2B needs to evolve and gain the skills that of a specialist and as the business evolves one needs to do a lot more from the research point of view.”

Kulkarni concluded, “Since B2B is into building communities we have better ability to provide solutions to clients. All these integrated solutions are not just for advertisers but, they also help build the brand itself.”

Panel three looked into the editorial challenges of a B2B publication wherein the members discussed the nature of a B2B publication, since it connects directly with a target audience that is either already engaged in the domain, or is actively looking at being a part of the domain. The panellists for this session were DJ Gohain, MD, Textile Excellence, P.K Roy, President and Chief Editor, CyberMedia and Vijay Ramachandran, Editor-in-Chief, IDG Media. The session moderator was Mitrajit Bhattacharya, President and Publisher, Chitralekha.

Ramachandran said, “One of the advantages of B2B is that it allows you to get close to your audience but, how close is too close? That is also an issue. Online medium does make engagement much easier for its readers. The role of research and development is very important in B2B publications, we do significant amount of research which eventually pays off well for the publication.”

According to Roy, “There must be a clear demarcation of content and advertising. We are all leveraging the digital media in several ways.”

Mitrajit pointed out, “It is very difficult to get good talent in the business for the content which requires specialisation but, it is all about training and making experts out of the journalist for that content area, it is nurturing of talent which is equally important. This apart, the role of R&D is also very important and understanding between revenue on content and advertising.”