An Interview with John French

This interview is also featured on FOLIO: (http://www.foliomag.com/john-french-interview). This is the complete version:

At the Magazine Innovation Center’s ACT 7 Experience in Oxford, MS in April, 2017, John French delivered one of the best speeches I have ever heard on publishing industry issues. John is the former CEO of Cygnus Business, former CEO of Penton and former President of Business Magazines, PRIMEDIA.  The title of his talk was “Life Lessons in Adding Value.” He now shares his experience as an advisor to publishing executives and investors. I encourage you to learn more at johnfrench.com.

JIM:  So John, I was very moved by your speech at ACT 7. It was an inspirational overview of the business and how to properly run a business. You’re in a unique position because you’re really a turnaround expert. You come in where there are problems. You have to be an expert on business—period—because you know how to spot a business that’s really headed into trouble.

JIM:  What do you do to turn around a publishing company that’s in trouble? What steps do you take?

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Jim Elliott Receives Lifetime Achievement Special Award

Jim Elliott, President of the James G. Elliott Co., Inc., received the First Annual Mitch Mohanna Lifetime Achievement Award from Association Media & Publishing on June 26, 2017, at the 37th annual EXCEL Awards Gala in Washington, DC. This special award honors an industry service provider who has performed outstanding service to AM&P  and whose accomplishments have spanned a career in association media and publishing. The award was founded in 2016 in honor of loyal AM&P member Mitch Mohanna, who passed away in 2015.

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Google Plans to Clean Up the Web with Chrome Ad Blocker

Google will introduce an ad blocker to Chrome early next year and is telling publishers to get ready. The warning is meant to let websites assess their ads and strip any particularly disruptive ones from their pages.  See full story on The Verge:

https://www.theverge.com/2017/6/1/15726778/chrome-ad-blocker-early-2018-announced-google

Jim Elliott slated to receive the Mitch Mohanna Lifetime Achievement Award from Association Media & Publishing

Association Media & Publishing Honors Emerging Leaders and Lifetime Achievement Special Awards

Association Media & Publishing (AM&P) is excited to announce the recipients of its special awards – the Mitch Mohanna Lifetime Achievement Award and the four Emerging Leader Awards sponsored by Imagination. The awards will be given at the 37th Annual EXCEL Awards on June 26, 2017 at the DoubleTree Crystal City as part of AM&P’s Annual Meeting.

James G. Elliott, president of James G. Elliott Co. will receive the AM&P Mitch Mohanna Lifetime Achievement Award. This special merit award honors an industry service provider who has performed an outstanding service to AM&P and achieved accomplishment spanning a career in association media and publishing. It was founded in 2016 in honor of loyal AM&P member Mitch Mohanna, who passed away in 2015.

A Broad Perspective on the Print Landscape

President's Letter by Jim Elliott

Tony Silber has been a keen observer of the magazine industry for a long time. His perspective is not limited to just one sector, but includes all significant developments across the entire industry. In his position as Vice President of FOLIO:, he frequently talks with senior people about their challenges and opportunities, their views and their concerns. Tony graciously agreed to share his thoughts with the readers of Ads&IDEAS®.

ELLIOTT: Tony, of all the people I know, you have the broadest perspective on the print landscape. You often interview senior people in the commercial B2B, consumer and the association print world. So what are the hot trends this year in each of these three sectors?

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How Can You Sell Them if They're Too Busy to Listen?

Interviews in the following article from Digiday, ''It's brutal': Junior agency employees feel the squeeze from low margins (http://digiday.com/agencies/brutal-junior-agency-employees-feel-squeeze-low-margins/) explain some of the reasons that agency people are working longer hours and still have more to do in less time.

This is in complete agreement with findings in the 2016 Study of Media Planning & Buying, conducted jointly by Kantar Media SRDS and the James G. Elliott Co., Inc.  We found that agency planners and buyers are responsible for an ever-increasing amount of work to be done in less time than ever before.  To learn more about the impact these developments have on advertising sales and a link to download your own free copy of the study, see http://www.adsandideas.com/research-1/

Understanding the Buyer/Seller Dynamic

Special Announcement from Jim Elliott

In 2012, Steve Davis, President of Kantar Media SRDS, and I agreed to undertake a research project to help both of us–and our clients–understand more about the workload and practices of media people in agencies.  Since 2013, Kantar Media and the James G. Elliott Co., Inc. have conducted three studies of advertising planning and buying. 

For 2016, we added a Sellers component to the third Study of Media Planning and Buying to help publishers and salespeople identify differences between the way they view the buying/selling process and the way agency buyers do.  Comparing responses shows several disconnects between what each side thinks is happening. We prepared an overview, the Publisher's Guide to Understanding the Buyer/Seller Dynamic, to help you understand these disconnects so you can minimize their negative impact.

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Ad Sales, Consulting & The Business Side Of The Magazine Industry In A Very Honest & Practical Way – The Mr. Magazine™ Interview With James G. Elliott

Mr. Magazine™ talks with Jim Elliott about some of the problems and some solutions for magazines and magazine media over on his blog.

Samir Husni: With the current magazine and media climate, suddenly no one is just talking change; everyone is saying that “change” has left the station. What are you seeing from the advertising/marketing aspect of the industry that either gives you hope or makes you want to close shop and head home?

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Jim Elliott speaks at ACT 6 Experience

The ACT 6 Experience this year hosted more than 40 speakers and over 100 magazine and magazine media movers and shakers from all around the globe between April 20, and April 22, 2016. This is the sixth annual ACT (Amplify, Clarify & Testify) Experience, the theme this year: Celebrate Magazines Celebrate Print.

A panel moderated by Brian F. O'Leary discussed Making Money in Print, and the power of magazines.  What follows is the individual introductory presentation by Jim Elliott, and the full panel discussion.

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A Look Ahead: Print and Digital Periodicals

This exerpt is from an article by Jim Elliott currently on Foliomag.com:

Just a few years ago, it looked as if digital publishing would push print aside. But print refused to die. Why?

Clients of my advertising sales and consulting company publish a wide array of periodicals, from specialized small circulation scientific digital journals to highly-regarded printed consumer magazines, newsletters, and everything in between. We often discuss publishing formats. Just a few years ago, it looked as if digital publishing would push print aside and that publishers would be able to avoid paying the high costs of paper, printing and postage. But print refused to die. Why?  Some readers want printed magazines. 

Click here to read more at foliomag.com

Advertising's Existential Moment

"The value of traditional advertising is no longer clear. New formats create as many problems as they solve."

To dig deeper into these trends, Folio: interviewed 18 key players (including Jim Elliott) in magazine-media advertising today.

The past few years have been challenging in the world of advertising. First came the decline of print, with “digital dimes” replacing lost print dollars. 

Then programmatic buying turned inventory into a cheap commodity. The “viewability” debate stole another chunk, and ad blocking is an emerging challenge. The rise of social, mobile, video and native atomized audiences and changed the rules of the game again and again. And then there’s whatever happens next. And all this is happening in a market where just two companies—Google and Facebook—now grab more than $60 billion in annual U.S. advertising revenue, which by some accounts is more than the magazine and newspaper industries combined. So what’s going on here—and what’s the long-term outlook? 

Read more at: http://www.foliomag.com/2015/advertising-no-longer-adding/

Programmatic Ad Buying: A Q&A with Industry Experts

The Lane Press Blog hosted a Q&A with Jim Elliott and Steve Davis, President of Kantar Media SRDS, so they could share insights into programmatic ad buying found in the 2015 Study of Media Planning & Buying co-funded by the Elliott Co. and Kantar Media SRDS.  Read the full interview here:

http://lanepress.com/programmatic-ad-buying-a-qa-with-industry-experts/

2015 REPORT: Understanding Today's Media Buyers

"I am very excited to announce the second Study of Media Planning & Buying from Kantar Media SRDS & James G. Elliott Co. The study validates much that was in the 2013 study but adds more dimension and also asks about programmatic buying."  — Jim Elliott

The entire report is available to download here: 

http://pages.srds.com/2015KM-JGEReport_Download.html

Mr. Magazine™ interviewed Jim Elliott and Kantar Media's Steve Davis about the new study:

Agency Media Planners and Buyers are spread very thinly, with multiple assignments and significant financial responsibilities placed upon them every day. Steve Davis, President of SRDS and Kantar Media Health Research, and Jim Elliott, President of the James. G. Elliott Co., got together recently to do a study on the needs of media planners and buyers in terms of time, opportunities and money.

This was the second study the two companies had done between October, 2013 and January, 2015 and showed significant changes in some areas of the second study such as:

 

  • The average respondent recommended or helped purchase $25.9 million in advertising over the past 12 months in 2015—up significantly from $19.4 million in 2013. However, this could be a reflection of more respondents from slightly larger companies. Big companies plan bigger ad budgets.

 

Read the full interview here: 

https://mrmagazine.wordpress.com/2015/03/17/bringing-to-light-the-needs-of-media-planners-buyersthe-mr-magazine-interview-with-kantar-medias-steve-davis-jim-elliott-of-the-james-g-elliott-co-inc/

American Chemical Society Names the James G. Elliott Co. to Sell All Advertising Nationally for C&EN Magazine and 40 Technical Journals

Kevin Davies, Ph.D., the publisher of C&EN Media Group, released the following statement:

I am writing to inform you of an important and exciting change in the advertising program for both the C&EN Media Group and ACS Publications, the scientific publishing division of the American Chemical Society.

One of our important goals at ACS is to deliver for our advertisers the greatest possible return on their marketing investments. Many of our activities are readily apparent, such as the editorial excellence of our content and the broad, timely news coverage of the global chemistry enterprise in our award-winning weekly magazine, Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN). Some of our other efforts may be less visible but are equally important to our delivery of exceptional customer service and value to our advertisers, and to the hundreds of thousands of readers we reach via a range of print, web, and mobile formats.

We have recently made an important change that enhances our advertising capabilities and strengthens our ability to serve your needs.

I am delighted to announce that ACS Publications has partnered with James G. Elliott Co., Inc. to be our exclusive advertising sales representative in North America, effective immediately. The Elliott Company is the largest independent media company of its kind, with sales offices in the major advertising hubs of New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. Augmenting their diverse media sales expertise, the firm provides a range of marketing and research services that will be of strategic benefit to our clients as we seek to enhance our print and digital advertising offerings and continue to innovate in today’s exciting marketing environment.

We know that in addition to following C&EN, influential researchers and decision-makers worldwide rely heavily upon the peer-reviewed research content disseminated by our award-winning ACS Publications web and mobile delivery platforms. Through our new relationship with the Elliott Company, we also will seek to deliver enhanced advertising impact for customers who wish to leverage the broad exposure and ROI offered by our digital media offerings—including web and mobile alerts and user downloads, sponsored webinars, virtual conferences, and custom publishing opportunities with advertorial potential.

How to Help New Sales Managers Succeed - Sales and Marketing @ FolioMag.com

Part 2 of a series:  Jim Elliott and Dr. Joe Arpaia, a psychiatrist who specializes in stress-management, share some important insights into the processes by which top salespeople can get into trouble as sales managers—and how their bosses can help them succeed—in the Sept/Oct issue of Folio: Magazine.
 
Read the article here:

 

Opera News Names the James G. Elliott Co., Inc. to Sell All Advertising Nationally

"We’re putting forth effort in advertising; we just changed our ad sales team. I just engaged James Elliott’s company and I think they’re terrific. We’ve engaged very, very seasoned professionals to represent us."
—Diane Silberstein, Publisher, Opera News    
 

 

Why Your Top Salesperson Might Struggle After a Promotion

Sales success doesn’t always translate to management proficiency.


Jim Elliott and Dr. Joe Arpaia, a psychiatrist who specializes in stress-management, share some important insights into the processes by which top salespeople can get into trouble as sales managers—and how to prevent that from happening in the April/May 2014 issue of Folio: Magazine.

Read the article here: