SELECTED COMMENTS FROM PANELISTS

"Advertising budgets are not growing significantly, that’s why clients want to make sure that every dollar that they spend is being spent wisely. Many things are relationships driven so if you’re not thinking about your publication in that way you should begin to do so."
     Dana Wade, President of SpikeDDB ad agency

"You have to go to where the decisions are made which is [where the client is]. They’re going to send you back to the agency and you do have to respect the agency and spend time with them, but the clients ultimately make the decision. Those are the people that you have to see."
   Jeff Burns, Jr., Associate Publisher of Ebony magazine

"[The focus of some of our clients] is not to go to magazines with large circulations, but to be as strategic as possible in order to get ROI. What else can we do towards further touching that consumer -- through events, database marketing, direct mail, through other channels that are connected with that magazine in order to make the experience for the client worthwhile."
   Verdia Johnson, President of Footsteps Group ad agency

"The next thing [our clients want to know about] is -- and this is a big one -- the Internet. The first thing they’re asking us now is does the magazine have a Web site, do we have access to that Web site, do we have an opportunity to market through that Web site. That is a big deal with all clients. If you have one and you’re not marketing it or if it’s not a good one you ought to think about that. I will tell you that clients, especially ones with deep pockets, that’s a big deal to them. For instances, people are buying cars on the Internet now. These are people that never go into the showroom. They want to be everywhere that they can get a message in front of the consumer. If you have a good Web site you ought to be marketing that to the agencies and to the clients"
   Chuck Morrison, Executive Vice President of the UniWorld Group ad agency

"And if you don’t have a good [Web site], shut it down. There’s no point to marketing an online version of your magazine. It's got to do something, it has to be interactive. It has to provide something more than I can get from the magazine. You have to be able to engage the reader on another level. Whether it’s a contest or whatever…something interactive, something over and above what’s in the magazine. It can be an excellent tool for you, but, again, you’ve got to invest in it and make it a vibrant thing."
   Julie Bayley, Sr. VP/Communication Group Planning Director of  Zenithmedia

"You have to be very careful about how you use the phrase 'added value.' We all want to add value to what the advertiser is spending on ad pages. But in the industry, 'added value' means free. So be very careful, it’s not all about added value. You should charge for what you bring to the table. You have to outline what that value is, in language that is understandable to the advertiser in terms of impressions."
   Enedina Vega, Eastern Advertising Sales Director of Essence magazine

"Recently we launched for BMW the new 5 Series and with that launch we had a very prominent position in African-American magazines, more so than BMW has done anytime since they have been targeting African-American consumers. We also took a real departure with some things that BMW has never done. We were able to place the first black female in a BMW ad and create some real breakthrough creative."
   Edward Rutland, Executive Vice President, Matlock Advertising agency

"We all need to come together in unity. Every other industry [group] has an association. The Hispanic market has done a superb job of coming together to state their story, and we need to do that. In numbers there is strength."
   Jeff Burns, associate publisher of Ebony magazine

...and thank you to our sponsors and partners



RR DONNELLEY

 REGISTER NOW!

The 2004 African-American Magazine Summit
March 16th-17th, 2004
New York University - The Kimmel Center

More panels, more space, more opportunities!
Click here for information about this year's Summit

Return to homepage