NEW YORK: In a reversal of roles, PR firms are finding themselves on the receiving end of a pitch from a magazine publisher.
Ziff Davis Media is reaching out to PR and corporate communications teams to increase share of mind for its enterprise publications.
Ziff Davis formed the Enterprise Group, a coalition of its magazines eWeek, CIO Insight, and Baseline, to help build recognition and the reputation of those magazines, and invariably increase readership and attract more advertisers.
"The goal is to reach out to our readers and the PR community, and position the enterprise group as the best opportunity to deliver enterprise information," said Ziff Davis Media EVP Stephen Moylan. "It will allow us to get better feedback from key tech buyers and executives.
"We want the PR community to say, 'If we have an enterprise message, we have to go to these magazines.' So we will take the editors out to meet with the PR and marketing constituencies."
Competition is growing tighter among hi-tech publications, as titles continue to buckle and fold due to the advertising downturn. Recent victims include Forbes ASAP and Upside.
As more magazines close, it is critical for survivors to position themselves as the ultimate authorities in their field, to better attract readers, and secure valuable and scarce ad dollars.
The Enterprise Group will begin by meeting with PR and corporate communications teams in San Francisco, Boston, and Santa Clara, CA.
"Members of the PR community are the eyes and ears," said Moylan. "They are in touch with the customers and the product-marketing folks. And we want them to think of us first."
The formation of the Enterprise Group marks a more aggressive stance by Ziff Davis Media to court advertisers, as well as increase its share of mind. Ziff Davis has been hit hard by the advertising downturn, as have virtually all other hi-tech publishers, and while it has had to close magazines such as Yahoo! Internet Life, Family PC, and Smart Business, it has found success targeting the enterprise sector and C-level executives with newer titles such as CIO Insight and Baseline.
Ziff Davis' Enterprise Group faces competition from publications such as InformationWeek and InfoWorld.
