Rethinking a B2B Print Icon

In the Digital Age

CIO Magazine 2009Abbie Lundberg, Former Editor in Chief, CIO

President, Lundberg Media

abbie@lundbergmedia.com

New Realities

� Maturing online offerings

� CXO multi-channel media company

� Shifting competitive landscape

� Shifting advertiser behavior/revenue streams,

driving…

� Shifts in resources

� Economy tanking

Goals

� Make the magazine fresh, compelling, timely,

cool

� Connect what we do in the magazine with other

things we’re doing: online, community, events,

Council, but …

� Use the magazine for what it’s uniquely good for

� Make it less expensive and easier to execute

� Re-engage a demoralized team; have fun!

Timeline

June

2-day Offsite

July-September

Develop new sections: length, what elements they’ll include, what those elements will be called, who will produce them and how

Plan research coverage

October/November

Finalize names, schedules, rotations, etc. for sections; create mock-ups

Graphic design

December

Assign, write

January

Edit

FebruaryDesign, ship

March

Launch

Image by Eli the Bearded

Stretching Things Out

Initial timeline was six months, but

had to move some costs into new

fiscal year. Lost some momentum

in the beginning of the process.

We should focus on several

points in which print has an

advantage: discovery;

linearity; finite nature in a

world where attention is

scarce.

Exercise: Magazines we love

Reader Feedback: Common Themes

� Give readers a reason to open each issue the day it hits their desk.

� Tell them things they don’t already know but that can affect them.

� Be independent, bust hype, tell it like it is.

� Continue peer-based approach.

� Provide nuggets of information and short articles, but also…

� …Occasional deep dives into pressing, complex topics.

� Tell them what we think about things; have a POV, opinion, attitude.

� They are on the go all the time, leading integrated lives that are

technology enabled. Speak to them as whole people, not just as

corporate suits, and help them be more successful in their life

overall (personal productivity, time management, gadgets)

Defining the Ideal Reader

Smart

Busy

Competitive

Connected

Tech-savvy

Business-smart

Problem-solver

Risk-master

Invested in work & life

Multi-dimensional

In the most positive possible terms

Rethinking the Magazine

Multiple sections of shorts– Organized around issues that matter to readers today

– Get more information into smaller footprint

– Help readers browse and select stories

– Make it easier to use content from online w/out a lot of rework

– Regular contributors; no more over-the-transom pitches

Features– No more “well”; instead 1 long, deep article on compelling topic

Design principles: high impact, low cost, easy to produce– Single pages

– Templates for different configurations, including fractionals

– Lots of color

– Less photography; less commissioned art; more standing art & designer-created illustrations

New Sections (take 1)

NOW

TECHNOLOGY

MANAGEMENT

CAREER

PEER 2 PEER

New Sections (take 2)

START

GROWTHE BUSINESS

Innovation and Business Value

RUNTHE BUSINESS

Leadership and Operational Excellence

THRIVEYour Life and Career Path

CONNECTPeer Advice from the CIO Executive

Council

FINISH

Architecting the Sections

Parting Thoughts

� Print’s strengths: visual, tactile, markable, browsable, long form but chunkable, bundled/packaged/directed

� Complement the web, take from the web, but don’t mimic the web

� The process can be as important as the product

� Structure and design for three things: navigation, visual

impact and ease of execution: template, template,

template!

� The best results come from the entire team having

ownership and editors and designers working together all the way through

abbie@lundbergmedia.com