Face-Off: Biz Book Identity Crisis

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, Oct 1, 2002 by Susan Thea Posnock

Byline: Susan Thea Posnock

CORPORATE AMERICA IS AWASH IN SCANDAL. And some of our business mags - which are dutifully chronicling tales of villainous CEOs, cooked books, and insider trading - are suffering during this crisis. Ad pages are in a free-fall. But while mainstream mags like Forbes and Fortune remain must-buys in the category, this season of discontent has been especially cruel to tier-two titles Fast Company, Business 2.0, and Inc. The trio is tangled in somewhat of an identity crisis now that FC and B2.0 - struggling for a post-dot-com purpose - have moved in on Inc territory with news-you-can-use service features. Meanwhile, G J USA didn't help matters when it redesigned Inc to resemble its sibling FC - and then redesigned FC to look like Inc. Media buyers say Inc has the edge thanks to its focus on smaller businesses, while FC and B 2.0 will have to work hard to overcome their new-economy stigma.

FAST COMPANY

Ad pages through October: 630 Total circ: 770,672 ( 12.8%) Newsstand: 26,667 (-35.0%) Subs: 744,005 ( 15.8%) New advertiser: Crown Royal In September FC hit newsstands with a new look, but the mag continues to be an alternative or a compliment buy to traditional biz books, say media buyers. Through August, ad pages were down 28.2 percent. "FC is better positioned than B2.0 because it's better known," says one media buyer. But parent G J USA just announced another round of layoffs (23 staffers were cut in August) and some buyers question whether or not the title will be around in 2003.

On the competition: "Business 2.0 is a marriage of two magazines that weren't working. They had to figure out something." - Linda Sepp, publisher

BUSINESS 2.0

Ad pages through October: 528 Total circ: 557,093 ( 57.8%) Newsstand: 22,071 ( 7.7%) Subs: 535,022 ( 60.9%) New advertiser: Porche B2.0 has been struggling to find itself since combining with eCompany Now last fall. But the title got a jolt of self-confidence when editor Josh Quittner, formerly of Time, signed on in April. B2.0 has since expanded into the auto, and clothing categories, says publisher Lisa Bently. Media buyers say B2.0 has one major advantage: the backing of Time Inc. A media campaign - complete with billboards and ads in Time and Fortune - is underway to bolster the brand. On the competition: "G J didn't have the resources to put behind the Innovators Group. We're definitely biting into their market share." - Lisa Bentley, publisher

INC

Ad pages through October: 696 Total circ: 680,394 ( 3.3%) Newsstand: 11,667 ( 4.1) Subs: 668,727 ( 3.3) New advertiser: Hyatt Inc is most in touch with the market it serves, say media buyers. And its focus on smaller and mid-sized businesses breaks this book out from the pack. So far, Inc (it lost the period in its name when it was most recently redesigned) has weathered the ad storm better than its business partners. Ad pages were down just 15.9 percent through August. And, with 696 pages, it leads the trio in advertising.

On the competition: "[B2.0] is a magazine looking for an audience. It gets carried along with a corporate package, but if it didn't have that help you wonder if it'd be able to stand on its own." - Lee Jones, vice president and publisher