20 Power Launches FOR THE '90s

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, Feb, 2000 by Susan Thea Posnock

Hanley-Wood has since purchased Custom Builder and folded it into Custom Home.

Hotel Business

LAUNCH DATE 1992

AD PACES 1992:542; 1999:1,337

CIRCULATION 1993:45,252; 1999: 42,924

STAFF 1992:10; Today: 14

FREQUENCY Launch: Monthly; Today: Biweekly

To stay ahead in the competitive hospitality industry, Hotel Business looks well into the future. "We're looking down the road 10 or 20 years," says managing editor Shannon McMullen. And that foresight is what gives Hotel Business the edge over its competition, she says.

For instance, the magazine, published by ICD Publications, was among the first to focus on the impact of the Internet in terms of in-room use and as a marketing tool for hotels.

The title also breaks more news than many of its competitors, says McMullen. To that point, Hotel Business was among the first to report one of the largest recent hotel deals, the $11 billion purchase of ITT Sheraton by Starwood Hotels and Resorts, she says.

Computer Telephony

LAUNCH DATE 1993

AD PAGES 1994:234; 1991: 911

CIRCULATION Launch: 25,000 paid; 2000: 120,000(88 percent controlled, 12 percent paid)

STAFF Launch 7; Today: 22

FREQUENCY Launch: Bimonthly; Today: Monthly

Computer Telephony did more than define a niche. According to group publisher Chris Keating, the magazine put a name on a new market.

The Miller Freeman magazine was among the first to use the phrase "computer telephony," claims Keating. "The founders of the magazine identified and defined a community that nobody had noticed before," he says.

The market--which looks at converging communication and customer technology--has grown to include two other titles, along with more coverage in broader based computer books, but Computer Telephony has retained 70 percent of the marketshare among direct competitors, says Keating. In addition, the company has built a large ancillary business that includes a trade show and three upcoming supplements that cover developments in computer telephony: CT Media, Internet Telecom and Service Providers.

Injection Molding

LAUNCH DATE 1993

AD PAGES 1993: 114; 1999:910

CIRCULATION Launch: 34,500; Today: 37,500

STAFF Launch: 10; Today: 26

FREQUENCY 1993:3 times; 1999:12:

Before the launch of Injection Molding, a large portion of the plastics industry wasn't represented in the pages of the traditional magazines covering the market, according to T. Peter Sullivan, publisher and CEO. "We were able to identify a niche within the industry that was overwhelmingly important to a large number of advertisers," he says.

This segment of the plastics industry covers products that are made from molds--everything from car dashboards to a medical device that's imbedded in the human body. Although it's one of the largest, most widely implemented plastics processes, few industry titles were covering the field in any depth. Therefore, there was an untapped advertising base.

The title now has competition in this esoteric market, but being the first is still playing to its benefit--Injection Molding, published by Abby Communications Inc., has 70 percent of the market-share.