surprise visit from my youngest Molly from BC, I had an outstanding weekend full of kayak adventures, ill-considered island swims and good food I didn’t have to cook.
One of our off-grid kayaks turned our mobile phones into glorified cameras, leading my daughters (25 and 29) to comment how great it was to be out of touch for a few hours. I still remember when that was every minute of every day, and then when it was every time you wandered off a major roadway, and now only on remote hikes. But hey, as a borderline Boomer-Gen Xer, that nostalgia is to be expected.
In fact, a recent study published in Fast Company supports that unsurprising newsflash. The study asked people if they’d like to return to a time before everyone was plugged in – prior to easy access to the Internet on smart phones. Predictably, 60% of respondents over 55 said they’d like that. Less predictably, that older age group was also the least likely to feel that way.
In fact, Gen Xers and elder millennials were the most likely to agree with that sentiment, with just over three-quarters of respondents between 35 and 55 craving the unconnected experience. Also surprisingly, 63% of those between 18 and 34, AKA my kids, also desire more analog time. It’s possible that my age cohorts were the least likely to support the sentiment because they still remember trying to settle an argument with only the knowledge in their collective heads. Regardless, more than two-thirds of all respondents shared a desire to disconnect.
The key takeaway for us in the B2B media space is simple. A large swath of people in our audience crave an undistracted, “in the moment” human and analog experience. That bodes well for high-quality content in a well-designed print magazine that allows people to slow down and soak in the experience. Another fun family fact – both of my daughters spent considerable time on the weekend pouring over glossy magazines together.
It also bodes well for our in-person events and is part of the reason why most have bounced back even stronger than pre-pandemic times in revenue and attendance. Take five minutes at the next Annex event you attend, grab a coffee, watch the relentless interaction from the sidelines, and you’ll know what I mean. Anything we can do to enhance that engagement will only make our events more attractive.
And the next time someone says you need the latest social media tool to connect with that supposedly hard-to-reach 30-year-old decision maker, share these findings. Odds are they crave an analog interaction more than their parents, and anything we can do to remove them from the digital storm will be welcomed. Oh, and third-party research into our own audiences also shows they love webinars, podcasts and VEs too. In other words, engagement.
Do good work in all channels, and be good to work with while you’re there.
Scott Jamieson, President & COO
sjamieson@annexbusinessmedia.com; mobile: 519-410-4000
Virtual Trolls
None of these Shout Outs were written by AI. To find more humans celebrating humans, like Ana, Colleen, Mike J, Jerry, Bob, Willy and more, visit
The Wall.
To Derek, for Being Agile
From Quinton – “Derek acted quickly to finish off an advertiser’s sponsored podcast series when they were very late on approving topics, speakers and interview times. The podcast interview was completed and will be posted on time. The client is very happy with how accommodating he was through the entire process. Thanks Derek!”
To Jennifer, for Going Beyond
From Anastasia – “On Monday we started Grower Day setup and when I arrived on-site I realized I forgot my backpack at home! I called Jen in a panic, knowing she was the only staff that was arriving the morning of the event that was from Simcoe. I asked her to stop by my place to pick it up. She did and saved me from an extra two-hour drive. Thanks Jen!!”
To Bree, for Owning It
From Alex B – “Bree had a freelancer ghost her a week before their story was due into production. Instead of taking the loss and finding other content, she made time to interview the intended source and write the article herself while in the midst of prepping the rest of the issue's content. In the span of 24 hours. Because she is a boss. Go Bree!”
Team News
Duelling BBQs
We kicked summer off right with an Annex BBQ in Simcoe and Toronto, which also included celebrating our May and June birthdays. A big shout out to our social committee and additional helpers who made sure everything was organized and ready to go. The culinary skills of Willy and Bob with Jerry’s direction ensured the burgers in Simcoe were cooked to perfection, while the GBR crew had to practice agility in action for a rapid venue change. Thanks to all who made it possible.
Willy and Bob on the grill, while Jerry practices my style of BBQ.
Birthday kids Scott A, Maria P, Ilana, Graham, Danielle, and Paul G.
What's Working
Continued Success
Grower Day is one of our oldest events, dating back to cozy gatherings in the musty German Hall in Delhi, ON. Hosted by
Greenhouse Canada and targeting growers specifically, Grower Day has been in St. Catharines, ON for over 10 years. This year’s event featured 52 booths, over $60K in revenue, and an ROR north of 60%. The hall was full at 170 attendees, of which 85 were the coveted growers.
New Success
Canadian Consulting Engineer hosted the inaugural Advance: Women in Engineering virtual event this past Wednesday. With a focus on promoting gender equity, diversity and inclusion in Canada’s engineering sector, the sponsored event, which drew 322 registrations, highlighted the accomplishments of successful female professional engineers, with speakers discussing how the industry can work together to attract more women. Congrats to Peter Saunders and Maureen Levy for launching such an important and successful industry event.
Early Success
On Wednesday Paula sold the last booth for our joint public safety and aviation careers event in…late October. With the recently expanded floor plan that makes 55 booths in total, plus sponsorship and registration fees. Total revenue should top $75,000. Congrats on a strong selling effort by Mena, Janice, Paula, and Jason…and for Working Together.
Pricing that matches costs
As we continue to manage historically high costs for paper, wages, travel and event venues, we’ve landed on our rate increases for 2024. These will be 5% for digital, 5% minimum for events (to be determined by cost increases for each specific event in discussion with Events), and 3% for print. Discuss specifics with your group publisher.
Show not tell
Ever wonder what a web or email display ad looks like? Want to show a client what Wallpaper or Interscroller can be in all their glory? Maybe you need to answer a question about why B2B eNews advertising is effective in your market. Well, have we got some links for you!
- First off, we have a Web Sample that shows all of our web display offerings including the Wallpaper and Interscroller, the more traditional Big Box and Leaderboards and even our new In-feed sponsored content product.
- Next, have a look at our eNews Sample that shows every possible position from Leaderboard and Sponsored Spotlight to our newest offering… Floodlight! You’ll see where each position is available and be able to show your clients exactly what to expect.
- Lastly, Stacy has been working hard on the eNews 4.0: Sales & Editorial Resource page on My Annex. There is too much info to share in this space, so have a look. A few things to whet your appetite… eNews Ad Types and if they provide leads or not… and for you editorial types, how about creating a Content Repurposing Strategy (there’s a contest for that too) or what is the best subject matter that our users enjoy in an article? Have a look and find out.
Checklists
Why make all the mistakes yourselves when you can learn from others? The fin folks in our aquaculture group are building a checklist on running webinar technology weeks after their very successful
Aquaculture Technology Webinar Week. The client and new product focused week allowed vendors to introduce new tech to our audience for a fee, and featured seven sponsors at $USD 3,500 ($4,800) each. Still, there were a lot of moving parts to drive that $33,000+ in high-margin revenue, so the team has created a checklist to keep it all organized. It will eventually be placed on My Annex, but if you’d like to see a sneak peek in planning your own version, contact Anne.
Michelle’s Open Dialogue
Email is our main communication tool but sometimes getting our message across the way we intend it to be interpreted can be challenging. You have only a few moments of your recipient’s attention to get your point across and convince them to provide the response you need — when you need it. Writing your emails with a clear and compelling purpose helps you focus on the most important information so that your messages is easy to read and reply to.
How to do this?
Start you email with a smart subject line – be clear and descriptive about the content of the email (e.g., “Urgent: Can you please RSVP for today’s call”, “Response required: Need sales numbers for Tuesday’s meeting”, etc.). For the message itself, what you want the other person to do, by when, and why — should go right at the top, just after your greeting (and introduction if you don’t know the person well). For simple requests, your ask may be all you need. In other cases, a bit more context might help the person understand and feel good about completing your request. Feelings motivate people to take action. What do you want the person reading your email to feel — excitement, urgency, reassurance? (e.g., “I’m excited because…”, “I am confused…”, “I am confident this will…”)
Keep these points in mind the next time you write an email – it might make writing them easier, and it could also save you time.
