International Classified Media Association Online

From E-volution to Re-volution

The classified media marketspace is experiencing greater and more profound changes than ever before and it’s becoming clear that if publishers want to succeed in this brave new world, they will have to completely re-think their business models and operations.

What we have been doing is simply not enough, and the Lisbon General Meeting, held in the beautiful seaside resort of Cascais, just outside Lisbon, Portugal, will bring together classified media publishers from all over the world to define, discuss and debate the strategies which will enable them to move forward and face the future with confidence.

The stakes are high but the opportunities are huge. How has the behaviour of our advertisers and readers/users changed? Who are our competitors and what are they doing? And how can we revolutionise our businesses and revenue models to take best advantage? It’s time to commit to still being in this business in the second decade of the 21^st century – join us in Lisbon 3-5 May 2007.

Thursday 3 May

11.00 - 14.00 Registration

12.30 - 13.30 Meet and Greet lunch

14.00 - 18.00 Wine tasting

19.00 - 22.30 Welcome Reception and Dinner at the Hotel Cascais Miragem

Friday 4 May

Table Top Displays

Chairperson’s welcome and opening

Introduction of new members

Session One

The competitive landscape (on both sides of the pond)
Classified media is changing faster than any of us ever expected with more new entrants and more new business models monetizing the basic job of bringing buyers and sellers together, and it is sometimes hard to keep one’s head above water today, let alone try to plan for tomorrow. In a departure from the standard Keynote format, the Lisbon General Meeting will open with a double-act of speakers whose task it will be to provide an in-depth overview and analysis of the competitive landscape in the classified media sector in North America and Europe. Their presentations will touch on the industry trends that have led to the rise of new and unexpected competitors, identifying the principal entrants, and conducting a thorough analysis of their strategy and tactics, the strengths they are leveraging, and the threats and opportunities their presence in this landscape presents. The author of the 2,300-year-old treatise The Art of War, Chinese philosopher Sun Tzu, warned, “If you know yourself but not your enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat.” This is an invaluable opportunity to get the inside track on who’s trying to muscle in on your business, what they’re doing today and are likely to do tomorrow, Remember: forewarned is forearmed!
Speakers:
Jim Townsend, Principal and Editorial Director, Classified Intelligence, USA
Peter Rees, Managing Director, PR Strategic Marketing Ltd., France

Session Two

Pricing for profit
This session will bring together one of the leading experts on advertising ratecards, Kubas Consultants, and a real live publisher who has considerable experience in how to define price to discuss and debate the merits of various pricing and packaging approaches. Ratecard discipline is notoriously hard to practise, and over time, many publishers find that their actual achieved prices vary widely between clients, depressing yields and making the whole ratecard illogical. The key is identifying the value that the advertiser places on the purchase (print or online) and pricing accordingly – this session will teach you how.
Speakers:
Ed Strapagiel, Executive Vice President, Kubas Consultants, Canada
Clara Llamas, Corporate Business Planner, Trader Media East, France

The gospel according to SEO
As the advertisers and audience migrate online, the challenge of finding relevant content is matched only by the challenge of getting your content found by the major search engines. Search Engine Optimisation is both the art and science of ensuring that your content appears high in the rankings so that more users will click through to your site, and it is a critical part of your online strategy. SEO experts Spannerworks are on hand to lead publishers though the key steps and explain the important principles behind the technical jargon. A must-attend session!
Speaker: David St John-Tradewell, Head of Business Development, Spannerworks, UK

New tricks...
A new pre-lunch slot for members to present technology that they have found useful and profitable. Koopjeskrant has developed software to generate a digital magazine which they've then deployed to replace a non-economic print product and retain an audience of users and advertisers which they would have otherwise lost. A creative and practical solution to an increasingly common problem - you heard it here first!
Speaker: Koen Vandaele, Operations Director, Koopjeskrant N.V., Belgium

Session Three

Downsizing frequency, not revenues
Following Sally’s barn-storming chairing of the Munich Publishers’ Meeting, she’s back to update us on the results of the decision to reduce the frequency of Loot London from five editions per week to three. Her goal? To cut costs, and improve management focus whilst aiming to maintain the customer base and revenues at the previous levels. Let’s see how she and her team got on...
Speaker: Sally Winfield, Managing Director, Loot, UK

Lunch

WLTM like-minded publishers to discuss the personals vertical
Since the last time ICMA tackled this topic at the Dublin GM, much has changed. Online dating and contacts in many countries has become wide-spread and socially accepted, and the rise of social networking sites has blurred the boundaries between advertising and communities. In this panel session, three publishers and one specialist service provider to the personals category discuss the drivers that they are experiencing in their markets, and the steps they are taking to develop services and products to monetize the lonely hearts (and the others).
Speakers:
Felix Erken, Managing Director,JunkMail Pty, South Africa
Helmut Pollinger, Managing Director, Ocasião Edições Lda., Portugal
Damon Russell, Founder, Telecom Express, UK

Session Four

Workshops
These workshops will last 45 minutes each, and will be repeated twice.

Workshop 1: How good is your website user experience?
Just a few seconds of frustration at poor navigation or bad design can lead a user to quit your site for ever. They represent valuable potential customers for your advertisers, and you owe it to them to attend this workshop to understand the principles of good usability, and how you can increase time spent on your site by users.
Facilitator: Peter Rees, Managing Director, PR Strategic Marketing Ltd., France

Workshop 2: Motivating a team
A team is only as good as its leader, and in these tough times, leadership and motivational skills have never been so important. A bit of attention to the ‘softer’ skills will help your people to reach new levels of performance and capitalize on all the hard work you’re doing in other areas of the business.
Facilitator: David Waghorne, Managing Director, Lincolnshire Echo Newspaper Group, UK

Workshop 3: The new web marketplace - performance advertising
In the end, it all comes down to search. Or does it? One of the providers of some highly advanced search technology, Fast, will share their knowledge and expertise with the group about how search can actually empower classified media publishers, rather than simply represent a threat to the business.
Facilitator: Dylan Fuller, Senior Director Product Mgt. - Advertising Solutions, FAST, UK

Evening: Dinner

Saturday 5 May

Table Top Displays

Publishers’ Meeting – 09.00 - 15.15
The Lisbon Publishers’ Meeting will focus on how we can revolutionise our businesses to meet the new challenges and take advantage of the new opportunities that are available to us. Following on from the Plenary Day’s special session on competition, publishers will have the chance to question the experts directly and challenge their conclusions in a high-level Q&A session.

The second session will focus on how we can maximize the advantages of new technology to make up for the decline in print revenues, and publishers can learn from each other what new technologies have delivered revenue, market/mind-share or helped cut costs. Finally, the ever-popular round-table workgroups conclude this meeting, this time three round-tables repeated twice, covering the topics of revolutionising the traditional ad sales model to support your online strategy, preparing for the switch to the free distribution model, and the futurologists’ group which will discuss emerging and disruptive technologies. All in all, another “don’t miss” Publishers’ Meeting!
Chair: Sidharth Gupta, COO, Free-Ads & GETIT, India

Sales Managers’ Workshop – 09.00 - 15.15
After the largest ever Sales Managers’ Workshop in Munich, the ICMA sales managers will re-group in Lisbon to tackle some of the key issues facing them and their teams.

The ever-popular topic of selling online advertising will re-surface, and participants will learn from their peers’ stories of success and disappointment, and share new initiatives and ideas with the whole group. Participants will have the opportunity to present their best revenue-generating ideas to the meeting which will guarantee everyone leaves with at least one idea that they can put into practice immediately.

As more classified publishers move from the paid-for to the free-distribution model, sales managers will face two distinct challenges: how to communicate the value of a free title versus a paid one to both sales reps and advertisers, and also how to implement an appropriate sales structure to support the new model.

The closing session will address the ongoing issues surrounding people management and motivation. Bring your most creative ideas and there'll be a prize for the best!

This is easily the liveliest and most dynamic group of ICMA delegates, make sure your sales people don’t miss out!
Chair: Ian Partington, Managing Director, Simply Online Services Ltd., UK

Lunch – Introduction to the ICMA General Meeting in Amsterdam, The Netherlands

ICMA Business Meeting
Some important decisions to be debated at this Business Meeting, plus the election of a new Committee and approval of the 2006 audited accounts. Remember: you’re a shareholder in this Association so come and exercise your rights and responsibilities (and get to know what we do just that little bit better!).

Evening: Gala Party, hosted by Ocasião Edições Lda.

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