SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.
Meetings Focus, known for its Meetings Focus East, Meetings Focus MidAmerica, Meetings Focus South, Meetings Focus West and Meetings Focus International trade magazines for meeting planners, made the major announcement that it is combining all of its titles into a unified brand that will provide both nationally relevant features coverage with destination sections that remain targeted to where its meeting planner subscribers have been authenticated to book and/or plan their meetings, conventions and/or conferences. The new Meetings Focus will premiere with the March 2013 issue.
“Apart from a fresh new design and a content strategy that better utilizes our 55,000*-strong subscribers as sources, readers will benefit from a consolidated, nationally focused features section that is augmented by the regionally specific destination sections they’ve enjoyed for years,” said Tyler Davidson, chief content director of Meetings Focus. “Advances in printing and distribution technology have allowed us to create multiple permutations, so subscribers who only plan in one of our regions, such as in the West or South, will still receive targeted destination coverage, but will also benefit from features and departments sections that know no borders.” Each issue will be ‘custom-designed’ based on the areas in which planners confirm their interest and needs for future bookings. Every edition will also benefit from the inclusion of Meetings Focus’ recent expansion outside of North America, with its Meetings Focus International brand.
Flagged with the unified Meetings Focus brand, each magazine will begin with a departments section covering the meetings industry as a whole, including how-to tips, cutting-edge incentive and promotional gifts, contributions from columnists, profiles of major industry movers and shakers, helpful checklists and editors’ picks, among other features.
The destination sections will still include the award-winning coverage meeting planners have come to rely on, but will also include their own individual departments sections in order to provide a convenient overview of regional facility and industry happenings in each of our five demographic areas: East, MidAmerica, South, West and International.
Besides providing individual subscribers with content that is focused on the overall needs of planners, Meetings Focus will also deliver destination content that is targeted to where they specifically plan meetings. The re-conceptualization of the Meetings Focus print brand will allow advertisers to more-specifically target meeting, conference, trade show, event and incentive planners where they are most likely to hold meetings.
“We are truly excited about the new opportunity this offers our advertisers,” said Karen Smith, VP/Brand Solutions of Meetings Focus. “For years, we’ve offered them the most cost-efficient way to market their destination or property, with five distinct issues, each targeted to the planners who book their particular area of the world. Now, we’ll do it all in a single issue. While we will serve our audience more efficiently with a single ‘custom-designed’ issue each month, our advertisers will enjoy the simplicity of this new ‘Demographic Buy’. Consumer publications have been offering demographic editions and special buying options for years. We are thrilled to be the first company to offer the same choice to properties and destinations in the b2b world.”
About Meetings Focus
Meetings Focus is a San Francisco-based division of Stamats Communications Inc., based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Meetings Focus publishes content covering the meetings industry, including the print publication Meetings Focus, as well as e-media content channels such as www.meetingstoday.com, various e-newsletters and educational webinars, and live events, among other products.
