2004 Annual Conference

September 9-14, 2004
Down East, Host


See the group photo!


Contents for This Page
    Conference Program
          Daily Program Schedule
    Things You Need to Know
    Thank You, Sponsors


Conference Program
 (Subject to minor changes)

We’re pleased to invite you to join us on Mount Desert Island for a conference that promises to be as memorable as the island itself. In putting together this year’s event we’ve aimed to create a program that will provide you with useful, cutting-edge information tailored to suit your particular magazine. All the sessions and activities — each of which is open to anyone regardless of their job description — are focused on three goals:
 


 


Learning about the state of regional magazine publishing today. In the growing universe of magazines, what distinguishes regionals? Is regional publishing a niche with a future or a vestige of the past?

Learning what you can do to make your publication more profitable. A variety of experts will share proven strategies you can use to improve your bottom line.

Learning how to make your product look even better. In this digital age, what are the new pressures on art directors and production directors, and what do they need to know to meet the new challenges? This is the IRMA conference that every art director will want to attend.


Of course, the best thing about an IRMA conference is getting to know others in our industry, people with whom we can share ideas and solutions throughout the coming year. And in the oceanside location we’ve chosen for this conference we can virtually guarantee you’ll get to meet everyone in attendance. Aside from work sessions, you’ll have ample time to talk one-on-one. Whether this is your first time at IRMA or your umpteenth outing, you will make new friends and acquaintances. We will do everything we can to make you feel welcome and at ease.

We’re also proud to introduce you to Maine’s Mount Desert Island, home of Acadia National Park. This is one of the most spectacular resort destinations in North America — and it’s never more beautiful than in September when the leaves are turning and the crowds are leaving. We’ll give you some glimpses of the island and Bar Harbor that few tourists ever see.

For our part, hosting the conference is the culmination of our golden anniversary celebration. Frankly, we can’t think of anyone else we’d rather invite to our fiftieth birthday party than our good friends at IRMA. We promise you one of IRMA’s most memorable conferences, a stimulating get-together filled with great conversations, delightful activities, and plenty of fun. Expect lots of surprises, too.


THE PROGRAM — IRMA 2004

The sessions below are listed by the particular audience to which they might most naturally appeal, but all are open to everyone. The first few are geared to the entire membership of IRMA and ought to be useful to all who attend.

FOR ALL IRMA MEMBERS
  The North Carolina Miracle
  In less than a decade Our State magazine rocketed from 23,000 subscribers to more than 119,000. Here’s the detailed story of how this sleepy, seventy-one-year-old history journal was transformed into a vibrant and vital North Carolina brand. How this miracle was accomplished is a tale we all ought to be able to learn from. Owner-publisher-sales-manager Bernie Mann, editor-in-chief Vicky Jarrett, and marketing director Amy Wood share the ideas that worked brilliantly for them — as well as a few of the things they would never do again.
 
101 Ways to Increase Your Profits
  How can you improve your bottom line? Let us count the ways. From circulation innovations and unconventional advertising possibilities to licensing and brand extensions, John L. Thomson, publisher of the award-winning and enormously successful Canadian Geographic, lays out a list of revenue-generating strategies that have worked for him and the many others he’s come to know in his years in the publishing industry. This session promises to be one of the highlights of the whole conference, and the goal is to develop a bunch of ideas you can take home to try at your own publication.
 
What Is a Regional Magazine?
  We all call ourselves regionals, and that’s what binds us together in IRMA, but what is a regional magazine in 2004? Has the definition changed over the years? Is Coastal Living a regional? What about Sunset? What’s the difference between a regional and a city magazine? How do you know a regional when you see one? We’ve lined up a speaker who ought to know something about this topic.
 
Congress of Regionals
  What is the state of the regional publishing industry today? For the first-time in recent history, IRMA will tackle the question head-on. Relying on short, impromptu reports from every regional in our membership, we will assess the health of the market for regionals across North America and beyond. In little more than an hour you can learn how regionals are doing everywhere and how your product stands in the international milieu.

FOR PUBLISHERS (and circulation, business, marketing and ad sales directors)
  Newsstand Survival Tactics
  The newsstand is a harsh environment where only the strong survive (Charles Darwin would have understood it perfectly). To thrive in this ultra-competitive setting you need all the weapons you can get. In this session, newsstand consultant Howard White arms you with the latest information and give you the tactics you need to thrive on the newsstand today.
 
Bring Your Brand to Life with Events
  Business and consumer magazines are discovering the profits to be found in creating and managing appropriate ancillary events. The implications of this movement for publishers are huge. After all, who has a stronger affinity with defined segments of the population than established magazine brands? What other medium has a better built-in following and a regular conduit for communication than magazines? This session, with Kerry J. Smith, publisher of Event Marketer Magazine, will cover how publishers are creating events, touching on a mix of trends, allied issues, and examples of what’s working.
 
The Paper Marketplace
  What’s the state of paper today? This panel discussion will be an overview of the paper marketplace in 2004. Participants will learn the difference between a mill, an agent, and a broker; how market consolidation has affected paper as a commodity; and how the paper grading system has changed as a result. We’ll also discuss what lies ahead globally in terms of the coated market; the effects of environmental initiatives on the paper market; and the advantages and disadvantages of printer-supplied versus publisher-supplied paper.
 
Paper Buying Basics
  This session, led by consultant Dedra Smith of PrintMark, is intended to be a detailed “how to” class aimed at publishers faced with difficult decisions. Among the topics we’ll discuss are how to calculate actual waste and use that information to negotiate contractual waste; how to scale paper consumption numbers for different basis weights; how to find the printer’s markup when it’s not stated; how and when to negotiate paper prices and consumption with the printer; how to test whether supplying paper to the printer is a desirable option (is it good, bad, or just plain ugly?); and how to set up a decent paper contract with a paper supplier or printer.
 
How To Steal From Others and Write Your Own Winning Direct Mail Pieces
  Rule 1: All direct mail is “borrowed” from others (the trick is to know what to steal so it works for your audience). Rule 2: Whether you try to write direct mail copy yourself or you hire an outside creative team, you need to know important little things about your prospects so you can make the copy “sing” the benefits to them. In this playful workshop, led by successful direct mail copywriter Josh Manheimer, we will focus on drafting letters that hook readers from the first sentence.
 
A Prescription for Great Subscriptions
  Publishers face a lot of tough choices. Whether it’s setting prices, prospecting for lists, or weighing auto-renew offers, these decisions can be daunting. It’s all the more reason to improve our analytical skills so that we have the best possible information at our disposal. In this session, led by successful direct response and publishing consultant Nancy Small, we’ll explore the two tools critical to the success of good circulation management: 1) source evaluation, and 2) profit-and-loss analysis by key code. By using these tools effectively, publishers and circulation directors can prioritize where they spend their time, energy, and precious budget dollars for maximum effect.
 
Profitable Pricing — Inserts, Belly Bands, Glue Tips, and More!
  Here’s an easy, surefire way to get the most out of every product you sell, from the single business reply insert card to magazine supplements. If you’re not taking full advantage of these products now, you will be! You’ll get the lowdown on standard industry pricing practices, we’ll talk advertising discount strategies, and you’ll receive profit-and-loss worksheets to take home. Develop consistent pricing strategies and policies for your magazine to make new product pricing quick and effective.
 
Renewals & Gifts – 60 Ideas in 60 Minutes
  When it comes to circulation profitability, renewals and gifts bring home the bacon. This session, led by Tim Stephany, account director for Publisher Services for Communication Data Service, will provide you with sixty ideas tips and techniques that will help increase revenue or save you money. Among the ideas we’ll discuss are: agent renewals, gift renewals, automatic renewals, web renewals, gift promotion planning, communication with your fulfillment house — and that’s just a few! This will be an interactive session with time for attendees to share their own experiences.

FOR ART DIRECTORS (also designers, photography editors, and production managers)
  The Art Director Squeeze
  Not too many years ago, an art director...art directed. And was supported by typesetters and a paste-up department. Now, the art director art directs, and often as not also does typesetting and page make-up — all in the same ten-hour day. Nowhere is this more apparent than in small-to-mid-size magazines. The art director is now expected also to do much of the prepress, treading in dangerous new areas of scanning, color correction, digital photography-image processing and other digital file management issues. Most art directors lack the training, the skills, or the time, and many also don’t even recognize how the scope of their responsibilities has changed. How do you manage it? Are there ways to minimize or control the new challenges? This session — and all other specifically aimed at art directors and designers — will be led by Steve Manley, the award-winning founding art director of Cottage Life and now a successful international design consultant.
 
Time Management for Art Directors
  “Wouldn’t it be great to” is one of the most frequently heard comments at a magazine. More often than not it comes out as “if only we could have” or “too bad we didn’t have time to.” And so we just grind out an issue like sausage, making decisions based on time constraints rather than on excellence. This practical session addresses strategies for managing better, helping you set priorities and decide which tasks you should hold on to and which ones you’d be wiser to delegate — as well as technical ideas, tips, and tricks to give you more creative time.
 
Digital Photography
  This is a fast-moving target — a revolution, not an evolution — and every day the rules are changing as more and more photographers make the leap to digital. Among the topics we’ll discuss at this roundtable are: how to manage digital files versus film images; pay rates for digital photography; what photographers should bill for and what they shouldn’t; how to keep control of your photographers as they progress into digital; what savings, if any, you should expect; and what new costs are involved.
 
Typography for 2004
  Typography doesn’t have to mean choosing a bunch of different typefaces. In fact, it probably should mean: How to do a better job using the typefaces you already have. This session tells art directors how to take the next typographic step without embarking on a redesign. It combines a unique approach to type and type contrast that will help art directors create fresher, more up-to-date, more exciting typographic solutions. It will help you freshen up and plug holes in your “visual information systems.” The session begins with a refresher course in basic typography from a reader’s point of view (how people read), not a design school point of view, but quickly progresses to a more sophisticated level of analysis. It’s fun, and it’s aggressive.
 
Editors Are from Mars, Art Directors Are from Venus
  Editors are word people, which usually gives them an advantage in any discussion. Art directors tend to be more visual and less verbal. What that too often means is that lots of great visual ideas never make it out of the box. We’ll discuss angles and tactics to make the debates less one-sided, and find ways to help the editor better appreciate the art director’s point of view, too. While editors and art directors think differently and often take different approaches, the goal is usually the same: to create the best magazine possible for the reader. This discussion will look for ways to develop and strengthen mutual trust and cooperation and to develop a practical plan to make this collaboration work. Aspects of issue planning, story packaging, and advance planning all figure in.
 
Substance vs. Style
  A good magazine should carry an exciting mixture of visuals — stylish as well as conceptual. And yet many magazines have moved away from conceptual images — both illustration and photography — in favor of “decorative” images. These are stylish, pretty pictures that lack specific, pertinent meaning or substance. (Think of stock shots that don’t add anything to the story.) There are many reasons for the decline: time constraints, budget constraints, timid editors, or (more often) young, inexperienced, or timid art directors. The way an art director and editor plan conceptual artwork goes a long way to expressing the personality of the magazine, and to fostering a loyal relationship with readers. “Conceptual” may mean the idea behind an illustration, or it may simply mean choosing the right photographer (rather than the one who called yesterday looking for some work).

FOR EDITORS
  What Can Oprah Teach Us?
  Unlike Rosie, George, or even Martha Stewart, O is a celebrity-based magazine that has captured a growing audience of readers and a stalwart stable of advertisers. What does Oprah know that we don’t? This is an interactive session geared especially toward working editors who are not averse to stealing good ideas when they spot them.
 
What Makes a Magazine Great?
  How do you define a great magazine? What do you consider to be the great magazines out there? What do they all have in common? What makes an uncommonly good edition of your magazine “great” — and how do you know when you’ve accomplished it? Al Zikovitz, publisher of Cottage Life, will lead this lively “oceanside chat.”
 
Circulation 101 for Editors
  Here’s the chance for editors to fess up about everything they don’t understand about circulation. We’ll answer your most basic questions without making you feel like a dodo. How are subscription prices determined (and what’s with those special discounted offers)? What’s considered a healthy renewal rate? Why do some magazines get prime placement on newsstands while others get buried in the back row? Why might a magazine, like The Atlantic recently, come to the decision it has too many subscribers? To what extent, if any, should circulation numbers influence specific editorial decisions? Find out what those nice people in your circulation department do everyday.
 
PR for Magazines
  How can a marketing firm raise the profile of your magazine? And at what cost? In this session, Judy Katzel of Burgess Advertising & Associates discusses television and radio advertising, media events, press releases, sponsorships, placing your editors and writers on TV and radio as “experts” on local issues, and some other outside-the-box ways to get your magazine’s name out into the world.

FOR MAGAZINE EXPANSION ENTREPRENEURS
  Regional Book Publishing for Magazines
  Magazine publishing and book publishing aren’t so much twins as cousins — distant cousins. And while it might seem a no-brainer for regional magazines to expand into book publishing projects, it pays to understand some of the key ways our two industries differ. In this session, Neale Sweet, publisher of Down East Books, talks candidly about the market for regional titles, general trends in the book publishing industry, capitalizing on the success of your established brand, and finding the right synergy between your magazine and book divisions.

ONGOING THROUGHOUT THE CONFERENCE
  Magazine Critiques
  For an extra fee, you can have a private, one-on-one critique of the visuals of your magazine, addressing your specific areas of concern. Among the areas considered will be issue packaging, flow and pacing, the visual information system, typography, readability, visual concepts and execution, consistency and modernity of design, use of images, display copy as an effective visual element, words-pictures marriage, specific elements: departments, features, covers. The cost for this candid, one-hour critique is $150, and the consultant is Steve Manley, award-winning founding art director of Cottage Life. You’ll need to pre-register for these critiques and send three consecutive issues of your magazine to Steve to review in advance of the conference.
 
Printing Contract Critiques
  Also ongoing throughout the conference will be paper contract critiques. These professional reviews of your contract will help you to determine potential savings and other points you might renegotiate. The cost for a critique is $150, and the consultant is Dedra Smith, of PrintMark.

BONUSES
  In addition to the scheduled sessions, we’ve penciled in a few activities to blow off steam.
 
Tour of Acadia National Park
  We’ll take you on a drive up Cadillac Mountain, the largest mountain on the eastern seaboard of the United States. Then we’ll tour the park’s most famed attractions, from Thunder Hole to Otter Cliffs and Jordan Pond. Once you see this mountainous island, with its woodland carriage trails, pristine lakes, and crashing surf, you’ll understand why millions venture here every year.
 
The Ultimate Whale Watch
  Be sure to take a photo ID and be prepared to have any carry-on inspected. (It's a Homeland Security thing.)
 
We’ve scheduled a trip aboard the largest, most comfortable whale-watching vessel in New England. Humpbacks, fin whales, right whales, minkes, and white-sided dolphins are just waiting in the Gulf of Maine to welcome IRMA members.
 
An Authentic Maine Lobsterbake
  No visit to Maine would be complete without a genuine lobsterbake. We’re putting together a lobster feast like none other you’ve ever been to.
 
We Want You to Relax, Too
  Throughout the conference, there will be time to visit the shops and restaurants of Bar Harbor, explore Acadia National Park on your own (and maybe do some hiking, biking, kayaking, or fishing), and catch up with old friends and make new ones. As for the hospitality suite, let’s just say it’s possibly the most spacious IRMA has ever enjoyed — with the best views. And the kind of hospitality IRMA has become known for.

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THE DAILY SCHEDULE

Wednesday, September 8

All Day 

  IRMA Board of Directors Arrives

6:00 p.m.

   IRMA Board of Directors Dinner

Thursday, September 9

All Day

   General Arrivals

8:00 a.m.

   Continental Breakfast

9:00 a.m.

   IRMA Board of Directors Meeting

12:00 p.m.

   IRMA Board of Directors Lunch

1:30 p.m.

   Resume Board of Directors Meeting (if necessary)

7:00 p.m.

   Welcome Dinner for All

Friday, September 10

8:00 a.m.

   Continental Breakfast

9:00 a.m.

   Welcome to Arcadia National Park

11:15 a.m.

   What is a Regional in Today's Publishing World?

12:30 p.m.

   Lunch

1:30 p.m.

   Congress of Regionals (Quick Review of the Year)

3:00 p.m.

   Concurrent Sessions...
      1. Art Directors' Roundtable
      2. A Prescription for Circulation
      3. Editors' Roundtable

6:00 p.m.

   Dinner

Saturday, September 11

8:00 a.m.

   Continental Breakfast

9:00 a.m.

   Concurrent Sessions...
      1. Art Director Squeeze
      2. Newsstand Survival Tactics
      3. What Can Oprah Teach Every Editor?

10:30 a.m.

   Concurrent Sessions...
      1. Time Management for Art Directors
      2. Writing Your Own Winning Direct Mail Pieces

12:30 p.m.

   Luxury Whale Watch in the Gulf of Maine

6:00 p.m.

   Cocktail Party

7:00 p.m.

   Awards Dinner (Presentation of the Annual IRMA Awards)

Sunday, September 12

8:00 a.m.

   Continental Breakfast

9:00 a.m.

   The North Carolina Miracle (How Bernie Mann turned his magazine around in only a few years.)

10:30 a.m.

   Concurrent Sessions...
      1. Today's Paper Marketplace
      2. Regional Book Publishing for Magazines
      3. Renewals & Gift Subscriptions - 60 Ideas in 60 Minutes

12:00 p.m.

   Lunch with Table Topics...
      ...The Web, Photo Contests, State-owned Magazines, Newsstand Strategies, Book Publishing, Reader Surveys

2:00 p.m.

   Concurrent Sessions...
      1. The Digital Photography Revolution
      2. 101 Ways to Improve Your Profits
      3. Circulation 101 for Editors

3:30 p.m.

   Concurrent Sessions...
      1. Typography for 2004
      2. Bringing Your Brand to Life with Events

5:00 p.m.

   Dinner on Your Own (Free Evening)

Monday, September 13

8:00 a.m.

   Continental Breakfast

9:00 a.m.

   Concurrent Sessions...
      1. Editors are from Mars; Art Directors are from Venus.
      2. Paper-buying Basics for Publishers
      3. Profitable Pricing―Inserts, Belly Bands, Glue Tips, and More!

10:30 a.m.

   Concurrent Sessions...
      1. Substance vs. Style in Modern Magazine Design
      2. Effective PR for Magazines

12:00 p.m.

   Lunch and Annual General Membership Meeting

1:30 p.m.

   What Makes a Magazine Great?

6:00 p.m.

   Gala Lobster Bake & Birthday Party
      Happy 50th Birthday to Down East!
      Happy 100th Birthday to Lane Press!

Tuesday, September 14

All Day

   Departures


See you next year in San Antonio, Texas!
       

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Things You Need to Know

Conference Registration Deadline
Register by August 10, 2004, to get the lower fees.
Book your room at Bar Harbor Regency by August 11 to be sure of getting one.

Conference Site
 
Getting Here
    Bar Harbor is an hour by car from Bangor International Airport (airport code BGR). (Don’t laugh; it’s got the longest runway on the East Coast and was regularly used by the Concorde.) We will be running a shuttle service from Bangor to Bar Harbor. You can also fly directly to Bar Harbor (airline code BHB). It is served by smaller planes from Boston by U.S. Airways.  That flight takes about an hour and ten minutes. If you’re driving, Mount Desert Island is about three and half hours from Portland, and Portland is about two hours from Boston.
     
 
The Hotel
    The Bar Harbor Regency is located on Frenchman’s Bay not far from the main entrance to Acadia National Park. Free transportation to the park leaves from the hotel regularly all day long. The hotel is about a ten-minute drive from downtown Bar Harbor. The water-view rooms go for $195, the others are $149 per night — and these are reduced rates for IRMA.
 
Reservations
   

The Bar Harbor Regency is set up to take your reservations. Mention IRMA when you call its toll-free number 1-800-234-6835 in the U.S. and Canada.

 For INTERNATIONAL reservations, call 1-207-288-9723. Or, for international requests only, Deb Jordan will work with you through e-mail if you don’t want to telephone: bhregency@yahoo.com

 We would advise everyone to make your reservations as early as possible; Bar Harbor and Mount Desert Island are increasingly popular in September — after the summer crowds have left — and the hotel will certainly be sold out while we are there. If you’d like to see more of the hotel, visit its Web site: www.barharborholidayinn.com. Our room block is being held until August 10.
 
Weather and Clothing
   

Dress for comfort — this is Maine, not Manhattan. The Regency is an excellent hotel, but it’s a resort hotel in a resort community and you will feel right at home in casual attire. Traditionally the Awards Dinner is the only scheduled event of the entire conference where men wear a jacket and tie.

Since temperatures on Mount Desert Island can be quite cool in September, especially in the evening, you should bring along a sweater and fleece, and because fogs can roll in at any time, you might want to pack some foul-weather gear. Of course, we might just luck out and enjoy several days of Indian summer with temperatures in the eighties. It’s Maine — expect anything.
 
Shipping of Materials
    IRMA members always enjoy looking at everyone else’s magazines, calendars, promotional materials and media kits. Bring plenty of samples or send them in advance. Please try to ship boxes of magazines so they do not arrive before September 6th, and clearly mark each box “Hold for IRMA Conference.” Address them to:

Debbie Jordan, Manager
Bar Harbor Regency
123 Eden St.
Bar Harbor, Maine 04609
 
Airport Transportation
   

Please fill out the Individual Preference Form so that we know your arrival and departure plans. We will have shuttles available to transport you between Bangor or Bar Harbor and the hotel.
 
Set Your Watches
    We are located in the Eastern Time Zone (not Atlantic).
 
Travel in Bar Harbor
    The hotel is located on the water a strong mile from downtown Bar Harbor and just a couple of minutes from the entrance to Acadia National Park. While you can walk to both places, neither is a particularly pedestrian-friendly stroll. To get into the Park or into town, however, there is a free bus called the Islander that stops at the hotel every 30 minutes from 7:45 a.m. to 8:15 p.m. (For details: http://www.exploreacadia.com/maps.html) We also expect to have plenty of Down East staffers at the conference with cars, and they should be able to help you get into the park or town.
 
Other Questions or Concerns
   

If you have any questions at all, please pick up the phone and call Kit Parker or Dale Kuhnert toll free at 800-766-1670. We’ll be happy to tell you what you need to know or track down the information you want. We really do want to make sure everyone has great time on Mount Desert.
 
Conference Registration
    Forms necessary for registration are available from the Download page of the Members Only area of this site. You must have a password to access that area. If you are on the staff of a member magazine or other organization, you may get one by e-mailing the Executive Director.

 
Registration Fees
    Active, Provisional and Associate Member Participants―First attendee: Full Conference $445 US, postmarked by August 10, 2004, then $495 US. Each additional attendee (including spouses): $345 US, postmarked by August 10, 2004, then $395 US. Partial Conference per day: $195 US, postmarked by August 10, 2004, then $245 US.
   
Honorary Members and Sponsors―First attendee: No fee. Each additional attendee (including spouses): $345 US, postmarked by August 10, 2004, then $395 US. Partial Conference per day: $195 US, postmarked by August 10, 2004, then $245 US.
   
Nonmember Magazine Publishers―Full Conference $900 US, postmarked by August 10, 2004, then $950 US. (Only magazine publishers may attend as nonmembers, not suppliers.) You may visit the "How to Join" page on this site for membership information.
   
Full-time students―Special consideration is available for full-time students who plan a career in magazine publishing. If you qualify, you may attend for $35 US per session if registered by August 10, 2004, then $85 US per session after that date. (Meals, transportation for field trips, and other conference benefits are not included.)
     

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Thank You, Sponsors

Banta Publications Group
12 Salt Creek Lane, Suite 350
Hinsdale, IL 60521
Phone: (630) 789-5654. Fax: (630) 323-0782
Web site: www.banta.com


Communications Data Services, Inc.
1901 Bell Avenue
Des Moines, IA 50315-1099
Phone: (515) 246-6920. Fax: (515) 246-6882
Web site: www.cdsfulfillment.com


Kable Fulfillment Services
306 E Hitt Street
Mt. Morris, IL 61054
Phone: (815) 734-5959. Fax: (815) 734-5228
Web site: www.kable.com


The Lane Press, Inc.
PO Box 130
Burlington, VT 05402, USA
Phone: (800) 733-3740. Fax: (802) 865-1714
Web site: www.lanepress.com

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Last modified: March 25, 2008