|
 WhitePaperSource, January 31, 2005
Stelzner Consulting
How Will the TechTarget / Bitpipe Merger Impact the Future of White Paper Marketing?
By Michael A. Stelzner
The big news in the industry is that TechTarget and Bitpipe are now one white paper powerhouse. I spoke recently with industry professionals and the CEO of TechTarget about the merger's impact on the future of white paper marketing.
Howard J. Sewell, president of Connect Direct, a leading white paper advertising agency, explained, "I think the jury's still out on whether, in the long run, the merger will be good for advertisers. Bitpipe was, and is, one of the strongest performing media options for our technology clients. If Bitpipe service and pricing remains largely intact, that shouldn't change. Our biggest fear is that TechTarget will use Bitpipe as leverage to force advertisers into other TechTarget properties, but so far, fingers crossed, we haven't seen that happen. Personally, I'd like to see the TechTarget sites rolled into the Bitpipe network and made part of the same service. Time will tell. We're cautiously optimistic."
Roberta Halliburton, marketing communications manager for Peregrine Systems, said, "The merger of TechTarget and Bitpipe is a great move for marketing managers. Now the broad reach of Bitpipe is coupled with the highly targeted focus of TechTarget. The merger provides a great vehicle for getting white papers into the hands of prospects with a single point of contact."
Greg Strakosch, CEO of TechTarget, stated "Bitpipe customers who previously ran stand-alone campaigns on Bitpipe.com can now integrate their white papers into a campaign that touches IT pros and executives in all phases of the IT decision making process and across all media--online, print, and events." Strakosch also explained that TechTarget and Bitpipe would cross-populate their properties with shared white paper content. Given the less than 20 percent overlap in customers between the two businesses, he argued that the increased exposure would have a positive effect on advertisers by providing access to a significantly larger base of qualified leads.
DISCUSSION: Discuss this topic at the WhitePaperSource forum.
- # # # -
Contact:
Doug Jensen
781-657-1528
888-274-4111 x 1528
djensen(at)techtarget.com |
