As part of a recent reorganization that refocused its Media and Intelligence groups into Information Services and Marketing Solutions, ALM tapped Jimi Li as Chief Technology Officer. A media industry outsider, Li brings a wealth of experience with both B2B and B2C brands, having most recently served as Partner and Co-Founder of Valence Marketing Infrastructure and having held previous leadership positions at companies such as L’Oréal, Coach and GE Capital.

Jason Abbate: I want to activate publisher audiences—data, events, direct buys. I’m looking for ideas—every time I call a publisher, I hear about their rate card—that’s not what I want. I will never read your rate card. It all comes down to reaching and activating your audience. When I talk about publisher assets, you have access to audience, and editorial credibility. That’s what I want to buy. I don’t want to buy video, I don’t want your content studio. When I see a white paper, that’s like content marketing from 2009. I want you to do a custom event that we can’t do.  When I see things like content studios, that’s taking money out of my pocket. 

Crafting a practical and effective data strategy is top of mind for business media and information executives. Sourcing the right data, taking control of that data and creating the right tech stack to power that strategy is part of the process.

For all the talk of digital transformation, the real transition for many B2B publishers was becoming events companies with media rather than media companies with events. Events typically offered better margins (especially attractive to PE-owners looking to boost revenue then flip for a tidy profit) and didn’t require the headaches of building infrastructure and new skills that digital demanded.

Digital-first has evolved into "data-first" for many information companies. But does your organization really understand the data opportunity that it has, as well as the tools to effectively leverage that data?