.floatimg-left-hort { float:left; } .floatimg-left-caption-hort { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:300px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-vert { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right:15px; width:200px;} .floatimg-left-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; font-size: 12px; width:200px;} .floatimg-right-hort { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px;} .floatimg-right-caption-hort { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px; font-size: 12px; } .floatimg-right-vert { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px;} .floatimg-right-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; font-size: 12px; } .floatimgright-sidebar { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; border-top-style: double; border-top-color: black; border-bottom-style: double; border-bottom-color: black;} .floatimgright-sidebar p { line-height: 115%; text-indent: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar h4 { font-variant:small-caps; } .pullquote { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 150px; background: url(http://www.dmbusinessdaily.com/DAILY/editorial/extras/closequote.gif) no-repeat bottom right !important ; line-height: 150%; font-size: 125%; border-top: 1px solid; border-bottom: 1px solid;} .floatvidleft { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatvidright { float:right; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;}
During a June presentation to stock analysts, Meredith Corp. executives emphasized the diversification in the Meredith Integrated Marketing division. Executive Vice President Wendy Riches told them: “The benefit to Meredith is that this is delivering a growing and profitable revenue source not dependent on advertising.”

Everyone in the publishing business knows that this has been a difficult year for ad sales. And every Meredith stockholder knows that the company’s shares have plummeted in price over the past several months.

Those factors suggest that it’s a good idea for a publisher to keep developing non-ad revenue streams. It’s probably not a big enough concept to reverse the stock-price trend all by itself, but it shows a willingness to adapt and evolve. It’s evidence of thinking bigger than “let’s have a Web site.”

Meredith has known for decades how to put ink on paper in attractive ways. As the Internet reshapes the information business, it makes sense to do more. Daily newspapers are in a difficult situation, because they have to worry about objectivity. Meredith is in the business of service journalism, where the goal is to keep the readers happy, not give them unsettling news. If advertisers want help directing their messages as efficiently as possible, let the synergy begin.

Riches said at the Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. Media and Telecom Conference: “We’ve been in the process of transforming this business … by adding a deep breadth of customer relation marketing services.”

Meredith has acquired five companies since 2006. O’Grady Myers is an online marketing agency; Genex builds large, complex Web sites; New Media Strategies does online research and helps clients use the results in online campaigns; Directive provides data mining and offers database consulting services; and Big Communications develops custom marketing solutions for health-care clients.

We’ll find out whether investors think this is a sound strategy – after the economy turns around.