It all began one morning in 2011, when Tony Lorenz had breakfast with Chris Brown, with the National Association of Broadcasters, and other association leaders.  Over coffee and bagels, they discussed the relatively new concept of the digital event – a trade show and/or educational event held only, or simultaneously, online.  They speculated that, despite the resistance they were seeing from some association executives, the market was going to push everyone to include digital options in the future.

But could the tide be turned proactively?  Lorenz thought yes – and worked to find a practical way to deliver highly useful, profession-specific content to the users who needed it most. This work dovetailed well into the other idea he had brewing; some of his association contacts had asked him how they could get more industry-specific content into the hands of their members. The result was BOB.tv; an innovative partnership with respected industry associations to deliver content to – and beyond – its professional member base. Still in early growth phase, BOB.tv has hit upon a unique, scalable model for success that we can all learn from.

Company Profile

Founded: 2012 by Tony Lorenz

Employees: <10

Number of Publications: Four: three industry segments and one general business section. Additional industry are segments under development.

Business Model: Establish association partner investments (annual) and a paid subscription base, with a limited number of corporate partnership opportunities. Deliver deep, pertinent industry-specific content such as continuing-education coursework, tradeshow broadcasts and skill-building content specific to vertical markets such as Events, Healthcare Leadership and Supply Chain Management.

Registered Users & Paid Subscribers: Confidential

Location: Chicago, IL USA

Website: http://bob.tv/

Twitter: @bobtvbiz

LinkedIn: http://linkd.in/1F90ERm

Blog: www.bob.tv/blog

About BOB.tv

“BOB” stands for “Best Of Business” and BOB.tv was established to deliver premium knowledge content to industry practitioners. The company leverages a subscription-based learning platform, aggregating high-value content used by professionals to build skills and stay abreast of industry knowledge.  Currently there is content available for three industry verticals: Events Management, Healthcare Leadership and Supply Chain Management.  A fourth category, “Best of Business,” delivers a higher-quality of general business content than is readily found on the web. While some proprietary content is produced by BOB.tv in-house, the majority of the content comes from association partners, their member organizations and the web.

How does BOB.tv stay focused on rich, high-value content and still remain viable financially? “Our business model is profession-centric, so we partner with leading associations to build networks of strong content for and with each industry we serve,” says Lorenz. “Our business model is decidedly not dependent on advertising, and you’re not going to find any cat videos unless we expand into the veterinary vertical.”

Lorenz and his founding partner, capital partner, Synetro, are the primary funders of BOB.tv in this early growth stage.  Other funding comes from BOB.tv’s founding industry partners, including Healthcare Information Management and Systems Society (HIMSS), American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE), Meeting Professionals International (MPI), Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) and The Association for Operations Management (APICS). Additional associations have been signed, and will be announced soon. Subscription revenues are now starting to come in and are expected to increase.

Expanding the reach and value of in-person B2B events was a cornerstone initiative; the reality is, most of the target market of any industry event simply can’t make it.. Lorenz explains, “Associations can get more mileage out of their events when they’re streamed to a larger audience. Recording presentations and interviews give members the opportunity to learn on their own timetable.”

In addition to association support and subscriptions, a modest number of corporate partnership opportunities are available.  Commercial organizations may sponsor a site section or particular piece of content, but overt advertising materials are weeded out by the staff curators of each vertical learning portal. 

Product Strategy

Tony Lorenz has big plans for BOB.tv.

“We have a formal activation plan for associations, and an overall strategic plan – very purposeful formal plans” he explains, “but we stay flexible to meet the needs our associations bring to us.”

“Without our association partners, there is no BOB.tv” Lorenz expands, “We’re very committed to creating value for and with associations.”

Market Positioning

With titles like, “Standardizing Facility Identifiers for HIE” and “Data Warehousing with Semantic Ontologies,” it’s obvious that the content on BOB.tv is for industry professionals seeking knowledge directly pertinent to their careers.  For instance, APICS members can earn Certification Maintenance Points by viewing selected content in their Supply Chain portal.  Other materials are produced by respected institutions like Penn State’s Smeal College of Business, Supply Chain Quarterly and Healthcare Finance News. Also included are survey results, case studies and interviews with industry notables done onsite at trade events. “This isn’t Content Lite,” says Lorenz, “it’s not built for mass consumption. We’re positioning ourselves as the provider of career-building content.”

Content

Business content, with a significant focus on video media, within the Events, Healthcare Leadership, Supply Chain and Best of Business industries. Content is uploaded as curated by BOB.tv or received from its partners.

BOB.tv both aggregates and produces content, bringing the richest possible experience to subscribers while not spending money or time recreating materials that have already been well-crafted by other respected sources.

BOB.tv gathers existing content from across the industry, primarily by leveraging the association partners, then expands through media companies, corporations, academic institutions and influencers. Industry-savvy curators manage each of the portals, selecting content based on timeliness, relevance and industry significance.

BOB.tv does accept materials from indirect sources on the website, but doesn’t actively solicit for them.  “Beginning with association partners builds credibility and provides excellent content without requiring a lot of resources to vet and edit,” says Lorenz.

The content that BOB.tv does produce in-house is largely interviews with industry experts and reports from trade-show floors.  Bringing trade shows and other events to those who cannot attend is one of the founding principles of BOB.tv, discussed over that first breakfast in 2011.

While the mix is constantly changing, the intention is that the materials will largely be in video format. For example, a search under the “Notables” section of Events resulted in 108 items, just under half of which were video. “When it makes sense to include whitepapers or print articles, we do” Lorenz says, “but the video medium really lends itself to education, and that’s what our users are increasingly looking for.”

Target Markets

BOB.tv really serves two markets – associations and the individual professionals in the markets they serve.  On one hand, BOB.tv is helping industry associations expand their value to their member bases – and expand the member bases themselves – by offering a venue for them to centralize their continuing educational, trade show and meeting content.  Other the other, BOB.tv delivers this content in an easy-to-access freemium-to-subscription model to the industry professionals seeking it.

“Knowledge workers in the industries we serve are overwhelmed with the exponential gains in available content, most of it not worth consuming” explains Lorenz, “We bring together the best materials in each industry we serve, so they can get what they want without the noise of commercial content.”

On the other side of the fence, associations are facing a need to evolve their business models to stay relevant to their members.  Yet, financial and human resources as well as technical capabilities are often already strained. Cuts to travel budgets and the greater proliferation of online content and communication have impacted growth at trade shows; even when attendance is strong the content was received only by those in physical attendance.  BOB.tv publishes on-floor interviews and recordings of panels and presentations as well as pre- and post-show content, extending the value of the show for both associations and members.

How does Lorenz choose the markets to attack? “We look for global industries led by strong associations with progressive leadership, with strong financial positions and a collaborative mindset” says Lorenz, “some verticals, such as Healthcare Leadership, are an obvious fit.” He expands, “But, anything restricted by geography or heavy regulation, such as State CPA societies, won’t be on our radar.” Insurance wouldn’t be top on our list either, because the interests are very geographic.  We prioritize content and verticals that are scalable around the world.”

When asked which or vertical is gaining the most traction right now, Lorenz said, “Events was the first launch, and there are healthy numbers there.  The others are newer and there are different degrees of engagement but off to a strong start.”

“Supply Chain has been a surprise to us – the embrace of the global supply chain community has been even better than we expected.” Lorenz expands, “the vertical is very technical, very skeptical of content sites and the quality they can deliver.  Clearly, they think we’re doing a good job.”

“Overall” Lorenz summarizes, “we are very fortunate to be working with our current association partners. They’re inspiring growth and innovation across the rest of the association landscape.”

A Note on Expansion:

Lorenz intends to build several industry networks with his association partners over time. As this happens, BOB.tv will enable increasingly unique content creation, consumption and distribution opportunities for every stakeholder in the mix.  “We have several additional industry verticals in the pipeline” says Lorenz.

Today, BOB.tv has three unique vertical markets: Events Management, Healthcare Leadership, Supply Chain, as well as offering one category for business content called Best of Business.  More markets, undisclosed for now, are expected to launch soon. While specific market segmentation is unavailable at this time, Lorenz states that participation is predominantly U.S.-based, but global reach is increasing.

Revenue Streams

While total revenues and detailed breakouts by segment are undisclosed, Lorenz does provide the broad strokes of his revenue plan, grounded in a staged approach to profitability, beginning with powerful partnerships.

“The core behind our growth right now is the partnerships we’re forming with associations” says Lorenz, “they’ve provided a portion of the capital to get us started, and will be key to our ability to scale.”  He adds, “Their strength is invaluable – so much more than writing a check.”

Without giving details, Lorenz acknowledged that the primary revenue stream today is from these alliances.  While that takes care of the present, Lorenz has big plans for the future, intending to transition to paid subscriptions from a largely freemium model.

While most of the content is available in front of the paywall, only subscribers have exclusive access to live-streamed events and Continuing-Education content, as well as a tool to record a history of their coursework.  As association relationships deepen and member awareness grows, Lorenz plans to shift more content behind the firewalls of each industry portal.

Subscription pricing is simple and easy, and the same across subject-matter portals: $100 for annual membership, $10 for a per-month membership. Lorenz stated that there are discounts available through many association partners, though the only one specifically highlighted on the site is that of founding partner of the Supply Chain vertical, APICS.  APICS members receive 50% off the annual subscription rate, and had access to 10 APICS 2014 courses until June 1^st. HIMSS members purchase their BOB.tv subscriptions at HIMSS.org.

“A subscriber to BOB.tv gets access to all this content – and more – for the price of two lattes a month” says Lorenz, “it’s an easy decision to subscribe.”

Marketing Tactics

Like most startups, Lorenz started with non-marketing marketing – in short, the one-on-one networking that sparked the idea for BOB.tv in the first place.  “I’ve been in the event industry most of my career,” says Lorenz, “so I started with the people I knew, the people who would give me their honest opinions as well as be terrific founding partners.”

Lorenz and his team are constantly present, and have been from the start, at the annual and regional meetings of their industry association partners.

Very early on, in 2012, BOB.tv won the EIBTM Technology Watch Award, selected by a panel of industry leaders from among 56 applications, based upon such criteria as product innovation, completeness of concept, and the value of the product to the meetings industry.

By design, traditional marketing has been limited largely to social media and partners.  “The associations are key to building interest in BOB.tv – it’s in their own interest to do so” says Lorenz.

Paid placement on Google ensures that BOB.tv tops a grab-bag of other results (a short-lived Bob Newhart television show from the early 1990’s captures an inordinate amount of real-estate), otherwise the top search result is a link from the APICS member-benefit page.

Lorenz and his team actively blog and tweet, and they have a presence on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. “Of the platforms out there that we could leverage, LinkedIn is our strongest. It’s decidedly B2B, people are there for their careers and acquire knowledge that will help them be better at what they do.” Says Lorenz, “To the extent we can connect with LinkedIn in a way that makes sense, we can deliver value to these individuals.”

Marketing by the Numbers:

Quantcast report: none available

SEMrush Rank: 2.1M

• 313 backlinks/inbound links, 30 referring domains, 29 referring IPs.

• Organic traffic appeared highest during the AIA 2014 conference.

Google search rankings (by name and keywords): “BOB tv” shows a paid ad, but bob.tv does not appear above the fold in the native results of the search. An APICS link to membership benefits including BOB.tv does however appear in the top 10 native search results.

PPC search advertising: Limited.

Social Media:

• LinkedIn: 172 followers.

• Facebook: 2,370 page likes.

• Twitter: 1,117 followers. 

Competition

Associations

The same groups that Lorenz is seeking out as partners – the associations – could be considered competition. However, the main reason for the traction of BOB.tv is the lack of bandwidth and expertise on the part of these associations.  They understand the role BOB.tv can play, and welcome it.  This may also be why they are looking to Lorenz instead of, or at least in addition to, YouTube and other opportunities.

Social Media

The most obvious direct competitor is YouTube, which offers the ability to set up closed, branded channels for anyone who chooses to do so.  However, as noted above, curating content takes time and know-how.  Further, the multimedia nature of the content doesn’t lend itself to any one platform.

Universities/MOOC’s

According to a 2014 article in Inside Higher Ed, 65% of academic officers believe online education is a critical component of their long-term strategy. That said, not everyone is looking for classic coursework.  Massive Open Online Courses, or selected paid coursework could even come under the curation of a BOB.tv portal. 

About Tony Lorenz

A longtime Chicago resident, Lorenz began his career as a CPA, before moving into BtoB event marketing in 1988. In 1992, he founded ProActive, a B2B events-solutions provider dedicated to its customers and employees.  “We built a company in which experienced and talented individuals could thrive in the fulfillment of communication objectives for the world’s most respected brands,” says Lorenz.

In 2001, he co-founded rEvolution, a sports marketing firm which is now comprised of over 70 people who service a number of brands including ESPN, Polaris and the NBA.

In April 2007, Lorenz sold ProActive to  Freeman, a provider of trade show and exhibit solutions. In July 2009, after taking responsibility for the rest of the Creative team at Freeman, they fully integrated ProActive into Freeman where Lorenz led Freeman’s creative function until leaving to start BOB.tv in 2011.

Lorenz serves on several industry and civic boards including the Business Marketing Association and Lurie Children’s Hospital Foundation. He is also active in industry organizations such as PCMA, MPI, IAEE and ASAE where he’s held a variety of chapter and international Board positions. Lorenz was also a committee member for the Chicago 2016 Olympic and Paralympic bid.

“I’m a believer in lifelong learning” says Lorenz, who carries full alumni status with the Harvard Business School through its Owner President Management (OPM) program, “I continue to learn, and I find it very rewarding to help others do so as well.”

Lorenz holds a BS in Accounting from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business and a BS from Butler University. He lives in Wilmette, IL with wife Terri and his two daughters, Katie and Emily. 

Subscription Insider Analysis

Overall, BOB.tv is taking a smart approach to product launch. Partnering with existing associations drives awareness and adoption without massive marketing budgets or headcount.  The relationship is mutually beneficial as most associations are looking for ways to stay relevant to their members, and BOB.tv has a built-in prospect base with their endorsement.

Another benefit of this growth model is the ability to leverage high-quality, relevant existing content, and new materials developed by the associations and their members.  This is the content most professionals are likely looking for anyway, and delivering it within an elegant user experience provides legitimate value.

Lorenz is consciously going after vertical markets with global reach and limited regulatory oversight, in order to ensure a clear path to success. Fields such as Insurance are highly localized, and Lorenz is wisely finding underserved markets to attack.

As evidenced by their win of the EIBTM Technology Watch Award, BOB.tv is leveraging awards as a method of public relations and credibility-building. Whether one wins or not, award applications provide visibility to market influencers (in addition to the award itself, Lorenz was awarded a special exhibition spot at that year’s trade show) and, at worst, some feedback where improvements can be made.

There are some minor glitches in the user experience that should be tightened up at this point, such as filter options that lead to no data results.  For example, a search under the Healthcare Leadership section of the site allows a filter option of “BOB.tv Blogs,” but, when chosen, doesn’t deliver results.

As the product grows, Lorenz may find that the categorizations he’s using to drive the user’s search experience will need to become more specific.  “Popular” is easily understood and valuable to the user; “Notable” and “Playlist,” less so.

Another area to ramp up would be cross-marketing.  There may be little need for broad-based retargeting or such marketing programs, given that the audiences for each vertical content site is highly-defined and specific, but as of today BOB.tv is not prominently mentioned on any of the association sponsors’ sites.  Working to get associations to use BOB.tv as their curator on YouTube and other social media platforms will also both showcase the product and drive more users to subscribe.

While the details of the financial model are unknown, the highest risk to growth may be the assumption that current users – accustomed to getting content for free – will at some point be willing to pay.  While admittedly data rich and valuable, letting this un-validated assumption go too long could prove problematic when it comes time for serious scale.

From breakfast to the big-time in three short years?  With pragmatic planning, BOB.tv is well on its way.

Get the inside view, tips and strategies on new product development (NPD) with Diane Pierson, our INSIDER Guide to New Product Development.  Diane is a leader in product management and marketing to companies including Dun & Bradstreet, LexisNexis, American Lawyer Media and Copyright Clearance Center. She has built products & services that have delivered over $100 million in revenue and knows what works, and what doesn’t, when executing product plans and strategies. (Read Diane’s Full Bio)