Here at JCK, early May is in some ways the end of a year. The JCK Show ~ Las Vegas is now just weeks away, and we’ve completed another cycle of publishing.
As we wind down production of our many publications in the months of May and June—JCK, JCKstyle, and JCK Luxury along with our JCK Show Guide, Show Navigator, Pocket Planner, and Show Dailies—it’s a good time to reflect on the “state of JCK.”
The state of JCK is great! We’ve just completed our two largest JCK issues ever: a 490-page May and an estimated 456-page June. Our Spring 2007 JCK Luxury broke its own record handily, up from 168 pages last year to 234 pages! And our Spring 2007 JCKstyle is the most stunning-looking publication this team has produced to date.
Our show products are all healthy and up in ad pages, too. Most notably, both our Pocket Planner and Show Dailies saw 12 percent gains in advertising revenue.
Our Web site, JCKonline.com, is also on the rise. We’ve seen big gains in unique visitors per month (now up to about 35,000), and the number of pages they view per visit has almost doubled. This means our readers are spending more time on the site in response to the extensive breaking news, many blogs, event pictures, online manufacturer catalogs, and other features. In advertising, we’ve surpassed last year’s online revenues, and we’re only halfway through the year!
Our terrific staff—you can see their smiling faces on page 70—is at the heart of all this success. In fact, I’m frequently told by staff members that it’s the best staff we’ve ever had. In light of the many terrific and accomplished people who’ve spent time on our staff over the years, it’s exciting praise.
While we’ll all enjoy the week of relative silence that follows the show, we’re planning more exciting projects for the second half of 2007. Look for enhanced editorial content, more photography, new online newsletter ideas, and cool new supplemental publications.
Of course, none of this success would be possible without the support of our paid subscribers and wonderful advertisers. To all of you, a very heartfelt thanks.
I look forward to seeing everyone in Las Vegas. And best of luck to all for a prosperous and successful show!