With consumer demand building for sustainably grown food and produce, fiber, flowers and plants and other consumables, Meister Media Worldwide is pleased to announce the launch of a program touching on all of the markets served by its media brands.

The Sustainability Blueprint Project™ helps to make sustainability manageable and immediately actionable to crop producers and their allied service-providers and input suppliers. It is designed to augment and amplify current and future initiatives in agriculture including Field to Market: The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture.

“Data-Intensive Management” – a look at some of the programs and tools that are laying the foundation of sustainable production through data collection, record keeping and analysis – is the first of a planned series of reports to appear under the Sustainability Blueprint Project nameplate. Sponsored by Syngenta, the report is appearing across various December, January and February issues of American/Western Fruit Grower®, American Vegetable Grower®, Cotton Grower®, CropLife®, Farm Chemicals International®, Florida Grower®, Greenhouse Grower® and PrecisionAg® magazines.

All content from the inaugural, cross-market report is posted to SustainabilityBlueprint.org, a newly launched hub site and agriculture-wide resource. Topics planned for future Sustainability Blueprint Project coverage and special reports include water and soil conservation, land use, fertilization, energy use, and waste disposal and recycling.

Meister Media Worldwide also is planning ongoing audience polls and deeper research projects to gauge producer attitudes, adoption and progress in sustainability.

“Sustainability is here and it is not going away. That’s the message we get from producers and stakeholders in our markets, both agricultural and horticultural, in North America and around the world,” says Jim Sulecki, Corporate Content Director, Meister Media Worldwide. “We’ll consider the Sustainability Blueprint Project a success if – thanks at least in small part to our modest effort – commercial agriculture, horticulture and floriculture increasingly answer the consumer call for food and produce grown with social, environmental and economic responsibility.”

CropLife Latin America and the Mexican Association of the Phytosanitary Industry (AMIFAC) awarded the 2013 Agricultural Journalism Award to Productores de Hortalizas magazine for its efforts to inform and educate growers. Juan Carlos García López de Lara, of Productores de Hortalizas, received the award on behalf of the publication at a ceremony held in Mexico City on August 19, 2013.

“The award represents a commitment to continue working for the benefit of the industry,” said Garcia. “It is the result of a collaborative effort that generates great satisfaction for the whole Productores de Hortalizas team.”

Productores de Hortalizas, a publication of Meister Media Worldwide, won in the category of written and online journalism. The title submitted two pieces for the jury’s consideration, “Avoid Botrytis in Pepper: Prevention and Identification of Gray Mold in Protected Cultivation,” by José Cosme Guerrero Ruiz; and “Soil Solarization: The Process and Application in Protected Structures,” by Jesús Marino Valerio.

Productores de Hortalizas has served vegetable growers in Mexico since 1992. The publication provides extensive coverage of the latest in field and greenhouse vegetable production technology, new products, supplier and manufacturer information and reference materials to nearly 10,000 growers, crop advisors and suppliers. Productores de Hortalizas also manages industry-leading events and award programs.

“This recognition is a great incentive for our team to continue being the leaders in agricultural media in Mexico,” said Homero Ontiveros, Publisher of Productores de Hortalizas. “We want to continue providing professional growers with valuable information that will help them be more competitive.”

The Agricultural Journalism Award supports and recognizes the work of specialized media outlets that provide growers with new and reliable information that will help them be more productive, sustainable and competitive. Award winners will attend the World Congress of the International Association of Agricultural Journalists in Argentina where they will receive the CropLife Latin America silver sculpture.

The jury for reviewing and selecting the winning entries consisted of Dr. Francisco Javier Trujillo Arriaga, CEO of the National Health Service, Food Safety and Quality department (SENASICA), secretary of the Mexican Department of Agriculture (SAGARPA); and Gabriela Estrada Centelles, director of the Bachelor of Journalism and Media Studies at the Institute of Technology and Superior Studies of Monterrey, Mexico City campus.

Meister Media Worldwide announces two appointments in its management group to lead the company’s continued growth in cross-platform content and digital media.

Jim Sulecki, a Meister veteran, transitions to the newly created position of Corporate Content Director, leading the company’s editors and graphic designers; integrating print, digital and events content; and improving content overall across Meister’s branded and custom platforms.

“Jim brings a long career as a journalist to this new leadership position, having worked on content development in virtually every market that Meister Media serves,” said Michael DeLuca, President, Meister Media Worldwide. “Along with his market knowledge, Jim has a deep passion for the written word. The experiences and talents gained through his tenure as Managing Director of Meister’s CropLife and Cotton Groups, and most recently as the company’s eMedia Director, have prepared Jim well for this new role.”

Charlie Craine succeeds Sulecki as Meister’s Director of eMedia, bringing an extensive background in digital media development and growth in both magazines and newspapers. Craine’s previous experience includes Future US, where he developed the company’s Guitar World and Revolver web properties while overseeing website development, ecommerce and mobile app development. Previously he was general manager of the Deseret News’ digital division in Salt Lake City, UT.

“Charlie has a proven track record of emedia development and knows how to leverage content to accelerate online traffic,” DeLuca said. “He brings the expertise to make our Meister brands even more vibrant and ubiquitous online as our agricultural and horticultural audiences continue to seek out information through email, web and mobile platforms.”

Meister Media Worldwide has announced the full market launch of Meister Interactive, a new company division offering custom digital marketing service based in the company’s headquarters in Willoughby.

Answering a call from many of Meister Media’s advertising partners for assistance with digital strategies and implementation, Meister Interactive is built to respond to projects both big and small, from the beginning to the end of online marketing campaigns.

The division’s services revolve around a simple tagline – “Conceive & Plan. Design & Create. Build & Analyze.” They include:

• Strategic eMedia business development – tied to the client’s specific sales and marketing objectives and to broader, cross-media efforts
• Custom digital platforms and vehicles – including custom sites, microsites and landing pages; custom enewsletters and e-blasts; and lead generation
• Custom content – built on the editorial heritage and deep market knowledge Meister Media has acquired after more than 75 years in the agriculture industry.
• Creative services / design
• Video and audio
• Campaign management and analytics

“We heard from a wide swath of Meister Media’s advertisers – big and small, across all of our markets – that they are seeking help in their move to online marketing,” says Jim Sulecki, Meister Media’s Director of eMedia who also heads up Meister Interactive and Meister’s video/audio facility, Studio M. “Given Meister’s content and design heritage, deep market knowledge and growing expertise in digital platforms, it seems natural that we should form Meister Interactive to help fill this growing market demand.”

Meister Interactive services are available to all marketers in U.S. and global agricultural and horticultural markets. Clients of Meister Interactive also are eligible for preferred rates and placement on Meister Media’s branded websites and enewsletters, on other media platforms and in integrated marketing programs also managed by Meister Media.

For the second time in three years, Today’s Garden Center earned the American Society of Business Publication Editors’ (ASBPE) national “Multi-Platform Presentation of the Year” honor. Editors Richard Jones, Sara Tambascio and Jennifer Polanz were recognized for the brand’s “Steal This Idea” program.

“Steal This Idea,” a feature that shares successful ideas gleaned from independent garden centers, has grown from a short feature in Today’s Garden Center eNews to a year-round program incorporating the print magazine, webinars and trade shows and conferences across the U.S.

ASBPE’s “Multi-Platform Presentation of the Year” is one of two premier digital content awards, along with “Website of the Year.” Today’s Garden Center also won the award in 2009 and was a runner up in 2010.

Other Meister Media award winners this year at ASBPE:

• Greenhouse Grower, Today’s Garden Center sister publication, garnered ASBPE’s Silver Award for best “Special Supplement.” Managing editor Kevin Yanik’s “Peat Report” addressed both sides of the controversy surrounding the sustainability of peat moss as a horticultural growing media.
• Three Meister graphic designers won National AZBEE Design Awards. Brad Kish earned a Silver Award for his work on the “Greenhouse Grower Peat Report Cover,” Patrick Brickman collected a Gold Award for “Today’s Garden Center – Contents Page,” and Tyler Hatch earned a Gold Award for the Computer Generated Front Cover of Cotton International Magazine’s “Meetings of the Minds” Issue. The competition in the latter category alone pitted Cotton International’s cover against 26 other National finalists. Meister Media’s Creative Services design team has been recognized 13 times since 1999 for excellence in print design for business publications.

The Organizing Committee for one of cotton’s premier annual events has reached an agreement with Meister Media Worldwide that will facilitate the delivery of timely, high-level industry intelligence to cotton professionals around the world. By designating Cotton International and Cotton Grower magazines the official publications of the International Cotton Advisory Committee’s (ICAC) 69th Plenary Meeting (Sept. 20-25 in Lubbock, Texas), the Organizing Committee has enhanced its ability to provide critical industry information through integrated media to all sectors of the cotton industry across the globe.

As part of the agreement, Cotton International magazine will publish a series of pre-event Special Edition e-newsletters investigating key topics from among the Meeting’s major sessions, including interviews with session moderators and panelists. In addition, both Cotton International and Cotton Grower magazines will provide on-site coverage of Plenary Meeting events from the host city of Lubbock, Texas, including video and in-depth reporting on issues driving the revitalization of the global cotton market.

“Meister Media has offered to provide an impressive array of coverage of all aspects of the 69th ICAC Plenary Meeting,” says Dean Ethridge, chair of the ICAC Organizing Committee. “Based on these considerations, the Organizing Committee is pleased to grant them the status of The Official Media Partner of the 69th Plenary Meeting in Lubbock. The Committee understands that their coverage will come under the auspices of both their Cotton International and Cotton Grower magazines. A global outreach is essential for informing about an ICAC Plenary Meeting. We are counting on Meister Media to help provide this outreach.”

“We’re honored to be The Official Media Partner of ICAC’s 69th Plenary Meeting,” says Gary T. Fitzgerald, Meister Media Worldwide CEO. “ICAC is a catalyst not only for collaboration, but for constructive change. This agreement gives our domestic and global audience an insider’s look at that collaborative process, and helps us fulfill our mission of delivering actionable information that allows our readers to operate their businesses more efficiently and profitably.”

Terry Townsend, Executive Director of ICAC, added, “I welcome this coordination between the Organizing Committee and Meister Media, and I appreciate the support of Cotton International and Cotton Grower magazines in helping to raise awareness of issues affecting the world of cotton.”

To learn more about ICAC’s 69th Plenary Meeting, please visit http://www.icac.org.

Cotton industry professionals who want to receive weekly newsletters from Cotton International and Cotton Grower can sign up for a free subscription at http://cotton247.com/subscribe/.

To meet ever-growing market demands as well as complement its strategy of offering readers and clients a complete suite of integrated informational and marketing solutions, Meister Media Worldwide (MMW) announces the creation of the Meister Events Group.

Meister Events will provide logistical, marketing and event management to MMW’s current stable of trade shows, summits and conferences, and work to develop new in-person opportunities across the company’s specialty agriculture markets. The group will accelerate the blending of MMW’s live-events with print and eMedia offerings to provide fully integrated marketing and business-building solutions.

Leading MMW’s event group is Jeff Fenner. Fenner, with 14 years of business-to-business media and event management, has spent the past two years with Meister’s Clear Window integrated solutions group.

MMW’s current event offerings reach thousands of specialty agriculture professionals across the globe and serve as a source for unique content for the markets served. Key offerings include the 2010 Florida Citrus Show and 2010 Florida Ag Expo in the U.S., the International Tomato Congress and International Cucurbit Congress in Mexico and FCI Trade Summits in Latin America, Europe, Africa, and Asia.

“This is another step in our continued growth as an integrated media company serving these specialty markets around the world,” said Michael DeLuca, president of Meister Media Worldwide. “Even as our eMedia capabilities grow, the need for face-to-face learning and networking experiences for our reader and clients have met high demand.”