2009
While many other media companies saw revenue and profits decline sharply in 2009, NetWorld Alliance recorded its largest profit in company history. Revenue for the year was roughly equivalent to that of the prior year.
The company began integrating a number of advanced publishing strategies into its Web properties, including video, audio and social media, and unveiled a number of enhancements designed to increase functionality and improve the user experience.
The company hosted its first Pizza Executive Summit in June, bringing together more than 100 industry executives for two days of collaborative sessions covering issues facing the $30 billion pizza industry. The Fast Casual Executive Summit, held in Dallas in September, saw its largest attendance in its four-year history in spite of the down economy.
The Fast Casual Alliance joined with the National Restaurant Association to create the Fast Casual Alliance – An NRA Industry Council. The group will serve as a model for future National Restaurant Association industry councils and will reside under the NRA umbrella.
Deployer membership in the Self-Service & Kiosk Association surpassed vendor membership for the first time in the association's history. The Digital Signage Association surpassed the 400-member mark in November and launched a new Web site in December. The DSA was also featured in a supplement on digital signage distributed with USA Today in five major markets around the country.
Executive Vice President Bob Fincher moved from his role as head of sales and marketing in order to spearhead the company's plans to launch a new Web portal devoted to green home construction. Andrew Davis, who has more than 20 years of experience in sales and management with companies including Conde Nast and Time, joined NetWorld Alliance as senior vice president of sales and marketing.
2008
NetWorld Alliance continued to develop its media properties in 2008, redesigning its various Web sites and adding such features as video and audio galleries. The company also expanded into the production of webinars.
The company expanded its Louisville, Ky., headquarters in August, adding an additional 2,000 square feet of office space. The company also increased its sales and editorial team, bringing its total staff to more than 50.
During the year, NetWorld Alliance was instrumental in forming the Fast Casual Alliance, a group of industry leaders working to promote a variety of initiatives related to the fast casual restaurant segment. Fast Casual magazine publisher Paul Barron is serving as the FCA's first chairman.
2007
In March, NetWorld Alliance launched DigitalSignageToday.com to provide news and information concerning the $1.1 billion digital signage industry.
The company hosted the 2007 Fast Casual Executive Summit in September, the first of what is slated to be an annual event devoted specifically to executives in the fast casual restaurant industry. More than 70 industry executives gathered for two days of collaborative sessions covering topics such as branding and franchising, marketing and employee hiring and retention.
In November, NetWorld Alliance helped form the Digital Signage Association, with David Drain serving as executive director. The Digital Signage Association’s mission is to be an advocate for industry issues, increase awareness about the effectiveness of digital signage, and provide education and networking opportunities for members of the association. The Digital Signage Association is affiliated with the Self-Service & Kiosk Association through a newly-created intermediary organization known as the Digital Technology Alliance, a committee made up of selected members of both associations.
As 2007 drew to a close, NetWorld Alliance launched RetailCustomerExperience.com, which offers retailers news and information on how to manage and improve the customer experience. In addition, Self-Service World magazine was relaunched as Retail Customer Experience magazine.
2006
In February, David Drain joined NetWorld Alliance as the new executive director of the Self-Service & Kiosk Association. David spent the previous 13 years with FSA Group of Louisville, managing Foodservice Consultants Society International, a 1,100-member association with domestic and international chapters.
In September, NetWorld sold The Self-Service & Kiosk Show to KioskCom owner JD Events for an undisclosed sum. The hand-off took place after NetWorld Alliance's production of the Sept. 28-29 trade show in San Antonio, Texas. Following the sale, JD Events will continue to produce and manage tradeshows and NetWorld Alliance will continue to create and manage media properties, online industry news stories and all related industry associations. In addition, the two firms will form a cooperative marketing partnership whereby each of their respective properties will be mutually endorsed and supported by the other.
2005
In June, NetWorld acquired QSRweb.com and welcomed Paul Barron, its owner and publisher, to the company's team. Paul was a sought-after restaurant industry consultant and speaker.
Within the next few months, NetWorld launched FastCasual.com, Fast Casual magazine, The Quick Service Restaurant Report, and the redesigned QSRweb.com.
As a result of the acquisition, the company split into two divisions: self-service and food service. Bob Fincher was named general manager of the self-service division and Paul Barron became GM of the food service division.
The renamed Self-Service & Kiosk Show multiplied its attendee and exhibitor numbers. Kiosks.org Association was also renamed the Self-Service & Kiosk Association. NetWorld achieved $3 million in YTD revenue in the fourth quarter, a milestone for the company.
In July, the company launced SelfServiceWorld.com, and at the end of the year Kiosk magazine was relaunched as Self-Service World magazine.
2004
In May, industry veteran Greg Swistak became the third executive director of Kiosks.org Association and a senior vice president of NetWorld.
In July, NetWorld acquired the kiosk assets of Voyagi Inc., including kiosk.com, KIOSK magazine and The Kiosk Show.
2003
The company moved into an 11,000-square foot building, located in the Eastpoint Business Center in Louisville, Ky., in February.
NetWorld president Tom Harper was elected president of the ATM Industry Association at the group's conference in Miami. NetWorld chairman Alan Fryrear became executive director of Kiosks.org Association.
2002
Church Central Associates, a partnership between NetWorld and Dr. Thom Rainer (a well-known church leadership author and speaker), began operations with the launch of ChurchCentral.com. The new Web site, designed as a news and information resource for church leaders, also promoted conferences, a newsletter and church consultant training.
Kiosks.org Association held its first membership meeting during the KioskCom trade show in Orlando, Fla. With Dick Good as chairman, the group set a number of goals to advance the cause of the industry.
2001
In January, the company launched KIOSKmarketplace, a Web site providing news and information for the kiosk industry, modeled after the successful ATMmarketplace.
Members of Kiosks.org met to discuss establishing a formal association. Led by NetWorld CEO Dick Good, the group named itself Kiosks.org Association. Later in the year, it named its first executive committee, with Kodak's Rick Rommel serving as president of the advisory board. The organization collected membership dues for the first time.
In November, PizzaMarketplace.com, focusing on the $26 billion pizza industry, was launched. The site was an immediate hit with pizza company operators, suppliers and vendors.
2000
Together with Richard (Dick) L. Good, an experienced business executive, Tom Harper and Alan Fryrear drafted business plans and formed NetWorld Alliance in February.
NetWorld raised $1 million through a private offering to a small group of investors. The money was used for Web development, staffing and facility expansion. NetWorld expanded its staff to 16 employees, adding talented professionals in editorial and advertising. One of those staff additions was Bob Fincher, an experienced sales leader who joined the management team as executive vice president of sales and marketing.
In mid-July, Harper and other industry professionals created the ATM Advertising Council, which received support from leading manufacturers including NCR, Diebold and Triton as well as PNC Bank, a top-level financial institution. The council ceased operations in 2005 due to market trends that deemphasized advertising revenue at the ATM.
On Sept. 15, the company introduced ATMmarketplace as the industry's newest information and e-commerce resource. Taking up where its predecessor, ATMmagazine, left off, the new site offered expanded information and advertising opportunities.
In October, NetWorld purchased Kiosks.org, the top information provider in the kiosk industry.
1999
WaterMark Group was named a winner in Inc. magazine's "Best of the Small Business Web" contest and was featured in the November 1999 issue. Soon after, the company began planning an expansion of its services and an upgrade of ATMmagazine to ATMmarketplace.
With the growth of ATMmagazine came opportunity. Fryrear and Harper saw those opportunities in the form of new, revenue-producing site features, and began to explore ways to expand the company beyond its main Web portal.
1998
Fryrear and Harper created ATMmagazine.com, an online trade publication focused on the emerging ATM industry, in May 1998. The site quickly attracted a large, loyal following, focusing on an industry in the midst of unprecedented growth in off-premise deployments. Its audience included manufacturers, distributors, bankers, vendors and other suppliers throughout the world.
1997
In 1997 Harper co-founded the ATM Industry Association (ATMIA). The association's first conference, "Winning With Off-Premise ATMs," was held in Orlando, Fla., in February 2000.
1995
WaterMark Group, the original owner of ATMmagazine.com, was founded in 1995 by Alan Fryrear as a business forms and graphic design distributor. In 1996, Fryrear hired Tom Harper as senior vice president to head up the company's new ATM supply division and build a national product catalog.
 |
