At the BIMS 2025 conference last month in New Orleans, one of the most prominent sponsors was Baxter Research Center. The company took center stage in presenting proprietary research it had conducted for SIIA Media, and then presented again at the industry Leadership Awards, including the B2B Media Hall of Fame.
Regular Fox Tales readers will remember our introduction to Baxter Research Center last October. That high-profile report, suggested by Fox Associates Chief Growth Officer Bill Bell, helped Baxter connect with SIIA Media. The two organizations subsequently forged a multifaceted partnership including the research—SIIA Media’s annual Benchmark Report on B2B Media Revenue and Costs.
Given the role Fox Associates played in facilitating the meeting, Bill thought it would be good to followup with Baxter for a conversation about BIMS and other topics. We caught up with Baxter CEO and owner Rick Schumacher earlier this month. Here’s our interview.
Fox Tales: Tell us about the genesis of your connection with SIIA Media, and BIMS in particular. What was the Fox Tales role, if any?
Rick Schumacher: The credit for our introduction to SIIA Media and BIMS goes 100% to Bill Bell and Fox Associates. Jodie Cook, Baxter’s VP of Business Development met Bill at Orbital24, Ad Orbit’s Fall Forum. When Bill learned about how Baxter’s adView PRO studies can help publishers grow their print ad sales—and helped fuel LBM Journal‘s growth to be the #1 title in its space, he suggested a story about Baxter in Fox Tales. [LBM Journal is a media brand for the lumber and building materials industries founded by Schumacher more than 20 years ago.]
Rick Schumacher.
That led to my introduction to SIIA Media. I’m also the publisher of LBM Journal, so when I learned about BIMS and saw the agenda, we immediately joined SIIA Media and registered members of LBM Journal to attend, and for Baxter Research to sponsor the event. None of this would have happened without the serendipitous connection with Bill Bell at Orbital24.
Fox Tales: How did the BIMS partnership and related initiatives perform/evolve from the Baxter Research Center perspective?
Schumacher: That was a matter of perfect timing. When connecting with SIIA Media, we discussed the opportunity to partner with them on its annual B2B Revenue Benchmarking Study. While previous studies had been conducted by a different research firm, we built the survey and reported the results to enable comparisons with previous years. This project was ideal for Baxter Research—as a fit for our capabilities and expertise, and to introduce Baxter to the SIIA Media audience and BIMS attendees. Plus, I was curious to see how LBM Journal would compare with other SIIA member companies. The partnership is off to a strong start, and I look forward to helping support and strengthen SIIA Media and BIMS.
Fox Tales: What are some of the interesting trend lines you uncovered in the benchmark research?
Schumacher: As a fellow B2B publisher, I found the results of the SIIA Media/Baxter benchmarking survey enlightening and encouraging. With all the changes that media companies are navigating, it was great to see that 80% of respondents expect revenues to increase, while only 2% foresee a decrease. For companies expecting revenues to grow, 44% anticipate double-digit revenue growth. While that’s down a bit from 2023 and 2024, it’s still very positive. When asked about top revenue drivers, events showed the most growth over the past three years, coming in just shy of digital advertising which has held the top spot for the past three years. Interestingly, revenue from data dropped more than print advertising from 2023 to 2025.
Fox Tales: You also did an ag-media survey with SIIA Media. What were some takeaways there?
Schumacher: It’s clearly a challenging time for many in the ag business, with more than half of respondents anticipating a flat or declining market for 2025. Of those expecting growth, revenues and production were both strong, with just 13% expecting farm size to grow. Based on this study, there are clear parallels between farming and the B2B media business, with the realization that strategic investment in key areas is a constant. In true “show me” fashion, respondents need to see the effectiveness of new technologies at other farms, or need clear ROI before investing. Given the uncertainties of weather, tariffs, lack of labor, inflation, and more, nearly two-thirds of respondents report having a risk-management plan in place. Smart.
Fox Tales: Because of your experience with LBM Journal, you know events and sponsorships from the media-operator’s perspective. What are some of your core principles in your own market for successful events, and satisfied attendees and sponsors?
Schumacher: First of all, we don’t do anything unless we’re confident we can do it differently and better. When we launched our LBM Strategies Conference in 2016, the other existing high-level networking event was in sharp decline because sponsors far outnumbered attendees. We launched knowing that we’d succeed only if we flipped that script, with attendees far outnumbering sponsors. While it’s tough to say no to sponsor revenue, the payoff happens at the event, when sponsors have plenty of prospects to talk with, and attendees have quality time with their peers. Our audience of lumber/building material pros loves to learn from one another, so most of our sessions are members of the audience taking the stage to share how they’ve navigated a tough business challenge. We also give out awards to our 40 Under 40 inductees, LBM Century Club, Dealers of the Year, and more.
Lastly, we emphasize that LBM Strategies is not about LBM Journal. It’s about the people who make the LBM Community what it is.