For Eemax Inc., a global manufacturer of tankless water heaters with headquarters in Oxford, Conn. - Commercial News USA has been the only international calling card the company has needed to boost its sales abroad during the past 10 years.
     Commercial News USA is the official U.S. Department of Commerce magazine designed to help American companies reach prospective buyers outside the United States. The catalog-style publication reaches more than 400,000 readers worldwide with individual company product photos and descriptions. In 2003, the Commerce Department found that more than 850 success stories, $109 million in export sales, and hundreds of business relationships resulted from advertising in the magazine.
     Aaron Seigel, vice president sales and marketing at Eemax, said response to his company's advertisements in Commercial News USA has surpassed expectations. "We've closed deals with distributors and made sales as a direct result of our advertising in Commercial News USA," he said. "We think it has been a very good tool for us, as we've reached tens of thousands of overseas buyers and readers worldwide. Making sales requires a lot of good leads, and this magazine has been tremendously helpful."
     Now, with the relaunch of the magazine fast approaching, Eemax, which has customers in 25 countries, is looking to boost exports even more. "I think Commercial News USA is a very cost-effective way for a small company to gain access to the world market," said Seigel. "Many of our initial relationships have been fostered by our presence in the magazine. It's a good, inexpensive way for us to get overseas."
     Eemax is just one of the many Connecticut companies to enjoy the fruits of having advertised in Commercial News USA. According to Carl Jacobsen, director of the U.S. Export Assistance Center in Middletown, more and more companies in the state are seeking to diversify their markets by making new sales abroad in countries such as Canada, The Netherlands, Germany, the United Kingdom, China, Malaysia and others. Last year the U.S. Commerce Service met one-on-one with 619 Connecticut businesses, assisted in creating 241 export successes with a total value of more than $409 million.
     "Small and medium-sized businesses can benefit tremendously from a presence in the magazine," said Jacobsen. "Commercial News USA is distributed by trade specialists whose primary goal is to match American exporters with potential distributors, representatives and customers outside the United States."
     The magazine is distributed by U.S. Commercial Service officials at U.S. embassies and U.S. consulates in 145 countries directly to overseas buyers, representatives, distributors, government sourcing and purchasing agencies, government officials and potential joint-venture partners. The result? Hundreds of export successes and representative/distributor agreements, and thousands of trade leads generated each year from exposure that U.S. companies receive as a result of advertising in the magazine.
     "Ninety-five percent of the world's consumers live outside the United States; the economy is growing; and exports are up," said Rhonda Keenum, Assistant Secretary for Trade Promotion and Director General of the U.S. Commercial Service. "No other magazine in the world provides U.S. companies with the ability to promote their products and services to prescreened foreign buyers in such a cost-effective manner."
     In addition to worldwide exposure, Commercial News USA also offers the potential for significant return on investment. Last year, the average value for each deal that resulted from advertising in Commercial News USA exceeded $120,000.

New and Improved
     After a one-year hiatus, Commercial News USA is being completely redesigned and enhanced by a new publisher to make it an even more effective vehicle for promoting American-made products and services to prospective buyers and partners outside the United States.      A new edition of the magazine will be published in September under a public-private sector initiative between the U.S. Commerce Department and ThinkGlobal Inc., publisher of the ThinkGlobal Connecticut International Trade Newsfolio.
     "We have completely redesigned the magazine to make it more user friendly for foreign buyers around the world," said Gregory Sandler, publisher of Commercial News USA. "Moreover, we plan to add special sections to boost visibility for specific industries and regions. We also are developing editorial content such as profiles of successful U.S. exporters and their buying partners."
     Plans for the Commercial News Web site include a fully automated insertion order and an online version of the magazine with the option for translation into a dozen different languages.

Companies interested in receiving more information about advertising in the September issue of Commercial News USA should call 1-800-581-8533 or visit the magazine's Web site at www.export.gov/cnusa