I am privileged to be the editor of Five, a return to my journalistic roots, having cut my teeth in newspaper editorial halls and television newsrooms before jumping the fence (twice) from journalism to PR to journalism and back again! I look forward to working with the incredibly talented team who have made the magazine the much sought-after and well-read publication it has become.

Regimes and policies change but the demands of customers don’t, they want more, faster, better, bigger, and all at a lower cost, of course. Perhaps ‘efficient’ is the word that best describes these austere times, and the importance of communicating in an efficient and effective manner is ever present.

With that in mind, this edition of Five focuses on B2B, a tiny acronym with an infinite number of definitions.

Pardon the clichéd approach here, but the Oxford Dictionary’s definition of B2B is ‘business-to-business, denoting trade conducted via the Internet between businesses’. Interesting to think that the world wide web might be seen by some as the only sphere within which B2B operates.

And what do those initials mean to you? Put that question to ten people and ten different interpretations will likely result.

But why? Is the concept of organisations communicating with one another new? Hardly.

Is the notion of the need for a robust, clear and well thought-out plan to help ensure success too complex to grasp? Surely not.

Perhaps having an agreed definition of the initials is less important than understanding why B2B communications is vital to all businesses, big and small.

So over the following pages, let us take you on a journey through the history of B2B, dispelling some of the most common myths, contrasting B2B with B2C, and examining how it can help you and your business.

In this issue we also take a look at the Business Branding Network, how the B2B specialists ensure brands succeed across global marketplaces.

So kick back, relax and prepare to be B2B’d! 

(Introduction by Gavin Roberts - PR Account Manager, Fifth Ring)