With the availability of tools that mean anyone can self-publish a magazine, perhaps the media companies offer something that is really valuable – [relatively] independent journalists. When coupled with the publishers database that let them reach huge number of potential readers, this gives publishers a real opportunity to generate significant business from custom publishing.

Although custom publishing can be an excellent marketing vehicle, with ARM possibly offering the best example of a company that depends upon a vibrant ecosystem for its success, I do wonder whether it’s all good news.

Marketers have no problems making sweeping statements, such as “print is dead”, despite new launches providing clear contrary evidence. Personally I think that the marketing industry is increasingly looking for the “magic silver bullet” that will achieve great ROI and clear measurement, whilst requiring minimum effort. Perhaps some of the enthusiasm for custom publishing is a result of people searching for the “one big thing” that will really make a difference?

It will be interesting to see whether custom publishing does grow in our industry. I definitely do believe that there is a place for it – the ARM special is clearly a great move for vendor, partners and publishers. However, I hope marketing managers don’t lose sight of the importance of frequency and simple hard work that will generate the most sustained returns in the long term.

I think this is a pretty pragmatic approach. Although the culture of data protection might mean that a few of the new recipients don’t want the emails, I’m sure that most subscribers will find the content valuable and advertisers will be delighted to have another effective promotional vehicle in Scandinavia.

It’s good to see continued commitment from publishers in the crowded German market, especially as this announcement follows on from an increase in IEE’s circulation from 20,000 to 26,000.

Clearly advertisers increasingly want tangible results and greater accountability from their campaigns, and I’d expect more publishers to offer such services. Whilst the ICC package is a relatively small adder on the cost of hosting the material on the website, they are not offering a guaranteed number of leads. Whilst this means that they will be able to focus on delivering high-quality, I’m sure as the lead-generation market becomes more competitive, there will be pressure to offer a guaranteed maximum price per lead. By being one of the first to offer lead generation – along with larger sites such as ElectronicsWeekly and Elektroniknet – I’d expect ICC to build valuable knowledge that will help ensure their lead generation package remains competitive as others enter the field.

It’s great to see that Elektronik, and co-sponsors Rittal, are encouraging young engineers, and I hope that this award goes from strength to strength in the coming years.

It’s great to see a title like Elektronik Informationen planning to expand in 2010, and they have definitely picked some exciting topics to cover.

On a separate note, Elektronik Information is moving to Eversbuschstrasse 134, 80999 Munich, Germany. Their telephone numbers will remain unchanged.