I was sad to see that Total Telecom has stopped publishing the print edition, although it was some consolation that the website – totaltele.com – will continue.

Tags: Print Publications

Elektor and Circuit Cellar have announced a “strategic partnership”, which, in plain language is an acquisition of Circuit Cellar by the publisher of Elektor. This is a great move by Elektor making it the primary “hobbyist” publisher on both sides of the Atlantic.

Although the editorial in both publications is apparently targeted towards hobbyists, it’s very clear that a large proportion of the readership of the titles is professional engineers who love the tips, tricks and circuit ideas. Elektor is now twice as big as it was in 2006, with impressive annual sales of €10 million, a result of strong organic growth as well as this acquision.

Tags: Elektor, Print Publications, USA

ED Europe is a purely digital publication. So does this mean print is dead?

Absolutely not. In my opinion print publications will never be redundant. We humans read for many reasons such as pleasure, education, information-gathering and business requirements and for many people there is considerable enjoyment in reading a well-written, well-designed magazine or newspaper that is traditionally printed. There is also for some a desire to own well-produced books that perhaps form part of a personal collection.

I see no future print scenario that will emulate Ray Bradbury’s novel, Fahrenheit 451. ….now there’s a book worth owning.

From a B2B information perspective I think traditional print and electronic media can co-exist. The only proviso I would mention is that free circulation B2B print publications face sharply escalating costs on paper, printing and postage and therefore it is financially logical that B2B media companies will increasingly use electronic media to reach existing and new audiences

What are the benefits your readers see from a magazine that is delivered digitally?

Convenient delivery to their computer desktop, easy storage for reference purposes, easy to print if required. Individual pages or the whole thing can be emailed to colleagues, customers, etc.

ED Europe is delivered only as a PDF, whereas most other titles have some online system with animated pages and an option to download a PDF. Why haven’t you offered an online reader?

Unlike many PDF-delivered publications that are really print publications that have been adapted for, or in some cases just shoved onto, computer screens, ED Europe was specifically designed for PDF delivery. This provides numerous advantages for recipients. It opens in a landscape format that fits computer screens. Readers do not have to zoom in to read it or scroll around the page trying to find the story they want. Reader navigation throughout the publication is quick and easy and because of some very smart compression techniques we can produce a 26-page edition with lots of colour graphics that goes out typically as a 3meg file.

Let’s not forget here that ED Europe was created back in 2005 so it’s not unreasonable to call it a pioneering success in digital B2B media terms. It has during that time won three major awards in the USA.

On the subject of Flash-related animations in digital publications Penton Media is fully aware of these and plans to make full use of them.

Can you explain the difference between writing for a print publication and writing for a purely digital title?

In the case of ED Europe, there really is no difference. Because of the way it is designed we can run short news stories, full-length technical features and opinion columns in exactly the same way as a traditional print publication.

Now ask me that question relative to writing directly online and that’s a very different journalistic proposition. Penton Media editors now write directly to websites and the way headlines and other related information is written has to be within certain parameters that suit web journalism.

So we now see a complete Penton Media portfolio where editors write for traditional print, digital and online media

ED Europe launched an HTML email newsletter. Why didn’t you simply create a shorter PDF magazine to cover the news? What are the advantages of the HTML delivery?

Three reasons for that. ED Europe’s NewsLine newsletters provide readers with a fast, convenient, easily absorbed information service. For Penton Media it has created an additional revenue source while also doing the valuable job of driving traffic to our websites.

You have been one of the pioneers of online video in the European electronics industry. Do you see video continuing to grow as a medium in our industry?

Penton Media are committed to online video in a big way and yes I do see the use of video as a B2B communication tool expanding. Penton Media has an Engineering TV department that works in conjunction with publications and editors to produce very high quality professional standard coverage. For me and many of my editorial, colleagues at Penton one of the major video innovations has been the way in which we report on exhibitions. To be able to shoot a three-minute interview with somebody that has been deeply involved in the development of new products and technology and have them explain it directly to our design engineering audiences has to be one of the most immediate and informative ways of communicating complex information.

In addition to our editorially created video coverage Penton Media is now looking at hosting vendor videos on our websites. Conceptually, these are videos produced by companies that want to promote their products and as such can considered as being a modern high-tech form of advertising. Penton Media will be hosting these videos for a fee and the number of weeks/months the video will appear for will depend on the level of fee paid.

What is the one thing you’d like to change about the way companies do PR in the electronics industry?

Generally speaking the successful PR executives and PR agencies do a pretty good job of presenting and distributing information to the media.

But while we are on the subject of PR agencies I will just release one particular bee-from-my-bonnet. PR agencies in a bid to do the best for their clients will often promote the use of editorial columns to publicise the client. And why not? Its a powerful form of promotion that contains that all important credibility ingredient called editorial integrity; although sometimes I wonder, and call me a tad cynical here if you wish, if the real attraction is more to do with the fact that editorial coverage is free.

Without going into a full scale, force 10 rant here let me put the point simply. There are agencies with foresight that appreciate magazines do need advertising income if they are to stay in business. Sadly, there are others that will soak up all the editorial support they can without thinking that in the long-term publications are a business and understandably need to turn a profit or otherwise face closure; a situation that benefits no publicity agencies.

If an industry feels there is a value to having B2B media circulating in its sector then it needs to consider supporting that media with advertising.

And let’s get one thing straight; I am certainly not talking here about a pay-to-play editorial approach. Clearly, that would ultimately denigrate the content of any journal and would not serve the interests of either readers or advertisers. What I am saying is that all industry clients and their agencies should recognise that in the long-term maintaining independent, well written and well produced business media is in everyone’s interests.

What do you enjoy doing in your spare time, when you’re not writing about electronics?

Wining and dining with family and friends, travelling in Spain, playing classical Spanish guitar (badly)

What’s your favourite gadget?

A corkscrew

Tags: Advertising, Awards, CIE, Clients, Digital Magazines, ED Europe, Editors, EiN, Electronics, Email, EPE, ESC, ESE, Europe, Interviews, Newsletters, Online, Penton, Print Publications, Spain, USA, Video

New-Tech magazine continues its aggressive growth in the Israeli electronics media by purchasing Electronica magazine. The title already reaches an impressive 30K Israeli engineers, and this will further strengthen the title. New Tech Magazines (the publisher) also publishes a military and microwave title, addressing some of the key applications in the Israeli market.

Although this pretty much puts us back to the old situation of two titles in Israel, the acquisition is likely to continue to propel New Tech forward. Although Israel is a small country, the amount of high-technology development in the country is likely to support two publishers, although with a larger circulation, it will be interesting to see if New-Tech Magazine can translate this into a majority of the advertising revenue.

Tags: Advertising, electronica, Electronics, Israel, New Tech, Print Publications

Huethig Verlag has announced that both elektronikJOURNAL and IEE will have a new layout and design from January 2010. The new look is promised to be “lively”, and the publishers promise that his will mean the titles “stand out of the grey mass of magazines”. We’re promised that the yellow and black colour scheme of elektronikJOURNAL will stay, so it’s a fair bet that the title will continue to stand out!

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.

Tags: Elektronik, Elektronik Journal, Germany, Huethig, IEE, Print Publications

Inware is promoting a new way to create an immediate electronic link between readers of print titles and advertisers. The publisher is encouraging advertisers to include an electronic tag that can be snapped by a camera on a smart phone and used to jump immediately to relevant online content.

This is a great move, and with the increasing use of internet enabled phones from blackberries to iPhones, is likely to be something that will grow and grow. Our research has shown that when reading magazines engineers are often not close to a PC, and don’t like to type in long URLs into their phones to get information. This approach bridges the gap, and unlike other Microsoft technologies is available for smart phones running a wide range of different OSs.

I’d bet on adoption of this technology growing pretty quickly across all markets, although in industries such as ours, where the delivery of detailed technical information is important, the technology looks particularly applicable. Kudos to Inware for being an early adopter!

Tags: EiN, ESE, Inware, Italy, Misc Marketing, Online, Print Publications, Research

François Gauthier has been named as Editor in Chief of the new publication Electroniques, which was formed by merging Electronique and Electronique International. His responsibilities start with the first issue of 2009, due to be published on 20th January.

At the same time, Pascal Coutance has been named Editor in Chief “délégué”, responsible for the development of the Electronique.biz website. Pascal has been charged with development of other online channels, such as mobile and introducing new advertising formats. Interesting he will also define a strategy for for new products that are either chargeable as premium content or reserved for magazine subscribers. We’re promised an updated site will be launched at the start of 2010.

It’s taken a little while to get these two editorial positions confirmed, although I don’t read anything into this delay. I am, however, interested that there are clear plans to put some kind of paywall around content on the web, and wonder how easily this can be done. By limiting people who can access content, you’re going to limit page – and therefore advertising – impressions, so any such move must be made with care, otherwise it could end up reducing, rather than increasing overall revenue. Keep checking back at www.NapierNews.eu for more information on how this project develops!

Tags: Advertising, DATE, Editors, Electronique, ElectroniqueS, ESE, France, Online, Print Publications

Why did you decide to buy EE Times Europe and MWEE only a few years after selling your magazine to CMP (now TechInsights)?
Although it seems to be only a few years, it has actually been 9 years! At the time (November 2000) when CMP acquired EBP, CMP desperately wanted to have European magazines to compete with Reed globally. Now as CMP/Techinsights / EETimes Group have realigned their business, they feel that they need to concentrate on their home market and work globally with affiliates ( in Europe, Asia, Japan).

What are the advantages of you owning the European titles rather than managing the publishing of them within TechInsights?
There are many: we’ll be able to make strategic decisions on our own, adapt the publications to the customer needs, and make long term investments such as the one we have already launched to create a new web site.

How will the acquisition change the way that the European titles are sold in the USA?
There will be no change at all as we always had our own sales team in the US, with Todd Bria on the West, Steve Priessman in the Midwest and East and Jim Lees covering Atlantic states.

What benefits will European advertisers see from the change of ownership?
We’ll be more Europe centric and will be looking at targeting the editorial content to the needs of our European readers both on line and in print. Also, we’ll invest more into readership acquisition and qualification.

You purchased the European DesignLines, which have a global audience, but TechInsights has retained Embedded Systems Europe, which is a European publication. Can you explain why you did this?
The Design Lines we have kept in our portfolio do address the European market and even if by essence these micro sites can be seen globally, the content is aimed at our core European readership. Embedded Systems Europe has been changed to ESD (UK) with a UK only circulation. Techinsights have a core competence in the Embedded field with a number of ESC events around the world and ESD fits nicely into their portfolio.

When do you think there will be a noticeable upturn in the European electronics advertising market?
The market is still very much depressed and advertising budgets have been cut to a minimum. However, we see some signs of an upturn online and 2010 should be much better online than 2009. With regards to print we’ll probably see much more activity in the second half of 2010 with the electronica 2010 exhibition being a key driver.

What’s your view of companies that don’t advertise, but expect their PR to be covered in your titles?
There are 2 different categories in such companies: the first one consists of all the small companies that think they cannot afford advertising and these do some PR which we are happy to publish to inform our readers about start ups and new technologies. The second category is more of a problem as they have money, have an extended PR department and expect their PR to be published but do not support the trade press with advertising. These companies in the end only hurt themselves as they do not take advantage of a medium that can help them create more brand awareness among the specifiers and buyers who are the publications’ readers. Plus the cost of an advertising program in trade publications is relatively small when you compare it with other expenses these companies make. If these companies believe in PR and in the magazines that publish them they ought to do some advertising. If they don’t they may find that in the medium term there will be no publications to publish their PR in.

What is the one thing you’d like to change about the way companies do PR and marketing in the electronics industry?
The one thing most companies seem to have forgotten about is that we are all in the same ecosystem: publishers create reader communities who buy companies’ products. A recent study by our partner is Asia Global Sources has shown that even in the Google age, brand is the key to success: engineers type in brands into the Google search engine rather than key words. And how do you get brand recognition? Mostly by advertising in print and online.

What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
Listening to music – mostly classical, walking in open nature, mountains etc. Also I tend to spend a great deal of my free time working on the renovation of our second home in Périgord, France and visiting wineries in Burgundy, and Bergerac which has some top notch and relatively little known producers.

What’s your favourite gadget?
I am not very good at gadgets and I am not sure if I actually own any other than a couple of digital cameras and an iTouch MP3 player which I rarely ever use.

Tags: EE Times, Online, Print Publications, TechInsights

In a widely-expected move, Electronique and Electronique International are to merge, forming a new title, ElectroniqueS. Given the state of the advertising market, and other factors specific to France, the move is a logical one, with the new title resembling a relaunched Electronique, although the editorial content will be bolstered with material to appeal to management, purchasing and other non-design engineer readers.

The good news is that the frequency will be higher than Electronique, with “at least” three specials enhancing the basic 11 issues per year. The publishers also promise a free digital version, and I wonder whether this might be a route to expand the circulation beyond the relatively modest 10,000 that are planned for the launch.

In the French market it’s no surprise that ElectroniqueS is not going with an aggressively low-priced rate card. In fact advertising rates are higher than Electronique both in terms of the page rate and the cost per thousand.

The website electronique.biz is already a single port of call for everyone in the French electronics industry, so there are only a few changes such as the addition of white papers.

Online display advertising continues to be offered on a sponsorship, rather than cost-per-impression, basis.  Disappointingly the online rates have also increased, whilst traffic growth appears to have slowed – May and June both showed a increase of less than 10% over the previous year, much lower than the previous few months.

The new white paper service offers a guaranteed number of downloads, with the contacts that download provided as leads., It’s great to see that there is a guarantee of a minimum number of leads, although at around €100 per lead, the cost is higher than many in the electronics industry are willing to pay.

The daily and weekly news emails will continue, and new vertical newsletters will be launched. Embedded and Display will both have monthly newsletters, whilst quarterly emails will be issued about automation and telecom/RFID.

Overall I think that the print and online offering looks good. It will be sad to see France drop to just two mainstream titles, with no news title, which must offer great opportunities for someone to launch an online-only title in the country. I’ve seen this happen in the French IT press, so it would not surprise me if we see some new launches. It’s disappointing to see the prices edge up, and arguably value for money drop when measured in terms of cost per impression. ElectroniqueS will doubtless be the premier title in the market with a strong editorial team, and so I’m sure it will be a success. The high rates, however, may present an opportunity for an aggressive push for market share from EPN France.

We are still waiting for the editorial team to be finalised – check back at Napier News for all the latest!

Tags: Advertising, Electronics, Electronique, ElectroniqueS, Email, EPN, ESE, France, Newsletters, Online, Print Publications, USA

EDN Europe has run their first animated flash advert in the digital edition of the magazine. The advert is on page 5 of the October 09 issue (NB this link isn’t likely to work for ever!). The animation is about as simple as it can get, so it can be regard as a bit of a test.

Even with a little animation, the Ceros platform remains amazingly quick. I didn’t find the advert too intrusive, but I didn’t find it that compelling either – the equivalent to a flashing neon sign. A quick visit to the Ceros website shows you how much more can be accomplished using the platform, with some great examples, especially from the consumer space.

In the long run it will be interesting to see what happens with electronic advertising formats in our industry. Will people just go for the “brighter flashing neon sign” approach, making the magazine garish and distracting when you read it, or will advertisers show the creativity to generate adverts that produce real interaction? Although I am worried that magazines could end up being filled with adverts that simply distract readers, effectively reducing the value of the editorial, I’m optimistic that publishers are sensible enough to step in and prevent abuses of the format. I’m also looking forward to developing interactive adverts with clients that will themselves provide valuable and useful content such as video, which are beyond the capabilities of print.

Tags: EDN Europe, Online, Print Publications, Reed

European Business Press SA (EBP), the Brussels-based publishing company that is owned by TechInsights has been sold to André Rousselot. The company will continue to publish EE Times Europe as well as Microwave Engineering Europe and their associated web sites, EET.eu, mwee.com and some European DesignLines.
André has been driving these publications in the intervening years, so does this change actually matter? I think it does. And I think it is good news for EE Times Europe and MWEE. By moving to the franchise model in Europe, TechInsights can focus on developing the US title, which in turn will benefit the European titles by enhancing the content they can access. André is able to focus on tweaking the formula to meet the specific needs of the European market.
This has to be a great deal for André, who sold his publication business to CMP about nine years ago. He has definitely been successful in selling at the top of the market, and buying at the bottom!
Unsurprisingly the ESC shows were not included in the sale, although I was surprised to hear that Embedded Systems Europe also was not included – particularly as the publication recently was distributed as a supplement in EE Times. I hope that this move means that TechInsights will focus on building and developing the magazine in its own right, rather than simply seeing it as a vehicle to promote the embedded shows in Europe.
I’ll be watching closely to see the impact of this move: will André, who has always run a low-overhead cost-effective , be able to continue to focus his investments in high-quality editorial? How will this move affect Reed, the other big pan-European publisher?
Perhaps the best news about the deal is that we know that the key editorial figures will remain in their roles, and I also understand that a significant announcement about additional editorial resources is expected soon. Keep checking Napier News to find out more!

Tags: EE Times, Online, Print Publications, TechInsights

Electronique and Electronique International, which already share the same Electronique.biz website, are to merge into a single print publication in January 2010. I’d expect this to be a very strong title exerting powerful influence over electronics engineers in France. Plans for the merged publication are being developed: check back at Napier News to be first to find out what happens!
From a personal point of view, it’s disappointing that the French market is going to be served by just two main titles: the new merged title and EPN France, but the costs of publishing print titles in France just seem too high to support a strong B2B press. A couple of years ago, the IT industry print press contracted significantly, which lead to a number of online publications being launched: many by the editors who used to write for the print titles. It would be great to have strong, competitive online media that covers electronics for the French market, and I hope that some people see this as an opportunity.

Tags: Electronique, France, Print Publications