Q&A With Napier's Digital Marketing Apprentice
‘Napier Has a Get Stuck in Approach’
Starting out as a young B2B marketer can be daunting, especially in such a competitive landscape. Where workplaces offer insufficient training, it can become easy to get buried amongst high expectations and crazy workloads which ultimately deter young marketers from the field. In fact, a recent study uncovered that 77% UK workers feel that employees could offer more training, with 44% of Gen Z likely to quit their jobs due to a lack of training.
In an ever-evolving landscape, you can never learn too much. Whether you’re joining a company at the start of your career or as an already well-established marketer, we believe that training is just as important.
At Napier, we have the Napier Academy which is set up for all of our new starters. The academy offers an extensive training programme, which includes weekly group training sessions, and an experience tracker where different members of the staff train a new employee in specialist areas such as writing a press release or creating Google ads. We also offer a huge online catalogue of all our previous training sessions, which are accessible at any time.
But the Napier Academy is more than just training, it aids in the development of great marketers, allowing individuals to excel above and beyond their expectations.
We spoke with Napier’s Digital Marketing Apprentice, Maddie Legg, to discuss her experience with the Napier Academy so far.
What makes the Napier Academy so unique?
Maddie: The Napier Academy uses multiple resources such as teachable and handbooks, which are really handy to look at in order to learn independently. But Napier also has a get stuck in approach that encourages people to learn on the job so employees can bring their ideas and identify areas for improvement. And from that, a personalised training plan is created. So that's something that I actually did with Helen [Head of Digital Marketing], and it's not necessarily structured, but instead works around the individual. So, for example, I'm more of a visual learner, I tend to watch a process, ask to see some examples and then give it a go myself and if needed I'll do additional research to better my understanding. So, I think the process is really unique because it suits all types of learners.
Upon joining the Napier Academy, did you have any expectations?
Maddie: I didn't come in with many expectations as the marketing world was also new to me and I wanted to be as open-minded as possible. The main thing that I wanted was to see progress in myself. It's really important to me to be in an environment where I'm continuously improving and developing on my skills. So that was the main thing I was looking for and after six months at Napier, I can confidently say that I feel I've made a great amount of progress.
What has your Napier journey been like so far?
Maddie: I would say my Napier journey has been really exciting and no day is the same. There are always new challenges and opportunities. I have had the chance to assist various people on various accounts, which has been fantastic for both learning but also building relationships within the team and because of these opportunities, my confidence has grown massively.
What has the Napier Academy taught you?
Maddie: So much. The training varies massively and covers so much. I've taken part in technical training through to how to deliver a presentation successfully and confidently, and I think learning from different team members means that you get such a varied perspective. Each person varies in their teaching approach too, which helps keep the training really engaging. We have the weekly Wednesday training which focuses on different topics, including ones I wouldn’t have thought about before, so it is really useful. My experience tracker is also great. So, I can just go back and look at some goals, and then I reach out independently to the people attached to those goals.
How does the Napier Academy support your Apprenticeship?
Maddie: The Academy offers a variety of training and covers both basic and more advanced marketing concepts, which helps ensure that my knowledge is well-rounded. The team are always around to answer questions and for additional information support. So, we get an amount of time to train but that can go beyond because I can then go off in my own time and ask questions, find out more information. There are also multiple resources available which really support my learning and growth. Like I said, there's teachable, so you can do independent research and learning, but there's also always people in the office to help in person too, and I would say all these forms of support mean that I'm able to succeed in my apprenticeship.
You've done campaigns before, such as the pneumatics outreach campaign alongside one of our Digital Marketing Specialists, how did your training support you in this?
Maddie: I would say obviously I had training to support that as I had some training on LinkedIn, which was required for that campaign, but I would also say that it was a learn-on-the-job campaign. I learned how to use WordPress to make a landing page. It was so beneficial and helped me understand it more. Natasha [Digital Marketing Specialist] was great for supporting with LinkedIn. She was really good. I had to create ad copies with the LinkedIn ads, and she showed me some past examples. I then took what the campaign was about and merged them together and managed to make some really good ad copy.
How are you finding your apprentice so far?
Maddie: I'm really enjoying my apprenticeship; I can apply what I learn in my training directly to my work. I also really value the balance between the independent study and the strong support that I receive.
What has been the most difficult part of your apprenticeship and what has surprised you?
Maddie: I would say prioritising and balancing the workload has been the hardest and something that surprised me is that I have a degree, I've written a dissertation, I know how to write well. But I was quite surprised by how different the written tasks within my apprenticeship have been compared to that level. I kind of thought I could go into it quite confidently, but I had to unlearn what I've learned from my degree and start again because, writing something like a dissertation versus a report on a multi-channel marketing campaign is so different. So, whilst my degree definitely provided me with a really strong foundation, I had to unlearn certain habits and adapt to new methods to meet specific requirements.
How do you feel the Napier Academy supported you with those difficulties?
Maddie: On my experience tracker one of the tasks was to develop a piece of writing. So, I reached out to David, one of our Account Managers and he gave me some tips and tricks. I feel like that really helped. Although writing something like a technical article is so different to writing a report, it just gave me insights on how to write well and how to get to the point rather than waffling.
What do you hope to achieve at the end of your apprenticeship?
Maddie: I would say first and foremost, I obviously want to complete all my apprenticeship work to a high standard and receive strong results. I also hope to be offered a permanent place at Napier and continue to progress in my marketing skills. As well, I want to find my niche and my strengths within the field. I'm currently gaining experience in both PR and digital marketing, but by the end of my apprenticeship, I want to find out what I'm best at.
Has the varied training within the Napier Academy helped you pick a marketing niche?
Maddie: I'm still sort of in the middle ground. I'm still learning. I think both are great. I think with digital you can be a bit more creative. But with PR, it's really great for building relationships with clients and getting to know what we actually do as a company. So, I'm really grateful that I've been able to try both because I didn't know that that was going to be the case coming in.
How does your apprenticeship tie into the Napier Academy?
Maddie: The Napier Academy training is really broad, and it covers a wide range of topics and all these topics directly support my apprenticeship. So, for example, we have upcoming training in July on Google Ads, which aligns perfectly with my next apprenticeship project, because I will be focusing on how to implement Google Ads into campaigns, analysing the statistics and working out how to improve the ad. We also have training sessions on analysing advertising statistics which are great for my apprenticeship, especially when writing the analysis, recommendations and conclusion part of my report.
What made you choose Napier?
Maddie: I chose Napier because I already had some previous creative knowledge. I did some creative marketing through photos and videography for my university course when promoting shows and upcoming events. But I really wanted to better my understanding of the more technical aspects of marketing, so I was particularly interested in learning how to understand and analyse statistics and not be scared of them. I think the main reason why I chose Napier is because from my very first interview through to my fourth interview, I instantly felt welcomed. I felt comfortable and could really easily envision myself being a part of the team and I knew Napier was the right place for me to be able to grow and start my career.
All our new starters spend a year within the Napier Academy, but the resources are still accessible throughout their time at Napier should they need it. Having joined in December 2023, Maddie has just under six months left in the Academy and once completed she will be a well-equipped marketer, ready to face anything her marketing career throws at her.
Future Horizons: June Semiconductor Update
This month, we are happy to share both the June semiconductor extract from Future Horizons, plus an exclusive discount of 10% on Future Horizons monthly update report. Quote 'Napier' in the order link to claim your 10% Napier discount.
Continue reading below to find out more about the market's current outlook:
Executive Summary
Opto continued its upwards surge in April, showing flat monthly annualised growth vs. April 2023, up from minus 8.9 percent in March and minus 12.7 percent in February.
Not so in Discretes, where growth fell back to minus 13.0 percent in April, vs. minus 9.9 percent in March and minus 22.3 percent in February. The all-important Discrete sector is still bathed in red ink.
As we have mentioned several times before, nice as they are, it is important not to get blind-sided by these dizzy double-digit growth numbers as it is far from certain they are indicative of a real chip market recovery given the still stubbornly weak demand for IC units Analog and Discretes.
IC’s Leading The Way
April’s total IC sales were up 23.4 percent in value vs. the same period last year, with total Discretes down 13.0 percent and total Opto flat. The overall year-on-year total Semiconductor market grew 17.3 percent.
By comparison, the same datapoints for March were plus 15.7 percent for total Semiconductors, plus 22.1 percent for total ICs, minus 9.9 percent for total Discretes, minus 8.9 percent for total Opto.
The overall semiconductor year-on-year growth in value, at 17.3 percent, was the sixth consecutive month of double-digit growth since the market turned positive in September 2023.
Unit Sales Lagging
April was the sixteenth consecutive month where shipments were below the IC usage trend line, confirming our belief that the much-needed unit rebound is still a long way to go. On current trends, a second-half 2024-unit rebound is very unlikely.
With IC unit sales still 22.3 percent lower than their 2022 peak, and a significant amount on new capacity since added, the industry is likely to be in a sever excess capacity mode throughout 2025. It will take a long time before for the current installed production capacity to be absorbed.
To put that in perspective, during the July 2020-December 2022 period, accumulated excess IC unit shipments over and above the shipment trend line reached 108 billion units, represented by the area above the unit trend line. So far, only 44 billion of these have been compensated for, represented by the current period blow the trend line, only 64 billion more units to go?
Market Outlook
The overall semiconductor market may well still be showing a monthly annualised double-digit growth rate in value, but these numbers are still based off 2023’s falling revenue numbers and are thus exaggerating the true health of the market.
Watch these annualised sales value growth rate numbers start to rein back from June 2024 onwards once the market data starts to be measured against an increasing 2023 revenue base. We believe the month-on-month revenue and unit shipment numbers paint a much more realistic, picture.
Whilst not wishing to rain on the parade, we remain somewhat sceptical on the depth and length of the current ASP-driven recovery and await more datapoints, especially on IC unit demand, before signalling the beginning of the real market upturn.
Future Horizons will be hosting a IFS 2024 Autumn Update on September 20th 2024. For more information, click here.
Circuit Cellar Magazine Announces New Content Editor
Circuit Cellar magazine has announced that Jurij Mikeln, current Editor-in-chief at Svet elektronike, will be joining the publication, taking up the role of Content Editor EU.
The two magazines have an equally extensive history, and this new partnership will enable them to exchange articles to reach a wider audience.
With over 30 years of experience as a publisher, Jurij commented on his new role saying: "Thanks to KC for naming me as Content Editor EU! It's a great honour for me to be a part of such a respectable magazine as CC. During all those years running Svet elektronike I’ve met many partners across Europe while visiting the most important events and fairs in the industry. I will continue doing that for the benefit of Svet elektronike and Circuit Cellar".
We look forward to seeing Jurij in his new role and how the partnership unfolds for both publications.
Napier Ranked in Top 50 Agencies in the B2B Marketing Benchmarking Report 2024!
We are delighted to share that Napier has been featured in the B2B Marketing Benchmarking Report 2024, ranking in the top 50 of UK B2B marketing agencies.
Our expertise across both content creation and content distribution has also been recognised, and Napier is featured in the top 15 agencies as PR and demand generation specialists, and the top 30 agencies as content marketing and thought leadership specialists.
With dedicated teams for multiple areas including PR, content, digital and design, it's fantastic for our hard work and expertise to be recognised in these areas.
Our Managing Director, Mike Maynard, was also featured in this year's report, discussing his view on how agencies are defined by people. To read the full report, including Mike's article, click here to download the B2B Marketing UK Agencies Benchmarking Report 2024.
Napier Shortlisted for the Electronics Industry and Instrumentation Excellence Awards 2024
Award season is coming around again and we are excited to announce that, for the third year in a row, Napier has been shortlisted in the 'Most Outstanding PR Agency' category at the Electronic Industry Awards and in the 'PR Agency of Year' category at the Instrumentation Excellence Awards 2024!
It is always an honour to be shortlisted for these prestigious awards, and we are grateful to continually have opportunities to support our clients in designing and implementing award-winning campaigns. Voting is now open for both awards, and we’d like to ask for your support in voting for Napier. It only takes a few seconds to cast your vote, and can be done by:
- Clicking here to vote for Napier in ‘Most Outstanding PR Agency’ category at the Electronics Industry Awards
- Clicking here to vote for Napier in ‘PR Agency of the Year’ category at the Instrumentation Excellence Awards
The award ceremonies will take place on Thursday, October 24th at the Grand Connaught Rooms, Covent Garden.
Thank you so much for your support, and we’d also like to congratulate several of our clients who have been shortlisted for award categories this year.
Napier, One of the Longest-Standing Agencies in the B2B Tech Sector, Celebrates its 40th Anniversary
We are happy to share that Napier recently celebrated its 40th anniversary at London’s Science Museum, with leading technology editors and companies in attendance. This cements the business as one of the longest-standing agencies in the B2B technology sector.
Originally based in London, Napier was launched in 1984 and moved its headquarters to Chichester in 1988. Business growth led the agency to open three further offices, in London, Keele, and San Francisco.
Over the years, we have acquired various companies including Peter Bush Communications, Armitage Communications and Neesham PR. These acquisitions have led to a specialist workforce based all over the UK.
In 2001, the company was acquired by our current Managing Director, Mike Maynard, alongside Director Suzy. Since that time Mike has managed many major PR and marketing programmes for a wide range of technology-based clients.
Forty years on from the initial launch of Napier, the company is now employed-owned, which means that – through a trust - everyone employed has ownership of the company.
Napier’s Managing Director, Mike Maynard said, “Reaching our 40th anniversary is a major achievement. We would not be here without every single person who has worked at Napier, from the very first team in 1984 to our current team in 2024. It was a pleasure celebrating with some of our clients and journalists, and it was a great day for everyone involved. As a team, we look forward to continuing to grow our expertise and provide specialist support to our current and future clients”.
The day was one to remember and we look forward to another 40 years!
For more details about the history of Napier, click here.
WEKA Fachmedien Introduces AI Newsreader: Meet Elli
WEKA Fachmedien has announced an online video news channel hosted by a presenter called Elli. The twist is that Elli isn't real: she has been created by AI technology.
Moving forward, elektroniknet will provide a weekly news overview in a compact video format with Elli presenting specialist content. The goal is to ensure up-to-date news coverage is being provided to the audience, without reducing the quality or relevance of reporting.
elektroniknet editors will continue to be responsible for the content, while Elli will present the content in an accessible and appealing video format.
This is an interesting move, and using a video presenter has several benefits. It will save time in developing a script and avoids asking journalists who may not be too keen to be in front of a camera, to present the news. WEKA will also own the AI avatar, so it isn't something that can leave the publishing house.
There are potentially a couple of cons in taking this path, one being that an AI newsreader could be less engaging than a real person and that they aren't a presenter you can use at events as content needs to be pre-prepared.
That said, it is great to see WEKA Fachmedien experiment with AI and we are sure that other publications will be watching with great interest.
Success for The InnoElectro Exhibition and Conference
The InnoElectro Exhibition and Conference, held from 23rd to 25th April 2024, has reported that it doubled in size from last year's show, with a 42% increase in attendance. Hosted in Budapest, the event attracted 2,497 professionals from 29 countries, representing over 600 companies from the electronics industry. The exhibition featured 78 exhibitors and included 54 presentations and three-panel discussions.
Adding to the success, the IOT LIVE SHOW and the Solution Provider Competition featured 21 additional exhibitors. The exhibition celebrated the anniversaries of Danutek (20 years) and Microsolder (30 years).
This year, the prestigious InnoElectro Grand Prize was awarded to InterElectronic Hungary Ltd. for their Europlacer ATOM ii-A2 multifunctional component placement machine. Phoenix Contact and Endich Bauelemente also received accolades for their innovative solutions.
It's fantastic to see the growth and success of The InnoElectro Exhibition and Conference. With the next event set for the 8th to 10th of April 2025, we look forward to seeing how the show continues to evolve and support the electronics industry in Hungary.
IOT Insider Hirers New Editor
IOT Insider has welcomed a new Editor to the team, Caitlin Gittins.
With three years of experience within the B2B sector, Caitlin's experience spans several sectors, including agriculture, food production and the Internet of Things (IoT).
Caitlin is passionate about both writing and reading, and her technological interests include the intersection of technology with our daily surroundings and its integration into larger industrial and infrastructural contexts. She is particularly interested in the potential ramifications of new technological advances, including the deployment of 5G networks.
It's always great to see editorial teams expanding, and we wish Caitlin the best of luck in her new role.
For more information about Caitlin, please click here.
Future Horizons: May Semiconductor Update
We are delighted to share May's semiconductor update from Future Horizons. Find out more about the current outlook of the market below:
Executive Overview
March’s total IC sales were up 22.1 percent in value vs. the same period last year, with total Discretes down 9.9 percent and total Opto down 8.9 percent. The overall year-on-year total Semiconductor market grew 15.7 percent.
By comparison, the same datapoints for February were plus 14.3 percent for total Semiconductors, plus 23.1 percent for total ICs, minus 22.3 percent for total Discretes, minus 12.7 percent for total Opto.
The overall semiconductor year-on-year growth in value, at 15.7 percent, was the fifth consecutive month of double-digit growth since the market turned positive in September 2023.
These double-digit growth numbers clearly look like a strong market recovery but, as can be seen for the relevant charts later on, with the IC unit demand, Analog, Discrete and Opto sectors still stubbornly weak, this apparent ‘market recovery’ is predicated by a strong rebound in IC ASP monthly annualised growth.
Given the long-term average ASP growth is zero, our concern is this ASP rebound is purely a counter reaction to the previous year’s period of harsh ASP decline. There is a real danger this will evaporate during 2H-2024 as fast as it suddenly appeared.
Memory and AI processors aside, demand in the other IC sectors, along with Analog, Discretes and Opto, remains sluggishly weak. As we have cautioned many times before in this Report, you cannot call a real market recovery without IC units and Discretes growth.
Market Outlook
As commented on in last month’s column, our 3 percent growth assumption for Q1-2024 was looking optimistic. With the first quarter data now in, our fears were confirmed … the first quarter crashed, wiping US$13 billion off the quarter, which, in turn, reduced our full year forecast by US$50 billion.
Low unit sales, driven by ‘take of pay’ long-term price agreements (LTAs) from the Covid-boom era, are exacerbating industry attempts to rein back excess inventory.
Just like the emperor’s new clothes, the supposed 2024 Super-Cycle has evaporated in a puff of smoke. It always was a delusion, Q1 removed all doubt.
Future Horizons hosted their spring Forecast Webinar at the beginning of May. For the webinar highlights, click here and watch the full webinar by clicking here.
For any further details, please reach out to the Future Horizons team.
Datateam Business Media Acquires Two New Publications
Datateam Business Media has acquired the School Building and MMC publications following the retirement of Lyn O'Donnell at Waverly Publications.
Datateam is no stranger to acquisitions, having continually grown its portfolio over the last decade, adding publications such as Electronics World to the fold.
Although both School Building and MMC are now part of Datateam, Building Specifier, the online publication, will continue to be published by Waverly Publications.
The sale of these publications continues to show Datateam's commitment to growth, and the building of a diverse portfolio that covers several sectors. We look forward to seeing the direction Datateam will take the publications in the near future.
Procurement Pro: A Great Success From Electronic Specifier
In February, Electronic Specifier launched its new magazine, Procurement Pro, the newest 'go-to' guide for those within the world of procurement in the electronic components market.
The first edition of the publication covered a wide variety of topics, including semiconductor analysis and commentary from the Chairman of the Electronic Components Supply Network (ecsn).
Following the launch, the print version of Procurement Pro made its debut at two of the biggest events within the industry, the Applied Power Electronics Conference 2024 (APEC 2024), hosted in February at Long Beach, California, and embedded world 2024, hosted earlier this month in Nuremberg, Germany. But that's not all, coming summer 2024, Procurement Pro will also be launching as a website. The website will offer deeper discussions of topics covered within the magazine and provide industry insights.
With the publication currently distributing quarterly, the next issue will be ready to read this May. Those attending The Electronic Distributor Show (EDS) at the Mirage, in Las Vegas from 21st to 24th May 2024, will be able to meet the Procurement Pro team and receive their own copy of the magazine.
Congrats to the team at Procurement Pro!
Success for embedded world 2024
It has been two weeks since embedded world and the results are in! The exhibition and conference were another great success, with a record attendance of 32,000 visitors from more than 80 countries and over 1,100 exhibitors from over 50 countries.
The two parallel conferences which consisted of a total of 81 sessions and 17 classes, attracted 1,871 participants and featured speakers from 45 countries.
"The past three days were simply great," commented Executive Director Benedikt Weyerer on Thursday evening at the close of embedded world 2024. "We were able to observe thousands of happy faces and in-depth conversations – both on the stands as well as in the packed halls and aisles."
The Napier team contributed to these staggering numbers, with five members of our team in attendance. We met with over 30 different editors across 50 meetings and had the chance to meet many of our European-based clients face-to-face.
There's no denying that embedded world is a staple of our industry, and has long been regarded as the ‘go-to’ place to gain insight into embedded system technologies. It was great to see the event busy and in full force, and we look forward to next year's show.
embedded world 2025 has been confirmed and will take place from March 11th - 13th 2025.
It's Nearly Time For Focus On PCB 2024!
The third edition of 'Focus on PCBs - From Design to Assembly' is taking place on May 15th -16th 2024. The event is the only European B2B trade fair focused on the world of printed circuits.
The show will be taking place at the Fiera di Vicenza in Italy, and expects attendees from all over the world with 116 companies confirmed.
Two days of the conference will offer 10 technical presentations from various leading companies within the printed circuit industry. Talks will look at PCB Design and Assembly and will provide insights into the processes faced by electronic designers. The final day of the conference will spotlight Artificial Intelligence, investigating its impact on the electronics industry. There will also be 26 specialist forum meetings, which are technical workshops dedicated to relevant issues like sustainability and reshoring.
One unique feature of Focus on PCBs, is the recruiting service, Focus on Career. Companies attending PCB will be able to share details of the professionals they are looking for, with job offers being published at the fair and online.
Focus on PCBs is not to be missed, and we look forward to hearing about the outcome of the event!
Future Horizons: April Semiconductor Update
We're happy to share this month's extract of Future Horizons April report on the semiconductor market. Continue reading to learn more about the market's current outlook.
Executive Overview
2019, pre-Covid, saw the IC sector shrink, whilst Opto boomed and Discretes remained flat, reversing positions in the first half of 2020, with Opto in decline whilst IC growth recovered, with all sectors back in step by the second half of 2020.
The reverse situation seems to be happening right now, with ICs in full growth mode, whilst Discretes and Opto are in decline. We believe this trend will run its course over the coming months with all sectors back in step by the second half of this year … unfortunately all being more likely in decline..
Market Update
At our January Industry Update webinar, we presented our official forecast for 2024, namely a 16 percent growth in value, with the Bull and Bear scenarios being plus 20 and plus 12 percent respectively.
Our concern at that time was that this growth rate was inflated by ASPs that were being measured against 2023’s severely collapsed values, and as such the ‘recovery’ was a statistical quirk of the math and not genuine market growth.
Regular readers of our reports will know we have constantly counselled of this danger and of our belief that, without a recovery in unit sales, this dollar ‘growth’ will one day evaporate in a puff of smoke. It looks like that day is now coming into sight.
Given the worsening IC unit shipment situation, with no end yet in sight to this route, it is looking increasingly likely that our forecast concerns were valid.
Other than Memory, which is now in a genuine recovery phase, sadly all the other IC product segments, along with Discretes and Opto, are not doing as well, with the monthly annualized growth rates all on a downward trend.
We commented last month that our 3 percent growth assumption for Q1-2024 was starting to look optimistic. With the first two months’ data now in, our fears are confirmed … Q1 will now shrink.
Future Horizons will be hosting a spring update webinar on May 7th 2024, which will present an updated forecast for 2024. For more information and to review previous webinars, click here.
For any further details, please reach out to the Future Horizons team.
Electronique Composants Instrumentation Announces New Editor-in-Chief
ECINews's current Editor-in-Chief, Alain Dieul, has announced that he will be stepping down from the role, and will be passing the torch to Nicolas Feste, who has several years of experience working within the electronics sector as an engineer. Alain will continue to work alongside Nicolas, supporting him whilst he takes charge of his new post as Editor-in-Chief.
We look forward to liaising with Nicolas and wish both him and Alain the best of luck.
March Semiconductor Market Update from Future Horizons
As an agency that works with some of the leading companies within the technology industry, it is important that we stay up-to-date on the industry, including trends and the outlook of technology markets. So, we were excited to have the opportunity to share an extract of Future Horizons March report on the semiconductor market:
Executive Overview
IC ASPs continued to drive the recovery, up 34.7 percent vs. January 2023. They were also up 7.6 percent vs. December 2023, which was untypical for the first month of the quarter.
At the same time, IC unit sales fell 13.9 percent vs. December 2023, again unusual for the first month of the quarter, and were also down 10.4 percent vs. January 2023.
With IC unit demand still in decline, the current furor over the supposed chip market ‘recovery’ needs to be treated with extreme caution bordering on the irrational.
Market Update
January saw IC ASPs rebound from December’s dramatic downward correction, continuing their now eight-month long recovery climb, up 7.6 percent vs. December 2023.
At the same time, IC unit shipments were 27.1 percent lower than the May 2022 8.2 billion maxed-out capacity peak and 16.4 percent lower than the overall long-term trend line, a marked deterioration over last month’s 3.9 percent number.
This is the first time since records began that ASPs have led a market recovery. In the normal course of events, unit growth recovers first, with ASPs following ‘one-year later’. There is no obvious underlying reason for this behaviour, quite the opposite, it flies in the face of fundamental economic supply and demand pricing theory.
Either it will prove to be a curious quirk of statistics or a fundamental, but as yet undetermined, radical shift in market behaviour. Our bet is firmly on the former not the latter, especially given the overall global economic uncertainty.
Hopes that the US Federal Reserve would start dropping interest rates towards the end of March were dashed when the most recent inflation data rose at its fastest pace in almost a year, signaling a still bumpy road ahead against a robust labour market, strong growth and a resilient American consumer background.
So far, central banks have managed to successfully walk the fine line between pushing up interest rates to bring down inflation but not to the point of triggering a recession. The chances of a soft landing for the global economy are still strong but the overall economic outlook remains decidedly weak.
As one of the most respected semiconductor industry analysts across the globe, Future Horizons report provides some excellent insight into what’s currently happening in the semiconductor market. To find out how to access the full report, please click here.
Future Horizons will be hosting a spring update webinar on May 7th 2024. For more information and to review previous webinars, click here.
For any further details, please reach out to the Future Horizons team.
WEKA Fachmedien Official Media Partner of embedded world
WEKA Fachmedien has announced that they are once again the official media partner of embedded world.
Taking place from April 9th-11th in Nuremberg Germany, the show will host a range of experts, professionals, and companies from the embedded industry.
As media partner, WEKA Fachmedien will provide daily analysis and coverage, publishing the official daily embedded world newspaper throughout the event.
The media house will also host the 17th Media Summit, taking place on April 9th, at 2 pm in room Seoul, NCC East. The speakers, Prof. Matthias Spörrle and Matthäus Hose, will undertake a lecture, presenting their analysis of our accelerated age.
The 22nd edition of the embedded world Conference will take place throughout the show. This features 243 presentations, 17 classes and two keynotes covering all aspects of the development and application of embedded systems.
On the second and third day of the show, the Electronics Displays Conference will take place. Designed for experts and luminaries within the display industry, the programme will consist of eight keynotes that will highlight current industry trends.
As always, embedded world is not a show to be missed, and we're looking forward to attending the event in April to hear the latest insights and trends from the industry.
EEPower Introduces First EEPower Day
This May, EETech will run its first-ever annual EEPower Day, a conference designed for power engineers. Taking place on May 2nd, EEPower Day is a one-day virtual conference, with unique content being published throughout the week of the event.
Coverage will feature innovative news updates, and educational and technical content aligning with EEPower's theme: Powering the Energy Transition.
With over 11,000 planned attendees, the event will offer a unique opportunity for companies to increase awareness via virtual booths, and generate leads from live webinar sessions.
Here at Napier, we love to see new events take place within the industry. With the conference using a similar format to Industry Tech Days, we are sure this will be a successful and valuable event for the industry.
For more information on the event and how you can get involved, please get in touch.
Alfred Vollmer: Editor in Chief and Freelancer for Bodo's Power System
Alfred Vollmer, a well-known and respected journalist within the industry, has announced his new role as Editor-in-Chief at Bodo's Power Systems.
Alfred will be responsible for all main editorial elements, supported closely by Bodo, as well as Holger Moscheik who will focus on all other activities outside the pure editorial responsibilities.
Alfred's current introductory editorial is only available to read on Bodo's Power until the end of February, which will then be followed by his next editorial on the 1st March.
In addition to his new position, from the 1st of March, Alfred will also be available for new freelance work following a six-month break.
We wish Alfred all the best in his new role!
PowerUP 2024: Aspencore and Tecno's New Partnership
AspenCore and Tecno, have announced their partnership as organisers for the PowerUP and Fortronic Conference and Exhibition, which will take place this September in Milan.
As a two-day event, the conference will take place on September 18th and 19th 2024 at the NH Milano Congress Centre. Those who cannot attend in person will have the opportunity to experience the two-day conference and exhibition virtually on October 9th and 10th 2024.
Aiming for an immersive experience, the conference will explore pivotal themes within the industry. This will include topics such as power semiconductors, power management, sensors, converters, and tools for test and measurement.
The conference will provide keynote sessions by global industry leaders, panel discussions and technical presentations on emerging tools and measurement technology, and the opportunity to delve into discussions like reducing carbon footprints through innovative materials. Visitors will also have the opportunity to network with peers and industry professionals from across the globe.
Each day will follow a key theme with day one focusing on ' Power Electronics design - developments, applications and the future' and day two covering 'Power conversion for energy transition.'
“We are proud to start this collaboration, which brings an international scope to Fortronic,” said Elena Baronchelli, general manager of Tecno. “We are confident that this is just the first step toward a successful partnership with AspenCore.”
Vice president and publisher of AspenCore, Cyrus Krohn, added “We are excited about our further expansion into Europe through our partnership with Tecno. We’re looking forward to using the power of our combined networks to bring about new ideas and long-lasting value to the market.”
It is great to see AspenCore and Tecno working together to build an event that will educate and inform the industry. We're looking forward to seeing the fantastic insights that will be revealed at the show, and hearing what we are sure will be great feedback from the industry.
For comprehensive logistical details and agenda information, visit powerup.fortronic.it and www.powerup-expo.com.
Electronic Specifier: Introducing Procurement Pro
Electronic Specifier has officially launched the first issue of Procurement Pro. The new magazine will highlight the elaborate and fast-paced reality of the procurement industry.
Launched as a subsidiary of Electronic Specifier, Procurement Pro aims to be one of the ‘go-to’ guides for industry professionals.
The electronics component market faces many challenges, including evolving technological requirements, geopolitical tensions, supply chain disruptions and many more. These all require a new approach from procurement specialists and the new publication offers solutions to these challenges through content which communicates expert insights, analysis and leadership perspectives. The publication covers a range of topics from global market trends and procurement technology innovations to supply chain management best practices.
Procurement pro will be issued on a quarterly basis and will include future topics like Environmental Sustainability, Regulation, Supply Chain Management, Risk Management and Obsolete Parts.
Here at Napier, we were excited to see the first-ever Procurement Pro launched and look forward to seeing the future success of the publication unfold.
ELEKTRONIKPRAXIS Announces New Editorial Trainee
ELEKTRONIKPRAXIS has welcomed a new trainee to their editorial team. Michael Richter took up his trainee role at the publication this month after graduating with a Communications Engineering degree. Michael was previously a simulation engineer at the Bose Group.
In his new role at ELEKTRONIKPRAXIS, Michael will be focusing on the editorial topics of power electronics and drive technology.
Congratulations to Michael on his new role!
Power Systems Design Celebrates 20 Years
Congratulations to Power Systems Design (PSD) which is celebrating its 20th anniversary.
As one of the leading independent publishers and content developers for the global power electronics community, PSD has built a global community of over 150,000 engineers in power, providing invaluable resources and knowledge for the past two decades.
Congratulations to PSD, we can’t wait to see what you do in the next 20 years!
Elektor Acquires European Business Press
Elektor International Media BV (Elektor) has announced the acquisition of the European Business Press (EBP), a leading publisher in the B2B electronics sector for Europe. Titles such as eeNews Europe and ECI Electronique will now sit under the Elektor media house.
Both EBP and Elektor will continue to work individually with their current teams, promising to maintain business continuity alongside growth and collaboration. With offices in Germany, Belgium and The Netherlands, the expansion of the organisation will be led by Managing Director of Elektor, Erik Jansen.
The merge will also see the accession of Jansen to the Publisher of eeNews Europe. He will be taking over from Andre Rousselot following his retirement after 42 years in publishing. Andre will assist as a consultant throughout 2024 to support a smooth transition.
Jansen commented: "We are excited to welcome EBP into the Elektor family. This acquisition aligns perfectly with our strategy to broaden our reach in the B2B electronics publishing market."
EBP's existing global sales organization will remain in place, and the acquisition will focus on maximising mutual strengths, focusing on opportunities such as traffic and database growth.
The acquisition reinforces Elektor's strategy to gradually expand its influence and expertise in the global electronics publishing sector. It's clear to see that this will be a positive move for the industry, with the combination of two fantastic editorial teams. We look forward to seeing the development of EBP under Elektor, and the approach they take together moving into the future.
For more information about Elektor and EBP, click here.