Results of 1st Elektronik automotive congress

The first Elektronik automotive congress was held in Munich on 19th May. The organisers, Weka, report that the event attracted 16 exhibitors/sponsors as well as 130 attendees and speakers. It's great to see new events for the European electronics industry, and although the attendance was relatively low, I'm a strong believer that small, focused events like this one often provide the best return-on-investment for electronics companies trade show budgets.


D&E to publish case study special issue

Here's a really good idea from "DESIGN&ELEKTRONIK". The magazine will publish a case study special in September 2009, providing design engineers with a range of reference applications and success stories. Although - having worked for both a component manufacturer and distributor - I know the difficulty of getting case studies written and approved by customers, I know how valuable they are in the promotion of both products and support services. I really hope that the special issue convinces some more companies that it is worth putting in the effort with customers to create success stories.


How to get more people on your email database

Interesting story posted about the best way to grow your email database at MarketingCharts.com. According to research conducted by ExactTarget, Ball State University and the Email Marketers Club, the most effective tactics are on-site registration and capturing information through inbound call centers, while the least effective tactics are outbound call-center attempts to solicit information and list rental. Thanks to SupplyFrame whose Twitter feed pointed me to this story.


Power Electronics Europe acquired by DFA Media

I've just heard that DFA Media has acquired ‘Power Electronics Europe’ magazine and website. It's good to see that there is support for Power Electronics Europe (PEE), which has been around since 1999. Today PEE is in a very difficult situation with three pan-European power titles fighting for limited advertising budget.

Many of the marketing managers who deal with PEE will also know DFA Media Ltd, which publishes the industrial and manufacturing titles ‘Drives and Controls’, ‘Hydraulics and Pneumatics’ and ‘Plant and Works Engineering’. It also organises biennial exhibitions at the NEC, ‘Drives and Controls’, ‘IFPEX’ (The International Fluid Power Exhibition), ‘Airtech’ and ‘Plant and Works’ as well as hosting seminars and managing websites.

This has to be a good move for PEE, and possibly explains why they have been rather quiet in recent months - at least from an advertising sales point of view. I'm still surprised that three power titles can continue to survive in Europe, and am delighted that DFA Media is showing support for PEE. I really hope that the great resources of DFA Media will help to develop the magazine so it is in a great position when the economy finally improves.


Findlay Media launches engineering awards

Findlay Media, the publishers of New Electronics and several other engineering titles have launched the british engineering excellence awards, which will be presented on 1st October 2009 at the Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, London. The awards categories are pretty broad, with special awards for both mechanical and electronic products, and a focus on "green" innovation. The categories are:

  • Young Design Engineer of the Year
  • Design Engineer of the Year
  • Consultancy of the Year
  • Small Company of the Year
  • Green Mechanical Design of the Year
  • Green Electronic Design of the Year
  • New Mechanical Product of the Year
  • New Electronic Product of the Year
  • Judges Special Award (chosen from all of the shortlisted entries)
  • British Engineering Excellence Grand Prix

The deadline for submission is 31st July 2009, will full details on the website. For help creating your submission contact Napier.


FTC tries to regulate paid-for blogging

Professional journalists have long complained about the lack of transparency from some influential bloggers, so I was interested to read a Business Week report on new guidelines being introduced by the FTC. Although the requirement to declare incentives is something that has been adopted by many of the more reputable blogs, it's now becoming more important for companies that incentivize bloggers with freebies or cash to ensure that the blogger declares the incentive on the website.
Perhaps I should start declaring when a publisher or advertising sales person buys me lunch...


Elektra awards open for entries

The 2009 Elektra (European Electronics Industry) Awards are now open for entries. It’s time to enter the Elektra Awards 2009. This year there are fifteen categories, including 5 New Categories, two of which focus on green innovations and a new contract manufacturer of the year award. The semiconductor product of the year - always the most popular category - has also been split into two categories, one for analogue and one for digital. The new categories are:

  • Contract Manufacturer of the Year Award
  • LED Lighting Application Award
  • Renewable Energy Design Award
  • Semiconductor Product of the Year – Analogue
  • Semiconductor Product of the Year – Digital

The closing date for entries is 30th June and despite the traditional deadline extension in recent years, I'd recommend getting entries in on time. All entry details are on the awards website.


Online auditing of traffic now a requirement in the UK?

Thanks to ABCe for pointing me to a recent judgement by the UK's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) that should concern all publishers. The ASA upheld a complaint about an e-mail newsletter and a follow-up leaflet for an IT contractor service, Contractor UK, which stated "... Best month ever for CUK ... Contractor UK recorded its best month ever for traffic during the month of March 2008 ... resulting in 249,146 unique visitors coming to Contractor UK ...".
The ASA upheld the complaint that the email and brochure breached the CAP code clauses of Substantiation, Truthfulness and other comparisons because the traffic figures quoted were unaudited. The complain was upheld even though the ASA recognised that the method of collecting traffic figures would meet the Joint Industry Committee for Web Standards in the UK and Ireland (JICWEBS) standards for reporting if implemented correctly. The lack of an audit, however, meant the ASA considered the evidence to support the traffic figures to be "not sufficiently robust to substantiate their unique visitor claims".
This is a really interesting judgement for the electronics industry as few European electronics sites have audited figures. Although I am not convinced that the ruling is entirely sensible, I'm pleased that it does highlight the lower credibility of unaudited traffic figures. It will be interesting to see if this ruling is something that sets a precident in the UK, which would surely increase the value of website audits.


Embedded Masterclass beats the crunch

It's great to hear about events and publications in our industry that are doing well, despite the recession. The Embedded Masterclass recently showed that focused events continue to thrive - even in these difficult times. This year 87 engineers attended the Cambridge (up from 65 last year) and 64 participated at Bristol (again significantly up on 54 last year). The event also saw more bookings for the workshops: with 62 participating this year vs. 57 in 2008. I was particularly please to see that this thriving event was well supported by exhibitors, with 25 companies participating: 25% up on 2008.

embedded-masterclass-092


Call for papers - MAE 09

The organisers of the 3rd annual Military and Aerospace Electronics Conference and Exhibition (MAE09) have issued a call for papers. Relevant abstracts need to be submitted by Friday 19th June 2009 via email to jfoster@mae-show.com. The one-day technical conference and exhibition will be held on 10th November at the Royal Berkshire Conference Centre, Reading, UK. The event addresses the design, development and procurement of electronic components and embedded systems covering both hardware and software technologies.


New date for IEF

Maybe things are looking up: Future Horizons has announced a new date for the postponed International Electronics Forum 2009. The event will now be held at The Ramada Encore Hotel, Geneva, Switzerland from 30th September to the 2nd October 2009. Let's hope that this is a sign that they think the market will improve!


Vicor's VI Brick wins top 10 award

Congratulations to Vicor, whose VI Brick family was named in the top 10 products of 2008 by E&E. As an agency it's great to work with clients like Vicor, whose products frequently feature in awards across Europe.


Press release "administration charge"

I was very disappointed to see that ElectronicWorld Publishing has decided that

'all press releases are now subject to a €50 charge for administration and handling, unless the client is signed up for our "Platinum PR Subscription"'

I do sympathise with publications that are struggling to make ends meet in the current economic climate, but I'm not sure that turning your site into advertorial content is going to be a sustainable business model. In the past I've written about my disappointment when websites charge for images. Charging for editorial is another step down a very slippery slope.


Date registration numbers

Date have announced the following stats for registrations this year:

Conference: 1415 [Including Monday Tutorials & Friday Workshops]
Exhibition: 1039 [Visitors & Exhibitor Personnel - Not including Conference Attendees]
International Press: 12

This gives a total of 2466 registrations for the event. This isn't a bad result, given the economy, although it falls way short of the optimistic predictions of 5000 visitors made back in February.


Digital magazine open rates revealed

I recently emailed a number of publishers asking for information on open rates for their digital versions. Typically this information is kept pretty quiet, with the notable exception of TechInsights, who publish their data monthly - well done guys! With open rates much more accurately measurable than for print titles, I'm guessing some publishers are worried that the number of unopened copies will be viewed as "bad".

So I asked several publishers about unique open rates, and got responses from ED Europe, EPN, EPN France, and all of TechInsight's European publications. I didn't get a response from some titles, with ICC Media and Reed UK (Electronics Weekly) the two big publishers that offered no stats. To be fair I only sent one email, so don't read too much into their lack of response.

The results were very interesting:

  • four titles had open rates of 11-12%
  • one title had an open rate of 16%
  • one title had an open rate of 19%

I tried to find some cause of the difference in open rate, but there was no link between circulation, publication frequency or publisher and the open rate.

So what does this mean? Certainly it suggests that digital magazines are less likely to be opened than their paper sisters (if you believe the readership surveys). I'm not surprised that today print is still the favoured medium. But with the huge cost advantage of digital, I think the figures are pretty respectable. They'll also be slighly under-reported as pass-on readership will not register as another unique reader.

There are other more important questions: what is the quality of the reader (who is opening them), how is the circulation managed (requested or unrequested circulation) and would these readers read print magazines or is digital the only way to reach them? Frankly there is a big question over whether publishers should be doing more to promote readership of each copy than just sending a single email. In fact digital titles have many uses - Marcus Grimm of NXTBook sent me a great link to a story about how the BBC used digital to drive an increase in print readers.

Digital magazines will also change the behaviour of readers, forcing a more linear approach than print (do you remember the Adams survey some years ago that said the cheap back third of a magazine was almost as well read as the expensive front third?). How many pages do readers view of the digital editions? Is this different from print titles?

Personally I believe that digital magazines are going to be really important in the future. Opening and browsing a digital magazine is a much bigger commitment on the part of the reader than visiting a web page. Digital magazines also deliver news in a push format, highlighting new products and technologies to readers who would be unlikely to learn about them through search engines.

What does the emergence of digital titles mean? Please feel free to post comments and let me know your opinions.

Footnote: please do not imagine this was - in any way - a scientific study. Typically I got just one issue's stats and I had to completely trust the publishers' figures.


iSuppli automotive briefing

iSuppli is to host an automotive industry briefing on 19th May in Frankfurt, Germany. The event aims to shed light on the situation in the automotive industry, something that iSuppli coyly calls "challenging" and "a volatile situation". The event is called The Road Ahead – Automotive Infotainment and Telematics Trends. I'm pleased to see that iSuppli have found reasons for optimism and have iSuppli analysts and executives examining various short-term and long-term recovery scenarios and their implications for technology development and system design.


Will print ever die?

I was interested to find a new cutting-edge dot-com business: MagCloud. The idea behind this venture is that anyone can create a magazine as a PDF, upload it to the site and then have it printed on demand. The system also includes e-commerce, allowing budding publishers to make money from their labours.

So who came up with this idea? Some crazy "old-world" European with a handlebar moustache that hasn't realised print is dead? No, it was Hewlett-Packard!

I'm very aware that the world of vanity publishing is different from running publications on a commercial basis, but perhaps there is some future in print. With Wired recently launching a UK print publication, the launch of MagCloud could show that print will have a long-term future. Perhaps a service like MagCloud will offer custom-printed magazines with the articles that really interest you. All we need to do is to find out how publishers can use new services to make money...


PR in Russia

Although I guess that we should consider Mediaspray a competitor, I was impressed with Mediaspray's blog about PR in Russia. It's always good to see other agencies sharing their knowledge and expertise. As the company is driven by the same brains behind channel-e, I'm more than happy to give them a plug.


IET awards open for entries

The IET's innovation awards are open for entries. The awards will be presented at Lords Cricket Ground in November, a venue that should make for a fabulous night. As usual the awards cover a broad range of engineering disciplines:

  • Asset Management
  • Built Environment
  • Electronics
  • Emerging Technologies
  • Information Technology
  • Measurement in Action
  • Power / Energy
  • Product Design
  • Security
  • Software in Design
  • Start-up
  • Sustainability
  • Team
  • Telecommunications
  • Transport
  • The closing date for entries is 31st July 2009, and entries can be submitted via the IET website.


    Virtual IC exhibition

    I don't like virtual exhibitions. The reason for making a website look like an exhibition hall has always eluded me, particularly as virtual bars are far less fun than real ones. So when I saw an invite to IC Virtual 365, I was a little less than enthusiastic about the opportunity to check it out.

    When I got on the site, my existing prejudices were confirmed: I just don't see the point of pictures of stands and escalators, although fortunately little time was taken up loading these images. You also have to register, which does mean that Angel Business Communications can provide a flow of leads, but must discourage some potential visitors. The flash based system takes you fairly quickly to your area of interest (Angel publishes euroasia semiconductor and Solar, so the show is mainly about process technology), and with a few minor niggles - clicking on a company logo doesn't take you to their stand - the system works smoothly. I did, however, find myself wanting to get to the list of products/data on each stand, and felt that the pretty graphics sometimes stood between me and the information I wanted. A neat feature of the show was the rich video content, which definitely added to the experience.

    Overall, however, I think that IC Virtual 365 is an interesting experiment. By taking this approach, publishers (or should that be event organisers?) can force registration and therefore create a source of leads. But there is clearly a lot more work - and by that I mean cost - than there would be if the content was simply added to a microsite. Will the leads justify the cost? It probably depends on the level of promotion, and therefore the number and quality of visitors to the site. I guess we'll just have to wait to see the results from the companies currently exhibiting at IC Virtual 365!


    Editor interview - Rolf Sylvester-Hvid, Aktuel Elektronik

    What do you most enjoy about your job?
    There are so many things to enjoy.

  • From a technological point of view, it's always nice to have a continuous superstructure on top of the basic EE-scientist education. I get to see it all and talk to the most interesting people and companies in the business. This would not have been possible in a regular scientific/engineering job.
  • Relaying this information to the industry is also very gratifying: I can actually see that companies are using the component, technologies, tools and processes that I'm recommending through Aktuel Elektronik. It's nice to know that even international manufacturors of globally accepted consumer-products are basing their product development on articles they read in Aktuel Elektronik.
  • From a personal point of view I've managed to put myself in a position, where I'm free to plan my day exactly like I want to. Also travelling around Europe meeting fantastic people and "the family" of editorial collegues and PR-people is often heart-warming. I feel more comfortable around these people - who are fortunately very loyal to the business, so the contact is maintained for many years.
  • Which areas of electronics interest you the most?
    All of them! It's very hard to separate the various issues of the electronics business, as they are so strongly linked. Components, EDA, manufacturing and test goes hand in hand. However in all cases I prefere the compact and limited solution that gets the job done. A humble microcontroller can be a fastastic component in the right application - and most solutions for power-electronics are often made for one specific purpose that's solved "quick and dirty". I am particularly fond of power-electronics, but having spent six years in the Danish Technical University dealing with this subject, it shouldn't be a surprise? From a more bizarre perspective, I've always been fascinated by electron valves. Beautiful component - and in a few cases with superior performance compared to semiconductors.

    It must be difficult for magazines in countries like Denmark, which are relatively small markets when compared with countries like Germany, France and the UK. Do you think that there will always be local Danish electronics magazines?
    Good question! From a financial point of view (revenue per capita of the spoken language) Danish is the 18th most important language in the world - which almost puts the Danish on par with French! (these are OECD-figures, so they should be kosher). Denmark is also the most computer-literate country in the world and there are more printed titles per capita than anywhere else in the world. Also a lot of the International R&D is deeply founded in Denmark which means that there's a substantial demand for technical information in the Danish society. Some claim that the Danes are the Jews of the North. It may be quite difficult discovering the Danish brands, but in a very subtle way, we are deeply involved in all walks of the business - financially, politically, technologically or otherwise. Companies knowing that the Danish design-footprint being very important in products from a large amount of international brandnames are usually doing quite well - so you should never underestimate the potential of small countries.

    Do you think that paper magazines will ever be replaced by digital versions and/or websites?
    A Danish philosopher once said: It's very hard to predict anything - particularly the future. And having been proven wrong on a few occasions, I'm rather reluctant to have a rock-solid opinion about these matters. However, you may ask yourself a few questions: 25 years ago, everybody said that the computer would give us the paperless society. So far this is not the case. Also, after the introduction of the internet there are more printed titles now than, say, five years ago. Now, this should perhaps pose the answer in itself. And when you think of it: Apart from the flatscreen and the performance has the computer really changed since the introduction of the IBM XTs/ATs more than 25 years ago? No, not really. I think a useful digital version of the printed paper or magazine should be constructed in a completely different fashion. Personally I'd always prefer the lowest common technogical denominator that does the job - and a good printed publication is still hard to beat.

    Do you have any plans to enhance the magazine or website over the next year?
    Funny enough, Aktuel Elektronik is on the increase despite the present economical climate. Unfortunately our company also owns some titles within areas that are more or less affected by the economical downturn. This means that we don't have as many editorial hands as before. This puts a hold to most plans of product development for the time being. This being said, our web-site runs very nice swiflets of the present and back-issues of Aktuel Elektronik, which is particularly interesting on our overseas markets (there are many Danish engineers working in both Silly Valley and China).
    We are increasingly helping companies and organizations setting up conferences in Denmark. This seems to be quite popular. Also we're placing video-interviews and productbased video-tutorials on our website. Our readers in Denmark obviously prefers the printed paper, so we're making an effort to make different use of our website.

    What is the one thing you'd like to change about the way companies do PR in the electronics industry?
    More international press meetings and seminars. This is not a waste of time of money, but it's the perfect opportunity to show the readers the people behind the products - and in the end people do business with people - and no matters how good a product, you'd never buy it unless you trust the people behind the product.
    Also companies should recognize the value of sucking up to the editors. Without PR, no sales. And without the deep, personal contact to the editors, no PR. The media are the door-openers for the business, and whether the companies like it or not without using the media as a megaphone to the end users, they'll die. The companies should also appreciate the within this particular segment the editors are at least as technologically savvy as the companies themselves - combined with a deep contact to the markets that the varous companies want to approach. Hence: Take good care of the editors - and they'll take good care of you. (Does this seem like a familiar approach?)

    Do you personally prefer to get information in print or online?
    Depends: Talking about press releases, I want to receive these as e-mail dedicated to me, in Danish, as a short and sharp word-document (10 to 15 lines are better than three pages of corporate blah-blah) and with a good picture attached as a jpg. When it comes to articles, I prefer a phonecall before any mails come through. This assures that the article could be useful. When I get my own information, I prefer to stay informed via printed media, whereas I can normally find exactly what I'm looking for in less then 10 seconds using google.

    What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
    Sure you want to know? ;-) No, well, there are more things. It's good fun to play with my kids on the Playstation which is connected to a 80" TV-set. It adds some realism to Fifa ´09 or whatever. Also playing some decent rock'n roll (much into Rockabilly and Emo these days - yeah-yeah, I know I'm 30 years to old for the latter) on my Gibson Standard or Stick-bass. Also got a garage full of classic bikes and cars that require frequent attention. And, hey, then there's my membership of the Malt Whisky Society (thanks to David Milne of Wolfson) - but sitting down for a profound chat with International collegues of the business over a pint or two is most enjoyable. What else? Oh yes, just published a book on Model Trains. Being part-owner of one of the largest model train shops in Europe this seemed like a wise move - so obviously I'm enjoy model trains too. Finally there's the dear Mrs. who requires quite a lot of attention too (6' of leggy blonde). As odd as this may sound, I like taking her to the after Xmas sales in London - which means about three days of shopping-frenzy up and down the Streets around Piccadilly and Covent Garden. And as long as I got my black Levis 501's, a black T-shirt and black Doc Martins, I'm happy.
    Finally hunting down peculiarities that collegues and PR-people around the world really like is part of the fun. I've always got an eye open for Mocca Chocolate Beans for Suzy (at Napier) or similar funny items with a Danish background. So if anyone out there needs anything odd Danish stuff, just let me know, and I'll if I can find it.

    What is your favourite gadget?
    Right now? Must be my new 24-track Tascam Portastudio. I'm working on a record, and eventually the technology has reached a level, where the quality is fully up the CD-standard, and the price of the hardware is acceptable.


    Elettronica Oggi gets new circulation certificate

    At a time when some publishers have moved away from certifying their circulation (TechInsights being the best example), it is good to see other publishers continuing a commitment to have their circulation audited. Elettronica Oggi has got a new certificate from Bureau Veritas. OK, so maybe it's not quite as good as a BPA audit, but from my point of view I think it is great that publishers are still prepared to invest the money in proving the quality of their circulation.


    ESC UK Extends call for abstracts deadline

    TechInsights has extended the deadline for abstracts until 17th April. All you "right up to the deadline" people, visit the ESC website to take advantage of this extension.


    Entries for university collaboration awards now open

    The Engineer Awards, which aim to reward excellence in collaboration between universities and industry are now open for entries. Both universities and industry partners that are involved in collaboration in the fields of engineering and technology can enter at www.theengineerawards.co.uk. The deadline for entries is Friday 17th July 2009.


    Do electronics professionals really want local language?

    Surely engineers want to read in their local language? Perhaps this received wisdom is under challenge from a recent survey by MMG Publishing, which has driven them to drop the dual-language format of Electronics Sourcing Europe in favour of an entirely English publication.

    Although the announcement was made last month, I've held back on covering the news until I was able to get more details about the survey (I'm going to be using Twitter for short news items in the future). MMG has been kind enough to share the key details of the survey:

  • 500 people interviewed
  • Sample taken from new subscribers for Nov 08 and Jan 09 issues
  • Only one person wanted to keep dual language format!
  • It has been said I can be pretty cynical, so I do wonder if the survey was done to justify a decision that MMG had already made, but these results are so extreme that you cannot ignore them. No survey bias would have pushed things that far. Of course it's likely that a significant number of the respondents don't speak German as a first language (about 2/3 of the sample assuming that the distribution is the same as the readership in the Electronics Sourcing media pack). Additionally people that read pan-European titles are generally a self-selecting group that are more open to reading in English than the buyer population as a whole. Finally I could question whether it is the dual-language format that doesn't work, rather than local language.

    BUT just look at the issue dates used! electronica must have been a key source for subscribers, and would presumably have had a bias towards German readers. I'm still not convinced that local magazines will die out to be replaced by the pan-European English language titles, but I'm fascinated to see a study that highlights how many people are prepared to access their information in English.