====INTRODUCTION==== The biggest challenge for marketing communications people in the electronics industry is to decide where to focus their PR efforts and where to spend their advertising dollars. The situation has never been more confused. Consider this. Not so long ago you could buy the 160,000 print circulation of EE Times across the US and be pretty certain that the vast majority of the design community would read it. Then along came the web banner advertisement at a fraction of the cost of its print equivalent. “Let’s switch to online ads, it’s the future” cried CFOs around the globe, as they took the knife to marketing budgets, the viability of print publications plummeted and publishers started laying off people and cutting circulations. Today, there’s a plethora of web sites and e-newsletters to choose from when allocating your ad budget. However, the time available to the average engineer to read your messages hasn’t increased. If anything, it’s diminished. So, to reach 160,000 designers in a market with reduced print circulations (EE Times is now down to 100,000 and falling) and a host of web sites, many of them very competent and each with its little band of followers, you have to advertise in perhaps 20 places or more. Where’s the cost saving now? Onto the news…… ====Nominations open for EE Times-China ACE Awards==== The EE Times-China ACE Awards will be celebrated at a ceremony during the 13th International IC-China Conference and Exhibition in Shenzen, scheduled for March 3-4, 2008. This year’s categories are Company of the Year, Product of the Year, China Original Design Award, and an Industry Achievement Award presented to the individual who has made the most significant contribution to China’s semiconductor market. Nominations are now open. http://www.eetchina.com/ace ====New US media rep for Reed Europe and Asia electronics titles==== The electronics group publications and websites published by RBI Asia & RBI France have appointment of JAS Technical Media as their new US media representative to manage all US sales of EPN, EPN France, ECN Asia, ECN China, WD&D Asia and WD&D China. The current US sales representatives – the ECN team owned by Advantage Business Media (ABM) – will continue to sell all of the Reed Asia & Europe product portfolio up to and including the January 2008 issues, with the JAS Technical Media team taking over responsibility for all US sales with effect from February 2008 issues. During the Fall 2007 planning season for 2008, customers of Reed’s Asia & Europe electronics titles will effectively have two sets of sales contacts in the US – the ECN team who will handle all advertising matters and insertion orders for the October 2007 thru January 2008 issues, and the new JAS Technical Media team who will be talking with you all about planning for 2008 (with effect from Feb 2008 issues). JAS Technical Media Llc is an advertising sales network and technical communications consulting company formed by industry veterans Steve Wirth and Joshua Israelsohn. The advertising sales side of the company includes Nancy Bateman Kocsis, Terry McCoy Jr. and Steve Wirth. Joshua Israelsohn was previously a technical editor at EDN Worldwide. He is focusing on the consulting business that will launch at the end of this year. http://www.reedbusiness.com ====Alix Paultre leaves Electronics Products for Advantage Business Media==== Alix Paultre has left is job as executive editor of Electronic Products magazine to become director of new business development at Advantage Business Media, the publisher that now owns ECN following its recent acquisition from Reed. http://www.advantagemedia.com ====United Business Media snaps up Semiconductor Insights==== United Business Media has acquired Semiconductor Insights Inc. for an initial cash consideration of US$26m. A further deferred consideration of up to US$8.0m will be payable over the next three years, subject to certain conditions. Semiconductor Insights performs in-depth technical investigations of integrated circuits and electronic systems to analyse their design, technological composition, component sourcing, build cost, manufacturing process and intellectual property content. The company’s expertise spans communications, networking, wireless, electronics, smart card and semiconductor technologies, with its primary focus being on high volume devices, particularly consumer electronics devices. http://www.semiconductor.com ====CMP buys How Machines Work Corporation==== CMP Technology has acquired How Machines Work Corporation a designer and developer of next-generation, customised interactive online environments. CMP’s newest acquisition adds to its Web 2.0 product portfolio with expertise in creating and deploying games and virtual environments designed to educate and engage technology innovators. How Machines Work was founded by Steve Arend, who developed an extensive customer list including Infineon, Siemens, Wind River, HP, Rockwell Automation and Sun Microsystems. Arend will join CMP Technology as Vice President Digital Services, and head the new Technology Innovators Group (TIG) Digital Services Group, based in CMP’s San Francisco office. The Digital Services Group will provide next generation web solutions to CMP’s marketing customers and internally to the other TIG divisions (Electronics, Games, Software, Light Reading and ICMI (International Customer Management Institute). CMP’s e-Learning platform focused on educating engineers will become part of the new group. http://www.howmachineswork.com ====Change of editor at ESE Magazine==== Philip Ling has taken over as editor of ESE Magazine. Previous editor, Alistair Winning is joining component distributor Farnell-in-One as a technical writer. Philip was technical editor on New Electronics (UK) until 2005. He runs his own media training and technology monitoring company, Cassidy Communications, and will continue to do so alongside his new role. http://www.esemagazine.co.uk ====WEKA changes UK rep for Markt & Technik and Design & Elektronik==== Leading German electronics publisher, WEKA, has switched its UK advertising rep contract to Alastair Swift of ASA Media, effective October 1. Alastair also represents the publisher’s online offering - elektroniknet.de. Email: ====WEKA to publish official Productronica guide==== WEKA is to publish the official daily newspaper for the Productronica show, which runs from 13-16 November 2007 at the Messe Muenchen in Germany. The newspaper will have a claimed circulation of 44,000 copies and will be distributed to both distributors and exhibitors. http://www.elektroniknet.de ====CIE (UK) appoints new editorial team==== Following the departure of both Dulcie Elliot and Sally Ward-Foxton recently, monthly technical magazine CIE (Components in Electronics) has made two new editorial appointments. Neil Tyler takes over as editor and Michelle Winney as features editor. Neil has a successful background in financial and technology journalism, having worked at Communicate, The Banker and, most recently, The Financial Times. Michelle joins form EuroAsia Semiconductor. http://www.cieonline.co.uk ====Laura Reggiani takes over as editor-in-chief of Selezione di Elettronica==== Laura Reggiani, previously editor of Italy’s Design-In magazine, has taken over from Ricardo Busetto as editor-in-chief of Selezione di Elettronica, the monthly technical title. http://www.businessmedia24.com ====IET to expand Engineering & Technology magazine==== The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), Europe’s largest professional society for engineers, plans to increase the frequency of its flagship magazine Engineering & Technology to 21 issues a year from the current 12. The change will take place from January next year and the magazine will incorporate all the content from the IET’s existing seven specialist sector magazines, each of which is currently produced six times a year. This will mean Engineering & Technology will become a much larger publication as well appearing more frequently. The IET has more than 153,000 members worldwide all of whom are eligible to receive the magazine as part of their membership package. Engineering & Technology will also be available by subscription for non-members. The magazine includes news, features and analysis from the world of engineering and technology. http://www.theiet.org ====MEDTECH looks at the role of medical electronics==== Medical Electrical Devices and Technology (MEDTECH 2007) takes place from 2-3 October 2007 at the IET in Savoy Place, London. http://conferences.theiet.org/medtech ====IET Conference to run alongside Embedded Systems Show==== The IET is running The Embedded Systems Technical Conference alongside the Embedded Systems Show at the NEC, Birmingham (UK) from 17-18 October 2007. Tracks will feature presentations from both hardware and software engineers. http://www.theiet.org/embedded ====Ex-TI European marcom head moves to consulting==== Richard Pook, who for many years was head of European marketing communications for Texas Instruments, has taken up a consulting role with a company offering business language English coaching. Clients include those in both IT and electronics. Richard is based in Langenbach, Germany. http://www.english-coaching.biz