It's hard to believe that it's already November, but here in New England the leaves have turned and there's frost in the mornings, so winter must soon be approaching. This change in seasons coincides with the annual budgeting and planning process for many of you, as you determine where and how to allocate your marketing dollars for the coming year. At MWJ, we're ready and willing to help you spend that money with a combination of proven print and electronic products to cover all of your requirements.

You should have received our 2011 media kit. If not, you can access the electronic version here. If you’d like a print copy, just shoot me an email. The “Editorial Calendar” is also set and can be accessed on our website. The editors have been hard at work, arranging informative cover features for each month, along with relevant technical and product features to complement each issue’s editorial theme. David Vye gives you a look at what to expect for the next several months in his WaveGuide contribution.

I should point out that we make great effort to partner with industry events both big and small to provide bonus distribution of each issue. This allows our advertisers to support their booth presence at certain shows or to gain added exposure to attendees at events in which they don’t exhibit. You’re aware of our delegate bag distribution at MTT-S (May issue this year), but did you know that MWJ will be found at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona (January), Satellite 2011 (February), CTIA Wireless (March), WAMICON (April), IEEE EMC (July), AMTA (August), EuMW (September), MILCOM and 4G World (October), APMC (November) and RWS (December)? You may want to take note of these dates for ad placement planning.

We will publish our three special focus supplements again this year. In March, the “Cables & Connectors” supplement will be featured, with bonus distribution at CTIA, MTT-S and WAMICON. The always popular “Military Microwaves” supplement will be mailed with the August issue and distributed at European Microwave Week and MILCOM. Lastly, the “Mobile Communications” piece will come out in November, with distribution at Mobile World Congress. I hope that you’ll consider incorporating the relevant supplement(s) in to your overall print ad plan.

In an earlier edition of this newsletter, I mentioned the pending USPS changes regarding “Ride-Along” pieces to print magazines. The Postal Service has decided to liberalize the rules that have prevented product samples and certain other advertising novelties from running in US magazines. In addition, rates have been substantially reduced for “outserts”, providing an excellent opportunity for advertisers. Take a look at your November issue of Microwave Journal. Along with the “Mobile Communications” supplement, some of you will find a “slide rule”, courtesy of Rogers Corp., included in the polybag. This is a creatively produced example of what you can now do with the print product in a cost-effective manner.

Microwave Journal partners with CTIA Wireless again in 2011 to produce the RF/Microwave Zone technology pavilion. The “Zone” provides companies with a turn-key solution for exhibiting at this major trade show with minimal effort and expense. Your company benefits from a good booth location in the hall, significant marketing of the pavilion by CTIA and MWJ and use of the exhibitor lounge located in the Zone. There are only a few booths left for this March event, so check out the details on the www.rfmwzone.com website if you’re interested.

Research Services will be available in 2011, with significant discounts for MWJ advertisers. These primary research services include quantitative and qualitative studies in product, market and advertising research, conducted by HH Research. All research commissioned by advertisers is conducted on a strictly proprietary and confidential basis. Contact your sales representative for details.

There are more new things to tell you about for 2011, but I’ll save them for the next edition of the WaveGuide. In the meantime, don’t hesitate to contact me or any other MWJ staffers with any questions.

Have a great November!

Best,

Carl Sheffres

Publisher