Carl Sheffres, Publisher, Microwave Journal

I hope that all of our readers who celebrate Thanksgiving had an enjoyable holiday. As always, the period from Thanksgiving to Christmas and then New Year’s is a hectic time for most people in both their personal and business lives. The MWJ team is busy working with authors on 2014 articles and with clients, planning next year’s marketing programs. Our 2014 media kit outlines the portfolio of print and electronic products available, and we have products to meet just about all of your marketing requirements.

I write this while basking in the glory of the recent Red Sox World Series game 6 victory over the St Louis Cardinals. I was one of the 38,477 fortunate fans in Fenway Park to witness the Sox’ third World Championship in ten years and it was truly an amazing experience. It had been 95 years since the Red Sox last won the series at Fenway and it was a special night indeed. Congratulations to all of Red Sox Nation, and to non-Sox fans, “there’s always next year”.

The Electronic Design Innovation Conference (EDI CON) debuted in Beijing, China on March 12-14th. You may have read some of the post-show news and reports that were sent out immediately following the event. By all accounts, it was a smashing success, exceeding even our most optimistic projections. The event drew nearly 2,500 attendees, more than 1,200 conference delegates and 22 media organizations. The Plenary session was completely full, many presentations were standing-room only and the exhibition was buzzing. Good stuff all-around.

Planning a marketing campaign is a lot more complex than it used to be, to say the least. In the not too distant past, there were limited options available, at least by today's standards. Now, there seem to be almost unlimited choices, with new channels appearing constantly. There's print, web, email, events and social media, with multiple iterations of each. So how do you decide what's right for your company as we approach the New Year?

I would like to first express my sympathy to our readers who suffered the wrath of Hurricane Sandy two weeks ago. The devastation that this storm wrought on parts of the Northeast was truly incredible to witness and our thoughts go out to all of those who suffered its effects. I hope that you are safely on the path to recovery.

The fall season marks the beginning of the calendar year budgeting and strategic planning cycle for many of our clients. With that in mind, I thought I'd provide a quick look at what Microwave Journal is planning for the coming year.

With the arrival of September, we welcome the start of the new school year, the NFL season and New England foliage. My kids are already complaining about their school workload, but my Patriots are off to a stellar start with a convincing win at Tennessee. September also marks the start of the fall conference season, with a number of events on the horizon.