Frontline Perspectives

I’m getting ready for a week of vacation – to a family cabin with no internet connection (a blessing and a curse).  On this vacation, I’m taking two months of publications to catch up on (I’m a little behind). The stack is about 27 publications high.

There are several hundred industry publications in our media library. These are not generally the types of publications you will find on anyone’s home coffee table:  Appliance, Chemical Engineering, Hotel Business, Microwave Journal, Packaging World, or Water and Waste Digest to name a few  (I know….you’re jealous).

I read these pubs as part of weekly routine to keep up to date on what’s happening in our clients’ industries, what their competitors are doing (if anything) and look for ideas for new projects and campaigns.

This isn’t always because our clients advertise in these pubs.  Sometimes I read them to get to know the editor and key contributors (this makes pitching feature stories for clients easier) or to keep abreast of industry changes (like ways to help our clients capitalize on new regulations, etc).  I might see that a competitor has announced a new product and scan the information to email to a client, or that there have been some key personnel changes for one of our client’s customers (yes, I do read the Who’s Who section-even though sometimes it’s just to laugh at the bad photos).

Reading the offline versions of these pubs is only one way to get the latest info.  I also subscribe to the publication’s eNewsletters, and keep up with the key blogs.  I do admit that I can’t read every eNewsletter- my inbox is a battleground, but I do read them on a regular basis.

Reading these pubs (or skimming if I’m behind – and yes that still counts) gives me plenty to talk about when I am meeting with clients to discuss strategy.  It lets my clients know that we are interested in their business, and we’re knowledgeable about their industry.  While I can’t honestly say that I wait by my mailbox for each and every publication, I can say that I have learned a great deal through the years from them and that I will continue the activity.