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CONSTRUCTION WORLD JULY 2016
>
COMMENT
EDITOR & DEPUTY PUBLISHER
Wilhelm du Plessis
ADVERTISING MANAGER
Erna Oosthuizen
LAYOUT & DESIGN
Lesley Testa
CIRCULATION
Karen Smith
TOTAL CIRCULATION:
(First Quarter ’16)
4 734
PUBLISHER
Karen Grant
PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY
Crown Publications cc
P O Box 140
BEDFORDVIEW, 2008
Tel: 27 11-622-4770 • Fax: 27 11-615-6108
The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the editor or the publisher.
PRINTED BY
Tandym Cape
@ConstWorldSA
• Best Projects 2016 is now open for
entries. Please see the overview of the
awards and entry requirements on
page 16.
• Sustainable Construction Worldwill be
published in October. This will be our
second sustainable supplement. Support
this supplement with advertising
or editorial.
In the past few years there has been a rapid
change in the publishing landscape. This has
varied wildly and is magazine-type specific:
in extreme cases, online publications have
replaced print publications completely, while in
others print and online publishing co-exist in a
symbiotic relationship. Sadly, many (and busi-
ness-to-business publications are big culprits),
traditional print publications are clinging onto
‘how it was done in the past’ for dear life
and have done little to nothing in terms of an
online offering.
The matter is further complicated: it is no
longer a case of a mere online offering that
conveys content to an audience via electronic
media. I am referring to social media – here busi-
ness-to-business publications often lack sorely.
Our offering to the
construction world
In addition to the PDF replica of the print maga-
zine that is available online in a ‘page-flip’ format,
carries
A business-to-business magazine
has the function of being a vehicle
for a specific industry to share
something newsworthy or add to
the knowledge base within that
industry. At the same time, it is a
way in which products or services
can be advertised to a specific
audience – and the inference is
that there is little wastage as the
message will reach only those
who have a vested interest. This
applies to both editorial and
advertising.
up-to-date news snippets and sector news. Our
weekly newsletter reaches some 6 000 people
every week – it is short and to the point.
The industry that Construction World has
served for 33 years is slowly but surely realising
that social media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn
etc.) can enhance brands, create awareness
of what is offered and can direct recipients to
paid products.
Construction Worldhas a healthy Twitter
and growing Facebook following. Newsworthy
items are retweeted and reposted – the number
of Twitter followers indicates to me that
Construction Worldis seen as a source of infor-
mation – people and companies want to follow
it. In addition, my LinkedIn profile has created
a growing construction community of 3 600.
It is vividly clear that it is no longer only about
the print magazine. It is almost like a spiral – the
community that it serves and informs is getting
bigger and bigger – not limited by who receives a
physical copy of the magazine. At the same time
advertisers can reach a potentially bigger market.
A year ago I referred to this as the 360° offering.
In the past, the benefit of business-to-business
print publishing was that it served a specific,
but ring fenced audience. This audience is
growing – no longer limited by geograph-
ical factors. It gives advertisers (especially) in
ConstructionWorld a great opportunity towiden
the reach of their message.
This is the symbiotic relationship I referred
to earlier: print will always be vital in a busi-
ness-to-business context, but it must have a
significant online presence too.
Wilhelm du Plessis
Editor