There is a certain irony in the prospect of the IT trade press
facing a threat to its livelihood from the internet. It seems
implausible that IT publishers, who disseminate the information that
keeps the IT industry functioning, underestimated the speed of its
arrival and were wrong-footed as a result.
Yet this, observers say, is what is behind the recent introduction into
Computer Weekly of pages of lifestyle editorial content, covering
anything from bars to computer games, and issues such as office
bullying.
Computer Weekly which, alongside Computing, dominates the sector, is
introducing non-IT content in an attempt to add value and keep
recruitment advertising away from the web. It is a position worth
defending - rumours suggest the two make more than pounds 10 million
profit each in a good year, with the bulk coming from recruitment
ads.
But the move is also a little tardy. A senior source at one media agency
that spends a lot with the titles says: ’What we are seeing is a minor
outbreak of panic. They own the print recruitment sector, but they do
not own the web sites. They missed the boat, they simply underestimated
how long it would take to take off. This is a late defensive move.’
However the same source gives Computer Weekly credit for a bold move:
one for which it is hard to find a parallel. If trade titles can tighten
their grip on their readers with mainstream content, a major publishing
shake-up could be under way.
Whether this will work is yet to be proven but brand extensions of which
this is a sort, are the name of the game in every other business
sector.
Computing, for its part, says it will not follow suit but will look to
the natural growth of the IT business to make up for what it loses to
the net.
To some, the fact that Computer Weekly and Computing are being put under
pressure is pleasing. The two have grown fat in recent years as their
sector flourished. But while this may have raised their profile as
national media vehicles (Computer Weekly recently co-operated with
Channel 4 News on the story of the Chinook helicopter disaster, for
example), it has also tempted others into the market.
The latest offering is from US publisher Ziff-Davis, which launched IT
Week last May to target the top end of the market and to capitalise on
the fall-out as the two market leaders fight to keep their recruitment
advertising.
Others have tried and failed to muscle in before, but even after the
loss of some recruitment ads, the prize is clearly worth shooting
for.
COMPUTING
Position: editor Circulation: 150,000
Distribution: controlled circulation, subscription and newsstand
Target market: all IT professionals
Frequency: weekly
Founded: 1973
’The research we have tells us that readers do not actually want
lifestyle content from us, they don’t want IT journalists to tell them
which wines to buy. They want information that helps with their career
choice, gets them promoted, and helps them save or make money for their
employers - that’s what we give them. We actually re-vamped our
professional issues careers section a little before Computer Weekly,
rebranding it as Careers, redesigning it and bringing in more focused,
authoritative features.
’We have no plans to put in lifestyle content - maybe we think the
higher end jobs will stay with print, as it is seen as a more suitable
medium for those kinds of position. Certainly, the job ads that are
going on-line so far tend to be at the lower end of the market. In any
case, print will also pick up a lot of advertising from the web sites
themselves, as they will see it as a good branding vehicle.
’Getting your name about is actually much harder and more expensive if
you are an e-business, and they will need the off-line branding that we
can offer. As for IT Week, what it has on its side is that it writes
about a lot of minor products, which gives the illusion of being
comprehensive - this is something we will respond to in the future.’
COMPUTER WEEKLY
Position: editor Circulation: 155,000
Distribution: controlled circulation, subscription and newsstand
Target market: all IT professionals
Frequency: weekly
Founded: 1967
’In the first part of the redesigned magazine we address the readers as
corporate decision-makers, talking about how IT can make a difference to
their business. The second part, Xtra, addresses them as individuals -
we talk about pay, career progress, and pieces on things like where
software developers drink in London.
’The material could be about anything, so long there is a reason why IT
people should be interested. For example, a lot of IT people will get
bonuses at the end of the year for Y2K, so we could do something on
personal finance, looking how to invest your bonus.
’The IT industry has changed a lot in the past decade - IT is now more
important than ever. In the past, IT professionals were always asked
technical questions, now they are being asked key strategic questions.
Whether or not a supermarket group can make effective use of its loyalty
card data is down to IT. This has changed the nature of the reader, and
part of the reason for the redesign was to reflect the fact that readers
now see themselves quite differently: much more business-orientated.
’We are the market leader, we make loads of cash, so there is always a
temptation not to change, but if you don’t you can’t keep up.’
IT WEEK
Position: publisher
Circulation: 55,000
Distribution: controlled circulation Target market: the most senior IT
professionals
Frequency: weekly
Founded: May 1998
’Our target market is senior IT professionals, in terms of their
decision-making and the budgets they control. There will be some
crossover with Computing and Computer Weekly, but they go to 150,000
people, we go to 55,000, so they have a far higher number of lower-grade
readers than we do. Our content is news driven, but the real news forum
is the ZD net web site.
’The magazine is more analytical and insightful, with case studies and
reviews. These days news is web-driven, but people don’t want to read
eight pages of analysis on the web, so that’s in the magazine. Where the
web is really coming in is with recruitment, and the web sites of the
other two weekly IT papers have changed accordingly. That transition
from print to web is critical for them. We don’t have a recruitment
section, they are driven far more by that audience.
’IT Week is in the forefront of the move towards a less widget-focused
IT press, but I don’t really think it is our place as a
business-to-business magazine to deal with lifestyles. We have six
sections: news, enterprise, internet, client, management and networking.
People with different responsibilities can drop into different sections.
It is a question of putting things in perspective and making it clear
why something is important.’
