Welcome to PR Vibes™, created by Calysto Communications to provide you with key insights into the publications and events in the telecommunications industry. Today, we’re featuring a short interview with Sue Marek, editor-in-chief, Wireless Group for FierceMarkets.
To help you better understand FierceWireless’ focus this year and in the future, we asked Sue to share her insights on the publication and on the future of telecommunications in general. Enjoy!
What is the editorial mission of FierceWireless, and how has it evolved?
FierceWireless’ goal is to deliver to our readers the top wireless news stories of the day along with some deeper analysis into why these stories are important to the industry. FierceWireless has evolved extensively since its original roots as an aggregated content newsletter. Our reporters now write original articles – both news and features – and we believe that this additional content provides readers with a much deeper understanding of the industry. We also have a number of top industry analysts who contribute regular columns to the newsletter. These columns are very popular with our readers and provide extra depth on certain subjects or hot issues.
Who is the key target audience? Do you have any breakdowns of readership? How has your audience evolved?
Our target audience is the mobile operator and the rest of the wireless ecosystem, which includes infrastructure makers, handset OEMs, operating systems, retailers, etc. We reach about 70,000 subscribers with the newsletter and more with the Website. Because we are online (and not print), our reach is global. However, the majority of our readers are concentrated in the U.S. market so that’s where we focus our coverage.
Our audience has evolved as the wireless industry has evolved. As new firms enter the mobile space –Google, Apple, Acer, Dell, Garmin – we adjust our coverage and our audience to account for those trends. Because we are an online publisher, we are able to adjust quickly to these changes in the industry.
How does the audience of FierceWireless differ from sister publications?
FierceMarkets Wireless Group includes the following five publications:
FierceWireless covers the North American wireless market. Its audience is primarily in North America.
FierceWireless:Europe, which covers the European market, has a readership in Europe.
FierceBroadbandWireless’ readers are wireless operators but also include WiFi providers and WiMAX operators. This newsletter has a bigger geographic spread because we also include coverage of interesting mobile broadband developments in other regions of the world.
FierceMobileContent’s readership includes content publishers, aggregators and entertainment firms, as well as mobile operators and device makers.
FierceDeveloper’s readers are primarily mobile developers.
How do you handle content among the different publications?
FierceWireless is the flagship product. It’s a daily newsletter, and it covers the latest news and insights in the North American wireless industry.
FierceWireless:Europe is a twice-weekly newsletter which covers the European wireless industry. It focuses on the latest developments of European wireless operators, infrastructure firms, handset OEMs, etc.
FierceMobileContent, which is also a daily newsletter, covers the North American mobile content industry, and its articles focus on mobile advertising, mobile marketing, mobile applications, application stores, as well as mobile TV, mobile music and all forms of mobile entertainment.
FierceBroadbandWireless is a twice-weekly publication that focuses specifically on developments in the mobile broadband market. This newsletter’s coverage includes a variety of technologies– LTE, WiMAX, WiFi, EVDO, HSPA—and talks about mobile broadband standards, market launches and business models.
FierceDeveloper is a weekly newsletter that focuses on how the latest developments in the wireless industry impact the developer community. This publication is the most technical of the group, and the coverage delves into the latest operating system updates and provides insight into new technologies such as augmented reality. We also have a special monthly called Developer Workshop where we profile successful mobile developers.
What are some of the key topics you plan to cover in the coming year?
We are closely following the progress of operators as they deploy mobile broadband –whether it’s WiMAX, LTE or even HSPA . We also think the rest of the year will have some interesting smartphone launches, and we expect operators to continue to experiment with pricing models, whether that means prepaid, postpaid, usage-based or unlimited.
What “value-added services” do you offer? Is there anything about your product “bundle” that you’d like to elaborate on, such as your e-newsletter strategy, Webinars, or blogs?
We have a number of products beyond just our newsletters. Every year, we produce a number of editorial webinars on hot-button topics such as video optimization and making mobile apps work across different devices.
We also produce eBooks, which let the reader take a deeper dive into certain topics. The eBook format packages together five or six in-depth feature articles on a given topic. They are graphically rich and are packaged for viewing online, but they can also be printed out to be read. In the coming months you will see eBooks from FierceWireless on such topics as policy control, mobile health and embedded wireless.
Finally, FierceWireless also produces events – both live and virtual. On Sept. 22, we will host our “Future of 4G” virtual executive summit, which takes place exclusively online and features speakers from Sprint, Nokia Siemens Networks and more. And on Oct. 20 at the 4G World conference in Chicago, I’ll be hosting an invitation-only breakfast roundtable that will talk about TD-LTE.
How does FierceWireless try to distinguish itself from other industry publications? Besides just covering the top news of the day, Fierce editors add insight and analysis to tell the readers why this news is important. Our editors have many years of experience covering the wireless industry, so we can provide that extra bit of information to the reader that you only have when you have followed this industry and witnessed some of the high-profile successes and failures that have happened.
What do you see as the most impacting technology/trend for the next 12 months?
I think that as next-generation technologies such as WiMAX and LTE are widely deployed, we will see many interesting developments – from pricing models to non-traditional devices to wholesale/MVNO relationships.
What is one thing about FierceWireless that most people don’t know?
I get asked all the time about the origin of the name FierceWireless. The name “Fierce” came from a Winston Churchill quote: “You will make all kinds of mistakes; but as long as you are generous and true, and also FIERCE, you cannot hurt the world or even seriously distress her. She was made to be wooed and won by youth.”
What was the latest book you read and why? I’m reading the “Intelligence of Dogs” by Stanley Coren. I have a new yellow Labrador retriever puppy named “Harvey.” And although this book ranks Labrador retrievers pretty high (No. 4) in the list of intelligent dogs, I sometimes have my doubts.