Past the market

In the E-3 editorial office, we often hear it said, "We're not investing in print media anymore!" This statement is stupid and short-sighted because it confuses content with distribution. Of course, printing fewer publications is a welcome development because it greatly benefits our carbon footprint. Fewer print products means fewer trees felled, less transport and less waste paper. But less "print journalism" would be fatal!

On the E-3 platform, the motto remains unchanged: Print first! We define a quality standard with it, because the production methods of the past one hundred years have proven themselves very well: Researching, evaluating, writing, editing including a perfect proofreading and then a reader-friendly and informative layout - the PDF is ready!

In the case of the E-3 platform, the PDF monthly magazine is also printed 35,000 times because the SAP community wants it, demands it, and reads it. Parallel to the mailing, the PDF is available on our website, where we have about 33,000 unique visitors per week. In addition, there is a weekly newsletter based on the E-3 content production to 10,000 readers.

Knowledge preparation, knowledge transfer, information and communication therefore primarily have nothing in common with print. However, it is a fact and based on our many years of experience that the SAP community very much likes to pick up paper and read the E-3 magazine at its leisure.

The weekly newspaper Die Zeit is a success story. Here it proves that print journalism is in demand and yet distribution channels can change. The publisher is a role model for many editorial departments in terms of conscientiousness, seriousness and perfect journalism.

While print circulation has fallen in recent years, which is not supposed to be a disadvantage for the carbon footprint - at the same time, the number of digital subscriptions has risen tremendously. The secret of this success is quality journalism based on proven print production processes. This makes the statement "We are no longer investing in print media" counterproductive and misleading.

Investing in quality journalism and thus in the process consisting of research, evaluation, writing, editing and proofreading, and perfect layout is modern and more necessary than ever before. The SAP community needs in-depth knowledge and broad-based educational work.

The challenges of SAP's existing customers in the digital transformation can only be met with a comprehensive flow of information on all distribution channels. The E-3 platform is the first choice for this, because here the primacy of content and quality journalism is in the foreground. Anyone who does not invest in communication and education is missing out on the market.

Accordingly, the challenge is the obligation to put the reader at the center. It is a matter of thinking about the reader. A discourse about distribution channels remains secondary. Whether paper or social media - the primacy of quality journalism with the SAP community task of educational work is defined. It is an important commitment to all SAP's existing customers and readers.