Saturday, January 31, 2009
Monday, January 26, 2009
Five Reasons to Exhibit During A Recession
One of the most prominent quotes in our industry during this recession is by Craig Barrett who said last September, "You can't save your way out of a recession, you have to invest your way out."
This is true for marketing as it is for any other functional area. Successful companies move forward, during good times and bad. They differentiate, they compete, they showcase their committment, strength and vision. They work to create and influence the future, not fall victims to it.
And for many companies, marketing in the semiconductor industry involves exhibiting at a SEMICON event. There's just not that many alternative mediums, mechanisms and tools out there to influence customers. For many companies, exhibiting is hard during this nuclear winter. Everyone is cutting cost costs and cutting staff and ROI in trade shows can be elusive. But the same reasons you exhibit in good times are at present during tough times. Sometime they are even more present. Here's my five top reasons to exhibit during a recession:
1. Now more than ever, companies need to differentiate their products and company in the marketplace to protect their margins and market share. The industry is consolidating and customers are looking for suppliers that provide meaningful, long-term benefits that other companies can’t match.
2. Now more than ever, suppliers need to prove they are sustainable and can survive these tough times. Companies need to demonstrate their R&D and product roadmaps are not being sacrificed to cost cutting. Customers have never been skeptical about suppliers’ schedules, capabilities, financial viability, and commitment to the semiconductor industry.
3. Now more than ever, companies need to compete aggressively to win 2009 and 2010 sales opportunities. Numerous studies have shown that companies that continue to invest in marketing during recessions gain market share.
4. Now more than ever, suppliers need to collaborate with their customers to position their products for the eventual upturn. Customers are responding to the downturn by thoroughly examining their processes, products and key vendors. Active, credible, engaged participants in the customer planning process will be the big winners in the next upturn.
5. Now more than ever, companies need to be efficient and effective in their marketing and new product introduction plans to achieve meaningful results. In the semiconductor industry, companies that utilize integrated marketing programs that combine pre-show communications, event-based marketing and product introductions, and post-show messaging and strategic sales follow-through will ramp up sales faster and more efficiently than companies who have gutted their marketing and sales support programs.
This is true for marketing as it is for any other functional area. Successful companies move forward, during good times and bad. They differentiate, they compete, they showcase their committment, strength and vision. They work to create and influence the future, not fall victims to it.
And for many companies, marketing in the semiconductor industry involves exhibiting at a SEMICON event. There's just not that many alternative mediums, mechanisms and tools out there to influence customers. For many companies, exhibiting is hard during this nuclear winter. Everyone is cutting cost costs and cutting staff and ROI in trade shows can be elusive. But the same reasons you exhibit in good times are at present during tough times. Sometime they are even more present. Here's my five top reasons to exhibit during a recession:
1. Now more than ever, companies need to differentiate their products and company in the marketplace to protect their margins and market share. The industry is consolidating and customers are looking for suppliers that provide meaningful, long-term benefits that other companies can’t match.
2. Now more than ever, suppliers need to prove they are sustainable and can survive these tough times. Companies need to demonstrate their R&D and product roadmaps are not being sacrificed to cost cutting. Customers have never been skeptical about suppliers’ schedules, capabilities, financial viability, and commitment to the semiconductor industry.
3. Now more than ever, companies need to compete aggressively to win 2009 and 2010 sales opportunities. Numerous studies have shown that companies that continue to invest in marketing during recessions gain market share.
4. Now more than ever, suppliers need to collaborate with their customers to position their products for the eventual upturn. Customers are responding to the downturn by thoroughly examining their processes, products and key vendors. Active, credible, engaged participants in the customer planning process will be the big winners in the next upturn.
5. Now more than ever, companies need to be efficient and effective in their marketing and new product introduction plans to achieve meaningful results. In the semiconductor industry, companies that utilize integrated marketing programs that combine pre-show communications, event-based marketing and product introductions, and post-show messaging and strategic sales follow-through will ramp up sales faster and more efficiently than companies who have gutted their marketing and sales support programs.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Heard at ISS
Demand is being destroyed on a very large scale.
The US Dollar- The best looking horse in the glue factory
This too shall pass.
The US Dollar- The best looking horse in the glue factory
This too shall pass.
When the bottom falls out, the impact can be both real and psychological...it can be both cyclical & generational...Do pre‐crisis assumptions still hold?
We are bullish on stocks... semicaps should lead recovery
Moore’s Law doesn’t apply in analog and it hasn’t hurt prosperity.
I am very optimistic about where we are going.
Things will get worse, could get a lot worse
Start each day with a smile and get it over with.
You can’t save your way out of a recession, you have to invest out of it.
The semiconductor suicide hot line is open.
Demand is only deferred, not destroyed.
Do not let a crisis go unused. This is our moment!
The economy accelerates trends.
Option #1: Wait around for the next “killer” app.
Option #2: Create the tools to enable innovation.
Real men build power plants
Favorite Slide:
Friday, January 09, 2009
300 mm Prime: Now More Than Ever
Worldwide semiconductor manufacturing equipment sales have declined to levels not seen since 2003 and the industry anticipates a second year of double-digit decline in 2009. According to the year-end edition of the SEMI Capital Equipment Forecast, sales of wafer processing equipment are expected to decline by about 28 percent in 2008 to $22.95 billion, and drop another 21 percent in 2009 to $17.91.
Gartner predicts total equipment spending in 2008 will reach US$31.1 billion (down 30.6% from 2007) and fall 31.7 % in 2009 to $21.2 billion. iSupply forecasts capital spending by chip makers on equipment will decline to $35.2 billion in 2009, down 17.6 percent from 2008, the lowest level of spending since 2003. The outlook for 2010 is uncertain at best.
Under these market conditions, chip makers are looking for practical improvements in fab productivity and focused on overcoming enormous challenges in keeping pace with Moore’s Law. Equipment manufacturers are simply trying to survive and channeling scarce R&D dollars into new product and technology solutions that customers will buy.
To address these industry priorities, SEMI formed the Global Equipment Suppliers Group (GESG) to address critical technology and business issues that affect the semiconductor industry. The initial focus of the GESG was to support of the industry wide effort on 300 mm Prime, a broad set of product, process and technology initiatives designed to enhance 300 mm fab productivity.
The SEMI Board of Directors also commissioned a the Equipment Productivity Working Group (EPWG) to address 450 mm wafer transition and work with ISMI on various studies, as well as performing independent analysis and surveys of critical technology roadmap issues. The mission of these two special interest groups is to maintain a forum for equipment suppliers to address issues facing the industry and to develop an organized global voice to influence technology roadmaps, device maker and foundry planning, supply chain collaboration, and related issues.
In 2007, the International SEMATECH Manufacturing Initiative (ISMI) announced its 300mm Next Generation Factory (NGF) Program to support the industry’s need for lower costs and reduced cycle time in 300mm wafer manufacturing. The ISMI 300mm NGF Program promised to take a wider look at 300mm productivity with a broader set of initiatives with some of the work transportable to older 200mm and 150mm factories.
Initial projects comprising the 300mm NGF Program included First Wafer Delay/Setup Reduction, Predictive, Preventative Maintenance (PPM), Equipment Data Quality, and
Fab-wide EDA proliferation.
Since the ISMI NGF announcement and the formation of the EPWG and GESG, considerable time, money and attention has been devoted to the economic viability and justifications for a next generation wafer size. In June of 2008, EPWG released a report that analyzed the economics of 450 mm wafer transition. Among the report’s conclusions were that the semiconductor business today is consumer-driven, and needs to be capable of handling short-run, rapid-change products with very short cycle times were paramount. The report also concluded that reduced cost for 300 mm wafer processing was driven by the use of factory automation, advanced process control systems, and mini-environments (FOUPs).
Current market conditions reinforce these conclusions and call for a renewed efforts to advance industry-wide productivity solutions under the current 300 mm Prime and Next Generation Fab framework. Much of the resources placed on 450 mm wafer transition have detracted from the 300 Prime efforts that could have widespread benefits throughout the industry. Agile fabs and cost reduction are what the industry needs today, not expensive gambles on wafer size that transition that further threaten Moore’s law and the economic viability of the global semiconductor industry. This is what we are spending time and attention on in SEMICON programs; it's what the industry needs to be focused on in our limited opportunities for pre-competitive, and cusotmer-supplier, collaborations.
For more information, see the SEMI website at www.semi.org/productivity
Gartner predicts total equipment spending in 2008 will reach US$31.1 billion (down 30.6% from 2007) and fall 31.7 % in 2009 to $21.2 billion. iSupply forecasts capital spending by chip makers on equipment will decline to $35.2 billion in 2009, down 17.6 percent from 2008, the lowest level of spending since 2003. The outlook for 2010 is uncertain at best.
Under these market conditions, chip makers are looking for practical improvements in fab productivity and focused on overcoming enormous challenges in keeping pace with Moore’s Law. Equipment manufacturers are simply trying to survive and channeling scarce R&D dollars into new product and technology solutions that customers will buy.
To address these industry priorities, SEMI formed the Global Equipment Suppliers Group (GESG) to address critical technology and business issues that affect the semiconductor industry. The initial focus of the GESG was to support of the industry wide effort on 300 mm Prime, a broad set of product, process and technology initiatives designed to enhance 300 mm fab productivity.
The SEMI Board of Directors also commissioned a the Equipment Productivity Working Group (EPWG) to address 450 mm wafer transition and work with ISMI on various studies, as well as performing independent analysis and surveys of critical technology roadmap issues. The mission of these two special interest groups is to maintain a forum for equipment suppliers to address issues facing the industry and to develop an organized global voice to influence technology roadmaps, device maker and foundry planning, supply chain collaboration, and related issues.
In 2007, the International SEMATECH Manufacturing Initiative (ISMI) announced its 300mm Next Generation Factory (NGF) Program to support the industry’s need for lower costs and reduced cycle time in 300mm wafer manufacturing. The ISMI 300mm NGF Program promised to take a wider look at 300mm productivity with a broader set of initiatives with some of the work transportable to older 200mm and 150mm factories.
Initial projects comprising the 300mm NGF Program included First Wafer Delay/Setup Reduction, Predictive, Preventative Maintenance (PPM), Equipment Data Quality, and
Fab-wide EDA proliferation.
Since the ISMI NGF announcement and the formation of the EPWG and GESG, considerable time, money and attention has been devoted to the economic viability and justifications for a next generation wafer size. In June of 2008, EPWG released a report that analyzed the economics of 450 mm wafer transition. Among the report’s conclusions were that the semiconductor business today is consumer-driven, and needs to be capable of handling short-run, rapid-change products with very short cycle times were paramount. The report also concluded that reduced cost for 300 mm wafer processing was driven by the use of factory automation, advanced process control systems, and mini-environments (FOUPs).
Current market conditions reinforce these conclusions and call for a renewed efforts to advance industry-wide productivity solutions under the current 300 mm Prime and Next Generation Fab framework. Much of the resources placed on 450 mm wafer transition have detracted from the 300 Prime efforts that could have widespread benefits throughout the industry. Agile fabs and cost reduction are what the industry needs today, not expensive gambles on wafer size that transition that further threaten Moore’s law and the economic viability of the global semiconductor industry. This is what we are spending time and attention on in SEMICON programs; it's what the industry needs to be focused on in our limited opportunities for pre-competitive, and cusotmer-supplier, collaborations.
For more information, see the SEMI website at www.semi.org/productivity
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Trade Shows and the Recession
Take a look around you. The industry is in the worst depression in history. After a dismal 2008, capital spending will be down 20-30% in 2009 and 2010 seems a lot a farther than 365 days away. Customers are consolidating and new fabs are not getting built. Top tier suppliers are dropping employees by the busload. Fab capacity is rising. Companies are going under; careers are being lost.
So, what you should do with your marketing and trade show budget? Cut it to the bone right? Save money, save people. Hunker down and live to fight to another day, right?
Not so fast.
Professor John Quelch of Harvard Business School says in an article, “How to Market in a Recession”:
“This is not the time to cut advertising. It is well documented that brands that increase advertising during a recession, when competitors are cutting back, can improve market share and return on investment at lower cost than during good economic times….”
The fact is the market doesn’t care about the macro business environment. Buyers are people just like you and me who make decisions and form opinions based on the same criteria they always use. During a recession, they may not have as much money to spend, but they are still forming judgments about you and your competitors. When they do buy, their judgments and opinions will be used to pick winners and losers. They will form these opinions based upon your sales pitch, your data sheets, your reputation, your product positioning, your pricing, and a lot of other things. They will form these opinions with or without trade shows. Some of the factors you can control and some you can’t.
During tough times, you can exclusively rely upon your great products and technologies and assume your customer will use the exact feature/benefit calculations as your product planning team. You can rely upon your sales people and assume they are better than your competitors. Who needs marketing? It’s a recession and we can’t afford it.
But smart business people know that products without marketing are commodities without margins. You better be the low cost producer or go home.
Marketing is the active process of differentiating your products in ways that are understandable and meaningful to your customers. Sales people alone can’t deliver differentiation. Technology alone can’t deliver differentiation and neither can company reputation. Smart companies that invest in product differentiation are also usually the ones who make sure they are telling their customers about the value of the diffentiation in creative, compelling and convincing ways. Usually this means more than a Powerpoint sale spitch and email price negotiation. That;s how you sell salt, not advanced technology.
So what’s the best way to deliver meaningful, margin-creating, share-building differentiation in this industry?
Don’t know. It depends on the product, the company and customer.
But I do know what happens to trade shows during a recession?
The weak competitors fall away. Good firms exhibit and pick up business.
So, what you should do with your marketing and trade show budget? Cut it to the bone right? Save money, save people. Hunker down and live to fight to another day, right?
Not so fast.
Professor John Quelch of Harvard Business School says in an article, “How to Market in a Recession”:
“This is not the time to cut advertising. It is well documented that brands that increase advertising during a recession, when competitors are cutting back, can improve market share and return on investment at lower cost than during good economic times….”
The fact is the market doesn’t care about the macro business environment. Buyers are people just like you and me who make decisions and form opinions based on the same criteria they always use. During a recession, they may not have as much money to spend, but they are still forming judgments about you and your competitors. When they do buy, their judgments and opinions will be used to pick winners and losers. They will form these opinions based upon your sales pitch, your data sheets, your reputation, your product positioning, your pricing, and a lot of other things. They will form these opinions with or without trade shows. Some of the factors you can control and some you can’t.
During tough times, you can exclusively rely upon your great products and technologies and assume your customer will use the exact feature/benefit calculations as your product planning team. You can rely upon your sales people and assume they are better than your competitors. Who needs marketing? It’s a recession and we can’t afford it.
But smart business people know that products without marketing are commodities without margins. You better be the low cost producer or go home.
Marketing is the active process of differentiating your products in ways that are understandable and meaningful to your customers. Sales people alone can’t deliver differentiation. Technology alone can’t deliver differentiation and neither can company reputation. Smart companies that invest in product differentiation are also usually the ones who make sure they are telling their customers about the value of the diffentiation in creative, compelling and convincing ways. Usually this means more than a Powerpoint sale spitch and email price negotiation. That;s how you sell salt, not advanced technology.
So what’s the best way to deliver meaningful, margin-creating, share-building differentiation in this industry?
Don’t know. It depends on the product, the company and customer.
But I do know what happens to trade shows during a recession?
The weak competitors fall away. Good firms exhibit and pick up business.
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
SEMICON Japan
I am writing from Day 2 of SEMICON Japan and it’s a beautiful day with Mt Fuji out my window. You would hardly notice there is world economic crisis going on.
While the industry slump is omnipresent, the aisles are packed and some encouraging news about the economic rebound has been heard in a few, isolated places. During the Market Symposium, both iSupply and Bill McClean of IC Insights were optimistic that the eventual rebound will start mid 2009. This outlook was shared by Masashi Marumachi, Corp SVP at Toshiba and Frank Huang, Chairman of Powerchip. McClean is especially optimistic on the second half recovery start, seeing low oil prices, coordinated global economic stimulus, low inventories, and historical precedents as solid indicators. This is considerably better outlook than some doomsayers who suggest the upturn won’t occur until 2010.
Some data on SEMICON Japan:
1476 exhibitors (1548 in 2008, a record year)
4450 booths (down from 4602 in 2008, again a record)
Several exhibitors have reduced expenses by limiting the number of tools exhibited and many exhibitors have reduced staff attendance (especially international exhibitors).
Still too early too predict visitor attendance. Probably down 10%. Web traffic is up 25%; maybe folks who aren’t here are vicariously attending through the Internet.
While the business climate has dampened the mood, innovation is on the move with many product announcements, especially TSV, mask making, flip chip, metrology.
SI featured a few.
As always, the Semiconductor Technology Symposium has diverse and outstanding content. All key segments of the industry are covered with full-day and half day programs. This is enabled by a great facility at Makuhari (deep content requires lots of rooms) and the great contributions from the active participation of many committees.
What I am most proud of in the programs is how they draw upon what you should know, what you need to know, and what you what you like to know but don’t have leading edge understanding of the most advanced scientific and engineering concepts in the world today.
What you should know is best illustrated by the outstanding keynotes on sustainability and the industry’s role in combating climate change.
What you need to know are the latest products and solutions that can be used to solve real production and design challenges in today’s fabs.
And what you would like to know is how the winners of the 15th annual STS Awards for outstanding technical presentations will affect your company and business.
This combination of industry advocacy, updates on the latest advances in equipment and material solutions, and advanced peer-reviewed technical papers is the mix we try to achieve to at every SEMICON. While most SEMICONs do not feature peer review technical papers, they do try to present the “what’s next” topics, developments and ideas that are just over the horizon. It’s this combination that make SEMICON so unique in the exposition world and so central to our industry.
While the industry slump is omnipresent, the aisles are packed and some encouraging news about the economic rebound has been heard in a few, isolated places. During the Market Symposium, both iSupply and Bill McClean of IC Insights were optimistic that the eventual rebound will start mid 2009. This outlook was shared by Masashi Marumachi, Corp SVP at Toshiba and Frank Huang, Chairman of Powerchip. McClean is especially optimistic on the second half recovery start, seeing low oil prices, coordinated global economic stimulus, low inventories, and historical precedents as solid indicators. This is considerably better outlook than some doomsayers who suggest the upturn won’t occur until 2010.
Some data on SEMICON Japan:
1476 exhibitors (1548 in 2008, a record year)
4450 booths (down from 4602 in 2008, again a record)
Several exhibitors have reduced expenses by limiting the number of tools exhibited and many exhibitors have reduced staff attendance (especially international exhibitors).
Still too early too predict visitor attendance. Probably down 10%. Web traffic is up 25%; maybe folks who aren’t here are vicariously attending through the Internet.
While the business climate has dampened the mood, innovation is on the move with many product announcements, especially TSV, mask making, flip chip, metrology.
SI featured a few.
As always, the Semiconductor Technology Symposium has diverse and outstanding content. All key segments of the industry are covered with full-day and half day programs. This is enabled by a great facility at Makuhari (deep content requires lots of rooms) and the great contributions from the active participation of many committees.
What I am most proud of in the programs is how they draw upon what you should know, what you need to know, and what you what you like to know but don’t have leading edge understanding of the most advanced scientific and engineering concepts in the world today.
What you should know is best illustrated by the outstanding keynotes on sustainability and the industry’s role in combating climate change.
What you need to know are the latest products and solutions that can be used to solve real production and design challenges in today’s fabs.
And what you would like to know is how the winners of the 15th annual STS Awards for outstanding technical presentations will affect your company and business.
This combination of industry advocacy, updates on the latest advances in equipment and material solutions, and advanced peer-reviewed technical papers is the mix we try to achieve to at every SEMICON. While most SEMICONs do not feature peer review technical papers, they do try to present the “what’s next” topics, developments and ideas that are just over the horizon. It’s this combination that make SEMICON so unique in the exposition world and so central to our industry.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Applied Materials Silicon Valley Turkey Trot
Please join me for a fun run on Thanksgiving Day at the annual Silicon Valley Turkey Trot, sponsored Applied Materials. Start times for the 10K and 5K races are 9:00am. Proceeds go to local charities.
To make it easier to participate, I will reimburse you for registration fees (lust let me know ahead of time). In addition, if you can run the 10K faster than 50 minutes, I will donate $50 to your favorite charity.
For more information, http://svturkeytrot.com/
UPDATE 11/29/2008: Despite spending Wednesday touring wineries with my family in Napa Valley, I woke up early Thursday and ran a 48:36 in the 10K. It was obviously a very slow field, becuase this placed me 8th in my age group (0ver 100 runners) and about 220 out 2500 runners. I've run faster, but never placed this high in a big 10K. Like I said, weak field.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Launching a New Event Brand :SOLARCON
The growth and importance of PV manufacturing has driven the need for SEMI to create a new event brand: SOLARCON. Each of the SOLARCON events in Korea, China, and Singapore will be co-located with existing SEMICON events in the regions. Each of these events had a prominent PV exhibitor and attendee base and strong program this year, and exhibitors were near-universal in the support for continued growth in the PV area.
In co-locating with SEMICON, SOLARCON will leverage the existing visitor and show infrastructure, allowing exhibiting companies serving the photovoltaic and microelectronics markets to reach both communities without needing multiple exhibits in multiple events. The co-location strategy also continues SEMI's commitment to grow existing shows and partnerships while reducing the proliferation of new stand-alone events.
The thinking behind the branding was that PV is a distinct and separate community from semiconductors and it needed its own identity. While manufacturing leaders understand the synergy between PV and chip making—and do not want more events to dilute the audience--the PV industry is too diverse and large to feel entirely comfortable depending on a “semi-com”. While increasingly the PV industry is being populated with veterans from the chip industry, they also attract many young engineers who have no relationship SEMI and SEMICONs.
The name SOLARCON is an obvious “frankenword” combining solar with the CON from SEMICON. The result is a hoped-for brand extension that provides security and stature, with the necessary identification with solar industry. It seems like a simple and easy name, but we struggled with considering many alternatives and whether to focus on PV rather than solar.
The new name will allow us to better target and differentiate our exhibitor and attendee marketing and program development.
The new events and dates announced are:
SOLARCON Korea, January 20–22, 2009, COEX, Seoul, Korea
SOLARCON China, March 17–19, 2009, SNIEC, Shanghai, China
SOLARCON Singapore, May 20–22, 2009, Suntec Exhibiton Centre, Singapore
The SOLARCON events in Korea, China, and Singapore join other SEMI and PV Group-sponsored and supported PV events including PV Japan, Intersolar (Munich), and Intersolar North America, the latter co-located with SEMICON West in San Francisco.
We have just announced a new president and office and India, so you might see the announcement of SOLARCON India very shortly.
In co-locating with SEMICON, SOLARCON will leverage the existing visitor and show infrastructure, allowing exhibiting companies serving the photovoltaic and microelectronics markets to reach both communities without needing multiple exhibits in multiple events. The co-location strategy also continues SEMI's commitment to grow existing shows and partnerships while reducing the proliferation of new stand-alone events.
The thinking behind the branding was that PV is a distinct and separate community from semiconductors and it needed its own identity. While manufacturing leaders understand the synergy between PV and chip making—and do not want more events to dilute the audience--the PV industry is too diverse and large to feel entirely comfortable depending on a “semi-com”. While increasingly the PV industry is being populated with veterans from the chip industry, they also attract many young engineers who have no relationship SEMI and SEMICONs.
The name SOLARCON is an obvious “frankenword” combining solar with the CON from SEMICON. The result is a hoped-for brand extension that provides security and stature, with the necessary identification with solar industry. It seems like a simple and easy name, but we struggled with considering many alternatives and whether to focus on PV rather than solar.
The new name will allow us to better target and differentiate our exhibitor and attendee marketing and program development.
The new events and dates announced are:
SOLARCON Korea, January 20–22, 2009, COEX, Seoul, Korea
SOLARCON China, March 17–19, 2009, SNIEC, Shanghai, China
SOLARCON Singapore, May 20–22, 2009, Suntec Exhibiton Centre, Singapore
The SOLARCON events in Korea, China, and Singapore join other SEMI and PV Group-sponsored and supported PV events including PV Japan, Intersolar (Munich), and Intersolar North America, the latter co-located with SEMICON West in San Francisco.
We have just announced a new president and office and India, so you might see the announcement of SOLARCON India very shortly.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
SEMICON Europa
Exhibitor feedback was surprisingly good at this year's Europa. Key customers were attendance and and Programs's attendance equalled last year. Despite the economic climate, most exhibitors said the show performed well for them. AMD's announcement and special supplier forum was a big success.
Great Europa slide show, here.
Great Europa slide show, here.
Monday, October 06, 2008
MEMS Ingenuity
I was at the International MEMS/MST Forum all day yesterday and the one fact that jumped out at me was that approximately 250 MEMS companies make less than $35 million dollars. This industry has a long tail.
MEMS is a technology that represents an enormous amount of creativity and manufacturing ingenuity. There is a spirit entreneurialism at work that reminds you of the early days of the PC and the dot.com era. People have ideas and dreams and skills and they believe they can make a difference. They believe they can be the first to see a need and work out the engineering and get on the cost curve and beat the big guys. The industry isn’t yet about scale, it’s about cleverness and taking on risk. While the market numbers are still dominated by the big LDP and printer apps from TI and HP, the MEMS business is still characterized by one-off devices where someone sees a better a way to marry a sensor with a microprocessor and do it better than companies with thousands of engineers and tons of capital.
The process of creating a device seems to be often one of basement creativity and engineering on-the-fly. First you have the application: integrating pressure, temperature, motion and other inputs with a control system for an automobile, a cell phone, a camera or one of the hundreds of other devices that interact with people and an analog world. Everyone who uses a cell phone or power tool or industrial device could probably think of ways to marry functions among parts or create new features or functionality. Then there is the real tough engineering of developing a faster-better-smaller-cheaper package with a dependability and robustness that can attract a big customer. Getting the first products to market seem to entail a whole lot of trial and error—devising new manufacturing methods and packaging techniques that need to be customized by the device, by the process and by the fab. Testing the part often requires that development of an entirely new testing protocol and specially designed equipment. You don’t do this stuff on computers and with formulas. You need to get your fingers dirty.
There will be a shakeout in the market and many of these small companies will be overwhelmed by economics, competition, fate, bad luck. And new processes, design tools, processing equipment and test systems will make the market more efficient, more standardized, more about scale and optimization. But while MEMS have been around for a while, it’s still a business characterized by dreamers and doers and hands-on engineering and that’s a good thing.
MEMS is a technology that represents an enormous amount of creativity and manufacturing ingenuity. There is a spirit entreneurialism at work that reminds you of the early days of the PC and the dot.com era. People have ideas and dreams and skills and they believe they can make a difference. They believe they can be the first to see a need and work out the engineering and get on the cost curve and beat the big guys. The industry isn’t yet about scale, it’s about cleverness and taking on risk. While the market numbers are still dominated by the big LDP and printer apps from TI and HP, the MEMS business is still characterized by one-off devices where someone sees a better a way to marry a sensor with a microprocessor and do it better than companies with thousands of engineers and tons of capital.
The process of creating a device seems to be often one of basement creativity and engineering on-the-fly. First you have the application: integrating pressure, temperature, motion and other inputs with a control system for an automobile, a cell phone, a camera or one of the hundreds of other devices that interact with people and an analog world. Everyone who uses a cell phone or power tool or industrial device could probably think of ways to marry functions among parts or create new features or functionality. Then there is the real tough engineering of developing a faster-better-smaller-cheaper package with a dependability and robustness that can attract a big customer. Getting the first products to market seem to entail a whole lot of trial and error—devising new manufacturing methods and packaging techniques that need to be customized by the device, by the process and by the fab. Testing the part often requires that development of an entirely new testing protocol and specially designed equipment. You don’t do this stuff on computers and with formulas. You need to get your fingers dirty.
There will be a shakeout in the market and many of these small companies will be overwhelmed by economics, competition, fate, bad luck. And new processes, design tools, processing equipment and test systems will make the market more efficient, more standardized, more about scale and optimization. But while MEMS have been around for a while, it’s still a business characterized by dreamers and doers and hands-on engineering and that’s a good thing.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Awards for SEMICONs
We are thrilled to see that SEMICON trade shows have been recognized as the leading global brand by the publishers of Trade Show Executive at the magazine's inaugural 'Gold 100' Awards ceremony.
This is a big deal.
As the first year for the show, they could have chosen the CES show, CeBit, auto shows in Detroit or Tokyo, etc. but they chose SEMICON. The reasons are because no other global event brand has been so successful over time, or in so many markets. Many trade shows have tried to extend into different markets—Nepcon comes to mind in our industry—but they’ve failed miserably. SEMICONs are unique in the world of expositions in that every serious person in the world of semiconductor equipment and materials is deeply familiar and loyal to their regional SEMICON.
Obviously, credit goes to Stan Myers and his predecessors at SEMI, and also to Dan Martin and Vicki Hadfield, who have managed the brand through the difficult post dot-com period. The folks who came before them and the anchor exhibitors who have developed and supported the brand are also fundamental to SEMICONs’ success.
Understanding this strong heritage, the current team at SEMI is doing our best to sustain the value of the brand and the SEMICON shows. We were recently awarded first place in Brand Design/Development (for large events) by the International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE) in their annual Art of the Show Competition for the SEMICON and FPD brand identity system. The Art of the Show Competition recognizes excellence in promotional materials for the exhibitions and events industry. It includes 13 different categories of competition, spanning three show sizes.
While IAEE has many awards for marketing and design, we consider this award the premier recognition for marketing excellence because it encompasses all the elements of effective brand management--from creative execution of brochures, e-marketing, onsite decoration, and other design elements, to messaging and positioning of our value proposition. What is especially noteworthy in our brand system is the complex and collaborative execution across all SEMI expositions throughout the world, involving all our regional offices. It leverages world class design from a Best-of-Breed agency, while cost effectively implemented across thousands of projects through in-house creative staff, multiple vendors in show decoration and project design, and local teams in all our regional offices.
This is a big deal.
As the first year for the show, they could have chosen the CES show, CeBit, auto shows in Detroit or Tokyo, etc. but they chose SEMICON. The reasons are because no other global event brand has been so successful over time, or in so many markets. Many trade shows have tried to extend into different markets—Nepcon comes to mind in our industry—but they’ve failed miserably. SEMICONs are unique in the world of expositions in that every serious person in the world of semiconductor equipment and materials is deeply familiar and loyal to their regional SEMICON.
Obviously, credit goes to Stan Myers and his predecessors at SEMI, and also to Dan Martin and Vicki Hadfield, who have managed the brand through the difficult post dot-com period. The folks who came before them and the anchor exhibitors who have developed and supported the brand are also fundamental to SEMICONs’ success.
Understanding this strong heritage, the current team at SEMI is doing our best to sustain the value of the brand and the SEMICON shows. We were recently awarded first place in Brand Design/Development (for large events) by the International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE) in their annual Art of the Show Competition for the SEMICON and FPD brand identity system. The Art of the Show Competition recognizes excellence in promotional materials for the exhibitions and events industry. It includes 13 different categories of competition, spanning three show sizes.
While IAEE has many awards for marketing and design, we consider this award the premier recognition for marketing excellence because it encompasses all the elements of effective brand management--from creative execution of brochures, e-marketing, onsite decoration, and other design elements, to messaging and positioning of our value proposition. What is especially noteworthy in our brand system is the complex and collaborative execution across all SEMI expositions throughout the world, involving all our regional offices. It leverages world class design from a Best-of-Breed agency, while cost effectively implemented across thousands of projects through in-house creative staff, multiple vendors in show decoration and project design, and local teams in all our regional offices.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
A Crisis in Leadership
You may have heard that the solar energy investment tax credit (ITC) is being caught up in legislative and party politics and many observers think they are doomed until a new Congress convenes in 2008.
Some $500 million in investment and production tax credits will expire Dec. 31 without the renewed ITC. Without the credit, many renewable energy projects, including two solar power plants that will generate about 800 megawatts of power, won’t be built. In fact, Navigant Consulting estimated that investments in wind and solar power in 2009 would amount to $26.6 billion with the credits, but would crash to $7 billion without them.
According to an AP article, Schott Solar plans to add 1,500 jobs and $500 million in investment are in large part dependent on the ITC. The Solar Energy Industries Association says some 20 utility-scale solar power plants are at risk because of the uncertainty in Congress.
Both Democrats and Republicans say they are in favor of the credits. By themselves, they are not controversial. Like a lot of issues—especially in our industry—good policies get caught up in partisan politics and the legislative meat grinder. The US Congress is so dysfunctional, they would prefer to hold the ITC hostage rather than yield an election advantage to the other side. They are unable move forward on good policies, they are unable to compromise, unable to govern. It’s something we see at SEMI every year, with every administration, for the past twenty years.
This kind of unconscionable legislative inaction is, in my opinion, part of a large crisis in leadership in the US. Every institution that made America great has devolved into self-interested obscurity, unwilling and unable to play a leadership role in society. Look at Wall Street: eight years after the dot com crash we have the mortgage meltdown and liquidity crisis, both events underscored by near universal, institutionalized, greed-fueled larceny. The financial industry sucks the best and brightest from the best universities into what is essentially a ponzi scheme, where fraudulent value is created and passed down a chain. What role is Wall Street playing today in the big questions of the day: deficits, taxes, human capital, industrial policy? They have no collective role. There is no Wall Street. It’s just individual companies with a self interest.
What about the military? Iraq. Afghanistan. Good job there, guys. Now, stay out of politics.
Education? What university president has a prominent voice on the issues of the day? Do teachers unions care about students?
How about the professions? Is the medical establishment really concerned about health care? Are any textbook journalistic practices relevant in big business media?
I’m just old enough to think that 30 years ago there was a prominent leadership class in all these institutions that was civic minded, independent and courageous. That generation could balance that needs of stockholders, employees and society at large. Everyone knew there was a "greater good" that needed nurturing and managing.
Today, I sense there no such balancing going on. It’s all about what's in it for me, my career and my company. That might be good for some of us, some of the time--but it’s horrific for all us, all of the time.
Some $500 million in investment and production tax credits will expire Dec. 31 without the renewed ITC. Without the credit, many renewable energy projects, including two solar power plants that will generate about 800 megawatts of power, won’t be built. In fact, Navigant Consulting estimated that investments in wind and solar power in 2009 would amount to $26.6 billion with the credits, but would crash to $7 billion without them.
According to an AP article, Schott Solar plans to add 1,500 jobs and $500 million in investment are in large part dependent on the ITC. The Solar Energy Industries Association says some 20 utility-scale solar power plants are at risk because of the uncertainty in Congress.
Both Democrats and Republicans say they are in favor of the credits. By themselves, they are not controversial. Like a lot of issues—especially in our industry—good policies get caught up in partisan politics and the legislative meat grinder. The US Congress is so dysfunctional, they would prefer to hold the ITC hostage rather than yield an election advantage to the other side. They are unable move forward on good policies, they are unable to compromise, unable to govern. It’s something we see at SEMI every year, with every administration, for the past twenty years.
This kind of unconscionable legislative inaction is, in my opinion, part of a large crisis in leadership in the US. Every institution that made America great has devolved into self-interested obscurity, unwilling and unable to play a leadership role in society. Look at Wall Street: eight years after the dot com crash we have the mortgage meltdown and liquidity crisis, both events underscored by near universal, institutionalized, greed-fueled larceny. The financial industry sucks the best and brightest from the best universities into what is essentially a ponzi scheme, where fraudulent value is created and passed down a chain. What role is Wall Street playing today in the big questions of the day: deficits, taxes, human capital, industrial policy? They have no collective role. There is no Wall Street. It’s just individual companies with a self interest.
What about the military? Iraq. Afghanistan. Good job there, guys. Now, stay out of politics.
Education? What university president has a prominent voice on the issues of the day? Do teachers unions care about students?
How about the professions? Is the medical establishment really concerned about health care? Are any textbook journalistic practices relevant in big business media?
I’m just old enough to think that 30 years ago there was a prominent leadership class in all these institutions that was civic minded, independent and courageous. That generation could balance that needs of stockholders, employees and society at large. Everyone knew there was a "greater good" that needed nurturing and managing.
Today, I sense there no such balancing going on. It’s all about what's in it for me, my career and my company. That might be good for some of us, some of the time--but it’s horrific for all us, all of the time.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Europa Moves to Dresden in 2009
We are thrilled about Europa's move to Dresden next year. Qimonda, Infineon and AMD, nearly 60 percent of European IC output, is located nearby. In addition, about 80 percent of Germany’s PC cells are made within 150 km of Dresden and the region enjoys a concentration of research institutions, universities and over 1200 equipment and materials companies. We explored movong there last year when we moved to Stuttgart from Munich but they weren't ready. Now we've finally got the agreement .
Thursday, August 21, 2008
First Time Attendees
For the second year in a row, 27% of SEMICON West visitors were first time attendees. This is an important number for us at SEMI and we work hard to keep it high.
First timers are important because they represent new influences in the buying decisions of traditional SEMICON products and services, and new markets for SEMICON exhibitors. Buying influences in the semiconductor industry are constantly changing because of reorganizations, new engineering staff, and the increase in ‘ad hoc” or temporary buying teams that are assembled to equip a new line or address a specific issue. In its 30+ years, SEMICON has established itself as key milestone in the semiconductor buying cycle in North America and the world. Sustaining that role requires everyone in the buying and specifying process to learn how the event can help with new vendor sourcing, current vendor evaluations and new product investigations.
Another source of new buying influences are fabless companies, packaging and test houses, and system level OEM (HP, Apple, etc.) that increasingly have an impact on equipment and materials buying. This is particularly important with new packaging technologies such as copper wire bonding and TSV, as well as new materials, test, MEMs, inspection and other categories.
In addition to new buying and specifying influences within existing customers, first time attendees also consist of buyers from new and emerging markets. Clearly, PV was a big attraction at this year’s event, attracting thousands of buyer/specifiers from crystalline and thin film based PV cell manufacturers. Other new markets very prevalent at the West was solid state lighting, MEMs companies, fuel cell makers, and bio-chip makers (I’m guessing on that last one).
For SEMI, the challenge is to reach these first time attendees and get them to the show. These folks aren’t usually on our databases and often don’t appear in our extensive 3rd party lists. We have great partnerships and promotional awareness (advertising, email and editorial) through all the major industry magazines, but we spend a lot of time and effort on 3rd tier or fringe publications just to reach these first time attendees. Our awareness among core audiences is nearly 100%, but diminishes as we reach new titles (such as design engineer, software engineer), new markets such as SSL, and up the food chain to system level engineers in consumer electronics, automotive, health and other markets. We need to work and spend more to reach these new titles, job functions and markets and we do.
A critical component in finding and attracting these first time attendees is our exhibitors. They are the ones who are typically first aware of changes in personnel and in the best position to extend an invite. Its another reason why pre-show promotion by exhibitors is so important.
First timers are important because they represent new influences in the buying decisions of traditional SEMICON products and services, and new markets for SEMICON exhibitors. Buying influences in the semiconductor industry are constantly changing because of reorganizations, new engineering staff, and the increase in ‘ad hoc” or temporary buying teams that are assembled to equip a new line or address a specific issue. In its 30+ years, SEMICON has established itself as key milestone in the semiconductor buying cycle in North America and the world. Sustaining that role requires everyone in the buying and specifying process to learn how the event can help with new vendor sourcing, current vendor evaluations and new product investigations.
Another source of new buying influences are fabless companies, packaging and test houses, and system level OEM (HP, Apple, etc.) that increasingly have an impact on equipment and materials buying. This is particularly important with new packaging technologies such as copper wire bonding and TSV, as well as new materials, test, MEMs, inspection and other categories.
In addition to new buying and specifying influences within existing customers, first time attendees also consist of buyers from new and emerging markets. Clearly, PV was a big attraction at this year’s event, attracting thousands of buyer/specifiers from crystalline and thin film based PV cell manufacturers. Other new markets very prevalent at the West was solid state lighting, MEMs companies, fuel cell makers, and bio-chip makers (I’m guessing on that last one).
For SEMI, the challenge is to reach these first time attendees and get them to the show. These folks aren’t usually on our databases and often don’t appear in our extensive 3rd party lists. We have great partnerships and promotional awareness (advertising, email and editorial) through all the major industry magazines, but we spend a lot of time and effort on 3rd tier or fringe publications just to reach these first time attendees. Our awareness among core audiences is nearly 100%, but diminishes as we reach new titles (such as design engineer, software engineer), new markets such as SSL, and up the food chain to system level engineers in consumer electronics, automotive, health and other markets. We need to work and spend more to reach these new titles, job functions and markets and we do.
A critical component in finding and attracting these first time attendees is our exhibitors. They are the ones who are typically first aware of changes in personnel and in the best position to extend an invite. Its another reason why pre-show promotion by exhibitors is so important.
Friday, August 08, 2008
Inquiry Distribution at Trade Shows
Following SEMICON West, I am reminded of one the truths about trade show exhibiting that exhibitors don’t often realize. This truth is especially important in trade shows like SEMICONs-- where the square footage is large, the products are complex and specialized, and the customers are busy. The truth is:
The number of inquiries you generate has little to do with where you’re located on the show floor. Inquiries are primarily a result of your product category, your pre-show promotion, and the booth execution.
This isn’t a theory.
I was recently given a report that illustrated the number of inquiries generated by every booth of the SEMICON West inquiry system. The report showed that inquiries are randomly distributed across each hall. There is no correlation for inquiries from the back of the hall or the front of the hall. There is no correlation for inquiries for cross aisle and corner booths and inline locations. Inquiries are not correlated between islands, inlines and peninsula configurations.
It’s not even evident that inquiries are correlated with the size of booth!
The data from SEMICON West has shown for the past three years that inquiries are a result of good exhibit marketing. Inquiries are primarily correlated with:
• Conducting pre-show direct mail and email with exciting and compelling reasons to visit a booth (see a demo, learn more about new product, enter a sweepstakes)
• Companies that use SMARTBOOTH in combination with attractive directory descriptions that reach visitors with rational and thoughtful reasons to visit
• Companies that have hot new products or technologies (new, new, new is what visitors want)
• Booths that have open, inviting floor plans and/or demos
• Booth that with an exhibit staff that is trained and managed to capture inquiries
Monday, July 28, 2008
Gadi Singer SEMICON West Keynote Conclusion
Here is the conclusion to Gadi Singer's keynote. I think you find other segments of his speech on Youtube.
Brand Marketing in High Technology
I recently met a person who reminded me of many of the common errors and failed strategies I see in high technology marketing. Many of these failures revolve around the interpretation of the word “brand,” and how if managed properly managed, it can possess magical properties.
This person was a very experienced marketer who had just joined a SEMI member company from an ad agency. This person was very impressive--clearly competent and creative, perhaps even charismatic. But he/she had no experience in semiconductor manufacturing and I didn’t sense an affinity for the technology, industry and product issues that would most impact his/her company and career.
Being from an agency, this person knew how to promote and articulate the value of big, impactful and professional marketing communications. They seemed to be one of those agency-type people who can sell ideas--big ideas. They offer a seemingly new way to compete in the marketplace, based on ingenuity, cleverness, some call it marketing. These are the people who are able to get the ear of the CEO and suddenly get a massive budget for a huge campaign, such as TV advertising or massive trade show spend. You don’t see these kinds of folks in semiconductors anymore, but you see them all the time in computers and IT, and they were abundant during the dot com era.
Their arguments and experience--their frame of reference--usually revolves around the idea of brand. Concepts like brand positioning, brand awareness, and brand equity dominate their conversation. These are important and useful concepts but the people I am talking about are able to use these arguments to captivate a boardroom and justify significant new budget. They are often effective in utilizing solid research into customer insights and their campaigns are usually bold, beautiful and expensive.
These aren’t the people, however, who I see become CEOs or survive long at the VP of marketing level. In fact, when I see the step-function increase in marketing spend—the huge product launch or identity campaign-- I almost am certain that someone will lose their job in the 12-24 months.
I have seen it dozens of times. Hot shot joins company with cool marketing resume: maybe Apple or Proctor and Gamble background or from an agency who did wild stuff for someone like Sun, HP or Intel. They are hired because “they know marketing” and have been previously successful and have clear experience in managing a large budget or successful campaign. Together with an agency, they are able to successfully frame the company’s challenges into a brand issue—not product, or price, sales, or technology or even a promotion issues—but a brand issue requiring a new a massive campaign or new corporate identity.
Invariably what happens is the campaign or new identity is launched with great fanfare to great applause. It may even get associated with a successful jump in sales for a quarter or two or three. But at some point the business cycle turns or the competition catches up. Memories of the big campaign or product launch fade. The issues that again dominate the critical business meetings are about features, technologies, cost, and price. Talk about brand fades, the brand magic disappears, the marcom budget gets cut.
What happens to the lead marketer, the hot shot, in this scenario? Sometimes they get blamed for the eventual business turn. Sometimes they leave to pursue a fresh opportunity and a new budget (often with an agency). Sometimes their relationships with the product people and other folks in the business--who resented the new ideas, the big campaign and the access to the CEO—get so strained that they get shown the door.
Rarely do they survive. When they do survive, sometimes they become the “make no waves” cynic, the obstructionist who’s always quick to say “been there, done that” and sucks the life out every meeting they attend.
Believe me. People in high-tech who get their companies to do big campaigns on behalf of a brand just don’t stay long.
I suppose that sometimes they grow and mature, bring new energies to new problems, bring a detailed commitment to optimizing the full marketing mix. But you don’t see those people very much. They don’t talk about brand. They talk about the detailed, complicated stuff that it takes to build and ship a product. These are the people that VPs and CEOs
I don’t why this person I met reminds of those marketers and agency types who are quick to justify investments in concepts as ethereal as brand, but he/she did. I really think great marketers talk and represent their product as complicated, multifaceted, sophisticated, changing things that meet customer needs. Not a brand.
This person was a very experienced marketer who had just joined a SEMI member company from an ad agency. This person was very impressive--clearly competent and creative, perhaps even charismatic. But he/she had no experience in semiconductor manufacturing and I didn’t sense an affinity for the technology, industry and product issues that would most impact his/her company and career.
Being from an agency, this person knew how to promote and articulate the value of big, impactful and professional marketing communications. They seemed to be one of those agency-type people who can sell ideas--big ideas. They offer a seemingly new way to compete in the marketplace, based on ingenuity, cleverness, some call it marketing. These are the people who are able to get the ear of the CEO and suddenly get a massive budget for a huge campaign, such as TV advertising or massive trade show spend. You don’t see these kinds of folks in semiconductors anymore, but you see them all the time in computers and IT, and they were abundant during the dot com era.
Their arguments and experience--their frame of reference--usually revolves around the idea of brand. Concepts like brand positioning, brand awareness, and brand equity dominate their conversation. These are important and useful concepts but the people I am talking about are able to use these arguments to captivate a boardroom and justify significant new budget. They are often effective in utilizing solid research into customer insights and their campaigns are usually bold, beautiful and expensive.
These aren’t the people, however, who I see become CEOs or survive long at the VP of marketing level. In fact, when I see the step-function increase in marketing spend—the huge product launch or identity campaign-- I almost am certain that someone will lose their job in the 12-24 months.
I have seen it dozens of times. Hot shot joins company with cool marketing resume: maybe Apple or Proctor and Gamble background or from an agency who did wild stuff for someone like Sun, HP or Intel. They are hired because “they know marketing” and have been previously successful and have clear experience in managing a large budget or successful campaign. Together with an agency, they are able to successfully frame the company’s challenges into a brand issue—not product, or price, sales, or technology or even a promotion issues—but a brand issue requiring a new a massive campaign or new corporate identity.
Invariably what happens is the campaign or new identity is launched with great fanfare to great applause. It may even get associated with a successful jump in sales for a quarter or two or three. But at some point the business cycle turns or the competition catches up. Memories of the big campaign or product launch fade. The issues that again dominate the critical business meetings are about features, technologies, cost, and price. Talk about brand fades, the brand magic disappears, the marcom budget gets cut.
What happens to the lead marketer, the hot shot, in this scenario? Sometimes they get blamed for the eventual business turn. Sometimes they leave to pursue a fresh opportunity and a new budget (often with an agency). Sometimes their relationships with the product people and other folks in the business--who resented the new ideas, the big campaign and the access to the CEO—get so strained that they get shown the door.
Rarely do they survive. When they do survive, sometimes they become the “make no waves” cynic, the obstructionist who’s always quick to say “been there, done that” and sucks the life out every meeting they attend.
Believe me. People in high-tech who get their companies to do big campaigns on behalf of a brand just don’t stay long.
I suppose that sometimes they grow and mature, bring new energies to new problems, bring a detailed commitment to optimizing the full marketing mix. But you don’t see those people very much. They don’t talk about brand. They talk about the detailed, complicated stuff that it takes to build and ship a product. These are the people that VPs and CEOs
I don’t why this person I met reminds of those marketers and agency types who are quick to justify investments in concepts as ethereal as brand, but he/she did. I really think great marketers talk and represent their product as complicated, multifaceted, sophisticated, changing things that meet customer needs. Not a brand.
Top Ten Reasons SEMICON West was a Huge Success
During a dismal market environment, verified visitor attendance was up nearly 20% at SEMICON West. What were the reasons? Here's my list.
10. Better website—This was our second year that SEMICON West was supported by a dedicated website. The results were more web visits, more page views, more time spent per page, and more opportunity for attendees to find what they need at the SEMICON West.
9. Better media partnerships—We have expanded our media partnerships to a broader circle of international media companies, expanding our reach in advertising, email and web.
8. Better email marketing—Through best of breed technologies and metric-based management, we are able to target and optimize our email messaging much better than the past.
7. Industry partnerships—We are fortunate to work with great partners such as IMAPS, MEPTEC, Lithography Workshop, Southwest Test, ITRS, FOA, SPIE and others, who are able to offer more and better reasons to attend SEMICON West.
6. Refreshed brand image—This year’s theme--Infinite Possibilities—was supported by a new look and feel and brand execution that emphasized new, new, new.
5. Better segmentation—One of the things we have successfully done is break the show down into separate segments. From program design, to sales, to audience recruitment, we really manage seven events, one for wafer processing, materials, assembly/packaging, test, enabling products (systems and components), emerging technologies, and PV.
4. Systems Integration—New exhibitors like Synopsys and Cadence and programs on DFM significantly increased the number of attendees interested in the design-production-test-flow
3. Intersolar--Solar energy and PV manufacturing is hot right now and Intersolar delivered the key decision makers and conference topics. But don’t think PV was the only reason for the jump in attendance; only 11% of the total verified visitors were interested in solar exclusively.
2. Still the place to be--SEMICON West remains the central place to see the entire industry on display and to meet key suppliers and colleagues. International attendance, including top VIPs from nearly every large foundry and IDM in the world, was up this year.
And the number one reason for the attendance improvement…
1. New products and suppliers--Attendees are in desperate need for new ideas and new suppliers and West was expected to deliver both. The industry is in transition with high k/metal gate designs, productivity needs, packaging innovations, lithography roadmap questions, and many more uncertainties and SEMCION West is a good place for answers. The number of visitors interested in core products such as CVD, PVD, etch and CMP nearly doubled. Visitors come to SW to see our exhibitors’ products, ideas solutions and solutions and this year they really delivered.
10. Better website—This was our second year that SEMICON West was supported by a dedicated website. The results were more web visits, more page views, more time spent per page, and more opportunity for attendees to find what they need at the SEMICON West.
9. Better media partnerships—We have expanded our media partnerships to a broader circle of international media companies, expanding our reach in advertising, email and web.
8. Better email marketing—Through best of breed technologies and metric-based management, we are able to target and optimize our email messaging much better than the past.
7. Industry partnerships—We are fortunate to work with great partners such as IMAPS, MEPTEC, Lithography Workshop, Southwest Test, ITRS, FOA, SPIE and others, who are able to offer more and better reasons to attend SEMICON West.
6. Refreshed brand image—This year’s theme--Infinite Possibilities—was supported by a new look and feel and brand execution that emphasized new, new, new.
5. Better segmentation—One of the things we have successfully done is break the show down into separate segments. From program design, to sales, to audience recruitment, we really manage seven events, one for wafer processing, materials, assembly/packaging, test, enabling products (systems and components), emerging technologies, and PV.
4. Systems Integration—New exhibitors like Synopsys and Cadence and programs on DFM significantly increased the number of attendees interested in the design-production-test-flow
3. Intersolar--Solar energy and PV manufacturing is hot right now and Intersolar delivered the key decision makers and conference topics. But don’t think PV was the only reason for the jump in attendance; only 11% of the total verified visitors were interested in solar exclusively.
2. Still the place to be--SEMICON West remains the central place to see the entire industry on display and to meet key suppliers and colleagues. International attendance, including top VIPs from nearly every large foundry and IDM in the world, was up this year.
And the number one reason for the attendance improvement…
1. New products and suppliers--Attendees are in desperate need for new ideas and new suppliers and West was expected to deliver both. The industry is in transition with high k/metal gate designs, productivity needs, packaging innovations, lithography roadmap questions, and many more uncertainties and SEMCION West is a good place for answers. The number of visitors interested in core products such as CVD, PVD, etch and CMP nearly doubled. Visitors come to SW to see our exhibitors’ products, ideas solutions and solutions and this year they really delivered.
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