A recent press release proclaimed SuccessFactors Inc, the US-based on-demand performance and talent management solutions producer, to be the winner of the 'coveted Talent Management category' of the Sift Media Software Satisfaction Awards in London. Apparently, these awards were established in 2006 to 'reward high standards from software application providers serving UK businesses'.

Winning awards is great fun, not to mention a welcome boost to the ego. However, maybe SuccessFactors' success could have tasted sweeter if, say, Cornerstone OnDemand - a talent management specialist with European headquarters in Paris and one of SuccessFactors' major competitors in the UK - had heard of these awards and competed too. While this in no way denigrates SuccessFactors' achievement, it puts it into some sort of perspective.

Herein lies every awards organiser's nightmare: how do you ensure that the best compete against the best?

One way of promoting your awards is via the trade press yet the e-learning related press in the UK is having a hard time, as advertisers move to online advertising, direct (e)mail advertising and other means of promotion. The world's current financial crisis has just made things worse for the beleaguered publishers.

The October edition of eLearning Age, the UK eLearning sector's major trade publication, not only runs to a mere 36 pages but only four pages or so of these appear to be taken up with 'paid for' adverts. Human Capital Management (HCM) magazine fares slightly better - again on a diet of just 36 pages - with around eight pages of paid for adverts but, because of HCM's smaller circulation than eLearning Age, these are likely to generate far less overall revenue than the eLearning Age adverts. Thankfully, the profits from the eLearning Awards dinner benefit eLearning Age magazine.

Each industry probably gets the trade press it deserves. Over the last few years, suppliers and vendors have preferred the direct (e)mail and internet advertising options. They may be about to kill off the publications that make their industry visible to the wider business world.


For over 20 years, Bob Little has specialised in writing about, and commentating on, corporate learning - especially elearning - and technology-related subjects. His work has been published in the UK, Continental Europe, the USA and Australia. You can contact Bob.