Dassault Debuts Compass Magazine

Nov 5, 2012, ORLANDO, FL (3DEXPERIENCE FORUM North America) - Dassault chose the opening press reception of its annual US conference and user meeting (formerly Dassault Systemes Customer Conference, or DSSC), to announce Compass, it's new in-house print magazine.

Chief editor Michael Marshall introduces us to Compass, Dassault's beautiful new magazine.

Compass is printed in France, available in several languages (including English), and features subjects as far reaching as CEO Bernard Charles' vision, which extends far beyond the mere design of planes, trains and automobiles. It's debut issue is hardly the nuts-and-bolts user interest stories of Contact magazine (Dassault's old in-house magazine) but meant to appeal to a "higher" level of reader: those further up the corporate food chain. In its debut issue are departments such as Society, Education, Art...it even  has book club recommendations.

If anything, Compass wants to put a focus on the "3DEXPERIENCE," the concept which Dassault has been mentioning in just about every corporate communiqué for a several months now.

It's a beautiful magazine. Glossy. Big. It will look great in corporate office lobbies, which I am sure is its intention. It looks like money. Trade press publishers, most trying just to keep the lights on, will be jealous. Vanity press, they'll say. Does anyone read that stuff?

COMPASS debut issues opens to Bernard Charles smiling face. Turn the page and Monica Menghini, EVP of Marcom, greets us from her own page. Almost lost in the ensuing fine print is chief editor Michael Marshall.

Michael, who handled customer stories for Dassault, tells me that anyone and everyone who wants it can subscribe, you don't have to be a Dassault customer. Michael tells me of stories he is going to be working on. New technologies. Interesting people. Now I'm jealous.

The magazine features advertising, though in the debut issue, the ads were gratis for Dassult partners, including NVIDIA, Lenovo, Wacom, others.

Is it any wonder that big companies put out its own magazine? Google does it. So does Bentley, ANSYS. MSC. They are bright, colorful magazines, on thick paper. It leaves companies free to create their own marketing vehicles, promote the customers they are proud of, brag of new products and initiatives. They can break free of page limits imposed by trade press and not be subjected to the editors who change the stories -- if they run them at all.

Find out more, and subscribe, at www.3ds.com/compassmag

Comments

[Rande Robinson]

Apparently Dassault didn't get the memo that print it dead. Interesting for a "technology" company. In their defense I still prefer print over electrons any day. Excuse me as I turn the page of the newspaper...