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Editorial: February 2015

Glass Canada is reaching out to those who design our great glazing projects.

Glass Canada is reaching out to those who design our great glazing projects.

One question I always have to ask myself as a magazine editor is, “Who am I talking to?” The value of magazines, especially trade magazines, lies in direct and relevant communication with a certain audience. This is where magazines and their attached digital channels are different from other kinds of media. We make our daily bread by capturing the attention of a very specific group and, in effect, selling that attention to others (advertisers) who might want to talk to that group. Other media channels (newspapers, TV and radio stations, general-interest websites) use a different value calculation that involves putting advertiser messages in front of as many eyes as possible. Their mission is to deliver advertisers the most eyeballs possible. Our mission is to deliver the right eyeballs.

Delivering the eyeballs of the Canadian commercial glazing industry is something Glass Canada must do fairly well, or we would not have been around for more than 30 years now. But shifts in the way our industry does business force us to constantly ask ourselves the question above. Increasingly, architects and building engineers are seeking more information on the materials they use and looking for novel solutions to problems of energy efficiency, air/water ingress, electronics integration, reflection, structural integrity and bird safety, among others. In response, fabricators and industry suppliers have to focus more of their attention on reaching these highest-level specifiers. Even at the fabrication and contracting level, “design-build” is a term we hear more and more often. It isn’t enough to be good at taking someone else’s product and hanging it on a beam. The demands of design and concept now permeate every part of the glazing process, and the distinction between design and execution becomes ever more blurry.

With all this in mind, Glass Canada has decided to increase its exposure to architects and other design professionals by sending our magazine to over 1,000 new readers in addition to our regular circulation. We have always gotten great feedback from designers who read us, and we think there are many who will appreciate our in-depth information on Canada’s most popular building material. If you are part of this new readership, or one of the many old ones, we’d love to hear your input on what content would better help you to understand the glass industry and specify your glazing projects. And don’t forget to mark your calendar for Top Glass, our April 15 trade show. The education program is chock full of information designers need, like a look at the new CSA balcony glass standard and discussions of energy efficiency laws and codes.

Few in my business will be able to resist making some comments about the horrific slaughter at the Charlie Hebdo office in Paris, and I’m no different. The sacrifice of the Charlie Hebdo artists is both inspiring and humbling. I’d encourage everyone to go online and find the cartoons that so enraged the Paris terrorists and at least absorb and understand the underlying critiques they made, whether you agree with them or not. I can’t think of a better way to honour the brave artists who gave their lives for the freedom that makes this magazine and many others possible.