Plastics News China web site reports strong traffic

We reported a year ago about Crain's innovative approach to China publishing with its Plastics News China web site and e-newsletter. One year on, the company reports that the web site "quickly is approaching a quarter-million page views a month" while the newsletter is going to 18,000 people each week.

I've said it before and will continue to say that I think there is great potential in this approach to building brands and market presence through an electronic presence in difficult markets such as China. Of course, it's not without its challenges. Bob Grace, the Editor and Associate Publisher of Plastics News, talks of articles being ripped off by local competitors and that will certainly remain a thorn in the side of e-publishers in China and elsewhere. But, the approach has much to commend it that the alternatives lack.