Premier Farnell wins social media honors for empowering engineers via element14 Community

CHICAGO, Oct. 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Premier Farnell [LON:PFL], global electronics distributor and parent company of element14, the first collaborative community and electronics store for design engineers and electronics enthusiasts, was recognized by Forrester Research Inc.'s Forrester Groundswell Awards in the category of "Business-to-Business Supporting" for its element14 Community at the eBusiness Forum in Chicago today. The highly acclaimed award recognizes excellence in achieving business and organizational goals with social technology applications.

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Launched in June 2009, the element14 Community was the first public-facing global community designed specifically for electronic engineers and electronics enthusiasts. With over 130,000 members and nearly 30,000 visits per day, the element14 Community has become a place where electronic design engineers connect with peers and experts to share new ideas and challenges they are facing, find accurate information and answers from a range of independent and manufacturer sources, discover design solutions and services, and find inspiration from the latest innovations in the engineering space.

"This year's awards highlighted truly innovating ways in which leading companies around the world are using and integrating social networks and technologies, and to be recognized by the judging panel is quite an achievement," said Dianne Kibbey, global head of community, element14. "The element14 Community is a global platform that helps engineers solve their challenges by engaging in two-way conversations with peers, experts, and manufacturers, and we have a direct line into their feedback on products and services. It's an incredible example of the value of social media, community and collaboration during the overall design engineering process." 

Driven by the ongoing collaboration and exchange of ideas among peers, element14 offers a host of unique design resources, including the Knode on element14, a search engine and technical library for embedded system designs that helps engineers quickly select and buy the right product, as well as access to technical information throughout the design process. In addition, element14 provides direct access to the latest technology, such as the innovative $35 Raspberry Pi mini-computer and the new Raspberry Pi Model B. Since the computer's launch in February, element14 has provided technical information, exclusive trainings and a resource-rich community for collaboration, driving participation and engagement up 40 percent.

"Once again, we received many outstanding entries this year for the Forrester Groundswell Awards," said Forrester Vice President and Principal Analyst Nate Elliott. "It's clear that social media has reached a tipping point, where savvy companies are using social tools to pursue real business objectives rather than simply chasing fans and followers. The 2012 winners put social programs to practical use in their organizations – successfully marketing their wares, supporting their customers, and generating insights."

The Forrester Groundswell Awards support and recognize the principles outlined in the Forrester Research books: Groundswell: Winning In A World Transformed By Social Technologies (Harvard Business Press, 2008) and Empowered: Unleash Your Employees, Energize Your Customers, and Transform Your Business (Harvard Business Press, 2010). A Webinar on Nov. 6 will showcase the Business to Business winners, as well as this year's finalists in all categories. More information is available at http://www.forrester.com/empowered.

About element14
Launched in June 2009, element14 is the first information portal, collaborative community and electronics store specifically built for electronic design engineers. The community recently unveiled its element14 knode, a unique automated platform that enables engineers to quickly research, design, develop and prototype in a single, intelligent environment. element14 is an innovative offering from Premier Farnell plc (LSE:pfl), FTSE 250, a leader in multi-channel electronics distribution trading throughout Europe (Farnell), the Americas (Newark) and Asia Pacific (element14). The company had group sales of £973.9m and underlying profits of £104.6m last year.

About Premier Farnell
Premier Farnell plc (LSE:pfl) is a global leader in high service distribution of technology products and solutions for electronic system design, maintenance and repair. Its differentiated proposition includes 29 local language transactional websites, and the critically important element14 Community for design engineers – an industry first (www.element14.com). With sales last year of £973.1m and underlying profits of £104.6m the Group distributes its comprehensive portfolio of products and services throughout Europe, North America and Asia Pacific, supported by a global supply chain of over 3,500 suppliers and an inventory profile developed to anticipate and meet its customers' needs.

While global in scope, Premier Farnell recognises the individual needs of each market and has continued to internationalise its model accordingly. It trades locally as Farnell in Europe, Newark/element14 in North America and Mexico and Farnell Newark in Brazil. Across Asia Pacific the business trades as element14.

For news updates from Premier Farnell visit:

Premier Farnell News Centre – www.premierfarnell.com/media-centre
Twitter - @element14news; @element14
YouTube – element14
Facebook – /element14page 
Email: [email protected]

European Contact:
Jen Cooke
Communications Europe
Tel: +44 7885 715378
E-mail: [email protected]

APAC Contact:           
Christina Loh
Communications APAC
Tel: + 65 6671 8769
E-mail:[email protected]

Americas Contact:
Janice Fleisher
Communications Americas
Tel: +001 (1) 773 907 5941
E-mail:[email protected]

Ken Leitch
Global Head of PR
Premier Farnell
T: +44(0) 207 851 4145
E: [email protected]

SOURCE element14