Idealog

Idealog is a New Zealand business magazine dealing with the creative economy, founded in 2005 by Martin Bell, Vincent Heeringa and David MacGregor. It is published by AUT Media in Auckland, New Zealand.

Of the founding trio Bell and Heeringa had worked previously on Unlimited Magazine, a publication launched in the era of the 'New Economy' and modeled on publications such as Fast Company and Business 2.0, published in the United States. Bell and Heeringa were highly regarded in publishing circles. MacGregor's background stemmed from advertising and marketing. He brought a new perspective to the group resulting in the development of an innovative launch strategy which relied on the participation of sponsors to underwrite the first year, rather than the conventional advertising sales model alone. In its first year Idealog was sponsored by Microsoft, NZ Telecom, Auckland University of Technology, Balwins (an Intellectual Property Law firm) and Image Centre (who printed the magazine). In a fickle and competitive advertising market the strategy was successful and permitted HB media to invest in both editorial and advertising sales personnel.