Creative economy overdue

The knowledge economy is dead. Long live the creative economy.

That's the opinion of David MacGregor, one of the founders of a new magazine targeting "commercial creatives" everywhere - from among entrepreneurs and designers to scientists and marketers.

Idealog, a bi-monthly glossy which will launch on December 5, reflects the shared vision of its owners: advertising expert MacGregor, founder of Family Health Diary, Vincent Heeringa, former publisher of the business magazine Unlimited, and publisher Martin Bell. They have big ideals.

"It is important that we don't just keep sending sheep and beef overseas," says Heeringa. "We want to live in this society and prosper. The only way to see it prosper is the application of creativity to industry."

The trio believe the magazine will tap into a new audience, not defined by the industry they work in, but by a common activity - taking ideas and turning them into products.

They point to estimates by US economist Richard Florida that commercial creatives make up 30 per cent of the working population but earn half of the wages. In New Zealand, the category has jumped from 19 per cent to 25 per cent of the working population in the past 10 years.

With such a diverse audience, content will steer away from trade magazine territory and focus on what they have in common.

"It's about dramatising the story and synthesising it down to the learning," says MacGregor.

There are also plans to be more than a magazine, with associated networking events - or "great parties" as Heeringa puts it - and "Who Zoo", an online talent marketplace which will offer a directory of creative workers and seek to match skills with ideas.

Idealog has a handful of major sponsors lined up, including Telecom, Microsoft, the Auckland University of Technology and intellectual property law firm Baldwins.

An initial print run of 16,000 will be distributed to sponsors, members of the advertising association Caanz and the Marketing Association, and through news stands.