But John Battelle, The Industry Standard's president, believed he was creating something that would blow the traditional tech magazine model out of the water. That's because he didn't just aim at information technology managers. He also targeted executives who were just becoming aware of the Web's power to transform their businesses.
| Published by: Internet Industry Publishing (an International Data Group company), San Francisco |
| President: John Battelle |
| Publisher: Steven Thompson |
| Editor in chief: Jonathan Weber |
| Circulation director: Elizabeth Jensen |
| Frequency: Weekly |
| Circulation: 100,000 |
| Readership: Reaching Internet business strategists and top management moving their businesses to the Web. |
| Rates: 4C page 1x, $12,700; 4C page 12x, $11,725 |
| Marketing opportunities: Web site, research, database marketing, daily e-mail newsletters, conferences. |
| 1998 ad pages: 579 |
| Ad Page growth: About 120% from third quarter '98 to fourth quarter '98 |
"It's the biggest business story of the past decade or the past two decades," says Jonathan Weber, The Industry Standard's editor in chief. "We focus on the business story, not the technology story."
Business of Internet
With editorial focused on business problems, The Industry Standard appeals to "Internet business decisionmakers." Its ability to deliver this audience has attracted a wide cross section of marketers, from IBM Corp. to Absolut Vodka.
Between the third and fourth quarters of 1998, ad pages in the magazine more than doubled, according to internal figures. At the same time, the goal for circulation a year after launch was 75,000; circulation hit 100,000 in nine months.
"Industry Standard is a very smart book," says Caroline Riby, VP-media director, Saatchi & Saatchi Business Communications, Rochester, N.Y. "IDG saw there is the niche for the technology savvy and brought in a book to address those needs in a weekly format. None of the other [Internet] books have gotten there."
The publication's brand extensions are creating as much commotion as the magazine itself. People are already being turned away from its first conference in July, and the Web site has 2 million page views a month, according to an internal audit.
Mr. Battelle says the interest in The Industry Standard is easily explained. "It's driven by the story; that's why we've succeeded," he says. "I love everything about this book."
