As we continue to evolve in the digital age, we are making some changes at Creativity.

Creativity Magazine, currently published 10 times a year will become a quarterly. Our site, Creativity-Online.com, which has in its relatively short life become the industry's leading creative hub, will be expanded to be an even more significant component of our business and resource for our audience. We'll be doing more in conjunction with our all-seeing sibling, Advertising Age. And we'll be creating new ways to deliver inspiration, insight and utility – online, in person and in print.

Out of respect for your intelligence I won't try to pretend this economy of ours hasn't played a role in the timing of these changes. How to monetize journalism and media content is one of the central questions of our culture. We don't operate outside that culture and we haven't been immune to the downturn. But, as you all know, current economic circumstances have only hastened changes that were already well underway, in our business and yours.

We are the architects of our own evolution. Several years ago we expanded the mandate of Creativity to include, well, more creativity, recognizing that brand creativity is an almost infinite proposition now. Nearly eight years ago we started (or resurrected) a site, Adcritic, that has become an industry leader. We've conceived and built events like the IDEA Conference, Hearts & Minds and now CaT. As we look, always, to the next thing, we believe it makes good sense to focus our energy on serving our audience in ways that go beyond a monthly print mag.

Your jobs have changed. The entire advertising and marketing industry has undergone a fundamental shift. In its simplest interpretation that shift has meant that you, our audience member, have, in a few years, gone from creating and producing one way messages (typically TV and print ads) to maintaining open-ended conversations with consumers that span media, platform, category and time and place. Interpreted more broadly, the shift in the marketing industry has called into question the very notion of what we know as advertising - the juxtaposition of paid brand messages with content. In the face of all these changes, we've changed how we're covering creativity. And as we contemplate the future of creativity, so we've also been planning the future of Creativity.

None of this is to say that print is dead, at least not in the case of Creativity. We're making this change while Creativity, the magazine, is on top. From a critical standpoint, the magazine is stronger than it's ever been. It's more beautiful than ever. And it's more fun to put together than it has a right to be. This monthly paper bond with our audience has been mutually satisfying, to say the least. Going to a quarterly represents the best way to maintain the magazine according to the standard of excellence you've come to expect, and then some. It's our intention that the magazine become an even better archive for the best ideas, that it provide more perspective on the bigger creative picture, insight into the issues affecting creativity, and opinion from the most interesting creative people.

Like you, we love, live and breathe creativity here at Creativity, and we believe that changing now will enable us to stay at the forefront of the discussion of its evolution. I look forward to hearing your input. Please contact me directly with questions, concerns, suggestions.
Yours,
Teressa Iezzi