First & Last
The first edition of Aurora was published in July 1998. Conceived as a marketing newsletter for DawnMedia, the first issue was just 20 pages. The size and format were based on the ones used by Campaign and Ad Age (UK and US marketing-focused magazines); the format lending itself to larger and bolder illustrative design. The design was conceptualised and executed by Creative Unit, a top design house led by Tannaz Minwalla and Mannan Hatim Ali. Creative Unit set the template for the magazine, a template that Aurora continued to adhere to when the magazine’s design capabilities were shifted in-house in September 2019.
Aurora’s ambition was to prove bigger than the 20 pages of its first edition; an ambition that was set out in the first editorial: “The Aurora principle is the promotion of advertising excellence. This was clearly established when, in December 1992, Dawn held the Aurora Awards… Today we extend the concept of advertising excellence by publishing Aurora – the print version.“
Twenty-seven years later, this ambition has been realised. The magazine today has an average of 68 to 70 pages. In November 2001, Aurora launched its Special Annual Edition at 60 pages, incorporating the Aurora Fact File, providing the only credibly sourced data on ad spend. Over the years, the annual edition increased to between 140 and 150 pages and is now a much-awaited publishing event by the advertising community, especially the Aurora Fact File. In 2004 and 2008, Aurora published The Purple Book, a standalone directory of advertising services in Pakistan, and in 2013, Clicks, Hits and Likes, a directory of digital services available in Pakistan, was launched.
Aurora has grown in stature to become an authentic voice of the advertising industry. Authentic because its pages are written by professionals across the advertising and marketing spectrum. In many ways, Aurora acts as an enabler for the profession by publishing diverse opinions and insights and providing the profession a forum where new ideas can be expressed and debated, with coverage extended to business, finance, industry, the digital economy, the start-up ecosystem and consumer lifestyle trends.
Aurora’s last issue features Pakistan’s auto industry and its transition to renewable energy across the electric vehicle spectrum – making it the third edition to devote a cover story to automobiles, a sector where government policies, business, the economy and consumers converge. The issue looks at the ground realities and what it will take for EVs to turn into a viable option in both the two- and four-wheeler segments. The intent is there from the auto industry as well as from the government perspective, but consumers will be harder to convince until the infrastructure is made adequate and the cost benefits of running EVs become tangible.
From Aurora’s archives
INTERVIEW
Shahnoor Ahmed, CEO, Spectrum Communications
PROFILE
Design is a Business: Tannaz Minwalla and Mannan Hatim Ali, Creative Unit
ARTICLES
The Internet – The Newest Market – Azeem Pirani
Interview: Arshad Mahmud, musical composer and actor – Mariam Ali Baig
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