Business Edge, with a business model focused on editorial excellence and aggressive distribution, has introduced a new level of print advertising value to Edmonton companies.

That fact is clear to anyone who monitors the weekly news magazine’s advertisers.

“We don’t lose many advertisers,” said Business Edge publisher Rob Driscoll. “You'll see them time and time again, and the reason is very simple: they’re getting good results.

“In the last couple of years, virtually all of our advertisers who invested in a campaign of three months or more generated significant business with that advertising. If you’re getting many dollars in business for every dollar you spend in advertising, the decision to renew isn’t difficult.”

Business Edge publisher Rob Driscoll (above) and editor Terry Inigo-Jones have seen their high-calibre business journal grow from a circulation of 20,000 in the year 2000 to 78,000.

But life on the Edge wasn’t always that way . “When we first launched in October of 2000, the advertising industry was flatter than a pancake,” Driscoll explained. “The tech bubble had just burst, stock markets were plummeting and no one wanted to buy advertising.

“So when someone finally took a chance and advertised with us, and a couple months later they said ‘Sorry, Rob, we gave it a whirl but it just didn’t work,’ it was devastating.

"I took it very personally when our advertisers didn’t see good value in their investments with Business Edge.”

The solution was obvious, though not easy, for Driscoll and his colleagues and shareholders: “Our mandate was to continually improve editorially and expand our readership until we stopped losing our advertisers,” he said.

So in the last few years, the Edge added numerous top journalists to its team, including Catherine Carson, Maurice Tougas, Laura Severs, Kenton Friesen and Jack Dagley in Edmonton.

Meanwhile, the Edge roughly quadrupled its distribution.

Advertisers now have the choice of targeting more than 22,000 businesses with each Edmonton/North edition, 47,000-plus businesses Alberta-wide, or more than 77,000 companies per edition in B.C. and Alberta.

“You only pay for the market you really want,” Driscoll said.

The results are evident in these recent comments from advertisers:

* “Business Edge is the bright spot in our various advertising experiments and we will continue to use it to develop our clientele. We always get very good response, and the more consistently we advertise the more people seem to become familiar with us. Thanks for giving us business types a valid forum to let the world know about us. As far as the paper itself goes, it’s the only business rag that I read.”

– Steven Driediger, president, Miracle Print (West) Inc.

* “Dear Rob: When you first called, I must admit I thought "Okay, what have I got to lose? I'll meet him for a coffee and listen to his shpiel.’ The day of the ad, I had calls from Grande Prairie, Red Deer, Edmonton, Fort McMurray and Vancouver. Couldn’t believe it! This is what advertising is all about. Thank you Rob for the opportunity and I hope to continue advertising in the Business Edge.”

– Elaine Kapach, Cedar Peaks Mortgage Services

* “The response to our advertising has been overwhelming in B.C., Edmonton, Calgary and anywhere else Business Edge has gone. More so than our ads in the local newspapers and local business publications.”

– Roy Jennix, CEO, Integra Investment Service Limited

* “We have had a display ad in SuperPages for several years. The response rate is low and often the caller couldn’t be qualified. In contrast, our small ad in the Edge produces immediate qualified accounts.”

– Bev Harrison, WestFactor Capital Inc.

* “Business Edge was instrumental in helping us reach our target market in Alberta and now in B.C. The Business Edge staff provided sound target marketing advice and, as a result, business has increased and our expectations have been surpassed.”

– Murray Malley, President, MediDirect Inc.

“It’s a great feeling to be helping so many companies achieve their marketing objectives,” Driscoll said.

To find out how you can become a satisfied advertiser, call Rob Driscoll at 780.425.3343 or e-mail ads@businessedge.ca.