Case Studies

After the demise of the veteran colored gemstone trade magazine Colored Stone in 2010, there is only one international magazine left in print that is dedicated specifically to the colored gemstone industry and trade. InColor magazine is owned and published by the International Colored Gemstone Association (ICA), the gemstone industry umbrella organization. Until 2009, it was produced exclusively by MarketDirect Business Communications Ltd. on behalf of ICA. MDBC was closely associated with ICA from 1998 to 2010.
Before InColor was developed by the MDBC team, ICA published a newsletter-type publication, named the ICA Gazette. In 2000,MDBC wasasked to take the newsletter under its wing, to assure it would be a quality, bi-monthly publication. Before being taken on by our company, the newsletter, while representing an industry that was selling color as its vantage point, often came out in black and white. From 2001 to mid-2005, the Gazette became a full-color newsletter, grew substantially in pages, began publishing full in-depth and feature articles and gradually began to carry advertisements.
 
Realizing that the potential for growth in a market with limited competition was there for the ICA Gazette, the MDBC team suggested to the ICA board that it should do away with the Gazette and let MDBC develop a full-fledged magazine in its place.
 
Thus, was born InColor which today, as noted above, is the only international, full size colored gemstone trade magazine left standing. During the five years it produced InColor, MDBC was in charge of the editorial, commercial and technical aspects of the magazine. Articles were procured from international authors, covering subjects on the mining, sourcing, manufacturing and marketing of gemstones, as well as gemmological feature articles. During the time years InColor was under our wings, the magazine grew into a truly international magazine of repute that was read far beyond the ICA membership. MDBC also broadened the magazine's advertising base in an effort to make it financially independent. The magazine's print run continued to grow, and some of the last issues produced by MDBC reached a print run of 6,000 copies. We also handled the shipping and distribution of InColor worldwide.
 
In an effort to broaden the recognition of the InColor brand, MDBC developed and launched two more products. i.e. the ICA World Gemstone Mining Report and a comprehensive, international directory of gemological laboratories that provide colored gemstone identification services.  These publications have not seen continuity since MDBC's contract with ICA ended.