i Editor's Letter: Celebrating i's birthday and thanking all our readers
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Incredibly, i is two years old today. What a wild, wonderful ride it has been. Who could have known when it was the germ of an idea in our managing director Andy Mullins' head in summer, 2010, that the crazy notion of a new "dead-trees" product would catch fire?
It nearly didn't. Ours was a tough launch into a harsh winter. Who was going to leave their home to go out into the freezing snow to buy a paper they hadn't really heard of? We are therefore grateful to our "early adopters"; those of you that first bought into our promise of a concise, quality alternative to The Times, The Telegraph and The Guardian with minimal celebrity news.
We thought we were on to something however, because those of you that did buy i, told us you really liked it: on Facebook, Twitter and in the i@independent.co.uk mailbox.
You were clear about what you didn't enjoy, or missed from your former papers. As a result, we changed the TV and weather pages, introduced a daily cryptic crossword and codeword, launched a style section and selected racing coverage. We have kept our pledge to keep the level of celebrity content down (there is a one-page Caught & Social about the entertainment industry). And, we have absolutely resisted the calls (from three astrologers) to introduce a star-sign column.
Everything changed on the back of our first TV ad campaign in January 2011. Sales tripled over the weekend and we were off and running thereafter, buoyed by your priceless advocacy and, as you can see, an extremely serious news cycle.
Success brings problems – for example the incursion of advertising on the wrap front today. To be blunt, i is a business, and we are hellbent on retaining a 20p price.
So, thanks for that loyalty and evangelism, and keep the feedback coming, for better or for worse. PS. I'm a Scorpio.
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