January 25, 2023
PGA: Ad Pages Rise 41% In Early '10
- by Erik Sass @eriksass1, February 9, 2010
Although these results aren't representative of the magazine business overall in the first quarter, the broad picture is still one of improvement, as most consumer mags have posted smaller losses or modest gains in the first two months.
PGA said its flagship publication American Profile enjoyed 54% growth in ad pages during the first quarter of 2010 compared to the first quarter of 2009. Food title Relish increased 20% and Spry, targeting baby boomers in middle age with healthy lifestyle content, jumped 24%.
American Profile is distributed nationally by 1,400 newspapers with a combined circulation of 10 million. Relish is distributed by newspapers with a circulation of 16 million and Spry has a circ of 9 million.
Moreover, these results followed positive figures in the fourth quarter, when American Profile saw ad pages increase 16%, Relish 16% as well, and Spry 48%.
PGA cited the connection with consumers through their local newspapers, combined with multimedia offerings, as the main drivers of growth. According to PGA, a number of new advertisers signed up in the first quarter of 2010, including ConAgra, Glaxo SmithKline and Kimberly Clark.
The magazine business in general seems to have finally bottomed out after one of the most severe and prolonged contractions in history. According to the Media Industry Newsletter, monthly magazines' ad pages are down about 9% in January and February compared to the same months last year.
Although this is still a negative comparison, it's actually a positive development after losses in 2009, when, according to the Publishers Information Bureau, total ad pages declined 25.9% in the first quarter, 29.4% in the second, 26.6% in the third and 21.6% in the fourth.
PGA serves more than 1,600 community newspapers across the U.S.
