• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, October 11, 2001

Advertising Affected, But Not All News is Bad

The Publishers Information Bureau (PIB) released figures for the month and year-to-date that they described as affected by economic uncertainty, but still showed growth in some categories during the month. The report shows total magazine advertising revenue for the month of September closing at $1,662,250,907, a 1.2% decrease from last year. Advertising pages for September were 24,383, down 9.9% from last year. Year-to-date, advertising revenue decreased 2.5%, closing at $11,750,851,706, and ad pages were 174,728, down 9.2% over last year.

September 2001 vs. 2000 Eight of the major advertising categories showed positive dollar growth this September, most notably in Media & Advertising; Drugs & Remedies; Toiletries & Cosmetics; Transportation, Hotels & Resorts; and Direct Response Companies.

Category details

+-------------------+---------+--------+-------+--------+  |                   |    2001 | % $CHG |  2001 |      % |  |                   | (Mil $) |        | PAGES |  PgCHG |
+-------------------+---------+--------+-------+--------+  | Apparel &         |  $190.6 |   2.0% | 3,172 |  -7.0% |  | Accessories       |         |        |       |        |  | Toiletries &      |
$144.6 |  10.7% | 1,798 |   5.3% |  | Cosmetics         |         |        |       |        |  | Automotive        |  $129.0 |   3.1% | 1,518 |   -13% |  | Retail            |  $126.3 |  -0.2% | 2,235
| -10.4% |  | Home Furnishings  |  $125.3 |   3.8% | 1,675 |  -4.5% |  | Media &           |  $121.8 |  13.7% | 1,412 |  -4.0% |  | Advertising       |         |        |       |        |  | Drugs &
Remedies  |  $115.6 |  12.5% | 1,197 |   0.9% |  | Food & Food       |  $113.6 |   3.0% | 1,052 |  -1.2% |  | Products          |         |        |       |        |  | Direct Response   |  $107.6 |
6.5% | 1,863 |  -0.9% |  | Technology        |  $102.8 | -38.3% | 1,510 |  43.0% |  | Financial, Ins &  |  $ 93.6 | -15.9% | 1,193 | -24.3% |  | Real Estate       |         |        |       |        |
| Trans, Hotels &   |  $ 73.7 |   8.0% | 1,546 |   1.7% |  | Resorts           |         |        |       |        |  +-------------------+---------+--------+-------+--------+  

January – September 2001 vs. 2000 Gains were noted in seven out of 12 categories for the year-to-date comparison, most notably in Toiletries & Cosmetics; Drugs & Remedies; Transportation, Hotels & Resorts; Apparel & Accessories; Food & Food Products; and Direct Response Companies.

Category details

  +-------------------+---------+--------+-------+--------+
|                   |    2001 | % $CHG |  2001 |      % |  |                   | (Mil $) |        | PAGES |  PgCHG |  +-------------------+---------+--------+-------+--------+  | Apparel &         |
$190.6 |   2.0% | 3,172 |  -7.0% |  | Accessories       |         |        |       |        |  | Toiletries &      |  $144.6 |  10.7% | 1,798 |   5.3% |  | Cosmetics         |         |        |
|        |  | Automotive        |  $129.0 |   3.1% | 1,518 |   -13% |  | Retail            |  $126.3 |  -0.2% | 2,235 | -10.4% |  | Home Furnishings  |  $125.3 |   3.8% | 1,675 |  -4.5% |  | Media &
|  $121.8 |  13.7% | 1,412 |  -4.0% |  | Advertising       |         |        |       |        |  | Drugs & Remedies  |  $115.6 |  12.5% | 1,197 |   0.9% |  | Food & Food       |  $113.6 |   3.0% |
1,052 |  -1.2% |  | Products          |         |        |       |        |  | Direct Response   |  $107.6 |   6.5% | 1,863 |  -0.9% |  | Technology        |  $102.8 | -38.3% | 1,510 |  43.0% |  |
Financial, Ins &  |  $ 93.6 | -15.9% | 1,193 | -24.3% |  | Real Estate       |         |        |       |        |  | Trans, Hotels &   |  $ 73.7 |   8.0% | 1,546 |   1.7% |  | Resorts           |
|        |       |        |  +-------------------+---------+--------+-------+--------+  

"Our industry – like other media – will be watching the effects of the tragic events of September 11th on advertising for the remainder of the year," said Ellen Oppenheim, Executive Vice President/Chief Marketing Officer, Magazine Publishers of America.

You can read more here.