Martha Stewart's Still Living, But Rivals Smell Blood In The Water

Martha Stewart Living, once one of the most attractive media buys in the home category, has become a no-fly zone for media buyers hoping to avoid associating with the felonious lifestyle diva. For the time being, advertisers appear either to be sitting things out or allocating spending elsewhere.

"I think it's a combination of both," said Michael Neiss, executive vice president, managing media director at Lowe Worldwide. "Some have taken dollars off the table and [are] holding them back, and some are re-expressing them."

Ad pages in flagship Martha Stewart Living were down 35 percent in the first quarter, following a rate base drop from 2.3 million to 1.8 million in January.

Then on Tuesday, the company unveiled more bad news, announcing that the long-running "Martha Stewart Living" companion syndicated TV series would go on hiatus for the 2004-04 TV season. Ordinarily, the term "hiatus" is tantamount to a series cancellation, but the company held out hope that the show, which is distributed by Viacom's King World Productions unit, would resume production in the future.

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Because Martha Stewart Living is part of what has been a crowded category (although, according to PIB, 'home furnishings' posted the biggest decline in ad pages among the top categories in April at 7.8 percent), the timing of Stewart's conviction is problematic.

"I think right now, this couldn't come at a worse time, as many people are firming up plans for [the] third and fourth quarter," Lowe's Neiss said. "The magazine right now is going through a metamorphosis. There is just no incentive to go in right now. There are other places to reach this audience."

Readers will ultimately speak the loudest. "I think advertisers are waiting for the audience's reaction," said Robin Steinberg, head of MediaVest Group's print ad-buying unit. "Then we'll see if they come back."

As Martha Stewart Living struggles to hold onto its ad dollars, other books in the home category, such as Real Simple, appear to be in a position to benefit from the diva's demise. However, they say that their recent hot streak is unrelated.

"For us, our success has no link to Martha's troubles," said Kris Connell, Real Simple's public relations director. "We have never had a situation where someone came to us and said that 'We are leaving one book for you.'"

Real Simple is planning to expand, though. Connell said that a Real Simple book is planned for this October, followed by a TV show in 2005 titled "Real Simple: Organized Home."

Oprah Winfrey's hugely successful O Magazine is jumping into the category with a new title, O at Home. They say that this book had been planned for two years, ever since the magazine ran a very successful home-themed issue in 2002. Representatives at O also downplayed any business growth directed from Stewart.

As for what is next for Martha Stewart Living , print buyers were divided over whether the readership cares as much about Stewart's troubles as Madison Avenue does. Officials at the magazine recently announced that the cover of the magazine itself will be redesigned to de-emphasize Stewart's role.

Brett Stewart, senior vice president-director of the strategic print unit at Universal McCann, believes that Madison Avenue is making too much of the scandal. "Middle America loves this magazine," he said. Stewart said that his group's research has determined that the magazine's reputation has become bigger than its namesake. "The magazine brand has surpassed the personality," he said.

MediaVest's Steinberg isn't sure. "It's very much an unknown," she said. "I believe that throughout the country, clients are being conservative. It's not just a New York, Madison Avenue issue.....Salespeople may have their work cut out for them."

Steinberg also brought up Rosie O'Donnell as an example of the danger inherent in celebrity-endorsed magazines. Yet there has already been much speculation over whether an alternative domesticity expert may emerge to claim some of Stewart's ground.

Katie Brown, host of A&E's "All Year Round with Katie Brown," has been mentioned as a possible contender, and her publicist confirmed that the host has "had conversations with several publishers" about launching a magazine. Any such plans are currently on hold, as Brown has recently given birth to a child.

Chris Casson Madden, host of "Interiors by Design" on Home and Garden, is also considered a possible heir to the Stewart throne; however, Mark O'Connor, director of public relations at HGTV, said that none of HGTV's properties are planning a magazine.

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