• Advertising Age, Monday, July 28, 2008 10 AM

Unfortunately for publishers and other media companies, it is getting a lot more common for advertisers to rethink and renege on supposedly done ad buys. Besides the sour economy and more competition, the rising number of innovative deals that can seem strange to a new CMO or agency are triggering the changes.

In a high profile case, Dell and its new agency, Enfatico, are reconsidering expensive back-cover buys with Forbes, BusinessWeek and the Economist, which were supposed to last as long as three years.

"Many years ago, you held clients to a deal come hell or high water," says Vicci Lasdon Rose, Us Weekly publisher. "Today we anticipate a bit more flexibility." Gripes one publishing insider, "I can't think of another business where you cut a deal and you're not held to anything."

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