Tony Jarvis, the influential and highly visible chief research officer of MediaCom US, is out as part of a staff reduction at the agency, MediaDailyNews has learned. Jarvis, a sometimes larger-than-life character on the typically staid media research scene, apparently was the senior-most victim yet of some agency belt-tightening following MediaCom's loss of Procter & Gamble's media planning assignment. Jarvis, who is known for his jocular wit and passion for rigorous research methodology, has been one of the most vocal industry champions for advancing the state of media research, including the development of passive electronic audience measurement systems, such as Arbitron's portable people meter and new outdoor measurement systems being developed by Nielsen and Arbitron that utilize global positioning satellite technology. He has also been a strong advocate of advances in print audience measurement and circulation audit practices. Jon Mandel, chairman of MediaCom, declined to comment on Jarvis' departure, but said the agency is exploring several options following his departure. Recently, MediaCom named Barry Martin to serve as global director of knowledge, but it was not clear whether his duties would also encompass oversight of MediaCom's media research operations.
There was a time when many in the media planning world scoffed at the idea of a magazine directed at men that seemed to vary its cover lines between "Great Abs, Great Sex" and "Great Sex, Great Abs." But a look inside the latest Audit Bureau of Circulation numbers reveals that Men's Health, after 14 years, is thriving--and is, in fact, one of the more vibrant consumer magazines out there. Lost among the endless attention cast on babes and beer books like Maxim and FHM and old guard titles like Esquire and GQ, Men's Health--and to a lesser extent, Men's Fitness--have established a highly successful alternative segment within the men's category. Particularly at the newsstand, these books are winning in a forum normally dominated by eye-catching, hot cover girls. Men's Health's newsstand sales popped by 7 percent in the first half of the year --a significant increase for a book that already had solid numbers, reaching 488,575 copies sold each month through June. Total circulation for the magazine is now at 1,718,319, making it the second largest book in the men's category, behind Maxim's 2.5 million circ (or roughly the same size as In Style and Real Simple). "I loved the newsstand," said Men's Health Vice President and Publisher MaryAnn Bekkedahl. "These guys are faced with so many decisions, and [488,575] of them are laying out $3.99 for us." In a year when the consumer magazine industry slowly recovers ad dollars, many have been laying out big bucks to advertise in Men's Health, as ad pages are up 10 percent on the year through July. "I do believe that we entered this year with a lot of advertisers looking at a flat budget, deciding to go deeper in fewer books, and we won in a lot of cases," Bekkedahl said. Two years ago, Men's Health went through an editorial expansion led by Editor in Chief Dave Zinczenko, during which the magazine shifted from mostly a workout and health book to a more comprehensive lifestyle product. "Our editors have done a consistent job staying relevant to performance-driven guys," said Bekkedahl. "Dave has been able to expand from the core." That expansion included adding a cars column, a Men's Wealth column on finance, and a lot more fashion. "We realized we were not speaking to this guy with the level of style, the merchandising he is used to," Bekkedahl said. "Now we get a lot more image-focused advertising." The brand continues to expand, as spinoff Best Life was launched in May, while Zinczenko peddles a bestselling book, "The Abs Diet." While Men's Health begins to build from a leadership position, Men's Fitness may claim the most eye-popping statistic in the latest ABC figures, as newsstand sales soared 38 percent. Of course, Men's Fitnessis roughly a third the size of Men's Health, yet the growth is significant--given the title's major editorial shift from muscle-head bible to Men's Health-wannabe as it acquired by American Media Inc. back in late 2002. "There is lots of wind in our sales for this brand," said Publisher Alan Stiles, who credits a changing men's marketplace and the wallet of AMI's David Pecker, the brains behind the National Enquirer and Star. The results of the editorial changes are apparent. A look at Men's Fitness in August 2003 reveal page after page of ways to use a dumbbell, and various workout routines, along with tons of ads for diet supplements. The current issue covers sex and relationships, health, reviews of mp3 players and bikes, plus a ton more fashion (though there is still a workout grid in the back of the book). "The ABC numbers signal that it is working," said Stiles. Plus, American Media's newsstand clout has made the title far more available, including increased distribution at airports and a crucial 're-categorization.' "We used to be near Flex," Stiles said. "Now we have no more in common with that book than does Men's Journal." Men's Fitness boasts 66 new clients since January of this year, according to Stiles--including Kenneth Cole, Absolut, and Target. "We used to be 40 percent endemic," he said. Ad pages are up 3 percent for the year, according to PIB. While it is clear that Men's Fitness is emulating Men's Health, they say they are going for a missing demographic in the middle. "We are post-laddie, pre-daddy," Stiles said. "The big difference is that we don't have edit for mature guys. We don't cover fatherhood or [older] health issues." Men's Health's median age is 37, while Men's Fitness's is 34, according to Spring 2004 MRI data. For now, Men's Health does not acknowledge Men's Fitness as a threat. "Every time a competitor [comes after us] we get a chance to be more like ourselves," Bekkedahl said.
The perfect storm of media is coming. Buoyed by the recent economic surge, advertising spending is rising. Many news organizations are attributing their newfound profits to advertising growth. With the combination of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, the close presidential race, and the new 52-week television seasons, advertisers will soon be finding themselves struggling for finite media time. To accommodate the new climate, advertisers and media buyers need to examine each situation and become creative and resourceful with media placement. How are media buyers planning for this maelstrom? Some advertisers purchased commercial time before and during the upfront. NBC will be promoting its new fall programs heavily during the Olympic broadcast, reaping the benefits of the ratings boost. The additional promos for the new programs will decrease available inventory, while increasing prices for the commercials. Following suit, several advertisers have already booked spots for Fox's and NBC's new 52-week seasons, even before the new shows build an audience. Some advertisers are waiting around to pick up the scatter market. Like scavengers, they take advantage of the opportunities left by the early buyers. While selection is limited, several cable networks are counter-programming to the Olympics, such as Lifetime Network's TV movie "Gold," and SoapNet's "Days of Our Lives Marathon," for viewer's that aren't dazzled by the discus. While scatter prices are higher and the spots less efficient, the counter-programming strategy can still build an audience. Necessity is the mother of invention, and increasingly targeted audience segments allow ads to be customized without becoming Orwellian. For example, the Weather Channel plans to offer a service that allows media buyers to tailor ads to each forecast, from airing commercials for rugged trucks in rainy segments to simultaneously showing ads for convertibles in sunshine states. Cable is creating more and more niche advertising opportunities and the ratings of some of its programs are beginning to rival those of the networks. Buyers are also experimenting with entirely different media as an alternative. Marketers of wireless products are on the forefront of this approach as they use databases of user profiles to deliver personalized ads via cell phones. With 1.3 billion wireless phones in the world, this untapped media channel allows tailored, one-to-one marketing. In fact, some ads even reference the time of day or the actual location of the customer. Consumers are gradually opening up to this unorthodox method, but advertisers must tread carefully around privacy concerns. Buyers beware. Without taking innovative approaches, advertisers have little choice but to weather the storm. Network spots simply don't reach as many people as they once did. About 40 years ago, 80 percent of U.S. women could be reached by one commercial aired on the three major networks, but with today's media fragmentation the same commercial would have to run on 100 television channels. Buyers that miss this forecast are sure to get swamped.