• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, August 17, 2003

Nine of 12 Major Magazine Ad Categories Post Dollar Gains Year-to-Date

Total magazine advertising revenue for the month of July increased 7.9% compared to July of last year, closing at $1,168,246,826 according to Publishers Information Bureau (PIB). Ad pages for July totaled 14,696.2, down 0.2% from last year. Year-to-date, advertising revenue closed at $9,757,304,920, an increase of 9.6%, and ad pages were 123,877.5, up 1.6% from last year.

July 2003 vs. July 2002

Seven of the 12 major advertising categories experienced growth in ad revenue over July 2002, while six categories recorded ad page growth. Automotive, Apparel & Accessories, Drugs & Remedies, Home Furnishings & Supplies, Retail and Toiletries & Cosmetics posted both revenue and page gains in July 2003. Financial, Insurance & Real Estate and Public Transportation, Hotels & Resorts recorded the biggest declines in revenues and pages.

	2003 Dollars	% Change	2003 Pages	% Change
AUTOMOTIVE	$181,994,852	21.6%	1,946.1	16.8%
DRUGS & REMEDIES	$128,590,486	11.2%	1,194.8	3.4%
TOILETRIES & COSMETICS	$114,122,779	25.0%	1,164.8	23.8%
FOOD & FOOD PRODUCTS	$98,290,901	-3.1%	782.1	-9.0%
HOME FURNISHINGS & SUPPLIES	$88,319,703	10.8%	949.6	2.5%
DIRECT RESPONSE COMPANIES	$71,429,525	-3.4%	1,289.4	-4.2%
TECHNOLOGY	$65,609,058	-3.0%	861.5	-6.6%
MEDIA & ADVERTISING	$65,404,268	16.2%	650.7	-9.2%
APPAREL & ACCESSORIES	$53,531,395	43.5%	1,020.1	22.0%
FINANCIAL, INSURANCE & REAL ESTATE	$52,163,422	-27.2%	647.3	-28.8%
RETAIL	$41,946,818	25.1%	727.1	35.6%
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION, HOTELS & RESORTS	$37,349,819	-16.4%	697.4	-21.4%

January - July 2003 vs. 2002

Nine of the 12 major advertising categories sustained dollar gains for the year-to-date comparison, while six categories saw growth in ad pages. Ad page and revenue increases were seen in Apparel & Accessories, Automotive, Drugs & Remedies, Home Furnishings & Supplies, Retail and Toiletries & Cosmetics. Direct Response; Financial, Insurance & Real Estate; and Public Transportation, Hotels & Resorts experienced declines in both dollars and pages, year-to-date.

	2003 Dollars	% Change	2003 Pages	% Change
AUTOMOTIVE	$1,196,417,731	25.2%	12,997.7	21.4%
DRUGS & REMEDIES	$1,013,724,279	21.3%	9,401.1	15.1%
TOILETRIES & COSMETICS	$926,215,207	14.2%	9,635.4	8.5%
HOME FURNISHINGS & SUPPLIES	$808,925,971	21.1%	8,845.0	10.8%
FOOD & FOOD PRODUCTS	$786,739,897	1.3%	6,027.6	-4.0%
APPAREL & ACCESSORIES	$638,768,301	15.5%	11,121.0	3.6%
DIRECT RESPONSE COMPANIES	$628,969,709	-1.7%	9,956.6	-6.6%
TECHNOLOGY	$581,081,700	3.3%	7,224.4	-2.7%
MEDIA & ADVERTISING	$572,212,545	5.9%	6,075.6	-2.2%
RETAIL	$456,596,453	8.0%	7,068.9	1.7%
FINANCIAL, INSURANCE & REAL ESTATE	$436,885,216	-10.5%	5,469.9	-13.4%
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION, HOTELS & RESORTS	$401,449,471	-2.2%	7,434.6	-7.9%

"We are pleased that year-to-date, magazine revenue and pages have registered growth," remarked Ellen Oppenheim, Executive Vice President/Chief Marketing Officer, MPA. "Automotive is still our largest and most vital category, with 15 straight months of increased spending in magazines."

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