• by Adam Bernard , April 10, 2001

The Publishers Information Bureau has released its first quarter numbers, and for the most part, the news is good. According to the release, total magazine advertising revenue was up from last year's first quarter in eight of the 12 major advertising categories (the 12 categories used comprise more than 85% of total advertising spending).

Linda Rosenbaum, Vice President of Public Relations of the MPA, which the PIB is an affiliate of, said, "Experienced advertisers understand the importance of maintaining a strong and consistent advertising presence, even during tough economic times. With eight of 12 PIB categories showing positive dollar growth year-to-date, magazines are clearly holding their own."

Holding may, in fact, be an appropriate word, as the rise in 8 of 12 categories didn't result in much of an overall rise, with revenue up only .9%, and ad pages down 6.8%. The month of March remained flat from last year, with no gain, or fall, in revenues, despite an 8.1% drop in ad pages from a year ago.

The eight first quarter gainers were technology, direct response companies, drug and remedies, food and food products, apparel and accessories, toiletries and cosmetics, home furnishings and supplies, and transportation, hotels and resorts. Apparel and accessories was the biggest gainer, showing a dollar growth of 20.5%.

The four categories that showed losses were automotive, retail, financial, insurance and real estate, and media and advertising. Retail suffered the biggest loss, sinking 21.9%.

- Adam Bernard may be reached at Adambernard@mediapost.com