• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, April 19, 2007

Fitness, Diet Aids and Spas Boost Drug Ad Spending

According to figures recently released by the Publishers Information Bureau, total magazine rate-card-reported ad revenue for the first quarter rose 6.9% compared with the same period last year, closing at $5.3 billion. Ad pages were up 1% for the quarter. Total PIB revenue for the month of March 2007 increased 8.8% compared to last year, closing at $2,282,204,898.  Ad pages totaled 22,388.48, up 2% from March 2006. 

Ten of the 12 ad categories tracked by PIB posted ad revenue gains, including drugs & remedies, retail, and food and food products. Ad categories that posted revenue declines included home furnishings and supplies, and financial, insurance and real estate.

Considering business books in the first quarter:

• Ad revenue for BusinessWeek was up 2.2%, while ad pages fell 3%
• Forbes' ad revenue was up 2.2%, while ad pages were down 8.9%
• Ad revenue for Fortune fell 5.4%, and ad pages declined 13%
• The Economist's ad revenue rose 29%, while ad pages were up 14% 

From January through March of 2007, half of the major advertising categories posted both PIB revenue and page gains, including Drugs & Remedies; Food & Food Products; Direct Response; Retail; Media & Advertising; and Public Transportation, Hotels & Resorts. Three categories posted double-digit dollar increases: Drugs & Remedies (20.4%); Retail (19.5%); and Food & Food Products (11.7%).

Ad Revenue and Pages for 1st Quarter, 2007 (% change from 2006 as of April 9, 2007)
Class	2007 Dollars	%Chg	2007 Pages	%Chg
Drugs & Remedies	596,179,028	20.4	4,445.39	13.7
Apparel & Accessories	464,891,813	7.9	5,577.08	-1.2
Toiletries & Cosmetics	457,605,721	6.5	3,412.56	-1.1
Food & Food Products	449,565,962	11.7	3,002.08	7.3
Direct Response Companies	449,050,993	7.1	4,560.95	3.6
Automotive	425,206,468	0.4	3,882.52	-3.7
Retail	382,474,668	19.5	4,035.22	9.2
Media & Advertising	353,811,062	8.8	2,992.62	2.5
Home Furnishings & Supplies	262,823,003	-14.0	2,483.12	-15.5
Public Transportation, Hotels & Resorts	260,774,715	6.0	3,307.57	2.5
Financial, Insurance & Real Estate	256,162,052	-10.2	2,784.57	-10.8
Technology	233,533,543	0.7	2,335.78	-6.8
Source: Publishers Information Bureau (PIB), April2007

Ellen Oppenheim, Executive Vice President/Chief Marketing Officer, Magazine Publishers of America. said "While medicines and proprietary remedies account for most of the spending in Drugs in Q1, it's interesting to note that fitness and diet aids, and spas, boasted the biggest boost in spending within that category. Advertising for health-oriented food products, as well as ads for condiments, seasonings, ingredients and beverages aided the page growth in Food. In addition, a range of companies targeting both high-end and mass market shoppers contributed to overall Retail category gains."

 "Finance and Home experienced the most softness during the first quarter. And Automotive, while down in pages, experienced some positive shifts within the category, with dealerships overall and some manufacturers and suppliers spending more," remarked Ms. Oppenheim.

 Six of 12 major advertising categories posted PIB revenue and page increases in March 2007. Double-digit dollar growth was recorded by five categories: Apparel & Accessories (11.9%); Retail (21.1%); Drugs & Remedies (28.7%); Food & Food Products (30.8%); and Public Transportation, Hotels & Resorts (10.2%). On the pages side, double-digit gains were seen in Retail (10.4%); Drugs & Remedies (18.6%); and Food & Food Products (19.7%).

Ad Revenue and Pages for March, 2007 (% change from 2006 as of April 9, 2007)
Class	2007 Dollars	%Chg	2007 Pages	%Chg
Apparel & Accessories	254,132,705	.9	2,725.44	0.2
Retail	240,322,967	21.1	2,412.63	10.4
Drugs & Remedies	223,412,917	28.7	1,682.81	18.4
Toiletries & Cosmetics	205,401,202	3.6	1,559.45	-2.3
Food & Food Products	188,552,464	30.8	1,267.44	19.7
Direct Response Companies	171,987,500	7.5	1,761.76	2.1
Automotive	153,292,173	-11.0	1,472.56	-13.8
Public Transportation, Hotels & Resorts	129,726,134	10.2	1,586.85	7.5
Media & Advertising	124,388,857	4.2	1,071.29	-4.8
Home Furnishings & Supplies	114,048,097	-14.1	1,097.22	-15.1
Financial, Insurance & Real Estate	100,952,222	-8.9	1,094.07	-8.6
Technology	85,866,108	-6.1	880.10	-6.6
Source: Publishers Information Bureau (PIB), April2007

More information is available here.