• by John Gaffney , October 9, 2002

September was one of the most solid months of the year for magazine advertising. According to Publishers Information Bureau (PIB), total magazine advertising revenue for the month of September increased 9.2% compared to September 2001, closing at $1.8 billion. Year-to-date, advertising revenue closed at $11,702,119,564, an increase of 1.5%, and ad pages were 159,635.8, down 6.6% from last year.

Ten out of 12 ad categories gained for the month. Automotive, kicking off the new model year, led the way with a 13% jump. Pharmaceuticals also chipped in with 14% growth. Media and Advertising and Apparel also saw double digit growth. Transportation, hotel sand resorts led the decreasing categories. Retail was down 5% and the category dropped 3%.

High profile ad page winners for the month: American Baby (26%), Cooking Light (58%), ESPN (81%), Fitness (45%), Men’s Fitness (59%), Men’s Health (49 %) Real Simple (39%) and Rosie (43%). Losers: People En Espanol (-32%), Red Herring (-47%) and Spin (-24%).