1st Half Magazine Pages and Ad Revenue Down; Food, Retail and Travel Up According to Publishers Information Bureau (PIB), Magazine Publishers of America reported that total magazine
rate-card-reported advertising revenue for the first half of 2008 closed at $11,554,569,406, down 3.1% compared with the first half of 2007,
Ad pages during the first half totaled 108,924.13,
down 7.4% compared with the first half of 2007.
Total PIB revenue for the second quarter of 2008 closed at $6,297,123,700 - a decline of 4.7% versus the second quarter of 2007. Ad pages
totaled 58,744.77, down 8.2% compared with the second quarter of 2007.
Highlights of the PIB analysis of the first-half results indicate that sustained economic softness has negatively
affected magazine advertising across a range of categories in the first half of 2008, particularly sensitive Auto sector, as well as Toiletries & Cosmetics, Home Furnishings and Supplies, Apparel
& Accessories, Direct Response Companies, and Technology:
Ad
revenue and Pages 1st Half 2008 vs. 2007 |
Class Name | 2008
Dollars | % Chg (From 2007) | 2008
Pages | %Chg (From 2007) |
Drugs & Remedies | $1,157,739,820 | -11.4% | $8,636.68 | -13.2% |
Food & Food Products | 1,154,051,282 | 15.2 | 7,378.96 | 6.9 |
Toiletries & Cosmetics | 1,128,808,862 | -6.4 | 8,232.42 | -11.1 |
Apparel
& Accessories | 921,952,395 | -3.1 | 10,516.75
| -4.1 |
Retail | 894,426,936 | 11.2 | 8,586.83 | 2.3 |
Direct Response Companies | 838,883,398 | -6.1 | 8,238.39 | -10.3 |
Media & Advertising | 821,777,765 | 1.1 | 7,021.50 | 0.8 |
Automotive | 772,955,474 | -17.7
| 6,846.63 | -21.3 |
Public Transportation, Hotels
& Resorts | 630,255,367 | 5.3 | 7,459.90 | 0.5 |
Home Furnishings & Supplies | 628,493,221 | -8.7 | 5,574.06 | -14.1 |
Financial, Insurance & Real Estate | 588,161,903 | 1.8 | 6,008.79 | -5.1 |
Technology | 406,126,131 | -15.0 | 3,959.26 | -17.5 |
Source: Publishers Information Bureau, July 2008 |
Drugs & Remedies
(1H revenue, -11%) advertising across media, subject to intense regulatory scrutiny in the earlier part of the year, saw a drop in PIB revenue and pages as well, particularly in the second quarter of
2008 (2Q revenue, -19%):
Ad Revenue and Pages 2nd Quarter 2008 vs.
2007 |
Class Name | 2008
Dollars | % Chg (From 2007) | 2008
Pages | % Chg (From 2007) |
Toiletries & Cosmetics
| $674,676,560 | -9.4% | $5,039.54 | -12.7% |
Food & Food Products | 579,847,488 | 3.7 | 3,790.57 | -3.0 |
Drugs & Remedies | 577,112,953 | -18.5 | 4,328.12 | -20.5 |
Retail | 478,941,661 | 14.0 | 4,430.60 | 2.8 |
Apparel & Accessories | 466,710,640 | -3.5 | 5,168.48 | -3.4 |
Media & Advertising | 459,822,987 | 1.2 | 3,860.73 | -0.5 |
Direct
Response Companies | 421,970,353 | -4.0 | 4,225.80 | -6.3 |
Automotive | 418,946,427 | -18.3 | 3,772.44
| -21.5 |
Home Furnishings & Supplies | 393,808,144 | -7.1 | 3,427.11 | -13.6 |
Public Transportation, Hotels & Resorts | 349,553,352 | 4.7 | 4,078.92 | 1.4 |
Financial, Insurance & Real Estate | 326,260,002 | 1.9 | 3,351.20 | -4.8 |
Technology | 199,094,018 | -18.4 | 1,970.00 | -19.5 |
Source: Publishers Information Bureau, July 2008 |
Bucking the trend in the first
half, notes the report, were Food & Food Products, Retail, and Public Transportation, Hotels & Resorts:
- Beverages, meats, prepared foods, and confectionery spending bolstered
Food & Food Products (ad revenue up 15% in the first half, pages up 7%).
- Retail (revenue, 11%; pages, 2%) got a boost in spending from discount department and variety
stores, as well as shopping centers, particularly in Q2.
- Public Transportation, Hotels & Resorts (revenue, 5%; pages, 0.5%), which registered a slight decline in pages in Q1,
rebounded in Q2 due in part to increased investment from airlines, hotels and both domestic and international destinations.
Ellen Oppenheim, EVP and CMO, Magazine Publishers of
America, notes that "The magazine ad trend this year is similar to the last two drop-offs - in the early 1990s and earlier part of this decade - when PIB revenue and pages declined, but later
rebounded as the ad market picked up."
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