Magazines Rejoice: Auto Ads Are Back
Magazine ad pages were up by 3.6% in the third quarter compared to a year ago. Mostly because car companies are buying ads again! That's good news. Fashion mags: doing well! Travel: not so well. And Maxim! Very bad.
Automotive ad pages and revenue both shot up by more than 40%. The struggles of the auto industry were hammering magazines (and newspapers) that were heavy on auto ads (which is most large consumer publications), so any indication that auto ads are back is cause for celebration in publishing. Big winners among magazines included:
Elle Decor: +56%
People StyleWatch: +54%
Black Enterprise: +45%
Automobile Magazine: +42%
All You: +33%
Among the big losers:
Country Living: -30%
Maxim: -24%
In Touch: -23%
Newsweek: -19%
Some magazines managed to raise their ad pages, but by slashing prices, so that their revenue was flat or even down. But the long-term trends are positive—at least compared to last year. Better luck next quarter, to the losers!
