2011 Overall Magazine Advertising Revenue Flat

January 10, 2012

2011 OVERALL MAGAZINE ADVERTISING REVENUE FLAT

Apparel, Cosmetics and Finance/Insurance Marketers Increased Advertising Spending in 2011

New York, NY (January 9, 2012) – The consumer magazine industry generated $20,086,199,882 in full-year 2011 print advertising revenue, a slight $8 million increase compared to 2010’s advertising revenue of $20,078,096,149, according to the Publishers Information Bureau (PIB).  Pages dipped 3.1% from 169,552 in 2010 to 164,225 in 2011. 

“The magazine industry posted positive 2011 Q1 and Q2 advertising performances in pages and revenue, but a weakened economy in the second half of the year offset those gains as advertisers grew more skittish from diminished consumer spending, wild stock market swings and zero job growth,” said Nina Link, President and CEO, MPA – The Association of Magazine Media. "There were pockets of strength in some categories for full-year 2011.  Advertisers in the apparel, cosmetics and financial sectors increased their magazine marketing spend last year.  Magazines were negatively impacted by the food sector in 2011 as rising energy and production costs in the food industry resulted in a decreased overall advertising spend. Similarly, magazines were also affected by a decline in overall advertising spending in home furnishing and supplies, a result of the soft housing market.”

January-December 2011 vs. 2010
PIB advertising revenue and pages grew in three major advertising categories in full year 2011. Financial, Insurance & Real Estate posted the strongest gains for the year, logging double-digit increases in both PIB revenue (+19.4%) and ad pages (+12.7%). The category was bolstered by banks, investment firms, credit card companies, insurance providers and even a handful of realtors, despite continuing softness in the real estate market.  Another growth category for magazines, Toiletries & Cosmetics, showing a +9.5% gain in print ad revenue and +3.8% boost in ad pages in 2011. The most significant contributors to the category were ads for makeup, perfumes and hair styling products. The Apparel & Accessories category experienced a +9.7 surge in revenue and +5.5% rise in pages partly due to ads for jewelry, watches  and footwear. The category recorded a notable influx of ad dollars from luxury brands.

PIB REPORTED DOLLARS AND PAGES, JANUARY THROUGH DECEMBER, 2011 
(Click Here for Magazine Totals)

Fourth Quarter 2011 vs. 2010
In the fourth quarter of 2011, print advertising revenues for consumer magazines declined from $6,019,502,091 to $5,726,202,089, a change of -4.9% versus the same three-month period in 2010, while pages decreased -8.0%, from 50,578.01 to 46,508.17. Four categories showed a boost in advertising spending: Financial, Insurance & Real Estate (+18.0%); Apparel & Accessories (+5.5%); Toiletries & Cosmetics (+3.9%); and Media & Advertising (+0.8%). The Finance category, which also showed a +6.4% gain in ad paging, saw significant investment from financial services institutions and car, life and medical insurers.

PIB-REPORTED DOLLARS AND PAGES, OCTOBER THROUGH DECEMBER, 2011
 (Click Here for Magazine Totals)

Publishers Information Bureau (PIB), founded in 1947, is the premier source of consumer magazine advertising spending and related data. Kantar Media, the leading provider of strategic advertising and marketing information, collects and monitors this data and supplies it to PIB.  PIB is a membership organization, administered by MPA  – The Association of Magazine Media, consisting of approximately 235 different magazine titles and newspaper-distributed magazines.