Research Center >> February 2008

Magazine Ad Pages Dipped Slightly in 2007
Financial services on the rebound. Tech still lagging the field.
adapted from Publisher Information Bureau data

Total magazine rate-card-reported advertising revenue for consumer magazines grew 6.1 percent in 2007 when compared to 2006, according to year-end Publishers Information Bureau (PIB) figures released earlier this month. But total ad pages, considered by many a more accurate barometer, declined by roughly half of one percent (-0.6%) over the same period.

Eight of the 12 major advertising categories — comprising more than 85 percent of the $25.5 billion of total magazine ad spending — showed page increases. Drug companies spent the most on advertising in magazines, according to PIB.

“In the face of a weakened economy, lowered consumer confidence and tighter ad budgets, magazine spending held steady in 2007, and even posted a stronger finish in the fourth quarter,” Magazine Publishers of America executive vice president and chief marketing officer Ellen Oppenheim said in a statement accompanying the PIB release.

Ad spending from the Financial Services category, which includes insurance and real estate, was the third fastest growing category in 2007 (up 3.8%), despite the woes faced by mortgage lenders in the second half of the year. Ad spending from the Technology category, once again trailed the field, down by more than 14 percent in 2007.

Source: Publishers Information Bureau