Magazine advertising stumbles in 2011; Newsweek slides under Tina Brown

The consumer magazine industry generated more than $20 billion in estimated print advertising revenue in 2011, according to a year-end report released by the Publishers Information Bureau--virtually the same amount of ad cash that magazines produced in 2010. But ad pages--the more important figure, given the discounts magazine publishers often offer marketers--slid 3.1 percent last year, a disappointing result, considering they were actually up during the first half of the year.

The MPA, which oversees PIB, blamed the downturn on a weakened economy in the second half of the year, as advertisers "grew more skittish from diminished consumer spending, wild stock market swings and zero job growth."

Among the magazines that were able to buck that trend: Departures, which grew ad pages 43.3 percent in 2011; People Style Watch, which saw ad pages jump 38.6 percent; and Reader's Digest "Large Edition," which sold 60.7 percent ad pages than it did in 2010. Several Spanish-language magazines did well, too: Siempre Mujer (up 31.5 percent), People en Espanol (31.5 percent) and Ser Padres (12.9 percent) turned in double-digit gains.

Among the poorest-performing magazines last year: Bassmaster (down 45 percent); Every Day With Rachael Ray and Martha Stewart's Everyday Food (both down 21.2 percent); and the Sporting News (-22.6 percent).

Ad pages for Tina Brown's redesigned Newsweek fell 16.8 percent in 2011, a dismal year following an even worse 2010, when ad pages plummeted nearly 20 percent.

The top 25 percentage ad-page gains in 2011:

1. Reader's Digest Large Edition 288.75 | 60.7%
2. Departures 761.42 | 43.3%
3. People Style Watch 1,303.12 | 38.6%
4. Siempre Mujer 317.30 | 31.5%
5. People En Espanol 952.19 | 31.5%
6. AARP The Magazine 271.54 | 29.5%
7. Power & Motoryatch 1,082.31 | 24.9%
8. Bloomberg BusinessWeek 1,536.71 | 19.0%
9. Smithsonian 431.24 | 18.9%
10. Autoweek 1,005.48 | 18.6%
11. Ducks Unlimited 222.66 | 17.8%
12. Veranda 550.22 | 17.2%
13. Reader's Digest 816.62 | 16.9%
14. Harvard Business Review 436.04 | 16.5%
15. Outside 840.89 | 14.5%
16. Esquire 942.59 | 13.5%
17. Playboy 437.86 | 13.4%
18. Latina 677.46 | 13.2%
19. Ser Padres 220.40 | 12.9%
20. National Geographic Kids 84.00 | 11.5%
21. Food Network Magazine 888.00 | 11.5%
22. Texas Monthly 1,813.15 | 11.1%
23. Kiplinger's Personal Finance 338.41 | 10.6%
24. Salt Water Sportsman 387.22 | 10.3%
25. Spectrum 328.40 | 10.1%

The bottom 25:

1. Bassmaster 191.80 | -45.0%
2. ReadyMade* 90.93 | -42.9%
3. Celebrated Living 122.55 | -30.0%
4. Renovation Style 77.54 | -28.8%
5. US Airways Mag 483.79 | -28.2%
6. Sporting News 320.32 | -22.6%
7. Everyday Food 2326.73 | -21.2%
8. Every Day With Rachael Ray 585.38 | -21.2%
9. First For Women 462.59 | -20.8%
10. Parenting School Years 680.66 | -20.3%
11. Scholastic Parent & Child 513.49 | -19.6%
12. Twist 148.77 | -18.6%
13. American Way 1,116.41 | -18.3%
14. Health 789.80 | -18.1%
15. Family Fun 547.60 | -18.0%
16. Flex 2,050.75 | -17.9%
17. Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel 321.11 | -17.8%
18. Time Out New York 1,701.79 | -17.5%
19. SmartMoney 338.18 | -17.4%
20. Better Homes & Gardens 1,438.76 | -17.2%
21. Nexos 177.58 | -17.0%
22. Newsweek 745.43 | -16.8%
23. Parenting Early Years 801.06 | -16.7%
24. Maxim 504.25 | -15.9%
25. Family Circle 1,435.25 | -15.2%

(Ad pages | +/-)
* Ceased publication
SOURCE: Publishers Information Bureau

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