Tablet magazine ads get same reader recall as print

GfK MRI Starch Advertising Research says advertising in magazines on tablets have the same degree of impact and recall as the same ads in print. According to a story in Talking New Media, Starch compared reader recall for 28,624 magazine ads in 805 tablet magazines published in 2013 with consumer print recall data. The result was an average of 52% of readers in both recalled ads; over 80% of readers "noted" ads in both. 

Tablet edition readers like the interactivity of tablets and saw advertising as an essential part of the magazine experience (exactly what print readers say.)

“We have found that tablet magazine readers not only are engaged with the editorial and advertising content, but that digital ads have the power to grab attention,” said Mickey Galin, EVP, GfK Starch Advertising Research. “This speaks to what is most likely unrecognized value in digital magazine advertising, and the ability of tablet ads to raise the effectiveness of print/digital campaigns. We see that both static and interactive tablet ads are able to capture readers’ attention and earn strong ‘Noted’ scores.”

U.S. B2B magazines were up 1.2% in Q1 ad spending

U.S. business to business magazines saw a 1.2% increase in measured ad spending in the first quarter of 2014 (Jan - March), according to data compiled by Kantar Media and reported by Folio:. During the same period, magazine media over all fell 1.6%: consumer magazines fell 2%; Spanish language titles were up by 15.8%; local magazines rose 4.4%; and Sunday magazines declined 5.6%.

U.S. mags see 4% decline in ad pages in Q1

The total number of magazine advertising pages tallied in the U.S. market declined by 4% in the first quarter of 2013, from 29,745 down to 28,567. The Publishers Information Bureau, which counts ad pages in 181 titles found that 60% of them declined in the quarter, year-over-year. MediaDailyNews reported that two categories -- tech and retail -- were responsible for 63% of the overall page losses. (Many magazine publishers reported strong results in digital advertising on tablets.)

Women’s domestic and homemaking titles took some of the biggest hits, with Martha Stewart Living down 34.8% to 109 ad pages; Country Living down 29.2% to 63; Family Circle down 28.2% to 160; Better Homes and Gardens down 23.4% to 191; Ladies’ Home Journal down 22% to 87; and Good Housekeeping down 18.1% to 212.

The list of big titles that experienced significant declines also included Rolling Stone, down 27.1% to 139; Maxim, down 25.3% to 40 ad pages; Men’s Fitness, down 24.4% to 144; People Style Watch, down 22.3% to 193; Lucky, down 19.9% to 141; Motor Trend, down 19% to 132; Entertainment Weekly, down 16.7% to 214; and Food Network Magazine, down 15.7% to 138.

US magazine ad spending share projected to stay steady through 2017

Digital is projected to gain the most advertising market share in the U.S.over the next four years, according to information published by eMarketer. Magazine ad spending stays essentially flat at $15.1 billion, as do newspapers, outdoor and TV though it must be noted that the magazine data is for print only and doesn't include any incremental digital revenues for the publications.

Housing uptick in U.S. results in 9% monthly increase in ads in shelter magazines

A report from the Marketplace Economy blog on American Public Media says that the strengthening housing market has had a knock-on impact on shelter magazines in the U.S. (Presumably, that effect will also be seen in Canada.)

Kate Kelly Smith works with Hearst Design Group which publishes House Beautiful. She says the strong housing market means interior design magazines are selling more ads. Advertising Age says this month's issues have sold almost 9 percent more than last year.

"We'll we're a direct reflection of the market, so when there's an uptick in the marketplace, we can feel it across each and every part of our business," Kelly Smith says.

Consumers and marketers prefer reading ads in favourite mag over ads online

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Consumers prefer favourite print magazines to favourite online sites as a place to look at ads, a study of consumer and marketers' attitudes to online advertising reports.  45% of consumers prefer their favourite magazine and 23% the favourite TV show. Among marketers, the trend to magazines is more pronounced with 55% saying they preferred to look at ads in their favourite magazine.

However, only 26 per cent of respondents pay full attention to ads in magazines and newspapers and only 7% to online ads. 

(The study on behalf of Adobe Corp. was conducted by research firm Edelman Berland and involved 1,250 adults,18 years or older; including 1,000 general population and 250 Marketing Decision Makers, each in the U.S.)