Consumer Magazines: treading water?
The recent ABC consumer magazine release for January to June 2010 generated a mixed response.
On one hand, media owners were as keen as ever to cherry pick the positives and highlight the successes, while agencies have been more willing to give a candid view on what was a less than inspiring set of results.
MEC’s press director Rob Lynam tells the real facts; out of the top 100 actively purchased titles, 70 have lost circulation versus July to December 2009.
Andy Pearch, co-founder of MediaSense, says that while there were some good individual performances “the overall impression is of a category treading water, with fewer new entrants and a number of household names in freefall.”
The quality end of the market seems to have fared better, with Women’s Monthly and Home Interest titles putting in a good performance. However, Teen, Music and Men’s Lifestyle sectors have struggled, possibly as a result of readers favouring digital formats.
Pearch also notes the volatility within the Women’s Weekly market – “A lot of this is down to the increased prevalence of multipacks, which are distorting circulations and are becoming an irritant for media buyers,” he said. Northern & Shell was a prime example of this.
The freebie market saw more positive results, which is perhaps to be expected in a post-recession market. Shortlist and Sport continue to dominate the Men’s Lifestyle sector; while Stylist is well on the way to becoming a key player in the Women’s Weekly sector.
The PPA’s view is that the results give an “indication of an improving outlook for the UK consumer magazine sector,” and pointed to the 0.3% increase on the first half of 2009.
“This is an encouraging set of results that reaffirms the popularity of magazines among consumers. Through continued innovation, magazines’ have shown their ability to really engage readers and provide a powerful platform for advertisers,” Barry McIlheney, chief executive of the PPA, said.
This article was originally written by Liz Jaques from Mediatel on 13/8/2010.
To view the article on Mediatel click here.