Facts About Magazines Vitality

In todays times, advertisers face tough media decisions.  Magazines are often dismissed as an older medium that is not vital in today’s times.  But third party research, including multiple advertiser-funded studies, proves otherwise. Ten key indicators of the strength of magazines and why they are a “have to have” medium compared to other media, include:

1. Magazine readership increased over the past five years
2. The number of issues read has gone up as well
3. Subscriptions are the highest in a decade
4. The number of consumer magazines remains high
5. The age of magazine readers consistently trends younger than the total adult population
6. Magazines are the #1 medium of engagement
7. Magazine ad effectiveness continues to rise
8. Magazines excel in driving web search
9. Magazine readers are social networkers and word-of-mouth influencers
10. Magazine brands continue to evolve

1. Magazine Readership Growth

   The number of magazine users has grown over the past five years at a higher rate (+5.7%) than the number of users of all other media except for the internet, according to Mediamark Research & Intelligence (MRI). In fact, the increase in magazine users over the past five years exceeded the growth rate of the total adult population (+4.8%).  TV and Outdoor matched the U.S. adult population growth, but did not exceed it.  Radio grew at a slower pace during this time, while newspapers lost users. And, contrary what some people may believe, the number of young readers (18-34 year olds) has also grown over the past five years, by 2.6%.

2. Number Of issues Read

   Over the past five years the average number of issues read in the past month has trended upwards as well, going from 11.0 issues in 2004 to 11.5 issues in 2008.  This represents an increase of +5.0%.  Additionally, the number of magazines read by adults 18-34 (during the same period) rose from 12.1 to 13.1, or +8.3%.

3. Subscriptions Highest In A Decade

   Magazine subscriptions hit a ten year high in 2008, in part because the percent of new subscriptions coming from the internet climbed to 21% last year.  While newsstand sales have declined during this time, consumers still spend more than $93 million each week at retail on single-copy magazines.

4. Number Of Consumer Magazines

   In the past five years, the number of U.S. consumer magazines grew, averaging more than 6,800 titles annually.  In fact, 2008 marked a high point since the last recession.  While some magazines will fold in this downturn, largely due to declining ad dollars, consumers and advertisers have a broad array of titles to meet their needs.

5. Age Of Magazine Readers

   The median age of magazine readers (43.1) has been consistently younger than the median age of total U.S. adults (43.9) over the past five years.  During this time, the median age of primetime TV viewers (44.8) and newspaper readers (44.7) has been consistently older than the U.S. adult population.

6. Media Engagement

   Magazines continue to score significantly higher than TV or the internet in ad receptivity as well as all other engagement dimensions, including “trustworthy” and “inspirational,” according to data from Simmons’ Multi-Media Engagement Study.

7. Magazine Advertising Effectiveness Continues To Grow

   Magazine ad effectiveness hit an all-time high in 2008.  The two measures of ad effectiveness for magazines—ad recall and actions taken as a result of seeing an ad—have both grown, according to Affinity’s VISTA Print Effectiveness Rating Service.  Ad recall has increased by six percent over the past four years; action-taking increased by 10%.

8. Magazines Excel In Driving Web Search

   Magazines perform better than any of 12 other media at influencing consumers to start a search for merchandise online—far ahead of internet and email advertising, online communities, and word-of-mouth.  What’s more, magazines are the only medium to rank in the top three media for driving web search by gender as well as by all age segments.

9. Magazines Readers Are Influencers

   Heavy magazine readers are far more likely to influence family and friends across a range of product categories than are heavy users of other media.  Magazines are also the medium that best complements the web in reaching the social networkers who build buzz.

10. Magazine Brands Continue To Evolve

    Magazines’ printed versions and digital extensions keep pace with changing consumer habits using new technologies.  New innovations enable printed magazines to get to market quicker and to customize editorial and advertising content to fit subscriber profiles.

    The bottom line, magazines are integral to the media mix

    • Consumers still value magazines in their media mix.
    • Consumers engage with and trust magazine ads more than ads in other media.
    • Magazines excel at generating consumer action in a variety of ways–from purchase intent to search.