The Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC) has released its semiannual FAS-FAX report on U.S. consumer magazines, covering July to December 2011.
The champion among subscriptions: AARP [American Association of Retired People], The Magazine, with 22.4 million subscribers, closely followed by AARP: The Bulletin, with 22.2 million. But, these publications are benefits of AARP membership, with its 50+ demographic. Only two other titles in the list are membership-based, being AAA Living and American Legion Magazine.
Excluding those, Better Homes and Gardens tops the list, with 22.2 million subscribers—down just a hair from 2010. BHG (a Meredith title) claims a monthly readership of 38.33 million readers, 30.28 million of whom are women.
There is likely very little crossover in demographics between BHG and #4 on the list—Game Informer, covering the interactive gaming market. Publisher Sunrise Publications offers no insight into its demographics (which presumably reflects those of gamers, being largely male and under 30).
10% downtick at newsstands
Still, single-copy sales were down 9.96% during the period, which Media Life called the “steepest slide in the last four reporting periods.” Single-copy sales across 408 consumer titles dropped from 32,118,948 in the latter half of 2011 to 28,919,153. They were down 9.15% during the first half of 2011, and down down 7.27% latter 2010.
Ad pages were down in 2011 as well, and consumers likely cut back on impulse buys, particularly of celebrity titles like OK!. Newsstand sales of OK! plummeted 27.5%. Women’s titles suffered as well, with Oprah Winfrey’s O down 32%.
Still, publishers are pushing valiantly into the digital space—a good move: According researchers GfK MRI, almost three-quarters (71%) of tablet owners say they are interested in reading magazines on their devices. Publishers are not surrendering on the newsstands, either. Yesterday marked the launch of a revamped Ladies’ Home Journal, (12th among paid subscriberships in latter 2011, absent from the top 25 in newsstand sales). In addition to a new look and logo, the new content creation model invites readers for a stipend to submit personal growth stories—ostensibly for a more engaged readership.
Election Year Ad Buys: Who’s Tuning In, and Where?
Media buyers and planners hoping to take advantage of Campaign 2012, take note: cable news leads the pack among sources, with local TV in second place, but on the decline. A surprising second-to-last, the Internet. The Pew Research Center for the People & the Press’ 2012 campaign news survey discovered the trends in a January survey of 1,507 adults nationwide.
Pew reports that fewer Americans are closely following the campaign than four years ago, which has caused long-term and sharpening declines in the number of people tuning into local TV and network news.
Cable tops the sources in 2012, at 36%, but is only treading water. That despite the fact that cable nets have hosted most of the Republican debates, which are among a campaign year’s strongest draws. Almost half of Republicans (47%) watched a Republican debate during this campaign, up from 32% during the 2008 campaign.Still, cable news “reaches a substantial number across age and partisan lines,” reports Pew. Republicans tune into Fox News, Democrats into CNN and MSNBC.
Only 20% of Americans “regularly learn something” about the campaign or its candidates from local daily papers, a plummet from 31% in 2008. Local TV is down as well.
It is easy to blame it all on the Internet, but not so fast: the Internet as a source has gained only 1% since the 2008 campaign. The Internet had jumped from 13 to 24%, from campaign 2004 (Bush/Kerry) to campaign 2008 (McCain/Obama). Pew speculates that the Internet is the key source for a younger demographic, who are less likely to be Republican. Just 20% of those younger than 30 followed the campaign closely, down from 31% in 2008.
Upfront TV: “Face Off” Again | BET’s Ambitious Plans | Oscar Spots Sold Out | News Nets Give Fs
- Syfy has renewed Face Off for a 10-episode third season, reports Multichannel News. The competition/elimination show pits special makeup artists against one another, with top Hollywood talent (e.g., Tom Savini of numerous Living Dead movies) as judges. Face Off airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m., and scored 2.5 million viewers for its January 11 Season 2 premiere.
- Black Entertainment Television (BET) has revealed what the LA Times calls an “ambitious development slate.” Among the offerings, a new sitcom from the Wayans family; “Gun Hill,” the channel’s first scripted drama; and projects involving minister T.D. Jakes, comedian-author Steve Harvey,actor Jamie Foxx and TV judge Greg Mathis.are behind various reality projects, including one series that will revamp "Showtime at the Apollo". BET also operates the BET Vertical AdNetwork, targeting the $821 billion buying power of African-Americans.
- Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Bob Iger announced that ABC has sold out commercial time for this year’s 84th Annual Academy Awards broadcast on February 26. As the LA Times reports, Iger told analysts in an earnings conference call that this is unusually early to have offloaded all inventory, even with a few more spots for the 2012 broadcast than in 2011. ABC took an average $1.7 million per 30-second spot.
- News directors don’t think much of one another’s product revealed a survey by TVNewsCheck. news directors at stations across the U.S. were asked to grade networks on their overall journalistic quality. None received As, though NBC news scored highest, and Fox News Channel (FNC), lowest. Fox News scored highest in conservative bias, and MSNBC on liberal bias. The GPAs listed refer to the “grade point average” scale of 1-4. These figures are way out of whack with public sentiment: FNC just celebrated a decade run as the most watched cable news network, with MSNBC in the #2 slot.
Conde Nast Awards “Architectural Digest” for “Best Business Turnaround,” Ad Gains
Condé Nast held its annual publishers meeting last week, and in its in-house awards ceremony, recognized Architectural Digest for “Best Business Turnaround.” As WWD reports, the Digest wrapped up 2011 with a 9.1% boost in ad pages—the highest jump among the Condé Nast canon, which includes Vogue, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair and Wired.
Architectural Digest got off to a slow start, but between Q2 2011 and Q1 2012, has seen ad-page increases of 6, 5, 18 and 22% in those quarters. Publisher Giulio Capua claims that the April issue will have a 38% increase year-over-year. AD is among a vanguard of lifestyle and luxury titles that saw gains in 2011. Among other winners, Departures at a 43.3% jump and Power & Motoryacht at 24.9%.
AD appointed a new editor-in-chief in August of 2010, in an effort to revamp the book after a miserable 2009; when it saw what WWD calls a “jaw-dropping 49% fall in ad pages.” New editor Margaret Russell had overseen Elle Décor for 20 years has not remade the book: rather she has focused upon the quality of photography and writing, and has led the book in creating a stronger digital presence.
At present, AD lists its total circulation at 823,280, with a median household income of $97,123 and a 55/45 male/female readership. The website metrics are 5,319,132 average page views per month with 333,906 unique visitors spending an impressive average of 8.04 minutes on the site.
Upfront TV: “Sons of Anarchy” Renewed | NBC Dooms “The Firm” | 20/20 Dominates 18-49
- Before Season 5 even airs, FX has renewed its biker drama “Sons of Anarchy” for a sixth season, reports TVByTheNumbers, and creator Kurt Sutter has been signed to a new three-year deal. “Sons of Anarchy” is expected to return in October of this year. The Season 4 premiere, which aired September 6 of 2011, was the most-watched program in FX history, with 6.5 million viewers.
- NBC has “effectively cancelled” the lawyer-in-trouble drama “The Firm,” reports Broadcasting & Cable. NBC has moved the series to the Saturdays 9 p.m. slot to “burn off” its remaining original episodes. “The Firm” was on Thursdays at 10 p.m. (a slot held for more than a decade by “E.R.”). NBC will premiere its new drama “Awake” beginning March 1, with repeats of “Grimm” running in the slot until then. “The Firm” drew a meager 0.8 rating with adults 18-49 in last Thursday’s airing.
- ABC finished #1 on Friday among adults 18-49; the network crowed in a press release that “it was the Net’s 4th straight Friday to deliver the #1 position against its network rivals.” ABC’s 20/20 took the night’s #1 position among that key young-adult demographic. Perhaps it was the subject matter: 20/20 featured an in-depth look at marriage and divorce, Hollywood style.
- More signs of struggle at the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN); “The Rosie Show” shed more staffers last week, to a total of 30 employees and contractors, and has moved taping to a smaller studio. As Crain’s Chicago Business describes, host O’Donnell is trying to “find the right formula to boost ratings,” which now average only 200,000 viewers, as opposed to its premier at 500,000. The show has done away with some fun-based elements like a game show segment, in favor of one-on-one interviews.
comScore Data: Newspaper Websites Gaining, Holding Interest
Newspaper websites in Q4 2011 averaged more than 111 million monthly unique visitors (MUVs), up by more than 6 million compared to the same period in 2010, reports the Newspaper Association of America (NAA), citing comScore data. Fully 63% of adult Internet users visited newspaper websites.
A comarison of newspaper website usage data year-over-year (YOY) revealed that average daily visitors increased by more than 3 million, or nearly 15%. Unique visitors increased nearly 6%, while total minutes increased 14%.
The comScore data demonstrate “The growing appeal of newspapers’ online content,” said NAA President and CEO Carolline Little, “particularly for engaged, informed and affluent users whom advertisers…seek to reach.” As Little described, 70% of Internet users with household income (HHI) above $60,000 are reached by newspaper websites, and 75% when looking at HHI above $100,000.
Other key findings about Q4 2011: Among people 45 to 54, newspaper website percentage reach climed to 67%. In the 18 to 34 demographic, website reach remained at or above 60%.
Newspapers are answering these numbers with a steady stream of what NAA calls “innovative strategies designed to maintain and build their digital audiences.” For example, the Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J. launched animated editorials, and the New York Times launched a fashion-focused niche app.
“During all of 2011, the percentage reach of Internet users enjoyed by newspaper websites never dipped below 61 percent,” Little said. “Web-based and other digital platforms at newspaper are capturing—and holding—attention in the marketplace.”
Signs of hope
Editor & Publisher described 2011 as “the lowest point yet” for newspaper ad revenue," with 2011 revenues of $24 billion, down from the record high $49.4 billion in 2005. E&P observed that, however important a digital strategy appears to be, it has yet to fulfill its potential in newspaper revenue. “Sure, digital advertising climbed 8.3%, but digital still contributes only 14.3% to overall publisher revenue. But the newspaper industry is clearly aware of the trend, and 2012 will likely see the digital contribution approaching 17%. E&P opined that newspaper must compete on content, and the papers are treating apps, animation and streaming video as exactly that—content—if not the content they are used to providing.
Millennials Trust Digital Word-of-Mouth Over Advertising
Perhaps Facebook’s estimation of its buying influence is not exaggerated after all. eMarketer reports that “Millennials,” who are now aged 18 to 34, widely use and create online content to recommend or dissuade each other in brand, product or service purchases. Fully 49% of millennials will rely upon anonymous, user-generated content from third-party websites (51%) to influence a buying decision, and presumably, will not question the source of that content. The remaining 49% relies upon friends and family, while 67% of baby boomers (aged 47 to 65) do the same.
What millenials rely upon far less is advertising, branding, or a company’s website. The upshot for brands is that they need to be transparent, says Lisa Pearson, VP of global marketing at Bazaarvoice, the company that provided the data. They need to understand that “There’s a huge group of consumers right now who just don’t trust them.”
As to where they relate their own positive experiences, 42% prefer to do so on social media, versus just 17% among baby boomers. Sixteen percent of boomers will call a company directly, versus just 4% of millennials.
Facebook Releases Ad Revenue: Huge and Growing, Arguably Justified
As required in its IPO filing, Facebook has released its ad revenue, for 2009-2011. Ads brought in $3.2 billion in 2011, a year-over-year (YOY) growth of 69% from $1.9 billion in 2010, leading Business Insider’s Jim Edwards to declare, “Wow. This is a massive ad sales business.”
In terms of volume, there was a 42% increase in the number of ads delivered in 2011, and, an 18% increase in the price of ads.
In its prospectus, Facebook described its value to advertisers: “Advertisers can engage with more than 800 million monthly active users (MAUs) on Facebook or subsets of our users based on information they have chosen to share with us such as their age, location, gender, or interests. We offer advertisers a unique combination of reach, relevance, social context, and engagement to enhance the value of their ads.” In terms of growth, Facebook claims those 845 million MAUs as of December 31, 2011, is a YOY increase of 39% as compared 2010. Facebook went on to describe how it creates value for advertisers, with—
- Relevance, as ”Advertisers can specify [user subsets by] demographic factors and specific interests that they have chosen to share with us on Facebook or by using the Like button around the web.”
- Social Context, which highlights a user’s friends’ connections with a particular brand or business (e.g., that a friend Liked a product or checked in at a restaurant). We believe that users find marketing messages more engaging when they include social context."
- Engagement, as the shift to the more social web “creates new opportunities for businesses to engage with interested customers. Any brand or business can create a Facebook Page to stimulate an ongoing dialog with our users.”
The Economist summed it up this way in a poll: “It collects huge amounts of data about its 800m plus users, can serve up creepily well-targeted ads.”
But does it work?
Advertisers use Likes as a kind of social media “Nielsen rating,” but the ratings can be disappointing. In terms of engagement, only slightly more than 1% of Facebook users who “Like” brands like Procter & Gamble or Coca-Cola actually engage with the brands, according to research. And engagement can include reposting a clever ad from YouTube—good for branding, but without measurable sales.
Earlier this month, TBG Digital (TBG) in its Global Facebook Advertising Report observed “considerable savings” were possible in cost-per-clicks (CPCs), up 45%, for advertisers on Facebook. But, those advertisers must keep the clicker within Facebook: directing a visitor away from Facebook and onto the advertiser’s own website drives up the CPC.
So the ad revenue is impressive, as are the claims. But as an effective ad platform, Facebook still defies analysis. Likely it will have to come up with more solid figures for its annual investor calls.
Digital Ads: Affluent Buyers Highly Mobile, Digital, But Penny Wise
“Affluents” with a minimum $100,000 in yearly household income spend far more time online than the general population, reports eMarketer. They spend 26.2 hours online per week, versus 21.7 for the population overall. But they watch far less television, at 17.6 hours per week versus the 34 for the average American.
Affluents number 58.5 million, and 33% owns smartphones. Research suggests that the digital ads that reach affluents are—
- Opt-in email ads
- Sponsored websites from search results
- Targeted ads, relevant to what the affluent is doing or searching in the moment
- Ads tied to demographics (e.g., local restaurants, gyms, grocery stores).
On the downside, affluents have money because they don’t throw it away. “The vast majority…do not regard themselves as rich, however, and don’t spend as if they were,” said eMarketer Analyst Mark Dolliver. Of those 58.5 million, only 11% has a household income of more than $250,000. Affluents are in fact cutting back. So, ads for luxury goods and destinations are less likely to reach the affluent than ads for consumer goods and deals on dining and entertainment.
Fox News Channel Marks 10 “Most Watched” Years
Today’s Nielsen ratings for Sunday will cement Fox News Channel’s 10th-straight year as the most-watched cable news network, reports New York Daily News.
FNC in 2011 averaged 1.86 million viewers in prime time; rival MSNBC averaged 775,000 and CNN, 689,000. For January 2012 prime time, FNC has averaged 1.98 million, CNN 875,000 and MSNBC 817,000. Finally, FNC is posting 1.11 million on a total-day basis, versus 454,000 for MSNBC and 449,000 for CNN.
The figures are even more impressive, surrounding GOP Primary Coverage. As Multichannel News reported, FNC averaged 2.63 million viewers between 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. on Jan. 22, covering the South Carolina Primary. That is more than double the viewership of CNN (1.21 million watchers) and MSNBC (985,000). Further, it took an average 703,000 viewers 25-54, versus 417,000 for CNN and 240,000 for MSNBC, respectively.
FNC launched 15 years ago, and quickly took heat for its “bend to the right.” No matter, Fordham University Professor of Communication and Media Paul Levinson told the News. “What’s often overlooked when people talk about Fox News is they…focus on the politically conservative commentary (but) miss how it’s been as an overall news organization.” Fox News chairman Roger Ailes banked on vivid commentary, said Levinson, and a commitment to round-the-clock news.