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.
Editor & Publisher Launching “2020 Vision” of Newspaper Business
Beginning in February, Editor & Publisher magazine will begin “deconstruct[ing] the current newspaper business model and rebuild[ing] it from the ground up,” in a series it calls 2020 Vision.
E&P columnist and industry analyst Alan Mutter predicted that 2011 would mark “the lowest point yet” for newspaper ad revenue. Mutter was analyzing data from the Newspaper Association of America, and predicted that 2011 revenues would be $24 billion, down from the record high $49.4 billion in 2005. Q4 2011 results are still drifting in, but for Q1 through Q3, classified ads fell 12.9%,retail by 8.8%, and national advertising dropped 11%.
In an analysis of data compiled by the Newspaper Association of America, E&P columnist and industry consultant Alan Mutter predicted that 2011 would mark the lowest point yet for newspaper ad revenue — a mere $24 billion in comparison to the record high of $49.4 billion in 2005. Though Mutter has drawn negative comments from our readers for his critique of the industry, the numbers from the NAA can’t be ignored. In the first nine months of 2011, classified advertising fell 12.9 percent, retail dropped 8.8 percent, and national advertising fell 11 percent.
E&P observes 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.
E&P pledges to point a critical eye at every aspectof newspaper publishing, starting with content “always the bread and butter” in February; then moving on to distribution, technology, budget allocation and management.
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