Federated Shifting Spend Toward DM and Electronic Media

Federated, the largest operator of department stores in the U.S., has begun to shift ad spending from newspapers to direct mail and electronic media, Mediapost writes. The move may leave newspaper industry ad forecasts at risk, said Merrill Lynch analyst Lauren Rich Fine, who estimated that Federated currently spends $900 million in newspapers. That accounts for more than 2 percent of the medium's total ad revenues. Federated's pending merger with another department store operator, May's, could also have an impact on the nation's newspapers, she warned.