Consumer magazines are enjoying a resurgence, due in part to advertisersÕ increased awareness of the benefits of segmentation, and publishers of both mass market and niche titles are reaping healthy dividends. Advertising revenue for magazines grew 4.60% to June 1999 over the previous year, according to MMS Monitoring Services. New launches and relaunches grew advertising revenue in categories including menÕs lifestyle, mass market womenÕs magazines, and food and entertaining. MMS calculates ad revenue by multiplying the number of ads by magazinesÕ rate card prices. Most outstanding was the growth in the menÕs lifestyle category, which increased its total advertising revenue by 45.60% Ñ ten times the average growth Ñ putting paid to the dire predictions that the market could not support so many titles. MMS includes the titles Inside Sport and Total Sports in this category. Next Media began a new wave of menÕs lifestyle magazines with Max in July 1997, followed closely by Australian Consolidated PressÕ Ralph, Murdoch MagazinesÕ MenÕs Health, EmapÕs FHM, and CondŽ NastÕs GQ. Yet although these titles gained $4.87m revenue last financial year, Max has proved the first casualty, putting out its last issue this month. FHM grew by 405.35%, the second fastest growth in the top 100 behind Good MedicineÕs 481.33% growth. The hefty figure for FHM compares last financial year with only two months of the previous year. Nevertheless, FHM attracted more than double the revenue of Max and Ralph, and has almost overtaken its older rival, MenÕs Health. Alun Probert, Emap marketing director, attributes the success of the ÒblokeyÓ menÕs magazines to the demographic changes wrought by 20 years of feminism. ÒWomen are better educated and have their own careers, with marriage and children coming much later. Because of that, there are now a lot more single men over the age of 30,Ó he says. Many in this huge new pool of bachelors avoid traditional media, says Probert. ÒFHM reaches people who donÕt watch much TV, or read newspapers, or even listen to radio very much.Ó Another casualty in menÕs lifestyle was Total Sports, which Pacific Publications launched in November 1996 against older rival, HorwitzÕs Inside Sport. Pacific has closed Total Sports, which was not measured by the Audit Bureau of Circulations, and last financial year shed 9.68% in revenue to $858,359. The greatest dollar gain in ad revenue was made by mass market womenÕs magazines which added $6.44m, or 5.90%. It is also the largest category, with total ad revenue at $115.78m. Who Weekly lost $1.79m in ad revenue, or 9.58%, according to MMS, despite a growth in its Roy Morgan readership results of 22% in the year to June 1999, compared to the previous year, and a fall in circulation of only 2.17% in the same period. Australian WomenÕs Weekly made the biggest gain in ad revenue, adding $5.96m, or 17.54%, to its already top ranking figures. The rise supports Nick Chan, group publisher of Major Market titles at ACP, who says the Òserious moneyÓ in publishing is in mass market titles. New Idea grew its revenue by 11.56% to $14.20m. Peter Miller, Pacific general manager, attributes the success to an initiative led by NSW sales director Helen Boothby, who began targeting brand advertising for both New Idea and ThatÕs Life. The great success story in mass market magazines is the Òreal lifeÓ titles. Pacific showed the size of consumer demand for these magazines when it launched ThatÕs Life in May 1994, but the low cover price and broader target of real life magazines meant their publishers struggled to gain the confidence of advertisers. ÒThere was a cultural cringe, frankly,Ó says Miller. ÒPeople will advertise on Sale of the Century but when it comes to magazines, they say they are worried about the environment.Ó FMCG brand advertising and creative advertorials have helped ThatÕs Life grow, says Miller. ACP launched competitor Take 5 in February 1998, which gained $1.21m in advertising, a 170.40% increase for the year to June 1999. Fashion magazines lost 3.36% of their revenue last financial year, but the modest fall for the category masks huge upheavals for individual magazines. HarperÕs Bazaar increased 136.16% to $6.19m, and now has 50% market share of ad pages, with 1,400 pages of ads from June 1998 to May 1999, compared to 684 for Vogue and 724 for Elle, according to Lynette Phillips, publisher of HarperÕs Bazaar. Co-branding campaigns attract advertisers to HarperÕs Bazaar. These give advertisers free mentions on TV and outdoor if they advertise in the ACP title. ÒThatÕs the only reason we get such big books. ThereÕs no dealing, thereÕs no need to. The October issue closed three weeks early,Ó she says. While it has the second highest revenue of all fashion magazines, HarperÕs is last in circulation and third in readership in the category. Says Phillips: ÒThe secret of fashion magazines is the image and environment. When people are buying, they are not looking at readership figures.Ó Vogue Australia lost 41.63% Ñ or $3.59m Ñ of its revenue, following falls in both circulation and readership. Where did the ad revenue go? That $3.59m was the exact amount gained by HarperÕs Bazaar. At ACP, editorial changes to The Bulletin came too late to affect the year-on-year figures for ad revenue, which fell 6.44%. ACPÕs Money will tap into the growing financial advertisers, which have helped BRW MediaÕs Shares magazine post a 37.84% revenue growth to $1.92m after launching in November 1996. Personal Investor grew 12.10% to $2.41m, and BRW grew by 5.94% to $20.25m. Good Medicine which launched in April 1998 had the largest percentage growth in ad revenue out of the top 100 magazines, with 481.33% increase to $1.93m. Tim Trumper, group publisher of new media markets at ACP, claims the Good Medicine brand Ñ with the Nine TV program and Ninemsn web site Ñ is the best example of vertical integration in the media. Evan Mistilis
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