Real People Could Refund Advertisers

Real People, NatMags’ women’s weekly, is refunding advertisers after it failed to meet its guaranteed circulation target of 350,000, according to a report in Marketing Week.

The magazine, which launched in January, was 9% short of its target in the six months to June, according to the ABC magazine figures which were released last week (see ABC Results Jan-Jun 2006:Mixed Results Revealed For Women’s Weekly Market).

NatMags now faces the prospect of either having to make retrospective payments or reducing its rates to clients that have used the magazine since its inception.

Marketing Week quotes a senior media buyer as saying: “Real People mad a guarantee to clients and it is common practice for an amount of money equal to that 9% to be returned to the advertisers who paid based on that promise.

“NatMags hasn’t fallen massively short of its target and i doubt the Real People team will worry too much. But those clients will claim their money back or demand some deal for discounts on the next ads they place in the magazine.”

National Magazine Company: 0207 439 5000 www.natmags.co.uk