Mags May Be Undervalued In Media Mix

A study of research from AC Nielsen and the Condé Nast Reader Survey suggests that magazines are undervalued in the media mix, as the medium’s share of influence is not reflected in its share of adspend, despite the 1.2% year on year increase seen in the 12 months to September 2001.

The research from Condé Nast surveyed 2,500 ABC1 Adults to find out which were the most influential media. The results were compared with ACNielsen’s share of adspend figures in four key areas- motors, fragrance, fashion and travel, for a PPA seminar presented by Vogue publisher Stephen Quinn.

In all four cases, the magazine industry’s share of influence significantly outstripped its share of adspend. The same was also true, though less dramatically, of outdoor. In the case of TV, share of adspend was always found to be higher than share of influence.

One example of “undervaluing” is in travel advertising. While magazines and national newspapers were found to have the same level of influence for this area, newspapers had a share of adspend three times the size of magazines. In the case of fashion and fragrance, magazines managed a share of influence above 90% in each case, but commanded less than 50% of adspend for either category.

PPA: 020 7404 4166 www.ppa.co.uk

Subscribers can access ten years of media news and analysis in the Archive