Advertisers Continue to Move Into Print

With all of the discussions within the publishing and advertising industries about marketers increasingly adding budget into digital advertising, the state of print advertising is often overlooked. Even with the quickly growing size of the online advertising market, brands are continuing to enter into the print advertising market. In fact, the number of brands advertising in print magazines is increasing.

Across 177 national consumer magazines, the number of brands advertising January-September, 2014 increased by 8.9% to 16,024 total brands year over year. Of these 16,024 advertisers, 7,799 were new brands that did not advertise in these titles January-September, 2013.

During this period, the number of advertisers increased across nearly all advertising categories. The home furnishings category experienced the most growth, as the number of advertising brands increased 24% to 1,190 total brands. The apparel & accessories category was next, growing 11% to 1,706 total brands. Two exceptions to the advertiser growth were the non-alcoholic beverages and professional service categories.

The chart below shows the advertising categories that gained the most brands January-September, 2013 vs. 2014, across 177 national consumer magazines.