US magazines reimburse advertising customers if they are unsuccessful
The leading magazine trade group in the USA wants to reimburse its advertising customers if their advertising does not result in an increase in sales figures.
The Association of Magazine Media, which represents almost three quarters of US magazines, announced a corresponding measure on Tuesday. The aim is to show that advertisements in magazines are better suited to increasing sales figures than advertising on television or the Internet. Despite stable readership figures, magazines in the USA are suffering from a weakening advertising market. Between 2005 and 2013, the number of advertising pages in the six most important US news magazines fell by more than half. Many advertisers are turning to other media, such as the internet.
Individual publishers had already started to reimburse costs in the event of unsuccessful advertising. However, this measure now applies to the entire media group, which represents 72 percent of the magazine market in the USA. The group represents 175 US magazine publishers with more than 900 titles and around 30 international publishers. According to the announcement, advertising customers will receive "financial compensation" if the increase in their sales figures is below the advertising price. Instead of money, the publisher can also offer the customer free advertising space. The offer applies to certain everyday products whose sales are monitored by several market research institutes. (SDA)
