Niche magazines boost ad volumes by 15%

Advertising in Indian magazines increased 15 per cent in January to September 2007 compared with that in the same period in 2006, according to a study by Adex India, a division of TAM Media Research. The growth was because of the proliferation of niche publications in the country.

However, advertising in newspapers grew by only 1 per cent during this period.

"The increase in number of magazines catering to specific target groups has helped the rise in volume of advertising in magazines. The fragmentation has led to a better access to target market for advertisers and increased purchasing power has set off this massive increase in magazine advertising," explained Siddhartha Mukherjee, vice-president, communications, TAM Media Research.

Advertising in magazines rose by 55 per cent in January-September 2007 compared with the advertising during the same period in 2004.

Women and current affairs magazines had the maximum advertising share, while advertising grew the fastest in the fashion and lifestyle segment between January and September 2007. Monthly magazines attracted most of the advertisements, with an ad ratio of 70:30 for English and regional magazines respectively.

According to the study, publications dedicated to women, business and current affairs enjoyed a combined share of 52 per cent of the total ad volume in magazines during the period under review compared with the numbers in the same period in 2004.

In the women's segement, 40 magazines contributed to 22 per cent of the total ad volumes, while 35 current affairs magazines had a share of 21 per cent during the first three quarters of 2007.

Of the 23 magazine categories surveyed, 16 showed growth in advertising volumes in the first three quarters of 2007.

Although there was a dip in the number of magazines in the fashion and lifestyle category, it showed the maximum growth of 210 per cent in terms of advertising in the first 9 months of 2007 compared with the growth in the same period of 2004.

Media and advertising and city-centric magazines were the two other fastest-growing genres. Volume of advertisements in these categories grew 120 per cent and 110 per cent respectively during the period.

The study also showed that advertisers focused more on monthly magazines, which enjoyed 44 per cent of all advertising in magazines. This was followed by weekly magazines with a 31 per cent share and fortnightly publications making up 22 per cent of the ad volumes.

English language magazines enjoyed 69 per cent ad volumes as opposed to regional language publications, which contributed to 31 per cent of advertisements.

The top five sectors "" services, personal accessories, media, banking and finance and auto "" combined to contribute to 42 per cent of all advertisements placed in magazines.