FCB Media Research Report
QUESTIONING THE MAGAZINE NICHE MYTH

SUMMER 1997

When magazines and TV are considered for a media plan, do you put each medium into its own strategic box, i.e. magazines are chosen for targeted reach while broadcast TV is the medium of choice for delivering broad reach? If so, you may be surprised to find that a good number of magazines deliver reach which rivals, and even exceeds, that of TV shows. And, while targeted magazines abound, this issue of FCB's Media Research Reportwill show that magazines can compete with broadcast TV in delivering high reach. And they can do it more efficiently.

Our analysis was based on a comparison of the 25 most popular primetime shows and consumer magazines, looking at various age breaks. Here are 4 key findings:

With the exception of Adults 55+, the twenty-five most popular magazines (for each age group) deliver considerably more GRPs than the most popular primetime TV shows, in the +20% to +50% range. This GRP disparity is greatest with Women 18-49. (The advantage magazines have would be even greater if Sunday supplements were included.)

Despite magazines' GRP advantage, it costs considerably less to advertise in them than in the top 25 TV shows. A Page 4C Bleed insertion in each of the 25 most popular magazines costs $3.2 million, but the most popular primetime shows cost 50% more, at $4.9 million (costs for both are based on February 1997 rates). This translates into a magazine CPM for Adults 18+ of $6.08 while the TV CPM is nearly twice as high, at $11.60.

The cost differential between the two media is further illustrated by this fact: 37 primetime shows have :30 rates above $100,000 compared to 20 magazines with Page 4C Bleed rates at that level.

Back in 1990 the largest magazine combined still had a GRP advantage over TV, but the gap wasn't as great as it is now. In the seven years since the GRPs for the 25 largest magazines have declined 5% while GRPs for the top 25 primetime shows have declined 17%. Therefore, the GRP advantage popular magazines have for Adults 18+ has increased from 7% to 25%

While NBC's Thursday lineup is referred to as "Must-See TV," there are a number of magazines which have higher coverage/ratings than "E.R." and "Seinfeld," TV's most popular programs. They include titles such as National Geographic, Reader's Digest, Better Homes & Gardens, People and TV Guide. These publications can be called "Must-Read Magazines." If it weren't for NBC's Thursday shows magazines would completely dominate. The following examples show the magnitude of large magazines' reach advantage:

There is a multitude of niche or small circulation titles such as Cigar Aficionado, Walking Magazine or Wine Spectator to offer advertisers targeted audiences. The SRDS for Consumer Magazines lists more the 2,500 titles, many of them niche publications. However, there are still a significant number of magazines which can offer reach comparable to TV shows, putting the lie to the generalization that magazines are only a medium for pinpointing audiences.

However, while magazines can compete with network TV shows in delivering large audiences, there are important qualitative factors which give each medium a distinctive personality. For instance: