People Owner Meredith Tallies Coronavirus' Impact on Ad

BUSINESS / MEDIA Meredith Tallies Coronavirus’ Impact on Ad Revenues Companies slashed their marketing budgets due to the pandemic, impacting the whole media industry.

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Coronavirus-related advertising cancellations and delays wiped an estimated $136 million oﬀ People owner Meredith Corp.’s fourth-quarter revenues, but there are tentative signs that some companies are starting to spend on marketing again.

Revenues in the three months ended June 30 were $611 million, WHAT WE'RE a decline of 22 percent from the prior year and below analysts’ BUYING expectations of $641.64 million. Loss per share was 14 cents, versus analysts’ forecasts of earnings per share of 29 cents. While most of the slide in revenues was due to a pullback in advertising, the Des Moines, Iowa-based publisher added that previously announced magazine portfolio adjustments including the closure of Money and Family Circle reduced advertising and consumer related revenues by approximately footwearnews.com $40 million. These moves are expected to to improve 9 Stylish Ugg Snow Boots proﬁtability in the long-term. to Buy Now

Meredith is not alone in suﬀering a fall in advertising revenues despite rising engagement across many of its titles. The whole industry has been impacted as companies across the board slashed marketing budgets, leading to widespread job cuts, furloughs and pay reductions. In the case of Meredith, which StyleCaster also publishes InStyle, it cut salaries for 60 percent of its 5,000 Black Tie Formal Wear: staﬀers through Sept. 4. Employees receiving pay reductions What It Means, What To will have one day of unpaid leave a week during the same period Wear & More and Meredith has also implemented a wage, salary and hiring freeze. It plans to restore full pay on Sept. 5.

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There are early signs that the trends are becoming “less negative” though, according to Meredith president and chief executive oﬃcer Tom Harty.

“Since our last earnings update on May 14, advertising trends became less negative during the course of the fourth quarter. In July, we were seeing fewer client cancellations and/or campaign delays,” he told analysts during a call.

He added that “assuming no changes in trajectory due to COVID-19 or other macro factors,” he sees its national media group’s digital advertising revenues coming in flat to down in @Ferra its sprin the low-single digits in the company’s first quarter, while house @wwd direct comparable print advertising revenues are expected to be down wo decades, Hussein Chalayan's Fall 2000 campai Words' transformative show blurring the in the mid to high 20 percent range. be un es between fashion and furniture still fashion nates with the human condition and its Non-political advertising in its local media group is expected to ship with worldly possessions. A woman Besa a white room, advances slowly toward a Guadag be down in the mid-20 percent range as well, “due in part to wooden coffee table, removes its central compan and steps into the mahogany piece of be pres expected crowding out by the coming political advertising ure, before pulling it up and fixing it to her during th st. She then walks around wearing the to 12. "In cycle.” Political advertising revenues in fiscal 2021 should be at ed, telescopic table skirt, to loud clapping can't re levels similar to fiscal 2019, he further explained. heers from the audience in front of her. I'm ver might sound like a magic trick was instead this very ale of a fashion show that still resonates a posit As for People magazine, Meredith’s prized brand and the reason When Hussein Chalayan presented his fall past, wh "After Words" collection, he added a new was so many believe it purchased Time Inc.’s assets, Harty admitted e to the big book of fashion — under the conc er of transformative creations, which he directo that it had been impacted by the pandemic, although he’s now ays had a penchant for and which further details a seeing improvement. his reputation as a conceptual and erudite offe ner. Chalayan's intention wasn't to simply unusua a theatrical flourish but to investigate the of the c “Early on, on the digital side of the business, when the ept of displacement, since the show was and will ed by war refugees forced to leave their use of lig pandemic first broke, traffic from a celebrity standpoint wasn’t and carry their personal possessions with an ap m. At the link in bio, the London-based Mariaca as hot. We were also up against some comps from some issues er reflects on that iconic fashion moment that happened last year related to the royals and things like plains why digital shows can't replace live vents. Report: @sandrasalibian : that,” he said. “But we’ve actually seen the traffic come back. @giovanni_giannoni_photo And actually, during the month of July, there’s been a lot of, believe it or not, celebrity activity going on and very, very important to us.”

Out of the big three magazine publishers, Meredith is the only one that is publicly listed and therefore gives a quarterly glimpse into the real impact COVID-19 is having on the industry. Advertising generates approximately half of Meredith’s annual revenue.

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