S-2 | October 17, 2005 | Advertising Age Special Report MAGAZINES: THE A-LIST PEOPLE REAL SIMPLE Parent: Time Inc. Parent: Time Inc. Publisher: Paul Caine President-publisher: 1 Managing editor: Martha Nelson 2 Robin Domeniconi Managing editor: Ad pages: 2,718.7 L 6.5% Kristin van Ogtrop Total circulation: 3,779,640 L 1.3% Ad pages: 1,114.2 L 20.4% Subscriptions: 2,294,602 L 0.6% Total circulation: 1,947,004 L13.1% Single-copy sales: 1,485,038 L 2.5% Subscriptions: 1,522,620 L14.3% For first anticipating, Single-copy sales: 424,384 L9% then foreshadowing and these days still By now, Real Simple has flourishing amid a relegated its doubters to celebrity sector that’s a space-saving dustbin. beginning to look More importantly, it downright imperial in its continues to expand the expansion, People seized brand and attract huge the A-List’s top spot. It numbers of readers and doesn’t hurt that the advertiser-friendly title ads with such a crisp brings in more revenue and profit than any and consistently engaging product that it other at the Time Inc. machine, which is could only be created by a supercomputer. striving to meet its numbers. At 31, People Either that, or top editor Kristin van Ogtrop isn’t a young-and-sexy startup, but success excels at her job. (We also like the new, has a certain attraction of its own. simpler cover line “Life made easier.”) What’s it take to make the list? Advertising Age editors look at circ, ad pages, editorial excellence and buzz in the buying community for this annual feature US WEEKLY MORE GLAMOUR TEEN VOGUE Parents: Wenner Media, Parent: Meredith Corp. Parent: Condé Nast Publications Parent: Condé Nast Publications Walt Disney Co. Publisher: Brenda Saget Darling VP-publisher: VP-publisher: Gina Sanders 3 Publisher: Victoria Lasdon Rose 4 Editor in chief: Peggy Northrop 5 William Wackermann 6 Editor in chief: Amy Astley Editor in chief: Janice Min Editor in chief: Cynthia Leive Ad pages: 665 L 14.9% Ad pages: 725.2 L29.8% L L Ad pages: 1,311.4 13.3% Total circulation: 1,051,049 L 9.3% Ad pages: 1,246.5 10.4% Total circulation: 1,527,990 L 168.8% L M Total circulation: 1,674,267 23.9% Subscriptions: 931,449 L 8.7% Total circulation: 2,340,958 0.9% Subscriptions: 1,304,936 L297% L L Subscriptions: 685,256 13.2% Single-copy sales: 119,600 L 14.1% Subscriptions: 1,448,438 4.3% Single-copy sales: 223,054 M7% Single-copy sales: 989,011 L 32.6% Single-copy sales: 892,520 M 8.2% Combined with Mere- Admittedly, Teen Vogue Last year’s Magazine of dith’s acquisition of A slip in total circulation declined at newsstand the Year could not be books like Child and and a larger decline in and only racked up its budged from the A-List, Parents, the success of newsstand sales can’t eye-popping circulation despite competition More adds clout to the erase the stellar year growth by adding former from People above and company strategy of Glamour has had. This YM subscribers to its rising In Touch Weekly selling ads for women of summer, it surprised rolls in February. (Condé and Star. Is it responsible any age/life stage. many by walking away Nast acquired YM from for busting the category Editor Peggy Northrop with the biggest prize at Gruner & Jahr.) But the wide open? If so, don’t has kept the magazine fresh, partly through the National Magazine YM absorption leaves Teen Vogue with complain. If stargazing draws readers and its first redesign in six years. Big advertisers Awards. No women’s magazine had won for larger total circ than CosmoGirl and nipping advertisers, publishers rejoice. And Us’s have embraced it despite their infatuation general excellence since 1992. Plus, ad at Teen People, and publishing isn’t entirely relatively positive editorial approach helps with the younger crowd; Ford Motor Co. pages at the mature pub are climbing, and, about organic growth. If former YM readers us all maintain some sense of decency even sponsored the “More Model Search” and Glamour says, second-half newsstand sales re-up in large enough numbers, the Condé while we peek through celebrities’ windows. included the winning models in a print effort. are performing better than in the first half. Nast title will be sitting prettier than ever. RUNNER’S O, THE OPRAH GQ THE WEEK WORLD MAGAZINE Parent: Condé Nast Publications Parent: Dennis Publishing Parent: Rodale Parents: Hearst Magazines, Publisher: Peter King Hunsinger President: Justin B. Smith 7 VP-publisher: Andrew Hersam 8 Harpo Print 9 Editor in chief: Jim Nelson 10 Editor in chief: William Falk VP-publisher: Jill Seelig Editor in chief: David Willey Ad pages: 1,112.4 L 8.6% Ad pages: 389 L 16.8% Editor in chief: Amy Gross Total circulation: 824,334 L 1.2% Total circulation: 351,960 L 42.8% L Ad pages: 514.4 22% Subscriptions: 609,238 L 1.3% Subscriptions: 350,960 L43% L Ad pages: 1,199 L 10.1% Total circulation: 608,519 5.2% Single-copy sales: 215,096 L 0.7% Single-copy sales: 1,000 M4.9% Subscriptions: 522,594 L 5.2% Total circulation: 2,622,718 M 3.6% Single-copy sales: 85,925 L 5.3% Subscriptions: 1,516,006 M 15.7% Men’s magazines often The newsweeklies that Single-copy sales: 1,106,712 L 20% struggle to be funny—the were losing strength and Runner’s World is try-too-hard lad mags influence as early as the stocked, of course, with Celebrity-branded come to mind—but GQ late 1980s are still shoe ads in increasing magazines—like Sly shows some skill in this struggling to compete numbers, but it has from American Media arena, as in its with the insta-news of leveraged its core and Reader’s Digest September send-up of today. As the traditional mission to draw in ads Association’s new Every celebrity weeklies: powerhouses watch ad promoting cars, Day With Rachael Ray— “Supreme Court pages ebb, Dennis antiperspirant, DTC, are coming quickly now Justices: They’re just like us!” It’s worth Publishing has made a go of it with The Week, Michelob Ultra, etc. that they’ve seen the noting that Jim Moore has reached his 25th which combines The Economist’s Runner’s World says it’s on track to set a success of Martha year as creative director at GQ. (The mag international perspective and many blogs’ personal best for ad revenue this year and Stewart and Oprah Winfrey. But Ocontinues noted it with 80 extra pages of ads.) For edit useful tendency to repurpose other outlets’ claims more than 130 new advertisers in the to stand out with double-digit ad-page gains quality and consistency, endorsed by rising news. The Week is throwing off heat in a past two years, 40% of them nonendemic. this year and a surge of newsstand buyers. ad pages, GQ lands on our A-List. category that otherwise looks cold. Notes: Year-to-date ad page numbers are for January-September 2005, from Publishers Information Bureau; during this period, overall ad pages for magazines tracked by PIB rose 1%. Circulation numbers are averages for the six-month period ended June 30, 2005, from Audit Bureau of Circulations. All percentage changes are vs. year-earlier period..