Big In Print
Magazine A-List 2009
Women's Health Is Ad Age's Magazine of the Year
October 19, 2009
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Most magazines say they're brands too, but Women's Health is (power) walking the talk. And its other platforms aren't just extensions -- they're revenue drivers. That's one of the reasons why Women's Health is Ad Age's Magazine of the Year.
Better Homes and Gardens Is No. 2 on Ad Age's Magazine A-List
October 19, 2009
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Better Homes is a very big magazine, but we can't help but notice it hasn't stopped at the print edition. This year it expanded its Better Homes and Gardens line of licensed products at Walmart, for example, to around 1,000 from 500 at the start.
Family Circle Is No. 3 on Ad Age's Magazine A-List
October 19, 2009
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- When a magazine increases ad pages in an environment brutal enough to tear almost everyone else down, it's easy to suspect that the magazine is discounting its publicly quoted ad rates to the point of absurdity. Family Circle's ad pages in the issues from January through October ran nearly 13.9% higher than in the same period a year earlier, according to the Media Industry Newsletter.
The Economist Is No. 4 on Ad Age's Magazine A-List
October 19, 2009
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Last year's Magazine of the Year, The North American edition of The Economist, again proved itself a brand worth honors, in print and online, particularly for innovative thinking in marketing itself -- and asking readers to pay their share of the freight.
People Is No. 5 on Ad Age's Magazine A-List
October 19, 2009
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Consider People's presence on the 2009 list a sign that the traditional metrics are less and less determinative. They're hugely important -- but so are the new ways forward. People suffered declines in newsstand sales and ad pages, like almost everyone else, but it also spent the year trying new things.
Essence Is No. 6 on Ad Age's Magazine A-List
October 19, 2009
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Though ad pages are down somewhat, Essence remains one of the preeminent vehicles through which to reach black women. And marketers as diverse as Pantene and Disney have clearly taken note.
The Week Is No. 7 on Ad Age's Magazine A-List
October 19, 2009
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- If our nod for People magazine is partly an ode to scale in a fragmenting media business, our honors for The Week reflect an appreciation for exploiting a narrow niche richly.
Backpacker Is No. 8 on Ad Age's Magazine A-List
October 19, 2009
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Backpacker devotes precisely zero percent of its energies toward embracing newbies. And that may well be the reason the title has thrived at a time when comparable niche mags have sagged.
Cosmopolitan Is No. 9 on Ad Age's Magazine A-List
October 19, 2009
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- So powerful and ubiquitous is the Cosmo brand that it's easy to overlook the magazine that spawned it all. Happily for Hearst, few marketers targeting spend-happy young women fell into this trap, even during a year when many fled magazines as if they were a Fashion Bug outlet.
National Geographic Is No. 10 on Ad Age's Magazine A-List
October 19, 2009
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- It's hard to imagine a media brand, in fact, that's created a deeper presence on a truly global scale than National Geographic.
The Atlantic's James Bennet Is Ad Age's Magazine A-List Editor of the Year
October 19, 2009
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- In an age in which media people are often obnoxiously focused on trying to get everybody to pay attention to their (sigh) personal brands, James Bennet has been conspicuously inconspicuous as editor of The Atlantic, even as it's been dazzlingly resurgent under his leadership.
A-List Publishing Company of the Year: Meredith Corp.
October 19, 2009
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Unlike some repositioning efforts we've seen, Meredith has the facts to back up its new story. For one thing, it made real changes at the publishing group before it changed the name.
Food Network Magazine Is Ad Age's Magazine A-List Launch of the Year
October 19, 2009
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Over the last 18 months, launching magazines has become the province of masochists bent on losing lots of money really, really quickly. Rebel Ink, LoftLife, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Legends Magazine, Natural Cat -- not to take anything away from these recent debuts, but none exactly screams "blockbuster" or even "a reasonable bet to be solvent five years from now." And then you have Hearst's Food Network Magazine.
New York's NYmag.com Is Ad Age's Magazine A-List Website of the Year
October 19, 2009
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- For much of the magazine industry, a digital strategy has amounted to throwing ideas at the wall to see what sticks -- then praying really hard that consumers will follow. But New York has distinguished itself as one of the most innovative media brands when it comes to developing non-print businesses that actually deliver.
Magazine A-List: Five More Smart Moves
October 19, 2009
It was a tough year, and most titles struggled to deliver good news on all fronts. But, while these five did not make it on to Ad Age's A-List this time around, we thought they were worth singling out for the strides they made this year.
