Magazines' iPad Editions See 24% Ad Boost in Q1

Kantar/PIB Report Shows Uptick, But Buyers Seek More Performance Data From Publishers

Magazine publishers are seeing more advertisers warm up to their iPad editions.
In the first quarter, the number of ad units in magazines' iPad editions jumped 23.6% from the same period in 2012, according to a report from Kantar Media and the Publishers Information Bureau. The report, which looked at 58 magazines with monitored print and iPad editions, found that the number of ad pages in the titles' print editions was roughly flat in the first quarter, with 10,707. But the number of iPad ad units climbed to 5,961 in 2013 from 4,824 the year prior. Total print ad pages and iPad ad units combined increased 7.5% year-over-year, the report said.

Bloomberg Businessweek's tablet edition

Magazines reported paid and verified digital circulation of 7.9 million in the second half of last year -- just 2.4% of their total print and digital circulation, according to the Alliance for Audited Media. That number does not include every non-replica edition because some publishers don't report them to the AAM.
One impediment for iPad ads is cost. There are more production costs required for interactivity, and some publishers, including Condé Nast and Meredith, have charged advertisers for interactive elements.
But more print advertisers are opting in, said Chris Kevorkian, chief marketing officer at the MPA-Association of Magazine Media. "There's real growth in marketers saying "Let's move on, let's go into this platform.'"
Tablet ownership in the U.S. has nearly doubled in the past year, with 34% of American adults owning a tablet, up from 18% a year ago, according to the Pew Research Center. With 56% of these tablet owners living in households that earn at least $75,000 annually, publishers are pitching brands on reaching affluent audiences...