Have you ever flipped through the pages of a magazine and wondered how much of the publication is really created by the employees, staff writers and producers behind the company name? More than half of the reading seems to be from vendors and other commercial companies battling for effective exposure to a targeted public.

At PlattForm, the magazine writers and producers are a small collective group of mostly volunteers and the work sometimes doubles for press releases sent out also. Quite the idea right there in itself!

Magazine advertising ranks among the top mediums recognizable to the general public. According to the Magazine Publisher’s of America web site (www.magazine.org) the following table shows the breakdown of advertising spending per medium in 2006:

Share of Advertising in 2006
Magazines (18%)
Sunday Magazines (1%)
Newspapers (17%)
National Newspapers (3%)
Outdoor (3%)
Network TV (18%)
Spot TV (14%)
Syndicated TV (3%)
Cable TV (13%)
Network Radio (1%)
National Spot Radio (2%)
Internet (7%)
TOTAL (100%)

Who would have guesses that more companies spend money on magazine advertising than they do on television? And so much more than internet and outdoor advertising? However, it does make sense that a targeted public and demographic reads a certain type of magazine on a regular basis more than it would watch a certain television program looking for a specific thing.

PlattForm’s experience in the magazine industry is focused on the Key Magazine and Career College Central publications. As a whole, about 75% of our sales come from the ads that are sold within the publications. The other 25% accounts the subscriptions and copies sold.

The actual magazine industry standard is a little different than PlattForm’s numbers. According to a proprietary study of 93 representative magazines, in 2005, 55% of revenue came from advertising, and 45% came from circulation.

It makes you think a little bit more about the type of work put behind the favorite magazine you pick up from the grocery store check-out stand. A lot more dollars can be attributed to the pretty models and slogans than once previously thought. And you thought the cover price was outrageous…. Pffh!