Spending in print editions soars 18 percent in September 2015.
Here’s something you rarely hear these days: It was a great quarter for newspaper advertising.
Yes, you read that correctly.
The long-struggling medium, which has seen ad revenue fall by half over the past decade as digital soared, recorded stellar gains during third quarter of this year, thanks to big increases in ad spending by two key categories.
In fact, a particularly strong September by newspapers even helped overall ad spending grow six percent last month, according to the latest report from Standard Media Index, which tracks ad spending on the part of 80 percent of U.S. agencies.
Newspaper ad spending jumped 18 percent in September and was up 16 percent for the quarter.
Perhaps most notable, these numbers include only newspapers’ print editions, though newspapers’ digital advertising also grew during third quarter, up 10 percent.
“We saw a couple of key categories really drive newspaper revenues in the quarter,” James Fennessy, chief commercial officer at SMI, tells Media Life.
“Consumer electronics and entertainment both doubled their spend in the quarter, which really drove these exceptional results.”
Newspapers’ gains did not reflect a rebound for all print, however.
During the same quarter, magazines continued to struggle, with spending down 9 percent, including an 11 percent decrease during September.
Of course, digital had another stellar quarter and accounted for most of the overall ad spending gains. Digital ad spending jumped 27 percent in third quarter, and in September social media dollars more than doubled, while video was up 67 percent.
That stood in stark contrast to most traditional media.
Overall TV spending was flat during third quarter, but in September broadcast was down 4 percent, cable dropped 5 percent and syndication tumbled 14 percent.
Even out of home, which has enjoyed a stellar year up to this point, including a 16 percent uptick in third quarter, struggled in September, falling 16 percent.
Fennessy says automotive slashed OOH spending by 49 percent, while TV networks cut back by 32 percent, accounting for much of that drop.
Radio had a comparatively steady month, down 3 percent in September.
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